{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_12480/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_12480","id":"gutenberg_12480","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12480","summary":null,"tags":["Category: How To ...","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Clairvoyance"],"text":"CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS\n\nINCLUDING\nCLAIRVOYANCE, CLAIRAUDIENCE\nPREMONITION AND IMPRESSIONS\nCLAIRVOYANT PSYCHOMETRY\nCLAIRVOYANT CRYSTAL-GAZING\nDISTANT CLAIRVOYANCE\nPAST CLAIRVOYANCE\nFUTURE CLAIRVOYANCE\nSECOND-SIGHT\nPREVISION\nCLAIRVOYANT DEVELOPMENT\nASTRAL-BODY TRAVELING\nASTRAL-PLANE PHENOMENA\nPSYCHIC INFLUENCE--Personal\n and Distant\nPSYCHIC ATTRACTION\nPSYCHIC HEALING\nTELEPATHY\nMIND-READING\nTHOUGHT TRANSFERENCE and\n other PSYCHIC PHENOMENA\n\nBy\n\nSwami Panchadasi\n\nAuthor of \"The Human Aura,\" \"The Astral World,\" Etc.\n\n1916\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSYNOPSIS OF THE LESSONS\n\n\nLESSON I\nTHE ASTRAL SENSES\nThe skeptical person who \"believes only the evidence of his senses.\" The\nman who has much to say about \"horse sense.\" \"Common Sense\" versus\nUncommon Senses. The ordinary five senses are not the only senses. The\nordinary senses are not as infallible as many think them. Illusions of the\nfive physical senses. What is back of the organs of physical sense. All\nsenses an evolution of the sense of feeling. How the mind receives the\nreport of the senses. The Real Knower behind the senses. What the\nunfolding of new senses means to man. The super-physical senses. The\nAstral Senses. Man has seven physical senses, instead of merely five. Each\nphysical sense has its astral sense counterpart. What the astral senses\nare. Sensing on the astral plane. How the mind functions on the astral\nplane, by means of the astral senses. The unfolding of the Astral Senses\nopens up a new world of experience to man.\n\n\nLESSON II\nTELEPATHY vs. CLAIRVOYANCE\nThe two extra physical senses of man. The extra sense of \"the presence of\nother living things.\" The \"telepathic sense.\" How man may sense the\npresence of other living things apart from the operation of his ordinary\nfive physical senses. This power is strongly developed in savages and\nbarbarians, but has become atrophied in most civilized men, by continued\ndisuse. It is now vestigal in civilized man, but may be developed by\npractice. Animals have this extra sense highly developed, and it plays a\nvery important part in their protection from enemies; their capture of\nprey, etc. The strange actions of dogs, horses, etc., explained. How the\ngeese saved Rome by reason of this sense. All hunters have experienced\nevidences of the existence of this sense on the part of animals. The\nphysical telepathic sense. How it operates. Interesting instances of its\npossession by animals, and savage tribes. Women possess it strongly. The\ndistinction between this form of thought-transference and clairvoyance.\n\n\nLESSON III\nTELEPATHY EXPLAINED\nWhat \"telepathy\" means. The mental process by which one \"knows at a\ndistance.\" The sending and receiving of waves and currents of thought and\nfeeling. Thought vibrations, and how they are caused. The part played by\nthe cerebrum, cerebellum, and medulla oblongata--the three brains of man.\nThe part played by the solar plexus and other great nervous centres. How\nthought messages are received. How states of emotional excitement are\ntransmitted to others. The Pineal Gland: what it is, and what it does. The\nimportant part it plays in telepathy and thought-transference. Mental\natmospheres. Psychic atmospheres of audiences, towns, houses, stores, etc.\nWhy you are not affected by all thought vibrations in equal measure and\nstrength. How thought vibrations are neutralized. Affinities and\nrepulsions between different thought vibrations. Interesting facts\nconcerning telepathy. Scientific explanations of telepathy.\n\n\nLESSON IV\nSCIENTIFIC TELEPATHY\nThe important investigations of the Society for Psychical Research. True\ntelepathy and pseudo-telepathy; how they are distinguished by scientists.\nStrict tests imposed in investigations. The celebrated \"Creery\nExperiments,\" and how they were conducted. The elaboration of the\n\"guessing\" game. Seventeen cards chosen right, in straight succession.\nPrecautions against fraud or collusion. Two hundred and ten successes out\nof a possible three hundred and eighty-two. Science pronounces the results\nas entirely beyond the law of coincidences and mathematical probability;\nand that the phenomena were genuine and real telepathy. Still more\nwonderful tests. Telepathy an incontestable reality. \"A psychic force\ntransmitting ideas and thoughts.\" Interesting cases of spontaneous\ntelepathy, scientifically proven. Extracts from the scientific records.\nCold scientific reports read like a romance, and prove beyond doubt the\nreality of this great field of phenomena.\n\n\nLESSON V\nMIND-READING, AND BEYOND\nWhat \"Mind-Reading\" is. The two phases of Mind-Reading. Mind-Reading with\nphysical contact; and without physical contact. Why the scientific\ninvestigators make the distinction. Why science has been over-cautious;\nand how it falls short of the full understanding of contact Mind-Reading.\nHow the thought-waves flow along the nerves of the projector and\nrecipient. Like telegraphy over wires, as compared with the wireless\nmethod. How to learn by actual experience, and not alone by reading books.\nHow to experiment for yourself; and how to obtain the best results in\nMind-Reading. The working principles of Mind-Reading stated. Full\ndirections and instruction given for the successful performance of the\ninteresting feats. This lesson is really a little manual of\npractical instruction in Mind-Reading, and the higher phases of\nThought-Transference. The person carefully studying and applying the\nprinciples taught therein should become very proficient in both private\nand public manifestations.\n\n\nLESSON VI\nCLAIRVOYANT PSYCHOMETRY\nWhat Clairvoyance really is; and what it is not. The faculty of acquiring\nsuper-normal knowledge of facts and happening at a distance, or in past or\nfuture time, independent of the ordinary senses, and independent of\ntelepathic reading of the minds of others. The different kinds of\nClairvoyance described. What is Psychometry? Clairvoyant en rapport\nrelations on the astral plane, with distant, past or future happenings and\nevents; by means of a connecting material link. How to obtain the psychic\naffinity or astral relation to other things by means of a bit of stone,\nlock of hair, article of wearing apparel, etc. Interesting instances of\nclairvoyant psychometry. How to go about the work of psychometrizing. How\nto develop the power. How to secure the best conditions; and what to do\nwhen you have obtained them. Psychometry develops the occultist for still\nhigher clairvoyant powers.\n\n\nLESSON VII\nCLAIRVOYANT CRYSTAL-GAZING\nThe second great method of securing clairvoyant en rapport relations with\nthe astral plane. How the crystal, magic-mirror, etc., serves to focus the\npsychic energy of the clairvoyant person. The crystal serves the purpose\nof a psychic microscope or telescope. How crystals tend to become\npolarized to the vibrations of their owner. Why crystals should be\npreserved for the personal use of their owners. The use of crystals, or\nother forms of shining objects, by different peoples in ancient and modern\ntimes. How they are employed in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands,\nSouth America, etc., by the primitive tribes. Various substitutes for the\ncrystal. Full directions for Crystal Gazing. Complete instructions and\nwarnings. All stages described, from the first \"milky mist\" to the clearly\ndefined \"psychic photograph.\" The Astral Tube, and the part it plays in\nCrystal Gazing. A complete little text-book of the subject.\n\n\nLESSON VIII\nCLAIRVOYANT REVERIE\nThe higher forms of Clairvoyance, and how they may be cultivated and\nacquired. Trance conditions not essential to highest Clairvoyance,\nalthough often connected therewith. In Clairvoyant Reverie, the\nclairvoyant does not become unconscious; but merely \"shuts out\" the\noutside world of sights and sounds. Shifting the consciousness from the\nphysical plane to the astral. Clairvoyant Reverie may be safely and\neffectively induced by mental concentration alone. Artificial methods\ndangerous, and not advised by best authorities. Abnormal conditions not\ndesirable. The \"one pointed\" mind. The Clairvoyant \"day dream\" or \"brown\nstudy.\" False \"psychic development.\" Use of hypnotic drugs strongly\ncondemned. Scientific psychological methods stated and taught. The laws of\nattention and concentration of the mind. How Clairvoyance develops by this\nmethod. The true occult instruction given fully.\n\n\nLESSON IX\nSIMPLE CLAIRVOYANCE\nWhat the Clairvoyant senses in Simple Clairvoyance. Perception of the\nAura, and Auric Emanations of others; Psychic Vibrations; Astral Colors;\nThought Currents, Waves and Vibrations, etc., are features of Simple\nClairvoyance. The beautiful kaleidoscopic spectacle of the Auric changes.\nThe Prana Aura, and its appearances. The Mental and Emotional Aura, and\nits many interesting phases. Perception of Astral Thought-Forms. Other\nAstral Phenomena. The Astral World, and its Myriad Manifestations. Strange\naspects of Astral Visioning. \"Seeing through a Brick-wall.\" The X-Ray\nVision. Reading from closed books, sealed envelopes, etc., and how it is\nexplainable. Seeing into the depths of the earth, and the occult\nexplanation thereof. The Laws and Principles of this Extraordinary Power.\nMagnifying and Diminishing Clairvoyant Vision. A wonderful field for\nexperiment opened out for the student.\n\n\nLESSON X\nCLAIRVOYANCE OF DISTANT SCENES\nThe characteristics of Space Clairvoyance. The Astral Seeing of Distant\nScenes; and through intervening objects. Remarkable instances of this\npower, well authenticated and established. Interesting and instructive\nhistorical cases recorded and explained. Testimony of the Society for\nPsychical Research concerning this phase of Clairvoyance. The interesting\ncase of W.T. Stead, the celebrated English writer, who went down on the\n\"Titanic.\" The important testimony of Swedenborg, the eminent religious\nteacher. Other well-authenticated cases happening to well-known persons.\nThe evidence collected by the Society for Psychical Research. Interesting\nGerman case. Why so many cases of this kind happen when the person is on\nhis death-bed, or seriously ill. Why such experiences often occur in\ndreams. Actual \"appearance\" of persons at a distance, and how explained.\nImportant and interesting facts recited in connection with this phase of\nClairvoyance.\n\n\nLESSON XI\nCLAIRVOYANCE OF THE PAST\nThe clairvoyant perception of the facts, events and happenings of past\ntime. There is no difference in the nature of this strange phenomenon,\nwhether the past time be but five minutes or else five thousand years. How\nis it possible to \"see\" a thing that no longer exists? The \"just how\" of\nthis strange happening. Nothing could be perceived if it had actually\ndisappeared from existence. But nothing entirely disappears in fact. On\nthe astral plane are recorded all things, events and happenings since the\nbeginning of the present world-cycle. The \"Akashic Records;\" or the\n\"Astral Light;\" constitute the great record books of the past. The\nclairvoyant gaining access to these may read the past like a book.\nAnalogies in physical science. Interesting scientific facts. What\nastronomy teaches on the subject. How the records of the past are stored.\nHow they are read by the clairvoyant. A fascinating subject clearly\npresented and explained.\n\n\nLESSON XII\nCLAIRVOYANCE OF THE FUTURE\nThe clairvoyant power manifest in all forms of perception of facts,\nhappenings and events of future time. Explanation of Prophecy, Prevision,\nForetelling, Second-Sight, etc. These powers not supernatural; but are\nmerely the development of the clairvoyant faculties. How may a thing be\n\"seen\" years before it really exists. Nothing could be seen, unless it\nexisted in some form, at least potential and latent. Keen perception of\nthe subconscious faculties. Subconscious reasoning from cause to effect.\nComing events cast their shadows before. Fate vs. Free-Will. \"Time is but\na relative mode of regarding things.\" \"Events may, in some sense, exist\nalways, both past and future.\" Time like a moving-picture reel, containing\nthe future scene at the present moment, though out of sight. Analogy of\ndream-time. An Absolute Consciousness in which past, present and future\nexist as a single perception. A glimpse of a transcendental truth. How to\nacquire the faculty of Future-Clairvoyance.\n\n\nLESSON XIII\nSECOND-SIGHT, PREVISION, ETC.\nMany persons, in all times, in all lands, have possessed the gift of\nlooking into the future. Not a superstition, but a scientific fact. The\nInvestigations of the scientific bodies. The Society for Psychical\nResearch, and its reports on this phase of Clairvoyance. Interesting case\ntold by a leading Theosophist. Tragedy and Funeral foreseen by Clairvoyant\nPrevision, or Second-Sight. Historical instances. George Fox, the Quaker,\nand his Second-Sight. The prophecy of the Death of Caesar. Biblical\ninstances. The celebrated case of Cazotte, which has become a matter of\nhistory. How Cazotte foretold the coming of the French Revolution,\nincluding the fate of eminent personages present at the time of the\nprophecy. A startling occurrence, well worthy of careful study. The\nhistorical case of the assassination of Spencer Perceval, Chancellor of\nthe Exchequer. Other well-authenticated cases. Symbolic visions. Irish and\nScotch cases.\n\n\nLESSON XIV\nASTRAL-BODY TRAVELING\nAstral visioning in Clairvoyance, and visioning by means of the Astral\nBody. The difference between the two phases of clairvoyant phenomena. The\ncharacteristics of Astral-Body traveling. How one traveling in the Astral\nBody may \"see all around him,\" instead of merely gazing at an astral\npicture. Limitations of Astral-Body visioning. What the Astral-Body really\nis; and what it is like. How it disengages itself from the physical body,\nand travels in space. Many persons \"travel in the astral\" during ordinary\nsleep. Occult teachings regarding Astral-Body traveling. How dying persons\noften travel in the astral-body, before death. Many interesting cases\ncited, all well-authenticated by scientific investigation. Society for\nPsychical Research's records and reports on such cases. Dangers of\nuninstructed persons going out on the astral, except in dream state.\n\"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.\" A timely warning. A most\nimportant and interesting subject.\n\n\nLESSON XV\nSTRANGE ASTRAL PHENOMENA\nAdditional phases of Astral Phenomena. Projection of Thought-Forms.\nSomething between ordinary Clairvoyance and Astral-Body perception. What a\nThought-Form is. How it is created. What it does. Where it goes. How a\nportion of one's consciousness is projected in a Thought-Form. Using a\nThought-Form as at cut-post, or observation point. How things appear when\nviewed from a Thought-Form. A wonderful phase of occult phenomena.\nAdvantages and disadvantages of this form of clairvoyant visioning. Hindu\nPsychic Magic, and how it is performed. Remarkable illusory effects\nproduced by Hindu Magicians. All is explained when the principle of the\ncreation and projection of Thought-Forms is understood. Why the Hindus\nexcel in this phase of occultism. An interesting description of Hindu\nMagic feats. The power of concentrated \"visualization.\" The phenomena of\nLevitation, or the moving of articles at a distance. The occult\nexplanation of this phenomenon. Natural explanation for so-called\n\"super-natural\" occurrence.\n\n\nLESSON XVI\nPSYCHIC INFLUENCE: ITS LAWS AND PRINCIPLES\nThe laws and principles underlying the power of one mind to influence and\naffect another mind. More than ordinary telepathy. The inductive power of\nmental vibrations. Everything is in vibration. Mental vibrations are much\nhigher in the scale than are physical vibrations. What \"induction\" is. How\na mental state, or an emotional feeling, tends to induce a similar state\nin another mind. Many instances cited. The different degrees of vibratory\ninfluence, and what causes the difference. The contagious effect of a\n\"strong feeling.\" Why a strong desire hag a dynamic effect in certain\ncases. The power of visualization in Psychic Influence. The Attractive\nPower of Thought. The effect of Mental Concentration. Focusing your\nForces. Holding the mind to a state of \"one-pointedness.\" Why the\noccultist controls his imagination. Suggestions as to practice, and rules\nof development. A few easily-mastered principles which give you the key to\nthe whole of this wonderful subject.\n\n\nLESSON XVII\nPERSONAL PSYCHIC INFLUENCE OVER OTHERS\nPsychic Influence exerted over others, when in their presence. Different\ndegrees of the influence. Possession of this power by Alexander the Great,\nNapoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, and other great leaders of men. The\nability to influence others is a sure sign of the possession of this\npsychic power. The Three Underlying Principles of Psychic Influence. The\nimportance of strong desire to influence and exert power. The importance\nof clear, positive mental pictures of what effect you wish to produce. The\nimportance of the firm concentration of your mind on the subject. The\ncreation of a positive psychic atmosphere. The Positive Psychic Aura. How\nto project your Psychic Power. The Psychic Struggle between two persons.\nHow to handle yourself in such conflicts of Psychic Power. How to\nNeutralize the Psychic Power of others, and thus disarm them. The Occult\nShield of Defence. Valuable directions regarding practice and development\nof Psychic Power. Scientific Exercises for Development. Important Rules of\nPractice.\n\n\nLESSON XVIII\nPSYCHIC INFLUENCE AT A DISTANCE\nPsychic Influence over others, manifested when they are distant from the\nperson exerting the influence. Distance no obstacle. Psychic Induction at\nLong-Range. How to create the en rapport condition with the other person.\nHow to protect yourself against such influence at a distance. The Psychic\nArmor. Psychometric Method of producing Distant En Rapport Condition. To\nproceed when the en rapport condition is secured. The scientific\nexplanation of the old tales about sorcery, witchcraft, super-natural\ninfluence, etc. The effect of fear, and belief, on the mind of the other\nperson. The effect of Denial. The secret of many strange cases made plain.\nSome typical cases. The Master-Key which unlocks the doors of many\nMysteries. Low forms of Occultism, and how they may be defeated. Dangerous\nTeachings in some quarters. Warnings against their use. The Astral Tube;\nhow it is erected, used and employed. A simple, plain explanation of a\npuzzling occult manifestation. Self-Protection.\n\n\nLESSON XIX\nLAWS OF PSYCHIC ATTRACTION\nHow psychic vibrations tend to attract to their creator other persons\nvibrating along the same lines; and things having a relation to the things\nthought of. Harmony and Inharmony in the Psychic World. The Law of Psychic\nAttraction. The Law of Psychic Repulsion. An important phase of Astral\nPhenomena. The Law works two ways. It draws other persons and things to\nyou; and you to other persons and things. How the men of \"big business\"\noperate under this Law of Attraction. How scheming exploiters of the\npublic actually \"treat the public\" by psychic means. The various forms of\npsychic influence employed by persons of this kind. The Law of Attraction,\nand how it works out in Business Life. The scientific facts behind the\noutward appearance of things. Instances and examples of the working out of\nthese laws and principles. The Law of Psychic Attraction is as constant\nand invariable as the great Law of Gravitation, or Magnetic Attraction.\nThe Co-Relation of Thoughts and Things. How we may create our own\nenvironment by Psychic Influence.\n\n\nLESSON XX\nPSYCHIC AND MAGNETIC HEALING\nThe Psychic Principles underlying the many forms of psychic or mental\nhealing. Many theories--one set of principles. Psychic Healing as old as\nthe race. The Basic Principles of Psychic Healing. The Physiological\nPrinciples involved. How the Astral Body is used in Psychic Healing. Human\nMagnetism, and what it really is. All about Prana. The Laying-on of Hands\nin Healing; and what is back of it. What happens in Magnetic Healing. The\nSecret of Absent Healing. Space no barrier in Psychic Healing. The Human\nAura and Psychic Healing. The Secret of Suggestive Therapeutics. The\neffect of the \"affirmations\" of the healers. How the Healing Cults obtain\ngood results. Self-Healing by Psychic Power. Absent Healing by Psychic\nPower. How to \"treat\" others by Absent Treatment. Valuable Instructions\nand Practical Methods of Psychic Healing. The whole subject condensed, and\nmade plain, so that it may be applied by any person of average\nintelligence. No fanciful theories; only plain, practical facts for actual\napplication.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nIn preparing this series of lessons for students of Western lands, I have\nbeen compelled to proceed along lines exactly opposite to those which I\nwould have chosen had these lessons been for students in India. This\nbecause of the diametrically opposite mental attitudes of the students of\nthese two several lands.\n\nThe student in India expects the teacher to state positively the\nprinciples involved, and the methods whereby these principles may be\nmanifested, together with frequent illustrations (generally in the nature\nof fables or parables), serving to link the new knowledge to some already\nknown thing. The Hindu student never expects or demands anything in the\nnature of \"proof\" of the teachers statements of principle or method; in\nfact, he would regard it as an insult to the teacher to ask for the same.\nConsequently, he does not look for, or ask, specific instances or\nillustrations in the nature of scientific evidence or proof of the\nprinciples taught. He may ask for more information, but solely for the\npurpose of bringing out some point which he has not grasped; but he avoids\nas a pestilence any question seeming to indicate argument, doubt of what\nis being taught him, or of the nature of a demand for proof or evidence.\n\nThe Western student, on the other hand, is accustomed to maintaining the\nskeptical attitude of mind--the scientific attitude of doubt and demand\nfor proof--and the teacher so understands it. Both are accustomed to\nillustrations bringing out the principles involved, but these\nillustrations must not be fanciful or figurative--they must be actual\ncases, well authenticated and vouched for as evidence. In short, the\nWestern teacher is expected to actually \"prove\" to his students his\nprinciples and methods, before he may expect them to be accepted. This, of\ncourse, not from any real doubt or suspicion of the veracity or ability of\nthe teacher, but merely because the Western mind expects to question, and\nbe questioned, in this way in the process of teaching and learning.\n\nConsequently, in this series of lessons, I have sought to follow the\nWestern method rather than the Hindu. So far as is possible, I have\navoided the flat positive statement of principles and methods, and have\nsought to prove each step of the teaching. Of course, I have been\ncompelled to assume the existence of certain fundamental principles, in\norder to avoid long and technical metaphysical and philosophical\ndiscussions. I have also had to content myself with the positive flat\nassertion of the existence of the Astral Plane, Akashic Records, Prana,\netc., which are fundamental postulates of Hindu philosophy and occult\nscience--for these are established solely by the experience of those who\nare able to function on the higher planes themselves. But, beyond this I\nhave sought to prove by direct and positive evidence (adapted to the\nWestern mind) every step of my teaching and methods.\n\nIn offering this scientific proof, I have purposely omitted (except in a\nfew instances) all mention of occult or psychic phenomena occurring in\nIndia, and have confined myself to instances occurring in Western lands to\nWestern persons. Moreover, I have avoided quoting and citing Hindu\nauthorities, and have, instead, quoted and cited from authorities well\nknown and respected in Western lands, such as the Society for Psychical\nResearch, and the prominent scientists interested in the work of the said\nsociety. In this way I have sought to furnish the Western student with\nexamples, cases, and illustrations familiar to him, and easily referred\nto. Had I cited Indian cases, I might be accused of offering proof that\ncould not be easily verified; and quoting persons unknown to my readers.\nThere is a wealth of such cases and illustration in India, naturally, but\nthese as a rule are traditional and not available in printed form; and\nthese would not likely be very satisfactory to the Western student.\n\nI must, however, positively and firmly state that while these cases and\nillustrations, these quotations and citations, are purely Western, the\nprinciples they illustrate and prove are among the oldest known to Hindu\noccult science and philosophy. In fact, having been accepted as proved\ntruth in India, for centuries past, there is very little demand for\nfurther proof thereof on the part of the Hindus. In the Western world,\nhowever, these things are comparatively new, and must be proved and\nattested accordingly. So, as I have said, I have cut the cloth of my\ninstruction to conform with the pattern favored for the Western garment of\nknowledge. So far as the illustrations and cases, the quotations and\ncitations are concerned--these are purely Western and familiar to the\nstudent. But, when it comes to the principles themselves, this is another\nmatter--I must be pardoned for stating that these are the outgrowth of\nHindu thought and investigation, and that he who would discover their\nroots must dig around the tree of the Wisdom of the East, which has stood\nthe storms and winds of thousands of years. But the branches of this\nmighty tree are wide-spreading, and there is room for many Western\nstudents to rest in its shade and shelter.\n\nIn these lessons I have referred occasionally to my two little books,\nentitled \"The Astral World,\" and \"The Human Aura,\" respectively. To those\nwho are interested in these subjects, I recommend these little books; they\nare sold at a nominal price, and contain much that will be helpful to the\nstudent of Hindu Occult Science. They are not required, however, to\ncomplete the understanding of the subjects treated upon in these lessons,\nand are mentioned and recommended merely as supplementary reading for the\nstudent who wishes to take little \"side excursions\" away from the main\ntrip covered in these lessons.\n\nI trust that my students will find the pleasure and satisfaction in\nstudying these lessons that I have in writing them.\n\nSWAMI PANCHADASI.\n\n\n\n\n\nLESSON I.\n\nTHE ASTRAL SENSES.\n\n\nThe student of occultism usually is quite familiar with the crass\nindividual who assumes the cheap skeptical attitude toward occult matters,\nwhich attitude he expresses in his would-be \"smart\" remark that he\n\"believes only in what his senses perceive.\" He seems to think that his\ncheap wit has finally disposed of the matter, the implication being that\nthe occultist is a credulous, \"easy\" person who believes in the existence\nof things contrary to the evidence of the senses.\n\nWhile the opinion or views of persons of this class are, of course,\nbeneath the serious concern of any true student of occultism, nevertheless\nthe mental attitude of such persons are worthy of our passing\nconsideration, inasmuch as it serves to give us an object lesson regarding\nthe childlike attitude of the average so-called \"practical\" persons\nregarding the matter of the evidence of the senses.\n\nThese so-called practical persons have much to say regarding their senses.\nThey are fond of speaking of \"the evidence of my senses.\" They also have\nmuch to say about the possession of \"good sense\" on their part; of having\n\"sound common sense\"; and often they make the strange boast that they have\n\"horse sense,\" seeming to consider this a great possession. Alas, for the\npretensions of this class of persons. They are usually found quite\ncredulous regarding matters beyond their everyday field of work and\nthought, and accept without question the most ridiculous teachings and\ndogmas reaching them from the voice of some claimed authority, while they\nsneer at some advanced teaching which their minds are incapable of\ncomprehending. Anything which seems unusual to them is deemed \"flighty,\"\nand lacking in appeal to their much prized \"horse sense.\"\n\nBut, it is not my intention to spend time in discussing these\ninsignificant half-penny intellects. I have merely alluded to them in\norder to bring to your mind the fact that to many persons the idea of\n\"sense\" and that of \"senses\" is very closely allied. They consider all\nknowledge and wisdom as \"sense;\" and all such sense as being derived\ndirectly from their ordinary five senses. They ignore almost completely\nthe intuitional phases of the mind, and are unaware of many of the higher\nprocesses of reasoning.\n\nSuch persons accept as undoubted anything that their senses report to\nthem. They consider it heresy to question a report of the senses. One of\ntheir favorite remarks is that \"it almost makes me doubt my senses.\" They\nfail to perceive that their senses, at the best, are very imperfect\ninstruments, and that the mind is constantly employed in correcting the\nmistaken report of the ordinary five senses.\n\nNot to speak of the common phenomenon of color-blindness, in which one\ncolor seems to be another, our senses are far from being exact. We may,\nby suggestion, be made to imagine that we smell or taste certain things\nwhich do not exist, and hypnotic subjects may be caused to see things that\nhave no existence save in the imagination of the person. The familiar\nexperiment of the person crossing his first two fingers, and placing them\non a small object, such as a pea or the top of a lead-pencil, shows us how\n\"mixed\" the sense of feeling becomes at times. The many familiar instances\nof optical delusions show us that even our sharp eyes may deceive\nus--every conjuror knows how easy it is to deceive the eye by suggestion\nand false movements.\n\nPerhaps the most familiar example of mistaken sense-reports is that of the\nmovement of the earth. The senses of every person report to him that the\nearth is a fixed, immovable body, and that the sun, moon, planets, and\nstars move around the earth every twenty-four hours. It is only when one\naccepts the reports of the reasoning faculties, that he knows that the\nearth not only whirls around on its axis every twenty-four hours, but that\nit circles around the sun every three hundred and sixty-five days; and\nthat even the sun itself, carrying with it the earth and the other\nplanets, really moves along in space, moving toward or around some unknown\npoint far distant from it. If there is any one particular report of the\nsenses which would seem to be beyond doubt or question, it certainly would\nbe this elementary sense report of the fixedness of the earth beneath our\nfeet, and the movements of the heavenly bodies around it--and yet we know\nthat this is merely an illusion, and that the facts of the case are\ntotally different. Again, how few persons really realize that the eye\nperceives things up-side-down, and that the mind only gradually acquires\nthe trick of adjusting the impression?\n\nI am not trying to make any of you doubt the report of his or her five\nsenses. That would be most foolish, for all of us must needs depend upon\nthese five senses in our everyday affairs, and would soon come to grief\nwere we to neglect their reports. Instead, I am trying to acquaint you\nwith the real nature of these five senses, that you may realize what they\nare not, as well as what they are; and also that you may realize that\nthere is no absurdity in believing that there are more channels of\ninformation open to the ego, or soul of the person, than these much used\nfive senses. When you once get a correct scientific conception of the real\nnature of the five ordinary senses, you will be able to intelligently\ngrasp the nature of the higher psychic faculties or senses, and thus be\nbetter fitted to use them. So, let us take a few moments time in order to\nget this fundamental knowledge well fixed in our minds.\n\nWhat are the five senses, anyway. Your first answer will be: \"Feeling,\nseeing, hearing, tasting, smelling.\" But that is merely a recital of the\ndifferent forms of sensing. What is a \"sense,\" when you get right down to\nit? Well, you will find that the dictionary tells us that a sense is a\n\"faculty, possessed by animals, of perceiving external objects by means of\nimpressions made upon certain organs of the body.\" Getting right down to\nthe roots of the matter, we find that the five senses of man are the\nchannels through which he becomes aware or conscious of information\nconcerning objects outside of himself. But, these senses are not the\nsense-organs alone. Back of the organs there is a peculiar arrangement of\nthe nervous system, or brain centres, which take up the messages received\nthrough the organs; and back of this, again, is the ego, or soul, or mind,\nwhich, at the last, is the real KNOWER. The eye is merely a camera; the\near, merely a receiver of sound-waves; the nose, merely an arrangement of\nsensitive mucous membrane; the mouth and tongue, simply a container of\ntaste-buds; the nervous system, merely a sensitive apparatus designed to\ntransmit messages to the brain and other centres--all being but part of\nthe physical machinery, and liable to impairment or destruction. Back of\nall this apparatus is the real Knower who makes use of it.\n\nScience tells us that of all the five senses, that of Touch or Feeling was\nthe original--the fundamental sense. All the rest are held to be but\nmodifications of, and specialized forms of, this original sense of\nfeeling. I am telling you this not merely in the way of interesting and\ninstructive scientific information, but also because an understanding of\nthis fact will enable you to more clearly comprehend that which I shall\nhave to say to you about the higher faculties or senses.\n\nMany of the very lowly and simple forms of animal life have this one sense\nonly, and that but poorly developed. The elementary life form \"feels\" the\ntouch of its food, or of other objects which may touch it. The plants also\nhave something akin to this sense, which in some cases, like that of the\nSensitive Plant, for instance, is quite well developed. Long before the\nsense of sight, or the sensitiveness to light appeared in animal-life, we\nfind evidences of taste, and something like rudimentary hearing or\nsensitiveness to sounds. Smell gradually developed from the sense of\ntaste, with which even now it is closely connected. In some forms of lower\nanimal life the sense of smell is much more highly developed than in\nmankind. Hearing evolved in due time from the rudimentary feeling of\nvibrations. Sight, the highest of the senses, came last, and was an\nevolution of the elementary sensitiveness to light.\n\nBut, you see, all these senses are but modifications of the original sense\nof feeling or touch. The eye records the touch or feeling of the\nlight-waves which strike upon it. The ear records the touch or feeling of\nthe sound-waves or vibrations of the air, which reach it. The tongue and\nother seats of taste record the chemical touch of the particles of food,\nor other substances, coming in contact with the taste-buds. The nose\nrecords the chemical touch of the gases or fine particles of material\nwhich touch its mucous membrane. The sensory-nerves record the presence of\nouter objects coming in contact with the nerve ends in various parts of\nthe skin of the body. You see that all of these senses merely record the\ncontact or \"touch\" of outside objects.\n\nBut the sense organs, themselves, do not do the knowing of the presence of\nthe objects. They are but pieces of delicate apparatus serving to record\nor to receive primary impressions from outside. Wonderful as they are,\nthey have their counterparts in the works of man, as for instance: the\ncamera, or artificial eye; the phonograph, or, artificial ear; the\ndelicate chemical apparatus, or artificial taster and smeller; the\ntelegraph, or artificial nerves. Not only this, but there are always to be\nfound nerve telegraph wires conveying the messages of the eye, the ear,\nthe nose, the tongue, to the brain--telling the something in the brain of\nwhat has been felt at the other end of the line. Sever the nerves leading\nto the eye, and though the eye will continue to register perfectly, still\nno message will reach the brain. And render the brain unconscious, and no\nmessage will reach it from the nerves connecting with eye, ear, nose,\ntongue, or surface of the body. There is much more to the receiving of\nsense messages than you would think at first, you see.\n\nNow all this means that the ego, or soul, or mind, if you prefer the\nterm--is the real Knower who becomes aware of the outside world by means\nof the messages of the senses. Cut off from these messages the mind would\nbe almost a blank, so far as outside objects are concerned. Every one of\nthe senses so cut off would mean a diminishing or cutting-off of a part of\nthe world of the ego. And, likewise, each new sense added to the list\ntends to widen and increase the world of the ego. We do not realize this,\nas a rule. Instead, we are in the habit of thinking that the world\nconsists of just so many things and facts, and that we know every possible\none of them. This is the reasoning of a child. Think how very much smaller\nthan the world of the average person is the world of the person born\nblind, or the person born deaf! Likewise, think how very much greater and\nwider, and more wonderful this world of ours would seem were each of us to\nfind ourselves suddenly endowed with a new sense! How much more we would\nperceive. How much more we would feel. How much more we would know. How\nmuch more we would have to talk about. Why, we are really in about the\nsame position as the poor girl, born blind, who said that she thought that\nthe color of scarlet must be something like the sound of a trumpet. Poor\nthing, she could form no conception of color, never having seen a ray of\nlight--she could think and speak only in the terms of touch, sound, taste\nand smell. Had she also been deaf, she would have been robbed of a still\ngreater share of her world. Think over these things a little.\n\nSuppose, on the contrary, that we had a new sense which would enable us to\nsense the waves of electricity. In that case we would be able to \"feel\"\nwhat was going on at another place--perhaps on the other side of the\nworld, or maybe, on one of the other planets. Or, suppose that we had an X\nRay sense--we could then see through a stone wall, inside the rooms of a\nhouse. If our vision were improved by the addition of a telescopic\nadjustment, we could see what is going on in Mars, and could send and\nreceive communications with those living there. Or, if with a microscopic\nadjustment, we could see all the secrets of a drop of water--maybe it is\nwell that we cannot do this. On the other hand, if we had a well-developed\ntelepathic sense, we would be aware of the thought-waves of others to such\nan extent that there would be no secrets left hidden to anyone--wouldn't\nthat alter life and human intercourse a great deal? These things would\nreally be no more wonderful than is the evolution of the senses we have.\nWe can do some of these things by apparatus designed by the brain of\nman--and man really is but an imitator and adaptor of Nature. Perhaps, on\nsome other world or planet there may be beings having seven, nine or\nfifteen senses, instead of the poor little five known to us. Who knows!\n\nBut it is not necessary to exercise the imagination in the direction of\npicturing beings on other planets endowed with more senses than have the\npeople of earth. While, as the occult teachings positively state, there\nare beings on other planets whose senses are as much higher than the\nearth-man's as the latter's are higher than those of the oyster, still we\ndo not have to go so far to find instances of the possession of much\nhigher and more active faculties than those employed by the ordinary man.\nWe have but to consider the higher psychical faculties of man, right here\nand now, in order to see what new worlds are open to him. When you reach\na scientific understanding of these things, you will see that there really\nis nothing at all supernatural about much of the great body of wonderful\nexperiences of men in all times which the \"horse sense\" man sneeringly\ndismisses as \"queer\" and \"contrary to sense.\" You will see that these\nexperiences are quite as natural as are those in which the ordinary five\nsenses are employed--though they are super-physical. There is the greatest\ndifference between supernatural and super-physical, you must realize.\n\nAll occultists know that man has other senses than the ordinary five,\nalthough but few men have developed them sufficiently well to use them\neffectively. These super-physical senses are known to the occultists as\n\"the astral senses.\" The term \"Astral,\" used so frequently by all\noccultists, ancient and modern, is derived from the Greek word \"astra,\"\nmeaning \"star.\" It is used to indicate those planes of being immediately\nabove the physical plane. The astral senses are really the counterparts of\nthe physical senses of man, and are connected with the astral body of the\nperson just as the physical senses are connected with the physical body.\nThe office of these astral senses is to enable the person to receive\nimpressions on the astral plane, just as his physical senses enable him to\nreceive impressions on the physical plane. On the physical plane the mind\nof man receives only the sense impressions of the physical organs of\nsense; but when the mind functions and vibrates on the astral plane, it\nrequires astral senses in order to receive the impressions of that plane,\nand these, as we shall see, are present.\n\nEach one of the physical senses of man has its astral counterpart. Thus\nman has, in latency, the power of seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, and\nhearing, on the astral plane, by means of his five astral senses. More\nthan this, the best occultists know that man really has seven physical\nsenses instead of but five, though these two additional senses are not\nunfolded in the case of the average person (though occultists who have\nreached a certain stage are able to use them effectively). Even these two\nextra physical senses have their counterparts on the astral plane.\n\nPersons who have developed the use of their astral senses are able to\nreceive the sense impressions of the astral plane just as clearly as they\nreceive those of the physical plane by means of the physical senses. For\ninstance, the person is thus able to perceive things occurring on the\nastral plane; to read the Akashic Records of the past; to perceive things\nthat are happening in other parts of the world; to see past happenings as\nwell; and in cases of peculiar development, to catch glimpses of the\nfuture, though this is far rarer than the other forms of astral sight.\n\nAgain, by means of clairaudience, the person may hear the things of the\nastral world, past as well as present, and in rare cases, the future. The\nexplanation is the same in each case--merely the receiving of vibrations\non the astral plane instead of on the physical plane. In the same way,\nthe astral senses of smelling, tasting, and feeling operate. But though we\nhave occasional instances of astral feeling, in certain phases of psychic\nphenomena, we have practically no manifestation of astral smelling or\ntasting, although the astral senses are there ready for use. It is only in\ninstances of travelling in the astral body that the last two mentioned\nastral senses, viz., smell and taste, are manifested.\n\nThe phenomena of telepathy, or thought transference, occurs on both the\nphysical and the mental plane. On the physical plane it is more or less\nspontaneous and erratic in manifestation; while on the astral plane it is\nas clear, reliable and responsive to demand as is astral sight, etc.\n\nThe ordinary person has but occasional flashes of astral sensing, and as a\nrule is not able to experience the phenomenon at will. The trained\noccultist, on the contrary, is able to shift from one set of senses to the\nother, by a simple act or effort of will, whenever he may wish to do so.\nAdvanced occultists are often able to function on both physical and astral\nplanes at the same time, though they do not often desire to do so. To\nvision astrally, the trained occultist merely shifts his sensory mechanism\nfrom physical to astral, or vice versa, just as the typewriter operator\nshifts from the small-letter type to the capitals, by simply touching the\nshift-key of his machine.\n\nMany persons suppose that it is necessary to travel on the astral plane,\nin the astral body, in order to use the astral senses. This is a mistake.\nIn instances of clairvoyance, astral visioning, psychometry, etc., the\noccultist remains in his physical body, and senses the phenomena of the\nastral plane quite readily, by means of the astral senses, just as he is\nable to sense the phenomena of the physical plane when he uses the\nphysical organs--quite more easily, in fact, in many instances. It is not\neven necessary for the occultist to enter into the trance condition, in\nthe majority of cases.\n\nTravel in the astral body is quite another phase of occult phenomena, and\nis far more difficult to manifest. The student should never attempt to\ntravel in the astral body except under the instruction of some competent\ninstructor.\n\nIn Crystal Gazing, the occultist merely employs the crystal in order to\nconcentrate his power, and to bring to a focus his astral vision. There is\nno supernatural virtue in the crystal itself--it is merely a means to an\nend; a piece of useful apparatus to aid in the production of certain\nphenomena.\n\nIn Psychometry some object is used in order to bring the occulist \"en\nrapport\" with the person or thing associated with it. But it is the astral\nsenses which are employed in describing either the past environment of the\nthing, or else the present or past doings of the person in question, etc.\nIn short, the object is merely the loose end of the psychic ball of twine\nwhich the psychometrist proceeds to wind or unwind at will. Psychometry\nis merely one form of astral seeing; just as is crystal gazing.\n\nIn what is known as Telekinesis, or movement at a distance, there is found\nthe employment of both astral sensing, and astral will action accompanied\nin many cases by actual projection of a portion of the substance of the\nastral body.\n\nIn the case of Clairvoyance, we have an instance of the simplest form of\nastral seeing, without the necessity of the \"associated object\" of\npsychometry, or the focal point of the crystal in crystal gazing.\n\nThis is true not only of the ordinary form of clairvoyance, in which the\noccultist sees astrally the happenings and doings at some distant point,\nat the moment of observation; it is also true of what is known as past\nclairvoyance, or astral seeing of past events; and in the seeing of future\nevents, as in prophetic vision, etc. These are all simply different forms\nof one and the same thing.\n\nSurely, some of you may say, \"These things are supernatural, far above the\nrealm of natural law--and yet this man would have us believe otherwise.\"\nSoftly, softly, dear reader, do not jump at conclusions so readily. What\ndo you know about the limits of natural law and phenomena? What right have\nyou to assert that all beyond your customary range of sense experience is\noutside of Nature? Do you not realize that you are attempting to place a\nlimit upon Nature, which in reality is illimitable?\n\nThe man of a generation back of the present one would have been equally\njustified in asserting that the marvels of wireless telegraphy were\nsupernatural, had he been told of the possibility of their manifestation.\nGoing back a little further, the father of that man would have said the\nsame thing regarding the telephone, had anyone been so bold as to have\nprophesied it. Going back still another generation, imagine the opinion of\nsome of the old men of that time regarding the telegraph. And yet these\nthings are simply the discovery and application of certain of Nature's\nwonderful powers and forces.\n\nIs it any more unreasonable to suppose that Nature has still a mine of\nundiscovered treasure in the mind and constitution of man, as well as in\ninorganic nature? No, friends, these things are as natural as the physical\nsenses, and not a whit more of a miracle. It is only that we are\naccustomed to one, and not to the other, that makes the astral senses seem\nmore wonderful than the physical. Nature's workings are all\nwonderful--none more so than the other. All are beyond our absolute\nconception, when we get down to their real essence. So let us keep an open\nmind!\n\n\n\n\nLESSON II.\n\nTELEPATHY vs. CLAIRVOYANCE.\n\n\nIn this work I shall use the term \"clairvoyance\" in its broad sense of\n\"astral perception,\" as distinguished from perception by means of the\nphysical senses. As we proceed, you will see the general and special\nmeanings of the term, so there is no necessity for a special definition or\nillustration of the term at this time.\n\nBy \"telepathy,\" I mean the sending and receiving of thought messages, and\nmental and emotional states, consciously or unconsciously, by means of\nwhat may be called \"the sixth sense\" of the physical plane. There is, of\ncourse, a form of thought transference on the astral plane, but this I\ninclude under the general term of clairvoyance, for reasons which will be\nexplained later on.\n\nYou will remember that in the preceding chapter I told you that in\naddition to the five ordinary physical senses of man there were also two\nother physical senses comparatively undeveloped in the average person.\nThese two extra physical senses are, respectively, (1) the sense of the\npresence of other living things; and (2) the telepathic sense. As I also\ntold you, these two extra physical senses have their astral counterparts.\nThey also have certain physical organs which are not generally recognized\nby physiologists or psychologists, but which are well known to all\noccultists. I shall now consider the first of the two above-mentioned\nextra physical senses, in order to clear the way for our consideration of\nthe question of the distinction between ordinary telepathy and that form\nof clairvoyance which is its astral counterpart.\n\nThere is in every human being a sense which is not generally recognized as\nsuch, although nearly every person has had more or less experience\nregarding its workings. I refer to the sense of the presence of other\nliving things, separate and apart from the operation of any of the five\nordinary physical senses. I ask you to understand that I am not claiming\nthat this is a higher sense than the other physical senses, or that it has\ncome to man in a high state of evolution. On the contrary, this sense came\nto living things far back in the scale of evolution. It is possessed by\nthe higher forms of the lower animals, such as the horse, dog, and the\nmajority of the wild beasts. Savage and barbaric men have it more highly\ndeveloped than it is in the case of the civilized man. In fact, this\nphysical sense may be termed almost vestigal in civilized man, because he\nhas not actively used it for many generations. For that matter, the\nphysical sense of smell is also deficient in man, and for the same reason,\nwhereas in the case of the lower animals, and savage man, the sense of\nsmell is very keen. I mention this for fear of misunderstanding. In my\nlittle book, \"The Astral World,\" I have said: \"All occultists know that\nman really has seven senses, instead of merely five, though the\nadditional two senses are not sufficiently developed for use in the\naverage person (though the occultist generally unfolds them into use).\"\nSome have taken this to mean that the occultist develops these two extra\nphysical senses, just as he does certain higher psychic or astral\nfaculties. But this is wrong. The occultist, in such case, merely\nre-awakens these two senses which have been almost lost to the race. By\nuse and exercise he then develops them to a wonderful proficiency, for use\non the physical plane.\n\nNow, this sense of the presence of other living beings is very well\ndeveloped in the lower animals, particularly in those whose safety depends\nupon the knowledge of the presence of their natural enemies. As might be\nexpected, the wild animals have it more highly developed than do the\ndomesticated animals. But even among the latter, we find instances of this\nsense being in active use--in the case of dogs, horses, geese, etc.,\nespecially. Who of us is not familiar with the strange actions of the dog,\nor the horse, when the animal senses the unseen and unheard presence of\nsome person or animal? Very often we would scold or punish the animal for\nits peculiar actions, simply because we are not able to see what is\nworrying it. How often does the dog start suddenly, and bristle up its\nhair, when nothing is in sight, or within hearing distance. How often does\nthe horse grow \"skittish,\" or even panicky, when there is nothing within\nsight or hearing. Domestic fowls, especially geese, manifest an uneasiness\nat the presence of strange persons or animals, though they may not be\nable to see or hear them. It is a matter of history that this sense, in a\nflock of geese, once saved ancient Rome from an attack of the enemy. The\nnight was dark and stormy, and the trained eyesight and keen hearing of\nthe Roman outposts failed to reveal the approach of the enemy. But, the\nkeen sense of the geese felt the presence of strange men, and they started\nto cackle loudly, aroused the guard, and Rome was saved. Skeptical persons\nhave sought to explain this historical case by the theory that the geese\nheard the approaching enemy. But this explanation will not serve, for the\nRoman soldiers were marching about on their posts and guard-duty, and the\ngeese remained silent until they sensed the approach of the small number\nof the enemy's scouts, when they burst into wild cries. The ancient\nRomans, themselves, were under no illusion about the matter--they\nrecognized the existence of some unusual power in the geese, and they gave\nthe animals the full credit therefor.\n\nHunters in wild and strange lands have told us that often when they were\nlying concealed for the purpose of shooting the wild animals when they\ncame within range, they have witnessed instances of the existence of this\nstrange faculty in the wild beasts. Though they could not see the\nconcealed hunters, nor smell them (as the wind was in the other direction)\nall of a sudden one or more of the animals (generally an old female) would\nstart suddenly, and a shiver would be seen to pass over its body; then it\nwould utter a low warning note, and away would fly the pack. Nearly every\nhunter has had the experience of watching his expected game, when all of a\nsudden it would start off with a nervous jerk, and without waiting to\nsniff the air, as is usual, would bolt precipitately from the scene.\nMoreover, many beasts of prey are known to sense the presence of their\nnatural prey, even when the wind is in the other direction, and there is\nno sound or movement made by the crouching, fearstricken animal. Certain\nbirds seem to sense the presence of particular worms upon which they feed,\nthough the latter be buried several inches in the earth, or in the bark of\ntrees.\n\nSavage man also has this faculty developed, as all travellers and\nexplorers well know. They are as keen as a wild animal to sense the\nnearness of enemies, or, in some cases, the approach of man-eating beasts.\nThis does not mean that that these savages are more highly developed than\nis civilized man--quite the reverse. This is the explanation: when man\nbecame more civilized, and made himself more secure from his wild-beast\nenemies, as well as from the sudden attacks of his human enemies, he began\nto use this sense less and less. Finally, in the course of many\ngenerations, it became almost atrophied from disuse, and ceased reporting\nto the brain, or other nerve centres. Or, if you prefer viewing it from\nanother angle, it may be said that the nerve centres, and brain, began to\npay less and less attention to the reports of this sense (trusting more to\nsight and hearing) until the consciousness failed to awaken to the\nreports. You know how your consciousness will finally refuse to be\nawakened by familiar sounds (such as the noise of machinery in the shop,\nor ordinary noises in the house), although the ears receive the\nsound-waves.\n\nWell, this is the way in the case of this neglected sense--for the two\nreasons just mentioned, the average person is almost unaware of its\nexistence. Almost unaware I have said--not totally unaware. For probably\nevery one of us has had experiences in which we have actually \"felt\" the\npresence of some strange person about the premises, or place. The effect\nof the report of this sense is particularly noticed in the region of the\nsolar plexus, or the pit of the stomach. It manifests in a peculiar,\nunpleasant feeling of \"gone-ness\" in that region--it produces a feeling of\n\"something wrong,\" which disturbs one in a strange way. This is generally\naccompanied by a \"bristling up,\" or \"creepy\" feeling along the spine. The\norgans registering the presence of a strange or alien creature consist of\ncertain delicate nerves of the surface of the skin, generally connected\nwith the roots of the downy hair of the body--or resting where the hair\nroots would naturally be, in the case of a hairless skin. These seem to\nreport directly to the solar-plexus, which then acts quickly by reflex\naction on the other parts of the body, causing an instinctive feeling to\neither fly the scene or else to crouch and hide oneself. This feeling, as\nmay be seen at once, is an inheritance from our savage ancestors, or\nperhaps from our lowly-animal ancestral roots. It is a most unpleasant\nfeeling, and the race escapes much discomfort by reason of its comparative\nabsence.\n\nI have said that occultists have developed, or rather re-developed this\nsense. They do this in order to have a harmonious well-developed\nseven-fold sense system. It increases their general \"awareness.\" Certain\nother knowledge of the occultist neutralizes the unpleasant features of\nthe manifestation of this sense, and he finds it often a very valuable\nadjunct to his senses of seeing and hearing, particularly in the cases in\nwhich he is approached by persons having antagonistic or hostile feelings\ntoward him, as in such cases this faculty is particularly active. In\nconnection with the telepathic sense (to be described a little further on)\nthis sense operates to give a person that sense of warning when approached\nby another person whose feelings are not friendly to him, no matter how\nfriendly the outward appearance of that person may be. These two extra\nsenses co-operate to give a person that instinctive feeling of warning,\nwhich all of us know in our own experience.\n\nThis particular, as well as the telepathic sense, may be cultivated or\ndeveloped by anyone who wishes to take the time and trouble to accomplish\nthe work. The principle is simple--merely the same principle that one uses\nin developing any of the other physical attributes, namely, use and\nexercise. The first step (a) is the recognition of the existence of the\nsense itself; then (b) the attention given to its reports; then (c)\nfrequent use and exercise. Just think of how you would proceed to develop\nany of the five ordinary senses--the hearing, sight, or touch, for\ninstance--then follow the same process in the cultivation of this extra\nsense, or two senses, and you will accomplish the same kind of results.\n\nNow, let us consider the other extra physical sense--the \"telepathic\"\nsense, or sense of becoming aware of the thought-waves, or emotional\nwaves, of other persons. Now, as strange as this may appear to some\npersons--the most of persons in fact--this telepathic faculty is not a\n\"higher\" faculty or sense, but is really a comparatively low one. Just\nlike the sense just described, it is possessed in a higher degree by many\nof the lower animals, and by primitive and savage man. That which really\nis \"higher\" in this kind of psychic phenomena is the manifestation of that\nhigher form of telepathy--by use of the astral counterpart of this\nsense--which we shall consider, later, under the name of clairvoyance, for\nthis is really a particular phase of clairvoyance.\n\nAs strange as it may appear to some of you, the lower animals possess a\nkind of telepathic sense. An animal is usually aware of your feelings\ntoward it, and your purposes regarding it. Domestic animals lose some of\nthis by generations of confinement, while the wild animals have the sense\nhighly developed. But even some of the domestic animals have more or less\nof it. You will readily recognize this fact if you have ever tried to\n\"cut out\" a certain animal from a herd or flock. You will find that the\nanimal in some way has sensed your designs upon it, no matter how\nindirectly you approach it, and it will begin circling around the other\nanimals, twisting in and out in its endeavors to be lost to your sight.\nThe other animals, likewise, will seem to know that you are after only\nthat particular one, and will manifest but little fright or distrust,\ncomparatively.\n\nI have frequently seen this thing, in my own country and in others, among\npoultry raisers. The poultryman will think, to himself, \"Now, I am going\nto get that black hen with the yellow legs--that fat, clumsy one,\" and he\nwill move toward the flock slowly and with an air of unconcern. But, lo!