CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS

INCLUDINGCLAIRVOYANCE, CLAIRAUDIENCEPREMONITION AND IMPRESSIONSCLAIRVOYANT PSYCHOMETRYCLAIRVOYANT CRYSTAL-GAZINGDISTANT CLAIRVOYANCEPAST CLAIRVOYANCEFUTURE CLAIRVOYANCESECOND-SIGHTPREVISIONCLAIRVOYANT DEVELOPMENTASTRAL-BODY TRAVELINGASTRAL-PLANE PHENOMENAPSYCHIC INFLUENCE--Personal and DistantPSYCHIC ATTRACTIONPSYCHIC HEALINGTELEPATHYMIND-READINGTHOUGHT TRANSFERENCE and other PSYCHIC PHENOMENA

By

Swami Panchadasi

Author of "The Human Aura, " "The Astral World, " Etc. 

1916

SYNOPSIS OF THE LESSONS

LESSON ITHE ASTRAL SENSESThe skeptical person who "believes only the evidence of his senses. " Theman who has much to say about "horse sense. " "Common Sense" versusUncommon Senses. The ordinary five senses are not the only senses. Theordinary senses are not as infallible as many think them. Illusions of thefive physical senses. What is back of the organs of physical sense. Allsenses an evolution of the sense of feeling. How the mind receives thereport of the senses. The Real Knower behind the senses. What theunfolding of new senses means to man. The super-physical senses. TheAstral Senses. Man has seven physical senses, instead of merely five. Eachphysical sense has its astral sense counterpart. What the astral sensesare. Sensing on the astral plane. How the mind functions on the astralplane, by means of the astral senses. The unfolding of the Astral Sensesopens up a new world of experience to man. 

LESSON IITELEPATHY vs. CLAIRVOYANCEThe two extra physical senses of man. The extra sense of "the presence ofother living things. " The "telepathic sense. " How man may sense thepresence of other living things apart from the operation of his ordinaryfive physical senses. This power is strongly developed in savages andbarbarians, but has become atrophied in most civilized men, by continueddisuse. It is now vestigal in civilized man, but may be developed bypractice. Animals have this extra sense highly developed, and it plays avery important part in their protection from enemies; their capture ofprey, etc. The strange actions of dogs, horses, etc. , explained. How thegeese saved Rome by reason of this sense. All hunters have experiencedevidences of the existence of this sense on the part of animals. Thephysical telepathic sense. How it operates. Interesting instances of itspossession by animals, and savage tribes. Women possess it strongly. Thedistinction between this form of thought-transference and clairvoyance. 

LESSON IIITELEPATHY EXPLAINEDWhat "telepathy" means. The mental process by which one "knows at adistance. " The sending and receiving of waves and currents of thought andfeeling. Thought vibrations, and how they are caused. The part played bythe cerebrum, cerebellum, and medulla oblongata--the three brains of man. The part played by the solar plexus and other great nervous centres. Howthought messages are received. How states of emotional excitement aretransmitted to others. The Pineal Gland: what it is, and what it does. Theimportant part it plays in telepathy and thought-transference. Mentalatmospheres. Psychic atmospheres of audiences, towns, houses, stores, etc. Why you are not affected by all thought vibrations in equal measure andstrength. How thought vibrations are neutralized. Affinities andrepulsions between different thought vibrations. Interesting factsconcerning telepathy. Scientific explanations of telepathy. 

LESSON IVSCIENTIFIC TELEPATHYThe important investigations of the Society for Psychical Research. Truetelepathy and pseudo-telepathy; how they are distinguished by scientists. Strict tests imposed in investigations. The celebrated "CreeryExperiments, " 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 outof a possible three hundred and eighty-two. Science pronounces the resultsas entirely beyond the law of coincidences and mathematical probability;and that the phenomena were genuine and real telepathy. Still morewonderful tests. Telepathy an incontestable reality. "A psychic forcetransmitting ideas and thoughts. " Interesting cases of spontaneoustelepathy, scientifically proven. Extracts from the scientific records. Cold scientific reports read like a romance, and prove beyond doubt thereality of this great field of phenomena. 

LESSON VMIND-READING, AND BEYONDWhat "Mind-Reading" is. The two phases of Mind-Reading. Mind-Reading withphysical contact; and without physical contact. Why the scientificinvestigators 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 andrecipient. Like telegraphy over wires, as compared with the wirelessmethod. How to learn by actual experience, and not alone by reading books. How to experiment for yourself; and how to obtain the best results inMind-Reading. The working principles of Mind-Reading stated. Fulldirections and instruction given for the successful performance of theinteresting feats. This lesson is really a little manual ofpractical instruction in Mind-Reading, and the higher phases ofThought-Transference. The person carefully studying and applying theprinciples taught therein should become very proficient in both privateand public manifestations. 

LESSON VICLAIRVOYANT PSYCHOMETRYWhat Clairvoyance really is; and what it is not. The faculty of acquiringsuper-normal knowledge of facts and happening at a distance, or in past orfuture time, independent of the ordinary senses, and independent oftelepathic reading of the minds of others. The different kinds ofClairvoyance described. What is Psychometry? Clairvoyant en rapportrelations on the astral plane, with distant, past or future happenings andevents; by means of a connecting material link. How to obtain the psychicaffinity or astral relation to other things by means of a bit of stone, lock of hair, article of wearing apparel, etc. Interesting instances ofclairvoyant psychometry. How to go about the work of psychometrizing. Howto develop the power. How to secure the best conditions; and what to dowhen you have obtained them. Psychometry develops the occultist for stillhigher clairvoyant powers. 

LESSON VIICLAIRVOYANT CRYSTAL-GAZINGThe second great method of securing clairvoyant en rapport relations withthe astral plane. How the crystal, magic-mirror, etc. , serves to focus thepsychic energy of the clairvoyant person. The crystal serves the purposeof a psychic microscope or telescope. How crystals tend to becomepolarized to the vibrations of their owner. Why crystals should bepreserved for the personal use of their owners. The use of crystals, orother forms of shining objects, by different peoples in ancient and moderntimes. How they are employed in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands, South America, etc. , by the primitive tribes. Various substitutes for thecrystal. Full directions for Crystal Gazing. Complete instructions andwarnings. All stages described, from the first "milky mist" to the clearlydefined "psychic photograph. " The Astral Tube, and the part it plays inCrystal Gazing. A complete little text-book of the subject. 

LESSON VIIICLAIRVOYANT REVERIEThe higher forms of Clairvoyance, and how they may be cultivated andacquired. Trance conditions not essential to highest Clairvoyance, although often connected therewith. In Clairvoyant Reverie, theclairvoyant does not become unconscious; but merely "shuts out" theoutside world of sights and sounds. Shifting the consciousness from thephysical plane to the astral. Clairvoyant Reverie may be safely andeffectively induced by mental concentration alone. Artificial methodsdangerous, and not advised by best authorities. Abnormal conditions notdesirable. The "one pointed" mind. The Clairvoyant "day dream" or "brownstudy. " False "psychic development. " Use of hypnotic drugs stronglycondemned. Scientific psychological methods stated and taught. The laws ofattention and concentration of the mind. How Clairvoyance develops by thismethod. The true occult instruction given fully. 

LESSON IXSIMPLE CLAIRVOYANCEWhat the Clairvoyant senses in Simple Clairvoyance. Perception of theAura, and Auric Emanations of others; Psychic Vibrations; Astral Colors;Thought Currents, Waves and Vibrations, etc. , are features of SimpleClairvoyance. The beautiful kaleidoscopic spectacle of the Auric changes. The Prana Aura, and its appearances. The Mental and Emotional Aura, andits many interesting phases. Perception of Astral Thought-Forms. OtherAstral Phenomena. The Astral World, and its Myriad Manifestations. Strangeaspects of Astral Visioning. "Seeing through a Brick-wall. " The X-RayVision. Reading from closed books, sealed envelopes, etc. , and how it isexplainable. Seeing into the depths of the earth, and the occultexplanation thereof. The Laws and Principles of this Extraordinary Power. Magnifying and Diminishing Clairvoyant Vision. A wonderful field forexperiment opened out for the student. 

LESSON XCLAIRVOYANCE OF DISTANT SCENESThe characteristics of Space Clairvoyance. The Astral Seeing of DistantScenes; and through intervening objects. Remarkable instances of thispower, well authenticated and established. Interesting and instructivehistorical cases recorded and explained. Testimony of the Society forPsychical Research concerning this phase of Clairvoyance. The interestingcase of W. T. Stead, the celebrated English writer, who went down on the"Titanic. " The important testimony of Swedenborg, the eminent religiousteacher. Other well-authenticated cases happening to well-known persons. The evidence collected by the Society for Psychical Research. InterestingGerman case. Why so many cases of this kind happen when the person is onhis death-bed, or seriously ill. Why such experiences often occur indreams. Actual "appearance" of persons at a distance, and how explained. Important and interesting facts recited in connection with this phase ofClairvoyance. 

LESSON XICLAIRVOYANCE OF THE PASTThe clairvoyant perception of the facts, events and happenings of pasttime. There is no difference in the nature of this strange phenomenon, whether the past time be but five minutes or else five thousand years. Howis it possible to "see" a thing that no longer exists? The "just how" ofthis strange happening. Nothing could be perceived if it had actuallydisappeared from existence. But nothing entirely disappears in fact. Onthe astral plane are recorded all things, events and happenings since thebeginning of the present world-cycle. The "Akashic Records;" or the"Astral Light;" constitute the great record books of the past. Theclairvoyant gaining access to these may read the past like a book. Analogies in physical science. Interesting scientific facts. Whatastronomy teaches on the subject. How the records of the past are stored. How they are read by the clairvoyant. A fascinating subject clearlypresented and explained. 

LESSON XIICLAIRVOYANCE OF THE FUTUREThe clairvoyant power manifest in all forms of perception of facts, happenings and events of future time. Explanation of Prophecy, Prevision, Foretelling, Second-Sight, etc. These powers not supernatural; but aremerely the development of the clairvoyant faculties. How may a thing be"seen" years before it really exists. Nothing could be seen, unless itexisted in some form, at least potential and latent. Keen perception ofthe subconscious faculties. Subconscious reasoning from cause to effect. Coming events cast their shadows before. Fate vs. Free-Will. "Time is buta relative mode of regarding things. " "Events may, in some sense, existalways, both past and future. " Time like a moving-picture reel, containingthe future scene at the present moment, though out of sight. Analogy ofdream-time. An Absolute Consciousness in which past, present and futureexist as a single perception. A glimpse of a transcendental truth. How toacquire the faculty of Future-Clairvoyance. 

LESSON XIIISECOND-SIGHT, PREVISION, ETC. Many persons, in all times, in all lands, have possessed the gift oflooking into the future. Not a superstition, but a scientific fact. TheInvestigations of the scientific bodies. The Society for PsychicalResearch, and its reports on this phase of Clairvoyance. Interesting casetold by a leading Theosophist. Tragedy and Funeral foreseen by ClairvoyantPrevision, or Second-Sight. Historical instances. George Fox, the Quaker, and his Second-Sight. The prophecy of the Death of Caesar. Biblicalinstances. The celebrated case of Cazotte, which has become a matter ofhistory. How Cazotte foretold the coming of the French Revolution, including the fate of eminent personages present at the time of theprophecy. A startling occurrence, well worthy of careful study. Thehistorical case of the assassination of Spencer Perceval, Chancellor ofthe Exchequer. Other well-authenticated cases. Symbolic visions. Irish andScotch cases. 

LESSON XIVASTRAL-BODY TRAVELINGAstral visioning in Clairvoyance, and visioning by means of the AstralBody. The difference between the two phases of clairvoyant phenomena. Thecharacteristics of Astral-Body traveling. How one traveling in the AstralBody may "see all around him, " instead of merely gazing at an astralpicture. Limitations of Astral-Body visioning. What the Astral-Body reallyis; and what it is like. How it disengages itself from the physical body, and travels in space. Many persons "travel in the astral" during ordinarysleep. Occult teachings regarding Astral-Body traveling. How dying personsoften travel in the astral-body, before death. Many interesting casescited, all well-authenticated by scientific investigation. Society forPsychical Research's records and reports on such cases. Dangers ofuninstructed persons going out on the astral, except in dream state. "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. " A timely warning. A mostimportant and interesting subject. 

LESSON XVSTRANGE ASTRAL PHENOMENAAdditional phases of Astral Phenomena. Projection of Thought-Forms. Something between ordinary Clairvoyance and Astral-Body perception. What aThought-Form is. How it is created. What it does. Where it goes. How aportion of one's consciousness is projected in a Thought-Form. Using aThought-Form as at cut-post, or observation point. How things appear whenviewed from a Thought-Form. A wonderful phase of occult phenomena. Advantages and disadvantages of this form of clairvoyant visioning. HinduPsychic Magic, and how it is performed. Remarkable illusory effectsproduced by Hindu Magicians. All is explained when the principle of thecreation and projection of Thought-Forms is understood. Why the Hindusexcel in this phase of occultism. An interesting description of HinduMagic feats. The power of concentrated "visualization. " The phenomena ofLevitation, or the moving of articles at a distance. The occultexplanation of this phenomenon. Natural explanation for so-called"super-natural" occurrence. 

LESSON XVIPSYCHIC INFLUENCE: ITS LAWS AND PRINCIPLESThe laws and principles underlying the power of one mind to influence andaffect another mind. More than ordinary telepathy. The inductive power ofmental vibrations. Everything is in vibration. Mental vibrations are muchhigher in the scale than are physical vibrations. What "induction" is. Howa mental state, or an emotional feeling, tends to induce a similar statein another mind. Many instances cited. The different degrees of vibratoryinfluence, and what causes the difference. The contagious effect of a"strong feeling. " Why a strong desire hag a dynamic effect in certaincases. The power of visualization in Psychic Influence. The AttractivePower of Thought. The effect of Mental Concentration. Focusing yourForces. Holding the mind to a state of "one-pointedness. " Why theoccultist controls his imagination. Suggestions as to practice, and rulesof development. A few easily-mastered principles which give you the key tothe whole of this wonderful subject. 

LESSON XVIIPERSONAL PSYCHIC INFLUENCE OVER OTHERSPsychic Influence exerted over others, when in their presence. Differentdegrees of the influence. Possession of this power by Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, and other great leaders of men. Theability to influence others is a sure sign of the possession of thispsychic power. The Three Underlying Principles of Psychic Influence. Theimportance of strong desire to influence and exert power. The importanceof clear, positive mental pictures of what effect you wish to produce. Theimportance of the firm concentration of your mind on the subject. Thecreation of a positive psychic atmosphere. The Positive Psychic Aura. Howto project your Psychic Power. The Psychic Struggle between two persons. How to handle yourself in such conflicts of Psychic Power. How toNeutralize the Psychic Power of others, and thus disarm them. The OccultShield of Defence. Valuable directions regarding practice and developmentof Psychic Power. Scientific Exercises for Development. Important Rules ofPractice. 

LESSON XVIIIPSYCHIC INFLUENCE AT A DISTANCEPsychic Influence over others, manifested when they are distant from theperson exerting the influence. Distance no obstacle. Psychic Induction atLong-Range. How to create the en rapport condition with the other person. How to protect yourself against such influence at a distance. The PsychicArmor. Psychometric Method of producing Distant En Rapport Condition. Toproceed when the en rapport condition is secured. The scientificexplanation of the old tales about sorcery, witchcraft, super-naturalinfluence, etc. The effect of fear, and belief, on the mind of the otherperson. The effect of Denial. The secret of many strange cases made plain. Some typical cases. The Master-Key which unlocks the doors of manyMysteries. Low forms of Occultism, and how they may be defeated. DangerousTeachings in some quarters. Warnings against their use. The Astral Tube;how it is erected, used and employed. A simple, plain explanation of apuzzling occult manifestation. Self-Protection. 

LESSON XIXLAWS OF PSYCHIC ATTRACTIONHow psychic vibrations tend to attract to their creator other personsvibrating along the same lines; and things having a relation to the thingsthought of. Harmony and Inharmony in the Psychic World. The Law of PsychicAttraction. The Law of Psychic Repulsion. An important phase of AstralPhenomena. The Law works two ways. It draws other persons and things toyou; and you to other persons and things. How the men of "big business"operate under this Law of Attraction. How scheming exploiters of thepublic actually "treat the public" by psychic means. The various forms ofpsychic influence employed by persons of this kind. The Law of Attraction, and how it works out in Business Life. The scientific facts behind theoutward appearance of things. Instances and examples of the working out ofthese laws and principles. The Law of Psychic Attraction is as constantand invariable as the great Law of Gravitation, or Magnetic Attraction. The Co-Relation of Thoughts and Things. How we may create our ownenvironment by Psychic Influence. 

LESSON XXPSYCHIC AND MAGNETIC HEALINGThe Psychic Principles underlying the many forms of psychic or mentalhealing. Many theories--one set of principles. Psychic Healing as old asthe race. The Basic Principles of Psychic Healing. The PhysiologicalPrinciples involved. How the Astral Body is used in Psychic Healing. HumanMagnetism, and what it really is. All about Prana. The Laying-on of Handsin Healing; and what is back of it. What happens in Magnetic Healing. TheSecret of Absent Healing. Space no barrier in Psychic Healing. The HumanAura and Psychic Healing. The Secret of Suggestive Therapeutics. Theeffect of the "affirmations" of the healers. How the Healing Cults obtaingood results. Self-Healing by Psychic Power. Absent Healing by PsychicPower. How to "treat" others by Absent Treatment. Valuable Instructionsand Practical Methods of Psychic Healing. The whole subject condensed, andmade plain, so that it may be applied by any person of averageintelligence. No fanciful theories; only plain, practical facts for actualapplication. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In preparing this series of lessons for students of Western lands, I havebeen compelled to proceed along lines exactly opposite to those which Iwould have chosen had these lessons been for students in India. Thisbecause of the diametrically opposite mental attitudes of the students ofthese two several lands. 

