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A  COURSE  OF 


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LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
<-         .  in  2007  with  funding  from 
Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/clairvoyanceoccuOOpanciala 


V  COURSE  or 

1DVI/INCED 


WMDK 


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OCC01TPOWER5 


INCLUDING 

CLAIRVOYANCE,  CLAIRAUDIENCE 

PREMONITION  AND  IMPRESSIONS 

CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY 

CLAIRVOYANT  CRYSTAL-GAZING 

DISTANT  CLAIRVOYANCE 

PAST  CLAIRVOYANCE 

FUTURE  CLAIRVOYANCE 

SECOND-SIGHT 

PREVISION 

CLAIRVOYANT  DEVELOPMENT 

ASTRAL- BODY  TRAVELLING 

ASTRAL-PLANE  PHENOMENA 

PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE— Personal  and  Distant 

PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION 

PSYCHIC  HE  AUNG 

TELEPATHY 

MIND- READING 

THOUGHT  TRANSFERENCE  and  other 

PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA 

315  PAGES,  MOROCCO,  STAMPED  GENUINE  GOLD 
PRICE  $3.00     -    CLOTH  $2.00     -     POSTPAID 


wiVwfiaJasi 


Author  of  'TheHuMAN  Aura 

Mmt^aaaaaW^C 


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All  Correspondence  must  be  addressed 

C.  ALEXANDER, 

239  So.  Oxford  Ave., 
LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA 

or  it  will  not  reach. 


GO. 


a  /  ^ 


COPYRIGHT.  1916 
BY 

ADVANCED  THOUGHT  PUB.  CO., 

CHICAGO,  ILL. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  LESSONS 

LESSON  I 

THE  ASTRAL  SENSES 
™.  T^e  skeptical  person  who  "believes  only  the  evidence  of  his  senses  ■ 
The  man  who  has  much  to  say  about  "horse  sense."  "Common  ?Sen 4" 
versus  Uncommon  Senses.  The  ordinary  five  senses  are  nSt  the  Snlv 
senses.  The  ordinary  senses  are  not  as  infallible  as  many  think  them 
Illusions  of  the  five  physical  senses.  What  is  back  of  the  o?gans  of 
physical  sense.  All  senses  an  evolution  of  the  sense  of  feeling.  How 
the  mind  receives  the  report  of  the  senses.  The  Real  Knower  behind 
S.%f f£S,eS\>  What  &e  unAfol<Hng  of  new  senses  means  to  man  The  super- 
physical  senses  The  Astral  Senses.  Man  has  seven  physical  censes 
nn.^eadw£  ?e£ly  flIe',  Each  Physical  sense  has  its  astral  sense  counter- 
R,        •  X hat  the  astral  senses  are.     Sensing  on  the  astral  plane.     How 

™.T#dijKlnrtl*niL0,l.the.a£tral  plane-  °y  means  of  tbe  as*ral  senses. 
the  unfolding  of  the  Astral  Senses  opens  up  a  new  world  of  experience 

to  mtm. 

Page  13 
LESSON  II 

TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE 

The  two  extra  physical  senses  of  man.  The  extra  sense  of  "th» 
presence  of  other  living  things."  The  "telepathic  sensed  How  man 
may  sense  the  presence  of  other  living  things  apart  from  the  oDeritioS 
of  his  ordinary  five  physical  senses.  This  power  is  strongly  developed 
in  savages  and  barbarians,  but  has  become  atrophied  in  most  civ  lized 
{^ei!,.by,nCOnHtlKUed  diS^se-  P  -is  now  ^stigal  in  civilized  man,  but  mav 
be  developed  by  practice.  Animals  have  this  extra  sense  highly  devel- 
oped, and  it  plays  a  very  important  part  in  their  protection  from 
enemies ;  their  capture  of  prey,  ete.  The  strange  actions  of  dogs,  horses, 
etc.,  explained.  How  the  geese  saved  Rome  by  reason  of  this  sense.  All 
hunters  have  experienced  evidences  of  the  existence  of  this  sense  on  the 
part  of  animals.  The  physical  telepathic  sense.  How  it  operates.  Inter- 
esting instances  of  its  possession  by  animals,  and  savage  tribes.  Women 
possess  it  strongly.  The  distinction  between  this  form  of  thought- 
transference  and  clairvoyance. 

Page  28 
LESSON  III 
TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED 

What  "telepathy"  means.  The  mental  process  by  which  one  "known 
at  a  distance."  The  sending  and  receiving  of  waves  and  currents  of 
thought  and  feeling.  Thought  vibrations,  and  how  they  are  caused 
The  part  played  by  the  cerebrum,  cerebellum,  and  medulla  oblongata— 
the  three  brains  of  man.  The  part  played  by  the  solar  plexus  and  other 
great  nervous  centres.  How  thought  messages  are  received.  How  states 
of  emotional  excitement  are  transmitted  to  others.  The  Pineal  Gland- 
what  it  is,  and  what  it  does.  The  important  part  it  plays  in  telepathy 
and  thought-transference.  Mental  atmospheres.  Psychic  atmospheres  of 
audiences,  towns,  houses,  stores,  etc.  Why  you  are  not  affected  by  all 
thought  vibrations  in  equal  measure  and  strength.  How  thought  vibra- 
tions are  neutralized.  Affinities  and  repulsions  between  different  thought 
vibrations.  Interesting  facts  concerning  telepathy.  Scientific  explana- 
tions of  telepathy. 

Page  43 

LESSON  IT 

SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY 
The  important  investigations  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 


True  telepathy  and  pseudo-telepathy;  how  they  are  distinguished  by 
scientists.  Strict  tests  imposed  in  investigations.  The  celebrated  "Creery 
Experiments,"  and  how  they  were  conducted.  The  elaboration  of  the 
"guessing"  game.  Seventeen  cards  chosen  right,  in  straight  succession. 
Precautions  against  fraud  or  collusion.  Two  hundred  and  ten  successes 
out  of  a  possible  three  hundred  and  eighty-two.  Science  pronounces 
the  results  as  entirely  beyond  the  law  of  coincidences  and  mathematical 
probability;  and  that  the  phenomena  were  genuine  and  real  telepathy. 
Still  more  wonderful  tests.  Telepathy  an  incontestable  reality.  A 
psychic  force  transmitting  ideas  and  thoughts."  Interesting  cases  or 
spontaneous  telepathy,  scientifically  proven.  Extracts  from  the  scientific 
records.  Cold  scientific  reports  read  like  a  romance,  and  prove  beyond 
doubt  the  reality  of  this  great  field  of  phenomena.  p        _ 

LESSON  V 

MIND-READING,  AND  BEYOND 
What  "Mind-Reading"  is.  The  two  phases  of  Mind-Reading.  Mind- 
Reading  with  physical  contact;  and  without  physical  contact.  Why  the 
scientific  investigators  make  the  distinction.  Why  science  has  been  over- 
cautious; and  how  it  falls  short  of  the  full  understanding  of  contact 
Mind- Reading.  How  the  thought- waves  flow  along  the  nerves  of  the 
projector  and  recipient.  Like  telegraphy  over  wires,  as  compared  with 
the  wireless  method.  How  to  learn  by  actual  experience,  and  not  alone 
by  reading  books.  How  to  experiment  for  yourself;  and  how  to  obtain 
the  best  results  in  Mind-Reading.  The  working  principles  of  Mind-Read- 
ing stated.  Full  directions  and  instruction  given  for  the  successful  per- 
formance of  the  interesting  feats.  This  lesson  is  really  a  little  manual  of 
practical  instruction  in  Mind-Reading,  and  the  higher  phases  of  Thought- 
Transference.  The  person  carefully  studying  and  applying  the  principles 
taught  therein  should  become  very  proficient  in  both  private  and  public 
manifestations.  _         _. 

Page  74 

LESSON  VI 

CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY 
What  Clairvoyance  really  is;  and  what  it  is  not.  The  faculty  of 
acquiring  super-normal  knowledge  of  facts  and  happening  at  a  distance, 
or  in  past  or  future  time,  independent  of  the  ordinary  senses,  and  inde- 
pendent of  telepathic  reading  of  the  minds  of  others.  The  different  kinds 
of  Clairvoyance  described.  What  is  Psychometry?  Clairvoyant  en  rap- 
port relations  on  the  astral  plane,  with  distant,  past  or  future  happen- 
ings and  events ;  by  means  of  a  connecting  material  link.  How  to  obtain 
the  psychic  affinity  or  astral  relation  to  other  things  by  means  of  a  bit 
of  stone,  lock  of  hair,  article  of  wearing  apparel,  etc.  Interesting  in- 
stances of  clairvoyant  psychometry.  How  to  go  about  the  work  of 
psychometrizing.  How  to  develop  the  power.  How  to  secure  the  best 
conditions;  and  what  to  do  when  you  have  obtained  them.  Psychometry 
develops  the  occultist  for  still  higher  clairvoyant  powers. 

Page  90 

LESSON  VII 
CLAIRVOYANT  CRYSTAL-GAZING 
The  second  great  method  of  securing  clairvoyant  en  rapport  relations 
with  the  astral  plane.  How  the  crystal,  magic-mirror,  etc.,  serves  to 
focus  the  psychic  energy  of  the  clairvoyant  person.  The  crystal  serves 
the  purpose  of  a  psychic  microscope  or  telescope.  How  crystals  tend  to 
become  polarized  to  the  vibrations  of  their  owner.  Why  crystals  should 
be  preserved  for  the  personal  use  of  their  owners.  The  use  of  crystals, 
or  other  forms  of  shining  objects,  by  different  peoples  in  ancient  and 
modern  times.  How  they  are  employed  In  Australia,  New  Zealand,  Fiji 
Islands,  South  America,  etc.,  by  the  primitive  tribes.  Various  substi- 
tutes for  the  crystal.  Full  directions  for  Crystal  Gazing.  Complete  in- 
structions and  warnings.  All  stages  described,  from  the  first  "milky 
mist"  to  the  clearly  defined  "psychic  photograph."  The  Astral  Tube, 
and  the  part  It  plays  in  Crystal  Gazing.  A  complete  little  text-book  of 
the  subject. 

Pago  103 


LESSON  VIII 

CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE 
The  higher  forms  of  Clairvoyance,  and  how  they  may  be  cultivated 
and  acquired.  Trance  conditions  not  essential  to  highest  Clairvoyance, 
although  often  connected  therewith.  In  Clairvoyant  Reverie,  the  clair- 
voyant does  not  become  unconscious;  but  merely  "shuts  out"  the  out- 
side world  of  sights  and  sounds.  Shifting  the  consciousness  from  the 
physical  plane  to  the  astral.  Clairvoyant  Reverie  may  be  safely  and 
effectively  induced  by  mental  concentration  alone.  Artificial  methods 
dangerous,  and  not  advised  by  best  authorities.  Abnormal  conditions 
not  desirable.  The  "one  pointed"  mind.  The  Clairvoyant  "day  dream" 
or  "brown  study."  False  "psychic  development."  Use  of  hypnotic 
drugs  strongly  condemned.  Scientific  psychological  methods  stated  and 
taught.  The  laws  of  attention  and  concentration  of  the  mind.  How 
Clairvoyance  develops  by  this  method.  The  true  occult  instruction  given 
fully. 

Page  120 

LESSON  IX 

SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE 
What  the  Clairvoyant  senses  in  Simple  Clairvoyance.  Perception 
of  the  Aura,  and  Auric  Emanations  of  others ;  Psychic  Vibrations ;  Astral 
Colors;  Thought  Currents,  Waves  and  Vibrations,  etc.,  are  features  of 
Simple  Clairvoyance.  The  beautiful  kaleidoscopic  spectacle  of  the  Auric 
changes.  The  Prana  Aura,  and  its  appearances.  The  Mental  and  Emo- 
tional Aura,  and  its  many  interesting  phases.  Perception  of  Astral 
Thought-Forms.  Other  Astral  Phenomena.  The  Astral  World,  and  its 
Myriad  Manifestations.  Strange  aspects  of  Astral  Visioning.  "Seeing 
through  a  Brick-wall."  The  X-Ray  Vision.  Reading  from  closed  books, 
sealed  envelopes,  etc.,  and  how  it  is  explainable.  Seeing  into  the  depths 
of  the  earth,  and  the  occult  explanation  thereof.  The  Laws  and  Princi- 
ples of  this  Extraordinary  Power.  Magnifying  and  Diminishing  Clair- 
voyant Vision.  A  wonderful  field  for  experiment  opened  out  for  the 
student. 

Page  136 

LESSON  X 

CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  DISTANT  SCENES 
The  characteristics  of  Space  Clairvoyance.  The  Astral  Seeing  of  Dis- 
tant Scenes;  and  through  intervening  objects.  Remarkable  instances 
of  this  power,  well  authenticated  and  established.  Interesting  and 
instructive  historical  cases  recorded  and  explained.  Testimony  of  the 
Society  for  Psychical  Research  concerning  this  phase  of  Clairvoyance. 
The  interesting  case  of  W.  T.  Stead,  the  celebrated  English  writer,  who 
went  down  on  the  "Titanic."  The  important  testimony  of  Swedenborg, 
the  eminent  religious  teacher.  Other  well-authenticated  cases  happening 
to  well-known  persons.  The  evidence  collected  by  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research.  Interesting  German  case.  Why  so  many  cases  of 
this  kind  happen  when  the  person  is  on  his  death-bed,  or  seriously  ill. 
Why  such  experiences  often  occur  in  dreams.  Actual  "appearance"  of 
persons  at  a  distance,  and  how  explained.  Important  and  interesting 
facts  recited  in  connection  with  this  phase  of  Clairvoyance. 

Page  151 

LESSON  XI 

CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST 

The  clairvoyant  perception  of  the  facts,  events  and  happenings  of 
past  time.  There  is  no  difference  in  the  nature  of  this  strange  phenom- 
enon, whether  the  past  time  be  but  five  minutes  or  else  five  thousand 
years.  How  is  it  possible  to  "see"  a  thing  that  no  longer  exists?  The 
"just  how"  of  this  strange  happening.  Nothing  could  be  perceived  if  it 
had  actually  disappeared  from  existence.  But  nothing  entirely  disappears 
in  fact.  On  the  astral  plane  are  recorded  all  things,  events  and  hap- 
penings since  the  beginning  of  the  present  world-cycle.  The  "Akashic 
Records;"  or  the  "Astral  Light;"  constitute  the  great  record  books  of 
the  past.     The  clairvoyant  gaining  access  to  these  may  read  the  past 


like  a  book.    Analogies  in  physical  science.    Interesting  scientific  facts. 
What  astronomy  teaches  on  the  subject.    How  the  records  of  the  past 
are  stored.    How  they  are  read  by  the  clairvoyant.    A  fascinating  sub- 
ject clearly  presented  and  explained. 
J  Page  167 

LESSON  XII 

CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE 
The  clairvoyant  power  manifest  in  all  forms  of  perception  of  facts, 
happenings  and  events  of  future  time.  Explanation  of  Prophecy,  Pre- 
vision, Foretelling,  Second-Sight,  etc.  These  powers  not  supernatural; 
but  are  merely  the  development  of  the  clairvoyant  faculties.  How  may 
a  thing  be  "seen"  years  before  it  really  exists.  Nothing  could  be  seen, 
unless  it  existed  in  some  form,  at  least  potential  and  latent.  Keen  per- 
ception of  the  subconscious  faculties.  Subconscious  reasoning  from  cause 
to  effect.  Coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before.  Fate  vs.  Free- Will. 
"Time  is  but  a  relative  mode  of  regarding  things."  ''Events  may,  in 
some  sense,  exist  always,  both  past  and  future."  Time  like  a  moving- 
picture  reel,  containing  the  future  scene  at  the  present  moment,  though 
out  of  sight.  Analogy  of  dream-time.  An  Absolute  Consciousness  in 
which  past,  present  and  future  exist  as  a  single  perception.  A  glimpse 
of  a  transcendental  truth.  How  to  acquire  the  faculty  of  Future- 
Clairvoyance. 

Page  182 

LESSON  XIII 

SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC. 

Many  persons,  in  all  times,  in  all  lands,  have  possessed  the  gift 
of  looking  into  the  future.  Not  a  superstition,  but  a  scientific  fact.  The 
investigations  of  the  scientific  bodies.  The  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search, and  its  reports  on  this  phase  of  Clairvoyance.  Interesting  case 
told  by  a  leading  Theosophist.  Tragedy  and  Funeral  foreseen  by  Clair- 
voyant Prevision,  or  Second-Sight.  Historical  instances.  George  Fox, 
the  Quaker,  and  his  Second-Sight.  The  prophecy  of  the  Death  of  Caesar. 
Biblical  instances.  The  celebrated  case  of  Cazotte,  which  has  become  a 
matter  of  history.  How  Cazotte  foretold  the  coming  of  the  French 
Revolution,  including  the  fate  of  eminent  personages  present  at  the 
time  of  the  prophecy.  A  startling  occurrence,  well  worthy  of  careful 
study.  The  historical  case  of  the  assassination  of  Spencer  Perceval, 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  Other  well-authenticated  cases.  Symbolic 
visions.    Irish  and  Scotch  cases. 

Page  197 
LESSON  XIV 
ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING 

Astral  visioning  in  Clairvoyance,  and  visioning  by  means  of  the 
Astral  Body.  The  difference  between  the  two  phases  of  clairvoyant 
phenomena.  The  characteristics  of  Astral-Body  traveling.  How  one 
traveling  in  the  Astral  Body  may  "see  all  around  him,"  instead  of 
merely  gazing  at  an  astral  picture.  Limitations  of  Astral-Body  vision- 
ing. What  the  Astral-Body  really  is;  and  what  it  is  like.  How  it  dis- 
engages itself  from  the  physical  body,  and  travels  in  space.  Many  per- 
sons "travel  in  the  astral"  during  ordinary  sleep.  Occult  teachings 
regarding  Astral-Body  traveling.  How  dying  persons  often  travel  in  the 
astral-body,  before  death.  Many  interesting  cases  cited,  all  well-authen- 
ticated by  scientific  investigation.  Society  for  Psychical  Research's  rec- 
ords and  reports  on  such  cases.  Dangers  of  uninstructed  persons  going 
out  on  the  astral,  except  In  dream  state.  "Fools  rush  in  where  angels 
fear  to  tread."  A  timely  warning.  A  most  important  and  interesting 
subject. 

Page  212 
LESSON  XV 
STRANGE  ASTRAL  PHENOMENA 

Additional  phases  of  Astral  Phenomena.  Projection  of  Thought- 
Forms.  Something  between  ordinary  Clairvoyance  and  Astral-Body 
perception.  What  a  Thought-Form  is.  How  it  is  created.  What  it  does. 
Where  it  goes.    How  a  portion  of  one's  consciousness  is  projected  in  a 


Thought-Form.  Using  a  Thought-Form  as  at  out-post,  or  observation 
point.  How  things  appear  when  viewed  from  a  Thought-Form.  A  won- 
derful phase  of  occult  phenomena.  Advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
this  form  of  clairvoyant  visioning.  Hindu  Psychic  Magic,  and  how  it  is 
performed.  Remarkable  illusory  effects  produced  by  Hindu  Magicians. 
All  is  explained  when  the  principle  of  the  creation  and  projection  of 
Thought-Forms  is  understood.  Why  the  Hindus  excel  in  this  phase  of 
occultism.  An  interesting  description  of  Hindu  Magic  feats.  The  power 
of  concentrated  "visualization."  The  phenomena  of  Levitation,  or  the 
moving  of  articles  at  a  distance.  The  occult  explanation  of  this  phe- 
nomenon.   Natural  explanation  for  so-called  "super-natural"  occurrences. 

Page  227 

LESSON  XVI 

PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE:  ITS  LAWS  AND  PRINCIPLES 
The  laws  and  principles  underlying  the  power  of  one  mind  to  in- 
fluence and  affect  another  mind.  More  than  ordinary  telepathy.  The 
inductive  power  of  mental  vibrations.  Everything  is  in  vibration.  Mental 
vibrations  are  much  higher  in  the  scale  than  are  physical  vibrations. 
What  "induction"  is.  How  a  mental  state,  or  an  emotional  feeling,  tends 
to  induce  a  similar  state  in  another  mind.  Many  instances  cited.  The 
different  degrees  of  vibratory  influence,  and  what  causes  the  difference. 
The  contagious  effect  of  a  "strong  feeling."  Why  a  strong  desire  has  a 
dynamic  effect  in  certain  cases.  The  power  of  visualization  in  Psychic 
Influence.  The  Attractive  Power  of  Thought.  The  effect  of  Mental  Con- 
centration. Focusing  your  Forces.  Holding  the  mind  to  a  state  of  "one- 
pointedness."  Why  the  occultist  controls  his  imagination.  Suggestions 
as  to  practice,  and  rules  of  development.  A  few  easily-mastered  prin- 
ciples which  give  you  the  key  to  the  whole  of  this  wonderful  subject. 

Page  243 

LESSON    XVII 

PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  OVER  OTHERS 
Psychic  Influence  exerted  over  others,  when  in  their  presence.  Dif- 
ferent degrees  of  tbe  influence.  Possession  of  this  power  by  Alexander 
the  Great,  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Julius  Caesar,  and  other  great  leaders 
of  men.  The  ability  to  influence  others  is  a  sure  sign  of  the  possession 
of  this  psychic  power.  The  Three  Underlying  Principles  of  Psychic  In- 
fluence. The  importance  of  strong  desire  to  influence  and  exert  power. 
The  importance  of  clear,  positive  mental  pictures  of  what  effect  you  wish 
to  produce.  The  importance  of  the  firm  concentration  of  your  mind  on 
the  subject.  The  creation  of  a  positive  psychic  atmosphere.  The  Posi- 
tive-Psychic Aura.  How  to  project  your  Psychic  Power.  The  Psychic 
Struggle  between  two  persons.  How  to  handle  yourself  in  such  con- 
flicts of  Psychic  Power.  How  to  Neutralize  the  Psychic  Power  of  others, 
and  thus  disarm  them.  The  Occult  Shield  of  Defence.  Valuable  direc- 
tions regarding  practice  and  development  of  Psychic  Power.  Scientific 
Exercises  for  Development.    Important  Rules  of  Practice. 

Page  257 

LESSON  XVIII 

PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  AT  A  DISTANCE 
Psychic  Influence  over  others,  manifested  when  they  are  distant  from 
the  person  exerting  the  influence.  Distance  no  obstacle.  Psychic  In- 
duction at  Long-Range.  How  to  create  the  en  rapport  condition  with  the 
other  person.  How  to  protect  yourself  against  such  influence  at  a  dis- 
tance. The  Psychic  Armor.  Psychometric  Method  of  producing  Dis- 
tant En  Rapport  Condition.  To  proceed  when  the  en  rapport  condition 
is  secured.  The  scientific  explanation  of  the  old  tales  about  sorcery, 
witchcraft,  super-natural  influence,  etc.  The  effect  of  fear,  and  belief! 
on  the  mind  of  the  other  person.  The  effect  of  Denial.  The  secret  of 
many  strange  cases  made  plain.  Some  typical  cases.  The  Master-Key 
which  unlocks  the  doors  of  many  Mysteries.  Low  forms  of  Occultism, 
and  how  they  may  be  defeated.  Dangerous  Teachings  in  some  quarters. 
Warnings  against  their  use.  The  Astral  Tube;  how  it  is  erected,  used 
and  employed.  A  simple,  plain  explanation  of  a  puzzling  occult  mani- 
festation.   Self- Protection. 

Page  273 


LESSON  XIX 
LAWS  OP  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION 
How  psychic  vibrations  tend  to  attract  to  their  creator  other  per- 
sons vibrating  along  the  same  lines;  and  things  having  a  relation  to  the 
things  thought  of.  Harmony  and  Inharmony  in  the  Psychic  World.  The 
Law  of  Psychic  Attraction.  The  Law  of  Psychic  Repulsion.  An  im- 
portant phase  of  Astral  Phenomena.  The  Law  works  two  ways.  It 
draws  other  persons  and  things  to  you ;  and  you  to  other  persons  and 
things.  How  the  men  of  "big  business"  operate  under  this  Law  of 
Attraction.  How  scheming  exploiters  of  the  public  actually  "treat  the 
public"  by  psychic  means.  The  various  forms  of  psychic  influence  em- 
ployed by  persons  of  this  kind.  The  Law  of  Attraction,  and  how  it 
works  out  in  Business  Life.  The  scientific  facts  behind  the  outward 
appearance  of  things.  Instances  and  examples  of  the  working  out  of 
these  laws  and  principles.  The  Law  of  Psychic  Attraction  is  as  con- 
stant and  invariable  as  the  great  Law  of  Gravitation,  or  Magnetic  Attrac- 
tion. The  Co-Relation  of  Thoughts  and  Things.  How  we  may  create  our 
own  environment  by  Psychic  Influence. 

Page  288 

LESSON  XX 

PSYCHIC  AND  MAGNETIC  HEALING 
The  Psychic  Principles  underlying  the  many  forms  of  psychic  or 
mental  healing.  Many  theories — one  set  of  principles.  Psychic  Healing 
as  old  as  the  race.  The  Basic  Principles  of  Psychic  Healing.  The 
Physiological  Principles  involved.  How  the  Astral  Body  is  used  in 
Psychic  Healing.  Human  Magnetism,  and  what  it  really  is.  All  about 
Prana.  The  Laying-on  of  Hands  in  Healing;  and  what  is  back  of  it. 
What  happens  in  Magnetic  Healing.  The  Secret  of  Absent  Healing. 
Space  no  barrier  in  Psychic  Healing.  The  Human  Aura  and  Psychic 
Healing.  The  Secret  of  Suggestive  Therapeutics.  The  effect  of  the 
"affirmations"  of  the  healers.  How  the  Healing  Cults  obtain  good  re- 
sults. Self-Healing  by  Psychic  Power.  Absent  Healing  by  Psychic 
Power.  How  to  "treat"  others  by  Absent  Treatment.  Valuable  Instruc- 
tions and  Practical  Methods  cf  Psychic  Healing.  The  whole  subject  con- 
densed, and  made  plain,  so  that  it  may  be  applied  by  any  person  of  aver- 
age intelligence.  No  fanciful  theories;  only  plain,  practical  facts  for 
actual  application. 

Page  304 


INTRODUCTION. 

In  preparing  this  series  of  lessons  for  students 
of  Western  lands,  I  have  been  compelled  to  pro- 
ceed along  lines  exactly  opposite  to  those  which 
I  would  have  chosen  had  these  lessons  been  for 
students  in  India.  This  because  of  the  diametric- 
ally opposite  mental  attitudes  of  the  students  of 
these  two  several  lands. 

The  student  in  India  expects  the  teacher  to 
state  positively  the  principles  involved,  and  the 
methods  whereby  these  principles  may  be  mani- 
fested, together  with  frequent  illustrations  (gen- 
erally in  the  nature  of  fables  or  parables),  serv- 
ing to  link  the  new  knowledge  to  some  already 
known  thing.  The  Hindu  student  never  expects 
or  demands  anything  in  the  nature  of  "proof" 
of  the  teachers  statements  of  principle  or  meth- 
od; in  fact,  he  would  regard  it  as  an  insult  to 
the  teacher  to  ask  for  the  same.  Consequently, 
he  does  not  look  for,  or  ask,  specific  instances  or 
illustrations  in  the  nature  of  scientific  evidence 
or  proof  of  the  principles  taught.  He  may  ask 
for  more  information,  but  solely  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  out  some  point  which  he  has  not 
grasped;  but  he  avoids  as  a  pestilence  any  ques- 
tion seeming  to  indicate  argument,  doubt  of 
what  is  being  taught  him,  or  of  the  nature  of  a 
demand  for  proof  or  evidence. 

The  Western  student,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
accustomed  to  maintaining  the  skeptical  attitude 
of  mind — the  scientific  attitude  of  doubt  and  de- 
mand for  proof — and  the  teacher  so  understands 


10  INTRODUCTION 

it.  Both  are  accustomed  to  illustrations  bring- 
ing out  the  principles  involved,  but  these  illustra- 
tions must  not  be  fanciful  or  figurative — they 
must  be  actual  cases,  well  authenticated  and 
vouched  for  as  evidence.  In  short,  the  Western 
teacher  is  expected  to  actually  "prove"  to  his 
students  his  principles  and  methods,  before  he 
may  expect  them  to  be  accepted.  This,  of  course, 
not  from  any  real  doubt  or  suspicion  of  the  verac- 
ity or  ability  of  the  teacher,  but  merely  because 
the  Western  mind  expects  to  question,  and  be 
questioned,  in  this  way  in  the  process  of  teaching 
and  learning. 

Consequently,  in  this  series  of  lessons,  I  have 
sought  to  follow  the  Western  method  rather  than 
the  Hindu.  So  far  as  is  possible,  I  have  avoided 
the  flat  positive  statement  of  principles  and  meth- 
ods, and  have  sought  to  prove  each  step  of  the 
teaching.  Of  course,  I  have  been  compelled  to 
assume  the  existence  of  certain  fundamental 
principles,  in  order  to  avoid  long  and  technical 
metaphysical  and  philosophical  discussions.  I 
have  also  had  to  content  myself  with  the  positive 
flat  assertion  of  the  existence  of  the  Astral  Plane, 
Akashic  Records,  Prana,  etc.,  which  are  funda- 
mental postulates  of  Hindu  philosophy  and  oc- 
cult science — for  these  are  established  solely  by 
the  experience  of  those  who  are  able  to  function 
on  the  higher  planes  themselves.  But,  beyond 
this  I  have  sought  to  prove  by  direct  and  positive 
evidence  (adapted  to  the  Western  mind)  every 
step  of  my  teaching  and  methods. 

In  offering  this  scientific  proof,  I  have  pur- 


INTRODUCTION  11 

posely  omitted  (except  in  a  few  instances)  all 
mention  of  occult  or  psychic  phenomena  occur- 
ring in  India,  and  have  confined  myself  to  in- 
stances occurring  in  Western  lands  to  Western 
persons.  Moreover,  I  have  avoided  quoting  and 
citing  Hindu  authorities,  and  have,  instead, 
quoted  and  cited  from  authorities  well  known 
and  respected  in  Western  lands,  such  as  the  So- 
ciety for  Psychical  Research,  and  the  prominent 
scientists  interested  in  the  work  of  the  said  so- 
ciety. In  this  way  I  have  sought  to  furnish  the 
Western  student  with  examples,  cases,  and  illus- 
trations familiar  to  him,  and  easily  referred  to. 
Had  I  cited  Indian  cases,  I  might  be  accused  of 
offering  proof  that  could  not  be  easily  verified; 
and  quoting  persons  unknown  to  my  readers. 
There  is  a  wealth  of  such  cases  and  illustrations 
in  India,  naturally,  but  these  as  a  rule  are  tradi- 
tional and  not  available  in  printed  form;  and 
these  would  not  likely  be  very  satisfactory  to  the 
Western  student. 

I  must,  however,  positively  and  firmly  state 
that  while  these  cases  and  illustrations,  these 
quotations  and  citations,  are  purely  Western,  the 
principles  they  illustrate  and  prove  are  among 
the  oldest  known  to  Hindu  occult  science  and 
philosophy.  In  fact,  having  been  accepted  as 
proven  truth  in  India,  for  centuries  past,  there 
is  very  little  demand  for  further  proof  thereof 
on  the  part  of  the  Hindus.  In  the  Western  world, 
however,  these  things  are  comparatively  new, 
and  must  be  proved  and  attested  accordingly. 
So,  as  I  have  said,  I  have  cut  the  cloth  of  my  in- 


12  INTRODUCTION 

struction  to  conform  with  the  pattern  favored  for 
the  Western  garment  of  knowledge.  So  far  as 
the  illustrations  and  cases,  the  quotations  and 
citations  are  concerned — these  are  purely  West- 
ern and  familiar  to  the  student.  But,  when  it 
comes  to  the  principles  themselves,  this  is  an- 
other matter — I  must  be  pardoned  for  stating 
that  these  are  the  outgrowth  of  Hindu  thought 
and  investigation,  and  that  he  who  would  dis- 
cover their  roots  must  dig  around  the  tree  of  the 
Wisdom  of  the  East,  which  has  stood  the  storms 
and  winds  of  thousands  of  years.  But  the 
branches  of  this  mighty  tree  are  wide-spreading, 
and  there  is  room  for  many  Western  students  to 
rest  in  its  shade  and  shelter. 

In  these  lessons  I  have  referred  occasionally  to 
my  two  little  books,  entitled  "The  Astral 
World,"  and  "The  Human  Aura,"  respectively. 
To  those  who  are  interested  in  these  subjects,  I 
recommend  these  little  books;  they  are  sold  at  a 
nominal  price,  and  contain  much  that  will  be 
helpful  to  the  student  of  Hindu  Occult  Science. 
They  are  not  required,  however,  to  complete  the 
understanding  of  the  subjects  treated  upon  in 
these  lessons,  and  are  mentioned  and  recom- 
mended merely  as  supplementary  reading  for  the 
student  who  wishes  to  take  little  "side  excur- 
sions" away  from  the  main  trip  covered  in  these 
lessons. 

I  trust  that  my  students  will  find  the  pleas- 
ure and  satisfaction  in  studying  these  lessons 
that  I  have  in  writing  them. 

May,  1916.  SWAMI  PANCHADASI. 


LESSON  I. 
THE  ASTRAL  SENSES. 

The  student  of  occultism  usually  is  quite  famil- 
iar with  the  crass  individual  who  assumes  the 
cheap  skeptical  attitude  toward  occult  matters, 
which  attitude  he  expresses  in  his  would-be 
"smart"  remark  that  he  "believes  only  in  what 
his  senses  perceive."  He  seems  to  think  that  his 
cheap  wit  has  finally  disposed  of  the  matter,  the 
implication  being  that  the  occultist  is  a  cred- 
ulous, "easy"  person  who  believes  in  the  exist- 
ence of  things  contrary  to  the  evidence  of  the 
senses. 

While  the  opinion  or  views  of  persons  of  this 
class  are,  of  course,  beneath  the  serious  concern 
of  any  true  student  of  occultism,  nevertheless  the 
mental  attitude  of  such  persons  are  worthy  of  our 
passing  consideration,  inasmuch  as  it  serves  to 
give  us  an  object  lesson  regarding  the  childlike 
attitude  of  the  average  so-called  "practical"  per- 
sons regarding  the  matter  of  the  evidence  of  the 
senses. 

These  so-called  practical  persons  have  much 
to  say  regarding  their  senses.  They  are  fond  of 
speaking  of  "the  evidence  of  my  senses."  They 
also  have  much  to  say  about  the  possession  of 
"good  sense"  on  their  part;  of  having  "sound 
common  sense";  and  often  they  make  the  strange 
boast  that  they  have  "horse  sense,"  seeming  to 
consider  this  a  great  possession.  Alas,  for  the 
pretensions  of  this  class  of  persons.    They  are 


14  CLAIRVOYANCE 

usually  found  quite  credulous  regarding  matters 
beyond  their  everyday  field  of  work  and  thought, 
and  accept  without  question  the  most  ridiculous 
teachings  and  dogmas  reaching  them  from  the 
voice  of  some  claimed  authority,  while  they  sneer 
at  some  advanced  teaching  which  their  minds  are 
incapable  of  comprehending.  Anything  which 
seems  unusual  to  them  is  deemed  "flighty,"  and 
lacking  in  appeal  to  their  much  prized  "horse 
sense." 

But,  it  is  not  my  intention  to  spend  time  in 
discussing  these  insignificant  half-penny  intel- 
lects. I  have  merely  alluded  to  them  in  order  to 
bring  to  your  mind  the  fact  that  to  many  persons 
the  idea  of  "sense*  and  that  of  "senses"  is  very 
closely  allied.  They  consider  all  knowledge  and 
wisdom  as  "sense;"  and  all  such  sense  as  being 
derived  directly  from  their  ordinary  five  senses. 
They  ignore  almost  completely  the  intuitional 
phases  of  the  mind,  and  are  unaware  of  many  of 
the  higher  processes  of  reasoning. 

Such  persons  accept  as  undoubted  anything 
that  their  senses  report  to  them.  They  consider 
it  heresy  to  question  a  report  of  the  senses.  One 
of  their  favorite  remarks  is  that  "it  almost  makes 
me  doubt  my  senses."  They  fail  to  perceive  that 
their  senses,  at  the  best,  are  very  imperfect  in- 
struments, and  that  the  mind  is  constantly  em- 
ployed in  correcting  the  mistaken  report  of  the 
ordinary  five  senses. 

Not  to  speak  of  the  common  phenomenon  of 
color-blindness,  in  which  one  color  seems  to  be 
another,  our  senses  are  far  from  being  exact.  We 


THE  ASTRAL  SENSES  15 

may,  by  suggestion,  be  made  to  imagine  that  we 
smell  or  taste  certain  things  which  do  not  exist, 
and  hypnotic  subjects  may  be  caused  to  see 
things  that  have  no  existence  save  in  the  imag- 
ination of  the  person.  The  familiar  experiment 
of  the  person  crossing  his  first  two  fingers,  and 
placing  them  on  a  small  object,  such  as  a  pea  or 
the  top  of  a  lead-pencil,  shows  us  how  "mixed" 
the  sense  of  feeling  becomes  at  times.  The  many 
familiar  instances  of  optical  delusions  show  us 
that  even  our  sharp  eyes  may  deceive  us — every 
conjuror  knows  how  easy  it  is  to  deceive  the  eye 
by  suggestion  and  false  movements. 

Perhaps  the  most  familiar  example  of  mis- 
taken sense-reports  is  that  of  the  movement  of 
the  earth.  The  senses  of  every  person  report  to 
him  that  the  earth  is  a  fixed,  immovable  body, 
and  that  the  sun,  moon,  planets,  and  stars  move 
around  the  earth  every  twenty-four  hours.  It  is 
only  when  one  accepts  the  reports  of  the  reason- 
ing faculties,  that  he  knows  that  the  earth  not 
only  whirls  around  on  its  axis  every  twenty-four 
hours,  but  that  it  circles  around  the  sun  every 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days;  and  that  even 
the  sun  itself,  carrying  with  it  the  earth  and  the 
other  planets,  really  moves  along  in  space,  mov- 
ing toward  or  around  some  unknown  point  far 
distant  from  it.  If  there  is  any  one  particular 
report  of  the  senses  which  would  seem  to  be  be- 
yond doubt  or  question,  it  certainly  would  be  this 
elementary  sense  report  of  the  fixedness  of  the 
earth  beneath  our  feet,  and  the  movements  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  around  it — and  yet  we  know  that 
this  is  merely  an  illusion,  and  that  the  facts  of 


16  CLAIRVOYANCE 

the  case  are  totally  different.  Again,  how  few- 
persons  really  realize  that  the  eye  perceives 
things  up-side-down,  and  that  the  mind  only 
gradually  acquires  the  trick  of  adjusting  the  im- 
pression? 

I  am  not  trying  to  make  any  of  you  doubt  the 
report  of  his  or  her  five  senses.  That  would  be 
most  foolish,  for  all  of  us  must  needs  depend  upon 
these  five  senses  in  our  everyday  affairs,  and 
would  soon  come  to  grief  were  we  to  neglect 
their  reports.  Instead,  I  am  trying  to  acquaint 
you  with  the  real  nature  of  these  five  senses,  that 
you  may  realize  what  they  are  not,  as  well  as 
what  they  are;  and  also  that  you  may  realize 
that  there  is  no  absurdity  in  believing  that  there 
are  more  channels  of  information  open  to  the 
ego,  or  soul  of  the  person,  than  these  much  used 
five  senses.  When  you  once  get  a  correct  scien- 
tific conception  of  the  real  nature  of  the  five  ordi- 
nary senses,  you  will  be  able  to  intelligently 
grasp  the  nature  of  the  higher  psychic  faculties 
or  senses,  and  thus  be  better  fitted  to  use  them. 
So,  let  us  take  a  few  moments  time  in  order  to 
get  this  fundamental  knowledge  well  fixed  in  our 
minds. 

What  are  the  five  senses,  anyway.  Your  first 
answer  will  be:  "Feeling,  seeing,  hearing,  tast- 
ing, smelling."  But  that  is  merely  a  recital  of 
the  different  forms  of  sensing.  What  is  a  "sense," 
when  you  get  right  down  to  it?  Well,  you  will 
find  that  the  dictionary  tells  us  that  a  sense  is  a 
"facult)',  possessed  by  animals,  of  perceiving  ex- 
ternal  objects  by  means  of  impressions  made 


THE  ASTRAL  SENSES  17 

upon  certain  organs  of  the  body."  Getting  right 
down  to  the  roots  of  the  matter,  we  find  that  the 
five  senses  of  man  are  the  channels  through 
which  he  becomes  aware  or  conscious  of  infor- 
mation concerning  objects  outside  of  himself. 
But,  these  senses  are  not  the  sense-organs  alone. 
Back  of  the  organs  there  is  a  peculiar  arrange- 
ment of  the  nervous  system,  or  brain  centres, 
which  take  up  the  messages  received  through  the 
organs;  and  back  of  this,  again,  is  the  ego,  or 
soul,  or  mind,  which,  at  the  last,  is  the  real 
KNOWER.  The  eye  is  merely  a  camera;  the 
ear,  merely  a  receiver  of  sound-waves;  the  nose, 
merely  an  arrangement  of  sensitive  mucous 
membrane;  the  mouth  and  tongue,  simply  a  con- 
tainer of  taste-buds;  the  nervous  system,  merely 
a  sensitive  apparatus  designed  to  transmit  mes- 
sages to  the  brain  and  other  centres — all  being 
but  part  of  the  physical  machinery,  and  liable  to 
impairment  or  destruction.  Back  of  all  this  ap- 
paratus is  the  real  Knower  who  makes  use  of  it. 

Science  tells  us  that  of  all  the  five  senses,  that 
of  Touch  or  Feeling  was  the  original — the  funda- 
mental sense.  All  the  rest  are  held  to  be  but 
modifications  of,  and  specialized  forms  of,  this 
original  sense  of  feeling.  I  am  telling  you  this 
not  merely  in  the  way  of  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive scientific  information,  bjut  also  because  an 
understanding  of  this  fact  will  enable  you  to 
more  clearly  comprehend  that  which  I  shall  have 
to  say  to  you  about  the  higher  faculties  or  senses. 

Many  of  the  very  lowly  and  simple  forms  of 
animal  life  have  this  one  sense  only,  and  that  but 


18  CLAIRVOYANCE 

poorly  developed.  The  elementary  life  form 
"feels"  the  touch  of  its  food,  or  of  other  objects 
which  may  touch  it.  The  plants  also  have  some- 
thing akin  to  this  sense,  which  in  some  cases, 
like  that  of  the  Sensitive  Plant,  for  instance,  is 
quite  well  developed.  Long  before  the  sense  of 
sight,  or  the  sensitiveness  to  light  appeared  in 
animal-life,  we  find  evidences  of  taste,  and  some- 
thing like  rudimentary  hearing  or  sensitiveness 
to  sounds.  Smell  gradually  developed  from  the 
sense  of  taste,  with  which  even  now  it  is  closely 
connected.  In  some  forms  of  lower  animal  life  the 
sense  of  smell  is  much  more  highly  developed 
than  in  mankind.  Hearing  evolved  in  due  time 
from  the  rudimentary  feeling  of  vibrations. 
Sight,  the  highest  of  the  senses,  came  last,  and 
was  an  evolution  of  the  elementary  sensitiveness 
to  light. 

But,  you  see,  all  these  senses  are  but  modifica- 
tions of  the  original  sense  of  feeling  or  touch. 
The  eye  records  the  touch  or  feeling  of  the  light- 
waves which  strike  upon  it.  The  ear  records  the 
touch  or  feeling  of  the  sound-waves  or  vibrations 
of  the  air,  which  reach  it.  The  tongue  and  other 
seats  of  taste  record  the  chemical  touch  of  the 
particles  of  food,  or  other  substances,  coming  in 
contact  with  the  taste-buds.  The  nose  records 
the  chemical  touch  of  the  gases  or  fine  particles 
of  material  which  touch  its  mucous  membrane. 
The  sensory-nerves  record  the  presence  of  outer 
objects  coming  in  contact  with  the  nerve  ends  in 
various  parts  of  the  skin  of  the  body.    You  see 


THE  ASTRAL  SENSES  19 

that  all  of  these  senses  merely  record  the  contact 
or  "touch"  of  outside  objects. 

But  the  sense  organs,  themselves,  do  not  do 
the  knowing  of  the  presence  of  the  objects.  They 
are  but  pieces  of  delicate  apparatus  serving  to 
record  or  to  receive  primary  impressions  from 
outside.  Wonderful  as  they  are,  they  have  their 
counterparts  in  the  works  of  man,  as  for  instance : 
the  camera,  or  artificial  eye;  the  phonograph,  or 
artificial  ear;  the  delicate  chemical  apparatus,  or 
artificial  taster  and  smeller;  the  telegraph,  or 
artificial  nerves.  Not  only  this,  but  there  are  al- 
ways to  be  found  nerve  telegraph  wires  convey- 
ing the  messages  of  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  nose, 
the  tongue,  to  the  brain — telling  the  something 
in  the  brain  of  what  has  been  felt  at  the  other  end 
of  the  line.  Sever  the  nerves  leading  to  the  eye, 
and  though  the  eye  will  continue  to  register  per- 
fectly, still  no  message  will  reach  the  brain.  And 
render  the  brain  unconscious,  and  no  message 
will  reach  it  from  the  nerves  connecting  with 
eye,  ear,  nose,  tongue,  or  surface  of  the  body. 
There  is  much  more  to  the  receiving  of  sense 
messages  than  you  would  think  at  first,  you  see. 

Now  all  this  means  that  the  ego,  or  soul,  or 
mind,  if  you  prefer  the  term — is  the  real  Knower 
who  becomes  aware  of  the  outside  world  by 
means  of  the  messages  of  the  senses.  Cut  off 
from  these  messages  the  mind  would  be  almost  a 
blank,  so  far  as  outside  objects  are  concerned. 
Every  one  of  the  senses  so  cut  off  would  mean  a 
diminishing  or  cutting-off  of  a  part  of  the  world 
of  the  ego.    And,  likewise,  each  new  sense  added 


20  CLAIRVOYANCE 

to  the  list  tends  to  widen  and  increase  the  world 
of  the  ego.  We  do  not  realize  this,  as  a  rule.  In- 
stead, we  are  in  the  habit  of  thinking  that  the 
world  consists  of  just  so  many  things  and  facts, 
and  that  we  know  every  possible  one  of  them. 
This  is  the  reasoning  of  a  child.  Think  how  very 
much  smaller  than  the  world  of  the  average  per- 
son is  the  world  of  the  person  born  blind,  or  the 
person  born  deaf !  Likewise,  think  how  very  much 
greater  and  wider,  and  more  wonderful  this 
world  of  ours  would  seem  were  each  of  us  to  find 
ourselves  suddenly  endowed  with  a  new  sense! 
How  much  more  we  would  perceive.  How  much 
more  we  would  feel.  How  much  more  we  would 
know.  How  much  more  we  would  have  to  talk 
about.  Why,  we  are  really  in  about  the  same  posi- 
tion as  the  poor  girl,  born  blind,  who  said  that  she 
thought  that  the  color  of  scarlet  must  be  some- 
thing like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet.  Poor  thing, 
she  could  form  no  conception  of  color,  never  hav- 
ing seen  a  ray  of  light — she  could  think  and  speak 
only  in  the  terms  of  touch,  sound,  taste  and  smell. 
Had  she  also  been  deaf,  she  would  have  been 
robbed  of  a  still  greater  share  of  her  world. 
Think  over  these  things  a  little. 

Suppose,  on  the  contrary,  that  we  had  a  new 
sense  which  would  enable  us  to  sense  the  waves 
of  electricity.  In  that  case  we  would  be  able  to 
"feel"  what  was  going  on  at  another  place — per- 
haps on  the  other  side  of  the  world,  or  maybe,  on 
one  of  the  other  planets.  Or,  suppose  that  we 
had  an  X  Ray  sense — we  could  then  see  through 
a  stone  wall,  inside  the  rooms  of  a  house.    If  our 


THE  ASTRAL  SENSES  21 

vision  were  improved  by  the  addition  of  a  tele- 
scopic adjustment,  we  could  see  what  is  going 
on  in  Mars,  and  could  send  and  receive  communi- 
cations with  those  living  there.  Or,  if  with  a 
microscopic  adjustment,  we  could  see  all  the 
secrets  of  a  drop  of  water — maybe  it  is  well  that 
we  cannot  do  this.  On  the  other  hand,  if  we  had 
a  well-developed  telepathic  sense,  we  would  be 
aware  of  the  thought-waves  of  others  to  such  an 
extent  that  there  would  be  no  secrets  left  hidden 
to  anyone — wouldn't  that  alter  life  and  human 
intercourse  a  great  deal?  These  things  would 
really  b,e  no  more  wonderful  than  is  the  evolution 
of  the  senses  we  have.  We  can  do  some  of  these 
things  by  apparatus  designed  by  the  brain  of 
man — and  man  really  is  but  an  imitator  and 
adaptor  of  Nature.  Perhaps,  on  some  other 
world  or  planet  there  may  be  beings  having 
seven,  nine  or  fifteen  senses,  instead  of  the  poor 
little  five  known  to  us.    Who  knows! 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  exercise  the  imagina- 
tion in  the  direction  of  picturing  beings  on  other 
planets  endowed  with  more  senses  than  have  the 
people  of  earth.  While,  as  the  occult  teachings 
positively  state,  there  are  beings  on  other  planets 
whose  senses  are  as  much  higher  than  the  earth- 
man's  as  the  latter's  are  higher  than  those  of  the 
oyster,  still  we  do  not  have  to  go  so  far  to  find 
instances  of  the  possession  of  much  higher  and 
more  active  faculties  than  those  employed  by  the 
ordinary  man.  We  have  but  to  consider  the 
higher  psychical  faculties  of  man,  right  here  and 
now,  in  order  to  see  what  new  worlds  are  open  to 


22  CLAIRVOYANCE 

him.  When  you  reach  a  scientific  understanding 
of  these  things,  you  will  see  that  there  really  is 
nothing  at  all  supernatural  about  much  of  the 
great  body  of  wonderful  experiences  of  men  in  all 
times  which  the  "horse  sense"  man  sneeringly 
dismisses  as  "queer"  and  "contrary  to  sense." 
You  will  see  that  these  experiences  are  quite  as 
natural  as  are  those  in  which  the  ordinary  five 
senses  are  employed — though  they  are  super- 
physical.  There  is  the  greatest  difference  be- 
tween supernatural  and  super-physical,  you  must 
realize. 

All  occultists  know  that  man  has  other  senses 
than  the  ordinary  five,  although  but  few  men 
have  developed  them  sufficiently  well  to  use  them 
effectively.  These  super-physical  senses  are 
known  to  the  occultists  as  "the  astral  senses." 
The  term  "Astral,"  used  so  frequently  by  all  oc- 
cultists, ancient  and  modern,  is  derived  from  the 
Greek  word  "astra,"  meaning  "star."  It  is  used 
to  indicate  those  planes  of  being  immediately 
above  the  physical  plane.  The  astral  senses  are 
really  the  counterparts  of  the  physical  senses  of 
man,  and  are  connected  with  the  astral  body  of 
the  person  just  as  the  physical  senses  are  con- 
nected with  the  physical  body.  The  office  of 
these  astral  senses  is  to  enable  the  person  to  re- 
ceive impressions  on  the  astral  plane,  just  as  his 
physical  senses  enable  him  to  receive  impressions 
on  the  physical  plane.  On  the  physical  plane  the 
mind  of  man  receives  only  the  sense  impressions 
of  the  physical  organs  of  sense;  but  when  the 
mind  functions  and  vibrates  on  the  astral  plane,  it 


THE  ASTRAL  SENSES  23 

requires  astral  senses  in  order  to  receive  the  im- 
pressions of  that  plane,  and  these,  as  we  shall  see, 
are  present. 

Each  one  of  the  physical  senses  of  man  has  its 
astral  counterpart.  Thus  man  has,  in  latency, 
the  power  of  seeing,  feeling,  tasting,  smelling, 
and  hearing,  on  the  astral  plane,  by  means  of  his 
five  astral  senses.  More  than  this,  the  best  oc- 
cultists know  that  man  really  has  seven  physical 
senses  instead  of  but  five,  though  these  two  addi- 
tional senses  are  not  unfolded  in  the  case  of  the 
average  person  (though  occultists  who  have 
reached  a  certain  stage  are  able  to  use  them 
effectively).  Even  these  two  extra  physical 
senses  have  their  counterparts  on  the  astral 
plane. 

Persons  who  have  developed  the  use  of  their 
astral  senses  are  able  to  receive  the  sense  im- 
pressions of  the  astral  plane  just  as  clearly  as 
they  receive  those  of  the  physical  plane  by  means 
of  the  physical  senses.  For  instance,  the  person 
is  thus  able  to  perceive  things  occurring  on  the 
astral  plane;  to  read  the  Akashic  Records  of  the 
past;  to  perceive  things  that  are  happening  in 
other  parts  of  the  world ;  to  see  past  happenings 
as  well;  and  in  cases  of  peculiar  development,  to 
catch  glimpses  of  the  future,  though  this  is  far 
rarer  than  the  other  forms  of  astral  sight. 

Again,  by  means  of  clairaudience,  the  person 
may  hear  the  things  of  the  astral  world,  past  as 
well  as  present,  and  in  rare  cases,  the  future. 
The  explanation  is  the  same  in  each  case — merely 
the  receiving  of  vibrations  on  the  astral  plane  in- 


24  CLAIRVOYANCE 

stead  of  on  the  physical  plane.  In  the  same  way, 
the  astral  senses  of  smelling,  tasting,  and  feeling 
operate.  But  though  we  have  occasional  in- 
stances of  astral  feeling,  in  certain  phases  of 
psychic  phenomena,  we  have  practically  no  mani- 
festation of  astral  smelling  or  tasting,  although 
the  astral  senses  are  there  ready  for  use.  It  is 
only  in  instances  of  travelling  in  the  astral  body 
that  the  last  two  mentioned  astral  senses,  viz., 
smell  and  taste,  are  manifested. 

The  phenomena  of  telepathy,  or  thought  trans- 
ference, occurs  on  both  the  physical  and  the  men- 
tal plane.  On  the  physical  plane  it  is  more  or  less 
spontaneous  and  erratic  in  manifestation;  while 
on  the  astral  plane  it  is  as  clear,  reliable  and  re- 
sponsive to  demand  as  is  astral  sight,  etc. 

The  ordinary  person  has  but  occasional  flashes 
of  astral  sensing,  and  as  a  rule  is  not  able  to  ex- 
perience the  phenomenon  at  will.  The  trained 
occultist,  on  the  contrary,  is  able  to  shift  from 
one  set  of  senses  to  the  other,  by  a  simple  act 
or  effort  of  will,  whenever  he  may  wish  to  do  so. 
Advanced  occultists  are  often  able  to  function  on 
both  physical  and  astral  planes  at  the  same  time, 
though  they  do  not  often  desire  to  do  so.  To 
vision  astrally,  the  trained  occultist  merely  shifts 
his  sensory  mechanism  from  physical  to  astral, 
or  vice  versa,  just  as  the  typewriter  operator 
shifts  from  the  small-letter  type  to  the  capitals, 
by  simply  touching  the  shift-key  of  his  machine. 

Many  persons  suppose  that  it  is  necessary  to 
travel  on  the  astral  plane,  in  the  astral  body,  in 
order  to  use  the  astral  senses.    This  is  a  mistake. 


THE  ASTRAL  SENSES  25 

In  instances  of  clairvoyance,  astral  visioning, 
psychometry,  etc.,  the  occultist  remains  in  his 
physical  body,  and  senses  the  phenomena  of  the 
astral  plane  quite  readily,  by  means  of  the  astral 
senses,  just  as  he  is  able  to  sense  the  phenomena 
of  the  physical  plane  when  he  uses  the  physical 
organs — quite  more  easily,  in  fact,  in  many  in- 
stances. It  is  not  even  necessary  for  the  occultist 
to  enter  into  the  trance  condition,  in  the  majority 
of  cases. 

Travel  in  the  astral  body  is  quite  another  phase 
of  occult  phenomena,  and  is  far  more  difficult  to 
manifest.  The  student  should  never  attempt  to 
travel  in  the  astral  body  except  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  some  competent  instructor. 

In  Crystal  Gazing,  the  occultist  merely  em- 
ploys the  crystal  in  order  to  concentrate  his 
power,  and  to  bring  to  a  focus  his  astral  vision. 
There  is  no  supernatural  virtue  in  the  crystal 
itself— it  is  merely  a  means  to  an  end;  a  piece  of 
useful  apparatus  to  aid  in  the  production  of  cer- 
tain phenomena. 

In  Psychometry  some  object  is  used  in  order 
to  bring  the  occulist  "en  rapport"  with  the  per- 
son or  thing  associated  with  it.  But  it  is  the 
astral  senses  which  are  employed  in  describing 
either  the  past  environment  of  the  thing,  or  else 
the  present  or  past  doings  of  the  person  in  ques- 
tion, etc.  In  short,  the  object  is  merely  the  loose 
end  of  the  psychic  ball  of  twine  which  the  psycho- 
metrist  proceeds  to  wind  or  unwind  at  will.  Psy- 


26  CLAIRVOYANCE 

chometry  is  merely  one  form  of  astral  seeing; 
just  as  is  crystal  gazing. 

In  what  is  known  as  Telekinesis,  or  movement 
at  a  distance,  there  is  found  the  employment  of 
both  astral  sensing,  and  astral  will  action  accom- 
panied in  many  cases  by  actual  projection  of  a 
portion  of  the  substance  of  the  astral  body. 

In  the  case  of  Clairvoyance,  we  have  an  in- 
stance of  the  simplest  form  of  astral  seeing,  with- 
out the  necessity  of  the  "associated  object"  of 
psychometry,  or  the  focal  point  of  the  crystal  in 
crystal  gazing. 

This  is  true  not  only  of  the  ordinary  form  of 
clairvoyance,  in  which  the  occultist  sees  astrally 
the  happenings  and  doings  at  some  distant  point, 
at  the  moment  of  observation;  it  is  also  true  of 
what  is  known  as  past  clairvoyance,  or  astral  see- 
ing of  past  events;  and  in  the  seeing  of  future 
events,  as  in  prophetic  vision,  etc.  These  are  all 
simply  different  forms  of  one  and  the  same  thing. 

Surely,  some  of  you  may  say,  "These  things 
are  supernatural,  far  above  the  realm  of  natural 
law — and  yet  this  man  would  have  us  believe 
otherwise."  Softly,  softly,  dear  reader,  do  not 
jump  at  conclusions  so  readily.  What  do  you 
know  about  the  limits  of  natural  law  and  phe- 
nomena? What  right  have  you  to  assert  that  all 
beyond  your  customary  range  of  sense  experi- 
ence is  outside  of  Nature?  Do  you  not  realize 
that  you  are  attempting  to  place  a  limit  upon 
Nature,  which  in  reality  is  illimitable? 

The  man  of  a  generation  back  of  the  present 
one  would  have  been  equally  justified  in  assert- 


THE  ASTRAL  SENSES  27 

ing  that  the  marvels  of  wireless  telegraphy  were 
supernatural,  had  he  been  told  of  the  possibility 
of  their  manifestation.  Going  back  a  little  fur- 
ther, the  father  of  that  man  would  have  said  the 
same  thing  regarding  the  telephone,  had  anyone 
been  so  bold  as  to  have  prophesied  it.  Going  back 
still  another  generation,  imagine  the  opinion  of 
some  of  the  old  men  of  that  time  regarding  the 
telegraph.  And  yet  these  things  are  simply  the 
discovery  and  application  of  certain  of  Nature's 
wonderful  powers  and  forces. 

Is  it  any  more  unreasonable  to  suppose  that 
Nature  has  still  a  mine  of  undiscovered  treasure 
in  the  mind  and  constitution  of  man,  as  well  as  in 
inorganic  nature?  No,  friends,  these  things  are 
as  natural  as  the  physical  senses,  and  not  a  whit 
more  of  a  miracle.  It  is  only  that  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  one,  and  not  to  the  other,  that  makes 
the  astral  senses  seem  more  wonderful  than  the 
physical.  Nature's  workings  are  all  wonderful — 
none  more  so  than  the  other.  All  are  beyond  our 
absolute  conception,  when  we  get  down  to  their 
real  essence.    So  let  us  keep  an  open  mind ! 


LESSON  II. 

TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE. 

In  this  work  I  shall  use  the  term  "clairvoy- 
ance" in  its  broad  sense  of  "astral  perception,"  as 
distinguished  from  perception  by  means  of  the 
physical  senses.  As  we  proceed,  you  will  see  the 
general  and  special  meanings  of  the  term,  so 
there  is  no  necessity  for  a  special  definition  or 
illustration  of  the  term  at  this  time. 

By  "telepathy,"  I  mean  the  sending  and  receiv- 
ing of  thought  messages,  and  mental  and  emo- 
tional states,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  by 
means  of  what  may  be  called  "the  sixth  sense"  of 
the  physical  plane.  There  is,  of  course,  a  form  of 
thought  transference  on  the  astral  plane,  but  this 
I  include  under  the  general  term  of  clairvoyance, 
for  reasons  which  will  be  explained  later  on. 

You  will  remember  that  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter I  told  you  that  in  addition  to  the  five  ordinary 
physical  senses  of  man  there  were  also  two  other 
physical  senses  comparatively  undeveloped  in 
the  average  person.  These  two  extra  physical 
senses  are,  respectively,  (1)  the  sense  of  the 
presence  of  other  living  things;  and  (2)  the  tele- 
pathic sense.  As  I  also  told  you,  these  two  extra 
physical  senses  have  their  astral  counterparts. 
They  also  have  certain  physical  organs  which 
are  not  generally  recognized  by  physiologists  or 
psychologists,  but  which  are  well  known  to  all 


TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE    29 

occultists.  I  shall  now  consider  the  first  of  the 
two  above-mentioned  extra  physical  senses,  in 
order  to  clear  the  way  for  our  consideration  of 
the  question  of  the  distinction  between  ordinary 
telepathy  and  that  form  of  clairvoyance  which  is 
its  astral  counterpart. 

There  is  in  every  human  being  a  sense  which 
is  not  generally  recognized  as  such,  although 
nearly  every  person  has  had  more  or  less  experi- 
ence regarding  its  workings.  I  refer  to  the  sense 
of  the  presence  of  other  living  things,  separate 
and  apart  from  the  operation  of  any  of  the  five 
ordinary  physical  senses.  I  ask  you  to  under- 
stand that  I  am  not  claiming  that  this  is  a  higher 
sense  than  the  other  physical  senses,  or  that  it 
has  come  to  man  in  a  high  state  of  evolution.  On 
the  contrary,  this  sense  came  to  living  things  far 
back  in  the  scale  of  evolution.  It  is  possessed  by 
the  higher  forms  of  the  lower  animals,  such  as 
the  horse,  dog,  and  the  majority  of  the  wild 
beasts.  Savage  and  barbaric  men  have  it  more 
highly  developed  than  it  is  in  the  case  of  the 
civilized  man.  In  fact,  this  physical  sense  may 
be  termed  almost  vestigal  in  civilized  man,  be- 
cause he  has  not  actively  used  it  for  many  genera- 
tions. For  that  matter,  the  physical  sense  of 
smell  is  also  deficient  in  man,  and  for  the  same 
reason,  whereas  in  the  case  of  the  lower  animals, 
and  savage  man,  the  sense  of  smell  is  very  keen. 
I  mention  this  for  fear  of  misunderstanding.  In 
my  little  book,  "The  Astral  World,"  I  have  said : 
"All  occultists  know  that  man  really  has  seven 
senses,  instead  of  merely  five,  though  the  addi- 


30  CLAIRVOYANCE 

tional  two  senses  are  not  sufficiently  developed 
for  use  in  the  average  person  (though  the  occult- 
ist generally  unfolds  them  into  use)."  Some 
have  taken  this  to  mean  that  the  occultist  de- 
velops these  two  extra  physical  senses,  just  as  he 
does  certain  higher  psychic  or  astral  faculties. 
But  this  is  wrong.  The  occultist,  in  such  case, 
merely  re-awakens  these  two  senses  which  have 
been  almost  lost  to  the  race.  By  use  and  exer- 
cise he  then  develops  them  to  a  wonderful  pro- 
ficiency, for  use  on  the  physical  plane. 

Now,  this  sense  of  the  presence  of  other  living 
beings  is  very  well  developed  in  the  lower  ani- 
mals, particularly  in  those  whose  safety  depends 
upon  the  knowledge  of  the  presence  of  their  nat- 
ural enemies.  As  might  be  expected,  the  wild  ani- 
mals have  it  more  highly  developed  than  do  the 
domesticated  animals.  But  even  among  the  lat- 
ter, we  find  instances  of  this  sense  being  in  active 
use — in  the  case  of  dogs,  horses,  geese,  etc., 
especially.  Who  of  us  is  not  familiar  with  the 
strange  actions  of  the  dog,  or  the  horse,  when 
the  animal  senses  the  unseen  and  unheard  pres- 
ence of  some  person  or  animal?  Very  often  we 
would  scold  or  punish  the  animal  for  its  peculiar 
actions,  simply  because  we  are  not  able  to  see 
what  is  worrying  it.  How  often  does  the  dog 
start  suddenly,  and  bristle  up  its  hair,  when 
nothing  is  in  sight,  or  within  hearing  distance. 
How  often  does  the  horse  grow  "skittish,"  or 
even  panicky,  when  there  is  nothing  within  sight 
or  hearing.  Domestic  fowls,  especially  geese, 
manifest  an  uneasiness  at  the  presence  of  strange 


TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE    31 

persons  or  animals,  though  they  may  not  be  able 
to  see  or  hear  them.  It  is  a  matter  of  history  that 
this  sense,  in  a  flock  of  geese,  once  saved  ancient 
Rome  from  an  attack  of  the  enemy.  The  night 
was  dark  and  stormy,  and  the  trained  eyesight 
and  keen  hearing  of  the  Roman  outposts  failed  to 
reveal  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  But,  the  keen 
sense  of  the  geese  felt  the  presence  of  strange 
men,  and  they  started  to  cackle  loudly,  aroused 
the  guard,  and  Rome  was  saved.  Skeptical  per- 
sons have  sought  to  explain  this  historical  case 
by  the  theory  that  the  geese  heard  the  approach- 
ing enemy.  But  this  explanation  will  not  s.erve, 
for  the  Roman  soldiers  were  marching  about  on 
their  posts  and  guard-duty,  and  the  geese  re- 
mained silent  until  they  sensed  the  approach  of 
the  small  number  of  the  enemy's  scouts,  when 
they  burst  into  wild  cries.  The  ancient  Romans, 
themselves,  were  under  no  illusion  about  the 
matter — they  recognized  the  existence  of  some 
unusual  power  in  the  geese,  and  they  gave  the 
animals  the  full  credit  therefor. 

Hunters  in  wild  and  strange  lands  have  told  us 
that  often  when  they  were  lying  concealed  for 
the  purpose  of  shooting  the  wild  animals  when 
they  came  within  range,  they  have  witnessed  in- 
stances of  the  existence  of  this  strange  faculty  in 
the  wild  beasts.  Though  they  could  not  see  the 
concealed  hunters,  nor  smell  them  (as  the  wind 
was  in  the  other  direction)  all  of  a  sudden  one  or 
more  of  the  animals  (generally  an  old  female) 
would  start  suddenly,  and  a  shiver  would  be  seen 
to  pass  over  its  body;  then  it  would  utter  a  low 


32  CLAIRVOYANCE 

warning  note,  and  away  would  fly  the  pack. 
Nearly  every  hunter  has  had  the  experience  of 
watching  his  expected  game,  when  all  of  a  sud- 
den it  would  start  off  with  a  nervous  jerk,  and 
without  waiting  to  sniff  the  air,  as  is  usual,  would 
bolt  precipitately  from  the  scene.  Moreover, 
many  beasts  of  prey  are  known  to  sense  the  pres- 
ence of  their  natural  prey,  even  when  the  wind  is 
in  the  other  direction,  and  there  is  no  sound  or 
movement  made  by  the  crouching,  fearstricken 
animal.  Certain  birds  seem  to  sense  the  presence 
of  particular  worms  upon  which  they  feed, 
though  the  latter  be  buried  several  inches  in  the 
earth,  or  in  the  bark  of  trees. 

Savage  man  also  has  this  faculty  developed,  as 
all  travellers  and  explorers  well  know.  They 
are  as  keen  as  a  wild  animal  to  sense  the  nearness 
of  enemies,  or,  in  some  cases,  the  approach  of 
man-eating  beasts.  This  does  not  mean  that 
that  these  savages  are  more  highly  developed 
than  is  civilized  man — quite  the  reverse.  This 
is  the  explanation :  when  man  became  more  civil- 
ized, and  made  himself  more  secure  from  his 
wild-beast  enemies,  as  well  as  from  the  sudden 
attacks  of  his  human  enemies,  he  began  to  use 
this  sense  less  and  less.  Finally,  in  the  course  of 
many  generations,  it  became  almost  atrophied 
from  disuse,  and  ceased  reporting  to  the  brain,  or 
other  nerve  centres.  Or,  if  you  prefer  viewing  it 
from  another  angle,  it  may  be  said  that  the  nerve 
centres,  and  brain,  began  to  pay  less  and  less  at- 
tention to  the  reports  of  this  sense  (trusting 
more  to  sight  and  hearing)  until  the  conscious- 


TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE    33 

ness  failed  to  awaken  to  the  reports.  You  know 
how  your  consciousness  will  finally  refuse  to  be 
awakened  by  familiar  sounds  (such  as  the  noise 
of  machinery  in  the  shop,  or  ordinary  noises  in 
the  house),  although  the  ears  receive  the  sound- 
waves. 

Well,  this  is  the  way  in  the  case  of  this  neg- 
lected sense — for  the  two  reasons  just  mentioned, 
the  average  person  is  almost  unaware  of  its 
existence.  Almost  unaware  I  have  said — not  to- 
tally unaware.  For  probably  every  one  of  us  has 
had  experiences  in  which  we  have  actually  "felt" 
the  presence  of  some  strange  person  about  the 
premises,  or  place.  The  effect  of  the  report  of 
this  sense  is  particularly  noticed  in  the  region  of 
the  solar  plexus,  or  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  It 
manifests  in  a  peculiar,  unpleasant  feeling  of 
"gone-ness"  in  that  region — it  produces  a  feeling 
of  "something  wrong,"  which  disturbs  one  in  a 
strange  way.  This  is  generally  accompanied  by 
a  "bristling  up,"  or  "creepy"  feeling  along  the 
spine.  The  organs  registering  the  presence  of  a 
strange  or  alien  creature  consist  of  certain  deli- 
cate nerves  of  the  surface  of  the  skin,  generally 
connected  with  the  roots  of  the  downy  hair  of 
the  body — or  resting  where  the  hair  roots  would 
naturally  be,  in  the  case  of  a  hairless  skin.  These 
seem  to  report  directly  to  the  solar-plexus,  which 
then  acts  quickly  by  reflex  action  on  the  other 
parts  of  the  body,  causing  an  instinctive  feeling 
to  either  fly  the  scene  or  else  to  crouch  and  hide 
oneself.  This  feeling,  as  may  be  seen  at  once,  is 
an   inheritance  from   our   savage   ancestors,   or 


34  CLAIRVOYANCE 

perhaps  from  our  lowly-animal  ancestral  roots. 
It  is  a  most  unpleasant  feeling,  and  the  race 
escapes  much  discomfort  by  reason  of  its  com- 
parative absence. 

I  have  said  that  occultists  have  developed,  or 
rather  re-developed  this  sense.  They  do  this  in 
order  to  have  a  harmonious  well-developed  seven- 
fold sense  system.  It  increases  their  general 
"awareness."  Certain  other  knowledge  of  the 
occultist  neutralizes  the  unpleasant  features  of 
the  manifestation  of  this  sense,  and  he  finds  it 
often  a  very  valuable  adjunct  to  his  senses  of 
seeing  and  hearing,  particularly  in  the  cases  in 
which  he  is  approached  by  persons  having  an- 
tagonistic or  hostile  feelings  toward  him,  as  in 
such  cases  this  faculty  is  particularly  active.  In 
connection  with  the  telepathic  sense  (to  be  de- 
scribed a  little  further  on)  this  sense  operates  to 
give  a  person  that  sense  of  warning  when  ap- 
proached by  another  person  whose  feelings  are 
not  friendly  to  him,  not  matter  how  friendly  the 
outward  appearance  of  that  person  may  be. 
These  two  extra  senses  co-operate  to  give  a  per- 
son that  instinctive  feeling  of  warning,  which  all 
of  us  know  in  our  own  experience. 