\nas soon as he gets near the creatures, that black hen will be seen edging\nher way to the outer circle of the flock, on the opposite side from the\nman. When the man moves around to her side, she will be found to have\nplunged into the crowd, and it is hard to find her. Sometimes she will\nactually try to sneak off, and conceal herself in some dark corner, or\nback of some large object. Every poultryman will smile when this\noccurrence is mentioned to him--he knows by experience that hens have a\nway of sensing what he has in his mind regarding them.\n\nMoreover, as every farmer knows, the crow family has a most uncanny way of\nsensing the intentions of the farmer who is trying to destroy them, and\nshows great sagacity in defeating those intentions. But, while the crow is\na very intelligent bird--one of the wisest of the bird family, in\nfact--it obtains its knowledge of what is in the mind of the man not alone\nfrom \"figuring on his intentions,\" but rather from that instinctive\nsensing of his mental states. The hen, as all know, is a very stupid bird,\nshowing but little intelligent activity. But, nevertheless, she is very\nquick about sensing the poultryman's designs on her, though generally very\nstupid about planning out a skillful escape.\n\nEvery owner of dogs, cats and horses, has had many opportunities for\nobserving the manifestation of this sense on the part of those animals.\nEvery dog feels the emotional states of his owner, and others. The horse\nknows when his owner seeks to throw the halter over his neck, or when, on\nthe contrary, he is merely walking through the field. Cats sense their\nowners' feelings and thoughts, and often resent them. Of course, the lower\nanimals can sense merely elementary mental states, and generally _only_\nemotional states, as their minds are not developed so as to interpret the\nmore complex mental states. Primitive men likewise almost instinctively\nsense the feelings and designs of other men. They do not reason the thing\nout, but rather merely \"feel\" the ideas and designs of the others. The\nwomen of the lower races are more adept in interpreting these sense\nreports than are the men. Women are more sensitive, as a rule, than are\nmen--on any point on the scale of development.\n\nWhen we come to consider ordinary telepathy in the case of men of\ncivilized countries, we find a more complex state of affairs. While\ncivilized man, as a whole, has lost some of the quick telepathic\nperception of the lower races, he has, in some exceptional cases, acquired\na faculty of receiving and interpreting more complex thought-forms and\nmental states. The investigations of the Society for Psychical Research,\nand those of private investigators as well, have shown us that a picture\nof a complicated geometrical design held in the mind of one person may be\ncarried to and received by the mind of another person, who reproduces the\ndesign on paper. In the same way, complicated thoughts have been\ntransmitted and received. But these are only exceptional cases. In many\ncases this sense seems almost dead in the ordinary civilized individual,\nexcept when aroused in exceptional cases.\n\nBut, nevertheless, the majority of persons have occasional flashes of\ntelepathy--just enough to make them realize that \"there is something in\nit.\" The renewed interest in the subject, of late years, has directed the\npublic mind to the phenomena of telepathy, and, consequently, more persons\nare now taking note of the cases of thought-transference coming under\ntheir personal notice. It must be remembered, of course, that all of us\nare constantly receiving thought-waves, and feeling thought-influence,\nunconsciously. I am speaking now only of the conscious perception of the\nthought-waves.\n\nMany investigators have so developed their telepathic sense that they are\nable, at times, to obtain wonderful test results. But, it has been a\nsource of disappointment to many of them to discover that at other times,\nunder apparently similar conditions, their success was very slight. So\ntrue is this that many authorities have accepted the theory that telepathy\nis more or less spontaneous, and cannot be produced to order. This theory\nis true as far as it goes, but there is a side of the case that these\ninvestigators overlook, probably because of their lack of the occult\nprinciples involved in the phenomena. I mean this: that their most\nbrilliant successes have been obtained by reason of their unconscious\n\"switching on\" of the astral telepathic sense, the clairvoyant sense.\nWhile in this condition, they obtained startling results; but the next\ntime they tried, they failed to awaken the astral sense, and, therefore,\nhad to depend entirely upon the physical telepathic sense, and,\nconsequently, their results were comparatively poor.\n\nYou will understand the difference and distinction between physical-sense\ntelepathy, and astral-sense telepathy, if you will carefully consider the\nnature of each, as I shall now present it to you. I ask your close\nattention to what I shall have to say on this subject in the remaining\npages of this chapter. Do not pass over these explanations as \"dry,\" for\nunless you have a clear fundamental understanding of the thing, you will\nnever be able to get the best results. This is true of every phase of\nlearning, physical as well as psychical--one must get started right, in\norder to obtain the best results.\n\nIn the first place, every thought process, every emotional activity,\nevery creation of ideas, is accompanied by a manifestation of force--in\nfact, is the result of the manifestation of a force. Without entering at\nall into the question of what mind is, in itself, we may rest firmly on\nthe natural fact that every manifestation of mental or emotional activity\nis the result of an action of the brain or nervous system, manifesting in\na form of vibrations. Just as in the case of the manifestation of\nelectricity in which certain chemical elements are consumed, or\ntransformed, so in the case of mental or emotional activity there is a\nconsuming or transformation of the substance of which the nervous system\nis composed. When I say \"nervous system\" in this connection, I include the\nbrain, or brains of man--for these are but a part of his great nervous\nsystem in which all emotional or mental activity is manifested.\n\nMoreover, just as there is no real destruction of matter in any of\nNature's processes--all seeming destruction being but a transformation--so\nin the case before us there is a transformation of the energy released in\nthe thought or emotional process. We may grasp this idea more clearly if\nwe consider what takes place into transformation of electrical energy. For\ninstance, transmit a strong current of electricity over a fine wire, or\nfilament of carbon, and lo! the current is transformed into light. Use\nanother kind of channel of transmission, and the current is transformed\ninto heat. Every electric light, or electric heating apparatus is proof\nof this. In the same way, the electric current is sent into space in the\nform of wireless waves. These waves coming in contact with certain forms\nof apparatus are transformed into forms of force which are registered and\ninterpreted by the wireless operator.\n\nIn the same way, the telepathic waves of energy are sent forth by the\nactivity released by the thought or emotion state. These waves travel in\nevery direction, and when they come in contact with physical apparatus\nsufficiently sensitive to register them, they may be reproduced or\nretransformed into thought or mental states similar to those which\noriginally sent them forth. You talk into the receiver of the telephone,\nand the sound waves are transformed into waves of electricity. These\nelectric waves travel over the wires, and on reaching the other end of the\ntelephone circuit are again transformed into sound-waves which are heard\nby the ear of the listener. Well, then, when your brain sends out thought\nwaves, these travel until they are received by the apparatus in the brain\nof another person, when they are re-transformed into thoughts of the same\nkind that originally caused the thought-waves. I will have much more to\nsay on this subject in the next chapter. I will pause here to point out\nthe difference between the phenomena of this form of telepathy, and the\nhigher form which is really a phase of clairvoyance.\n\nNow, in the case of what may be called a clairvoyant-telepathy, or astral\ntelepathy, the ordinary thought-waves play but a small part. Instead of\nthese, there is a transmission of force along the channels of the astral\nplane. It is almost impossible to describe the phenomena of the astral\nplane in the terms of the physical. I may illustrate the matter, in a\ngeneral way, by saying that is something like your astral self actually\nextending itself out until it touches the astral self of the other person,\nand thus actually \"feels\" the astral activities there, instead of it being\na case of something like waves travelling along space between brain and\nbrain. Do you get this clearly? This is about as near to it as I can\nexplain it to you at this place. Telepathy is simply a matter of the\ntransmission and receiving of waves of vibratory force which have\ntravelled along the ether between two persons. But clairvoyance or\nastral-telepathy is something like your mind being extended out until it\nactually touches the mind of the other person and sees what is there.\n\nI shall have much to say regarding the working out of the processes of\nclairvoyance, as we proceed. I have merely given the above explanation for\nthe purpose of distinguishing between ordinary telepathy and clairvoyance,\nso as to prevent you from falling into a common error. Now let us consider\nthe phenomena of ordinary telepathy--this is very wonderful in itself,\nalthough it is on a lower plane of activity than its astral or clairvoyant\ncounterpart.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON III.\n\nTELEPATHY EXPLAINED.\n\n\nTelepathy, meaning Thought-Transference, bears a misleading title.\nLiterally translated, it means \"suffering at a distance,\" or, perhaps,\n\"feeling pain at a distance.\" The name should really indicate \"knowing at\na distance,\" in order to be properly descriptive. But as the term has\nacquired a forced meaning by reason of years of usage, it will probably be\ncontinued in popular favor. After all, names do not count, so long as the\nmeaning is accepted and understood.\n\nWhile the term itself has been generally used in the sense of conscious\nand deliberate sending and receiving of thought-waves, there is a far\nwider field of phenomena really covered by it, viz., the unconscious\nsending and receiving of mental and emotional vibrations. I shall take up\nthis phase of the subject in a moment, after I have called your attention\nto the mechanism whereby the waves of thought and emotion are transmitted.\n\nIn the last chapter, you will remember that I called your attention to the\nfact that there is a manifestation of energy or force (in the form of\nvibrations) in every mental or emotional state. This is true not only in\nthe case of deep thought or vivid feeling, but also in the case of general\nmental \"feelings,\" and emotional states. During such manifestations there\nis a radiation of mental or emotional vibrations from the brain or nervous\ncentres of the system, which flows out in all directions just as do light\nand wireless electricity. The principal seats or centres of these\nradiations are (1) the several brains of man, viz., the cerebrum,\ncerebellum, and the medulla oblongata, respectfully; and (2) the several\ngreat centres of nerve substance in the human system, called the plexi,\nsuch as the solar plexus, etc.\n\nThe vibrations arising from emotional excitement are sent out principally\nfrom the plexi, or great centres of the sympathetic nervous system. Those\narising from the more strictly mental states emanate from certain centres\nand points of the brain, or brains, of the person manifesting them.\nCertain forms of these vibrations constitute the real essence of what is\ngenerally called \"human magnetism,\" which will be treated upon in the\nproper place in these lessons.\n\nI do not think it advisable to go into the technical details of the\ngeneration and mechanism of transmission of these thought and emotional\nvibrations, in these lessons. To understand the same would require a\ntechnical knowledge of physiology and organic chemistry, which is not\npossessed by the average person. Moreover, such details are neither\ninteresting nor instructive to the general student of occultism. But, I\nthink it proper to give at least a brief description of the receiving of\nsuch vibratory-waves by other individuals.\n\nIn the first place, every great plexus, or groups of nerve ganglia, in the\nhuman system is a receiving station, as well as a sending station. A\nperson manifesting strong emotional excitement tends to awaken similar\nstates in the nervous centres of other persons in whom the conditions are\nfavorable. This explains why the vibrations of anger, fear, panic, are so\ncontagious. It also explains the strong effect of the vibrations emanating\nfrom the nerve centres controlling the reproductive system, in certain\ncases of strong sexual excitation. Each human sympathetic nervous system\ncontains many receiving stations where emotional vibrations are received,\nand where they tend to be transformed into similar feeling in the\nreceiving system, unless neutralized by other mental and emotional states\nin the person.\n\nWhen we come to consider the apparatus by which is received the vibrations\narising from what may be called \"purely mental\" operations of the brain,\nsuch as intellectual thought, constructive imagination, etc., we find a\nmore specialized arrangement, as might be expected. There are several\nminor receiving points of mental vibrations, regarding which I do not\nconsider it worth while to go into detail, because of the technical\nfeatures involved. The principal apparatus for receiving thought\nvibrations of this kind is that which is known as the \"pineal gland,\"\nwhich I shall now describe.\n\nThe pineal gland is a peculiar mass of nervous substance which is embedded\nin the human brain, in a position near the middle of the skull almost\ndirectly above the extreme top of the spinal column. It is shaped like a\nsmall cone; and is of a reddish-gray color. It lies in front of the\ncerebellum, and is attached to the floor of the third ventricle of the\nbrain. It contains a small quantity of peculiar particles of gritty,\nsand-like substance, which are sometimes called \"brain-sand.\" It derives\nits scientific name from its shape, which, as I have said, resembles a\npine-cone. Physiologists are at sea regarding the function of this strange\norgan, and generally content themselves with the statement that \"its\nfunctions are not understood.\" But occultists know that the pineal gland,\nwith its peculiar arrangement of nerve-cell corpuscles, and its tiny\ngrains of \"brain-sand,\" is the physical telepathic receiving instrument.\nStudents of wireless telegraphy have noticed a startling resemblance\nbetween the pineal gland and a part of the receiving instrument employed\nin wireless telegraphy.\n\nThe thought vibrations coming in contact with the nervous system of the\nreceiving person, set up a peculiar vibration in the substance of the\npineal gland and thus the first step in the transformation of these\nvibrations into thought-forms in the mind of the person is under way. The\nremainder of the process is too technical, both in the physiological as\nwell as in the occult sense, to be taken up in detail at this place. The\nstudent will do well to get the idea of the workings of wireless\ntelegraphy well fixed in his mind, for this will set up the right\nconception of the working of ordinary telepathy, without the necessity of\ncomplicated technical diagrams and descriptions.\n\nAnd, now then, let us see what results from the sending forth and\nreceiving of these mental and emotional waves of force and energy. It is a\nmost interesting subject, I assure you. While the phenomena of the astral\nplane is probably more fascinating to the average student, I would impress\nupon you the importance of mastering the occult phenomena of the physical\nplane, before passing on to that of the higher planes.\n\nIn the first place, as all occultists know, each person is constantly\nsurrounded with what has been called an \"atmosphere\" composed of mental\nand emotional vibrations which are emanated from his personality. The\natmosphere of each person depends upon the general character of the\nthoughts and feelings of the person in question. Consequently, as no two\npersons are precisely alike in character, it follows that no two personal\natmospheres are exactly alike. Each person has a psychic atmosphere of his\nor her own. These atmospheric vibrations do not extend very far from the\npresence of the person, and, consequently affect only those coming near to\nhim.\n\nIn the same way, every group or crowd of persons has its own psychic\natmosphere, composed of a blending of the individual psychic atmospheres\nof the persons composing the crowd, group or assemblage, and representing\nthe general average of the thought and feelings of the crowd. There are no\ntwo group atmospheres exactly alike, for the reason that no two groups of\npersons, large or small, are exactly alike. Actors know that each audience\nwhich they face has its own psychic atmosphere, and the actors are\naffected by it. Preachers, lawyers, and speakers in general are quite\naware of this fact, and freely admit it, though they may not be acquainted\nwith the causes or laws governing the phenomena.\n\nFollowing the same psychic law, it will be found that every town or large\ncity, or even every small village or section of a larger town, will be\nfound to have its own distinctive psychic atmosphere, which is very\nperceptible to strangers visiting the place, and which affect those who\ntake up their residence in the place. In large cities, it has been noticed\nthat every building has its own peculiar vibrations which arise from the\ngeneral character of those occupying it. Different church buildings\nlikewise reflect the character of the general habits of thought and\nfeeling of those worshipping in them. Likewise, certain business streets\nhave pleasant or unpleasant vibrations in their atmosphere, from the same\ncauses. Every person recognizes the truth of these statements, though but\nfew are able to account for the facts in a scientific manner.\n\nThe beginner in the study of psychic phenomena often asks how these things\ncan be, when the thought which has occasioned the vibrations have long\nsince passed away. The explanation is simple, when properly explained. It\nis something like this: just as heat remains in a room after the stove has\nceased to throw out heat-waves, so do the vibrations of thought and\nfeeling persist long after the thought or feeling has died away. Or, if\nyou prefer a more material illustration, we may say that if a package of\nperfumery has been opened in a room, and then removed, the air will remain\ncharged with the odor for a long time afterwards.\n\nSo, you see, the same principle applies in the case of psychic vibrations.\nThe person carries around with him the general atmosphere of his\ncharacteristic mental and emotional vibrations. And, in the same way, the\nhouse, store, church, street, town, or city, etc., is permeated with the\npsychic vibrations of those who have frequented them. Nearly every one\nrealizes the different feeling that impresses him when he enters a strange\nhouse, apartment, store or church. Each one has its own difference of\npsychic effect. And, so does each person create his or her psychic effect\nupon those coming in contact with him or her, or who comes into his or her\npresence or vicinity.\n\nThe next question asked by the thoughtful new student is this: If persons\nare constantly sending forth psychic vibrations, and if such vibrations\npersist for some time, why are we not overwhelmed with the force of them;\nand why are they not all so mixed up as to lose all their effect. I shall\nnow answer this very important question.\n\nIn the first place, though we are constantly affected more or less by the\nmultitude of psychic vibrations beating upon us, still the greater part of\nthem do not consciously impress us. For an example, we have but to\nconsider how few of the sounds or sights of a busy street are impressed\nupon our consciousness. We hear and see only a few of the things which\nattract our attention and interest. The rest are lost to us, although our\neyes and ears receive them all. In the same way, we are impressed only by\nthe stronger vibrations which reach us, and then only by those which we\nhave attracted to ourselves, or which prove attractive to us by reason of\nour own likes and dislikes.\n\nIn the second place, the effect of certain thought vibrations is\nneutralized by the effect of the vibrations of thoughts of an opposite\ncharacter. Just as a mixture of black and white produces the neutral color\nof grey, so do two currents of opposing thought vibrations tend to resolve\nthemselves into a neutral vibration which has little or no effect upon\nthose coming in contact with them. You may think of numerous\ncorrespondences to this in the world of material things. For instance, a\nmixture of very hot and very cold water, will produce a neutral lukewarm\nliquid, neither hot nor cold. In the same way, two things of opposing\ntaste characteristics, when blended, will produce a neutral taste having\nbut little effect upon one. The principle is universal, and is readily\nunderstood.\n\nIn the third place, there is that which we may call an \"affinity\" between\nthoughts and feelings of a similar character. Not only do the vibrations\nof similar thoughts tend to coalesce and combine; but, more than this,\neach one of us attracts to himself or herself the thought vibrations which\nare in general accord with corresponding thoughts in our own minds, or\nfeelings in our own nature. Like attracts like. In the same way, the\ncharacter of our thoughts and feelings act to repel thought or emotional\nvibrations of an opposite or inharmonious nature. As all occultists know,\neveryone draws thought vibrations in harmony with his or her own; and also\nrepels thought vibrations of an inharmonious nature.\n\nThese are the general laws and principles governing the phenomena of this\nphase of telepathic vibrations. There is much more to be said on the\nsubject, of course, but if you will note carefully the leading principles\nand laws of manifestation just mentioned, you will be able to reason\ncorrectly regarding any phase of this class of phenomena which may come\nbefore you for attention. Once you learn a general rule, the rest becomes\nmerely a matter of application and interpretation. Let us now proceed to a\nconsideration of other phases of the general subject of telepathic\ninfluence.\n\nWe now come to the phase of what may be called direct telepathy--that is\nwhere a thought is consciously, and more or less purposely, directed\ntoward another person. We come across many interesting cases of this kind\nwhere persons find themselves thinking intently of certain other persons,\nand afterwards are told by the other persons that \"I found myself thinking\nintently about you, at such and such a time,\" etc. In some of these cases\nit is difficult to determine which one started the thinking. Again, how\noften do we find ourselves thinking of a person, when all of a sudden the\nperson comes into sight. Again, we think intently and earnestly about a\ncertain question; and then, all of a sudden, other folks whom we meet\nbegin talking to us about the same thing. These instances are too common\nto need more than a passing notice.\n\nA little more purpose is displayed in that class of phenomena in which we\nintently wish that a certain person shall do a certain thing, and lo! we\nsoon learn that that certain person has done it. A number of years ago, a\npopular writer wrote an article in which he mentioned what seemed to him\nto be a curious instance of some form of mental influence or telepathy. He\nsaid that he had found out that if he would sit down and carefully write a\nletter to some person from whom he had not heard for a long time, and then\ndestroy the letter instead of sending it, he would be almost certain to\nreceive a letter from that person within a few days. He did not attempt to\naccount for the phenomenon, he merely called the attention of his readers\nto it. Many persons have followed the suggestion, often with very\nwonderful results. There is nothing miraculous, or supernatural about such\noccurrences. It is merely one phase of telepathy. The concentrated thought\nof the writer of the letter is directed toward the other person, and that\nperson begins to think of the first one; then he thinks he will write to\nhim; then he actually does write. Distance, space, and direction have no\nimportance in this experiment--it is not necessary to even know where the\nsecond person is, in fact.\n\nThere are often found persons so closely in psychic harmony with each\nother that they very often are able to ask questions and receive answers\nfrom each other, even though great distances separate them. Some\nparticular times there is a better psychic harmony existing between the\nsame persons than is found at other times. All this, of course, affects\nthe success of the experiment. It is surprising what wonderful results\nalong these lines may be obtained by almost any person of average\nintelligence, after a little careful, patient, conscientious practice.\n\nBut there have been phenomena obtained as the result of long series of\ncareful experiments which are, in a way, even more wonderful than these\nsomewhat less deliberate experiments just mentioned. I allude to the\nexperiments of a number of earnest, careful scientific students, who\nsurrounded themselves with every precaution against over-enthusiasm,\nfraud, and coincidence. Prominent among this class of investigations we\nfind those conducted by the Society for Psychical Research, of England,\nwhich really established a firm basis for the work of other investigators\nwho followed the general methods of the said society. In the following\nchapter, I shall give you a somewhat extended statement of the results of\nsuch investigations, because this information is important to every\nstudent of psychic phenomena, not only because it establishes a firm\nscientific basis for his studies and beliefs, but also because it gives\nhim important information which he may apply in the course of his own\nexperimental work.\n\nI may mention that the investigations into the subject of telepathy, and\nkindred subjects, under the auspices of the society just mentioned, were\nconducted by men of careful scientific training and experience, and under\nthe general supervision and approval of the officers of the society, among\nwhich have been numbered such eminent men as Prof. Henry Sidgwick, of\nCambridge University; Prof. Balfour Stewart, a Fellow of the Royal Society\nof England; Rt. Hon. A.J. Balfour, the eminent English statesman; Prof.\nWilliam James, the eminent American psychologist; Sir William Crookes, the\ngreat chemist and discoverer of physical laws, who invented the celebrated\n\"Crookes' Tubes,\" without which the discovery of the X Rays,\nradio-activity, etc., would have been impossible; Frederick W.H. Myers,\nthe celebrated explorer of the astral planes, and writer upon psychic\nphenomena; Sir Oliver Lodge, the popular English scientist; and other men\nof international reputation and high standing. The character of these men\nat once gives the stamp of honesty and scientific accuracy to all the work\nof the society.\n\nIn order that you may understand the spirit which animated these\nscientific investigators in their work of the exploration of this new and\nstrange region of Nature, I ask you to carefully read the following words\nof the presidential address of Sir William Crookes, before the Royal\nSociety, at Bristol, England, in 1898. Remember, please, that this address\nwas made before an assemblage of distinguished scientists, many of them\nrank materialists and, quite skeptical of all occult phenomena--this was\nnearly twenty years ago, remember. Sir William Crookes, facing this\ngathering, as its president, said:\n\n\"Were I now introducing for the first time these inquiries to the world of\nscience, I should choose a starting point different from that of old\n(where we formerly began). It would be well to begin with Telepathy; with\nthat fundamental law, as I believe it to be, that thoughts and images may\nbe transferred from one mind to another without the agency of the\nrecognized organs of sense--that knowledge may enter the human mind\nwithout being communicated in any hitherto known or recognized ways. * * *\nIf telepathy takes place, we have two physical facts--the physical change\nin the brain of A, the suggestor, and the analogous physical change in the\nbrain of B, the recipient of the suggestion. Between these two physical\nevents there must exist a train of physical causes. * * * It is\nunscientific to call in the aid of mysterious agencies, when with every\nfresh advance in knowledge it is shown that either vibrations have powers\nand attributes abundantly able to any demand--even the transmission of\nthought.\n\n\"It is supposed by some physiologists that the essential cells of nerves\ndo not actually touch, but are separated by a narrow gap which widens in\nsleep while it narrows almost to extinction during mental activity. This\ncondition is so singularly like a Branly or Lodge coherer (a device which\nled to the discovery of wireless telegraphy) as to suggest a further\nanalogy. The structure of brain and nerve being similar, it is conceivable\nthat there may be present masses of such nerve coherers in the brain,\nwhose special function it may be to receive impulses brought from without,\nthrough the connecting sequence of ether waves of appropriate order of\nmagnitude.\n\n\"Roentgen has familiarized us with an order of vibrations of extreme\nminuteness as compared with the smallest waves with which we have hitherto\nbeen acquainted: and there is no reason to suppose that we have here\nreached the limit of frequency. It is known that the action of thought is\naccompanied by certain molecular movements in the brain, and here we have\nphysical vibrations capable from their extreme minuteness of acting direct\nupon individual molecules, while their rapidity approaches that of\ninternal and external movements of the atoms themselves. A formidable\nrange of phenomena must be scientifically sifted before we effectually\ngrasp a faculty so strange, so bewildering, and for ages so inscrutable,\nas the direct action of mind upon mind.\n\n\"In the old Egyptian days, a well known inscription was carved over the\nportal of the Temple of Isis: 'I am whatever has been, is, or ever will\nbe; and my veil no man hath yet lifted.' Not thus do modern seekers after\ntruth confront Nature--the word that stands for the baffling mysteries of\nthe Universe. Steadily, unflinchingly, we strive to pierce the inmost\nheart of Nature, from what she is to reconstruct what she has been, and\nto prophesy what she shall be. Veil after veil we have lifted, and her\nface grows more beautiful, august and wonderful, with every barrier that\nis withdrawn.\"\n\nYou will notice that this address made nearly twenty years ago, and from\nthe standpoint of physical science is in full accord with the ideas of\noccultism as old as the hills. And yet, the speaker had worked out the\nidea independently. He also investigated higher forms of psychic\nphenomena, with results that startled the world. But, you will notice that\nhe does not attempt to give any other than purely physical laws the credit\nfor the ordinary phenomena of telepathy. And he was thoroughly right in\nthis, as we have seen. He escaped the common error of confusing\nphysical-sense phenomena with the phenomena of the astral-senses. Each\nplane has its own phenomena--and each class is surely wonderful enough.\nAnd, again, remember that both physical and astral phenomena are purely\nnatural; there is no need for seeking any supernatural agencies to account\nfor these natural facts.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON IV.\n\nSCIENTIFIC TELEPATHY.\n\n\nThe investigators of the Society for Psychical Research, of England,\nstarted by giving a broad definition of Telepathy, as follows: \"Telepathy\nis the communication of impressions of any kind from one mind to another,\nindependently of the recognized channels of sense.\" They took the rational\nposition that the actual distance between the projector and the recipient\nof the telepathic message is not material; and that all that is required\nis such a separation of the two persons that no known operation of the\nsenses can bridge the space between them. They wisely held that telepathy\nbetween two persons in the same room is as much telepathy as when the two\npersons are located at opposite sides of the world.\n\nThe investigators then ruled out all instances of thought-transmission in\nwhich there was even the slightest muscular contact between the projector\nand the recipient. They held that though there might be genuine telepathy\nin such cases, nevertheless, there was always the possibility of fraud or\ncollusion, or of unconscious muscular action on the part of the projector.\nThey demanded absolute and actual separation of the two persons, in order\nthat their experiments might be above suspicion. They were wise in this,\nfor while there is undoubtedly a psychic communication in the cases in\nwhich there is the slight physical connection between the two persons (as\nI shall point out to you a little further on), still the element of doubt\nor suspicion must be entirely eliminated from a scientific test, in order\nto render it valuable and valid.\n\nThey, therefore, confined their investigations in Telepathy to the two\nfollowing classes, viz.: (1) where actions are performed without physical\ncontact with the person willing; and (2) where some number, word, or card\nis guessed apparently without any of the ordinary means of communication.\nThe investigators recognized the possibility that in the first of the\nabove-mentioned two classes of experiments there is a possibility of\nsuspicion of collusion, fraud, or unconscious suggestion, in the matter of\nthe motion of the eyes of the party, or some member of it, which might be\nseized upon, perhaps unconsciously, by the recipient, and used to guide\nhim to the object which was being thought of by the projector or the\nparty. They sought to obviate this difficulty by blindfolding the\npercipient, and by placing non-conductors of sound over his ears. But,\nfinally, they came to the conclusion that even these precautions might not\nprove sufficient; and, accordingly, they devoted their attention to the\nsecond class of experiments, in which all ordinary means of communication\nbetween projector and recipient were impossible. They took the additional\nprecautions of limiting their circle to a small number of investigators of\nscientific reputations, and well known to each other, always avoiding a\npromiscuous company for obvious reasons.\n\nOne of the earliest series of investigations by these special committees\nof investigators was that of the family of the Rev. A.M. Creery, in\nDerbyshire, England. The children of this family had acquired a reputation\nin what was known as the \"guessing game,\" in which one of the children,\npreviously placed outside of the room, then returned to the room and\nattempted to \"guess\" the name or location of some object agreed upon by\nthe party during her absence. The results were very interesting, and quite\nsatisfactory, and have frequently been referred to in works on the subject\nwritten since that time. I think it well to give the results of this\nseries of experiments in some little detail, for they form a basis for\nexperiments on the part of those who read these lessons.\n\nProf. W.F. Barrett, Professor of Physics in the Royal College of Science\nfor Ireland, conducted the most of the experiments. The report to the\nSociety says: \"We began by selecting the simplest objects in the room;\nthen chose names of towns, people, dates, cards out of a pack, lines from\ndifferent poems, etc., in fact, any thing or series of ideas that those\npresent could keep in their minds steadily. The children seldom made a\nmistake. I have seen seventeen cards chosen by myself named right in\nsuccession without any mistake. We soon found that a great deal depended\non the steadiness with which the ideas were kept before the minds of the\nthinkers, and upon the energy with which they willed the ideas to pass. I\nmay say that this faculty is not by any means confined to the members of\none family; it is much more general than we imagine. To verify this\nconclusion, I invited two of a neighbor's children to join us in our\nexperiments, with excellent results.\"\n\nThe report gives the methods of the experiments, as follows: \"The inquiry\nhas taken place partly in Mr. Creery's house, and partly in lodgings, or\nat a hotel occupied by some of our number. Having selected at random one\nchild, whom we desired to leave the room and wait at some distance, we\nwould choose a pack of cards, or write on a piece of paper a name of a\nnumber which occurred to us at the moment. Generally, but not always, this\nwas shown to the members of the family present in the room; but no one\nmember was always present, and we were sometimes entirely alone. We then\nrecalled the child, one of us always assuring himself that, when the door\nwas suddenly opened, she was at a considerable distance, though this was\nusually a superfluity of caution, as our habit was to avoid all utterances\nof what was chosen. On re-entering, she stood--sometimes turned by us with\nher face toward the wall, oftener with her eyes directed toward the\nground, and usually close to us and remote from the family--for a period\nof silence varying from a few seconds to a minute, till she called out to\nus some number, card, or whatever it might be.\"\n\nIn the first experiments, in \"guessing\" the name of objects, the child\nguessed correctly six out of fourteen. She then guessed correctly the\nname of small objects held in the hands of one of the committee--five\ntimes out of six. She guessed fictitious names chosen by the\ncommittee--five out of ten, at the first trial. The committee then tested\nher by writing down the name of some object in the house, fixed at random,\nand then, after all had thought intently of the thing, they sent for the\nchild and bade her try to find the thing thought of, the\nthought-concentration of course continuing during the search. The result\nis thus reported: \"In this way I wrote down, among other things, a\nhair-brush--it was brought; an orange--it was brought; a wine-glass--it\nwas brought; an apple--it was brought; and so on, until many objects had\nbeen selected and found by the child.\"\n\nPassing over the details of many other experiments we find that the\nfollowing remarkable results were obtained by the committee: \"Altogether,\nthree hundred and eighty-two trials were made in this series. In the case\nof letters of the alphabet, of cards, and of numbers of two figures, the\nchances of success on a first trial would naturally be 25 to 1, 52 to 1,\nand 89 to 1, respectively; in the case of surnames they would of course be\ninfinitely greater. Cards were far most frequently employed, and the odds\nin their case may be taken as a fair medium sample, according to which,\nout of a whole series of three hundred and eighty-two trials, the average\nnumber of successes at the first attempt by an ordinary guesser would be\nseven and one-third. Of our trials, one hundred and twenty-seven were\nsuccesses on the first attempt, fifty-six on the second, nineteen on the\nthird--MAKING TWO HUNDRED AND TWO, OUT OF A POSSIBLE THREE HUNDRED AND\nEIGHTY-TWO!\" Think of this, while the law of averages called for only\nseven and one-third successes at first trial, the children obtained one\nhundred and twenty-seven, which, given a second and third trial, they\nraised to two hundred and two! You see, this takes the matter entirely out\nof the possibility of coincidence or mathematical probability.\n\nBut this was not all. Listen to the further report of the committee on\nthis point: \"The following was the result of one of the series. The thing\nselected was divulged to none of the family, and five cards running were\nnamed correctly on a first trial. The odds against this happening once in\na series were considerably over a million to one. There were other similar\nbatches, the two longest runs being eight consecutive guesses, once with\ncards, and once with names; where the adverse odds in the former case were\nover one hundred and forty-two millions to one; and in the other,\nsomething incalculably greater.\" The opinion of eminent mathematicians who\nhave examined the above results is that the hypothesis of mere coincidence\nis practically excluded in the scientific consideration of the matter. The\ncommittee calls special attention to the fact that in many of the most\nimportant tests none of the Creery family were cognizant of the object\nselected, and that, therefore, the hypothesis of fraud or collusion is\nabsolutely eliminated. The committee naturally came to the conclusion\nthat the phenomena was genuine and real telepathy.\n\nProf. Balfour Stewart, LL.D., F.R.S., who was present at some of these\nexperiments, though not a member of the committee, expressed great\namazement at some of the results. He reports: \"The thought-reader was\noutside a door. The object or thing thought of was written on paper and\nsilently handed to the company in the room. The thought reader was then\ncalled in, and in the course of a minute the answer was given. Definite\nobjects in the room, for instance, were first thought of, and in the\nmajority of the cases the answers were correct. Then numbers were thought\nof, and the answers were generally right, though, of course, there were\nsome cases of error. The names of towns were thought of, and a good many\nof these were right. Then fancy names were thought of. I was asked to\nthink of certain fancy names, and mark them down and hand them round to\nthe company. I thought of and wrote on paper, 'Blue-beard,' 'Tom Thumb,'\n'Cinderella.' and the answers were all correct!\"\n\nThe committee also conducted a number of experiments with other\nrecipients, with very satisfactory results. Colors were correctly guessed\nwith a percentage of successes quite beyond the average or probable\nnumber. Names of towns in all parts of the world, were correctly \"guessed\"\nby certain recipients with a wonderful degree of success. But, probably\nmost wonderful of all, was the correct reproduction of diagrams of\ngeometrical and other figures and shapes. In one case, the recipient, in a\nseries of nine trials, succeeded in drawing them all correctly, except\nthat he frequently reversed them, making the upper-side down, and the\nright-hand side to the left. The Society, has published these reproduced\ndiagrams in its Illustrated reports, and they have convinced the most\nskeptical of critics. Some of the diagrams were quite complicated,\nunusual, and even grotesque, and yet they were reproduced with marvelous\naccuracy, not in a hesitating manner, but deliberately and continuously,\nas if the recipient were actually copying a drawing in full sight. Similar\nresults have been obtained by other investigators who have followed the\nlead of these original ones.\n\nSo you see, the seal of scientific authority has been placed upon the\nphenomena of telepathy. It is no longer in the realm of the supernatural\nor uncanny. As Camille Flammarion, the eminent French scientist, has said:\n\"The action of one mind upon another at a distance--the transmission of\nthought, mental suggestion, communication at a distance--all these are not\nmore extraordinary than the action of the magnet on iron, the influence of\nthe moon on the sea, the transportation of the human voice by electricity,\nthe revolution of the chemical constituents of a star by the analysis of\nits light, or, indeed, all the wonders of contemporary science. Only these\npsychic communications are of a more elevated kind, and may serve to put\nus on the track of a knowledge of human nature. What is certain is: That\ntelepathy can and ought to be henceforth considered by Science as an\nincontestable reality; that minds are able to act upon each other without\nthe intervention of the senses; that psychic force exists, though its\nnature is yet unknown. * * * We say that this force is of a psychic order,\nand not physical, or physiological, or chemical, or mechanical, because it\nproduces and transmits ideas and thoughts, and because it manifests itself\nwithout the co-operation of our senses, soul to soul, mind to mind.\"\n\nIn addition to investigating the above mentioned classes of telepathic\nphenomena, the English Society for Psychical Research investigated many\nremarkable cases of a somewhat higher phase of telepathy. They took down\nthe stories told by persons deemed responsible, and then carefully\nexamined, and cross-examined other witnesses to the strange phenomena. The\nrecord of these experiments, and investigations, fill a number of good\nsized volumes of the Society's reports, which are well worth reading by\nall students of the subject. They may be found in the libraries of nearly\nany large city. I shall, however, select a number of the most interesting\nof the cases therein reported, to give my students an idea of the\ncharacter of the phenomena so investigated and found genuine by the\ncommittees having this class of telepathy under investigation.\n\nAn interesting case of spontaneous telepathy is that related by Dr. Ede,\nas follows: \"There is a house about a half-mile from my own, inhabited by\nsome ladies, friends of our family. They have a large alarm bell outside\ntheir house. One night I awoke suddenly and said to my wife: 'I am sure I\nhear Mrs. F's alarm bell ringing.' After listening for some time, we heard\nnothing, and I went to sleep again. The next day Mrs. F. called upon my\nwife and said to her: 'We were wishing for your husband last night, for we\nwere alarmed by thieves. We were all up, and I was about to pull the alarm\nbell, hoping that he would hear it, saying to my daughters, \"I am sure it\nwill soon bring Dr. Ede,\" but we did not ring it.' My wife asked what time\nthis had happened, and Mrs. F. said that it was about half past one. That\nwas the time I awoke thinking that I heard the bell.\"\n\nIn this case there was manifested simply ordinary physical plane\ntelepathy. Had the bell actually been rung, and heard psychically, it\nwould have been a case of astral plane hearing, known as clairaudience. As\nit was, merely the thought in the mind of Mrs. F., and her strong idea to\nring the bell, caused a transmission of thought waves which struck Dr. Ede\nwith great force and awakened him. This case is interesting because it is\ntypical of many cases of a similar nature within the experience of many\npersons. It is seen that a strong feeling, or excitement, accompanied by a\nstrong desire or wish to summon another person, tends to give great power\nand effect to the thought waves emitted. They strike the mind of the\nrecipient like the sudden ringing of an alarm clock bell.\n\nAnother interesting case is that of two ladies, both well known to members\nof the committee, and vouched for as of strict veracity. This case is\nunusual for the reason that two different persons received the\nthought-waves at the same time. Here is an abridgment of the case: \"Lady\nG. and her sister had been spending the evening with their mother, who was\nin her usual health and spirits when they left her. In the middle of the\nnight the sister awoke in her fright and said to her husband: 'I must go\nto my mother at once; do order the carriage. I am sure that she is taken\nill.' On the way to her mother's house, where two roads meet, she saw Lady\nG.'s carriage approaching. When they met each asked the other why she was\nthere. They both related the same experience and impression. When they\nreached their mother's house, they found that she was dying, and had\nexpressed an earnest wish to see them.\"\n\nAnother case of a similar nature is this: \"At the siege of Mooltan, Major\nGeneral R., then adjutant of his regiment, was severely wounded and\nsupposed himself to be dying. He requested that his ring be taken off his\nfinger and sent to his wife. At the same time his wife was at Ferozepore,\none hundred and fifty miles distant, lying on her bed, in a state half way\nbetween waking and sleeping. She saw her husband being taken off the\nfield, and heard his voice saying: 'Take this ring off my finger, and send\nit to my wife.'\"\n\nThis case bears the marks of very strong telepathy, but also has a\nsuspicious resemblance to clairvoyance accompanied by clairaudience. Or\nperhaps it is a combination of both telepathy and clairvoyance. It is\nimpossible to determine which, in absence of more detailed information.\nThe message of persons dying, or believing themselves to be approaching\ndeath, are frequently very strong, for certain reasons well known to\noccultists. But there is nothing supernatural about the phenomena, and in\nmost cases it is merely a case of strong telepathy.\n\nThe Society also reports the following interesting case: \"A. was awake,\nand strongly willed to make himself known to two friends who at that time\n(one o'clock in the morning) were asleep. When he met them a few days\nafterward, they both told him that at one o'clock they had awakened under\nthe impression that he was in their room. The experience was so vivid that\nthey could not go to sleep for some time, and looked at their watches to\nnote the time.\" Cases of this kind are quite common, and many\nexperimenters have had equally good results with this phase of thought\ntransference. You will remember that there is no actual projection of the\nastral body, in most of these cases, but merely a strong impression caused\nby concentrated thought.\n\nAnother interesting case is that of the late Bishop Wilberforce, and is\nrecorded in his biography, as follows: The Bishop was in his library at\nCuddleson, with three or four of his clergy with him at the same table.\nThe Bishop suddenly raised his hand to his head, and exclaimed: \"I am\ncertain that something has happened to one of my sons.\" It afterwards\ntranspired that just at that time his eldest son's foot was badly crushed\nby an accident on board his ship, the son being at sea. The Bishop himself\nrecorded the circumstance in a letter to Miss Noel, saying: \"It is curious\nthat at the time of his accident I was so possessed with the depressing\nconsciousness of some evil having befallen my son, Herbert, that at the\nlast, I wrote down that I was unable to shake off the impression that\nsomething had happened to him, and noted this down for remembrance.\" There\nis nothing unusual about this case, for it has been duplicated in the\nexperience of many persons. Its chief importance lies in the fact that it\nis recorded by a man of wide reputation and high standing, and also that\nthe Bishop had taken the precaution to note down the thing at the time,\ninstead of merely recalling it after he had heard of the accident.\n\nYou will notice that in many cases of this kind the phenomenon closely\napproaches the aspect of true clairvoyance, or astral sensing. In some\ncases there appears to be a blending of both telepathy and astral\nclairvoyance. In fact, there is but very little difference between the\nhighest phases of ordinary telepathy, and the more common phases of\nclairvoyance. Here, as in many other cases of Nature's forces, there seems\nto be a gradual blending, rather than a sharp dividing line between the\ntwo classes of phenomena. Moreover, the student developing his telepathic\npowers will frequently find that he is beginning to unfold at least\noccasional flashes of clairvoyance.\n\nIn the case of telepathy, the recipient merely senses what is in the mind\nof the projector. In some cases a picture in the mind of the projector may\nbe seen by the recipient, and may thus be mistaken for a case of pure\nclairvoyance. But, in investigating closely, it will be found that the\nreal scene was slightly different from the impression, in which case it\nshows that the impression was simply telepathic. Clairvoyant vision shows\nthe scene as it really is, or rather as the physical eye of the recipient\nwould have seen it. The astral sight really sees the scene, and does not\nmerely receive the mental impression of the projector. The first is\noriginal seeing; the second, merely a reproduction of images already in\nthe mind of the projector, and colored by his personality, etc.\n\nIn the next lesson, I shall give you a number of exercises and methods\ndesigned to develop your telepathic powers. You will find the practice of\nthese most interesting and entertaining, and at the same time most\ninstructive. You will find that as you practice the exercises given\ntherein, you will become more and more adept and proficient in producing\ntelepathic phenomena. From the lower stages, you will be able to proceed\nto the higher. And, in time, you will be surprised to find that almost\nunconsciously you have passed into the stage in which you will have at\nleast occasional manifestations of clairvoyance, psychometry, etc.\n\nIn fact, there is no better way known to practical occultists to develop\nin a student the powers of clairvoyance than just this method of starting\nthe student with the exercises designed to develop the telepathic power.\nIt has been found by centuries of experience that the student who develops\ntelepathic power, in a systematic way, will gradually unfold and evolve\nthe clairvoyant and psychometric power. It constitutes the first rungs on\nthe ladder of psychic development.\n\nOf course, under the head of clairvoyance, etc., you will be given methods\nand exercise designed to develop clairvoyant powers--some of them very\nvaluable and effective methods, at that. But, notwithstanding this, I feel\nthat I should impress upon you the importance of laying a firm foundation\nfor such instruction, by developing yourself first along the lines of\ntelepathic power. Such a course will not only keenly sharpen your powers\nof receptivity to such vibrations as you may wish to receive; but it will\nalso train your mind in the direction of translating, interpreting, and\nrecording such impressions when received.\n\nYou must remember that proficiency in a mental art is attained only by\nmeans of training the attention to concentrate upon the task. It is the\nsame way in clairvoyance and psychometry. Telepathy trains your attention\nto concentrate upon the reception of impressions, and to hold them firmly\nand clearly in consciousness. The result is that when you really develop\nclairvoyant receptivity, your attention has already been trained to do\nthe necessary work. I need not tell you what an advantage this gives you\nover the clairvoyant who has not received this training, for your own good\ncommon sense will assure you of it.\n\nSo, now for our training in telepathy--not only for itself, but also as a\nmeans of preparing for the higher stages.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON V.\n\nMIND READING, AND BEYOND.\n\n\nThe simpler forms of telepathic phenomena have received the name \"Mind\nReading\" and by some have been regarded as something not quite within the\nclass of real telepathy. This last impression has been heightened by the\nfact that there has been offered the public many spectacular exhibitions\nof pseudo mind-reading, that is to say, imitation or counterfeit\nmind-reading, in which the result has been obtained by trickery,\ncollusion, or clever artifice. But, notwithstanding this fact, genuine\nmind-reading is actually a phase of true telepathy.\n\nWhat is generally known as mind-reading may be divided into two classes,\nas follows: (1) where there is an actual physical contact between the\nprojector and the receiver; and (2) where there is no actual physical\ncontact, but where there is a close relation in space between the two\nparties, as in the case of the \"willing game.\" In the first class belong\nall cases in which the projector touches the recipient, or at least is\nconnected with him by a material object. In the second class belong those\ncases in which the recipient seeks to find an object which is being\nthought of by either a single projector, or by a number of persons in the\nsame room. You will notice that both of these classes were omitted from\nthe experiments of the Society for Psychical Research, because of the\npossibility of fraud or collusion. But, nevertheless, the student will do\nwell to acquire proficiency in manifesting this form of telepathy, not\nalone for its own sake, but, also, because it naturally leads to higher\ndevelopment.\n\nIn the case of the first class of mind-reading namely, that in which\nactual physical contact is had between the projector and the recipient,\nthere has been a disposition on the part of some authorities to explain\nthe whole matter by the theory of unconscious muscular impulse of the\nprojector; but those who have carefully studied this subject, and who have\nthemselves performed the feats of this class of mind-reading, know that\nthere is far more than this to it. Those familiar with the subject know\nthat there is a decided transference of thought-waves from the projector\nto the recipient, and that the latter actually \"feels\" the same as they\nstrike upon his mental receiving apparatus. The whole difference between\nthis and the higher forms of telepathy is that in this the\nthought-currents generally run along the wires of the nervous system,\ninstead of leaping across the space between the two persons.\n\nIt is known to all who have conducted this class of experiments, that at\ntimes there will be experienced a change or shifting in the transmission\nof the thought-currents. For a time, the thought-waves will be felt\nflowing in along the nerves of the hands and arms when, all of a sudden\nthis will cease, and there will be experienced the passage of the current\ndirect from brain to brain. It is impossible to describe this feeling in\nmere words, to those who have never experienced it. But those to whom it\nhas once been manifested will recognize at once just what I mean by this\nstatement. It is a different sensation from any other in the experience of\na human being, and must actually be experienced to be understood. The\nnearest analogy I can offer is that feeling experienced by the person when\na forgotten name for which he has vainly sought, suddenly flashes or leaps\ninto his consciousness--it is felt to come from somewhere outside of the\nconscious field. Well, in the case of the thought-current the feeling is\nmuch the same, only there is a fuller sense of the \"outsideness\" of the\nsource of the thought.\n\nIn order to make you understand the distinction between the two classes of\nmind-reading more clearly, I will say that you may think of one as akin to\nthe ordinary telegraphy over wires; and of the other as akin to wireless\ntelegraphy. It is the same force in both cases, the difference being\nsimply one of the details of transmission. Fix this idea firmly in your\nmind, and you will have no trouble in always having the right conception\nof any kind of case of mind-reading, or telepathy. But, you must remember,\nthere are cases in which there is a combination of both methods of\ntransmission, either simultaneously, or else shifting and changing from\none to the other.\n\nI will here remind the student that he will learn more by a half-dozen\nactual experiments in mind-reading, than he will by reading a dozen books\non the subject. It is very good to read the books in order to get the\ncorrect theory well fixed in mind, and also in order to learn the best\nmethods as taught by those who have had a wide experience in the subject;\nbut the real \"how\" of the matter is learned only through actual\nexperience. So, I shall now give you advice and instructions concerning\nactual experimental work.\n\nYou, the student, should begin by making yourself a good recipient--that\nis a good \"mind reader,\" allowing others to play the part of projector.\nLater on, you may play the part of projector, if you so desire, but the\nreal \"fine work\" is done by the recipient, and, for that reason that is\nthe part you should learn to play by frequent rehearsals.\n\nI advise you to begin your experiments with friends who are in sympathy\nwith you, and who are interested in the subject. Avoid particularly all\nearly experiments with uncongenial or unsympathetic persons; and avoid as\nyou would a pestilence all those who are antagonistic either to yourself\nor to the general subject of telepathy and kindred subjects. As you must\nmake yourself especially \"sensitive\" in order to successfully conduct a\nmind-reading test, you will find yourself particularly susceptible to the\nmental attitude of those around you at such times, and therefore should\nsurround yourself only with those who are congenial and sympathetic.\n\nYou will find that there is a great difference between the several persons\nwhom you \"try out\" as projectors. Some will be more \"en rapport\" with you\nthan are others who may be equally good friends. \"En rapport,\" you know,\nmeans \"in vibrational harmony.\" When two persons are en rapport with each\nother, they are like two wireless telegraphic instruments perfectly\nattuned to each other. In such cases there are obtained the very best\nresults. You will soon learn to distinguish the degree of en rapport\nconditions between yourself and different persons--you soon learn to\n\"feel\" this condition. In the beginning, it will be well for you to try\nseveral persons, one after the other, in your mind-reading experiments, in\norder to pick out the best one, and also to learn the \"feel\" of the\ndifferent degrees of en rapport condition.\n\nEven in cases of persons in whom the en rapport conditions are good, it is\nwell to establish a rhythmic unison between you. This is done by both you\nand the person breathing in rhythmic unison a few moments. Begin by\ncounting \"one-two-three-four,\" like the slow ticking of a large clock.