The student in India expects the teacher to state positively theprinciples involved, and the methods whereby these principles may bemanifested, together with frequent illustrations (generally in the natureof fables or parables), serving to link the new knowledge to some alreadyknown thing. The Hindu student never expects or demands anything in thenature of "proof" of the teachers statements of principle or method; infact, 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 orillustrations in the nature of scientific evidence or proof of theprinciples taught. He may ask for more information, but solely for thepurpose of bringing out some point which he has not grasped; but he avoidsas a pestilence any question seeming to indicate argument, doubt of whatis 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 theskeptical attitude of mind--the scientific attitude of doubt and demandfor proof--and the teacher so understands it. Both are accustomed toillustrations bringing out the principles involved, but theseillustrations must not be fanciful or figurative--they must be actualcases, well authenticated and vouched for as evidence. In short, theWestern teacher is expected to actually "prove" to his students hisprinciples and methods, before he may expect them to be accepted. This, ofcourse, not from any real doubt or suspicion of the veracity or ability ofthe teacher, but merely because the Western mind expects to question, andbe questioned, in this way in the process of teaching and learning. 

Consequently, in this series of lessons, I have sought to follow theWestern method rather than the Hindu. So far as is possible, I haveavoided the flat positive statement of principles and methods, and havesought to prove each step of the teaching. Of course, I have beencompelled to assume the existence of certain fundamental principles, inorder to avoid long and technical metaphysical and philosophicaldiscussions. I have also had to content myself with the positive flatassertion of the existence of the Astral Plane, Akashic Records, Prana, etc. , which are fundamental postulates of Hindu philosophy and occultscience--for these are established solely by the experience of those whoare able to function on the higher planes themselves. But, beyond this Ihave sought to prove by direct and positive evidence (adapted to theWestern mind) every step of my teaching and methods. 

In offering this scientific proof, I have purposely omitted (except in afew instances) all mention of occult or psychic phenomena occurring inIndia, and have confined myself to instances occurring in Western lands toWestern persons. Moreover, I have avoided quoting and citing Hinduauthorities, and have, instead, quoted and cited from authorities wellknown and respected in Western lands, such as the Society for PsychicalResearch, and the prominent scientists interested in the work of the saidsociety. In this way I have sought to furnish the Western student withexamples, cases, and illustrations familiar to him, and easily referredto. Had I cited Indian cases, I might be accused of offering proof thatcould not be easily verified; and quoting persons unknown to my readers. There is a wealth of such cases and illustration in India, naturally, butthese as a rule are traditional and not available in printed form; andthese would not likely be very satisfactory to the Western student. 

I must, however, positively and firmly state that while these cases andillustrations, these quotations and citations, are purely Western, theprinciples they illustrate and prove are among the oldest known to Hinduoccult science and philosophy. In fact, having been accepted as provedtruth in India, for centuries past, there is very little demand forfurther proof thereof on the part of the Hindus. In the Western world, however, these things are comparatively new, and must be proved andattested accordingly. So, as I have said, I have cut the cloth of myinstruction to conform with the pattern favored for the Western garment ofknowledge. So far as the illustrations and cases, the quotations andcitations are concerned--these are purely Western and familiar to thestudent. But, when it comes to the principles themselves, this is anothermatter--I must be pardoned for stating that these are the outgrowth ofHindu thought and investigation, and that he who would discover theirroots must dig around the tree of the Wisdom of the East, which has stoodthe storms and winds of thousands of years. But the branches of thismighty tree are wide-spreading, and there is room for many Westernstudents 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 thosewho are interested in these subjects, I recommend these little books; theyare sold at a nominal price, and contain much that will be helpful to thestudent of Hindu Occult Science. They are not required, however, tocomplete the understanding of the subjects treated upon in these lessons, and are mentioned and recommended merely as supplementary reading for thestudent who wishes to take little "side excursions" away from the maintrip covered in these lessons. 

I trust that my students will find the pleasure and satisfaction instudying these lessons that I have in writing them. 

SWAMI PANCHADASI. 

LESSON I. 

THE ASTRAL SENSES. 

The student of occultism usually is quite familiar with the crassindividual 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 hischeap wit has finally disposed of the matter, the implication being thatthe occultist is a credulous, "easy" person who believes in the existenceof 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, neverthelessthe mental attitude of such persons are worthy of our passingconsideration, inasmuch as it serves to give us an object lesson regardingthe childlike attitude of the average so-called "practical" personsregarding 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 havemuch 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 thepretensions of this class of persons. They are usually found quitecredulous regarding matters beyond their everyday field of work andthought, and accept without question the most ridiculous teachings anddogmas reaching them from the voice of some claimed authority, while theysneer at some advanced teaching which their minds are incapable ofcomprehending. 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 theseinsignificant half-penny intellects. I have merely alluded to them inorder 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 allknowledge and wisdom as "sense;" and all such sense as being deriveddirectly from their ordinary five senses. They ignore almost completelythe intuitional phases of the mind, and are unaware of many of the higherprocesses of reasoning. 

Such persons accept as undoubted anything that their senses report tothem. They consider it heresy to question a report of the senses. One oftheir favorite remarks is that "it almost makes me doubt my senses. " Theyfail to perceive that their senses, at the best, are very imperfectinstruments, and that the mind is constantly employed in correcting themistaken report of the ordinary five senses. 

Not to speak of the common phenomenon of color-blindness, in which onecolor seems to be another, our senses are far from being exact. We may, by suggestion, be made to imagine that we smell or taste certain thingswhich do not exist, and hypnotic subjects may be caused to see things thathave no existence save in the imagination of the person. The familiarexperiment of the person crossing his first two fingers, and placing themon 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 instancesof optical delusions show us that even our sharp eyes may deceiveus--every conjuror knows how easy it is to deceive the eye by suggestionand false movements. 

Perhaps the most familiar example of mistaken sense-reports is that of themovement of the earth. The senses of every person report to him that theearth is a fixed, immovable body, and that the sun, moon, planets, andstars move around the earth every twenty-four hours. It is only when oneaccepts the reports of the reasoning faculties, that he knows that theearth not only whirls around on its axis every twenty-four hours, but thatit circles around the sun every three hundred and sixty-five days; andthat even the sun itself, carrying with it the earth and the otherplanets, really moves along in space, moving toward or around some unknownpoint far distant from it. If there is any one particular report of thesenses which would seem to be beyond doubt or question, it certainly wouldbe this elementary sense report of the fixedness of the earth beneath ourfeet, and the movements of the heavenly bodies around it--and yet we knowthat this is merely an illusion, and that the facts of the case aretotally different. Again, how few persons really realize that the eyeperceives things up-side-down, and that the mind only gradually acquiresthe trick of adjusting the impression?

I am not trying to make any of you doubt the report of his or her fivesenses. That would be most foolish, for all of us must needs depend uponthese five senses in our everyday affairs, and would soon come to griefwere we to neglect their reports. Instead, I am trying to acquaint youwith the real nature of these five senses, that you may realize what theyare not, as well as what they are; and also that you may realize thatthere is no absurdity in believing that there are more channels ofinformation open to the ego, or soul of the person, than these much usedfive senses. When you once get a correct scientific conception of the realnature of the five ordinary senses, you will be able to intelligentlygrasp the nature of the higher psychic faculties or senses, and thus bebetter fitted to use them. So, let us take a few moments time in order toget this fundamental knowledge well fixed in our minds. 

What are the five senses, anyway. Your first answer will be: "Feeling, seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling. " But that is merely a recital of thedifferent forms of sensing. What is a "sense, " when you get right down toit? Well, you will find that the dictionary tells us that a sense is a"faculty, possessed by animals, of perceiving external objects by means ofimpressions made upon certain organs of the body. " Getting right down tothe roots of the matter, we find that the five senses of man are thechannels through which he becomes aware or conscious of informationconcerning objects outside of himself. But, these senses are not thesense-organs alone. Back of the organs there is a peculiar arrangement ofthe nervous system, or brain centres, which take up the messages receivedthrough 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; theear, merely a receiver of sound-waves; the nose, merely an arrangement ofsensitive mucous membrane; the mouth and tongue, simply a container oftaste-buds; the nervous system, merely a sensitive apparatus designed totransmit messages to the brain and other centres--all being but part ofthe physical machinery, and liable to impairment or destruction. Back ofall this apparatus is the real Knower who makes use of it. 

Science tells us that of all the five senses, that of Touch or Feeling wasthe original--the fundamental sense. All the rest are held to be butmodifications of, and specialized forms of, this original sense offeeling. I am telling you this not merely in the way of interesting andinstructive scientific information, but also because an understanding ofthis fact will enable you to more clearly comprehend that which I shallhave to say to you about the higher faculties or senses. 

Many of the very lowly and simple forms of animal life have this one senseonly, and that but poorly developed. The elementary life form "feels" thetouch of its food, or of other objects which may touch it. The plants alsohave something akin to this sense, which in some cases, like that of theSensitive Plant, for instance, is quite well developed. Long before thesense of sight, or the sensitiveness to light appeared in animal-life, wefind evidences of taste, and something like rudimentary hearing orsensitiveness to sounds. Smell gradually developed from the sense oftaste, with which even now it is closely connected. In some forms of loweranimal life the sense of smell is much more highly developed than inmankind. Hearing evolved in due time from the rudimentary feeling ofvibrations. Sight, the highest of the senses, came last, and was anevolution of the elementary sensitiveness to light. 

But, you see, all these senses are but modifications of the original senseof feeling or touch. The eye records the touch or feeling of thelight-waves which strike upon it. The ear records the touch or feeling ofthe sound-waves or vibrations of the air, which reach it. The tongue andother seats of taste record the chemical touch of the particles of food, or other substances, coming in contact with the taste-buds. The noserecords the chemical touch of the gases or fine particles of materialwhich touch its mucous membrane. The sensory-nerves record the presence ofouter objects coming in contact with the nerve ends in various parts ofthe skin of the body. You see that all of these senses merely record thecontact or "touch" of outside objects. 

But the sense organs, themselves, do not do the knowing of the presence ofthe objects. They are but pieces of delicate apparatus serving to recordor to receive primary impressions from outside. Wonderful as they are, they have their counterparts in the works of man, as for instance: thecamera, or artificial eye; the phonograph, or, artificial ear; thedelicate chemical apparatus, or artificial taster and smeller; thetelegraph, or artificial nerves. Not only this, but there are always to befound nerve telegraph wires conveying the messages of the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, to the brain--telling the something in the brain ofwhat has been felt at the other end of the line. Sever the nerves leadingto the eye, and though the eye will continue to register perfectly, stillno message will reach the brain. And render the brain unconscious, and nomessage will reach it from the nerves connecting with eye, ear, nose, tongue, or surface of the body. There is much more to the receiving ofsense messages than you would think at first, you see. 

Now all this means that the ego, or soul, or mind, if you prefer theterm--is the real Knower who becomes aware of the outside world by meansof the messages of the senses. Cut off from these messages the mind wouldbe almost a blank, so far as outside objects are concerned. Every one ofthe senses so cut off would mean a diminishing or cutting-off of a part ofthe world of the ego. And, likewise, each new sense added to the listtends to widen and increase the world of the ego. We do not realize this, as a rule. Instead, we are in the habit of thinking that the worldconsists of just so many things and facts, and that we know every possibleone of them. This is the reasoning of a child. Think how very much smallerthan the world of the average person is the world of the person bornblind, or the person born deaf! Likewise, think how very much greater andwider, and more wonderful this world of ours would seem were each of us tofind ourselves suddenly endowed with a new sense! How much more we wouldperceive. How much more we would feel. How much more we would know. Howmuch more we would have to talk about. Why, we are really in about thesame position as the poor girl, born blind, who said that she thought thatthe color of scarlet must be something like the sound of a trumpet. Poorthing, she could form no conception of color, never having seen a ray oflight--she could think and speak only in the terms of touch, sound, tasteand smell. Had she also been deaf, she would have been robbed of a stillgreater share of her world. Think over these things a little. 

Suppose, on the contrary, that we had a new sense which would enable us tosense the waves of electricity. In that case we would be able to "feel"what was going on at another place--perhaps on the other side of theworld, or maybe, on one of the other planets. Or, suppose that we had an XRay sense--we could then see through a stone wall, inside the rooms of ahouse. If our vision were improved by the addition of a telescopicadjustment, we could see what is going on in Mars, and could send andreceive communications with those living there. Or, if with a microscopicadjustment, we could see all the secrets of a drop of water--maybe it iswell that we cannot do this. On the other hand, if we had a well-developedtelepathic sense, we would be aware of the thought-waves of others to suchan extent that there would be no secrets left hidden to anyone--wouldn'tthat alter life and human intercourse a great deal? These things wouldreally be 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 ofman--and man really is but an imitator and adaptor of Nature. Perhaps, onsome other world or planet there may be beings having seven, nine orfifteen senses, instead of the poor little five known to us. Who knows!

But it is not necessary to exercise the imagination in the direction ofpicturing beings on other planets endowed with more senses than have thepeople of earth. While, as the occult teachings positively state, thereare beings on other planets whose senses are as much higher than theearth-man's as the latter's are higher than those of the oyster, still wedo not have to go so far to find instances of the possession of muchhigher and more active faculties than those employed by the ordinary man. We have but to consider the higher psychical faculties of man, right hereand now, in order to see what new worlds are open to him. When you reacha scientific understanding of these things, you will see that there reallyis nothing at all supernatural about much of the great body of wonderfulexperiences of men in all times which the "horse sense" man sneeringlydismisses as "queer" and "contrary to sense. " You will see that theseexperiences are quite as natural as are those in which the ordinary fivesenses are employed--though they are super-physical. There is the greatestdifference between 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 themeffectively. These super-physical senses are known to the occultists as"the astral senses. " The term "Astral, " used so frequently by alloccultists, ancient and modern, is derived from the Greek word "astra, "meaning "star. " It is used to indicate those planes of being immediatelyabove the physical plane. The astral senses are really the counterparts ofthe physical senses of man, and are connected with the astral body of theperson just as the physical senses are connected with the physical body. The office of these astral senses is to enable the person to receiveimpressions on the astral plane, just as his physical senses enable him toreceive impressions on the physical plane. On the physical plane the mindof man receives only the sense impressions of the physical organs ofsense; but when the mind functions and vibrates on the astral plane, itrequires astral senses in order to receive the impressions of that plane, and these, as we shall see, are present. 

Each one of the physical senses of man has its astral counterpart. Thusman has, in latency, the power of seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, andhearing, on the astral plane, by means of his five astral senses. Morethan this, the best occultists know that man really has seven physicalsenses instead of but five, though these two additional senses are notunfolded in the case of the average person (though occultists who havereached a certain stage are able to use them effectively). Even these twoextra physical senses have their counterparts on the astral plane. 

Persons who have developed the use of their astral senses are able toreceive the sense impressions of the astral plane just as clearly as theyreceive those of the physical plane by means of the physical senses. Forinstance, the person is thus able to perceive things occurring on theastral plane; to read the Akashic Records of the past; to perceive thingsthat are happening in other parts of the world; to see past happenings aswell; and in cases of peculiar development, to catch glimpses of thefuture, though this is far rarer than the other forms of astral sight. 

Again, by means of clairaudience, the person may hear the things of theastral world, past as well as present, and in rare cases, the future. Theexplanation is the same in each case--merely the receiving of vibrationson the astral plane instead of on the physical plane. In the same way, the astral senses of smelling, tasting, and feeling operate. But though wehave occasional instances of astral feeling, in certain phases of psychicphenomena, we have practically no manifestation of astral smelling ortasting, although the astral senses are there ready for use. It is only ininstances of travelling in the astral body that the last two mentionedastral senses, viz. , smell and taste, are manifested. 

The phenomena of telepathy, or thought transference, occurs on both thephysical and the mental plane. On the physical plane it is more or lessspontaneous and erratic in manifestation; while on the astral plane it isas clear, reliable and responsive to demand as is astral sight, etc. 

The ordinary person has but occasional flashes of astral sensing, and as arule is not able to experience the phenomenon at will. The trainedoccultist, on the contrary, is able to shift from one set of senses to theother, 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 astralplanes at the same time, though they do not often desire to do so. Tovision astrally, the trained occultist merely shifts his sensory mechanismfrom physical to astral, or vice versa, just as the typewriter operatorshifts from the small-letter type to the capitals, by simply touching theshift-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. In instances of clairvoyance, astral visioning, psychometry, etc. , theoccultist remains in his physical body, and senses the phenomena of theastral plane quite readily, by means of the astral senses, just as he isable to sense the phenomena of the physical plane when he uses thephysical organs--quite more easily, in fact, in many instances. It is noteven necessary for the occultist to enter into the trance condition, inthe majority of cases. 

Travel in the astral body is quite another phase of occult phenomena, andis far more difficult to manifest. The student should never attempt totravel in the astral body except under the instruction of some competentinstructor. 

In Crystal Gazing, the occultist merely employs the crystal in order toconcentrate his power, and to bring to a focus his astral vision. There isno supernatural virtue in the crystal itself--it is merely a means to anend; a piece of useful apparatus to aid in the production of certainphenomena. 

In Psychometry some object is used in order to bring the occulist "enrapport" with the person or thing associated with it. But it is the astralsenses which are employed in describing either the past environment of thething, or else the present or past doings of the person in question, etc. In short, the object is merely the loose end of the psychic ball of twinewhich the psychometrist proceeds to wind or unwind at will. Psychometryis merely one form of astral seeing; just as is crystal gazing. 

In what is known as Telekinesis, or movement at a distance, there is foundthe employment of both astral sensing, and astral will action accompaniedin many cases by actual projection of a portion of the substance of theastral body. 

In the case of Clairvoyance, we have an instance of the simplest form ofastral seeing, without the necessity of the "associated object" ofpsychometry, or the focal point of the crystal in crystal gazing. 