This  particular,  as  well  as  the  telepathic  sense, 
may  be  cultivated  or  developed  by  anyone  who 
wishes,  to  take  the  time  and  trouble  to  accomplish 
the  work.  The  principle  is  simple — merely  the 
same  principle  that  one  uses  in  developing  any  of 
the  other  physical  attributes,  namely,  use  and 
exercise.  The  first  step  (a)  is  the  recognition  of 
the  existence  of  the  sense  itself;  then  (b)  the  at- 


TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE    35 

tention  given  to  its  reports;  then  (c)  frequent 
use  and  exercise.  Just  think  of  how  you  would 
proceed  to  develop  any  of  the  five  ordinary 
senses — the  hearing,  sight,  or  touch,  for  instance 
— then  follow  the  same  process  in  the  cultivation 
of  this  extra  sense,  or  two  senses,  and  you  will 
accomplish  the  same  kind  of  results. 

Now,  let  us  consider  the  other  extra  physical 
sense — the  "telepathic"  sense,  or  sense  of  becom- 
ing aware  of  the  thought-waves,  or  emotional 
waves,  of  other  persons.  Now,  as  strange  as  this 
may  appear  to  some  persons — the  most  of  per- 
sons in  fact — this  telepathic  faculty  is  not  a 
"higher"  faculty  or  sense,  but  is  really  a  com- 
paratively low  one.  Just  like  the  sense  just  de- 
scribed, it  is  possessed  in  a  higher  degree  by 
many  of  the  lower  animals,  and  by  primitive  and 
savage  man.  That  which  really  is  "higher"  in 
this  kind  of  psychic  phenomena  is  the  manifes- 
tation of  that  higher  form  of  telepathy — by  use 
of  the  astral  counterpart  of  this  sense — which  we 
shall  consider,  later,  under  the  name  of  clairvoy- 
ance, for  this  is  really  a  particular  phase  of  clair- 
voyance. 

As  strange  as  it  may  appear  to  some  of  you, 
the  lower  animals  possess  a  kind  of  telepathic 
sense.  An  animal  is  usually  aware  of  your  feel- 
ings toward  it,  and  your  purposes  regarding  it. 
Domestic  animals  lose  some  of  this  by  genera- 
tions of  confinement,  while  the  wild  animals  have 
the  sense  highly  developed.  But  even  some  of 
the  domestic  animals  have  more  or  less  of  it. 
You  will  readily  recognize  this  fact  if  you  have 


36  CLAIRVOYANCE 

ever  tried  to  "cut  out"  a  certain  animal  from  a 
herd  or  flock.  You  will  find  that  the  animal  in 
some  way  has  sensed  your  designs  upon  it,  no 
matter  how  indirectly  you  approach  it,  and  it  will 
begin  circling  around  the  other  animals,  twisting 
in  and  out  in  its  endeavors  to  be  lost  to  your 
sight.  The  other  animals,  likewise,  will  seem  to 
know  that  you  are  after  only  that  particular  one, 
and  will  manifest  but  little  fright  or  distrust, 
comparatively. 

I  have  frequently  seen  this  thing,  in  my  own 
country  and  in  others,  among  poultry  raisers. 
The  poultryman  will  think,  to  himself,  "Now,  I 
am  going  to  get  that  black  hen  with  the  yellow 
legs — that  fat,  clumsy  one,"  and  he  will  move 
toward  the  flock  slowly  and  with  an  air  of  uncon- 
cern. But,  lo !  as  soon  as  he  gets  near  the  crea- 
tures, that  black  hen  will  be  seen  edging  her  way 
to  the  outer  circle  of  the  flock,  on  the  opposite 
side  from  the  man.  When  the  man  moves  around 
to  her  side,  she  will  be  found  to  have  plunged  into 
the  crowd,  and  it  is  hard  to  find  her.  Sometimes 
she  will  actually  try  to  sneak  off,  and  conceal  her- 
self in  some  dark  corner,  or  back  of  some  large 
object.  Every  poultryman  will  smile  when  this 
occurrence  is  mentioned  to  him — he  knows  by 
experience  that  hens  have  a  way  of  sensing  what 
he  has  in  his  mind  regarding  them. 

Moreover,  as  every  farmer  knows,  the  crow 
family  has  a  most  uncanny  way  of  sensing  the 
intentions  of  the  farmer  who  is  trying  to  destroy 
them,  and  shows  great  sagacity  in  defeating 
those  intentions.    But,  while  the  crow  is  a  very 


TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE    37 

intelligent  bird — one  of  the  wisest  of  the  bird 
family,  in  fact — it  obtains  its  knowledge  of  what 
is  in  the  mind  of  the  man  not  alone  from  "figuring 
on  his  intentions,"  but  rather  from  that  instinc- 
tive sensing  of  his  mental  states.  The  hen,  as  all 
know,  is  a  very  stupid  bird,  showing  but  little  in- 
telligent activity.  But,  nevertheless,  she  is  very 
quick  about  sensing  the  poultryman's  designs 
on  her,  though  generally  very  stupid  about  plan- 
ning out  a  skillful  escape. 

Every  owner  of  dogs,  cats  and  horses,  has  had 
many  opportunities  for  observing  the  manifesta- 
tion of  this  sense  on  the  part  of  those  animals. 
Every  dog  feels  the  emotional  states  of  his 
owner,  and  others.  The  horse  knows  when  his 
owner  seeks  to  throw  the  halter  over  his  neck, 
or  when,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  merely  walking 
through  the  field.  Cats  sense  their  owners'  feel- 
ings and  thoughts,  and  often  resent  them.  Of 
course,  the  lower  animals  can  sense  merely  ele- 
mentary mental  states,  and  generally  only  emo- 
tional states,  as  their  minds  are  not  developed  so 
as  to  interpret  the  more  complex  mental  states. 
Primitive  men  likewise  almost  instinctivel)7  sense 
the  feelings  and  designs  of  other  men.  They  do 
not  reason  the  thing  out,  but  rather  merely  "feel" 
the  ideas  and  designs  of  the  others.  The  women 
of  the  lower  races  are  more  adept  in  interpreting 
these  sense  reports  than  are  the  men.  Women 
are  more  sagisitive,  as  a  rule,  than  are  men — on 
any  point  on  the  scale  of  development. 

When  we  come  to  consider  ordinary  telepathy 
in  the  case  of  men  of  civilized  countries,  we  find 


38  CLAIRVOYANCE 

a  more  complex  state  of  affairs.  While  civilized 
man,  as  a  whole,  has  lost  some  of  the  quick  tele- 
pathic perception  of  the  lower  races,  he  has,  in 
some  exceptional  cases,  acquired  a  faculty  of  re- 
ceiving and  interpreting  more  complex  thought- 
forms  and  mental  states.  The  investigations  of 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  and  those  of 
private  investigators  as  well,  have  shown  us  that 
a  picture  of  a  complicated  geometrical  design 
held  in  the  mind  of  one  person  may  be  carried  to 
and  received  by  the  mind  of  another  person,  who 
reproduces  the  design  on  paper.  In  the  same 
way,  complicated  thoughts  have  been  trans- 
mitted and  received.  But  these  are  only  excep- 
tional cases.  In  many  cases  this  sense  seems  al- 
most dead  in  the  ordinary  civilized  individual, 
except  when  aroused  in  exceptional  cases. 

But,  nevertheless,  the  majority  of  persons  have 
occasional  flashes  of  telepathy — just  enough  to 
make  them  realize  that  "there  is  something  in 
it."  The  renewed  interest  in  the  subject,  of  late 
years,  has  directed  the  public  mind  to  the  phe- 
nomena of  telepathy,  and,  consequently,  more 
persons  are  now  taking  note  of  the  cases  of 
thought-transference  coming  under  their  per- 
sonal notice.  It  must  be  remembered,  of  course, 
that  all  of  us  are  constantly  receiving  thought- 
waves,  and  feeling  thought-influence,  uncon- 
sciously. I  am  speaking  now  only  of  the  con- 
scious perception  of  the  thought-waves. 

Many  investigators  have  so  developed  their 
telepathic  sense  that  they  are  able,  at  times,  to 
obtain  wonderful  test  results.    But,  it  has  been  a 


TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE    39 

source  of  disappointment  to  many  of  them  to  dis- 
cover that  at  other  times,  under  apparently  simi- 
lar conditions,  their  success  was  very  slight.  So 
true  is  this  that  many  authorities  have  accepted 
the  theory  that  telepathy  is  more  or  less  spon- 
taneous, and  cannot  be  produced  to  order.  This 
theory  is  true  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  there  is  a  side 
of  the  case  that  these  investigators  overlook, 
probably  because  of  their  lack  of  the  occult 
principles  involved  in  the  phenomena.  I  mean 
this:  that  their  most  brilliant  successes  have  been 
obtained  by  reason  of  their  unconscious  "switch- 
ing on"  of  the  astral  telepathic  sense,  the  clair- 
voyant sense.  While  in  this  condition,  they  ob- 
tained startling  results;  but  the  next  time  they 
tried,  they  failed  to  awaken  the  astral  sense,  and, 
therefore,  had  to  depend  entirely  upon  the  physi- 
cal telepathic  sense,  and,  consequently,  their  re- 
sults were  comparatively  poor. 

You  will  understand  the  difference  and  dis- 
tinction between  physical-sense  telepathy,  and 
astral-sense  telepathy,  if  you  will  carefully  con- 
sider the  nature  of  each,  as  I  shall  now  present  it 
to  you.  I  ask  your  close  attention  to  what  I  shall 
have  to  say  on  this  subject  in  the  remaining  pages 
of  this  chapter.  Do  not  pass  over  these  explana- 
tions as  "dry,"  for  unless  you  have  a  clear  funda- 
mental understanding  of  the  thing,  you  will  never 
be  able  to  get  the  best  results.  This  is  true  of 
every  phase  of  learning,  physical  as  well  as 
psychical — one  must  get  started  right,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  best  results. 

In  the  first  place,  every  thought  process,  every 


40  CLAIRVOYANCE 

emotional  activity,  every  creation  of  ideas,  is  ac- 
companied by  a  manifestation  of  force — in  fact, 
is  the  result  of  the  manifestation  of  a  force. 
Without  entering  at  all  into  the  question  of  what 
mind  is,  in  itself,  we  may  rest  firmly  on  the  nat- 
ural fact  that  every  manifestation  of  mental  or 
emotional  activity  is  the  result  of  an  action  of 
the  brain  or  nervous  system,  manifesting  in  a 
form  of  vibrations.  Just  as  in  the  case  of  the 
manifestation  of  electricity  in  which  certain 
chemical  elements  are  consumed,  or  transformed, 
so  in  the  case  of  mental  or  emotional  activity 
there  is  a  consuming  or  transformation  of  the 
substance  of  which  the  nervous  system  is  com- 
posed. When  I  say  "nervous  system"  in  this 
connection,  I  include  the  brain,  or  brains  of  man 
—for  these  are  but  a  part  of  his  great  nervous 
system  in  which  all  emotional  or  mental  activity 
is  manifested. 

Moreover,  just  as  there  is  no  real  destruction 
of  matter  in  any  of  Nature's  processes — all  seem- 
ing destruction  being  but  a  transformation — so 
in  the  case  before  us  there  is  a  transformation  of 
the  energy  released  in  the  thought  or  emotional 
process.  We  may  grasp  this  idea  more  clearly 
if  we  consider  what  takes  place  into  transforma- 
tion of  electrical  energy.  For  instance,  transmit 
a  strong  current  of  electricity  over  a  fine  wire,  or 
filament  of  carbon,  and  lo!  the  current  is  trans- 
formed into  light.  Use  another  kind  of  channel 
of  transmission,  and  the  current  is  transformed 
into    heat.      Every    electric    light,    or    electric 


TELEPATHY  vs.  CLAIRVOYANCE    41 

heating  apparatus  is  proof  of  this.  In  the  same 
way,  the  electric  current  is  sent  into  space  in  the 
form  of  wireless  waves.  These  waves  coming  in 
contact  with  certain  forms  of  apparatus  are 
transformed  into  forms  of  force  which  are  regis- 
tered and  interpreted  by  the  wireless  operator. 

In  the  same  way,  the  telepathic  waves  of 
energy  are  sent  forth  by  the  activity  released  by 
the  thought  or  emotion  state.  These  waves  travel 
in  every  direction,  and  when  they  come  in  con- 
tact with  physical  apparatus  sufficiently  sensitive 
to  register  them,  they  may  be  reproduced  or  re- 
transformed  into  thought  or  mental  states  simi- 
lar to  those  which  originally  sent  them  forth. 
You  talk  into  the  receiver  of  the  telephone,  and 
the  sound  waves  are  transformed  into  waves  of 
electricity.  These  electric  waves  travel  over  the 
wires,  and  on  reaching  the  other  end  of  the  tele- 
phone circuit  are  again  transformed  into  sound- 
waves which  are  heard  by  the  ear  of  the  listener. 
Well,  then,  when  your  brain  sends  out  thought 
waves,  these  travel  until  they  are  received  by  the 
apparatus  in  the  brain  of  another  person,  when 
they  are  re-transformed  into  thoughts  of  the 
same  kind  that  originally  caused  the  thought- 
waves.  I  will  have  much  more  to  say  on  this 
subject  in  the  next  chapter.  I  will  pause  here  to 
point  out  the  difference  between  the  phenomena 
of  this  form  of  telepathy,  and  the  higher  form 
which  is  really  a  phase  of  clairvoyance. 

Now,  in  the  case  of  what  may  be  called  a  clair- 
voyant-telepathy, or  astral  telepathy,  the  ordi- 
nary thought-waves  play  but  a  small  part.     In- 


42  CLAIRVOYANCE 

stead  of  these,  there  is  a  transmission  of  force 
along  the  channels  of  the  astral  plane.  It  is  al- 
most impossible  to  describe  the  phenomena  of  the 
astral  plane  in  the  terms  of  the  physical.  I  may 
illustrate  the  matter,  in  a  general  way,  by  saying 
that  is  something  like  your  astral  self  actually  ex- 
tending itself  out  until  it  touches  the  astral  self 
of  the  other  person,  and  thus  actually  "feels"  the 
astral  activities  there,  instead  of  it  being  a  case 
of  something  like  waves  travelling  along  space 
between  brain  and  brain.  Do  you  get  this  clear- 
ly? This  is  about  as  near  to  it  as  I  can  explain 
it  to  you  at  this  place.  Telepathy  is  simply  a 
matter  of  the  transmission  and  receiving  of 
waves  of  vibratory  force  which  have  travelled 
along  the  ether  between  two  persons.  But  clair- 
voyance or  astral-telepathy  is  something  like 
your  mind  being  extended  out  until  it  actually 
touches  the  mind  of  the  other  person  and  sees 
what  is  there. 

I  shall  have  much  to  say  regarding  the  work- 
ing out  of  the  processes  of  clairvoyance,  as  we 
proceed.  I  have  merely  given  the  above  explana- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  distinguishing  between 
ordinary  telepathy  and  clairvoyance,  so  as  to 
prevent  you  from  falling  into  a  common  error. 
Now  let  us  consider  the  phenomena  of  ordinary 
telepathy — this  is  very  wonderful  in  itself,  al- 
though it  is  on  a  lower  plane  of  activity  than  its 
astral  or  clairvoyant  counterpart. 


LESSON  III. 
TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED. 

Telepathy,  meaning  Thought-Transference, 
bears  a  misleading  title.  Literally  translated,  it 
means  "suffering  at  a  distance,"  or,  perhaps, 
"feeling  pain  at  a  distance."  The  name  should 
really  indicate  "knowing  at  a  distance,"  in  order 
to  be  properly  descriptive.  But  as  the  term  has 
acquired  a  forced  meaning  by  reason  of  years  of 
usage,  it  will  probably  be  continued  in  popular 
favor.  After  all,  names  do  not  count,  so  long  as 
the  meaning  is  accepted  and  understood. 

While  the  term  itself  has  been  generally  used 
in  the  sense  of  conscious  and  deliberate  sending 
and  receiving  of  thought-waves,  there  is  a  far 
wider  field  of  phenomena  really  covered  by  it, 
viz.,  the  unconscious  sending  and  receiving  of 
mental  and  emotional  vibrations.  I  shall  take  up 
this  phase  of  the  subject  in  a  moment,  after  I 
have  called  your  attention  to  the  mechanism 
whereby  the  waves  of  thought  and  emotion  are 
transmitted. 

In  the  last  chapter,  you  will  remember  that  I 
called  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a 
manifestation  of  energy  or  force  (in  the  form  of 
vibrations)  in  every  mental  or  emotional  state. 
This  is  true  not  only  in  the  case  of  deep  thought 
or  vivid  feeling,  but  also  in  the  case  of  general 
mental  "feelings,"  and  emotional  states.  During 
such  manifestations  there  is  a  radiation  of  mental 
or  emotional  vibrations  from  the  brain  or  nervous 


44  CLAIRVOYANCE 

centres  of  the  system,  which  flows  out  in  all  di- 
rections just  as  do  light  and  wireless  electricity. 
The  principal  seats  or  centres  of  these  radiations 
are  (1)  the  several  brains  of  man,  viz.,  the  cere- 
brum, cerebellum,  and  the  medulla  oblongata,  re- 
spectfully; and  (2)  the  several  great  centres  of 
nerve  substance  in  the  human  system,  called  the 
plexi,  such  as  the  solar  plexus,  etc. 

The  vibrations  arising  from  emotional  excite- 
ment are  sent  out  principally  from  the  plexi,  or 
great  centres  of  the  sympathetic  nervous  system. 
Those  arising  from  the  more  strictly  mental 
states  emanate  from  certain  centres  and  points  of 
the  brain,  or  brains,  of  the  person  manifesting 
them.  Certain  forms  of  these  vibrations  consti- 
tute the  real  essence  of  what  is  generally  called 
"human  magnetism,"  which  will  be  treated  upon 
in  the  proper  place  in  these  lessons. 

I  do  not  think  it  advisable  to  go  into  the 
technical  details  of  the  generation  and  mechan- 
ism of  transmission  of  these  thought  and  emo- 
tional vibrations,  in  these  lessons.  To  understand 
the  same  would  require  a  technical  knowledge  of 
physiology  and  organic  chemistry,  which  is  not 
possessed  by  the  average  person.  Moreover,  such 
details  are  neither  interesting  nor  instructive  to 
the  general  student  of  occultism.  But,  I  think  it 
proper  to  give  at  least  a  brief  description  of  the 
receiving  of  such  vibratory-waves  by  other  indi- 
viduals. 

In  the  first  place,  every  great  plexus,  or  groups 
of  nerve  ganglia,  in  the  human  system  is  a  receiv- 
ing station,  as  well  as  a  sending  station.    A  per- 


TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED  45 

son  manifesting  strong  emotional  excitement 
tends  to  awaken  similar  states  in  the  nervous  cen- 
tres of  other  persons  in  whom  the  conditions  are 
favorable.  This  explains  why  the  vibrations  of 
anger,  fear,  panic,  are  so  contagious.  It  also  ex- 
plains the  strong  effect  of  the  vibrations  emanat- 
ing from  the  nerve  centres  controlling  the  repro- 
ductive system,  in  certain  cases  of  strong  sexual 
excitation.  Each  human  sympathetic  nervous 
system  contains  many  receiving  stations  where 
emotional  vibrations  are  received,  and  where 
they  tend  to  be  transformed  into  similar  feeling 
in  the  receiving  system,  unless  neutralized  by 
other  mental  and  emotional  states  in  the  person. 

When  we  come  to  consider  the  apparatus  by 
which  is  received  the  vibrations  arising  from 
what  may  be  called  "purely  mental"  operations 
of  the  brain,  such  as  intellectual  thought,  con- 
structive imagination,  etc.,  we  find  a  more 
specialized  arrangement,  as  might  be  expected. 
There  are  several  minor  receiving  points  of  men- 
tal vibrations,  regarding  which  I  do  not  consider 
it  worth  while  to  go  into  detail,  because  of  the 
technical  features  involved.  The  principal  ap- 
paratus for  receiving  thought  vibrations  of  this 
kind  is  that  which  is  known  as  the  "pineal  gland," 
which  I  shall  now  describe. 

The  pineal  gland  is  a  peculiar  mass  of  nervous 
substance  which  is  embedded  in  the  human  brain, 
in  a  position  near  the  middle  of  the  skull  almost 
directly  above  the  extreme  top  of  the  spinal 
column.  It  is  shaped  like  a  small  cone;  and  is  of 
a  reddish-gray  color.     It  lies  in  front  of  the 


46  CLAIRVOYANCE 

cerebellum,  and  is  attached  to  the  floor  of  the 
third  ventricle  of  the  brain.  It  contains  a  small 
quantity  of  peculiar  particles  of  gritty,  sand-like 
substance,  which  are  sometimes  called  "brain- 
sand."  It  derives  its  scientific  name  from  its 
shape,  which,  as  I  have  said,  resembles  a  pine- 
cone.  Physiologists  are  at  sea  regarding  the 
function  of  this  strange  organ,  and  generally  con- 
tent themselves  with  the  statement  that  "its 
functions  are  not  understood."  But  occultists 
know  that  the  pineal  gland,  with  its  peculiar  ar- 
rangement of  nerve-cell  corpuscles,  and  its  tiny 
grains  of  "brain-sand,"  is  the  physical  telepathic 
receiving  instrument.  Students  of  wireless  teleg- 
raphy have  noticed  a  startling  resemblance  be- 
tween the  pineal  gland  and  a  part  of  the  receiving 
instrument  employed  in  wireless  telegraphy. 

The  thought  vibrations  coming  in  contact  with 
the  nervous  system  of  the  receiving  person,  set 
up  a  peculiar  vibration  in  the  substance  of  the 
pineal  gland  and  thus  the  first  step  in  the  trans- 
formation of  these  vibrations  into  thought-forms 
in  the  mind  of  the  person  is  under  way.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  process  is  too  technical,  both  in 
the  physiological  as  well  as  in  the  occult  sense, 
to  be  taken  up  in  detail  at  this  place.  The  student 
will  do  well  to  get  the  idea  of  the  workings  of 
wireless  telegraphy  well  fixed  in  his  mind,  for 
this  will  set  up  the  right  conception  of  the  work- 
ing of  ordinary  telepathy,  without  the  necessity 
of  complicated  technical  diagrams  and  descrip- 
tions. 

And,  now  then,  let  us  see  what  results  from 


TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED  47 

the  sending  forth  and  receiving  of  these  mental 
and  emotional  waves  of  force  and  energy.  It  is  a 
most  interesting  subject,  I  assure  you.  While 
the  phenomena  of  the  astral  plane  is  probably 
more  fascinating  to  the  average  student,  I  would 
impress  upon  you  the  importance  of  mastering 
the  occult  phenomena  of  the  physical  plane,  be- 
fore passing  on  to  that  of  the  higher  planes. 

In  the  first  place,  as  all  occultists  know,  each 
person  is  constantly  surrounded  with  what  has 
been  called  an  "atmosphere"  composed  of  mental 
and  emotional  vibrations  which  are  emanated 
from  his  personality.  The  atmosphere  of  each 
person  depends  upon  the  general  character  of  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  person  in  question. 
Consequently,  as  no  two  persons  are  precisely 
alike  in  character,  it  follows  that  no  two  personal 
atmospheres  are  exactly  alike.  Each  person  has 
a  psychic  atmosphere  of  his  or  her  own.  These 
atmospheric  vibrations  do  not  extend  very  far 
from  the  presence  of  the  person,  and,  conse- 
quently affect  only  those  coming  near  to  him. 

In  the  same  way,  every  group  or  crowd  of  per- 
sons has  its  own  psychic  atmosphere,  composed 
of  a  blending  of  the  individual  psychic  atmos- 
pheres of  the  persons  composing  the  crowd, 
group  or  assemblage,  and  representing  the  gen- 
eral average  of  the  thought  and  feelings  of  the 
crowd.  There  are  no  two  group  atmospheres 
exactly  alike,  for  the  reason  that  no  two  groups 
of  persons,  large  or  small,  are  exactly  alike. 
Actors  know  that  each  audience  which  they  face 
has  its  own  psychic  atmosphere,  and  the  actors 


48  CLAIRVOYANCE 

are  affected  by  it.  Preachers,  lawyers,  and 
speakers  in  general  are  quite  aware  of  this  fact, 
and  freely  admit  it,  though  they  may  not  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  causes  or  laws  governing  the 
phenomena. 

Following  the  same  psychic  law,  it  will  be 
found  that  every  town  or  large  city,  or  even  every 
small  village  or  section  of  a  larger  town,  will  be 
found  to  have  its  own  distinctive  psychic  atmos- 
phere, which  is  very  perceptible  to  strangers 
visiting  the  place,  and  which  affect  those  who 
take  up  their  residence  in  the  place.  In  large 
cities,  it  has  been  noticed  that  every  building  has 
its  own  peculiar  vibrations  which  arise  from  the 
general  character  of  those  occupying  it.  Dif- 
ferent church  buildings  likewise  reflect  the  char- 
acter of  the  general  habits  of  thought  and  feeling 
of  those  worshipping  in  them.  Likewise,  certain 
business  streets  have  pleasant  or  unpleasant  vi- 
brations in  their  atmosphere,  from  the  same 
causes.  Every  person  recognizes  the  truth  of 
these  statements,  though  but  few  are  able  to  ac- 
count for  the  facts  in  a  scientific  manner. 

The  beginner  in  the  study  of  psychic  phe- 
nomena often  asks  how  these  things  can  be,  when 
the  thought  which  has  occasioned  the  vibrations 
have  long  since  passed  away.  The  explanation 
is  simple,  when  properly  explained.  It  is  some- 
thing like  this:  just  as  heat  remains  in  a  room 
after  the  stove  has  ceased  to  throw  out  heat- 
waves, so  do  the  vibrations  of  thought  and  feel- 
ing persist  long  after  the  thought  or  feeling  has 
died  away.     Or,  if  you  prefer  a  more  material 


TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED  49 

illustration,  we  may  say  that  if  a  package  of  per- 
fumery has  been  opened  in  a  room,  and  then  re- 
moved, the  air  will  remain  charged  with  the  odor 
for  a  long  time  afterwards. 

So,  you  see,  the  same  principle  applies  in  the 
case  of  psychic  vibrations.  The  person  carries 
around  with  him  the  general  atmosphere  of  his 
characteristic  mental  and  emotional  vibrations. 
And,  in  the  same  way,  the  house,  store,  church, 
street,  town,  or  city,  etc.,  is  permeated  with  the 
psychic  vibrations  of  those  who  have  frequented 
them.  Nearly  every  one  realizes  the  different 
feeling  that  impresses  him  when  he  enters  a 
strange  house,  apartment,  store  or  church.  Each 
one  has  its  own  difference  of  psychic  effect.  And, 
so  does  each  person  create  his  or  her  psychic  ef- 
fect upon  those  coming  in  contact  with  him  or 
her,  or  who  comes  into  his  or  her  presence  or 
vicinity. 

The  next  question  asked  by  the  thoughtful  new 
student  is  this:  If  persons  are  constantly  sending 
forth  psychic  vibrations,  and  if  such  vibrations 
persist  for  some  time,  why  are  we  not  over- 
whelmed with  the  force  of  them;  and  why  are 
they  not  all  so  mixed  up  as  to  lose  all  their  effect. 
I  shall  now  answer  this  very  important  question. 

In  the  first  place,  though  we  are  constantly 
affected  more  or  less  by  the  multitude  of  psychic, 
vibrations  beating  upon  us,  still  the  greater  part 
of  them  do  not  consciously  impress  us.  For  an 
example,  we  have  but  to  consider  how  few  of  the 
sounds  or  sights  of  a  busy  street  are  impressed 
upon  our  consciousness.    We  hear  and  see  only 


50  CLAIRVOYANCE 

a  few  of  the  things  which  attract  our  attention 
and  interest.  The  rest  are  lost  to  us,  although 
our  eyes  and  ears  receive  them  all.  In  the  same 
way,  we  are  impressed  only  by  the  stronger  vi- 
brations which  reach  us,  and  then  only  by  those 
which  we  have  attracted  to  ourselves,  or  which 
prove  attractive  to  us  by  reason  of  our  own  likes 
and  dislikes. 

In  the  second  place,  the  effect  of  certain 
thought  vibrations  is  neutralized  by  the  effect  of 
the  vibrations  of  thoughts  of  an  opposite  char- 
acter. Just  as  a  mixture  of  black  and  white  pro- 
duces the  neutral  color  of  grey,  so  do  two  cur- 
rents of  opposing  thought  vibrations  tend  to  re- 
solve themselves  into  a  neutral  vibration  which 
has  little  or  no  effect  upon  those  coming  in  con- 
tact with  them.  You  may  think  of  numerous 
correspondences  to  this  in  the  world  of  material 
things.  For  instance,  a  mixture  of  very  hot  and 
very  cold  water,  will  produce  a  neutral  lukewarm 
liquid,  neither  hot  nor  cold.  In  the  same  way, 
two  things  of  opposing  taste  characteristics, 
when  blended,  will  produce  a  neutral  taste  having 
but  little  effect  upon  one.  The  principle  is  uni- 
versal, and  is  readily  understood. 

In  the  third  place,  there  is  that  which  we  may 
call  an  "affinity"  between  thoughts  and  feelings 
of  a  similar  character.  Not  only  do  the  vibrations 
of  similar  thoughts  tend  to  coalesce  and  com- 
bine; but,  more  than  this,  each  one  of  us  attracts 
to  himself  or  herself  the  thought  vibrations 
which  are  in  general  accord  with  corresponding 
thoughts  in  our  own  minds,  or  feelings  in  our 


TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED  51 

own  nature.  Like  attracts  like.  In  the  same 
way,  the  character  of  our  thoughts  and  feelings 
act  to  repel  thought  or  emotional  vibrations  of 
an  opposite  or  inharmonious  nature.  As  all  oc- 
cultists know,  everyone  draws  thought  vibra- 
tions in  harmony  with  his  or  her  own;  and  also 
repels  thought  vibrations  of  an  inharmonious 
nature. 

These  are  the  general  laws  and  principles  gov- 
erning the  phenomena  of  this  phase  of  telepathic 
vibrations.  There  is  much  more  to  be  said  on  the 
subject,  of  course,  but  if  you  will  note  carefully 
the  leading  principles  and  laws  of  manifestation 
just  mentioned,  you  will  be  able  to  reason  cor- 
rectly regarding  any  phase  of  this  class  of  phe- 
nomena which  may  come  before  you  for  atten- 
tion. Once  you  learn  a  general  rule,  the  rest  be- 
comes merely  a  matter  of  application  and  inter- 
pretation. Let  us  now  proceed  to  a  consideration 
of  other  phases  of  the  general  subject  of  tele- 
pathic influence. 

We  now  come  to  the  phase  of  what  may  be 
called  direct  telepathy — that  is  where  a  thought 
is  consciously,  and  more  or  less  purposely,  di- 
rected toward  another  person.  We  come  across 
many  interesting  cases  of  this  kind  where  per- 
sons find  themselves  thinking  intently  of  certain 
other  persons,  and  afterwards  are  told  by  the 
other  persons  that  "I  found  myself  thinking  in- 
tently about  you,  at  such  and  such  a  time,"  etc. 
In  some  of  these  cases  it  is  difficult  to  determine 
which  one  started  the  thinking.  Again,  how 
often  do  we  find  ourselves  thinking  of  a  person, 


52  CLAIRVOYANCE 

when  all  of  a  sudden  the  person  comes  into  sight. 
Again,  we  think  intently  and  earnestly  about  a 
certain  question;  and  then,  all  of  a  sudden,  other 
folks  whom  we  meet  begin  talking  to  us  about 
the  same  thing.  These  instances  are  too  common 
to  need  more  than  a  passing  notice. 

A  little  more  purpose  is  displayed  in  that  class 
of  phenomena  in  which  we  intently  wish  that  a 
certain  person  shall  do  a  certain  thing,  and  lo! 
we  soon  learn  that  that  certain  person  has  done 
it.  A  number  of  years  ago,  a  popular  writer 
wrote  an  article  in  which  he  mentioned  what 
seemed  to  him  to  be  a  curious  instance  of  some 
form  of  mental  influence  or  telepathy.  He  said 
that  he  had  found  out  that  if  he  would  sit  down 
and  carefully  write  a  letter  to  some  person  from 
whom  he  had  not  heard  for  a  long  time,  and  then 
destroy  the  letter  instead  of  sending  it,  he  would 
be  almost  certain  to  receive  a  letter  from  that 
person  within  a  few  days.  He  did  not  attempt  to 
account  for  the  phenomenon,  he  merely  called 
the  attention  of  his  readers  to  it.  Many  persons 
have  followed  the  suggestion,  often  with  very 
wonderful  results.  There  is  nothing  miraculous, 
or  supernatural  about  such  occurrences.  It  is 
merely  one  phase  of  telepathy.  The  concen- 
trated thought  of  the  writer  of  the  letter  is  di- 
rected toward  the  other  person,  and  that  person 
begins  to  think  of  the  first  one;  then  he  thinks  he 
will  write  to  him;  then  he  actually  does  write. 
Distance,  space,  and  direction  have  no  import- 
ance in  this  experiment — it  is  not  necessary  to 
even  know  where  the  second  person  is,  in  fact. 


TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED  53 

There  are  often  found  persons  so  closely  in 
psychic  harmony  with  each  other  that  they  very 
often  are  able  to  ask  questions  and  receive  an- 
swers from  each  other,  even  though  great  dis- 
tances separate  them.  Some  particular  times 
there  is  a  better  psychic  harmony  existing  be- 
tween the  same  persons  than  is  found  at  other 
times.  All  this,  of  course,  affects  the  success  of 
the  experiment.  It  is  surprising  what  wonderful 
results  along  these  lines  may  be  obtained  by  al- 
most any  person  of  average  intelligence,  after  a 
Ijttle  careful,  patient,  conscientious  practice. 

But  there  have  been  phenomena  obtained  as 
the  result  of  long  series  of  careful  experiments 
which  are,  in  a  way,  even  more  wonderful  than 
these  somewhat  less  deliberate  experiments  just 
mentioned.  I  allude  to  the  experiments  of  a  num- 
ber of  earnest,  careful  scientific  students,  who 
surrounded  themselves  with  every  precaution 
against  over-enthusiasm,  fraud,  and  coincidence. 
Prominent  among  this  class  of  investigations  we 
find  those  conducted  by  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research,  of  England,  which  really  established  a 
firm  basis  for  the  work  of  other  investigators  who 
followed  the  general  methods  of  the  said  society. 
In  the  following  chapter,  I  shall  give  you  a  some- 
what extended  statement  of  the  results  of  such 
investigations,  because  this  information  is  im- 
portant to  every  student  of  psychic  phenomena, 
not  only  because  it  establishes  a  firm  scientific 
basis  for  his  studies  and  beliefs,  but  also  because 
it  gives  him  important  information  which  he  may 
apply  in  the  course  of  his  own  experimental 
work. 


54  CLAIRVOYANCE 

I  may  mention  that  the  investigations  into  the 
subject  of  telepathy,  and  kindred  subjects,  un- 
der the  auspices  of  the  society  just  mentioned, 
were  conducted  by  men  of  careful  scientific  train- 
ing and  experience,  and  under  the  general  super- 
vision and  approval  of  the  officers  of  the  society, 
among  which  have  been  numbered  such  eminent 
men  as  Prof.  Henry  Sidgwick,  of  Cambridge 
University;  Prof.  Balfour  Stewart,  a  Fellow  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  England;  Rt.  Hon.  A.  J. 
Balfour,  the  eminent  English  statesman;  Prof. 
William  James,  the  eminent  American  psychol- 
ogist; Sir  William  Crookes,  the  great  chemist 
and  discoverer  of  physical  laws,  who  invented 
the  celebrated  "Crookes'  Tubes,"  without  which 
the  discovery  of  the  X  Rays,  radio-activity,  etc., 
would  have  been  impossible;  Frederick  W.  H. 
Myers,  the  celebrated  explorer  of  the  astral 
planes,  and  writer  upon  psychic  phenomena;  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge,  the  popular  English  scientist;  and 
other  men  of  international  reputation  and  high 
standing.  The  character  of  these  men  at  once 
gives  the  stamp  of  honesty  and  scientific  ac- 
curacy to  all  the  work  of  the  society. 

In  order  that  you  may  understand  the  spirit 
which  animated  these  scientific  investigators  in 
their  work  of  the  exploration  of  this  new  and 
strange  region  of  Nature,  I  ask  you  to  carefully 
read  the  following  words  of  the  presidential  ad- 
dress of  Sir  William  Crookes,  before  the  Royal 
Society,  at  Bristol,  England,  in  1898.  Remem- 
ber, please,  that  this  address  was  made  before  an 
assemblage  of  distinguished  scientists,  many  of 


TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED  55 

them  rank  materialists  and,  quite  skeptical  of  all 
occult  phenomena — this  was  nearly  twenty  years 
ago,  remember.  Sir  William  Crookes,  facing  this 
gathering,  as  its  president,  said : 

"Were  I  now  introducing  for  the  first  time 
these  inquiries  to  the  world  of  science,  I  should 
choose  a  starting  point  different  from  that  of  old 
(where  we  formerly  began).  It  would  be  well 
to  begin  with  Telepathy;  with  that  fundamental 
law,  as  I  believe  it  to  be,  that  thoughts  and 
images  may  be  transferred  from  one  mind  to  an- 
other without  the  agency  of  the  recognized  or- 
gans of  sense — that  knowledge  may  enter  the 
human  mind  without  being  communicated  in  any 
hitherto  known  or  recognized  ways.  *  *  *  If 
telepathy  takes  place,  we  have  two  physical  facts 
— the  physical  change  in  the  brain  of  A,  the  sug- 
gestor,  and  the  analogous  physical  change  in 
the  brain  of  B,  the  recipient  of  the  sugges- 
tion. Between  these  two  physical  events  there 
must  exist  a  train  of  physical  causes.  *  *  *  It 
is  unscientific  to  call  in  the  aid  of  mysterious 
agencies,  when  with  every  fresh  advance  in 
knowledge  it  is  shown  that  either  vibrations  have 
powers  and  attributes  abundantly  able  to  any  de- 
mand— even  the  transmission  of  thought. 

"It  is  supposed  by  some  physiologists  that  the 
essential  cells  of  nerves  do  not  actually  touch, 
but  are  separated  by  a  narrow  gap  which  widens 
in  sleep  while  it  narrows  almost  to  extinction 
during  mental  activity.  This  condition  is  so 
singularly  like  a  Branly  or  Lodge  coherer  (a  de- 
vice which  led  to  the  discovery  of  wireless  teleg- 


56  CLAIRVOYANCE 

raphy)  as  to  suggest  a  further  analogy.  The 
structure  of  brain  and  nerve  being  similar,  it  is 
conceivable  that  there  may  be  present  masses  of 
such  nerve  coherers  in  the  brain,  whose  special 
function  it  may  be  to  receive  impulses  brought 
from  without,  through  the  connecting  sequence 
of  ether  waves  of  appropriate  order  of  magni- 
tude. 

"Roentgen  has  familiarized  us  with  an  order  of 
vibrations  of  extreme  minuteness  as  compared 
with  the  smallest  waves  with  which  we  have 
hitherto  been  acquainted ;  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  we  have  here  reached  the  limit  of 
frequency.  It  is  known  that  the  action  of 
thought  is  accompanied  by  certain  molecular 
movements  in  the  brain,  and  here  we  have  phys- 
ical vibrations  capable  from  their  extreme  min- 
uteness of  acting  direct  upon  individual  mole- 
cules, while  their  rapidity  approaches  that  of  in- 
ternal and  external  movements  of  the  atoms 
themselves.  A  formidable  range  of  phenomena 
must  be  scientifically  sifted  before  we  effectually 
grasp  a  faculty  so  strange,  so  bewildering,  and 
for  ages  so  inscrutable,  as  the  direct  action  of 
mind  upon  mind. 

"In  the  old  Egyptian  days,  a  well  known  in- 
scription was  carved  over  the  portal  of  the 
Temple  of  Isis:  T  am  whatever  has  been,  is,  or 
ever  will  be;  and  my  veil  no  man  hath  yet  lifted/ 
Not  thus  do  modern  seekers  after  truth  confront 
Nature — the  word  that  stands  for  the  baffling 
mysteries  of  the  Universe.  Steadily,  unflinch- 
ingly, we  strive  to  pierce  the  inmost  heart  of 


TELEPATHY  EXPLAINED  57 

Nature,  from  what  she  is  to  reconstruct  what  she 
has  been,  and  to  prophesy  what  she  shall  be.  Veil 
after  veil  we  have  lifted,  and  her  face  grows  more 
beautiful,  august  and  wonderful,  with  every  bar- 
rier that  is  withdrawn." 

You  will  notice  that  this  address  made  nearly 
twenty  years  ago,  and  from  the  standpoint  of 
physical  science  is  in  full  accord  with  the  ideas 
of  occultism  as  old  as  the  hills.  And  yet,  the 
speaker  had  worked  out  the  idea  independently. 
He  also  investigated  higher  forms  of  psychic 
phenomena,  with  results  that  startled  the  world. 
But,  you  will  notice  that  he  does  not  attempt  to 
give  any  other  than  purely  physical  laws  the 
credit  for  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  telepathy. 
And  he  was  thoroughly  right  in  this,  as  we  have 
seen.  He  escaped  the  common  error  of  confus- 
ing physical-sense  phenomena  with  the  phenom- 
ena of  the  astral-senses.  Each  plane  has  its  own 
phenomena — and  each  class  is  surely  wonderful 
enough.  And,  again,  remember  that  both  phys- 
ical and  astral  phenomena  are  purely  natural; 
there  is  no  need  for  seeking  any  supernatural 
agencies  to  account  for  these  natural  facts. 


LESSON  IV. 
SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY. 

The  investigators  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research,  of  England,  started  by  giving  a  broad 
definition  of  Telepathy,  as  follows:  "Telepathy 
is  the  communication  of  impressions  of  any  kind 
from  one  mind  to  another,  independently  of  the 
recognized  channels  of  sense."  They  took  the 
rational  position  that  the  actual  distance  between 
the  projector  and  the  recipient  of  the  telepathic 
message  is  not  material;  and  that  all  that  is  re- 
quired is  such  a  separation  of  the  two  persons 
that  no  known  operation  of  the  senses  can  bridge 
the  space  between  them.  They  wisely  held  that 
telepathy  between  two  persons  in  the  same  room 
is  as  much  telepathy  as  when  the  two  persons  are 
located  at  opposite  sides  of  the  world. 

The  investigators  then  ruled  out  all  instances 
of  thought-transmission  in  which  there  was  even 
the  slightest  muscular  contact  between  the  pro- 
jector and  the  recipient.  They  held  that  though 
there  might  be  genuine  telepathy  in  such  cases, 
nevertheless,  there  was  always  the  possibility  of 
fraud  or  collusion,  or  of  unconscious  muscular 
action  on  the  part  of  the  projector.  They  de- 
manded absolute  and  actual  separation  of  the 
two  persons,  in  order  that  their  experiments 
might  be  above  suspicion.  They  were  wise  in 
this,  for  while  there  is  undoubtedly  a  psychic 
communication  in  the  cases  in  which  there  is 
the  slight  physical  connection  between  the  two 


SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY  59 

persons  (as  I  shall  point  out  to  you  a  little  fur- 
ther on),  still  the  element  of  doubt  or  suspicion 
must  be  entirely  eliminated  from  a  scientific  test, 
in  order  to  render  it  valuable  and  valid. 

They,  therefore,  confined  their  investigations 
in  Telepathy  to  the  two  following  classes,  viz.: 
(1)  where  actions  are  performed  without  phys- 
ical contact  with  the  person  willing;  and  (2) 
where  some  number,  word,  or  card  is  guessed  ap- 
parently without  any  of  the  ordinary  means  of 
communication.  The  investigators  recognized 
the  possibility  that  in  the  first  of  the  above-men- 
tioned two  classes  of  experiments  there  is  a  pos- 
sibility of  suspicion  of  collusion,  fraud,  or  uncon- 
scious suggestion,  in  the  matter  of  the  motion  of 
the  eyes  of  the  party,  or  some  member  of  it, 
which  might  be  seized  upon,  perhaps  uncon- 
sciously, by  the  recipient,  and  used  to  guide  him 
to  the  object  which  was  being  thought  of  by 
the  projector  or  the  party.  They  sought  to  ob- 
viate this  difficulty  by  blindfolding  the  percipient, 
and  by  placing  non-conductors  of  sound  over  his 
ears.  But,  finally,  they  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  even  these  precautions  might  not  prove  suf- 
ficient; and,  accordingly,  they  devoted  their  at- 
tention to  the  second  class  of  experiments,  in 
which  all  ordinary  means  of  communication  be- 
tween projector  and  recipient  were  impossible. 
They  took  the  additional  precautions  of  limiting 
their  circle  to  a  small  number  of  investigators  of 
scientific  reputations,  and  well  known  to  each 
other,  always  avoiding  a  promiscuous  company 
for  obvious  reasons. 


60  CLAIRVOYANCE 

One  of  the  earliest  series  of  investigations  by 
these  special  committees  of  investigators  was 
that  of  the  family  of  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Creery,  in 
Derbyshire,  England.  The  children  of  this  fam- 
ily had  acquired  a  reputation  in  what  was  known 
as  the  "guessing  game,"  in  which  one  of  the  chil- 
dren, previously  placed  outside  of  the  room,  then 
returned  to  the  room  and  attempted  to  "guess" 
the  name  or  location  of  some  object  agreed  upon 
by  the  party  during  her  absence.  The  results 
were  very  interesting,  and  quite  satisfactory,  and 
have  frequently  been  referred  to  in  works  on  the 
subject  written  since  that  time.  I  think  it  well 
to  give  the  results  of  this  series  of  experiments 
in  some  little  detail,  for  they  form  a  basis  for  ex- 
periments on  the  part  of  those  who  read  these 
lessons. 

Prof.  W.  F.  Barrett,  Professor  of  Physics  in 
the  Royal  College  of  Science  for  Ireland,  con- 
ducted the  most  of  the  experiments.  The  report 
to  the  Society  says :  "We  began  by  selecting  the 
simplest  objects  in  the  room;  then  chose  names 
of  towns,  people,  dates,  cards  out  of  a  pack,  lines 
from  different  poems,  etc.,  in  fact,  any  thing  or 
series  of  ideas  that  those  present  could  keep  in 
their  minds  steadily.  The  children  seldom  made 
a  mistake.  I  have  seen  seventeen  cards  chosen 
by  myself  named  right  in  succession  without  any 
mistake.  We  soon  found  that  a  great  deal  de- 
pended on  the  steadiness  with  which  the  ideas 
were  kept  before  the  minds  of  the  thinkers,  and 
upon  the  energy  with  which  they  willed  the  ideas 
to  pass.     I  may  say  that  this  faculty  is  not  by 


SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY  61 

any  means  confined  to  the  members  of  one  fam- 
ily; it  is  much  more  general  than  we  imagine. 
To  verify  this  conclusion,  I  invited  two  of  a 
neighbor's  children  to  join  us  in  our  experiments, 
with  excellent  results." 

The  report  gives  the  methods  of  the  experi- 
ments, as  follows:  "The  inquiry  has  taken  place 
partly  in  Mr.  Creery's  house,  and  partly  in  lodg- 
ings, or  at  a  hotel  occupied  by  some  of  our  num- 
ber. Having  selected  at  random  one  child,  whom 
we  desired  to  leave  the  room  and  wait  at  some 
distance,  we  would  choose  a  pack  of  cards,  or 
write  on  a  piece  of  paper  a  name  of  a  number 
which  occurred  to  us  at  the  moment.  Generally, 
but  not  always,  this  was  shown  to  the  members 
of  the  family  present  in  the  room;  but  no  one 
member  was  always  present,  and  we  were  some- 
times entirely  alone.  We  then  recalled  the  child, 
one  of  us  always  assuring  himself  that,  when  the 
door  was  suddenly  opened,  she  was  at  a  consid- 
erable distance,  though  this  was  usually  a  super- 
fluity of  caution,  as  our  habit  was  to  avoid  all 
utterances  of  what  was  chosen.  On  re-entering, 
she  stood — sometimes  turned  by  us  with  her  face 
toward  the  wall,  oftener  with  her  eyes  directed 
toward  the  ground,  and  usually  close  to  us  and 
remote  from  the  family — for  a  period  of  silence 
varying  from  a  few  seconds  to  a  minute,  till  she 
called  out  to  us  some  number,  card,  or  what- 
ever it  might  be." 

In  the  first  experiments,  in  "guessing"  the 
name  of  objects,  the  child  guessed  correctly  six 
out  of  fourteen.    She  then  guessed  correctly  the 


62  CLAIRVOYANCE 

name  of  small  objects  held  in  the  hands  of  one 
of  the  committee — five  times  out  of  six.  She 
guessed  fictitious  names  chosen  by  the  commit- 
tee— five  out  of  ten,  at  the  first  trial.  The  com- 
mittee then  tested  her  by  writing  down  the  name 
of  some  object  in  the  house,  fixed  at  random,  and 
then,  after  all  had  thought  intently  of  the  thing, 
they  sent  for  the  child  and  bade  her  try  to  find 
the  thing  thought  of,  the  thought-concentration 
of  course  continuing  during  the  search.  The  re- 
sult is  thus  reported :  "In  this  way  I  wrote  down, 
among  other  things,  a  hair-brush — it  was 
brought;  an  orange — it  was  brought;  a  wine- 
glass— it  was  brought;  an  apple — it  was  brought; 
and  so  on,  until  many  objects  had  been  selected 
and  found  by  the  child." 

Passing  over  the  details  of  many  other  ex- 
periments we  find  that  the  following  remark- 
able results  were  obtained  by  the  committee: 
"Altogether,  three  hundred  and  eighty-two 
trials  were  made  in  this  series.  In  the  case 
of  letters  of  the  alphabet,  of  cards,  and  of  num- 
bers of  two  figures,  the  chances  of  success  on 
a  first  trial  would  naturally  be  25  to  1,  52  to  1, 
and  89  to  1,  respectively;  in  the  case  of  sur- 
names they  would  of  course  be  infinitely 
greater.  Cards  were  far  most  frequently  em- 
ployed, and  the  odds  in  their  case  may  be  taken 
as  a  fair  medium  sample,  according  to  which, 
out  of  a  whole  series  of  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  trials,  the  average  number  of  successes  at  the 
first  attempt  by  an  ordinary  guesser  would  be 
seven  and  one-third.    Of  our  trials,  one  hundred 


SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY  63 

and  twenty-seven  were  successes  on  the  first  at- 
tempt, fifty-six  on  the  second,  nineteen  on  the 
third — making  two  hundred  and  two,  out  of  a 
possible  three  hundred  and  eighty-two!"  Think 
of  this,  while  the  law  of  averages  called  for  only 
seven  and  one-third  successes  at  first  trial,  the 
children  obtained  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven, 
which,  given  a  second  and  third  trial,  they  raised 
to  two  hundred  and  two !  You  see,  this  takes  the 
matter  entirely  out  of  the  possibility  of  coin- 
cidence or  mathematical  probability. 

But  this  was  not  all.  Listen  to  the  further  re- 
port of  the  committee  on  this  point:  "The  fol- 
lowing was  the  result  of  one  of  the  series.  The 
thing  selected  was  divulged  to  none  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  five  cards  running  were  named  correctly 
on  a  first  trial.  The  odds  against  this  happening 
once  in  a  series  were  considerably  over  a  mil- 
lion to  one.  There  were  other  similar  batches, 
the  two  longest  runs  being  eight  consecutive 
guesses,  once  with  cards,  and  once  with  names; 
where  the  adverse  odds  in  the  former  case  were 
over  one  hundred  and  forty-two  millions  to 
one;  and  in  the  other,  something  incalculably 
greater."  The  opinion  of  eminent  mathema- 
ticians who  have  examined  the  above  results  is 
that  the  hypothesis  of  mere  coincidence  is  prac- 
tically excluded  in  the  scientific  consideration  of 
the  matter.  The  committee  calls  special  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  in  many  of  the  most  im- 
portant tests  none  of  the  Creery  family  were 
cognizant  of  the  object  selected,  and  that,  there- 
fore, the  hypothesis  of  fraud  or  collusion  is  abso- 


64  CLAIRVOYANCE 

lutely  eliminated.  The  committee  naturally  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  phenomena  was  genu- 
ine and  real  telepathy. 

Prof.  Balfour  Stewart,  LL.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  who 
was  present  at  some  of  these  experiments, 
though  not  a  member  of  the  committee,  ex- 
pressed great  amazement  at  some  of  the  results. 
He  reports:  "The  thought-reader  was  outside 
a  door.  The  object  or  thing  thought  of  was 
written  on  paper  and  silently  handed  to  the  com- 
pany in  the  room.  The  thought  reader  was  then 
called  in,  and  in  the  course  of  a  minute  the  an- 
swer was  given.  Definite  objects  in  the  room, 
for  instance,  were  first  thought  of,  and  in  the  ma- 
jority of  the  cases  the  answers  were  correct. 
Then  numbers  were  thought  of,  and  the  answers 
were  generally  right,  though,  of  course,  there 
were  some  cases  of  error.  The  names  of  towns 
were  thought  of,  and  a  good  many  of  these  were 
right.  Then  fancy  names  were  thought  of.  I 
was  asked  to  think  of  certain  fancy  names,  and 
mark  them  down  and  hand  them  round  to  the 
company.  I  thought  of  and  wrote  on  paper, 
'Blue-beard,'  'Tom  Thumb,'  'Cinderella,'  and  the 
answers  were  all  correct !" 

The  committee  also  conducted  a  number  of  ex- 
periments with  other  recipients,  with  very  satis- 
factory results.  Colors  were  correctly  guessed 
with  a  percentage  of  successes  quite  beyond  the 
average  or  probable  number.  Names  of  towns 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  were  correctly 
"guessed"  by  certain  recipients  with  a  wonder- 
ful degree  of  success.    But,  probably  most  won- 


SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY  65 

derful  of  all,  was  the  correct  reproduction  of 
diagrams  of  geometrical  and  other  figures  and 
shapes.  In  one  case,  the  recipient,  in  a  series  of 
nine  trials,  succeeded  in  drawing  them  all  cor- 
rectly, except  that  he  frequently  reversed  them, 
making  the  upper-side  down,  and  the  right-hand 
side  to  the  left.  The  Society  has  published  these 
reproduced  diagrams  in  its  illustrated  reports, 
and  they  have  convinced  the  most  skeptical  of 
critics.  Some  of  the  diagrams  were  quite  com- 
plicated, unusual,  and  even  grotesque,  and  yet 
they  were  reproduced  with  marvelous  accuracy, 
not  in  a  hesitating  manner,  but  deliberately  and 
continuously,  as  if  the  recipient  were  actually 
copying  a  drawing  in  full  sight.  Similar  results 
have  been  obtained  by  other  investigators  who 
have  followed  the  lead  of  these  original  ones. 

So  you  see,  the  seal  of  scientific  authority  has 
been  placed  upon  the  phenomena  of  telepathy. 
It  is  no  longer  in  the  realm  of  the  supernatural  or 
uncanny.  As  Camille  Flammarion,  the  eminent 
French  scientist,  has  said:  "The  action  of  one 
mind  upon  another  at  a  distance — the  trans- 
mission of  thought,  mental  suggestion,  commu- 
nication at  a  distance — all  these  arc  not  more 
extraordinary  than  the  action  of  the  magnet  on 
iron,  the  influence  of  the  moon  on  the  sea,  the 
transportation  of  the  human  voice  by  electricity, 
the  revolution  of  the  chemical  constituents  of  a 
star  by  the  analysis  of  its  light,  or,  indeed,  all 
the  wonders  of  contemporary  science.  Only 
these  psychic  communications  are  of  a  more 
elevated  kind,  and  may  serve  to  put  us  on  the 


66  CLAIRVOYANCE 

track  of  a  knowledge  of  human  nature.  What  is 
certain  is:  That  telepathy  can  and  ought  to  be 
henceforth  considered  by  Science  as  an  incontest- 
able reality;  that  minds  are  able  to  act  upon  each 
other  without  the  intervention  of  the  senses;  that 
psychic  force  exists,  though  its  nature  is  yet  un- 
known. *  *  *  We  say  that  this  force  is  of  a 
psychic  order,  and  not  physical,  or  physiological, 
or  chemical,  or  mechanical,  because  it  produces 
and  transmits  ideas  and  thoughts,  and  because  it 
manifests  itself  without  the  co-operation  of  our 
senses,  soul  to  soul,  mind  to  mind." 

In  addition  to  investigating  the  above  men- 
tioned classes  of  telepathic  phenomena,  the  Eng- 
lish Society  for  Psychical  Research  investigated 
many  remarkable  cases  of  a  somewhat  higher 
phase  of  telepathy.  They  took  down  the  stories 
told  by  persons  deemed  responsible,  and  then 
carefully  examined,  and  cross-examined  other 
witnesses  to  the  strange  phenomena.  The  record 
of  these  experiments,  and  investigations,  fill  a 
number  of  good  sized  volumes  of  the  Society's 
reports,  which  are  well  worth  reading  by  all  stu- 
dents of  the  subject.  They  may  be  found  in  the 
libraries  of  nearly  any  large  city.  I  shall,  how- 
ever, select  a  number  of  the  most  interesting  of 
the  cases  therein  reported,  to  give  my  students  an 
idea  of  the  character  of  the  phenomena  so  in- 
vestigated and  found  genuine  by  the  committees 
having  this  class  of  telepathy  under  investiga- 
tion. 

An  interesting  case  of  spontaneous  telepathy 
is  that  related  by  Dr.  Ede,  as  follows:    "There 


SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY  67 

is  a  house  about  a  half-mile  from  my  own,  in- 
habited by  some  ladies,  friends  of  our  family. 
They  have  a  large  alarm  bell  outside  their  house. 
One  night  I  awoke  suddenly  and  said  to  my  wife : 
'lam  sure  I  hear  Mrs.  F's  alarm  bell  ringing/ 
After  listening  for  some  time,  we  heard  nothing, 
and  I  went  to  sleep  again.  The  next  day  Mrs. 
F.  called  upon  my  wife  and  said  to  her:  'We 
were  wishing  for  your  husband  last  night,  for 
we  were  alarmed  by  thieves.  We  were  all  up,  and 
I  was  about  to  pull  the  alarm  bell,  hoping  that  he 
would  hear  it,  saying  to  my  daughters,  "I  am  sure 
it  will  soon  bring  Dr.  Ede,"  but  we  did  not  ring 
it.'  My  wife  asked  what  time  this  had  happened, 
and  Mrs.  F.  said  that  it  was  about  half  past  one. 
That  was  the  time  I  awoke  thinking  that  I  heard 
the  bell." 

In  this  case  there  was  manifested  simply  ordi- 
nary physical  plane  telepathy.  Had  the  bell  actu- 
ally been  rung,  and  heard  psychically,  it  would 
have  been  a  case  of  astral  plane  hearing,  known 
as  clairaudience.  As  it  was,  merely  the  thought 
in  the  mind  of  Mrs.  F.,  and  her  strong  idea  to 
ring  the  bell,  caused  a  transmission  of  thought 
waves  which  struck  Dr.  Ede  with  great  force  and 
awakened  him.  This  case  is  interesting  because 
it  is  typical  of  many  cases  of  a  similar  nature 
within  the  experience  of  many  persons.  It  is  seen 
that  a  strong  feeling,  or  excitement,  accompanied 
by  a  strong  desire  or  wish  to  summon  another 
person,  tends  to  give  great  power  and  effect  to 
the  thought  waves  emitted.  They  strike  the 
mind  of  the  recipient  like  the  sudden  ringing  of 


68  CLAIRVOYANCE 

an  alarm  clock  bell. 

Another  interesting  case  is  that  of  two  ladies, 
both  well  known  to  members  of  the  committee, 
and  vouched  for  as  of  strict  veracity.  This  case 
is  unusual  for  the  reason  that  two  different  per- 
sons received  the  thought-waves  at  the  same 
time.  Here  is  an  abridgment  of  the  case :  "Lady 
G.  and  her  sister  had  been  spending  the  evening 
with  their  mother,  who  was  in  her  usual  health 
and  spirits  when  they  left  her.  In  the  middle  of 
the  night  the  sister  awoke  in  her  fright  and  said 
to  her  husband:  "I  must  go  to  my  mother  at 
once;  do  order  the  carriage.  I  am  sure  that  she 
is  taken  ill."  On  the  way  to  her  mother's  house, 
where  two  roads  meet,  she  saw  Lady  G.'s  car- 
riage approaching.  When  they  met  each  asked 
the  other  why  she  was  there.  They  both  related 
the  same  experience  and  impression.  When  they 
reached  their  mother's  house,  they  found  that  she 
was  dying,  and  had  expressed  an  earnest  wish  to 
see  them." 

Another  case  of  a  similar  nature  is  this:  "At 
the  siege  of  Mooltan,  Major  General  R.,  then  ad- 
jutant of  his  regiment,  was  severely  wounded 
and  supposed  himself  to  be  dying.  He  requested 
that  his  ring  be  taken  off  his  finger  and  sent  to 
his  wife.  At  the  same  time  his  wife  was  at 
Ferozepore,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant, 
lying  on  her  bed,  in  a  state  half  way  between 
waking  and  sleeping.  She  saw  her  husband  be- 
ing taken  off  the  field,  and  heard  his  voice  say- 
ing: 'Take  this  ring  off  my  finger,  and  send  it 
to  my  wife.' " 


SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY  69 

This  case  bears  the  marks  of  very  strong  telep- 
athy, but  also  has  a  suspicious  resemblance  to 
clairvoyance  accompanied  by  clairaudience.  Or 
perhaps  it  is  a  combination  of  both  telepathy  and 
clairvoyance.  It  is  impossible  to  determine 
which,  in  absence  of  more  detailed  information. 
The  message  of  persons  dying,  or  believing 
themselves  to  be  approaching  death,  are  fre- 
quently very  strong,  for  certain  reasons  well 
known  to  occultists.  But  there  is  nothing  super- 
natural about  the  phenomena,  and  in  most  cases 
it  is  merely  a  case  of  strong  telepathy. 

The  Society  also  reports  the  following  interest- 
ing case:  "A.  was  awake,  and  strongly  willed 
to  make  himself  known  to  two  friends  who  at 
that  time  (one  o'clock  in  the  morning)  were 
asleep.  When  he  met  them  a  few  days  after- 
ward, they  both  told  him  that  at  one  o'clock  they 
had  awakened  under  the  impression  that  he  was 
in  their  room.  The  experience  was  so  vivid  that 
they  could  not  go  to  sleep  for  some  time,  and 
looked  at  their  watches  to  note  the  time."  Cases 
of  this  kind  are  quite  common,  and  many  experi- 
mentors  have  had  equally  good  results  with  this 
phase  of  thought  transference.  You  will  remem- 
ber that  there  is  no  actual  projection  of  the  astral 
body,  in  most  of  these  cases,  but  merely  a  strong 
impression  caused  by  concentrated  thought. 

Another  interesting  case  is  that  of  the  late 
Bishop  Wilberforce,  and  is  recorded  in  his  bi- 
ography, as  follows:  The  Bishop  was  in  his 
library  at  Cuddleson,  with  three  or  four  of  his 
clergy  with  him  at  the  same  table.    The  Bishop 


70  CLAIRVOYANCE 

suddenly  raised  his  hand  to  his  head,  and  ex- 
claimed: "I  am  certain  that  something  has  hap- 
pened to  one  of  my  sons."  It  afterwards  trans- 
pired that  just  at  that  time  his  eldest  son's  foot 
was  badly  crushed  by  an  accident  on  board  his 
ship,  the  son  being  at  sea.  The  Bishop  himself 
recorded  the  circumstance  in  a  letter  to  Miss 
Noel,  saying:  "It  is  curious  that  at  the  time  of 
his  accident  I  was  so  possessed  with  the  de- 
pressing consciousness  of  some  evil  having  be- 
fallen my  son,  Herbert,  that  at  the  last,  I  wrote 
down  that  I  was  unable  to  shake  off  the  impres- 
sion that  something  had  happened  to  him,  and 
noted  this  down  for  remembrance."  There  is 
nothing  unusual  about  this  case,  for  it  has  been 
duplicated  in  the  experience  of  many  persons.  Its 
chief  importance  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  re- 
corded by  a  man  of  wide  reputation  and  high 
standing,  and  also  that  the  Bishop  had  taken  the 
precaution  to  note  down  the  thing  at  the  time, 
instead  of  merely  recalling  it  after  he  had  heard 
of  the  accident. 

You  will  notice  that  in  many  cases  of  this  kind 
the  phenomenon  closely  approaches  the  aspect 
of  true  clairvoyance,  or  astral  sensing.  In  some 
cases  there  appears  to  be  a  blending  of  both 
telepathy  and  astral  clairvoyance.  In  fact,  there 
is  but  very  little  difference  between  the  highest 
phases  of  ordinary  telepathy,  and  the  more  com- 
mon phases  of  clairvoyance.  Here,  as  in  many 
other  cases  of  Nature's  forces,  there  seems  to  be 
a  gradual  blending,  rather  than  a  sharp  dividing 
line   between   the   two   classes   of   phenomena. 


SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY  71 

Moreover,  the  student  developing  his  telepathic 
powers  will  frequently  find  that  he  is  beginning 
to  unfold  at  least  occasional  flashes  of  clair- 
voyance. 

In  the  case  of  telepathy,  the  recipient  merely 
senses  what  is  in  the  mind  of  the  projector.  In 
some  cases  a  picture  in  the  mind  of  the  projector 
may  be  seen  by  the  recipient,  and  may  thus  be 
mistaken  for  a  case  of  pure  clairvoyance.  But, 
in  investigating  closely,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
real  scene  was  slightly  different  from  the  im- 
pression, in  which  case  it  shows  that  the  impres- 
sion was  simply  telepathic.  Clairvoyant  vision 
shows  the  scene  as  it  really  is,  or  rather  as  the 
physical  eye  of  the  recipient  would  have  seen  it. 
The  astral  sight  really  sees  the  scene,  and  does 
not  merely  receive  the  mental  impression  of  the 
projector.  The  first  is  original  seeing;  the  sec- 
ond, merely  a  reproduction  of  images  already  in 
the  mind  of  the  projector,  and  colored  by  his  per- 
sonality, etc. 

In  the  next  lesson,  I  shall  give  you  a  number 
of  exercises  and  methods  designed  to  develop 
your  telepathic  powers.  You  will  find  the  prac- 
tice of  these  most  interesting  and  entertaining, 
and  at  the  same  time  most  instructive.  You  will 
find  that  as  you  practice  the  exercises  given 
therein,  you  will  become  more  and  more  adept 
and  proficient  in  producing  telepathic  phenom- 
ena. From  the  lower  stages,  you  will  be  able  to 
proceed  to  the  higher.  And,  in  time,  you  will  be 
surprised  to  find  that  almost  unconsciously  you 
have  passed  into  the  stage  in  which  you  will  have 


72  CLAIRVOYANCE 

at  least  occasional  manifestations  of  clairvoy- 
ance, psychometry,  etc. 

In  fact,  there  is  no  better  way  known  to  prac- 
tical occultists  to  develop  in  a  student  the  pow- 
ers of  clairvoyance  than  just  this  method  of  start- 
ing the  student  with  the  exercises  designed  to 
develop  the  telepathic  power.  It  has  been  found 
by  centuries  of  experience  that  the  student  who 
develops  telepathic  power,  in  a  systematic  way, 
will  gradually  unfold  and  evolve  the  clairvoyant 
and  psychometric  power.  It  constitutes  the  first 
rungs  on  the  ladder  of  psychic  development. 

Of  course,  under  the  head  of  clairvoyance,  etc., 
you  will  be  given  methods  and  exercise  designed 
to  develop  clairvoyant  powers — some  of  them 
very  valuable  and  effective  methods,  at  that.  But, 
notwithstanding  this,  I  feel  that  I  should  im- 
press upon  you  the  importance  of  laying  a  firm 
foundation  for  such  instruction,  by  developing 
yourself  first  along  the  lines  of  telepathic  power. 
Such  a  course  will  not  only  keenly  sharpen  your 
powers  of  receptivity  to  such  vibrations  as  you 
may  wish  to  receive;  but  it  will  also  train  your 
mind  in  the  direction  of  translating,  interpreting, 
and  recording  such  impressions  when  received. 

You  must  remember  that  proficiency  in  a  men- 
tal art  is  attained  only  by  means  of  training  the 
attention  to  concentrate  upon  the  task.  It  is  the 
same  way  in  clairvoyance  and  psychometry. 
Telepathy  trains  your  attention  to  concentrate 
upon  the  reception  of  impressions,  and  to  hold 
them  firmly  and  clearly  in  consciousness.  The 
result  is  that  when  you  really  develop  clairvoy- 


SCIENTIFIC  TELEPATHY  73 

ant  receptivity,  your  attention  has  already  been 
trained  to  do  the  necessary  work.  I  need  not 
tell  you  what  an  advantage  this  gives  you  over 
the  clairvoyant  who  has  not  received  this  train- 
ing, for  your  own  good  common  sense  will  as- 
sure you  of  it. 

So,  now  for  our  training  in  telepathy — not  only 
for  itself,  but  also  as  a  means  of  preparing  for 
the  higher  stages. 


LESSON  V. 

MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND. 

The  simpler  forms  of  telepathic  phenomena 
have  received  the  name  "Mind  Reading"  and  by 
some  have  been  regarded  as  something  not  quite 
within  the  class  of  real  telepathy.  This  last  im- 
pression has  been  heightened  by  the  fact  that 
there  has  been  offered  the  public  many  spectac- 
ular exhibitions  of  pseudo  mind-reading,  that  is 
to  say,  imitation  or  counterfeit  mind-reading,  in 
which  the  result  has  been  obtained  by  trickery, 
collusion,  or  clever  artifice.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing this  fact,  genuine  mind-reading  is  actually  a 
phase  of  true  telepathy. 

What  is  generally  known  as  mind-reading 
may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  as  follows:  (1) 
where  there  is  an  actual  physical  contact  between 
the  projector  and  the  receiver;  and  (2)  where 
there  is  no  actual  physical  contact,  but  where 
there  is  a  close  relation  in  space  between  the  two 
parties,  as  in  the  case  of  the  "willing  game."  In 
the  first  class  belong  all  cases  in  which  the  pro- 
jector touches  the  recipient,  or  at  least  is  con- 
nected with  him  by  a  material  object.  In  the 
second  class  belong  those  cases  in  which  the 
recipient  seeks  to  find  an  object  which  is  being 
thought  of  by  either  a  single  projector,  or  by  a 
number  of  persons  in  the  same  room.  You  will 
notice  that  both  of  these  classes  were  omitted 
from  the  experiments  of  the  Society  for  Psy- 
chical  Research,   because  of  the   possibility  of 


MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND     75 

fraud  or  collusion.  But,  nevertheless,  the  stu- 
dent will  do  well  to  acquire  proficiency  in  mani- 
festing this  form  of  telepathy,  not  alone  for  its 
own  sake,  but,  also,  because  it  naturally  leads  to 
higher  development. 

In  the  case  of  the  first  class  of  mind-reading 
namely,  that  in  which  actual  physical  contact 
is  had  between  the  projector  and  the  recipient, 
there  has  been  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  some 
authorities  to  explain  the  whole  matter  by  the 
theory  of  unconscious  muscular  impulse  of  the 
projector;  but  those  who  have  carefully  studied 
this  subject,  and  who  have  themselves  performed 
the  feats  of  this  class  of  mind-reading,  know  that 
there  is  far  more  than  this  to  it.  Those  familiar 
with  the  subject  know  that  there  is  a  decided 
transference  of  thought-waves  from  the  pro- 
jector to  the  recipient,  and  that  the  latter  actu- 
ally "feels"  the  same  as  they  strike  upon  his  men- 
tal receiving  apparatus.  The  whole  difference 
between  this  and  the  higher  forms  of  telepathy  is 
that  in  this  the  thought-currents  generally  run 
along  the  wires  of  the  nervous  system,  instead 
of  leaping  across  the  space  between  the  two  per- 
sons. 