\nHave the other person join with you in so counting, until your minds both\nwork in the same rhythmic time. Then you should have him breathe in unison\nwith you, making a mental count with you at the same time, so that you\nwill \"breathe together.\" Count (mentally) \"one-two-three-four,\" as you\ninhale; the \"one-two,\" holding the breath; and, then \"one-two-three-four,\"\nexhaling or breathing-out. Try this several times, and, you will find that\nyou have established a rhythmic unison between yourself and the other\nperson. In the progress of an experiment, if you should find that the\nconditions are not as good as might be desired, you will do well to pause\nfor a few moments and re-establish the proper rhythmic harmony by this\nmethod of harmonious rhythmic breathing.\n\nBegin by having the projector select some prominent object in the room, a\nchair, or table for instance. Then have him take your left hand in his\nright hand. Raise your left hand, held in his right hand, to your\nforehead; then close your eyes and remain passive a few moments. Have him\nconcentrate his mind intently on the selected object--and will that you\nshould move toward it. Have him think of nothing else except that object,\nand to will you to move toward it, with all his power. Close your eyes,\nand quiet your mind, opening your consciousness to every mental impression\nthat he may send you. Instruct him to think not merely \"chair,\" for\ninstance, but rather \"there--go there.\" The main thought in his mind must\nbe that of direction. He must will that you move toward that chair.\n\nAfter a moment or two, you will begin to feel a vague, general impulse to\nmove your feet. Obey the impulse. Take a few slow steps in any direction\nthat seems easy to you. Sometimes this will take you in an opposite\ndirection from that of the chair, but it will \"get you going,\" and you\nwill soon begin to feel that the direction is \"all wrong,\" and will begin\nto be mentally pulled in the right direction. You will have to actually\nexperience this feeling, before you will fully understand just what I\nmean.\n\nAfter some little practice, you will begin to feel quite distinctly the\nmental direction, or will-force, of the projector, which will seem to tell\nyou to \"come this way--now stop--now turn a little to the right--now a\nlittle to the left--now stop where you are, and put out your right\nhand--lower your hand--move your hand a little to the right--that's it,\nnow you have got it all right.\" You will soon learn to distinguish between\nthe \"no, that's wrong\" thought, and the \"that's right\" one; and between\nthe \"go on,\" and the \"come on\" one. By making yourself completely passive,\nand receptive and obedient to the thought and will-impulses of the\nprojector, you will soon act like a ship under the influence of the rudder\nin the hand of the projector.\n\nAfter you have attained proficiency in receiving the mental impressions\nand directions, you will find yourself attracted or drawn, like a piece of\nsteel to the magnet, toward the object selected. It will sometimes seem as\nif you were being moved to it even against your own will--and as if\nsomeone else were actually moving your feet for you. Sometimes the impulse\nwill come so strong that you will actually rush ahead of the projector,\ndragging him along with you, instead of having him a little in advance, or\nby your side. It is all a matter of practice.\n\nYou will soon discover the great difference between different projectors.\nSome of them will be in perfect en rapport condition with you, while\nothers will fail to get into tune with you. Some projectors do not seem\nto know what is required of them, and usually forget to \"will\" you to the\nobject. It helps sometimes to tell them that the whole thing depends upon\ntheir will power, and that the stronger their will is, the easier it is\nfor you to find the thing. This puts them on their mettle, and makes them\nuse their will more vigorously.\n\nYou will soon learn to recognize that peculiar feeling of \"all right,\"\nthat comes when you finally stand in front of the desired object. Then you\nbegin to move your right hand up and down and around, until you get the\nright \"feel\" about that also, when you should place your hand on the place\nwhich seems to attract you most. You will find that the hand is just as\nresponsive to the mental force, as are the feet. You will soon learn to\ndistinguish between the mental signals: \"up,\" \"down,\" \"to the right,\" \"to\nthe left,\" \"stop now, you're right,\" etc. I cannot tell you just the\ndifference--you must learn to \"feel\" them, and you will soon become expert\nin this. It is like learning to skate, run an automobile, operate a\ntypewriter or anything else--all a matter of exercise and practice. But it\nis astonishing how rapidly one may learn; and how, at times, one seems to\nprogress by great leaps and bounds. Now I shall give you the different\nstages or steps, which you will do well to follow in your exercises,\nprogressing from the more simple to the more complex--but be sure to\nthoroughly master the simple ones, before you pass on to the more complex\none. Be honest and strict with yourself--make yourself \"pass the\nexamination\" before promotion, in each and every step.\n\n1. LOCATIONS. Begin by finding particular locations in a room;\ncorners, alcoves, doors, etc.\n\n2. LARGE OBJECTS. Then begin to find large objects, such as tables,\nchairs, book-cases, etc.\n\n3. SMALL OBJECTS. Then proceed to find small objects, such as books\non a table, sofa-cushions, ornaments, paper-knives, etc. Gradually work\ndown to very small objects, such as scarf-pins, articles of jewelry,\npocket-knives, etc.\n\n4. CONCEALED OBJECTS. Then proceed to find small objects that have\nbeen concealed under other objects, such as a pocket-book beneath a\nsofa-cushion, etc.; or a key in a book; or a key under a rug, etc.\n\n5. MINUTE OBJECTS. Then proceed to discover very small objects,\neither concealed or else placed in an inconspicuous place, such as a pin\nstuck in the wall, etc.; or a small bean under a vase, etc.\n\nThe public performers of mind reading vary the above by sensational\ncombinations, but you will readily see that these are but ingenious\narrangements of the above general experiments, and that no new principle\nis involved. As these lessons are designed for serious study and\nexperiment, and not for sensational public performances, I shall not enter\ninto this phase of the subject in these pages. The student who understands\nthe general principles, and is able to perform the above experiments\nsuccessfully, will have no difficulty in reproducing the genuine feats of\nthe public mind readers, by simply using his ingenuity in arranging the\nstage-effects, etc. Among other things, he will find that he will be able\nto obtain results by interposing a third person between the projector and\nhimself; or by using a short piece of wire to connect himself and the\nprojector. Drawing pictures on a blackboard, or writing out names on a\nslate, by means of thought direction, are simply the result of a fine\ndevelopment of the power of finding the small article--the impulse to move\nthe hand in a certain direction comes in precisely the same way. The\npublic driving feats of the professional mind-reader are but a more\ncomplicated form of the same general principle--the impression of\n\"direction\" once obtained, the rest is a mere matter of detail. The\nopening of the combination of a safe, though requiring wonderful\nproficiency on the part of the operator, is simply an elaboration of the\n\"direction\" movement.\n\nSome recipients are, of course, far more proficient than are others; but\neach and every person--any person of average intelligence--will be able to\nsecure more or less proficiency in these experiments, provided that\npatience and practice are employed. There is no such thing as an absolute\nfailure possible to anyone who will proceed intelligently, and will\npractice sufficiently. Sometimes, after many discouraging attempts, the\nwhole thing will flash into one's mind at once, and after that there will\nbe little or no trouble. If you are able to witness the demonstrations of\nsome good mind-reader, professional or amateurs it will help you to\n\"catch the knack\" at once.\n\nYou will find that these experiments will tend to greatly and rapidly\ndevelop your psychic receptivity in the direction of the higher phases of\npsychic phenomena. You will be surprised to find yourself catching flashes\nor glimpses of ^higher telepathy, or even clairvoyance. I would advise\nevery person wishing to cultivate the higher psychic faculties, to begin\nby perfecting himself or herself in these simpler forms of mind-reading.\nBesides the benefits obtained, the practice proves very interesting, and\nopens many doors to pleasant social entertainment. But, never allow the\ndesire for social praise or popularity, in these matters, to spoil you for\nserious investigation and experiment.\n\nTHE SECOND STEP OF DEVELOPMENT. The student, having perfected himself\nin the experiments along the lines of the first class of mind-reading,\nviz., where there is no actual physical contact between the projector and\nrecipient, but where there is a close relation in space between the two.\n\nNow, the thoughtful student will naturally wish to ask a question here,\nsomething like this: \"You have told us that there is no real difference\nbetween telepathy at a great distance, and that in which there is only the\nslightest difference in the position of the projector and recipient,\nproviding, always, that there is no actual physical contact. This being\nso, why your insistence upon the 'close relation in space' just\nmentioned?--what is the reason for this nearness?\" Well, it is like this:\nWhile there is no distinction of space in true telepathy, still in\nexperiments such as I shall now describe, the physical nearness of the\nprojector enables him to concentrate more forcibly, and also gives\nconfidence to the new beginner in receiving mind-currents. The benefit is\nsolely that of the psychological effect upon the minds of the two persons,\nand has nothing to do with the actual power of the telepathic waves. It is\nmuch easier for a person to concentrate his thought and will upon a person\nin actual physical sight before him, than upon one out of sight. And,\nlikewise, the recipient finds himself more confident and at ease when in\nthe actual physical of the person sending the thoughts and will power.\nThat is all there is to it. When the persons have acquired familiarity\nwith projecting and receiving, then this obstacle is overcome, and long\ndistances have no terror for them.\n\nThe best way for the student to start in on this class of mind-reading, is\nfor him to experiment occasionally while performing his physical contact\nmind-reading experiments. For instance, while engaged in searching for an\nobject let him disengage his hand from that of the projector for a moment\nor so, and then endeavor to receive the impressions without contact. (This\nshould be done only in private experiments, not in public ones.) He will\nsoon discover that he is receiving thought impulses in spite of the lack\nof physical contact--faint, perhaps, but still perceptible. A little\npractice of this kind will soon convince him that he is receiving the\nmental currents direct from brain to brain. This effect will be increased\nif he arranges to have several persons concentrate their thoughts and will\npower upon him during the experiment. From this stage, he will gradually\ndevelop into the stage of the Willing Game.\n\nThe Willing Game, quite popular in some circles, is played by one person\n(usually blind-folded) being brought into the room in which a number of\npersons have previously agreed upon some object to be found by him, they\nconcentrating their thought firmly upon the object. The audience should be\ntaught to not only to think but also to actively \"will\" the progress of\nthe recipient from the start to the finish of the hunt. They should \"will\"\nhim along each step of his journey, and then \"will\" his hand to the object\nitself wherever it be hidden.\n\nAn adept in the receiving end of the Willing Game will be able to perform\nall the experiments that I have just pointed out to you in the contact\nmind-reading class. In the Willing Game, you must remember that there is\nno taking hold of hands or any other form of physical contact between\nprojector and recipient. The transmission of the mental currents must be\ndirect, from brain to brain. Otherwise, the two classes of experiments are\nalmost identical. There is the same \"willing\" toward the object on the\npart of the projectors, and the same passive obedience of the recipient.\nAll the difference is that the current now passes over the ether of\nspace, as in the case of the wireless message, instead of over the wires\nof the nervous system of the two persons.\n\nThe next step is that of \"guessing\" the name of things thought of by the\nparty. I can give you no better directions than those followed by the\ninvestigators in the Creery children, as related in a preceding chapter of\nthis book. When you become sufficiently proficient in this class of\nmind-reading, you should be able to reproduce every experiment there\nmentioned, with at least a fair degree of success. It is all a matter of\npatience, perseverance and practice.\n\nAfter you have become very proficient in this class of experiments, you\nmay begin to try experiments at \"long distance,\" that is where the\nprojector is out of your physical presence. It makes no difference whether\nthe distance be merely that between two adjoining rooms, or else of miles\nof space. At first, however, nearness adds confidence in the majority of\ncases. Confidence once gained, the distance may be lengthened\nindefinitely, without impairing the success of the experiments. The long\ndistance experiments may consist either of the receiving of single words,\nnames, etc., or else distinct, clear messages or ideas. Some find it no\nmore difficult to reproduce simile geometrical designs, such as circles,\nsquares, triangles, etc., than to reproduce words or ideas.\n\nIn long distance experiments, it is well for the projector to write down\nthe word or thought he wishes to transmit, and for the recipient to write\ndown the impressions he receives. These memoranda will serve as a record\nof progress, and will, moreover, give a scientific value to the\nexperiments.\n\nSome experimenters have been quite successful in experiments along the\nlines of Automatic Writing from living persons, produced by means of long\ndistance telepathy. In these cases the recipient sits passively at the\nhour agreed upon for the experiment, and the projector concentrates\nintently upon a sentence, or several sentences, one word at a time--at the\nsame time \"willing\" the other person to write the word. The famous\ninvestigator of psychic phenomena, the late W.T. Stead, editor of a London\nnewspaper, who went down on the \"Titanic,\" was very successful in\nexperiments of this kind. His written records of these are very\ninteresting and instructive.\n\nYou will, of course, understand that in all cases of long distance\ntelepathic experiments there should be an understanding between the two\npersons regarding the time and duration of the experiment, so as to obtain\nthe best results. Personally, however, I have known of some very excellent\nresults in which the receiving of the message occurred several hours after\nthe sending--thus showing that telepathy is in a measure independent of\ntime, as well as of space. But, as a rule, the best results are obtained\nwhen the two persons \"sit\" simultaneously.\n\nDo not rest content with accepting the reports of others regarding these\nthings. Try them for yourself. You will open up a wonderful world of new\nexperiences for yourself. But, remember always, you must proceed step by\nstep, perfecting yourself at each step before proceeding to the next.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON VI.\n\nCLAIRVOYANT PSYCHOMETRY.\n\n\nThe word \"clairvoyance\" means \"clear seeing.\" In its present usage it\ncovers a wide field of psychic phenomena; and is used by different writers\nto designate phases of psychic phenomena differing widely from each other.\nThe student is apt to become confused when he meets these apparently\nconflicting definitions and usages. In the glossary of the Society for\nPsychical Research, the term is defined as: \"The faculty or act of\nperceiving, as though visually, with some coincidental truth, some distant\nscene; it is used sometimes, but hardly properly, for transcendental\nvision, or the perception of beings regarded as on another plane of\nexistence.\"\n\nMrs. Henry Sidgwick, a distinguished writer on the subject of psychic\nphenomena, in one of her reports to the Society for Psychical Research,\nsays: \"The word clairvoyant is often used very loosely and with widely\ndifferent meanings. I denote by it a faculty of acquiring supernormally,\nbut not by reading the minds of persons present, a knowledge of facts such\nas we normally acquire by the use of our senses. I do not limit it to\nknowledge that would normally be acquired by the sense of sight, nor do I\nlimit it to a knowledge of present facts. A similar knowledge of the past,\nand if necessary, of future facts may be included. On the other hand, I\nexclude the mere faculty of seeing apparitions or visions, which is\nsometimes called clairvoyance.\"\n\nThe above definitive explanation of the term clairvoyance agrees with the\nidea of the best authorities, and distinguishes between the phenomena of\nclairvoyance and that of telepathy, on the one hand; and between the\nformer and that of seeing apparitions, on the other hand. I, personally,\naccept this distinction as both scientific in form, and as agreeing with\nthe facts of the case. You will, of course, see that the acceptance of the\nexistence of the astral senses throws light on many obscure points about\nwhich the psychic researchers are in doubt, and reconciles many apparently\nopposing facts.\n\nAll scientific authorities, as well as the best occultists, divide the\nphenomena of clairvoyance into several well-distinguished classes. The\nfollowing classification is simple, and indicates clearly the principal\nforms of clairvoyant phenomena:\n\n(1) Simple Clairvoyance, in which the clairvoyant person merely senses the\nauric emanations of other persons, such as the auric vibrations, colors,\netc.; currents of thought-vibrations, etc.; but does not see events or\nscenes removed in space or time from the observer.\n\n(2) Clairvoyance in Space, in which the clairvoyant person senses scenes\nand events removed in space from the observer; and, often also is able to\nsense such things even when they are concealed or obscured by intervening\nmaterial objects.\n\n(3) Clairvoyance in Time, in which the clairvoyant person senses scenes\nand events which have had their original place in past time; or scenes\nand events which will have their original place in the future.\n\nI shall describe each of these three classes, with their many variations,\nas we reach them in their proper places in these lessons. Before doing so\nhowever, I wish to explain to you the several methods by which clairvoyant\nvision is usually induced. These methods may be designated as follows:\n\n(1) Psychometry, or the method of getting en rapport with the astral plane\nby means of some physical object connected with the person, thing, or\nscene about which you desire to be informed.\n\n(2) Crystal Gazing, etc., or the method of getting en rapport with the\nastral plane by means of gazing into a crystal, magic mirror, etc.\n\n(3) Clairvoyant Reverie, or the method of getting en rapport with the\nastral plane by means of psychic states in which the sights, sounds and\nthoughts of the material and physical plane are shut out of consciousness.\n\nI shall now proceed to give the details regarding each one of these three\ngreat classes of methods inducing clairvoyant vision, or en rapport\nconditions with the astral plane.\n\nPsychometry. Psychometry is that form of clairvoyant phenomena in which\nthe clairvoyant gets into en rapport relation with the astral plane by\nmeans of the connecting link of material objects, such as bit of stone,\npiece of hair, article of wearing apparel etc., which has had previous\nassociations with the thing, person or scene regarding which clairvoyant\nvision is required.\n\nWithout going into technical occult explanations, I would say that the\nvirtue of these articles consists entirely of their associative value.\nThat is to say, they carry in them certain vibrations of past experience\nwhich serve as a connecting link, or associated filament, with the thing\nwhich is sought to be brought into the field of clairvoyant vision.\n\nTo reach clairvoyantly a thing, scene, or person in this way is akin to\nthe unwinding of a ball of yarn, when you hold the loose end in your hand.\nOr, it is like giving a keen-scented dog a sniff at a handkerchief once\ncarried by the person whom you wish him to nose out for you.\n\nA well-known authority on the subject of psychic phenomena has said on\nthis point: \"The untrained clairvoyant usually cannot find any particular\nastral picture when it is wanted, without some special link to put him en\nrapport with the subject required. Psychometry is an instance in point. It\nseems as though there were a sort of magnetic attachment or affinity\nbetween any particle of matter and the record which contains its\nhistory--an affinity which enables it to act as a kind of conductor\nbetween that record and the faculties of anyone who can read it. For\ninstance, I once brought from Stonehenge a tiny fragment of stone, not\nlarger than a pin's head, and on putting this into an envelope and handing\nit to a psychometer who had no idea what it was, she at once began to\ndescribe that wonderful ruin and the desolate country surrounding it, and\nthen went on to picture vividly what were evidently scenes from its early\nhistory, showing that the infinitessimal fragment had been sufficient to\nput her into communication with the records connected with the spot from\nwhich it came. The scenes through which we pass in the course of our life\nseem to act in the same way upon the cells of our brain as did the history\nof Stonehenge upon that particle of stone. They establish a connection\nwith those cells by means of which our mind is put en rapport with that\nparticular portion of the records, and so we 'remember' what we have\nseen.\"\n\nOne of the simplest and most common form of psychometry is that in which\nthe psychometrist is able to tell the physical condition of a person by\nmeans of holding to the forehead, or even in the hand, some trinket or\nsmall article such as a handkerchief recently worn on the person of the\nindividual regarding whom the information is sought. In the case of some\nvery sensitive psychometrists, the psychic person \"takes on\" the condition\nof the other person whose former article of clothing, trinket, etc., she\nis holding. She will often actually experience the physical pain and\ndistress of the person, and will be able to indicate from what ailment the\nperson is suffering. Some persons attain great proficiency in this\ndirection, and are a great assistance to wise physicians who avail\nthemselves of their services. Some successful physicians themselves\npossess this faculty well developed, and use it to great advantage,\nthough, as a rule they keep very quiet about it, from fear of creating\nunfavorable comment from their fellow-physicians and from the general\npublic who \"do not believe in such tom-foolery.\"\n\nA step further is the power of some psychometrists to correctly describe\nthe personal characteristics, and even the past history of persons with\nwhom they come in contact, or whose \"associated article\" they have in\ntheir hands. Some very remarkable instances of this phase of psychometry\nare related in the books containing the history of clairvoyance. An\ninteresting case is that related by Zschokke, the eminent German writer,\nwho relates in his autobiography his wonderful experience in this\ndirection. Listen to the story in his own words: \"It has happened to me\noccasionally at the first meeting with a total stranger, when I have been\nlistening in silence to his conversation, that his past life up to the\npresent moment, with many minute circumstances belonging to one or other\nparticular scene in it, has come across me like a dream, but distinctly,\nentirely involuntarily and unsought, occupying in duration a few minutes.\nFor a long time I was disposed to consider these fleeting visions as a\ntrick of the fancy--the more so as my dream-vision displayed to me the\ndress and movements of the actors, the appearance of the room, the\nfurniture, and other accidents of the scene; till on one occasion, in a\ngamesome mood, I narrated to my family the secret history of a seamstress\nwho had just quitted the room. I had never seen the person before.\nNevertheless, the hearers were astonished, and laughed and would not be\npersuaded but that I had a previous acquaintance with the former life of\nthe person, inasmuch as what I had stated was perfectly true.\n\n\"I was not less astonished to find that my dream vision agreed with\nreality. I then gave more attention to the subject, and as often as\npropriety allowed of it, I related to those whose lives had so passed\nbefore me the substance of my dream-vision, to obtain from them its\ncontradiction or confirmation. On every occasion its confirmation\nfollowed, not without amazement on the part of those who gave it. On a\ncertain fair-day I went into the town of Waldshut accompanied by two young\nforesters, who are still alive. It was evening, and, tired with our walk,\nwe went into an inn called the 'Vine.' We took our supper with a numerous\ncompany at the public table, when it happened that they made themselves\nmerry over the peculiarities of the Swiss in connection with the belief in\nmesmerism, Lavater's physiognomical system, and the like. One of my\ncompanions, whose national pride was touched by their raillery, begged me\nto make some reply, particularly in answer to a young man of superior\nappearance who sat opposite, and had indulged in unrestrained ridicule.\n\n\"It happened that the events of this person's life had just previously\npassed before my mind. I turned to him with the question whether he would\nreply to me with truth and candor, if I narrated to him the most secret\npassages of his history, he being as little known to me as I to him. That\nwould, I suggested, go something beyond Lavater's physiognomical skill. He\npromised that if I told the truth he would admit it openly. Then I\nnarrated the events with which my dream vision had furnished me, and the\ntable learned the history of the young tradesman's life, of his school\nyears, his peccadilloes, and finally, of a little act of roguery committed\nby him on the strongbox of his employer. I described the uninhabited room\nwith its white walls, where to the right of the brown door there had stood\nupon the table the small money-chest, etc. The man, much struck, admitted\nthe correctness of each circumstance--even, which I could not expect, of\nthe last.\"\n\nThe above incident is typical of this class of psychometry, and many\npersons have had at least flashes of this phase of the power. The only\nremarkable thing about this particular case is its faithfulness regarding\ndetails--this shows a very fine development of the astral sense. The\nfeature that makes it psychometric, instead of pure clairvoyance, is that\nthe presence of the other person was necessary to produce the\nphenomenon--a bit of clothing would probably have answered as well.\nZschokke does not seem to have been able to manifest time-clairvoyance\nindependent of the presence of the person concerned--he needs the\nassociated link, or loose end of the psychic ball of yarn.\n\nNext in order in the list of the phenomena of psychometry is that in which\nthe psychometrist is able to describe a distant scene by means of a bit\nof mineral, plant, or similar object, once located at that place. In such\ncases, the psychometrist gets en rapport with the distant scene by means\nof the connecting link mentioned. Having obtained this, he is able to\nrelate the events that are happening on that scene at that particular\nmoment. Some very interesting cases are mentioned in which the\npsychometrist has been able to \"spy\" in on a certain place, by means of\nsome small article which has recently been located in that place. For\ninstance I once gave a young psychometrist a penholder from the office of\na lawyer, a friend of mine, located about eight hundred miles from the\npsychometrist. She gave a perfect picture of the interior of the office,\nthe scene across the street visible from the office window, and certain\nevents that were happening in the office at that moment, which were\nverified by careful inquiry as to persons and time. Every occultist, or\ninvestigator of psychic phenomena has experienced many cases of this kind.\n\nAnother phase of psychometry is that in which the psychometer is able to\nsense the conditions existing underground, by means of a piece of mineral\nor metal which originally was located there. Some wonderful instances of\nphychometric discernment of mines, etc., have been recorded. In this phase\nof psychometry, all that is needed is a piece of the coal, mineral or\nmetal which has come from the mine. Following up this psychic \"lead\" the\npsychometrist is able to describe the veins or strata of the surrounding\nland, although they have not yet been uncovered or discovered.\n\nStill another form of psychometric discernment is that in which the\npsychometrist gets en rapport with the past history of an object, or of\nits surroundings, by means of the object itself. In this way, the\npsychometrist holding in his hand, or pressing to his head, a bullet from\na battle field, is able to picture the battle itself. Or, given a piece of\nancient pottery or stone implement, the psychometrist is able to picture\nthe time and peoples connected with the object in the past--sometimes\nafter many centuries are past. I once handed a good psychometrist a bit of\nornament taken from an Egyptian mummy over three thousand years old.\nThough the psychometrist did not know what the object was, or from whence\nit had come, she was able to picture not only the scenes in which the\nEgyptian had lived, but also the scenes connected with the manufacture of\nthe ornament, some three hundred years before that time--for it turned out\nthat the ornament itself was an antique when the Egyptian had acquired it.\nIn another case, I had the psychometrist describe in detail the animal\nlife, and the physical phenomena, of the age in which a fossil had existed\nwhen alive--many thousands of years ago. In the proper place in this book,\nI will explain just how it is possible to penetrate the secrets of the\npast by psychometric vision--that is to say, the psychic laws making the\nsame possible.\n\nSome of the most remarkable of recorded instances of this form of\npsychometry known to the Western world are those related in the works of a\ngeologist named Denton, who some fifty years ago conducted a series of\ninvestigations into the phenomena of psychometry. His recorded experiments\nfill several volumes. Being a geologist, he was able to select the best\nsubjects for the experiments, and also to verify and decide upon the\naccuracy of the reports given by the psychometrists. His wife, herself,\nwas a gifted psychometrist, and it has been said of her, by good\nauthority, that \"she is able, by putting a piece of matter (whatever be\nits nature) to her head, to see, either with her eyes closed or open, all\nthat the piece of matter, figuratively speaking, ever saw, heard, or\nexperienced.\" The following examples will give a good idea of the Denton\nexperiments, which are typical of this class of psychometry.\n\nDr. Denton gave the psychometrist a small fragment broken from a large\nmeteorite. She held it to her head, and reported: \"This is curious. There\nis nothing at all to be seen. I feel as if I were in the air. No, not in\nthe air either, but in nothing, no place. I am utterly unable to describe\nit; it seems high, however I feel as though I were rising, and my eyes are\ncarried upwards; but I look around in vain; there is nothing to be seen. I\nsee clouds, now, but nothing else. They are so close to me that I seem to\nbe in them. My head, and neck and eyes are affected. My eyes are carried\nup, and I cannot roll them down. Now the clouds appear lighter and\nlighter, and look as though the sunlight would burst through them. As the\nclouds separate, I can see a star or two, and then the moon instead of the\nsun. The moon seems near, and looks coarse and rough, and paler and larger\nin size than I ever saw it before. What a strange feeling comes over me!\nIt appears as if I were going right to the moon, and it looks as if the\nmoon were coming to me. It affects me terribly.\"\n\nDr. Denton adds: \"She was too much affected to continue the experiment\nlonger. Had this aerolite at some period of its history, come within the\nsphere of the moon's attraction, and had its velocity so increased that\nits augmented centrifugal force had carried it off into space again,\nwhence, drawn by the superior attractive force of the earth, it had fallen\nand ended its career forever?\"\n\nAt another time, Dr. Denton tested the psychometrist with a whalebone\nwalking cane. She supposed it to be wood, but when she began to report her\npsychic impressions, they came as follows: \"I feel as though I were a\nmonster. There is nothing of a tree about it, and it is useless for me to\ngo further. I feel like vomiting. Now I want to plunge into the water. I\nbelieve that I am going to have a fit. My jaws are large enough to take\ndown a house at a gulp. I now know what this is--it is whalebone. I see\nthe inside of the whale's mouth. It has no teeth. It has a slimy look, but\nI only get a glimpse of it. Now, I see the whole animal. What an awful\nlooking creature.\"\n\nAnother time, Dr. Denton gave the psychometrist a minute piece of the\nenamel of the tooth of a mastodon, which had been found thirty feet below\nthe surface of the earth. The psychometrist had not the slightest\nknowledge of the character of the tiny flake of enamel handed her, but\nnevertheless reported: \"My impression is that it is a part of some\nmonstrous animal, probably part of a tooth. I feel like a perfect monster,\nwith heavy legs, unwieldy head, and very large body. I go down to a\nshallow stream to drink. I can hardly speak, my jaws are so heavy. I feel\nlike getting down on all fours. What a noise comes through the woods. I\nhave an impulse to answer it. My ears are very large and leathery, and I\ncan almost fancy they flap in my face as I move my head. There are some\nolder ones than I. It seems so out of keeping to be talking with these\nheavy jaws. They are dark brown, as if they had been completely tanned.\nThere is one old fellow, with large tusks, that looks very tough. I see\nseveral younger ones. In fact, there is a whole herd. My upper lip moves\ncuriously; I can flap it up. It seems strange to me how it is done. There\nis a plant growing here, higher than my head. It is nearly as thick as my\nwrist, very juicy, sweet, and tender--something like green corn in taste,\nbut sweeter. It is not the taste it would have to a human being--oh no! it\nis sickenish, and very unpleasant to the human taste.\" These instances\nmight be multiplied indefinitely, but the principle is the same in each.\nIn my own experience, I gave a small piece from the Great Pyramid of Egypt\nto a psychometrist who was uneducated and who knew nothing of ancient\nEgypt or its history. Notwithstanding this, she gave me such a detailed\nand complete account of the life of ancient Egypt, which was in such\ncomplete accordance with the opinions of the best authorities, that I\nwould hesitate about publishing the report, for it certainly would be\nregarded as rank imposture by the average scientific authority. Some day,\nhowever, I may publish this.\n\nThere are no special directions to be given the student in psychometry.\nAll that can be done is to suggest that each person should try the\nexperiments for himself, in order to find out whether he has, or has not,\nthe psychometric faculty. It may be developed by the methods that will be\ngiven to develop all psychic powers, in another part of this book. But\nmuch will depend upon actual practice and exercise. Take strange objects,\nand, sitting in a quiet room with the object held to your forehead, shut\nout all thoughts of the outside world, and forget all personal affairs. In\na short time, if the conditions are all right, you will begin to have\nflashes of scenes connected with the history of the object. At first\nrather disconnected and more or less confused, there will soon come to you\na clearing away of the scene, and the pictures will become quite plain.\nPractice will develop the power. Practice only when alone, or when in the\npresence of some sympathetic friend or friends. Always avoid discordant\nand inharmonious company when practicing psychic powers. The best\npsychometrists usually keep the physical eyes closed when practicing their\npower.\n\nYou have doubtless heard the sensing of sealed letters spoken of as\nclairvoyance. But this is merely one form of psychometry. The letter is a\nvery good connecting medium in psychometric experiments. I advise you to\nbegin your experiments with old letters. You will be surprised to discover\nhow readily you will begin to receive psychic impressions from the\nletters, either from the person who wrote them, or from the place in which\nthey were written, or from some one connected with the subsequent history.\nOne of the most interesting experiments I ever witnessed in psychometry,\nwas a case in which a letter that had been forwarded from place to place,\nuntil it had gone completely around the globe, was psychometrized by a\nyoung Hindu maiden. Although ignorant of the outside world, she was able\nto picture the people and scenery of every part of the globe in which the\nletter had traveled. Her report was really an interesting \"travelogue\" of\na trip around the world, given in tabloid form. You may obtain some\ninteresting results in psychometrizing old letters--but always be\nconscientious about it, and refrain from divulging the secrets that will\nbecome yours in the course of these experiments. Be honorable on the\nastral plane, as well as on the physical--more so, rather than less.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON VII.\n\nCLAIRVOYANT CRYSTAL GAZING.\n\n\nAs I have informed you in the preceding lesson, Crystal Gazing is the\nsecond method of getting en rapport with the astral plane. Under the\ngeneral term \"Crystal Gazing\" I include the entire body of phenomena\nconnected with the use of the crystal, magic mirror, etc., the underlying\nprinciple being the same in all of such cases.\n\nThe crystal, etc., serves to focus the psychic energy of the person, in\nsuch a way that the astral senses are induced to function more readily\nthan ordinarily. The student is cautioned against regarding the crystal,\nor magic mirror, as possessing any particular magic power in itself. On\nthe contrary, the crystal, or magic mirror serves merely as a physical\ninstrument for the astral vision, just as the telescope or microscope\nperforms a similar office for the physical vision. Some persons are\nsuperstitious regarding the crystal, and accord to it some weird\nsupernatural power, but the true occultist, understanding the laws of the\nphenomena arising from its use, does not fall into this error.\n\nBut, notwithstanding what I have just said, I would be neglecting my full\nduty in the matter if I failed to call your attention to the fact that the\ncontinued use of a particular crystal often has the effect of polarizing\nits molecules so as to render it a far more efficient instrument as time\npasses by. The longer the crystal is used by one person, the better does\nit seem to serve the uses of that person. I agree with many users of the\ncrystal in their belief that each person should keep his crystal for his\nown personal use, and not allow it to be used indiscriminately by\nstrangers or persons not in sympathy with occult thought. The crystal\ntends to become polarized according to the requirements of the person\nhabitually using it, and it is foolish to allow this to be interfered\nwith.\n\nThe use of crystals and other bright, shining objects, has been common to\npsychic investigators of all times, and in practically all lands. In the\nearlier days of the race, pieces of clear quartz or shining pebbles were\ngenerally employed. Sometimes pieces of polished metal were so used. In\nfact, nearly every object capable of being polished has been employed in\nthis way at some time, by some person. In our own day, the same condition\nexists. In Australia the native sooth-sayers and magicians employ water\nand other shining objects, and, in some cases, even bright flame, sparks,\nor glowing embers. In New Zealand, the natives frequently employ drops of\nblood held in the hollow of the hand. The Fijians fill a hole with water,\nand gaze into it. South American tribes use the polished surface of black,\nor dark colored stones. The American Indians use water, or shining pieces\nor flint or quartz. Shining pieces of metal are frequently used by the\nprimitive races. Lang, writing on the subject, has said: \"They stare into\na crystal ball; a cup; a mirror; a blot of ink (Egypt and India); a drop\nof blood (the Maoris of New Zealand); a bowl of water (American Indians);\na pond (Roman and African); water in a glass bowl (Fez); or almost any\npolished surface, etc.\"\n\nIn the present-day revival of interest in crystal-gazing among the\nwealthier classes of Europe and America, some of the high-priced teachers\nhave insisted upon their pupils purchasing pure crystal globes, claiming\nthat these alone are capable of serving the purpose fully. But, as such\ncrystals are very expensive, this advice has prevented many from\nexperimenting. But, the advice is erroneous, for any globe of clear\nquartz, or even moulded glass, will serve the purpose equally well, and\nthere is no need of spending twenty-five to fifty dollars for a pure\ncrystal globe.\n\nFor that matter, you may obtain very good results from the use of a\nwatch-crystal laid over a piece of black velvet. Some, today, use with the\nbest effect small polished pieces of silver or other bright metal. Others\nfollow the old plan of using a large drop of ink, poured into a small\nbutter plate. Some have small cups painted black on the inside, into which\nthey pour water--and obtain excellent results therefrom.\n\nAbove all, I caution the student to pay no attention to instructions\nregarding the necessity of performing incantations or ceremonies over the\ncrystal or other object employed in crystal-gazing. This is but a bit of\nidle superstition, and serves no useful purpose except, possibly, that of\ngiving the person confidence in the thing. All ceremonies of this kind\nhave for their purpose merely the holding of the attention of the person\ninvestigating, and giving him confidence in-the result--the latter having\na decided psychological value, of course.\n\nThere are but few general directions necessary for the person wishing to\nexperiment in crystal gazing. The principal thing is to maintain quiet,\nand an earnest, serious state of mind--do not make a merry game of it, if\nyou wish to obtain results. Again, always have the light behind your back,\ninstead of facing you. Gaze calmly at the crystal, but do not strain your\neyes. Do not try to avoid winking your eyes--there is a difference between\n\"gazing\" and \"staring,\" remember. Some good authorities advise making\nfunnels of the hands, and using them as you would a pair of opera glasses.\n\nIn many cases, a number of trials are required before you will be able to\nget good results. In others, at least some results are obtained at the\nfirst trial. It is a good plan to try to bring into vision something that\nyou have already seen with the physical eyes--some familiar object. The\nfirst sign of actual psychic seeing in the crystal usually appears as a\ncloudy appearance, or \"milky-mist,\" the crystal gradually losing its\ntransparency. In this milky cloud then gradually appears a form, or face,\nor scene of some kind, more or less plainly defined. If you have ever\ndeveloped a photographic film or plate, you will know how the picture\ngradually comes into view.\n\nW.T. Stead, the eminent English investigator of psychic phenomena, has\nwritten as follows regarding the phenomena of crystal-gazing: \"There are\nsome persons who cannot look into an ordinary globular bottle without\nseeing pictures form themselves without any effort or will on their part,\nin the crystal globe. Crystal-gazing seems to be the least dangerous and\nmost simple of all forms of experimenting. You simply look into a crystal\nglobe the size of a five-shilling piece, or a water-bottle which is full\nof clear water, and which is placed so that too much light does not fall\nupon it, and then simply look at it. You make no incantations, and engage\nin no mumbo-jumbo business; you simply look at it for two or three\nminutes, taking care not to tire yourself, winking as much as you please,\nbut fixing your thought upon whatever you wish to see. Then, if you have\nthe faculty, the glass will cloud over with a milky mist, and in the\ncentre the image is gradually precipitated in just the same way as a\nphotograph forms on the sensitive plate.\"\n\nThe same authority relates the following interesting experiment with the\ncrystal: \"Miss X., upon looking into the crystal on two occasions as a\ntest, to see if she could see me when she was several miles off, saw not\nme, but a different friend of mine on each occasion. She had never seen\neither of my friends before, but immediately identified them both on\nseeing them afterward at my office. On one of the evenings on which we\nexperimented in the vain attempts to photograph a 'double,' I dined with\nMadam C. and her friend at a neighboring restaurant. As she glanced at the\nwater-bottle, Madam C. saw a picture beginning to form, and, looking at it\nfrom curiosity, described with considerable detail an elderly gentleman\nwhom she had never seen before, and whom I did not in the least recognize\nfrom her description at the moment. Three hours afterward, when the seance\nwas over, Madam C., entered the room and recognized Mr. Elliott, of\nMessrs. Elliott & Fry, as the gentleman whom she had seen and described in\nthe water-bottle at the restaurant. On another occasion the picture was\nless agreeable; it was an old man lying dead in bed with some one weeping\nat his feet; but who it was, or what it related to, no one knew.\"\n\nAndrew Lang, another prominent investigator of psychic phenomena, gives\nthe following interesting experiment in crystal-gazing: \"I had given a\nglass ball to a young lady, Miss Baillie, who had scarcely any success\nwith it. She lent it to Miss Leslie, who saw a large, square,\nold-fashioned red sofa covered with muslin (which she, afterward found in\nthe next country-house she visited). Miss Baillie's brother, a young\nathlete, laughed at these experiments, took the ball into his study, and\ncame back looking 'gey gash.' He admitted that he had seen a\nvision--somebody he knew, under a lamp. He said that he would discover\nduring the week whether or not he had seen right. This was at 5:30 on a\nSunday afternoon. On Tuesday, Mr. Baillie was at a dance in a town forty\nmiles from his home, and met a Miss Preston. 'On Sunday,' he said, 'about\nhalf-past-five, you were sitting under a standard lamp, in a dress I never\nsaw you wear, a blue blouse with lace over the shoulders, pouring out tea\nfor a man in blue serge, whose back was toward me, so that I only saw the\ntip of his mustache.' 'Why, the blinds must have been up,' said Miss\nPreston. 'I was at Dulby,' said Mr. Baillie, and he undeniably was.\"\n\nMiss X., the well-known contributor to the English magazine, \"Borderland,\"\nseveral years ago, made a somewhat extended inquiry into the phenomena of\ncrystal-gazing. From her experiments, she made the following\nclassification of the phenomena of crystal-vision, which I herewith\nreproduce for your benefit. Her classification is as follows:\n\n1. Images of something unconsciously observed. New reproductions,\nvoluntary or spontaneous, and bringing no fresh knowledge to the mind.\n\n2. Images of ideas unconsciously acquired from others. Some memory or\nimaginative effect, which does not come from the gazer's ordinary self.\nRevivals of memory. Illustrations of thought.\n\n3. Images, clairvoyant or prophetic. Pictures giving information as to\nsomething past, present, or future, which the gazer has no other chance of\nknowing.\n\nAs a matter of fact, each and every form or phase of clairvoyance possible\nunder other methods of inducing clairvoyant vision, is possible in\ncrystal-gazing. It is a mistake to consider crystal-gazing as a separate\nand distinct form of psychic phenomena. Crystal-gazing is merely one\nparticular form or method of inducing psychic or clairvoyant vision. If\nyou will keep this in mind, you will avoid many common errors and\nmisunderstandings in the matter.\n\nIn order to give you the benefit of as many points of view as possible, I\nshall now quote from an old English writer on the subject of the use of\nthe crystal. I do this realizing that sometimes a particular student will\nget more from one point of view, than from another--some particular\nphrasing will seem to reach his understanding, where others fail. The\ndirections of the English authority are as follows:\n\n\"What is desired through the regular use of the translucent sphere is to\ncultivate a personal degree of clairvoyant power, so that visions of\nthings or events, past, present, and future, may appear clearly to the\ninterior vision, or eye of the soul. In the pursuit of this effort only,\nthe crystal becomes at once both a beautiful, interesting and harmless\nchannel of pleasure and instruction, shorn of dangers, and rendered\nconducive to mental development.\n\n\"To the attainment of this desirable end, attention is asked to the\nfollowing practical directions, which, if carefully followed, will lead to\nsuccess:\n\n\"(1) Select a quiet room where you will be entirely undisturbed, taking\ncare that it is as far as possible free from mirrors, ornaments,\npictures, glaring colors, and the like, which may otherwise district the\nattention. The room should be of comfortable temperature, in accordance\nwith the time of year, neither hot nor cold. About 60 to 65 deg. Fahr. is\nsuitable in most cases, though allowance can be made where necessary for\nnatural differences in the temperaments of various persons. Thus thin,\nnervous, delicately-organized individuals, and those of lymphatic and\nsoft, easy-going, passive types, require a slightly warmer apartment than\nthe more positive class who are known by their dark eyes, hair and\ncomplexion, combined with prominent joints. Should a fire, or any form of\nartificial light be necessary, it should be well screened off, so as to\nprevent the light rays from being reflected in, or in any manner directly\nreaching the crystal. The room should not be dark, but rather shadowed, or\ncharged with a dull light, somewhat such as prevails on a cloudy or wet\nday.\n\n\"(2) The crystal should be placed on its stand on a table, or it may rest\non a black velvet cushion, but in either case it should be partially\nsurrounded by a black silk or similar wrap or screen, so adjusted as to\ncut off any undesirable reflection. Before beginning to experiment,\nremember that most frequently nothing will be seen on the first occasion,\nand possibly not for several sittings; though some sitters, if strongly\ngifted with psychic powers in a state of unconscious, and sometimes\nconscious degree of unfoldment, may be fortunate enough to obtain good\nresults at the very first trial. If, therefore, nothing is perceived\nduring the first few attempts, do not despair or become impatient, or\nimagine that you will never see anything. There is a royal road to crystal\nvision, but it is open only to the combined password of Calmness,\nPatience, and Perseverance. If at the first attempt to ride a bicycle,\nfailure ensues, the only way to learn is to pay attention to the necessary\nrules, and to persevere daily until the ability to ride comes naturally.\nThus it is with the would-be seer. Persevere in accordance with these\nsimple directions, and success will sooner or later crown your efforts.\n\n\"(3) Commence by sitting comfortably with the eyes fixed upon the crystal,\nnot by a fierce stare, but with a steady, calm gaze, for ten minutes only,\non the first occasion. In taking the time it is best to hang your watch at\na distance, where, while the face is clearly visible, the ticking is\nrendered inaudible. When the time is up, carefully put the crystal away in\nits case, and keep it in a dark place, under lock and key, allowing no one\nbut yourself to handle it. At the second sitting, which should be at the\nsame place, in the same position, and at the same time, you may increase\nthe length of the effort to fifteen minutes, and continue for this period\nduring the next five or six sittings, after which the time may be\ngradually increased, but should in no case exceed one hour. The precise\norder of repetition is always to be followed until the experimenter has\ndeveloped an almost automatic ability to readily obtain results, when it\nneeds no longer to be adhered to.\n\n\"(4) Any person, or persons, admitted to the room, and allowed to remain\nwhile you sit, should (a) keep absolute silence, and (b) remain seated at\na distance from you. When you have developed your latent powers, questions\nmay, of course, be put to you by one of those present, but even then in a\nvery gentle, or low and slow tone of voice; never suddenly, or in a\nforceful manner.\n\n\"(5) When you find the crystal begins to look dull or cloudy, with small\npin-points of light glittering therein, like tiny stars, you may know that\nyou are commencing to obtain that for which you seek--viz., crystalline\nvision. Therefore, persevere with confidence. This condition may, or may\nnot, continue for several sittings, the crystal seeming at times to\nalternately appear and disappear, as in a mist. By and by this hazy\nappearance, in its turn, will give place quite suddenly to a blindness of\nthe senses to all else but a blue or bluish ocean of space, against which,\nas if it were a background, the vision will be clearly apparent.\n\n\"(6) The crystal should not be used soon after taking a meal, and care\nshould be taken in matters of diet to partake only of digestible foods,\nand to avoid alcoholic beverages. Plain and nourishing food, and outdoor\nexercise, with contentment of mind, or love of simplicity in living, are\ngreat aids to success. Mental anxiety, or ill-health, are not conducive to\nthe desired end. Attention to correct, breathing is of importance.\n\n\"(7) As regards the time at which events seen will come to pass, each seer\nis usually impressed with regard thereto; but, as a general rule, visions\nappearing in the extreme background indicate time more remote, either past\nor future, than those perceived nearer at hand, while those appearing in\nthe foreground, or closer to the seer, denote the present or immediate\nfuture.\n\n\"(8) Two principal classes of vision will present themselves to the\nsitter--(a) the Symbolic, indicated by the appearance of symbols such as a\nflag, boat, knife, gold, etc., and (b) Actual Scenes and Personages, in\naction or otherwise. Persons of a positive type of organization, the more\nactive, excitable, yet decided type, are most likely to perceive\nsymbolically, or allegorically; while those of a passive nature usually\nreceive direct or literal revelations. Both classes will find it necessary\nto carefully cultivate truthfulness, unselfishness, gratitude for what is\nshown, and absolute confidence in the love, wisdom, and guidance of God\nHimself.\"\n\nAs the student proceeds with the study of these lessons, he will become\nacquainted with various details and methods concerned with the various\nphases of clairvoyance, which knowledge he may then combine with the\nabove, the whole aiding him in the successful manifestation of the psychic\nphenomena of crystal-gazing, which, as I have said, is merely one phase of\nclairvoyance and under the same general laws and rules of manifestation.\nRemember that present, past and future clairvoyance all is possible to\nthe highly developed crystal gazer.\n\nTHE ASTRAL TUBE. Closely allied with the phenomena of crystal-gazing,\nand that of psychometry, is that which occultists know as \"the astral\ntube,\" although this psychic channel may be developed in ordinary\nclairvoyance by means of the power of concentrated attention, etc. I shall\nnot enter into a detailed or technical discussion of the astral tube, at\nthis place, but I wish to give you a general and comprehensive view of it\nand its workings.\n\nIn case of the strong concentration of the mind, in cases of psychometry\nor crystal-gazing, a channel or \"line of force\" is set up in the astral\nsubstance which composes the basis of the astral plane. This is like the\nwake of a ship made on the surface of the water through which the ship has\npassed. Or it is like a current of magnetic force in the ether. It is\ncaused by a polarization of the particles composing the astral substance,\nwhich manifest in a current of intense vibrations in the astral substance,\nwhich thus serve as a ready channel for the transmission of psychic force\nor astral energy.\n\nThe astral tube serves as a ready conductor of the vibrations, currents\nand waves of energy on the astral plane which carry to the astral senses\nof the person the perception of the things, objects and scenes far removed\nfrom him in space and time. How these things far removed in space and time\nare perceived by the astral seer is explained in subsequent lessons of\nthis course. At this place we are concerned merely with the \"channel\"\nthrough which the currents of energy flow, and which has been called the\nastral tube.\n\nAs a writer well says: \"Through the astral tube the astral senses actually\n'sense' the sights, and often the sounds, being manifested at a distance,\njust as one may see distant sights through a telescope, or hear distant\nsounds through a telephone. The astral tube is used in a variety of forms\nof psychic phenomena. It is often used unconsciously, and springs into\nexistence spontaneously, under the strong influence of a vivid emotion,\ndesire or will. It is used by the trained psychometrist, without the use\nof any 'starting point,' or 'focal centre,' simply by the use of his\ntrained, developed and concentrated will. But its most familiar and common\nuse is in connection with some object serving as a starting point or focal\ncentre. The starting point or focal centre, above mentioned, is generally\neither what is known as the 'associated object' in the class of phenomena\ngenerally known as psychometry, or else a glass or crystal ball, or\nsimilar polished surface, in what is known as crystal-gazing.\"\n\nAnother authority tells his readers that: \"Astral sight, when it is\ncramped by being directed along what is practically a tube, is limited\nvery much as physical sight would be under similar circumstances, though\nif possessed in perfection it will continue to show, even at that\ndistance, the auras, and therefore all the emotions and most of the\nthoughts of the people under observation. * * * But, it may be said, the\nmere fact that he is using astral sight ought to enable him to see things\nfrom all sides at once. And so it would, if he were using that sight in a\nnormal way upon an object which was fairly near him--within his astral\nreach, as it were; but at a distance of hundreds or thousands of miles the\ncase is very different. Astral sight gives us the advantage of an\nadditional dimension, but there is still such a thing as position in that\ndimension, and it is naturally a potent factor in limiting the use of the\npowers on that plane. * * * The limitations resemble those of a man using\na telescope on the physical plane. The experimenter, for example, has a\nparticular field of view which cannot be enlarged or altered; he is\nlooking at his scene from a certain direction, and he cannot suddenly turn\nit all around and see how it looks from the other side. If he has\nsufficient psychic energy to spare, he may drop altogether the telescope\nhe is using, and manufacture an entirely new one for himself which will\napproach his objective somewhat differently; but this is not a course at\nall likely to be adopted in practice.\"\n\nThe student will find that, as we progress, many of these points which now\nseem complicated and obscure will gradually take on the aspect of\nsimplicity and clearness. We must crawl before we can walk, in psychic\nresearch as well as in everything else.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON VIII.\n\nCLAIRVOYANT REVERIE.\n\n\nIn the preceding two chapters, I have asked you to consider the first two\nmethods of inducing the clairvoyant phenomena, namely, Psychometry, and\nCrystal-Gazing, respectively. In these cases you have seen how the\nclairvoyant gets en rapport with the astral plane by means of physical\nobjects, in the case of psychometric clairvoyance; or by means of a\nshining object, in the case of crystal gazing. Let us now consider the\nthird method of inducing the clairvoyant condition or state, i.e., by\nmeans of what may be called Clairvoyant Reverie, in which the clairvoyant\ngets en rapport with the astral plane by means of psychic states in which\nthe sights, sounds and thoughts of the material and physical plane are\nshut out of consciousness.\n\nThe student of the general subject of clairvoyance will soon be impressed\nwith two facts concerning the production of clairvoyant phenomena, namely,\n(1) that in the majority of the recorded cases of the investigators the\nclairvoyant phenomena were obtained when the clairvoyant was in the state\nof sleep, or at least semi-sleep or drowsiness, the visioning appearing\nmore or less like a vivid dream; and (2) that in the case of the\nclairvoyant voluntarily entering en rapport with the astral plane, he or\nshe would enter into what seemed to be a kind of trance condition, in some\ncases an absolute unconsciousness of the outside world being manifested.