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

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

The man of a generation back of the present one would have been equallyjustified in asserting that the marvels of wireless telegraphy weresupernatural, had he been told of the possibility of their manifestation. Going back a little further, the father of that man would have said thesame thing regarding the telephone, had anyone been so bold as to haveprophesied it. Going back still another generation, imagine the opinion ofsome of the old men of that time regarding the telegraph. And yet thesethings are simply the discovery and application of certain of Nature'swonderful powers and forces. 

Is it any more unreasonable to suppose that Nature has still a mine ofundiscovered treasure in the mind and constitution of man, as well as ininorganic nature? No, friends, these things are as natural as the physicalsenses, and not a whit more of a miracle. It is only that we areaccustomed to one, and not to the other, that makes the astral senses seemmore wonderful than the physical. Nature's workings are allwonderful--none more so than the other. All are beyond our absoluteconception, when we get down to their real essence. So let us keep an openmind!

LESSON II. 

TELEPATHY vs. CLAIRVOYANCE. 

In this work I shall use the term "clairvoyance" in its broad sense of"astral perception, " as distinguished from perception by means of thephysical senses. As we proceed, you will see the general and specialmeanings of the term, so there is no necessity for a special definition orillustration of the term at this time. 

By "telepathy, " I mean the sending and receiving of thought messages, andmental and emotional states, consciously or unconsciously, by means ofwhat may be called "the sixth sense" of the physical plane. There is, ofcourse, a form of thought transference on the astral plane, but this Iinclude under the general term of clairvoyance, for reasons which will beexplained later on. 

You will remember that in the preceding chapter I told you that inaddition to the five ordinary physical senses of man there were also twoother physical senses comparatively undeveloped in the average person. These two extra physical senses are, respectively, (1) the sense of thepresence of other living things; and (2) the telepathic sense. As I alsotold you, these two extra physical senses have their astral counterparts. They also have certain physical organs which are not generally recognizedby physiologists or psychologists, but which are well known to alloccultists. I shall now consider the first of the two above-mentionedextra physical senses, in order to clear the way for our consideration ofthe question of the distinction between ordinary telepathy and that formof clairvoyance which is its astral counterpart. 

There is in every human being a sense which is not generally recognized assuch, although nearly every person has had more or less experienceregarding its workings. I refer to the sense of the presence of otherliving things, separate and apart from the operation of any of the fiveordinary physical senses. I ask you to understand that I am not claimingthat this is a higher sense than the other physical senses, or that it hascome to man in a high state of evolution. On the contrary, this sense cameto living things far back in the scale of evolution. It is possessed bythe higher forms of the lower animals, such as the horse, dog, and themajority of the wild beasts. Savage and barbaric men have it more highlydeveloped than it is in the case of the civilized man. In fact, thisphysical sense may be termed almost vestigal in civilized man, because hehas not actively used it for many generations. For that matter, thephysical 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 ofsmell is very keen. I mention this for fear of misunderstanding. In mylittle book, "The Astral World, " I have said: "All occultists know thatman really has seven senses, instead of merely five, though theadditional two senses are not sufficiently developed for use in theaverage person (though the occultist generally unfolds them into use). "Some have taken this to mean that the occultist develops these two extraphysical senses, just as he does certain higher psychic or astralfaculties. But this is wrong. The occultist, in such case, merelyre-awakens these two senses which have been almost lost to the race. Byuse and exercise he then develops them to a wonderful proficiency, for useon the physical plane. 

Now, this sense of the presence of other living beings is very welldeveloped in the lower animals, particularly in those whose safety dependsupon the knowledge of the presence of their natural enemies. As might beexpected, the wild animals have it more highly developed than do thedomesticated animals. But even among the latter, we find instances of thissense 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 presence ofsome person or animal? Very often we would scold or punish the animal forits peculiar actions, simply because we are not able to see what isworrying it. How often does the dog start suddenly, and bristle up itshair, when nothing is in sight, or within hearing distance. How often doesthe horse grow "skittish, " or even panicky, when there is nothing withinsight or hearing. Domestic fowls, especially geese, manifest an uneasinessat the presence of strange persons or animals, though they may not beable to see or hear them. It is a matter of history that this sense, in aflock of geese, once saved ancient Rome from an attack of the enemy. Thenight was dark and stormy, and the trained eyesight and keen hearing ofthe Roman outposts failed to reveal the approach of the enemy. But, thekeen sense of the geese felt the presence of strange men, and they startedto cackle loudly, aroused the guard, and Rome was saved. Skeptical personshave sought to explain this historical case by the theory that the geeseheard the approaching enemy. But this explanation will not serve, for theRoman soldiers were marching about on their posts and guard-duty, and thegeese remained silent until they sensed the approach of the small numberof the enemy's scouts, when they burst into wild cries. The ancientRomans, themselves, were under no illusion about the matter--theyrecognized the existence of some unusual power in the geese, and they gavethe animals the full credit therefor. 

Hunters in wild and strange lands have told us that often when they werelying concealed for the purpose of shooting the wild animals when theycame within range, they have witnessed instances of the existence of thisstrange faculty in the wild beasts. Though they could not see theconcealed 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) wouldstart suddenly, and a shiver would be seen to pass over its body; then itwould utter a low warning note, and away would fly the pack. Nearly everyhunter has had the experience of watching his expected game, when all of asudden it would start off with a nervous jerk, and without waiting tosniff the air, as is usual, would bolt precipitately from the scene. Moreover, many beasts of prey are known to sense the presence of theirnatural prey, even when the wind is in the other direction, and there isno sound or movement made by the crouching, fearstricken animal. Certainbirds 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 oftrees. 

Savage man also has this faculty developed, as all travellers andexplorers well know. They are as keen as a wild animal to sense thenearness of enemies, or, in some cases, the approach of man-eating beasts. This does not mean that that these savages are more highly developed thanis civilized man--quite the reverse. This is the explanation: when manbecame more civilized, and made himself more secure from his wild-beastenemies, as well as from the sudden attacks of his human enemies, he beganto use this sense less and less. Finally, in the course of manygenerations, it became almost atrophied from disuse, and ceased reportingto the brain, or other nerve centres. Or, if you prefer viewing it fromanother angle, it may be said that the nerve centres, and brain, began topay less and less attention to the reports of this sense (trusting more tosight and hearing) until the consciousness failed to awaken to thereports. You know how your consciousness will finally refuse to beawakened by familiar sounds (such as the noise of machinery in the shop, or ordinary noises in the house), although the ears receive thesound-waves. 

Well, this is the way in the case of this neglected sense--for the tworeasons just mentioned, the average person is almost unaware of itsexistence. Almost unaware I have said--not totally unaware. For probablyevery one of us has had experiences in which we have actually "felt" thepresence of some strange person about the premises, or place. The effectof the report of this sense is particularly noticed in the region of thesolar 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 generallyaccompanied by a "bristling up, " or "creepy" feeling along the spine. Theorgans registering the presence of a strange or alien creature consist ofcertain delicate nerves of the surface of the skin, generally connectedwith the roots of the downy hair of the body--or resting where the hairroots would naturally be, in the case of a hairless skin. These seem toreport directly to the solar-plexus, which then acts quickly by reflexaction on the other parts of the body, causing an instinctive feeling toeither fly the scene or else to crouch and hide oneself. This feeling, asmay be seen at once, is an inheritance from our savage ancestors, orperhaps from our lowly-animal ancestral roots. It is a most unpleasantfeeling, and the race escapes much discomfort by reason of its comparativeabsence. 

I have said that occultists have developed, or rather re-developed thissense. They do this in order to have a harmonious well-developedseven-fold sense system. It increases their general "awareness. " Certainother knowledge of the occultist neutralizes the unpleasant features ofthe manifestation of this sense, and he finds it often a very valuableadjunct to his senses of seeing and hearing, particularly in the cases inwhich he is approached by persons having antagonistic or hostile feelingstoward him, as in such cases this faculty is particularly active. Inconnection with the telepathic sense (to be described a little further on)this sense operates to give a person that sense of warning when approachedby another person whose feelings are not friendly to him, no matter howfriendly the outward appearance of that person may be. These two extrasenses co-operate to give a person 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 ordeveloped by anyone who wishes to take the time and trouble to accomplishthe work. The principle is simple--merely the same principle that one usesin developing any of the other physical attributes, namely, use andexercise. The first step (a) is the recognition of the existence of thesense itself; then (b) the attention given to its reports; then (c)frequent use and exercise. Just think of how you would proceed to developany of the five ordinary senses--the hearing, sight, or touch, forinstance--then follow the same process in the cultivation of this extrasense, 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 becoming aware of the thought-waves, or emotionalwaves, of other persons. Now, as strange as this may appear to somepersons--the most of persons in fact--this telepathic faculty is not a"higher" faculty or sense, but is really a comparatively low one. Justlike the sense just described, it is possessed in a higher degree by manyof the lower animals, and by primitive and savage man. That which reallyis "higher" in this kind of psychic phenomena is the manifestation of thathigher form of telepathy--by use of the astral counterpart of thissense--which we shall consider, later, under the name of clairvoyance, forthis is really a particular phase of clairvoyance. 

As strange as it may appear to some of you, the lower animals possess akind of telepathic sense. An animal is usually aware of your feelingstoward it, and your purposes regarding it. Domestic animals lose some ofthis by generations of confinement, while the wild animals have the sensehighly developed. But even some of the domestic animals have more or lessof it. You will readily recognize this fact if you have ever tried to"cut out" a certain animal from a herd or flock. You will find that theanimal in some way has sensed your designs upon it, no matter howindirectly you approach it, and it will begin circling around the otheranimals, 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 onlythat particular one, and will manifest but little fright or distrust, comparatively. 

I have frequently seen this thing, in my own country and in others, amongpoultry raisers. The poultryman will think, to himself, "Now, I am goingto get that black hen with the yellow legs--that fat, clumsy one, " and hewill move toward the flock slowly and with an air of unconcern. But, lo!as soon as he gets near the creatures, that black hen will be seen edgingher way to the outer circle of the flock, on the opposite side from theman. When the man moves around to her side, she will be found to haveplunged into the crowd, and it is hard to find her. Sometimes she willactually try to sneak off, and conceal herself in some dark corner, orback of some large object. Every poultryman will smile when thisoccurrence is mentioned to him--he knows by experience that hens have away of sensing what he has in his mind regarding them. 

Moreover, as every farmer knows, the crow family has a most uncanny way ofsensing the intentions of the farmer who is trying to destroy them, andshows great sagacity in defeating those intentions. But, while the crow isa very intelligent bird--one of the wisest of the bird family, infact--it obtains its knowledge of what is in the mind of the man not alonefrom "figuring on his intentions, " but rather from that instinctivesensing of his mental states. The hen, as all know, is a very stupid bird, showing but little intelligent activity. But, nevertheless, she is veryquick about sensing the poultryman's designs on her, though generally verystupid about planning out a skillful escape. 

Every owner of dogs, cats and horses, has had many opportunities forobserving the manifestation of this sense on the part of those animals. Every dog feels the emotional states of his owner, and others. The horseknows when his owner seeks to throw the halter over his neck, or when, onthe contrary, he is merely walking through the field. Cats sense theirowners' feelings and thoughts, and often resent them. Of course, the loweranimals can sense merely elementary mental states, and generally _only_emotional states, as their minds are not developed so as to interpret themore complex mental states. Primitive men likewise almost instinctivelysense the feelings and designs of other men. They do not reason the thingout, but rather merely "feel" the ideas and designs of the others. Thewomen of the lower races are more adept in interpreting these sensereports than are the men. Women are more sensitive, as a rule, than aremen--on any point on the scale of development. 

When we come to consider ordinary telepathy in the case of men ofcivilized countries, we find a more complex state of affairs. Whilecivilized man, as a whole, has lost some of the quick telepathicperception of the lower races, he has, in some exceptional cases, acquireda faculty of receiving and interpreting more complex thought-forms andmental states. The investigations of the Society for Psychical Research, and those of private investigators as well, have shown us that a pictureof a complicated geometrical design held in the mind of one person may becarried to and received by the mind of another person, who reproduces thedesign on paper. In the same way, complicated thoughts have beentransmitted and received. But these are only exceptional cases. In manycases this sense seems almost dead in the ordinary civilized individual, except when aroused in exceptional cases. 

But, nevertheless, the majority of persons have occasional flashes oftelepathy--just enough to make them realize that "there is something init. " The renewed interest in the subject, of late years, has directed thepublic mind to the phenomena of telepathy, and, consequently, more personsare now taking note of the cases of thought-transference coming undertheir personal notice. It must be remembered, of course, that all of usare constantly receiving thought-waves, and feeling thought-influence, unconsciously. I am speaking now only of the conscious perception of thethought-waves. 

Many investigators have so developed their telepathic sense that they areable, at times, to obtain wonderful test results. But, it has been asource of disappointment to many of them to discover that at other times, under apparently similar conditions, their success was very slight. Sotrue is this that many authorities have accepted the theory that telepathyis more or less spontaneous, and cannot be produced to order. This theoryis true as far as it goes, but there is a side of the case that theseinvestigators overlook, probably because of their lack of the occultprinciples involved in the phenomena. I mean this: that their mostbrilliant successes have been obtained by reason of their unconscious"switching on" of the astral telepathic sense, the clairvoyant sense. While in this condition, they obtained startling results; but the nexttime they tried, they failed to awaken the astral sense, and, therefore, had to depend entirely upon the physical telepathic sense, and, consequently, their results were comparatively poor. 

You will understand the difference and distinction between physical-sensetelepathy, and astral-sense telepathy, if you will carefully consider thenature of each, as I shall now present it to you. I ask your closeattention to what I shall have to say on this subject in the remainingpages of this chapter. Do not pass over these explanations as "dry, " forunless you have a clear fundamental understanding of the thing, you willnever be able to get the best results. This is true of every phase oflearning, physical as well as psychical--one must get started right, inorder to obtain the best results. 

In the first place, every thought process, every emotional activity, every creation of ideas, is accompanied by a manifestation of force--infact, is the result of the manifestation of a force. Without entering atall into the question of what mind is, in itself, we may rest firmly onthe natural fact that every manifestation of mental or emotional activityis the result of an action of the brain or nervous system, manifesting ina form of vibrations. Just as in the case of the manifestation ofelectricity in which certain chemical elements are consumed, ortransformed, so in the case of mental or emotional activity there is aconsuming or transformation of the substance of which the nervous systemis composed. When I say "nervous system" in this connection, I include thebrain, or brains of man--for these are but a part of his great nervoussystem in which all emotional or mental activity is manifested. 

Moreover, just as there is no real destruction of matter in any ofNature's processes--all seeming destruction being but a transformation--soin the case before us there is a transformation of the energy released inthe thought or emotional process. We may grasp this idea more clearly ifwe consider what takes place into transformation of electrical energy. Forinstance, transmit a strong current of electricity over a fine wire, orfilament of carbon, and lo! the current is transformed into light. Useanother kind of channel of transmission, and the current is transformedinto heat. Every electric light, or electric heating apparatus is proofof this. In the same way, the electric current is sent into space in theform of wireless waves. These waves coming in contact with certain formsof apparatus are transformed into forms of force which are registered andinterpreted by the wireless operator. 

In the same way, the telepathic waves of energy are sent forth by theactivity released by the thought or emotion state. These waves travel inevery direction, and when they come in contact with physical apparatussufficiently sensitive to register them, they may be reproduced orretransformed into thought or mental states similar to those whichoriginally sent them forth. You talk into the receiver of the telephone, and the sound waves are transformed into waves of electricity. Theseelectric waves travel over the wires, and on reaching the other end of thetelephone circuit are again transformed into sound-waves which are heardby the ear of the listener. Well, then, when your brain sends out thoughtwaves, these travel until they are received by the apparatus in the brainof another person, when they are re-transformed into thoughts of the samekind that originally caused the thought-waves. I will have much more tosay on this subject in the next chapter. I will pause here to point outthe difference between the phenomena of this form of telepathy, and thehigher form which is really a phase of clairvoyance. 

Now, in the case of what may be called a clairvoyant-telepathy, or astraltelepathy, the ordinary thought-waves play but a small part. Instead ofthese, there is a transmission of force along the channels of the astralplane. It is almost impossible to describe the phenomena of the astralplane in the terms of the physical. I may illustrate the matter, in ageneral way, by saying that is something like your astral self actuallyextending itself out until it touches the astral self of the other person, and thus actually "feels" the astral activities there, instead of it beinga case of something like waves travelling along space between brain andbrain. Do you get this clearly? This is about as near to it as I canexplain it to you at this place. Telepathy is simply a matter of thetransmission and receiving of waves of vibratory force which havetravelled along the ether between two persons. But clairvoyance orastral-telepathy is something like your mind being extended out until itactually touches the mind of the other person and sees what is there. 

I shall have much to say regarding the working out of the processes ofclairvoyance, as we proceed. I have merely given the above explanation forthe purpose of distinguishing between ordinary telepathy and clairvoyance, so as to prevent you from falling into a common error. Now let us considerthe phenomena of ordinary telepathy--this is very wonderful in itself, although it is on a lower plane of activity than its astral or clairvoyantcounterpart. 

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 ata distance, " in order to be properly descriptive. But as the term hasacquired a forced meaning by reason of years of usage, it will probably becontinued in popular favor. After all, names do not count, so long as themeaning is accepted and understood. 

While the term itself has been generally used in the sense of consciousand deliberate sending and receiving of thought-waves, there is a farwider field of phenomena really covered by it, viz. , the unconscioussending and receiving of mental and emotional vibrations. I shall take upthis phase of the subject in a moment, after I have called your attentionto the mechanism whereby the waves of thought and emotion are transmitted. 