It  is  known  to  all  who  have  conducted  this 
class  of  experiments,  that  at  times  there  will  be 
experienced  a  change  or  shifting  in  the  trans- 
mission of  the  thought-currents.  For  a  time, 
the  thought-waves  will  be  felt  flowing  in  along 
the  nerves  of  the  hands  and  arms,  when,  all  of 
a  sudden  this  will  cease,  and  there  will  be  experi- 
enced the  passage  of  the  current  direct  from  brain 


76  CLAIRVOYANCE 

to  brain.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  this  feel- 
ing in  mere  words,  to  those  who  have  never  ex- 
perienced it.  But  those  to  whom  it  has  once  been 
manifested  will  recognize  at  once  just  what  I 
mean  by  this  statement.  It  is  a  different  sensa- 
tion from  any  other  in  the  experience  of  a  human 
being,  and  must  actually  be  experienced  to  be  un- 
derstood. The  nearest  analogy  I  can  offer  is 
that  feeling  experienced  by  the  person  when  a 
forgotten  name  for  which  he  has  vainly  sought, 
suddenly  flashes  or  leaps  into  his  consciousness 
— it  is  felt  to  come  from  somewhere  outside  of 
the  conscious  field.  Well,  in  the  case  of  the 
thought-current  the  feeling  is  much  the  same, 
only  there  is  a  fuller  sense  of  the  "outsideness" 
of  the  source  of  the  thought. 

In  order  to  make  you  understand  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  two  classes  of  mind-reading 
more  clearly,  I  will  say  that  you  may  think  of 
one  as  akin  to  the  ordinary  telegraphy  over 
wires;  and  of  the  other  as  akin  to  wireless  teleg- 
raphy. It  is  the  same  force  in  both  cases,  the 
difference  being  simply  one  of  the  details  of 
transmission.  Fix  this  idea  firmly  in  your  mind, 
and  you  will  have  no  trouble  in  always  having 
the  right  conception  of  any  kind  of  case  of  mind- 
reading,  or  telepathy.  But,  you  must  remember, 
there  are  cases  in  which  there  is  a  combination 
of  both  methods  of  transmission,  either  simul- 
taneously, or  else  shifting  and  changing  from  one 
to  the  other. 

I  will  here  remind  the  student  that  he  will  learn 
more  by  a  half-dozen  actual  experiments  in  mind- 


MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND     77 

reading,  than  he  will  by  reading  a  dozen  books 
on  the  subject.  It  is  very  good  to  read  the  books 
in  order  to  get  the  correct  theory  well  fixed  in 
mind,  and  also  in  order  to  learn  the  best  methods 
as  taught  by  those  who  have  had  a  wide  experi- 
ence in  the  subject;  but  the  real  "how"  of  the 
matter  is  learned  only  through  actual  experience. 
So,  I  shall  now  give  you  advice  and  instructions 
concerning  actual  experimental  work. 

You,  the  student,  should  begin  by  making 
yourself  a  good  recipient — that  is  a  good  "mind 
reader,"  allowing  others  to  play  the  part  of  pro- 
jector. Later  on,  you  may  play  the  part  of  pro- 
jector, if  you  so  desire,  but  the  real  "fine  work"  is 
done  by  the  recipient,  and,  for  that  reason  that  is 
the  part  you  should  learn  to  play  by  frequent  re- 
hearsals. 

I  advise  you  to  begin  your  experiments  with 
friends  who  are  in  sympathy  with  you,  and  who 
are  interested  in  the  subject.  Avoid  particularly 
all  early  experiments  with  uncongenial  or  un- 
sympathetic persons;  and  avoid  as  you  would  a 
pestilence  all  those  who  are  antagonistic  either 
to  yourself  or  to  the  general  subject  of  telepathy 
and  kindred  subjects.  As  you  must  make  your- 
self especially  "sensitive"  in  order  to  successfully 
conduct  a  mind-reading  test,  you  will  find  your- 
self particularly  susceptible  to  the  mental  atti- 
tude of  those  around  you  at  such  times,  and 
therefore  should  surround  yourself  only  with 
those  who  are  congenial  and  sympathetic. 

You  will  find  that  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  the  several  persons  whom  you  "try  out" 


78  CLAIRVOYANCE 

as  projectors.  Some  will  be  more  "en  rapport" 
with  you  than  are  others  who  may  be  equally 
good  friends.  "En  rapport,"  you  know,  means 
"in  vibrational  harmony."  When  two  persons 
are  en  rapport  with  each  other,  they  are  like  two 
wireless  telegraphic  instruments  perfectly  at- 
tuned to  each  other.  In  such  cases  there  are  ob- 
tained the  very  best  results.  You  will  soon  learn 
to  distinguish  the  degree  of  en  rapport  conditions 
between  yourself  and  different  persons — you 
soon  learn  to  "feel"  this  condition.  In  the  begin- 
ning, it  will  be  well  for  you  to  try  several  per- 
sons, one  after  the  other,  in  your  mind-reading 
experiments,  in  order  to  pick  out  the  best  one, 
and  also  to  learn  the  "feel"  of  the  different  de- 
grees of  en  rapport  condition. 

Even  in  cases  of  persons  in  whom  the  en  rap- 
port conditions  are  good,  it  is  well  to  establish  a 
rhythmic  unison  between  you.  This  is  done  by 
both  you  and  the  person  breathing  in  rhythmic 
unison  a  few  moments.  Begin  by  counting  "one- 
two-three-four,"  like  the  slow  ticking  of  a  large 
clock.  Have  the  other  person  join  with  you  in 
so  counting,  until  your  minds  both  work  in  the 
same  rhythmic  time.  Then  you  should  have 
him  breathe  in  unison  with  you,  making  a  men- 
tal count  with  you  at  the  same  time,  so  that  you 
will  "breathe  together."  Count  (mentally)  "one- 
two-three-four,"  as  you  inhale;  the  "one-two," 
holding  the  breath;  and,  then  "one-two-three- 
four,"  exhaling  or  breathing-out.  Try  this 
several  times,  and  you  will  find  that  you  have 
established  a  rhythmic  unison  between  yourself 


MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND      79 

and  the  other  person.  In  the  progress  of  an  ex- 
periment, if  you  should  find  that  the  conditions 
are  not  as  good  as  might  be  desired,  you  will  do 
well  to  pause  for  a  few  moments  and  re-establish 
the  proper  rhythmic  harmony  by  this  method  of 
harmonious  rhythmic  breathing. 

Begin  by  having  the  projector  select  some 
prominent  object  in  the  room,  a  chair,  or  table 
for  instance.  Then  have  him  take  your  left  hand 
in  his  right  hand.  Raise  your  left  hand,  held  in 
his  right  hand,  to  your  forehead;  then  close  your 
eyes  and  remain  passive  a  few  moments.  Have 
him  concentrate  his  mind  intently  on  the  selected 
object — and  will  that  you  should  move  toward  it. 
Have  him  think  of  nothing  else  except  that  ob- 
ject, and  to  will  you  to  move  toward  it,  with  all 
his  power.  Close  your  eyes,  and  quiet  your  mind, 
opening  your  consciousness  to  every  mental  im- 
pression that  he  may  send  you.  Instruct  him  to 
think  not  merely  "chair,"  for  instance,  but  rather 
"there — go  there."  The  main  thought  in  his 
mind  must  be  that  of  direction.  He  must  will 
that  you  move  toward  that  chair. 

After  a  moment  or  two,  you  will  begin  to  feel 
a  vague,  general  impulse  to  move  your  feet. 
Obey  the  impulse.  Take  a  few  slow  steps  in  any 
direction  that  seems  easy  to  you.  Sometimes 
this  will  take  you  in  an  opposite  direction  from 
that  of  the  chair,  but  it  will  "get  you  going,"  and 
you  will  soon  begin  to  feel  that  the  direction  is 
"all  wrong,"  and  will  begin  to  be  mentally  pulled 
in  the  right  direction.   You  will  have  to  actually 


80  CLAIRVOYANCE 

experience  this  feeling,  before  you  will  fully  un- 
derstand just  what  I  mean. 

After  some  little  practice,  you  will  begin  to 
feel  quite  distinctly  the  mental  direction,  or  will- 
force,  of  the  projector,  which  will  seem  to  tell  you 
to  "come  this  way — now  stop — now  turn  a  little 
to  the  right — now  a  little  to  the  left — now  stop 
where  you  are,  and  put  out  your  right  hand — 
lower  your  hand — move  your  hand  a  little  to  the 
right — that's  it,  now  you  have  got  it  all  right." 
You  will  soon  learn  to  distinguish  between  the 
"no,  that's  wrong"  thought,  and  the  "that's 
right"  one;  and  between  the  "go  on,"  and  the 
"come  on"  one.  By  making  yourself  completely 
passive,  and  receptive  and  obedient  to  the 
thought  and  will-impulses  of  the  projector,  you 
will  soon  act  like  a  ship  under  the  influence  of 
the  rudder  in  the  hand  of  the  projector. 

After  you  have  attained  proficiency  in  receiv- 
ing the  mental  impressions  and  directions,  you 
will  find  yourself  attracted  or  drawn,  like  a  piece 
of  steel  to  the  magnet,  toward  the  object  selected. 
It  will  sometimes  seem  as  if  you  were  being 
moved  to  it  even  against  your  own  will — and  as 
if  someone  else  were  actually  moving  your  feet 
for  you.  Sometimes  the  impulse  will  come  so 
strong  that  you  will  actually  rush  ahead  of  the 
projector,  dragging  him  along  with  you,  instead 
of  having  him  a  little  in  advance,  or  by  your  side. 
It  is  all  a  matter  of  practice. 

You  will  soon  discover  the  great  difference  be- 
tween different  projectors.  Some  of  them  will 
be  in  perfect  en  rapport  condition  with  you,  while 


MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND     81 

others  will  fail  to  get  into  tune  with  you.  Some 
projectors  do  not  seem  to  know  what  is  required 
of  them,  and  usually  forget  to  "will"  you  to  the 
object.  It  helps  sometimes  to  tell  them  that  the 
whole  thing  depends  upon  their  will  power,  and 
that  the  stronger  their  will  is,  the  easier  it  is  for 
you  to  find  the  thing.  This  puts  them  on  their 
mettle,  and  makes  them  use  their  will  more 
vigorously. 

You  will  soon  learn  to  recognize  that  peculiar 
feeling  of  "all  right,"  that  comes  when  you  finally 
stand  in  front  of  the  desired  object.  Then  you 
begin  to  move  your  right  hand  up  and  down  and 
around,  until  you  get  the  right  "feel"  about  that 
also,  when  you  should  place  your  hand  on  the 
place  which  seems  to  attract  you  most.  You  will 
find  that  the  hand  is  just  as  responsive  to  the 
mental  force,  as  are  the  feet.  You  will  soon  learn 
to  distinguish  between  the  mental  signals :  "up," 
"down,"  "to  the  right,"  "to  the  left,"  "stop  now, 
you're  right,"  etc.  I  cannot  tell  you  just  the  dif- 
ference— you  must  learn  to  "feel"  them,  and  you 
will  soon  become  expert  in  this.  It  is  like  learn- 
ing to  skate,  run  an  automobile,  operate  a  type- 
writer or  anything  else — all  a  matter  of  exercise 
and  practice.  But  it  is  astonishing  how  rapidly 
one  may  learn;  and  how,  at  times,  one  seems  to 
progress  by  great  leaps  and  bounds.  Now  I  shall 
give  you  the  different  stages  or  steps,  which  you 
will  do  well  to  follow  in  your  exercises,  progress- 
ing from  the  more  simple  to  the  more  complex 
— but  be  sure  to  thoroughly  master  the  simple 
ones,  before  you  pass  on  to  the  more  complex 


82  CLAIRVOYANCE 

one.  Be  honest  and  strict  with  yourself — make 
yourself  "pass  the  examination"  before  promo- 
tion, in  each  and  every  step. 

1.  Locations.  Begin  by  finding  particular 
locations  in  a  room;  corners,  alcoves,  doors,  etc. 

2.  Large  Objects.  Then  begin  to  find  large 
objects,  such  as  tables,  chairs,  book-cases,  etc. 

3.  Small  Objects.  Then  proceed  to  find  small 
objects,  such  as  books  on  a  table,  sofa-cushions, 
ornaments,  paper-knives,  etc.  Gradually  work 
down  to  very  small  objects,  such  as  scarf-pins, 
articles  of  jewelry,  pocket-knives,  etc. 

4.  Concealed  Objects.  Then  proceed  to  find 
small  objects  that  have  been  concealed  under 
other  objects,  such  as  a  pocket-book  beneath  a 
sofa-cushion,  etc.;  or  a  key  in  a  book;  or  a  key 
under  a  rug,  etc. 

5.  Minute  Objects.  Then  proceed  to  discover 
very  small  objects,  either  concealed  or  else  placed 
in  an  inconspicuous  place,  such  as  a  pin  stuck  in 
the  wall,  etc. ;  or  a  small  bean  under  a  vase,  etc. 

The  public  performers  of  mind  reading  vary 
the  above  by  sensational  combinations,  but  you 
will  readily  see  that  these  are  but  ingenious  ar- 
rangements of  the  above  general  experiments, 
and  that  no  new  principle  is  involved.  As  these 
lessons  are  designed  for  serious  study  and  experi- 
ment, and  not  for  sensational  public  perform- 
ances, I  shall  not  enter  into  this  phase  of  the  sub- 
ject in  these  pages.  The  student  who  understands 
the  general  principles,  and  is  able  to  perform  the 
above  experiments  successfully,  will  have  no  di/- 


MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND     83 

ficulty  in  reproducing  the  genuine  feats  of  the 
public  mind  readers,  by  simply  using  his  in- 
genuity in  arranging  the  stage-effects,  etc. 
Among  other  things,  he  will  find  that  he  will  be 
able  to  obtain  results  by  interposing  a  third  per- 
son between  the  projector  and  himself;  or  by 
using  a  short  piece  of  wire  to  connect  himself  and 
the  projector.  Drawing  pictures  on  a  blackboard, 
or  writing  out  names  on  a  slate,  by  means  of 
thought  direction,  are  simply  the  result  of  a  fine 
development  of  the  power  of  finding  the  small 
article — the  impulse  to  move  the  hand  in  a  cer- 
tain direction  comes  in  precisely  the  same  way. 
The  public  driving  feats  of  the  professional  mind- 
reader  are  but  a  more  complicated  form  of  the 
same  general  principle — the  impression  of  "direc- 
tion" once  obtained,  the  rest  is  a  mere  matter  of 
detail.  The  opening  of  the  combination  of  a  safe, 
though  requiring  wonderful  proficiency  on  the 
part  of  the  operator,  is  simply  an  elaboration  of 
the  "direction"  movement. 

Some  recipients  are,  of  course,  far  more  pro- 
ficient than  are  others;  but  each  and  every  per- 
son— any  person  of  average  intelligence — will  be 
able  to  secure  more  or  less  proficiency  in  these 
experiments,  provided  that  patience  and  prac- 
tice are  employed.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  an 
absolute  failure  possible  to  anyone  who  will  pro- 
ceed intelligently,  and  will  practice  sufficiently. 
Sometimes,  after  many  discouraging  attempts, 
the  whole  thing  will  flash  into  one's  mind  at  once, 
and  after  that  there  will  be  little  or  no  trouble. 
If  you  are  able  to  witness  the  demonstrations  of 


84  CLAIRVOYANCE 

some  good  mind-reader,  professional  or  amateur, 
it  will  help  you  to  "catch  the  knack"  at  once. 

You  will  find  that  these  experiments  will  tend 
to  greatly  and  rapidly  develop  your  psychic  re- 
ceptivity in  the  direction  of  the  higher  phases  of 
psychic  phenomena.  You  will  be  surprised  to 
find  yourself  catching  flashes  or  glimpses  of 
higher  telepathy,  or  even  clairvoyance.  I  would 
advise  every  person  wishing  to  cultivate  the 
higher  psychic  faculties,  to  begin  by  perfecting 
himself  or  herself  in  these  simpler  forms  of  mind- 
reading.  Besides  the  benefits  obtained,  the  prac- 
tice proves  very  interesting,  and  opens  many 
doors  to  pleasant  social  entertainment.  But, 
never  allow  the  desire  for  social  praise  or  popu- 
larity, in  these  matters,  to  spoil  you  for  serious 
investigation  and  experiment. 

The  Second  Step  of  Development.  The  stu- 
dent, having  perfected  himself  in  the  experiments 
along  the  lines  of  the  first  class  of  mind-reading, 
is  now  ready  for  the  second  step,  or  experiments 
along  the  lines  of  the  second  class  of  mind-read- 
ing, viz.,  where  there  is  no  actual  physical  contact 
between  the  projector  and  recipient,  but  where 
there  is  a  close  relation  in  space  between  the  two. 

Now,  the  thoughtful  student  will  naturally 
wish  to  ask  a  question  here,  something  like  this: 
"You  have  told  us  that  there  is  no  real  differ- 
ence between  telepathy  at  a  great  distance,  and 
that  in  which  there  is  only  the  slightest  differ- 
ence in  the  position  of  the  projector  and  recipient, 
providing,  always,  that  there  is  no  actual  phys- 
ical contact.    This  being  so,  why  your  insistence 


MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND     85 

upon  the  'close  relation  in  space'  just  mentioned? 
— what  is  the  reason  for  this  nearness?"  Well, 
it  is  like  this:  While  there  is  no  distinction  of 
space  in  true  telepathy,  still  in  experiments  such 
as  I  shall  now  describe,  the  physical  nearness  of 
the  projector  enables  him  to  concentrate  more 
forcibly,  and  also  gives  confidence  to  the  new 
beginner  in  receiving  mind-currents.  The  bene- 
fit is  solely  that  of  the  psychological  effect  upon 
the  minds  of  the  two  persons,  and  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  actual  power  of  the  telepathic  waves. 
It  is  much  easier  for  a  person  to  concentrate  his 
thought  and  will  upon  a  person  in  actual  physical 
sight  before  him,  than  upon  one  out  of  sight. 
And,  likewise,  the  recipient  finds  himself  more 
confident  and  at  ease  when  in  the  actual  physical 
of  the  person  sending  the  thoughts  and  will 
power.  That  is  all  there  is  to  it.  When  the  per- 
sons have  acquired  familiarity  with  projecting 
and  receiving,  then  this  obstacle  is  overcome,  and 
long  distances  have  no  terror  for  them. 

The  best  way  for  the  student  to  start  in  on  this 
class  of  mind-reading,  is  for  him  to  experiment 
occasionally  while  performing  his  physical  con- 
tact mind-reading  experiments.  For  instance, 
while  engaged  in  searching  for  an  object  let  him 
disengage  his  hand  from  that  of  the  projector  for 
a  moment  or  so,  and  then  endeavor  to  receive  the 
impressions  without  contact.  (This  should  be 
done  only  in  private  experiments,  not  in  public 
ones.)  He  will  soon  discover  that  he  is  receiving 
thought  impulses  in  spite  of  the  lack  of  physical 
contact — faint,  perhaps,  but  still  perceptible.    A 


86  CLAIRVOYANCE 

little  practice  of  this  kind  will  soon  convince  him 
that  he  is  receiving  the  mental  currents  direct 
from  brain  to  brain.  This  effect  will  be  increased 
if  he  arranges  to  have  several  persons  concen- 
trate their  thoughts  and  will  power  upon  him 
during  the  experiment.  From  this  stage,  he  will 
gradually  develop  into  the  stage  of  the  Willing 
Game. 

The  Willing  Game,  quite  popular  in  some  cir- 
cles, is  played  by  one  person  (usually  blind- 
folded) being  brought  into  the  room  in  which  a 
number  of  persons  have  previously  agreed  upon 
some  object  to  be  found  by  him,  they  concentrat- 
ing their  thought  firmly  upon  the  object.  The 
audience  should  be  taught  to  not  only  to  think 
but  also  to  actively  "will"  the  progress  of  the 
recipient  from  the  start  to  the  finish  of  the  hunt. 
They  should  "will"  him  along  each  step  of  his 
journey,  and  then  "will"  his  hand  to  the  object 
itself  wherever  it  be  hidden. 

An  adept  in  the  receiving  end  of  the  Willing 
Game  will  be  able  to  perform  all  the  experiments 
that  I  have  just  pointed  out  to  you  in  the  contact 
mind-reading  class.  In  the  Willing  Game,  you 
must  remember  that  there  is  no  taking  hold  of 
hands  or  any  other  form  of  physical  contact  be- 
tween projector  and  recipient.  The  transmission 
of  the  mental  currents  must  be  direct,  from  brain 
to  brain.  Otherwise,  the  two  classes  of  experi- 
ments are  almost  identical.  There  is  the  same 
"willing"  toward  the  object  on  the  part  of  the 
projectors,  and  the  same  passive  obedience  of  the 
recipient.    All  the  difference  is  that  the  current 


MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND     87 

now  passes  over  the  ether  of  space,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  wireless  message,  instead  of  over  the  wires 
of  the  nervous  system  of  the  two  persons. 

The  next  step  is  that  of  "guessing"  the  name 
of  things  thought  of  by  the  party.  I  can  give  you 
no  better  directions  than  those  followed  by  the 
investigators  in  the  Creery  children,  as  related  in 
a  preceding  chapter  of  this  book.  When  you  be- 
come sufficiently  proficient  in  this  class  of  mind- 
reading,  you  should  be  able  to  reproduce  every 
experiment  there  mentioned,  with  at  least  a  fair 
degree  of  success.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  patience, 
perseverance  and  practice. 

After  you  have  become  very  proficient  in  this 
class  of  experiments,  you  may  begin  to  try  ex- 
periments at  "long  distance,"  that  is  where  the 
projector  is  out  of  your  physical  presence.  It 
makes  no  difference  whether  the  distance  be 
merely  that  between  two  adjoining  rooms,  or 
else  of  miles  of  space.  At  first,  however,  near- 
ness adds  confidence  in  the  majority  of  cases. 
Confidence  once  gained,  the  distance  may  be 
lengthened  indefinitely,  without  impairing  the 
success  of  the  experiments.  The  long  distance 
experiments  may  consist  either  of  the  receiving 
of  single  words,  names,  etc.,  or  else  distinct,  clear 
messages  or  ideas.  Some  find  it  no  more  difficult 
to  reproduce  simile  geometrical  designs,  such  as 
circles,  squares,  triangles,  etc.,  than  to  reproduce 
words  or  ideas. 

In  long  distance  experiments,  it  is  well  for  the 
projector  to  write  down  the  word  or  thought  he 
wishes  to  transmit,  and  for  the  recipient  to  write 


88  CLAIRVOYANCE 

down  the  impressions  he  receives.  These  memo- 
randa will  serve  as  a  record  of  progress,  and  will, 
moreover,  give  a  scientific  value  to  the  experi- 
ments. 

Some  experimentors  have  been  quite  success- 
ful in  experiments  along  the  lines  of  Automatic 
Writing  from  living  persons,  produced  by  means 
of  long  distance  telepathy.  In  these'  cases  the 
recipient  sits  passively  at  the  hour  agreed  upon 
for  the  experiment,  and  the  projector  concen- 
trates intently  upon  a  sentence,  or  several  sen- 
tences, one  word  at  a  time — at  the  same  time 
"willing"  the  other  person  to  write  the  word. 
The  famous  investigator  of  psychic  phenomena, 
the  late  W.  T.  Stead,  editor  of  a  London  news- 
paper, who  went  down  on  the  "Titanic,"  was  very 
successful  in  experiments  of  this  kind.  His  writ- 
ten records  of  these  are  very  interesting  and  in- 
structive. 

You  will,  of  course,  understand  that  in  all  cases 
of  long  distance  telepathic  experiments  there 
should  be  an  understanding  between  the  two  per- 
sons regarding  the  time  and  duration  of  the 
experiment,  so  as  to  obtain  the  best  results.  Per- 
sonally, however,  I  have  known  of  some  very  ex- 
cellent results  in  which  the  receiving  of  the  mes- 
sage occurred  several  hours  after  the  sending 
— thus  showing  that  telepathy  is  in  a  measure  in- 
dependent of  time,  as  well  as  of  space.  But,  as 
a  rule,  the  best  results  are  obtained  when  the  two 
persons  "sit"  simultaneously. 

Do  not  rest  content  with  accepting  the  reports 
of  others  regarding  these  things.    Try  them  for 


MIND  READING,  AND  BEYOND     89 

yourself.  You  will  open  up  a  wonderful  world 
of  new  experiences  for  yourself.  But,  remember 
always,  you  must  proceed  step  by  step,  perfect- 
ing yourself  at  each  step  before  proceeding  to  the 
next. 


LESSON  VI. 
CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY. 

The  word  "clairvoyance"  means  "clear  see- 
ing." In  its  present  usage  it  covers  a  wide  field 
of  psychic  phenomena;  and  is  used  by  different 
writers  to  designate  phases  of  psychic  phenom- 
ena differing  widely  from  each  other.  The  student 
is  apt  to  become  confused  when  he  meets  these 
apparently  conflicting  definitions  and  usages.  In 
the  glossary  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search, the  term  is  defined  as:  "The  faculty  or 
act  of  perceiving,  as  though  visually,  with  some 
coincidental  truth,  some  distant  scene;  it  is  used 
sometimes,  but  hardly  properly,  for  transcen- 
dental vision,  or  the  perception  of  beings  re- 
garded as  on  another  plane  of  existence." 

Mrs.  Henry  Sidgwick,  a  distinguished  writer 
on  the  subject  of  psychic  phenomena,  in  one  of 
her  reports  to  the  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search, says:  "The  word  clairvoyant  is  often 
used  very  loosely  and  with  widely  different 
meanings.  I  denote  by  it  a  faculty  of  acquiring 
supernormally,  but  not  by  reading  the  minds  of 
persons  present,  a  knowledge  of  facts  such  as  we 
normally  acquire  by  the  use  of  our  senses.  I  do 
not  limit  it  to  knowledge  that  would  normally  be 
acquired  by  the  sense  of  sight,  nor  do  I  limit  it 
to  a  knowledge  of  present  facts.  A  similar  knowl- 
edge of  the  past,  and  if  necessary,  of  future  facts 
may  be  included.  On  the  other  hand,  I  exclude 
the  mere  faculty  of  seeing  apparitions  or  visions, 
which  is  sometimes  called  clairvoyance." 


CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY    91 

The  above  definitive  explanation  of  the  term 
clairvoyance  agrees  with  the  idea  of  the  best  au- 
thorities, and  distinguishes  between  the  phenom- 
ena of  clairvoyance  and  that  of  telepathy,  on  the 
one  hand;  and  between  the  former  and  that  of 
seeing  apparitions,  on  the  other  hand.  I,  per- 
sonally, accept  this  distinction  as  both  scientific 
in  form,  and  as  agreeing  with  the  facts  of  the 
case.  You  will,  of  course,  see  that  the  accept- 
ance of  the  existence  of  the  astral  senses  throws 
light  on  many  obscure  points  about  which  the 
psychic  researchers  are  in  doubt,  and  reconciles 
many  apparently  opposing  facts. 

All  scientific  authorities,  as  well  as  the  best  oc- 
cultists, divide  the  phenomena  of  clairvoyance 
into  several  well-distinguished  classes.  The  fol- 
lowing classification  is  simple,  and  indicates 
clearly  the  principal  forms  of  clairvoyant  phe- 
nomena: 

(1)  Simple  Clairvoyance,  in  which  the  clair- 
voyant person  merely  senses  the  auric  emana- 
tions of  other  persons,  such  as  the  auric  vibra- 
tions, colors,  etc. ;  currents  of  thought-vibrations, 
etc.;  but  does  not  see  events  or  scenes  removed 
in  space  or  time  from  the  observer. 

(2)  Clairvoyance  in  Space,  in  which  the  clair- 
voyant person  senses  scenes  and  events  removed 
in  space  from  the  observer;  and,  often  also  is  able 
to  sense  such  things  even  when  they  are  con- 
cealed or  obscured  by  intervening  material  ob- 
jects. 

(3)  Clairvoyance  in  Time,  in  which  the  clair- 
voyant person  senses  scenes  and  events  which 


92  CLAIRVOYANCE 

have  had  their  original  place  in  past  time;  or 
scenes  and  events  which  will  have  their  original 
place  in  the  future. 

I  shall  describe  each  of  these  three  classes,  with 
their  many  variations,  as  we  reach  them  in  their 
proper  places  in  these  lessons.  Before  doing  so 
however,  I  wish  to  explain  to  you  the  several 
methods  by  which  clairvoyant  vision  is  usually 
induced.  These  methods  may  be  designated  as 
follows: 

(1)  Psychometry,  or  the  method  of  getting 
en  rapport  with  the  astral  plane  by  means  of 
some  physical  object  connected  with  the  person, 
thing,  or  scene  about  which  you  desire  to  be  in- 
formed. 

(2)  Crystal  Gazing,  etc.,  or  the  method  of 
getting  en  rapport  with  the  astral  plane  by  means 
of  gazing  into  a  crystal,  magic  mirror,  etc. 

(3)  Clairvoyant  Reverie,  or  the  method  of 
getting  en  rapport  with  the  astral  plane  by  means 
of  psychic  states  in  which  the  sights,  sounds  and 
thoughts  of  the  material  and  physical  plane  are 
shut  out  of  consciousness. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  give  the  details  regard- 
ing each  one  of  these  three  great  classes  of  meth- 
ods inducing  clairvoyant  vision,  or  en  rapport 
conditions  with  the  astral  plane. 

Psychometry.  Psychometry  is  that  form  of 
clairvoyant  phenomena  in  which  the  clairvoyant 
gets  into  en  rapport  relation  with  the  astral  plane 
by  means  of  the  connecting  link  of  material  ob- 
jects, such  as  bit  of  stone,  piece  of  hair,  article 
of  wearing  apparel,  etc.,  which  has  had  previous 


CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY    93 

associations  with  the  thing,  person  or  scene  re- 
garding which  clairvoyant  vision  is  required. 

Without  going  into  technical  occult  explana- 
tions, I  would  say  that  the  virtue  of  these  articles 
consists  entirely  of  their  associative  value.  That 
is  to  say,  they  carry  in  them  certain  vibrations  of 
past  experience  which  serve  as  a  connecting  link, 
or  associated  filament,  with  the  thing  which  is 
sought  to  be  brought  into  the  field  of  clairvoyant 
vision. 

To  reach  clairvoyantly  a  thing,  scene,  or  per- 
son in  this  way  is  akin  to  the  unwinding  of  a 
ball  of  yarn,  when  you  hold  the  loose  end  in  your 
hand.  Or,  it  is  like  giving  a  keen-scented  dog  a 
sniff  at  a  handkerchief  once  carried  by  the  person 
whom  you  wish  him  to  nose  out  for  you. 

A  well-known  authority  on  the  subject  of 
psychic  phenomena  has  said  on  this  point:  "The 
untrained  clairvoyant  usually  cannot  find  any 
particular  astral  picture  when  it  is  wanted,  with- 
out some  special  link  to  put  him  en  rapport  with 
the  subject  required.  Psychometry  is  an  in- 
stance in  point.  It  seems  as  though  there  were  a 
sort  of  magnetic  attachment  or  affinity  between 
any  particle  of  matter  and  the  record  which  con- 
tains its  history — an  affinity  which  enables  it  to 
act  as  a  kind  of  conductor  between  that  record 
and  the  faculties  of  anyone  who  can  read  it.  For 
instance,  I  once  brought  from  Stonehenge  a  tiny 
fragment  of  stone,  not  larger  than  a  pin's  head, 
and  on  putting  this  into  an  envelope  and  handing 
it  to  a  psychometer  who  had  no  idea  what  it  was, 
she  at  once  began  to  describe  that  wonderful  ruin 


94  CLAIRVOYANCE 

and  the  desolate  country  surrounding  it,  and  then 
went  on  to  picture  vividly  what  were  evidently 
scenes  from  its  early  history,  showing  that  the 
infinitessimal  fragment  had  been  sufficient  to  put 
her  into  communication  with  the  records  con- 
nected with  the  spot  from  which  it  came.  The 
scenes  through  which  we  pass  in  the  course  of 
our  life  seem  to  act  in  the  same  way  upon  the 
cells  of  our  brain  as  did  the  history  of  Stone- 
henge  upon  that  particle  of  stone.  They  estab- 
lish a  connection  with  those  cells  by  means  of 
which  our  mind  is  put  en  rapport  with  that  par- 
ticular portion  of  the  records,  and  so  we  'remem- 
ber' what  we  have  seen." 

One  of  the  simplest  and  most  common  form 
of  psychometry  is  that  in  which  the  psychom- 
etrist  is  able  to  tell  the  physical  condition  of  a 
person  by  means  of  holding  to  the  forehead,  or 
even  in  the  hand,  some  trinket  or  small  article 
such  as  a  handkerchief  recently  worn  on  the  per- 
son of  the  individual  regarding  whom  the  in- 
formation is  sought.  In  the  case  of  some  very 
sensitive  psychometrists,  the  psychic  person 
"takes  on"  the  condition  of  the  other  person 
whose  former  article  of  clothing,  trinket,  etc.,  she 
is  holding.  She  will  often  actually  experience  the 
physical  pain  and  distress  of  the  person,  and  will 
be  able  to  indicate  from  what  ailment  the  person 
is  suffering.  Some  persons  attain  great  profi- 
ciency in  this  direction,  and  are  a  great  assistance 
to  wise  physicians  who  avail  themselves  of  their 
services.  Some  successful  physicians  themselves 
possess  this  faculty  well  developed,  and  use  it  to 


CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY    95 

great  advantage,  though,  as  a  rule  they  keep  very 
quiet  about  it,  from  fear  of  creating  unfavorable 
comment  from  their  fellow-physicians  and  from 
the  general  public  who  "do  not  believe  in  such 
tom-foolery." 

A  step  further  is  the  power  of  some  psychom- 
etrists  to  correctly  describe  the  personal  char- 
acteristics, and  even  the  past  history  of  persons 
with  whom  they  come  in  contact,  or  whose  "as- 
sociated article"  they  have  in  their  hands.  Some 
very  remarkable  instances  of  this  phase  of  psy- 
chometry  are  related  in  the  books  containing 
the  history  of  clairvoyance.  An  interesting 
case  is  that  related  by  Zschokke,  the  eminent 
German  writer,  who  relates  in  his  autobiography 
his  wonderful  experience  in  this  direction. 
Listen  to  the  story  in  his  own  words:  "It  has 
happened  to  me  occasionally  at  the  first  meeting 
with  a  total  stranger,  when  I  have  been  listening 
in  silence  to  his  conversation,  that  his  past  life 
up  to  the  present  moment,  with  many  minute  cir- 
cumstances belonging  to  one  or  other  particular 
scene  in  it,  has  come  across  me  like  a  dream,  but 
distinctly,  entirely  involuntarily  and  unsought, 
occupying  in  duration  a  few  minutes.  For  a  long 
time  I  was  disposed  to  consider  these  fleeting 
visions  as  a  trick  of  the  fancy — the  more  so  as 
my  dream-vision  displayed  to  me  the  dress  and 
movements  of  the  actors,  the  appearance  of  the 
room,  the  furniture,  and  other  accidents  of  the 
scene;  till  on  one  occasion,  in  a  gamesome  mood, 
I  narrated  to  my  family  the  secret  history  of  a 
seamstress  who  had  just  quitted  the  room.     I 


96  CLAIRVOYANCE 

had  never  seen  the  person  before.  Nevertheless, 
the  hearers  were  astonished,  and  laughed  and 
would  not  be  persuaded  but  that  I  had  a  previous 
acquaintance  with  the  former  life  of  the  person, 
inasmuch  as  what  I  had  stated  was  perfectly  true. 

"I  was  not  less  astonished  to  find  that  my 
dream  vision  agreed  with  reality.  I  then  gave 
more  attention  to  the  subject,  and  as  often  as 
propriety  allowed  of  it,  I  related  to  those  whose 
lives  had  so  passed  before  me  the  substance  of 
my  dream-vision,  to  obtain  from  them  its  con- 
tradiction or  confirmation.  On  every  occasion 
its  confirmation  followed,  not  without  amaze- 
ment on  the  part  of  those  who  gave  it.  On  a 
certain  fair-day  I  went  into  the  town  of  Walds- 
hut  accompanied  by  two  young  foresters,  who 
are  still  alive.  It  was  evening,  and,  tired  with 
our  walk,  we  went  into  an  inn  called  the  'Vine/ 
We  took  our  supper  with  a  numerous  company  at 
the  public  table,  when  it  happened  that  they 
made  themselves  merry  over  the  peculiarities  of 
the  Swiss  in  connection  with  the  belief  in  mes- 
merism, Lavater's  physiognomical  system,  and 
the  like.  One  of  my  companions,  whose  national 
pride  was  touched  by  their  raillery,  begged  me 
to  make  some  reply,  particularly  in  answer  to  a 
young  man  of  superior  appearance  who  sat  op- 
posite, and  had  indulged  in  unrestrained  ridicule. 

"It  happened  that  the  events  of  this  person's 
life  had  just  previously  passed  before  my  mind. 
I  turned  to  him  with  the  question  whether  he 
would  reply  to  me  with  truth  and  candor,  if  I 
narrated  to  him  the  most  secret  passages  of  his 


CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY    97 

history,  he  being  as  little  known  to  me  as  I  to 
him.  That  would,  I  suggested,  go  something  be- 
yond Lavater's  physiognomical  skill.  He  prom- 
ised that  if  I  told  the  truth  he  would  admit  it 
openly.  Then  I  narrated  the  events  with  which 
my  dream  vision  had  furnished  me,  and  the  table 
learned  the  history  of  the  young  tradesman's  life, 
of  his  school  years,  his  peccadilloes,  and  finally, 
of  a  little  act  of  roguery  committed  by  him  on  the 
strongbox  of  his  employer.  I  described  the  un- 
inhabited room  with  its  white  walls,  where  to 
the  right  of  the  brown  door  there  had  stood  upon 
the  table  the  small  money-chest,  etc.  The  man, 
much  struck,  admitted  the  correctness  of  each 
circumstance — even,  which  I  could  not  expect, 
of  the  last." 

The  above  incident  is  typical  of  this  class  of 
psychometry,  and  many  persons  have  had  at  least 
flashes  of  this  phase  of  the  power.  The  only  re- 
markable thing  about  this  particular  case  is  its 
faithfulness  regarding  details — this  shows  a  very 
fine  development  of  the  astral  sense.  The  feature 
that  makes  it  psychometric,  instead  of  pure  clair- 
voyance, is  that  the  presence  of  the  other  person 
was  necessary  to  produce  the  phenomenon — a  bit 
of  clothing  would  probably  have  answered  as 
well.  Zschokke  does  not  seem  to  have  been  able 
to  manifest  time-clairvoyance  independent  of 
the  presence  of  the  person  concerned — he  needs 
the  associated  link,  or  loose  end  of  the  psychic 
ball  of  yarn. 

Next  in  order  in  the  list  of  the  phenomena  of 
psychometry  is  that  in  which  the  psychometrist 


98  CLAIRVOYANCE 

is  able  to  describe  a  distant  scene  by  means  of 
a  bit  of  mineral,  plant,  or  similar  object,  once 
located  at  that  place.  In  such  cases,  the  psy- 
chometrist  gets  en  rapport  with  the  distant  scene 
by  means  of  the  connecting  link  mentioned. 
Having  obtained  this,  he  is  able  to  relate  the 
events  that  are  happening  on  that  scene  at  that 
particular  moment.  Some  very  interesting  cases 
are  mentioned  in  which  the  psychometrist  has 
been  able  to  "spy"  in  on  a  certain  place,  by  means 
of  some  small  article  which  has  recently  been 
located  in  that  place.  For  instance  I  once  gave 
a  young  psychometrist  a  penholder  from  the 
office  of  a  lawyer,  a  friend  of  mine,  located  about 
eight  hundred  miles  from  the  psychometrist.  She 
gave  a  perfect  picture  of  the  interior  of  the  office, 
the  scene  across  the  street  visible  from  the  office 
window,  and  certain  events  that  were  happening 
in  the  office  at  that  moment,  which  were  verified 
by  careful  inquiry  as  to  persons  and  time.  Every 
occultist,  or  investigator  of  psychic  phenomena 
has  experienced  many  cases  of  this  kind. 

Another  phase  of  psychometry  is  that  in  which 
the  psychometer  is  able  to  sense  the  conditions 
existing  underground,  by  means  of  a  piece  of 
mineral  or  metal  which  originally  was  located 
there.  Some  wonderful  instances  of  phycho- 
metric  discernment  of  mines,  etc.,  have  been  re- 
corded. In  this  phase  of  psychometry,  all  that 
is  needed  is  a  piece  of  the  coal,  mineral  or  metal 
which  has  come  from  the  mine.  Following  up 
this  psychic  "lead"  the  psychometrist  is  able  to 
describe  the  veins  or  strata  of  the  surrounding 


CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY    99 

land,  although  they  have  not  as  yet  been  uncov- 
ered or  discovered. 

Still  another  form  of  psychometric  discern- 
ment is  that  in  which  the  psychometrist  gets  en 
rapport  with  the  past  history  or  an  object,  or  of 
its  surroundings,  by  means  of  the  object  itself. 
In  this  way,  the  psychometrist  holding  in  his 
hand,  or  pressing  to  his  head,  a  bullet  from  a  bat- 
tle field,  is  able  to  picture  the  battle  itself.  Or, 
given  a  piece  of  ancient  pottery  or  stone  imple- 
ment, the  psychometrist  is  able  to  picture  the 
time  and  peoples  connected  with  the  object  in 
the  past — sometimes  after  many  centuries  are 
past.  I  once  handed  a  good  psychometrist  a  bit 
of  ornament  taken  from  an  Egyptian  mummy 
over  three  thousand  years  old.  Though  the  psy- 
chometrist did  not  know  what  the  object  was,  or 
from  whence  it  had  come,  she  was  able  to  pic- 
ture not  only  the  scenes  in  which  the  Egyptian 
had  lived,  but  also  the  scenes  connected  with  the 
manufacture  of  the  ornament,  some  three  hun- 
dred years  before  that  time — for  it  turned  out 
that  the  ornament  itself  was  an  antique  when  the 
Egyptian  had  acquired  it.  In  another  case,  I  had 
the  psychometrist  describe  in  detail  the  animal 
life,  and  the  physical  phenomena,  of  the  age  in 
which  a  fossil  had  existed  when  alive — many 
thousands  of  years  ago.  In  the  proper  place  in 
this  book,  I  will  explain  just  how  it  is  possible  to 
penetrate  the  secrets  of  the  past  by  psychometric 
vision — that  is  to  say,  the  psychic  laws  making 
the  same  possible. 

Some  of  the  most  remarkable  of  recorded  in- 


100  CLAIRVOYANCE 

stances  01  this  form  of  psychometry  known  to  the 
Western  world  are  those  related  in  the  works  of 
a  geologist  named  Denton,  who  some  fifty  years 
ago  conducted  a  series  of  investigations  into  the 
phenomena  of  psychometry.  His  recorded  ex- 
periments fill  several  volumes.  Being  a  geol- 
ogist, he  was  able  to  select  the  best  subjects  for 
the  experiments,  and  also  to  verify  and  decide 
upon  the  accuracy  of  the  reports  given  by  the 
psychometrists.  His  wife,  herself,  was  a  gifted 
psychometrist,  and  it  has  been  said  of  her,  by 
good  authority,  that  "she  is  able,  by  putting  a 
piece  of  matter  (whatever  be  its  nature)  to  her 
head,  to  see,  either  with  her  eyes  closed  or  open, 
all  that  the  piece  of  matter,  figuratively  speak- 
ing, ever  saw,  heard,  or  experienced."  The  fol- 
lowing examples  will  give  a  good  idea  of  the 
Denton  experiments,  which  are  typical  of  this 
class  of  psychometry. 

Dr.  Denton  gave  the  psychometrist  a  small 
fragment  broken  from  a  large  meteorite.  She 
held  it  to  her  head,  and  reported:  "This  is  curi- 
ous. There  is  nothing  at  all  to  be  seen.  I  feel  as 
if  I  were  in  the  air.  No,  not  in  the  air  either, 
but  in  nothing,  no  place.  I  am  utterly  unable  to 
describe  it;  it  seems  high,  however  I  feel  as 
though  I  were  rising,  and  my  eyes  are  carried  up- 
wards; but  I  look  around  in  vain;  there  is  noth- 
ing to  be  seen.  I  see  clouds,  now,  but  nothing 
else.  They  are  so  close  to  me  that  I  seem  to  be 
in  them.  My  head,  and  neck  and  eyes  are 
affected.  My  eyes  are  carried  up,  and  I  cannot 
roll  them  down.    Now  the  clouds  appear  lighter 


CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY  101 

and  lighter,  and  look  as  though  the  sunlight 
would  burst  through  them.  As  the  clouds  sepa- 
rate, I  can  see  a  star  or  two,  and  then  the  moon 
instead  of  the  sun.  The  moon  seems  near,  and 
looks  coarse  and  rough,  and  paler  and  larger  in 
size  than  I  ever  saw  it  before.  What  a  strange 
feeling  comes  over  me!  It  appears  as  if  I  were 
going  right  to  the  moon,  and  it  looks  as  if  the 
moon  were  coming  to  me.  It  affects  me  ter- 
ribly." 

Dr.  Denton  adds:  "She  was  too  much  affected 
to  continue  the  experiment  longer.  Had  this 
aerolite  at  some  period  of  its  history,  come  within 
the  sphere  of  the  moon's  attraction,  and  had  its 
velocity  so  increased  that  its  augmented  centrif- 
ugal force  had  carried  it  off  into  space  again, 
whence,  drawn  by  the  superior  attractive  force 
of  the  earth,  it  had  fallen  and  ended  its  career 
forever?" 

At  another  time,  Dr.  Denton  tested  the  psy- 
chometrist  with  a  whalebone  walking  cane.  She 
supposed  it  to  be  wood,  but  when  she  began  to 
report  her  psychic  impressions,  they  came  as  fol- 
lows :  "I  feel  as  though  I  were  a  monster.  There 
is  nothing  of  a  tree  about  it,  and  it  is  useless  for 
me  to  go  further.  I  feel  like  vomiting.  Now  I 
want  to  plunge  into  the  water.  I  believe  that  I 
am  going  to  have  a  fit.  My  jaws  are  large 
enough  to  take  down  a  house  at  a  gulp.  I  now 
know  what  this  is — it  is  whalebone.  I  see  the 
inside  of  the  whale's  mouth.  It  has  no  teeth. 
It  has  a  slimy  look,  but  I  only  get  a  glimpse 


102  CLAIRVOYANCE 

of  it.  Now,  I  see  the  whole  animal.  What  an 
awful  looking  creature." 

Another  time,  Dr.  Denton  gave  the  psychom- 
etrist  a  minute  piece  of  the  enamel  of  the  tooth  of 
a  mastodon,  which  had  been  found  thirty  feet 
below  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The  psychom- 
etrist  had  not  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the 
character  of  the  tiny  flake  of  enamel  handed  her, 
but  nevertheless  reported:  "My  impression  is 
that  it  is  a  part  of  some  monstrous  animal,  prob- 
ably part  of  a  tooth.  I  feel  like  a  perfect  monster, 
with  heavy  legs,  unwieldy  head,  and  very  large 
body.  I  go  down  to  a  shallow  stream  to  drink. 
I  can  hardly  speak,  my  jaws  are  so  heavy.  I 
feel  like  getting  down  on  all  fours.  What  a  noise 
comes  through  the  woods.  I  have  an  impulse  to 
answer  it.  My  ears  are  very  large  and  leathery, 
and  I  can  almost  fancy  they  flap  in  my  face  as  I 
move  my  head.  There  are  some  older  ones  than 
I.  It  seems  so  out  of  keeping  to  be  talking  with 
these  heavy  jaws.  They  are  dark  brown,  as  if 
they  had  been  completely  tanned.  There  is  one 
old  fellow,  with  large  tusks,  that  looks  very 
tough.  I  see  several  younger  ones.  In  fact,  there 
is  a  whole  herd.  My  upper  lip  moves  curiously; 
I  can  flap  it  up.  It  seems  strange  to  me  how  it  is 
done.  There  is  a  plant  growing  here,  higher  than 
my  head.  It  is  nearly  as  thick  as  my  wrist,  very 
juicy,  sweet,  and  tender — something  like  green 
corn  in  taste,  but  sweeter.  It  is  not  the  taste  it 
would  have  to  a  human  being — oh  no !  it  is  sick- 
enish,  and  very  unpleasant  to  the  human  taste." 

These  instances  might  be  multiplied  indefi- 


CLAIRVOYANT  PSYCHOMETRY  103 

nitely,  but  the  principle  is  the  same  in  each.  In 
my  own  experience,  I  gave  a  small  piece  from 
the  Great  Pyramid  of  Egypt  to  a  psychometrist 
who  was  uneducated  and  who  knew  nothing  of 
ancient  Egypt  or  its  history.  Notwithstanding 
this,  she  gave  me  such  a  detailed  and  complete 
account  of  the  life  of  ancient  Egypt,  which  was 
in  such  complete  accordance  with  the  opinions  of 
the  best  authorities,  that  I  would  hesitate  about 
publishing  the  report,  for  it  certainly  would  be 
regarded  as  rank  imposture  by  the  average  scien- 
tific authority.  Some  day,  however,  I  may  pub- 
lish this. 

There  are  no  special  directions  to  be  given  the 
student  in  psychometry.  All  that  can  be  done  is 
to  suggest  that  each  person  should  try  the  ex- 
periments for  himself,  in  order  to  find  out 
whether  he  has,  or  has  not,  the  psychometric  fac- 
ulty. It  may  be  developed  by  the  methods  that 
will  be  given  to  develop  all  psychic  powers,  in 
another  part  of  this  book.  But  much  will  depend 
upon  actual  practice  and  exercise.  Take  strange 
objects,  and,  sitting  in  a  quiet  room  with  the  ob- 
ject held  to  your  forehead,  shut  out  all  thoughts 
of  the  outside  world,  and  forget  all  personal 
affairs.  In  a  short  time,  if  the  conditions  are  all 
right,  you  will  begin  to  have  flashes  of  scenes 
connected  with  the  history  of  the  object.  At  first 
rather  disconnected  and  more  or  less  confused, 
there  will  soon  come  to  you  a  clearing  away  of 
the  scene,  and  the  pictures  will  become  quite 
plain.  Practice  will  develop  the  power.  Practice 
only  when  alone,  or  when  in  the  presence  of  some 


104  CLAIRVOYANCE 

sympathetic  friend  or  friends.  Always  avoid  dis- 
cordant and  inharmonious  company  when  prac- 
ticing psychic  powers.  The  best  psychometrists 
usually  keep  the  physical  eyes  closed  when  prac- 
ticing their  power. 

You  have  doubtless  heard  the  sensing  of  sealed 
letters  spoken  of  as  clairvoyance.  But  this  is 
merely  one  form  of  psychometry.  The  letter  is 
a  very  good  connecting  medium  in  psychometric 
experiments.  I  advise  you  to  begin  your  experi- 
ments with  old  letters.  You  will  be  surprised  to 
discover  how  readily  you  will  begin  to  receive 
psychic  impressions  from  the  letters,  either  from 
the  person  who  wrote  them,  or  from  the  place 
in  which  they  were  written,  or  from  some  one 
connected  with  the  subsequent  history.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  experiments  I  ever  wit- 
nessed in  psychometry,  was  a  case  in  which  a  let- 
ter that  had  been  forwarded  from  place  to  place, 
until  it  had  gone  completely  around  the  globe, 
was  psychometrized  by  a  young  Hindu  maiden. 
Although  ignorant  of  the  outside  world,  she  was 
able  to  picture  the  people  and  scenery  of  every 
part  of  the  globe  in  which  the  letter  had  traveled. 
Her  report  was  really  an  interesting  "travel- 
ogue" of  a  trip  around  the  world,  given  in 
tabloid  form.  You  may  obtain  some  interesting 
results  in  psychometrizing  old  letters — but  al- 
ways be  conscientious  about  it,  and  refrain  from 
divulging  the  secrets  that  will  become  yours  in 
the  course  of  these  experiments.  Be  honorable 
on  the  astral  plane,  as  well  as  on  the  physical — 
more  so,  rather  than  less. 


LESSON  VII. 
CLAIRVOYANT  CRYSTAL  GAZING. 

As  I  have  informed  you  in  the  preceding  les- 
son, Crystal  Gazing  is  the  second  method  of  get- 
ting en  rapport  with  the  astral  plane.  Under  the 
general  term  "Crystal  Gazing"  I  include  the  en- 
tire body  of  phenomena  connected  with  the  use 
of  the  crystal,  magic  mirror,  etc.,  the  underlying 
principle  being  the  same  in  all  of  such  cases. 

The  crystal,  etc.,  serves  to  focus  the  psychic 
energy  of  the  person,  in  such  a  way  that  the 
astral  senses  are  induced  to  function  more 
readily  than  ordinarily.  The  student  is  cautioned 
against  regarding  the  crystal,  or  magic  mirror, 
as  possessing  any  particular  magic  power  in  it- 
self. On  the  contrary,  the  crystal,  or  magic  mir- 
ror serves  merely  as  a  physical  instrument  for  the 
astral  vision,  just  as  the  telescope  or  microscope 
performs  a  similar  office  for  the  physical  vision. 
Some  persons  are  superstitious  regarding  the 
crystal,  and  accord  to  it  some  weird  super- 
natural power,  but  the  true  occultist,  understand- 
ing the  laws  of  the  phenomena  arising  from  its 
use,  does  not  fall  into  this  error. 

But,  notwithstanding  what  I  have  just  said,  I 
would  be  neglecting  my  full  duty  in  the  matter 
if  I  failed  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  continued  use  of  a  particular  crystal  often 
has  the  effect  of  polarizing  its  molecules  so  as  to 
render  it  a  far  more  efficient  instrument  as 
time  passes  by.    The  longer  the  crystal  is  used 


106  CLAIRVOYANCE 

by  one  person,  the  better  does  it  seem  to  serve 
the  uses  of  that  person.  I  agree  with  many  users 
of  the  crystal  in  their  belief  that  each  person 
should  keep  his  crystal  for  his  own  personal  use, 
and  not  allow  it  to  be  used  indiscriminately  by 
strangers  or  persons  not  in  sympathy  with  occult 
thought.  The  crystal  tends  to  become  polarized 
according  to  the  requirements  of  the  person 
habitually  using  it,  and  it  is  foolish  to  allow  this 
to  be  interfered  with. 

The  use  of  crystals  and  other  bright,  shining 
objects,  has  been  common  to  psychic  investi- 
gators of  all  times,  and  in  practically  all  lands.  In 
the  earlier  days  of  the  race,  pieces  of  clear  quartz 
or  shining  pebbles  were  generally  employed. 
Sometimes  pieces  of  polished  metal  were  so  used. 
In  fact,  nearly  every  object  capable  of  being  pol- 
ished has  been  employed  in  this  way  at  some 
time,  by  some  person.  In  our  own  day,  the  same 
condition  exists.  In  Australia  the  native  sooth- 
sayers and  magicians  employ  water  and  other 
shining  objects,  and,  in  some  cases,  even  bright 
flame,  sparks,  or  glowing  embers.  In  New 
Zealand,  the  natives  frequently  employ  drops  of 
blood  held  in  the  hollow  of  the  hand.  The  Fijians 
fill  a  hole  with  water,  and  gaze  into  it.  South 
American  tribes  use  the  polished  surface  of  black, 
or  dark  colored  stones.  The  American  Indians 
use  water,  or  shining  pieces  or  flint  or  quartz. 
Shining  pieces  of  metal  are  frequently  used  by 
the  primitive  races.  Lang,  writing  on  the  sub- 
ject, has  said:  "They  stare  into  a  crystal  ball; 
a  cup;  a  mirror;  a  blot  of  ink  (Egypt  and  India) ; 


CRYSTAL  GAZING  107 

a  drop  of  blood  (the  Maoris  of  New  Zealand); 
a  bowl  of  water  (American  Indians) ;  a  pond 
(Roman  and  African) ;  water  in  a  glass  bowl 
(Fez) ;  or  almost  any  polished  surface,  etc." 

In  the  present-day  revival  of  interest  in  crystal- 
gazing  among  the  wealthier  classes  of  Europe 
and  America,  some  of  the  high-priced  teachers 
have  insisted  upon  their  pupils  purchasing  pure 
crystal  globes,  claiming  that  these  alone  are 
capable  of  serving  the  purpose  fully.  But,  as 
such  crystals  are  very  expensive,  this  advice  has 
prevented  many  from  experimenting.  But,  the 
advice  is  erroneous,  for  any  globe  of  clear  quartz, 
or  even  moulded  glass,  will  serve  the  purpose 
equally  well,  and  there  is  no  need  of  spending 
twenty-five  to  fifty  dollars  for  a  pure  crystal 
globe. 

For  that  matter,  you  may  obtain  very  good  re- 
sults from  the  use  of  a  watch-crystal  laid  over  a 
piece  of  black  velvet.  Some,  today,  use  with  the 
best  effect  small  polished  pieces  of  silver  or  other 
bright  metal.  Others  follow  the  old  plan  of  using 
a  large  drop  of  ink,  poured  into  a  small  butter 
plate.  Some  have  small  cups  painted  black  on 
the  inside,  into  which  they  pour  water — and  ob- 
tain excellent  results  therefrom. 

Above  all,  I  caution  the  student  to  pay  no  at- 
tention to  instructions  regarding  the  necessity  of 
performing  incantations  or  ceremonies  over  the 
crystal  or  other  object  employed  in  crystal-gaz- 
ing. This  is  but  a  bit  of  idle  superstition,  and 
serves  no  useful  purpose  except,  possibly,  that  of 
giving  the  person  confidence  in  the  thing.     All 


108  CLAIRVOYANCE 

ceremonies  of  this  kind  have  for  their  purpose 
merely  the  holding  of  the  attention  of  the  per- 
son investigating,  and  giving  him  confidence  in 
the  result — the  latter  having  a  decided  psycho- 
logical value,  of  course. 

There  are  but  few  general  directions  necessary 
for  the  person  wishing  to  experiment  in  crystal 
gazing.  The  principal  thing  is  to  maintain  quiet, 
and  an  earnest,  serious  state  of  mind — do  not 
make  a  merry  game  of  it,  if  you  wish  to  obtain 
results.  Again,  always  have  the  light  behind 
your  back,  instead  of  facing  you.  Gaze  calmly 
at  the  crystal,  but  do  not  strain  your  eyes.  Do 
not  try  to  avoid  winking  your  eyes — there  is  a 
difference  between  "gazing"  and  "staring,"  re- 
member. Some  good  authorities  advise  making 
funnels  of  the  hands,  and  using  them  as  you 
would  a  pair  of  opera  glasses. 

In  many  cases,  a  number  of  trials  are  required 
before  you  will  be  able  to  get  good  results.  In 
others,  at  least  some  results  are  obtained  at  the 
first  trial.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  try  to  bring  into 
vision  something  that  you  have  already  seen  with 
the  physical  eyes — some  familiar  object.  The 
first  sign  of  actual  psychic  seeing  in  the  crystal 
usually  appears  as  a  cloudy  appearance,  or 
"milky-mist,"  the  crystal  gradually  losing  its 
transparency.  In  this  milky  cloud  then  gradu- 
ally appears  a  form,  or  face,  or  scene  of  some 
kind,  more  or  less  plainly  defined.  If  you  have 
ever  developed  a  photographic  film  or  plate,  you 
will  know  how  the  picture  gradually  comes  into 
view. 


CRYSTAL  GAZING  109 

W.  T.  Stead,  the  eminent  English  investigator 
of  psychic  phenomena,  has  written  as  follows  re- 
garding the  phenomena  of  crystal-gazing: 
"There  are  some  persons  who  cannot  look  into 
an  ordinary  globular  bottle  without  seeing  pic- 
tures form  themselves  without  any  effort  or  will 
on  their  part,  in  the  crystal  globe.  Crystal-gaz- 
ing seems  to  be  the  least  dangerous  and  most 
simple  of  all  forms  of  experimenting.  You  sim- 
ply look  into  a  crystal  globe  the  size  of  a  five- 
shilling  piece,  or  a  water-bottle  which  is  full  of 
clear  water,  and  which  is  placed  so  that  too  much 
light  does  not  fall  upon  it,  and  then  simply  look 
at  it.  You  make  no  incantations,  and  engage  in 
no  mumbo-jumbo  business;  you  simply  look  at 
it  for  two  or  three  minutes,  taking  care  not  to  tire 
yourself,  winking  as  much  as  you  please,  but  fix- 
ing your  thought  upon  whatever  you  wish  to  see. 
Then,  if  you  have  the  faculty,  the  glass  will  cloud 
over  with  a  milky  mist,  and  in  the  centre  the 
image  is  gradually  precipitated  in  just  the  same 
way  as  a  photograph  forms  on  the  sensitive 
plate." 

The  same  authority  relates  the  following  inter- 
esting experiment  with  the  crystal:  "Miss  X., 
upon  looking  into  the  crystal  on  two  occasions 
as  a  test,  to  see  if  she  could  see  me  when  she 
was  several  miles  off,  saw  not  me,  but  a  differ- 
ent friend  of  mine  on  each  occasion.  She  had 
never  seen  either  of  my  friends  before,  but  im- 
mediately identified  them  both  on  seeing  them 
afterward  at  my  office.  On  one  of  the  evenings 
on  which  we  experimented  in  the  vain  attempts 


110  CLAIRVOYANCE 

to  photograph  a  'double,'  I  dined  with  Madam  C. 
and  her  friend  at  a  neighboring  restaurant.  As 
she  glanced  at  the  water-bottle,  Madam  C.  saw 
a  picture  beginning  to  form,  and,  looking  at  it 
from  curiosity,  described  with  considerable  detail 
an  elderly  gentleman  whom  she  had  never  seen 
before,  and  whom  I  did  not  in  the  least  recognize 
from  her  description  at  the  moment.  Three 
hours  afterward,  when  the  seance  was  over, 
Madam  C,  entered  the  room  and  recognized  Mr. 
Elliott,  of  Messrs.  Elliott  &  Fry,  as  the  gentle- 
man whom  she  had  seen  and  described  in  the 
water-bottle  at  the  restaurant.  On  another  oc- 
casion the  picture  was  less  agreeable;  it  was  an 
old  man  lying  dead  in  bed  with  some  one  weeping 
at  his  feet;  but  who  it  was,  or  what  it  related 
to,  no  one  knew." 

Andrew  Lang,  another  prominent  investigator 
of  psychic  phenomena,  gives  the  following  inter- 
esting experiment  in  crystal-gazing:  "I  had 
given  a  glass  ball  to  a  young  lady,  Miss  Baillie, 
who  had  scarcely  any  success  with  it.  She  lent 
it  to  Miss  Leslie,  who  saw  a  large,  square,  old- 
fashioned  red  sofa  covered  with  muslin  (which 
she  afterward  found  in  the  next  country-house 
she  visited).  Miss  Baillie's  brother,  a  young 
athlete,  laughed  at  these  experiments,  took  the 
ball  into  his  study,  and  came  back  looking  'gey 
gash.'  He  admitted  that  he  had  seen  a  vision — 
somebody  he  knew,  under  a  lamp.  He  said  that 
he  would  discover  during  the  week  whether  or 
not  he  had  seen  right.  This  was  at  5:30  on  a 
Sunday  afternoon.    On  Tuesday,  Mr.  Baillie  was 


CRYSTAL  GAZING  111 

at  a  dance  in  a  town  forty  miles  from  his  home, 
and  met  a  Miss  Preston.  'On  Sunday/  he  said, 
'about  half-past-five,  you  were  sitting  under  a 
standard  lamp,  in  a  dress  I  never  saw  you  wear, 
a  blue  blouse  with  lace  over  the  shoulders,  pour- 
ing out  tea  for  a  man  in  blue  serge,  whose  back 
was  toward  me,  so  that  I  only  saw  the  tip  of  his 
mustache.'  'Why,  the  blinds  must  have  been  up,' 
said  Miss  Preston.  'I  was  at  Dulby,'  said  Mr. 
Baillie,  and  he  undeniably  was." 

Miss  X.,  the  well-known  contributor  to  the 
English  magazine,  "Borderland,"  several  years 
ago,  made  a  somewhat  extended  inquiry  into  the 
phenomena  of  crystal-gazing.  From  her  experi- 
ments, she  made  the  following  classification  of 
the  phenomena  of  crystal-vision,  which  I  here- 
with reproduce  for  your  benefit.  Her  classifica- 
tion is  as  follows: 

"1.  Images  of  something  unconsciously  ob- 
served. New  reproductions,  voluntary  or  spon- 
taneous, and  bringing  no  fresh  knowledge  to  the 
mind. 

"2.  Images  of  ideas  unconsciously  acquired 
from  others.  Some  memory  or  imaginative  ef- 
fect, which  does  not  come  from  the  gazer's  ordi- 
nary self.  Revivals  of  memory.  Illustrations  of 
thought. 

"3.  Images,  clairvoyant  or  prophetic.  Pic- 
tures giving  information  as  to  something  past, 
present,  or  future,  which  the  gazer  has  no  other 
chance  of  knowing." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  each  and  every  form  or 
phase  of  clairvoyance  possible  under  other  meth- 


112  CLAIRVOYANCE 

ods  of  inducing  clairvoyant  vision,  is  possible  in 
crystal-gazing.  It  is  a  mistake  to  consider 
crystal-gazing  as  a  separate  and  distinct  form  of 
psychic  phenomena.  Crystal-gazing  is  merely 
one  particular  form  or  method  of  inducing 
psychic  or  clairvoyant  vision.  If  you  will  keep 
this  in  mind,  you  will  avoid  many  common  er- 
rors and  misunderstandings  in  the  matter. 

In  order  to  give  you  the  benefit  of  as  many 
points  of  view  as  possible,  I  shall  now  quote  from 
an  old  English  writer  on  the  subject  of  the  use 
of  the  crystal.  I  do  this  realizing  that  sometimes 
a  particular  student  will  get  more  from  one  point 
of  view,  than  from  another — some  particular 
phrasing  will  seem  to  reach  his  understanding, 
where  others  fail.  The  directions  of  the  English 
authority  are  as  follows: 

"What  is  desired  through  the  regular  use  of 
the  translucent  sphere  is  to  cultivate  a  personal 
degree  of  clairvoyant  power,  so  that  visions  of 
things  or  events,  past,  present,  and  future,  may 
appear  clearly  to  the  interior  vision,  or  eye  of 
the  soul.  In  the  pursuit  of  this  effort  only,  the 
crystal  becomes  at  once  both  a  beautiful,  inter- 
esting and  harmless  channel  of  pleasure  and  in- 
struction, shorn  of  dangers,  and  rendered  con- 
ducive to  mental  development. 

"To  the  attainment  of  this  desirable  end,  at- 
tention is  asked  to  the  following  practical  direc- 
tions, which,  if  carefully  followed,  will  lead  to 
success : 

"(1)  Select  a  quiet  room  where  you  will  be 
entirely  undisturbed,  taking  care  that  it  is  as  far 


CRYSTAL  GAZING  113 

as  possible  free  from  mirrors,  ornaments,  pic- 
tures, glaring  colors,  and  the  like,  which  may 
otherwise  district  the  attention.  The  room 
should  be  of  comfortable  temperature,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  time  of  year,  neither  hot  nor 
cold.  About  60  to  65  deg.  Fahr.  is  suitable  in 
most  cases,  though  allowance  can  be  made  where 
necessary  for  natural  differences  in  the  tempera- 
ments of  various  persons.  Thus  thin,  nervous, 
delicately-organized  individuals,  and  those  of 
lymphatic  and  soft,  easy-going,  passive  types,  re- 
quire a  slightly  warmer  apartment  than  the  more 
positive  class  who  are  known  by  their  dark  eyes, 
hair  and  complexion,  combined  with  prominent 
joints.  Should  a  fire,  or  any  form  of  artificial 
light  be  necessary,  it  should  be  well  screened  off, 
so  as  to  prevent  the  light  rays  from  being  re- 
flected in,  or  in  any  manner  directly  reaching  the 
crystal.  The  room  should  not  be  dark,  but 
rather  shadowed,  or  charged  with  a  dull  light, 
somewhat  such  as  prevails  on  a  cloudy  or  wet 
day. 

"(2)  The  crystal  should  be  placed  on  its 
stand  on  a  table,  or  it  may  rest  on  a  black  vel- 
vet cushion,  but  in  either  case  it  should  be  par- 
tially surrounded  by  a  black  silk  or  similar  wrap 
or  screen,  so  adjusted  as  to  cut  off  any  undesir- 
able reflection.  Before  beginning  to  experiment, 
remember  that  most  frequently  nothing  will  be 
seen  on  the  first  occasion,  and  possibly  not  for 
several  sittings;  though  some  sitters,  if  strongly 
gifted  with  psychic  powers  in  a  state  of  uncon- 
scious, and  sometimes  conscious  degree  of  un- 


114  CLAIRVOYANCE 

foldment,  may  be  fortunate  enough  to  obtain 
good  results  at  the  very  first  trial.  If,  therefore, 
nothing  is  perceived  during  the  first  few  at- 
tempts, do  not  despair  or  become  impatient,  or 
imagine  that  you  will  never  see  anything.  There 
is  a  royal  road  to  crystal  vision,  but  it  is  open 
only  to  the  combined  password  of  Calmness,  Pa- 
tience, and  Perseverance.  If  at  the  first  at- 
tempt to  ride  a  bicycle,  failure  ensues,  the  only 
way  to  learn  is  to  pay  attention  to  the  necessary 
rules,  and  to  persevere  daily  until  the  ability  to 
ride  comes  naturally.  Thus  it  is  with  the  would- 
be  seer.  Persevere  in  accordance  with  these  sim- 
ple directions,  and  success  will  sooner  or  later 
crown  your  efforts. 

"(3)  Commence  by  sitting  comfortably  with 
the  eyes  fixed  upon  the  crystal,  not  by  a  fierce 
stare,  but  with  a  steady,  calm  gaze,  for  ten  min- 
utes only,  on  the  first  occasion.  In  taking  the 
time  it  is  best  to  hang  your  watch  at  a  distance, 
where,  while  the  face  is  clearly  visible,  the  tick- 
ing is  rendered  inaudible.  When  the  time  is  up, 
carefully  put  the  crystal  away  in  its  case,  and 
keep  it  in  a  dark  place,  under  lock  and  key,  allow- 
ing no  one  but  yourself  to  handle  it.  At  the  sec- 
ond sitting,  which  should  be  at  the  same  place, 
in  the  same  position,  and  at  the  same  time,  you 
may  increase  the  length  of  the  effort  to  fifteen 
minutes,  and  continue  for  this  period  during  the 
next  five  or  six  sittings,  after  which  the  time  may 
be  gradually  increased,  but  should  in  no  case  ex- 
ceed one  hour.  The  precise  order  of  repetition  is 
always  to  be  followed  until  the  experimenter  has 


CRYSTAL  GAZING  115 

cuveloped  an  almost  automatic  ability  to  readily 
obtain  results,  when  it  needs  no  longer  to  be  ad- 
hered to. 

"(4)  Any  person,  or  persons,  admitted  to  the 
room,  and  allowed  to  remain  while  you  sit, 
should  (a)  keep  absolute  silence,  and  (b)  remain 
seated  at  a  distance  from  you.  When  you  have 
developed  your  latent  powers,  questions  may,  of 
course,  be  put  to  you  by  one  of  those  present,  but 
even  then  in  a  very  gentle,  or  low  and  slow  tone 
of  voice;  never  suddenly,  or  in  a  forceful  manner. 

"(5)  When  you  find  the  crystal  begins  to 
look  dull  or  cloudy,  with  small  pin-points  of  light 
glittering  therein,  like  tiny  stars,  you  may  know 
that  you  are  commencing  to  obtain  that  for 
which  you  seek — viz.,  crystalline  vision.  There- 
fore, persevere  with  confidence.  This  condition 
may,  or  may  not,  continue  for  several  sittings, 
the  crystal  seeming  at  times  to  alternately  appear 
and  disappear,  as  in  a  mist.  By  and  by  this  hazy 
appearance,  in  its  turn,  will  give  place  quite  sud- 
denly to  a  blindness  of  the  senses  to  all  else  but 
a  blue  or  bluish  ocean  of  space,  against  which,  as 
if  it  were  a  background,  the  vision  will  be  clearly 
apparent. 

"(6)  The  crystal  should  not  be  used  soon 
after  taking  a  meal,  and  care  should  be  taken  in 
matters  of  diet  to  partake  only  of  digestible 
foods,  and  to  avoid  alcoholic  beverages.  Plain  and 
nourishing  food,  and  outdoor  exercise,  with  con- 
tentment of  mind,  or  love  of  simplicity  in  living, 
are  great  aids  to  success.  Mental  anxiety,  or 
ill-health,  are  not  conducive  to  the  desired  end. 