\nThe student, noting these facts, is apt to arrive at the conclusion that\nall clairvoyance is accompanied by the condition of sleep, or trance, and\nthat no clairvoyant phenomena are possible unless this psychic condition\nis first obtained. But this is only a half-truth as we shall see in a\nmoment.\n\nIn the first place, the student arriving at this conclusion seems to have\nignored the fact that the phenomena of psychometry and crystal gazing,\nrespectively, are as true instances of clairvoyance as are those which are\nmanifested in the sleep or trance condition. It is true that some\npsychometrists produce phenomena when they are in a state of psychic\nquiescence, but, on the other hand, many clairvoyant psychometrists merely\nconcentrate the attention on the object before them, and remain perfectly\nwide-awake and conscious on the physical plane. Likewise, the average\ncrystal gazer remains perfectly wide-awake and conscious on the physical\nplane. When the student takes these facts into consideration, he begins to\nsee that the trance condition, and similar psychic states, are simply\nparticular methods of inducing the en rapport condition for the\nclairvoyant, and are not inseparably bound up with the phenomena of\nclairvoyance.\n\nAs the student progresses, moreover, he will see that even in the case of\nClairvoyant Reverie, the third method of inducing the astral en rapport\ncondition, the clairvoyant does not always lose consciousness. In the case\nof many advanced and exceptionally well-developed clairvoyants, no trance\nor sleep condition is induced. In such cases the clairvoyant merely \"shuts\nout\" the outside world of sights, sounds and thoughts, by an effort of\ntrained will, and then concentrates steadily on the phenomena of the\nastral plane. For that matter, the skilled and advanced occultist is able\nto function on the astral plane by simply shifting his consciousness from\none plane to another, as the typist shifts from the small letters of the\nkeyboard to the capital letters, by a mere pressure on the shift-key of\nthe typewriter.\n\nThe only reason that many clairvoyants manifesting along the lines of the\nthird method, known as \"clairvoyant reverie,\" fall into the trance or\nsleep condition, is that they have not as yet acquired the rare art of\ncontrolling their conscious attention at will--this is something that\nrequires great practice. They find it easier to drop into the condition of\nsemi-trance, or semi-sleep, than it is to deliberately shut out the outer\nworld by an act of pure will. Moreover, you will find that in the majority\nof the recorded cases of the investigators, the clairvoyance was more or\nless spontaneous on the part of the clairvoyant person, and was not\nproduced by an act of will. As we proceed to consider the various forms\nand phases of clairvoyant phenomena, in these lessons, you will notice\nthis fact. There are but few recorded cases of voluntary clairvoyance in\nthe books of the investigators--the skilled clairvoyants, and more\nparticularly the advanced occultists, avoid the investigators rather than\nseek them; they have no desire to be reported as \"typical cases\" of\ninteresting psychic phenomena--they leave that to the amateurs, and those\nto whom the phenomena come as a wonderful revelation akin to a miracle.\nThis accounts for the apparent predominance of this form of\nclairvoyance--the secret is that the net of the investigators has caught\nonly a certain kind of psychic fish, while the others escape attention.\n\nAll this would be of no practical importance, however, were it not for the\nfact that the average student is so impressed by the fact that he must\nlearn to induce the trance condition in order to manifest clairvoyant\nphenomena, that he does not even think of attempting to do the work\notherwise. The power of auto-suggestion operates here, as you will see by\na moment's thought, and erects an obstacle to his advance along voluntary\nlines. More than this, this mistaken idea tends to encourage the student\nto cultivate the trance condition, or at least some abnormal psychic\ncondition, by artificial means. I am positively opposed to the inducing of\npsychic conditions by artificial means, for I consider such practices most\ninjurious and harmful for the person using such methods. Outside of\nanything else, it tends to render the person negative, psychically,\ninstead of positive--it tends to make him or her subject to the psychic\ninfluence of others, on both the physical and astral plane, instead of\nretaining his or her own self-control and mastery.\n\nThe best authorities among the occultists instruct their pupils that the\nstate of clairvoyant reverie may be safely and effectively induced by the\npractice of mental concentration alone. They advice positively against\nartificial methods. A little common sense will show that they are right in\nthis matter. All that is needed is that the consciousness shall be focused\nto a point--become \"one pointed\" as the Hindu Yogis say. The intelligent\npractice of concentration accomplishes this, without the necessity of any\nartificial methods of development, or the induction of abnormal psychic\nstates.\n\nIf you will stop a moment and realize how easily you concentrate your\nattention when you are witnessing an interesting play, or listening to a\nbeautiful rendition of some great masterpiece of musical composition, or\ngazing at some miracle of art, you will see what I mean. In the cases just\nmentioned, while your attention is completely occupied with the\ninteresting thing before you, so that you have almost completely shut out\nthe outer world of sound, sight and thought, you are, nevertheless,\nperfectly wide awake and your consciousness is alert. The same thing is\ntrue when you are reading a very interesting book--the world is shut out\nfrom your consciousness, and you are oblivious to the sights and sounds\naround you. At the risk of being considered flippant, I would remind you\nof the common spectacle of two lovers so wrapped up in each other's\ncompany that they forget that there is a smiling world of people around\nthem--time and space are forgotten to the two lovers--to them there is\nonly one world, with but two persons in it. Again, how often have you\nfallen into what is known as a \"brown study,\" or \"day dream,\" in which you\nhave been so occupied with the thoughts and fancies floating through your\nmind, that you forgot all else. Well, then, this will give you a\ncommon-sense idea of the state that the occultists teach may be induced in\norder to enter into the state of en rapport with the astral plane--the\nstate in which clairvoyance is possible. Whether you are seeking\nclairvoyance by the method of psychometry, or by crystal gazing, or by\nclairvoyant reverie--this will give you the key to the state. It is a\nperfectly natural state--nothing abnormal about it, you will notice.\n\nTo some who may think that I am laying too much stress on the\nundesirability of artificial methods of inducing the clairvoyant\ncondition, I would say that they are probably not aware of the erroneous\nand often harmful teachings on the subject that are being promulgated by\nignorant or misinformed teachers--\"a little learning is a dangerous\nthing,\" in many cases. It may surprise some of my students to learn that\nsome of this class of teachers are instructing their pupils to practice\nmethods of self-hypnosis by gazing steadily at a bright object until they\nfall unconscious; or by gazing \"cross eyed\" at the tip of the nose, or at\nan object held between the two eyebrows. These are familiar methods of\ncertain schools of hypnotism, and result in producing a state of\nartificial hypnosis, more or less deep. Such a state is most undesirable,\nnot only by reason of its immediate effects, but also by reason of the\nfact that it often results in a condition of abnormal sensitiveness to the\nwill of others, or even to the thoughts and feelings of others, on both\nthe astral and the physical planes of life. I emphatically warn my\nstudents against any such practices, or anything resembling them.\n\nWhile I dislike to dwell on the subject, I feel that I should call the\nattention of my students to the fact that certain teachers seek to produce\nthe abnormal psychic condition by means of exhausting breathing exercises,\nwhich make the person dizzy and sleepy. This is all wrong. While rhythmic\nbreathing exercises have a certain value in psychic phenomena, and are\nharmless when properly practiced, nevertheless such practices as those to\nwhich I have alluded are harmful to the nervous system of the person, and\nalso tend to induce undesirable psychic conditions. Again, some teachers\nhave sought to have their students hold their breath for comparatively\nlong periods of time in order to bring about abnormal psychic states. The\nslightest knowledge of physiology informs one that such a practice must be\nharmful; it causes the blood to become thick and impure, and deficient in\noxygen. It certainly will produce a kind of drowsiness, for the same\nreason that impure air in a room will do the same thing--in both cases the\nblood stream is poisoned and made impure. The purpose of rational and\nnormal breathing is to obviate just this thing--so these teachers are\nreversing a natural law of the body, in order to produce an abnormal\npsychic state. With all the energy in me, I caution you against this kind\nof thing.\n\nAlong the same line, I protest and warn you against the practices advised\nby certain teachers of \"psychic development,\" who seek to have their\npupils induce abnormal physical and psychic conditions by means of drugs,\nodor of certain chemicals, gases, etc. Such practices, as all true\noccultists know, belong to the clans of the Black Magicians, or devil\nworshippers, of the savage races--they have no place in true occult\nteachings. Common sense alone should warn persons away from such\nthings--but it seems to fail some of them. I assert without fear of\nintelligent contradiction, that no true occultist ever countenances any\nsuch practices as these.\n\nAll the true teachers are vigorous in their denunciation of such false\nteachings and harmful practices. In this same category, I place the\nmethods which are taught by certain persons, namely, that of inducing\nabnormal physical and psychic condition of giddiness and haziness by means\nof \"whirling\" around in a circle until one drops from giddiness, or until\none \"feels queer in the head.\" This is a revival of the practices of\ncertain fanatics in Persia and India, who perform it as a religious rite\nuntil they fall into what they consider a \"holy sleep,\" but which is\nnothing more than an abnormal and unhealthful physical and psychic\ncondition. Such practices are a downward step, not an upward one. It seems\na pity that the necessity has arisen for such warnings as these--but my\nduty, as I see it, is very plain. To all who are tempted to \"develop\" in\nthis way, I say, positively, \"DON'T!\"\n\nThe scientific, rational way to develop the astral senses is to first\nacquire the art of concentrating. Bear in mind that in concentration the\nperson, while shutting out the impressions of the outside world in\ngeneral, nevertheless focuses and concentrates his attention upon the one\nmatter before him. This is quite a different thing from making oneself\nsensitive to every current of thought and feeling that may be in the\npsychic atmosphere. True concentration renders one positive, while the\nother methods render one negative. Contrary to the common opinion, psychic\nconcentration is a positive state, not a negative--an active state, not a\npassive one. The person who is able to concentrate strongly is a master,\nwhile one who opens himself to \"control,\" either physical or astral, is\nmore or less of a slave to other minds.\n\nThe student who will begin by experimenting along the lines of contact\nmind-reading, and who then advances along the lines of true telepathy, as\nexplained in the earlier chapters of this book, will have made a good\nstart, and considerable progress, along the road to clairvoyant\ndevelopment. The rest will be largely a matter of exercise and practice.\nHe will be aided by practicing concentration along the general lines of\nthe best occult teaching. Such practice may consist of concentration upon\nalmost any physical object, keeping the thing well before the mind and\nattention. Do not tire the attention by practicing too long at one time.\nThe following general rules will help you in developing concentration:\n\n(1) The attention attaches more readily to interesting rather than\nuninteresting things. Therefore, select some interesting thing to study\nand analyze by concentrated thought.\n\n(2) The attention will decline in strength unless there is a variation in\nthe stimulus. Therefore, keep up the power of concentration by either\nchanging the object you are observing; or else by discovering some new\nproperties, qualities or attributes in it.\n\n(3) The things you wish to shut out of consciousness can best be shut out\nby your concentration upon some other thing--the attention can dwell only\nupon one thing at a time, if focused upon that one thing.\n\n(4) The power of applying your attention, steady and undissipated, to a\nsingle object, is a mark of strong will and superior mental\ndiscipline--weak-minds cannot do this. Therefore, in cultivating\nconcentrated attention you are really strengthening your mind and will.\n\n(5) To develop concentrated attention, you must learn to analyze, analyze,\nand analyze the thing upon which you are bestowing concentrated attention.\nTherefore, proceed by selecting an object and analyzing it by concentrated\nattention, taking one part after another, one by one, until you have\nanalyzed and mastered the whole object. Give it the same attention that\nthe lover gives his loved one; the musician his favorite composition; the\nartist his favorite work of art; and the booklover his favorite book--when\nyou have accomplished this, you have mastered concentration, and will be\nable to apply the mind \"one pointed\" upon anything you wish, physical or\nastral; and, consequently will have no trouble in shutting-out disturbing\nimpressions.\n\n(6) Learn to concentrate on the physical plane, and you will be able to\nconcentrate on the astral plane as well. By the one who has mastered\nconcentration, trances and abnormal psychic states will not be needed. The\nneedle-pointed mind is able to pierce the astral veil at will, while the\nblunt-pointed mind is resisted and defeated by the astral envelope, which\nwhile thin is very tough and unyielding.\n\nA well-known authority on psychic development has well said: \"Occasional\nflashes of clairvoyance sometimes come to the highly cultured and\nspiritual-minded man, even though he may never have heard of the\npossibility of training such a faculty. In his case such glimpses usually\nsignify that he is approaching that stage in his evolution when these\npowers will naturally begin to manifest themselves. Their appearance\nshould serve as an additional stimulus to him to strive to maintain that\nhigh standard of moral purity and mental balance without which\nclairvoyance is a curse and not a blessing to its possessor. Between those\nwho are entirely unimpressionable and those who are in full possession of\nclairvoyant power, there are many intermediate stages. Students often ask\nhow this clairvoyant faculty will first be manifested in themselves--how\nthey may know when they have reached the stage at which its first faint\nforeshadowings are beginning to be visible. Cases differ so widely that it\nis impossible to give to this question any answer that will be universally\napplicable.\n\n\"Some people begin by a plunge, as it were, and under some unusual\nstimulus become able just for once to see some striking vision; and very\noften in such a case, because the experience does not repeat itself, the\nseer comes in time to believe that on that occasion he must have been the\nvictim of hallucination. Others begin by becoming intermittently conscious\nof the brilliant colors and vibrations of the human aura; yet others find\nthemselves with increasing frequency seeing and hearing something to which\nthose around them are blind and deaf; others, again, see faces,\nlandscapes, or colored clouds floating before their eyes in the dark\nbefore they sink to rest; while perhaps the commonest experience of all is\nthat of those who begin to recollect with greater and greater clearness\nwhat they have seen and heard on other planes during sleep.\"\n\nThe authority in question gives the following excellent advice regarding\nthe subject of the development of clairvoyant power and astral visioning:\n\"Now the fact is that there are many methods by which it may be developed,\nbut only one which can be at all safely recommended for general use--that\nof which we shall speak last of all. Among the less advanced nations of\nthe world the clairvoyant state has been produced in various objectionable\nways; among some of the non-Aryan tribes of India, by the use of\nintoxicating drugs or the inhaling of stupefying fumes; among the\ndervishes, by whirling in a mad dance of religious fervor until vertigo\nand insensibility supervene; among the followers of the abominable\npractices of the Voodoo cult, by frightful sacrifices and loathsome rites\nof black magic. Methods such as these are happily not in vogue in our own\nrace, yet even among us large numbers of dabblers in this ancient art\nadopt some plan of self-hypnotization, such as gazing at a bright spot, or\nthe repetition of some formula until a condition of semi-stupefaction is\nproduced; while yet another school among them would endeavor to arrive at\nsimilar results by the use of some of the Indian systems of regulation of\nthe breath. All these methods are unequivocally to be condemned as quite\nunsafe for the practice of the ordinary man who has no idea of what he is\ndoing--who is simply making vague experiments in an unknown world. Even\nthe method of obtaining clairvoyance by allowing oneself to be mesmerized\nby another person is one from which I should myself shrink with the most\ndecided distaste; and assuredly it should never be attempted except under\nconditions of absolute trust and affection between the magnetizer and the\nmagnetized, and a perfection of purity in heart and soul, in mind and\nintention, such as is rarely to be seen among any but the greatest of\nsaints.\n\n\"Yet there is one practice which is advised by all religions alike--which\nif adopted carefully and reverently can do no harm to any human being, yet\nfrom which a very pure type of clairvoyance has sometimes been developed;\nand that is the practice of meditation. Let a man choose a certain time\nevery day--a time when he can rely upon being quiet and undisturbed,\nthough preferably in the daytime rather than at night--and set himself at\nthat time to keep his mind for a few minutes entirely free from all\nearthly thoughts of any kind whatever, and, when that is achieved, to\ndirect the whole force of his being towards the highest ideal that he\nhappens to know. He will find that to gain such perfect control of thought\nis enormously more difficult than he supposes, but when he attains it it\ncannot but be in every way most beneficial to him, and as he grows more\nand more able to elevate and concentrate his thought, he may gradually\nfind that new worlds are opening before his sight. As a preliminary\ntraining towards the satisfactory achievement of such meditation, he will\nfind it desirable to make a practice of concentration in the affairs of\ndaily life--even in the smallest of them. If he writes a letter, let him\nthink of nothing else but that letter until it is finished; if he reads a\nbook, let him see to it that his thought is never allowed to wander from\nhis author's meaning. He must learn to hold his mind in check, and to be\nmaster of that also, as well as of his lower passions; he must patiently\nlabor to acquire absolute control of his thoughts, so that he will always\nknow exactly what he is thinking about, and why--so that he can use his\nmind, and turn it or hold it still, as a practiced swordsman turns his\nweapon where he will.\"\n\nI have given the above full quotation from this authority, not merely\nbecause that from another angle he states the same general principles as\ndo I; but also because his personal experience in actual clairvoyant\nphenomena is so extended and varied that any word from him on the subject\nof the development of clairvoyant power must have a value of its own.\nWhile I differ from this authority on some points of detail of theory and\npractice, nevertheless I gladly testify to the soundness of his views as\nabove quoted, and pass them on to my students for careful consideration\nand attention. The student will do well to heed what he has to say, and to\ncombine such opinion with what I have uttered in the earlier part of this\nchapter--there will be found a close agreement in principle and practice.\n\nAnd, now let us pass on to a consideration of the various forms and phases\nof the clairvoyant phenomena itself. The subject is fascinating, and I am\nsure that you will enjoy this little excursion into the strange realm of\nthought regarding the astral phenomena of clairvoyance. But, be sure to\nmaster each lesson before proceeding to the rest, as otherwise you will\nhave to turn back the leaves of the course in order to pick up some point\nof teaching that you have neglected.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON IX.\n\nSIMPLE CLAIRVOYANCE.\n\n\nIn a previous chapter we have seen that there are three well-defined\nclasses of clairvoyance, namely, (1) Simple clairvoyance; (2) Clairvoyance\nin space; and (3) Clairvoyance in Time. I shall now consider these in\nsequence, beginning with the first, Simple Clairvoyance.\n\nIn simple clairvoyance the clairvoyant person merely senses the auric\nemanations of other persons, such as the auric vibrations, colors, etc.,\ncurrents of thought vibrations, etc., but does not see events or scenes\nremoved in space or time from the observer. There are other phenomena\npeculiar to this class of clairvoyance which I shall note as we progress\nwith this chapter.\n\nAn authority on the subject of astral phenomena has written interestingly,\nas follows, regarding some of the phases of simple clairvoyance: \"When we\ncome to consider the additional facilities which it offers in the\nobservation of animate objects, we see still more clearly the advantages\nof astral vision. It exhibits to the clairvoyant the aura of plants and\nanimals, and thus in the case of the latter their desires and emotions,\nand whatever thoughts they may have, are all plainly shown before his\neyes. But it is in dealing with human beings that he will most appreciate\nthe value of this faculty, for he will often be able to help them far more\neffectually when he guides himself by the information which it gives him.\n\n\"He will be able to see the aura as far up as the astral body, and though\nthat leaves all the higher part of a man still hidden from his gaze, he\nwill nevertheless find it possible by careful observation to learn a good\ndeal about the higher part from what is within his reach. His capacity of\nexamination of the etheric double will give him considerable advantage in\nlocating and classifying any defects or diseases of the nervous system,\nwhile from the appearance of the astral body he will at once be aware of\nall the emotions, passions, desires and tendencies of the man before him,\nand even of very many of his thoughts also.\n\n\"As he looks at a person he will see him surrounded by the luminous mist\nof the astral aura, flashing with all sorts of brilliant colors, and\nconstantly changing in hue and brilliancy with every variation of the\nperson's thoughts and feelings. He will see this aura flooded with the\nbeautiful rose-color of pure affection, the rich blue of devotional\nfeeling, the hard, dull brown of selfishness, the deep scarlet of anger,\nthe horrible lurid red of sensuality, the livid grey of fear, the black\nclouds of hatred and malice, or any of the other hundredfold indications\nso easily to be read in it by the practiced eye; and thus it will be\nimpossible for any persons to conceal from him the real state of their\nfeelings on any subject. Not only does the astral aura show him the\ntemporary result of the emotion passing through it at the moment, but it\nalso gives him, by an arrangement and proportion of its colors when in a\ncondition of comparative rest, a clue to the general disposition and\ncharacter of its owner.\"\n\nBy simple clairvoyance in a certain stage of development the clairvoyant\nperson is able to sense the presence of the human aura, by means of his\nastral sight. The human aura, as all students of occultism know, is that\npeculiar emanation of astral vibrations that extends from each living\nhuman being, surrounding him in an egg-shaped form for a distance of two\nto three feet on all sides. This peculiar nebulous envelope is not visible\nto the physical sight, and may be discerned only by means of the astral\nsenses. It, however, may be dimly \"felt\" by many persons coming into the\npresence of other persons, and constitutes a personal atmosphere which is\nsensed by other persons.\n\nThe trained clairvoyant vision sees the human aura as a nebulous hazy\nsubstance, like a luminous cloud, surrounding the person for two or three\nfeet on each side of his body, being more dense near the body and\ngradually becoming less dense as it extends away from the body. It has a\nphosphorescent appearance, with a peculiar tremulous motion manifesting\nthrough its substance. The clairvoyant sees the human aura as composed of\nall the colors of the spectrum, the combination shifting with the changing\nmental and emotional states of the person. But, in a general way, it may\nbe said that each person has his or her or distinctive astral auric\ncolors, depending upon his or her general character or personality. Each\nmental state, or emotional manifestation, has its own particular shade or\ncombination of shades of auric coloring. This beautiful kaleidoscopic\nspectacle has its own meaning to the advanced occultist with clairvoyant\nvision, for he is able to read the character and general mental states of\nthe person by means of studying his astral auric colors. I have explained\nthese auric colors, and their meanings, in my little book entitled \"The\nHuman Aura.\"\n\nThe human aura is not always in a state of calm phosphorescence, however.\nOn the contrary, it sometimes manifests great flames, like those of a\nfiery furnace, which shoot forth in great tongues, and dart forth suddenly\nin certain directions toward the objects attracting them. Under great\nemotional excitement the auric flames move around in swift circling\nwhirlpools, or else swirl away from a centre. Again, it seems to throw\nforth tiny glistening sparks of astral vibrations, some of which travel\nfor great distance.\n\nThe clairvoyant vision is also able to discern what is called the \"prana\naura\" of a person. By this term is indicated that peculiar emanation of\nvital force which surrounds the physical body of each and every person. In\nfact, many persons of but slight clairvoyant power, who cannot sense the\nauric colors, are able to perceive this prana-aura without trouble. It is\nsometimes called the \"health aura,\" or \"physical aura.\" It is colorless,\nor rather about the shade of clear glass, diamond, or water. It is\nstreaked with very minute, bristle-like lines. In a state of good health,\nthese fine lines are stiff like toothbrush bristles; while, in cases of\npoor health, these lines droop, curl and present a furlike appearance. It\nis sometimes filled with minute sparkling particles, like tiny electric\nsparks in rapid vibratory motion.\n\nTo the clairvoyant vision the prana-aura appears like the vibrating heated\nair arising from a fire, or stove, or from the heated earth in summer. If\nthe student will close his eyes partially, and will peer through narrowed\neyelids, he will in all probability be able to perceive this prana-aura\nsurrounding the body of some healthy, vigorous person--particularly if the\nperson is sitting in a dim light. Looking closely, he will see the\npeculiar vibratory motion, like heated air, at a distance of about two\ninches from the body of the person. It requires a little practice in order\nto acquire the knack of perceiving these vibrations--a little\nexperimenting in order to get just the right light on the person--but\npractice will bring success, and you will be repaid for your trouble.\n\nIn the same way, the student may by practice acquire the faculty to\nperceiving his own prana-aura. The simplest way to obtain this last\nmentioned result is to place your fingers (spread out in fan-shape)\nagainst a black background, in a dim light. Then gaze at the fingers with\nnarrowed eyelids, and half-closed eyes. After a little practice, you will\nsee a fine thin line surrounding your fingers on all sides--a\nsemi-luminous border of prana-aura. In most cases this border of aura is\ncolorless, but sometimes a very pale yellowish hue is perceived. The\nstronger the vital force of the person, the stronger and brighter will\nthis border of prana-aura appear. The aura surrounding the fingers will\nappear very much like the semi-luminous radiance surrounding a gas-flame,\nor the flame of a candle, which is familiar to nearly everyone.\n\nAnother peculiar phenomenon of the astral plane, perceived by clairvoyants\nof a certain degree of development, is that which is known as the\n\"thought-form.\" A thought-form is a specialized grouping of astral\nsubstance, crystalized by the strong thought impulses or vibrations of a\nperson thinking, or manifesting strong emotional excitement. It is\ngenerated in the aura of the person, in the first place, but is then\nthrown off or emitted from the atmosphere of the person, and is sent off\ninto space. A thought-form is really but a strongly manifested thought or\nfeeling which has taken form in the astral substance. Its power and\nduration depend upon the degree of force of the thought or feeling\nmanifesting it.\n\nThese thought-forms differ very materially from one another in form and\ngeneral appearance. The most common form is that of a tiny series of\nwaves, similar to those caused by the dropping of a pebble in a pond of\nwater. Sometimes the thought-form takes on the appearance of a whirlpool,\nrotating around a centre, and moving through space as well. Another form\nis like that of the pin-wheel fireworks, swirling away from its centre as\nit moves through space. Still another form is that of a whirling ring,\nlike that emitted from a smokestack of a locomotive, or the mouth of a\nsmoker--the familiar \"ring\" of the smoker. Others have the form and\nappearance of semi-luminous globes, glowing like a giant opal.\n\nOther thought-forms are emitted in jet-like streams, like steam puffed out\nfrom a tea-kettle. Again, it will appear as a series of short puffs of\nsteam-like appearance. Again, it will twist along like an eel or snake.\nAnother time it will twist its way like a corkscrew. At other times it\nwill appear as a bomb, or series of bombs projected from the aura of the\nthinker. Sometimes, as in the case of a vigorous thinker or speaker, these\nthought-form bombs will be seen to explode when they reach the aura of the\nperson addressed or thought of. Other forms appear like nebulous things\nresembling an octopus, whose twining tentacles twist around the person to\nwhom they are directed.\n\nEach thought-form bears the same color that it possessed when generated in\nthe aura of its creator, though the colors seem to fade with time. Many of\nthem glow with a dull phosphorescence, instead of bright coloring. The\natmosphere of every person, and every place, is filled with various\nthought-forms emanated from the person, or persons who inhabit the place.\nEach building has its own distinctive thought-forms, which permeate its\nmental atmosphere, and which are clearly discernible by trained\nclairvoyant vision.\n\nI here take the liberty of quoting a few paragraphs from my little book\nentitled \"The Astral World,\" in which the phenomena of the astral plane\nare explained in detail. I reproduce them here in order to show you what\nyou may see on the astral plane when your clairvoyant vision is\nsufficiently developed to function there. The words are addressed to one\nwho is sensing on the astral, plane.\n\n\"Notice that beautiful spiritual blue around that woman's head! And see\nthat ugly muddy red around that man passing her! Here comes an\nintellectual giant--see that beautiful golden yellow around his head, like\na nimbus! But I don't exactly like that shade of red around his body--and\nthere is too marked an absence of blue in his aura! He lacks harmonious\ndevelopment. Do you notice those great clouds of semi-luminous substance,\nwhich are slowly floating along?--notice how the colors vary in them.\nThose are clouds of thought-vibrations, representing the composite thought\nof a multitude of people. Also notice how each body of thought is drawing\nto itself little fragments of similar thought-forms and energy. You see\nhere the tendency of thought-forms to attract others of their kind--how\nlike the proverbial birds of a feather, they flock together--how thoughts\ncome home, bringing their friends with them--how each man creates his own\nthought atmosphere.\n\n\"Speaking of atmospheres, do you notice that each shop we pass has its own\npeculiar thought-atmosphere? If you look into the houses on either side of\nthe street, you will see that the same thing is true. The very street\nitself has its own atmosphere, created by the composite thought of those\ninhabiting and frequenting it. No! do not pass down that side street--its\nastral atmosphere is too depressing, and its colors too horrible and\ndisgusting for you to witness just now--you might get discouraged and fly\nback to your physical body for relief. Look at those thought-forms flying\nthrough the atmosphere! What a variety of form and coloring! Some most\nbeautiful, the majority quite neutral in tint, and occasionally a fierce,\nfiery one tearing its way along toward its mark. Observe those whirling\nand swirling thought-forms as they are thrown off from that\nbusiness-house. Across the street, notice that great octopus monster of a\nthought-form, with its great tentacles striving to wind around persons and\ndraw them into that flashy dance-hall and dram-shop. A devilish monster\nwhich we would do well to destroy. Turn your concentrated thought upon it,\nand will it out of existence--there, that's the right way; watch it sicken\nand shrivel! But, alas! more of its kind will come forth from that place.\"\n\nThe above represents the sights common to the advanced occultist who\nexplores the astral plane either in his astral body, or else by means of\nclairvoyant vision. To such a one, these sights are just as natural as\nthose of the physical plane to the person functioning by ordinary physical\nsenses. One is as natural as is the other--there is nothing supernatural\nabout either.\n\nBut there are other, and even more wonderful attributes of astral\nvisioning than that which we have just related. Let us take a general\nsurvey of these, so that you may be familiar with what you hope to see on\nthe astral plane, and which you will see when you have sufficiently\ndeveloped your clairvoyant powers.\n\nWhat would you think if you could \"see through a brick wall?\" Well, the\nclairvoyant is able to do this. For that matter, the physical X Rays are\nable to penetrate through solid substances, and the astral vibrations are\neven more subtle than these. It seems strange to hear of this kind of\nvisioning as purely natural, doesn't it? It smacks strongly of the old\nsupernatural tales--but it is as simply natural as is the X Ray. The\nadvanced clairvoyant is able to see through the most solid objects, and\ninside of anything, for that matter. The astral senses register the subtle\nvibrations of the astral plane, just as the physical eye registers the\nordinary rays of light-energy. You are able to see through solid glass,\nwith the physical eye, are you not? Well, in the same way the clairvoyant\nsees through solid steel or granite. It is all a matter of registering\nvibrations of energy--nothing more, and nothing less.\n\nIt is in this way that the trained clairvoyant is able to read from closed\nbooks, sealed letters, etc. In the same way, he is able to pierce the\ndense soil, and to see far down into the depths of the earth, subject to\ncertain limitations. Veins of coal, oil, and other substances have been\ndiscovered clairvoyantly in this way. Not every clairvoyant is able to do\nthis, but the advanced ones have done it. In the same way, the trained\nclairvoyant is able to see inside the bodies of sick persons, and to\ndiagnose their ailments, providing, of course, he is familiar with the\nappearance of the organs in health and in disease, and has a sufficient\nknowledge of physiology and pathology to interpret what he sees.\n\nAn authority on the phenomena of the astral plane has written\nentertainingly and correctly regarding this phase of simple clairvoyance,\nas follows: \"The possession of this extraordinary and scarcely expressible\npower, then, must always be borne in mind through all that follows. It\nlays every point in the interior of every solid body absolutely open to\nthe gaze of the seer, just as every point in the interior of a circle lies\nopen to the gaze of a man looking down upon it. But even this is by no\nmeans all that it gives to its possessor. He sees not only the inside as\nwell as the outside of every object, but also its astral counterpart.\nEvery atom and molecule of physical matter has its corresponding astral\natoms and molecules, and the mass which is built up out of these is\nclearly visible to the clairvoyant. Usually the astral form of any object\nprojects somewhat beyond the physical part of it, and thus metals, stones\nand other things are seen surrounded by an astral aura.\n\n\"It will be seen at once that even in the study of inorganic matter a man\ngains immensely by the acquisition of this vision. Not only does he see\nthe astral part of the object at which he looks, which before was wholly\nhidden from him; not only does he see much more of its physical\nconstitution than he did before, but even what was visible to him before\nis now seen much more clearly and truly. * * * Another strange power of\nwhich he may find himself in possession is that of magnifying at will the\nminutest physical or astral particle to any desired size, as through a\nmicroscope--though no microscope ever made, or ever likely to be made,\npossesses even a thousandth part of this psychic magnifying power. By its\nmeans the hypothetical molecule and atom postulated by science become\nvisible and living realities to the occult student, and on this closer\nexamination he finds them to be much more complex in their structure than\nthe scientific man has yet realized them to be. It also enables him to\nfollow with the closest attention and the most lively interest all kinds\nof electrical, magnetic, and other etheric action; and when some of the\nspecialists in these branches of science are able to develop the power to\nsee these things whereof they write so facilely, some very wonderful and\nbeautiful revelations may be expected.\n\n\"This is one of the SIDDIHIS or powers described in the Oriental\nbooks as accruing to the man who devotes himself to spiritual development,\nthough the name under which it is there mentioned might not be immediately\nrecognizable. It is referred to as 'the power of making oneself large or\nsmall at will,' and the reason of a description which appears so oddly to\nreverse the fact is that in reality the method by which this feat is\nperformed is precisely that indicated in these ancient books. It is by the\nuse of temporary visual machinery of inconceivable minuteness that the\nworld of the infinitely little is so clearly seen; and in the same way (or\nrather in the opposite way) it is by enormously increasing the size of the\nmachinery used that it becomes possible to increase the breadth of one's\nview--in the physical sense as well as, let us hope, in the moral--far\nbeyond anything that science has ever dreamt of as possible for man. So\nthat the alteration in size is really in the vehicle of the student's\nconsciousness, and not in anything outside of himself; and the old\nOriental books have, after all, put the case more accurately than have we.\nI have indicated, though only in the roughest outlines, what a trained\nstudent, possessed of full astral vision, would see in the immensely wider\nworld to which that vision introduced him; but I have said nothing of the\nstupendous change in his mental attitude which comes from the experimental\ncertainty regarding matters of paramount importance. The difference\nbetween even the profoundest intellectual conviction, and the precise\nknowledge gained by direct personal experience, must be felt in order to\nbe appreciated.\"\n\nNow, here at this place, I wish to call the attention of the student to\nthe fact that while the above stated, phenomena strictly belong to the\nclass of \"simple clairvoyance,\" rather than to \"space clairvoyance,\" or\n\"time clairvoyance\" respectively, nevertheless the same phenomena may be\nmanifested in connection with that of these other classes of clairvoyance.\nFor instance, in space clairvoyance the trained clairvoyant is able not\nonly to perceive things happening at points far distant, but may also (if\nhighly developed psychically) be able to perceive the details just\nmentioned as well as if he were at that distant point in person. Likewise,\nin time clairvoyance, the clairvoyant may exercise the power of magnifying\nvision regarding the object far distant in time, just as if he were living\nin that time. So here as elsewhere we find the different classes of\nphenomena shading and blending into each other. At the best,\nclassifications are useful principally for convenience in intellectual\nconsideration and reasoning.\n\nIn the same way, the clairvoyant may manifest the above mentioned forms of\nastral sensing in cases when the astral vision has been awakened by\npsychometry, or by crystal gazing, as well as in those cases in which the\ncondition has been brought about through meditation, or similar methods.\n\nI would also call the attention of the student to the fact that in the\nabove description of the phenomena of simple clairvoyance I have made no\nmention of the sights of the astral plane which often become visible to\nthe clairvoyant, and which have to do with astral bodies, astral shells,\nthe disembodied souls of those who have passed on to other planes of\nexistence, etc. I shall take up these matters in other parts of this\ncourse, and shall not dwell upon them in this place. But, I wish you to\nremember that the same power which enables you to sense other objects by\nmeans of the astral scenes, is the same that is called into operation in\nthe cases to which I have just referred.\n\nThe astral plane is a wonderful plane or field of being, containing many\nstrange and wonderful beings and things. The person living on the physical\nplane may visit the astral plane in the astral body; and, again, he may\nperceive the happenings and scenes of that plane by means of the awakened\nand developed astral senses. Some clairvoyants find it easy to function in\none way, and some in another. It is reserved for the scientifically\ndeveloped clairvoyant to manifest the well-rounded power to perceive the\nphenomena of the astral plane in its wonderful entirety.\n\nFinally, you will see by reference to other chapters of this book, that\none may manifest simple clairvoyant powers (as well as the more\ncomplicated ones of time and space clairvoyance) not only in the ordinary\nwaking state, but also in the state of dreams. In fact, some of the most\nstriking psychic phenomena are manifested when the seer is in the dream\nstate. As we proceed, you will find that every phase of the great subject\nwill fit into its place, and will be found to blend with every other\nphase. There will be found a logical harmony and unity of thought\npervading the whole subject. But we must use single bricks and stones as\nwe build--it is only in the completed structure that we may perceive the\nharmonious unity.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON X.\n\nCLAIRVOYANCE OF DISTANT SCENES.\n\n\nLet us now consider the phenomena of the second class of clairvoyance,\nnamely, Clairvoyance in Space.\n\nIn space clairvoyance the clairvoyant person senses scenes and events\nremoved in space from the observer--that is to say, scenes and events\nsituated outside of the range of the physical vision of the clairvoyant.\nIn this class also is included certain phenomena in which the clairvoyant\nvision is able to discern things that may be concealed or obscured by\nintervening material objects. Some of the many different forms and phases\nof space clairvoyance are illustrated by the following examples, all taken\nfrom the best sources.\n\nBushnell relates the following well-known case of space clairvoyance:\n\"Capt. Yount, of Napa Valley, California, one midwinter's night had a\ndream in which he saw what appeared to be a company of emigrants arrested\nby the snows of the mountains, and perishing rapidly by cold and hunger.\nHe noted the very cast of the scenery, marked by a huge, perpendicular\nfront of white-rock cliff; he saw the men cutting off what appeared to be\ntree-tops rising out of deep gulfs of snow; he distinguished the very\nfeatures of the persons, and their look of peculiar distress. He awoke\nprofoundly impressed by the distinctness and apparent reality of the\ndream. He at length fell asleep, and dreamed exactly the same dream over\nagain. In the morning he could not expel it from his mind. Falling in\nshortly after with an old hunter comrade, he told his story, and was only\nthe more deeply impressed by him recognizing without hesitation the\nscenery of the dream. This comrade came over the Sierra by the Carson\nValley Pass, and declared that a spot in the Pass exactly answered his\ndescription.\n\n\"By this the unsophistical patriarch was decided. He immediately collected\na company of men, with mules and blankets and all necessary provisions.\nThe neighbors were laughing meantime at his credulity. 'No matter,' he\nsaid, 'I am able to do this, and I will, for I verily believe that the\nfact is according to my dream.' The men were sent into the mountains one\nhundred and fifty miles distant, direct to the Carson Valley Pass. And\nthere they found the company exactly in the condition of the dream, and\nbrought in the remnant alive.\"\n\nIn connection with this case, some leading, occultists are of the opinion\nthat the thought-waves from the minds of the distressed lost persons\nreached Capt. Yount in his sleep, and awakened his subconscious attention.\nHaving natural clairvoyant power, though previously unaware of it, he\nnaturally directed his astral vision to the source of the mental currents,\nand perceived clairvoyantly the scene described in the story. Not having\nany acquaintance with any of the lost party, it was only by reason of the\nmental currents of distress so sent out that his attention was attracted.\nThis is a very interesting case, because several psychic factors are\ninvolved in it, as I have just said.\n\nIn the following case, there is found a connecting link of acquaintance\nwith a person playing a prominent part in the scene, although there was no\nconscious appeal to the clairvoyant, nor conscious interest on her part\nregarding the case. The story is well-known, and appears in the\nProceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. It runs as follows:\n\nMrs. Broughton awoke one night in 1844, and roused her husband, telling\nhim that something dreadful had happened in France. He begged her to go\nasleep again, and not trouble him. She assured him that she was not asleep\nwhen she saw what she insisted on telling him--what she saw in fact. She\nsaw, first, a carriage accident, or rather, the scene of such an accident\nwhich had occurred a few moments before. What she saw was the result of\nthe accident--a broken carriage, a crowd collected, a figure gently raised\nand carried into the nearest house, then a figure lying on a bed, which\nshe recognized as the Duke of Orleans. Gradually friends collected around\nthe bed--among them several members of the French royal family--the queen,\nthen the king, all silently, tearfully, watching the evidently dying duke.\nOne man (she could see his back, but did not know who he was) was a\ndoctor. He stood bending over the duke, feeling his pulse, with his watch\nin the other hand. And then all passed away, and she saw no more. \"As\nsoon as it was daylight she wrote down in her journal all that she had\nseen. It was before the days of the telegraph, and two or more days passed\nbefore the newspapers announced 'The Death of the Duke of Orleans.'\nVisiting Paris a short time afterwards, she saw and recognized the place\nof the accident, and received the explanation of her impression. The\ndoctor who attended the dying duke was an old friend of hers, and as he\nwatched by the bed his mind had been constantly occupied with her and her\nfamily.\"\n\nIn many cases of clairvoyance of this kind, there is found to exist a\nstrong connecting link of mutual interest or affection, over which flows\nthe strong attention-arousing force of need or distress, which calls into\noperation the clairvoyant visioning.\n\nIn other cases there seems to be lacking any connecting link, although,\neven in such cases there may be a subconscious link connecting the\nclairvoyant with the scene or event. An interesting example of this last\nmentioned phase is that related by W.T. Stead, the English editor and\nauthor, as having happened to himself. Mr. Stead's recital follows:\n\n\"I got into bed and was not able to go to sleep. I shut my eyes and waited\nfor sleep to come; instead of sleep, however, there came to me a\nsuccession of curiously vivid clairvoyant pictures. There was no light in\nthe room, and it was perfectly dark; I had my eyes shut also. But,\nnotwithstanding the darkness, I suddenly was conscious of looking at a\nscene of singular beauty. It was as if I saw a living miniature about the\nsize of a magic-lantern slide. At this moment I can recall the scene as if\nI saw it again. It was a seaside piece. The moon was shining upon the\nwater, which rippled slowly on to the beach. Right before me a long mole\nran into the water. On either side of the mole irregular rocks stood up\nabove the sea-level. On the shore stood several houses, square and rude,\nwhich resembled nothing that I had ever seen in house architecture. No one\nwas stirring, but the moon was there and the sea and the gleam of the\nmoonlight on the rippling waters, just as if I had been looking on the\nactual scene. It was so beautiful that I remember thinking that if it\ncontinued I should be so interested in looking at it that I should never\ngo asleep. I was wide awake, and at the same time that I saw the scene I\ndistinctly heard the dripping of the rain outside the window. Then,\nsuddenly without any apparent object or reason, the scene changed.\n\n\"The moonlight sea vanished, and in us place I was looking right into the\ninterior of a reading-room. It seemed as if it had been used as a\nschool-room in the daytime, and was employed as a reading-room in the\nevening. I remember seeing one reader who had a curious resemblance to Tim\nHarrington, although it was not he, hold up a magazine or book in his hand\nand laugh. It was not a picture--it was there. The scene was just as if\nyou were looking through an opera glass; you saw the play of the muscles,\nthe gleaming of the eye, every movement of the unknown persons in the\nunnamed place into which you were gazing. I saw all that without opening\nmy eyes, nor did my eyes have anything to do with it. You see such things\nas these as if it were with another sense which is more inside your head\nthan in your eyes. The pictures were apropos of nothing; they had been\nsuggested by nothing I had been reading or talking of; they simply came as\nif I had been able to look through a glass at what was occurring somewhere\nelse in the world. I had my peep, and then it passed.\"\n\nAn interesting case of space clairvoyance is that related of Swedenborg,\non the best authority. The story runs that in the latter part of\nSeptember, 1759, at four o'clock one Saturday afternoon, Swedenborg\narrived home from England, and disembarked at the town of Gothenburg. A\nfriend, Mr. W. Castel, met him and invited him to dinner, at which meal\nthere were fifteen persons gathered around the table in honor of the\nguest. At six o'clock, Swedenborg went out a few minutes, returning to the\ntable shortly thereafter, looking pale and excited. When questioned by the\nguests he replied that there was a fire at Stockholm, two hundred miles\ndistant, and that the fire was steadily spreading. He grew very restless,\nand frequently left the room. He said that the house of one of his\nfriends, whose name he mentioned, was already in ashes, and that his own\nwas in danger. At eight o'clock, after he had been out again, he returned\ncrying out cheerfully, \"Thank heaven! the fire is out, the third door\nfrom my house!\" The news of the strange happening greatly excited the\npeople of the town, and the city officials made inquiry regarding it.\nSwedenborg was summoned before the authorities, and requested to relate in\ndetail what he had seen. Answering the questions put to him, he told when\nand how the fire started; how it had begun; how, when and where it had\nstopped; the time it had lasted; the number of houses destroyed or\ndamaged, and the number of persons injured. On the following Monday\nmorning a courier arrived from Stockholm, bringing news of the fire,\nhaving left the town while it was still burning. On the next day after,\nTuesday morning, another courier arrived at the city hall with a full\nreport of the fire, which corresponded precisely with the vision of\nSwedenborg. The fire had stopped precisely at eight o'clock, the very\nminute that Swedenborg had so announced it to the company.\n\nA similar case is related by Stead, having been told to him by the wife of\na Dean in the Episcopal Church. He relates it as follows: \"I was staying\nin Virginia, some hundred miles away from home, when one morning about\neleven o'clock I felt an overpowering sleepiness, which drowsiness was\nquite unusual, and which caused me to lie down. In my sleep I saw quite\ndistinctly my home in Richmond in flames. The fire had broken out in one\nwing of the house, which I saw with dismay was where I kept all my best\ndresses. The people were all trying to check the flames, but it was no\nuse. My husband was there, walking about before the burning house,\ncarrying a portrait in his hand. Everything was quite clear and distinct,\nexactly as if I had actually been present and seen everything. After a\ntime, I woke up, and going down stairs told my friends the strange dream I\nhad had. They laughed at me, and made such game of my vision that I did my\nbest to think no more about it. I was traveling about, a day or two\npassed, and when Sunday came I found myself in a church where some\nrelatives were worshipping. When I entered the pew they looked very\nstrange, and as soon as the service was over I asked them what was the\nmatter. 'Don't be alarmed,' they said, 'there is nothing serious.' Then\nthey handed me a post-card from my husband which simply said, 'House\nburned out; covered by insurance.' The day was the date upon which my\ndream occurred. I hastened home, and then I learned that everything had\nhappened exactly as I had seen it. The fire had broken out in the wing I\nhad seen blazing. My clothes were all burned, and the oddest thing about\nit was that my husband, having rescued a favorite picture from the burning\nbuilding, had carried it about among the crowd for some time before he\ncould find a place in which to put it safely.\"\n\nAnother case, related by Stead, the same authority, runs as follows: \"The\nfather of a son who had sailed on the 'Strathmore,' an emigrant ship\noutbound from the Clyde saw one night the ship foundering amid the waves,\nand saw that his son, with some others, had escaped safely to a desert\nisland near which the wreck had taken place. He was so much impressed by\nthis vision that he wrote to the owner of the 'Strathmore' telling him\nwhat he had seen. His information was scouted; but after a while the\n'Strathmore' became overdue, and the owner became uneasy. Day followed\nday, and still no tidings of the missing ship. Then like Pharaoh's butler,\nthe owner remembered his sins one day, and hunted up the letter describing\nthe vision. It supplied at least a theory to account for the ship's\ndisappearance. All outward-bound ships were requested to look out for any\nsurvivors on the island indicated in the vision. These orders were obeyed,\nand the survivors of the 'Strathmore' were found exactly where the father\nhad seen them.\"\n\nThe Society for Psychical Research mentions another interesting case, as\nfollows: \"Dr. Golinski, a physician of Kremeutchug, Russia, was taking an\nafter-dinner nap in the afternoon, about half-past three o'clock. He had a\nvision in which he saw himself called out on a professional visit, which\ntook him to a little room with dark hangings. To the right of the door he\nsaw a chest of drawers, upon which rested a little paraffine lamp of\nspecial pattern, different from anything he had ever seen before. On the\nleft of the door, he saw a woman suffering from a severe hemorrhage. He\nthen saw himself giving her professional treatment. Then he awoke,\nsuddenly, and saw that it was just half-past four o'clock. Within ten\nminutes after he awoke, he was called out on a professional visit, and on\nentering the bedroom he saw all the details that had appeared to him in\nhis vision. There was the chest of drawers--there was the peculiar\nlamp--there was the woman on the bed, suffering from the hemorrhage. Upon\ninquiry, he found that she had grown worse between three and four o'clock,\nand had anxiously desired that he come to her about that time, finally\ndispatching a messenger for him at half-past four, the moment at which he\nawoke.\"\n\nAnother, and a most peculiar, phase of space clairvoyance is that in which\ncertain persons so awaken the astral senses of other persons that these\npersons perceive the first person--usually in the form of seemingly seeing\nthe person present in the immediate vicinity, just as one would see a\nghostly visitor. In some cases there is manifested double-clairvoyance,\nboth persons visioning clairvoyantly; in other cases, only the person\n\"visited\" astrally senses the occurrence. The following cases illustrate\nthis form of space clairvoyance.\n\nW.T. Stead relates the case of a lady well known to him, who spontaneously\ndeveloped the power of awakening astral perception in others. She seemed\nto \"materialize\" in their presence. Her power in this direction became a\nsource of considerable anxiety and worry to her friends to whom she would\npay unexpected and involuntary visits, frightening them out of their wits\nby the appearance of her \"ghost.\" They naturally thought that she had died\nsuddenly and had appeared to them in ghostly form. The lady, her self,\nwas totally unconscious of the appearance, though she admitted that at or\nabout the times of the appearances she had been thinking of her friends\nwhom she visited astrally.\n\nThe German writer, Jung Stilling, mentions the case of a man of good\ncharacter who had developed power of this kind, but also was conscious of\nhis visits. He exerted the power consciously by an effort of will, it\nseems. At one time he was consulted by the wife of a sea captain whose\nhusband was on a long voyage to Europe and Asia (sailing from America).\nHis ship was long overdue, and his wife was quite worried about him. She\nconsulted the gentleman in question, and he promised to do what he could\nfor her. Leaving the room he threw himself on a couch and was seen by the\nlady (who peered through the half-opened door) to be in a state of\nsemi-trance. Finally he returned and told her that he had visited her\nhusband in a coffee-house in London, and gave her husband's reasons for\nnot writing, adding that her husband would soon return to America. When\nher husband returned several months later, the wife asked him about the\nmatter. He informed her that the clairvoyant's report was correct in every\nparticular. Upon being introduced to the clairvoyant, the captain\nmanifested great surprise, saying that he had met the man in question on a\ncertain day in a coffee-house in London, and that the man had told him\nthat his wife was worried about him, and that he had told the man that he\nhad been prevented from writing for several reasons, and that he was on\nthe eve of beginning his return voyage to America. He added that when he\nlooked for the man a few moments afterwards, the stranger had apparently\nlost himself in the crowd, disappeared and was seen no more by him.\n\nThe Society for Psychical Research gives prominence to the celebrated case\nof the member of the London Stock Exchange, whose identity it conceals\nunder the initials \"S.H.B.,\" who possessed this power of voluntary\nawakening of astral sight in others by means of his \"appearance\" to them.\nThe man relates his experience to the Society as follows: \"One Sunday\nnight in November, 1881, I was in Kildare Gardens, when I willed very\nstrongly that I would visit in the spirit two lady friends, the Misses X.,\nwho were living three miles off, in Hogarth Road. I willed that I should\ndo this at one o'clock in the morning, and having willed it, I went to\nsleep. Next Thursday, when I first met my friends, the elder lady told me\nthat she woke up and saw my apparition advancing to her bedside. She\nscreamed and woke her sisters, who also saw me.\" (The report includes the\nsigned statement of the ladies, giving the time of the appearance, and the\ndetails thereof.)