In the last chapter, you will remember that I called your attention to thefact that there is a manifestation of energy or force (in the form ofvibrations) in every mental or emotional state. This is true not only inthe case of deep thought or vivid feeling, but also in the case of generalmental "feelings, " and emotional states. During such manifestations thereis a radiation of mental or emotional vibrations from the brain or nervouscentres of the system, which flows out in all directions just as do lightand wireless electricity. The principal seats or centres of theseradiations are (1) the several brains of man, viz. , the cerebrum, cerebellum, and the medulla oblongata, respectfully; and (2) the severalgreat centres of nerve substance in the human system, called the plexi, such as the solar plexus, etc. 

The vibrations arising from emotional excitement are sent out principallyfrom the plexi, or great centres of the sympathetic nervous system. Thosearising from the more strictly mental states emanate from certain centresand points of the brain, or brains, of the person manifesting them. Certain forms of these vibrations constitute the real essence of what isgenerally called "human magnetism, " which will be treated upon in theproper place in these lessons. 

I do not think it advisable to go into the technical details of thegeneration and mechanism of transmission of these thought and emotionalvibrations, in these lessons. To understand the same would require atechnical knowledge of physiology and organic chemistry, which is notpossessed by the average person. Moreover, such details are neitherinteresting nor instructive to the general student of occultism. But, Ithink it proper to give at least a brief description of the receiving ofsuch vibratory-waves by other individuals. 

In the first place, every great plexus, or groups of nerve ganglia, in thehuman system is a receiving station, as well as a sending station. Aperson manifesting strong emotional excitement tends to awaken similarstates in the nervous centres of other persons in whom the conditions arefavorable. This explains why the vibrations of anger, fear, panic, are socontagious. It also explains the strong effect of the vibrations emanatingfrom the nerve centres controlling the reproductive system, in certaincases of strong sexual excitation. Each human sympathetic nervous systemcontains many receiving stations where emotional vibrations are received, and where they tend to be transformed into similar feeling in thereceiving system, unless neutralized by other mental and emotional statesin the person. 

When we come to consider the apparatus by which is received the vibrationsarising from what may be called "purely mental" operations of the brain, such as intellectual thought, constructive imagination, etc. , we find amore specialized arrangement, as might be expected. There are severalminor receiving points of mental vibrations, regarding which I do notconsider it worth while to go into detail, because of the technicalfeatures involved. The principal apparatus for receiving thoughtvibrations 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 embeddedin the human brain, in a position near the middle of the skull almostdirectly above the extreme top of the spinal column. It is shaped like asmall cone; and is of a reddish-gray color. It lies in front of thecerebellum, and is attached to the floor of the third ventricle of thebrain. It contains a small quantity of peculiar particles of gritty, sand-like substance, which are sometimes called "brain-sand. " It derivesits scientific name from its shape, which, as I have said, resembles apine-cone. Physiologists are at sea regarding the function of this strangeorgan, and generally content themselves with the statement that "itsfunctions are not understood. " But occultists know that the pineal gland, with its peculiar arrangement of nerve-cell corpuscles, and its tinygrains of "brain-sand, " is the physical telepathic receiving instrument. Students of wireless telegraphy have noticed a startling resemblancebetween the pineal gland and a part of the receiving instrument employedin wireless telegraphy. 

The thought vibrations coming in contact with the nervous system of thereceiving person, set up a peculiar vibration in the substance of thepineal gland and thus the first step in the transformation of thesevibrations into thought-forms in the mind of the person is under way. Theremainder of the process is too technical, both in the physiological aswell as in the occult sense, to be taken up in detail at this place. Thestudent will do well to get the idea of the workings of wirelesstelegraphy well fixed in his mind, for this will set up the rightconception of the working of ordinary telepathy, without the necessity ofcomplicated technical diagrams and descriptions. 

And, now then, let us see what results from the sending forth andreceiving of these mental and emotional waves of force and energy. It is amost interesting subject, I assure you. While the phenomena of the astralplane is probably more fascinating to the average student, I would impressupon you the importance of mastering the occult phenomena of the physicalplane, before passing on to that of the higher planes. 

In the first place, as all occultists know, each person is constantlysurrounded with what has been called an "atmosphere" composed of mentaland emotional vibrations which are emanated from his personality. Theatmosphere of each person depends upon the general character of thethoughts and feelings of the person in question. Consequently, as no twopersons are precisely alike in character, it follows that no two personalatmospheres are exactly alike. Each person has a psychic atmosphere of hisor her own. These atmospheric vibrations do not extend very far from thepresence of the person, and, consequently affect only those coming near tohim. 

In the same way, every group or crowd of persons has its own psychicatmosphere, composed of a blending of the individual psychic atmospheresof the persons composing the crowd, group or assemblage, and representingthe general average of the thought and feelings of the crowd. There are notwo group atmospheres exactly alike, for the reason that no two groups ofpersons, large or small, are exactly alike. Actors know that each audiencewhich they face has its own psychic atmosphere, and the actors areaffected by it. Preachers, lawyers, and speakers in general are quiteaware of this fact, and freely admit it, though they may not be acquaintedwith the causes or laws governing the phenomena. 

Following the same psychic law, it will be found that every town or largecity, or even every small village or section of a larger town, will befound to have its own distinctive psychic atmosphere, which is veryperceptible to strangers visiting the place, and which affect those whotake up their residence in the place. In large cities, it has been noticedthat every building has its own peculiar vibrations which arise from thegeneral character of those occupying it. Different church buildingslikewise reflect the character of the general habits of thought andfeeling of those worshipping in them. Likewise, certain business streetshave pleasant or unpleasant vibrations in their atmosphere, from the samecauses. Every person recognizes the truth of these statements, though butfew are able to account for the facts in a scientific manner. 

The beginner in the study of psychic phenomena often asks how these thingscan be, when the thought which has occasioned the vibrations have longsince passed away. The explanation is simple, when properly explained. Itis something like this: just as heat remains in a room after the stove hasceased to throw out heat-waves, so do the vibrations of thought andfeeling persist long after the thought or feeling has died away. Or, ifyou prefer a more material illustration, we may say that if a package ofperfumery has been opened in a room, and then removed, the air will remaincharged 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 hischaracteristic mental and emotional vibrations. And, in the same way, thehouse, store, church, street, town, or city, etc. , is permeated with thepsychic vibrations of those who have frequented them. Nearly every onerealizes the different feeling that impresses him when he enters a strangehouse, apartment, store or church. Each one has its own difference ofpsychic effect. And, so does each person create his or her psychic effectupon those coming in contact with him or her, or who comes into his or herpresence or vicinity. 

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

In the first place, though we are constantly affected more or less by themultitude of psychic vibrations beating upon us, still the greater part ofthem do not consciously impress us. For an example, we have but toconsider how few of the sounds or sights of a busy street are impressedupon our consciousness. We hear and see only a few of the things whichattract our attention and interest. The rest are lost to us, although oureyes and ears receive them all. In the same way, we are impressed only bythe stronger vibrations which reach us, and then only by those which wehave attracted to ourselves, or which prove attractive to us by reason ofour own likes and dislikes. 

In the second place, the effect of certain thought vibrations isneutralized by the effect of the vibrations of thoughts of an oppositecharacter. Just as a mixture of black and white produces the neutral colorof grey, so do two currents of opposing thought vibrations tend to resolvethemselves into a neutral vibration which has little or no effect uponthose coming in contact with them. You may think of numerouscorrespondences to this in the world of material things. For instance, amixture of very hot and very cold water, will produce a neutral lukewarmliquid, neither hot nor cold. In the same way, two things of opposingtaste characteristics, when blended, will produce a neutral taste havingbut little effect upon one. The principle is universal, and is readilyunderstood. 

In the third place, there is that which we may call an "affinity" betweenthoughts and feelings of a similar character. Not only do the vibrationsof similar thoughts tend to coalesce and combine; but, more than this, each one of us attracts to himself or herself the thought vibrations whichare in general accord with corresponding thoughts in our own minds, orfeelings in our own nature. Like attracts like. In the same way, thecharacter of our thoughts and feelings act to repel thought or emotionalvibrations of an opposite or inharmonious nature. As all occultists know, everyone draws thought vibrations in harmony with his or her own; and alsorepels thought vibrations of an inharmonious nature. 

These are the general laws and principles governing the phenomena of thisphase of telepathic vibrations. There is much more to be said on thesubject, of course, but if you will note carefully the leading principlesand laws of manifestation just mentioned, you will be able to reasoncorrectly regarding any phase of this class of phenomena which may comebefore you for attention. Once you learn a general rule, the rest becomesmerely a matter of application and interpretation. Let us now proceed to aconsideration of other phases of the general subject of telepathicinfluence. 

We now come to the phase of what may be called direct telepathy--that iswhere a thought is consciously, and more or less purposely, directedtoward another person. We come across many interesting cases of this kindwhere persons find themselves thinking intently of certain other persons, and afterwards are told by the other persons that "I found myself thinkingintently about you, at such and such a time, " etc. In some of these casesit is difficult to determine which one started the thinking. Again, howoften do we find ourselves thinking of a person, when all of a sudden theperson comes into sight. Again, we think intently and earnestly about acertain question; and then, all of a sudden, other folks whom we meetbegin talking to us about the same thing. These instances are too commonto need more than a passing notice. 

A little more purpose is displayed in that class of phenomena in which weintently wish that a certain person shall do a certain thing, and lo! wesoon learn that that certain person has done it. A number of years ago, apopular writer wrote an article in which he mentioned what seemed to himto be a curious instance of some form of mental influence or telepathy. Hesaid that he had found out that if he would sit down and carefully write aletter to some person from whom he had not heard for a long time, and thendestroy the letter instead of sending it, he would be almost certain toreceive a letter from that person within a few days. He did not attempt toaccount for the phenomenon, he merely called the attention of his readersto it. Many persons have followed the suggestion, often with verywonderful results. There is nothing miraculous, or supernatural about suchoccurrences. It is merely one phase of telepathy. The concentrated thoughtof the writer of the letter is directed toward the other person, and thatperson begins to think of the first one; then he thinks he will write tohim; then he actually does write. Distance, space, and direction have noimportance in this experiment--it is not necessary to even know where thesecond person is, in fact. 

There are often found persons so closely in psychic harmony with eachother that they very often are able to ask questions and receive answersfrom each other, even though great distances separate them. Someparticular times there is a better psychic harmony existing between thesame persons than is found at other times. All this, of course, affectsthe success of the experiment. It is surprising what wonderful resultsalong these lines may be obtained by almost any person of averageintelligence, after a little careful, patient, conscientious practice. 

But there have been phenomena obtained as the result of long series ofcareful experiments which are, in a way, even more wonderful than thesesomewhat less deliberate experiments just mentioned. I allude to theexperiments of a number of earnest, careful scientific students, whosurrounded themselves with every precaution against over-enthusiasm, fraud, and coincidence. Prominent among this class of investigations wefind those conducted by the Society for Psychical Research, of England, which really established a firm basis for the work of other investigatorswho followed the general methods of the said society. In the followingchapter, I shall give you a somewhat extended statement of the results ofsuch investigations, because this information is important to everystudent of psychic phenomena, not only because it establishes a firmscientific basis for his studies and beliefs, but also because it giveshim important information which he may apply in the course of his ownexperimental work. 

I may mention that the investigations into the subject of telepathy, andkindred subjects, under the auspices of the society just mentioned, wereconducted by men of careful scientific training and experience, and underthe general supervision and approval of the officers of the society, amongwhich have been numbered such eminent men as Prof. Henry Sidgwick, ofCambridge University; Prof. Balfour Stewart, a Fellow of the Royal Societyof England; Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour, the eminent English statesman; Prof. William James, the eminent American psychologist; Sir William Crookes, thegreat 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 psychicphenomena; Sir Oliver Lodge, the popular English scientist; and other menof international reputation and high standing. The character of these menat once gives the stamp of honesty and scientific accuracy to all the workof the society. 

In order that you may understand the spirit which animated thesescientific investigators in their work of the exploration of this new andstrange region of Nature, I ask you to carefully read the following wordsof the presidential address of Sir William Crookes, before the RoyalSociety, at Bristol, England, in 1898. Remember, please, that this addresswas made before an assemblage of distinguished scientists, many of themrank materialists and, quite skeptical of all occult phenomena--this wasnearly twenty years ago, remember. Sir William Crookes, facing thisgathering, as its president, said:

"Were I now introducing for the first time these inquiries to the world ofscience, I should choose a starting point different from that of old(where we formerly began). It would be well to begin with Telepathy; withthat fundamental law, as I believe it to be, that thoughts and images maybe transferred from one mind to another without the agency of therecognized organs of sense--that knowledge may enter the human mindwithout being communicated in any hitherto known or recognized ways. * * *If telepathy takes place, we have two physical facts--the physical changein the brain of A, the suggestor, and the analogous physical change in thebrain of B, the recipient of the suggestion. Between these two physicalevents there must exist a train of physical causes. * * * It isunscientific to call in the aid of mysterious agencies, when with everyfresh advance in knowledge it is shown that either vibrations have powersand attributes abundantly able to any demand--even the transmission ofthought. 

"It is supposed by some physiologists that the essential cells of nervesdo not actually touch, but are separated by a narrow gap which widens insleep while it narrows almost to extinction during mental activity. Thiscondition is so singularly like a Branly or Lodge coherer (a device whichled to the discovery of wireless telegraphy) as to suggest a furtheranalogy. The structure of brain and nerve being similar, it is conceivablethat 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 ofmagnitude. 

"Roentgen has familiarized us with an order of vibrations of extrememinuteness as compared with the smallest waves with which we have hithertobeen acquainted: and there is no reason to suppose that we have herereached the limit of frequency. It is known that the action of thought isaccompanied by certain molecular movements in the brain, and here we havephysical vibrations capable from their extreme minuteness of acting directupon individual molecules, while their rapidity approaches that ofinternal and external movements of the atoms themselves. A formidablerange of phenomena must be scientifically sifted before we effectuallygrasp 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 inscription was carved over theportal of the Temple of Isis: 'I am whatever has been, is, or ever willbe; and my veil no man hath yet lifted. ' Not thus do modern seekers aftertruth confront Nature--the word that stands for the baffling mysteries ofthe Universe. Steadily, unflinchingly, we strive to pierce the inmostheart of Nature, from what she is to reconstruct what she has been, andto prophesy what she shall be. Veil after veil we have lifted, and herface grows more beautiful, august and wonderful, with every barrier thatis withdrawn. "

You will notice that this address made nearly twenty years ago, and fromthe standpoint of physical science is in full accord with the ideas ofoccultism as old as the hills. And yet, the speaker had worked out theidea independently. He also investigated higher forms of psychicphenomena, with results that startled the world. But, you will notice thathe does not attempt to give any other than purely physical laws the creditfor the ordinary phenomena of telepathy. And he was thoroughly right inthis, as we have seen. He escaped the common error of confusingphysical-sense phenomena with the phenomena of the astral-senses. Eachplane has its own phenomena--and each class is surely wonderful enough. And, again, remember that both physical and astral phenomena are purelynatural; there is no need for seeking any supernatural agencies to accountfor 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: "Telepathyis the communication of impressions of any kind from one mind to another, independently of the recognized channels of sense. " They took the rationalposition that the actual distance between the projector and the recipientof the telepathic message is not material; and that all that is requiredis such a separation of the two persons that no known operation of thesenses can bridge the space between them. They wisely held that telepathybetween two persons in the same room is as much telepathy as when the twopersons are located at opposite sides of the world. 

The investigators then ruled out all instances of thought-transmission inwhich there was even the slightest muscular contact between the projectorand the recipient. They held that though there might be genuine telepathyin such cases, nevertheless, there was always the possibility of fraud orcollusion, or of unconscious muscular action on the part of the projector. They demanded absolute and actual separation of the two persons, in orderthat their experiments might be above suspicion. They were wise in this, for while there is undoubtedly a psychic communication in the cases inwhich there is the slight physical connection between the two persons (asI shall point out to you a little further on), still the element of doubtor suspicion must be entirely eliminated from a scientific test, in orderto render it valuable and valid. 

They, therefore, confined their investigations in Telepathy to the twofollowing classes, viz. : (1) where actions are performed without physicalcontact with the person willing; and (2) where some number, word, or cardis guessed apparently without any of the ordinary means of communication. The investigators recognized the possibility that in the first of theabove-mentioned two classes of experiments there is a possibility ofsuspicion of collusion, fraud, or unconscious suggestion, in the matter ofthe motion of the eyes of the party, or some member of it, which might beseized upon, perhaps unconsciously, by the recipient, and used to guidehim to the object which was being thought of by the projector or theparty. They sought to obviate this difficulty by blindfolding thepercipient, and by placing non-conductors of sound over his ears. But, finally, they came to the conclusion that even these precautions might notprove sufficient; and, accordingly, they devoted their attention to thesecond class of experiments, in which all ordinary means of communicationbetween projector and recipient were impossible. They took the additionalprecautions of limiting their circle to a small number of investigators ofscientific reputations, and well known to each other, always avoiding apromiscuous company for obvious reasons. 

One of the earliest series of investigations by these special committeesof investigators was that of the family of the Rev. A. M. Creery, inDerbyshire, England. The children of this family had acquired a reputationin what was known as the "guessing game, " in which one of the children, previously placed outside of the room, then returned to the room andattempted to "guess" the name or location of some object agreed upon bythe party during her absence. The results were very interesting, and quitesatisfactory, and have frequently been referred to in works on the subjectwritten since that time. I think it well to give the results of thisseries of experiments in some little detail, for they form a basis forexperiments on the part of those who read these lessons. 