116  CLAIRVOYANCE 

Attention  to  correct  breathing  is  of  importance. 

"(7)  As  regards  the  time  at  which  events 
seen  will  come  to  pass,  each  seer  is  usually  im- 
pressed with  regard  thereto;  but,  as  a  general 
rule,  visions  appearing  in  the  extreme  back- 
ground indicate  time  more  remote,  either  past  or 
future,  than  those  perceived  nearer  at  hand,  while 
those  appearing  in  the  foreground,  or  closer  to 
the  seer,  denote  the  present  or  immediate  future. 

"(8)  Two  principal  classes  of  vision  will  pre- 
sent themselves  to  the  sitter — (a)  the  Symbolic, 
indicated  by  the  appearance  of  symbols  such  as 
a  flag,  boat,  knife,  gold,  etc.,  and  (b)  Actual 
Scenes  and  Personages,  in  action  or  otherwise. 
Persons  of  a  positive  type  of  organization,  the 
more  active,  excitable,  yet  decided  type,  are  most 
likely  to  perceive  symbolically,  or  allegorically; 
while  those  of  a  passive  nature  usually  receive 
direct  or  literal  revelations.  Both  classes  will 
find  it  necessary  to  carefully  cultivate  truthful- 
ness, unselfishness,  gratitude  for  what  is  shown, 
and  absolute  confidence  in  the  love,  wisdom,  and 
guidance  of  God  Himself." 

As  the  student  proceeds  with  the  study  of  these 
lessons,  he  will  become  acquainted  with  various 
details  and  methods  concerned  with  the  various 
phases  of  clairvoyance,  which  knowledge  he  may 
then  combine  with  the  above,  the  whole  aiding 
him  in  the  successful  manifestation  of  the  psychic 
phenomena  of  crystal-gazing,  which,  as  I  have 
said,  is  merely  one  phase  of  clairvoyance  and  un- 
der the  same  general  laws  and  rules  of  manifesta- 
tion.    Remember  that  present,  past  and  future 


CRYSTAL  GAZING  117 

clairvoyance  all  is  possible  to  the  highly  devel- 
oped crystal  gazer. 

The  Astral  Tube.  Closely  allied  with  the  phe- 
nomena of  crystal-gazing,  and  that  of  psychom- 
etry,  is  that  which  occultists  know  as  "the  astral 
tube,"  although  this  psychic  channel  may  be  de- 
veloped in  ordinary  clairvoyance  by  means  of 
the  power  of  concentrated  attention,  etc.  I  shall 
not  enter  into  a  detailed  or  technical  discussion 
of  the  astral  tube,  at  this  place,  but  I  wish  to 
give  you  a  general  and  comprehensive  view  of  it 
and  its  workings. 

In  case  of  the  strong  concentration  of  the 
mind,  in  cases  of  psychometry  or  crystal-gazing, 
a  channel  or  "line  of  force"  is  set  up  in  the  astral 
substance  which  composes  the  basis  of  the  astral 
plane.  This  is  like  the  wake  of  a  ship  made  on 
the  surface  of  the  water  through  which  the  ship 
has  passed.  Or  it  is  like  a  current  of  magnetic 
force  in  the  ether.  It  is  caused  by  a  polarization 
of  the  particles  composing  the  astral  substance, 
which  manifest  in  a  current  of  intense  vibrations 
in  the  astral  substance,  which  thus  serve  as  a 
ready  channel  for  the  transmission  of  psychic 
force  or  astral  energy. 

The  astral  tube  serves  as  a  ready  conductor  of 
the  vibrations,  currents  and  waves  of  energy  on 
the  astral  plane  which  carry  to  the  astral  senses 
of  the  person  the  perception  of  the  things,  ob- 
jects and  scenes  far  removed  from  him  in  space 
and  time.  How  these  things  far  removed  in 
space  and  time  are  perceived  by  the  astral  seer 
is  explained  in  subsequent  lessons  of  this  course. 


118  CLAIRVOYANCE 

At  this  place  we  are  concerned  merely  with  the 
"channel"  through  which  the  currents  of  energy 
flow,  and  which  has  been  called  the  astral  tube. 

As  a  writer  well  says:  "Through  the  astral 
tube  the  astral  senses  actually  'sense'  the  sights, 
and  often  the  sounds,  being  manifested  at  a  dis- 
tance, just  as  one  may  see  distant  sights  through 
a  telescope,  or  hear  distant  sounds  through  a 
telephone.  The  astral  tube  is  used  in  a  variety 
of  forms  of  psychic  phenomena.  It  is  often  used 
unconsciously,  and  springs  into  existence  spon- 
taneously, under  the  strong  influence  of  a  vivid 
emotion,  desire  or  will.  It  is  used  by  the  trained 
psychometrist,  without  the  use  of  any  'starting 
point,'  of  'focal  centre,'  simply  by  the  use  of  his 
trained,  developed  and  concentrated  will.  But  its 
most  familiar  and  common  use  is  in  connection 
with  some  object  serving  as  a  starting  point  or 
focal  centre.  The  starting  point  or  focal  centre, 
above  mentioned,  is  generally  either  what  is 
known  as  the  'associated  object'  in  the  class  of 
phenomena  generally  known  as  psychometry,  or 
else  a  glass  or  crystal  ball,  or  similar  polished 
surface,  in  what  is  known  as  crystal-gazing." 

Another  authority  tells  his  readers  that: 
"Astral  sight,  when  it  is  cramped  by  being  di- 
rected along  what  is  practically  a  tube,  is  limited 
very  much  as  physical  sight  would  be  under  sim- 
ilar circumstances,  though  if  possessed  in  per- 
fection it  will  continue  to  show,  even  at  that  dis- 
tance, the  auras,  and  therefore  all  the  emotions 
and  most  of  the  thoughts  of  the  people  under  ob- 
servation. *  *  *  But,  it  may  be  said,  the  mere 


CRYSTAL  GAZING  119 

fact  that  he  is  using  astral  sight  ought  to  enable 
him  to  see  things  from  all  sides  at  once.  And 
so  it  would,  if  he  were  using  that  sight  in  a  nor- 
mal way  upon  an  object  which  was  fairly  near 
him — within  his  astral  reach,  as  it  were;  but  at 
a  distance  of  hundreds  or  thousands  of  miles  the 
case  is  very  different.  Astral  sight  gives  us  the 
advantage  of  an  additional  dimension,  but  there 
is  still  such  a  thing  as  position  in  that  dimension, 
and  it  is  naturally  a  potent  factor  in  limiting  the 
use  of  the  powers  on  that  plane.  *  *  *  The  limi- 
tations resemble  those  of  a  man  using  a  telescope 
on  the  physical  plane.  The  experimenter,  for 
example,  has  a  particular  field  of  view  which  can- 
not be  enlarged  or  altered;  he  is  looking  at  his 
scene  from  a  certain  direction,  and  he  cannot  sud- 
denly turn  it  all  around  and  see  how  it  looks 
from  the  other  side.  If  he  has  sufficient  psychic 
energy  to  spare,  he  may  drop  altogether  the 
telescope  he  is  using,  and  manufacture  an  entirely 
new  one  for  himself  which  will  approach  his  ob- 
jective somewhat  differently;  but  this  is  not  a 
course  at  all  likely  to  be  adopted  in  practice." 

The  student  will  find  that,  as  we  progress, 
many  of  these  points  which  now  seem  com- 
plicated and  obscure  will  gradually  take  on  the 
aspect  of  simplicity  and  clearness.  We  must 
crawl  before  we  can  walk,  in  psychic  research  as 
well  as  in  everything  else. 


LESSON  VIII. 

CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE. 

In  the  preceding  two  chapters,  I  have  asked 
you  to  consider  the  first  two  methods  of  inducing 
the  clairvoyant  phenomena,  namely,  Psychom- 
etry,  and  Crystal-Gazing,  respectively.  In  these 
cases  you  have  seen  how  the  clairvoyant  gets  en 
rapport  with  the  astral  plane  by  means  of  phys- 
ical objects,  in  the  case  of  psychometric  clair- 
voyance; or  by  means  of  a  shining  object,  in  the 
case  of  crystal  gazing.  Let  us  now  consider  the 
third  method  of  inducing  the  clairvoyant  condi- 
tion or  state,  i.  e.,  by  means  of  what  may  be  called 
Clairvoyant  Reverie,  in  which  the  clairvoyant 
gets  en  rapport  with  the  astral  plane  by  means 
of  psychic  states  in  which  the  sights,  sounds  and 
thoughts  of  the  material  and  physical  plane  are 
shut  out  of  consciousness. 

The  student  of  the  general  subject  of  clairvoy- 
ance will  soon  be  impressed  with  two  facts  con- 
cerning the  production  of  clairvoyant  phenom- 
ena, namely,  (1)  that  in  the  majority  of  the  re- 
corded cases  of  the  investigators  the  clairvoyant 
phenomena  were  obtained  when  the  clairvoyant 
was  in  the  state  of  sleep,  or  at  least  semi-sleep  or 
drowsiness,  the  visioning  appearing  more  or  less 
like  a  vivid  dream;  and  (2)  that  in  the  case  of 
the  clairvoyant  voluntarily  entering  en  rapport 
with  the  astral  plane,  he  or  she  would  enter  into 
what  seemed  to  be  a  kind  of  trance  condition,  in 
some  cases  an  absolute  unconsciousness  of  the 


CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE  121 

outside  world  being  manifested.  The  student, 
noting  these  facts,  is  apt  to  arrive  at  the  con- 
clusion that  all  clairvoyance  is  accompanied  by 
the  condition  of  sleep,  or  trance,  and  that  no 
clairvoyant  phenomena  are  possible  unless  this 
psychic  condition  is  first  obtained.  But  this  is 
only  a  half-truth  as  we  shall  see  in  a  moment. 

In  the  first  place,  the  student  arriving  at  this 
conclusion  seems  to  have  ignored  the  fact  that 
the  phenomena  of  psychometry  and  crystal  gaz- 
ing, respectively,  are  as  true  instances  of  clair- 
voyance as  are  those  which  are  manifested  in  the 
sleep  or  trance  condition.  It  is  true  that  some 
psychometrists  produce  phenomena  when  they 
are  in  a  state  of  psychic  quiescence,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  many  clairvoyant  psychometrists 
merely  concentrate  the  attention  on  the  object 
before  them,  and  remain  perfectly  wide-awake 
and  conscious  on  the  physical  plane.  Likewise, 
the  average  crystal  gazer  remains  perfectly  wide- 
awake and  conscious  on  the  physical  plane. 
When  the  student  takes  these  facts  into  consid- 
eration, he  begins  to  see  that  the  trance 
condition,  and  similar  psychic  states,  are  simply 
particular  methods  of  inducing  the  en  rapport 
condition  for  the  clairvoyant,  and  are  not  insep- 
arably bound  up  with  the  phenomena  of  clairvoy- 
ance. 

As  the  student  progresses,  moreover,  he  will 
see  that  even  in  the  case  of  Clairvoyant  Reverie, 
the  third  method  of  inducing  the  astral  en  rap- 
port condition,  the  clairvoyant  does  not  always 
lose  consciousness.     In  the  case  of  many  ad- 


122  CLAIRVOYANCE 

vanced  and  exceptionally  well-developed  clair- 
voyants, no  trance  or  sleep  condition  is  induced. 
In  such  cases  the  clairvoyant  merely  "shuts  out" 
the  outside  world  of  sights,  sounds  and  thoughts, 
by  an  effort  of  trained  will,  and  then  concentrates 
steadily  on  the  phenomena  of  the  astral  plane. 
For  that  matter,  the  skilled  and  advanced  oc- 
cultist is  able  to  function  on  the  astral  plane  by 
simply  shifting  his  consciousness  from  one  plane 
to  another,  as  the  typist  shifts  from  the  small 
letters  of  the  keyboard  to  the  capital  letters,  by 
a  mere  pressure  on  the  shift-key  of  the  type- 
writer. 

The  only  reason  that  many  clairvoyants  mani- 
festing along  the  lines  of  the  third  method, 
known  as  "clairvoyant  reverie,"  fall  into  the 
trance  or  sleep  condition,  is  that  they  have  not  as 
yet  acquired  the  rare  art  of  controlling  their  con- 
scious attention  at  will — this  is  something  that 
requires  great  practice.  They  find  it  easier  to 
drop  into  the  condition  of  semi-trance,  or  semi- 
sleep,  than  it  is  to  deliberately  shut  out  the  outer 
world  by  an  act  of  pure  will.  Moreover,  you  will 
find  that  in  the  majority  of  the  recorded  cases  of 
the  investigators,  the  clairvoyance  was  more  or 
less  spontaneous  on  the  part  of  the  clairvoyant 
person,  and  was  not  produced  by  an  act  of  will. 
As  we  proceed  to  consider  the  various  forms  and 
phases  of  clairvoyant  phenomena,  in  these  les- 
sons, you  will  notice  this  fact.  There  are  but  few 
recorded  cases  of  voluntary  clairvoyance  in  the 
books  of  the  investigators — the  skilled  clairvoy- 
ants, and  more  particularly  the  advanced  occult- 


CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE  123 

ists,  avoid  the  investigators  rather  than  seek 
them;  they  have  no  desire  to  be  reported  as  "typ- 
ical cases"  of  interesting  psychic  phenomena — 
they  leave  that  to  the  amateurs,  and  those  to 
whom  the  phenomena  come  as  a  wonderful 
revelation  akin  to  a  miracle.  This  accounts  for 
the  apparent  predominance  of  this  form  of  clair- 
voyance— the  secret  is  that  the  net  of  the  in- 
vestigators has  caught  only  a  certain  kind  of 
psychic  fish,  while  the  others  escape  attention. 

All  this  would  be  of  no  practical  importance, 
however,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  aver- 
age student  is  so  impressed  by  the  fact  that  he 
must  learn  to  induce  the  trance  condition  in  order 
to  manifest  clairvoyant  phenomena,  that  he  does 
not  even  think  of  attempting  to  do  the  work 
otherwise.  The  power  of  auto-suggestion  oper- 
ates here,  as  you  will  see  by  a  moment's  thought, 
and  erects  an  obstacle  to  his  advance  along  vol- 
untary lines.  More  than  this,  this  mistaken  idea 
tends  to  encourage  the  student  to  cultivate  the 
trance  condition,  or  at  least  some  abnormal 
psychic  condition,  by  artificial  means.  I  am  posi- 
tively opposed  to  the  inducing  of  psychic  con- 
ditions by  artificial  means,  for  I  consider  such 
practices  most  injurious  and  harmful  for  the  per- 
son using  such  methods.  Outside  of  anything 
else,  it  tends  to  render  the  person  negative, 
psychically,  instead  of  positive — it  tends  to  make 
him  or  her  subject  to  the  psychic  influence  of 
others,  on  both  the  physical  and  astral  plane,  in- 
stead of  retaining  his  or  her  own  self-control  and 
mastery. 


124  CLAIRVOYANCE 

The  best  authorities  among  the  occultists  in- 
struct their  pupils  that  the  state  of  clairvoyant 
reverie  may  be  safely  and  effectively  induced  by 
the  practice  of  mental  concentration  alone.  They 
advice  positively  against  artificial  methods.  A 
little  common  sense  will  show  that  they  are  right 
in  this  matter.  All  that  is  needed  is  that  the  con- 
sciousness shall  be  focused  to  a  point — become 
"one  pointed"  as  the  Hindu  Yogis  say.  The  in- 
telligent practice  of  concentration  accomplishes 
this,  without  the  necessity  of  any  artificial  meth- 
ods of  development,  or  the  induction  of  abnormal 
psychic  states. 

If  you  will  stop  a  moment  and  realize  how 
easily  you  concentrate  your  attention  when  you 
are  witnessing  an  interesting  play,  or  listening 
to  a  beautiful  rendition  of  some  great  master- 
piece of  musical  composition,  or  gazing  at  some 
miracle  of  art,  you  will  see  what  I  mean.  In  the 
cases  just  mentioned,  while  your  attention  is 
completely  occupied  with  the  interesting  thing 
before  you,  so  that  you  have  almost  completely 
shut  out  the  outer  world  of  sound,  sight  and 
thought,  you  are,  nevertheless,  perfectly  wide 
awake  and  your  consciousness  is  alert.  The  same 
thing  is  true  when  you  are  reading  a  very  inter- 
esting book — the  world  is  shut  out  from  your 
consciousness,  and  you  are  oblivious  to  the  sights 
and  sounds  around  you.  At  the  risk  of  being 
considered  flippant,  I  would  remind  you  of  the 
common  spectacle  of  two  lovers  so  wrapped  up 
in  each  other's  company  that  they  forget  that 
there  is  a  smiling  world  of  people  around  them 


CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE  125 

— time  and  space  are  forgotten  to  the  two  lov- 
ers— to  them  there  is  only  one  world,  with  but 
two  persons  in  it.  Again,  how  often  have  you 
fallen  into  what  is  known  as  a  "brown  study," 
or  "day  dream,"  in  which  you  huve  been  so 
occupied  with  the  thoughts  and  fancies  float- 
ing through  your  mind,  that  you  forgot  all 
else.  Well,  then,  this  will  give  you  a  com- 
mon-sense idea  of  the  state  that  the  occultists 
teach  may  be  induced  in  order  to  enter  into  the 
state  of  en  rapport  with  the  astral  plane — the 
state  in  which  clairvoyance  is  possible.  Whether 
you  are  seeking  clairvoyance  by  the  method  of 
psychometry,  or  by  crystal  gazing,  or  by  clair- 
voyant reverie — this  will  give  you  the  key  to  the 
state.  It  is  a  perfectly  natural  state — nothing 
abnormal  about  it,  you  will  notice. 

To  some  who  may  think  that  I  am  laying  too 
much  stress  on  the  undesirability  of  artificial 
methods  of  inducing  the  clairvoyant  condition,  I 
would  say  that  they  are  probably  not  aware  of 
the  erroneous  and  often  harmful  teachings  on  the 
subject  that  are  being  promulgated  by  ignorant 
or  misinformed  teachers — "  a  little  learning  is  a 
dangerous  thing,"  in  many  cases.  It  may  sur- 
prise some  of  my  students  to  learn  that  some  of 
this  class  of  teachers  are  instructing  their  pupils 
to  practice  methods  of  self-hypnosis  by  gazing 
steadily  at  a  bright  object  until  they  fall  uncon- 
scious; or  by  gazing  "cross  eyed"  at  the  tip  of 
the  nose,  or  at  an  object  held  between  the  two 
eyebrows.  These  are  familiar  methods  of  cer- 
tain schools  of  hypnotism,  and  result  in  produc- 


126  CLAIRVOYANCE 

ing  a  state  of  artificial  hypnosis,  more  or  less 
deep.  Such  a  state  is  most  undesirable,  not  only 
by  reason  of  its  immediate  effects,  but  also  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  it  often  results  in  a  con- 
dition of  abnormal  sensitiveness  to  the  will  of 
others,  or  even  to  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of 
others,  on  both  the  astral  and  the  physical  planes 
of  life.  I  emphatically  warn  my  students  against 
any  such  practices,  or  anything  resembling  them. 

While  I  dislike  to  dwell  on  the  subject,  I  feel 
that  I  should  call  the  attention  of  my  students  to 
the  fact  that  certain  teachers  seek  to  produce  the 
abnormal  psychic  condition  by  means  of  exhaust- 
ing breathing  exercises,  which  make  the  person 
dizzy  and  sleepy.  This  is  all  wrong.  While 
rhythmic  breathing  exercises  have  a  certain  value 
in  psychic  phenomena,  and  are  harmless  when 
properly  practiced,  nevertheless  such  practices 
as  those  to  which  I  have  alluded  are  harmful  to 
the  nervous  system  of  the  person,  and  also  tend 
to  induce  undesirable  psychic  conditions.  Again, 
some  teachers  have  sought  to  have  their  students 
hold  their  breath  for  comparatively  long  periods 
of  time,  in  order  to  bring  about  abnormal  psychic 
states.  The  slightest  knowledge  of  physiology 
informs  one  that  such  a  practice  must  be  harm- 
ful; it  causes  the  blood  to  become  thick  and  im- 
pure, and  deficient  in  oxygen.  It  certainly  will 
produce  a  kind  of  drowsiness,  for  the  same  rea- 
son that  impure  air  in  a  room  will  do  the  same 
thing — in  both  cases  the  blood  stream  is  poisoned 
and  made  impure.  The  purpose  of  rational  and 
normal  breathing  is  to  obviate  just  this  thing — 


CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE  127 

so  these  teachers  are  reversing  a  natural  law  of 
the  body,  in  order  to  produce  an  abnormal 
psychic  state.  With  all  the  energy  in  me,  I  cau- 
tion you  against  this  kind  of  thing. 

Along  the  same  line,  I  protest  and  warn  you 
against  the  practices  advised  by  certain  teachers 
of  "psychic  development,"  who  seek  to  have  their 
pupils  induce  abnormal  physical  and  psychic  con- 
ditions by  means  of  drugs,  odor  of  certain  chem- 
icals, gases,  etc.  Such  practices,  as  all  true 
occultists  know,  belong  to  the  clans  of  the  Black 
Magicians,  or  devil  worshippers,  of  the  savage 
races — they  have  no  place  in  true  occult  teach- 
ings. Common  sense  alone  should  warn  persons 
away  from  such  things — but  it  seems  to  fail  some 
of  them.  I  assert  without  fear  of  intelligent  con- 
tradiction, that  no  true  occultist  ever  coun- 
tenances any  such  practices  as  these. 

All  the  true  teachers  are  vigorous  in  their  de- 
nunciation of  such  false  teachings  and  harmful 
practices.  In  this  same  category,  I  place  the 
methods  which  are  taught  by  certain  persons, 
namely,  that  of  inducing  abnormal  physical  and 
psychic  condition  of  giddiness  and  haziness  by 
means  of  "whirling"  around  in  a  circle  until  one 
drops  from  giddiness,  or  until  one  "feels  queer 
in  the  head."  This  is  a  revival  of  the  practices 
of  certain  fanatics  in  Persia  and  India,  who  per- 
form it  as  a  religious  rite  until  they  fall  into  what 
they  consider  a  "holy  sleep,"  but  which  is  nothing 
more  than  an  abnormal  and  unhealthful  physical 
and  psychic  condition.  Such  practices  are  a 
downward  step,  not  an  upward  one.    It  seems  a 


128  CLAIRVOYANCE 

pity  that  the  necessity  has  arisen  for  such  warn- 
ings as  these — but  my  duty,  as  I  see  it,  is  very 
plain.  To  all  who  are  tempted  to  "develop"  in 
this  way,  I  say,  positively,  "DON'T!" 

The  scientific,  rational  way  to  develop  the 
astral  senses  is  to  first  acquire  the  art  of  con- 
centrating. Bear  in  mind  that  in  concentration 
the  person,  while  shutting  out  the  impressions  of 
the  outside  world  in  general,  nevertheless  focuses 
and  concentrates  his  attention  upon  the  one  mat- 
ter before  him.  This  is  quite  a  different  thing 
from  making  oneself  sensitive  to  every  current 
of  thought  and  feeling  that  may  be  in  the  psychic 
atmosphere.  True  concentration  renders  one 
positive,  while  the  other  methods  render  one 
negative.  Contrary  to  the  common  opinion, 
psychic  concentration  is  a  positive  state,  not  a 
negative — an  active  state,  not  a  passive  one.  The 
person  who  is  able  to  concentrate  strongly  is  a 
master,  while  one  who  opens  himself  to  "con- 
trol," either  physical  or  astral,  is  more  or  less  of 
a  slave  to  other  minds. 

The  student  who  will  begin  by  experimenting 
along  the  lines  of  contact  mind-reading,  and  who 
then  advances  along  the  lines  of  true  telepathy, 
as  explained  in  the  earlier  chapters  of  this  book, 
will  have  made  a  good  start,  and  considerable 
progress,  along  the  road  to  clairvoyant  develop- 
ment. The  rest  will  be  largely  a  matter  of  exer- 
cise and  practice.  He  will  be  aided  by  practicing 
concentration  along  the  general  lines  of  the  best 
occult  teaching.  Such  practice  may  consist  of 
concentration  upon  almost  any  physical  object, 


CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE  129 

keeping  the  thing  well  before  the  mind  and  atten- 
tion. Do  not  tire  the  attention  by  practicing  too 
long  at  one  time.  The  following  general  rules 
will  help  you  in  developing  concentration: 

(1)  The  attention  attaches  more  readily  to 
interesting  rather  than  uninteresting  things. 
Therefore,  select  some  interesting  thing  to  study 
and  analyze  by  concentrated  thought. 

(2)  The  attention  will  decline  in  strength  un- 
less there  is  a  variation  in  the  stimulus.  There- 
fore, keep  up  the  power  of  concentration  by 
either  changing  the  object  you  are  observing;  or 
else  by  discovering  some  new  proerties,  qual- 
ities or  attributes  in  it. 

(3)  The  things  you  wish  to  shut  out  of  con- 
sciousness can  best  be  shut  out  by  your  con- 
centration upon  some  other  thing — the  attention 
can  dwell  only  upon  one  thing  at  a  time,  if 
focused  upon  that  one  thing. 

(4)  The  power  of  applying  your  attention, 
steady  and  undissipated,  to  a  single  object,  is  a 
mark  of  strong  will  and  superior  mental  dis- 
cipline— weak-minds  cannot  do  this.  Therefore, 
in  cultivating  concentrated  attention  you  are 
really  strengthening  your  mind  and  will. 

(5)  To  develop  concentrated  attention,  you 
must  learn  to  analyze,  analyze,  and  analyze  the 
thing  upon  which  you  are  bestowing  concen- 
trated attention.  Therefore,  proceed  by  select- 
ing an  object  and  analyzing  it  by  concentrated 
attention,  taking  one  part  after  another,  one  by 
one,  until  you  have  analyzed  and  mastered  the 


130  CLAIRVOYANCE 

whole  object.  Give  it  the  same  attention  that 
the  lover  gives  his  loved  one;  the  musician  his 
favorite  composition;  the  artist  his  favorite  work 
of  art;  and  the  booklover  his  favorite  book — 
when  you  have  accomplished  this,  you  have  mas- 
tered concentration,  and  will  be  able  to  apply  the 
mind  "one  pointed"  upon  anything  you  wish, 
physical  or  astral;  and,  consequently  will  have 
no  trouble  in  shutting-out  disturbing  impres- 
sions. 

(6)  Learn  to  concentrate  on  the  physical 
plane,  and  you  will  be  able  to  concentrate  on  the 
astral  plane  as  well.  By  the  one  who  has  mas- 
tered concentration,  trances  and  abnormal 
psychic  states  will  not  be  needed.  The  needle- 
pointed  mind  is  able  to  pierce  the  astral  veil  at 
will,  while  the  blunt-pointed  mind  is  resisted  and 
defeated  by  the  astral  envelope,  which  while  thin 
is  very  tough  and  unyielding. 

A  well-known  authority  on  psychic  develop- 
ment has  well  said:  "Occasional  flashes  of  clair- 
voyance sometimes  come  to  the  highly  cultured 
and  spiritual-minded  man,  even  though  he  may 
never  have  heard  of  the  possibility  of  training 
such  a  faculty.  In  his  case  such  glimpses  usually 
signify  that  he  is  approaching  that  stage  in  his 
evolution  when  these  powers  will  naturally  be- 
gin to  manifest  themselves.  Their  appearance 
should  serve  as  an  additional  stimulus  to  him  to 
strive  to  maintain  that  high  standard  of  moral 
purity  and  mental  balance  without  which  clair- 
voyance is  a  curse  and  not  a  blessing  to  its  pos- 
sessor.    Between  those  who  are  entirely  unim- 


CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE  131 

pressionable  and  those  who  are  in  full  possession 
of  clairvoyant  power,  there  are  many  interme- 
diate stages.  Students  often  ask  how  this  clair- 
voyant faculty  will  first  be  manifested  in  them- 
selves— how  they  may  know  when  they  have 
reached  the  stage  at  which  its  first  faint  fore- 
shadowings  are  beginning  to  be  visible.  Cases 
differ  so  widely  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  to 
this  question  any  answer  that  will  be  universally 
applicable. 

"Some  people  begin  by  a  plunge,  as  it  were,  and 
under  some  unusual  stimulus  become  able  just 
for  once  to  see  some  striking  vision;  and  very 
often  in  such  a  case,  because  the  experience  does 
not  repeat  itself,  the  seer  comes  in  time  to  be- 
lieve that  on  that  occasion  he  must  have  been  the 
victim  of  hallucination.  Others  begin  by  becom- 
ing intermittently  conscious  of  the  brilliant  col- 
ors and  vibrations  of  the  human  aura;  yet  others 
find  themselves  with  increasing  frequency  seeing 
and  hearing  something  to  which  those  around 
them  are  blind  and  deaf;  others,  again,  see  faces, 
landscapes,  or  colored  clouds  floating  before  their 
eyes  in  the  dark  before  they  sink  to  rest;  while 
perhaps  the  commonest  experience  of  all  is  that 
of  those  who  begin  to  recollect  with  greater  and 
greater  clearness  what  they  have  seen  and  heard 
on  other  planes  during  sleep." 

The  authority  in  question  gives  the  following 
excellent  advice  regarding  the  subject  of  the  de- 
velopment of  clairvoyant  power  and  astral  vision- 
ing:  "Now  the  fact  is  that  there  are  many 
methods  by  which  it  may  be  developed,  but  only 


132  CLAIRVOYANCE 

one  which  can  be  at  all  safely  recommended  for 
general  use — that  of  which  we  shall  speak  last 
of  all.  Among  the  less  advanced  nations  of  the 
world  the  clairvoyant  state  has  been  produced  in 
various  objectionable  ways;  among  some  of  the 
non-Aryan  tribes  of  India,  by  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating drugs  or  the  inhaling  of  stupefying  fumes; 
among  the  dervishes,  by  whirling  in  a  mad  dance 
of  religious  fervor  until  vertigo  and  insensibility 
supervene;  among  the  followers  of  the  abomin- 
able practices  of  the  Voodoo  cult,  by  frightful 
sacrifices  and  loathsome  rites  of  black  magic. 
Methods  such  as  these  are  happily  not  in  vogue 
in  our  own  race,  yet  even  among  us  large  num- 
bers of  dabblers  in  this  ancient  art  adopt  some 
plan  of  self-hypnotization,  such  as  gazing  at  a 
bright  spot,  or  the  repetition  of  some  formula  un- 
til a  condition  of  semi-stupefaction  is  produced; 
while  yet  another  school  among  them  would  en- 
deavor to  arrive  at  similar  results  by  the  use  of 
some  of  the  Indian  systems  of  regulation  of  the 
breath.  All  these  methods  are  unequivocally  to 
be  condemned  as  quite  unsafe  for  the  practice  of 
the  ordinary  man  who  has  no  idea  of  what  he 
is  doing — who  is  simply  making  vague  experi- 
ments in  an  unknown  world.  Even  the  method 
of  obtaining  clairvoyance  by  allowing  oneself  to 
be  mesmerized  by  another  person  is  one  from 
which  I  should  myself  shrink  with  the  most  de- 
cided distaste;  and  assuredly  it  should  never  be 
attempted  except  under  conditions  of  absolute 
trust  and  affection  between  the  magnetiser  and 
the  magnetised,  and  a  perfection  of  purity  in 


CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE  133 

heart  and  soul,  in  mind  and  intention,  such  as 
is  rarely  to  be  seen  among  any  but  the  great- 
est of  saints. 

"Yet  there  is  one  practice  which  is  advised  by 
all  religions  alike — which  if  adopted  carefully 
and  reverently  can  do  no  harm  to  any  human 
being,  yet  from  which  a  very  pure  type  of  clair- 
voyance has  sometimes  been  developed;  and  that 
is  the  practice  of  meditation  .  Let  a  man  choose 
a  certain  time  every  day — a  time  when  he  can 
rely  upon  being  quiet  and  undisturbed,  though 
preferably  in  the  daytime  rather  than  at  night — 
and  set  himself  at  that  time  to  keep  his  mind  for 
a  few  minutes  entirely  free  from  all  earthly 
thoughts  of  any  kind  whatever,  and,  when  that 
is  achieved,  to  direct  the  whole  force  of  his  be- 
ing towards  the  highest  ideal  that  he  happens  to 
know.  He  will  find  that  to  gain  such  perfect  con- 
trol of  thought  is  enormously  more  difficult  than 
he  supposes,  but  when  he  attains  it  it  cannot  but 
be  in  every  way  most  beneficial  to  him,  and  as 
he  grows  more  and  more  able  to  elevate  and  con- 
centrate his  thought,  he  may  gradually  find  that 
new  worlds  are  opening  before  his  sight.  As  a 
preliminary  training  towards  the  satisfactory 
achievement  of  such  meditation,  he  will  find  it 
desirable  to  make  a  practice  of  concentration  in 
the  affairs  of  daily  life — even  in  the  smallest  of 
them.  If  he  writes  a  letter,  let  him  think  of 
nothing  else  but  that  letter  until  it  is  finished; 
if  he  reads  a  book,  let  him  see  to  it  that  his 
thought  is  never  allowed  to  wander  from  his  au- 
thor's meaning  .  He  must  learn  to  hold  his  mind 


134  CLAIRVOYANCE 

in  check,  and  to  be  master  of  that  also,  as  well 
as  of  his  lower  passions;  he  must  patiently  labor 
to  acquire  absolute  control  of  his  thoughts,  so 
that  he  will  always  know  exactly  what  he  is 
thinking  about,  and  why — so  that  he  can  use 
his  mind,  and  turn  it  or  hold  it  still,  as  a  prac- 
ticed swordsman  turns  his  weapon  where  he 
will." 

I  have  given  the  above  full  quotation  from  this 
authority,  not  merely  because  that  from  another 
angle  he  states  the  same  general  principles  as 
do  I;  but  also  because  his  personal  experience  in 
actual  clairvoyant  phenomena  is  so  extended  and 
varied  that  any  word  from  him  on  the  subject  of 
the  development  of  clairvoyant  power  must  have 
a  value  of  its  own.  While  I  differ  from  this 
authority  on  some  points  of  detail  of  theory  and 
practice,  nevertheless  I  gladly  testify  to  the 
soundness  of  his  views  as  above  quoted,  and  pass 
them  on  to  my  students  for  careful  consideration 
and  attention.  The  student  will  do  well  to  heed 
what  he  has  to  say,  and  to  combine  such  opin- 
ion with  what  I  have  uttered  in  the  earlier  part 
of  this  chapter — there  will  be  found  a  close  agree- 
ment in  principle  and  practice. 

And,  now  let  us  pass  on  to  a  consideration  of 
the  various  forms  and  phases  of  the  clairvoy- 
ant phenomena  itself.  The  subject  is  fascinat- 
ing, and  I  am  sure  that  you  will  enjoy  this  little 
excursion  into  the  strange  realm  of  thought  re- 
garding the  astral  phenomena  of  clairvoyance. 
But,  be  sure  to  master  each  lesson  before  pro- 
ceeding to  the  rest,  as  otherwise  you  will  have  to 


CLAIRVOYANT  REVERIE  135 

turn  back  the  leaves  of  the  course  in  order  to  pick 
up  some  point  of  teaching  that  you  have 
neglected. 


LESSON  IX. 
SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE. 

In  a  previous  chapter  we  have  seen  that  there 
are  three  well-defined  classes  of  clairvoyance, 
namely,  (1)  Simple  clairvoyance;  (2)  Clairvoy- 
ance in  space;  and  (3)  Clairvoyance  in  Time.  I 
shall  now  consider  these  in  sequence,  beginning 
with  the  first,  Simple  Clairvoyance. 

In  simple  clairvoyance  the  clairvoyant  person 
merely  senses  the  auric  emanations  of  other  per- 
sons, such  as  the  auric  vibrations,  colors,  etc., 
currents  of  thought  vibrations,  etc.,  but  does  not 
see  events  or  scenes  removed  in  space  or  time 
from  the  observer.  There  are  other  phenomena 
peculiar  to  this  class  of  clairvoyance  which  I  shall 
note  as  we  progress  with  this  chapter. 

An  authority  on  the  subject  of  astral  phenom- 
ena has  written  interestingly,  as  follows,  regard- 
ing some  of  the  phases  of  simple  clairvoyance: 
"When  we  come  to  consider  the  additional  facil- 
ities which  it  offers  in  the  observation  of  animate 
objects,  we  see  still  more  clearly  the  advantages 
of  astral  vision.  It  exhibits  to  the  clairvoyant 
the  aura  of  plants  and  animals,  and  thus  in  the 
case  of  the  latter  their  desires  and  emotions,  and 
whatever  thoughts  they  may  have,  are  all  plainly 
shown  before  his  eyes.  But  it  is  in  dealing  with 
human  beings  that  he  will  most  appreciate  the 
value  of  this  faculty,  for  he  will  often  be  able 
to  help  them  far  more  effectually  when  he  guides 
himself  by  the  information  which  it  gives  him. 


SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE  137 

"He  will  be  able  to  see  the  aura  as  far  up  as 
the  astral  body,  and  though  that  leaves  all  the 
higher  part  of  a  man  still  hidden  from  his  gaze, 
he  will  nevertheless  find  it  possible  by  careful 
observation  to  learn  a  good  deal  about  the  higher 
part  from  what  is  within  his  reach.  His  capacity 
of  examination  of  the  etheric  double  will  give 
him  considerable  advantage  in  locating  and 
classifying  any  defects  or  diseases  of  the  nervous 
system,  while  from  the  appearance  of  the  astral 
body  he  will  at  once  be  aware  of  all  the  emotions, 
passions,  desires  and  tendencies  of  the  man  be- 
fore him,  and  even  of  very  many  of  his  thoughts 
also. 

"As  he  looks  at  a  person  he  will  see  him  sur- 
rounded by  the  luminous  mist  of  the  astral  aura, 
flashing  with  all  sorts  of  brilliant  colors,  and  con- 
stantly changing  in  hue  and  brilliancy  with  every 
variation  of  the  person's  thoughts  and  feelings. 
He  will  see  this  aura  flooded  with  the  beautiful 
rose-color  of  pure  affection,  the  rich  blue  of  de- 
votional feeling,  the  hard,  dull  brown  of  selfish- 
ness, the  deep  scarlet  of  anger,  the  horrible  lurid 
red  of  sensuality,  the  livid  grey  of  fear,  the  black 
clouds  of  hatred  and  malice,  or  any  of  the  other 
hundredfold  indications  so  easily  to  be  read  in 
it  by  the  practiced  eye;  and  thus  it  will  be  im- 
possible for  any  persons  to  conceal  from  him  the 
real  state  of  their  feelings  on  any  subject.  Not 
only  does  the  astral  aura  show  him  the  temporary 
result  of  the  emotion  passing  through  it  at  the 
moment,  but  it  also  gives  him,  by  an  arrange- 
ment and  proportion  of  its  colors  when  in  a  con- 


138  CLAIRVOYANCE 

dition  of  comparative  rest,  a  clue  to  the  general 
disposition  and  character  of  its  owner." 

By  simple  clairvoyance  in  a  certain  stage  of 
development  the  clairvoyant  person  is  able  to 
sense  the  presence  of  the  human  aura,  by  means 
of  his  astral  sight.  The  human  aura,  as  all  stu- 
dents of  occultism  know,  is  that  peculiar  emana- 
tion of  astral  vibrations  that  extends  from  each 
living  human  being,  surrounding  him  in  an  egg- 
shaped  form  for  a  distance  of  two  to  three  feet  on 
all  sides.  This  peculiar  nebulous  envelope  is  not 
visible  to  the  physical  sight,  and  may  be  dis- 
cerned only  by  means  of  the  astral  senses.  It, 
however,  may  be  dimly  "felt"  by  many  persons 
coming  into  the  presence  of  other  persons,  and 
constitutes  a  personal  atmosphere  which  is 
sensed  by  other  persons. 

The  trained  clairvoyant  vision  sees  the  human 
aura  as  a  nebulous  hazy  substance,  like  a  lumi- 
nous cloud,  surrounding  the  person  for  two  or 
three  feet  on  each  side  of  his  body,  being  more 
dense  near  the  body  and  gradually  becoming  less 
dense  as  it  extends  away  from  the  body.  It  has 
a  phosphorescent  appearance,  with  a  peculiar 
tremulous  motion  manifesting  through  its  sub- 
stance. The  clairvoyant  sees  the  human  aura  as 
composed  of  all  the  colors  of  the  spectrum,  the 
combination  shifting  with  the  changing  mental 
and  emotional  states  of  the  person.  But,  in  a 
general  way,  it  may  be  said  that  each  person  has 
his  or  her  or  distinctive  astral  auric  colors,  de- 
pending upon  his  or  her  general  character  or 
personality.     Each  mental   state,  or  emotional 


SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE  139 

manifestation,  has  its  own  particular  shade  or 
combination  of  shades  of  auric  coloring.  This 
beautiful  kaleidoscopic  spectacle  has  its  own 
meaning  to  the  advanced  occultist  with  clairvoy- 
ant vision,  for  he  is  able  to  read  the  character  and 
general  mental  states  of  the  person  by  means  of 
studying  his  astral  auric  colors.  I  have  ex- 
plained these  auric  colors,  and  their  meanings,  in 
my  little  book  entitled  "The  Human  Aura." 

The  human  aura  is  not  always  in  a  state  of 
calm  phosphorescence,  however.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  sometimes  manifests  great  flames,  like 
those  of  a  fiery  furnace,  which  shoot  forth  in 
great  tongues,  and  dart  forth  suddenly  in  certain 
directions  toward  the  objects  attracting  them. 
Under  great  emotional  excitement  the  auric 
flames  move  around  in  swift  circling  whirlpools, 
or  else  swirl  away  from  a  centre.  Again,  it  seems 
to  throw  forth  tiny  glistening  sparks  of  astral 
vibrations,  some  of  which  travel  for  great  dis- 
tance. 

The  clairvoyant  vision  is  also  able  to  discern 
what  is  called  the  "prana  aura"  of  a  person.  By 
this  term  is  indicated  that  peculiar  emanation  of 
vital  force  which  surrounds  the  physical  body 
of  each  and  every  person.  In  fact,  many  persons 
of  but  slight  clairvoyant  power,  who  cannot 
sense  the  auric  colors,  are  able  to  perceive  this 
prana-aura  without  trouble.  It  is  sometimes 
called  the  "health  aura,"  or  "physical  aura."  It 
is  colorless,  or  rather  about  the  shade  of  clear 
glass,  diamond,  or  water.  It  is  streaked  with 
very  minute,  bristle-like  lines.    In  a  state  of  good 


140  CLAIRVOYANCE 

health,  these  fine  lines  are  stiff  like  toothbrush 
bristles;  while,  in  cases  of  poor  health,  these  lines 
droop,  curl  and  present  a  furlike  appearance.  It 
is  sometimes  filled  with  minute  sparkling  par- 
ticles, like  tiny  electric  sparks  in  rapid  vibratory- 
motion. 

To  the  clairvoyant  vision  the  prana-aura  ap- 
pears like  the  vibrating  heated  air  arising  from 
a  fire,  or  stove,  or  from  the  heated  earth  in  sum- 
mer. If  the  student  will  close  his  eyes  partially, 
and  will  peer  through  narrowed  eyelids,  he  will 
in  all  probability  be  able  to  perceive  this  prana- 
aura  surrounding  the  body  of  some  healthy, 
vigorous  person — particularly  if  the  person  is 
sitting  in  a  dim  light.  Looking  closely,  he  will 
see  the  peculiar  vibratory  motion,  like  heated  air, 
at  a  distance  of  about  two  inches  from  the  body 
of  the  person.  It  requires  a  little  practice  in  or- 
der to  acquire  the  knack  of  perceiving  these 
vibrations — a  little  experimenting  in  order  to  get 
just  the  right  light  on  the  person — but  practice 
will  bring  success,  and  you  will  be  repaid  for  your 
trouble. 

In  the  same  way,  the  student  may  by  practice 
acquire  the  faculty  to  perceiving  his  own  prana- 
aura.  The  simplest  way  to  obtain  this  last  men- 
tioned result  is  to  place  your  fingers  (spread  out 
in  fan-shape)  against  a  black  background,  in  a 
dim  light.  Then  gaze  at  the  fingers  with  nar- 
rowed eyelids,  and  half-closed  eyes.  After  a  little 
practice,  you  will  see  a  fine  thin  line  surrounding 
your  fingers  on  all  sides — a  semi-luminous  bor- 
der of  prana-aura.     In  most  cases  this  border 


SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE  141 

of  aura  is  colorless,  but  sometimes  a  very  pale 
yellowish  hue  is  perceived.  The  stronger  the 
vital  force  of  the  person,  the  stronger  and 
brighter  will  this  border  of  prana-aura  appear. 
The  aura  surrounding  the  fingers  will  appear 
very  much  like  the  semi-luminous  radiance  sur- 
rounding a  gas-flame,  or  the  flame  of  a  candle, 
which  is  familiar  to  nearly  everyone. 

Another  peculiar  phenomenon  of  the  astral 
plane,  perceived  by  clairvoyants  of  a  certain  de- 
gree of  development,  is  that  which  is  known  as 
the  "thought-form."  A  thought-form  is  a  spe- 
cialized grouping  of  astral  substance,  crystalized 
by  the  strong  thought  impulses  or  vibrations  of  a 
person  thinking,  or  manifesting  strong  emotional 
excitement.  It  is  generated  in  the  aura  of  the 
person,  in  the  first  place,  but  is  then  thrown  off 
or  emitted  from  the  atmosphere  of  the  person, 
and  is  sent  off  into  space.  A  thought-form  is 
really  but  a  strongly  manifested  thought  or  feel- 
ing which  has  taken  form  in  the  astral  substance. 
Its  power  and  duration  depend  upon  the  degree 
of  force  of  the  thought  or  feeling  manifesting  it. 

These  thought-forms  differ  very  materially 
from  one  another  in  form  and  general  appear- 
ance. The  most  common  form  is  that  of  a  tiny 
series  of  waves,  similar  to  those  caused  by  the 
dropping  of  a  pebble  in  a  pond  of  water.  Some- 
times the  thought-form  takes  on  the  appearance 
of  a  whirlpool,  rotating  around  a  centre,  and 
moving  through  space  as  well.  Another  form  is 
like  that  of  the  pin-wheel  fireworks,  swirling 
away  from  its  centre  as  it  moves  through  space. 


142  CLAIRVOYANCE 

Still  another  form  is  that  of  a  whirling  ring,  like 
that  emitted  from  a  smokestack  of  a  locomotive, 
or  the  mouth  of  a  smoker — the  familiar  "ring"  of 
the  smoker.  Others  have  the  form  and  appear- 
ance of  semi-luminous  globes,  glowing  like  a 
giant  opal. 

Other  thought-forms  are  emitted  in  jet-like 
streams,  like  steam  puffed  out  from  a  tea-kettle. 
Again,  it  will  appear  as  a  series  of  short  puffs  of 
steam-like  appearance.  Again,  it  will  twist  along 
like  an  eel  or  snake.  Another  time  it  will  twist 
its  way  like  a  corkscrew.  At  other  times  it  will 
appear  as  a  bomb,  or  series  of  bombs  projected 
from  the  aura  of  the  thinker.  Sometimes,  as  in 
the  case  of  a  vigorous  thinker  or  speaker,  these 
thought-form  bombs  will  be  seen  to  explode 
when  they  reach  the  aura  of  the  person  addressed 
or  thought  of.  Other  forms  appear  like  nebulous 
things  resembling  an  octopus,  whose  twining 
tentacles  twist  around  the  person  to  whom  they 
are  directed. 

Each  thought-form  bears  the  same  color  that 
it  possessed  when  generated  in  the  aura  of  its 
creator,  though  the  colors  seem  to  fade  with  time. 
Many  of  them  glow  with  a  dull  phosphorescence, 
instead  of  bright  coloring.  The  atmosphere  of 
every  person,  and  every  place,  is  filled  with  vari- 
ous thought-forms  emanated  from  the  person,  or 
persons  who  inhabit  the  place.  Each  building 
has  its  own  distinctive  thought-forms,  which  per- 
meate its  mental  atmosphere,  and  which  are 
clearly  discernible  by  trained  clairvoyant  vision. 

I  here  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  a  few  para- 


SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE  143 

graphs  from  my  little  book  entitled  "The  Astral 
World,"  in  which  the  phenomena  of  the  astral 
plane  are  explained  in  detail.  I  reproduce  them 
here  in  order  to  show  you  what  you  may  see  on 
the  astral  plane  when  your  clairvoyant  vision  is 
sufficiently  developed  to  function  there.  The 
words  are  addressed  to  one  who  is  sensing  on  the 
astral  plane. 

"Notice  that  Deautiful  spiritual  blue  around 
that  woman's  head!  And  see  that  ugly  muddy 
red  around  that  man  passing  her!  Here  comes 
an  intellectual  giant — see  that  beautiful  golden 
yellow  around  his  head,  like  a  nimbus!  But  I 
don't  exactly  like  that  shade  of  red  around  his 
body — and  there  is  too  marked  an  absence  of  blue 
in  his  aura!  He  lacks  harmonious  development. 
Do  you  notice  those  great  clouds  of  semi-lumi- 
nous substance,  which  are  slowly  floating  along? 
— notice  how  the  colors  vary  in  them.  Those  are 
clouds  of  thought-vibrations,  representing  the 
composite  thought  of  a  multitude  of  people.  Also 
notice  how  each  body  of  thought  is  drawing 
to  itself  little  fragments  of  similar  thought- 
forms  and  energy.  You  see  here  the  tendency  of 
thought-forms  to  attract  others  of  their  kind — 
how  like  the  proverbial  birds  of  a  feather,  they 
flock  together — how  thoughts  come  home,  bring- 
ing their  friends  with  them — how  each  man 
creates  his  own  thought  atmosphere. 

"Speaking  of  atmospheres,  do  you  notice  that 
each  shop  we  pass  has  its  own  peculiar  thought- 
atmosphere?  If  you  look  into  the  houses  on 
either  side  of  the  street,  you  will  see  that  the 


144  CLAIRVOYANCE 

same  thing  is  true.  The  very  street  itself  has  its 
own  atmosphere,  created  by  the  composite 
thought  of  those  inhabiting  and  frequenting  it. 
No !  do  not  pass  down  that  side  street — its  astral 
atmosphere  is  too  depressing,  and  its  colors  too 
horrible  and  disgusting  for  you  to  witness  just 
now — you  might  get  discouraged  and  fly  back 
to  your  physical  body  for  relief.  Look  at  those 
thought-forms  flying  through  the  atmosphere! 
What  a  variety  of  form  and  coloring!  Some  most 
beautiful,  the  majority  quite  neutral  in  tint,  and 
occasionally  a  fierce,  fiery  one  tearing  its  way 
along  toward  its  mark.  Observe  those  whirling 
and  swirling  thought-forms  as  they  are  thrown 
off  from  that  business-house.  Across  the  street, 
notice  that  great  octopus  monster  of  a  thought- 
form,  with  its  great  tentacles  striving  to  wind 
around  persons  and  draw  them  into  that  flashy 
dance-hall  and  dram-shop.  A  devilish  monster 
which  we  would  do  well  to  destroy.  Turn  your 
concentrated  thought  upon  it,  and  will  it  out  of 
existence — there,  that's  the  right  way;  watch 
it  sicken  and  shrivel !  But,  alas !  more  of  its  kind 
will  come  forth  from  that  place." 

The  above  represents  the  sights  common  to 
the  advanced  occultist  who  explores  the  astral 
plane  either  in  his  astral  body,  or  else  by  means 
of  clairvoyant  vision.  To  such  a  one,  these  sights 
are  just  as  natural  as  those  of  the  physical  plane 
to  the  person  functioning  by  ordinary  physical 
senses.  One  is  as  natural  as  is  the  other — there 
is  nothing  supernatural  about  either. 

But  there  are  other,  and  even  more  wonderful 


SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE  145 

attributes  of  astral  visioning  than  that  which  we 
have  just  related.  Let  us  take  a  general  survey 
of  these,  so  that  you  may  be  familiar  with  what 
you  hope  to  see  on  the  astral  plane,  and  which 
you  will  see  when  you  have  sufficiently  developed 
your  clairvoyant  powers. 

What  would  you  think  if  you  could  "see 
through  a  brick  wall?"  Well,  the  clairvoyant  is 
able  to  do  this.  For  that  matter,  the  physical 
X  Rays  are  able  to  penetrate  through  solid  sub- 
stances, and  the  astral  vibrations  are  even  more 
subtle  than  these.  It  seems  strange  to  hear  of 
this  kind  of  visioning  as  purely  natural,  doesn't 
it?  It  smacks  strongly  of  the  old  supernatural 
tales — but  it  is  as  simply  natural  as  is  the  X  Ray. 
The  advanced  clairvoyant  is  able  to  see  through 
the  most  solid  objects,  and  inside  of  anything, 
for  that  matter.  The  astral  senses  register  the 
subtle  vibrations  of  the  astral  plane,  just  as  the 
physical  eye  registers  the  ordinary  rays  of  light- 
energy.  You  are  able  to  see  through  solid  glass, 
with  the  physical  eye,  are  you  not?  Well,  in 
the  same  way  the  clairvoyant  sees  through  solid 
steel  or  granite.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  registering 
vibrations  of  energy — nothing  more,  and  noth- 
ing less. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  trained  clairvoyant  is 
able  to  read  from  closed  books,  sealed  letters,  etc. 
In  the  same  way,  he  is  able  to  pierce  the  dense 
soil,  and  to  see  far  down  into  the  depths  of  the 
earth,  subject  to  certain  limitations.  Veins  of 
coal,  oil,  and  other  substances  have  been  discov- 
ered clairvoyantly  in  this  way.    Not  every  clair- 


146  CLAIRVOYANCE 

voyant  is  able  to  do  this,  but  the  advanced  ones 
have  done  it.  In  the  same  way,  the  trained  clair- 
voyant is  able  to  see  inside  the  bodies  of  sick  per- 
sons, and  to  diagnose  their  ailments,  providing, 
of  course,  he  is  familiar  with  the  appearance  of 
the  organs  in  health  and  in  disease,  and  has  a 
sufficient  knowledge  of  physiology  and  pathol- 
ogy to  interpret  what  he  sees. 

An  authority  on  the  phenomena  of  the  astral 
plane  has  written  entertainingly  and  correctly 
regarding  this  phase  of  simple  clairvoyance,  as 
follows:  "The  possession  of  this  extraordinary 
and  scarcely  expressible  power,  then,  must  al- 
ways be  borne  in  mind  through  all  that  follows. 
It  lays  every  point  in  the  interior  of  every  solid 
body  absolutely  open  to  the  gaze  of  the  seer, 
just  as  every  point  in  the  interior  of  a  circle  lies 
open  to  the  gaze  of  a  man  looking  down  upon  it. 
But  even  this  is  by  no  means  all  that  it  gives  to 
its  possessor.  He  sees  not  only  the  inside  as 
well  as  the  outside  of  every  object,  but  also  its 
astral  counterpart.  Every  atom  and  molecule  of 
physical  matter  has  its  corresponding  astral 
atoms  and  molecules,  and  the  mass  which  is  built 
up  out  of  these  is  clearly  visible  to  the  clairvoy- 
ant. Usually  the  astral  form  of  any  object  pro- 
jects somewhat  beyond  the  physical  part  of  it, 
and  thus  metals,  stones  and  other  things  are 
seen  surrounded  by  an  astral  aura. 

"It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  even  in  the  study 
of  inorganic  matter  a  man  gains  immensely  by 
the  acquisition  of  this  vision.  Not  only  does  he 
see  the  astral  part  of  the  object  at  which  he  looks, 


SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE  147 

which  before  was  wholly  hidden  from  him;  not 
only  does  he  see  much  more  of  its  physical  con- 
stitution than  he  did  before,  but  even  what  was 
visible  to  him  before  is  now  seen  much  more 
clearly  and  truly.  *  *  *  Another  strange  power 
of  which  he  may  find  himself  in  possession  is  that 
of  magnifying  at  will  the  minutest  physical  or 
astral  particle  to  any  desired  size,  as  through  a 
microscope — though  no  microscope  ever  made, 
or  ever  likely  to  be  made,  possesses  even  a  thou- 
sandth part  of  this  psychic  magnifying  power. 
By  its  means  the  hypothetical  molecule  and  atom 
postulated  by  science  become  visible  and  living 
realities  to  the  occult  student,  and  on  this  closer 
examination  he  finds  them  to  be  much  more  com- 
plex in  their  structure  than  the  scientific  man  has 
yet  realized  them  to  be.  It  also  enables  him  to 
follow  with  the  closest  attention  and  the  most 
lively  interest  all  kinds  of  electrical,  magnetic, 
and  other  etheric  action;  and  when  some  of  the 
specialists  in  these  branches  of  science  are  able  to 
develop  the  power  to  see  these  things  whereof 
they  write  so  facilely,  some  very  wonderful  and 
beautiful  revelations  may  be  expected. 

"This  is  one  of  the  siddihis  or  powers  de- 
scribed in  the  Oriental  books  as  accruing  to  the 
man  who  devotes  himself  to  spiritual  develop- 
ment, though  the  name  under  which  it  is  there 
mentioned  might  not  be  immediately  recogniz- 
able. It  is  referred  to  as  'the  power  of  making 
oneself  large  or  small  at  will/  and  the  reason  of 
a  description  which  appears  so  oddly  to  reverse 
the  fact  is  that  in  reality  the  method  by  which 


148  CLAIRVOYANCE 

this  feat  is  performed  is  precisely  that  indicated 
in  these  ancient  books.  It  is  by  the  use  of  tempo- 
rary visual  machinery  of  inconceivable  minute- 
ness that  the  world  of  the  infinitely  little  is 
so  clearly  seen;  and  in  the  same  way  (or  rather 
in  the  opposite  way)  it  is  by  enormously  increas- 
ing the  size  of  the  machinery  used  that  it  be- 
comes possible  to  increase  the  breadth  of  one's 
view — in  the  physical  sense  as  well  as,  let  us 
hope,  in  the  moral — far  beyond  anything  that 
science  has  ever  dreamt  of  as  possible  for  man. 
So  that  the  alteration  in  size  is  really  in  the  ve- 
hicle of  the  student's  consciousness,  and  not  in 
anything  outside  of  himself;  and  the  old  Oriental 
books  have,  after  all,  put  the  case  more  accurately 
than  have  we.  I  have  indicated,  though  only  in 
the  roughest  outlines,  what  a  trained  student, 
possessed  of  full  astral  vision,  would  see  in  the 
immensely  wider  world  to  which  that  vision  in- 
troduced him;  but  I  have  said  nothing  of  the 
stupendous  change  in  his  mental  attitude  which 
comes  from  the  experimental  certainty  regarding 
matters  of  paramount  importance.  The  differ- 
ence between  even  the  profoundest  intellectual 
conviction,  and  the  precise  knowledge  gained  by 
direct  personal  experience,  must  be  felt  in  order 
to  be  appreciated." 

Now,  here  at  this  place,  I  wish  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  student  to  the  fact  that  while  the 
above  stated  phenomena  strictly  belong  to  the 
class  of  "simple  clairvoyance,"  rather  than  to 
"space  clairvoyance,"  or  "time  clairvoyance"  re- 
spectively,   nevertheless    the    same    phenomena 


SIMPLE  CLAIRVOYANCE  149 

may  be  manifested  in  connection  with  that  of 
these  other  classes  of  clairvoyance.  For  instance, 
in  space  clairvoyance  the  trained  clairvoyant  is 
able  not  only  to  perceive  things  happening  at 
points  far  distant,  but  may  also  (if  highly  devel- 
oped psychically)  be  able  to  perceive  the  details 
just  mentioned  as  well  as  if  he  were  at  that  dis- 
tant point  in  person.  Likewise,  in  time  clair- 
voyance, the  clairvoyant  may  exercise  the  power 
of  magnifying  vision  regarding  the  object  far 
distant  in  time,  just  as  if  he  were  living  in  that 
time.  So  here  as  elsewhere  we  find  the  differ- 
ent classes  of  phenomena  shading  and  blending 
into  each  other.  At  the  best,  classifications  are 
useful  principally  for  convenience  in  intellectual 
consideration  and  reasoning. 

In  the  same  way,  the  clairvoyant  may  manifest 
the  above  mentioned  forms  of  astral  sensing  in 
cases  when  the  astral  vision  has  been  awakened 
by  psychometry,  or  by  crystal  gazing,  as  well  as 
in  those  cases  in  which  the  condition  has  been 
brought  about  through  meditation,  or  similar 
methods. 

I  would  also  call  the  attention  of  the  student 
to  the  fact  that  in  the  above  description  of  the 
phenomena  of  simple  clairvoyance  I  have  made 
no  mention  of  the  sights  of  the  astral  plane  which 
often  become  visible  to  the  clairvoyant,  and 
which  have  to  do  with  astral  bodies,  astral  shells, 
the  disembodied  souls  of  those  who  have  passed 
on  to  other  planes  of  existence,  etc.  I  shall  take 
up  these  matters  in  other  parts  of  this  course,  and 
shall  not  dwell  upon  them  in  this  place.    But,  I 


150  CLAIRVOYANCE 

wish  you  to  remember  that  the  same  power 
which  enables  you  to  sense  other  objects  by 
means  of  the  astral  scenes,  is  the  same  that  is 
called  into  operation  in  the  cases  to  which  I  have 
just  referred. 

The  astral  plane  is  a  wonderful  plane  or  field  of 
being,  containing  many  strange  and  wonderful 
beings  and  things.  The  person  living  on  the 
physical  plane  may  visit  the  astral  plane  in  the 
astral  body;  and,  again,  he  may  perceive  the  hap- 
penings and  scenes  of  that  plane  by  means  of  the 
awakened  and  developed  astral  senses.  Some 
clairvoyants  find  it  easy  to  function  in  one  way, 
and  some  in  another.  It  is  reserved  for  the  scien- 
tifically developed  clairvoyant  to  manifest  the 
well-rounded  power  to  perceive  the  phenomena 
of  the  astral  plane  in  its  wonderful  entirety. 

Finally,  you  will  see  by  reference  to  other 
chapters  of  this  book,  that  one  may  manifest  sim- 
ple clairvoyant  powers  (as  well  as  the  more  com- 
plicated ones  of  time  and  space  clairvoyance)  not 
only  in  the  ordinary  waking  state,  but  also  in  the 
state  of  dreams.  In  fact,  some  of  the  most  strik- 
ing psychic  phenomena  are  manifested  when  the 
seer  is  in  the  dream  state.  As  we  proceed,  you 
will  find  that  every  phase  of  the  great  subject  will 
fit  into  its  place,  and  will  be  found  to  blend  with 
every  other  phase.  There  will  be  found  a  logical 
harmony  and  unity  of  thought  pervading  the 
whole  subject.  But  we  must  use  single  bricks 
and  stones  as  we  build — it  is  only  in  the  com- 
pleted structure  that  we  may  perceive  the  har- 
monious unity. 


LESSON  X. 
CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  DISTANT  SCENES. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  phenomena  of  the  sec- 
ond class  of  clairvoyance,  namely,  Clairvoyance 
in  Space. 

In  space  clairvoyance  the  clairvoyant  person 
senses  scenes  and  events  removed  in  space  from 
the  observer — that  is  to  say,  scenes  and  events 
situated  outside  of  the  range  of  the  physical 
vision  of  the  clairvoyant.  In  this  class  also  is  in- 
cluded certain  phenomena  in  which  the  clairvoy- 
ant vision  is  able  to  discern  things  that  may  be 
concealed  or  obscured  by  intervening  material 
objects.  Some  of  the  many  different  forms  and 
phases  of  space  clairvoyance  are  illustrated  by 
the  following  examples,  all  taken  from  the  best 
sources. 

Bushnell  relates  the  following  well-known 
case  of  space  clairvoyance:  "Capt.  Yount,  of 
Napa  Valley,  California,  one  midwinter's  night 
had  a  dream  in  which  he  saw  what  appeared  to 
be  a  company  of  emigrants  arrested  by  the  snows 
of  the  mountains,  and  perishing  rapidly  by  cold 
and  hunger.  He  noted  the  very  cast  of  the 
scenery,  marked  by  a  huge,  perpendicular  front 
of  white-rock  cliff;  he  saw  the  men  cutting  off 
what  appeared  to  be  tree-tops  rising  out  of  deep 
gulfs  of  snow;  he  distinguished  the  very  features 
of  the  persons,  and  their  look  of  peculiar  distress. 
He  awoke  profoundly  impressed  by  the  distinct- 
ness and  apparent  reality  of  the  dream.    He  at 


152  CLAIRVOYANCE 

length  fell  asleep,  and  dreamed  exactly  the  same 
dream  over  again.  In  the  morning  he  could  not 
expel  it  from  his  mind.  Falling  in  shortly  after 
with  an  old  hunter  comrade,  he  told  his  story, 
and  was  only  the  more  deeply  impressed  by  him 
recognizing  without  hesitation  the  scenery  of  the 
dream.  This  comrade  came  over  the  Sierra  by 
the  Carson  Valley  Pass,  and  declared  that  a  spot 
in  the  Pass  exactly  answered  his  description. 

"By  this  the  unsophistical  patriarch  was  de- 
cided. He  immediately  collected  a  company  of 
men,  with  mules  and  blankets  and  all  necessary 
provisions.  The  neighbors  were  laughing  mean- 
time at  his  credulity.  'No  matter,'  he  said,  'I  am 
able  to  do  this,  and  I  will,  for  I  verily  believe 
that  the  fact  is  according  to  my  dream.'  The 
men  were  sent  into  the  mountains  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  distant,  direct  to  the  Carson  Val- 
ley Pass.  And  there  they  found  the  company 
exactly  in  the  condition  of  the  dream,  and 
brought  in  the  remnant  alive." 

In  connection  with  this  case,  some  leading, 
occultists  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  thought- 
waves  from  the  minds  of  the  distressed  lost  per- 
sons reached  Capt.  Yount  in  his  sleep,  and 
awakened  his  subconscious  attention.  Having 
natural  clairvoyant  power,  though  previously  un- 
aware of  it,  he  naturally  directed  his  astral  vision 
to  the  source  of  the  mental  currents,  and  per- 
ceived clairvoyantly  the  scene  described  in  the 
story.  Not  having  any  acquaintance  with  any  of 
the  lost  party,  it  was  only  by  reason  of  the  men- 
tal currents  of  distress  so  sent  out  that  his  atten- 


DISTANT  SCENES  153 

tion  was  attracted.  This  is  a  very  interesting 
case,  because  several  psychic  factors  are  involved 
in  it,  as  I  have  just  said. 

In  the  following  case,  there  is  found  a  connect- 
ing link  of  acquaintance  with  a  person  playing  a 
prominent  part  in  the  scene,  although  there  was 
no  conscious  appeal  to  the  clairvoyant,  nor  con- 
scious interest  on  her  part  regarding  the  case. 
The  story  is  well-known,  and  appears  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 
It  runs  as  follows: 

"Mrs.  Broughton  awoke  one  night  in  1844,  and 
roused  her  husband,  telling  him  that  something 
dreadful  had  happened  in  France.  He  begged 
her  to  go  asleep  again,  and  not  trouble  him.  She 
assured  him  that  she  was  not  asleep  when  she 
saw  what  she  insisted  on  telling  him — what 
she  saw  in  fact.  She  saw,  first,  a  carriage  acci- 
dent, or  rather,  the  scene  of  such  an  accident 
which  had  occurred  a  few  moments  before. 
What  she  saw  was  the  result  of  the  accident — a 
broken  carriage,  a  crowd  collected,  a  figure 
gently  raised  and  carried  into  the  nearest  house, 
then  a  figure  lying  on  a  bed,  which  she  recog- 
nized as  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  Gradually  friends 
collected  around  the  bed — among  them  several 
members  of  the  French  royal  family — the  queen, 
then  the  king,  all  silently,  tearfully,  watching  the 
evidently  dying  duke.  One  man  (she  could  see 
his  back,  but  did  not  know  who  he  was)  was 
a  doctor.  He  stood  bending  over  the  duke,  feel- 
ing his  pulse,  with  his  watch  in  the  other  hand. 
And  then  all  passed  away,  and  she  saw  no  more. 


154  CLAIRVOYANCE 

"As  soon  as  it  was  daylight  she  wrote  down  in 
her  journal  all  that  she  had  seen.  It  was  before 
the  days  of  the  telegraph,  and  two  or  more  days 
passed  before  the  newspapers  announced  'The 
Death  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans.'  Visiting  Paris  a 
short  time  afterwards,  she  saw  and  recognized 
the  place  of  the  accident,  and  received  the  ex- 
planation of  her  impression.  The  doctor  who 
attended  the  dying  duke  was  an  old  friend  of 
hers,  and  as  he  watched  by  the  bed  his  mind  had 
been  constantly  occupied  with  her  and  her 
family." 

In  many  cases  of  clairvoyance  of  this  kind, 
there  is  found  to  exist  a  strong  connecting  link 
of  mutual  interest  or  affection,  over  which  flows 
the  strong  attention-arousing  force  of  need  or 
distress,  which  calls  into  operation  the  clairvoy- 
ant visioning. 

In  other  cases  there  seems  to  be  lacking  any 
connecting  link,  although,  even  in  such  cases 
there  may  be  a  subconscious  link  connecting  the 
clairvoyant  with  the  scene  or  event.  An  interest- 
ing example  of  this  last  mentioned  phase  is  that 
related  by  W.  T.  Stead,  the  English  editor  and 
author,  as  having  happened  to  himself.  Mr. 
Stead's  recital  follows: 

"I  got  into  bed  and  was  not  able  to  go  to 
sleep.  I  shut  my  eyes  and  waited  for  sleep  to 
come;  instead  of  sleep,  however,  there  came 
to  me  a  succession  of  curiously  vivid  clairvoyant 
pictures.  There  was  no  light  in  the  room,  and 
it  was  perfectly  dark;  I  had  my  eyes  shut  also. 
But,  notwithstanding  the  darkness,  I  suddenly 


DISTANT  SCENES  155 

was  conscious  of  looking  at  a  scene  of  singular 
beauty.  It  was  as  if  I  saw  a  living  miniature 
about  the  size  of  a  magic-lantern  slide.  At  this 
moment  I  can  recall  the  scene  as  if  I  saw  it  again. 
It  was  a  seaside  piece.  The  moon  was  shining 
upon  the  water,  which  rippled  slowly  on  to  the 
beach.  Right  before  me  a  long  mole  ran  into  the 
water.  On  either  side  of  the  mole  irregular  rocks 
stood  up  above  the  sea-level.  On  the  shore  stood 
several  houses,  square  and  rude,  which  resembled 
nothing  that  I  had  ever  seen  in  house  archi- 
tecture. No  one  was  stirring,  but  the  moon  was 
there  and  the  sea  and  the  gleam  of  the  moon- 
light on  the  rippling  waters,  just  as  if  I  had  been 
looking  on  the  actual  scene.  It  was  so  beautiful 
that  I  remember  thinking  that  if  it  continued  I 
should  be  so  interested  in  looking  at  it  that  I 
should  never  go  asleep.  I  was  wide  awake,  and 
at  the  same  time  that  I  saw  the  scene  I  distinctly 
heard  the  dripping  of  the  rain  outside  the  win- 
dow. Then,  suddenly  without  any  apparent  ob- 
ject or  reason,  the  scene  changed. 

"The  moonlight  sea  vanished,  and  in  its  place 
I  was  looking  right  into  the  interior  of  a  read- 
ing-room. It  seemed  as  if  it  had  been  used  as  a 
school-room  in  the  daytime,  and  was  employed 
as  a  reading-room  in  the  evening.  I  remember 
seeing  one  reader  who  had  a  curious  resemblance 
to  Tim  Harrington,  although  it  was  not  he,  hold 
up  a  magazine  or  book  in  his  hand  and  laugh. 
It  was  not  a  picture — it  was  there.  The  scene 
was  just  as  if  you  were  looking  through  an  opera 
glass;  you   saw  the  play  of  the  muscles,   the 


156  CLAIRVOYANCE 

gleaming  of  the  eye,  every  movement  of  the  un- 
known persons  in  the  unnamed  place  into  which 
you  were  gazing.  I  saw  all  that  without  opening 
my  eyes,  nor  did  my  eyes  have  anything  to  do 
with  it.  You  see  such  things  as  these  as  if  it 
were  with  another  sense  which  is  more  inside 
your  head  than  in  your  eyes.  The  pictures  were 
apropos  of  nothing;  they  had  been  suggested 
by  nothing  I  had  been  reading  or  talking  of;  they 
simply  came  as  if  I  had  been  able  to  look  through 
a  glass  at  what  was  occurring  somewhere  else  in 
the  world.    I  had  my  peep,  and  then  it  passed." 