\n\n\"Again, on December 1, 1882, I was at Southall. At half-past nine I sat\ndown to endeavor to fix my mind so strongly upon the interior of a house\nat Kew, where Miss V. and her sister lived, that I seemed to be actually\nin the house. I was conscious, but was in a kind of mesmeric sleep. When\nI went to bed that night, I willed to be in the front bedroom of that\nhouse at Kew at twelve; and to make my presence felt by the inmates. Next\nday I went to Kew. Miss V.'s married sister told me, without any prompting\nfrom me, that she had seen me in the passage going from one room to\nanother at half-past nine o'clock, and that at twelve, when she was wide\nawake, she saw me come to the front bedroom, where she slept, and take her\nhair, which is very long, into my hand. She said I then took her hand, and\ngazed into the palm intently. She said, 'You need not look at the lines,\nfor I never have any trouble.' She then woke her sister. When Mrs. L. told\nme this, I took out the entry that I had made the previous night and read\nit to her. Mrs. L. is quite sure she was not dreaming. She had only seen\nme once before, two years previously. Again, on March 22, 1884, I wrote to\nMr. Gurney, of the Psychical Research Society, telling him that I was\ngoing to make my presence felt by Miss V., at 44 Norland Square, at\nmidnight. Ten days afterwards, I saw Miss V., when she voluntarily told me\nthat on Saturday at midnight, she distinctly saw me, when she was quite\nwide awake.\"\n\nThe records of the psychic researchers are filled with numerous accounts\nof cases in which similar astral projections have occurred when the person\nwas on his or her death-bed, but was still alive. It would seem that under\nsuch circumstances the astral senses are very much freer from the\ninterference of the physical senses, and tend to manifest very strongly\nin the form of appearances to persons in whom the dying person is attached\nby the ties of affection. Many who read this course have known of cases of\nthis kind, for they are of quite frequent occurrence.\n\nThe student will notice that in the majority of the cases cited in this\nchapter the clairvoyant has been in a state of sleep, or semi-sleep--often\nin a dream condition. But you must not jump to the conclusion that this\ncondition is always necessary for the manifestation of this phenomenon. On\nthe contrary, the advanced and well developed clairvoyants usually assume\nmerely a condition of deep reverie or meditation, shutting out the sounds\nand thoughts of the physical plane, so as to be able to function better on\nthe astral plane.\n\nThe reason that so many recorded cases have occurred when the clairvoyant\nperson was asleep, and the vision appeared as a dream, is simply because\nin such a condition the physical senses of the person are stilled and at\nrest, and there is less likelihood of interference from them, and a better\nopportunity for the astral senses to function effectively. It is like the\nfamiliar cases in which one becomes so wrapped up in viewing a beautiful\nwork of art, or in listening to a beautiful musical rendition, that he or\nshe forgets all about the sights and sounds of the world outside. One\nsometimes gets into this same condition when reading an interesting book,\nor when witnessing an interesting play. When the psychic powers are\nconcentrated upon any one channel of vision, the others fail to register\na clear impression. The same rule holds good on the astral plane, as on\nthe physical.\n\nThere are certain psychic conditions which are especially conducive to the\nmanifestation of clairvoyant phenomena, as all students of the subject\nknow very well. These conditions are somewhat hard to induce, at least\nuntil the clairvoyant has had considerable experience and practice. But,\nin the state of sleep, the person induces the desired conditions, in many\ncases, though he is not consciously doing so. As might naturally be\nexpected, therefore, the majority of the recorded cases of clairvoyance\nhave occurred when the clairvoyant person has been asleep.\n\nI should also state, once more, that in many cases in which the\nclairvoyant has witnessed the \"appearance\" of another person, as in the\ncases such as I have just mentioned, there is always the possibility of\nthe person having actually appeared in his astral body, unconsciously to\nhimself of course. No one but a skilled occultist is able to distinguish\nbetween cases of this kind. The line between this class of clairvoyance\nand astral appearance is very thin, and, in fact, the two classes of\nphenomena shade and blend into each other. In reality, when one gets down\nto bottom principles, there is very little difference between the actual\nappearance in the astral body, and the strong projection of one's presence\nby means of will, conscious or unconscious, along the lines of awakening\nthe clairvoyant vision of others. To attempt to explain the slight points\nof difference here, would only involve the student in a mass of technical\ndescription which would tend to confuse, rather than to enlighten\nhim--from this I refrain.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XI.\n\nCLAIRVOYANCE OF THE PAST\n\n\nThe third great class of clairvoyant phenomena, known as Time\nClairvoyance, is divided into two sub-classes, as follows: (1) Past-Time\nClairvoyance; and (2) Future-Time Clairvoyance. The characteristics of\neach of these sub-classes is indicated by its name.\n\nPast-Time Clairvoyance, as indicated by the name, is that class of\nclairvoyant phenomena which is concerned with the perception of facts,\nevents and happenings of past time. Whether the happening is that of five\nminutes ago, or of five thousand years ago, the principles involved are\nprecisely the same. One is no more or less wonderful than is the other.\n\nMany students confess themselves perplexed when they are first confronted\nwith this class of phenomena. While they find it comparatively easy to see\nhow by astral vision the clairvoyant is able to sense events happening at\nthat moment, though thousands of miles away from the observer, they cannot\nat first understand how one can \"see\" a thing no longer in existence, but\nwhich disappeared from sight thousands of years ago. Naturally, they ask\nto be informed how this is possible, before proceeding to develop the\nfaculty itself. Believing that this question is now being asked by you,\nthe student of these lessons, I shall pause for a few moments and show you\n\"just how\" this wonderful thing becomes possible to the clairvoyant.\n\nIn the first place, it would undoubtedly be impossible to perceive a\nthing, even by astral vision, if it had entirely disappeared at some time\nin the past--this would be beyond all natural powers, astral as well as\nphysical. But, as a matter of fact, the things of the past have not\nentirely disappeared, but, on the contrary, while having disappeared on\nthe physical plane they still exist on the astral plane. I shall endeavor\nto explain this wonderful fact of nature to you in plain terms, although\nit belongs to one of the most mysterious classes of the occult facts of\nthe universe.\n\nIn the occult teachings we find many references to \"the Akashic Records,\"\nor what is sometimes called \"the records of the Astral Light.\" Without\ngoing into technical occult definitions and explanations, I will say to\nyou that the gist of this occult teaching is that in that high form of the\nuniversal substance which is called the Universal Ether there is found to\nbe recorded all the happenings of the entire World Cycle of which the\npresent time is a part. All that has happened from the very beginning of\nthis World Cycle, millions of years ago, is preserved on these astral\nrecords, and may be read by the advanced clairvoyant or other person\npossessing occult powers of this kind. These records perish only with the\ntermination of a World Cycle, which will not happen for millions of years\nyet to come.\n\nTo those who cannot accept the reasonableness of this occult fact, I would\nsay that there are analogies to be found on other planes of natural\nmanifestation. For instance, as astronomy teaches us, a star may be\nblotted out of existence, and yet its light will persist long after\n(perhaps until the end of world-time) traveling along at the rate of\n186,000 miles each second. The light that we now see coming from the\ndistant stars has left those stars many years ago--in some cases thousands\nof years ago. We see them not as they are now, but as they were at the\ntime the ray of light left them, many years ago; The astronomers inform us\nthat if one of these stars had been\n[*Transcribers Note: Text missing from original]\nsands) of years ago, we would still see it as in actual existence. In\nfact, it is believed that some of these stars which we see twinkling at\nnight have actually been blotted out hundreds of years ago. We will not be\naware of this fact until the light rays suddenly cease reaching us, after\ntheir journey of billions of miles and hundreds of years. A star blotted\nout of existence today would be seen by our children, and children's\nchildren.\n\nThe heat from a stove will be felt in a room long after the stove has been\nremoved from it. A room will long contain the odor of something that has\nbeen removed from it. It is said that in one of the old mosques of Persia\nthere may be perceived the faint odor of the musk that was exposed there\nhundreds of years ago--the very walls are saturated with the pungent odor.\nAgain, is it not wonderful that our memories preserve the images of the\nsounds and forms which were placed there perhaps fifty years and more\nago? How do these memory images survive and exist? Though we may have\nthought of the past thing for half a lifetime, yet, suddenly its image\nflashes into our consciousness. Surely this is as wonderful as the Akashic\nRecords, though its \"commonness\" makes it lose its wonderful appearance to\nus.\n\nCamille Flammarion, the eminent French astronomer, in a book written over\ntwenty-five years ago, and which is now out of print, I believe, pictured\na possible condition of affairs in which a disembodied soul would be able\nto perceive events that happened in the past, by simply taking a position\nin space in which he would be able to catch the light-waves that emanated\nfrom a distant planet at that particular time in the past the happenings\nof which he wanted to perceive. The little book was called \"Lumen\"--I\nadvise you to read it, if you can find it in your public libraries.\n\nAnother writer has written somewhat along the same lines. I herewith give\nyou a quotation from him, that you may get the idea he wishes to\nexpress--it will help you in your conception of the Akashic Records. He\nsays: \"When we see anything, whether it be the book we hold in our hands,\nor a star millions of miles away, we do so by means of a vibration in the\nether, commonly called a ray of light, which passes from the object seen\nto our eyes. Now the speed with which this vibration passes is so\ngreat--about 186,000 miles in a second--that when we are considering any\nobject in our own world we may regard it as practically instantaneous.\nWhen, however, we come to deal with interplanetary distances we have to\ntake the speed of light into consideration, for an appreciable period is\noccupied in traversing these vast spaces. For example, it takes eight\nminutes and a quarter for light to travel to us from the sun, so that when\nwe look at the solar orb we see it by means of a ray of light which left\nit more than eight minutes ago. From this follows a very curious result.\nThe ray of light by which we see the sun can obviously report to us only\nthe state of affairs' which existed in that luminary when it started on\nits journey, and would not be in the least affected by anything that\nhappened after it left; so that we really see the sun not as it is, but as\nit was eight minutes ago. That is to say that if anything important took\nplace in the sun--the formation of a new sun-spot, for instance--an\nastronomer who was watching the orb through his telescope at the time\nwould be unaware of the incident while it was happening, since the ray of\nlight bearing the news would not reach him until more than eight minutes\nlater.\n\n\"The difference is more striking when we consider the fixed stars, because\nin their case the distances are so enormously greater. The pole star, for\nexample, is so far off that light, traveling at the inconceivable speed\nabove mentioned, takes a little more than fifty years to reach our eyes;\nand from that follows the strange but inevitable inference that we see the\npole star not as or where it is at this moment, but as and where it was\nfifty years ago. Nay, if tomorrow some cosmic catastrophe were to shatter\nthe pole star into fragments, we should still see it peacefully shining in\nthe sky all the rest of our lives; our children would grow up to\nmiddle-age and gather their children about them in turn before the news of\nthat tremendous accident reached any terrestial eye. In the same way there\nare other stars so far distant that light takes thousands of years to\ntravel from them to us, and with reference to their condition our\ninformation is therefore thousands of years behind time. Now carry the\nargument a step farther. Suppose that we were able to place a man at the\ndistance of 186,000 miles from the earth, and yet to endow him with the\nwonderful faculty of being able from that distance to see what was\nhappening here as clearly as though he were still close beside us. It is\nevident that a man so placed would see everything a second after the time\nit really happened, and so at the present moment he would be seeing what\nhappened a second ago. Double that distance, and he would be two seconds\nbehind time, and so on; remove him to the distance of the sun (still\nallowing him to preserve the same mysterious power of sight) and he would\nlook down and watch you doing not what you are doing now, but what you\nwere doing eight minutes and a quarter ago. Carry him to the pole star,\nand he would see passing before his eyes the events of fifty years ago; he\nwould be watching the childish gambols of those who at the same moment\nwere really middle-aged men. Marvellous as this may sound, it is\nliterally and scientifically true, and cannot be denied.\"\n\nFlammarion, in his story, called \"Lumen,\" makes his spirit hero pass at\nwill along the ray of light from the earth, seeing the things of different\neras of earth-time. He even made him travel backward along that ray, thus\nseeing the happenings in reverse order, as in a moving picture running\nbackward. This story is of the greatest interest to the occultist, for\nwhile the Akashic Records are not the same as the light records, yet the\nanalogy is so marked in many ways that the occultist sees here another\nexemplification of the old occult axiom that \"as above, so below; as\nbelow, so above.\"\n\nI take the liberty of quoting here from my little book, \"The Astral\nWorld,\" in order to give you some further idea of the nature of these\nrecords in the Astral Light. The reader is supposed to be travelling in\nhis astral body, having the phenomena of the astral pointed out to him by\na competent occultist acting as his guide. The occultist-guide says to the\nstudent: \"Changing our vibrations, we find ourselves entering a strange\nregion, the nature of which you at first fail to discern. Pausing a moment\nuntil your astral vision becomes attuned to the peculiar vibrations of\nthis region, you will find that you are becoming gradually aware of what\nmay be called an immense picture gallery, spreading out in all directions,\nand apparently bearing a direct relation to every point of space on the\nsurface of the earth. At first, you find it difficult to decipher the\nmeaning of this great array of pictures. The trouble arises from the fact\nthat they are arranged not one after the other in sequence on a flat\nplane; but rather in sequence, one after another, in a peculiar order\nwhich may be called the order of 'X-ness in space,' because it is neither\nthe dimension of length, breadth, or depth--it is practically the order of\nthe fourth dimension in space, which cannot be described in terms of\nordinary spatial dimension. Again, you find upon closely examining the\npictures that they are very minute--practically microscopic in size--and\nrequire the use of the peculiar magnifying power of astral vision to bring\nthem up to a size capable of being recognized by your faculty of visual\nrecognition.\n\n\"The astral vision, when developed, is capable of magnifying any object,\nmaterial or astral, to an enormous degree--for instance, the trained\noccultist is able to perceive the whirling atoms and corpuscles of matter,\nby means of this peculiarity of astral vision. Likewise, he is able to\nplainly perceive many fine vibrations of light which are invisible to the\nordinary sight. In fact, the peculiar Astral Light which pervades this\nregion is due to the power of the astral vision to perceive and register\nthese fine vibrations of light. Bring this power of magnifying into\noperation, and you will see that each of the little points and details of\nthe great world picture so spread before you in the Astral Light is really\na complete scene of a certain place on earth, at a certain period in the\nhistory of the earth. It resembles one of the small views in a series of\nmoving pictures--a single view of a roll-film. It is fixed, and not in\nmotion, and yet we can move forward along the fourth dimension, and thus\nobtain a moving picture of the history of any point on the surface of the\nearth, or even combine the various points into a large moving picture, in\nthe same way. Let us prove this by actual experiment. Close your eyes for\na moment, while we travel back in time (so to speak) along the series of\nthese astral records--for, indeed, they travel back to the beginning of\nthe history of the earth. Now open your eyes! Looking around you, you\nperceive the pictured representation of strange scenes filled with persons\nwearing a peculiar garb--but all is still, no life, no motion.\n\n\"Now, let us move forward in time, at much higher rate than that in which\nthe astral views were registered. You now see flying before you the great\nmovement of life on a certain point of space, in a far distant age. From\nbirth to death you see the life of these strange people, all in the space\nof a few moments. Great battles are fought, and cities rise before your\neyes, all in a great moving picture flying at a tremendous speed. Now\nstop, and then let us move backward in time, still gazing at the moving\npictures. You see a strange sight, like that of 'reversing the film' in a\nmoving picture. You see everything moving backward--cities crumbling into\nnothingness, men arising from their graves, and growing younger each\nsecond until they are finally born as babes--everything moving backward in\ntime, instead of forward. You can thus witness any great historical event,\nor follow the career of any great personage from birth to death--or\nbackward. You will notice, moreover, that everything is semi-transparent,\nand that accordingly you can see the picture of what is going on inside of\nbuildings as well as outside of them. Nothing escapes the Astral Light\nRecords. Nothing can be concealed from it. By traveling to any point in\ntime, on the fourth dimension, you may begin at that point, and see a\nmoving picture of the history of any part of the earth from that time to\nthe present--or you may reverse the sequence by travelling backward, as we\nhave seen. You may also travel in the Astral, on ordinary space\ndimensions, and thus see what happened simultaneously all over the earth,\nat any special moment of past-time, if you wish.\"\n\nNow, I do not for a moment wish you to understand that the above\nexperience is possible to every clairvoyant who is able to sense past-time\nevents and happenings. On the contrary, the above experience is possible\nonly to the advanced occultist, or to the student whom he may take with\nhim on an astral trip, in the astral body. The clairvoyant merely catches\nglimpses of certain phases and fields of the great astral record region or\nstate. For that matter, the ordinary clairvoyant merely sees a reflection\nof the true Astral-Light pictures--a reflection similar to that of a\nlandscape reflected in a pond. Moreover, this reflection may be (and\nfrequently is) disturbed as if by the ripples and waves of the pond in\nwhich the landscape is reflected. But, still, even the ordinary\nclairvoyant is able to secure results which are wonderful enough in all\ntruth, and which far transcend the power of the person functioning on the\nphysical plane alone.\n\nPast-time clairvoyance is frequently induced by means of psychometry, in\nwhich the clairvoyant is able to have \"the loose end\" to unwind the ball\nof time. But, still, in some cases the clairvoyant is able to get en\nrapport with the astral records of past-time by the ordinary methods of\nmeditation, etc. The main obstacle in the last mentioned case is the\ndifficulty of coming in contact with the exact period of past-time sought\nfor--in psychometry, the vibrations of the \"associated object\" supplies\nthe missing-link.\n\nLacking the \"associated object,\" the clairvoyant may obtain the link by\nbringing into the imagination some associated scene of that\ntime--something else that happened about the same time. All that is needed\nis to get hold of something associated in space or in time with the sought\nfor scene. All that is needed is the \"loose end\" of association. Sometimes\nthe clairvoyant senses some past-time experience, the place and time of\nwhich is unknown to him. In such cases, it is necessary for him to get\nhold of some \"loose end\" by which he may work out the solution. For\ninstance, the picture of a certain building or personage, or historical\nhappening, may give the key to the mystery.\n\nIn very high forms of past-time clairvoyance, the clairvoyant is able not\nonly to perceive the actual happenings of the past, but also to actually\nsense the thought and feelings of the actors therein--for these, too, are\nrecorded on the astral plane. In other cases, the clairvoyant person is\nable to picture scenes and happenings relating to his past incarnations,\neven though he is not able to sense other past-time events and scenes.\nBut, here again, many good past-time clairvoyants are not able to catch\nthese glimpses of their own past lives, though able to perceive those of\nother persons. All these variations are due to certain technical\ndifferences into which I cannot go into detail at this place. Again some\npersons are able to perceive events that have happened to persons present\nbefore them, but are not able to contact past-time events in the ordinary\nway. There are a thousand-and-one variations in clairvoyant work. Only the\nhighly advanced occultist is master of all of them. But, still every one\nmay develop himself or herself, from humble beginnings.\n\nIn concluding this lesson, I wish to call your attention to the following\nadvice from a man well advanced in the knowledge of the astral plane. He\nsays: \"It would be well for all students to bear in mind that occultism is\nthe apotheosis of common-sense, and that every vision that comes to them\nis not necessarily a picture from the Akashic Records, nor every\nexperience a revelation from on high. It is far better to err on the side\nof healthy skepticism, than of over-credulity, and it is an admirable\nrule never to hunt about for an occult explanation of anything when a\nplain and obvious physical one is available. Our duty is to endeaveor to\nkeep our balance always, and never to lose our self-control, but to take a\nreasonable, common-sense view of whatever may happen to us, so that we may\nbe wiser occultists, and more useful helpers than we have ever been\nbefore.\n\n\"We find examples of all degrees of the power to see into this 'memory of\nnature,' from the trained man who can consult the records for himself at\nwill, down to the person who gets nothing but occasional vague glimpses,\nor has perhaps had only once such glimpse. But even the man who possesses\nthis faculty only partially and occasionally still finds it of the deepest\ninterest. The psychometer, who needs an object physically connected with\nthe past in order to bring it all into life again around him; and the\ncrystal-gazer who can sometimes direct his less certain astral telescope\nto some historic scene of long ago, may both derive the greatest enjoyment\nfrom the exercise of their respective gifts, even though they may not\nalways understand exactly how their results are obtained, and may not have\nthem fully under control under all circumstances.\n\n\"In many cases of the lower manifestations of these powers we find that\nthey are exercised unconsciously. Many a crystal-gazer watches scenes from\nthe past without being able to distinguish them from visions of the\npresent. And many a vaguely-psychic person finds pictures constantly\narising before his eyes, without ever realizing that he is in effect\npsychometrizing the various objects around him, as he happens to touch\nthem or stand near them. An interesting variant of this class of psychics\nis the man who is able to psychometrize persons only, and not inanimate\nobjects as is more usual. In most cases this faculty shows itself\nerratically, so that such a psychic will, when introduced to a stranger,\noften see in a flash some prominent event in that stranger's earlier life,\nbut on similar occasions will receive no special impression. More rarely\nwe meet with someone who gets detailed visions of the past life of nearly\neveryone whom he encounters. It may easily happen, moreover, that a person\nmay see a picture of the past without recognizing it as such, unless there\nhappens to be in it something which attracts special attention, such as a\nfigure in armor, or in antique costume. Its probable, therefore, that\noccasional glimpses of these astral reflections of the akashic records are\ncommoner than the published accounts would lead us to believe.\"\n\nI would say to my students, make haste slowly. Do not try to rush\ndevelopment too rapidly. Perfect and develop yourself in one line of\npsychic power, before seeking another. Take things cooly, and do not lose\nyour head because you happen to achieve some wonderful phenomena. Do not\nbecome conceited and vain-glorious. And, finally, do not prostitute your\npowers to ignoble ends, and make a cheap show of them. By cheapening and\nprostituting the higher psychic powers, the student frequently ends by\nlosing them altogether. Moderation in all things is the safe policy. And\nit always is well for the occultist to resist temptation to use his powers\nfor unworthy, sensational, or purely selfish purposes.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XII.\n\nCLAIRVOYANCE OF THE FUTURE\n\n\nFuture-Time Clairvoyance, as indicated by its name, is that class of\nclairvoyant phenomena which is concerned with the perception of facts,\nevents and happenings of future time. In this class of clairvoyant\nphenomena naturally fall all genuine cases of prophecy, prevision,\nforetelling, second-sight, etc. History, theological and secular, is\nfilled with instances of the foretelling of the future by prophets, wise\nmen, and others. By many, such powers are generally regarded as\nsupernatural or divine. Without wishing to combat such theories and\nbeliefs, I would say that the advanced occultists account for all such\nphenomena under the general laws of clairvoyance.\n\nBut while the phenomena itself is very well known, and is accepted as\ngenuine in even many cases in which past-time clairvoyance is doubted,\nstill it is even more difficult to explain than is past-time clairvoyance\nbased on the Akashic Records or the Astral Light. To the person not well\nversed in occult knowledge, and esoteric principles, it is deemed\nimpossible to intelligently account for the perception of an event before\nit has actually happened--perhaps years before its actual happening. While\nI cannot hope to make this matter absolutely clear to the person who is\nnot an advanced student of occultism, still I shall try to throw at least\nsome light on the underlying principles of this wonderful class of occult\nphenomena. The main point for the student to realize is that there are\nnatural laws underlying this phenomenon, and that it is not a matter of\nsupernatural power, or necessarily of divine special dispensation.\n\nIn the first place, in some of the simpler forms of future-time\nclairvoyance, there is merely a high development of subconscious reasoning\nfrom analogy. That is to say, the subconscious mental faculties of the\nperson reason out that such-and-so being the case, then it follows that\nso-and-so will result, unless something entirely unexpected should prevent\nor intervene. This is merely an extension of certain forms of reasoning\nthat we perform ordinarily. For instance, we see a child playing with a\nsharp tool, and we naturally reason that it will cut itself. We see a man\nacting in certain ways which generally lead to certain ends, and we\nnaturally reason that the expected result will occur. The more experience\nthat the observer has had, and the keener his faculty of perception and\nhis power of deductive reasoning, the wider will be the range of his power\nin the direction of predicting future results from present happenings and\nconditions.\n\nIn this connection, we must remember that the ordinary clairvoyant has\neasier access to his subconscious mentality than has the average person.\nThe subconscious mind perceives and notes many little things that the\nconscious mind overlooks, and therefore has better data from which to\nreason. Moreover, as all students of the subconscious know, these\nwonderful subconscious mental factulties have a very highly developed\npower of reasoning deductively from a given premise or fact. In fact, the\nsubconscious faculties are almost perfect reasoning machines, providing\nthey are supplied with correct data in the first place. Much of the\nso-called \"intuitive reasoning\" of persons arises from the operations of\nthe subconscious mental faculties just mentioned.\n\nBut, you may say, this is very interesting, but it is not clairvoyance.\nCertainly, good student, but still clairvoyance plays an important part\neven in this elementary form of prevision and future-seeing. You must\nremember that by clairvoyant vision the real thoughts and feelings of a\nperson may be perceived. But, unless the attention of the clairvoyant is\nspecially directed to this, the conscious mind does not note it, and the\nmatter reaches the subconscious faculties without interference or\nconscious knowledge on the part of the clairvoyant. This being so, it will\nbe seen that the subconscious mind of the clairvoyant is able to reason\ndeductively, in such cases, far beyond the power of even the subconscious\nmind of the ordinary person--it has fuller data and more complete material\nto work upon, of course.\n\nIt has become a proverb of the race that \"coming events cast their shadows\nbefore\"; and many persons frequently have little flashes of future-time\nseeing without realizing that they are really exercising elementary\nclairvoyant powers. The combination of even a simple form of clairvoyance\nand an active subconscious mind will often produce very wonderful\nresults--although not of course the more complex phenomena of full\nclairvoyance and prevision. Some persons have claimed that even this form\nof prevision implies something like fate or predestination, but this is\nnot fully true, for we must remember the fact that in some cases it is\npossible to so act in accordance with a clairvoyant warning of this kind\nthat the impending calamity may be escaped. But, on the other hand, we\nmust also remember that every event is the result of certain preceding\nevents, without which it could not have happened, and which existing it\nmust happen unless some new element intervenes. There is such a thing as\ncause and effect, we must remember--and if we can reason clearly from one\nto the other with sufficient clearness, then we may actually prophesy\ncertain things in advance, always making allowance for the intervention of\nthe unexpected.\n\nAn authority says on this phase of the question: \"There is no doubt\nwhatever that, just as what is happening now is the result of causes set\nin motion in the past, so what will happen in the future will be the\nresult of causes already in operation. Even on this plane of life we can\ncalculate that if certain actions are performed, certain results will\nfollow; but our reckoning is constantly liable to be disturbed by the\ninterference of factors which we have not been able to take into account.\nBut if we raise our consciousness to the higher planes we can see much\nfurther into the results of our actions. We can trace, for example, the\neffect of a casual word, not only upon the person to whom it was\naddressed, but through him on many others as it is passed on in widening\ncircles, until it seems to have affected the whole country; and one\nglimpse of such a vision is more efficient than any number of moral\nprecepts in impressing upon us the necessity of extreme circumspection in\nthought, word, and deed. Not only can we from that plane see thus fully\nthe result of every action, but we can also see where and in what way the\nresults of other actions apparently quite unconnected with it will\ninterfere with and modify it. In fact, it may be said that the results of\nall causes at present in action are clearly visible--that the future, as\nit would be if no entirely new causes should arise, lies open before our\ngaze.\n\n\"New causes of course do arise, because man's will is free; but in the\ncase of all ordinary people the use which they make of their freedom may\nbe calculated beforehand with considerable accuracy. The average man has\nso little real will that he is very much the creature of circumstances;\nhis action in previous lives places him amid certain surroundings, and\ntheir influence upon him is so very much the most important factor in his\nlife-story that his future course may be predicted with almost\nmathematical certainty. With the developed man the case is different; for\nhim also the main events of life are arranged by his past actions, but the\nway in which he will allow them to affect him, the methods by which he\nwill deal with them and perhaps triumph over them--these are all his own,\nand they cannot be foreseen even on the mental plane except as\nprobabilities.\n\n\"Looking down on man's life in this way from above, it seems as though his\nfree will could be exercised only in certain crises in his career. He\narrives at a point in his life where there are obviously two or three\nalternative courses open before him; he is absolutely free to choose which\nof them he pleases, and although someone who knew his nature thoroughly\nwell might feel almost certain what his choice would be, such knowledge on\nhis friend's part is in no sense a compelling force. But when he has\nchosen, he has to go through with it and take the consequences; having\nentered upon a particular path he may, in many cases, be forced to go on\nfor a very long time before he has any opportunity to turn aside. His\nposition is somewhat like that of a driver of a train; when he comes to a\njunction he may have the points set either this way or that, and so can\npass on to whichever line he pleases, but when he has passed on to one of\nthem he is compelled to run on along the line which he has selected until\nhe reaches another set of points, where again an opportunity of choice is\noffered to him.\"\n\nBut, interesting and wonderful as this phase of future-time clairvoyance\nundoubtedly is, it pales before the fuller and more complete phases. And,\nin the latter, we must look elsewhere for the explanation--or approach to\nan explanation. The explanation of this higher form of future-time\nclairvoyance must be looked for in a new conception of the nature and\nmeaning of time. It is difficult to approach this question without\nbecoming at once involved in technical metaphysical discussion. As an\nexample of this difficulty, I invite you to consider the following from\nSir Oliver Lodge, in his address to the British Association, at Cardiff,\nseveral years ago. While what he says is very clear to the mind of a\nperson trained along these lines of subtle thought, it will be almost like\nGreek to the average person. Sir Oliver Lodge said:\n\n\"A luminous and helpful idea is that time is but a relative mode of\nregarding things; we progress through phenomena at a certain definite\npace, and this subjective advance we interpret in an objective manner, as\nif events moved necessarily in this order and at this precise rate. But\nthat may be only one mode of regarding them. The events may be in some\nsense of existence always, both past and future, and it may be we who are\narriving at them, not they which are happening. The analogy of a traveller\nin a railway train is useful; if he could never leave the train nor alter\nits pace he would probably consider the landscapes as necessarily\nsuccessive and be unable to conceive their co-existence * * * We perceive,\ntherefore, a possible fourth dimensional aspect about time, the\ninexorableness of whose flow may be a natural part of our present\nlimitations. And if we once grasp the idea that past and future may be\nactually existing, we can recognize that they may have a controlling\ninfluence on all present action, and the two together may constitute the\n'higher plane' or totality of things after which, as it seems to me, we\nare impelled to seek, in connection with the directing of form or\ndeterminism, and the action of living being consciously directed to a\ndefinite and preconceived end.\"\n\nSir Oliver's illustration is somewhat akin to that of a person who sees a\nmoving-picture show for the first time, and does not know how it is\nproduced. To him it looks as if the events of the pictured story actually\nwere developing and happening in time, whereas, in reality the whole\npicture is existing at one time. Its past, present and future is already\npictured, and may be seen by one who knows the secret and how to look for\nthe past or future scene; while, to the ordinary observer, the scene\nprogresses in sequence, the present being followed by something else which\nis at this moment \"in the future,\" and therefore, unknowable. To the\nsenses of the ordinary observer only the present is in existence; while,\nin fact, the \"future\" is equally truly in existence at the same time,\nalthough not evident to the senses of the observer. Think over this a\nlittle, and let the idea sink into your mind--it may help you to\nunderstand something concerning the mystery of future-time clairvoyance,\nprevision, or second-sight.\n\nTime, you know, is far more relative than we generally conceive it. It is\na scientific fact that a person in the dream state may cover years of\ntime in a dream that occupies only a few seconds of time. Persons have\nnodded and awakened immediately afterwards (as proved by others present in\nthe room), and yet in that moment's time they have dreamed of long\njourneys to foreign lands, great campaigns of war, etc. Moreover, a loud\nsound (a pistol shot, for instance) which has awakened a sleeping person,\nhas also set into effect a dream-state train of circumstances,\nconstituting a long dream-state story which, after many events and\nhappenings, terminated in the shot of a firing-squad--and then the man\nawoke. Now in this last mentioned case, not only has the dreamer\nexperienced events covering a long time, all in the space of a second of\ntime; but, also, the very sound which terminated the dream, also induced\nit from the very beginning--the last thing caused the first things to\nappear and proceed in sequence to the last! Persons under the influence of\nchloroform, or \"laughing gas,\" have similar experiences--often the first\nsound heard at the moment of recovering consciousness seems to be the last\nthing in a long dream which preceded it, though the long dream was really\ncaused by the final sound. Now, remember, that here not only did past,\npresent and future exist at the same moment of time; but, also, the future\ncaused the past and present to come into being.\n\nOn the physical plane, we have analogies illustrating this fact. It is\nsaid that in every acorn rests and exists, in miniature, the form of the\nfuture oak. And, some go so far as to say that the oak is the \"ultimate\ncause\" of the acorn--that the idea of the oak caused the acorn to be at\nall. In the same way, the \"idea\" of the man must be in the infant boy,\nfrom the moment of birth, and even from the moment of conception.\nBut, let us pass on to the bold conception of the most advanced\nmetaphysicians--they have a still more dazzling explanation, let us listen\nto it.\n\nThese occultists and metaphysicians who have thought long and deeply upon\nthe ultimate facts and nature of the universe, have dared to think that\nthere must exist some absolute consciousness--some absolute mind--which\nmust perceive the past, present and future of the universe as one\nhappening; as simultaneously and actively present at one moment of\nabsolute time. They reason that just as man may see as one happening of a\nmoment of his time some particular event which might appear as a year to\nsome minute form of life and mind--the microscopic creatures in a drop of\nwater, for instance; so that which seems as a year, or a hundred years, to\nthe mind of man may appear as the happening of a single moment of a higher\nscale of time to some exalted Being or form of consciousness on a higher\nplane. You remember that it is said that \"a thousand years is but as a day\nto the Lord;\" and the Hindu Vedas tell us that \"the creation, duration,\nand destruction of the universe, is as but the time of the twinkling of an\neye to Brahman.\" I shall not proceed further along this line--I have given\nyou a very strong hint here; you must work it out for yourself, if you\nfeel so disposed. But there are certain consequences arising from this\nultimate universal fact, which I must mention before passing on.\n\nThe high occult teachings hold that there is a plane of the higher astral\nworld which may be said to carry a reflection of the Universal Mind--just\nas a lake contains a reflection of the distant mountain. Well, then, the\nclairvoyant vision at times is able to penetrate to the realm of that\nastral reflecting medium, and see somewhat dimly what is pictured there.\nAs the future may be discerned in this reflected picture, by the\nclairvoyant mind, we see how future-seeing, prevision, and second-sight\nmay be explained scientifically.\n\nA writer has said: \"On this plane, in some manner which down here is\ntotally inexplicable, the past, the present, and the future, are all there\nexisting simultaneously. One can only accept this fact, for its cause lies\nin the faculty of that exalted plane, and the way in which this higher\nfaculty works is naturally quite incomprehensible to the physical brain.\nYet now and then one may meet with a hint that seems to bring us a trifle\nnearer to a dim possibility of comprehension. When the pupil's\nconsciousness is fully developed upon this higher plane, therefore,\nperfect prevision is possible to him, though he may not--nay, he certainly\nwill not--be able to bring the whole result of his sight through fully and\nin order into his physical consciousness. Still, a great deal of clear\nforesight is obviously within his power whenever he likes to exercise it;\nand even when he is not exercising it, frequent flashes of foreknowledge\ncome through into his ordinary life, so that he often has an instantaneous\nintuition as to how things will turn out.\"\n\nThe same writer says: \"Short of perfect prevision we find that all degrees\nof this type of clairvoyance exist, from the occasional vague premonitions\nwhich cannot in any true sense be called sight at all, up to frequent and\nfairly complete second-sight. The faculty to which this latter somewhat\nmisleading name has been given is an extremely interesting one, and would\nwell repay more careful and systematic study than has hitherto been given\nto it. It is best known to us as a not infrequent possession of the\nScottish Highlanders, though it is by no means confined to them.\nOccasional instances of it have appeared in almost every nation, but it\nhas always been commonest among mountaineers and men of lonely life. With\nus in England it is often spoken of as if it were the exclusive appanage\nof the Celtic race, but in reality it has appeared among similarly\nsituated peoples the world over, it is stated, for example, to be very\ncommon among the Westphalian peasantry.\n\n\"Sometimes the second-sight consists of a picture clearly foreshowing some\ncoming event; more frequently, perhaps, the glimpse of the future is given\nin some symbolical appearance. It is noteworthy that the events foreseen\nare invariably unpleasant ones--death being the commonest of all; I do not\nrecollect a single instance in which the second-sight has shown anything\nwhich was not of the most gloomy nature. It has a ghastly symbolism of\nits own--a symbolism of shrouds and corpse-candles, and other funeral\nhorrors. In some cases it appears to be to a certain extent dependent upon\nlocality, for it is stated that inhabitants of the Isle of Skye who\npossess the faculty often lose it when they leave the island, even though\nit be only to cross to the mainland. The gift of such sight is sometimes\nhereditary in a family for generations, but this is not an invariable\nrule, for it often appears sporadically in one member of a family\notherwise free from its lugubrious influence.\n\n\"There may be still some people who deny the possibility of prevision, but\nsuch denial simply shows their ignorance of the evidence on the subject.\nThe large number of authenticated cases leave no room for doubt as to the\nfact, but many of them are of such a nature as to render a reasonable\nexplanation by no means easy to find. It is evident that the Ego possesses\na certain amount of previsional faculty, and if the events foreseen were\nalways of great importance, one might suppose that an extraordinary\nstimulus had enabled him for that occasion only to make a clear impression\nof what he saw upon his lower personality. No doubt that is the\nexplanation of many of the cases in which death or grave disaster is\nforeseen, but there are a large number of instances on record to which it\ndoes not seem to apply, since the events foretold are frequently trivial\nand unimportant.\"\n\nIn the following chapter I shall present to your consideration some very\nremarkable cases of future-time clairvoyance, prevision, or second-sight;\nsome of these are historical cases, and all are vouched for by the best\nauthorities. I quote these cases not merely for their own interesting\nfeatures, but also to give you an idea of how remarkable some of these\ninstances are; and also to give you a clear conception of the way in which\nthis form of clairvoyance tends to manifest itself.\n\nBefore passing on to these interesting cases, however, I wish to remind\nyou that in future-time clairvoyance, as well as in past-time\nclairvoyance, the phenomenon may be manifested in many ways and according\nto several methods. That is to say, that in future-time clairvoyance the\nvision may come in the state of meditation or reverie; it may come along\nthe lines of psychometry, some associated object or person supplying the\nconnecting link; or, again, it may come as the result of crystal-gazing,\netc. This is as we might naturally expect, for this form of clairvoyance\nis merely one special and particular phase of clairvoyance in general, and\nof course, comes under the general laws and rules governing all\nclairvoyant phenomena.\n\nFuture-time clairvoyance, prevision and second-sight may, like any other\nform of clairvoyance, be developed and unfolded, by means of the same\nrules and methods that I have already suggested to you in the preceding\nlessons. It is all a matter of attention, application, patience, exercise\nand practice. I may say, however, that the strong desire and wish for the\nperception of future events, held firmly in mind during the practicing and\nexercising, will tend to unfold and develop the clairvoyant faculties in\nthis particular direction. Strong desire, and earnest attention in the\ndesired direction, will do much to cultivate, develop and unfold any\npsychic faculty.\n\nJust as meditation and reverie about past times and things tend to develop\npast-time clairvoyance, so will meditation and reverie about future time\nand things tend to develop prevision and the seeing of future things.\nThis, indeed, is the very first step toward the attainment of this form of\nclairvoyance. The attention clears the psychic path, over which the astral\nfaculties travel. In the astral, as on the physical, the rule is: always\nlook where you are going--look ahead on the path over which you wish to\ntravel.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XIII.\n\nSECOND-SIGHT, PREVISION, ETC.\n\n\nNotwithstanding the difficulties in the way of an intelligent explanation\nof the phenomena of future-time clairvoyance, second-sight, prevision,\netc., of which I have spoken in the preceding lesson, the human race has\nalways had a lively reminder of the existence of such phenomena; and the\nrecords of the race have always contained many instances of the\nmanifestation thereof. Among all peoples, in all lands, in all times,\nthere have been noted remarkable instances of the power of certain persons\nto peer into, and correctly report from, the mysterious regions of the\nfuture. Passing from the traditional reports of the race, and the minor\ninstances known to almost every person, we find that the scientific\ninvestigators of psychic phenomena have gathered together an enormous\narray of well authenticated cases of this class. The reports of the\nSociety for Psychical research contain hundreds of such cases, which the\nstudent may read and study with interest and profit.\n\nIt is not my intention to present a full history of the reports of this\ncharacter. Rather, I shall call your attention to a few striking cases, in\norder to illustrate the phenomenon clearly and forcibly. There is such a\nwealth of material of this kind that it embarrases one who wishes to\nselect from it. However, I shall do the best I can in that direction.\nFollowing, to commence with, I give you extracts from a well known case\nreported by a prominent member of the Theosophical Society, which has\nattracted much attention. It was related to this person by one of the\nactors in the scene. It happened in India. A party of English army\nofficers was entering a dense jungle. Then follows the story, as below:\n\n\"We plunged into the jungle, and had walked on for about an hour without\nmuch success, when Cameron, who happened to be next to me, stopped\nsuddenly, turned pale as death, and, pointing straight before him, cried\nin accents of horror: 'See! see! merciful heavens, look there!' 'Where?\nwhat? what is it?' we all shouted confusedly, as we rushed up to him, and\nlooked around in expectation of encountering a tiger--a cobra--we hardly\nknew what, but assuredly something terrible, since it had been sufficient\nto cause such evident emotion in our usually self-contained comrade. But\nneither tiger nor cobra was visible--nothing but Cameron pointing with\nghastly haggard face and starting eyeballs at something we could not see.\n\n\"'Cameron! Cameron!' cried I, seizing his arm, 'for heavens sake speak!\nWhat is the matter?' Scarcely were the words out of my mouth when a low\nbut very peculiar sound struck upon my ear, and Cameron, dropping his\npointing hand, said in a hoarse, strained voice, 'There! you heard it?\nThank God it's over!' and fell to the ground insensible. There was a\nmomentary confusion while we unfastened his collar, and I dashed in his\nface some water which I fortunately had in my flask, while another tried\nto pour brandy between his clenched teeth; and under cover of it I\nwhispered to the man next to me (one of our greatest skeptics, by the\nway), 'Beauchamp, did you hear anything?' 'Why, yes,' he replied, 'a\ncurious sound, very; a sort of crash or rattle far away in the distance,\nyet very distinct; if the thing were not utterly impossible, I could have\nsworn that it was the rattle of musketry.' 'Just my impression,' murmured\nI; 'but hush! he is recovering.'\n\n\"In a minute or two he was able to speak feebly, and began to thank us and\napologize for giving trouble; and soon he sat up, leaning against a tree,\nand in a firm, though low voice said: 'My dear friends, I feel that I owe\nyou an explanation of my extraordinary behavior. It is an explanation that\nI would fain avoid giving; but it must come some time, and so may as well\nbe given now. You may perhaps have noticed that when during our voyage you\nall joined in scoffing at dreams, portents and visions, I invariably\navoided giving any opinion on the subject. I did so because, while I had\nno desire to court ridicule or provoke discussion, I was unable to agree\nwith you, knowing only too well from my own dread experience that the\nworld which men agree to call that of the supernatural is just as real\nas--nay, perhaps even more real than--this world we see about us. In other\nwords, I, like many of my countrymen, am cursed with the gift of\nsecond-sight--that awful faculty which foretells in vision calamities\nthat are shortly to occur.\n\n\"'Such a vision I had just now, and its exceptional horror moved me as you\nhave seen. I saw before me a corpse--not that of one who has died a\npeaceful, natural death, but that of the victim of some terrible accident;\na ghastly, shapeless mass, with a face swollen, crushed, unrecognizable. I\nsaw this dreadful object placed in a coffin, and the funeral service\nperformed over it. I saw the burial-ground, I saw the clergyman: and\nthough I had never seen either before, I can picture both perfectly in my\nmind's eye now; I saw you, myself, Beauchamp, all of us and many more,\nstanding round as mourners; I saw the soldiers raise their muskets after\nthe service was over; I heard the volley they fired--and then I knew no\nmore.' As he spoke of that volley of musketry I glanced across with a\nshudder at Beauchamp, and the look of stony horror on that handsome\nskeptic's face was not to be forgotten.\"\n\nOmitting the somewhat long recital of events which followed, I would say\nthat later in the same day the party of young officers and soldiers\ndiscovered the body of their commanding officer in the shocking condition\nso vividly and graphically described by young Cameron. The story proceeds\nas follows:\n\n\"When, on the following evening, we arrived at our destination, and our\nmelancholy deposition had been taken down by the proper authorities,\nCameron and I went out for a quiet walk, to endeavor with the assistance\nof the soothing influence of nature to shake off something of the gloom\nwhich paralyzed our spirits. Suddenly he clutched my arm, and, pointing\nthrough some rude railings, said in a trembling voice, 'Yes, there it is!\nthat is the burial-ground of yesterday.' And, when later on we were\nintroduced to the chaplain of the post, I noticed, though my friends did\nnot, the irrepressible shudder with which Cameron took his hand, and I\nknew that he had recognized the clergyman of his vision.\"\n\nThe story concludes with the statement that in all the little details, as\nwell as the main points, the scene at the burial of the commanding officer\ncorresponded exactly with the vision of Cameron. This story brings out the\nfact that the Scotch people are especially given to manifestations of\nsecond-sight--particularly the Highlanders or mountain people of that\nland. It is hard to find a Scotchman, who, in his heart, does not believe\nin second-sight, and who has not known of some well authenticated instance\nof its manifestation. In other lands, certain races, or sub-races, seem to\nbe specially favored (or cursed, as Cameron asserted) with this power. It\nwill be noticed, usually, that such people dwell, or have dwelt in the\nhighlands or mountains of their country. There seems to be something in\nthe mountains and hills which tends to develop and encourage this power in\nthose dwelling among them. The story is also remarkable in the fact that\nthe impression was so strong in the mind of Cameron that it actually\ncommunicated itself by clairaudience to those near to him--this is quite\nunusual, though not without correspondence in other cases. Otherwise, the\ncase is merely a typical one, and may be duplicated in the experience of\nthousands of other men and women.\n\nGeorge Fox, the pioneer Quaker, had this faculty well developed, and\nnumerous instances of its manifestation by him are recorded. For instance,\nhe foretold the death of Cromwell, when he met him riding at Hampton\nCourt; he said that he felt \"a waft of death\" around and about Cromwell;\nand Cromwell died shortly afterwards. Fox also publicly foretold the\ndissolution of the Rump Parliament of England; the restoration of Charles\nII; and the Great Fire of London--these are historical facts, remember.\nFor that matter, history contains many instances of this kind: the\nprophecy of Caesar's death, and its further prevision by his wife, for\ninstance. The Bible prophecies and predictions, major and minor, give us\nsemi-historical instances.\n\nA celebrated historical instance of remarkable second-sight and prevision,\nis that of Cazotte, whose wonderful prediction and its literal fulfilment\nare matters of French history. Dumas has woven the fact into one of his\nstories, in a dramatic manner--but even so he does not make the tale any\nmore wonderful than the bare facts. Here is the recital of the case by La\nHarpe, the French writer, who was a personal witness of the occurrence,\nand whose testimony was corroborated by many others who were present at\nthe time. La Harpe says:\n\n\"It appears as but yesterday, and yet, nevertheless, it was at the\nbeginning of the year 1788. We were dining with one of our brethren at the\nAcademy--a man of considerable wealth and genius. The conversation became\nserious; much admiration was expressed on the revolution in thought which\nVoltaire had effected, and it was agreed that it was his first claim to\nthe reputation he enjoyed. We concluded that the revolution must soon be\nconsummated; that it was indispensible that superstition and fanaticism\nshould give way to philosophy, and we began to calculate the probability\nof the period when this should be, and which of the present company should\nlive to see it. The oldest complained that they could scarcely flatter\nthemselves with the hope; the younger rejoiced that they might entertain\nthis very probable expectation; and they congratulated the Academy\nespecially for having prepared this great work, and for having been the\nrallying point, the centre, and the prime mover of the liberty of thought.\n\n\"One only of the guests had not taken part in all the joyousness of this\nconversation, and had even gently and cheerfully checked our splendid\nenthusiasm. This was Cazotte, an amiable and original man, but unhappily\ninfatuated with the reveries of the illumaniti. He spoke, and with the\nmost serious tone, saying: 'Gentleman, be satisfied; you will all see this\ngreat and sublime revolution, which you so much desire. You know that I am\na little inclined to prophesy; I repeat, you will see it,' He was answered\nby the common rejoinder: 'One need not be a conjuror to see that.' He\nanswered: 'Be it so; but perhaps one must be a little more than conjuror\nfor what remains for me to tell you. Do you know what will be the\nconsequences of this revolution--what will be the consequence to all of\nyou, and what will be the immediate result--the well-established\neffect--the thoroughly recognized consequences to all of you who are here\npresent?'\n\n\"'Ah' said Condorcet, with his insolent and half-suppressed smile, 'let us\nhear--a philosopher is not sorry to encounter a prophet--let us hear!'\nCazotte replied: 'You, Monsier de Condorcet--you will yield up your last\nbreath on the floor of a dungeon; you will die from poison, which you will\nhave taken in order to escape from execution--from poison which the\nhappiness of that time will oblige you to carry about your person. You,\nMonsieur de Chamfort, you will open your veins with twenty-two cuts of a\nrazor, and yet will not die till some months afterward.' These personages\nlooked at each other, and laughed again. Cazotte continued: 'You, Monsieur\nVicq d'Azir, you will not open your own veins, but you will cause yourself\nto be bled six times in one day, during a paroxysm of the gout, in order\nto make more sure of your end, and you will die in the night.'\n\n\"Cazotte went on: 'You, Monsieur de Nicolai, you will die on the scaffold;\nyou, Monsieur Bailly, on the scaffold; you, Monsieur de Malesherbes, on\nthe scaffold. 'Ah, God be thanked,' exclaimed Roucher, 'and what of I?'\nCazotte replied: 'You? you also will die on the scaffold.' 'Yes,' replied\nChamfort, 'but when will all this happen?' Cazotte answered: 'Six years\nwill not pass over, before all that I have said to you shall be\naccomplished.' Here I (La Harpe) spoke, saying: 'Here are some astonishing\nmiracles, but you have not included me in your list.' Cazotte answered me,\nsaying: 'But you will be there, as an equally extraordinary miracle; you\nwill then be a Christian!' Vehement exclamations on all sides followed\nthis startling assertion. 'Ah!' said Chamfort, 'I am conforted; if we\nshall perish only when La Harpe shall be a Christian, we are immortal;'\n\n\"Then observed Madame la Duchesse de Grammont: 'As for that, we women, we\nare happy to be counted for nothing in these revolutions: when I say for\nnothing, it is not that we do not always mix ourselves up with them a\nlittle; but it is a received maxim that they take no notice of us, and of\nour sex.' 'Your sex, ladies' said Cazotte, 'your sex will not protect you\nthis time; and you had far better meddle with nothing, for you will be\ntreated entirely as men, without any difference whatever.' 'But what,\nthen, are you really telling us of Monsieur Cazotte? You are preaching to\nus the end of the world.' 'I know nothing on that subject; but what I do\nknow is, that you Madame la Duchesse, will be conducted to the scaffold,\nyou and many other ladies with you, in the cart of the executioner, and\nwith your hands tied behind your backs. 'Ah! I hope that in that case, I\nshall at least have a carriage hung in black.' 'No, madame; higher ladies\nthan yourself will go, like you, in the common car, with their hands tied\nbehind them.' 