Prof. W. F. Barrett, Professor of Physics in the Royal College of Sciencefor Ireland, conducted the most of the experiments. The report to theSociety says: "We began by selecting the simplest objects in the room;then chose names of towns, people, dates, cards out of a pack, lines fromdifferent poems, etc. , in fact, any thing or series of ideas that thosepresent could keep in their minds steadily. The children seldom made amistake. I have seen seventeen cards chosen by myself named right insuccession without any mistake. We soon found that a great deal dependedon the steadiness with which the ideas were kept before the minds of thethinkers, and upon the energy with which they willed the ideas to pass. Imay say that this faculty is not by any means confined to the members ofone family; it is much more general than we imagine. To verify thisconclusion, I invited two of a neighbor's children to join us in ourexperiments, with excellent results. "

The report gives the methods of the experiments, as follows: "The inquiryhas taken place partly in Mr. Creery's house, and partly in lodgings, orat a hotel occupied by some of our number. Having selected at random onechild, whom we desired to leave the room and wait at some distance, wewould choose a pack of cards, or write on a piece of paper a name of anumber which occurred to us at the moment. Generally, but not always, thiswas shown to the members of the family present in the room; but no onemember was always present, and we were sometimes entirely alone. We thenrecalled the child, one of us always assuring himself that, when the doorwas suddenly opened, she was at a considerable distance, though this wasusually a superfluity of caution, as our habit was to avoid all utterancesof what was chosen. On re-entering, she stood--sometimes turned by us withher face toward the wall, oftener with her eyes directed toward theground, and usually close to us and remote from the family--for a periodof silence varying from a few seconds to a minute, till she called out tous some number, card, or whatever it might be. "

In the first experiments, in "guessing" the name of objects, the childguessed correctly six out of fourteen. She then guessed correctly thename of small objects held in the hands of one of the committee--fivetimes out of six. She guessed fictitious names chosen by thecommittee--five out of ten, at the first trial. The committee then testedher 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 thechild and bade her try to find the thing thought of, thethought-concentration of course continuing during the search. The resultis thus reported: "In this way I wrote down, among other things, ahair-brush--it was brought; an orange--it was brought; a wine-glass--itwas brought; an apple--it was brought; and so on, until many objects hadbeen selected and found by the child. "

Passing over the details of many other experiments we find that thefollowing remarkable results were obtained by the committee: "Altogether, three hundred and eighty-two trials were made in this series. In the caseof letters of the alphabet, of cards, and of numbers of two figures, thechances of success on a first trial would naturally be 25 to 1, 52 to 1, and 89 to 1, respectively; in the case of surnames they would of course beinfinitely greater. Cards were far most frequently employed, and the oddsin 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 averagenumber of successes at the first attempt by an ordinary guesser would beseven and one-third. Of our trials, one hundred and twenty-seven weresuccesses on the first attempt, fifty-six on the second, nineteen on thethird--MAKING TWO HUNDRED AND TWO, OUT OF A POSSIBLE THREE HUNDRED ANDEIGHTY-TWO!" Think of this, while the law of averages called for onlyseven and one-third successes at first trial, the children obtained onehundred and twenty-seven, which, given a second and third trial, theyraised to two hundred and two! You see, this takes the matter entirely outof the possibility of coincidence or mathematical probability. 

But this was not all. Listen to the further report of the committee onthis point: "The following was the result of one of the series. The thingselected was divulged to none of the family, and five cards running werenamed correctly on a first trial. The odds against this happening once ina series were considerably over a million to one. There were other similarbatches, the two longest runs being eight consecutive guesses, once withcards, and once with names; where the adverse odds in the former case wereover one hundred and forty-two millions to one; and in the other, something incalculably greater. " The opinion of eminent mathematicians whohave examined the above results is that the hypothesis of mere coincidenceis practically excluded in the scientific consideration of the matter. Thecommittee calls special attention to the fact that in many of the mostimportant tests none of the Creery family were cognizant of the objectselected, and that, therefore, the hypothesis of fraud or collusion isabsolutely eliminated. The committee naturally came to the conclusionthat the phenomena was genuine and real telepathy. 

Prof. Balfour Stewart, LL. D. , F. R. S. , who was present at some of theseexperiments, though not a member of the committee, expressed greatamazement at some of the results. He reports: "The thought-reader wasoutside a door. The object or thing thought of was written on paper andsilently handed to the company in the room. The thought reader was thencalled in, and in the course of a minute the answer was given. Definiteobjects in the room, for instance, were first thought of, and in themajority of the cases the answers were correct. Then numbers were thoughtof, and the answers were generally right, though, of course, there weresome cases of error. The names of towns were thought of, and a good manyof these were right. Then fancy names were thought of. I was asked tothink of certain fancy names, and mark them down and hand them round tothe 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 experiments with otherrecipients, with very satisfactory results. Colors were correctly guessedwith a percentage of successes quite beyond the average or probablenumber. Names of towns in all parts of the world, were correctly "guessed"by certain recipients with a wonderful degree of success. But, probablymost wonderful of all, was the correct reproduction of diagrams ofgeometrical and other figures and shapes. In one case, the recipient, in aseries of nine trials, succeeded in drawing them all correctly, exceptthat he frequently reversed them, making the upper-side down, and theright-hand side to the left. The Society, has published these reproduceddiagrams in its Illustrated reports, and they have convinced the mostskeptical of critics. Some of the diagrams were quite complicated, unusual, and even grotesque, and yet they were reproduced with marvelousaccuracy, not in a hesitating manner, but deliberately and continuously, as if the recipient were actually copying a drawing in full sight. Similarresults have been obtained by other investigators who have followed thelead of these original ones. 

So you see, the seal of scientific authority has been placed upon thephenomena of telepathy. It is no longer in the realm of the supernaturalor uncanny. As Camille Flammarion, the eminent French scientist, has said:"The action of one mind upon another at a distance--the transmission ofthought, mental suggestion, communication at a distance--all these are notmore extraordinary than the action of the magnet on iron, the influence ofthe moon on the sea, the transportation of the human voice by electricity, the revolution of the chemical constituents of a star by the analysis ofits light, or, indeed, all the wonders of contemporary science. Only thesepsychic communications are of a more elevated kind, and may serve to putus on the track of a knowledge of human nature. What is certain is: Thattelepathy can and ought to be henceforth considered by Science as anincontestable reality; that minds are able to act upon each other withoutthe intervention of the senses; that psychic force exists, though itsnature is yet unknown. * * * We say that this force is of a psychic order, and not physical, or physiological, or chemical, or mechanical, because itproduces and transmits ideas and thoughts, and because it manifests itselfwithout the co-operation of our senses, soul to soul, mind to mind. "

In addition to investigating the above mentioned classes of telepathicphenomena, the English Society for Psychical Research investigated manyremarkable cases of a somewhat higher phase of telepathy. They took downthe stories told by persons deemed responsible, and then carefullyexamined, and cross-examined other witnesses to the strange phenomena. Therecord of these experiments, and investigations, fill a number of goodsized volumes of the Society's reports, which are well worth reading byall students of the subject. They may be found in the libraries of nearlyany large city. I shall, however, select a number of the most interestingof the cases therein reported, to give my students an idea of thecharacter of the phenomena so investigated and found genuine by thecommittees having this class of telepathy under investigation. 

An interesting case of spontaneous telepathy is that related by Dr. Ede, as follows: "There is a house about a half-mile from my own, inhabited bysome ladies, friends of our family. They have a large alarm bell outsidetheir house. One night I awoke suddenly and said to my wife: 'I am sure Ihear Mrs. F's alarm bell ringing. ' After listening for some time, we heardnothing, and I went to sleep again. The next day Mrs. F. Called upon mywife and said to her: 'We were wishing for your husband last night, for wewere alarmed by thieves. We were all up, and I was about to pull the alarmbell, hoping that he would hear it, saying to my daughters, "I am sure itwill soon bring Dr. Ede, " but we did not ring it. ' My wife asked what timethis had happened, and Mrs. F. Said that it was about half past one. Thatwas the time I awoke thinking that I heard the bell. "

In this case there was manifested simply ordinary physical planetelepathy. Had the bell actually been rung, and heard psychically, itwould have been a case of astral plane hearing, known as clairaudience. Asit was, merely the thought in the mind of Mrs. F. , and her strong idea toring the bell, caused a transmission of thought waves which struck Dr. Edewith great force and awakened him. This case is interesting because it istypical of many cases of a similar nature within the experience of manypersons. It is seen that a strong feeling, or excitement, accompanied by astrong desire or wish to summon another person, tends to give great powerand effect to the thought waves emitted. They strike the mind of therecipient like the sudden ringing of an alarm clock bell. 

Another interesting case is that of two ladies, both well known to membersof the committee, and vouched for as of strict veracity. This case isunusual for the reason that two different persons received thethought-waves at the same time. Here is an abridgment of the case: "LadyG. And her sister had been spending the evening with their mother, who wasin her usual health and spirits when they left her. In the middle of thenight the sister awoke in her fright and said to her husband: 'I must goto my mother at once; do order the carriage. I am sure that she is takenill. ' On the way to her mother's house, where two roads meet, she saw LadyG. 's carriage approaching. When they met each asked the other why she wasthere. They both related the same experience and impression. When theyreached their mother's house, they found that she was dying, and hadexpressed an earnest wish to see them. "

Another case of a similar nature is this: "At the siege of Mooltan, MajorGeneral R. , then adjutant of his regiment, was severely wounded andsupposed himself to be dying. He requested that his ring be taken off hisfinger 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 waybetween waking and sleeping. She saw her husband being taken off thefield, and heard his voice saying: 'Take this ring off my finger, and sendit to my wife. '"

This case bears the marks of very strong telepathy, but also has asuspicious resemblance to clairvoyance accompanied by clairaudience. Orperhaps it is a combination of both telepathy and clairvoyance. It isimpossible to determine which, in absence of more detailed information. The message of persons dying, or believing themselves to be approachingdeath, are frequently very strong, for certain reasons well known tooccultists. But there is nothing supernatural about the phenomena, and inmost cases it is merely a case of strong telepathy. 

The Society also reports the following interesting 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 daysafterward, they both told him that at one o'clock they had awakened underthe impression that he was in their room. The experience was so vivid thatthey could not go to sleep for some time, and looked at their watches tonote the time. " Cases of this kind are quite common, and manyexperimenters have had equally good results with this phase of thoughttransference. You will remember that there is no actual projection of theastral body, in most of these cases, but merely a strong impression causedby concentrated thought. 

Another interesting case is that of the late Bishop Wilberforce, and isrecorded in his biography, as follows: The Bishop was in his library atCuddleson, with three or four of his clergy with him at the same table. The Bishop suddenly raised his hand to his head, and exclaimed: "I amcertain that something has happened to one of my sons. " It afterwardstranspired that just at that time his eldest son's foot was badly crushedby an accident on board his ship, the son being at sea. The Bishop himselfrecorded the circumstance in a letter to Miss Noel, saying: "It is curiousthat at the time of his accident I was so possessed with the depressingconsciousness of some evil having befallen my son, Herbert, that at thelast, I wrote down that I was unable to shake off the impression thatsomething had happened to him, and noted this down for remembrance. " Thereis nothing unusual about this case, for it has been duplicated in theexperience of many persons. Its chief importance lies in the fact that itis recorded by a man of wide reputation and high standing, and also thatthe 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 closelyapproaches the aspect of true clairvoyance, or astral sensing. In somecases there appears to be a blending of both telepathy and astralclairvoyance. In fact, there is but very little difference between thehighest phases of ordinary telepathy, and the more common phases ofclairvoyance. Here, as in many other cases of Nature's forces, there seemsto be a gradual blending, rather than a sharp dividing line between thetwo classes of phenomena. Moreover, the student developing his telepathicpowers will frequently find that he is beginning to unfold at leastoccasional flashes of clairvoyance. 

In the case of telepathy, the recipient merely senses what is in the mindof the projector. In some cases a picture in the mind of the projector maybe seen by the recipient, and may thus be mistaken for a case of pureclairvoyance. But, in investigating closely, it will be found that thereal scene was slightly different from the impression, in which case itshows that the impression was simply telepathic. Clairvoyant vision showsthe scene as it really is, or rather as the physical eye of the recipientwould have seen it. The astral sight really sees the scene, and does notmerely receive the mental impression of the projector. The first isoriginal seeing; the second, merely a reproduction of images already inthe mind of the projector, and colored by his personality, etc. 

In the next lesson, I shall give you a number of exercises and methodsdesigned to develop your telepathic powers. You will find the practice ofthese most interesting and entertaining, and at the same time mostinstructive. You will find that as you practice the exercises giventherein, you will become more and more adept and proficient in producingtelepathic phenomena. From the lower stages, you will be able to proceedto the higher. And, in time, you will be surprised to find that almostunconsciously you have passed into the stage in which you will have atleast occasional manifestations of clairvoyance, psychometry, etc. 

In fact, there is no better way known to practical occultists to developin a student the powers of clairvoyance than just this method of startingthe student with the exercises designed to develop the telepathic power. It has been found by centuries of experience that the student who developstelepathic power, in a systematic way, will gradually unfold and evolvethe clairvoyant and psychometric power. It constitutes the first rungs onthe ladder of psychic development. 

Of course, under the head of clairvoyance, etc. , you will be given methodsand exercise designed to develop clairvoyant powers--some of them veryvaluable and effective methods, at that. But, notwithstanding this, I feelthat I should impress upon you the importance of laying a firm foundationfor such instruction, by developing yourself first along the lines oftelepathic power. Such a course will not only keenly sharpen your powersof receptivity to such vibrations as you may wish to receive; but it willalso train your mind in the direction of translating, interpreting, andrecording such impressions when received. 

You must remember that proficiency in a mental art is attained only bymeans of training the attention to concentrate upon the task. It is thesame way in clairvoyance and psychometry. Telepathy trains your attentionto concentrate upon the reception of impressions, and to hold them firmlyand clearly in consciousness. The result is that when you really developclairvoyant receptivity, your attention has already been trained to dothe necessary work. I need not tell you what an advantage this gives youover the clairvoyant who has not received this training, for your own goodcommon sense will assure you of it. 

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

LESSON V. 

MIND READING, AND BEYOND. 

The simpler forms of telepathic phenomena have received the name "MindReading" and by some have been regarded as something not quite within theclass of real telepathy. This last impression has been heightened by thefact that there has been offered the public many spectacular exhibitionsof pseudo mind-reading, that is to say, imitation or counterfeitmind-reading, in which the result has been obtained by trickery, collusion, or clever artifice. But, notwithstanding this fact, genuinemind-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 theprojector and the receiver; and (2) where there is no actual physicalcontact, but where there is a close relation in space between the twoparties, as in the case of the "willing game. " In the first class belongall cases in which the projector touches the recipient, or at least isconnected with him by a material object. In the second class belong thosecases in which the recipient seeks to find an object which is beingthought of by either a single projector, or by a number of persons in thesame room. You will notice that both of these classes were omitted fromthe experiments of the Society for Psychical Research, because of thepossibility of fraud or collusion. But, nevertheless, the student will dowell to acquire proficiency in manifesting this form of telepathy, notalone for its own sake, but, also, because it naturally leads to higherdevelopment. 

In the case of the first class of mind-reading namely, that in whichactual physical contact is had between the projector and the recipient, there has been a disposition on the part of some authorities to explainthe whole matter by the theory of unconscious muscular impulse of theprojector; but those who have carefully studied this subject, and who havethemselves performed the feats of this class of mind-reading, know thatthere is far more than this to it. Those familiar with the subject knowthat there is a decided transference of thought-waves from the projectorto the recipient, and that the latter actually "feels" the same as theystrike upon his mental receiving apparatus. The whole difference betweenthis and the higher forms of telepathy is that in this thethought-currents generally run along the wires of the nervous system, instead of leaping across the space between the two persons. 

It is known to all who have conducted this class of experiments, that attimes there will be experienced a change or shifting in the transmissionof the thought-currents. For a time, the thought-waves will be feltflowing in along the nerves of the hands and arms when, all of a suddenthis will cease, and there will be experienced the passage of the currentdirect from brain to brain. It is impossible to describe this feeling inmere words, to those who have never experienced it. But those to whom ithas once been manifested will recognize at once just what I mean by thisstatement. It is a different sensation from any other in the experience ofa human being, and must actually be experienced to be understood. Thenearest analogy I can offer is that feeling experienced by the person whena forgotten name for which he has vainly sought, suddenly flashes or leapsinto his consciousness--it is felt to come from somewhere outside of theconscious field. Well, in the case of the thought-current the feeling ismuch the same, only there is a fuller sense of the "outsideness" of thesource of the thought. 

In order to make you understand the distinction between the two classes ofmind-reading more clearly, I will say that you may think of one as akin tothe ordinary telegraphy over wires; and of the other as akin to wirelesstelegraphy. It is the same force in both cases, the difference beingsimply one of the details of transmission. Fix this idea firmly in yourmind, and you will have no trouble in always having the right conceptionof 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 oftransmission, either simultaneously, or else shifting and changing fromone to the other. 

I will here remind the student that he will learn more by a half-dozenactual experiments in mind-reading, than he will by reading a dozen bookson the subject. It is very good to read the books in order to get thecorrect theory well fixed in mind, and also in order to learn the bestmethods as taught by those who have had a wide experience in the subject;but the real "how" of the matter is learned only through actualexperience. So, I shall now give you advice and instructions concerningactual experimental work. 

You, the student, should begin by making yourself a good recipient--thatis a good "mind reader, " allowing others to play the part of projector. Later on, you may play the part of projector, if you so desire, but thereal "fine work" is done by the recipient, and, for that reason that isthe part you should learn to play by frequent rehearsals. 

I advise you to begin your experiments with friends who are in sympathywith you, and who are interested in the subject. Avoid particularly allearly experiments with uncongenial or unsympathetic persons; and avoid asyou would a pestilence all those who are antagonistic either to yourselfor to the general subject of telepathy and kindred subjects. As you mustmake yourself especially "sensitive" in order to successfully conduct amind-reading test, you will find yourself particularly susceptible to themental attitude of those around you at such times, and therefore shouldsurround yourself only with those who are congenial and sympathetic. 