An  interesting  case  of  space  clairvoyance  is 
that  related  of  Swedenborg,  on  the  best  author- 
ity. The  story  runs  that  in  the  latter  part  of 
September,  1759,  at  four  o'clock  one  Saturday 
afternoon,  Swedenborg  arrived  home  from  Eng- 
land, and  disembarked  at  the  town  of  Gothen- 
burg. A  friend,  Mr.  W.  Castel,  met  him  and  in- 
vited him  to  dinner,  at  which  meal  there  were 
fifteen  persons  gathered  around  the  table  in 
honor  of  the  guest.  At  six  o'clock,  Swedenborg 
went  out  a  few  minutes,  returning  to  the  table 
shortly  thereafter,  looking  pale  and  excited. 
When  questioned  by  the  guests  he  replied  that 
there  was  a  fire  at  Stockholm,  two  hundred  miles 
distant,  and  that  the  fire  was  steadily  spreading. 
He  grew  very  restless,  and  frequently  left  the 
room.  He  said  that  the  house  of  one  of  his 
friends,  whose  name  he  mentioned,  was  already 
in  ashes,  and  that  his  own  was  in  danger.  At 
eight  o'clock,  after  he  had  been  out  again,  he 
returned  crying  out  cheerfully,  "Thank  heaven! 


DISTANT  SCENES  157 

the  fire  is  out,  the  third  door  from  my  house!" 
The  news  of  the  strange  happening  greatly  ex- 
cited the  people  of  the  town,  and  the  city  officials 
made  inquiry  regarding  it.  Swedenborg  was 
summoned  before  the  authorities,  and  requested 
to  relate  in  detail  what  he  had  seen.  Answering 
the  questions  put  to  him,  he  told  when  and  how 
the  fire  started;  how  it  had  begun;  how,  when 
and  where  it  had  stopped;  the  time  it  had  lasted; 
the  number  of  houses  destroyed  or  damaged,  and 
the  number  of  persons  injured.  On  the  follow- 
ing Monday  morning  a  courier  arrived  from 
Stockholm,  bringing  news  of  the  fire,  having  left 
the  town  while  it  was  still  burning.  On  the  next 
day  after,  Tuesday  morning,  another  courier  ar- 
rived at  the  city  hall  with  a  full  report  of  the  fire, 
which  corresponded  precisely  with  the  vision  of 
Swedenborg.  The  fire  had  stopped  precisely  at 
eight  o'clock,  the  very  minute  that  Swedenborg 
had  so  announced  it  to  the  company. 

A  similar  case  is  related  by  Stead,  having  been 
told  to  him  by  the  wife  of  a  Dean  in  the  Episcopal 
Church.  He  relates  it  as  follows:  "I  was  stay- 
ing in  Virginia,  some  hundred  miles  away  from 
home,  when  one  morning  about  eleven  o'clock  I 
felt  an  overpowering  sleepiness,  which  drowsi- 
ness was  quite  unusual,  and  which  caused  me  to 
lie  down.  In  my  sleep  I  saw  quite  distinctly  my 
home  in  Richmond  in  flames.  The  fire  had 
broken  out  in  one  wing  of  the  house,  which  I  saw 
with  dismay  was  where  I  kept  all  my  best 
dresses.  The  people  were  all  trying  to  check  the 
flames,  but  it  was  no  use.    My  husband  was  there, 


158  CLAIRVOYANCE 

walking  about  before  the  burning  house,  carry- 
ing a  portrait  in  his  hand.  Everything  was  quite 
clear  and  distinct,  exactly  as  if  I  had  actually 
been  present  and  seen  everything.  After  a  time, 
I  woke  up,  and  going  down  stairs  told  my  friends 
the  strange  dream  I  had  had.  They  laughed  at 
me,  and  made  such  game  of  my  vision  that  I  did 
my  best  to  think  no  more  about  it.  I  was  travel- 
ing about,  a  day  or  two  passed,  and  when  Sun- 
day came  I  found  myself  in  a  church  where  some 
relatives  were  worshipping.  When  I  entered 
the  pew  they  looked  very  strange,  and  as  soon  as 
the  service  was  over  I  asked  them  what  was  the 
matter.  'Don't  be  alarmed,'  they  said,  'there  is 
nothing  serious.'  Then  they  handed  me  a  post- 
card from  my  husband  which  simply  said,  'House 
burned  out;  covered  by  insurance.'  The  day  was 
the  date  upon  which  my  dream  occurred.  I  has- 
tened home,  and  then  I  learned  that  everything 
had  happened  exactly  as  I  had  seen  it.  The  fire 
had  broken  out  in  the  wing  I  had  seen  blazing. 
My  clothes  were  all  burned,  and  the  oddest  thing 
about  it  was  that  my  husband,  having  rescued  a 
favorite  picture  from  the  burning  building,  had 
carried  it  about  among  the  crowd  for  some  time 
before  he  could  find  a  place  in  which  to  put  it 
safely." 

Another  case,  related  by  Stead,  the  same  au- 
thority, runs  as  follows:  "The  father  of  a  son 
who  had  sailed  on  the  'Strathmore,'  an  emigrant 
ship  outbound  from  the  Clyde  saw  one  night  the 
ship  foundering  amid  the  waves,  and  saw  that 
his  son,  with  some  others,  had  escaped  safely  to  a 


DISTANT  SCENES  159 

desert  island  near  which  the  wreck  had  taken 
place.  He  was  so  much  impressed  by  this  vision 
that  he  wrote  to  the  owner  of  the  'Strathmore' 
telling  him  what  he  had  seen.  His  information 
was  scouted;  but  after  a  while  the  'Strathmore* 
became  overdue,  and  the  owner  became  uneasy. 
Day  followed  day,  and  still  no  tidings  of  the  mis- 
sing ship.  Then  like  Pharaoh's  butler,  the  owner 
remembered  his  sins  one  day,  and  hunted  up  the 
letter  describing  the  vision.  It  supplied  at  least 
a  theory  to  account  for  the  ship's  disappearance. 
All  outward-bound  ships  were  requested  to  look 
out  for  any  survivors  on  the  island  indicated  in 
the  vision.  These  orders  were  obeyed,  and  the 
survivors  of  the  'Strathmore'  were  found  exactly 
where  the  father  had  seen  them." 

The  Society  for  Psychical  Research  mentions 
another  interesting  case,  as  follows:  "Dr.  Go- 
linski,  a  physician  of  Kremeutchug,  Russia,  was 
taking  an  after-dinner  nap  in  the  afternoon, 
about  half-past  three  o'clock.  He  had  a  vision 
in  which  he  saw  himself  called  out  on  a  profes- 
sional visit,  which  took  him  to  a  little  room 
with  dark  hangings.  To  the  right  of  the  door  he 
saw  a  chest  of  drawers,  upon  which  rested  a  lit- 
tle paraffine  lamp  of  special  pattern,  different 
from  anything  he  had  ever  seen  before.  On  the 
left  of  the  door,  he  saw  a  woman  suffering  from  a 
severe  hemorrhage.  He  then  saw  himself  giv- 
ing her  professional  treatment.  Then  he  awoke, 
suddenly,  and  saw  that  it  was  just  half-past  four 
o'clock.  Within  ten  minutes  after  he  awoke,  he 
was  called  out  on  a  professional  visit,  and  on  en- 


160  CLAIRVOYANCE 

tering  the  bedroom  he  saw  all  the  details  that  had 
appeared  to  him  in  his  vision.  There  was  the 
chest  of  drawers — there  was  the  peculiar  lamp — 
there  was  the  woman  on  the  bed,  suffering  from 
the  hemorrhage.  Upon  inquiry,  he  found  that 
she  had  grown  worse  between  three  and  four 
o'clock,  and  had  anxiously  desired  that  he  come 
to  her  about  that  time,  finally  dispatching  a  mes- 
senger for  him  at  half-past  four,  the  moment  at 
which  he  awoke. 

Another,  and  a  most  peculiar,  phase  of  space 
clairvoyance  is  that  in  which  certain  persons  so 
awaken  the  astral  senses  of  other  persons  that 
these  persons  perceive  the  first  person — usually 
in  the  form  of  seemingly  seeing  the  person  pres- 
ent in  the  immediate  vicinity,  just  as  one  would 
see  a  ghostly  visitor.  In  some  cases  there  is 
manifested  double-clairvoyance,  both  persons 
visioning  clairvoyantly;  in  other  cases,  only  the 
person  "visited"  astrally  senses  the  occurrence. 
The  following  cases  illustrate  this  form  of  space 
clairvoyance. 

W.  T.  Stead  relates  the  case  of  a  lady  well 
known  to  him,  who  spontaneously  developed  the 
power  of  awakening  astral  perception  in  others. 
She  seemed  to  "materialize"  in  their  presence. 
Her  power  in  this  direction  became  a  source  of 
considerable  anxiety  and  worry  to  her  friends  to 
whom  she  would  pay  unexpected  and  involun- 
tary visits,  frightening  them  out  of  their  wits  by 
the  appearance  of  her  "ghost."  They  naturally 
thought  that  she  had  died  suddenly  and  had  ap- 
peared to  them  in  ghostly  form.    The  lady,  her- 


DISTANT  SCENES  161 

self,  was  totally  unconscious  of  the  appearance, 
though  she  admitted  that  at  or  about  the  times 
of  the  appearances  she  had  been  thinking  of  her 
friends  whom  she  visited  astrally. 

The  German  writer,  Jung  Stilling,  mentions 
the  case  of  a  man  of  good  character  who  had  de- 
veloped power  of  this  kind,  but  also  was  con- 
scious of  his  visits.  He  exerted  the  power 
consciously  by  an  effort  of  will,  it  seems.  At  one 
time  he  was  consulted  by  the  wife  of  a  sea  cap- 
tain whose  husband  was  on  a  long  voyage  to 
Europe  and  Asia  (sailing  from  America).  His 
ship  was  long  overdue,  and  his  wife  was  quite 
worried  about  him.  She  consulted  the  gentle- 
man in  question,  and  he  promised  to  do  what 
he  could  for  her.  Leaving  the  room  he  threw 
himself  on  a  couch  and  was  seen  by  the  lady 
(who  peered  through  the  half-opened  door)  to 
be  in  a  state  of  semi-trance.  Finally  he  returned 
and  told  her  that  he  had  visited  her  husband  in  a 
coffee-house  in  London,  and  gave  her  husband's 
reasons  for  not  writing,  adding  that  her  husband 
would  soon  return  to  America.  When  her  hus- 
hand  returned  several  months  later,  the  wife 
asked  him  about  the  matter.  He  informed  her 
that  the  clairvoyant's  report  was  correct  in  every 
particular.  Upon  being  introduced  to  the  clair- 
voyant, the  captain  manifested  great  surprise, 
saying  that  he  had  met  the  man  in  question  on  a 
certain  day  in  a  coffee-house  in  London,  and  that 
the  man  had  told  him  that  his  wife  was  worried 
about  him,  and  that  he  had  told  the  man  that  he 
had  been  prevented  from  writing  for  several  rea- 


162  CLAIRVOYANCE 

sons,  and  that  he  was  on  the  eve  of  beginning  his 
return  voyage  to  America.  He  added  that  when 
he  looked  for  the  man  a  few  moments  afterwards, 
the  stranger  had  apparently  lost  himself  in  the 
crowd,  disappeared  and  was  seen  no  more  by 
him. 

The  Society  for  Psychical  Research  gives 
prominence  to  the  celebrated  case  of  the  mem- 
ber of  the  London  Stock  Exchange,  whose  iden- 
tity it  conceals  under  the  initials  "S.  H.  B.,"  who 
possessed  this  power  of  voluntary  awakening  of 
astral  sight  in  others  by  means  of  his  "appear- 
ance" to  them.  The  man  relates  his  experience 
to  the  Society  as  follows:  "One  Sunday  night 
in  November,  1881,  I  was  in  Kildare  Gardens, 
when  I  willed  very  strongly  that  I  would  visit  in 
the  spirit  two  lady  friends,  the  Misses  X.,  who 
were  living  three  miles  off,  in  Hogarth  Road.  I 
willed  that  I  should  do  this  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  having  willed  it,  I  went  to  sleep. 
Next  Thursday,  when  I  first  met  my  friends, 
the  elder  lady  told  me  that  she  woke  up  and  saw 
my  apparition  advancing  to  her  bedside.  She 
screamed  and  woke  her  sisters,  who  also  saw 
me."  (The  report  includes  the  signed  statement 
of  the  ladies,  giving  the  time  of  the  appearance, 
and  the  details  thereof.) 

"Again,  on  December  1,  1882,  I  was  at 
Southall.  At  half-past  nine  I  sat  down  to  en- 
deavor to  fix  my  mind  so  strongly  upon  the  in- 
terior of  a  house  at  Kew,  where  Miss  V.  and  her 
sister  lived,  that  I  seemed  to  be  actually  in  the 
house.     I  was  conscious,  but  was  in  a  kind  of 


DISTANT  SCENES  163 

mesmeric  sleep.  When  I  went  to  bed  that  night, 
I  willed  to  be  in  the  front  bedroom  of  that  house 
at  Kew  at  twelve,  and  to  make  my  presence  felt 
by  the  inmates.  Next  day  I  went  to  Kew.  Miss 
V.'s  married  sister  told  me,  without  any  prompt- 
ing from  me,  that  she  had  seen  me  in  the  passage 
going  from  one  room  to  another  at  half-past  nine 
o'clock,  and  that  at  twelve,  when  she  was  wide 
awake,  she  saw  me  come  to  the  front  bedroom, 
where  she  slept,  and  take  her  hair,  which  is  very 
long,  into  my  hand.  She  said  I  then  took  her 
hand,  and  gazed  into  the  palm  intently.  She  said, 
'You  need  not  look  at  the  lines,  for  I  never  have 
any  trouble.'  She  then  woke  her  sister.  When 
Mrs.  L.  told  me  this,  I  took  out  the  entry  that  I 
had  made  the  previous  night  and  read  it  to  her. 
Mrs.  L.  is  quite  sure  she  was  not  dreaming.  She 
had  only  seen  me  once  before,  two  years  previ- 
ously. Again,  on  March  22,  1884,  I  wrote  to  Mr. 
Gurney,  of  the  Psychical  Research  Society,  tell- 
ing him  that  I  was  going  to  make  my  presence 
felt  by  Miss  V.,  at  44  Norland  Square,  at  mid- 
night. Ten  days  afterwards,  I  saw  Miss  V., 
when  she  voluntarily  told  me  that  on  Saturday 
at  midnight,  she  distinctly  saw  me,  when  she  was 
quite  wide  awake." 

The  records  of  the  psychic  researchers  are 
filled  with  numerous  accounts  of  cases  in  which 
similar  astral  projections  have  occurred  when  the 
person  was  on  his  or  her  death-bed,  but  was  still 
alive.  It  would  seem  that  under  such  circum- 
stances the  astral  senses  are  very  much  freer 
from  the  interference  of  the  physical  senses,  and 


164  CLAIRVOYANCE 

tend  to  manifest  very  strongly  in  the  form  of 
appearances  to  persons  in  whom  the  dying  per- 
son is  attached  by  the  ties  of  affection.  Many 
who  read  this  course  have  known  of  cases  of  this 
kind,  for  they  are  of  quite  frequent  occurrence. 

The  student  will  notice  that  in  the  majority  of 
the  cases  cited  in  this  chapter  the  clairvoyant  has 
been  in  a  state  of  sleep,  or  semi-sleep — often  in 
a  dream  condition.  But  you  must  not  jump  to 
the  conclusion  that  this  condition  is  always  nec- 
essary for  the  manifestation  of  this  phenomenon. 
On  the  contrary,  the  advanced  and  well  devel- 
oped clairvoyants  usually  assume  merely  a  con- 
dition of  deep  reverie  or  meditation,  shutting  out 
the  sounds  and  thoughts  of  the  physical  plane, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  function  better  on  the  astral 
plane. 

The  reason  that  so  many  recorded  cases  have 
occurred  when  the  clairvoyant  person  was  asleep, 
and  the  vision  appeared  as  a  dream,  is  simply  be- 
cause in  such  a  condition  the  physical  senses  of 
the  person  are  stilled  and  at  rest,  and  there  is  less 
likelihood  of  interference  from  them,  and  a  better 
opportunity  for  the  astral  senses  to  function 
effectively.  It  is  like  the  familiar  cases  in  which 
one  becomes  so  wrapped  up  in  viewing  a  beau- 
tiful work  of  art,  or  in  listening  to  a  beautiful 
musical  rendition,  that  he  or  she  forgets  all  about 
the  sights  and  sounds  of  the  world  outside.  One 
sometimes  gets  into  this  same  condition  when 
reading  an  interesting  book,  or  when  witnessing 
an  interesting  play.  When  the  psychic  powers 
are  concentrated  upon  any  one  channel  of  vision, 


DISTANT  SCENES  165 

the  others  fail  to  register  a  clear  impression.  The 
same  rule  holds  good  on  the  astral  plane,  as  on 
the  physical. 

There  are  certain  psychic  conditions  which  are 
especially  conducive  to  the  manifestation  of  clair- 
voyant phenomena,  as  all  students  of  the  subject 
know  very  well.  These  conditions  are  somewhat 
hard  to  induce,  at  least  until  the  clairvoyant  has 
had  considerable  experience  and  practice.  But, 
in  the  state  of  sleep,  the  person  induces  the  de- 
sired conditions,  in  many  cases,  though  he  is  not 
consciously  doing  so.  As  might  naturally  be 
expected,  therefore,  the  majority  of  the  recorded 
cases  of  clairvoyance  have  occurred  when  the 
clairvoyant  person  has  been  asleep. 

I  should  also  state,  once  more,  tnat  in  many 
cases  in  which  the  clairvoyant  has  witnessed  the 
"appearance"  of  another  person,  as  in  the  cases 
such  as  I  have  just  mentioned,  there  is  always 
the  possibility  of  the  person  having  actually  ap- 
peared in  his  astral  body,  unconsciously  to  him- 
self of  course.  No  one  but  a  skilled  occultist  is 
able  to  distinguish  between  cases  of  this  kind. 
The  line  between  this  class  of  clairvoyance  and 
astral  appearance  is  very  thin,  and,  in  fact,  the 
two  classes  of  phenomena  shade  and  blend  into 
each  other.  In  reality,  when  one  gets  down  to 
bottom  principles,  there  is  very  little  difference 
between  the  actual  appearance  in  the  astral  body, 
and  the  strong  projection  of  one's  presence  by 
means  of  will,  conscious  or  unconscious,  along 
the  lines  of  awakening  the  clairvoyant  vision  of 
others.    To  attempt  to  explain  the  slight  points 


166  CLAIRVOYANCE 

of  difference  here,  would  only  involve  the  student 
in  a  mass  of  technical  description  which  would 
tend  to  confuse,  rather  than  to  enlighten  him — 
from  this  I  refrain. 


LESSON  XI. 
CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST 

The  third  great  class  of  clairvoyant  phe- 
nomena, known  as  Time  Clairvoyance,  is  divided 
into  two  sub-classes,  as  follows:  (1)  Past-Time 
Clairvoyance;  and  (2)  Future-Time  Clairvoy- 
ance. The  characteristics  of  each  of  these  sub- 
classes is  indicated  by  its  name. 

Past-Time  Clairvoyance,  as  indicated  by  the 
name,  is  that  class  of  clairvoyant  phenomena 
which  is  concerned  with  the  perception  of  facts, 
events  and  happenings  of  past  time.  Whether 
the  happening  is  that  of  five  minutes  ago,  or  of 
five  thousand  years  ago,  the  principles  involved 
are  precisely  the  same.  One  is  no  more  or  less 
wonderful  than  is  the  other. 

Many  students  confess  themselves  perplexed 
when  they  are  first  confronted  with  this  class  of 
phenomena.  While  they  find  it  comparatively 
easy  to  see  how  by  astral  vision  the  clairvoyant 
is  able  to  sense  events  happening  at  that  moment, 
though  thousands  of  miles  away  from  the  ob- 
server, they  cannot  at  first  understand  how  one 
can  "see"  a  thing  no  longer  in  existence,  but 
which  disappeared  from  sight  thousands  of  years 
ago.  Naturally,  they  ask  to  be  informed  how 
this  is  possible,  before  proceeding  to  develop  the 
faculty  itself.  Believing  that  this  question  is  now 
being  asked  by  you,  the  student  of  these  lessons, 
I  shall  pause  for  a  few  moments  and  show  you 


168  CLAIRVOYANCE 

"just  how"  this  wonderful  thing  becomes  pos- 
sible to  the  clairvoyant. 

In  the  first  place,  it  would  undoubtedly  be  im- 
possible to  perceive  a  thing,  even  by  astral  vision, 
if  it  had  entirely  disappeared  at  some  time  in  the 
past — this  would  be  beyond  all  natural  powers, 
astral  as  well  as  physical.  But,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  things  of  the  past  have  not  entirely  dis- 
appeared, but,  on  the  contrary,  while  having  dis- 
appeared on  the  physical  plane  they  still  exist  on 
the  astral  plane.  I  shall  endeavor  to  explain  this 
wonderful  fact  of  nature  to  you  in  plain  terms, 
although  it  belongs  to  one  of  the  most  mys- 
terious classes  of  the  occult  facts  of  the  universe. 

In  the  occult  teachings  we  find  many  refer- 
ences to  "the  Akashic  Records,"  or  what  is  some- 
times called  "the  records  of  the  Astral  Light." 
Without  going  into  technical  occult  definitions 
and  explanations,  I  will  say  to  you  that  the  gist 
of  this  occult  teaching  is  that  in  that  high  form 
of  the  universal  substance  which  is  called  the 
Universal  Ether  there  is  found  to  be  recorded  all 
the  happenings  of  the  entire  World  Cycle  of 
which  the  present  time  is  a  part.  All  that  has 
happened  from  the  very  beginning  of  this  World 
Cycle,  millions  of  years  ago,  is  preserved  on  these 
astral  records,  and  may  be  read  by  the  advanced 
clairvoyant  or  other  person  possessing  occult 
powers  of  this  kind.  These  records  perish  only 
with  the  termination  of  a  World  Cycle,  which 
will  not  happen  for  millions  of  years  yet  to  come. 

To  those  who  cannot  accept  the  reasonableness 
of  this  occult  fact,  I  would  say  that  there  are 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST    169 

analogies  to  be  found  on  other  planes  of  natural 
manifestation.  For  instance,  as  astronomy- 
teaches  us,  a  star  may  be  blotted  out  of  existence, 
and  yet  its  light  will  persist  long  after  (perhaps 
until  the  end  of  world-time)  traveling  along  at 
the  rate  of  186,000  miles  each  second.  The  light 
that  we  now  see  coming  from  the  distant  stars 
has  left  those  stars  many  years  ago — in  some 
cases  thousands  of  years  ago.  We  see  them  not  as 
they  are  now,  but  as  they  were  at  the  time  the  ray 
of  light  left  them,  many  years  ago.  The  astrono- 
mers inform  us  that  if  one  of  these  stars  had  been 
sands)  of  years  ago,  we  would  still  see  it  as 
in  actual  existence.  In  fact,  it  is  believed  that 
some  of  these  stars  which  we  see  twinkling  at 
night  have  actually  been  blotted  out  hundreds  of 
years  ago.  We  will  not  be  aware  of  this  fact 
until  the  light  rays  suddenly  cease  reaching  us, 
after  their  journey  of  billions  of  miles  and  hun- 
dreds of  years.  A  star  blotted  out  of  existence 
today  would  be  seen  by  our  children,  and  chil- 
dren's children. 

The  heat  from  a  stove  will  be  felt  in  a  room 
long  after  the  stove  has  been  removed  from  it. 
A  room  will  long  contain  the  odor  of  something 
that  has  been  removed  from  it.  It  is  said  that  in 
one  of  the  old  mosques  of  Persia  there  may  be 
perceived  the  faint  odor  of  the  musk  that  was 
exposed  there  hundrds  of  years  ago — the  very 
walls  are  saturated  with  the  pungent  odor. 
Again,  is  it  not  wonderful  that  our  memories  pre- 
serve the  images  of  the  sounds  and  forms  which 
were  placed  there  perhaps  fifty  years  and  more 


170  CLAIRVOYANCE 

ago?  How  do  these  memory  images  survive  and 
exist  ?  Though  we  may  have  thought  of  the  past 
thing  for  half  a  lifetime,  yet,  suddenly  its  image 
flashes  into  our  consciousness.  Surely  this  is  as 
wonderful  as  the  Akashic  Records,  though  its 
"commonness"  makes  it  lose  its  wonderful  ap- 
pearance to  us. 

Camille  Flammarion,  the  eminent  French  as- 
tronomer, in  a  book  written  over  twenty-five 
years  ago,  and  which  is  now  out  of  print,  I  be- 
lieve, pictured  a  possible  condition  of  affairs  in 
which  a  disembodied  soul  would  be  able  to  per- 
ceive events  that  happened  in  the  past,  by  simply 
taking  a  position  in  space  in  which  he  would  be 
able  to  catch  the  light-waves  that  emanated  from 
a  distant  planet  at  that  particular  time  in  the  past 
the  happenings  of  which  he  wanted  to  perceive. 
The  little  book  was  called  "Lumen" — I  advise 
you  to  read  it,  if  you  can  find  it  in  your  public 
libraries. 

Another  writer  has  written  somewhat  along 
the  same  lines.  I  herewith  give  you  a  quotation 
from  him,  that  you  may  get  the  idea  he  wishes 
to  express — it  will  help  you  in  your  conception  of 
the  Akashic  Records.  He  says :  "When  we  see 
anything,  whether  it  be  the  book  we  hold  in  our 
hands,  or  a  star  millions  of  miles  away,  we  do  so 
by  means  of  a  vibration  in  the  ether,  commonly 
called  a  ray  of  light,  which  passes  from  the  ob- 
ject seen  to  our  eyes.  Now  the  speed  with  which 
this  vibration  passes  is  so  great — about  186,000 
miles  in  a  second — that  when  we  are  considering 
any  object  in  our  own  world  we  may  regard  it  as 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST    171 

practically  instantaneous.  When,  however,  we 
come  to  deal  with  interplanetary  distances  we 
have  to  take  the  speed  of  light  into  consideration, 
for  an  appreciable  period  is  occupied  in  travers- 
ing these  vast  spaces.  For  example,  it  takes 
eight  minutes  and  a  quarter  for  light  to  travel  to 
us  from  the  sun,  so  that  when  we  look  at  the  solar 
orb  we  see  it  by  means  of  a  ray  of  light  which  left 
it  more  than  eight  minutes  ago.  From  this  fol- 
lows a  very  curious  result.  The  ray  of  light  by 
which  we  see  the  sun  can  obviously  report  to  us 
only  the  state  of  affairs  which  existed  in  that 
luminary  when  it  started  on  its  journey,  and 
would  not  be  in  the  least  affected  by  anything 
that  happened  after  it  left;  so  that  we  really  see 
the  sun  not  as  it  is,  but  as  it  was  eight  minutes 
ago.  That  is  to  say  that  if  anything  important 
took  place  in  the  sun — the  formation  of  a  new 
sun-spot,  for  instance — an  astronomer  who  was 
watching  the  orb  through  his  telescope  at  the 
time  would  be  unaware  of  the  incident  while  it 
was  happening,  since  the  ray  of  light  bearing  the 
news  would  not  reach  him  until  more  than  eight 
minutes  later. 

"The  difference  is  more  striking  when  we  con- 
sider the  fixed  stars,  because  in  their  case  the 
distances  are  so  enormously  greater.  The  pole 
star,  for  example,  is  so  far  off  that  light,  traveling 
at  the  inconceivable  speed  above  mentioned, 
takes  a  little  more  than  fifty  years  to  reach  our 
eyes;  and  from  that  follows  the  strange  but  in- 
evitable inference  that  we  see  the  pole  star  not 
as  or  where  it  is  at  this  moment,  but  as  and  where 


172  CLAIRVOYANCE 

it  was  fifty  years  ago.  Nay,  if  tomorrow  some 
cosmic  catastrophe  were  to  shatter  the  pole  star 
into  fragments,  we  should  still  see  it  peacefully 
shining  in  the  sky  all  the  rest  of  our  lives;  our 
children  would  grow  up  to  middle-age  and  gather 
their  children  about  them  in  turn  before  the 
news  of  that  tremendous  accident  reached  any 
terrestial  eye.  In  the  same  way  there  are  other 
stars  so  far  distant  that  light  takes  thousands  of 
years  to  travel  from  them  to  us,  and  with  refer- 
ence to  their  condition  our  information  is  there- 
fore thousands  of  years  behind  time.  Now  carry 
the  argument  a  step  farther.  Suppose  that  we 
were  able  to  place  a  man  at  the  distance  of 
186,000  miles  from  the  earth,  and  yet  to  endow 
him  with  the  wonderful  faculty  of  being  able 
from  that  distance  to  see  what  was  happening 
here  as  clearly  as  though  he  were  still  close  be- 
side us.  It  is  evident  that  a  man  so  placed  would 
see  everything  a  second  after  the  time  it  really 
happened,  and  so  at  the  present  moment  he 
would  be  seeing  what  happened  a  second  ago. 
Double  that  distance,  and  he  would  be  two  sec- 
onds behind  time,  and  so  on;  remove  him  to  the 
distance  of  the  sun  (still  allowing  him  to  pre- 
serve the  same  mysterious  power  of  sight)  and 
he  would  look  down  and  watch  you  doing  not 
what  you  are  doing  now,  but  what  you  were 
doing  eight  minutes  and  a  quarter  ago.  Carry 
him  to  the  pole  star,  and  he  would  see  passing 
before  his  eyes  the  events  of  fifty  years  ago;  he 
would  be  watching  the  childish  gambols  of  those 
who  at  the  same  moment  were  really  middle- 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST    173 

aged  men.  Marvellous  as  this  may  sound,  it  is 
literally  and  scientifically  true,  and  cannot  be 
denied." 

Flammarion,  in  his  story,  called  "Lumen," 
makes  his  spirit  hero  pass  at  will  along  the  ray 
of  light  from  the  earth,  seeing  the  things  of 
different  eras  of  earth-time.  He  even  made  him 
travel  backward  along  that  ray,  thus  seeing  the 
happenings  in  reverse  order,  as  in  a  moving  pic- 
ture running  backward.  This  story  is  of  the 
greatest  interest  to  the  occultist,  for  while  the 
Akashic  Records  are  not  the  same  as  the  light 
records,  yet  the  analogy  is  so  marked  in  many 
ways  that  the  occultist  sees  here  another  ex- 
emplification of  the  old  occult  axiom  that  "as 
above,  so  below;  as  below,  so  above." 

I  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  here  from  my 
little  book,  "The  Astral  World,"  in  order  to  give 
you  some  further  idea  of  the  nature  of  these 
records  in  the  Astral  Light.  The  reader  is  sup- 
posed to  be  travelling  in  his  astral  body,  having 
the  phenomena  of  the  astral  pointed  out  to  him 
by  a  competent  occultist  acting  as  his  guide.  The 
occultist-guide  says  to  the  student:  "Changing 
our  vibrations,  we  find  ourselves  entering  a 
strange  region,  the  nature  of  which  you  at  first 
fail  to  discern.  Pausing  a  moment  until  your 
astral  vision  becomes  attuned  to  the  peculiar 
vibrations  of  this  region,  you  will  find  that  you 
are  becoming  gradually  aware  of  what  may  be 
called  an  immense  picture  gallery,  spreading  out 
in  all  directions,  and  apparently  bearing  a  direct 
relation  to  every  point  of  space  on  the  surface  of 


174  CLAIRVOYANCE 

the  earth.  At  first,  you  find  it  difficult  to  decipher 
the  meaning  of  this  great  array  of  pictures.  The 
trouble  arises  from  the  fact  that  they  are  ar- 
ranged not  one  after  the  other  in  sequence  on  a 
flat  plane;  but  rather  in  sequence,  one  after 
another,  in  a  peculiar  order  which  may  be  called 
the  order  of  'X-ness  in  space,'  because  it  is  neither 
the  dimension  of  length,  breadth,  or  depth — it  is 
practically  the  order  of  the  fourth  dimension  in 
space,  which  cannot  be  described  in  terms  of  ordi- 
nary spatial  dimension.  Again,  you  find  upon 
closely  examining  the  pictures  that  they  are  very 
minute — practically  microscopic  in  size — and  re- 
quire the  use  of  the  peculiar  magnifying  power  of 
astral  vision  to  bring  them  up  to  a  size  capable  of 
being  recognized  by  your  faculty  of  visual  recog- 
nition. 

"The  astral  vision,  when  developed,  is  capable, 
of  magnifying  any  object,  material  or  astral,  to 
an  enormous  degree — for  instance,  the  trained 
occultist  is  able  to  perceive  the  whirling  atoms 
and  corpuscles  of  matter,  by  means  of  this  pecu- 
liarity of  astral  vision.  Likewise,  he  is  able  to 
plainly  perceive  many  fine  vibrations  of  light 
which  are  invisible  to  the  ordinary  sight.  In 
fact,  the  peculiar  Astral  Light  which  pervades 
this  region  is  due  to  the  power  of  the  astral  vision 
to  perceive  and  register  these  fine  vibrations  of 
light.  Bring  this  power  of  magnifying  into  oper- 
ation, and  you  will  see  that  each  of  the  little 
points  and  details  of  the  great  world  picture  so 
spread  before  you  in  the  Astral  Light  is  really  a 
complete  scene  of  a  certain  place  on  earth,  at  a 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST    175 

certain  period  in  the  history  of  the  earth.  It  re- 
sembles one  of  the  small  views  in  a  series  of  mov- 
ing pictures — a  single  view  of  a  roll-film.  It  is 
fixed,  and  not  in  motion,  and  yet  we  can  move 
forward  along  the  fourth  dimension,  and  thus 
obtain  a  moving  picture  of  the  history  of  any 
point  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  or  even  com- 
bine the  various  points  into  a  large  moving  pic- 
ture, in  the  same  way.  Let  us  prove  this  by 
actual  experiment.  Close  your  eyes  for  a 
moment,  while  we  travel  back  in  time  (so  to 
speak)  along  the  series  of  these  astral  records — 
for,  indeed,  they  travel  back  to  the  beginning  of 
the  history  of  the  earth.  Now  open  your  eyes! 
Looking  around  you,  you  perceive  the  pictured 
representation  of  strange  scenes  filled  with  per- 
sons wearing  a  peculiar  garb — but  all  is  still,  no 
life,  no  motion. 

"Now,  let  us  move  forward  in  time,  at  much 
higher  rate  than  than  in  which  the  astral  views 
were  registered.  You  now  see  flying  before  you 
the  great  movement  of  life  on  a  certain  point  ot 
space,  in  a  far  distant  age.  From  birth  to  death 
you  see  the  life  of  these  strange  people,  all  in  the 
space  of  a  few  moments.  Great  battles  are 
fought,  and  cities  rise  before  your  eyes,  all  in  a 
great  moving  picture  flying  at  a  tremendous 
speed.  Now  stop,  and  then  let  us  move  back- 
ward in  time,  still  gazing  at  the  moving  pictures. 
You  see  a  strange  sight,  like  that  of  'reversing 
the  film'  in  a  moving  picture.  You  see  every- 
thing moving  backward — cities  crumbling  into 
nothingness,  men  arising  from  their  graves,  and 


176  CLAIRVOYANCE 

growing  younger  each  second  until  they  are 
finally  born  as  babes — everything  moving  back- 
ward in  time,  instead  of  forward.  You  can  thus 
witness  any  great  historical  event,  or  follow  the 
career  of  any  great  personage  from  birth  to  death 
— or  backward.  You  will  notice,  moreover,  that 
everything  is  semi-transparent,  and  that  accord- 
ingly you  can  see  the  picture  of  what  is  going  on 
inside  of  buildings  as  well  as  outside  of  them. 
Nothing  escapes  the  Astral  Light  Records. 
Nothing  can  be  concealed  from  it.  By  traveling 
to  any  point  in  time,  on  the  fourth  dimension, 
you  may  begin  at  that  point,  and  see  a  moving 
picture  of  the  history  of  any  part  of  the  earth 
from  that  time  to  the  present — or  you  may  re- 
verse the  sequence  by  travelling  backward,  as  we 
have  seen.  You  may  also  travel  in  the  Astral, 
on  ordinary  space  dimensions,  and  thus  see  what 
happened  simultaneously  all  over  the  earth,  at 
any  special  moment  of  past-time,  if  you  wish." 

Now,  I  do  not  for  a  moment  wish  you  to  under- 
stand that  the  above  experience  is  possible  to 
every  clairvoyant  who  is  able  to  sense  past-time 
events  and  happenings.  On  the  contrary,  the 
above  experience  is  possible  only  to  the  advanced 
occultist,  or  to  the  student  whom  he  may  take 
with  him  on  an  astral  trip,  in  the  astral  body. 
The  clairvoyant  merely  catches  glimpses  of  cer- 
tain phases  and  fields  of  the  great  astral  record 
region  or  state.  For  that  matter,  the  ordinary 
clairvoyant  merely  sees  a  reflection  of  the  true 
Astral  Light  pictures — a  reflection  similar  to 
that  of  a  landscape  reflected  in  a  pond.     More- 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST    177 

over,  this  reflection  may  be  (and  frequently  is) 
disturbed  as  if  by  the  ripples  and  waves  of  the 
pond  in  which  the  landscape  is  reflected.  But, 
still,  even  the  ordinary  clairvoyant  is  able  to  se- 
cure results  which  are  wonderful  enough  in  all 
truth,  and  which  far  transcend  the  power  of  the 
person  functioning  on  the  physical  plane  alone. 

Past-time  clairvoyance  is  frequently  induced 
by  means  of  psychometry,  in  which  the  clair- 
voyant is  able  to  have  "the  loose  end"  to  unwind 
the  ball  of  time.  But,  still,  in  some  cases  the 
clairvoyant  is  able  to  get  en  rapport  with  the 
astral  records  of  past-time  by  the  ordinary  meth- 
ods of  meditation,  etc.  The  main  obstacle  in  the 
last  mentioned  case  is  the  difficulty  of  coming  in 
contact  with  the  exact  period  of  past-time  sought 
for — in  psychometry,  the  vibrations  of  the  "asso- 
ciated object"  supplies  the  missing-link. 

Lacking  the  "associated  object,"  the  clair- 
voyant may  obtain  the  link  by  bringing  into  the 
imagination  some  associated  scene  of  that  time — 
something  else  that  happened  about  the  same 
time.  All  that  is  needed  is  to  get  hold  of  some- 
thing associated  in  space  or  in  time  with  the 
sought  for  scene.  All  that  is  needed  is  the  "loose 
end"  of  association.  Sometimes  the  clairvoyant 
senses  some  past-time  experience,  the  place  and 
time  of  which  is  unknown  to  him.  In  such  cases, 
it  is  necessary  for  him  to  get  hold  of  some  "loose 
end"  by  which  he  may  work  out  the  solution. 
For  instance,  the  picture  of  a  certain  building  or 
personage,  or  historical  happening,  may  give  the 
key  to  the  mystery. 


178  CLAIRVOYANCE 

In  very  high  forms  of  past-time  clairvoyance, 
the  clairvoyant  is  able  not  only  to  perceive  the 
actual  happenings  of  the  past,  but  also  to  actually 
sense  the  thought  and  feelings  of  the  actors 
therein — for  these,  too,  are  recorded  on  the  astral 
plane.  In  other  cases,  the  clairvoyant  person  is 
able  to  picture  scenes  and  happenings  relating  to 
his  past  incarnations,  even  though  he  is  not  able 
to  sense  other  past-time  events  and  scenes.  But, 
here  again,  many  good  past-time  clairvoyants  are 
not  able  to  catch  these  glimpses  of  their  own  past 
lives,  though  able  to  perceive  those  of  other  per- 
sons. All  these  variations  are  due  to  certain 
technical  differences  into  which  I  cannot  go  into 
detail  at  this  place.  Again  some  persons  are 
able  to  perceive  events  that  have  happened  to 
persons  present  before  them,  but  are  not  able 
to  contact  past-time  events  in  the  ordinary  way. 
There  are  a  thousand-and-one  variations  in  clair- 
voyant work.  Only  the  highly  advanced  occultist 
is  master  of  all  of  them.  But,  still,  every  one  may 
develop  himself  or  herself,  from  humble  begin- 
nings. 

In  concluding  this  lesson,  I  wish  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  following  advice  from  a  man 
well  advanced  in  the  knowledge  of  the  astral 
plane.  He  says:  "It  would  be  well  for  all  stu- 
dents to  bear  in  mind  that  occultism  is  the 
apotheosis  of  common-sense,  and  that  every 
vision  that  comes  to  them  is  not  necessarily  a 
picture  from  the  Akashic  Records,  nor  every  ex- 
perience a  revelation  from  on  high.  It  is  far  bet- 
ter to  err  on  the  side  of  healthy  skepticism,  than 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST    179 

of  over-credulity;  and  it  is  an  admirable  rule 
never  to  hunt  about  for  an  occult  explanation  of 
anything  when  a  plain  and  obvious  physical  one 
is  available.  Our  duty  is  to  endeaveor  to  keep 
our  balance  always,  and  never  to  lose  our  self- 
control,  but  to  take  a  reasonable,  common-sense 
view  of  whatever  may  happen  to  us,  so  that  we 
may  be  wiser  occultists,  and  more  useful  helpers 
than  we  have  ever  been  before. 

"We  find  examples  of  all  degrees  of  the  power 
to  see  into  this  'memory  of  nature,'  from  the 
trained  man  who  can  consult  the  records  for  him- 
self at  will,  down  to  the  person  who  gets  nothing 
but  occasional  vague  glimpses,  or  has  perhaps 
had  only  once  such  glimpse.  But  even  the  man 
who  possesses  this  faculty  only  partially  and 
occasionally  still  finds  it  of  the  deepest  interest. 
The  psychometer,  who  needs  an  object  physically 
connected  with  the  past  in  order  to  bring  it  all 
into  life  again  around  him ;  and  the  crystal-gazer 
who  can  sometimes  direct  his  less  certain  astral 
telescope  to  some  historic  scene  of  long  ago,  may 
both  derive  the  greatest  enjoyment  from  the 
exercise  of  their  respective  gifts,  even  though 
they  may  not  always  understand  exactly  how 
their  results  are  obtained,  and  may  not  have  them 
fully  under  control  under  all  circumstances. 

"In  many  cases  of  the  lower  manifestations  of 
these  powers  we  find  that  they  are  exercised  un- 
consciously. Many  a  crystal-gazer  watches 
scenes  from  the  past  without  being  able  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  visions  of  the  present.  And 
many  a  vaguely-psychic   person   finds  pictures 


180  CLAIRVOYANCE 

constantly  arising  before  his  eyes,  without  ever 
realizing  that  he  is  in  effect  psychometrizing  the 
various  objects  around  him,  as  he  happens  to 
touch  them  or  stand  near  them.  An  interesting 
variant  of  this  class  of  psychics  is  the  man  who 
is  able  to  psychometrize  persons  only,  and  not 
inanimate  objects  as  is  more  usual.  In  most 
cases  this  faculty  shows  itself  erratically,  so  that 
such  a  psychic  will,  when  introduced  to  a 
stranger,  often  see  in  a  flash  some  prominent 
event  in  that  stranger's  earlier  life,  but  on  similar 
occasions  will  receive  no  special  impression. 
More  rarely  we  meet  with  someone  who  gets 
detailed  visions  of  the  past  life  of  nearly  everyone 
whom  he  encounters.  It  may  easily  happen, 
moreover,  that  a  person  may  see  a  picture  of  the 
past  without  recognizing  it  as  such,  unless  there 
happens  to  be  in  it  something  which  attracts  spe- 
cial attention,  such  as  a  figure  in  armor,  or  in 
antique  costume.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that 
occasional  glimpses  of  these  astral  reflections  of 
the  akashic  records  are  commoner  than  the  pub- 
lished accounts  would  lead  us  to  believe." 

I  would  say  to  my  students,  make  haste  slowly. 
Do  not  try  to  rush  development  too  rapidly. 
Perfect  and  develop  yourself  in  one  line  of 
psychic  power,  before  seeking  another.  Take 
things  cooly,  and  do  not  lose  your  head  because 
you  happen  to  achieve  some  wonderful  phe- 
nomena. Do  not  become  conceited  and  vain- 
glorious. And,  finally,  do  not  prostitute  your 
powers  to  ignoble  ends,  and  make  a  cheap  show 
of  them.     By  cheapening  and  prostituting  the 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  PAST    181 

higher  psychic  powers,  the  student  frequently 
ends  by  losing  them  altogether.  Moderation  in 
all  things  is  the  safe  policy.  And  it  always  is 
well  for  the  occultist  to  resist  temptation  to  use 
his  powers  for  unworthy,  sensational,  or  purely 
selfish  purposes. 


LESSON  XII. 
CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE 

Future-Time  Clairvoyance,  as  indicated  by  its 
name,  is  that  class  of  clairvoyant  phenomena 
which  is  concerned  with  the  perception  of  facts, 
events  and  happenings  of  future  time.  In  this 
class  of  clairvoyant  phenomena  naturally  fall  all 
genuine  cases  of  prophecy,  prevision,  foretelling, 
second-sight,  etc.  History,  theological  and  secu- 
lar, is  rilled  with  instances  of  the  foretelling  of 
the  future  by  prophets,  wise  men,  and  others. 
By  many,  such  powers  are  generally  regarded  as 
supernatural  or  divine.  Without  wishing  to  com- 
bat such  theories  and  beliefs,  I  would  say  that 
the  advanced  occultists  account  for  all  such  phe- 
nomena under  the  general  laws  of  clairvoyance. 

But  while  the  phenomena  itself  is  very  well 
known,  and  is  accepted  as  genuine  in  even  many 
cases  in  which  past-time  clairvoyance  is  doubted, 
still  it  is  even  more  difficult  to  explain  than  is 
past-time  clairvoyance  based  on  the  Akashic 
Records  or  the  Astral  Light.  To  the  person  not 
well  versed  in  occult  knowledge,  and  esoteric 
principles,  it  is  deemed  impossible  to  intelligently 
account  for  the  perception  of  an  event  before  it 
has  actually  happened — perhaps  years  before  its 
actual  happening.  While  I  cannot  hope  to  make 
this  matter  absolutely  clear  to  the  person  who  is 
not  an  advanced  student  of  occultism,  still  I  shall 
try  to  throw  at  least  some  light  on  the  underlying 
principles  of  this  wonderful  class  of  occult  phe- 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE  183 

nomena.  The  main  point  for  the  student  to 
realize  is  that  there  are  natural  laws  underlying 
this  phenomenon,  and  that  it  is  not  a  matter  of 
supernatural  power,  or  necessarily  of  divine 
special  dispensation. 

In  the  first  place,  in  some  of  the  simpler  forms 
of  future-time  clairvoyance,  there  is  merely  a 
high  development  of  subconscious  reasoning 
from  analogy.  That  is  to  say,  the  subconscious 
mental  faculties  of  the  person  reason  out  that 
such-and-so  being  the  case,  then  it  follows  that 
so-and-so  will  result,  unless  something  entirely 
unexpected  should  prevent  or  intervene.  This  is 
merely  an  extension  of  certain  forms  of  reason- 
ing that  we  perform  ordinarily.  For  instance, 
we  see  a  child  playing  with  a  sharp  tool,  and  we 
naturally  reason  that  it  will  cut  itself.  We  see 
a  man  acting  in  certain  ways  which  generally 
lead  to  certain  ends,  and  we  naturally  reason  that 
the  expected  result  will  occur.  The  more  experi- 
ence that  the  observer  has  had,  and  the  keener 
his  faculty  of  perception  and  his  power  of  de- 
ductive reasoning,  the  wider  will  be  the  range  of 
his  power  in  the  direction  of  predicting  future 
results  from  present  happenings  and  conditions. 

In  this  connection,  we  must  remember  that  the 
ordinary  clairvoyant  has  easier  access  to  his  sub- 
conscious mentality  than  has  the  average  person. 
The  subconscious  mind  perceives  and  notes  many 
little  things  that  the  conscious  mind  overlooks, 
and  therefore  has  better  data  from  which  to 
reason.  Moreover,  as  all  students  of  the  sub- 
conscious know,  these  wonderful  subconscious 


184  CLAIRVOYANCE 

mental  factulties  have  a  very  highly  developed 
power  of  reasoning  deductively  from  a  given 
premise  or  fact.  In  fact,  the  subconscious  facul- 
ties are  almost  perfect  reasoning  machines,  pro- 
viding they  are  supplied  with  correct  data  in  the 
first  place.  Much  of  the  so-called  "intuitive  rea- 
soning" of  persons  arises  from  the  operations  of 
the  subconscious  mental  faculties  just  men- 
tioned. 

But,  you  may  say,  this  is  very  interesting,  but 
it  is  not  clairvoyance.  Certainly,  good  student, 
but  still  clairvoyance  plays  an  important  part 
even  in  this  elementary  form  of  prevision  and 
future-seeing.  You  must  remember  that  by  clair- 
voyant vision  the  real  thoughts  and  feelings  of  a 
person  may  be  perceived.  But,  unless  the  atten- 
tion of  the  clairvoyant  is  specially  directed  to 
this,  the  conscious  mind  does  not  note  it,  and  the 
matter  reaches  the  subconscious  faculties  with- 
out interference  or  conscious  knowledge  on  the 
part  of  the  clairvoyant.  This  being  so,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  subconscious  mind  of  the  clair- 
voyant is  able  to  reason  deductively,  in  such 
cases,  far  beyond  the  power  of  even  the  sub- 
conscious mind  of  the  ordinary  person — it  has 
fuller  data  and  more  complete  material  to  work 
upon,  of  course. 

It  has  become  a  proverb  of  the  race  that  "com- 
ing events  cast  their  shadows  before";  and  many 
persons  frequently  have  little  flashes  of  future- 
time  seeing  without  realizing  that  they  are  really 
exercising  elementary  clairvoyant  powers.  The 
combination  of  even  a  simple  form  of  clairvoy- 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE     185 

ance  and  an  active  subconscious  mind  will  often 
produce  very  wonderful  results — although  not  of 
course  the  more  complex  phenomena  of  full  clair- 
voyance and  prevision.  Some  persons  have 
claimed  that  even  this  form  of  prevision  implies 
something  like  fate  or  predestination,  but  this  is 
not  fully  true,  for  we  must  remember  the  fact 
that  in  some  cases  it  is  possible  to  so  act  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  clairvoyant  warning  of  this  kind 
that  the  impending  calamity  may  be  escaped. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  also  remember 
that  every  event  is  the  result  of  certain  preceding 
events,  without  which  it  could  not  have  hap- 
pened, and  which  existing  it  must  happen  unless 
some  new  element  intervenes.  There  is  such  a 
thing  as  cause  and  effect,  we  must  remember — 
and  if  we  can  reason  clearly  from  one  to  the  other 
with  sufficient  clearness,  then  we  may  actually 
prophesy  certain  things  in  advance,  always  mak- 
ing allowance  for  the  intervention  of  the  unex- 
pected. 

An  authority  says  on  this  phase  of  the  ques- 
tion: "There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that,  just  as 
what  is  happening  now  is  the  result  of  causes  set 
in  motion  in  the  past,  so  what  will  happen  in  the 
future  will  be  the  result  of  causes  already  in 
operation.  Even  on  this  plane  of  life  we  can 
calculate  that  if  certain  actions  are  performed, 
certain  results  will  follow;  but  our  reckoning  is 
constantly  liable  to  be  disturbed  by  the  inter- 
ference of  factors  which  we  have  not  been  able 
to  take  into  account.  But  if  we  raise  our  con- 
sciousness to  the  higher  planes  we  can  see  much 


186  CLAIRVOYANCE 

further  into  the  results  of  our  actions.  We  can 
trace,  for  example,  the  effect  of  a  casual  word, 
not  only  upon  the  person  to  whom  it  was  ad- 
dressed, but  through  him  on  many  others  as  it 
is  passed  on  in  widening  circles,  until  it  seems  to 
have  affected  the  whole  country;  and  one  glimpse 
of  such  a  vision  is  more  efficient  than  any  number 
of  moral  precepts  in  impressing  upon  us  the 
necessity  of  extreme  circumspection  in  thought, 
word,  and  deed.  Not  only  can  we  from  that  plane 
see  thus  fully  the  result  of  every  action,  but  we 
can  also  see  where  and  in  what  way  the  results  of 
other  actions  apparently  quite  unconnected  with 
it  will  interfere  with  and  modify  it.  In  fact,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  results  of  all  causes  at 
present  in  action  are  clearly  visible — that  the  fu- 
ture, as  it  would  be  if  no  entirely  new  causes 
should  arise,  lies  open  before  our  gaze. 

"New  causes  of  course  do  arise,  because  man's 
will  is  free;  but  in  the  case  of  all  ordinary  people 
the  use  which  they  make  of  their  freedom  may 
be  calculated  beforehand  with  considerable  ac- 
curacy. The  average  man  has  so  little  real  will 
that  he  is  very  much  the  creature  of  circum- 
stances; his  action  in  previous  lives  places  him 
amid  certain  surroundings,  and  their  influence 
upon  him  is  so  very  much  the  most  important 
factor  in  his  life-story  that  his  future  course  may 
be  predicted  with  almost  mathematical  certainty. 
With  the  developed  man  the  case  is  different;  for 
him  also  the  main  events  of  life  are  arranged  by 
his  past  actions,  but  the  way  in  which  he  will 
allow  them  to  affect  him,  the  methods  by  which 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE     187 

he  will  deal  with  them  and  perhaps  triumph  over 
them — these  are  all  his  own,  and  they  cannot  be 
foreseen  even  on  the  mental  plane  except  as 
probabilities. 

"Looking  down  on  man's  life  in  this  way  from 
above,  it  seems  as  though  his  free  will  could  be 
exercised  only  in  certain  crises  in  his  career.  He 
arrives  at  a  point  in  his  life  where  there  are 
obviously  two  or  three  alternative  courses  open 
before  him;  he  is  absolutely  free  to  choose  which 
of  them  he  pleases,  and  although  someone  who 
knew  his  nature  thoroughly  well  might  feel 
almost  certain  what  his  choice  would  be,  such 
knowledge  on  his  friend's  part  is  in  no  sense  a 
compelling  force.  But  when  he  has  chosen,  he 
has  to  go  through  with  it  and  take  the  conse- 
quences; having  entered  upon  a  particular  path 
he  may,  in  many  cases,  be  forced  to  go  on  for  a 
very  long  time  before  he  has  any  opportunity  to 
turn  aside.  His  position  is  somewhat  like  that 
of  a  driver  of  a  train;  when  he  comes  to  a  junc- 
tion he  may  have  the  points  set  either  this  way 
or  that,  and  so  can  pass  on  to  Whichever  line  he 
pleases,  but  when  he  has  passed  on  to  one  of 
them  he  is  compelled  to  run  on  along  the  line 
which  he  has  selected  until  he  reaches  another 
set  of  points,  where  again  an  opportunity  of 
choice  is  offered  to  him." 

But,  interesting  and  wonderful  as  this  phase 
of  future-time  clairvoyance  undoubtedly  is,  it 
pales  before  the  fuller  and  more  complete  phases. 
And,  in  the  latter,  we  must  look  elsewhere  for  the 
explanation — or    approach    to    an    explanation. 


188  CLAIRVOYANCE 

The  explanation  of  this  higher  form  of  future- 
time  clairvoyance  must  be  looked  for  in  a  new 
conception  of  the  nature  and  meaning  of  time.  It 
is  difficult  to  approach  this  question  without  be- 
coming at  once  involved  in  technical  metaphysi- 
cal discussion.  As  an  example  of  this  difficulty, 
I  invite  you  to  consider  the  following  from  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge,  in  his  address  to  the  British  Asso- 
ciation, at  Cardiff,  several  years  ago.  While  what 
he  says  is  very  clear  to  the  mind  of  a  person 
trained  along  these  lines  of  subtle  thought,  it 
will  be  almost  like  Greek  to  the  average  person. 
Sir  Oliver  Lodge  said: 

"A  luminous  and  helpful  idea  is  that  time  is 
but  a  relative  mode  of  regarding  things;  we  pro- 
gress through  phenomena  at  a  certain  definite 
pace,  and  this  subjective  advance  we  interpret  in 
an  objective  manner,  as  if  events  moved  neces- 
sarily in  this  order  and  at  this  precise  rate.  But 
that  may  be  only  one  mode  of  regarding  them. 
The  events  may  be  in  some  sense  of  existence 
always,  both  past  and  future,  and  it  may  be  we 
who  are  arriving  at  them,  not  they  which  are 
happening.  The  analogy  of  a  traveller  in  a  rail- 
way train  is  useful;  if  he  could  never  leave  the 
train  nor  alter  its  pace  he  would  probably  con- 
sider the  landscapes  as  necessarily  successive  and 
be  unable  to  conceive  their  co-existence  *  *  * 
We  perceive,  therefore,  a  possible  fourth  dimen- 
sional aspect  about  time,  the  inexorableness  of 
whose  flow  may  be  a  natural  part  of  our  present 
limitations.  And  if  we  once  grasp  the  idea  that 
past  and  future  may  be  actually  existing,  we  can 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE     189 

recognize  that  they  may  have  a  controlling  influ- 
ence on  all  present  action,  and  the  two  together 
may  constitute  the  'higher  plane'  or  totality  of 
things  after  which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  we  are  im- 
pelled to  seek,  in  connection  with  the  directing  of 
form  or  determinism,  and  the  action  of  living 
being  consciously  directed  to  a  definite  and  pre- 
conceived end." 

Sir  Oliver's  illustration  is  somewhat  akin  to 
that  of  a  person  who  sees  a  moving-picture  show 
for  the  first  time,  and  does  not  know  how  it  is 
produced.  To  him  it  looks  as  if  the  events  of  the 
pictured  story  actually  were  developing  and  hap- 
pening in  time,  whereas,  in  reality  the  whole  pic- 
ture is  existing  at  one  time.  Its  past,  present  and 
future  is  already  pictured,  and  may  be  seen  by 
one  who  knows  the  secret  and  how  to  look  for 
the  past  or  future  scene;  while,  to  the  ordinary 
observer,  the  scene  progresses  in  sequence,  the 
present  being  followed  by  something  else  which 
is  at  this  moment  "in  the  future,"  and  therefore, 
unknowable.  To  the  senses  of  the  ordinary  ob- 
server only  the  present  is  in  existence;  while,  in 
fact,  the  "future"  is  equally  truly  in  existence  at 
the  same  time,  although  not  evident  to  the  senses 
of  the  observer.  Think  over  this  a  little,  and  let 
the  idea  sink  into  your  mind — it  may  help  you  to 
understand  something  concerning  the  mystery  of 
future-time  clairvoyance,  prevision,  or  second- 
sight. 

Time,  you  know,  is  far  more  relative  than  we 
generally  conceive  it.  It  is  a  scientific  fact  that 
a  person  in  the  dream  state  may  cover  years  of 


190  CLAIRVOYANCE 

time  in  a  dream  that  occupies  only  a  few  seconds 
of  time.  Persons  have  nodded  and  awakened 
immediately  afterwards  (as  proved  by  others 
present  in  the  room),  and  yet  in  that  moment's 
time  they  have  dreamed  of  long  journeys  to  for- 
eign lands,  great  campaigns  of  war,  etc.  More- 
over, a  loud  sound  (a  pistol  sLot,  for  instance) 
which  has  awakened  a  sleeping  person,  has  also 
set  into  effect  a  dream-state  train  of  circum- 
stances, constituting  a  long  dream-state  story 
which,  after  many  events  and  happenings,  termi- 
nated in  the  shot  of  a  firing-squad — and  then  the 
man  awoke.  Now  in  this  last  mentioned  case,  not 
only  has  the  dreamer  experienced  events  covering 
a  long  time,  all  in  the  space  of  a  second  of  time; 
but,  also,  the  very  sound  which  terminated  the 
dream,  also  induced  it  from  the  very  beginning — 
the  last  thing  caused  the  first  things  to  appear 
and  proceed  in  sequence  to  the  last!  Persons  un- 
der the  influence  of  chloroform,  or  'laughing 
gas,"  have  similar  experiences — often  the  first 
sound  heard  at  the  moment  of  recovering  con- 
sciousness seems  to  be  the  last  thing  in  a  long 
dream  which  preceded  it,  though  the  long  dream 
was  really  caused  by  the  final  sound.  Now,  re- 
member, that  here  not  only  did  past,  present  and 
future  exist  at  the  same  moment  of  time;  but, 
also,  the  future  caused  the  past  and  present  to 
come  into  being. 

On  the  physical  plane,  we  have  analogies 
illustrating  this  fact.  It  is  said  that  in  every 
acorn  rests  and  exists,  in  miniature,  the  form  of 
the  future  oak.    And,  some  go  so  far  as  to  say 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE     191 

that  the  oak  is  the  "ultimate  cause"  of  the  acorn 
— that  the  idea  of  the  oak  caused  the  acorn  to  be 
at  all.  In  the  same  way,  the  "idea"  of  the  man 
must  be  in  the  infant  boy,  from  the  moment  of 
birth,  and  even  from  the  moment  of  conception. 
But,  let  us  pass  on  to  the  bold  conception  of  the 
most  advanced  metaphysicians — they  have  a  still 
more  dazzling  explanation,  let  us  listen  to  it. 

These  occultists  and  metaphysicians  who  have 
thought  long  and  deeply  upon  the  ultimate  facts 
and  nature  of  the  universe,  have  dared  to  think 
that  there  must  exist  some  absolute  consciousness 
— some  absolute  mind — which  must  perceive  the 
past,  present  and  future  of  the  universe  as  one 
happening;  as  simultaneously  and  actively  pres- 
ent at  one  moment  of  absolute  time.  They 
reason  that  just  as  man  may  see  as  one  happen- 
ing of  a  moment  of  his  time  some  particular  event 
which  might  appear  as  a  year  to  some  minute 
form  of  life  and  mind — the  microscopic  creatures 
in  a  drop  of  water,  for  instance;  so  that  which 
seems  as  a  year,  or  a  hundred  years,  to  the  mind 
of  man  may  appear  as  the  happening  of  a  single 
moment  of  a  higher  scale  of  time  to  some  exalted 
Being  or  form  of  consciousness  on  a  higher  plane. 
You  remember  that  it  is  said  that  "a  thousand 
years  is  but  as  a  day  to  the  Lord ;"  and  the  Hindu 
Vedas  tell  us  that  "the  creation,  duration,  and  de- 
struction of  the  universe,  is  as  but  the  time  of  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye  to  Brahman."  I  shall  not 
proceed  further  along  this  line — I  have  given  you 
a  very  strong  hint  here;  you  must  work  it  out 
for  yourself,  if  you  feel  so  disposed.    But  there 


192  CLAIRVOYANCE 

are  certain  consequences  arising  from  this  ulti- 
mate universal  fact,  which  I  must  mention  be- 
fore passing  on. 

The  high  occult  teachings  hold  that  there  is  a 
plane  of  the  higher  astral  world  which  may  be 
said  to  carry  a  reflection  of  the  Universal  Mind 
— just  as  a  lake  contains  a  reflection  of  the  dis- 
tant mountain.  Well,  then,  the  clairvoyant 
vision  at  times  is  able  to  penetrate  to  the  realm 
of  that  astral  reflecting  medium,  and  see  some- 
what dimly  what  is  pictured  there.  As  the  fu- 
ture may  be  discerned  in  this  reflected  picture, 
by  the  clairvoyant  mind,  we  see  how  future-see- 
ing, prevision,  and  second-sight  may  be  ex- 
plained scientifically. 

A  writer  has  said:  "On  this  plane,  in  some 
manner  which  down  here  is  totally  inexplicable, 
the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future,  are  all  there 
existing  simultaneously.  One  can  only  accept 
this  fact,  for  its  cause  lies  in  the  faculty  of  that 
exalted  plane,  and  the  way  in  which  this  higher 
faculty  works  is  naturally  quite  incomprehensible 
to  the  physical  brain.  Yet  now  and  then  one 
may  meet  with  a  hint  that  seems  to  bring  us  a 
trifle  nearer  to  a  dim  possibility  of  comprehen- 
sion. When  the  pupil's  consciousness  is  fully  de- 
veloped upon  this  higher  plane,  therefore,  per- 
fect prevision  is  possible  to  him,  though  he  may 
not — nay,  he  certainly  will  not — be  able  to  bring 
the  whole  result  of  his  sight  through  fully  and 
in  order  into  his  physical  consciousness.  Still, 
a  great  deal  of  clear  foresight  is  obviously  within 
his  power  whenever  he  likes  to  exercise  it;  and 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE     193 

even  when  he  is  not  exercising  it,  frequent 
flashes  of  foreknowledge  come  through  into  his 
ordinary  life,  so  that  he  often  has  an  instantane- 
ous intuition  as  to  how  things  will  turn  out." 

The  same  writer  says:  "Short  of  perfect  pre- 
vision we  find  that  all  degrees  of  this  type  of  clair- 
voyance exist,  from  the  occasional  vague  pre- 
monitions which  cannot  in  any  true  sense  be 
called  sight  at  all,  up  to  frequent  and  fairly  com- 
plete second-sight.  The  faculty  to  which  this 
latter  somewhat  misleading  name  has  been  given 
is  an  extremely  interesting  one,  and  would  well 
repay  more  careful  and  systematic  study  than  has 
hitherto  been  given  to  it.  It  is  best  known  to 
us  as  a  not  infrequent  possession  of  the  Scottish 
Highlanders,  though  it  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  them.  Occasional  instances  of  it  have  ap- 
peared in  almost  every  nation,  but  it  has  always 
been  commonest  among  mountaineers  and  men 
of  lonely  life.  With  us  in  England  it  is  often 
spoken  of  as  if  it  were  the  exclusive  appanage 
of  the  Celtic  race,  but  in  reality  it  has  appeared 
among  similarly  situated  peoples  the  world  over, 
it  is  stated,  for  example,  to  be  very  common 
among  the  Westphalian  peasantry. 

"Sometimes  the  second-sight  consists  of  a 
picture  clearly  foreshowing  some  coming  event; 
more  frequently,  perhaps,  the  glimpse  of  the  fu- 
ture is  given  in  some  symbolical  appearance.  It 
is  noteworthy  that  the  events  foreseen  are  in- 
variably unpleasant  ones — death  being  the  com- 
monest of  all;  I  do  not  recollect  a  single  instance 
in  which  the  second-sight  has  shown  anything 


194  CLAIRVOYANCE 

which  was  not  of  the  most  gloomy  nature.  It 
has  a  ghastly  symbolism  of  its  own — a  symbol- 
ism of  shrouds  and  corpse-candles,  and  other 
funeral  horrors.  In  some  cases.it  appears  to  be 
to  a  certain  extent  dependent  upon  locality,  for 
it  is  stated  that  inhabitants  of  the  Isle  of  Skye 
who  possess  the  faculty  often  lose  it  when  they 
leave  the  island,  even  though  it  be  only  to  cross 
to  the  mainland.  The  gift  of  such  sight  is  some- 
times hereditary  in  a  family  for  generations,  but 
this  is  not  an  invariable  rule,  for  it  often  appears 
sporadically  in  one  member  of  a  family  other- 
wise free  from  its  lugubrious  influence. 

"There  may  be  still  some  people  who  deny  the 
possibility  of  prevision,  but  such  denial  simply 
shows  their  ignorance  of  the  evidence  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  large  number  of  authenticated  cases 
leave  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  fact,  but  many 
of  them  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  render  a  rea- 
sonable explanation  by  no  means  easy  to  find.  It 
is  evident  that  the  Ego  possesses  a  certain 
amount  of  previsional  faculty,  and  if  the  events 
foreseen  were  always  of  great  importance,  one 
might  suppose  that  an  extraordinary  stimulus 
had  enabled  him  for  that  occasion  only  to  make  a 
clear  impression  of  what  he  saw  upon  his  lower 
personality.  No  doubt  that  is  the  explanation 
of  many  of  the  cases  in  which  death  or  grave 
disaster  is  foreseen,  but  there  are  a  large  num- 
ber of  instances  on  record  to  which  it  does  not 
seem  to  apply,  since  the  events  foretold  are  fre- 
quently trivial  and  unimportant." 

In  the  following  chapter  I   shall  present  to 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OF  THE  FUTURE     195 

your  consideration  some  very  remarkable  cases 
of  future-time  clairvoyance,  prevision,  or  second- 
sight;  some  of  these  are  historical  cases,  and  all 
are  vouched  for  by  the  best  authorities.  I  quote 
these  cases  not  merely  for  their  own  interesting 
features,  but  also  to  give  you  an  idea  of  how 
remarkable  some  of  these  instances  are;  and  also 
to  give  you  a  clear  conception  of  the  way  in 
which  this  form  of  clairvoyance  tends  to  mani- 
fest itself. 

Before  passing  on  to  these  interesting  cases, 
however,  I  wish  to  remind  you  that  in  future- 
time  clairvoyance,  as  well  as  in  past-time  clair- 
voyance, the  phenomenon  may  be  manifested  in 
many  ways  and  according  to  several  methods. 
That  is  to  say,  that  in  future-time  clairvoyance 
the  vision  may  come  in  the  state  of  meditation 
or  reverie;  it  may  come  along  the  lines  of  psy- 
chometry,  some  associated  object  or  person  sup- 
plying the  connecting  link;  or,  again,  it  may 
come  as  the  result  of  crystal-gazing,  etc.  This 
is  as  we  might  naturally  expect,  for  this  form  of 
clairvoyance  is  merely  one  special  and  particular 
phase  of  clairvoyance  in  general,  and  of  course, 
comes  under  the  general  laws  and  rules  govern- 
ing all  clairvoyant  phenomena. 

Future-time  clairvoyance,  prevision  and  sec- 
ond-sight may,  like  any  other  form  of  clairvoy- 
ance, be  developed  and  unfolded,  by  means  of 
the  same  rules  and  methods  that  I  have  already 
suggested  to  you  in  the  preceding  lessons.  It  is 
all  a  matter  of  attention,  application,  patience, 
exercise  and  practice.    I  may  say,  however,  that 


196  CLAIRVOYANCE 

the  strong  desire  and  wish  for  the  perception  of 
future  events,  held  firmly  in  mind  during  the 
practicing  and  exercising,  will  tend  to  unfold 
and  develop  the  clairvoyant  faculties  in  this  par- 
ticular direction.  Strong  desire,  and  earnest  at- 
tention in  the  desired  direction,  will  do  much  to 
cultivate,  develop  and  unfold  any  psychic  faculty. 
Just  as  meditation  and  reverie  about  past  times 
and  things  tend  to  develop  past-time  clairvoy- 
ance, so  will  meditation  and  reverie  about  future 
time  and  things  tend  to  develop  prevision  and  the 
seeing  of  future  things.  This,  indeed,  is  the  very 
first  step  toward  the  attainment  of  this  form  of 
clairvoyance.  The  attention  clears  the  psychic 
path,  over  which  the  astral  faculties  travel.  In 
the  astral,  as  on  the  physical,  the  rule  is:  always 
look  where  you  are  going — look  ahead  on  the 
path  over  which  you  wish  to  travel. 