'Higher ladies! what! the princesses of the blood?' 'Yea,\nand still more exalted personages!' replied Cazotte.\n\n\"Here a sensible emotion pervaded the whole company, and the countenance\nof the host was dark and lowering--they began to feel that the joke was\nbecoming too serious. Madame de Grammont, in order to dissipate the cloud,\ntook no notice of the reply, and contented herself with saying in a\ncareless tone: 'You see, that he will not leave me even a confessor!' 'No,\nmadame!' replied Cazotte, 'you will not have one--neither you, nor any one\nbesides. The last victim to whom this favor will be afforded will be--'\nHere he stopped for a moment. 'Well! who then will be the happy mortal to\nwhom this prerogative will be given?' Cazotte replied: 'It is the only one\nwhich he will have then retained--and that will be the King of France!'\"\nThis last startling prediction caused the company to disband in something\nlike terror and dismay, for the mere mention of such thing was akin to\ntreason.\n\nThe amazing sequel to this strange story is that within the six years\nallotted by the prophecy, every detail thereof was verified absolutely.\nThe facts are known to all students of the French Revolution, and may be\nverified by reference to any history of that terrible period. To\nappreciate the startling nature of the prophecy when made, one needs but\nto be acquainted with the position and characteristics of the persons\nwhose destinies were foretold. This celebrated instance of highly advanced\nfuture-time clairvoyance, or prevision, has never been equalled. The\nreason, perhaps, is that Cazotte indeed was an advanced and highly\ndeveloped occultist--the account mentions this, you will notice. This\nclass of persons very seldom prophecy in this way, for reasons known to\nall occultists. The ordinary cases recorded are those in which the\nmanifestation is that of a person of lesser powers and less perfect\ndevelopment.\n\nAdvanced occultists know the danger of a careless use of this power. They\nknow that (omitting other and very important reasons) such revelations\nwould work a terrible effect upon the minds of persons not sufficiently\nwell balanced to stand the disclosure. Moreover, they know that if the\naverage person knew the principal details of his future life on earth,\nthen he would lose interest in it--it would become stale and would lose\nthe attraction of the unknown. In such a case, the pleasant things to come\nwould lose their attractiveness by reason of having been dwelt on so long\nthat their flavor was lost; and the unpleasant things would become\nunbearable by reason of the continual anticipation of them. We are apt to\ndiscount our pleasures by dwelling too much upon them in anticipation;\nand, as we all know, the dread of a coming evil often is worse than the\nthing itself--we suffer a thousand pangs in anticipation to one in\nreality. But, as I have intimated, there are other, and still more serious\nreasons why the advanced occultists do not indulge in public prophecies\nof this kind. It is probable that Cazotte decided to, and was permitted\nto, make his celebrated prophecy for some important occult reason of which\nLa Harpe had no knowledge--it doubtless was a part of the working out of\nsome great plan, and it may have accomplished results undreamed of by us.\nAt any rate, it was something very much out of the; ordinary, even in the\ncase of advanced occultists and masters of esoteric knowledge.\n\nAnother case which has a historic value is the well-known case concerning\nthe assassination of Spencer Perceval, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in\nEngland, which occurred in the lobby of the House of Commons. The persons\nwho have a knowledge of the case report that some nine days before the\ntragic occurrence a Cornish mine manager, named John Williams, had a\nvision, three times in succession, in which he saw a small man, dressed in\na blue coat and white waistcoat, enter the lobby of the House of Commons;\nwhereupon another man, dressed in a snuff-colored coat, stepped forward,\nand, drawing a pistol from an inside pocket fired at and shot the small\nman, the bullet lodging in the left breast. In the vision, Williams turned\nand asked some bystander the name of the victim; the bystander replied\nthat the stricken man was Mr. Spencer Perceval, the Chancellor of the\nExchequer. The valuable feature of the case, from a scientific standpoint,\nlies in the fact that Williams was very much impressed by his\nthrice-repeated vision, and was greatly disturbed thereby. His anxiety\nwas so great that he spoke of the matter to several friends, and asked\nthem whether it would not be well for him to go to London for the purpose\nof warning Mr. Perceval. His friends ridiculed the whole matter, and\npersuaded him to give up the idea of visiting London for the purpose\nnamed. Those who had a knowledge of the vision were greatly startled and\nshocked when several days afterward the assassination occurred, agreeing\nin perfect detail with the vision of the Cornishman. The case, vouched for\nas it was by a number of reliable persons who had been consulted by\nWilliams, attracted much attention at the time, and has since passed into\nthe history of remarkable instances of prevision.\n\nIn some cases, however, the prevision seems to come as a warning, and in\nmany cases the heeding of the warning has prevented the unpleasant\nfeatures from materializing as seen in the vision. Up to the point of the\naction upon the warning the occurrence agree perfectly with the\nvision--but the moment the warned person acts so as to prevent the\noccurrence, the whole train of circumstances is broken. There is an occult\nexplanation of this, but it is too technical to mention at this place.\n\nWhat is known to psychic researchers as \"the Hannah Green case\" is of this\ncharacter. This story, briefly, is that Hannah Green, a housekeeper of\nOxfordshire, dreamt that she, having been left alone in the house of a\nSunday evening, heard a knock at the door. Opening the door she found a\ntramp who tried to force his way into the house. She struggled to prevent\nhis entrance, but he struck her with a bludgeon and rendered her\ninsensible, whereupon he entered the house and robbed it. She related the\nvision to her friends, but, as nothing happened for some time, the matter\nalmost passed from her mind. But, some seven years afterward, she was left\nin charge of the house on a certain Sunday evening; during the evening she\nwas startled by a sudden knock at the door, and her former vision was\nrecalled to her memory quite vividly. She refused to go to the door,\nremembering the warning, but instead went up to a landing on the stair and\nlooked out the window, she saw at the door the very tramp whom she had\nseen in the vision some seven years before, armed with a bludgeon and\nstriving to force an entrance into the house. She took steps to frighten\naway the rascal, and she was saved from the unpleasant conclusion of her\nvision. Many similar cases are recorded.\n\nIn some cases persons have been warned by symbols of various kinds; or\nelse have had prevision in the same way. For instance, many cases are\nknown in which the vision is that of the undertaker's wagon standing\nbefore the door of the person who dies sometime afterward. Or, the person\nis visioned clad in a shroud. The variations of this class are\ninnumerable. Speak to the average dweller in the highlands of Scotland, or\ncertain counties in Ireland, regarding this--you will be furnished with a\nwealth of illustrations and examples.\n\nThis phase of the general subject of clairvoyance is very fascinating to\nthe student and investigator, and is one in which the highest psychic or\nastral powers of sensing are called into play. In fact, as I have said,\nthere is here a reflection of something very much higher than the astral\nor psychic planes of being. The student catches a glimpse of regions\ninfinitely higher and grander. He begins to realize at least something of\nthe existence of that Universal Consciousness \"in which we live, and move,\nand have our being;\" and of the reality of the Eternal Now, in which past,\npresent and future are blended as one fact of infinite consciousness. He\nsees the signboard pointing to marvelous truths!\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XIV.\n\nASTRAL-BODY TRAVELING\n\n\nThere is much confusion existing in the minds of the average students of\noccultism concerning the distinction between astral visioning by means of\nthe astral senses in clairvoyance, and the visioning of the astral senses\nduring the travels of the astral body away from the physical body. There\nis such a close connection between the two several phases of occult\nphenomena that it is easy to mistake one for the other; in fact, there is\noften such a blending of the two that it is quite difficult to distinguish\nbetween them. However, in this lesson I shall endeavor to bring out the\ncharacteristics of astral body visioning, that the student may learn to\ndistinguish them from those of the ordinary clairvoyant astral visioning,\nand recognize them when he experiences them.\n\nThe main points of distinction are these: When visioning clairvoyantly by\nmeans of the astral senses, as described in the preceding chapters of this\nbook, the clairvoyant usually perceives the scene, person or event as a\npicture on a flat surface. It is true that there is generally a perfect\nperspective, similar to that of a good stereoscopic view, or that of a\nhigh-grade moving picture photograph--the figures \"stand out,\" and do not\nappear \"flat\" as in the case of an ordinary photograph; but still at the\nbest it is like looking at a moving picture, inasmuch as the whole scene\nis all in front of you. Visioning in the astral body, on the contrary,\ngives you an \"all around\" view of the scene. That is to say, in such case\nyou see the thing just as you would were you there in your physical\nbody--you see in front of you; on the sides of you, out of the corner of\nyour eye; if you turn your head, you may see in any direction; and you may\nturn around and see what is happening behind you. In the first case you\nare merely gazing at an astral picture in front of you; while in the\nsecond place you are ACTUALLY THERE IN PERSON.\n\nThere are some limitations to this \"seeing all around\" when in the astral\nbody, however, which I should note in passing. For instance, if when in\nthe astral body you examine the akashic records of the past, or else peer\ninto the scenes of the future, you will see these things merely as a\npicture, and will not be conscious of being present personally in the\nscene. (An apparent exception is to be noted here, also, viz., if your\npast-time visioning includes the perception of yourself in a former\nincarnation, you may be conscious of living and acting in your former\npersonality; again, if you are psychometrizing from fossil remains, or\nanything concerned with a living creature of the past, you may \"take on\"\nthe mental or emotional conditions of that creature, and seem to sense\nthings from the inside, rather than from the outside. This, of course, is\nalso a characteristic of the ordinary clairvoyant vision of the past.) But\nwhen, in the astral body, you perceive a present-time scene in space, you\nare, to all intents and purposes, an actual participant--you are actually\npresent at the place and time. The sense of \"being actually present in\nthe body\" is the leading characteristic of the astral body visioning, and\ndistinguishes it from the \"picture seeing\" sensing of ordinary\nclairvoyance. This is stating the matter is as plain and simple form as is\npossible, ignoring many technical details and particulars.\n\nYou, being a student of occultism, of course know that the astral body is\na fine counterpart of the physical body, composed of a far more subtle\nform of substance than is the latter, that under certain conditions you\nmay travel in your astral body, detached from your physical body (except\nbeing connected with it with a slender astral cord, bearing a close\nresemblance to the umbilical cord which connects the newborn babe with the\nplacenta in the womb of its mother), and explore the realms of the astral\nplane. This projection of the astral body, as a rule, occurs only when the\nphysical body is stilled in sleep, or in trance condition. In fact, the\nastral body frequently is projected by us during the course of our\nordinary sleep, but we fail to remember what we have seen in our astral\njourneys, except, occasionally, dim flashes of partial recollection upon\nawakening. In some cases, however, our astral visioning is so distinct and\nvivid, that we awaken with a sense of having had a peculiar experience,\nand as having actually been out of the physical body at the time.\n\nIn some cases, the person traveling in the astral is able to actually take\npart in the distant scene, and may, under certain circumstances actually\nmaterialize himself so as to be seen by persons in their physical bodies.\nI am speaking now, of course, of the untrained person. The trained and\ndeveloped occultist, of course, is able to do these things deliberately\nand consciously, instead of unconsciously and without intention as in the\ncase of the ordinary person. I shall quote here from another writer on the\nsubject, whose point of view, in connection with my own, may serve to\nbring about a clear understanding in the mind of the student--it is always\nwell to view any subject from as many angles as possible. This writer\nsays:\n\n\"We enter here upon an entirely new variety of clairvoyance, in which the\nconsciousness of the seer no longer remains in or closely connected with\nhis physical body, but is definitely transferred to the scene which he is\nexamining. Though it has no doubt greater dangers for the untrained seer\nthan either of the other methods, it is yet quite the most satisfactory\nform of clairvoyance open to him. In this case, the man's body is either\nasleep or in a trance, and its organs are consequently not available for\nuse while the vision is going on, so that all description of what is seen,\nand all questioning as to further particulars, must be postponed until the\nwanderer returns to this plane. On the other hand, the sight is much\nfuller and more perfect; the man hears as well as sees everything which\npasses before him, and can move about freely at will within the very wide\nlimits of the astral plane. He has also the immense advantage of being\nable to take part, as it were, in the scenes which come before his\neyes--of conversing at will with various entities on the astral plane, and\nfrom whom so much information that is curious and interesting may be\nobtained. If in addition he can learn how to materialize himself (a matter\nof no great difficulty for him when once the knack is acquired), he will\nbe able to take part in physical events or conversations at a distance,\nand to show himself to an absent friend at will.\n\n\"Again, he will have the additional power of being able to hunt about for\nwhat he wants. By means of the other varieties of clairvoyance, for all\npractical purposes he may find a person or place only when he is already\nacquainted with it; or, when he is put en rapport with it by touching\nsomething physically connected with it, as in psychometry. By the use of\nthe astral body, however, a man can move about quite freely and rapidly in\nany direction, and can (for example) find without difficulty any place\npointed out upon a map, without either any previous knowledge of the spot\nor any object to establish a connection with it. He can also readily rise\nhigh into the air so as to gain a bird's eye view of the country which he\nis examining, so as to observe its extent, the contour of its coastline,\nor its general character. Indeed, in every way his power and freedom are\nfar greater when he uses this method than they are in any of the lesser\nforms of clairvoyance.\"\n\nIn many well authenticated cases, we may see that the soul of a dying\nperson, one whose physical end is approaching, visits friends and\nrelatives in the astral body, and in many cases materializes and even\nspeaks to them. In such cases the dying person accomplishes the feat of\nastral manifestation without any special occult knowledge; the weakened\nlinks between the physical and the higher phases of the soul render the\ntemporary passing-out comparatively easy, and the strong desire of the\ndying person furnishes the motive power necessary. Such visits, however,\nare often found to be merely the strongly charged thought of the dying\nperson, along the lines of telepathy, as I have previously explained to\nyou. But in many cases there can be no doubt that the phenomenon is a\nclear case of astral visitation and materialization.\n\nThe records of the Society for Psychical Research contain many instances\nof this kind; and similar instances are to be found in other records of\npsychical research. I shall quote a few of these cases for you, that you\nmay get a clear idea of the characteristics thereof. Andrew Lang, an\neminent student and investigator along the lines of the psychic and\noccult, gives us the following case, of which he says, \"Not many stories\nhave such good evidence in their favor.\" The story as related by Mr. Lang\nin one of his books is as follows:\n\n\"Mary, the wife of John Goffe of Rochester, being afflicted with a long\nillness, removed to her father's house at West Mailing, about nine miles\nfrom her own. The day before her death she grew very impatiently desirous\nto see her two children, whom she had left at home to the care of a\nnurse. She was too ill to be moved, and between one and two o'clock in the\nmorning she fell into a trance. One widow, Turner, who watched with her\nthat night, says that her eyes were open and fixed, and her jaw fallen.\nMrs. Turner put her hand to her mouth, but could perceive no breath. She\nthought her to be in a fit, and doubted whether she were dead or alive.\nThe next morning the dying woman told her mother that she had been at home\nwith her children, saying, 'I was with them last night when I was asleep.'\n\n\"The nurse at Rochester, widow Alexander by name, affirms that a little\nbefore two o'clock that morning she saw the likeness of the said Mary\nGoffe come out of the next chamber (where the elder child lay in a bed by\nitself), the door being left open, and stood by her bedside for about a\nquarter of an hour; the younger child was there lying by her. Her eyes\nmoved and her mouth went, but she said nothing. The nurse, moreover says\nthat she was perfectly awake; it was then daylight, being one of the\nlongest days of the year. She sat up in bed and looked steadfastly on the\napparition. In that time she heard the bridge clock strike two, and a\nwhile after said: 'In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, what art\nthou?' Thereupon the apparition removed and went away; she slipped out of\nher clothes and followed, but what became on't she cannot tell.\"\n\nIn the case just mentioned, Mr. Lang states that the nurse was so\nfrightened that she was afraid to return to bed. As soon as the neighbors\nwere up and about she told them of what she had seen; but they told her\nthat she had been dreaming. It was only when, later on, news came of what\nhad happened at the other end of the line--the bedside of the dying woman,\nthat they realized just what had happened.\n\nIn a work by Rev. F.G. Lee, there are several other cases of this kind\nquoted, all of which are stated by Mr. Lee to be thoroughly well\nauthenticated. In one of the cases a mother, when dying in Egypt, appears\nto her children in Torquay, and is clearly seen in broad daylight by all\nfive children and also by the nursemaid. In another, a Quaker lady dying\nat Cockermouth is clearly seen and recognized in daylight by her three\nchildren at Seattle, the remainder of the story being almost identical\nwith that of the Goffe case just quoted.\n\nIn the records of the Society for Psychical Research, the following case\nappears, the person reporting it being said to be of good character and\nreputation for truthfulness and reliability. The story is as follows: \"One\nmorning in December, 1836, A. had the following dream, or he would prefer\nto call it, revelation. He found himself suddenly at the gate of Major\nN.M.'s avenue, many miles from his home. Close to him was a group of\npersons, one of whom was a woman with a basket on her arm, the rest were\nmen, four of whom were tenants of his own, while the others were unknown\nto him. Some of the strangers seemed to be assaulting H.W., one of his\ntenants, and he interfered. A. says, 'I struck violently at the man on my\nleft, and then with greater violence at the man's face on my right.\nFinding, to my surprise, that I had not knocked down either, I struck\nagain and again with all the violence of a man frenzied at the sight of my\npoor friend's murder. To my great amazement I saw my arms, although\nvisible to my eye, were without substance, and the bodies of the men I\nstruck at and my own came close together after each blow, through the\nshadowy arms I struck with. My blows were delivered with more extreme\nviolence than I ever think I exerted, but I became painfully convinced of\nmy incompetency. I have no consciousness of what happened after this\nfeeling of unsubstantiality came upon me.'\n\n\"Next morning, A. experienced the stiffness and soreness of violent bodily\nexercise, and was informed by his wife that in the course of the night he\nhad much alarmed her by striking out again and again in a terrific manner,\n'as if fighting for his life.' He, in turn, informed her of his dream, and\nbegged her to remember the names of those actors in it who were known to\nhim. On the morning of the following day (Wednesday) A. received a letter\nfrom his agent, who resided in the town close to the scene of the dream,\ninforming him that his tenant had been found on Tuesday morning at Major\nN.M.'s gate, speechless and apparently dying from a fracture of the\nskull, and that there was no trace of the murderers.\n\n\"That night A. started for the town, and arrived there on Thursday\nmorning. On his way to a meeting of magistrates, he met the senior\nmagistrate of that part of the country, and requested him to give orders\nfor the arrest of the three men whom, besides H.W., he had recognized in\nhis dream, and to have them examined separately. This was at once done.\nThe three men gave identical accounts of the occurrence, and all named the\nwoman who was with them. She was then arrested and gave precisely similar\ntestimony. They said that between eleven and twelve on the Monday night\nthey had been walking homewards altogether along the road, when they were\novertaken by three strangers, two of whom savagely assaulted H.W., while\nthe other prevented his friends from interfering. H.W. did not die, but\nwas never the same man afterwards; he subsequently emigrated.\"\n\nStead, the English editor and psychical researcher, relates the following\ncase, which he accepts as truthful and correct, after careful\ninvestigation of the circumstances and of the character and reputation of\nthe person relating it. The story proceeds as follows:\n\n\"St. Eglos is situated about ten miles from the Atlantic, and not quite so\nfar from the old market town of Trebodwina. Hart and George Northey were\nbrothers, and from childhood their lives had been marked by the strongest\nbrotherly affection. Hart and George Northey had never been separated\nfrom their birth until George became a sailor, Hart meantime joining his\nfather in business. On the 8th of February, 1840, while George Northey's\nship was lying in port at St. Helena, he had the following strange dream:\n\n\"Last night I dreamt that my brother was at Trebodwina Market, and that I\nwas with him, quite close by his side, during the whole of the market\ntransactions. Although I could see and hear which passed around me, I felt\nsure that it was not my bodily presence which thus accompanied him, but my\nshadow or rather my spiritual presence, for he seemed quite unconscious\nthat I was near him. I felt that my being thus present in this strange way\nbetokened some hidden danger which he was destined to meet, and which I\nknow my presence could not avert, for I could not speak to warn him of his\nperil.\"\n\nThe story then proceeds to relate how Hart collected considerable money at\nTrebodwina Market, and then started to ride homeward. George tells what\nhappened to his brother on the way, as follows:\n\n\"My terror gradually increased as Hart approached the hamlet of Polkerrow,\nuntil I was in a perfect frenzy, frantically desirous, yet unable to warn\nmy brother in some way and prevent him from going further. I suddenly\nbecame aware of two dark shadows thrown across the road. I felt that my\nbrother's hour had come, and I was powerless to aid him! Two men appeared,\nwhom I instantly recognized as notorious poachers who lived in a lonely\nwood near St. Eglos. They wished him 'Good night, mister!' civilly\nenough. He replied, and entered into conversation with them about some\nwork he had promised them. After a few minutes they asked him for some\nmoney. The elder of the two brothers, who was standing near the horse's\nhead, said: 'Mr. Northey, we know you have just come from Trebodwina\nMarket with plenty of money in your pockets; we are desperate men, and you\nbean't going to leave this place until we've got that money; so hand\nover!' My brother made no reply except to slash at him with the whip, and\nspur the horse at him.\n\n\"The younger of the ruffians instantly drew a pistol, and fired. Hart\ndropped lifeless from the saddle, and one of the villains held him by the\nthroat with a grip of iron for some minutes, as thought to make assurance\ndoubly sure, and crush out any particle of life my poor brother might have\nleft. The murderers secured the horse to a tree in the orchard, and,\nhaving rifled the corpse, they dragged it up the stream, concealing it\nunder the overhanging banks of the water-course. Then they carefully\ncovered over all marks of blood on the road, and hid the pistol in the\nthatch of a disused hut close to the roadside; then, setting the horse\nfree to gallop home alone, they decamped across the country to their own\ncottage.\"\n\nThe story then relates how George Northey's vessel left St. Helena the\nnext day after the dream, and reached Plymouth in due time. George carried\nwith him a very vivid recollection of his vision on the return voyage,\nand never doubted for an instant that his brother had been actually\nmurdered in the manner and by the persons named, as seen in the vision. He\ncarried with him the determination to bring the villains to justice and\nwas filled with the conviction that through his efforts retribution would\nfall upon the murderers.\n\nIn England, justice was at work--but the missing link was needed. The\ncrime aroused universal horror and indignation, and the authorities left\nnothing undone in the direction of discovering the murderers and bringing\nthem to justice. Two brothers named Hightwood were suspected, and in their\ncottage were found blood-stained garments. But no pistol was found,\nalthough the younger brother admitted having owned but lost one. They were\narrested and brought before the magistrates. The evidence against them was\npurely circumstantial, and not any too strong at that; but their actions\nwere those of guilty men. They were committed for trial. Each confessed,\nin hopes of saving his life and obtaining imprisonment instead. But both\nwere convicted and sentenced to be hanged. There was doubt in the minds of\nsome, however, about the pistol. The story continues:\n\n\"Before the execution, George Northey arrived from St. Helena, and\ndeclared that the pistol was in the thatch of the old cottage close by the\nplace where they had murdered Hart Northey, and where they had hid it.\n'How do you know?' he was asked. George replied: 'I saw the foul deed\ncommitted in a dream I had the night of the murder, when at St. Helena.'\nThe pistol was found, as George Northey had predicted, in the thatch of\nthe ruined cottage.\" Investigation revealed that the details of the crime\nwere identical with those seen in the vision.\n\nIt is a fact known to all occultists that many persons frequently travel\nin the astral body during sleep; and in many cases retain a faint\nrecollection of some of the things they have seen and heard during their\ntravels in the astral. Nearly everyone knows the experience of waking up\nin the morning feeling physically tired and \"used up;\" in some cases a dim\nrecollection of walking or working during the dream being had. Who among\nus has not had the experience of \"walking on the air,\" or in the air,\nwithout the feet touching the ground, being propelled simply by the effort\nof the will? And who of us has had not experienced that dreadful--\"falling\nthrough space\" sensation, in dreams, with the sudden awakening just before\nwe actually struck earth? And who has not had the mortifying dream\nexperience of walking along the street, or in some public place, and being\nsuddenly overcome by the consciousness that we were in our night-clothes,\nor perhaps without any clothing at all? All of these things are more or\nless distorted recollection of astral journeyings.\n\nBut while these dream excursions in the astral are harmless, the conscious\n\"going out in the astral\" is not so. There are many planes of the astral\ninto which it is dangerous and unpleasant for the uninstructed person to\ntravel; unless accompanied by a capable occultist as guide. Therefore, I\ncaution all students against trying to force development in that\ndirection. Nature surrounds you with safeguards, and interposes obstacles\nfor your own protection and good. Do not try to break through these\nobstacles without knowledge of what you are doing. \"Fools rush in where\nangels fear to tread,\" remember; and \"a little learning is a dangerous\nthing.\" When you have reached the stage of development in which it will be\nsafe for you to undertake conscious astral explorations, then will your\nguide be at hand, and the instruction furnished you by those capable of\ngiving it to you. Do not try to break into the astral without due\npreparation, and full knowledge, lest you find yourself in the state of\nthe fish who leaped out of the water onto the banks of the stream. Your\ndream trips are safe; they will increase in variety and clearness, and you\nwill remember more about them--all this before you may begin to try to\nconsciously \"go out into the astral\" as do the occultists. Be content to\ncrawl before you may walk. Learn to add, multiply, subtract and divide,\nbefore you undertake the higher mathematics, algebra, geometry, etc., of\noccultism.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XV.\n\nSTRANGE ASTRAL PHENOMENA.\n\n\nThere are several phases of astral phenomena other than those mentioned in\nthe preceding chapters, which it will be better for the student to become\nacquainted with in order to round out his general knowledge of the\nsubject, although the manifestations are comparatively rare, and not so\ngenerally recognized in works on this subject.\n\nOne of the first of these several phases of astral phenomena is that which\nmay be called Thought-Form Projection. This manifestation comes in the\nplace on the psychic scale just between ordinary clairvoyance on the one\nhand, and astral body projection on the other. It has some of the\ncharacteristics of each, and is often mistaken for one or the other of\nthese phases.\n\nTo understand this phenomena, the student should know something regarding\nthe fact that thought frequently takes on astral form, and that these\nmanifestations are known as thought-forms. I have spoken of these in some\nof the preceding lessons. The ordinary thought-form is quite simple, as a\nrule, and does not bear any particular resemblance to the sender thereof.\nBut in some cases a person may, consciously or unconsciously, strongly and\nclearly think of himself as present at some other place, and thus actually\ncreate a thought-form of himself at that place, which may be discerned by\nthose having clairvoyant vision. Moreover, this thought-form of himself\nis connected psychically with himself and affords a channel of psychic\ninformation for him. As a rule these thought-forms are only projected by\nthose who have trained their minds and will along occult lines; but\noccasionally under the stress of strong emotion or desire an ordinary\nperson may focus his psychic power to such an extent that the phenomena is\nmanifested.\n\nHere I will quote from an English investigator of astral phenomena, who\nhas had much experience on that plane. He says: \"All students are aware\nthat thought takes form, at any rate upon its own plane, and in the\nmajority of cases upon the astral plane also; but it may not be so\ngenerally known that if a man thinks strongly of himself as present at any\ngiven place, the form assumed by that particular thought will be a\nlikeness of the thinker himself, which will appear at the place in\nquestion. Essentially this form must be composed of the matter of the\nmental plane, but in very many cases it would draw round itself matter of\nthe astral plane also, and so would approach much nearer to visibility.\nThere are, in fact, many instances in which it has been seen by the person\nthought of--most probably by means of the unconscious influence emanating\nfrom the original thinker. None of the consciousness of the thinker would,\nhowever, be included within this thought-form. When once sent out from\nhim, it would normally be a quite separate entity--not indeed absolutely\nunconnected with its maker, but practically so as far as the possibility\nof receiving any impression through it is concerned.\n\n\"This type of clairvoyance consists, then, in the power to retain so much\nconnection with and so much hold over a newly-created thought-form as will\nrender it possible to receive impressions by means of it. Such impressions\nas were made upon the form would in this case be transmitted to the\nthinker--not along an astral telegraph line, but by a sympathetic\nvibration. In a perfect case of this kind of clairvoyance it is almost as\nthough the seer projected a part of his consciousness into the\nthought-form, and used it as a kind of outpost, from which observation was\npossible. He sees almost as well as he would if he himself stood in the\nplace of his thought-form. The figures at which he is looking will appear\nto him as of life-size and close to hand, instead of tiny and at a\ndistance as in the case of some other forms of clairvoyance; and he will\nfind it possible to shift his point of view if he wishes to do so.\nClairaudience is perhaps less frequently associated with this type of\nclairvoyance than with the others, but its place is to some extent taken\nby a kind of mental perception of the thoughts and intentions of those who\nare seen.\n\n\"Since the man's consciousness is still in the physical body, he will be\nable (even when exercising this faculty) to hear and to speak, in so far\nas he can do this without any distraction of his attention. The moment\nthat the intentness of his thought fails, the whole vision is gone, and he\nwill have to construct a fresh thought-form before he can resume it.\nInstances in which this kind of sight is possessed with any degree of\nperfection by untrained people are naturally rarer than in the other types\nof clairvoyance, because the capacity for mental control required, and the\ngenerally finer nature of the forces employed.\"\n\nI may mention that this particular method is frequently employed by\nadvanced occultists of all countries, being preferred for various reasons.\nSome of the reasons of this preference as follows: (a) The ability to\nshift the vision, and to turn around almost as well as in the case of\nactual astral-body projection--this gives quite an advantage to this\nmethod over the method of ordinary clairvoyance; (b) it does away with\ncertain disadvantages of \"going out into the astral\" in the astral-body,\nwhich only trained occultists realize--it gives almost the same results as\nastral-body clairvoyance, without a number of disadvantages and\ninconveniences.\n\nIn India, especially, this form of clairvoyance is comparatively frequent.\nThis by reason of the fact that the Hindus, as a race, are far more\npsychic than are those of the Western lands, all else considered; and,\nbesides, there are a much greater number of highly developed occultists\nthere than in the West. Moreover, there is a certain psychic atmosphere\nsurrounding India, by reason of its thousands of years of deep interest in\nthings psychic and spiritual, all of which renders the production of\npsychic phenomena far easier than in other lands.\n\nIn India, moreover, we find many instances of another form of psychic, or\nastral phenomena. I allude to the production of thought-form pictures\nwhich are plainly visible to one or more persons. This phase of psychic\nphenomena is the real basis for many of the wonder tales which Western\ntravellers bring back with them from India. The wonderful cases of magical\nappearance of living creatures and plants, and other objects, out of the\nclear air are the result of this psychic phenomena. That is to say, the\ncreatures and objects are not really produced--they are but astral\nappearances resulting from the projection of powerful thought-forms from\nthe mind of the magician or other wonder-worker, of whom India has a\nplentiful supply. Even the ignorant fakirs (I use the word in its true\nsense, not in the sense given it by American slang)--even these itinerant\nshowmen of psychic phenomena, are able to produce phenomena of this kind\nwhich seems miraculous to those witnessing them. As for the trained\noccultists of India, I may say that their feats (when they deign to\nproduce them) seem to overturn every theory and principle of materialistic\nphilosophy and science. But in nearly every case the explanation is the\nsame--the projection of a strong and clear thought-form on a large scale.\n\nAlthough I have purposely omitted reference to Hindu psychic phenomena in\nthis book (for the reason given in my Introduction), I find it necessary\nto quote cases in India in this connection, for the simple reason that\nthere are but few counterparts in the Western world. There are no\nitinerent wonder-workers of this kind in Western lands, and the trained\noccultists of the West of course would not consent to perform feats of\nthis kind for the amusement of persons seeking merely sensations. The\ntrained wills of the West are given rather to materializing objectively on\nthe physical plane, creating great railroads, buildings, bridges, etc.,\nfrom the mental pictures, rather than devoting the same time, energy and\nwill to the production of astral though-forms and pictures. There is a\ngreat difference in temperament, as well as a difference in the general\npsychic atmosphere, between East and West, which serves to explain matters\nof this kind.\n\nAn American writer truly says: \"The first principle underlying the whole\nbusiness of Hindu wonder-working is that of a strong will; and the first\nnecessary condition of producing a magical effect is an increase in the\npower of thought. The Hindus, owing to that intense love for solitary\nmeditation, which has been one of the most pronounced characteristics from\ntime immemorial, have acquired mental faculties of which we of the Western\nand younger civilization are totally ignorant. The Hindu has attained a\npast master's degree in speculative philosophy. He has for years retired\nfor meditation to the silent places in his land, lived a hermit, subdued\nthe body and developed the mind, thus winning control over other minds.\"\n\nIn India, I have seen scenes of far distant places appearing as a mirage\nin clear air, even the colors being present to the scenes. This, though\nsome what uncommon, was simply a remarkable instance of thought-form\nprojection from the mind of a man highly developed along occult lines. You\nmust remember that in order to produce a picture in the astral, of this\nkind, the occultist must not only have the power of will and mind to cause\nsuch a picture to materialize, but he must also have a remarkable memory\nfor detail in the picture--for nothing appears in the picture unless it\nhas already been pictured in the mind of the mind of the man himself. Such\na memory and perception of detail is very rare--in the Western world it is\npossessed by only exceptional artists; however, anyone may cultivate this\nperception and memory if he will give the time and care to it that the\nHindu magicians do.\n\nYou have heard of the Hindu Mango Trick, in which the magician takes a\nmango seed, plants it in the ground, waves his hands over it, and then\ncauses first a tiny shoot to appear from the surface of the ground, this\nfollowed by a tiny trunk, and leaves, which grow and grow, until at last\nappears a full sized mango tree, which first shows blossoms and then ripe\nfruit. In short, in a few moments the magician has produced that which\nNature require years to do--that is he apparently does this. What he\nreally does is to produce a wonderful thought-form in the astral, from\nseed stage to tree and fruit stage; the astral picture reproducing\nperfectly the picture in his own mind. It is as if he were creating a\nmoving picture film-roll in his mind, and then projecting this upon the\nscreen of the air. There is no mango tree there, and never was, outside\nof the mind of the magician and the minds of his audience.\n\nIn the same way, the magician will seem to throw the end of a rope up into\nthe air. It travels far up until the end is lost sight of. Then he sends a\nboy climbing up after it, until he too disappears from sight. Then he\ncauses the whole thing to disappear, and lo! the boy is seen standing\namong the audience. The boy is real, of course, but he never left the\nspot--the rest was all an appearance caused by the mind and will of the\nmagician, pictured in the astral as a thought-form. In the same way the\nmagician will seem to cut the boy into bits, and then cause the severed\nparts to spring together and reassemble themselves. These feats may be\nvaried indefinitely but the principle is ever the same--thought-form\nprojection.\n\nWestern visitors have sought to obtain photographs of these feats of the\nHindu magicians, but their plates and films invariably show nothing\nwhatever except the old fakir sitting quietly in the centre, with a\npeculiar expression in his eyes. This is as might be expected, for the\npicture exists only in the astral, and is perceived only by the awakened\nastral senses of those present, which have been stimulated into activity\nby the power of the magician--by sympathetic vibration, to be exact.\nMoreover, in certain instances it has been found that the vision is\nconfined to a limited area; persons outside of the limit-ring see nothing,\nand those moving nearer to the magician lose sight of what they had\npreviously seen. There are scientific reasons for this last fact, which\nneed not be gone into at this place. The main point I am seeking to bring\nout is that these wonderful scenes are simply and wholly thought-form\npictures in the astral, perceived by the awakened astral vision of those\npresent. This to be sure is wonderful enough--but still no miracle has\nbeen worked!\n\nI may mention here that these magicians begin their training from early\nyouth. In addition to certain instruction concerning astral phenomena\nwhich is handed down from father to son among them they are set to work\npracticing \"visualization\" of things previously perceived. They are set to\nwork upon, say, a rose. They must impress upon their memory the perfect\npicture of the rose--no easy matter, I may tell you. Then they proceed to\nmore difficult objects, slowly and gradually, along well known principles\nof memory development. Along with this they practice the art of\nreproducing that which they remember--projecting it in thought-form state.\nAnd so the young magician proceeds, from simple to complex things; from\neasy to difficult; until, finally, he is pronounced fit to give public\nexhibitions. All this takes years and years--sometimes the boy grows to be\na middle-aged man before he is allowed to publicly exhibit his power.\nImagine a Western boy or man being willing to study from early childhood\nto middle-age before he may hope to be able to show what he has been\nlearning! Verily \"the East is East, and the West is West\"--the two poles\nof human activity and expression.\n\nAnother phase of psychic astral phenomena which should be mentioned,\nalthough it is manifested but comparatively seldom, is that which has been\ncalled \"Telekinesis.\" By the term \"telekinesis\" is meant that class of\nphenomena which manifests in the movement of physical objects without\nphysical contact with the person responsible for the movement. I\nunderstand that the term itself was coined by Professor Cowes, with whose\nworks I am not personally familiar. It is derived from the two Greek words\nTELE, meaning \"far off,\" and KINESIS, meaning \"to move.\"\n\nThis class of phenomena is known better in the Western world by reason of\nits manifestation in spiritualistic circles in the movement of tables,\netc.; the knocking or tapping on tables and doors, etc.; all of which are\nusually attributed to the work of \"spirits,\" but which occultists know are\ngenerally produced, consciously or unconsciously, by means of the power in\nthe medium or others present, sometimes both. I would say here that I am\nnot trying to discredit genuine spiritualistic phenomena--I am not\nconsidering the same in these lessons. All that I wish to say is that many\nof the phenomena commonly attributed to \"spirits\" are really but results\nof the psychic forces inherent in the living human being.\n\nUnder certain conditions there may appear in the case of a person strongly\npsychic, and also strongly charged with prana, the ability to extend a\nportion of the astral body to a considerable distance, and to there\nproduce an effect upon some physical object. Those with strong clairvoyant\nvision may actually perceive this astral extension, under favorable\ncircumstances. They perceive the astral arm of the person stretching out,\ndiminishing in size as it extends (just as a piece of flexible rubber\nshrinks in diameter as it expands in length) and finally coming in contact\nwith the physical object it wishes to move or strike. Then is seen a\nstrong flow of prana along its length, which (by a peculiar form of\nconcentration) is able to produce the physical effect. I cannot enter into\nthe subject of astral physics at this place, for the subject is far too\ntechnical to be treated in lessons designed for general study. I may at\nleast partially explain the phenomenon, however, by saying that the\nprojected astral arm acts in a manner almost precisely like that of an\nextended physical arm, were such a thing possible in nature.\n\nThis astral-body extension produces spirit raps on tables; table-tilting\nand movement; levitation, or the lifting of solid objects in the air;\nplaying upon musical instruments such as the guitar, accordian, etc. In\nsome cases it is able to actually lift the person himself from the floor,\nand carry him through the air, in the same way. It may also cause the\nmovement of a pencil in a closed slate, or bit of chalk upon a blackboard.\nIn fact, it may produce almost any form of movement possible to the\nphysical hand. In the case of the levitation of the person himself, the\nastral arms, and sometimes the legs as well, extend to the floor and push\nup the physical body into the air, and then propel it along. There are\nmany complex technical details to these manifestations, however, and in a\ngeneral statement these must be omitted.\n\nSome who are firmly wedded to the spiritistic theory resent the statement\nof occultists that this form of phenomena may be explained without the\nnecessity of the \"spirits.\" But the best ground for the statement of the\noccultists is that many advanced occultists are able to produce such\nphenomena, consciously, by an act of pure will, accompanied by the power\nof mental picturing. They first picture the astral extension, and then\nwill the projection of the astral and the passage of the prana (or vital\nforce) around the pattern of the mental image. In the case of some very\nhighly developed occultists the astral thought-form of their body becomes\nso charged with prana that it is able to move physical objects. There are\nnot mere theories, for they may be verified by any occultist of\nsufficiently high development.\n\nI do not wish to intimate that the mediums are aware of the true nature of\nthis phenomena, and consciously deceive their followers. On the contrary,\nmost of them firmly believe that it is the \"spirits\" who do the work;\nunaware that they are unconsciously projecting their astral bodies,\ncharged with prana, and performing the feat themselves. The best mediums,\nhowever, will generally tell you that they strongly \"wish\" that the thing\nbe done, and a little cross-examination will reveal the fact that they\ngenerally make a clear mental picture of the actual happening just before\nit occurs. As I have already stated, however, the best proof is the fact\nthat advanced occultists are able to duplicate the phenomena deliberately,\nconsciously, and at will. I do not think that detracts from the wonder and\ninterest in the so-called \"spiritistic\" phenomena; on the contrary, I\nthink that it adds to it.\n\nAgain invading the realm of the \"spirits,\" I would say that occultists\nknow that many cases of so-called materialization of \"spirit-forms\" take\nplace by reason of the unconscious projection of the astral body of the\nmedium. Moreover, such a projection of the astral body may take on the\nappearance of some departed soul, by reason of the mental picture of that\nperson in the mind of the medium. But, it may be asked if the medium has\nnever seen the dead person, how can he or she make a mental picture of him\nor her. The answer is that the minds of the persons present who knew the\ndead person tend to influence the appearance of the nebulous spirit form.\nIn fact, in most cases the medium is unable to produce the phenomenon\nwithout the psychic assistance of those in the circle. In this case, also,\nI would say that the advanced occultist is able to duplicate the phenomena\nat will, as all who have enjoyed the privilege of close acquaintance with\nsuch persons are aware.\n\nThe fact the medium is usually in a trance condition aid materially in the\nease with which the phenomena are produced. With the conscious mind\nstilled, and the subconscious mind active, the astral phenomena are\nproduced with much less trouble than would be the case if the medium were\nin the ordinary condition.\n\nNow, I wish to impress upon the minds of those of my readers who have a\nstrong sympathy for the spiritistic teachings that I recognize the\nvalidity and genuineness of much of the phenomena of spiritism--I know\nthese things to be true, for that matter; it is not a matter of mere\nbelief on my part. But I also know that much of the so-called spiritistic\nphenomena is possible without the aid of \"spirits,\" but by, the employment\nof the psychic astral forces and powers as stated in these lessons. I see\nno reason for any honest investigator of spiritism to be offended at such\nstatements, for it does not take away from the wonder of the phenomena;\nand does not discredit the motives and power of the mediums. We must\nsearch for truth wherever it is to be found; and we must not seek to dodge\nthe results of our investigations. There is too much wonderful phenomena\nin spiritism to begrudge the explanation that the occultist offers for\ncertain of its phases.\n\nWhile I am on the subject of materialization however, I would direct the\nattention of the student to my little book entitled \"The Astral World,\" in\nwhich I have explained briefly the phenomena of those planes of the astral\nin which dwell the cast-off shells of souls which have moved on to the\nhigher planes of the great astral world. I have there shown that many\nastral shells or shades, or other astral semi-entities may be\nmaterialized, and thus mistaken for the \"spirits\" of departed friends. I\nhave also explained in the same little book how there are certain powerful\nthought-forms which may be mistaken for spirit materializations. I have\nalso shown how many a honest medium is really a good clairvoyant, and by\nreading the records of the astral light is able to give information which\nseems to come from the departed soul. All of these things should be\nfamiliar to the earnest investigator of spiritism, in order that he may be\nable to classify the phenomena which he witnesses, and to avoid error and\ndisappointment.\n\nIn this connection, before passing on to the consideration of other phases\nof psychic phenomena, I would say that one of the best mediums known to\nthe modern Western world--a medium who has been consulted by eminent men,\nuniversity professors, psychologists, and others--and whose revelations\nregarding past, present and future astounded careful and intelligent men\nof international reputation--this medium at the height of her professional\nsuccess made a public announcement that she felt compelled, from\nconscientious motives, to assert that she had come to the conclusion that\nher message came not from departed \"spirits\" but rather from some unknown\nrealm of being, brought hither by the exercise of some faculty inherent in\nher and developed to a high power in her for some reason, which power seem\nto manifest more effectively when she shut off her ordinary physical\nfaculties and functioned on a plane higher than them. I think that the\nstudent of the present lessons will be able to point out the nature of the\nphenomena manifested by this medium, and also the source of her power. If\nnot, I shall feel disappointed at my work of instruction.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XVI.\n\nPSYCHIC INFLUENCE; ITS LAWS AND PRINCIPLES\n\n\nOne of the phases of psychic phenomena that actively engage the attention\nof the student from the very beginning is that which may be called Psychic\nInfluence. By this term is meant the influencing of one mind by\nanother--the effect of one mind over another. There has been much written\nand said on this phase of the general subject in recent years, but few\nwriters, however, have gone deeply into the matter.\n\nIn the first place, most of the writers on the subject seek to explain the\nwhole thing by means of ordinary telepathy. But this is merely a one-sided\nview of the truth of the matter. For, while ordinary telepathy plays an\nimportant part in the phenomena, still the higher form of telepathy, i.e.,\nastral thought-transference, is frequently involved. The student who has\nfollowed me in the preceding lessons will understand readily what I mean\nwhen I say this, so there is no necessity for repetition on this point at\nthis place.\n\nAt this point, however, I must ask the student to consider the idea of\npsychic vibrations and their inductive power. It is a great principle of\noccultism, as well as of modern science, that everything is in a state of\nvibration--everything has its own rate of vibration, and is constantly\nmanifesting it. Every mental state is accompanied by vibration of its own\nplane: every emotional state or feeling has its own particular rate of\nvibration. These rates of vibrations manifest just as do the vibrations of\nmusical sound which produce the several notes on the scale, one rising\nabove the other in rate of vibration. But the scale of mental and\nemotional states is far more complex, and far more extended than is the\nmusical scale; there are thousands of different notes, and half-notes, on\nthe mental scale. There are harmonies and discords on that scale, also.\n\nTo those to whom vibrations seem to be something merely connected with\nsound-waves, etc., I would say that a general and hasty glance at some\nelementary work on physical science will show that even the different\nshades, hues and tints of the colors perceived by us arise from different\nrates of vibrations. Color is nothing more than the result of certain\nrates of vibrations of light recorded by our senses and interpreted by our\nminds. From the low vibrations of red to the high vibrations of violet,\nall the various colors of the spectrum have their own particular rate of\nvibration. And, more than this, science knows that below the lowest red\nvibrations, and above the highest violet vibrations, there are other\nvibrations which our senses are unable to record, but which scientific\ninstruments register. The rays of light by which photographs are taken are\nnot perceived by the eye. There are a number of so-called chemical rays of\nlight which the eye does not perceive, but which may be caught by delicate\ninstruments. There is what science has called \"dark light,\" which will\nphotograph in a room which appears pitch dark to the human sight.\n\nAbove the ordinary scale of light vibrations are the vibrations of the\nX-Rays and other fine forces--these are not perceived by the eye, but are\ncaught by delicate instruments and recorded. Moreover, though science has\nnot as yet discovered the fact, occultists know that the vibrations of\nmental and emotional states are just as true and regular as are those of\nsound or light, or heat. Again, above the plane of the physical vibrations\narising from the brain and nervous system, there are the vibrations of the\nastral counterparts of these, which are much higher in the scale. For even\nthe astral faculties and organs, while above the physical, still are under\nthe universal rule of vibration, and have their own rate thereof. The old\noccult axiom: \"As above, so below; as below, so above\" is always seen to\nwork out on all planes of universal energy.\n\nClosely following this idea of the universality of vibrations, and\nintimately connected therewith, we have the principle of \"induction,\"\nwhich is likewise universal, and found manifesting on all planes of\nenergy. \"What is induction?\" you may ask. Well, it is very simple, or very\ncomplex--just as you may look at it. The principle of induction (on any\nplane) is that inherent quality or attribute of energy by which the\nmanifestation of energy tends to reproduce itself in a second object, by\nsetting up corresponding vibrations therein, though without direct contact\nof the two objects.\n\nThus, heat in one object tends to induce heat in another object within\nits range of induction--the heated object \"throws off\" heat vibrations\nwhich set up corresponding vibrations in the near-by second object and\nmake it hot. Likewise, the vibrations of light striking upon other objects\nrender them capable of radiating light. Again, a magnet will induce\nmagnetism in a piece of steel suspended nearby, though the two objects do\nnot actually touch, each other. An object which is electrified will by\ninduction electrify another object situated some distance away. A note\nsounded on the piano, or violin, will cause a glass or vase in some\ndistant part of the room to vibrate and \"sing,\" under certain conditions.\nAnd, so on, in every form or phase of the manifestation of energy do we\nsee the principle of induction in full operation and manifestation.\n\nOn the plane of ordinary thought and emotion, we find many instances of\nthis principle of induction. We know that one person vibrating strongly\nwith happiness or sorrow, cheerfulness or anger, as the case may be fends\nto communicate his feeling and emotions, state to those with whom he comes\nin contact. All of you have seen a whole room full of persons affected and\ninfluenced in this way, under certain circumstances. You have also seen\nhow a magnetic orator, preacher, singer or actor is able to induce in his\naudience a state of emotional vibration corresponding to that manifested\nby himself. In the same manner the \"mental atmospheres\" of towns, cities,\netc., are induced.\n\nA well-known writer on this subject has truthfully told us: \"We all know\nhow great waves of feeling spread over a town, city or country, sweeping\npeople off their balance. Great waves of political enthusiasm, or\nwar-spirit, or prejudice for or against certain persons, sweep over places\nand cause men to act in a manner that they will afterward regret when they\ncome to themselves and consider their acts in cold blood. They will be\nswayed by demagogues or magnetic leaders who wish to gain their votes or\npatronage; and they will be led into acts of mob violence, or similar\natrocities, by yielding to these waves of contagious thought. On the other\nhand, we all know how great waves of religious feeling sweep over a\ncommunity upon the occasion of some great 'revival' excitement or fervor.\"\n\nThese things being perceived, and recognized as true, the next question\nthat presents itself to the mind of the intelligent student is this: \"But\nwhat causes the difference in power and effect between the thought and\nfeeling-vibrations of different persons?\" This question is a valid one,\nand arises from a perception of the underlying variety and difference in\nthe thought vibrations of different persons. The difference, my students,\nis caused by three principal facts, viz., (1) difference in degree of\nfeeling; (2) difference in degree of visualization; and (3) difference in\ndegree of concentration. Let us examine each of these successively, so as\nto get at the underlying principle.\n\nThe element of emotional feeling is like the element of fire in the\nproduction of steam. The more vivid and intense the feeling or emotion,\nthe greater the degree of heat and force to the thought wave or vibratory\nstream projected. You will begin to see why the thought vibrations of\nthose animated and filled with strong desire, strong wish, strong\nambition, etc., must be more forceful than those of persons of the\nopposite type.