You will find that there is a great difference between the several personswhom you "try out" as projectors. Some will be more "en rapport" with youthan are others who may be equally good friends. "En rapport, " you know, means "in vibrational harmony. " When two persons are en rapport with eachother, they are like two wireless telegraphic instruments perfectlyattuned to each other. In such cases there are obtained the very bestresults. You will soon learn to distinguish the degree of en rapportconditions between yourself and different persons--you soon learn to"feel" this condition. In the beginning, it will be well for you to tryseveral persons, one after the other, in your mind-reading experiments, inorder to pick out the best one, and also to learn the "feel" of thedifferent degrees of en rapport condition. 

Even in cases of persons in whom the en rapport conditions are good, it iswell to establish a rhythmic unison between you. This is done by both youand the person breathing in rhythmic unison a few moments. Begin bycounting "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 bothwork in the same rhythmic time. Then you should have him breathe in unisonwith you, making a mental count with you at the same time, so that youwill "breathe together. " Count (mentally) "one-two-three-four, " as youinhale; the "one-two, " holding the breath; and, then "one-two-three-four, "exhaling or breathing-out. Try this several times, and, you will find thatyou have established a rhythmic unison between yourself and the otherperson. In the progress of an experiment, if you should find that theconditions are not as good as might be desired, you will do well to pausefor a few moments and re-establish the proper rhythmic harmony by thismethod of harmonious rhythmic breathing. 

Begin by having the projector select some prominent object in the room, achair, or table for instance. Then have him take your left hand in hisright hand. Raise your left hand, held in his right hand, to yourforehead; then close your eyes and remain passive a few moments. Have himconcentrate his mind intently on the selected object--and will that youshould move toward it. Have him think of nothing else except that object, 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 impressionthat he may send you. Instruct him to think not merely "chair, " forinstance, but rather "there--go there. " The main thought in his mind mustbe 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 tomove your feet. Obey the impulse. Take a few slow steps in any directionthat seems easy to you. Sometimes this will take you in an oppositedirection from that of the chair, but it will "get you going, " and youwill soon begin to feel that the direction is "all wrong, " and will beginto be mentally pulled in the right direction. You will have to actuallyexperience this feeling, before you will fully understand just what Imean. 

After some little practice, you will begin to feel quite distinctly themental direction, or will-force, of the projector, which will seem to tellyou to "come this way--now stop--now turn a little to the right--now alittle to the left--now stop where you are, and put out your righthand--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 betweenthe "no, that's wrong" thought, and the "that's right" one; and betweenthe "go on, " and the "come on" one. By making yourself completely passive, and receptive and obedient to the thought and will-impulses of theprojector, you will soon act like a ship under the influence of the rudderin the hand of the projector. 

After you have attained proficiency in receiving the mental impressionsand directions, you will find yourself attracted or drawn, like a piece ofsteel to the magnet, toward the object selected. It will sometimes seem asif you were being moved to it even against your own will--and as ifsomeone else were actually moving your feet for you. Sometimes the impulsewill 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, orby your side. It is all a matter of practice. 

You will soon discover the great difference between different projectors. Some of them will be in perfect en rapport condition with you, whileothers will fail to get into tune with you. Some projectors do not seemto know what is required of them, and usually forget to "will" you to theobject. It helps sometimes to tell them that the whole thing depends upontheir will power, and that the stronger their will is, the easier it isfor you to find the thing. This puts them on their mettle, and makes themuse 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 youbegin to move your right hand up and down and around, until you get theright "feel" about that also, when you should place your hand on the placewhich seems to attract you most. You will find that the hand is just asresponsive to the mental force, as are the feet. You will soon learn todistinguish between the mental signals: "up, " "down, " "to the right, " "tothe left, " "stop now, you're right, " etc. I cannot tell you just thedifference--you must learn to "feel" them, and you will soon become expertin this. It is like learning to skate, run an automobile, operate atypewriter or anything else--all a matter of exercise and practice. But itis astonishing how rapidly one may learn; and how, at times, one seems toprogress by great leaps and bounds. Now I shall give you the differentstages or steps, which you will do well to follow in your exercises, progressing from the more simple to the more complex--but be sure tothoroughly master the simple ones, before you pass on to the more complexone. Be honest and strict with yourself--make yourself "pass theexamination" before promotion, 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 bookson a table, sofa-cushions, ornaments, paper-knives, etc. Gradually workdown to very small objects, such as scarf-pins, articles of jewelry, pocket-knives, etc. 

4. CONCEALED OBJECTS. Then proceed to find small objects that havebeen concealed under other objects, such as a pocket-book beneath asofa-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 pinstuck in the wall, etc. ; or a small bean under a vase, etc. 

The public performers of mind reading vary the above by sensationalcombinations, but you will readily see that these are but ingeniousarrangements of the above general experiments, and that no new principleis involved. As these lessons are designed for serious study andexperiment, and not for sensational public performances, I shall not enterinto this phase of the subject in these pages. The student who understandsthe general principles, and is able to perform the above experimentssuccessfully, will have no difficulty in reproducing the genuine feats ofthe public mind readers, by simply using his ingenuity in arranging thestage-effects, etc. Among other things, he will find that he will be ableto obtain results by interposing a third person between the projector andhimself; or by using a short piece of wire to connect himself and theprojector. Drawing pictures on a blackboard, or writing out names on aslate, by means of thought direction, are simply the result of a finedevelopment of the power of finding the small article--the impulse to movethe hand in a certain direction comes in precisely the same way. Thepublic driving feats of the professional mind-reader are but a morecomplicated form of the same general principle--the impression of"direction" once obtained, the rest is a mere matter of detail. Theopening of the combination of a safe, though requiring wonderfulproficiency on the part of the operator, is simply an elaboration of the"direction" movement. 

Some recipients are, of course, far more proficient than are others; buteach and every person--any person of average intelligence--will be able tosecure more or less proficiency in these experiments, provided thatpatience and practice are employed. There is no such thing as an absolutefailure possible to anyone who will proceed intelligently, and willpractice sufficiently. Sometimes, after many discouraging attempts, thewhole thing will flash into one's mind at once, and after that there willbe little or no trouble. If you are able to witness the demonstrations ofsome good mind-reader, professional or amateurs it will help you to"catch the knack" at once. 

You will find that these experiments will tend to greatly and rapidlydevelop your psychic receptivity in the direction of the higher phases ofpsychic phenomena. You will be surprised to find yourself catching flashesor glimpses of ^higher telepathy, or even clairvoyance. I would adviseevery person wishing to cultivate the higher psychic faculties, to beginby perfecting himself or herself in these simpler forms of mind-reading. Besides the benefits obtained, the practice proves very interesting, andopens many doors to pleasant social entertainment. But, never allow thedesire for social praise or popularity, in these matters, to spoil you forserious investigation and experiment. 

THE SECOND STEP OF DEVELOPMENT. The student, having perfected himselfin the experiments along the lines of the first class of mind-reading, viz. , where there is no actual physical contact between the projector andrecipient, 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 differencebetween telepathy at a great distance, and that in which there is only theslightest difference in the position of the projector and recipient, providing, always, that there is no actual physical contact. This beingso, why your insistence upon the 'close relation in space' justmentioned?--what is the reason for this nearness?" Well, it is like this:While there is no distinction of space in true telepathy, still inexperiments such as I shall now describe, the physical nearness of theprojector enables him to concentrate more forcibly, and also givesconfidence to the new beginner in receiving mind-currents. The benefit issolely 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 ismuch easier for a person to concentrate his thought and will upon a personin actual physical sight before him, than upon one out of sight. And, likewise, the recipient finds himself more confident and at ease when inthe actual physical of the person sending the thoughts and will power. That is all there is to it. When the persons have acquired familiaritywith projecting and receiving, then this obstacle is overcome, and longdistances have no terror for them. 

The best way for the student to start in on this class of mind-reading, isfor him to experiment occasionally while performing his physical contactmind-reading experiments. For instance, while engaged in searching for anobject let him disengage his hand from that of the projector for a momentor so, and then endeavor to receive the impressions without contact. (Thisshould be done only in private experiments, not in public ones. ) He willsoon discover that he is receiving thought impulses in spite of the lackof physical contact--faint, perhaps, but still perceptible. A littlepractice of this kind will soon convince him that he is receiving themental currents direct from brain to brain. This effect will be increasedif he arranges to have several persons concentrate their thoughts and willpower upon him during the experiment. From this stage, he will graduallydevelop into the stage of the Willing Game. 

The Willing Game, quite popular in some circles, is played by one person(usually blind-folded) being brought into the room in which a number ofpersons have previously agreed upon some object to be found by him, theyconcentrating their thought firmly upon the object. The audience should betaught to not only to think but also to actively "will" the progress ofthe 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 objectitself wherever it be hidden. 

An adept in the receiving end of the Willing Game will be able to performall the experiments that I have just pointed out to you in the contactmind-reading class. In the Willing Game, you must remember that there isno taking hold of hands or any other form of physical contact betweenprojector and recipient. The transmission of the mental currents must bedirect, from brain to brain. Otherwise, the two classes of experiments arealmost identical. There is the same "willing" toward the object on thepart of the projectors, and the same passive obedience of the recipient. All the difference is that the current now passes over the ether ofspace, as in the case of the wireless message, instead of over the wiresof the nervous system of the two persons. 

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

After you have become very proficient in this class of experiments, youmay begin to try experiments at "long distance, " that is where theprojector is out of your physical presence. It makes no difference whetherthe distance be merely that between two adjoining rooms, or else of milesof space. At first, however, nearness adds confidence in the majority ofcases. Confidence once gained, the distance may be lengthenedindefinitely, without impairing the success of the experiments. The longdistance experiments may consist either of the receiving of single words, names, etc. , or else distinct, clear messages or ideas. Some find it nomore 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 downthe word or thought he wishes to transmit, and for the recipient to writedown the impressions he receives. These memoranda will serve as a recordof progress, and will, moreover, give a scientific value to theexperiments. 

Some experimenters have been quite successful in experiments along thelines of Automatic Writing from living persons, produced by means of longdistance telepathy. In these cases the recipient sits passively at thehour agreed upon for the experiment, and the projector concentratesintently upon a sentence, or several sentences, one word at a time--at thesame time "willing" the other person to write the word. The famousinvestigator of psychic phenomena, the late W. T. Stead, editor of a Londonnewspaper, who went down on the "Titanic, " was very successful inexperiments of this kind. His written records of these are veryinteresting and instructive. 

You will, of course, understand that in all cases of long distancetelepathic experiments there should be an understanding between the twopersons regarding the time and duration of the experiment, so as to obtainthe best results. Personally, however, I have known of some very excellentresults in which the receiving of the message occurred several hours afterthe sending--thus showing that telepathy is in a measure independent oftime, as well as of space. But, as a rule, the best results are obtainedwhen the two persons "sit" simultaneously. 

Do not rest content with accepting the reports of others regarding thesethings. Try them for yourself. You will open up a wonderful world of newexperiences for yourself. But, remember always, you must proceed step bystep, perfecting yourself at each step before proceeding to the next. 

LESSON VI. 

CLAIRVOYANT PSYCHOMETRY. 

The word "clairvoyance" means "clear seeing. " In its present usage itcovers a wide field of psychic phenomena; and is used by different writersto designate phases of psychic phenomena differing widely from each other. The student is apt to become confused when he meets these apparentlyconflicting definitions and usages. In the glossary of the Society forPsychical Research, the term is defined as: "The faculty or act ofperceiving, as though visually, with some coincidental truth, some distantscene; it is used sometimes, but hardly properly, for transcendentalvision, or the perception of beings regarded as on another plane ofexistence. "

Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, a distinguished writer on the subject of psychicphenomena, in one of her reports to the Society for Psychical Research, says: "The word clairvoyant is often used very loosely and with widelydifferent meanings. I denote by it a faculty of acquiring supernormally, but not by reading the minds of persons present, a knowledge of facts suchas we normally acquire by the use of our senses. I do not limit it toknowledge that would normally be acquired by the sense of sight, nor do Ilimit it to a knowledge of present facts. A similar knowledge of the past, and if necessary, of future facts may be included. On the other hand, Iexclude the mere faculty of seeing apparitions or visions, which issometimes called clairvoyance. "

The above definitive explanation of the term clairvoyance agrees with theidea of the best authorities, and distinguishes between the phenomena ofclairvoyance and that of telepathy, on the one hand; and between theformer and that of seeing apparitions, on the other hand. I, personally, accept this distinction as both scientific in form, and as agreeing withthe facts of the case. You will, of course, see that the acceptance of theexistence of the astral senses throws light on many obscure points aboutwhich the psychic researchers are in doubt, and reconciles many apparentlyopposing facts. 

All scientific authorities, as well as the best occultists, divide thephenomena of clairvoyance into several well-distinguished classes. Thefollowing classification is simple, and indicates clearly the principalforms of clairvoyant phenomena:

(1) Simple Clairvoyance, in which the clairvoyant person merely senses theauric emanations of other persons, such as the auric vibrations, colors, etc. ; currents of thought-vibrations, etc. ; but does not see events orscenes removed in space or time from the observer. 

(2) Clairvoyance in Space, in which the clairvoyant person senses scenesand events removed in space from the observer; and, often also is able tosense such things even when they are concealed or obscured by interveningmaterial objects. 

(3) Clairvoyance in Time, in which the clairvoyant person senses scenesand events which have had their original place in past time; or scenesand 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 sohowever, I wish to explain to you the several methods by which clairvoyantvision is usually induced. These methods may be designated as follows:

(1) Psychometry, or the method of getting en rapport with the astral planeby means of some physical object connected with the person, thing, orscene about which you desire to be informed. 

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

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

I shall now proceed to give the details regarding each one of these threegreat classes of methods inducing clairvoyant vision, or en rapportconditions with the astral plane. 

Psychometry. Psychometry is that form of clairvoyant phenomena in whichthe clairvoyant gets into en rapport relation with the astral plane bymeans of the connecting link of material objects, such as bit of stone, piece of hair, article of wearing apparel etc. , which has had previousassociations with the thing, person or scene regarding which clairvoyantvision is required. 

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

To reach clairvoyantly a thing, scene, or person in this way is akin tothe 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 oncecarried by the person whom you wish him to nose out for you. 

A well-known authority on the subject of psychic phenomena has said onthis point: "The untrained clairvoyant usually cannot find any particularastral picture when it is wanted, without some special link to put him enrapport with the subject required. Psychometry is an instance in point. Itseems as though there were a sort of magnetic attachment or affinitybetween any particle of matter and the record which contains itshistory--an affinity which enables it to act as a kind of conductorbetween that record and the faculties of anyone who can read it. Forinstance, I once brought from Stonehenge a tiny fragment of stone, notlarger than a pin's head, and on putting this into an envelope and handingit to a psychometer who had no idea what it was, she at once began todescribe that wonderful ruin and the desolate country surrounding it, andthen went on to picture vividly what were evidently scenes from its earlyhistory, showing that the infinitessimal fragment had been sufficient toput her into communication with the records connected with the spot fromwhich it came. The scenes through which we pass in the course of our lifeseem to act in the same way upon the cells of our brain as did the historyof Stonehenge upon that particle of stone. They establish a connectionwith those cells by means of which our mind is put en rapport with thatparticular portion of the records, and so we 'remember' what we haveseen. "

One of the simplest and most common form of psychometry is that in whichthe psychometrist is able to tell the physical condition of a person bymeans of holding to the forehead, or even in the hand, some trinket orsmall article such as a handkerchief recently worn on the person of theindividual regarding whom the information is sought. In the case of somevery sensitive psychometrists, the psychic person "takes on" the conditionof the other person whose former article of clothing, trinket, etc. , sheis holding. She will often actually experience the physical pain anddistress of the person, and will be able to indicate from what ailment theperson is suffering. Some persons attain great proficiency in thisdirection, and are a great assistance to wise physicians who availthemselves of their services. Some successful physicians themselvespossess this faculty well developed, and use it to great advantage, though, as a rule they keep very quiet about it, from fear of creatingunfavorable comment from their fellow-physicians and from the generalpublic who "do not believe in such tom-foolery. "

A step further is the power of some psychometrists to correctly describethe personal characteristics, and even the past history of persons withwhom they come in contact, or whose "associated article" they have intheir hands. Some very remarkable instances of this phase of psychometryare related in the books containing the history of clairvoyance. Aninteresting case is that related by Zschokke, the eminent German writer, who relates in his autobiography his wonderful experience in thisdirection. Listen to the story in his own words: "It has happened to meoccasionally at the first meeting with a total stranger, when I have beenlistening in silence to his conversation, that his past life up to thepresent moment, with many minute circumstances belonging to one or otherparticular 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 atrick of the fancy--the more so as my dream-vision displayed to me thedress and movements of the actors, the appearance of the room, thefurniture, and other accidents of the scene; till on one occasion, in agamesome mood, I narrated to my family the secret history of a seamstresswho had just quitted the room. I had never seen the person before. Nevertheless, the hearers were astonished, and laughed and would not bepersuaded but that I had a previous acquaintance with the former life ofthe person, inasmuch as what I had stated was perfectly true. 

"I was not less astonished to find that my dream vision agreed withreality. I then gave more attention to the subject, and as often aspropriety allowed of it, I related to those whose lives had so passedbefore me the substance of my dream-vision, to obtain from them itscontradiction or confirmation. On every occasion its confirmationfollowed, not without amazement on the part of those who gave it. On acertain fair-day I went into the town of Waldshut accompanied by two youngforesters, 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 numerouscompany at the public table, when it happened that they made themselvesmerry over the peculiarities of the Swiss in connection with the belief inmesmerism, Lavater's physiognomical system, and the like. One of mycompanions, whose national pride was touched by their raillery, begged meto make some reply, particularly in answer to a young man of superiorappearance who sat opposite, and had indulged in unrestrained ridicule. 