LESSON  XIII. 
SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC. 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
an  intelligent  explanation  of  the  phenomena  of 
future-time  clairvoyance,  second-sight,  prevision, 
etc.,  of  which  I  have  spoken  in  the  preceding 
lesson,  the  human  race  has  always  had  a  lively 
reminder  of  the  existence  of  such  phenomena; 
and  the  records  of  the  race  have  always  contained 
many  instances  of  the  manifestation  thereof. 
Among  all  peoples,  in  all  lands,  in  all  times,  there 
have  been  noted  remarkable  instances  of  the 
power  of  certain  persons  to  peer  into,  and  cor- 
rectly report  from,  the  mysterious  regions  of 
the  future.  Passing  from  the  traditional  reports 
of  the  race,  and  the  minor  instances  known  to 
almost  every  person,  we  find  that  the  scientific 
investigators  of  psychic  phenomena  have  gath- 
ered together  an  enormous  array  of  well  authen- 
ticated cases  of  this  class.  The  reports  of  the 
Society  for  Psychical  research  contain  hundreds 
of  such  cases,  which  the  student  may  read  and 
study  with  interest  and  profit. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  present  a  full  history 
of  the  reports  of  this  character.  Rather,  I  shall 
call  your  attention  to  a  few  striking  cases,  in  or- 
der to  illustrate  the  phenomenon  clearly  and 
forcibly.  There  is  such  a  wealth  of  material  of 
this  kind  that  it  embarrases  one  who  wishes  to 
select  from  it.  However,  I  shall  do  the  best  I 
can  in  that  direction.     Following,  to  commence 


198  CLAIRVOYANCE 

with,  I  give  you  extracts  from  a  well  known  case 
reported  by  a  prominent  member  of  the  Theo- 
sophical  Society,  which  has  attracted  much  atten- 
tion. It  was  related  to  this  person  by  one  of  the 
actors  in  the  scene.  It  happened  in  India.  A 
party  of  English  army  officers  was  entering  a 
dense  jungle.    Then  follows  the  story,  as  below: 

"We  plunged  into  the  jungle,  and  had  walked 
on  for  about  an  hour  without  much  success,  when 
Cameron,  who  happened  to  be  next  to  me, 
stopped  suddenly,  turned  pale  as  death,  and, 
pointing  straight  before  him,  cried  in  accents  of 
horror:  "See!  see!  merciful  heavens,  look  there!" 
"Where?  what?  what  is  it?"  we  all  shouted  con- 
fusedly, as  we  rushed  up  to  him,  and  looked 
around  in  expectation  of  encountering  a  tiger — a 
cobra — we  hardly  knew  knew  what,  but  as- 
suredly something  terrible,  since  it  had  been  suf- 
ficient to  cause  such  evident  emotion  in  our 
usually  self-contained  comrade.  But  neither 
tiger  nor  cobra  was  visible — nothing  but  Cam- 
eron pointing  with  ghastly  haggard  face  and 
starting  eyeballs  at  something  we  could  not  see. 

"  'Cameron !  Cameron !'  cried  I,  seizing  his 
arm,  'for  heavens  sake  speak !  What  is  the  mat- 
ter?' Scarcely  were  the  words  out  of  my  mouth 
when  a  low  but  very  peculiar  sound  struck  upon 
my  ear,  and  Cameron,  dropping  his  pointing 
hand,  said  in  a  hoarse,  strained  voice,  'There! 
you  heard  it?  Thank  God  it's  over!'  and  fell 
to  the  ground  insensible.  There  was  a  momen- 
tary confusion  while  we  unfastened  his  collar, 
and  I  dashed  in  his  face  some  water  which  I 


SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC.  199 

fortunately  had  in  my  flask,  while  another  tried 
to  pour  brandy  between  his  clenched  teeth;  and 
under  cover  of  it  I  whispered  to  the  man  next  to 
me  (one  of  our  greatest  skeptics,  by  the  way), 
'Beauchamp,  did  you  hear  anything?'  'Why, 
yes,'  he  replied,  'a  curious  sound,  very;  a  sort  of 
crash  or  rattle  far  away  in  the  distance,  yet  very 
distinct;  if  the  thing  were  not  utterly  impossible, 
I  could  have  sworn  that  it  was  the  rattle  of  mus- 
ketry.' 'Just,  my  impression,'  murmured  I;  'but 
hush !  he  is  recovering.' 

"In  a  minute  or  two  he  was  able  to  speak  feebly, 
and  began  to  thank  us  and  apologize  for  giving 
trouble;  and  soon  he  sat  up,  leaning  against  a 
tree,  and  in  a  firm,  though  low  voice  said:  'My 
dear  friends,  I  feel  that  I  owe  you  an  explanation 
of  my  extraordinary  behavior.  It  is  an  explana- 
tion that  I  would  fain  avoid  giving;  but  it  must 
come  some  time,  and  so  may  as  well  be  given 
now.  You  may  perhaps  have  noticed  that  when 
during  our  voyage  you  all  joined  in  scoffing  at 
dreams,  portents  and  visions,  I  invariably 
avoided  giving  any  opinion  on  the  subject.  I 
did  so  because,  while  I  had  no  desire  to  court 
ridicule  or  provoke  discussion,  I  was  unable  to 
agree  with  you,  knowing  only  too  well  from  my 
own  dread  experience  that  the  world  which  men 
agree  to  call  that  of  the  supernatural  is  just  as 
real  as — nay,  perhaps  even  more  real  than — this 
world  we  see  about  us.  In  other  words,  I,  like 
many  of  my  countrymen,  am  cursed  with  the 
gift  of  second-sight — that  awful  faculty  which 


200  CLAIRVOYANCE 

foretells  in  vision  calamities  that  are  shortly  to 
occur. 

"  'Such  a  vision  I  had  just  now,  and  its  excep- 
tional horror  moved  me  as  you  have  seen.  I  saw 
before  me  a  corpse — not  that  of  one  who  has  died 
a  peaceful,  natural  death,  but  that  of  the  victim 
of  some  terrible  accident;  a  ghastly,  shapeless 
mass,  with  a  face  swollen,  crushed,  unrecogniz- 
able. I  saw  this  dreadful  object  placed  in  a 
coffin,  and  the  funeral  service  performed  over  it. 
I  saw  the  burial-ground,  I  saw  the  clergyman: 
and  though  I  had  never  seen  either  before,  I  can 
picture  both  perfectly  in  my  mind's  eye  now;  I 
saw  you,  myself,  Beauchamp,  all  of  us  and  many 
more,  standing  round  as  mourners;  I  saw  the  sol- 
diers raise  their  muskets  after  the  service  was 
over;  I  heard  the  volley  they  fired — and  then  I 
knew  no  more.'  As  he  spoke  of  that  volley  of 
musketry  I  glanced  across  with  a  shudder  at 
Beauchamp,  and  the  look  of  stony  horror  on  that 
handsome  skeptic's  face  was  not  to  be  forgotten." 

Omitting  the  somewhat  long  recital  of  events 
which  followed,  I  would  say  that  later  in  the 
same  day  the  party  of  young  officers  and  soldiers 
discovered  the  body  of  their  commanding  officer 
in  the  shocking  condition  so  vividly  and  graphic- 
ally described  by  young  Cameron.  The  story 
proceeds  as  follows: 

"When,  on  the  following  evening,  we  arrived 
at  our  destination,  and  our  melancholy  deposi- 
tion had  been  taken  down  by  the  proper  author- 
ities, Cameron  and  I  went  out  for  a  quiet  walk, 
to  endeavor  with  the  assistance  of  the  soothing 


SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC     201 

influence  of  nature  to  shake  off  something  of  the 
gloom  which  paralyzed  our  spirits.  Suddenly  he 
clutched  my  arm,  and,  pointing  through  some 
rude  railings,  said  in  a  trembling  voice,  'Yes, 
there  it  is !  that  is  the  burial-ground  of  yesterday.' 
And,  when  later  on  we  were  introduced  to  the 
chaplain  of  the  post,  I  noticed,  though  my  friends 
did  not,  the  irrepressible  shudder  with  which 
Cameron  took  his  hand,  and  I  knew  that  he  had 
recognized  the  clergyman  of  his  vision." 

The  story  concludes  with  the  statement  that 
in  all  the  little  details,  as  well  as  the  main  points, 
the  scene  at  the  burial  of  the  commanding  officer 
corresponded  exactly  with  the  vision  of  Cameron. 
This  story  brings  out  the  fact  that  the  Scotch 
people  are  especially  given  to  manifestations  of 
second-sight — particularly  the  Highlanders  or 
mountain  people  of  that  land.  It  is  hard  to  find 
a  Scotchman,  who,  in  his  heart,  does  not  believe 
in  second-sight,  and  who  has  not  known  of  some 
well  authenticated  instance  of  its  manifestation. 
In  other  lands,  certain  races,  or  sub-races,  seem 
to  be  specially  favored  (or  cursed,  as  Cameron 
asserted)  with  this  power.  It  will  be  noticed, 
usually,  that  such  people  dwell,  or  have  dwelt  in 
the  highlands  or  mountains  of  their  country. 
There  seems  to  be  something  in  the  mountains 
and  hills  which  tends  to  develop  and  encourage 
this  power  in  those  dwelling  among  them.  The 
story  is  also  remarkable  in  the  fact  that  the  im- 
pression was  so  strong  in  the  mind  of  Cameron 
that  it  actually  communicated  itself  by  clairaudi- 
ence  to  those  near  to  him — this  is  quite  unusual, 


202  CLAIRVOYANCE 

though  not  without  correspondence  in  other 
cases.  Otherwise,  the  case  is  merely  a  typical 
one,  and  may  be  duplicated  in  the  experience  of 
thousands  of  other  men  and  women. 

George  Fox,  the  pioneer  Quaker,  had  this  fac- 
ulty well  developed,  and  numerous  instances  of 
its  manifestation  by  him  are  recorded.  For  in- 
stance, he  foretold  the  death  of  Cromwell,  when 
he  met  him  ridings  at  Hampton  Court;  he  said 
that  he  felt  "a  waft  of  death"  around  and  about 
Cromwell ;  and  Cromwell  died  shortly  afterwards. 
Fox  also  publicly  foretold  the  dissolution  of  the 
Rump  Parliament  of  England;  the  restoration  of 
Charles  II;  and  the  Great  Fire  of  London — these 
are  historical  facts,  remember.  For  that  matter, 
history  contains  many  instances  of  this  kind :  the 
prophecy  of  Caesar's  death,  and  its  further  pre- 
vision by  his  wife,  for  instance.  The  Bible  pro- 
phecies and  predictions,  major  and  minor,  give 
us  semi-historical  instances. 

A  celebrated  historical  instance  of  remarkable 
second-sight  and  prevision,  is  that  of  Cazotte, 
whose  wonderful  prediction  and  its  literal  fulfil- 
ment are  matters  of  French  history.  Dumas  has 
woven  the  fact  into  one  of  his  stories,  in  a  dra- 
matic manner — but  even  so  he  does  not  make  the 
tale  any  more  wonderful  than  the  bare  facts. 
Here  is  the  recital  of  the  case  by  La  Harpe,  the 
French  writer,  who  was  a  personal  witness  of  the 
occurrence,  and  whose  testimony  was  corrob- 
orated by  many  others  who  were  present  at  the 
time.    La  Harpe  says : 

"It  appears  as  but  yesterday,  and  yet,  neverthe- 


SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC     203 

less,  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1788.  We 
were  dining  with  one  of  our  brethren  at  the 
Academy — a  man  of  considerable  wealth  and 
genius.  The  conversation  became  serious;  much 
admiration  was  expressed  on  the  revolution  in 
thought  which  Voltaire  had  effected,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  it  was  his  first  claim  to  the  reputa- 
tion he  enjoyed.  We  concluded  that  the  revolu- 
tion must  soon  be  consummated;  that  it  was  in- 
dispensable that  superstition  and  fanaticism 
should  give  way  to  philosophy,  and  we  began  to 
calculate  the  probability  of  the  period  when  this 
should  be,  and  which  of  the  present  company 
should  live  to  see  it.  The  oldest  complained  that 
they  could  scarcely  flatter  themselves  with  the 
hope;  the  younger  rejoiced  that  they  might  en- 
tertain this  very  probable  expectation;  and  they 
congratulated  the  Academy  especially  for  hav- 
ing prepared  this  great  work,  and  for  having  been 
the  rallying  point,  the  centre,  and  the  prime 
mover  of  the  liberty  of  thought. 

"One  only  of  the  guests  had  not  taken  part 
in  all  the  joyousness  of  this  conversation,  and 
had  even  gently  and  cheerfully  checked  our 
splendid  enthusiasm.  This  was  Cazotte,  an 
amiable  and  original  man,  but  unhappily  infatu- 
ated with  the  reveries  of  the  illumaniti.  He 
spoke,  and  with  the  most  serious  tone,  saying: 
'Gentleman,  be  satisfied;  you  will  all  see  this 
great  and  sublime  revolution,  which  you  so  much 
desire.  You  know  that  I  am  a  little  inclined  to 
prophesy;  I  repeat,  you  will  see  it.'  He  was  an- 
swered by  the  common  rejoinder:  'One  need  not 


204  CLAIRVOYANCE 

be  a  conjuror  to  see  that/  He  answered:  'Be 
it  so;  but  perhaps  one  must  be  a  little  more  than 
conjuror  for  what  remains  for  me  to  tell  you. 
Do  you  know  what  will  be  the  consequences  of 
this  revolution — what  will  be  the  consequence  to 
all  of  you,  and  what  will  be  the  immediate  result 
— the  well-established  effect — the  thoroughly 
recognized  consequences  to  all  of  you  who  are 
here  present?' 

"  'Ah'  said  Condorcet,  with  his  insolent  and 
half-suppressed  smile,  'let  us  hear — a  philosopher 
is  not  sorry  to  encounter  a  prophet — let  us  hear!' 
Cazotte  replied:  'You,  Monsier  de  Condorcet 
— you  will  yield  up  your  last  breath  on  the  floor 
of  a  dungeon;  you  will  die  from  poison,  which 
you  will  have  taken  in  order  to  escape  from 
execution — from  poison  which  the  happiness  of 
that  time  will  oblige  you  to  carry  about  your 
person.  You,  Monsieur  de  Chamfort,  you  will 
open  your  veins  with  twenty-two  cuts  of  a  razor, 
and  yet  will  not  die  till  some  months  after- 
ward.' These  personages  looked  at  each  other, 
and  laughed  again.  Cazotte  continued:  'You, 
Monsieur  Vicq  d'Azir,  you  will  not  open  your 
own  veins,  but  you  will  cause  yourself  to  be 
bled  six  times  in  one  day,  during  a  paroxysm  of 
the  gout,  in  order  to  make  more  sure  of  your  end, 
and  you  will  die  in  the  night.' 

"Cazotte  went  on :  'You,  Monsieur  de  Nicolai, 
you  will  die  on  the  scaffold ;  you,  Monsieur  Bailly, 
on  the  scaffold;  you,  Monsieur  de  Malesherbes, 
on  the  scaffold.  'Ah,  God  be  thanked,'  exclaimed 
Roucher,    'and   what   of   I?'     Cazotte   replied: 


SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC     205 

'You?  you  also  will  die  on  the  scaffold.'  'Yes,'  re- 
plied Chamfort,  'but  when  will  all  this  happen?' 
Cazotte  answered :  'Six  years  will  not  pass  over, 
before  all  that  I  have  said  to  you  shall  be  accom- 
plished.' Here  I  (La  Harpe)  spoke,  saying: 
'Here  are  some  astonishing  miracles,  but  you 
have  not  included  me  in  your  list.'  Cazotte  an- 
swered me,  saying:  'But  you  will  be  there,  as  an 
equally  extraordinary  miracle;  you  will  then  be 
a  Christian!'  Vehement  exclamations  on  all 
sides  followed  this  startling  assertion.  'Ah !'  said 
Chamfort,  'I  am  conforted;  if  we  shall  perish  only 
when  La  Harpe  shall  be  a  Christian,  we  are  im- 
mortal;' 

"Then  observed  Madame  la  Duchesse  de 
Grammont:  'As  for  that,  we  women,  we  are 
happy  to  be  counted  for  nothing  in  these  revolu- 
tions: when  I  say  for  nothing,  it  is  not  that  we 
do  not  always  mix  ourselves  up  with  them  a  lit- 
tle; but  it  is  a  received  maxim  that  they  take  no 
notice  of  us,  and  of  our  sex.'  'Your  sex,  ladies' 
said  Cazotte,  'your  sex  will  not  protect  you  this 
time;  and  you  had  far  better  meddle  with  noth- 
ing, for  you  will  be  treated  entirely  as  men,  with- 
out any  difference  whatever.'  'But  what,  then, 
are  you  really  telling  us  of  Monsieur  Cazotte? 
You  are  preaching  to  us  the  end  of  the  world.' 
'I  know  nothing  on  that  subject;  but  what  I  do 
know  is,  that  you  Madame  la  Duchesse,  will  be 
conducted  to  the  scaffold,  you  and  many  other 
ladies  with  you,  in  the  cart  of  the  executioner, 
and  with  your  hands  tied  behind  your  backs. 
'Ah !  I  hope  that  in  that  case,  I  shall  at  least  have 


206  CLAIRVOYANCE 

a  carriage  hung  in  black.'  'No,  madame;  higher 
ladies  than  yourself  will  go,  like  you,  in  the  com- 
mon car,  with  their  hands  tied  behind  them.' 
'Higher  ladies!  what!  the  princesses  of  the 
blood ?'  'Yea,  and  still  more  exalted  personages!' 
replied  Cazotte. 

"Here  a  sensible  emotion  pervaded  the  whole 
company,  and  the  countenance  of  the  host  was 
dark  and  lowering — they  began  to  feel  that  the 
joke  was  becoming  too  serious.  Madame  de 
Grammont,  in  order  to  dissipate  the  cloud,  took 
no  notice  of  the  reply,  and  contented  herself  with 
saying  in  a  careless  tone:  'You  see,  that  he  will 
not  leave  me  even  a  confessor!'  'No,  madame!' 
replied  Cazotte,  'you  will  not  have  one — neither 
you,  nor  any  one  besides.  The  last  victim  to 
whom  this  favor  will  be  afforded  will  be — '  Here 
he  stopped  for  a  moment.  'Well !  who  then  will 
be  the  happy  mortal  to  whom  this  prerogative 
will  be  given?'  Cazotte  replied:  'It  is  the  only 
one  which  he  will  have  then  retained — and  that 
will  be  the  King  of  France !'  "  This  last  start- 
ling prediction  caused  the  company  to  disband 
in  something  like  terror  and  dismay,  for  the 
mere  mention  of  such  thing  was  akin  to  treason. 

The  amazing  sequel  to  this  strange  story  is 
that  within  the  six  years  allotted  by  the  proph- 
ecy, every  detail  thereof  was  verified  absolutely. 
The  facts  are  known  to  all  students  of  the  French 
Revolution,  and  may  be  verified  by  reference  to 
any  history  of  that  terrible  period.  To  appre- 
ciate the  startling  nature  of  the  prophecy  when 
made,  one  needs  but  to  be  acquainted  with  the 


SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC     207 

position  and  characteristics  of  the  persons  whose 
destinies  were  foretold.  This  celebrated  instance 
of  highly  advanced  future-time  clairvoyance,  or 
prevision,  has  never  been  equalled.  The  reason, 
perhaps,  is  that  Cazotte  indeed  was  an  advanced 
and  highly  developd  occultist — the  account  men- 
tions this,  you  will  notice.  This  class  of  persons 
very  seldom  prophecy  in  this  way,  for  reasons 
known  to  all  occultists.  The  ordinary  cases  re- 
corded are  those  in  which  the  manifestation  is 
that  of  a  person  of  lesser  powers  and  less  perfect 
development. 

Advanced  occultists  know  the  danger  of  a  care- 
less use  of  this  power.  They  know  that  (omit- 
ting other  and  very  important  reasons)  such 
revelations  would  work  a  terrible  effect  upon  the 
minds  of  persons  not  sufficiently  well  balanced  to 
stand  the  disclosure.  Moreover,  they  know  that 
if  the  average  person  knew  the  principal  details 
of  his  future  life  on  earth,  then  he  would  loss  all 
interest  in  it — it  would  become  stale  and  would 
lose  the  attraction  of  the  unknown.  In  such  a 
case,  the  pleasant  things  to  come  would  lose  their 
attractiveness  by  reason  of  having  been  dwelt  on 
so  long  that  their  flavor  was  lost;  and  the  un- 
pleasant things  would  become  unbearable  by  rea- 
son of  the  continual  anticipation  of  them.  We 
are  apt  to  discount  our  pleasures  by  dwelling  too 
much  upon  them  in  anticipation;  and,  as  we  all 
know,  the  dread  of  a  coming  evil  often  is  worse 
than  the  thing  itself — we  suffer  a  thousand  pangs 
in  anticipation  to  one  in  reality.  But,  as  I  have 
intimated,  there  are  other,  and  still  more  serious 


208  CLAIRVOYANCE 

reasons  why  the  advanced  occultists  do  not  in- 
dulge in  public  prophecies  of  this  kind.  It  is 
probable  that  Cazotte  decided  to,  and  was  per- 
mitted to,  make  his  celebrated  prophecy  for  some 
important  occult  reason  of  which  La  Harpe  had 
no  knowledge — it  doubtless  was  a  part  of  the 
working  out  of  some  great  plan,  and  it  may  have 
accomplished  results  undreamed  of  by  us.  At 
any  rate,  it  was  something  very  much  out  of  the 
ordinary,  even  in  the  case  of  advanced  occultists 
and  masters  of  esoteric  knowledge. 

Another  case  which  has  a  historic  value  is  the 
well-known  case  concerning  the  assassination  of 
Spencer  Perceval,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, in  England,  which  occurred  in  the  lobby 
of  the  House  of  Commons.  The  persons  who 
have  a  knowledge  of  the  case  report  that  some 
nine  days  before  the  tragic  occurrence  a  Cornish 
mine  manager,  named  John  Williams,  had  a 
vision,  three  times  in  succession,  in  which  he  saw 
a  small  man,  dressed  in  a  blue  coat  and  white 
waistcoat,  enter  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons; whereupon  another  man,  dressed  in  a 
snuff-colored  coat,  stepped  forward,  and,  draw- 
ing a  pistol  from  an  inside  pocket  fired  at  and 
shot  the  small  man,  the  bullet  lodging  in  the 
left  breast.  In  the  vision,  Williams  turned  and 
asked  some  bystander  the  name  of  the  victim; 
the  bystander  replied  that  the  stricken  man  was 
Mr.  Spencer  Perceval,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer. The  valuable  feature  of  the  case,  from 
a  scientific  standpoint,  lies  in  the  fact  that  Wil- 
liams was  very  much  impressed  by  his  thrice- 


SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC     209 

repeated  vision,  and  was  greatly  disturbed  there- 
by. His  anxiety  was  so  great  that  he  spoke  of 
the  matter  to  several  friends,  and  asked  them 
whether  it  would  not  be  well  for  him  to  go  to 
London  for  the  purpose  of  warning  Mr.  Perceval. 
His  friends  ridiculed  the  whole  matter,  and  per- 
suaded him  to  give  up  the  idea  of  visiting  London 
for  the  purpose  named.  Those  who  had  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  vision  were  greatly  startled  and 
shocked  when  several  days  afterward  the  assassi- 
nation occurred,  agreeing  in  perfect  detail  with 
the  vision  of  the  Cornishman.  The  case,  vouched 
for  as  it  was  by  a  number  of  reliable  persons  who 
had  been  consulted  by  Williams,  attracted  much 
attention  at  the  time,  and  has  since  passed  into 
the  history  of  remarkable  instances  of  prevision. 

In  some  cases,  however,  the  prevision  seems  to 
come  as  a  warning,  and  in  many  cases  the  heed- 
ing of  the  warning  has  prevented  the  unpleasant 
features  from  materializing  as  seen  in  the  vision. 
Up  to  the  point  of  the  action  upon  the  warning 
the  occurrence  agree  perfectly  with  the  vision — 
but  the  moment  the  warned  person  acts  so  as  to 
prevent  the  occurrence,  the  whole  train  of  cir- 
cumstances is  broken.  There  is  an  occult  ex- 
planation of  this,  but  it  is  too  technical  to  men- 
tion at  this  place. 

What  is  known  to  psychic  researchers  as  "the 
Hannah  Green  case"  is  of  this  character.  This 
story,  briefly,  is  that  Hannah  Green,  a  house- 
keeper of  Oxfordshire,  dreamt  that  she,  having 
been  left  alone  in  the  house  of  a  Sunday  evening, 
heard  a  knock  at  the  door.    Opening  the  door  she 


210  CLAIRVOYANCE 

found  a  tramp  who  tried  to  force  his  way  into 
the  house.  She  struggled  to  prevent  his  en- 
trance, but  he  struck  her  with  a  bludgeon  and 
rendered  her  insensible,  whereupon  he  entered 
the  house  and  robbed  it.  She  related  the  vision 
to  her  friends,  but,  as  nothing  happened  for  some 
time,  the  matter  almost  passed  from  her  mind. 
But,  some  seven  years  afterward,  she  was  left 
in  charge  of  the  house  on  a  certain  Sunday  eve- 
ning; during  the  evening  she  was  startled  by  a 
sudden  knock  at  the  door,  and  her  former  vision 
was  recalled  to  her  memory  quite  vividly.  She 
refused  to  go  to  the  door,  remembering  the  warn- 
ing, but  instead  went  up  to  a  landing  on  the  stair 
and  looked  out  the  window,  she  saw  at  the  door 
the  very  tramp  whom  she  had  seen  in  the  vision 
some  seven  years  before,  armed  with  a  bludgeon, 
and  striving  to  force  an  entrance  into  the  house. 
She  took  steps  to  frighten  away  the  rascal,  and 
she  was  saved  from  the  unpleasant  conclusion  of 
her  vision.    Many  similar  cases  are  recorded. 

In  some  cases  persons  have  been  warned  by 
symbols  of  various  kinds;  or  else  have  had  pre- 
vision in  the  same  way.  For  instance,  many  cases 
are  known  in  which  the  vision  is  that  of  the  un- 
dertaker's wagon  standing  before  the  door  of  the 
person  who  dies  sometime  afterward.  Or,  the 
person  is  visioned  clad  in  a  shroud.  The  vari- 
ations of  this  class  are  innumerable.  Speak  to 
the  average  dweller  in  the  highlands  of  Scotland, 
or  certain  counties  in  Ireland,  regarding  this — 
you  will  be  furnished  with  a  wealth  of  illustra- 
tions and  examples. 


SECOND-SIGHT,  PREVISION,  ETC     211 

This  phase  of  the  general  subject  of  clairvoy- 
ance is  very  fascinating  to  the  student  and  in- 
vestigator, and  is  one  in  which  the  highest 
psychic  or  astral  powers  of  sensing  are  called  into 
play.  In  fact,  as  I  have  said,  there  is  here  a  re- 
flection of  something  very  much  higher  than  the 
astral  or  psychic  planes  of  being.  The  student 
catches  a  glimpse  of  regions  infinitely  higher 
and  grander.  He  begins  to  realize  at  least  some- 
thing of  the  existence  of  that  Universal  Con- 
sciousness "in  which  we  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being;"  and  of  the  reality  of  the  Eternal 
Now,  in  which  past,  present  and  future  are 
blended  as  one  fact  of  infinite  consciousness.  He 
sees  the  signboard  pointing  to  marvelous  truths^ 


LESSON  XIV. 
ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING 

There  is  much  confusion  existing  in  the  minds 
of  the  average  students  of  occultism  concerning 
the  distinction  between  astral  visioning  by  means 
of  the  astral  senses  in  clairvoyance,  and  the 
visioning  of  the  astral  senses  during  the  travels 
of  the  astral  body  away  from  the  physical  body. 
There  is  such  a  close  connection  between  the  two 
several  phases  of  occult  phenomena  that  it  is 
easy  to  mistake  one  for  the  other;  in  fact,  there 
is  often  such  a  blending  of  the  two  that  it  is  quite 
difficult  to  distinguish  between  them.  However, 
in  this  lesson  I  shall  endeavor  to  bring  out  the 
characteristics  of  astral  body  visioning,  that  the 
student  may  learn  to  distinguish  them  from  those 
of  the  ordinary  clairvoyant  astral  visioning,  and 
recognize  them  when  he  experiences  them. 

The  main  points  of  distinction  are  these: 
When  visioning  clairvoyantly  by  means  of  the 
astral  senses,  as  described  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ters of  this  book,  the  clairvoyant  usually  per- 
ceives the  scene,  person  or  event  as  a  picture  on 
a  flat  surface.  It  is  true  that  there  is  generally 
a  perfect  perspective,  similar  to  that  of  a  good 
stereoscopic  view,  or  that  of  a  high-grade  mov- 
ing picture  photograph — the  figures  "stand  out," 
and  do  not  appear  "flat"  as  in  the  case  of  an  ordi- 
nary photograph;  but  still  at  the  best  it  is  like 
looking  at  a  moving  picture,  inasmuch  as  the 
whole  scene  is  all  in  front  of  you.  Visioning  in 
the  astral  body,  on  the  contrary,  gives  you  an  "all 


ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING       213 

around"  view  of  the  scene.  That  is  to  say,  in 
such  case  you  see  the  thing  just  as  you  would 
were  you  there  in  your  physical  body — you  see 
in  front  of  you;  on  the  sides  of  you,  out  of  the 
corner  of  your  eye;  if  you  turn  your  head,  you 
may  see  in  any  direction;  and  you  may  turn 
around  and  see  what  is  happening  behind  you. 
in  the  first  case  you  are  merely  gazing  at  an 
astral  picture  in  front  of  you;  while  in  the  second 
place  you  are  actually  there  in  person. 

There  are  some  limitations  to  this  "seeing  all 
around"  when  in  the  astral  body,  however,  which 
I  should  note  in  passing.  For  instance,  if  when 
in  the  astral  body  you  examine  the  akashic  rec- 
ords of  the  past,  or  else  peer  into  the  scenes  of 
the  future,  you  will  see  these  things  merely  as  a 
picture,  and  will  not  be  conscious  of  being  pres- 
ent personally  in  the  scene.  (An  apparent  excep- 
tion is  to  be  noted  here,  also,  viz.,  if  your  past- 
time  visioning  includes  the  perception  of  your- 
self in  a  former  incarnation,  you  may  be  con- 
scious of  living  and  acting  in  your  former  per- 
sonality; again,  if  you  are  psychometrizing  from 
fossil  remains,  or  anything  concerned  with  a  liv- 
ing creature  of  the  past,  you  may  "take  on"  the 
mental  or  emotional  conditions  of  that  creature, 
and  seem  to  sense  things  from  the  inside,  rather 
than  from  the  outside.  This,  of  course,  is  also  a 
characteristic  of  the  ordinary  clairvoyant  vision 
of  the  past.)  But  when,  in  the  astral  body,  you 
perceive  a  present-time  scene  in  space,  you  are, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  an  actual  partici- 
pant— you  are  actually  present  at  the  place  and 


214  CLAIRVOYANCE 

time.  The  sense  of  "being  actually  present  in 
the  body"  is  the  leading  characteristic  of  the 
astral  body  visioning,  and  distinguishes  it  from 
the  "picture  seeing"  sensing  of  ordinary  clairvoy- 
ance. This  is  stating  the  matter  is  as  plain  and 
simple  form  as  is  possible,  ignoring  many  tech- 
nical details  and  particulars. 

You,  being  a  student  of  occultism,  of  course 
know  that  the  astral  body  is  a  fine  counterpart 
of  the  physical  body,  composed  of  a  far  more 
subtle  form  of  substance  than  is  the  latter,  that 
under  certain  conditions  you  may  travel  in  your 
astral  body,  detached  from  your  physical  body 
(except  being  connected  with  it  with  a  slender 
astral  cord,  bearing  a  close  resemblance  to  the 
umbilical  cord  which  connects  the  newborn  babe 
with  the  placenta  in  the  womb  of  its  mother), 
and  explore  the  realms  of  the  astral  plane.  This 
projection  of  the  astral  body,  as  a  rule,  occurs 
only  when  the  physical  body  is  stilled  in  sleep,  or 
in  trance  condition.  In  fact,  the  astral  body  fre- 
quently is  projected  by  us  during  the  course  of 
our  ordinary  sleep,  but  we  fail  to  remember  what 
we  have  seen  in  our  astral  journeys,  except,  oc- 
casionally, dim  flashes  of  partial  recollection 
upon  awakening.  In  some  cases,  however,  our 
astral  visioning  is  so  distinct  and  vivid,  that  we 
awaken  with  a  sense  of  having  had  a  peculiar 
experience,  and  as  having  actually  been  out  of 
the  physical  body  at  the  time. 

In  some  cases,  the  person  traveling  in  the 
astral  is  able  to  actually  take  part  in  the  distant 
scene,  and  may,  under  certain  circumstances  ac- 


ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING        215 

tually  materialize  himself  so  as  to  be  seen  by 
persons  in  their  physical  bodies.  I  am  speak- 
ing now,  of  course,  of  the  untrained  person.  The 
trained  and  developed  occultist,  of  course,  is  able 
to  do  these  things  deliberately  and  consciously, 
instead  of  unconsciously  and  without  intention 
as  in  the  case  of  the  ordinary  person.  I  shall 
quote  here  from  another  writer  on  the  subject, 
whose  point  of  view,  in  connection  with  my  own, 
may  serve  to  bring  about  a  clear  understanding 
in  the  mind  of  the  student — it  is  always  well  to 
view  any  subject  from  as  many  angles  as  possible. 
This  writer  says: 

"We  enter  here  upon  an  entirely  new  variety 
of  clairvoyance,  in  which  the  consciousness  of 
the  seer  no  longer  remains  in  or  closely  connected 
with  his  physical  body,  but  is  definitely  trans- 
ferred to  the  scene  which  he  is  examining. 
Though  it  has  no  doubt  greater  dangers  for  the 
untrained  seer  than  either  of  the  other  methods, 
it  is  yet  quite  the  most  satisfactory  form  of  clair- 
voyance open  to  him.  In  this  case  the  man's 
body  is  either  asleep  or  in  a  trance,  and  its  organs 
are  consequently  not  available  for  use  while  the 
vision  is  going  on,  so  that  all  description  of  what 
is  seen,  and  all  questioning  as  to  further  par- 
ticulars, must  be  postponed  until  the  wanderer 
returns  to  this  plane.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
sight  is  much  fuller  and  more  perfect;  the  man 
hears  as  well  as  sees  everything  which  passes  be- 
fore him,  and  can  move  about  freely  at  will  with- 
in the  very  wide  limits  of  the  astral  plane.  He 
has  also  the  immense  advantage  of  being  able  to 


216  CLAIRVOYANCE 

take  part,  as  it  were,  in  the  scenes  which  come  be- 
fore his  eyes — of  conversing  at  will  with  various 
entities  on  the  astral  plane,  and  from  whom  so 
much  information  that  is  curious  and  interesting 
may  be  obtained.  If  in  addition  he  can  learn  how 
to  materialize  himself  (a  matter  of  no  great  dif- 
ficulty for  him  when  once  the  knack  is  acquired), 
he  will  be  able  to  take  part  in  physical  events  or 
conversations  at  a  distance,  and  to  show  himself 
to  an  absent  friend  at  will. 

"Again,  he  will  have  the  additional  power  of 
being  able  to  hunt  about  for  what  he  wants.  By 
means  of  the  other  varieties  of  clairvoyance,  for 
all  practical  purposes  he  may  find  a  person  or 
place  only  when  he  is  already  acquainted  with  it; 
or,  when  he  is  put  en  rapport  with  it  by  touching 
something  physically  connected  with  it,  as  in 
psychometry.  By  the  use  of  the  astral  body, 
however,  a  man  can  move  about  quite  freely,  and 
rapidly  in  any  direction,  and  can  (for  example) 
find  without  difficulty  any  place  pointed  out  upon 
a  map,  without  either  any  previous  knowledge  of 
the  spot  or  any  object  to  establish  a  connection 
with  it.  He  can  also  readily  rise  high  into  the 
air  so  as  to  gain  a  bird's  eye  view  of  the  coun- 
try which  he  is  examining,  so  as  to  observe  its 
extent,  the  contour  of  its  coastline,  or  its  general 
character.  Indeed,  in  every  way  his  power  and 
freedom  are  far  greater  when  he  uses  this  method 
than  they  are  in  any  of  the  lesser  forms  of  clair- 
voyance." 

In  many  well  authenticated  cases,  we  may  see 
that  the  soul  of  a  dying  person,  one  whose  phys- 


ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING        217 

ical  end  is  approaching,  visits  friends  and  rela- 
tives is  the  astral  body,  and  in  many  cases  mate- 
rializes and  even  speaks  to  them.  In  such  cases 
the  dying  person  accomplishes  the  feat  of  astral 
manifestation  without  any  special  occult  knowl- 
edge; the  weakened  links  between  the  physical 
and  the  higher  phases  of  the  soul  render  the  tem- 
porary passing-out  comparatively  easy,  and  the 
strong  desire  of  the  dying  person  furnishes  the 
motive  power  necessary.  Such  visits,  however, 
are  often  found  to  be  merely  the  strongly  charged 
thought  of  the  dying  person,  along  the  lines  of 
telepathy,  as  I  have  previously  explained  to  you. 
But  in  many  cases  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
phenomenon  is  a  clear  case  of  astral  visitation 
and  materialization. 

The  records  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search contain  many  instances  of  this  kind;  and 
similar  instances  are  to  be  found  in  other  records 
of  psychical  research.  I  shall  quote  a  few  of 
these  cases  for  you,  that  you  may  get  a  clear 
idea  of  the  characteristics  thereof.  Andrew  Lang, 
an  eminent  student  and  investigator  along  the 
lines  of  the  psychic  and  occult,  gives  us  the  fol- 
lowing case,  of  which  he  says,  "Not  many  stories 
have  such  good  evidence  in  their  favor."  The 
story  as  related  by  Mr.  Lang  in  one  of  his  books 
is  as  follows: 

"Mary,  the  wife  of  John  Goffe  of  Rochester, 
being  afflicted  with  a  long  illness,  removed  to 
her  fathers  house  at  West  Mailing,  about  nine 
miles  from  her  own.  The  day  before  her  death 
she  grew  very  impatiently  desirous  to  see  her  two 


218  CLAIRVOYANCE 

children,  whom  she  had  left  at  home  to  the  care 
of  a  nurse.  She  was  too  ill  to  be  moved,  and  be- 
tween one  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  she 
fell  into  a  trance.  One  widow,  Turner,  who 
watched  with  her  that  night,  says  that  her  eyes 
were  open  and  fixed,  and  her  jaw  fallen.  Mrs. 
Turner  put  her  hand  to  her  mouth,  but  could 
perceive  no  breath.  She  thought  her  to  be  in  a 
fit,  and  doubted  whether  she  were  dead  or  alive. 
The  next  morning  the  dying  woman  told  her 
mother  that  she  had  been  at  home  with  her  chil- 
dren, saying,  'I  was  with  them  last  night  when  I 
was  asleep.' 

"The  nurse  at  Rochester,  widow  Alexander  by 
name,  affirms  that  a  little  before  two  o'clock  that 
morning  she  saw  the  likeness  of  the  said  Mary 
Goffe  come  out  of  the  next  chamber  (where  the 
elder  child  lay  in  a  bed  by  itself),  the  door  being 
left  open,  and  stood  by  her  bedside  for  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour;  the  younger  child  was  there 
lying  by  her.  Her  eyes  moved  and  her  mouth 
went,  but  she  said  nothing.  The  nurse,  more- 
over says  that  she  was  perfectly  awake;  it  was 
then  daylight,  being  one  of  the  longest  days  of 
the  year.  She  sat  up  in  bed  and  looked  stead- 
fastly on  the  apparition.  In  that  time  she  heard 
the  bridge  clock  strike  two,  and  a  while  after 
said:  Tn  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  what  art  thou?'  Thereupon  the  appari- 
tion removed  and  went  away;  she  slipped  out  of 
her  clothes  and  followed,  but  what  became  on't 
she  cannot  tell." 

In  the  case  just  mentioned,  Mr.  Lang  states 


ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING        219 

that  the  nurse  was  so  frightened  that  she  was 
afraid  to  return  to  bed.  As  soon  as  the  neigh- 
bors were  up  and  about  she  told  them  of  what 
she  had  seen;  but  they  told  her  that  she  had  been 
dreaming.  It  was  only  when,  later  on,  news 
came  of  what  had  happened  at  the  other  end  of 
the  line — the  bedside  of  the  dying  woman,  that 
they  realized  just  what  had  happened. 

In  a  work  by  Rev.  F.  G.  Lee,  there  are  several 
other  cases  of  this  kind  quoted,  all  of  which  are 
stated  by  Mr.  Lee  to  be  thoroughly  well  authenti- 
cated. In  one  of  the  cases  a  mother,  when  dying 
in  Egypt,  appears  to  her  children  in  Torquay,  and 
is  clearly  seen  in  broad  daylight  by  all  five  chil- 
dren and  also  by  the  nursemaid.  In  another,  a 
Quaker  lady  dying  at  ,Cockermouth  is  clearly 
seen  and  recognized  in  daylight  by  her  three  chil- 
dren at  Seattle,  the  remainder  of  the  story  being 
almost  identical  with  that  of  the  GofTe  case  just 
quoted. 

In  the  records  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search, the  following  case  appears,  the  person 
reporting  it  being  said  to  be  of  good  character 
and  reputation  for  truthfulness  and  reliability. 
The  story  is  as  follows:  "One  morning  in  De- 
cember, 1836,  A.  had  the  following  dream,  or 
he  would  prefer  to  call  it,  revelation.  He  found 
himself  suddenly  at  the  gate  of  Major  N.  M.'s 
avenue,  many  miles  from  his  home.  Close  to  his 
was  a  group  of  persons,  one  of  whom  was  a 
woman  with  a  basket  on  her  arm,  the  rest  were 
men,  four  of  whom  were  tenants  of  his  own, 
while  the  others  were  unknown  to  him.    Some  of 


220  CLAIRVOYANCE 

the  strangers  seemed  to  be  assaulting  H.  W.,  one 
of  his  tenants,  and  he  interfered.  A.  says,  'I 
struck  violently  at  the  man  on  my  left,  and  then 
with  greater  violence  at  the  man's  face  on  my 
right.  Finding,  to  my  surprise,  that  I  had  not 
knocked  down  either,  I  struck  again  and  again 
with  all  the  violence  of  a  man  frenzied  at  the 
sight  of  my  poor  friend's  murder.  To  my  great 
amazement  I  saw  my  arms,  although  visible  to 
my  eye,  were  without  substance,  and  the  bodies 
of  the  men  I  struck  at  and  my  own  came  close 
together  after  each  blow,  through  the  shadowy 
arms  I  struck  with.  My  blows  were  delivered 
with  more  extreme  violence  than  I  ever  think  I 
exerted,  but  I  became  painfully  convinced  of  my 
incompetency.  I  have  no  consciousness  of  what 
happened  after  this  feeling  of  unsubstantiality 
came  upon  me.' 

"Next  morning,  A.  experienced  the  stiffness 
and  soreness  of  violent  bodily  exercise,  and  was 
informed  by  his  wife  that  in  the  course  of  the 
night  he  had  much  alarmed  her  by  striking  out 
again  and  again  in  a  terrific  manner,  'as  if  fight- 
ing for  his  life.'  He,  in  turn,  informed  her  of  his 
dream,  and  begged  her  to  remember  the  names 
of  those  actors  in  it  who  were  known  to  him.  On 
the  morning  of  the  following  day  (Wednesday) 
A.  received  a  letter  from  his  agent,  who  resided 
in  the  town  close  to  the  scene  of  the  dream,  in- 
forming him  that  his  tenant  had  been  found  on 
Tuesday  morning  at  Major  N.  M.'s  gate,  speech- 
less and  apparently  dying  from  a  fracture  of  the 


ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING       221 

skull,  and  that  there  was  no  trace  of  the  murder- 
ers. 

"That  night  A.  started  for  the  town,  and  ar- 
rived there  on  Thursday  morning.  On  his  way 
to  a  meeting  of  magistrates,  he  met  the  senior 
magistrate  of  that  part  of  the  country,  and  re- 
quested him  to  give  orders  for  the  arrest  of  the 
three  men  whom,  besides  H.  W.,  he  had  recog- 
nized in  his  dream,  and  to  have  them  examined 
separately.  This  was  at  once  done.  The  three 
men  gave  identical  accounts  of  the  occurrence, 
and  all  named  the  woman  who  was  with  them. 
She  was  then  arrested  and  gave  precisely  similar 
testimony.  They  said  that  between  eleven  and 
twelve  on  the  Monday  night  they  had  been  walk- 
ing homewards  altogether  along  the  road,  when 
they  were  overtaken  by  three  strangers,  two  of 
whom  savagely  assaulted  H.  W.,  while  the  other 
prevented  his  friends  from  interfering.  H.  W. 
did  not  die,  but  was  never  the  same  man  after- 
wards; he  subsequently  emigrated." 

Stead,  the  English  editor  and  psychical  re- 
searcher, relates  the  following  case,  which  he  ac- 
cepts as  truthful  and  correct,  after  careful  in- 
vestigation of  the  circumstances  and  of  the  char- 
acter and  reputation  of  the  person  relating  it. 
The  story  proceeds  as  follows: 

"St.  Eglos  is  situated  about  ten  miles  from  the 
Atlantic,  and  not  quite  so  far  from  the  old  market 
town  of  Trebodwina.  Hart  and  George  Northey 
were  brothers,  and  from  childhood  their  lives 
had  been  marked  by  the  strongest  brotherly  af- 
fection.    Hart  and  George  Northey  had  never 


222  CLAIRVOYANCE 

been  separated  from  their  birth  until  George  be- 
came a  sailor,  Hart  meantime  joining  his  father 
in  business.  On  the  8th  of  February,  1840,  while 
George  Northey's  ship  was  lying  in  port  at  St. 
Helena,  he  had  the  following  strange  dream: 

"Last  night  I  dreamt  that  my  brother  was 
at  Trebodwina  Market,  and  that  I  was  with  him, 
quite  close  by  his  side,  during  the  whole  of  the 
market  transactions.  Although  I  could  see  and 
hear  which  passed  around  me,  I  felt  sure  that  it 
was  not  my  bodily  presence  which  thus  accom- 
panied him,  but  my  shadow  or  rather  my  spir- 
itual presence,  for  he  seemed  quite  unconscious 
that  I  was  near  him.  I  felt  that  my  being  thus 
present  in  this  strange  way  betokened  some  hid- 
den danger  which  he  was  destined  to  meet,  and 
which  I  know  my  presence  could  not  avert,  for 
I  could  not  speak  to  warn  him  of  his  peril." 

The  story  then  proceeds  to  relate  how  Hart 
collected  considerable  money  at  Trebodwina 
Market,  and  then  started  to  ride  homeward. 
George  tells  what  happened  to  his  brother  on  the 
way,  as  follows : 

"My  terror  gradually  increased  as  Hart  ap- 
proached the  hamlet  of  Polkerrow,  until  I  was  in 
a  perfect  frenzy,  frantically  desirous,  yet  un- 
able to  warn  my  brother  in  some  way  and  pre- 
vent him  from  going  further.  I  suddenly  became 
aware  of  two  dark  shadows  thrown  across  the 
road.  I  felt  that  my  brother's  hour  had  come, 
and  I  was  powerless  to  aid  him !  Two  men  ap- 
peared, whom  I  instantly  recognized  as  notorious 
poachers  who  lived  in  a  lonely  wood  near  St. 


ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING        223 

Eglos.  They  wished  him  'Good  night,  mister!' 
civilly  enough.  He  replied,  and  entered  into  con- 
versation with  them  about  some  work  he  had 
promised  them.  After  a  few  minutes  they  asked 
him  for  some  money.  The  elder  of  the  two  broth- 
ers, who  was  standing  near  the  horse's  head, 
said:  "Mr.  Northey,  we  know  you  have  just 
come  from  Trebodwina  Market  with  plenty  of 
money  in  your  pockets;  we  are  desperate  men, 
and  you  bean't  going  to  leave  this  place  until 
we've  got  that  money;  so  hand  over!'  My 
brother  made  no  reply  except  to  slash  at  him  with 
the  whip,  and  spur  the  horse  at  him. 

"The  younger  of  the  ruffians  instantly  drew  a 
pistol,  and  fired.  Hart  dropped  lifeless  from  the 
saddle,  and  one  of  the  villains  held  him  by  the 
throat  with  a  grip  of  iron  for  some  minutes,  as 
thought  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  and 
crush  out  any  particle  of  life  my  poor  brother 
might  have  left.  The  murderers  secured  the 
horse  to  a  tree  in  the  orchard,  and,  having  rifled 
the  corpse,  they  dragged  it  up  the  stream,  con- 
cealing it  under  the  overhanging  banks  of  the 
water-course.  Then  they  carefully  covered  over 
all  marks  of  blood  on  the  road,  and  hid  the  pistol 
in  the  thatch  of  a  disused  hut  close  to  the  road- 
side; then,  setting  the  horse  free  to  gallop  home 
alone,  they  decamped  across  the  country  to  their 
own  cottage." 

The  story  then  relates  how  George  Northey's 
vessel  left  St.  Helena  the  next  day  after  the 
dream,  and  reached  Plymouth  in  due  time. 
George  carried  with  him  a  very  vivid  recollec- 


224  CLAIRVOYANCE 

tion  of  his  vision  on  the  return  voyage,  and  never 
doubted  for  an  instant  that  his  brother  had  been 
actually  murdered  in  the  manner  and  by  the  per- 
sons named,  as  seen  in  the  vision.  He  carried 
with  him  the  determination  to  bring  the  villains 
to  justice  and  was  filled  with  the  conviction  that 
through  his  efforts  retribution  would  fall  upon 
the  murderers. 

In  England,  justice  was  at  work — but  the 
missing  link  was  needed.  The  crime  aroused 
universal  horror  and  indignation,  and  the  author- 
ities left  nothing  undone  in  the  direction  of 
discovering  the  murderers  and  bringing  them  to 
justice.  Two  brothers  named  Hightwood  were 
suspected,  and  in  their  cottage  were  found  blood- 
stained garments.  But  no  pistol  was  found, 
although  the  younger  brother  admitted  having 
owned  but  lost  one.  They  were  arrested  and 
brought  before  the  magistrates.  The  evidence 
against  them  was  purely  circumstantial,  and  not 
any  too  strong  at  that;  but  their  actions  were 
those  of  guilty  men.  They  were  committed  for 
trial.  Each  confessed,  in  hopes  of  saving  his  life 
and  obtaining  imprisonment  instead.  But  both 
were  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged. 
There  was  doubt  in  the  minds  of  some,  however, 
about  the  pistol.    The  story  continues: 

"Before  the  execution,  George  Northey  ar- 
rivd  from  St.  Helena,  and  declared  that  the  pistol 
was  in  the  thatch  of  the  old  cottage  close  by  the 
place  where  they  had  murdered  Hart  Northey, 
and  where  they  had  hid  it.  'How  do  you  know?' 
he  was  asked.    George  replied:    T  saw  the  foul 


ASTRAL-BODY  TRAVELING        225 

deed  committed  in  a  dream  I  had  the  night  of  the 
murder,  when  at  St.  Helena.'  The  pistol  was 
found,  as  George  Northey  had  predicted,  in  the 
thatch  of  the  ruined  cottage."  Investigation  re- 
vealed that  the  details  of  the  crime  were  identical 
with  those  seen  in  the  vision. 

It  is  a  fact  known  to  all  occultists  that  many- 
persons  frequently  travel  in  the  astral  body  dur- 
ing sleep;  and  in  many  cases  retain  a  faint  recol- 
lection of  some  of  the  things  they  have  seen  and 
heard  during  their  travels  in  the  astral.  Nearly 
everyone  knows  the  experience  of  waking  up  in 
the  morning  feeling  physically  tired  and  "used 
up;"  in  some  cases  a  dim  recollection  of  walk- 
ing or  working  during  the  dream  being  had. 
Who  among  us  has  not  had  the  experience  of 
"walking  on  the  air,"  or  in  the  air,  without  the 
feet  touching  the  ground,  being  propelled  simply 
by  the  effort  of  the  will?  And  who  of  us  has 
had  not  experienced  that  dreadful  "falling 
through  space"  sensation,  in  dreams,  with  the 
sudden  awakening  just  before  we  actually  struck 
earth?  And  who  has  not  had  the  mortifying 
dream  experience  of  walking  along  the  street, 
or  in  some  public  place,  and  being  suddenly  over- 
come by  the  consciousness  that  we  were  in  our 
night-clothes,  or  perhaps  without  any  clothing 
at  all?  All  of  these  things  are  more  or  less  dis- 
torted recollection  of  astral  journeyings. 

But  while  these  dream  excursions  in  the  astral 
are  harmless,  the  conscious  "going  out  in  the 
astral"  is  not  so.  There  are  many  planes  of  the 
astral  into  which  it  is  dangerous  and  unpleasant 


226  CLAIRVOYANCE 

for  the  uninstructed  person  to  travel;  unless  ac- 
companied by  a  capable  occultist  as  guide. 
Therefore,  I  caution  all  students  against  trying 
to  force  development  in  that  direction.  Nature 
surrounds  you  with  safeguards,  and  interposes 
obstacles  for  your  own  protection  and  good.  Do 
not  try  to  break  through  these  obstacles  without 
knowledge  of  what  you  are  doing.  "Fools  rush 
in  where  angels  fear  to  tread,"  remember;  and 
"a  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing."  When 
you  have  reached  the  stage  of  development  in 
which  it  will  be  safe  for  you  to  undertake  con- 
scious astral  explorations,  then  will  your  guide  be 
at  hand,  and  the  instruction  furnished  you  by 
those  capable  of  giving  it  to  you.  Do  not  try  to 
break  into  the  astral  without  due  preparation, 
and  full  knowledge,  lest  you  find  yourself  in  the 
state  of  the  fish  who  leaped  out  of  the  water  on 
to  the  banks  of  the  stream.  Your  dream  trips 
are  safe;  they  will  increase  in  variety  and  clear- 
ness, and  you  will  remember  more  about  them — 
all  this  before  you  may  begin  to  try  to  conscious- 
ly "go  out  into  the  astral"  as  do  the  occultists.  Be 
content  to  crawl  before  you  may  walk.  Learn 
to  add,  multiply,  subtract  and  divide,  before  you 
undertake  the  higher  mathematics,  algebra, 
geometry,  etc.,  of  occultism. 


LESSON  XV. 
STRANGE  ASTRAL    PHENOMENA. 

There  are  several  phases  of  astral  phenomena 
other  than  those  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
chapters,  which  it  will  be  better  for  the  student 
to  become  acquainted  with  in  order  to  round  out 
his  general  knowledge  of  the  subject,  although 
the  manifestations  are  comparatively  rare,  and 
not  so  generally  recognized  in  works  on  this  sub- 
ject. 

One  of  the  first  of  these  several  phases  of  astral 
phenomena  is  that  which  may  be  called  Thought- 
Form  Projection.  This  manifestation  comes  in 
the  place  on  the  psychic  scale  just  between  ordi- 
nary clairvoyance  on  the  one  hand,  and  astral- 
body  projection  on  the  other.  It  has  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  each,  and  is  often  mistaken  for 
one  or  the  other  of  these  phases. 

To  understand  this  phenomena,  the  student 
should  know  something  regarding  the  fact  that 
thought  frequently  takes  on  astral  form,  and  that 
these  manifestations  are  known  as  thought- 
forms.  I  have  spoken  of  these  in  some  of  the 
preceding  lessons.  The  ordinary  thought-form 
is  quite  simple,  as  a  rule,  and  does  not  bear  any 
particular  resemblance  to  the  sender  thereof.  But 
in  some  cases  a  person  may,  consciously  or  un- 
consciously, strongly  and  clearly  think  of  him- 
self as  present  at  some  other  place,  and  thus  actu- 
ally create  a  thought-form  of  himself  at  that 
place,  which  may  be  discerned  by  those  having 


228  CLAIRVOYANCE 

clairvoyant  vision.  Moreover,  this  thought-form 
of  himself  is  connected  psychically  with  himself 
and  affords  a  channel  of  psychic  information  for 
him.  As  a  rule  these  thought-forms  are  only  pro- 
jected by  those  who  have  trained  their  minds  and 
will  along  occult  lines;  but  occasionally  under  the 
stress  of  strong  emotion  or  desire  an  ordinary 
person  may  focus  his  psychic  power  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  phenomena  is  manifested. 

Here  I  will  quote  from  an  English  investigator 
of  astral  phenomena,  who  has  had  much  experi- 
ence on  that  plane  .  He  says:  "All  students  are 
aware  that  thought  takes  form,  at  any  rate  upon 
its  own  plane,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  upon 
the  astral  plane  also;  but  it  may  not  be  so  gener- 
ally known  that  if  a  man  thinks  strongly  of  him- 
self as  present  at  any  given  place,  the  form  as- 
sumed by  that  particular  thought  will  be  a  like- 
ness of  the  thinker  himself,  which  will  appear 
at  the  place  in  question.  Essentially  this  form 
must  be  composed  of  the  matter  of  the  mental 
plane,  but  in  very  many  cases  it  would  draw 
round  itself  matter  of  the  astral  plane  also,  and 
so  would  approach  much  nearer  to  visibility. 
There  are,  in  fact,  many  instances  in  which  it 
has  been  seen  by  the  person  thought  of — most 
probably  by  means  of  the  unconscious  influence 
emanating  from  the  original  thinker.  None  of 
the  consciousness  of  the  thinker  would,  however, 
be  included  within  this  thought-form.  When 
once  sent  out  from  him,  it  would  normally  be  a 
quite  separate  entity — not  indeed  absolutely  un- 
connected with  its  maker,  but  practically  so  as 


STRANGE  ASTRAL  PHENOMENA  229 

far  as  the  possibility  of  receiving  any  impression 
through  it  is  concerned. 

"This  type  of  clairvoyance  consists,  then,  in 
the  power  to  retain  so  much  connection  with  and 
so  much  hold  over  a  newly-created  thought-form 
as  will  render  it  possible  to  receive  impressions 
by  means  of  it.  Such  impressions  as  were  made 
upon  the  form  would  in  this  case  be  transmitted 
to  the  thinker — not  along  an  astral  telegraph 
line,  but  by  a  sympathetic  vibration.  In  a  perfect 
case  of  this  kind  of  clairvoyance  it  is  almost  as 
though  the  seer  projected  a  part  of  his  conscious- 
ness into  the  thought-form,  and  used  it  as  a  kind 
of  outpost,  from  which  observation  was  possible. 
He  sees  almost  as  well  as  he  would  if  he  himself 
stood  in  the  place  of  his  thought-form.  The 
figures  at  which  he  is  looking  will  appear  to  him 
as  of  life-size  and  close  to  hand,  instead  of  tiny 
and  at  a  distance  as  in  the  case  of  some  other 
forms  of  clairvoyance;  and  he  will  find  it  possible 
to  shift  his  point  of  view  if  he  wishes  to  do  so. 
Clairaudience  is  perhaps  less  frequently  asso- 
ciated with  this  type  of  clairvoyance  than  with 
the  others,  but  its  place  is  to  some  extent  taken 
by  a  kind  of  mental  perception  of  the  thoughts 
and  intentions  of  those  who  are  seen. 

"Since  the  man's  consciousness  is  still  in  the 
physical  body,  he  will  be  able  (even  when  exer- 
cising this  faculty)  to  hear  and  to  speak,  in  so  far 
as  he  can  do  this  without  any  distraction  of  his 
attention.  The  moment  that  the  intentness  of 
his  thought  fails,  the  whole  vision  is  gone,  and 
he  will  have  to  construct  a  fresh  thought-form 


230  CLAIRVOYANCE 

before  he  can  resume  it.  Instances  in  which  this 
kind  of  sight  is  possessed  with  any  degree  of  per- 
fection by  untrained  people  are  naturally  rarer 
than  in  the  other  types  of  clairvoyance,  because 
the  capacity  for  mental  control  required,  and  the 
generally  finer  nature  of  the  forces  employed." 

I  may  mention  that  this  particular  method  is 
frequently  employed  by  advanced  occultists  of 
all  countries,  being  preferred  for  various  reasons. 
Some  of  the  reasons  of  this  preference  as  follows: 
(a)  The  ability  to  shift  the  vision,  and  to  turn 
around  almost  as  well  as  in  the  case  of  actual 
astral-body  projection — this  gives  quite  an  ad- 
vantage to  this  method  over  the  method  of  ordi- 
nary clairvoyance;  (b)  it  does  away  with  certain 
disadvantages  of  "going  out  into  the  astral"  in 
the  astral-body,  which  only  trained  occultists 
realize — it  gives  almost  the  same  results  as 
astral-body  clairvoyance,  without  a  number  of 
disadvantages  and  inconveniences. 

In  India,  especially,  this  form  of  clairvoyance 
is  comparatively  frequent.  This  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  the  Hindus,  as  a  race,  are  far  more 
psychic  than  are  those  of  the  Western  lands,  all 
else  considered;  and,  besides,  there  are  a  much 
greater  number  of  highly  developed  occultists 
there  than  in  the  West.  Moreover,  there  is  a 
certain  psychic  atmosphere  surrounding  India, 
by  reason  of  its  thousands  of  years  of  deep  in- 
terest in  things  psychic  and  spiritual,  all  of  which 
renders  the  production  of  psychic  phenomena  far 
easier  than  in  other  lands. 

In  India,  moreover,  we  find  many  instances  of 


STRANGE  ASTRAL  PHENOMENA  231 

another  form  of  psychic,  or  astral  phenomena.  I 
allude  to  the  production  of  thought-form  pictures 
which  are  plainly  visible  to  one  or  more  persons. 
This  phase  of  psychic  phenomena  is  the  real  basis 
for  many  of  the  wonder  tales  which  Western 
travellers  bring  back  with  them  from  India.  The 
wonderful  cases  of  magical  appearance  of  living 
creatures  and  plants,  and  other  objects,  out  of  the 
clear  air  are  the  result  of  this  psychic  phenomena. 
That  is  to  say,  the  creatures  and  objects  are  not 
really  produced — they  are  but  astral  appearances 
resulting  from  the  projection  of  powerful 
thought-forms  from  the  mind  of  the  magician  or 
other  wonder-worker,  of  whom  India  has  a  plen- 
tiful supply.  Even  the  ignorant  fakirs  (I  use  the 
word  in  its  true  sense,  not  in  the  sense  given  it  by 
American  slang) — even  these  itinerent  showmen 
of  psychic  phenomena,  are  able  to  produce  phe- 
nomena of  this  kind  which  seems  miraculous  to 
those  witnessing  them.  As  for  the  trained  oc- 
cultists of  India,  I  may  say  that  their  feats  (when 
they  deign  to  produce  them)  seem  to  overturn 
every  theory  and  principle  of  materialistic  phi- 
losophy and  science.  But  in  nearly  every  case  the 
explanation  is  the  same — the  projection  of  a 
strong  and  clear  thought-form  on  a  large  scale. 

Although  I  have  purposely  omitted  reference 
to  Hindu  psychic  phenomena  in  this  book  (for 
the  reason  given  in  my  Introduction),  I  find  it 
necessary  to  quote  cases  in  India  in  this  connec- 
tion, for  the  simple  reason  that  there  are  but  few 
counterparts  in  the  Western  world.  There  are 
no   itinerent   wonder-workers   of   this   kind   in 


232  CLAIRVOYANCE 

Western  lands,  and  the  trained  occultists  of  the 
West  of  course  would  not  consent  to  perform 
feats  of  this  kind  for  the  amusement  of  persons 
seeking  merely  sensations.  The  trained  wills  of 
the  West  are  given  rather  to  materializing  ob- 
jectively on  the  physical  plane,  creating  great 
railroads,  buildings,  bridges,  etc.,  from  the  men- 
tal pictures,  rather  than  devoting  the  same  time, 
energy  and  will  to  the  production  of  astral 
though-forms  and  pictures.  There  is  a  great  dif- 
ference in  temperament,  as  well  as  a  difference  in 
the  general  psychic  atmosphere,  between  East 
and  West,  which  serves  to  explain  matters  of 
this  kind. 

An  American  writer  truly  says:  "The  first 
principle  underlying  the  whole  business  of  Hindu 
wonder-working  is  that  of  a  strong  will;  and  the 
first  necessary  condition  of  producing  a  magical 
effect  is  an  increase  in  the  power  of  thought.  The 
Hindus,  owing  to  that  intense  love  for  solitary 
meditation,  which  has  been  one  of  the  most  pro- 
nounced characteristics  from  time  immemorial, 
have  acquired  mental  faculties  of  which  we  of  the 
Western  and  younger  civilization  are  totally  ig- 
norant. The  Hindu  has  attained  a  past  master's 
degree  in  speculative  philosophy.  He  has  for 
years  retired  for  meditation  to  the  silent  places 
in  his  land,  lived  a  hermit,  subdued  the  body  and 
developed  the  mind,  thus  winning  control  over 
other  minds." 

In  India,I  have  seen  scenes  of  far  distant  places 
appearing  as  a  mirage  in  clear  air,  even  the  colors 
being  present  to  the  scenes.    This,  though  some- 


STRANGE  ASTRAL  PHENOMENA  233 

what  uncommon,  was  simply  a  remarkable  in- 
stance of  thought-form  projection  from  the  mind 
of  a  man  highly  developed  along  occult  lines. 
You  must  remember  that  in  order  to  produce  a 
picture  in  the  astral  of  this  kind,  the  occultist 
must  not  only  have  the  power  of  will  and  mind  to 
cause  such  a  picture  to  materialize,  but  he  must 
also  have  a  remarkable  memory  for  detail  in  the 
picture — for  nothing  appears  in  the  picture  un- 
less it  has  already  been  pictured  in  the  mind  of 
the  mind  of  the  man  himself.  Such  a  memory 
and  perception  of  detail  is  very  rare — in  the 
Western  world  it  is  possessed  by  only  exceptional 
artists;  however,  anyone  may  cultivate  this  per- 
ception and  memory  if  he  will  give  the  time  and 
care  to  it  that  the  Hindu  magicians  do. 

You  have  heard  of  the  Hindu  Mango  Trick,  in 
which  the  magician  takes  a  mango  seed,  plants 
it  in  the  ground,  waves  his  hands  over  it,  and 
then  causes  first  a  tiny  shoot  to  appear  from  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  this  followed  by  a  tiny 
trunk,  and  leaves,  which  grow  and  grow,  until  at 
last  appears  a  full  sized  mango  tree,  which  first 
shows  blossoms  and  then  ripe  fruit.  In  short,  in 
a  few  moments  the  magician  has  produced  that 
which  Nature  require  years  to  do — that  is  he  ap- 
parently does  this.  What  he  really  does  is  to 
produce  a  wonderful  thought-form  in  the  astral, 
from  seed  stage  to  tree  and  fruit  stage;  the  astral 
picture  reproducing  perfectly  the  picture  in  his 
own  mind.  It  is  as  if  he  were  creating  a  moving 
picture  film-roll  in  his  mind,  and  then  projecting 
this  upon  the  screen  of  the  air.     There  is  no 


234  CLAIRVOYANCE 

mango  tree  there,  and  never  was,  outside  of  the 
mind  of  the  magician  and  the  minds  of  his 
audience. 

In  the  same  way,  the  magician  will  seem  to 
throw  the  end  of  a  rope  up  into  the  air.  It  travels 
far  up  until  the  end  is  lost  sight  of.  Then  he 
sends  a  boy  climbing  up  after  it,  until  he  too  dis- 
appears from  sight.  Then  he  causes  the  whole 
thing  to  disappear,  and  lo!  the  boy  is  seen  stand- 
ing among  the  audience.  The  boy  is  real,  of 
course,  but  he  never  left  the  spot — the  rest  was 
all  an  appearance  caused  by  the  mind  and  will 
of  the  magician,  pictured  in  the  astral  as  a 
thought-form.  In  the  same  way  the  magician 
will  seem  to  cut  the  boy  into  bits,  and  then  cause 
the  severed  parts  to  spring  together  and  reassem- 
ble themselves.  These  feats  may  be  varied  in- 
definitely but  the  principle  is  ever  the  same — 
thought-form  projection. 

Western  visitors  have  sought  to  obtain  photo- 
graphs of  these  feats  of  the  Hindu  magicians,  but 
their  plates  and  films  invariably  show  nothing 
whatever  except  the  old  fakir  sitting  quietly  in 
the  centre,  with  a  peculiar  expression  in  his  eyes. 
This  is  as  might  be  expected,  for  the  picture 
exists  only  in  the  astral,  and  is  perceived  only  by 
the  awakened  astral  senses  of  those  present, 
which  have  been  stimulated  into  activity  by  the 
power  of  the  magician — by  sympathetic  vibra- 
tion, to  be  exact.  Moreover,  in  certain  instances 
it  has  been  found  that  the  vision  is  confined  to  a 
limited  area;  persons  outside  of  the  limit-ring  see 
nothing,  and  those  moving  nearer  to  the  magician 


STRANGE  ASTRAL  PHENOMENA  235 

lose  sight  of  what  they  had  previously  seen. 
There  are  scientific  reasons  for  this  last  fact, 
which  need  not  be  gone  into  at  this  place.  The 
main  point  I  am  seeking  to  bring  out  is  that  these 
wonderful  scenes  are  simply  and  wholly  thought- 
form  pictures  in  the  astral,  perceived  by  the 
awakened  astral  vision  of  those  present.  This  to 
be  sure  is  wonderful  enough — but  still  no  miracle 
has  been  worked ! 

I  may  mention  here  that  these  magicians  begin 
their  training  from  early  youth.  In  addition  to 
certain  instruction  concerning  astral  phenomena 
which  is  handed  down  from  father  to  son  among 
them  they  are  set  to  work  practicing  "visualiza- 
tion" of  things  previously  perceived.  They  are 
set  to  work  upon,  say,  a  rose.  They  must  im- 
press upon  their  memory  the  perfect  picture  of 
the  rose — no  easy  matter,  I  may  tell  you.  Then 
they  proceed  to  more  difficult  objects,  slowly  and 
gradually,  along  well  known  principles  of 
memory  development.  Along  with  this  they 
practice  the  art  of  reproducing  that  which  they 
remember — projecting  it  in  thought-form  state. 
And  so  the  young  magician  proceeds,  from  sim- 
ple to  complex  things;  from  easy  to  difficult; 
until,  finally,  he  is  pronounced  fit  to  give  public 
exhibitions.  All  this  takes  years  and  years — 
sometimes  the  boy  grows  to  be  a  middle-aged 
man  before  he  is  allowed  to  publicly  exhibit  his 
power.  Imagine  a  Western  boy  or  man  being 
willing  to  study  from  early  childhood  to  middle- 
age  before  he  may  hope  to  be  able  to  show  what 
he  has  been  learning!    Verily  "the  East  is  East, 


236  CLAIRVOYANCE 

and  the  West  is  West" — the  two  poles  of  human 
activity  and  expression. 

Another  phase  of  psychic  astral  phenomena 
which  should  be  mentioned,  although  it  is  mani- 
fested but  comparatively  seldom,  is  that  which 
has  been  called  "Telekinesis."  By  the  term  "tele- 
kinesis" is  meant  that  class  of  phenomena  which 
manifests  in  the  movement  of  physical  objects 
without  physical  contact  with  the  person  respon- 
sible for  the  movement.  I  understand  that  the 
term  itself  was  coined  by  Professor  Cowes,  with 
whose  works  I  am  not  personally  familiar.  It  is 
derived  from  the  two  Greek  words  tele,  meaning 
"far  off,"  and  kinesis,  meaning  "to  move." 

This  class  of  phenomena  is  known  better  in  the 
Western  world  by  reason  of  its  manifestation  in 
spiritualistic  circles  in  the  movement  of  tables, 
etc.;  the  knocking  or  tapping  on  tables  and  doors, 
etc.;  all  of  which  are  usually  attributed  to  the 
work  of  "spirits,"  but  which  occultists  know  are 
generally  produced,  conciously  or  unconsciously, 
by  means  of  the  power  in  the  medium  or  others 
present,  sometimes  both.  I  would  say  here  that 
I  am  not  trying  to  discredit  genuine  spiritualistic 
phenomena — I  am  not  considering  the  same  in 
these  lessons.  All  that  I  wish  to  say  is  that  many 
of  the  phenomena  commonly  attributed  to 
"spirits"  are  really  but  results  of  the  psychic 
forces  inherent  in  the  living  human  being. 

Under  certain  conditions  there  may  appear  in 
the  case  of  a  person  strongly  psychic,  and  also 
strongly  charged  with  prana,  the  ability  to  ex- 
tend a  portion  of  the  astral  body  to  a  considerable 


STRANGE  ASTRAL  PHENOMENA         237 

distance,  and  to  there  produce  an  effect  upon 
some  physical  object.  Those  with  strong  clair- 
voyant vision  may  actually  perceive  this  astral 
extension,  under  favorable  circumstances.  They 
perceive  the  astral  arm  of  the  person  stretching 
out,  diminishing  in  size  as  it  extends  (just  as  a 
piece  of  flexible  rubber  shrinks  in  diameter  as  it 
expands  in  length)  and  finally  coming  in  contact 
with  the  physical  object  it  wishes  to  move  or 
strike.  Then  is  seen  a  strong  flow  of  prana  along 
its  length,  which  (by  a  peculiar  form  of  concen- 
tration) is  able  to  produce  the  physical  effect.  I 
cannot  enter  into  the  subject  of  astral  physics  at 
this  place,  for  the  subject  is  far  too  technical  to 
be  treated  in  lessons  designed  for  general  study. 
I  may  at  least  partially  explain  the  phenomenon, 
however,  by  saying  that  the  projected  astral  arm 
acts  in  a  manner  almost  precisely  like  that  of  an 
extended  physical  arm,  were  such  a  thing  pos- 
sible in  nature. 