\n\nThe person who is filled with a strong desire, wish or ambition, which has\nbeen fanned into a fierce blaze by attention, is a dynamic power among\nother persons, and his influence is felt. In fact, it may be asserted that\nas a general rule no person is able to influence men and things unless he\nhave a strong desire, wish or ambition within him. The power of desire is\na wonderful one, as all occultists know, and it will accomplish much even\nif the other elements be lacking; while, in proper combination with other\nprinciples it will accomplish wonders. Likewise, a strong interest in a\nthing will cause a certain strength to the thought-vibrations connected\ntherewith. Interest is really an emotional feeling, though we generally\nthink of it as merely something connected with the intellect. A cold\nintellectual thought has very little force, unless backed up by strong\ninterest and concentration. But any intellectual thought backed up with\ninterest, and focused by concentration, will produce very strong thought\nvibrations, with a marked inductive power.\n\nNow, let us consider the subject of visualization. Every person knows that\nthe person who wishes to accomplish anything, or who expects to do good\nwork along any line, must first know what he wishes to accomplish. In the\ndegree that he is able to see the thing in his mind's eye--to picture the\nthing in his imagination--in that degree will he tend to manifest the\nthing itself in material form and effect.\n\nSir Francis Galton, an eminent authority upon psychology, says on this\npoint: \"The free use of a high visualizing faculty is of much importance\nin connection with the higher processes of generalized thought. A visual\nimage is the most perfect form of mental representation wherever the\nshape, position, and relations of objects to space are concerned. The best\nworkmen are those who visualize the whole of what they propose to do\nbefore they take a tool in their hands. Strategists, artists of all\ndenominations, physicists who contrive new experiments, and, in short, all\nwho do not follow routine, have need of it. A faculty that is of\nimportance in all technical and artistic occupations, that gives accuracy\nto our perceptions and justice to our generalizations, is starved by lazy\ndisuse instead of being cultivated judiciously in such a way as will, on\nthe whole, bring best return. I believe that a serious study of the best\nway of developing and utilizing this faculty, without prejudice to the\npractice of abstract thought in symbols, is one of the pressing desirata\nin the yet unformed science of education.\"\n\nNot only on the ordinary planes is the forming of strong mental images\nimportant and useful, but when we come to consider the phenomena of the\nastral plane we begin to see what an important part is played there by\nstrong mental images or visualized ideas. The better you know what you\ndesire, wish or aspire to, the stronger will be your thought vibrations of\nthat thing, of course. Well, then, the stronger that you are able to\npicture the thing in your mind--to visualize it to yourself--the stronger\nwill be your actual knowledge and thought-form of that thing. Instead of\nyour thought vibrations being grouped in nebulous forms, lacking shape and\ndistinct figure, as in the ordinary case; when you form strong, clear\nmental images of what you desire or wish to accomplish, then do the\nthought vibrations group themselves in clear, strong distinct forms. This\nbeing done, when the mind of other persons are affected by induction they\nget the clear idea of the thought and feeling in your mind, and are\nstrongly influenced thereby.\n\nA little later on, I shall call your attention to the Attractive Power of\nThought. But at this point I wish to say to you that while thought\ncertainly attracts to you the things that you think of the most, still the\npower of the attraction depends very materially upon the clearness and\ndistinctness of the mental image, or thought visualization, of the desired\nthing that you have set up in your mind. The nearer you can actually see\nthe thing as you wish it to happen, even to the general details, the\nstronger will be the attractive force thereof. But, I shall leave the\ndiscussion of this phase of the subject until I reach it in its proper\norder. For the present, I shall content myself with urging upon you the\nimportance of a clear mental image, or visualized thought, in the matter\nof giving force and direction to the idea induced in the minds of other\npersons. In order for the other persons to actually perceive clearly the\nidea or feeling induced in them, it is necessary that the idea or feeling\nbe strongly visualized in the mind originating it; that is the whole thing\nin one sentence.\n\nThe next point of importance in thought-influence by induction, is that\nwhich is concerned with the process of concentration. Concentration is the\nact of mental focusing, or bringing to a single point or centre. It is\nlike the work of the sun-glass that converges the rays of the sun to a\nsingle tiny point, thus immensely increasing its heat and power. Or, it is\nlike the fine point of a needle that will force its way through where a\nblunt thing cannot penetrate. Or, it is like the strongly concentrated\nessence of a chemical substance, of which one drop is as powerful as one\npint of the original thing. Think of the concentrated power of a tiny drop\nof attar of roses--it has within its tiny space the concentrated odor of\nthousands of roses; one drop of it will make a pint of extract, and a\ngallon of weaker perfumery! Think of the concentrated power in a lightning\nflash, as contrasted with the same amount of electricity diffused over a\nlarge area. Or, think of the harmless flash of a small amount of gunpowder\nignited in the open air, as contrasted with the ignition of the same\namount of powder compelled to escape through the small opening in the\ngun-barrel.\n\nThe occult teachings lay great stress upon this power of mental\nconcentration. All students of the occult devote much time and care to the\ncultivation of the powers of concentration, and the development of the\nability to employ them. The average person possesses but a very small\namount of concentration, and is able to concentrate his mind for but a few\nmoments at a time. The trained thinker obtains much of his mental power\nfrom his acquired ability to concentrate on his task. The occultist trains\nhimself in fixing his concentrated attention upon the matter before him,\nso as to bring to a focal centre all of his mental forces.\n\nThe mind is a very restless thing, and is inclined to dance from one thing\nto another, tiring of each thing after a few moment's consideration\nthereof. The average person allows his involuntary attention to rest upon\nevery trifling thing, and to be distracted by the idlest appeals to the\nsenses. He finds it most difficult to either shut out these distracting\nappeals to the senses, and equally hard to hold the attention to some\nuninteresting thing. His attention is almost free of control by the will,\nand the person is a slave to his perceptive powers and to his imagination,\ninstead of, being a master of both.\n\nThe occultist, on the contrary, masters his attention, and controls his\nimagination. He forces the one to concentrate when he wishes it to do so;\nand he compels the latter to form the mental images he wishes to\nvisualize. But this a far different thing from the self-hypnotization\nwhich some persons imagine to be concentration. A writer on the subject\nhas well said: \"The trained occultist will concentrate upon a subject or\nobject with a wonderful intensity, seemingly completely absorbed in the\nsubject or object before him, and oblivious to all else in the world. And\nyet, the task accomplished, or the given time expired, he will detach his\nmind from the object and will be perfectly fresh, watchful and wide-awake\nto the next matter before him. There is every difference between being\ncontrolled by involuntary attention, which is species of\nself-hypnotization, and the control of the attention, which is an evidence\nof mastery.\" An eminent French psychologist once said: \"The authority of\nthe attention is subject to the superior authority of the Ego. I yield it,\nor I withhold it, as I please. I direct it in turn to several points. I\nconcentrate it upon each point, as long as my will can stand the effort.\"\n\nIn an earlier lesson of this series, I have indicated in a general way the\nmethods whereby one may develop and train his powers of concentration.\nThere is no royal road to concentration; it may be developed only by\npractice and exercise. The secret consists in managing the attention, so\nas to fix it upon a subject, no matter how uninteresting; and to hold it\nthere for a reasonable length of time. Practice upon some disagreeable\nstudy or other task is good exercise, for it serves to train the will in\nspite of the influence of more attractive objects or subjects. And this\nall serves to train the will, remember; for the will is actively concerned\nin every act of voluntary attention. In fact, attention of this kind is\none of the most important and characteristic acts of the will.\n\nSo, as you see, in order to be successful in influencing the minds of\nothers by means of mental induction, you must first cultivate a strong\nfeeling of interest in the idea which you wish to induce in the other\nperson, or a strong desire to produce the thing. Interest and desire\nconstitute the fire which generates the stream of will from the water of\nmind, as some occultists have stated it. Secondly, you must cultivate the\nfaculty of forming strong and clear mental images of the idea or feeling\nyou wish to so induce; you must learn to actually \"see\" the thing in your\nimagination, so as to give the idea strength and clearness. Thirdly, you\nmust learn to concentrate your mind and attention upon the idea or\nfeeling, shutting out all other ideas and feelings for the time being;\nthus you give concentrated force and power to the vibrations and\nthought-forms which you are projecting.\n\nThese three principles underlie all of the many forms of mental induction,\nor mental influence. We find them in active operation in cases in which\nthe person is seeking to attract to himself certain conditions,\nenvironment, persons, things, or channels of expression, by setting into\nmotion the great laws of mental attraction. We see them also employed when\nthe person is endeavoring to produce an effect upon the mind of some\nparticular person, or number of persons. We see them in force in all\ncases of mental or psychic healing, under whatever form it may be\nemployed. In short, these are general principles, and must therefore\nunderlie all forms and phases of mental or psychic influence. The sooner\nthe student realizes this fact, and the more actively does he set himself\nto work in cultivating and developing these principles within himself, the\nmore successful and efficient will he become in this field of psychic\nresearch and investigation. It is largely in the degree of the cultivation\nof these three mental principles that the occultist is distinguished from\nthe ordinary man.\n\nIt may be that you are not desirous of cultivating or practicing the power\nof influencing other persons psychically. Well, that is for you to decide\nfor yourself. At any rate, you will do well to develop yourselves along\nthese lines, at least for self-protection. The cultivation of these three\nmental principles will tend to make you active and positive, psychically,\nas contrasted with the passive, negative mental state of the average\nperson. By becoming mentally active and positive you will be able to\nresist any psychic influence that may be directed toward yourself, and to\nsurround yourself with a protective aura of positive, active mental\nvibrations.\n\nAnd, moreover, if you are desirous of pursuing your investigations of\npsychic and astral phenomena, you will find it of great importance to\ncultivate and develop these three principles in your mind. For, then you\nwill be able to brush aside all distracting influences, and to proceed at\nonce to the task before you, with power, clearness and strength of purpose\nand method.\n\nIn the following chapters I shall give you a more or less detailed\npresentation of the various phases or forms of psychic influence. Some of\nthese may seem at first to be something independent of the general\nprinciples. But I ask that you carefully analyze all of these, so as to\ndiscover that the same fundamental principles are under and back of each\nand every instance presented. When you once fully grasp this fact, and\nperfect yourselves in the few fundamental principles, then you are well\nstarted on the road to mastery of all the various phases of psychic\nphenomena. Instead of puzzling your mind over a hundred different phases\nof disconnected phenomena, it is better to master the few actual\nelementary principles, and then reason deductively from these to the\nvarious manifestation thereof. Master the principles, and then learn to\napply them.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XVII.\n\nPERSONAL PSYCHIC INFLUENCE OVER OTHERS\n\n\nPsychic Influence, as the term is used in this book, may be said to be\ndivided into three general classes, viz., (1) Personal Influence, in which\nthe mind of another is directly influenced by induction while he is in the\npresence of the person influencing; (2) Distant Influencing, in which the\npsychic induction is directly manifested when the persons concerned are\ndistant from one another; and (3) Indirect Influence, in which the\ninduction is manifested in the minds of various persons coming in contact\nwith the thought vibrations of the person manifesting them, though no\nattempt is made to directly influence any particular person. I shall now\npresent each of these three forms of psychic influence to you for\nconsideration, one after the other in the above order.\n\nPersonal Influence, as above defined, ranges from cases in which the\nstrongest control (generally known as hypnotism) is manifested, down to\nthe cases in which merely a slight influence is exerted. But the general\nprinciple underlying all of these cases is precisely the same. The great\ncharacters of history, such as Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte,\nand Julius Caesar, manifested this power to a great degree, and were able\nto sway men according to their will. All great leaders of men have this\npower strongly manifested, else they would not be able to influence the\nminds of men. Great orators, preachers, statesmen, and others of this\nclass, likewise manifest the power strongly. In fact, the very sign of\nability to influence and manage other persons is evidence of the\npossession and manifestation of this mighty power.\n\nIn developing this power to influence others directly and personally, you\nshould begin by impressing upon your mind the principles stated in the\npreceding chapter, namely (1) Strong Desire; (2) Clear Visualization; and\n(3) Concentration.\n\nYou must begin by encouraging a strong desire in your mind to be a\npositive individual; to exert and manifest a positive influence over\nothers with whom you come in contact, and especially over those whom you\nwish to influence in some particular manner or direction. You must let the\nfire of desire burn fiercely within you, until it becomes as strong as\nphysical hunger or thirst. You must \"want to\" as you want to breathe, to\nlive. You will find that the men who accomplish the great things in life\nare those who have strong desire burning in their bosoms. There is a\nstrong radiative and inductive power in strong desire and wish--in fact,\nsome have thought this the main feature of what we generally call strong\nwill-power.\n\nThe next step, of course, is the forming of a clear, positive, distinct\nand dynamic mental picture of the idea or feeling that you wish to induce\nin the other person. If it is an idea, you should make a strong clear\npicture of it in your imagination, so as to give it distinctness and\nforce and a clear outline. If it is a feeling, you should picture it in\nyour imagination. If it is something that you wish the other person to do,\nor some way in which you wish him to act, you should picture him as doing\nthe thing, or acting in that particular way. By so doing you furnish the\npattern or design for the induced mental or emotional states you wish to\ninduce in the other person. Upon the clearness and strength of these\nmental patterns of the imagination depends largely the power of the\ninduced impression.\n\nThe third step, of course, is the concentration of your mind upon the\nimpression you wish to induce in the mind of the other person. You must\nlearn to concentrate so forcibly and clearly that the idea will stand out\nclearly in your mind like a bright star of a dark night, except that there\nmust be only one star instead of thousands. By so doing you really focus\nthe entire force of your mental and psychic energies into that one\nparticular idea or thought. This makes it act like the focused rays in the\nsun-glass, or like the strong pipe-stream of water that will break down\nthe thing upon which it is turned. Diffused thought has but a\ncomparatively weak effect, whereas a concentrated stream of thought\nvibrations will force its way through obstacles.\n\nRemember, always, this threefold mental condition: (1) STRONG DESIRE; (2)\nCLEAR MENTAL PICTURE; and (3) CONCENTRATED THOUGHT. The greater the degree\nin which you can manifest these three mental conditions, the greater will\nbe your success in any form of psychic influence, direct or indirect,\npersonal or general, present or distant.\n\nBefore you proceed to develop the power to impress a particular idea or\nfeeling upon the mind of another person, you should first acquire a\npositive mental atmosphere for yourself. This mental atmosphere is\nproduced in precisely the same way that you induce a special idea or\nfeeling in the mind of the other person. That is to say, you first\nstrongly desire it, then you clearly picture it, and then you apply\nconcentrated thought upon it.\n\nI will assume that you are filled with the strong desire for a positive\nmental atmosphere around you. You want this very much indeed, and actually\ncrave and hunger for it. Then you must begin to picture yourself (in your\nimagination) as surrounded with an aura of positive thought-vibrations\nwhich protect you from the thought forces of other persons, and, at the\nsame time impress the strength of your personality upon the persons with\nwhom you come in contact. You will be aided in making these strong mental\npictures by holding the idea in your concentrated thought, and, at the\nsame time, silently stating to your mind just what you expect to do in the\ndesired direction. In stating your orders to your mind, always speak as if\nthe thing were already accomplished at that particular moment. Never say\nthat it \"will be,\" but always hold fast to the \"it is.\" The following will\ngive you a good example of the mental statements, which of course should\nbe accompanied by the concentrated idea of the thing, and the mental\npicture of yourself as being just what you state.\n\nHere is the mental statement for the creation of a strong, positive\npsychic atmosphere: \"I am surrounded by an aura of strong, positive,\ndynamic thought-vibrations. These render me positive to other persons, and\nrender them negative to me. I am positive of their thought-vibrations, but\nthey are negative to mine. They feel the strength of my psychic\natmosphere, while I easily repel the power of theirs. I dominate the\nsituation, and manifest my positive psychic qualities over theirs. My\natmosphere creates the vibration of strength and power on all sides of me,\nwhich affect others with whom I come in contact. MY PSYCHIC ATMOSPHERE IS\nSTRONG AND POSITIVE!\"\n\nThe next step in Personal Influence is that of projecting your psychic\npower directly upon and into the mind of the other person whom you wish to\ninfluence. Sometimes, if the person is quite negative to you, this is a\nvery simple and easy matter; but where the person is near your own degree\nof psychic positiveness you will have to assert your psychic superiority\nto him, and get the psychic \"upper hand\" before you can proceed further.\nThis is accomplished by throwing into your psychic atmosphere some\nparticularly strong mental statements accompanied by clear visualizations\nor mental pictures.\n\nMake positive your psychic atmosphere, particularly towards the person\nwhom you seek to influence, by statements and pictures something along\nthe following lines: \"I am positive to this man\"; \"He is negative to me\";\n\"He feels my power and is beginning to yield to it\"; \"He is unable to\ninfluence me in the slightest, while I can influence him easily\"; \"My\npower is beginning to operate upon his mind and feelings.\" The exact words\nare not important, but the idea behind them gives them their psychic force\nand power.\n\nThen should you begin your direct attack upon him, or rather upon his\npsychic powers. When I say \"attack,\" I do not use the word in the sense of\nwarfare or actual desire to harm the other person--this is a far different\nmatter. What I mean to say is that there is usually a psychic battle for a\nlonger or shorter period between two persons of similar degrees of psychic\npower and development. From this battle one always emerges victor at the\ntime, and one always is beaten for the time being, at least. And, as in\nall battles, victory often goes to him who strikes the first hard blow.\nThe offensive tactics are the best in cases of this kind.\n\nA celebrated American author, Oliver Wendall Holmes, in one of his books\nmakes mention of these duels of psychic force between individuals, as\nfollows: \"There is that deadly Indian hug in which men wrestle with their\neyes, over in five seconds, but which breaks one of their two backs, and\nis good for three-score years and ten, one trial enough--settles the whole\nmatter--just as when two feathered songsters of the barnyard, game and\ndunghill, come together. After a jump or two, and a few sharp kicks, there\nis an end to it; and it is 'After you, monsieur' with the beaten party in\nall the social relations for all the rest of his days.\"\n\nAn English physician, Dr. Fothergill by name, wrote a number of years ago\nabout this struggle of wills, as he called it, but which is really a\nstruggle of psychic power. He says: \"The conflict of will, the power to\ncommand others, has been spoken of frequently. Yet what is this will-power\nthat influences others? What is it that makes us accept, and adopt too,\nthe advice of one person, while precisely the same advice from another has\nbeen rejected? Is it the weight of force of will which insensibly\ninfluences us; the force of will behind the advice? That is what it is!\nThe person who thus forces his or her advice upon us has no more power to\nenforce it than others; but all the same we do as requested. We accept\nfrom one what we reject from another. One person says of something\ncontemplated, 'Oh, but you must not,' yet we do it all the same, though\nthat person may be in a position to make us regret the rejection of that\ncounsel. Another person says, 'Oh, but you mustn't,' and we desist, though\nwe may, if so disposed, set this latter person's opinion at defiance with\nimpunity. It is not the fear of consequences, not of giving offense, which\ndetermines the adaption of the latter person's advice, while it has been\nrejected when given by the first. It depends upon the character or\nwill-power of the individual advising whether we accept the advice or\nreject it. This character often depends little, if at all, in some cases,\nupon the intellect, or even upon the moral qualities, the goodness or\nbadness, of the individual. It is itself an imponderable something; yet it\ncarries weight with it. There may be abler men, cleverer men; but it is\nthe one possessed of will who rises to the surface at these times--the one\nwho can by some subtle power make other men obey him.\n\n\"The will-power goes on universally. In the young aristocrat who gets his\ntailor to make another advance in defiance of his conviction that he will\nnever get his money back. It goes on between lawyer and client; betwixt\ndoctor and patient; between banker and borrower; betwixt buyer and seller.\nIt is not tact which enables the person behind the counter to induce\ncustomers to buy what they did not intend to buy, and which bought, gives\nthem no satisfaction, though it is linked therewith for the effort to be\nsuccessful. Whenever two persons meet in business, or in any other\nrelation in life, up to love-making, there is this will-fight going on,\ncommonly enough without any consciousness of the struggle. There is a dim\nconsciousness of the result, but none of the processes. It often takes\nyears of the intimacy of married life to find out with whom of the pair\nthe mastery really lies. Often the far stronger character, to all\nappearances, has to yield; it is this will-element which underlies the\nstatement: 'The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the\nstrong.' In Middle-march' we find in Lydgate a grand aggregation of\nqualities, yet shallow, hard, selfish Rosamond masters him thoroughly in\nthe end. He was not deficient in will-power; possessed more than an\naverage amount of character; but in the fight he went down at last under\nthe onslaught of the intense, stubborn will of his narrow-minded spouse.\nTheir will-contest was the collision of a large warm nature, like a\ncapable human hand, with a hard, narrow selfish nature, like a steel\nbutton; the hand only bruised itself while the button remained\nunaffected.\"\n\nYou must not, however, imagine that every person with whom you engage in\none of these psychic duels is conscious of what is going on. He usually\nrecognizes that some sort of conflict is under way, but he does not know\nthe laws and principles of psychic force, and so is in the dark regarding\nthe procedure. You will find that a little practice of this kind, in which\nno great question is involved, will give you a certain knack or trick of\nhandling your psychic forces, and will, besides, give you that confidence\nin yourself that comes only from actual practice and exercise. I can point\nout the rules, and give you the principles, but you must learn the little\nbits of technique yourself from actual practice.\n\nWhen you have crossed psychic swords with the other person, gaze at him\nintently but not fiercely, and send him this positive strong\nthought-vibration: \"I am stronger than you, and I shall win!\" At the same\ntime picture to yourself your forces beating down his and overcoming him.\nHold this idea and picture in your mind: \"My vibrations are stronger than\nare yours--I am beating you!\" Follow this up with the idea and picture\nof: \"You are weakening and giving in--you are being overpowered!\" A very\npowerful psychic weapon is the following: \"My vibrations are scattering\nyour forces--I am breaking your forces into bits--surrender, surrender\nnow, I tell you!\"\n\nAnd now for some interesting and very valuable information concerning\npsychic defense. You will notice that in the offensive psychic weapons\nthere is always an assertion of positive statement of your power and its\neffect. Well, then, in using the psychic defensive weapon against one of\nstrong will or psychic force, you reverse the process. That is to say you\ndeny the force of his psychic powers and forces, and picture them as\nmelting into nothingness. Get this idea well fixed in your mind, for it is\nvery important in a conflict of this kind. The effect of this is to\nneutralize all of the other person's power so far as its effect on\nyourself is concerned--you really do not destroy it in him totally. You\nsimply render his forces powerless to affect you. This is important not\nonly when in a psychic conflict of this kind, but also when you wish to\nrender yourself immune from the psychic forces of other persons. You may\nshut yourself up in a strong defensive armor in this way, and others will\nbe powerless to affect you.\n\nIn the positive statement, \"I deny!\" you have the Occult Shield of\nDefense, which is a mighty protection to you. Even if you do not feel\ndisposed to cultivate and develop your psychic powers in the direction of\ninfluencing others, you should at least develop your defensive powers so\nas to resist any psychic attacks upon yourself.\n\nYou will find it helpful to practice these offensive and defensive weapons\nwhen you are alone, standing before your mirror and \"playing\" that your\nreflection in the glass is the other person. Send this imaginary other\nperson the psychic vibrations, accompanied by the mental picture suitable\nfor it. Act the part out seriously and earnestly, just as if the reflected\nimage were really another person. This will give you confidence in\nyourself, and that indefinable \"knack\" of handling your psychic weapons\nthat comes only from practice. You will do well to perfect yourself in\nthese rehearsals, just as you would in case you were trying to master\nanything else. By frequent earnest rehearsals, you will gain not only\nfamiliarity with the process and methods, but you will also gain real\npower and strength by the exercise of your psychic faculties which have\nheretofore lain dormant. Just as you may develop the muscle of your arm by\ncalisthenic exercises, until it is able to perform real muscular work of\nstrength; so you may develop your psychic faculties in this rehearsal\nwork, so that you will be strongly equipped and armed for an actual\npsychic conflict, besides having learned how to handle your psychic\nweapons.\n\nAfter you have practiced sufficiently along the general offensive and\ndefensive lines, and have learned how to manifest these forces in actual\nconflict, you will do well to practice special and specific commands to\nothers, in the same way. That is to say, practice them first on your\nreflected image in the mirror. The following commands (with mental\npictures, of course) will give you good practice. Go about the work in\nearnest, and act out the part seriously. Try these exercises: \"Here! look\nat me!\" \"Give me your undivided attention!\" \"Come this way!\" \"Come to me\nat once!\" \"Go away from me--leave me at once!\" \"You like me--you like me\nvery much!\" \"You are afraid of me!\" \"You wish to please me!\" \"You will\nagree to my proposition!\" \"You will do as I tell you!\" Any special command\nyou wish to convey to another person, psychically, you will do well to\npractice before the mirror in this way.\n\nWhen you have made satisfactory progress in the exercises above mentioned,\nand are able, to demonstrate them with a fair degree of success in actual\npractice, you may proceed to experiment with persons along the lines of\nspecial and direct commands by psychic force. The following will give you\na clear idea of the nature of the experiments in question, but you may\nenlarge upon and vary them indefinitely. Remember there is no virtue in\nmere words--the effect comes from the power of the thought behind the\nwords. But, nevertheless, you will find that positive words, used in these\nsilent commands, will help you to fit in your feeling to the words. Always\nmake the command a real COMMAND, never a mere entreaty or appeal. Assume\nthe mental attitude of a master of men--of a commander and ruler of other\nmen. Here follow a number of interesting experiments along these lines,\nwhich will be very useful to you in acquiring the art of personal\ninfluence of this kind:\n\n\nSEVEN VALUABLE EXERCISES\n\nEXERCISE 1: When walking down the street behind a person, make him turn\naround in answer to your mental command. Select some person who does not\nseem to be too much rushed or too busy--select some person who seems to\nhaving nothing particular on his mind. Then desire earnestly that he shall\nturn around when you mentally call to him to do so; at the same time\npicture him as turning around in answer to your call; and at the same time\nconcentrate your attention and thought firmly upon him. After a few\nmoments of preparatory thought, send him the following message, silently\nof course, with as much force, positiveness and vigor as possible: \"Hey\nthere! turn around and look at me! Hey! turn around, turn around at once!\"\nWhile influencing him fix your gaze at the point on his neck where the\nskull joins it--right at the base of the brain, in the back. In a number\nof cases, you will find that the person will look around as if someone had\nactually called him aloud. In other cases, he will seem puzzled, and will\nlook from side to side as if seeking some one. After a little practice you\nwill be surprised how many persons you can affect in this way.\n\nEXERCISE 2: When in a public place, such as a church, concert or theatre,\nsend a similar message to someone seated a little distance in front of\nyou. Use the same methods as in the first exercise, and you will obtain\nsimilar results. It will seem queer to you at first to notice how the\nother person will begin to fidget and move around in his seat, and finally\nglance furtively around as if to see what is causing him the disturbance.\nYou, of course, will not let him suspect that it is you, but, instead will\ngaze calmly ahead of you, and pretend not to notice him.\n\nEXERCISE 3: This is a variation of the first exercise. It is\npracticed by sending to a person approaching you on the street, or walking\nahead of you in the same direction, a command to turn to the right, or to\nthe left, as you prefer. You will be surprised to see how often you will\nbe successful in this.\n\nEXERCISE 4: This is a variation of the second exercise. It is\npracticed by sending to a person seated in front of you in a public place\nthe command to look to the right, or to the left, as you prefer. Do not\npractice on the same person too long, after succeeding at first--it is not\nright to torment people, remember.\n\nEXERCISE 5: After having attained proficiency in the foregoing\nexercises, you many proceed to command a person to perform certain\nunimportant motions, such as rising or sitting down, taking off his hat,\ntaking out his handkerchief, laying down a fan, umbrella, etc.\n\nEXERCISE 6: The next step is to command persons to say some\nparticular word having no important meaning; to \"put words in his mouth\"\nwhile talking to him. Wait until the other person pauses as if in search\nof a word, and then suddenly, sharply and forcibly put the word into his\nmouth, silently of course. In a very susceptible person, well under your\npsychic control, you may succeed in suggesting entire sentences and\nphrases to him.\n\nEXERCISE 7: This is the summit of psychic influencing, and, of\ncourse, is the most difficult. But you will be surprised to see how well\nyou will succeed in many cases, after you have acquired the knack and\nhabit of sending the psychic message. It consists of commanding the person\nto obey the spoken command or request that you are about to make to him.\nThis is the art and secret of the success of many salesmen, solicitors,\nand others working along the lines of influencing other people. It is\nacquired by beginning with small things, and gradually proceeding to\ngreater, and still greater. At this point I should warn you that all the\nbest occult teachings warn students against using this power for base\nends, improper purposes, etc. Such practices tend to react and rebound\nagainst the person using them, like a boomerang. Beware against using\npsychic or occult forces for improper purposes--the psychic laws punish\nthe offender, just as do the physical laws.\n\nFinally, I caution the student against talking too much about his\ndeveloping powers. Beware of boasting or bragging about these things. Keep\nsilent, and keep your own counsel. When you make known your powers, you\nset into operation the adverse and antagonistic thought of persons around\nyou who may be jealous of you, and who would wish to see you fail, or make\nyourself ridiculous. The wise head keepeth a still tongue! One of the\noldest occult maxims is: \"Learn! Dare! Do! Keep Silent!!!\" You will do\nwell to adhere strictly to this warning caution.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XVIII.\n\nPSYCHIC INFLUENCE AT A DISTANCE\n\n\nThe second phase of Psychic Influence is that called Distant Psychic\nInfluence, in which psychic induction is manifested when the persons are\ndistant in space from one another--not in the presence of each other.\nHere, of course, we see the principle of telepathy involved in connection\nwith the process of mental induction: and in some cases even the astral\ntelepathic sense is called into operation.\n\nThe student who has followed my explanation and course of reasoning in the\npreceding lessons will readily perceive that the principle involved in\nthis distant phase of psychic influence is precisely the same as that\nemployed in direct personal psychic influence. As I have explained in an\nearly lesson, it matters little whether the space to be covered by the\npsychic vibratory waves is but one foot or a thousand miles, the principle\nis exactly the same. There are, of course, other principles involved in\nthe case of two persons meeting face to face and calling into force their\npsychic powers; for instance, there is the element of suggestion and\nassociation, and other psychological principles which are not in force\nwhen the two persons are out of the actual presence of each other. But so\nfar as the telepathic or astral psychic powers are concerned, the mere\nextension of space does not change the principle.\n\nThe student who has developed his power of psychic induction in the\nphases mentioned in the preceding chapter, may begin to experiment and\npractice psychic induction at long-range, if he so wishes. That is to say,\ninstead of causing psychic induction in the minds of persons actually in\nhis presence and sight, he may produce similar results in persons out of\nhis sight and presence. The person may be brought into presence and\npsychic contact, for all practical purposes, by using the visualizing\npowers for the purpose of bringing him into the en rapport condition. That\nis to say, by using the imagination to bring into the mind a strong clear\npicture of the other person, you may induce an en rapport condition in\nwhich he will be practically in the same psychic relation to you as if he\nwere actually before you. Of course, if he is sufficiently well informed\nregarding occult matters, he may shut you out by drawing a psychic circle\naround himself which you cannot penetrate, or by surrounding himself with\npsychic armor or atmosphere such as I have already mentioned in preceding\nlessons. But as he will not likely know anything of this, the average\nperson may be reached in the manner just mentioned.\n\nOr again, you may establish en rapport conditions by psychometric methods,\nby holding to your forehead an article which has been in the other\nperson's possession for some time; an article worn by him; a piece of his\nhair; etc. Or, again, you may use the crystal to bring up his astral\nvision before you. Or, again, you may erect an \"astral tube\" such as I\nwill mention a little further on in this chapter, and thus establish a\nstrong en rapport condition.\n\nHaving established the en rapport condition with the other person, and\nhaving thus practically brought him into your presence, psychically\nspeaking, you may proceed to send him commands or demands, just as you did\nin the phase of personal psychic influence previously mentioned. You act\nprecisely as if the other person were present before you, and state your\ncommands or demands to him just as you would were he seated or standing in\nyour presence. This is the keynote of the whole thing; the rest is simply\nan elaboration and stating of details of methods, etc. With the correct\nprinciple once established, you may apply the same according to your own\nwishes and discretion.\n\nThis phase of distant psychic influence is at the bottom of all the\nwonderful tales, stories and legends of supernatural powers, witchcraft,\nsorcery, etc., with which the pages of history are filled. There is of\ncourse always to be found much distortion and exaggeration in these\nlegends and tales, but they have truth at the bottom of them. In this\nconnection, let me call your attention to a very important psychic\nprinciple involved. I have told you that by denying the power of any\nperson over you, you practically neutralize his psychic power--the\nstronger and more positive your belief in your immunity, and your denial\nof his power over you, the more do you rob him of any such power. The\naverage person, not knowing this, is more or less passive to psychic\ninfluences of other persons, and may be affected by them to a greater or\nless extent, depending upon the psychic development of the person seeking\nto influence him. At the extreme of the sensitive pole of psychic\ninfluence, we find those persons who believe firmly that the other person\nhas power over them, and who are more or less afraid of him. This belief\nand fear acts to make them particularly sensitive and impressionable, and\neasily affected by his psychic induction. This is the reason that the\nso-called witches and sorcerers and others of evil repute have been able\nto acquire such a power over their victims, and to cause so much trouble.\nThe secret is that the victims believed in the power of the other person,\nand feared their power. The greater the belief in, and fear of, the power\nof the person, the greater the susceptibility to his influence; the\ngreater the sense of power of neutralizing the power, and the disbelief in\nhis power to affect them, the greater the degree of immunity: this is the\nrule!\n\nAccordingly we find that persons in various stages of the history of the\nworld have been affected by the influences of witches, sorcerers, and\nother unprincipled persons. In most cases these so-called witches and\nsorcerers themselves were under the delusion that they were assisted by\nthe devil or some other supernatural being. They did not realize that they\nwere simply using perfectly natural methods, and employing perfectly\nnatural forces. For that matter, you must remember that magnetism and\nelectricity, in ancient days, were considered as supernatural forces in\nsome way connected with demonic powers.\n\nStudying the history of witchcraft, sorcery, black-magic, and the like,\nyou will find that the devotees thereof usually employed some psychometric\nmethod. In other cases they would mould little figures of clay, or of wax,\nin the general shape and appearance of the person whom they wished to\naffect. It was thought that these little figures were endowed with some\nsupernatural powers or attributes, but of course this was mere\nsuperstition. The whole power of these little figures arose from the fact\nthat they aided the imagination of the spell-worker in forming a mental\nimage of the person sought to be influenced; and thus established a strong\nen rapport condition. Added to this, you must remember that the fear and\nbelief of the public greatly aided the spell-worker and increased his\npower and influence over these poor persons.\n\nI will give you a typical case, taken from an old German book, which\nthoroughly illustrates the principles involved in cases of this kind.\nUnderstand this case, and you will have the secret and working principle\nof them all. The story is told by an eminent German physician of the last\ncentury. He relates that he was consulted by one of his patients, a\nwealthy farmer living near by. The farmer complained that he was disturbed\nevery night by strange noises which sounded like someone pounding iron.\nThe disturbances occurred between the hours of ten o'clock and midnight,\neach and every night. The physician asked him if he suspected anyone of\ncausing the strange trouble. The farmer answered that he suspected an old\nenemy of his, an old village blacksmith living several miles away from his\nfarm. It appears that an old long-standing feud between them had broken\nout afresh, and that the blacksmith had made threats of employing his\n\"hex\" (witchcraft) powers on the old farmer. The blacksmith was reputed to\nbe a sort of \"hex\" or male-witch, and the farmer believed in his diabolic\npowers and was very much in fear of them. So you see the ideal condition\nfor psychic receptivity was present.\n\nThe physician called on the blacksmith, and taking him by surprise, gazing\nsternly into his eyes and asked him: \"What do you do every night between\nten and twelve o'clock?\" The blacksmith, frightened and disturbed,\nstammered out: \"I hammer a bar of iron every night at that time, and all\nthe while I think intently of a bad neighbor of mine who once cheated me\nout of some money; and I 'will' at the same time that the noise will\ndisturb his rest, until he will pay me back my money to get peace and\nquiet.\" The physician bade him to desist from his evil practices, under\nthreats of dire punishment; and then went to the farmer and made him\nstraighten out the financial dispute between the two. Thereafter, there\nwas no more trouble.\n\nSo you see in this case all the necessary elements were present. First\nthere was the belief of the blacksmith in his own powers--this gave him\nself-confidence and psychic power. Then there was the belief and fear on\nthe part of the farmer--this made him an easy subject, and very\nsusceptible to psychic induction, etc. Then there was the action of the\nblacksmith beating the iron--this gave force and clearness to his\nvisualization of the idea he wished to induce in the mind of the other.\nAnd, finally, there was his will employed in every stroke, going out in\nthe direction of the concentrated wish and purpose of influencing the\nfarmer. You see, then, that every psychic element was present. It was no\nwonder that the old farmer was disturbed.\n\nAmong the negroes of the South, in America; and among the Hawaiians; we\nfind marked instances of this kind. The negro Voodoo men and women work\nblack magic on those of their race who are superstitious and credulous,\nand who have a mortal fear of the Voodoo. You see the conditions obtained\nare much the same as in the case of the German case just cited. Travellers\nwho have visited the countries in which there is a large negro population,\nhave many interesting tales to recite of the terrible workings of these\nVoodoo black magicians. In some cases, sickness and even death is the\nresult. But, mark you this! it is only those who believe in, and fear, the\npower of the Voodoos that are affected. In Hawaii, the Kahunas or native\nmagicians are renowned for their power to cause sickness and death to\nthose who have offended them; or to those who have offended some client of\nthe Kahuna, and who have hired the latter to \"pray\" the enemy to sickness\nor death. The poor ignorant Hawaiians, believing implicitly in the power\nof the Kahunas, and being in deadly fear of them, are very susceptible to\ntheir psychic influence, and naturally fall easy victims, unless they buy\nof the Kahuna, or make peace with his client. White persons living in\nHawaii are not affected by the Kahunas, for they do not believe in them,\nneither do they fear them. Unconsciously, but still strongly, they deny\nthe power, and are immune. So, you see, the principle working out here,\nalso. Once you have the master-key, you may unlock many doors of mystery\nwhich have heretofore been closed to you.\n\nWe do not have to fall back on cases of witchcraft, however, in order to\nillustrate this phase of the use of psychic influence for selfish ends. In\nEurope and America there are teachers of a low form of occultism who\ninstruct their pupils in the art of producing induced mental states in the\nminds of others, for purposes of financial gain or other selfish ends. For\ninstance, there is a Western teacher who instructs his pupils to induce\ndesired mental states in prospective customers, or others whom they may\nwish to influence for selfish reasons. This teacher tells his pupils to:\n\"Imagine your prospective customer, or other person, as seated in a chair\nbefore which you are standing. Make the imagined picture as strong as\npossible, for upon this depends your success. Then proceed to 'treat' this\nperson just as if he were actually present. Concentrate your will upon\nhim, and tell him what you expect to tell him when you meet him. Use all\nof the arguments that you can think of, and at the same time hold the\nthought that he must do as you say. Try to imagine him as complying with\nyour wishes in every respect, for this imagining will tend to 'come true'\nwhen you really meet the person. This rule may be used, not only in the\ncase of prospective customers, but also in the case of persons whom you\nwish to influence in any way whatsoever.\" Surely this is a case of\nemploying psychic powers for selfish purposes, if anything is.\n\nAgain, in Europe and America, particularly in the latter country, we find\nmany persons who have picked up a smattering of occult knowledge by means\nof some of the many healing cults and organizations which teach the power\nof thought over physical diseases. In the instruction along the lines of\ndistant mental healing, the student is taught to visualize the patient as\nstrongly and clearly as possible, and to then proceed to make statements\nof health and strength. The mind of the patient, and that of the healer,\ncooperate and in many cases work wonderful cures. As you will see in the\nlast lesson of this course, there is great power in the mind to induce\nhealthful vibrations in the mind of others, and the work is a good and\nworthy one. But, alas! as is so often the case, the good teaching is\nsometimes perverted, and applied for unworthy and selfish ends. Some of\nthe persons who have picked up the principles of mental healing have\ndiscovered that the same power may be used in a bad as well as in a good\ndirection. They accordingly, proceed to \"treat\" other persons with the\nobject of persuading them to do things calculated to benefit the person\nusing the psychic power. They seek to get these other persons under their\npsychic influence, and to then take advantage of them in some way or\nother.\n\nI hope that it is practically unnecessary for me to warn my students\nagainst evil practices of this kind--I trust that I have not drawn any\nstudents of this class to me. In case, however, that some of you may have\nbeen, or may be in the future, tempted to use your psychic powers\nimproperly, in this way, I wish to caution and warn you positively against\nso doing. Outside of the ordinary morality which should prevent you from\ntaking advantage of another person in this way, I wish to say to you that\nanyone so misusing psychic or astral powers will inevitably bring down\nupon his head, sooner or later, certain occult astral forces which will\nprove disastrous to him. He will become involved in the web of his own\nmaking, and will suffer greatly. Never by any means allow yourself to be\ntempted into indulging in any of the practices of Black Magic, under any\nform of disguise. You will live to regret it if you do. Employ your\npowers, when you develop them, for the good of others; or at least, for\npurely scientific investigation and knowledge.\n\nThe scientific investigator of this phase of psychic influence, will wish\nto become acquainted with what the occultists call \"the astral tube.\" In\nthis phase of the phenomena, you manifest upon the astral plane, rather\nthan upon the physical. The astral form of telepathy is manifested, rather\nthan the ordinary form. While there are a number of technical points\ninvolved in the production of the astral tube, I shall endeavor to\ninstruct you regarding its creation and use in as plain words as possible,\nomitting all reference to technical occult details which would only serve\nto distract your attention and confuse your mind. The advanced occult\nstudent will understand these omitted technicalities without being told of\nthem; the others would not know what was meant by them, if mentioned, in\nthe absence of a long stage of preparatory teaching. After all, the theory\nis not of so much importance to most of you as are the practical working\nprinciples. I ask your careful attention to what I have to say in this\nsubject of the astral tube.\n\nThe Astral Tube is formed by the person forming in his imagination (i.e.,\non the astral plane by means of his imagination or visualizing powers), a\ntube or small tunnel between himself and the person whom he wishes to\ninfluence. He starts by picturing it in his mind a whirling vortex,\nsimilar to the whirling ring of smoke emitted from a \"coughing\" engine,\nand sometimes by a man smoking a cigar, about six inches to one foot in\ndiameter. He must will the imagined vortex-ring to move forward as if it\nwere actually boring a tunnel through the atmosphere. When the knack of\nproducing this astral tube is acquired, it will be found that the\nvisualized tunnel seems to vibrate with a peculiar intensity, and will\nseem to be composed of a substance far more subtle than air. Then, at the\nother end of this astral tube you must picture the other person, the one\nwhom you wish to influence. The person will seem as if viewed through the\nwrong end of an opera-glass. When this condition is gained, there will be\nfound to be a high degree of en rapport between yourself and the other\nperson. The secret consists in the fact that you have really established a\nform of clairvoyance between yourself and the person. When you have\ninduced this condition, proceed with your mental commands and pictures\njust as if you were in the presence of the person himself. That is the\nwhole thing in a nutshell.\n\nIn order that you may have another viewpoint from which to consider the\nastral tube, or what corresponds to it, I wish to give you here a little\nquotation from another writer on the subject, who presents the matter from\na somewhat more technical standpoint. Read this quotation in connection\nwith my own description of the astral tube, and you will form a pretty\ncomplete and clear idea of the phenomenon. The writer mentioned says: \"It\nis impossible here to give an exhaustive disquisition on astral physics;\nall I need say is that it is possible to make in the astral substance a\ndefinite connecting-line that shall act as a telegraph wire to convey\nvibrations by means of which all that is going on at the other end of it\nmay be seen. Such a line is established, be it understood, not by a direct\nprojection through space of astral matter, but by such action upon a line\n(or rather many lines) of particles of that substance as will render them\ncapable of forming a conductor for vibrations of the character required.\nThis preliminary action can be set up in two ways--either by the\ntransmission of energy from particle to particle, until the line is\nformed, or by the use of a force from a higher plane which is capable of\nacting upon the whole line simultaneously. Of course this latter method\nimplies far greater development, since it involves the knowledge of (and\nthe power to use) forces of a considerably higher level.\n\n\"Even the simpler and purely astral operation is a difficult one to\ndescribe, though quite an easy one to perform. It may be said to partake\nsomewhat of the nature of the magnetization of a bar of steel; for it\nconsists in what we might call the polarization, by an effort of the human\nwill, of a number of astral atoms reaching from the operator to the scene\nwhich he wishes to observe. All the atoms thus affected are held for the\ntime being with their axes rigidly parallel to one another, so that they\nform a kind of temporary tube along which the clairvoyant may look. This\nmethod has the disadvantage that the telegraph line is liable to\ndisarrangement or even destruction by any sufficiently strong astral\ncurrent which happens to cross its path; but if the original creative\neffort were fairly definite, this would be a contingency of only\ninfrequent occurrence. The view of a distant scene obtained by means of\nthis 'astral current' is in many ways not unlike that seen through a\ntelescope. Human figures usually appear very small, like those on a\ndistant stage, but in spite of their diminutive size they are as clear as\nthough they were close by. Sometimes it is possible by this means to hear\nwhat is said as well as to see what is done; but as in the majority of\ncases this does not happen, we must consider it rather as the\nmanifestation of an additional power than as a necessary corollary of the\nfaculty of sight.\"\n\nI would feel that I had not done my whole duty to the student, or reader\nof this book, were I to conclude this chapter without pointing out a means\nof protection against the use of this phase of psychic influence against\nthem on the part of some unscrupulous person; or for that matter, against\nthe meddling influence of any person whatsoever, for any purpose\nwhatsoever, without one's permission and consent. Therefore, I wish now to\npoint out the general principles of self-protection or defense against\nthis class of psychic influence.\n\nIn the first place, you must, of course, refuse to admit to your mind any\nfeeling of fear regarding the influence of other persons--for that is the\nopen door to their influence, as I have pointed out to you. If you have\nbeen, or are fearful of any persons psychic influence, you must get to\nwork and drive out that feeling by positive and vigorous denials. The\ndenial, you remember, is the positive neutralizer of the psychic influence\nof another person, providing you make it in full belief of its truth. You\nmust take the position (which is a true one) that you are immune to the\npsychic attack or influence. You should say, mentally, \"I deny to any\nperson the power to influence me psychically without my consent; I am\npositive to all such influences, and they are negative to me; I neutralize\nthem by this denial!\"\n\nIf you feel sudden impulses to act in some way which you have not thought\nof doing, or toward which you have had an aversion, pause a moment and\nsay, mentally, \"If this is an outside influence, I deny its power over me;\nI deny it, and send it back to its sender, to his defeat and confusion.\"\nYou will then experience a feeling of relief and freedom. In such cases\nyou may frequently be approached later on by the person who would have\nbeen most benefitted by your action; he will appear surprised when you\n\"turn him down,\" and will act in a confused way. He may not have\nconsciously tried to influence you, but may have merely been wishing\nstrongly that you would do as he desired.\n\nIt should encourage you to know that it requires much less force to repel\nand neutralize psychic influence of this kind, than is required to send\nforth the power; an ounce of denial and protection overcomes a pound of\npsychic attacking power. Nature gives you the means of protection, and\ngives you \"the best end of the stick,\" and it is your own fault if you do\nnot effectively use it. A word to the wise is sufficient.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XIX.\n\nLAWS OF PSYCHIC ATTRACTION\n\n\nThe third phase of Psychic Influence is that which may be called Indirect\nPsychic Influence, in which psychic induction is manifested in the minds\nof other persons coming in contact with the thought vibrations of the\nperson manifesting them, although no deliberate attempt is made to\ninfluence the mind of any particular person or persons. Closely connected\nwith and involved in this phase of psychic influence, is that which is\ncalled the Psychic Law of Attraction. So closely are these two connected\nthat I shall consider them together in this lesson.\n\nThe fundamental principle of this phase of psychic influence is the\nwell-known psychic fact that mental and emotional states not only induce\nsimilar vibrations in those who are similar attuned on the psychic\nvibratory scale, but also tend to attract and draw to the person other\npersons who are vibrating along similar lines, and also tend to repel\nthose who are vibrating in an opposing note or scale of psychic vibration.\n\nIn the preceding lessons I have shown you how by induction we tend to\narouse in others mental and emotional states similar to our own. But there\nis a law in effect here, which must be noted if you wish to thoroughly\nunderstand this phase of psychic influences. Omitting all technical\nexplanations, and getting right down to the heart of the phenomenon, I\nwould say that the general principle is this: Psychic induction is\ndifficult in proportion to the opposing quality of the characteristic\nmental and emotional states of the person affected; and easy in proportion\nto the harmonious quality thereof. That is to say, in plain words, that if\na person's habitual thought and emotions are along the same lines that you\nare trying to induce in him, you will find it easy to induce the same in\nhim; if, on the contrary, they are of an opposing nature, then you will\nfind it difficult to so influence him. The many degrees of agreement and\ndifference in the psychic vibrations of persons constitute a scale of\ncomparative response to any particular form of mental or emotional\nvibrations.\n\nIt is hard to change the spots of a leopard, or the skin of an Ethiopian,\nas we are told on ancient authority. It is almost as difficult to change\nthe characteristic mental and emotional states of a person by psychic\ninduction, except after long and repeated efforts. On the contrary, let a\nperson have certain characteristic mental and emotional habits, then these\nmay be aroused in them with the greatest ease by means of psychic\ninduction. For instance, if a person is characteristically and habitually\npeaceful, mild and calm, it will be very difficult to arouse in him by\npsychic induction the vibrations of anger, fight and excitement. On the\nother hand, if the other person is combative, fierce and easily excited to\nwrath, it is the easiest possible thing to arouse these feelings in him by\npsychic induction. So much for ordinary psychic induction; let us now\nconsider indirect psychic induction, in which the same principle operates.\n\nIn indirect psychic induction, that is to say in cases in which psychic\nvibrations are aroused by induction without deliberate attempt or design\nto influence any particular person or persons, there is noted the\nmanifestation of a peculiar law of attraction and repulsion along psychic\nlines. This psychic law operates in the direction of attracting to oneself\nother persons who, actively or passively, vibrate on the same note, or on\nsome note or notes in general harmony therewith. In the same, way, the law\ncauses you to repel other persons who vibrate on a note or notes in\ngeneral inharmony or discord to yourself. So, in short, we go through life\nattracting or repelling, psychically, others in harmonious or inharmonious\npsychic relation to us, respectively. An understanding of this law and its\nworkings will throw light upon many things in your life which you have not\nunderstood previously.