"It happened that the events of this person's life had just previouslypassed before my mind. I turned to him with the question whether he wouldreply to me with truth and candor, if I narrated to him the most secretpassages of his history, he being as little known to me as I to him. Thatwould, I suggested, go something beyond Lavater's physiognomical skill. Hepromised that if I told the truth he would admit it openly. Then Inarrated the events with which my dream vision had furnished me, and thetable learned the history of the young tradesman's life, of his schoolyears, his peccadilloes, and finally, of a little act of roguery committedby him on the strongbox of his employer. I described the uninhabited roomwith its white walls, where to the right of the brown door there had stoodupon the table the small money-chest, etc. The man, much struck, admittedthe correctness of each circumstance--even, which I could not expect, ofthe last. "

The above incident is typical of this class of psychometry, and manypersons have had at least flashes of this phase of the power. The onlyremarkable thing about this particular case is its faithfulness regardingdetails--this shows a very fine development of the astral sense. Thefeature that makes it psychometric, instead of pure clairvoyance, is thatthe presence of the other person was necessary to produce thephenomenon--a bit of clothing would probably have answered as well. Zschokke does not seem to have been able to manifest time-clairvoyanceindependent of the presence of the person concerned--he needs theassociated link, or loose end of the psychic ball of yarn. 

Next in order in the list of the phenomena of psychometry is that in whichthe psychometrist is able to describe a distant scene by means of a bitof mineral, plant, or similar object, once located at that place. In suchcases, the psychometrist gets en rapport with the distant scene by meansof the connecting link mentioned. Having obtained this, he is able torelate the events that are happening on that scene at that particularmoment. Some very interesting cases are mentioned in which thepsychometrist has been able to "spy" in on a certain place, by means ofsome small article which has recently been located in that place. Forinstance I once gave a young psychometrist a penholder from the office ofa lawyer, a friend of mine, located about eight hundred miles from thepsychometrist. She gave a perfect picture of the interior of the office, the scene across the street visible from the office window, and certainevents that were happening in the office at that moment, which wereverified by careful inquiry as to persons and time. Every occultist, orinvestigator of psychic phenomena has experienced many cases of this kind. 

Another phase of psychometry is that in which the psychometer is able tosense the conditions existing underground, by means of a piece of mineralor metal which originally was located there. Some wonderful instances ofphychometric discernment of mines, etc. , have been recorded. In this phaseof psychometry, all that is needed is a piece of the coal, mineral ormetal which has come from the mine. Following up this psychic "lead" thepsychometrist is able to describe the veins or strata of the surroundingland, although they have not yet been uncovered or discovered. 

Still another form of psychometric discernment is that in which thepsychometrist gets en rapport with the past history of an object, or ofits surroundings, by means of the object itself. In this way, thepsychometrist holding in his hand, or pressing to his head, a bullet froma battle field, is able to picture the battle itself. Or, given a piece ofancient pottery or stone implement, the psychometrist is able to picturethe time and peoples connected with the object in the past--sometimesafter many centuries are past. I once handed a good psychometrist a bit ofornament taken from an Egyptian mummy over three thousand years old. Though the psychometrist did not know what the object was, or from whenceit had come, she was able to picture not only the scenes in which theEgyptian had lived, but also the scenes connected with the manufacture ofthe ornament, some three hundred years before that time--for it turned outthat the ornament itself was an antique when the Egyptian had acquired it. In another case, I had the psychometrist describe in detail the animallife, and the physical phenomena, of the age in which a fossil had existedwhen 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 thepast by psychometric vision--that is to say, the psychic laws making thesame possible. 

Some of the most remarkable of recorded instances of this form ofpsychometry known to the Western world are those related in the works of ageologist named Denton, who some fifty years ago conducted a series ofinvestigations into the phenomena of psychometry. His recorded experimentsfill several volumes. Being a geologist, he was able to select the bestsubjects for the experiments, and also to verify and decide upon theaccuracy of the reports given by the psychometrists. His wife, herself, was a gifted psychometrist, and it has been said of her, by goodauthority, that "she is able, by putting a piece of matter (whatever beits nature) to her head, to see, either with her eyes closed or open, allthat the piece of matter, figuratively speaking, ever saw, heard, orexperienced. " The following examples will give a good idea of the Dentonexperiments, which are typical of this class of psychometry. 

Dr. Denton gave the psychometrist a small fragment broken from a largemeteorite. She held it to her head, and reported: "This is curious. Thereis nothing at all to be seen. I feel as if I were in the air. No, not inthe air either, but in nothing, no place. I am utterly unable to describeit; it seems high, however I feel as though I were rising, and my eyes arecarried upwards; but I look around in vain; there is nothing to be seen. Isee clouds, now, but nothing else. They are so close to me that I seem tobe in them. My head, and neck and eyes are affected. My eyes are carriedup, and I cannot roll them down. Now the clouds appear lighter andlighter, and look as though the sunlight would burst through them. As theclouds separate, I can see a star or two, and then the moon instead of thesun. The moon seems near, and looks coarse and rough, and paler and largerin 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 themoon were coming to me. It affects me terribly. "

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

At another time, Dr. Denton tested the psychometrist with a whalebonewalking cane. She supposed it to be wood, but when she began to report herpsychic impressions, they came as follows: "I feel as though I were amonster. There is nothing of a tree about it, and it is useless for me togo further. I feel like vomiting. Now I want to plunge into the water. Ibelieve that I am going to have a fit. My jaws are large enough to takedown a house at a gulp. I now know what this is--it is whalebone. I seethe inside of the whale's mouth. It has no teeth. It has a slimy look, butI only get a glimpse of it. Now, I see the whole animal. What an awfullooking creature. "

Another time, Dr. Denton gave the psychometrist a minute piece of theenamel of the tooth of a mastodon, which had been found thirty feet belowthe surface of the earth. The psychometrist had not the slightestknowledge of the character of the tiny flake of enamel handed her, butnevertheless reported: "My impression is that it is a part of somemonstrous animal, probably part of a tooth. I feel like a perfect monster, with heavy legs, unwieldy head, and very large body. I go down to ashallow stream to drink. I can hardly speak, my jaws are so heavy. I feellike getting down on all fours. What a noise comes through the woods. Ihave an impulse to answer it. My ears are very large and leathery, and Ican almost fancy they flap in my face as I move my head. There are someolder ones than I. It seems so out of keeping to be talking with theseheavy 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 seeseveral younger ones. In fact, there is a whole herd. My upper lip movescuriously; I can flap it up. It seems strange to me how it is done. Thereis a plant growing here, higher than my head. It is nearly as thick as mywrist, 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! itis sickenish, and very unpleasant to the human taste. " These instancesmight be multiplied indefinitely, but the principle is the same in each. In my own experience, I gave a small piece from the Great Pyramid of Egyptto a psychometrist who was uneducated and who knew nothing of ancientEgypt or its history. Notwithstanding this, she gave me such a detailedand complete account of the life of ancient Egypt, which was in suchcomplete accordance with the opinions of the best authorities, that Iwould hesitate about publishing the report, for it certainly would beregarded as rank imposture by the average scientific authority. Some day, however, I may publish 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 theexperiments for himself, in order to find out whether he has, or has not, the psychometric faculty. It may be developed by the methods that will begiven to develop all psychic powers, in another part of this book. Butmuch will depend upon actual practice and exercise. Take strange objects, and, sitting in a quiet room with the object held to your forehead, shutout all thoughts of the outside world, and forget all personal affairs. Ina short time, if the conditions are all right, you will begin to haveflashes of scenes connected with the history of the object. At firstrather disconnected and more or less confused, there will soon come to youa clearing away of the scene, and the pictures will become quite plain. Practice will develop the power. Practice only when alone, or when in thepresence of some sympathetic friend or friends. Always avoid discordantand inharmonious company when practicing psychic powers. The bestpsychometrists usually keep the physical eyes closed when practicing theirpower. 

You have doubtless heard the sensing of sealed letters spoken of asclairvoyance. But this is merely one form of psychometry. The letter is avery good connecting medium in psychometric experiments. I advise you tobegin your experiments with old letters. You will be surprised to discoverhow readily you will begin to receive psychic impressions from theletters, either from the person who wrote them, or from the place in whichthey were written, or from some one connected with the subsequent history. One of the most interesting experiments I ever witnessed in psychometry, was a case in which a letter that had been forwarded from place to place, until it had gone completely around the globe, was psychometrized by ayoung Hindu maiden. Although ignorant of the outside world, she was ableto picture the people and scenery of every part of the globe in which theletter had traveled. Her report was really an interesting "travelogue" ofa trip around the world, given in tabloid form. You may obtain someinteresting results in psychometrizing old letters--but always beconscientious about it, and refrain from divulging the secrets that willbecome yours in the course of these experiments. Be honorable on theastral 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 lesson, Crystal Gazing is thesecond method of getting en rapport with the astral plane. Under thegeneral term "Crystal Gazing" I include the entire body of phenomenaconnected with the use of the crystal, magic mirror, etc. , the underlyingprinciple being the same in all of such cases. 

The crystal, etc. , serves to focus the psychic energy of the person, insuch a way that the astral senses are induced to function more readilythan ordinarily. The student is cautioned against regarding the crystal, or magic mirror, as possessing any particular magic power in itself. Onthe contrary, the crystal, or magic mirror serves merely as a physicalinstrument for the astral vision, just as the telescope or microscopeperforms a similar office for the physical vision. Some persons aresuperstitious regarding the crystal, and accord to it some weirdsupernatural power, but the true occultist, understanding the laws of thephenomena arising from its use, does not fall into this error. 

But, notwithstanding what I have just said, I would be neglecting my fullduty in the matter if I failed to call your attention to the fact that thecontinued use of a particular crystal often has the effect of polarizingits molecules so as to render it a far more efficient instrument as timepasses by. The longer the crystal is used by one person, the better doesit seem to serve the uses of that person. I agree with many users of thecrystal in their belief that each person should keep his crystal for hisown personal use, and not allow it to be used indiscriminately bystrangers or persons not in sympathy with occult thought. The crystaltends to become polarized according to the requirements of the personhabitually using it, and it is foolish to allow this to be interferedwith. 

The use of crystals and other bright, shining objects, has been common topsychic investigators of all times, and in practically all lands. In theearlier days of the race, pieces of clear quartz or shining pebbles weregenerally employed. Sometimes pieces of polished metal were so used. Infact, nearly every object capable of being polished has been employed inthis way at some time, by some person. In our own day, the same conditionexists. In Australia the native sooth-sayers and magicians employ waterand other shining objects, and, in some cases, even bright flame, sparks, or glowing embers. In New Zealand, the natives frequently employ drops ofblood 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 piecesor flint or quartz. Shining pieces of metal are frequently used by theprimitive races. Lang, writing on the subject, has said: "They stare intoa crystal ball; a cup; a mirror; a blot of ink (Egypt and India); a dropof 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 anypolished surface, etc. "

In the present-day revival of interest in crystal-gazing among thewealthier classes of Europe and America, some of the high-priced teachershave insisted upon their pupils purchasing pure crystal globes, claimingthat these alone are capable of serving the purpose fully. But, as suchcrystals are very expensive, this advice has prevented many fromexperimenting. But, the advice is erroneous, for any globe of clearquartz, or even moulded glass, will serve the purpose equally well, andthere is no need of spending twenty-five to fifty dollars for a purecrystal globe. 

For that matter, you may obtain very good results from the use of awatch-crystal laid over a piece of black velvet. Some, today, use with thebest effect small polished pieces of silver or other bright metal. Othersfollow the old plan of using a large drop of ink, poured into a smallbutter plate. Some have small cups painted black on the inside, into whichthey pour water--and obtain excellent results therefrom. 

Above all, I caution the student to pay no attention to instructionsregarding the necessity of performing incantations or ceremonies over thecrystal or other object employed in crystal-gazing. This is but a bit ofidle superstition, and serves no useful purpose except, possibly, that ofgiving the person confidence in the thing. All ceremonies of this kindhave for their purpose merely the holding of the attention of the personinvestigating, and giving him confidence in-the result--the latter havinga decided psychological value, of course. 

There are but few general directions necessary for the person wishing toexperiment 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, ifyou 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 youreyes. Do not try to avoid winking your eyes--there is a difference between"gazing" and "staring, " remember. Some good authorities advise makingfunnels 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 toget good results. In others, at least some results are obtained at thefirst trial. It is a good plan to try to bring into vision something thatyou have already seen with the physical eyes--some familiar object. Thefirst sign of actual psychic seeing in the crystal usually appears as acloudy appearance, or "milky-mist, " the crystal gradually losing itstransparency. In this milky cloud then gradually appears a form, or face, or scene of some kind, more or less plainly defined. If you have everdeveloped a photographic film or plate, you will know how the picturegradually comes into view. 

W. T. Stead, the eminent English investigator of psychic phenomena, haswritten as follows regarding the phenomena of crystal-gazing: "There aresome persons who cannot look into an ordinary globular bottle withoutseeing pictures form themselves without any effort or will on their part, in the crystal globe. Crystal-gazing seems to be the least dangerous andmost simple of all forms of experimenting. You simply look into a crystalglobe the size of a five-shilling piece, or a water-bottle which is fullof clear water, and which is placed so that too much light does not fallupon it, and then simply look at it. You make no incantations, and engagein no mumbo-jumbo business; you simply look at it for two or threeminutes, taking care not to tire yourself, winking as much as you please, but fixing your thought upon whatever you wish to see. Then, if you havethe faculty, the glass will cloud over with a milky mist, and in thecentre the image is gradually precipitated in just the same way as aphotograph forms on the sensitive plate. "

The same authority relates the following interesting experiment with thecrystal: "Miss X. , upon looking into the crystal on two occasions as atest, to see if she could see me when she was several miles off, saw notme, but a different friend of mine on each occasion. She had never seeneither of my friends before, but immediately identified them both onseeing them afterward at my office. On one of the evenings on which weexperimented in the vain attempts to photograph a 'double, ' I dined withMadam C. And her friend at a neighboring restaurant. As she glanced at thewater-bottle, Madam C. Saw a picture beginning to form, and, looking at itfrom curiosity, described with considerable detail an elderly gentlemanwhom she had never seen before, and whom I did not in the least recognizefrom her description at the moment. Three hours afterward, when the seancewas over, Madam C. , entered the room and recognized Mr. Elliott, ofMessrs. Elliott & Fry, as the gentleman whom she had seen and described inthe water-bottle at the restaurant. On another occasion the picture wasless agreeable; it was an old man lying dead in bed with some one weepingat his feet; but who it was, or what it related to, no one knew. "

Andrew Lang, another prominent investigator of psychic phenomena, givesthe following interesting experiment in crystal-gazing: "I had given aglass ball to a young lady, Miss Baillie, who had scarcely any successwith it. She lent it to Miss Leslie, who saw a large, square, old-fashioned red sofa covered with muslin (which she, afterward found inthe next country-house she visited). Miss Baillie's brother, a youngathlete, laughed at these experiments, took the ball into his study, andcame back looking 'gey gash. ' He admitted that he had seen avision--somebody he knew, under a lamp. He said that he would discoverduring the week whether or not he had seen right. This was at 5:30 on aSunday afternoon. On Tuesday, Mr. Baillie was at a dance in a town fortymiles from his home, and met a Miss Preston. 'On Sunday, ' he said, 'abouthalf-past-five, you were sitting under a standard lamp, in a dress I neversaw you wear, a blue blouse with lace over the shoulders, pouring out teafor a man in blue serge, whose back was toward me, so that I only saw thetip of his mustache. ' 'Why, the blinds must have been up, ' said MissPreston. '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 ofcrystal-gazing. From her experiments, she made the followingclassification of the phenomena of crystal-vision, which I herewithreproduce for your benefit. Her classification is as follows:

1. Images of something unconsciously observed. New reproductions, voluntary or spontaneous, and bringing no fresh knowledge to the mind. 

2. Images of ideas unconsciously acquired from others. Some memory orimaginative effect, which does not come from the gazer's ordinary self. Revivals of memory. Illustrations of thought. 

3. Images, clairvoyant or prophetic. Pictures giving information as tosomething past, present, or future, which the gazer has no other chance ofknowing. 

As a matter of fact, each and every form or phase of clairvoyance possibleunder other methods of inducing clairvoyant vision, is possible incrystal-gazing. It is a mistake to consider crystal-gazing as a separateand distinct form of psychic phenomena. Crystal-gazing is merely oneparticular form or method of inducing psychic or clairvoyant vision. Ifyou will keep this in mind, you will avoid many common errors andmisunderstandings in the matter. 

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

"What is desired through the regular use of the translucent sphere is tocultivate a personal degree of clairvoyant power, so that visions ofthings or events, past, present, and future, may appear clearly to theinterior vision, or eye of the soul. In the pursuit of this effort only, the crystal becomes at once both a beautiful, interesting and harmlesschannel of pleasure and instruction, shorn of dangers, and renderedconducive to mental development. 

"To the attainment of this desirable end, attention is asked to thefollowing practical directions, which, if carefully followed, will lead tosuccess:

"(1) Select a quiet room where you will be entirely undisturbed, takingcare that it is as far as possible free from mirrors, ornaments, pictures, glaring colors, and the like, which may otherwise district theattention. The room should be of comfortable temperature, in accordancewith the time of year, neither hot nor cold. About 60 to 65 deg. Fahr. Issuitable in most cases, though allowance can be made where necessary fornatural differences in the temperaments of various persons. Thus thin, nervous, delicately-organized individuals, and those of lymphatic andsoft, easy-going, passive types, require a slightly warmer apartment thanthe more positive class who are known by their dark eyes, hair andcomplexion, combined with prominent joints. Should a fire, or any form ofartificial light be necessary, it should be well screened off, so as toprevent the light rays from being reflected in, or in any manner directlyreaching the crystal. The room should not be dark, but rather shadowed, orcharged with a dull light, somewhat such as prevails on a cloudy or wetday. 