This  astral-body  extension  produces  spirit  raps 
on  tables;  table-tilting  and  movement;  levitation, 
or  the  lifting  of  solid  objects  in  the  air;  playing 
upon  musical  instruments  such  as  the  guitar,  ac- 
cordian,  etc.  In  some  cases  it  is  able  to  actually 
lift  the  person  himself  from  the  floor,  and  carry 
him  through  the  air,  in  the  same  way.  It  may 
also  cause  the  movement  of  a  pencil  in  a  closed 
slate,  or  bit  of  chalk  upon  a  blackboard.  In  fact, 
it  may  produce  almost  any  form  of  movement 
possible  to  the  physical  hand.  In  the  case  of  the 
levitation  of  the  person  himself,  the  astral  arms, 
and  sometimes  the  legs  as  well,  extend  to  the 


238  CLAIRVOYANCE 

floor  and  push  up  the  physical  body  into  the  air, 
and  then  propel  it  along.  There  are  many  com- 
plex technical  details  to  these  manifestations, 
however,  and  in  a  general  statement  these  must 
be  omitted. 

Some  who  are  firmly  wedded  to  the  spiritistic 
theory  resent  the  statement  of  occultists  that 
this  form  of  phenomena  may  be  explained  with1 
out  the  necessity  of  the  "spirits."  But  the  best 
ground  for  the  statement  of  the  occultists  is  that 
many  advanced  occultists  are  able  to  produce 
such  phenomena,  consciously,  by  an  act  of  pure 
will,  accompanied  by  the  power  of  mental  pic- 
turing. They  first  picture  the  astral  extension, 
and  then  will  the  projection  of  the  astral  and  the 
passage  of  the  prana  (or  vital  force)  around  the 
pattern  of  the  mental  image.  In  the  case  of 
some  very  highly  developed  occultists  the  astral 
thought-form  of  their  body  becomes  so  charged 
with  prana  that  it  is  able  to  move  physical  ob- 
jects. There  are  not  mere  theories,  for  they  may 
be  verified  by  any  occultist  of  sufficiently  high 
development. 

I  do  not  wish  to  intimate  that  the  mediums 
are  aware  of  the  true  nature  of  this  phenomena, 
and  consciously  deceive  their  followers.  On  the 
contrary,  most  of  them  firmly  believe  that  it  is 
the  "spirits"  who  do  the  work;  unaware  that  they 
are  unconsciously  projecting  their  astral  bodies, 
charged  with  prana,  and  performing  the  feat 
themselves.  The  best  mediums,  however,  will 
generally  tell  you  that  they  strongly  "wish" 
that  the  thing  be  done,  and  a  little  cross-exami- 


STRANGE  ASTRAL  PHENOMENA  239 

nation  will  reveal  the  fact  that  they  generally 
make  a  clear  mental  picture  of  the  actual  hap- 
pening just  before  it  occurs.  As  I  have  already 
stated,  however,  the  best  proof  is  the  fact  that 
advanced  occultists  are  able  to  duplicate  the  phe- 
nomena deliberately,  consciously,  and  at  will.  I 
do  not  think  that  detracts  from  the  wonder  and 
interest  in  the  so-called  "spiritistic"  phenomena; 
on  the  contrary,  I  think  that  it  adds  to  it. 

Again  invading  the  realm  of  the  "spirits,"  I 
would  say  that  occultists  know  that  many  cases 
of  so-called  materialization  of  "spirit-forms" 
take  place  by  reason  of  the  unconscious  projec- 
tion of  the  astral  body  of  the  medium.  Moreover, 
such  a  projection  of  the  astral  body  may  take  on 
the  appearance  of  some  departed  soul,  by  reason 
of  the  mental  picture  of  that  person  in  the  mind 
of  the  medium.  But,  it  may  be  asked  if  the 
medium  has  never  seen  the  dead  person,  how  can 
he  or  she  make  a  mental  picture  of  him  or  her. 
The  answer  is  that  the  minds  of  the  persons 
present  who  knew  the  dead  person  tend  to  influ- 
ence the  appearance  of  the  nebulous  spirit  form. 
In  fact,  in  most  cases  the  medium  is  unable  to 
produce  the  phenomenon  without  the  psychic 
assistance  of  those  in  the  circle.  In  this  case, 
also,  I  would  say  that  the  advanced  occultist  is 
able  to  duplicate  the  phenomena  at  will,  as  all 
who  have  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  close  acquaint- 
ance with  such  persons  are  aware. 

The  fact  the  medium  is  usually  in  a  trance  con- 
dition aids  materially  in  the  ease  with  which  the 
phenomena  are  produced.     With  the  conscious 


240  CLAIRVOYANCE 

mind  stilled,  and  the  subconscious  mind  active, 
the  astral  phenomena  are  produced  with  much 
less  trouble  than  would  be  the  case  if  the  medium 
were  in  the  ordinary  condition. 

Now,  I  wish  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of 
those  of  my  readers  who  have  a  strong  sympathy 
for  the  spiritistic  teachings  that  I  recognize  the 
validity  and  genuineness  of  much  of  the  phe- 
nomena of  spiritism — I  know  these  things  to  be 
true,  for  that  matter;  it  is  not  a  matter  of  mere 
belief  on  my  part.  But  I  also  know  that  much  of 
the  so-called  spiritistic  phenomena  is  possible 
without  the  aid  of  "spirits,"  but  by  the  employ- 
ment of  the  psychic  astral  forces  and  powers  as 
stated  in  these  lessons.  I  see  no  reason  for  any 
honest  investigator  of  spiritism  to  be  offended  at 
such  statements,  for  it  does  not  take  away  from 
the  wonder  of  the  phenomena;  and  does  not  dis- 
credit the  motives  and  power  of  the  mediums. 
We  must  search  for  truth  wherever  it  is  to  be 
found;  and  we  must  not  seek  to  dodge  the  results 
of  our  investigations.  There  is  too  much  won- 
derful phenomena  in  spiritism  to  begrudge  the 
explanation  that  the  occultist  offers  for  certain  of 
its  phases. 

While  I  am  on  the  subject  of  materialization 
however,  I  would  direct  the  attention  of  the  stu- 
dent to  my  little  book  entitled  "The  Astral 
World,"  in  which  I  have  explained  briefly  the 
phenomena  of  those  planes  of  the  astral  in  which 
dwell  the  cast-off  shells  of  souls  which  have 
moved  on  to  the  higher  planes  of  the  great  astral 
world.     I  have  there  shown  that  many  astral 


STRANGE  ASTRAL  PHENOMENA         241 

shells  or  shades,  or  other  astral  semi-entities  may 
be  materialized,  and  thus  mistaken  for  the 
"spirits"  of  departed  friends.  I  have  also  ex- 
plained in  the  same  little  book  how  there  are  cer- 
tain powerful  thought-forms  which  may  be  mis- 
taken for  spirit  materializations.  I  have  also 
shown  how  many  a  honest  medium  is  really  a 
good  clairvoyant,  and  by  reading  the  records  of 
the  astral  light  is  able  to  give  information  which 
seems  to  come  from  the  departed  soul.  All  of 
these  things  should  be  familiar  to  the  earnest  in- 
vestigator of  spiritism,  in  order  that  he  may  be 
able  to  classify  the  phenomena  which  he  wit- 
nesses, and  to  avoid  error  and  disappointment. 

In  this  connection,  before  passing  on  to  the 
consideration  of  other  phases  of  psychic  phe- 
nomena, I  would  say  that  one  of  the  best  me- 
diums known  to  the  modern  Western  world — a 
medium  who  has  been  consulted  by  eminent  men, 
university  professors,  psychologists,  and  others 
— and  whose  revelations  regarding  past,  present 
and  future  astounded  careful  and  intelligent  men 
of  international  reputation — this  medium  at  the 
height  of  her  professional  success  made  a  public 
announcement  that  she  felt  compelled,  from  con- 
scientious motives,  to  assert  that  she  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  her  message  came  not  from 
departed  "spirits"  but  rather  from  some  un- 
known realm  of  being,  brought  hither  by  the 
exercise  of  some  faculty  inherent  in  her  and  de- 
veloped to  a  high  power  in  her  for  some  reason, 
which  power  seem  to  manifest  more  effectively 
when  she  shut  off  her  ordinary  physical  faculties 


242  CLAIRVOYANCE 

and  funtioned  on  a  plane  higher  than  them.  I 
think  that  the  student  of  the  present  lessons  will 
be  able  to  point  out  the  nature  of  the  phenomena 
manifested  by  this  medium,  and  also  the  source 
of  her  power.  If  not,  I  shall  feel  disappointed  at 
my  work  of  instruction. 


LESSON  XVI. 

PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE;  ITS  LAWS  AND 
PRINCIPLES 

One  of  the  phases  of  psychic  phenomena  that 
actively  engage  the  attention  of  the  student  from 
the  very  beginning  is  that  which  may  be  called 
Psychic  Influence.  By  this  term  is  meant  the  in- 
fluencing of  one  mind  by  another — the  effect  of 
one  mind  over  another.  There  has  been  much 
written  and  said  on  this  phase  of  the  general  sub- 
ject in  recent  years,  but  few  writers,  however, 
have  gone  deeply  into  the  matter. 

In  the  first  place,  most  of  the  writers  on  the 
subject  seek  to  explain  the  whole  thing  by  means 
of  ordinary  telepathy.  But  this  is  merely  a  one- 
sided view  of  the  truth  of  the  matter.  For,  while 
ordinary  telepathy  plays  an  important  part  in  the 
phenomena,  still  the  higher  form  of  telepathy, 
i.  e.,  astral  thought-transference,  is  frequently  in- 
volved. The  student  who  has  followed  me  in  the 
preceding  lessons  will  understand  readily  what  I 
mean  when  I  say  this,  so  there  is  no  necessity  for 
repetition  on  this  point  at  this  place. 

At  this  point,  however,  I  must  ask  the  student 
to  consider  the  idea  of  psychic  vibrations  and  their 
inductive  power.  It  is  a  great  principle  of  occult- 
ism, as  well  as  of  modern  science,  that  every- 
thing is  in  a  state  of  vibration — everything  has 
its  own  rate  of  vibration,  and  is  constantly  mani- 
festing it.  Every  mental  state  is  accompanied  by 
vibration  of  its  own  plane;  every  emotional  state 


244  CLAIRVOYANCE 

or  feeling  has  its  own  particular  rate  of  vibra- 
tion. These  rates  of  vibrations  manifest  just  as 
do  the  vibrations  of  musical  sound  which  produce 
the  several  notes  on  the  scale,  one  rising  above 
the  other  in  rate  of  vibration.  But  the  scale  of 
mental  and  emotional  states  is  far  more  complex, 
and  far  more  extended  than  is  the  musical  scale; 
there  are  thousands  of  different  notes,  and  half- 
notes,  on  the  mental  scale.  There  are  harmonies 
and  discords  on  that  scale,  also. 

To  those  to  whom  vibrations  seem  to  be  some- 
thing merely  connected  with  sound-waves,  etc., 
I  would  say  that  a  general  and  hasty  glance  at 
some  elementary  work  on  physical  science  will 
show  that  even  the  different  shades,  hues  and 
tints  of  the  colors  perceived  by  us  arise  from  dif- 
ferent rates  of  vibrations.  Color  is  nothing  more 
than  the  result  of  certain  rates  of  vibrations  of 
light  recorded  by  our  senses  and  interpreted  by 
our  minds.  From  the  low  vibrations  of  red  to 
the  high  vibrations  of  violet,  all  the  various  colors 
of  the  spectrum  have  their  own  particular  rate  of 
vibration.  And^  more  than  this,  science  knows 
that  below  the  lowest  red  vibrations,  and  above 
the  highest  violet  vibrations,  there  are  other  vi- 
brations which  our  senses  are  unable  to  record, 
but  which  scientific  instruments  register.  The 
rays  of  light  by  which  photographs  are  taken  are 
not  perceived  by  the  eye.  There  are  a  number  of 
so-called  chemical  rays  of  light  which  the  eye 
does  not  perceive,  but  which  may  be  caught  by 
delicate  instruments.  There  is  what  science  has 
called  "dark  light,"  which  will  photograph  in  a 


PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  245 

room  which  appears  pitch  dark  to  the  human 
sight. 

Above  the  ordinary  scale  of  light  vibrations 
are  the  vibrations  of  the  X-Rays  and  other  fine 
forces — these  are  not  perceived  by  the  eye,  but 
are  caught  by  delicate  instruments  and  recorded. 
Moreover,  though  science  has  not  as  yet  discov- 
erd  the  fact,  occultists  know  that  the  vibrations 
of  mental  and  emotional  states  are  just  as  true 
and  regular  as  are  those  of  sound  or  light,  or 
heat.  Again,  above  the  plane  of  the  physical 
vibrations  arising  from  the  brain  and  nervous 
system,  there  are  the  vibrations  of  the  astral 
counterparts  of  these,  which  are  much  higher  in 
the  scale.  For  even  the  astral  faculties  and  or- 
gans, while  above  the  physical,  still  are  under  the 
universal  rule  of  vibration,  and  have  their  own 
rate  thereof.  The  old  occult  axiom:  "As  above, 
so  below;  as  below,  so  above"  is  always  seen  to 
work  out  on  all  planes  of  universal  energy. 

Closely  following  this  idea  of  the  universality 
of  vibrations,  and  intimately  connected  there- 
with, we  have  the  principle  of  "induction,"  which 
is  likewise  universal,  and  found  manifesting  on 
all  planes  of  energy.  "What  is  induction?"  you 
may  ask.  Well,  it  is  very  simple,  or  very  com- 
plex— just  as  you  may  look  at  it.  The  principle 
of  induction  (on  any  plane)  is  that  inherent 
quality  or  attribute  of  energy  by  which  the  mani- 
festation of  energy  tends  to  reproduce  itself  in  a 
second  object,  by  setting  up  corresponding  vibra- 
tions therein,  though  without  direct  contact  of 
the  two  objects. 


246  CLAIRVOYANCE 

Thus,  heat  in  one  object  tends  to  induce  heat 
in  another  object  within  its  range  of  induction — 
the  heated  object  "throws  off"  heat  vibrations 
which  set  up  corresponding  vibrations  in  the 
near-by  second  object  and  make  it  hot.  Likewise, 
the  vibrations  of  light  striking  upon  other  objects 
render  them  capable  of  radiating  light.  Again, 
a  magnet  will  induce  magnetism  in  a  piece  of 
steel  suspended  nearby,  though  the  two  objects 
do  not  actually  touch  each  other.  An  object 
which  is  electrified  will  by  induction  electrify 
another  object  situated  some  distance  away.  A 
note  sounded  on  the  piano,  or  violin,  will  cause  a 
glass  or  vase  in  some  distant  part  of  the  room  to 
vibrate  and  "sing,"  under  certain  conditions. 
And,  so  on,  in  every  form  or  phase  of  the  mani- 
festation of  energy  do  we  see  the  principle  of  in- 
duction in  full  operation  and  manifestation. 

On  the  plane  of  ordinary  thought  and  emotion, 
we  find  many  instances  of  this  principle  of  induc- 
tion. We  know  that  one  person  vibrating  strongly 
with  happiness  or  sorrow,  cheerfulness  or  anger, 
as  the  case  may  be,  tends  to  communicate  his 
feeling  and  emotional  state  to  those  with  whom 
he  comes  in  contact.  All  of  you  have  seen  a 
whole  room  full  of  persons  affected  and  influ- 
enced in  this  way,  under  certain  circumstances. 
You  have  also  seen  how  a  magnetic  orator, 
preacher,  singer  or  actor  is  able  to  induce  in  his 
audience  a  state  of  emotional  vibration  corre- 
sponding to  that  manifested  by  himself.  In  the 
same  manner  the  "mental  atmospheres"  of  towns, 
cities,  etc.,  are  induced. 


PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  247 

A  well-known  writer  on  this  subject  has 
truthfully  told  us:  "We  all  know  how  great 
waves  of  feeling  spread  over  a  town,  city  or 
country,  sweeping  people  off  their  balance.  Great 
waves  of  political  enthusiasm,  or  war-spirit,  or 
prejudice  for  or  against  certain  persons,  sweep 
over  places  and  cause  men  to  act  in  a  manner 
that  they  will  afterward  regret  when  they  come 
to  themselves  and  consider  their  acts  in  cold 
blood.  They  will  be  swayed  by  demagogues  or 
magnetic  leaders  who  wish  to  gain  their  votes  or 
patronage;  and  they  will  be  led  into  acts  of  mob 
violence,  or  similar  atrocities,  by  yielding  to 
these  waves  of  contagious  thought.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  all  know  how  great  waves  of  religious 
feeling  sweep  over  a  community  upon  the  occa- 
sion of  some  great  'revival'  excitement  or  fervor." 

These  things  being  perceived,  and  recognized 
as  true,  the  next  question  that  presents  itself  to 
the  mind  of  the  intelligent  student  is  this:  "But 
what  causes  the  difference  in  power  and  effect  be- 
tween the  thought  and  feeling-vibrations  of  dif- 
ferent persons?"  This  question  is  a  valid  one, 
and  arises  from  a  perception  of  the  underlying 
variety  and  difference  in  the  thought  vibrations 
of  different  persons.  The  difference,  my  students, 
is  caused  by  three  principal  facts,  viz.,  (1)  differ- 
ence in  degree  of  feeling;  (2)  difference  in  degree 
of  visualization;  and  (3)  difference  in  degree  of 
concentration.  Let  us  examine  each  of  these  suc- 
cessively, so  as  to  get  at  the  underlying  principle. 

The  element  of  emotional  feeling  is  like  the 
element  of  fire  in  the  production  of  steam.    The 


248  CLAIRVOYANCE 

more  vivid  and  intense  the  feeling  or  emotion, 
the  greater  the  degree  of  heat  and  force  to  the 
thought  wave  or  vibratory  stream  projected. 
You  will  begin  to  see  why  the  thought  vibrations 
of  those  animated  and  filled  with  strong  desire, 
strong  wish,  strong  ambition,  etc.,  must  be  more 
forceful  than  those  of  persons  of  the  opposite 
type. 

The  person  who  is  filled  with  a  strong  desire, 
wish  or  ambition,  which  has  been  fanned  into  a 
fierce  blaze  by  attention,  is  a  dynamic  power 
among  other  persons,  and  his  influence  is  felt.  In 
fact,  it  may  be  asserted  that  as  a  general  rule  no 
person  is  able  to  influence  men  and  things  unless 
he  have  a  strong  desire,  wish  or  ambition  within 
him.  The  power  of  desire  is  a  wonderful  one,  as 
all  occultists  know,  and  it  will  accomplish  much 
even  if  the  other  elements  be  lacking;  while,  in 
proper  combination  with  other  principles  it  will 
accomplish  wonders.  Likewise,  a  strong  interest 
in  a  thing  will  cause  a  certain  strength  to  the 
thought-vibrations  connected  therewith.  Inter- 
est is  really  an  emotional  feeling,  though  we  gen- 
erally think  of  it  as  merely  something  connected 
with  the  intellect.  A  cold  intellectual  thought  has 
very  little  force,  unless  backed  up  by  strong  in- 
terest and  concentration.  But  any  intellectual 
thought  backed  up  with  interest,  and  focused  by 
concentration,  will  produce  very  strong  thought 
vibrations,  with  a  marked  inductive  power. 

Now,  let  us  consider  the  subject  of  visualiza- 
tion. Every  person  knows  that  the  person  who 
wishes  to  accomplish  anything,  or  who  expects 


PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  249 

to  do  good  work  along  any  line,  must  first  know 
what  he  wishes  to  accomplish.  In  the  degree  that 
he  is  able  to  see  the  thing  in  his  mind's  eye — to 
picture  the  thing  in  his  imagination — in  that  de- 
gree will  he  tend  to  manifest  the  thing  itself  in 
material  form  and  effect. 

Sir  Francis  Galton,  an  eminent  authority  upon 
psychology,  says  on  this  point :  "The  free  use  of 
a  high  visualizing  faculty  is  of  much  importance 
in  connection  with  the  higher  processes  of  gen- 
eralized thought.  A  visual  image  is  the  most 
perfect  form  of  mental  representation  wherever 
the  shape,  position,  and  relations  of  objects  to 
space  are  concerned.  The  best  workmen  are 
those  who  visualize  the  whole  of  what  they  pro- 
pose to  do  before  they  take  a  tool  in  their  hands. 
Strategists,  artists  of  all  denominations,  physic- 
ists who  contrive  new  experiments,  and,  in  short, 
all  who  do  not  follow  routine,  have  need  of  it. 
A  faculty  that  is  of  importance  in  all  technical 
and  artistic  occupations,  that  gives  accuracy  to 
our  perceptions  and  justice  to  our  generaliza- 
tions, is  starved  by  lazy  disuse  instead  of  being 
cultivated  judiciously  in  such  a  way  as  will,  on 
the  whole,  bring  best  return.  I  believe  that  a 
serious  study  of  the  best  way  of  developing  and 
utilizing  this  faculty,  without  prejudice  to  the 
practice  of  abstract  thought  in  symbols,  is  one 
of  the  pressing  desirata  in  the  yet  unformed 
science  of  education." 

Not  only  on  the  ordinary  planes  is  the  forming 
of  strong  mental  images  important  and  useful, 
but  when  we  come  to  consider  the  phenomena  of 


250  CLAIRVOYANCE 

the  astral  plane  we  begin  to  see  what  an  im- 
portant part  is  played  there  by  strong  mental 
images  or  visualized  ideas.  The  better  you  know 
what  you  desire,  wish  or  aspire  to,  the  stronger 
will  be  your  thought  vibrations  of  that  thing,  of 
course.  Well,  then,  the  stronger  that  you  are 
able  to  picture  the  thing  in  your  mind — to  visual- 
ize it  to  yourself — the  stronger  will  be  your 
actual  knowledge  and  thought-form  of  that  thing. 
Instead  of  your  thought  vibrations  being  grouped 
in  nebulous  forms,  lacking  shape  and  distinct 
figure,  as  in  the  ordinary  case;  when  you  form 
strong,  clear  mental  images  of  what  you  desire 
or  wish  to  accomplish,  then  do  the  though  vibra- 
tions group  themselves  in  clear,  strong  distinct 
forms.  This  being  done,  when  the  mind  of  other 
persons  are  affected  by  induction  they  get  the 
clear  idea  of  the  thought  and  feeling  in  your 
mind,  and  are  strongly  influenced  thereby. 

A  little  later  on,  I  shall  call  your  attention  to 
the  Attractive  Power  of  Thought.  But  at  this 
point  I  wish  to  say  to  you  that  while  thought 
certainly  attracts  to  you  the  things  that  you 
think  of  the  most,  still  the  power  of  the  attrac- 
ion  depends  very  materially  upon  the  clearness 
and  distinctness  of  the  mental  image,  or  thought 
visualization,  of  the  desired  thing  that  you  have 
set  up  in  your  mind.  The  nearer  you  can  actually 
see  the  thing  as  you  wish  it  to  happen,  even  to 
the  general  details,  the  stronger  will  be  the  at- 
tractive force  thereof.  But,  I  shall  leave  the  dis- 
cussion of  this  phase  of  the  subject  until  I  reach 
it  in  its  proper  order.     For  the  present,  I  shall 


PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  251 

content  myself  with  urging  upon  you  the  import- 
ance of  a  clear  mental  image,  or  visualized 
thought,  in  the  matter  of  giving  force  and  direc- 
tion to  the  idea  induced  in  the  minds  of  other 
persons.  In  order  for  the  other  persons  to  actu- 
ally perceive  clearly  the  idea  or  feeling  induced 
in  them,  it  is  necessary  that  the  idea  or  feeling  be 
strongly  visualized  in  the  mind  originating  it; 
that  is  the  whole  thing  in  one  sentence. 

The  next  point  of  importance  in  thought-influ- 
ence by  induction,  is  that  which  is  concerned 
with  the  process  of  concentration.  Concentra- 
tion is  the  act  of  mental  focusing,  or  bringing  to 
a  single  point  or  centre.  It  is  like  the  work  of 
the  sun-glass  that  converges  the  rays  of  the  sun 
to  a  single  tiny  point,  thus  immensely  increasing 
its  heat  and  power.  Or,  it  is  like  the  fine  point  of 
a  needle  that  will  force  its  way  through  where  a 
blunt  thing  cannot  penetrate.  Or,  it  is  like  the 
strongly  concentrated  essence  of  a  chemical  sub- 
stance, of  which  one  drop  is  as  powerful  as  one 
pint  of  the  original  thing.  Think  of  the  concen- 
trated power  of  a  tiny  drop  of  attar  of  roses — it 
has  within  its  tiny  space  the  concentrated  odor 
of  thousands  of  roses;  one  drop  of  it  will  make 
a  pint  of  extract,  and  a  gallon  of  weaker  per- 
fumery! Think  of  the  concentrated  power  in  a 
lightning  flash,  as  contrasted  with  the  same 
amount  of  electricity  diffused  over  a  large  area. 
Or,  think  of  the  harmless  flash  of  a  small  amount 
of  gunpowder  ignited  in  the  open  air,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  ignition  of  the  same  amount  of 


252  CLAIRVOYANCE 

powder  compelled  to  escape  through  the  small 
opening  in  the  gun-barrel. 

The  occult  teachings  lay  great  stress  upon  this 
power  of  mental  concentration.  All  students  of 
the  occult  devote  much  time  and  care  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  powers  of  concentration,  and  the 
development  of  the  ability  to  employ  them.  The 
average  person  possesses  but  a  very  small  amount 
of  concentration,  and  is  able  to  concentrate  his 
mind  for  but  a  few  moments  at  a  time.  The 
trained  thinker  obtains  much  of  his  mental 
power  from  his  acquired  ability  to  concentrate  on 
his  task.  The  occultist  trains  himself  in  fixing 
his  concentrated  attention  upon  the  matter  be- 
fore him,  so  as  to  bring  to  a  focal  centre  all  of 
his  mental  forces. 

The  mind  is  a  very  restless  thing,  and  is  in- 
clined to  dance  from  one  thing  to  another,  tiring 
of  each  thing  after  a  few  moment's  consideration 
thereof.  The  average  person  allows  his  involun- 
tary attention  to  rest  upon  every  trifling  thing, 
and  to  be  distracted  by  the  idlest  appeals  to  the 
senses.  He  finds  it  most  difficult  to  either  shut 
out  these  distracting  appeals  to  the  senses,  and 
equally  hard  to  hold  the  attention  to  some  unin- 
teresting thing.  His  attention  is  almost  free  of 
control  by  the  will,  and  the  person  is  a  slave  to 
his  perceptive  powers  and  to  his  imagination,  in- 
stead of  being  a  master  of  both. 

The  occultist,  on  the  contrary,  masters  his  at- 
tention, and  controls  his  imagination.  He  forces 
the  one  to  concentrate  when  he  wishes  it  to  do 
so;  and  he  compels  the  latter  to  form  the  mental 


PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  253 

images  he  wishes  to  visualize.  But  this  a  far  dif- 
ferent thing  from  the  self-hypnotization  which 
some  persons  imagine  to  be  concentration.  A 
writer  on  the  subject  has  well  said :  "The  trained 
occultist  will  concentrate  upon  a  subject  or  object 
with  a  wonderful  intensity,  seemingly  completely 
absorbed  in  the  subject  or  object  before  him,  and 
oblivious  to  all  else  in  the  world.  And  yet,  the 
task  accomplished,  or  the  given  time  expired,  he 
will  detach  his  mind  from  the  object  and  will  be 
perfectly  fresh,  watchful  and  wide-awake  to  the 
next  matter  before  him.  There  is  every  difference 
between  being  controlled  by  involuntary  atten- 
tion, which  is  species  of  self-hypnotization,  and 
the  control  of  the  attention,  which  is  an  evidence 
of  mastery."  An  eminent  French  psychologist 
once  said:  "The  authority  of  the  attention  is 
subject  to  the  superior  authority  of  the  Ego.  I 
yield  it,  or  I  withhold  it,  as  I  please.  I  direct  it 
in  turn  to  several  points.  I  concentrate  it  upon 
each  point,  as  long  as  my  will  can  stand  the 
effort." 

In  an  earlier  lesson  of  this  series,  I  have  indi- 
cated in  a  general  way  the  methods  whereby  one 
may  develop  and  train  his  powers  of  concentra- 
tion. There  is  no  royal  road  to  concentration;  it 
may  be  developed  only  by  practice  and  exercise. 
The  secret  consists  in  managing  the  attention,  so 
as  to  fix  it  upon  a  subject,  no  matter  how  un- 
interesting; and  to  hold  it  there  for  a  reasonable 
length  of  time.  Practice  upon  some  disagreeable 
study  or  other  task  is  good  exercise,  for  it  serves 
to  train  the  will  in  spite  of  the  influence  of  more 


254  CLAIRVOYANCE 

attractive  objects  or  subjects.  And  this  all  serves 
to  train  the  will,  remember;  for  the  will  is  ac- 
tively concerned  in  every  act  of  voluntary  atten- 
tion. In  fact,  attention  of  this  kind  is  one  of  the 
most  important  and  characteristic  acts  of  the  will. 

So,  as  you  see,  in  order  to  be  successful  in  in- 
fluencing the  minds  of  others  by  means  of  mental 
induction,  you  must  first  cultivate  a  strong  feel- 
ing of  interest  in  the  idea  which  you  wish  to  in- 
duce in  the  other  person,  or  a  strong  desire  to 
produce  the  thing.  Interest  and  desire  consti- 
tute the  fire  which  generates  the  stream  of  will 
from  the  water  of  mind,  as  some  occultists  have 
stated  it.  Secondly,  you  must  cultivate  the 
faculty  of  forming  strong  and  clear  mental 
images  of  the  idea  or  feeling  you  wish  to  so  in- 
duce; you  must  learn  to  actually  "see"  the  thing 
in  your  imagination,  so  as  to  give  the  idea 
strength  and  clearness.  Thirdly,  you  must  learn 
to  concentrate  your  mind  and  attention  upon  the 
idea  or  feeling,  shutting  out  all  other  ideas  and 
feelings  for  the  time  being;  thus  you  give  con- 
centrated force  and  power  to  the  vibrations  and 
thought-forms  which  you  are  projecting. 

These  three  principles  underlie  all  of  the  many 
forms  of  mental  induction,  or  mental  influence. 
We  find  them  in  active  operation  in  cases  in 
which  the  person  is  seeking  to  attract  to  himself 
certain  conditions,  environment,  persons,  things, 
or  channels  of  expression,  by  setting  into  motion 
the  great  laws  of  mental  attraction.  We  see 
them  also  employed  when  the  person  is  endeavor- 
ing to  produce  an  effect  upon  the  mind  of  some 


PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  255 

particular  person,  or  number  of  persons.  We  see 
them  in  force  in  all  cases  of  mental  or  psychic 
healing,  under  whatever  form  it  may  be  em- 
ployed. In  short,  these  are  general  principles, 
and  must  therefore  underlie  all  forms  and  phases 
of  mental  or  psychic  influence.  The  sooner  the 
student  realizes  this  fact,  and  the  more  actively 
does  he  set  himself  to  work  in  cultivating  and 
developing  these  principles  within  himself,  the 
more  successful  and  efficient  will  he  become  in 
this  field  of  psychic  research  and  investigation. 
It  is  largely  in  the  degree  of  the  cultivation  of 
these  three  mental  principles  that  the  occultist  is 
distinguished  from  the  ordinary  man. 

It  may  be  that  you  are  not  desirous  of  culti- 
vating or  practicing  the  power  of  influencing 
other  persons  psychically.  Well,  that  is  for  you 
to  decide  for  yourself.  At  any  rate,  you  will  do 
well  to  develop  yourselves  along  these  lines,  at 
least  for  self-protection.  The  cultivation  of 
these  three  mental  principles  will  tend  to  make 
you  active  and  positive,  psychically,  as  contrasted 
with  the  passive,  negative  mental  state  of  the 
average  person.  By  becoming  mentally  active 
and  positive  you  will  be  able  to  resist  any  psychic 
influence  that  may  be  directed  toward  yourself, 
and  to  surround  yourself  with  a  protective  aura 
of  positive,  active  mental  vibrations. 

And,  moreover,  if  you  are  desirous  of  pursuing 
your  investigations  of  psychic  and  astral  phe- 
nomena, you  will  find  it  of  great  importance  to 
cultivate  and  develop  these  three  principles  in 
your  mind.     For,  then  you  will  be  able  to  brush 


256  CLAIRVOYANCE 

aside  all  distracting  influences,  and  to  proceed  at 
once  to  the  task  before  you,  with  power,  clear- 
ness and  strength  of  purpose  and  method. 

In  the  following  chapters  I  shall  give  you  a 
more  or  less  detailed  presentation  of  the  various 
phases  or  forms  of  psychic  influence.  Some  of 
these  may  seem  at  first  to  be  something  inde- 
pendent of  the  general  principles.  But  I  ask  that 
you  carefully  analyze  all  of  these,  so  as  to  dis- 
cover that  the  same  fundamental  principles  are 
under  and  back  of  each  and  every  instance  pre- 
sented. When  you  once  fully  grasp  this  fact,  and 
perfect  yourselves  in  the  few  fundamental  princi- 
ples, then  you  are  well  started  on  the  road  to 
mastery  of  all  the  various  phases  of  psychic  phe- 
nomena. Instead  of  puzzling  your  mind  over  a 
hundred  different  phases  of  disconnected  phe- 
nomena, it  is  better  to  master  the  few  actual  ele- 
mentary principles,  and  then  reason  deductively 
from  these  to  the  various  manifestation  thereof. 
Master  the  principles,  and  then  learn  to  apply 
them. 


LESSON  XVII. 

PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  OVER 
OTHERS 

Psychic  Influence,  as  the  term  is  used  in  this 
book,  may  be  said  to  be  divided  into  three  gen- 
eral classes,  viz.,  (1)  Personal  Influence,  in  which 
the  mind  of  another  is  directly  influenced  by  in- 
duction while  he  is  in  the  presence  of  the  person 
influencing;  (2)  Distant  Influencing,  in  which  the 
psychic  induction  is  directly  manifested  when 
the  persons  concerned  are  distant  from  one 
another;  and  (3)  Indirect  Influence,  in  which  the 
induction  is  manifested  in  the  minds  of  various 
persons  coming  in  contact  with  the  thought  vi- 
brations of  the  person  manifesting  them,  though 
no  attempt  is  made  to  directly  influence  any  par- 
ticular person.  I  shall  now  present  each  of  these 
three  forms  of  psychic  influence  to  you  for  con- 
sideration, one  after  the  other  in  the  above  order. 

Personal  Influence,  as  above  defined,  ranges 
from  cases  in  which  the  strongest  control  (gen- 
erally known  as  hypnotism)  is  manifested,  down 
to  the  cases  in  which  merely  a  slight  influence  is 
exerted.  But  the  general  principle  underlying  all 
of  these  cases  is  precisely  the  same.  The  great 
characters  of  history,  such  as  Alexander  the 
Great,  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  and  Julius  Caesar, 
manifested  this  power  to  a  great  degree,  and 
were  able  to  sway  men  according  to  their  will. 
All  great  leaders  of  men  have  this  power  strongly 
manifested,  else  they  would  not  be  able  to  influ- 


258  CLAIRVOYANCE 

ence  the  minds  of  men.  Great  orators,  preachers, 
statesmen,  and  others  of  this  class,  likewise  mani- 
fest the  power  strongly.  In  fact,  the  very  sign  of 
ability  to  influence  and  manage  other  persons  is 
evidence  of  the  possession  and  manifestation  of 
this  mighty  power. 

In  developing  this  power  to  influence  others 
directly  and  personally,  you  should  begin  by  im- 
pressing upon  your  mind  the  principles  stated  in 
the  preceding  chapter,  namely  (1)  Strong  De- 
sire; (2)  Clear  Visualization;  and  (3)  Concen- 
tration. 

You  must  begin  by  encouraging  a  strong  de- 
sire in  your  mind  to  be  a  positive  individual;  to 
exert  and  manifest  a  positive  influence  over 
others  with  whom  you  come  in  contact,  and 
especially  over  those  whom  you  wish  to  influence 
in  some  particular  manner  or  direction.  You 
must  let  the  fire  of  desire  burn  fiercely  within 
you,  until  it  becomes  as  strong  as  physical  hunger 
or  thirst.  You  must  "want  to"  as  you  want  to 
breathe,  to  live.  You  will  find  that  the  men  who 
accomplish  the  great  things  in  life  are  those  who 
have  strong  desire  burning  in  their  bosoms. 
There  is  a  strong  radiative  and  inductive  power 
in  strong  desire  and  wish — in  fact,  some  have 
thought  this  the  main  feature  of  what  we  gener- 
ally call  strong  will-power. 

The  next  step,  of  course,  is  the  forming  of  a 
clear,  positive,  distinct  and  dynamic  mental  pic- 
ture of  the  idea  or  feeling  that  you  wish  to  induce 
in  the  other  person.  If  it  is  an  idea,  you  should 
make  a  strong  clear  picture  of  it  in  your  imagina- 


PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  259 

tion,  so  as  to  give  it  distinctness  and  force  and  a 
clear  outline.  If  it  is  a  feeling,  you  should  picture 
it  in  your  imagination.  If  it  is  something  that 
you  wish  the  other  person  to  do,  or  some  way  in 
which  you  wish  him  to  act,  you  should  picture 
him  as  doing  the  thing,  or  acting  in  that  particu- 
lar way.  By  so  doing  you  furnish  the  pattern  or 
design  for  the  induced  mental  or  emotional  states 
you  wish  to  induce  in  the  other  person.  Upon 
the  clearness  and  strength  of  these  mental  pat- 
terns of  the  imagination  depends  largely  the 
power  of  the  induced  impression. 

The  third  step,  of  course,  is  the  concentration 
of  your  mind  upon  the  impression  you  wish  to  in- 
duce in  the  mind  of  the  other  person.  You  must 
learn  to  concentrate  so  forcibly  and  clearly  that 
the  idea  will  stand  out  clearly  in  your  mind  like  a 
bright  star  of  a  dark  night,  except  that  there 
must  be  only  one  star  instead  of  thousands.  By 
so  doing  you  really  focus  the  entire  force  of  your 
mental  and  psychic  energies  into  that  one  par- 
ticular idea  or  thought.  This  makes  it  act  like 
the  focused  rays  in  the  sun-glass,  or  like  the 
strong  pipe-stream  of  water  that  will  break 
down  the  thing  upon  which  it  is  turned.  Diffused 
thought  has  but  a  comparatively  weak  effect, 
whereas  a  concentrated  stream  of  thought  vibra- 
tions will  force  its  way  through  obstacles. 

Remember,  always,  this  threefold  mental  con^ 
dition:  (1)  STRONG  DESIRE;  (2)  CLEAR 
MENTAL  PICTURE;  and  (3)  CONCEN- 
TRATED THOUGHT.  The  greater  the  degree 
in  which  you  can  manifest  these  three  mental 


260  CLAIRVOYANCE 

conditions,  the  greater  will  be  your  success  in  any 
form  of  psychic  influence,  direct  or  indirect,  per- 
sonal or  general,  present  or  distant. 

Before  you  proceed  to  develop  the  power  to 
impress  a  particular  idea  or  feeling  upon  the  mind 
of  another  person,  you  should  first  acquire  a  posi- 
tive mental  atmosphere  for  yourself.  This  men- 
tal atmosphere  is  produced  in  precisely  the  same 
way  that  you  induce  a  special  idea  or  feeling  in 
the  mind  of  the  other  person.  That  is  to  say,  you 
first  strongly  desire  it,  then  you  clearly  picture  it, 
and  then  you  apply  concentrated  thought  upon  it. 

I  will  assume  that  you  are  filled  with  the  strong 
desire  for  a  positive  mental  atmosphere  around 
you.  You  want  this  very  much  indeed,  and  actu- 
ally crave  and  hunger  for  it.  Then  you  must  be- 
gin to  picture  yourself  (in  your  imagination)  as 
surrounded  with  an  aura  of  positive  thought- 
vibrations  which  protect  you  from  the  thought 
forces  of  other  persons,  and,  at  the  same  time 
impress  the  strength  of  your  personality  upon 
the  persons  with  whom  you  come  in  contact. 
You  will  be  aided  in  making  these  strong  mental 
pictures  by  holding  the  idea  in  your  concentrated 
thought,  and,  at  the  same  time,  silently  stating 
to  your  mind  just  what  you  expect  to  do  in  the 
desired  direction.  In  stating  your  orders  to  your 
mind,  always  speak  as  if  the  thing  were  already 
accomplished  at  that  particular  moment.  Never 
say  that  it  "will  be,"  but  always  hold  fast  to  the 
"it  is."  The  following  will  give  you  a  good  ex- 
ample of  the  mental  statements,  which  of  course 
should  be  accompanied  by  the  concentrated  idea 


PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  261 

of  the  thing,  and  the  mental  picture  of  yourself 
as  being  just  what  you  state. 

Here  is  the  mental  statement  for  the  creation 
of  a  strong,  positive  psychic  atmosphere:  "I  am 
surrounded  by  an  aura  of  strong,  positive,  dyna- 
mic thought-vibrations.  These  render  me  posi- 
tive to  other  persons,  and  render  them  negative 
to  me.  I  am  positive  of  their  thought-vibrations, 
but  they  are  negative  to  mine.  They  feel  the 
strength  of  my  psychic  atmosphere,  while  I  easily 
repel  the  power  of  theirs.  I  dominate  the  situa- 
tion, and  manifest  my  positive  psychic  qualities 
over  theirs.  My  atmosphere  creates  the  vibra- 
tion of  strength  and  power  on  all  sides  of  me, 
which  affect  others  with  whom  I  come  in  contact. 
MY  PSYCHIC  ATMOSPHERE  IS  STRONG 
AND  POSITIVE!" 

The  next  step  in  Personal  Influence  is  that  of 
projecting  your  psychic  power  directly  upon  and 
into  the  mind  of  the  other  person  whom  you  wish 
to  influence.  Sometimes,  if  the  person  is  quite 
negative  to  you,  this  is  a  very  simple  and  easy 
matter;  but  where  the  person  is  near  your  own 
degree  of  psychic  positiveness  you  will  have  to 
assert  your  psychic  superiority  to  him,  and  get 
the  psychic  "upper  hand"  before  you  can  proceed 
further.  This  is  accomplished  by  throwing  into 
your  psychic  atmosphere  some  particularly 
strong  mental  statements  accompanied  by  clear 
visualizations  or  mental  pictures. 

Make  positive  your  psychic  atmosphere,  par- 
ticularly towards  the  person  whom  you  seek  to 
influence,  by  statements  and  pictures  something 


262  CLAIRVOYANCE 

along  the  following  lines:  "I  am  positive  to  this 
man";  "He  is  negative  to  me";  "He  feels  my 
power  and  is  beginning  to  yield  to  it";  "He  is  un- 
able to  influence  me  in  the  slightest,  while  I  can 
influence  him  easily";  "My  power  is  beginning  to 
operate  upon  his  mind  and  feelings."  The  exact 
words  are  not  important,  but  the  idea  behind 
them  gives  them  their  psychic  force  and  power. 

Then  should  you  begin  your  direct  attack  upon 
him,  or  rather  upon  his  psychic  powers.  When  I 
say  "attack,"  I  do  not  use  the  word  in  the  sense 
of  warfare  or  actual  desire  to  harm  the  other  per- 
son— this  is  a  far  different  matter.  What  I  mean 
to  say  is  that  there  is  usually  a  psychic  battle  for 
a  longer  or  shorter  period  between  two  persons 
of  similar  degrees  of  psychic  power  and  develop- 
ment. From  this  battle  one  always  emerges  vic- 
tor at  the  time,  and  one  always  is  beaten  for  the 
time  being,  at  least.  And,  as  in  all  battles,  vic- 
tory often  goes  to  him  who  strikes  the  first  hard 
blow.  The  offensive  tactics  are  the  best  in  cases 
of  this  kind. 

A  celebrated  American  author,  Oliver  Wendall 
Holmes,  in  one  of  his  books  makes  mention  of 
these  duels  of  psychic  force  between  individuals, 
as  follows:  "There  is  that  deadly  Indian  hug  in 
which  men  wrestle  with  their  eyes,  over  in  five 
seconds,  but  which  breaks  one  of  their  two  backs, 
and  is  good  for  three-score  years  and  ten,  one 
trial  enough — settles  the  whole  matter — just  as 
when  two  feathered  songsters  of  the  barnyard, 
game  and  dunghill,  come  together.  After  a  jump 
or  two,  and  a  few  sharp  kicks,  there  is  an  end  to 


PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  263 

it;  and  it  is  'After  you,  monsieur'  with  the  beaten 
party  in  all  the  social  relations  for  all  the  rest  of 
his  days." 

An  English  physician,  Dr.  Fothergill  by  name, 
wrote  a  number  of  years  ago  about  this  struggle 
of  wills,  as  he  called  it,  but  which  is  really  a 
struggle  of  psychic  power.  He  says:  "The  con- 
flict of  will,  the  power  to  command  others,  has 
been  spoken  of  frequently.  Yet  what  is  this  will- 
power that  influences  others?  What  is  it  that 
makes  us  accept,  and  adopt  too,  the  advice  of  one 
person,  while  precisely  the  same  advice  from 
another  has  been  rejected?  Is  it  the  weight  of 
force  of  will  which  insensibly  influences  us;  the 
force  of  will  behind  the  advice?  That  is  what 
it  is!  The  person  who  thus  forces  his  or  her  ad- 
vice upon  us  has  no  more  power  to  enforce  it 
than  others;  but  all  the  same  we  do  as  requested. 
We  accept  from  one  what  we  reject  from  another. 
One  person  says  of  something  contemplated,  'Oh, 
but  you  must  not/  yet  we  do  it  all  the  same, 
though  that  person  may  be  in  a  position  to  make 
us  regret  the  rejection  of  that  counsel.  Another 
person  says,  'Oh,  but  you  mustn't,'  and  we  desist, 
though  we  may,  if  so  disposed,  set  this  latter  per- 
son's opinion  at  defiance  with  impunity.  It  is  not 
the  fear  of  consequences,  nor  of  giving  offense, 
which  determines  the  adoption  of  the  latter  per- 
son's advice,  while  it  has  been  rejected  when 
given  by  the  first.  It  depends  upon  the  character 
or  will-power  of  the  individual  advising  whether 
we  accept  the  advice  or  reject  it.  This  character 
often  depends  little,  if  at  all,  in  some  cases,  upon 


264  CLAIRVOYANCE 

the  intellect,  or  even  upon  the  moral  qualities,  the 
goodness  or  badness,  of  the  individual.  It  is  itself 
an  imponderable  something;  yet  it  carries  weight 
with  it.  There  may  be  abler  men,  cleverer  men; 
but  it  is  the  one  possessed  of  will  who  rises  to 
the  surface  at  these  times — the  one  who  can  by 
some  subtle  power  make  other  men  obey  him. 

"The  will-power  goes  on  universally.  In  the 
young  aristocrat  who  gets  his  tailor  to  make 
another  advance  in  defiance  of  his  conviction  that 
he  will  never  get  his  money  back.  It  goes  on  be- 
tween lawyer  and  client;  betwixt  doctor  and 
patient;  between  banker  and  borrower;  betwixt 
buyer  and  seller.  It  is  not  tact  which  enables  the 
person  behind  the  counter  to  induce  customers  to 
buy  what  they  did  not  intend  to  buy,  and  which 
bought,  gives  them  no  satisfaction,  though  it  is 
linked  therewith  for  the  effort  to  be  successful. 
Whenever  two  persons  meet  in  business,  or  in 
any  other  relation  in  life,  up  to  love-making, 
there  is  this  will-fight  going  on,  commonly 
enough  without  any  consciousness  of  the  strug- 
gle. There  is  a  dim  consciousness  of  the  result, 
but  none  of  the  processes.  It  often  takes  years 
of  the  intimacy  of  married  life  to  find  out  with 
whom  of  the  pair  the  mastery  really  lies.  Often 
the  far  stronger  character,  to  all  appearances,  has 
to  yield;  it  is  this  will-element  which  underlies 
the  statement:  'The  race  is  not  always  to  the 
swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong/  In  'Middle- 
march'  we  find  in  Lydgate  a  grand  aggregation 
of  qualities,  yet  shallow,  hard,  selfish  Rosamond 
masters  him  thoroughly  in  the  end.    He  was  not 


PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  265 

deficient  in  will-power;  possessed  more  than  an 
average  amount  of  character;  but  in  the  fight  he 
went  down  at  last  under  the  onslaught  of  the  in- 
tense, stubborn  will  of  his  narrow-minded  spouse. 
Their  will-contest  was  the  collision  of  a  large 
warm  nature,  like  a  capable  human  hand,  with  a 
hard,  narrow  selfish  nature,  like  a  steel  button; 
the  hand  only  bruised  itself  while  the  button  re- 
mained unaffected." 

You  must  not,  however,  imagine  that  every 
person  with  whom  you  engage  in  one  of  these 
psychic  duels  is  conscious  of  what  is  going  on. 
He  usually  recognizes  that  some  sort  of  conflict 
is  under  way,  but  he  does  not  know  the  laws  and 
principles  of  psychic  force,  and  so  is  in  the  dark 
regarding  the  procedure.  You  will  find  that  a 
little  practice  of  this  kind,  in  which  no  great 
question  is  involved,  will  give  you  a  certain  knack 
or  trick  of  handling  your  psychic  forces,  and  will, 
besides,  give  you  that  confidence  in  yourself  that 
comes  only  from  actual  practice  and  exercise.  I 
can  point  out  the  rules,  and  give  you  the  princi- 
ples, but  you  must  learn  the  little  bits  of  tech- 
nique yourself  from  actual  practice. 

When  you  have  crossed  psychic  swords  with 
the  other  person,  gaze  at  him  intently  but  not 
fiercely,  and  send  him  this  positive  strong 
thought-vibration :  "I  am  stronger  than  you,  and 
I  shall  win!"  At  the  same  time  picture  to  your- 
self your  forces  beating  down  his  and  overcoming 
him.  Hold  this  idea  and  picture  in  your  mind; 
"My  vibrations  are  stronger  than  are  yours — 1 
am  beating  you!"    Follow  this  up  with  the  idea 


266  CLAIRVOYANCE 

and  picture  of:  "You  are  weakening  and  giving 
in — you  are  being  overpowered !"  A  very  power- 
ful psychic  weapon  is  the  following:  "My  vibra- 
tions are  scattering  your  forces — I  am  breaking 
your  forces  into  bits — surrender,  surrender  now, 
I  tell  you!" 

And  now  for  some  interesting  and  very  valu- 
able information  concerning  psychic  defense. 
You  will  notice  that  in  the  offensive  psychic 
weapons  there  is  always  an  assertion  of  positive 
statement  of  your  power  and  its  effect.  Well, 
then,  in  using  the  psychic  defensive  weapon 
against  one  of  strong  will  or  psychic  force,  you 
reverse  the  process.  That  is  to  say  you  deny  the 
force  of  his  psychic  powers  and  forces,  and  pic- 
ture them  as  melting  into  nothingness.  Get  this 
idea  well  fixed  in  your  mind,  for  it  is  very  import- 
ant in  a  conflict  of  this  kind.  The  effect  of  this 
is  to  neutralize  all  of  the  other  person's  power  so 
far  as  its  effect  on  yourself  is  concerned — yon 
really  do  not  destroy  it  in  him  totally.  You 
simply  render  his  forces  powerless  to  affect  you. 
This  is  important  not  only  when  in  a  psychic  con- 
flict of  this  kind,  but  also  when  you  wish  to  ren- 
der yourself  immune  from  the  psychic  forces  of 
other  persons.  You  may  shut  yourself  up  in  a 
strong  defensive  armor  in  this  way,  and  others 
will  be  powerless  to  affect  you. 

In  the  positive  statement,  "I  deny!"  you  have 
the  Occult  Shield  of  Defense,  which  is  a  mighty 
protection  to  you.  Even  if  you  do  not  feel  dis- 
posed to  cultivate  and  develop  your  psychic  pow- 
ers in  the  direction  of  influencing  others,  you 


PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  267 

should  at  least  develop  your  defensive  powers  so 
as  to  resist  any  psychic  attacks  upon  yourself. 

You  will  find  it  helpful  to  practice  these  of- 
fensive and  defensive  weapons  when  you  are 
alone,  standing  before  your  mirror  and  "playing" 
that  your  reflection  in  the  glass  is  the  other  per- 
son. Send  this  imaginary  other  person  the 
psychic  vibrations,  accompanied  by  the  mental 
picture  suitable  for  it.  Act  the  part  out  seriously 
and  earnestly,  just  as  if  the  reflected  image  were 
really  another  person.  This  will  give  you  confi- 
dence in  yourself,  and  that  indefinable  "knack" 
of  handling  your  psychic  weapons  that  comes 
only  from  practice.  You  will  do  well  to  perfect 
yourself  in  these  rehearsals,  just  as  you  would  in 
case  you  were  trying  to  master  anything  else.  By 
frequent  earnest  rehearsals,  you  will  gain  not 
only  familiarity  with  the  process  and  methods, 
but  you  will  also  gain  real  power  and  strength  by 
the  exercise  of  your  psychic  faculties  which  have 
heretofore  lain  dormant.  Just  as  you  may  de- 
velop the  muscle  of  your  arm  by  calisthentic  exer- 
cises, until  it  is  able  to  perform  real  muscular 
work  of  strength;  so  you  may  develop  your  psy- 
chic faculties  in  this  rehearsal  work,  so  that  you 
will  be  strongly  equipped  and  armed  for  an  actual 
psychic  conflict,  besides  having  learned  how  to 
handle  your  psychic  weapons. 

After  you  have  practiced  sufficiently  along  the 
general  offensive  and  defensive  lines,  and  have 
learned  how  to  manifest  these  forces  in  actual 
conflict,  you  will  do  well  to  practice  special  and 
specific  commands  to  others,  in  the  same  way. 


268  CLAIRVOYANCE 

That  is  to  say,  practice  them  first  on  your  re- 
flected image  in  the  mirror.  The  following  com- 
mands (with  mental  pictures,  of  course)  will  give 
you  good  practice.  Go  about  the  work  in  earnest, 
and  act  out  the  part  seriously.  Try  these  exer- 
cises: "Here!  look  at  me!"  "Give  me  your  un- 
divided attention!"  "Come  this  way!"  "Come 
to  me  at  once!"  "Go  away  from  me — leave  me 
at  once!"  "You  like  me — you  like  me  very 
much!"  "You  are  afraid  of  me !"  "You  wish  to 
please  me !"  "You  will  agree  to  my  proposition !" 
"You  will  do  as  I  tell  you!"  Any  special  com- 
mand you  wish  to  convey  to  another  person, 
psychically,  you  will  do  well  to  practice  before 
the  mirror  in  this  way. 

When  you  have  made  satisfactory  progress  in 
the  exercises  above  mentioned,  and  are  able  to 
demonstrate  them  with  a  fair  degree  of  success 
in  actual  practice,  you  may  proceed  to  experiment 
with  persons  along  the  lines  of  special  and  direct 
commands  by  psychic  force.  The  following  will 
give  you  a  clear  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  experi- 
ments in  question,  but  you  may  enlarge  upon  and 
vary  them  indefinitely.  Remember  there  is  no 
virtue  in  mere  words — the  effect  comes  from  the 
power  of  the  thought  behind  the  words.  But, 
nevertheless,  you  will  find  that  positive  words, 
used  in  these  silent  commands,  will  help  you  to 
fit  in  your  feeling  to  the  words.  Always  make 
the  command  a  real  COMMAND,  never  a  mere 
entreaty  or  appeal.  Assume  the  mental  attitude 
of  a  master  of  men — of  a  commander  and  ruler  of 
other  men.    Here  follow  a  number  of  interesting 


PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  269 

experiments  along  these  lines,  which  will  be  very- 
useful  to  you  in  acquiring  the  art  of  personal 
influence  of  this  kind : 

SEVEN  VALUABLE  EXERCISES 

Exercise  1:  When  walking  down  the  street 
behind  a  person,  make  him  turn  around  in. answer 
to  your  mental  command.  Select  some  person 
who  does  not  seem  to  be  too  much  rushed  or  too 
busy — select  some  person  who  seems  to  having 
nothing  particular  on  his  mind.  Then  desire 
earnestly  that  he  shall  turn  around  when  you 
mentally  call  to  him  to  do  so;  at  the  same  time 
picture  him  as  turning  around  in  answer  to  your 
call ;  and  at  the  same  time  concentrate  your  atten- 
tion and  thought  firmly  upon  him.  After  a  few 
moments  of  preparatory  thought,  send  him  the 
following  message,  silently  of  course,  with  as 
much  force,  positiveness  and  vigor  as  possible: 
"Hey  there!  turn  around  and  look  at  me!  Hey! 
turn  around,  turn  around  at  once!"  While  in- 
fluencing him  fix  your  gaze  at  the  point  on  his 
neck  where  the  skull  joins  it — right  at  the  base  of 
the  brain,  in  the  back.  In  a  number  of  cases,  you 
will  find  that  the  person  will  look  around  as  if 
someone  had  actually  called  him  aloud.  In  other 
cases,  he  will  seem  puzzled,  and  will  look  from 
side  to  side  as  if  seeking  some  one.  After  a  little 
practice  you  will  be  surprised  how  many  persons 
you  can  affect  in  this  way. 

Exercise  2:  When  in  a  public  place,  such  as  a 
church,  concert  or  theatre,  send  a  similar  mes- 
sage to  someone  seated  a  little  distance  in  front 


270  CLAIRVOYANCE 

of  you.  Use  the  same  methods  as  in  the  first 
exercise,  and  you  will  obtain  similar  results.  It 
will  seem  queer  to  you  at  first  to  notice  how  the 
other  person  will  begin  to  fidget  and  move 
around  in  his  seat,  and  finally  glance  furtively 
around  as  if  to  see  what  is  causing  him  the  dis- 
turbance. You,  of  course,  will  not  let  him  sus- 
pect that  it  is  you,  but,  instead  will  gaze  calmly 
ahead  of  you,  and  pretend  not  to  notice  him. 

Exercise  3:  This  is  a  variation  of  the  first 
exercise.  It  is  practiced  by  sending  to  a  person 
approaching  you  on  the  street,  or  walking  ahead 
of  you  in  the  same  direction,  a  command  to  turn 
to  the  right,  or  to  the  left,  as  you  prefer.  You 
will  be  surprised  to  see  how  often  you  will  be  suc- 
cessful in  this. 

Exercise  4:  This  is  a  variation  of  the  second 
exercise.  It  is  practiced  by  sending  to  a  person 
seated  in  front  of  you  in  a  public  place  the  com- 
mand to  look  to  the  right,  or  to  the  left,  as  you 
prefer.  Do  not  practice  on  the  same  person  too 
long,  after  succeeding  at  first — it  is  not  right  to 
torment  people,  remember. 

Exercise  5 :  After  having  attained  proficiency 
in  the  foregoing  exercises,  you  many  proceed  to 
command  a  person  to  perform  certain  unimport- 
ant motions,  such  as  rising  or  sitting  down, 
taking  off  his  hat,  taking  out  his  handkerchief, 
laying  down  a  fan,  umbrella,  etc. 

Exercise  6:  The  next  step  is  to  command  per- 
sons to  say  some  particular  word  having  no  im- 
portant meaning;  to  "put  words  in  his  mouth" 


PERSONAL  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  271 

while  talking  to  him.  Wait  until  the  other  per- 
son pauses  as  if  in  search  of  a  word,  and  then 
suddenly,  sharply  and  forcibly  put  the  word  into 
his  mouth,  silently  of  course.  In  a  very  suscep- 
tible person,  well  under  your  psychic  control,  you 
may  succeed  in  suggesting  entire  sentences  and 
phrases  to  him. 

Exercise  7:  This  is  the  summit  of  psychic  in- 
fluencing, and,  of  course,  is  the  most  difficult. 
But  you  will  be  surprised  to  see  how  well  you  will 
succeed  in  many  cases,  after  you  have  acquired 
the  knack  and  habit  of  sending  the  psychic  mes- 
sage. It  consists  of  commanding  the  person  to 
obey  the  spoken  command  or  request  that  you  are 
about  to  make  to  him.  This  is  the  art  and  secret 
of  the  success  of  many  salesmen,  solicitors,  and 
others  working  along  the  lines  of  influencing 
other  people.  It  is  acquired  by  beginning  with 
small  things,  and  gradually  proceeding  to 
greater,  and  still  greater.  At  this  point  I  should 
warn  you  that  all  the  best  occult  teachings  warn 
students  against  using  this  power  for  base  ends, 
improper  purposes,  etc.  Such  practices  tend  to 
react  and  rebound  against  the  person  using  them, 
like  a  boomerang.  Beware  against  using  psychic 
or  occult  forces  for  improper  purposes — the 
psychic  laws  punish  the  offender,  just  as  do  the 
physical  laws. 

Finally,  I  caution  the  student  against  talking 
too  much  about  his  developing  powers.  Beware 
of  boasting  or  bragging  about  these  things. 
Keep  silent,  and  keep  your  own  counsel.  When 
you  make  known  your  powers,  you  set  into  opera- 


272  CLAIRVOYANCE 

tion  the  adverse  and  antagonistic  thought  of  per- 
sons around  you  who  may  be  jealous  of  you,  and 
who  would  wish  to  see  you  fail,  or  make  yourself 
ridiculous.  The  wise  head  keepeth  a  still  tongue ! 
One  of  the  oldest  occult  maxims  is:  "Learn! 
Dare!  Do!  Keep  Silent!!!"  You  will  do  well  to 
adhere  strictly  to  this  warning  caution. 


LESSON  XVIII. 

PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE  AT  A  DISTANCE 

The  second  phase  of  Psychic  Influence  is  that 
called  Distant  Psychic  Influence,  in  which 
psychic  induction  is  manifested  when  the  persons 
are  distant  in  space  from  one  another — not  in  the 
presence  of  each  other.  Here,  of  course,  we  see 
the  principle  of  telepathy  involved  in  connection 
with  the  process  of  mental  induction ;  and  in  some 
cases  even  the  astral  telepathic  sense  is  called 
into  operation. 

The  student  who  has  followed  my  explanation 
and  course  of  reasoning  in  the  preceding  lessons 
will  readily  perceive  that  the  principle  involved 
in  this  distant  phase  of  psychic  influence  is  pre- 
cisely the  same  as  that  employed  in  direct  per- 
sonal psychic  influence.  As  I  have  explained  in 
an  early  lesson,  it  matters  little  whether  the  space 
to  be  covered  by  the  psychic  vibratory  waves  is 
but  one  foot  or  a  thousand  miles,  the  principle  is 
exactly  the  same.  There  are,  of  course,  other 
principles  involved  in  the  case  of  two  persons 
meeting  face  to  face  and  calling  into  force  their 
psychic  powers;  for  instance,  there  is  the  element 
of  suggestion  and  association,  and  other  psycho- 
logical principles  which  are  not  in  force  when  the 
two  persons  are  out  of  the  actual  presence  of  each 
other.  But  so  far  as  the  telepathic  or  astral 
psychic  powers  are  concerned,  the  mere  exten- 
sion of  space  does  not  change  the  principle. 

The  student  who  has  developed  his  power  of 


274  CLAIRVOYANCE 

psychic  induction  in  the  phases  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  may  begin  to  experiment  and 
practice  psychic  induction  at  long-range,  if  he 
so  wishes.  That  is  to  say,  instead  of  causing 
psychic  induction  in  the  minds  of  persons  actu- 
ally in  his  presence  and  sight,  he  may  produce 
similar  results  in  persons  out  of  his  sight  and 
presence.  The  person  may  be  brought  into  pres- 
ence and  psychic  contact,  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses, by  using  the  visualizing  powers  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  him  into  the  en  rapport  con- 
dition. That  is  to  say,  by  using  the  imagination 
to  bring  into  the  mind  a  strong  clear  picture  of 
the  other  person,  you  may  induce  an  en  rapport 
condition  in  which  he  will  be  practically  in  the 
same  psychic  relation  to  you  as  if  he  were 
actually  before  you.  Of  course,  if  he  is  sufficiently 
well  informed  regarding  occult  matters,  he  may 
shut  you  out  by  drawing  a  psychic  circle  around 
himself  which  you  cannot  penetrate,  or  by  sur- 
rounding himself  with  psychic  armor  or  atmos- 
phere such  as  I  have  already  mentioned  in  pre- 
ceding lessons.  But  as  he  will  not  likely  know 
anything  of  this,  the  average  person  may  be 
reached  in  the  manner  just  mentioned. 

Or  again,  you  may  establish  en  rapport  condi- 
tions by  psychometric  methods,  by  holding  to 
your  forehead  an  article  which  has  been  in  the 
other  person's  possession  for  some  time;  an 
article  worn  by  him;  a  piece  of  his  hair;  etc.  Or, 
again,  you  may  use  the  crystal  to  bring  up  his 
astral  vision  before  you.  Or,  again,  you  may 
erect  an  "astral  tube"  such  as  I  will  mention  a 


DISTANT  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE    275 

little  further  on  in  this  chapter,  and  thus  establish 
a  strong  en  rapport  condition. 

Having  established  the  en  rapport  condition 
with  the  other  person,  and  having  thus  practi- 
cally brought  him  into  your  presence,  psychically 
speaking,  you  may  proceed  to  send  him  com- 
mands or  demands,  just  as  you  did  in  the  phase 
of  personal  psychic  influence  previously  men- 
tioned. You  act  precisely  as  if  the  other  person 
were  present  before  you,  and  state  your  com- 
mands or  demands  to  him  just  as  you  would  were 
he  seated  or  standing  in  your  presence.  This  is 
the  keynote  of  the  whole  thing;  the  rest  is  simply 
an  elaboration  and  stating  of  details  of  methods, 
etc.  With  the  correct  principle  once  established, 
you  may  apply  the  same  according  to  your  own 
wishes  and  discretion. 

This  phase  of  distant  psychic  influence  is  at  the 
bottom  of  all  the  wonderful  tales,  stories  and 
legends  of  supernatural  powers,  witchcraft, 
sorcery,  etc.,  with  which  the  pages  of  history  are 
filled.  There  is  of  course  always  to  be  found 
much  distortion  and  exaggeration  in  these 
legends  and  tales,  but  they  have  truth  at  the  bot- 
tom of  them.  In  this  connection,  let  me  call  your 
attention  to  a  very  important  psychic  principle 
involved.  I  have  told  you  that  by  denying  the 
power  of  any  person  over  you,  you  practically 
neutralize  his  psychic  power — the  stronger  and 
more  positive  your  belief  in  your  immunity,  and 
your  denial  of  his  power  over  you,  the  more  do 
you  rob  him  of  any  such  power.  The  average 
person,  not  knowing  this,  is  more  or  less  passive 


276  CLAIRVOYANCE 

to  psychic  influences  of  other  persons,  and  may 
be  affected  by  them  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
depending  upon  the  psychic  development  of  the 
person  seeking  to  influence  him.  At  the  extreme 
of  the  sensitive  pole  of  psychic  influence,  we  find 
those  persons  who  believe  firmly  that  the  other 
person  has  power  over  them,  and  who  are  more 
or  less  afraid  of  him.  This  belief  and  fear  acts 
to  make  them  particularly  sensitive  and  impres- 
sionable, and  easily  affected  by  his  psychic  induc- 
tion. This  is  the  reason  that  the  so-called  witches 
and  sorcerers  and  others  of  evil  repute  have  been 
able  to  acquire  such  a  power  over  their  victims, 
and  to  cause  so  much  trouble.  The  secret  is  that 
the  victims  believed  in  the  power  of  the  other  per- 
son, and  feared  their  power.  The  greater  the  be- 
lief in,  and  fear  of,  the  power  of  the  person,  the 
greater  the  susceptibility  to  his  influence;  the 
greater  the  sense  of  power  of  neutralizing  the 
power,  and  the  disbelief  in  his  power  to  affect 
them,  the  greater  the  degree  of  immunity:  this  is 
the  rule! 

Accordingly  we  find  that  persons  in  various 
stages  of  the  history  of  the  world  have  been  af- 
fected by  the  influences  of  witches,  sorcerers,  and 
other  unprincipled  persons.  In  most  cases  these 
so-called  witches  and  sorcerers  themselves  were 
under  the  delusion  that  they  were  assisted  by  the 
devil  or  some  other  supernatural  being.  They 
did  not  realize  that  they  were  simply  using  per- 
fectly natural  methods,  and  employing  perfectly 
natural  forces.  For  that  matter,  you  must  re- 
member   that    magnetism    and    electricity,    in 


DISTANT  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE    277 

ancient  days,  were  considered  as  supernatural 
forces  in  some  way  connected  with  demonic 
powers. 

Studying  the  history  of  witchcraft,  sorcery, 
black-magic,  and  the  like,  you  will  find  that  the 
devotees  thereof  usually  employed  some  psycho- 
metric method.  In  other  cases  they  would  mould 
little  figures  of  clay,  or  of  wax,  in  the  general 
shape  and  appearance  of  the  person  whom  they 
wished  to  affect.  It  was  thought  that  these  little 
figures  were  endowed  with  some  supernatural 
powers  or  attributes,  but  of  course  this  was  mere 
superstition.  The  whole  power  of  these  little 
figures  arose  from  the  fact  that  they  aided  the 
imagination  of  the  spell-worker  in  forming  a 
mental  image  of  the  person  sought  to  be  influ- 
enced; and  thus  established  a  strong  en  rapport 
condition.  Added  to  this,  you  must  remember 
that  the  fear  and  belief  of  the  public  greatly  aided 
the  spell-worker  and  increased  his  power  and  in- 
fluence over  these  poor  persons. 

I  will  give  you  a  typical  case,  taken  from  an  old 
German  book,  which  thoroughly  illustrates  the 
principles  involved  in  cases  of  this  kind.  Under- 
stand this  case,  and  you  will  have  the  secret  and 
working  principle  of  them  all.  The  story  is  told 
by  an  eminent  German  physician  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. He  relates  that  he  was  consulted  by  one  of 
his  patients,  a  wealthy  farmer  living  near  by. 
The  farmer  complained  that  he  was  disturbed 
every  night  by  strange  noises  which  sounded  like 
someone  pounding  iron.  The  disturbances  oc- 
curred between  the  hours  of  ten  o'clock  and  mid- 


278  CLAIRVOYANCE 

night,  each  and  every  night.  The  physician  asked 
him  if  he  suspected  anyone  of  causing  the  strange 
trouble.  The  farmer  answered  that  he  suspected 
an  old  enemy  of  his,  an  old  village  blacksmith 
living  several  miles  away  from  his  farm.  It  ap- 
pears that  an  old  long-standing  feud  between 
them  had  broken  out  afresh,  and  that  the  black- 
smith had  made  threats  of  employing  his  "hex" 
(witchcraft)  powers  on  the  old  farmer.  The 
blacksmith  was  reputed  to  be  a  sort  of  "hex"  or 
male-witch,  and  the  farmer  believed  in  his  dia- 
bolic powers  and  was  very  much  in  fear  of  them. 
So  you  see  the  ideal  condition  for  psychic  recep- 
tivity was  present. 

The  physician  called  on  the  blacksmith,  and 
taking  him  by  surprise,  gazing  sternly  into  his 
eyes  and  asked  him:  "What  do  you  do  every 
night  between  ten  and  twelve  o'clock?"  The 
blacksmith,  frightened  and  disturbed,  stammered 
out :  "I  hammer  a  bar  of  iron  every  night  at  that 
time,  and  all  the  while  I  think  intently  "of  a  bad 
neighbor  of  mine  who  once  cheated  me  out  of 
some  money;  and  I  'will*  at  the  same  time  that 
the  noise  will  disturb  his  rest,  until  he  will  pay 
me  back  my  money  to  get  peace  and  quiet."  The 
physician  bade  him  to  desist  from  his  evil  prac- 
tices, under  threats  of  dire  punishment ;  and  then 
went  to  the  farmer  and  made  him  straighten  out 
the  financial  dispute  between  the  two.  There- 
after, there  was  no  more  trouble. 