\n\nYou of course understand that you are constantly radiating currents of\npsychic vibrations, some of which flow out to great distances from you,\nand affect others often far removed from you in space. But you may not\nalso know that on the astral plane there is manifesting a similar sequence\nof cause and effect. A strong emotional vibration, or a strong desire or\nwill, tends to manifest on the astral plane by attracting or repelling\nothers in psychic harmony or inharmony with you. This phenomenon is not so\ncommon as is that of ordinary thought vibrations from brain to brain, but\nit is far more common that is generally supposed. It is particularly\nmarked in cases of men of strong desire and will, and strong creative\nimagination. These vibrations awakening response in the minds of those in\nharmony with them, tend to draw to one those other persons whose general\ncharacter will fit in with the desires and ideas of the first person, or\nto repel those who are not harmonious therewith. This explains the\npeculiar phenomenon of strong men in business, politics and other walks of\nlife, drawing and attracting to them other men who will fit in with their\ngeneral plans and aims.\n\nThis law works two ways. Not only do you draw such persons to you as will\nfit in with your plans and purposes, but you are attracted to them by the\nsame law. Not only this, but you will find that through the peculiar\nworkings of this law even things and circumstances, as well as persons,\nwill seem to be moulded by your strong desires and ideas, providing your\npsychic vibrations are sufficiently strong and clear. Have you never\nnoticed how a strong, resourceful magnetic man will seem to actually draw\nto him the persons, things and circumstances that he needs to carry out\nand manifest his plans and designs. To many, not understanding this great\nlaw, these things have seemed positively uncanny and mysterious. But,\nnow-a-days, the big men of business and politics are beginning to\nunderstand these psychic laws, and to apply them deliberately and with\npurpose.\n\nSome of the great leaders in the business world, and in politics, are\nknown to deliberately start into operation strong psychic vibrations, and\nto send out strong psychic currents of attraction, by the methods that I\nhave already explained to you. They, of course, are filled with a more\nthan ordinary degree of desire and will and, in the second place, they\ncreate very strong and clear mental pictures of their plans working out\nsuccessfully to a finish; then concentrate strongly on the thing; and lo!\nthe effect is felt by all hands and on all sides. They \"treat the public\"\n(to use the term favored by some of the metaphysical cults of the day) by\nholding the mental picture of that which they strongly desire to come to\npass, and by concentrating their thought and will strongly upon it.\n\nA favorite mental picture of some of these men (who have been instructed\nby teachers of occultism), is that of themselves as the centre of a great\npsychic whirlpool, drawing to themselves the persons, things and\ncircumstances calculated to bring success and realization to them. Others\npicture their thought-vibrations flowing from them like the rings in a\npond into which a stone had been dropped, influencing a constantly\nwidening circle of other persons; then they picture the persons being\ndrawn to them in the manner just mentioned. They persist in this practice\nday after day, week after week, month after month, year after year--is it\nany wonder that they draw to themselves that which they desire?\n\nOther persons of lesser caliber take similar advantage of the law in the\nsame way, but on a smaller scale. In every community there are certain\npersons who seem to draw to themselves the patronage and custom of the\ncommunity, in some peculiar way. In most cases this may be traced back to\nsome form of psychic influence. I do not mean that these persons\nconsciously and deliberately set these forces into operation. On the\ncontrary, many of them do so more or less unconsciously, and without a\nknowledge of the underlying psychic principles involved. Such persons have\nstumbled on a portion of the psychic laws, and have used them more or less\nunconsciously and without understanding the real reason of the happening.\nThey found out that certain mental states and certain mental pictures\ntended to produce certain results--that they \"worked out\"--and so they\ncontinued them. Some of these men think of the whole thing as something\nsupernatural, and get to believe that they are being helped by some\nsupernatural power; whereas, they are simply operating under a universal\npsychic law of cause and effect.\n\nIn America a number of teachers and writers have devoted much attention to\nthis phase of the general subject of psychic influence. Cults have been\nformed upon this general basis, the main idea of their followers being\nthat of attracting financial and other success by means of this phase of\npsychic force. One of the leading writers along this line, says: \"An\nindividual who has cultivated the faculty of concentration, and has\nacquired the art of creating sharp, clear, strong, mental images, and who\nwhen engaged in an undertaking will so charge his mind with the idea of\nsuccess, will be bound to become an attracting centre. And if such an\nindividual will keep his mental picture ever in his mind, even though it\nbe in the background of his mind, when he is attending to the details and\nplanning of his affairs--if he will give his mental picture a prominent\nplace in his mental gallery, taking a frequent glance at it, and using his\nwill upon it to create new scenes of actual success, he will create for\nhimself a centre of radiating thought that will surely be felt by those\ncoming within its field of influence.\n\n\"Such a man frequently 'sees people as coming to him and his enterprises,\nand as falling in line with his plans. He mentally 'sees' money flowing in\nto him, and all of his plans working out right. In short, he mentally\nimagines each step of his plans a little ahead of the time for their\nexecution, and he concentrates forcibly and earnestly upon them. It is\nastonishing to witness how events, people, circumstances, and things seem\nto move in place in actual life as if urged by some mighty power to serve\nto materialize the conditions so imaged in the mind of the man. But,\nunderstand, there must be active mental effort behind the imaging. Day\ndreamers do not materialize thought--they merely dissipate energy. The man\nwho converts thought in activity and material being throws energy into\nthe task, and puts forth his willpower through the pictured image. Without\nthe rays of the will there will be no picture projected, no matter how\nbeautifully the imagination has projected it. Thought pictured in mental\nimages, and then vitalized by the force of the desire, and will, tend to\nobjectify themselves into material being.\"\n\nThe student will be interested in reading and hearing the various theories\nand explanations given by different writers and teachers to account for\nthe phenomena of psychic influence. Once he has grasped the real\nscientific principles involved, he will be able to see the same in\noperation in all of the cases cited by the different teachers and writers,\nand will find that this fundamental principle fully explains and accounts\nfor all of these cases, no matter how puzzling they may seem, or how\nmysterious they may be claimed to be by those mentioning them. Truth is\nvery simple when we brush away the fantastic dressings which have been\nplaced around it by those who have lacked knowledge of the true\nfundamental principles.\n\nWe see this same law or principle operating in very many different ways\nfrom those previously mentioned. For instance, we frequently find cases in\nwhich one person has a strong desire for a certain kind of assistance in\nhis business or other work. He has almost given up hope of finding the\nright kind of person, for those whom he has tried have failed to measure\nup the requirements of the situation. If he will (and he sometimes does)\nfollow the general plan just mentioned, he will set into operation the\npsychic forces which will attract that person to him, and him to that\nperson. In some peculiar way, the two will be thrown together, and the\ncombination will work out to the best advantage of both. In these cases,\neach person is seeking the other, and the psychic forces of attraction,\nonce set into operation, serve to bring them together.\n\nIn like manner, one often draws to himself certain knowledge and\ninformation that he requires or is desirous of gaining. But, and you must\nalways remember this, no miracle is worked, for it is simply a matter of\nthe working out of natural laws of cause and effect--attraction and\nresponse to attraction--on the psychic or astral plane. Such a person will\naccidently (!) run across some other person who will be led to give him\nthe key to the knowledge he seeks. Perhaps a book may be mentioned, or\nsome reference to some writer be made. If the hint is followed up, the\ndesired information comes to light. Many persons have had the psychic\nexperience of being led to some book store and induced to examine a\nparticular shelf of books, whereupon a particular book presents itself\nwhich changes the whole course of the person's life. Or, perhaps, one will\npick up a newspaper apparently at random, and without purpose; and therein\nwill find some information, or at least a hint in the direction where the\ninformation may be found. When one accustoms himself to the workings of\npsychic forces, these things soon become accepted as a matter of course,\nand cease to arouse wonder or surprise. The workings of the Psychic Law of\nAttraction is seen to be as natural and invariable as the law of\ngravitation, or magnetic attraction, once one has mastered its principles,\nand learned the methods of its application. Surely such a wonderful law is\nwell worth study, attention, investigation, and mastery, isn't it?\n\nA writer along the lines of Mental Science, which is really based on the\nprinciples which have been stated in this book, has the following to say\nregarding his system: \"Wonderful results arise by reason of what has been\ncalled 'The Law of Attraction,' by the workings of which each person is\ncontinually drawing to himself the people, things, objects, and even\ncircumstances in harmony and accord with his prevailing mental states.\nLike attracts like, and the mental states determine that which one draws\nto himself. If you are not satisfied with what is coming to you, start to\nwork and change your mental attitudes and mental states, and you will see\na change gradually setting in, and then the things that you want will\nbegin to come your way. * * * A most important fact about the effect of\nmental vibrations upon people lies in the principle that one is more\naffected by vibrations in harmony with his own accustomed feelings and\nmental states, than by those of an opposite nature. A man who is full of\nevil schemes, and selfish aims, is more apt to be caught up by similar\nvibrations than one who lives above that plane of thought. He is more\neasily tempted by evil suggestions and influences, than one to whom these\nthings are abhorrent. And the same is true on every plane. A man whose\nmental attitude is one of confidence and fearlessness, is not apt to be\naffected by vibrations of a negative, pessimistic, gloomy nature, and vice\nversa. Therefore, if you wish to receive the vibrations of the thoughts\nand feelings of others, you must place yourself in a mental attitude\ncorresponding with those vibrations which you wish to receive. And if you\nwish to avoid vibrations of a certain kind, the best way is to rise above\nthem in your own mind, and to cultivate the mental states opposite them.\nThe positive always overcomes the negative--and optimistic mental states\nare always positive to pessimistic mental states.\"\n\nAnother writer on, and practitioner of Mental Science, in America, several\nyears ago, explained her theory and practice by means of the term\n\"corelation of thoughts and things.\" She held that when one thought\npositively, clearly and forcibly of a thing, he \"related\" himself to that\nthing, and tended to attract it to him, and to be attracted toward it. She\nheld that true wisdom consists in so managing our thoughts that we shall\nrelate ourselves only to those things which we know to be desirable and\nbeneficial to ourselves, and to avoid thinking of those which are harmful\nand detrimental to us. The student of this book will see how this\npractical Mental Scientist was really using the same principles that we\nhave examined and become acquainted within this book, although she called\nthem by another name, and explained them by another theory. At the bottom\nof all the teachings and theories you will always find the one same basic\nprinciple and universal law.\n\nThe advanced student of occultism knows that each and every one of us is\nreally a creator of his own circumstances, environment and conditions, to\na great extent. Each of us is able to so modify our mental activities as\nto bring about such changes in our environment and surroundings as to\nactually re-create them. The things accomplished by successful men are\nreally but materializations of that which they have previously held in\ntheir mental vision. Everything is first created on the psychic plane, and\nthen manifested in the physical world. All the great works of man, the\ngreat bridges, great buildings, tunnels, machinery, cities, railroads,\ncanals, works of art, musical compositions, etc., first existed in the\nmind of their creators, and were then afterward materialized in physical\nform and shape. And, so you see we are proceeding with our work of mental\ncreations whenever we think and make mental images. This, however, is no\nnew teaching. It is as old as the race of mankind. Over twenty-five\nhundred years ago, Buddha said to his disciples: \"All that we are is the\nresult of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts; it is made\nup of our thoughts.\"\n\nI would be telling you but half the story did I not warn you that strong\nFear may play the part ordinarily filled by Desire in the production of\nthe psychic phenomena of materialization of mental pictures. Strange as\nit may appear at first, a strong fear that a thing will come to pass will\nact much the same as a strong desire that the happening will occur.\nConsequently, many persons by continually dwelling upon the thing that\nthey fear may happen to them, actually attract that thing to them, just as\nif they had actually desired and wished for it. I cannot go into occult\ntechnicalities in explaining this strange fact; but the gist of the secret\nmay be said to consist in the fact that the person clearly and vividly\npictures in his mind the thing that he fears may happen to him. He thus\ncreates a strong mental-picture or image of it, which sets into forces the\nattractive power of psychic influence and draws the feared thing into\nmaterial reality. As Job said: \"The thing that I feared hath come upon\nme.\" The moral of this is, of course, that persons should learn to stamp\nout fear and mental images of things feared. Instead, they should make\nstrong positive mental denials of the things that they may find themselves\nfearing. They should deny the reality of the feared thing, and assert\npositively their own superiority to the thing, and their power to overcome\nit.\n\nA great religious cult has sprung into existence which makes a leading\ndoctrine of this ability to materialize the things which one desires, and\nto deny out of existence undesirable things. Many persons who have\nwitnessed the wonderful success of some of the followers of this cult or\norganization, have been puzzled to account for the same on scientific and\nrational grounds. A little understanding of fundamental occult and\npsychic principles, as given in these lessons, will show the \"why and\nwherefore\" of these strange and wonderful manifestations. In this\nconnection you must remember that the combined thought of the thousands of\npersons composing this cult or organization undoubtedly gives additional\npsychic force to the mental affirmations and denials of the individual\nmember thereof.\n\nIn past and present, and probably in future time, there have been many\ninstances of magical procedures tending to bring about the results that we\nhave herein seen to come about by reason of psychic influence, in some of\nits many phases. These magic procedures have usually been accompanied by\nincantations, ceremonies, strange rites, evocations, etc., which were\nsupposed to have great virtue in bringing about desired results. But the\ntrue occultists now know that these ceremonies and rites were merely hopes\nto the imagination and aids to faith, and thus tended to bring about the\npsychic phenomena. There was no virtue in these ceremonies themselves, and\nthe same results may be secured by simply following the procedure outlined\nin this book. The wonders of ancient magic have been reproduced by the\nmodern occultists, without all the mumbo-jumbo of the past rites and\nceremonies.\n\nA gifted English writer upon the subject of the relation of mysticism and\nmagic, sums up the gist of the principles of Magic as follows:\n\n\"The central doctrine of Magic may now be summed up thus:\n\n\"(1) That a supersensible and real cosmic medium exists, which\ninterpenetrates, influences, and supports the tangible and apparent world,\nand is amenable to the categories both of meta-physics and of physics.\"\n[This of course is the astral plane, which is the container of the subtle\nform or framework of all that exists on the physical plane.]\n\n\"(2) That there is an established analogy and equilibrium between the real\n(and unseen) world, and the illusory manifestation that we call the world\nof sense.\" [By this of course is meant the correspondence and balance\nbetween the subtle form of things and the material manifestation thereof.\nThings created in the astral, tend to materialize on the physical plane.\nAll creation proceeds from the astral to the physical.]\n\n\"(3) That this analogy may be discerned, and this equilibrium controlled,\nby the disciplined will of man, which thus becomes master of itself and of\nfate.\" [The essence of Will consists of strong desire accompanied by a\nclear mental picture of the thing desired, and held steady and firm by\nconcentration.]\n\nSo you see by reference to the above very clear statement of the central\ndoctrine of Magic, and my explanations thereof, that in these lessons you\nhave been taught the very essence of the wonderful, mysterious ancient\nMagic, and its modern counterpart. As for the various rites and\nceremonies, as I have said, these are mere symbols and aids to mental\nimaging and concentration. As an eminent occultist once said, \"Ceremonies\nbeing but artificial methods of creating certain habits of the will, they\ncease to be necessary when these habits have become fixed.\" The master of\noccultism sees ceremonies, rites, and ritual as but the playthings of the\nkindergarten scholar--useful and important so far as they go, but serving\nmerely to teach the scholar, sooner or later, that he may proceed without\nthem.\n\nIn this chapter I have condensed enough information to fill a whole book.\nI trust that you will study it carefully, and not miss its main points.\n\n\n\n\nLESSON XX.\n\nPSYCHIC AND MAGNETIC HEALING\n\n\nProbably no phase of psychic influence is more familiar to the average\nperson of the Western world than is that of the healing of physical ills\nand conditions by means of psychic influence under one name or another.\nGreat healing cults and organizations have been built up upon this basis,\nand the interest in the subject has taken on the form of a great popular\nmovement.\n\nAs is natural in cases of this kind, there have been hundreds of theories\nadvanced to account for the phenomena of psychic healing, and a still\ngreater number of methods of treatments devised to carry out the\nprinciples of the theories. Ranging from the teaching of actual divine\ninterposition and influence arising from certain forms of belief and\npractice, covering many intermediate stages, the theories even include a\nsemi-materialistic hypothesis in which mind is considered as an attribute\nof matter, but having a magic influence over the forms of matter when\nproperly applied. But it is worthy of note that no matter what the general\nor particular theory, or what the favored method of application, these\nhealing schools or cults, as well as the independent practitioners, meet\nwith a very fair degree of success and perform quite a number of cures.\n\nMany of these Western advocates and practitioners of psychic healing\npractically hold that the whole system is of very recent discovery, and\nthat it has nothing whatsoever to do with ordinary occult science. The\noccultists however are able to smile at these ideas and beliefs, for they\nnot only recognize the general principles involved, but they also are\naware that these principles, and their application, have been known to\nadvanced occultists for thousands of years. I do not say this in any\ndispargement of the moderns schools of psychic healing, for I am in full\nsympathy with their great work; I merely mention the matter that the\nstudent may get the right historical perspective in considering this phase\nof psychic phenomena and influence.\n\nSo far as the methods of application are concerned, the true occultist\nrecognizes that most of the methods and forms of treatment are but outward\ncloaks or disguises for the real psychic healing principle. The gist of\nthe real methods is to be found in the principles of the application of\npsychic influence which I have presented to you in these lessons, viz: (1)\nStrong desire to make the cure; (2) clear mental image or picture of the\ndesired condition as actually present in the patient at this time; and (3)\nconcentration of the attention and mind of the healer, so as to bring to a\nfocus to two preceding mental states. Here you have the real secret of\npsychic healing methods--the rest are all elaborations thereof, dressed up\nforms and ceremonies which affect the imagination, faith, belief and\nconfidence of the patient, and thus make the healing process much easier.\nIn fact, with the proper degree of faith and confidence on the part of the\npatient, there is but little need of a healer, for the patient may treat\nand cure himself. However, in most cases, the presence of the healer aids\nmaterially in arousing the fate and confidence of the patient, and hastens\nthe cure.\n\nAgain, so far as the theories underlying the cures are concerned,\noccultists are able to reduce them all to a single working theory or\nprinciple, which includes all the rest. Brushing aside all technical\ndetails, and all attempts to trace back the healing process to the\nultimate facts of the universe, I may say that the gist of the principle\nof all psychic healing is that of influencing the astral foundation of the\nvarious organs and parts, cells and centres, so as to make it proceed to\nmanifest a more perfect physical counterpart. All psychic healing is\nreally accomplished on the astral body first--then the physical body\nresponds to the renewed activities of its astral counterpart. To get the\nreal significance of this statement it is necessary for you to realize\njust what the astral body really is. This once grasped, the difficulties\nvanish, and you are able to form a clear conception of the entire matter\nand process.\n\nThe astral body is a precise counterpart of the physical body, its organs,\nits parts, its centres, and its cells. In fact, the astral body is the\npattern upon which the physical body is materialized. The astral body is\ncomposed of an etheric substance of a very high rate of vibration. In one\nsense it may be considered as a very subtle form of matter--in another as\na semi-materialized form of force or energy. It is finer and more subtle\nthat the rarest vapors or gases known to science. And, yet, it has a\nstrong degree of tenacity and cohesiveness that enables it to resist\nattacks from the material side of nature. As I have said, each organ,\npart, centre or cell, of the physical body has its astral pattern or\nbasis. In fact, the physical body has been built up, in whole and in all\nof its parts, on the pattern and base of the astral body. Moreover, in\ncase of impaired functioning of the physical organs or parts, and impaired\nactivity of the physical body, its limbs, etc., if we can manage to arouse\nthe activities of the astral body we may cause it to re-materialize or\nre-energize the physical body, and thus restore health and activity to it.\nIf the liver, for instance, is not functioning properly, we proceed to\nstart up the activities of the astral counterpart of that organ, to the\nend that the physical organ may be re-energized, and recreated in a\nmeasure. All true psychic healing work is performed on the astral plane,\nbefore it manifests on the physical.\n\nAt this point, I should also call your attention to the effect of \"prana,\"\nor life energy, in some cases of healing. This prana is what Western\nhealers mean when they speak of \"human magnetism\" in their healing work.\nSo far from being an imaginary force, as claimed by the physical\nscientists and materialists, it is known to all occultists as an active\nprinciple of the human body, and as of great efficacy in the psychic\ntreatment of disease. I shall mention the details of this form of\ntreatment as we proceed--I mention it at this place merely to call your\nattention to the fact of its existence.\n\nBefore passing on to the consideration of other phases of the subject\nbefore us, I would like to call your attention to the fact that from the\nearliest days of history there have been recorded instances of some form\nof psychic healing. In the earlier days the psychic healing work was left\nentirely in the hands of the priesthood of the various religions\nprevailing in the several counties of the world. Claiming to have an\nexclusive divine sanction to perform healing work, these priests used\nvarious ceremonies, rites, incantations, etc., in order to obtain their\nresults. In many cases these priests were ignorant of the real psychic\nforces invoked and set into operation; they merely practiced methods which\nhad been found to work out effectively, and which had been handed down to\nthem by their predecessors. In other cases, however, the priests\nundoubtedly were skilled occultists, and had a very full knowledge of the\nforces they were using; though, as the masses of the people were very\nignorant it was impossible to acquaint them with these things so far above\ntheir understanding; and, consequently, the priests applied the healing\nforces under the disguise of their religious ceremonies and rites.\n\nFrom time to time, however, as civilization progressed, there came into\nprominence persons who worked cures of physical ills by means of magical\nceremonies and other similar methods, but who were outside of the\npriesthood. Some of these men undoubtedly had a very fair knowledge of the\nreal secret of their cures, though they disguised them to suit the mental\ncondition of their patients, and, also, probably for purposes of self\nglorification. In other cases, however, it is probable that these healers\nhad merely stumbled across the fact that certain things said in a certain\nway tended to work cures; or that certain physical objects seemed to have\ntherapeutic virtue. They did not realize that the whole healing virtue of\ntheir systems depended upon the strong idea in their own minds, coupled\nwith the strong faith and confidence in the mind of the patient. And so\nthe work went on.\n\nIn some of the oldest records of the human race, the scriptures of the\nvarious peoples, we find that \"laying on of hands\" was the favorite method\nemployed by the holy men and priests, and other performing healing work.\nFrom the first there seems to have been an almost instinctive recognition\non the part of man of the fact that there is a healing power in the touch\nof the hand. Even ignorant and savage mothers instinctively apply their\nhands to the hurt bodies of their children--a custom that has its\ncounterpart in civilized races, by the way. The child is taught to expect\nphysical relief from the application of the mother's hands, and its mind\nat once pictures relief. Not only is the mental picture created, but the\ndesire and confidence is established in the minds of both persons. The\nsame thing is true of all \"laying on of hands,\" and thus are the\nprinciples of all psychic influence brought into play. But this is not all\nthere is to it. In the first place, there is an actual transference of\nprana from the body of the healer to that of the patient, which serves to\nenergize and revitalize the cells and centres of the body of the latter.\nIn the second place, there is the effect upon the astral body of the\npatient, which tends to materialize better physical conditions. In the\nthird place, there is that combination and union of the minds of the two\npersons, which gives extra force and power to psychic influence. Is it any\nwonder that cures take place under these circumstances?\n\nIn the modern revival of the almost lost art and science of psychic\nhealing among the general public, there has been unusual stress laid upon\nthe feature of \"absent healing,\" in which the patient and the healer are\nnot in each other's presence. To many this has seemed actually miraculous,\nand as a positive proof of divine interposition. But a little thought will\nshow the student that such cures are not unknown in the pages of history,\nas a casual examination of the sacred books of almost any religion will\nshow. Moreover, the student will see that to the effect of certain\nprinciples of psychic influence there needs but to be added the principles\nof telepathic communication, or, better still, the principles of astral\ncommunication by some phases of clairvoyance, to account for the entire\nphenomena of \"absent healing.\"\n\nSpace is no barrier on the astral plane, as you have seen in the\npreceding chapters of this book. Once the en rapport condition is\nestablished between healer and patient, and the rest is simple--the astral\nbody is induced to energize more actively, and as a result the physical\nmanifestation is improved and normal functioning restored. Of course, all\nthis is wonderful enough--all psychic phenomena is, for that matter; but,\nwe see that we do not have to go outside of established occult laws,\nprinciples and facts in order to account for some of these modern miracles\nwhich have puzzled and perplexed so many good persons who have not known\nof the occult teachings, and who fear that the world is being turned\nupside down, and Nature's laws overturned by these \"new fangled\" ideas and\nmethods.\n\nPerhaps the most simple method of healing by psychic influence is that\nwhich is at the same time the oldest method, i.e., the \"laying on of\nhands.\" This method was revived about twenty years ago in America and\nEurope by the new school of \"magnetic healing\" which sprung rapidly into\npublic favor. The other schools of psychic healing, generally known as\n\"mental healing,\" \"spiritual healing,\" \"divine healing,\" etc., generally\nfrown upon the use of the hands in psychic healing, deeming it \"too\nmaterial,\" and too much allied to hypnotism, etc. But this view is quite\nbigoted and narrow, for this method has no relation to hypnotism, and,\nmoreover, it gives the patient the benefit of the flow of prana from the\nhealer, while at the same time producing the psychic effect on the astral\nbody, as I have just mentioned.\n\nI take the liberty of quoting here something on this subject from my\nlittle book entitled \"The Human Aura.\" In the chapter of that book devoted\nto the consideration of the subject of \"Auric Magnetism,\" I said: \"In\ncases of magnetic healing, etc., the healer by an effort of his will\n(sometimes unconsciously applied) projects a supply of his pranic aura\nvibrations into the body of his patient, by way of the nervous system of\nthe patient, and also by means of what may be called the induction of the\naura itself. The mere presence of a person strongly charged with prana, is\noften enough to cause an overflow into the aura of other persons, with a\nresulting feeling of new strength and energy. By the use of the hands of\nthe healer, a heightened effect is produced, by reason of certain\nproperties inherent in the nervous system of both healer and patient.\nThere is even a flow of etheric substance from the aura of the healer to\nthat of the patient, in cases in which the vitality of the latter is very\nlow. Many a healer has actually, and literally, pumped his life force and\netheric substance into the body of his patient, when the latter was\nsinking into the weakness which precedes death, and has by so doing been\nable to bring him back to strength and life. This is practically akin to\nthe transfusion of blood--except that it is upon the psychic plane instead\nof the physical.\"\n\nBut the true \"magnetic healer\" (call him by whatever name you wish) does\nnot make this pranic treatment the all-in-all of his psychic treatment.\nOn the contrary it is but the less subtle part, which leads up to the\nhigher phases. While treating his patients by the laying on of hands, he,\nat the same time, strives to induce in the mind of the patient the mental\nimage of restored health and physical strength; he pictures the diseased\norgan as restored to health and normal functioning; he sees the entire\nphysiological machinery operating properly, the work of nutrition,\nassimilation, and excretion going on naturally and normally. By proper\nwords of advice L and encouragement he awakens hope and confidence in the\nmind of the patient, and thus obtains the co-operation of that mind in\nconnection to his own mental efforts. The astral body responds to this\ntreatment, and begins to energize the physical organs and cells into\nnormal activity--and the journey toward health is begun.\n\n[In the little book just mention, \"The Human Aura,\" I gave some valuable\ninformation regarding the influence of colors in psychic healing, which I\ndo not reproduce here as it is outside the scope and field of the present\nlessons. Those who may feel interested in the subject are respectfully\nreferred to the little manual itself. It is sold for a nominal price by\nthe publishers of the present work.]\n\nIn the form of psychic treatment which comes under the head of Suggestive\nTherapeutics, great insistence is laid upon the verbal suggestion to the\npatient, on the part of the healer. The patient is told that he will get\nwell; that his organs will function normally; etc., etc. But the student\nof the present lessons will readily see that the only virtue in the spoken\nwords consists in their power to evoke and induce the mental image of the\ndesired condition in the mind of the patient. The mental picture thus\nevoked produces a corresponding effect in the astral body of the patient,\nand sets into operation the materialization of desired results. In\naddition, the words produce a strong mental picture in the mind of the\nhealer himself, and thus give form and strength to his psychic vibrations\nwhich are being poured out toward the patient. This is really the secret\nof suggestive treatment.\n\nThe many cults of metaphysical healing, in America and Europe, lay great\nstress upon what they call \"affirmations,\" which are but statements of the\npatient of his or her faith in the healing power of God, or of Mind, or\nSpirit, or Principle (different names are used). The patient naturally has\nconfidence aroused, and as naturally begins to picture the desired\ncondition; this in turn reacting upon the astral body, and this upon the\nphysical body or organ. In addition, the healer's mind is also set to work\nin the same way, and sets into motion the healing psychic forces in the\nway just mentioned. You will notice that the same principle is always\ninvolved and set into operation and manifestation.\n\nThere is no particular virtue in the form of affirmation used by the\nhealer or patient, except the important virtue of being able to arouse\nstrong mental pictures of restored health, proper functioning, etc. There\nis of course this also: certain forms of affirmations or mental statements\nare better suited than others to the particular wants of certain persons.\nFor instance, a very religious person will be aroused better by\naffirmations and statements filled with religious sentiments and ideas;\nwhile a person of a purely scientific turn of mind will receive more\nbenefit from affirmations in which the precise physiological functions are\nspecifically mentioned; while the person who is fond of mystery and\nstrange ceremonies will be better served in the affirmations or statements\ntaken in the form of some magical incantation, etc. The difference,\nhowever, lies in the mind of the patient, rather than in the words\nthemselves. Words are merely invokers of ideas--symbols of ideas. In\nthemselves, words are nothing--ideas are everything.\n\nIf you wish to treat yourself psychically for some physical disorder, or\nif you wish to do good to others in the same way, you have but to put into\noperation the general principles of psychic influence herein described.\nThat is to say, you must first be filled with the strong desire and wish\nto make the cure; then you must make a strong mental image of the desired\nresult, as actually present. (Do not think of it as \"going to be;\" instead\nsay and think that it \"is now!\"); then concentrate the attention firmly\nand positively upon the idea. You may aid yourself and others by\naffirmations or auto-suggestions (words creating desired ideas and mental\npictures) if you wish--you may get better results in this way. In this\nconnection, let me remind you that the healing work in many cases consists\nlargely in placing proper mental pictures in the mind of the patient,\nthereby displacing improper and harmful mental pictures of disease, etc.,\nwhich have been given lodgment there before. Many persons are sick because\nof improper and harmful mental pictures that they have allowed to be\nplaced there by the suggestions of others. Fear and dread of disease often\nacts to bring about the feared condition, for reasons that you can readily\nsee.\n\nAnd, now, finally for the work of \"absent healing\" by psychic influence. I\ncan state this to you very simply; it is this: take what I have just told\nyou regarding personal treatments, and combine it with what I have told\nyou in previous lessons about \"long distance psychic influence\"--then you\nwill have the whole thing. Here is a sample of an effective distant\ntreatment; or \"absent treatment,\" to use the popular term--it may be\nvaried and enlarged up to fit individual cases:\n\nSit quietly in your own room, inducing a calm, peaceful mental attitude\nand state. Then (in the way already told you in this book) make a mental\npicture of the patient as sitting opposite to you, or lying down in front\nof you. If you have never seen the patient, make simply a mental image of\na man, or a woman, as the case may be, and think of the figure as being\nthe patient. The best practitioners of distant psychic healing produce\nsuch a strong mental image of the patient that they can often actually\n\"feel\" his or her presence. (This of course is the result of a simple\nform of clairvoyance.) Then make a strong mental picture of the condition\nthat you wish to induce in the patient--the healthy physical condition of\nthe organ, or part or body, as the case may be. See this condition as\nexisting at the present time, and not as merely to come in the future. At\nthe same time, you will do well to mentally speak to the patient, just as\nyou would in case he or she were sitting before you in the physical body.\nTell the patient just what you would in such case. Pour in the\nsuggestions, or affirmations, or whatever you may wish to call them. In\nsome cases in which an excellent en rapport condition is established,\npatients become aware of the treatment, and sometimes can almost see and\nfeel the presence of the healer.\n\nA prominent Mental Scientist, of America, instructs his pupils to consider\neach of the organs of the patient, or of themselves, as having a separate\nintelligence; and, therefore, to \"speak up to it\" as if it really\nunderstood what was being said to its organ-mind. I would say that such\nform of treatment would be calculated to bring about very good results,\nindeed. The principle of concentration and mental picturing would be\ninvoked very strongly in such a case, and the astral counterpart of the\norgan should respond to such treatment quickly and effectively. It is an\noccult fact that there is mind in every organ and cell of the body, and if\nthe same is awakened in the astral counterpart, it will respond to the\ncommand, suggestion, or direction. The writer in question evidently is\nwell acquainted with this occult law, judging from his other writings, and\nhas simply veiled his knowledge with this easily understood method of\ntreatment which undoubtedly will \"do the work,\" to use the American term.\n\nFinally, no matter what may be the theory, or method, given in connection\nwith psychic healing of any or all kinds, you will find the same general\nprinciples underlying it that have been presented over and over again in\nthis book. In fact, many purely material and physical remedies owe their\nsuccess to the fact that they appeal to the imagination of the patient,\nand also inspire confidence in him. Anything that will inspire confidence,\nfaith and hope in the mind of a patient, and will bring to his mind strong\nmental pictures of restored health and normal functioning of his\norgans--that thing will make for health for him. So, there you have the\nwhole theory and practice in a sentence!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI would remind the student that these are not lessons to be read but once\nand then laid aside. In order to get from them all that they contain for\nyou, you will find it necessary to read them several times, with a\nreasonable interval between readings for the knowledge to sink into your\nmind. I feel sure that you will find with each reading that there are many\npoints that you over-looked before. The lessons cover a wide field, with\nmany little excursions into bye-paths and lanes of thought. I trust that\nthe reading and study will make you not only a wiser person, but also a\nstronger and more efficient one. I thank you for your kind attention, and\ntrust that we shall meet again in the future.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Art and Science of\nPERSONAL MAGNETISM\nBy THERON Q. DUMONT\nTHE SECRET OF FORTUNE,\nFAME AND LOVE\n\n_Success can be made more certain by being able to mold minds and to\ninfluence them to act as you wish_.\n\nTHE ART AND SCIENCE OF PERSONAL MAGNETISM\n\nBy Theron Q. Dumont\n\nA Chicago paper in a recent editorial said: \"There are men in this country\nin abundance, but good men, while in great demand, are as scarce as the\nclams in chowder at a church supper.\"\n\nA man need not be a college graduate if he is to rise to the height of\npower and success. Personal Magnetism will help to control and influence\nothers.\n\nThis book contains 238 pages crammed with most interesting advice on\nPersonal Magnetism--what it is and how to develop it. It contains 21\nchapters dealing with the different phases of the subject. Here are a few\nof the chapter headings:\n\nThe Mental Phase--The Physical Phase--Physical Magnetism--Mental\nRadiation--Mental Atmosphere--The Direct Flash--The Positive Aura--The\nDirect Command--The Magnetic Duel--Magnetic Self-Defence--The Power of\nControlling Others\n\nNo. 6, 238 Pages, Cloth Bound, Size 5x7.\n\n\n\n\nMedical Hypnotism and Suggestion By Alexr. Verner, F.A.I.P.\n\n\nThis book is full of secrets. It explains what hypnotism (or mesmerism)\nis, and gives an interesting outline of its history. It explains the great\nvalue of hypnotism in the cure of disease and in surgical operations. It\ntells how to hypnotise a man, how to put him in a trance for a week. There\nis an explanation on how to give an hypnotic entertainment for your\nfriends or on the stage, making your subjects do things such as acting,\nsinging, speechmaking, things that, in their ordinary state, they would be\nunable to do. Further it explains the method of curing bad\nhabits--drinking, swearing, lying, stealing, gambling, betting, smoking,\nenvy, hatred, temper, etc.\n\nThe author's object in writing this book is to give a brief but accurate\ndescription of Hypnotism and Suggestive Therapeutics, as practiced by the\nmost advanced schools of the present day; and also to enlighten the public\nmind on the great advantages of hypnotism in the treatment of disease, as\ncompared with the drug method now used in this and other countries. Size\n6 x 4-1/2.\n\nNo. 12, 37 Pages, Paper Bound--Price Postpaid Outside U.S.A.\n\n\n\nTHE DEVELOPMENT OF SEERSHIP\nTHE SCIENCE OF KNOWING THE FUTURE\nHINDOO and ORIENTAL METHODS\nCOMING EVENTS CAST THEIR SHADOWS BEFORE\n\nBy Swami Bhakta Vishita (Hindoo Master)\n\nEveryone possesses in the latent state the wonderful faculty of Seership.\nThis can be developed. You can train yourself so you can foresee events\nand be your own adviser--see your own future.\n\nIf you want to make the most of yourself, both in a human and divine\nsense, you should read this book.\n\nThe most profound and conscientious occult work published in years.\nTeaches how to pierce the veil--enter at will into the spiritual world and\nconverse with your loved ones now across the border.\n\nNo. 3. 384 Pages, Cloth Bound, Size, 5x7\n\n\n\n\nPractical Mind Reading\nBy William Walker Atkinson\n\n_A course of Lessons on Thought Transference, Telepathy, Mental Currents,\nMental Rapport, etc_.\n\nThis book is full of practical condensed instruction about every phase of\nMind Reading, Telepathy, etc. The exercises and directions are so plain\nand simple that they can be understood and demonstrated by any person of\nordinary intelligence.\n\nHere you will find complete instruction in all the latest points about\nMind Reading. It tells how Thought Transference is practiced in the\nscientific laboratory as well as by a public performer. It tells you how\nto perform feats that will mystify an audience and arouse the deepest\ninterest and enthusiasm, or how you can conduct telepathic experiments\nwith your friends right in your own home.\n\nHere are the titles of the lessons and a few of the subjects treated:\n\nTHE NATURE OF MIND READING--A vast, mysterious subject; Power of\nEtheric Vibrations; Mental wireless telepathy; the mysteries of science;\nAction of mind upon mind; The mental battery.\n\nTHE PROOFS OF MIND READING--The Psychic post office; Wonderful\nresults; A convincing experiment.\n\nCONTACT MIND READING--The two classes of mind reading; The simplest\nform; Nerve current theory; The truth about public performances.\n\nDEVELOPMENT EXERCISES--How to begin; Rapport conditions--Rhythmic\nbreathing; Details of finding objects.\n\nPRICE POSTPAID--Outside U.S.A.\n\nNo. 8--95 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2\n\n\n\n\nTHE SOLAR PLEXUS or Abdominal Brain\nBY THERON Q. DUMONT\n\nMan has four brains, and not merely one, as is commonly believed to be the\ncase. Each of the four brains have separate characteristics and\ndistinctive offices and functions.\n\nThe Solar Plexus, or Abdominal Brain is situated in the upper part of the\nabdomen, behind the stomach, in front of the great artery, and in front of\npillars of the diaphragm.\n\nThe Solar Plexus is the great plexus, i.e., network of nerve-fibres, mass\nof nerve-substance, etc., of the great sympathetic nervous system. It is\ncomposed of both gray and white nervous substance, or brain-matter,\nsimilar to that of the other three brains of man. It receives and\ndistributes nerve-impulses and currents to all the abdominal organs, and\nsupplies the main organs of nutrition, assimilation, etc., with nervous\nenergy.\n\nIt performs a most important work, supplying the nerve-energy which is\nrequired for the process of nutrition, assimilation, growth, etc. In fact,\nit is the great powerhouse of physical life-energy. The bodily functions\ncannot be performed without it; when it is injured the entire physical\nwell-being is at once seriously affected; when it receives a severe shock,\ndeath often ensues.\n\nIts name, \"solar\" was bestowed upon it by reason of its central position;\nits filaments extend in all directions to the important abdominal organs,\nlike the rays of the sun; and it is recognized as being the powerhouse,\nand great reservoir of \"life force,\" just as the sun is the great\npowerhouse and reservoir of material energy of our solar system.\n\nNot alone modern scientific investigators; but also many very ancient\ninvestigators, such as the oriental occultists and sages, who many\ncenturies ago recognized certain subtle functions and offices of this\nwonderful \"fourth brain\" of man, and taught their students many valuable\nmethods of effectively employing its finer forces and hidden energies.\n\nNO. 9, 64 PAGES, PAPER BOUND, SIZE 6x4-1/2 PRICE POSTPAID--OUTSIDE\nU.S.A.\n\n\n\nHOW TO KNOW YOUR FUTURE\nBy\nAlexr. Verner, F.A.I.P.\n\nAs St. Paul points out, man has a natural (or material) body and a\nspiritual body. There are also a material world and a spiritual world.\nWith the eye we can only see material things. To see the spiritual world\nwe must cultivate the spiritual sight. Seeing spiritual things with the\nspiritual sight is called Clairvoyance (or \"Second Sight\").\n\nYou can if you choose, cultivate clairvoyant faculty. If you do, you may\nbe able to see places and persons in the spiritual world. This may enable\nyou to describe to your friends, people in spirit life that they have\nknown here.\n\nIt can also help you to see what is going on at a distance in this world.\nTo see into the past and the future. To obtain hidden information, and to\ngive advice, of the utmost value. This faculty when properly developed\nenables one to trace hidden treasure, to find lost friends, animals, and\nproperty. With the development of Clairvoyance it is also possible to\ndevelop Clairaudience (Spiritual Hearing).\n\nCrystal Gazing means looking into a crystal ball or into something else of\na like kind. When this faculty is developed one sees a picture or image in\nthe crystal. Presently the picture will dissolve and another will take its\nplace. All the above matter is described in this book.\n\nNo. 15, 42 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2.\n\nPrice Postpaid--Outside U.S.A.\n\n\n\nHow to Converse with Spirit Friends\nBy\nAlexr. Verner, F.A.I.P.\n\n\nA medium is a person whose presence is necessary before a spirit can\ncommunicate. \"How To Converse With Spirit Friends\" tells you how you may\ndevelop mediumistic powers, so as to be able to receive messages from the\nother world when sitting alone.\n\nThe book also tells you about different kinds of spirits, including\napparitions (ghosts) and spirit guides (the spirit friends that are\nconstantly with each of us); about spirit control (how spirits work\nthrough the organisms of mediums); and about spirit-given premonitions,\nwarnings, death-signs, etc. The work, moreover, gives other interesting\nand valuable matter. This work is calculated to \"comfort those that\nmourn.\"\n\nThis book is printed in very legible type and contains illustrations to\nbring out points. One of the illustrations shows spirit forms as seen by a\nmedium. Size 6x4-1/2\n\nNo. 14, 36 Pages, Paper Bound--Price Postpaid Outside U.S.A./b>\n\n\n\nTHE POWER OF CONCENTRATION\nBy Theron Q. Dumont\n\n_It is of the utmost value to learn how to concentrate. To make the\ngreatest success of anything, you must be able to center your entire\nthought upon the idea you are working on. The person who is able to\nconcentrate, utilizes all constructive thoughts and shuts out all\ndestructive ones. The greatest man would accomplish nothing if he lacked\nconcentration._\n\nTWENTY FAMOUS LESSONS IN CONCENTRATION\n\nIn these twenty lessons, this famous author gives you in simple, concrete\nform the results of his lifetime investigations. He shows you how to\nacquire that mental quality of concentration which has made world-known\nleaders. He shows you how to focus your ideas, to get away from mind\nwandering, to eliminate day dreams--how to use your mind like an\never-ready tool and to accomplish in hours what the man without this\nability does only in weeks or months. He tells clearly why some men lead,\nwhile others with equal intelligence remain in the ranks. He shows the\nclear way to make the utmost out of your mentality. No degree of success,\nwithin reason, is impossible when one possesses the Power of\nConcentration.\n\nRead the principles laid down so clearly by Professor Dumont. Practice the\nexercises which he has so carefully worked out. This training is as much a\nguarantee of success as any other method known. Simply learn to use your\nbrains--learn to focus, to concentrate and the highway to bigger things is\nopen to you.\n\nA FEW OF THE TOPICS\n\nOpportunities Made Through Concentration. (Shows the plain road to the\ntop.) Self Mastery. (How to centralize attention.) Training the Will. (A\nmighty force at your disposal.) Mental Poise. (How to command conditions.)\nBusiness Success. (How to coordinate forces by concentration.) Attaining\nWealth. (How to attract money bringing factors.) How Courage is Gained.\n(Use of concentration to drive out fear.) Memory by Concentration. (A very\nvaluable lesson.) Practical Exercises. (The actual application of the\nprinciples of concentration.) Many more topics all as interesting and\nimportant as those listed.\n\nNo. 5--186 Pages, Cloth Bound, Size 5x7 Price Postpaid--Outside U.S.A.\n\n\n\nDYNAMIC THOUGHT\nHow to Develop your Personality\nBy\nHenry Thomas Hamblin\n\nThis book develops your personality and the personal power that sways and\ncompels and gives you a powerful influence over the minds of others.\n\nDynamic Thought reveals new and marvelous facts about the human system.\nMen and women achieve success according to the development of their own\npowers. You have as much power within you as anyone, but it is lying\ndormant; and this development can be attained.\n\nThere are certain definite principles that rule human beings in their\nattitude toward each other. When once you understand these principles you\ncan convert enemies into friends and can make almost everyone be friendly\ntoward you.\n\nNo 1 298 pages, Cloth Bound, Size 5x7. Price Postpaid--Outside U.S.A.\n\n\nMental Influence\nBy William Walker Atkinson\n\n_A course of Lessons on Mental Vibration, Psychic Influence, Personal\nMagnetism, Fascination, Psychic Self-Protection, etc._\n\nLESSON 1.--Why one mind can be made to influence another.\nLESSON 2.--How thought waves manifest, and how they affect other persons.\nLESSON 3.--How mental states are transmitted.\nLESSON 4.--What mental concentration is, and how it works. The occult\nteachings regarding developing the powers of concentration. A course of\ntraining described and explained.\nLESSON 5.--How occultists form a mental image.\nLESSON 6.--The secret of mental fascination and personal magnetism. Why\nsome have such a charming, irresistible influence. How it can be\ncultivated.\nLESSON 7.--Difference between fascination and hypnotism. How hypnotic\ninfluence upon others affects the person. The truth about hypnotism.\nLESSON 8.--Influencing at a distance. How you can exert a mental influence\nupon others at a distance. How distant treatments are given. The most\neffective occult methods and practices.\nLESSON 9.--How mental influence may be used to affect a great number of\npeople at the same time.\nLESSON 10.--The need of instruction on the part of the public.\n\nNo. 7--96 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2\n\n\nSUCCESS AND HAPPINESS\nBY\nSWAMI BRAHMA\n\n_A guide to Success in matters relating to Health, Friendship, Love,\nMarriage, etc._\n\n\"Success and Happiness\" tells you how to develop magnetism and to\nstrengthen your will. It tells you how to influence people to act as you\nso desire. It gives suggestions on how to relieve pain without medicine.\n\nNo matter what your condition or position may be, \"Success and Happiness\"\ntells you how you may improve it. It gives you plain directions as to how\nto achieve success tin friendship, love, matrimony, and business; how to\nmake money and how to secure happiness.\n\nSend for this book at once and learn how magnetism and will-power enable\npeople to achieve success.\n\nNo. 16, 40 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2 Price Postpaid--Outside\nU.S.A.\n\n\nGENUINE MEDIUMSHIP\nTHE INVISIBLE POWERS\nBY\nSWAMI BHAKTA VISHITA\n\nThis book will prove invaluable to anyone who feels that they might have\nany kind of psychic power. It contains lengthy discussion of the\nfollowing:\n\nMental vibrations and transmission--Thought transference--Clairvoyance and\nkindred phenomena--Mediumship--Mediumistic conditions--How to develop\nmediumship--Mediumistic phenomena--Higher spirit manifestations.\n\nThis work explains clearly how to develop \"mediumship.\" It tells how to\nform a \"medium\" circle. Questioning the spirits, the spirit communication\ncode, persistent watchful waiting, building lines of communication.\n\nNo 2, 277 pages. Cloth Bound, Size 5x7.\n\n\n\nPRACTICAL\nPSYCHOMANCY AND\nCRYSTAL GAZING\nBY\nWILLIAM WALKER ATKINSON\n\n_A Series of Eleven Lessons on the Psychic; Phenomena of Distant Sensing,\nClairvoyance, Psychometry, Crystal Gazing, etc._\n\nPARTIAL SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS:\n\nScientific principles underlying Psychomancy, Sensing objects by the\nAstral Senses. Projection of the Astral Body.\n\nHOW TO DEVELOP YOURSELF. Development Methods. Concentration.\nVisualization. Psychometry. How to use the Crystal and Mirror. General\nInstruction.\n\nSimple and Space Psychomancy and their difference. Seeing Through Solid\nObjects. Seeing Down Into the Earth. Diagnosis of Disease by Psychomancy.\n\nTHE ASTRAL TUBE.\n\nPSYCHOMETRY. Five Methods.\n\nVarious forms of Crystal Gazing. Directions of \"How to Do It,\" etc.\n\nASTRAL PROJECTION. What the Trained Experimenter may do.\n\nSPACE PSYCHOMANCY. What may be accomplished by means of it.\n\nSensing the scenes, occurrences and objects of the Past, by Astral Vision.\n\nFUTURE TIME PSYCHOMANCY. Future events cast their shadows before.\n\nDREAM PSYCHOMANCY. This lesson will explain many instances in your\nown experience.\n\nThis most interesting study is stated clearly, so that all may readily\nunderstand the fundamental principle of Psychic communication.\n\nNo. 20--Paper Bound, 93 Pages, Size 6x4-1/2 Price Postpaid--Outside\nU.S.A.\n\n\n\nTABLE RAPPING\nAND\nAUTOMATIC WRITING\nBy\nAlexr. Verner, F.A.I.P\n\nFounder and Principal of the British Psychological Institute\n\n\n\"If a man die, shall he live again?\" Does death end all: or is it merely\n\"the gate of life\"? If there be a next world, can we communicate with\nthose that are in it?\n\nThese are questions that have agitated the minds of millions. \"Table\nRapping and Automatic Writing\" answers the questions. It also does more,\nit tells you how you can answer them. It tells you how to prove there is\nanother life, and how to open up communication with those who dwell\ntherein. To the Materialist it says: \"Belief is unnecessary. You demand\nevidence--here it is.\"\n\n\"Table Rapping and Automatic Writing\" gives full instructions on how to\nform a Circle for receiving messages from spirit friends; how to enable\nspirits to make themselves visible to ordinary sight; how to get written\nmessages, drawings, etc., from those who have \"passed over.\"\n\nNo. 18--25 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2 Price Postpaid--Outside\nU.S.A.\n\n\nTHE\nASTRAL WORLD\n_Its Scenery, Dwellers and Phenomena_\nBy\nSwami Panchadasi\n\nContaining treatment on such matter as the following:\n\nCHAPTER I.--The Seven Planes of Being. What is meant by a Plane. A state\nrather than a place.\nCHAPTER II.--Astral Regions. What is meant by an Astral Region. Where\nlocated.\nCHAPTER III.--Reality of the Astral. What one encounters on an astral\njourney.\nCHAPTER IV.--Passing the Border. Passing out of the physical body. Alone\nin the astral body.\nCHAPTER V.--Some Lower Sub-Planes. Why the soul sheds. The Astral shell,\nbodies without souls, still seemingly alive and conscious.\nCHAPTER VI.--Disembodied Souls. The resting place of the souls. Not dead,\nbut sleeping.\nCHAPTER VII.--Scenes of the Astral. How the low entities pass their time.\nPunished by their sins not for them.\nCHAPTER VIII.--Life and Work on the Astral. Character and occupations of\nthe Astral Dwellers.\nCHAPTER IX.--Higher Planes and beyond. The true home of the soul. The\nHeaven worlds.\nCHAPTER X.--The Astral Light. What the astral light is. A startling\npresentation of a wonderful occult truth.\nCHAPTER XI.--Astral Entities. Non-human dwellers on the astral.\n\nNo. 10, 94 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2 PRICE POSTPAID--Outside\nU.S.A.\n\n\n\nPRACTICAL PSYCHOMETRY\nBy\nAlexr. Verner, F.A.I.P.\n\nThere is a great demand for good Psychometrists at the present time, and\nin the near future there will be a greater demand for the vast amount of\ngood that can be done by the God-given science of Psychometry (pronounced\n\"Si-com-et-rie\").\n\nA Psychometrist is a person able to see these scenes, hear these sounds,\nread these thoughts, and \"sense\" these feelings. If therefore, a lock of\nhair, a letter, a pocket-knife, or anything belonging to a stranger be\nhanded to a Psychometrist, he will be able to understand much of the\nperson's past, present, and future--about their character, disposition,\nhealth, surroundings, capabilities, friends, marriage, business, etc.\n\nIn this way very valuable information and advice can be obtained for\noneself or given to others.\n\nCan you Psychometrize? If not, why not learn? You will benefit yourself,\nand also astound and help your friends.\n\nFull and complete particulars are contained in this book.\n\nNo. 17--25 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2","title":"Clairvoyance and Occult Powers","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":84647}