So  you  see  in  this  case  all  the  necessary  ele- 
ments were  present.  First  there  was  the  belief 
of  the  blacksmith  in  his  own  powers — this  gave 


DISTANT  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE    279 

him  self-confidence  and  psychic  power.  Then 
there  was  the  belief  and  fear  on  the  part  of  the 
farmer — this  made  him  an  easy  subject,  and  very 
susceptible  to  psychic  induction,  etc.  Then  there 
was  the  action  of  the  blacksmith  beating  the  iron 
— this  gave  force  and  clearness  to  his  visualiza- 
tion of  the  idea  he  wished  to  induce  in  the  mind 
of  the  other.  And,  finally,  there  was  his  will  em- 
ployed in  every  stroke,  going  out  in  the  direction 
of  the  concentrated  wish  and  purpose  of  influ- 
encing the  farmer.  You  see,  then,  that  every 
psychic  element  was  present.  It  was  no  wonder 
that  the  old  farmer  was  disturbed. 

Among  the  negroes  of  the  South,  in  America; 
and  among  the  Hawaiians;  we  find  marked  in- 
stances of  this  kind.  The  negro  Voodoo  men  and 
women  work  black  magic  on  those  of  their  race 
who  are  supersitious  and  credulous,  and  who 
have  a  mortal  fear  of  the  Voodoo.  You  see  the 
conditions  obtained  are  much  the  same  as  in  the 
case  of  the  German  case  just  cited.  Travellers 
who  have  visited  the  countries  in  which  there  is 
a  large  negro  population,  have  many  interesting 
tales  to  recite  of  the  terrible  workings  of  these 
Voodoo  black  magicians.  In  some  cases,  sick- 
ness and  even  death  is  the  result.  But,  mark  you 
this!  it  is  only  those  who  believe  in,  and  fear,  the 
power  of  the  Voodoos  that  are  affected.  In  Ha- 
waii, the  Kahunas  or  native  magicians  are  re- 
nowned for  their  power  to  cause  sickness  and 
death  to  those  who  have  offended  them;  or  to 
those  who  have  offended  some  client  of  the  Ka- 
huna, and  who  have  hired  the  latter  to  "pray"  the 


280  CLAIRVOYANCE 

enemy  to  sickness  or  death.  The  poor  ignorant 
Hawaiians,  believing  implicitly  in  the  power  of 
the  Kahunas,  and  being  in  deadly  fear  of  them, 
are  very  susceptible  to  their  psychic  influence, 
and  naturally  fall  easy  victims,  unless  they  buy  of 
the  Kahuna,  or  make  peace  with  his  client.  White 
persons  living  in  Hawaii  are  not  affected  by  the 
Kahunas,  for  they  do  not  believe  in  them,  neither 
do  they  fear  them.  Unconsciously,  but  still 
strongly,  they  deny  the  power,  and  are  immune. 
So,  you  see,  the  principle  working  out  here,  also. 
Once  you  have  the  master-key,  you  may  unlock 
many  doors  of  mystery  which  have  heretofore 
been  closed  to  you. 

We  do  not  have  to  fall  back  on  cases  of  witch- 
craft, however,  in  order  to  illustrate  this  phase  of 
the  use  of  psychic  influence  for  selfish  ends.  In 
Europe  and  America  there  are  teachers  of  a  low 
form  of  occultism  who  instruct  their  pupils  in  the 
art  of  producing  induced  mental  states  in  the 
minds  of  others,  for  purposes  of  financial  gain  or 
other  selfish  ends.  For  instance,  there  is  a  West- 
ern teacher  who  instructs  his  pupils  to  induce  de- 
sired mental  states  in  prospective  customers,  or 
others  whom  they  may  wish  to  influence  for 
selfish  reasons.  This  teacher  tells  his  pupils  to: 
"Imagine  your  prospective  customer,  or  other 
person,  as  seated  in  a  chair  before  which  you  are 
standing.  Make  the  imagined  picture  as  strong 
as  possible,  for  upon  this  depends  your  success. 
Then  proceed  to  'treat*  this  person  just  as  if  he 
were  actually  present.  Concentrate  your  will 
upon  him,  and  tell  him  what  you  expect  to  tell 


DISTANT  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE    281 

him  when  you  meet  him.  Use  all  of  the  argu- 
ments that  you  can  think  of,  and  at  the  same  time 
hold  the  thought  that  he  must  do  as  you  say.  Try 
to  imagine  him  as  complying  with  your  wishes 
in  every  respect,  for  this  imagining  will  tend  to 
'come  true'  when  you  really  meet  the  person. 
This  rule  may  be  used,  not  only  in  the  case  of 
prospective  customers,  but  also  in  the  case  of 
persons  whom  you  wish  to  influence  in  any  way 
whatsoever."  Surely  this  is  a  case  of  employing 
psychic  powers  for  selfish  purposes,  if  anything 
is. 

Again,  in  Europe  and  America,  particularly  in 
the  latter  country,  we  find  many  persons  who 
have  picked  up  a  smattering  of  occult  knowledge 
by  means  of  some  of  the  many  healing  cults  and 
organizations  which  teach  the  power  of  thought 
over  physical  diseases.  In  the  instruction  along 
the  lines  of  distant  mental  healing,  the  student  is 
taught  to  visualize  the  patient  as  strongly  and 
clearly  as  possible,  and  to  then  proceed  to  make 
statements  of  health  and  strength.  The  mind  of 
the  patient,  and  that  of  the  healer,  co-operate 
and  in  many  cases  work  wonderful  cures.  As 
you  will  see  in  the  last  lesson  of  this  course,  there 
is  great  power  in  the  mind  to  induce  healthful 
vibrations  in  the  mind  of  others,  and  the  work  is 
a  good  and  worthy  one.  But,  alas !  as  is  so  often 
the  case,  the  good  teaching  is  sometimes  per- 
verted, and  applied  for  unworthy  and  selfish  ends. 
Some  of  the  persons  who  have  picked  up  the  prin- 
ciples of  mental  healing  have  discovered  that  the 
same  power  may  be  used  in  a  bad  as  well  as  in  a 


282  CLAIRVOYANCE 

good  direction.  They  accordingly,  proceed  to 
"treat"  other  persons  with  the  object  of  persuad- 
ing them  to  do  things  calculated  to  benefit  the 
person  using  the  psychic  power.  They  seek  to 
get  these  other  persons  under  their  psychic  in- 
fluence, and  to  then  take  advantage  of  them  in 
some  way  or  other. 

I  hope  that  it  is  practically  unnecessary  for  me 
to  warn  my  students  against  evil  practices  of  this 
kind — I  trust  that  I  have  not  drawn  any  stud- 
ents of  this  class  to  me.  In  case,  however,  that 
some  of  you  may  have  been,  or  may  be  in  the 
future,  tempted  to  use  your  psychic  powers  im- 
properly, in  this  way,  I  wish  to  caution  and  warn 
you  positively  against  so  doing.  Outside  of  the 
ordinary  morality  which  should  prevent  you  from 
taking  advantage  of  another  person  in  this  way, 
I  wish  to  say  to  you  that  anyone  so  misusing 
psychic  or  astral  powers  will  inevitably  bring 
down  upon  his  head,  sooner  or  later,  certain  oc- 
cult astral  forces  which  will  prove  disastrous  to 
him.  He  will  become  involved  in  the  web  of  his 
own  making,  and  will  suffer  greatly.  Never  by 
any  means  allow  yourself  to  be  tempted  into  in- 
dulging in  any  of  the  practices  of  Black  Magic, 
under  any  form  of  disguise.  You  will  live  to  re- 
gret it  if  you  do.  Employ  your  powers,  when 
you  develop  them,  for  the  good  of  others;  or  at 
least,  for  purely  scientific  investigation  and 
knowledge. 

The  scientific  investigator  of  this  phase  of 
psychic  influence,  will  wish  to  become  acquainted 
with  what  the  occultists  call  "the  astral  tube." 


DISTANT  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE    283 

In  this  phase  of  the  phenomena,  you  manifest 
upon  the  astral  plane,  rather  than  upon  the  phys- 
ical. The  astral  form  of  telepathy  is  manifested, 
rather  than  the  ordinary  form.  While  there  are 
a  number  of  technical  points  involved  in  the  prod- 
uction of  the  astral  tube,  I  shall  endeavor  to  in- 
struct you  regarding  its  creation  and  use  in  as 
plain  words  as  possible,  omitting  all  reference 
to  technical  occult  details  which  would  only  serve 
to  distract  your  attention  and  confuse  your  mind. 
The  advanced  occult  student  will  understand 
these  omitted  technicalities  without  being  told 
of  them;  the  others  would  not  know  what  was 
meant  by  them,  if  mentioned,  in  the  absence  of 
a  long  stage  of  preparatory  teaching.  After  all, 
the  theory  is  not  of  so  much  importance  to  most 
of  you  as  are  the  practical  working  principles. 
I  ask  your  careful  attention  to  what  I  have  to  say 
in  this  subject  of  the  astral  tube. 

The  Astral  Tube  is  formed  by  the  person  form- 
ing in  his  imagination  (i.  e.,  on  the  astral  plane 
by  means  of  his  imagination  or  visualizing  pow- 
ers), a  tube  or  small  tunnel  between  himself  and 
the  person  whom  he  wishes  to  influence.  He 
starts  by  picturing  it  in  his  mind  a  whirling 
vortex,  similar  to  the  whirling  ring  of  smoke 
emitted  from  a  "coughing"  engine,  and  some- 
times by  a  man  smoking  a  cigar,  about  six  inches 
to  one  foot  in  diameter.  He  must  will  the  imag- 
ined vortex-ring  to  move  forward  as  if  it  were 
actually  boring  a  tunnel  through  the  atmosphere. 
When  the  knack  of  producing  this  astral  tube  is 
acquired,  it  will  be  found  that  the  visualized  tun- 


284  CLAIRVOYANCE 

nel  seems  to  vibrate  with  a  peculiar  intensity, 
and  will  seem  to  be  composed  of  a  substance 
far  more  subtle  than  air.  Then,  at  the  other 
end  of  this  astral  tube  you  must  picture  the 
other  person,  the  one  whom  you  wish  to  in- 
fluence. The  person  will  seem  as  if  viewed 
through  the  wrong  end  of  an  opera-glass.  When 
this  condition  is  gained,  there  will  be  found  to  be 
a  high  degree  of  en  rapport  between  yourself  and 
the  other  person.  The  secret  consists  in  the  fact 
that  you  have  really  established  a  form  of  clair- 
voyance between  yourself  and  the  person.  When 
you  have  induced  this  condition,  proceed  with 
your  mental  commands  and  pictures  just  as  if 
you  were  in  the  presence  of  the  person  himself. 
That  is  the  whole  thing  in  a  nutshell. 

In  order  that  you  may  have  another  viewpoint 
from  which  to  consider  the  astral  tube,  or  what 
corresponds  to  it,  I  wish  to  give  you  here  a  little 
quotation  from  another  writer  on  the  subject, 
who  presents  the  matter  from  a  somewhat  more 
technical  standpoint.  Read  this  quotation  in 
connection  with  my  own  description  of  the  astral 
tube,  and  you  will  form  a  pretty  complete  and 
clear  idea  of  the  phenomenon.  The  writer  men- 
tioned says :  "It  is  impossible  here  to  give  an  ex- 
haustive disquisition  on  astral  physics;  all  I  need 
say  is  that  it  is  possible  to  make  in  the  astral 
substance  a  definite  connecting-line  that  shall  act 
as  a  telegraph  wire  to  convey  vibrations  by  means 
of  which  all  that  is  going  on  at  the  other  end  of 
it  may  be  seen.  Such  a  line  is  established,  be  it 
understood,  not  by  a  direct  projection  through 


DISTANT  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE    285 

space  of  astral  matter,  but  by  such  action  upon  a 
line  (or  rather  many  lines)  of  particles  of  that 
substance  as  will  render  them  capable  of  forming 
a  conductor  for  vibrations  of  the  character  re- 
quired. This  preliminary  action  can  be  set  up 
in  two  ways — either  by  the  transmission  of 
energy  from  particle  to  particle,  until  the  line  is 
formed,  or  by  the  use  of  a  force  from  a  higher 
plane  which  is  capable  of  acting  upon  the  whole 
line  simultaneously.  Of  course  this  latter  method 
implies  far  greater  development,  since  it  involves 
the  knowledge  of  (and  the  power  to  use)  forces 
of  a  considerably  higher  level. 

"Even  the  simpler  and  purely  astral  operation 
is  a  difficult  one  to  describe,  though  quite  an 
easy  one  to  perform.  It  may  be  said  to  partake 
somewhat  of  the  nature  of  the  magnetization  of 
a  bar  of  steel;  for  it  consists  in  what  we  might 
call  the  polarization,  by  an  effort  of  the  human 
will,  of  a  number  of  astral  atoms  reaching  from 
the  operator  to  the  scene  which  he  wishes  to  ob- 
serve. All  the  atoms  thus  affected  are  held  for 
the  time  being  with  their  axes  rigidly  parallel  to 
one  another,  so  that  they  form  a  kind  of  tempo- 
rary tube  along  which  the  clairvoyant  may  look. 
This  method  has  the  disadvantage  that  the  tele- 
graph line  is  liable  to  disarrangement  or  even 
destruction  by  any  sufficiently  strong  astral  cur- 
rent which  happens  to  cross  its  path;  but  if  the 
original  creative  effort  were  fairly  definite,  this 
would  be  a  contingency  of  only  infrequent  occur- 
rence. The  view  of  a  distant  scene  obtained  by 
means  of  this   'astral  current'   is  in  many  ways 


286  CLAIRVOYANCE 

not  unlike  that  seen  through  a  telescope.  Human 
figures  usually  appear  very  small,  like  those  on  a 
distant  stage,  but  in  spite  of  their  diminutive  size 
they  are  as  clear  as  though  they  were  close  by. 
Sometimes  it  is  possible  by  this  means  to  hear 
what  is  said  as  well  as  to  see  what  is  done;  but 
as  in  the  majority  of  cases  this  does  not  happen, 
we  must  consider  it  rather  as  the  manifestation 
of  an  additional  power  than  as  a  necessary  corol- 
lary of  the  faculty  of  sight." 

I  would  feel  that  I  had  not  done  my  whole  duty 
to  the  student,  or  reader  of  this  book,  were  I  to 
conclude  this  chapter  without  pointing  out  a 
means  of  protection  against  the  use  of  this  phase 
of  psychic  influence  against  them  on  the  part 
of  some  unscrupulous  person;  or  for  that  matter, 
against  the  meddling  influence  of  any  person 
whatsoever,  for  any  purpose  whatsoever,  with- 
out one's  permission  and  consent.  Therefore,  I 
wish  now  to  point  out  the  general  principles  of 
self-protection  or  defense  against  this  class  of 
psychic  influence. 

In  the  first  place,  you  must,  of  course,  refuse  to 
admit  to  your  mind  any  feeling  of  fear  regarding 
the  influence  of  other  persons — for  that  is  the 
open  door  to  their  influence,  as  I  have  pointed 
out  to  you.  If  you  have  been,  or  are  fearful  of 
any  persons  psychic  influence,  you  must  get  to 
work  and  drive  out  that  feeling  by  positive  and 
vigorous  denials.  The  denial,  you  remember,  is 
the  positive  neutralizer  of  the  psychic  influence 
of  another  person,  providing  you  make  it  in  full 
belief  of  its  truth.    You  must  take  the  position 


DISTANT  PSYCHIC  INFLUENCE    287 

(which  is  a  true  one)  that  you  are  immune  to  the 
psychic  attack  or  influence.  You  should  say, 
mentally,  "I  deny  to  any  person  the  power  to  in- 
fluence me  psychically  without  my  consent;  I 
am  positive  to  all  such  influences,  and  they  are 
negative  to  me;  I  neutralize  them  by  this 
denial!" 

If  you  feel  sudden  impulses  to  act  in  some  way 
which  you  have  not  thought  of  doing,  or  toward 
which  you  have  had  an  aversion,  pause  a  moment 
and  say,  mentally,  "If  this  is  an  outside  influence, 
I  deny  its  power  over  me;  I  deny  it,  and  send  it 
back  to  its  sender,  to  his  defeat  and  confusion." 
You  will  then  experience  a  feeling  of  relief  and 
freedom.  In  such  cases  you  may  frequently  be 
approached  later  on  by  the  person  who  would 
have  been  most  benefitted  by  your  action;  he  will 
appear  surprised  when  you  "turn  him  down," 
and  will  act  in  a  confused  way.  He  may  not  have 
consciously  tried  to  influence  you,  but  may  have 
merely  been  wishing  strongly  that  you  would  do 
as  he  desired. 

It  should  encourage  you  to  know  that  it  re- 
quires much  less  force  to  repel  and  neutralize 
psychic  influence  of  this  kind,  than  is  required  to 
send  forth  the  power;  an  ounce  of  denial  and  pro- 
tection overcomes  a  pound  of  psychic  attacking 
power.  Nature  gives  you  the  means  of  protec- 
tion, and  gives  you  "the  best  end  of  the  stick," 
and  it  is  your  own  fault  if  you  do  not  effectively 
use  it.    A  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient. 


LESSON  XIX. 
LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION 

The  third  phase  of  Psychic  Influence  is  that 
which  may  be  called  Indirect  Psychic  Influence, 
in  which  psychic  induction  is  manifested  in  the 
minds  of  other  persons  coming  in  contact  with 
the  thought  vibrations  of  the  person  manifest- 
ing them,  although  no  deliberate  attempt  is  made 
to  influence  the  mind  of  any  particular  person  or 
persons.  Closely  connected  with  and  involved  in 
this  phase  of  psychic  influence,  is  that  which  is 
called  the  Psychic  Law  of  Attraction.  So  closely 
are  these  two  connected  that  I  shall  consider 
them  together  in  this  lesson. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  this  phase  of 
psychic  influence  is  the  well-known  psychic  fact 
that  mental  and  emotional  states  not  only  induce 
similar  vibrations  in  those  who  are  similar  at- 
tuned on  the  psychic  vibratory  scale,  but  also 
tend  to  attract  and  draw  to  the  person  other  per- 
sons who  are  vibrating  along  similar  lines,  and 
also  tend  to  repel  those  who  are  vibrating  in  an 
opposing  note  or  scale  of  psychic  vibration. 

In  the  preceding  lessons  I  have  shown  you  how 
by  induction  we  tend  to  arouse  in  others  mental 
and  emotional  states  similar  to  our  own.  But 
there  is  a  law  in  effect  here,  which  must  be  noted 
if  you  wish  to  thoroughly  understand  this  phase 
of  psychic  influence.  Omitting  all  technical  ex- 
planations, and  getting  right  down  to  the  heart 
of  the  phenomenon,  I  would  say  that  the  general 


LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION  289 

principle  is  this:  Psychic  induction  is  difficult 
in  proportion  to  the  opposing  quality  of  the  char- 
acteristic mental  and  emotional  states  of  the  per- 
son affected;  and  easy  in  proportion  to  the  har- 
monious quality  thereof.  That  is  to  say,  in  plain 
words,  that  if  a  person's  habitual  thought  and 
emotions  are  along  the  same  lines  that  you  are 
trying  to  induce  in  him,  you  will  find  it  easy 
to  induce  the  same  in  him;  if,  on  the  contrary, 
they  are  of  an  opposing  nature,  then  you  will  find 
it  difficult  to  so  influence  him.  The  many  de- 
grees of  agreement  and  difference  in  the  psychic 
vibrations  of  persons  constitute  a  scale  of  com- 
parative response  to  any  particular  form  of  men- 
tal or  emotional  vibrations. 

It  is  hard  to  change  the  spots  of  a  leopard,  or 
the  skin  of  an  Ethiopian,  as  we  are  told  on 
ancient  authority.  It  is  almost  as  difficult  to 
change  the  characteristic  mental  and  emotional 
states  of  a  person  by  psychic  induction,  except 
after  long  and  repeated  efforts.  On  the  contrary, 
let  a  person  have  certain  characteristic  mental 
and  emotional  habits,  then  these  may  be  aroused 
in  them  with  the  greatest  ease  by  means  of 
psychic  induction.  For  instance,  if  a  person  is 
characteristically  and  habitually  peaceful,  mild 
and  calm,  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  arouse  in  him 
by  psychic  induction  the  vibrations  of  anger, 
fight  and  excitement.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
other  person  is  combative,  fierce  and  easily  ex- 
cited to  wrath,  it  is  the  easiest  possible  thing  to 
arouse  these  feelings  in  him  by  psychic  induction. 
So  much  for  ordinary  psychic  induction;  let  us 


290  CLAIRVOYANCE 

now  consider  indirect  psychic  induction,  in  which 
the  same  principle  operates. 

In  indirect  psychic  induction,  that  is  to  say 
in  cases  in  which  psychic  vibrations  are  aroused 
by  induction  without  deliberate  attempt  or  de- 
sign to  influence  any  particular  person  or  per- 
sons, there  is  noted  the  manifestation  of  a  pecul- 
iar law  of  attraction  and  repulsion  along  psychic 
lines.  This  psychic  law  operates  in  the  direction 
of  attracting  to  oneself  other  persons  who,  ac- 
tively or  passively,  vibrate  on  the  same  note,  or 
on  some  note  or  notes  in  general  harmony  there- 
with. In  the  same  way,  the  law  causes  you  to 
repel  other  persons  who  vibrate  on  a  note  or 
notes  in  general  inharmony  or  discord  to  your- 
self. So,  in  short,  we  go  through  life  attracting 
or  repelling,  psychically,  others  in  harmonious 
or  inharmonious  psychic  relation  to  us,  respect- 
ively. An  understanding  of  this  law  and  its 
workings  will  throw  light  upon  many  things  in 
your  life  which  you  have  not  understood  previ- 
ously. 

You  of  course  understand  that  you  are  con- 
stantly radiating  currents  of  psychic  vibrations, 
some  of  which  flow  out  to  great  distances  from 
you,  and  affect  others  often  far  removed  from 
you  in  space.  But  you  may  not  also  know  that 
on  the  astral  plane  there  is  manifesting  a  similar 
sequence  of  cause  and  effect.  A  strong  emo- 
tional vibration,  or  a  strong  desire  or  will,  tends 
-o  manifest  on  the  astral  plane  by  attracting  or 
repelling  others  in  psychic  harmony  or  inhar- 
mony with  you.    This  phenomenon  is  not  so  com- 


LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION    291 

mon  as  is  that  of  ordinary  thought  vibrations 
from  brain  to  brain,  but  it  is  far  more  common 
that  is  generally  supposed.  It  is  particularly 
marked  in  cases  of  men  of  strong  desire  and  will, 
and  strong  creative  imagination.  These  vibra- 
tions awakening  response  in  the  minds  of  those 
in  harmony  with  them,  tend  to  draw  to  one  those 
other  persons  whose  general  character  will  fit 
in  with  the  desires  and  ideas  of  the  first  person, 
or  to  repel  those  who  are  not  harmonious  there- 
with. This  explains  the  peculiar  phenomenon  of 
strong  men  in  business,  politics  and  other  walks 
of  life,  drawing  and  attracting  to  them  other 
men  who  will  fit  in  with  their  general  plans  and 
aims. 

This  law  works  two  ways.  Not  only  do  you 
draw  such  persons  to  you  as  will  fit  in  with  your 
plans  and  purposes,  but  you  are  attracted  to  them 
by  the  same  law.  Not  only  this,  but  you  will  find 
that  through  the  peculiar  workings  of  this  law 
even  things  and  circumstances,  as  well  as  per- 
sons, will  seem  to  be  moulded  by  your  strong 
desires  and  ideas,  providing  your  psychic  vibra- 
tions are  sufficiently  strong  and  clear.  Have  you 
never  noticed  how  a  strong,  resourceful  magnetic 
man  will  seem  to  actually  draw  to  him  the  per- 
sons, things  and  circumstances  that  he  needs  to 
carry  out  and  manifest  his  plans  and  designs. 
To  many,  not  understanding  this  great  law,  these 
things  have  seemed  positively  uncanny  and  mys- 
terious. But,  now-a-days,  the  big  men  of  busi- 
ness and  politics  are  beginning  to  understand 


292  CLAIRVOYANCE 

these  psychic  laws,   and  to  apply  them   delib- 
erately and  with  purpose. 

Some  of  the  great  leaders  in  the  business 
world,  and  in  politics,  are  known  to  deliberately 
start  into  operation  strong  psychic  vibrations, 
and  to  send  out  strong  psychic  currents  of  at- 
traction, by  the  methods  that  I  have  already  ex- 
plained to  you.  They,  of  course,  are  filled  with 
a  more  than  ordinary  degree  of  desire  and  will 
and,  in  the  second  place,  they  create  very  strong 
and  clear  mental  pictures  of  their  plans  working 
out  successfully  to  a  finish;  then  concentrate 
strongly  on  the  thing;  and  lo!  the  effect  is  felt 
by  all  hands  and  on  all  sides.  They  "treat  the 
public"  (to  use  the  term  favored  by  some  of  the 
metaphysical  cults  of  the  day)  by  holding  the 
mental  picture  of  that  which  they  strongly  de- 
sire to  come  to  pass,  and  by  concentrating  their 
thought  and  will  strongly  upon  it. 

A  favorite  mental  picture  of  some  of  these 
men  (who  have  been  instructed  by  teachers  of 
occultism),  is  that  of  themselves  as  the  centre  of 
a  great  psychic  whirlpool,  drawing  to  themselves 
the  persons,  things  and  circumstances  calculated 
to  bring  success  and  realization  to  them.  Others 
picture  their  thought-vibrations  flowing  from 
them  like  the  rings  in  a  pond  into  which  a  stone 
had  been  dropped,  influencing  a  constantly 
widening  circle  of  other  persons;  then  they  pic- 
ture the  persons  being  drawn  to  them  in  the  man- 
ner just  mentioned.  They  persist  in  this  prac- 
tice day  after  day,  week  after  week,  month  after 


LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION     293 

month,  year  after  year — is  it  any  wonder  that 
they  draw  to  themselves  that  which  they  desire? 

Other  persons  of  lesser  caliber  take  similar  ad- 
vantage of  the  law  in  the  same  way,  but  on  a 
smaller  scale.  In  every  community  there  are 
certain  persons  who  seem  to  draw  to  themselves 
the  patronage  and  custom  of  the  community,  in 
some  peculiar  way.  In  most  cases  this  may  be 
traced  back  to  some  form  of  psychic  influence.  I 
do  not  mean  that  these  persons  consciously 
and  deliberately  set  these  forces  into  operation. 
On  the  contrary,  many  of  them  do  so  more  or 
less  unconsciously,  and  without  a  knowledge  of 
the  underlying  psychic  principles  involved.  Such 
persons  have  stumbled  on  a  portion  of  the  psychic 
laws,  and  have  used  them  more  or  less  uncon- 
sciously and  without  understanding  the  real  rea- 
son of  the  happening.  They  found  out  that  cer- 
tain mental  states  and  certain  mental  pictures 
tended  to  produce  certain  results — that  they 
"worked  out" — and  so  they  continued  them. 
Some  of  these  men  think  of  the  whole  thing  as 
something  supernatural,  and  get  to  believe  that 
they  are  being  helped  by  some  supernatural 
power;  whereas,  they  are  simply  operating  un- 
der a  universal  psychic  law  of  cause  and  effect. 

In  America  a  number  of  teachers  and  writers 
have  devoted  much  attention  to  this  phase  of  the 
general  subject  of  psychic  influence.  Cults  have 
been  formed  upon  this  general  basis,  the  main 
idea  of  their  followers  being  that  of  attracting 
financial  and  other  success  by  means  of  this 
phase  of  psychic  force.    One  of  the  leading  writ- 


294  CLAIRVOYANCE 

ers  along  this  line,  says :  "An  individual  who  has 
cultivated  the  faculty  of  concentration,  and  has 
acquired  the  art  of  creating  sharp,  clear,  strong, 
mental  images,  and  who  when  engaged  in  an  un- 
dertaking will  so  charge  his  mind  with  the  idea 
of  success,  will  be  bound  to  become  an  attracting 
centre.  And  if  such  an  individual  will  keep  his 
mental  picture  ever  in  his  mind,  even  though  it 
be  in  the  background  of  his  mind,  when  he  is  at- 
tending to  the  details  and  planning  of  his  affairs 
— if  he  will  give  his  mental  picture  a  prominent 
place  in  his  mental  gallery,  taking  a  frequent 
glance  at  it,  and  using  his  will  upon  it  to  create 
new  scenes  of  actual  success,  he  will  create  for 
himself  a  centre  of  radiating  thought  that  will 
surely  be  felt  by  those  coming  within  its  field  of 
influence. 

"Such  a  man  frequently  'sees  people  as  coming 
to  him  and  his  enterprises,  and  as  falling  in  line 
with  his  plans.  He  mentally  'sees'  money  flowing 
in  to  him,  and  all  of  his  plans  working  out  right. 
In  short,  he  mentally  imagines  each  step  of  his 
plans  a  little  ahead  of  the  time  for  their  execu- 
tion, and  he  concentrates  forcibly  and  earnestly 
upon  them.  It  is  astonishing  to  witness  how 
events,  people,  circumstances,  and  things  seem 
to  move  in  place  in  actual  life  as  if  urged  by  some 
mighty  power  to  serve  to  materialize  the  con- 
ditions so  imaged  in  the  mind  of  the  man.  But, 
understand,  there  must  be  active  mental  effort 
behind  the  imaging.  Day  dreamers  do  not  mate- 
rialize thought — they  merely  dissipate  energy. 
The  man  who  converts  thought  in  activity  and 


LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION    295 

material  being  throws  energy  into  the  task,  and 
puts  forth  his  will-power  through  the  pictured 
image.  Without  the  rays  of  the  will  there  will 
be  no  picture  projected,  no  matter  how  beauti- 
fully the  imagination  has  projected  it.  Thought 
pictured  in  mental  images,  and  then  vitalized  by 
the  force  of  the  desire,  and  will,  tend  to  objectify 
themselves  into  material  being." 

The  student  will  be  interested  in  reading  and 
hearing  the  various  theories  and  explanations 
given  by  different  writers  and  teachers  to  account 
for  the  phenomena  of  psychic  influence.  Once  he 
has  grasped  the  real  scientific  principles  involved, 
he  will  be  able  to  see  the  same  in  operation  in  all 
of  the  cases  cited  by  the  different  teachers  and 
writers,  and  will  find  that  this  fundamental  prin- 
ciple fully  explains  and  accounts  for  all  of  these 
cases,  no  matter  how  puzzling  they  may  seem, 
or  how  mysterious  they  may  be  claimed  to  be 
by  those  mentioning  them.  Truth  is  very  simple 
when  we  brush  away  the  fantastic  dressings 
which  have  been  placed  around  it  by  those  who 
have  lacked  knowledge  of  the  true  fundamental 
principles. 

We  see  this  same  law  or  principle  operating  in 
very  many  different  ways  from  those  previously 
mentioned.  For  instance,  we  frequently  find 
cases  in  which  one  person  has  a  strong  desire  for 
a  certain  kind  of  assistance  in  his  business  or 
other  work.  He  has  almost  given  up  hope  of 
finding  the  right  kind  of  person,  for  those  whom 
he  has  tried  have  failed  to  measure  up  the  re- 
quirements of  the  situation.    If  he  will  (and  he 


296  CLAIRVOYANCE 

sometimes  does)  follow  the  general  plan  just 
mentioned,  he  will  set  into  operation  the  psychic 
forces  which  will  attract  that  person  to  him,  and 
him  to  that  person.  In  some  peculiar  way,  the 
two  will  be  thrown  together,  and  the  combina- 
tion will  work  out  to  the  best  advantage  of  both. 
In  these  cases,  each  person  is  seeking  the  other, 
and  the  psychic  forces  of  attraction,  once  set  into 
operation,  serve  to  bring  them  together. 

In  like  manner,  one  often  draws  to  himself  cer- 
tain knowledge  and  information  that  he  requires 
or  is  desirous  of  gaining.  But,  and  you  must  al- 
ways remember  this,  no  miracle  is  worked,  for 
it  is  simply  a  matter  of  the  working  out  of  nat- 
ural laws  of  cause  and  effect — attraction  and  re- 
sponse to  attraction — on  the  psychic  or  astral 
plane.  Such  a  person  will  accidently  ( !)  run 
across  some  other  person  who  will  be  led  to  give 
him  the  key  to  the  knowledge  he  seeks.  Perhaps 
a  book  may  be  mentioned,  or  some  reference  to 
some  writer  be  made.  If  the  hint  is  followed  up, 
the  desired  information  comes  to  light.  Many 
persons  have  had  the  psychic  experience  of  be- 
ing led  to  some  book  store  and  induced  to  exam- 
ine a  particular  shelf  of  books,  whereupon  a  par- 
ticular book  presents  itself  which  changes  the 
whole  course  of  the  person's  life.  Or,  perhaps, 
one  will  pick  up  a  newspaper  apparently  at  ran- 
dom, and  without  purpose;  and  therein  will  find 
some  information,  or  at  least  a  hint  in  the  direc- 
tion where  the  information  may  be  found.  When 
one  accustoms  himself  to  the  workings  of  psychic 
forces,  these  things  soon  become  accepted  as  a 


LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION     297 

matter  of  course,  and  cease  to  arouse  wonder  or 
surprise.  The  workings  of  the  Psychic  Law  of 
Attraction  is  seen  to  be  as  natural  and  invariable 
as  the  law  of  gravitation,  or  magnetic  attraction, 
once  one  has  mastered  its  principles,  and  learned 
the  methods  of  its  application.  Surely  such  a 
wonderful  law  is  well  worth  study,  attention,  in- 
vestigation, and  mastery,  isn't  it? 

A  writer  along  the  lines  of  Mental  Science, 
which  is  really  based  on  the  principles  which  have 
been  stated  in  this  book,  has  the  following  to  say 
regarding  his  system :  "Wonderful  results  arise 
by  reason  of  what  has  been  called  'The  Law  of 
Attraction/  by  the  workings  of  which  each  per- 
son is  continually  drawing  to  himself  the  people, 
things,  objects,  and  even  circumstances  in  har- 
mony and  accord  with  his  prevailing  mental 
states.  Like  attracts  like,  and  the  mental  states 
determine  that  which  one  draws  to  himself.  If 
you  are  not  satisfied  with  what  is  coming  to  you, 
start  to  work  and  change  your  mental  attitudes 
and  mental  states,  and  you  will  see  a  change 
gradually  setting  in,  and  then  the  things  that 
you  want  will  begin  to  come  your  way.  *  *  * 
A  most  important  fact  about  the  effect  of  mental 
vibrations  upon  people  lies  in  the  principle  that 
one  is  more  affected  by  vibrations  in  harmony 
with  his  own  accustomed  feelings  and  mental 
states,  than  by  those  of  an  opposite  nature.  A 
man  who  is  full  of  evil  schemes,  and  selfish  aims, 
is  more  apt  to  be  caught  up  by  similar  vibrations 
than  one  who  lives  above  that  plane  of  thought. 
He  is  more  easily  tempted  by  evil  suggestions 


298  CLAIRVOYANCE 

and  influences,  than  one  to  whom  these  things 
are  abhorrent.  And  the  same  is  true  on  every 
plane.  A  man  whose  mental  attitude  is  one  of 
confidence  and  fearlessness,  is  not  apt  to  be  af- 
fected by  vibrations  of  a  negative,  pessimistic, 
gloomy  nature,  and  vice  versa.  Therefore,  if  you 
wish  to  receive  the  vibrations  of  the  thoughts  and 
feelings  of  others,  you  must  place  yourself  in  a 
mental  attitude  corresponding  with  those  vibra- 
tions which  you  wish  to  receive.  And  if  you  wish 
to  avoid  vibrations  of  a  certain  kind,  the  best 
way  is  to  rise  above  them  in  your  own  mind,  and 
to  cultivate  the  mental  states  opposite  them.  The 
positive  always  overcomes  the  negative — and  op- 
timistic mental  states  are  always  positive  to  pes- 
simistic mental  states." 

Another  writer  on,  and  practitioner  of  Mental 
Science,  in  America,  several  years  ago,  explained 
her  theory  and  practice  by  means  of  the  term  "co- 
relation  of  thoughts  and  things."  She  held  that 
when  one  thought  positively,  clearly  and  forcibly 
of  a  thing,  he  "related"  himself  to  that  thing,  and 
tended  to  attract  it  to  him,  and  to  be  attracted 
toward  it-  She  held  that  true  wisdom  consists 
in  so  managing  our  thoughts  that  we  shall  relate 
ourselves  only  to  those  things  which  we  know  to 
be  desirable  and  beneficial  to  ourselves,  and  to 
avoid  thinking  of  those  which  are  harmful  and 
detrimental  to  us.  The  student  of  this  book  will 
see  how  this  practical  Mental  Scientist  was  really 
using  the  same  principles  that  we  have  examined 
and  become  acquainted  within  this  book,  al- 
though she  called  them  by  another  name,  and  ex- 


LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION    299 

plained  them  by  another  theory.  At  the  bottom 
of  all  the  teachings  and  theories  you  will  always 
find  the  one  same  basic  principle  and  universal 
law. 

The  advanced  student  of  occultism  knows  that 
each  and  every  one  of  us  is  really  a  creator  of  his 
own  circumstances,  environment  and  conditions, 
to  a  great  extent.  Each  of  us  is  able  to  so  modify 
our  mental  activities  as  to  bring  about  such 
changes  in  our  environment  and  surroundings  as 
to  actually  re-create  them.  The  things  accom- 
plished by  successful  men  are  really  but  mate- 
rializations of  that  which  they  have  previously 
held  in  their  mental  vision.  Everything  is  first 
created  on  the  psychic  plane,  and  then  manifested 
in  the  physical  world.  All  the  great  works  of 
man,  the  great  bridges,  great  buildings,  tunnels, 
machinery,  cities,  railroads,  canals,  works  of  art, 
musical  compositions,  etc.,  first  existed  in  the 
mind  of  their  creators,  and  were  then  afterward 
materialized  in  physical  form  and  shape.  And, 
so  you  see  we  are  proceeding  with  our  work  of 
mental  creations  whenever  we  think  and  make 
mental  images.  This,  however,  is  no  new  teach- 
ing. It  is  as  old  as  the  race  of  mankind.  Over 
twenty-five  hundred  years  ago,  Buddha  said  to 
his  disciples:  "All  that  we  are  is  the  result  of 
what  we  have  thought;  it  is  founded  on  our 
thoughts;  it  is  made  up  of  our  thoughts." 

I  would  be  telling  you  but  half  the  story  did  I 
not  warn  you  that  strong  Fear  may  play  the  part 
ordinarily  filled  by  Desire  in  the  production  of  the 
psychic  phenomena  of  materialization  of  mental 


300  CLAIRVOYANCE 

pictures.  Strange  as  it  may  appear  at  first,  a 
strong  fear  that  a  thing  will  come  to  pass  will 
act  much  the  same  as  a  strong  desire  that  the 
happening  will  occur.  Consequently,  many  per- 
sons by  continually  dwelling  upon  the  thing  that 
they  fear  may  happen  to  them,  actually  attract 
that  thing  to  them,  just  as  if  they  had  actually 
desired  and  wished  for  it.  I  cannot  go  into  occult 
technicalities  in  explaining  this  strange  fact;  but 
the  gist  of  the  secret  may  be  said  to  consist  in  the 
fact  that  the  person  clearly  and  vividly  pictures 
in  his  mind  the  thing  that  he  fears  may  happen 
to  him.  He  thus  creates  a  strong  mental  picture 
or  image  of  it,  which  sets  into  forces  the  at- 
tractive power  of  psychic  influence  and  draws  the 
feared  thing  into  material  reality.  As  Job  said : 
"The  thing  that  I  feared  hath  come  upon  me." 
The  moral  of  this  is,  of  course,  that  persons 
should  learn  to  stamp  out  fear  and  mental  images 
of  things  feared.  Instead,  they  should  make 
strong  positive  mental  denials  of  the  things  that 
they  may  find  themselves  fearing.  They  should 
deny  the  reality  of  the  feared  thing,  and  assert 
positively  their  own  superiority  to  the  thing,  and 
their  power  to  overcome  it. 

A  great  religious  cult  has  sprung  into  exist- 
ence which  makes  a  leading  doctrine  of  this  abil- 
ity to  materialize  the  things  which  one  desires, 
arid  to  deny  out  of  existence  undesirable  things. 
Many  persons  who  have  witnessed  the  wonder- 
ful success  of  some  of  the  followers  of  this  cult 
or  organization,  have  been  puzzled  to  account  for 
the  same  on  scientific  and  rational  grounds.    A 


LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION    301 

little  understanding  of  fundamental  occult  and 
psychic  principles,  as  given  in  these  lessons,  will 
show  the  "why  and  wherefore"  of  these  strange 
and  wonderful  manifestations.  In  this  connec- 
tion you  must  remember  that  the  combined 
thought  of  the  thousands  of  persons  composing 
this  cult  or  organization  undoubtedly  gives  addi- 
tional psychic  force  to  the  mental  affirmations 
and  denials  of  the  individual  member  thereof. 

In  past  and  present,  and  probably  in  future 
time,  there  have  been  many  instances  of  magical 
procedures  tending  to  bring  about  the  results 
that  we  have  herein  seen  to  come  about  by  reason 
of  psychic  influence,  in  some  of  its  many  phases. 
These  magic  procedures  have  usually  been  ac- 
companied by  incantations,  ceremonies,  strange 
rites,  evocations,  etc.,  which  were  supposed  to 
have  great  virtue  in  bringing  about  desired  re- 
sults. But  the  true  occultists  now  know  that 
these  ceremonies  and  rites  were  merely  hopes  to 
the  imagination  and  aids  to  faith,  and  thus  tended 
to  bring  about  the  psychic  phenomena.  There 
was  no  virtue  in  these  ceremonies  themselves, 
and  the  same  results  may  be  secured  by  simply 
following  the  procedure  outlined  in  this  book. 
The  wonders  of  ancient  magic  have  been  repro- 
duced by  the  modern  occultists,  without  all  the 
mumbo-jumbo  of  the  past  rites  and  ceremonies. 

A  gifted  English  writer  upon  the  subject  of  the 
relation  of  mysticism  and  magic,  sums  up  the  gist 
of  the  principles  of  Magic  as  follows : 

"The  central  doctrine  of  Magic  may  now  be 
summed  up  thus: 


302  CLAIRVOYANCE 

"(1)  That  a  supersensible  and  real  cosmic 
medium  exists,  which  interpenetrates,  influences, 
and  supports  the  tangible  and  apparent  world, 
and  is  amenable  to  the  categories  both  of  meta- 
physics and  of  physics."  [This  of  course  is  the 
astral  plane,  which  is  the  container  of  the  subtle 
form  or  framework  of  all  that  exists  on  the  phys- 
ical plane.] 

"(2)  That  there  is  an  established  analogy  and 
equilibrium  between  the  real  (and  unseen)  world, 
and  the  illusory  manifestation  that  we  call  the 
world  of  sense."  [By  this  of  course  is  meant  the 
correspondence  and  balance  between  the  subtle 
form  of  things  and  the  material  manifestation 
thereof.  Things  created  in  the  astral,  tend  to 
materialize  on  the  physical  plane.  All  creation 
proceeds  from  the  astral  to  the  physical.] 

"(3)  That  this  analogy  may  be  discerned,  and 
this  equilibrium  controlled,  by  the  disciplined  will 
of  man,  which  thus  becomes  master  of  itself  and 
of  fate."  [The  essence  of  Will  consists  of  strong 
desire  accompanied  by  a  clear  mental  picture  of 
the  thing  desired,  and  held  steady  and  firm  by 
concentration.] 

So  you  see  by  reference  to  the  above  very  clear 
statement  of  the  central  doctrine  of  Magic,  and 
my  explanations  thereof,  that  in  these  lessons 
you  have  been  taught  the  very  essence  of  the 
wonderful,  mysterious  ancient  Magic,  and  its 
modern  counterpart.  As  for  the  various  rites  and 
ceremonies,  as  I  have  said,  these  are  mere  sym- 
bols and  aids  to  mental  imaging  and  concentra- 
tion.   As  an  eminent  occultist  once  said,  "Cere- 


LAWS  OF  PSYCHIC  ATTRACTION  303 

monies  being  but  artificial  methods  of  creating 
certain  habits  of  the  will,  they  cease  to  be  neces- 
sary when  these  habits  have  become  fixed."  The 
master  of  occultism  sees  ceremonies,  rites,  and 
ritual  as  but  the  playthings  of  the  kindergarten 
scholar — useful  and  important  so  far  as  they  go. 
but  serving  merely  to  teach  the  scholar,  sooner 
or  later,  that  he  may  proceed  without  them. 

In  this  chapter  I  have  condensed  enough  in- 
formation to  fill  a  whole  book.  I  trust  that  you 
will  study  it  carefully,  and  not  miss  its  main 
points. 


LESSON  XX. 
PSYCHIC  AND  MAGNETIC  HEALING 

Probably  no  phase  of  psychic  influence  is  more 
familiar  to  the  average  person  of  the  Western 
world  than  is  that  of  the  healing  of  physical  ills 
and  conditions  by  means  of  psychic  influence  un- 
der one  name  or  another.  Great  healing  cults 
and  organizations  have  been  built  up  upon  this 
basis,  and  the  interest  in  the  subject  has  taken  on 
the  form  of  a  great  popular  movement. 

As  is  natural  in  cases  of  this  kind,  there  have 
been  hundreds  of  theories  advanced  to  account 
for  the  phenomena  of  psychic  healing,  and  a  still 
greater  number  of  methods  of  treatments  devised 
to  carry  out  the  principles  of  the  theories.  Rang- 
ing from  the  teaching  of  actual  divine  interposi- 
tion and  influence  arising  from  certain  forms  of 
belief  and  practice,  covering  many  intermediate 
stages,  the  theories  even  include  a  semi-mate- 
rialistic hypothesis  in  which  mind  is  considered 
as  an  attribute  of  matter,  but  having  a  magic  in- 
fluence over  the  forms  of  matter  when  properly 
applied.  But  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  no  matter 
what  the  general  or  particular  theory,  or  what 
the  favored  method  of  application,  these  healing 
schools  or  cults,  as  well  as  the  independent  prac- 
titioners, meet  with  a  very  fair  degree  of  success 
and  perform  quite  a  number  of  cures. 

Many  of  these  Western  advocates  and  practi- 
tioners of  psychic  healing  practically  hold  that 
the  whole  system  is  of  very  recent  discovery,  and 


PSYCHIC,  MAGNETIC  HEALING    305 

that  it  has  nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with  ordi- 
nary occult  science.  The  occultists  however  are 
able  to  smile  at  these  ideas  and  beliefs,  for  they 
not  only  recognize  the  general  principles  in- 
volved, but  they  also  are  aware  that  these  prin- 
ciples, and  their  application,  have  been  known 
to  advanced  occultists  for  thousands  of  years.  I 
do  not  say  this  in  any  dispargement  of  the  mod- 
erns schools  of  psychic  healing,  for  I  am  in  full 
sympathy  with  their  great  work;  I  merely  men- 
tion the  matter  that  the  student  may  get  the 
right  historical  perspective  in  considering  this 
phase  of  psychic  phenomena  and  influence. 

So  far  as  the  methods  of  application  are  con- 
cerned, the  true  occultist  recognizes  that  most  of 
the  methods  and  forms  of  treatment  are  but  out- 
ward cloaks  or  disguises  for  the  real  psychic  heal- 
ing principle.  The  gist  of  the  real  methods  is  to 
be  found  in  the  principles  of  the  application  of 
psychic  influence  which  I  have  presented  to  you 
in  these  lessons,  viz:  (1)  Strong  desire  to  make 
the  cure;  (2)  clear  mental  image  or  picture  of 
the  desired  condition  as  actually  present  in  the 
patient  at  this  time;  and  (3)  concentration  of  the 
attention  and  mind  of  the  healer,  so  as  to  bring  to 
a  focus  to  two  preceding  mental  states.  Here 
you  have  the  real  secret  of  psychic  healing  meth- 
ods— the  rest  are  all  elaborations  thereof,  dressed 
up  forms  and  ceremonies  which  affect  the  imag- 
ination, faith,  belief  and  confidence  of  the  pa- 
tient, and  thus  make  the  healing  process  much 
easier.  In  fact,  with  the  proper  degree  of  faith 
and  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  patient,  there 


306  CLAIRVOYANCE 

is  but  little  need  of  a  healer,  for  the  patient  may 
treat  and  cure  himself.  However,  in  most  cases, 
the  presence  of  the  healer  aids  materially  in 
arousing  the  fate  and  confidence  of  the  patient, 
and  hastens  the  cure. 

Again,  so  far  as  the  theories  underlying  the 
cures  are  concerned,  occultists  are  able  to  reduce 
them  all  to  a  single  working  theory  or  principle, 
which  includes  all  the  rest.  Brushing  aside  all 
technical  details,  and  all  attempts  to  trace  back 
the  healing  process  to  the  ultimate  facts  of  the 
universe,  I  may  say  that  the  gist  of  the  principle 
of  all  psychic  healing  is  that  of  influencing  the 
astral  foundation  of  the  various  organs  and  parts, 
cells  and  centres,  so  as  to  make  it  proceed  to 
manifest  a  more  perfect  physical  counterpart. 
All  psychic  healing  is  really  accomplished  on  the 
astral  body  first — then  the  physical  body  re- 
sponds to  the  renewed  activities  of  its  astral 
counterpart.  To  get  the  real  significance  of  this 
statement  it  is  necessary  for  you  to  realize  just 
what  the  astral  body  really  is.  This  once 
grasped,  the  difficulties  vanish,  and  you  are  able 
to  form  a  clear  conception  of  the  entire  matter 
and  process. 

The  astral  body  is  a  precise  counterpart  of  the 
physical  body,  its  organs,  its  parts,  its  centres, 
and  its  cells.  In  fact,  the  astral  body  is  the  pat- 
tern upon  which  the  physical  body  is  material- 
ized. The  astral  body  is  composed  of  an  etheric 
substance  of  a  very  high  rate  of  vibration.  In 
one  sense  it  may  be  considered  as  a  very  subtle 
form  of  matter — in  another  as  a  semi-material- 


PSYCHIC,  MAGNETIC  HEALING      307 

ized  form  of  force  or  energy.  It  is  finer  and  more 
subtle  that  the  rarest  vapors  or  gases  known  to 
science.  And,  yet,  it  has  a  strong  degree  of 
tenacity  and  cohesiveness  that  enables  it  to  resist 
attacks  from  the  material  side  of  nature.  As  I 
have  said,  each  organ,  part,  centre  or  cell,  of  the 
physical  body  has  its  astral  pattern  or  basis.  In 
fact,  the  physical  body  has  been  built  up,  in  whole 
and  in  all  of  its  parts,  on  the  pattern  and  base 
of  the  astral  body.  Moreover,  in  case  of  im- 
paired functioning  of  the  physical  organs  or 
parts,  and  impaired  activity  of  the  physical  body, 
its  limbs,  etc.,  if  we  can  manage  to  arouse  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  astral  body  we  may  cause  it  to  re- 
materialize  or  re-energize  the  physical  body,  and 
thus  restore  health  and  activity  to  it.  If  the  liver, 
for  instance,  is  not  functioning  properly,  we  pro- 
ceed to  start  up  the  activities  of  the  astral  coun- 
terpart of  that  organ,  to  the  end  that  the  physical 
organ  may  be  re-energized,  and  re-created  in  a 
measure.  All  true  psychic  healing  work  is  per- 
formed on  the  astral  plane,  before  it  manifests  on 
the  physical. 

At  this  point,  I  should  also  call  your  attention 
to  the  effect  of  "prana,"  or  life  energy,  in  some 
cases  of  healing.  This  prana  is  what  Western 
healers  mean  when  they  speak  of  "human  mag- 
netism" in  their  healing  work.  So  far  from  be- 
ing an  imaginary  force,  as  claimed  by  the  phys- 
ical scientists  and  materialists,  it  is  known  to  all 
occultists  as  an  active  principle  of  the  human 
body,  and  as  of  great  efficacy  in  the  psychic  treat- 
ment of  disease.     I  shall  mention  the  details  of 


308  CLAIRVOYANCE 

this  form  of  treatment  as  we  proceed — I  mention 
it  at  this  place  merely  to  call  your  attention  to 
the  fact  of  its  existence. 

Before  passing  on  to  the  consideration  of  other 
phases  of  the  subject  before  us,  I  would  like  to 
call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  from  the 
earliest  days  of  history  there  have  been  recorded 
instances  of  some  form  of  psychic  healing.  In 
the  earlier  days  the  psychic  healing  work  was  left 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  priesthood  of  the 
various  religions  prevailing  in  the  several  coun- 
ties of  the  world.  Claiming  to  have  an  exclusive 
divine  sanction  to  perform  healing  work,  these 
priests  used  various  ceremonies,  rites,  incanta- 
tions, etc.,  in  order  to  obtain  their  results.  In 
many  cases  these  priests  were  ignorant  of  the 
real  psychic  forces  invoked  and  set  into  opera- 
tion; they  merely  practiced  methods  which  had 
been  found  to  work  out  effectively,  and  which 
had  been  handed  down  to  them  by  their  predeces- 
sors. In  other  cases,  however,  the  priests  un- 
doubtedly were  skilled  occultists,  and  had  a  very 
full  knowledge  of  the  forces  they  were  using; 
though,  as  the  masses  of  the  people  were  very 
ignorant  it  was  impossible  to  acquaint  them  with 
these  things  so  far  above  their  understanding; 
and,  consequently,  the  priests  applied  the  heal- 
ing forces  under  the  disguise  of  their  religious 
ceremonies  and  rites. 

From  time  to  time,  however,  as  civilization 
progressed,  there  came  into  prominence  persons 
who  worked  cures  of  physical  ills  by  means  of 
magical  ceremonies  and  other  similar  methods, 


PSYCHIC,  MAGNETIC  HEALING      309 

but  who  were  outside  of  the  priesthood.  Some  of 
these  men  undoubtedly  had  a  very  fair  knowl- 
edge of  the  real  secret  of  their  cures,  though  they 
disguised  them  to  suit  the  mental  condition  of 
their  patients,  and,  also,  probably  for  purposes  of 
self  glorification.  In  other  cases,  however,  it  is 
probable  that  these  healers  had  merely  stumbled 
across  the  fact  that  certain  things  said  in  a  cer- 
tain way  tended  to  work  cures;  or  that  certain 
physical  objects  seemed  to  have  therapeutic  vir- 
tue. They  did  not  realize  that  the  whole  healing 
virtue  of  their  systems  depended  upon  the  strong 
idea  in  their  own  minds,  coupled  with  the  strong 
faith  and  confidence  in  the  mind  of  the  patient. 
And  so  the  work  went  on. 

In  some  of  the  oldest  records  of  the  human 
race,  the  scriptures  of  the  various  peoples,  we 
find  that  "laying  on  of  hands"  was  the  favorite 
method  employed  by  the  holy  men  and  priests, 
and  other  performing  healing  work.  From  the 
first  there  seems  to  have  been  an  almost  in- 
stinctive recognition  on  the  part  of  man  of  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  healing  power  in  the  touch  of 
the  hand.  Even  ignorant  and  savage  mothers 
instinctively  apply  their  hands  to  the  hurt  bodies 
of  their  children — a  custom  that  has  its  coun- 
terpart in  civilized  races,  by  the  way.  The  child 
is  taught  to  expect  physical  relief  from  the  ap- 
plication of  the  mother's  hands,  and  its  mind  at 
once  pictures  relief.  Not  only  is  the  mental  pic- 
ture created,  but  the  desire  and  confidence  is  es- 
tablished in  the  minds  of  both  persons.  The  same 
thing  is  true  of  all  "laying  on  of  hands,"  and  thus 


310  CLAIRVOYANCE 

are  the  principles  of  all  psychic  influence  brought 
into  play.  But  this  is  not  all  there  is  to  it.  In 
the  first  place,  there  is  an  actual  transferrence  of 
prana  from  the  body  of  the  healer  to  that  of  the 
patient,  which  serves  to  energize  and  revitalize 
the  cells  and  centres  of  the  body  of  the  latter.  In 
the  second  place,  there  is  the  effect  upon  the 
astral  body  of  the  patient,  which  tends  to  mate- 
rialize better  physical  conditions.  In  the  third 
place,  there  is  that  combination  and  union  of  the 
minds  of  the  two  persons,  which  gives  extra  force 
and  power  to  psychic  influence.  Is  it  any  won- 
der that  cures  take  place  under  these  circum- 
stances? 

In  the  modern  revival  of  the  almost  lost  art 
and  science  of  psychic  healing  among  the  gen- 
eral public,  there  has  been  unusual  stress  laid 
upon  the  feature  of  "absent  healing,"  in  which 
the  patient  and  the  healer  are  not  in  each  other's 
presence.  To  many  this  has  seemed  actually 
miraculous,  and  as  a  positive  proof  of  divine  in- 
terposition. But  a  little  thought  will  show  the 
student  that  such  cures  are  not  unknown  in  the 
pages  of  history,  as  a  casual  examination  of  the 
sacred  books  of  almost  any  religion  will  show. 
Moreover,  the  student  will  see  that  to  the  effect 
of  certain  principles  of  psychic  influence  there 
needs  but  to  be  added  the  principles  of  telepathic 
communication,  or,  better  still,  the  principles  of 
astral  communication  by  some  phases  of  clair- 
voyance, to  account  for  the  entire  phenomena  of 
"absent  healing." 

Space  is  no  barrier  on  the  astral  plane,  as  you 


PSYCHIC,  MAGNETIC  HEALING       311 

have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  book. 
Once  the  en  rapport  condition  is  established  be- 
tween healer  and  patient,  and  the  rest  is  simple — 
the  astral  body  is  induced  to  energize  more  act- 
ively, and  as  a  result  the  physical  manifestation 
is  improved  and  normal  functioning  restored. 
Of  course,  all  this  is  wonderful  enough — all 
psychic  phenomena  is,  for  that  matter;  but,  we 
see  that  we  do  not  have  to  go  outside  of  estab- 
lished occult  laws,  principles  and  facts  in  order 
to  account  for  some  of  these  modern  miracles 
which  have  puzzled  and  perplexed  so  many  good 
persons  who  have  not  known  of  the  occult  teach- 
ings, and  who  fear  that  the  world  is  being  turned 
upside  down,  and  Nature's  laws  overturned  by 
these  "new  fangled"  ideas  and  methods  . 

Perhaps  the  most  simple  method  of  healing  by 
psychic  influence  is  that  which  is  at  the  same  time 
the  oldest  method,  i.  e.,  the  "laying  on  of  hands." 
This  method  was  revived  about  twenty  years  ago 
in  America  and  Europe  by  the  new  school  of 
"magnetic  healing"  which  sprung  rapidly  into 
public  favor.  The  other  schools  of  psychic  heal- 
ing, generally  known  as  "mental  healing,''  "spir- 
itual healing,"  "divine  healing,"  etc.,  generally 
frown  upon  the  use  of  the  hands  in  psychic  heal- 
ing, deeming  it  "too  material,"  and  too  much 
allied  to  hypnotism,  etc.  But  this  view  is  quite 
bigoted  and  narrow,  for  this  method  has  no  rela- 
tion to  hypnotism,  and,  moreover,  it  gives  the  pa- 
tient the  benefit  of  the  flow  of  prana  from  the 
healer,  while  at  the  same  time  producing  the 


312  CLAIRVOYANCE 

psychic  effect  on  the  astral  body,  as  I  have  just 
mentioned. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  here  something 
on  this  subject  from  my  little  book  entitled  "The 
Human  Aura."  In  the  chapter  of  that  book  de- 
voted to  the  consideration  of  the  subject  of 
"Auric  Magnetism,"  I  said:  "In  cases  of  mag- 
netic healing,  etc.,  the  healer  by  an  effort  of  his 
will  (sometimes  unconsciously  applied)  projects 
a  supply  of  his  pranic  aura  vibrations  into  the 
body  of  his  patient,  by  way  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem of  the  patient,  and  also  by  means  of  what 
may  be  called  the  induction  of  the  aura  itself. 
The  mere  presence  of  a  person  strongly  charged 
with  prana,  is  often  enough  to  cause  an  overflow 
into  the  aura  of  other  persons,  with  a  resulting 
feeling  of  new  strength  and  energy.  By  the  use 
of  the  hands  of  the  healer,  a  heightened  effect  is 
produced,  by  reason  of  certain  properties  inher- 
ent in  the  nervous  system  of  both  healer  and  pa- 
tient. There  is  even  a  flow  of  etheric  substance 
from  the  aura  of  the  healer  to  that  of  the  patient, 
in  cases  in  which  the  vitality  of  the  latter  is  very 
low.  Many  a  healer  has  actually,  and  literally, 
pumped  his  life  force  and  etheric  substance  into 
the  body  of  his  patient,  when  the  latter  was  sink- 
ing into  the  weakness  which  precedes  death,  and 
has  by  so  doing  been  able  to  bring  him  back  to 
strength  and  life.  This  is  practically  akin  to  the 
transfusion  of  blood — except  that  it  is  upon  the 
psychic  plane  instead  of  the  physical." 

But  the  true  "magnetic  healer"  (call  him  by 
whatever  name  you  wish)  does  not  make  this 


PSYCHIC,  MAGNETIC  HEALING       313 

pranic  treatment  the  all-in-all  of  his  psychic 
treatment.  On  the  contrary  it  is  but  the  less 
subtle  part,  which  leads  up  to  the  higher  phases. 
While  treating  his  patients  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands,  he,  at  the  same  time,  strives  to  induce  in 
the  mind  of  the  patient  the  mental  image  of  re- 
stored health  and  physical  strength;  he  pictures 
the  diseased  organ  as  restored  to  health  and  nor- 
mal functioning;  he  sees  the  entire  physiological 
machinery  operating  properly,  the  work  of  nutri- 
tion, assimilation,  and  excretion  going  on  nat- 
urally and  normally.  By  proper  words  of  advice 
and  encouragement  he  awakens  hope  and  con- 
fidence in  the  mind  of  the  patient,  and  thus  ob- 
tains the  co-operation  of  that  mind  in  connection 
to  his  own  mental  efforts.  The  astral  body  re- 
sponds to  this  treatment,  and  begins  to  energize 
the  physical  organs  and  cells  into  normal  activity 
— and  the  journey  toward  health  is  begun. 

[In  the  little  book  just  mention,  "The  Human 
Aura,"  I  gave  some  valuable  information  regard- 
ing the  influence  of  colors  in  psychic  healing, 
which  I  do  not  reproduce  here  as  it  is  outside  the 
scope  and  field  of  the  present  lessons.  Those  who 
may  feel  interested  in  the  subject  are  respectfully 
referred  to  the  little  manual  itself.  It  is  sold  for 
a  nominal  price  by  the  publishers  of  the  present 
work.] 

In  the  form  of  psychic  treatment  which  comes 
under  the  head  of  Suggestive  Therapeutics, 
great  insistence  is  laid  upon  the  verbal  suggestion 
to  the  patient,  on  the  part  of  the  healer.  The  pa- 
tient is  told  that  he  will  get  well;  that  his  or- 


314  CLAIRVOYANCE 

gans  will  function  normally;  etc.,  etc.  But  the 
student  of  the  present  lessons  will  readily  see  that 
the  only  virtue  in  the  spoken  words  consists  in 
their  power  to  evoke  and  induce  the  mental 
image  of  the  desired  condition  in  the  mind  of  the 
patient.  The  mental  picture  thus  evoked  pro- 
duces a  corresponding  effect  in  the  astral  body  of 
the  patient,  and  sets  into  operation  the  mate- 
rialization of  desired  results.  In  addition,  the 
words  produce  a  strong  mental  picture  in  the 
mind  of  the  healer  himself,  and  thus  give  form 
and  strength  to  his  psychic  vibrations  which  are 
being  poured  out  toward  the  patient.  This  is 
really  the  secret  of  suggestive  treatment. 

The  many  cults  of  metaphysical  healing,  in 
America  and  Europe, -lay  great  stress  upon  what 
they  call  "affirmations,"  which  are  but  state- 
ments of  the  patient  of  his  or  her  faith  in  the  heal- 
ing power  of  God,  or  of  Mind,  or  Spirit,  or  Prin- 
ciple (different  names  are  used).  The  patient 
naturally  has  confidence  aroused,  and  as  nat- 
urally begins  to  picture  the  desired  condition; 
this  in  turn  reacting  upon  the  astral  body,  and 
this  upon  the  physical  body  or  organ.  In  addi- 
tion, the  healer's  mind  is  also  set  to  work  in  the 
same  way,  and  sets  into  motion  the  healing 
psychic  forces  in  the  way  just  mentioned.  You 
will  notice  that  the  same  principle  is  always  in- 
volved and  set  into  operation  and  manifestation. 

There  is  no  particular  virtue  in  the  form  of  af- 
firmation used  by  the  healer  or  patient,  except 
the  important  virtue  of  being  able  to  arouse 
strong  mental  pictures  of  restored  health,  proper 


PSYCHIC,  MAGNETIC  HEALING      315 

functioning,  etc.  There  is  of  course  this  also: 
certain  forms  of  affirmations  or  mental  state- 
ments are  better  suited  than  others  to  the  par- 
ticular wants  of  certain  persons.  For  instance,  a 
very  religious  person  will  be  aroused  better  by- 
affirmations  and  statements  filled  with  religious 
sentiments  and  ideas;  while  a  person  of  a  purely- 
scientific  turn  of  mind  will  receive  more  benefit 
from  affirmations  in  which  the  precise  physiolog- 
ical functions  are  specifically  mentioned;  while 
the  person  who  is  fond  of  mystery  and  strange 
ceremonies  will  be  better  served  in  the  affirma- 
tions or  statements  taken  in  the  form  of  some 
magical  incantation,  etc.  The  difference,  how- 
ever, lies  in  the  mind  of  the  patient,  rather  than 
in  the  words  themselves.  Words  are  merely  in- 
vokers  of  ideas — symbols  of  ideas.  In  them- 
selves, words  are  nothing — ideas  are  everything. 

If  you  wish  to  treat  yourself  psychically  for 
some  physical  disorder,  or  if  you  wish  to  do  good 
to  others  in  the  same  way,  you  have  but  to  put 
into  operation  the  general  principles  of  psychic 
influence  herein  described.  That  is  to  say,  you 
must  first  be  filled  with  the  strong  desire  and 
wish  to  make  the  cure;  then  you  must  make  a 
strong  mental  image  of  the  desired  result,  as 
actually  present.  (Do  not  think  of  it  as  "going 
to  be;"  instead  say  and  think  that  it  "is  now!") ; 
then  concentrate  the  attention  firmly  and  posi- 
tively upon  the  idea.  You  may  aid  yourself  and 
others  by  affirmations  or  auto-suggestions 
(words  creating  desired  ideas  and  mental  pic- 
tures) if  you  wish — you  may  get  better  results 


316  CLAIRVOYANCE 

in  this  way.  In  this  connection,  let  me  remind 
you  that  the  healing  work  in  many  cases  consists 
largely  in  placing  proper  mental  pictures  in  the 
mind  of  the  patient,  thereby  displacing  improper 
and  harmful  mental  pictures  of  disease,  etc., 
which  have  been  given  lodgment  there  before. 
Many  persons  are  sick  because  of  improper  and 
harmful  mental  pictures  that  they  have  allowed 
to  be  placed  there  by  the  suggestions  of  others. 
Fear  and  dread  of  disease  often  acts  to  bring 
about  the  feared  condition,  for  reasons  that  you 
can  readily  see. 

And,  now,  finally  for  the  work  of  "absent  heal- 
ing" by  psychic  influence.  I  can  state  this  to 
you  very  simply;  it  is  this:  take  what  I  have  just 
told  you  regarding  personal  treatments,  and 
combine  it  with  what  I  have  told  you  in  previous 
lessons  about  "long  distance  psychic  influence" 
— then  you  will  have  the  whole  thing.  Here  is  a 
sample  of  an  effective  distant  treatment;  or  "ab- 
sent treatment,"  to  use  the  popular  term — it  may 
be  varied  and  enlarged  up  to  fit  individual  cases : 

Sit  quietly  in  your  own  room,  inducing  a  calm, 
peaceful  mental  attitude  and  state.  Then  (in  the 
way  already  told  you  in  this  book)  make  a  men- 
tal picture  of  the  patient  as  sitting  opposite  to 
you,  or  lying  down  in  front  of  you.  If  you  have 
never  seen  the  patient,  make  simply  a  mental 
image  of  a  man,  or  a  woman,  as  the  case  may  be, 
and  think  of  the  figure  as  being  the  patient.  The 
best  practitioners  of  distant  psychic  healing  pro- 
duce such  a  strong  mental  image  of  the  patient 
that  they  can  often  actually  "feel"  his  or  her 


PSYCHIC,  MAGNETIC  HEALING      317 

presence.  (This  of  course  is  the  result  of  a  sim- 
ple form  of  clairvoyance.)  Then  make  a  strong 
mental  picture  of  the  condition  that  you  wish  to 
induce  in  the  patient — the  healthy  physical  con- 
dition of  the  organ,  or  part  or  body,  as  the  case 
may  be.  See  this  condition  as  existing  at  the 
present  time,  and  not  as  merely  to  come  in  the 
future.  At  the  same  time,  you  will  do  well  to 
mentally  speak  to  the  patient,  just  as  you  would 
in  case  he  or  she  were  sitting  before  you  in  the 
physical  body.  Tell  the  patient  just  what  you 
would  in  such  case.  Pour  in  the  suggestions,  or 
affirmations,  or  whatever  you  may  wish  to  call 
them.  In  some  cases  in  which  an  excellent  en 
rapport  condition  is  established,  patients  become 
aware  of  the  treatment,  and  sometimes  can  al- 
most see  and  feel  the  presence  of  the  healer. 

A  prominent  Mental  Scientist,  of  America,  in- 
structs his  pupils  to  consider  each  of  the  organs 
of  the  patient,  or  of  themselves,  as  having  a  sepa- 
rate intelligence;  and,  therefore,  to  "speak  up  to 
it"  as  if  it  really  understood  what  was  being  said 
to  its  organ-mind.  I  would  say  that  such  form 
of  treatment  would  be  calculated  to  bring  about 
very  good  results,  indeed.  The  principle  of  con- 
centration and  mental  picturing  would  be  in- 
voked very  strongly  in  such  a  case,  and  the  astral 
counterpart  of  the  organ  should  respond  to  such 
treatment  quickly  and  effectively.  It  is  an  occult 
fact  that  there  is  mind  in  every  organ  and  cell  of 
the  body,  and  if  the  same  is  awakened  in  the 
astral  counterpart,  it  will  respond  to  the  com- 
mand, suggestion,  or  direction.     The  writer  in 


318  CLAIRVOYANCE 

question  evidently  is  well  acquainted  with  this 
occult  law,  judging  from  his  other  writings,  and 
has  simply  veiled  his  knowledge  with  this  easily 
understood  method  of  treatment  which  undoubt- 
edly will  "do  the  work,"  to  use  the  American 
term. 

Finally,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  theory,  or 
method,  given  in  connection  with  psychic  heal- 
ing of  any  or  all  kinds,  you  will  find  the  same 
general  principles  underlying  it  that  have  been 
presented  over  and  over  again  in  this  book.  In 
fact,  many  purely  material  and  physical  remedies 
owe  their  success  to  the  fact  that  they  appeal  to 
the  imagination  of  the  patient,  and  also  inspire 
confidence  in  him.  Anything  that  will  inspire 
confidence,  faith  and  hope  in  the  mind  of  a  pa- 
tient, and  will  bring  to  his  mind  strong  mental 
pictures  of  restored  health  and  normal  function- 
ing of  his  organs — that  thing  will  make  for 
health  for  him.  So,  there  you  have  the  whole 
theory  and  practice  in  a  sentence! 


I  would  remind  the  student  that  these  are  not 
lessons  to  be  read  but  once  and  then  laid  aside. 
In  order  to  get  from  them  all  that  they  contain 
for  you,  you  will  find  it  necessary  to  read  them 
several  times,  with  a  reasonable  interval  between 
readings  for  the  knowledge  to  sink  into  your 
mind.  I  feel  sure  that  you  will  find  with  each 
reading  that  there  are  many  points  that  you  over- 
looked before.     The  lessons  cover  a  wide  field, 


PSYCHIC,  MAGNETIC  HEALING    319 

with  many  little  excursions  into  bye-paths  and 
lanes  of  thought.  I  trust  that  the  reading  and 
study  will  make  you  not  only  a  wiser  person,  but 
also  a  stronger  and  more  efficient  one.  I  thank 
you  for  your  kind  attention,  and  trust  that  we 
shall  meet  again  in  the  future. 

FINIS. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGK 


A     000  760  443     2 


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