"(2) The crystal should be placed on its stand on a table, or it may reston a black velvet cushion, but in either case it should be partiallysurrounded by a black silk or similar wrap or screen, so adjusted as tocut off any undesirable 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 stronglygifted with psychic powers in a state of unconscious, and sometimesconscious degree of unfoldment, may be fortunate enough to obtain goodresults at the very first trial. If, therefore, nothing is perceivedduring the first few attempts, do not despair or become impatient, orimagine that you will never see anything. There is a royal road to crystalvision, but it is open only to the combined password of Calmness, Patience, and Perseverance. If at the first attempt to ride a bicycle, failure ensues, the only way to learn is to pay attention to the necessaryrules, and to persevere daily until the ability to ride comes naturally. Thus it is with the would-be seer. Persevere in accordance with thesesimple 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 minutes only, on the first occasion. In taking the time it is best to hang your watch ata distance, where, while the face is clearly visible, the ticking isrendered inaudible. When the time is up, carefully put the crystal away inits case, and keep it in a dark place, under lock and key, allowing no onebut yourself to handle it. At the second sitting, which should be at thesame place, in the same position, and at the same time, you may increasethe length of the effort to fifteen minutes, and continue for this periodduring the next five or six sittings, after which the time may begradually increased, but should in no case exceed one hour. The preciseorder of repetition is always to be followed until the experimenter hasdeveloped an almost automatic ability to readily obtain results, when itneeds no longer to be adhered to. 

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

"(5) When you find the crystal begins to look dull or cloudy, with smallpin-points of light glittering therein, like tiny stars, you may know thatyou are commencing to obtain that for which you seek--viz. , crystallinevision. Therefore, persevere with confidence. This condition may, or maynot, continue for several sittings, the crystal seeming at times toalternately appear and disappear, as in a mist. By and by this hazyappearance, in its turn, will give place quite suddenly to a blindness ofthe 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 careshould be taken in matters of diet to partake only of digestible foods, and to avoid alcoholic beverages. Plain and nourishing food, and outdoorexercise, with contentment of mind, or love of simplicity in living, aregreat aids to success. Mental anxiety, or ill-health, are not conducive tothe desired end. Attention to correct, breathing is of importance. 

"(7) As regards the time at which events seen will come to pass, each seeris usually impressed with regard thereto; but, as a general rule, visionsappearing in the extreme background indicate time more remote, either pastor future, than those perceived nearer at hand, while those appearing inthe foreground, or closer to the seer, denote the present or immediatefuture. 

"(8) Two principal classes of vision will present themselves to thesitter--(a) the Symbolic, indicated by the appearance of symbols such as aflag, boat, knife, gold, etc. , and (b) Actual Scenes and Personages, inaction or otherwise. Persons of a positive type of organization, the moreactive, excitable, yet decided type, are most likely to perceivesymbolically, or allegorically; while those of a passive nature usuallyreceive direct or literal revelations. Both classes will find it necessaryto carefully cultivate truthfulness, unselfishness, gratitude for what isshown, and absolute confidence in the love, wisdom, and guidance of GodHimself. "

As the student proceeds with the study of these lessons, he will becomeacquainted with various details and methods concerned with the variousphases of clairvoyance, which knowledge he may then combine with theabove, the whole aiding him in the successful manifestation of the psychicphenomena of crystal-gazing, which, as I have said, is merely one phase ofclairvoyance and under the same general laws and rules of manifestation. Remember that present, past and future clairvoyance all is possible tothe highly developed crystal gazer. 

THE ASTRAL TUBE. Closely allied with the phenomena of crystal-gazing, and that of psychometry, is that which occultists know as "the astraltube, " although this psychic channel may be developed in ordinaryclairvoyance by means of the power of concentrated attention, etc. I shallnot enter into a detailed or technical discussion of the astral tube, atthis place, but I wish to give you a general and comprehensive view of itand its workings. 

In case of the strong concentration of the mind, in cases of psychometryor crystal-gazing, a channel or "line of force" is set up in the astralsubstance which composes the basis of the astral plane. This is like thewake of a ship made on the surface of the water through which the ship haspassed. Or it is like a current of magnetic force in the ether. It iscaused 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 forceor astral energy. 

The astral tube serves as a ready conductor of the vibrations, currentsand waves of energy on the astral plane which carry to the astral sensesof the person the perception of the things, objects and scenes far removedfrom him in space and time. How these things far removed in space and timeare perceived by the astral seer is explained in subsequent lessons ofthis course. At this place we are concerned merely with the "channel"through which the currents of energy flow, and which has been called theastral 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 distance, just as one may see distant sights through a telescope, or hear distantsounds through a telephone. The astral tube is used in a variety of formsof psychic phenomena. It is often used unconsciously, and springs intoexistence spontaneously, under the strong influence of a vivid emotion, desire or will. It is used by the trained psychometrist, without the useof any 'starting point, ' or 'focal centre, ' simply by the use of histrained, developed and concentrated will. But its most familiar and commonuse is in connection with some object serving as a starting point or focalcentre. The starting point or focal centre, above mentioned, is generallyeither what is known as the 'associated object' in the class of phenomenagenerally known as psychometry, or else a glass or crystal ball, orsimilar polished surface, in what is known as crystal-gazing. "

Another authority tells his readers that: "Astral sight, when it iscramped by being directed along what is practically a tube, is limitedvery much as physical sight would be under similar circumstances, thoughif possessed in perfection it will continue to show, even at thatdistance, the auras, and therefore all the emotions and most of thethoughts of the people under observation. * * * But, it may be said, themere fact that he is using astral sight ought to enable him to see thingsfrom all sides at once. And so it would, if he were using that sight in anormal way upon an object which was fairly near him--within his astralreach, as it were; but at a distance of hundreds or thousands of miles thecase is very different. Astral sight gives us the advantage of anadditional dimension, but there is still such a thing as position in thatdimension, and it is naturally a potent factor in limiting the use of thepowers on that plane. * * * The limitations resemble those of a man usinga telescope on the physical plane. The experimenter, for example, has aparticular field of view which cannot be enlarged or altered; he islooking at his scene from a certain direction, and he cannot suddenly turnit all around and see how it looks from the other side. If he hassufficient psychic energy to spare, he may drop altogether the telescopehe is using, and manufacture an entirely new one for himself which willapproach his objective somewhat differently; but this is not a course atall likely to be adopted in practice. "

The student will find that, as we progress, many of these points which nowseem complicated and obscure will gradually take on the aspect ofsimplicity and clearness. We must crawl before we can walk, in psychicresearch as well as in everything else. 

LESSON VIII. 

CLAIRVOYANT REVERIE. 

In the preceding two chapters, I have asked you to consider the first twomethods of inducing the clairvoyant phenomena, namely, Psychometry, andCrystal-Gazing, respectively. In these cases you have seen how theclairvoyant gets en rapport with the astral plane by means of physicalobjects, in the case of psychometric clairvoyance; or by means of ashining object, in the case of crystal gazing. Let us now consider thethird method of inducing the clairvoyant condition or state, i. E. , bymeans of what may be called Clairvoyant Reverie, in which the clairvoyantgets en rapport with the astral plane by means of psychic states in whichthe sights, sounds and thoughts of the material and physical plane areshut out of consciousness. 

The student of the general subject of clairvoyance will soon be impressedwith two facts concerning the production of clairvoyant phenomena, namely, (1) that in the majority of the recorded cases of the investigators theclairvoyant phenomena were obtained when the clairvoyant was in the stateof sleep, or at least semi-sleep or drowsiness, the visioning appearingmore or less like a vivid dream; and (2) that in the case of theclairvoyant voluntarily entering en rapport with the astral plane, he orshe would enter into what seemed to be a kind of trance condition, in somecases an absolute unconsciousness of the outside world being manifested. The student, noting these facts, is apt to arrive at the conclusion thatall clairvoyance is accompanied by the condition of sleep, or trance, andthat no clairvoyant phenomena are possible unless this psychic conditionis first obtained. But this is only a half-truth as we shall see in amoment. 

In the first place, the student arriving at this conclusion seems to haveignored the fact that the phenomena of psychometry and crystal gazing, respectively, are as true instances of clairvoyance as are those which aremanifested in the sleep or trance condition. It is true that somepsychometrists produce phenomena when they are in a state of psychicquiescence, but, on the other hand, many clairvoyant psychometrists merelyconcentrate the attention on the object before them, and remain perfectlywide-awake and conscious on the physical plane. Likewise, the averagecrystal gazer remains perfectly wide-awake and conscious on the physicalplane. When the student takes these facts into consideration, he begins tosee that the trance condition, and similar psychic states, are simplyparticular methods of inducing the en rapport condition for theclairvoyant, and are not inseparably bound up with the phenomena ofclairvoyance. 

As the student progresses, moreover, he will see that even in the case ofClairvoyant Reverie, the third method of inducing the astral en rapportcondition, the clairvoyant does not always lose consciousness. In the caseof many advanced and exceptionally well-developed clairvoyants, no tranceor sleep condition is induced. In such cases the clairvoyant merely "shutsout" the outside world of sights, sounds and thoughts, by an effort oftrained will, and then concentrates steadily on the phenomena of theastral plane. For that matter, the skilled and advanced occultist is ableto function on the astral plane by simply shifting his consciousness fromone plane to another, as the typist shifts from the small letters of thekeyboard to the capital letters, by a mere pressure on the shift-key ofthe typewriter. 

The only reason that many clairvoyants manifesting along the lines of thethird method, known as "clairvoyant reverie, " fall into the trance orsleep condition, is that they have not as yet acquired the rare art ofcontrolling their conscious attention at will--this is something thatrequires great practice. They find it easier to drop into the condition ofsemi-trance, or semi-sleep, than it is to deliberately shut out the outerworld by an act of pure will. Moreover, you will find that in the majorityof the recorded cases of the investigators, the clairvoyance was more orless spontaneous on the part of the clairvoyant person, and was notproduced by an act of will. As we proceed to consider the various formsand phases of clairvoyant phenomena, in these lessons, you will noticethis fact. There are but few recorded cases of voluntary clairvoyance inthe books of the investigators--the skilled clairvoyants, and moreparticularly the advanced occultists, avoid the investigators rather thanseek them; they have no desire to be reported as "typical cases" ofinteresting psychic phenomena--they leave that to the amateurs, and thoseto whom the phenomena come as a wonderful revelation akin to a miracle. This accounts for the apparent predominance of this form ofclairvoyance--the secret is that the net of the investigators has caughtonly a certain kind of psychic fish, while the others escape attention. 

All this would be of no practical importance, however, were it not for thefact that the average student is so impressed by the fact that he mustlearn to induce the trance condition in order to manifest clairvoyantphenomena, that he does not even think of attempting to do the workotherwise. The power of auto-suggestion operates here, as you will see bya moment's thought, and erects an obstacle to his advance along voluntarylines. More than this, this mistaken idea tends to encourage the studentto cultivate the trance condition, or at least some abnormal psychiccondition, by artificial means. I am positively opposed to the inducing ofpsychic conditions by artificial means, for I consider such practices mostinjurious and harmful for the person using such methods. Outside ofanything else, it tends to render the person negative, psychically, instead of positive--it tends to make him or her subject to the psychicinfluence of others, on both the physical and astral plane, instead ofretaining his or her own self-control and mastery. 

The best authorities among the occultists instruct their pupils that thestate of clairvoyant reverie may be safely and effectively induced by thepractice of mental concentration alone. They advice positively againstartificial methods. A little common sense will show that they are right inthis matter. All that is needed is that the consciousness shall be focusedto a point--become "one pointed" as the Hindu Yogis say. The intelligentpractice of concentration accomplishes this, without the necessity of anyartificial methods of development, or the induction of abnormal psychicstates. 

If you will stop a moment and realize how easily you concentrate yourattention when you are witnessing an interesting play, or listening to abeautiful rendition of some great masterpiece of musical composition, orgazing at some miracle of art, you will see what I mean. In the cases justmentioned, while your attention is completely occupied with theinteresting thing before you, so that you have almost completely shut outthe outer world of sound, sight and thought, you are, nevertheless, perfectly wide awake and your consciousness is alert. The same thing istrue when you are reading a very interesting book--the world is shut outfrom your consciousness, and you are oblivious to the sights and soundsaround you. At the risk of being considered flippant, I would remind youof the common spectacle of two lovers so wrapped up in each other'scompany that they forget that there is a smiling world of people aroundthem--time and space are forgotten to the two lovers--to them there isonly one world, with but two persons in it. Again, how often have youfallen into what is known as a "brown study, " or "day dream, " in which youhave been so occupied with the thoughts and fancies floating through yourmind, that you forgot all else. Well, then, this will give you acommon-sense idea of the state that the occultists teach may be induced inorder to enter into the state of en rapport with the astral plane--thestate in which clairvoyance is possible. Whether you are seekingclairvoyance by the method of psychometry, or by crystal gazing, or byclairvoyant reverie--this will give you the key to the state. It is aperfectly natural state--nothing abnormal about it, you will notice. 

To some who may think that I am laying too much stress on theundesirability of artificial methods of inducing the clairvoyantcondition, I would say that they are probably not aware of the erroneousand often harmful teachings on the subject that are being promulgated byignorant or misinformed teachers--"a little learning is a dangerousthing, " in many cases. It may surprise some of my students to learn thatsome of this class of teachers are instructing their pupils to practicemethods of self-hypnosis by gazing steadily at a bright object until theyfall unconscious; or by gazing "cross eyed" at the tip of the nose, or atan object held between the two eyebrows. These are familiar methods ofcertain schools of hypnotism, and result in producing a state ofartificial hypnosis, more or less deep. Such a state is most undesirable, not only by reason of its immediate effects, but also by reason of thefact that it often results in a condition of abnormal sensitiveness to thewill of others, or even to the thoughts and feelings of others, on boththe astral and the physical planes of life. I emphatically warn mystudents against any such practices, or anything resembling them. 

While I dislike to dwell on the subject, I feel that I should call theattention of my students to the fact that certain teachers seek to producethe abnormal psychic condition by means of exhausting breathing exercises, which make the person dizzy and sleepy. This is all wrong. While rhythmicbreathing exercises have a certain value in psychic phenomena, and areharmless when properly practiced, nevertheless such practices as those towhich I have alluded are harmful to the nervous system of the person, andalso tend to induce undesirable psychic conditions. Again, some teachershave sought to have their students hold their breath for comparativelylong periods of time in order to bring about abnormal psychic states. Theslightest knowledge of physiology informs one that such a practice must beharmful; it causes the blood to become thick and impure, and deficient inoxygen. It certainly will produce a kind of drowsiness, for the samereason that impure air in a room will do the same thing--in both cases theblood stream is poisoned and made impure. The purpose of rational andnormal breathing is to obviate just this thing--so these teachers arereversing a natural law of the body, in order to produce an abnormalpsychic state. With all the energy in me, I caution you against this kindof thing. 

Along the same line, I protest and warn you against the practices advisedby certain teachers of "psychic development, " who seek to have theirpupils induce abnormal physical and psychic conditions by means of drugs, odor of certain chemicals, gases, etc. Such practices, as all trueoccultists know, belong to the clans of the Black Magicians, or devilworshippers, of the savage races--they have no place in true occultteachings. Common sense alone should warn persons away from suchthings--but it seems to fail some of them. I assert without fear ofintelligent contradiction, that no true occultist ever countenances anysuch practices as these. 

All the true teachers are vigorous in their denunciation of such falseteachings and harmful practices. In this same category, I place themethods which are taught by certain persons, namely, that of inducingabnormal physical and psychic condition of giddiness and haziness by meansof "whirling" around in a circle until one drops from giddiness, or untilone "feels queer in the head. " This is a revival of the practices ofcertain fanatics in Persia and India, who perform it as a religious riteuntil they fall into what they consider a "holy sleep, " but which isnothing more than an abnormal and unhealthful physical and psychiccondition. Such practices are a downward step, not an upward one. It seemsa pity that the necessity has arisen for such warnings as these--but myduty, as I see it, is very plain. To all who are tempted to "develop" inthis way, I say, positively, "DON'T!"

The scientific, rational way to develop the astral senses is to firstacquire the art of concentrating. Bear in mind that in concentration theperson, while shutting out the impressions of the outside world ingeneral, nevertheless focuses and concentrates his attention upon the onematter before him. This is quite a different thing from making oneselfsensitive to every current of thought and feeling that may be in thepsychic atmosphere. True concentration renders one positive, while theother methods render one negative. Contrary to the common opinion, psychicconcentration is a positive state, not a negative--an active state, not apassive one. The person who is able to concentrate strongly is a master, while one who opens himself to "control, " either physical or astral, ismore or less of a slave to other minds. 

The student who will begin by experimenting along the lines of contactmind-reading, and who then advances along the lines of true telepathy, asexplained in the earlier chapters of this book, will have made a goodstart, and considerable progress, along the road to clairvoyantdevelopment. The rest will be largely a matter of exercise and practice. He will be aided by practicing concentration along the general lines ofthe best occult teaching. Such practice may consist of concentration uponalmost any physical object, keeping the thing well before the mind andattention. 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 thanuninteresting things. Therefore, select some interesting thing to studyand analyze by concentrated thought. 

(2) The attention will decline in strength unless there is a variation inthe stimulus. Therefore, keep up the power of concentration by eitherchanging the object you are observing; or else by discovering some newproperties, qualities or attributes in it. 

(3) The things you wish to shut out of consciousness can best be shut outby your concentration upon some other thing--the attention can dwell onlyupon one thing at a time, if focused upon that one thing. 

(4) The power of applying your attention, steady and undissipated, to asingle object, is a mark of strong will and superior mentaldiscipline--weak-minds cannot do this. Therefore, in cultivatingconcentrated 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 concentrated attention. Therefore, proceed by selecting an object and analyzing it by concentratedattention, taking one part after another, one by one, until you haveanalyzed and mastered the whole object. Give it the same attention thatthe lover gives his loved one; the musician his favorite composition; theartist his favorite work of art; and the booklover his favorite book--whenyou have accomplished this, you have mastered concentration, and will beable to apply the mind "one pointed" upon anything you wish, physical orastral; and, consequently will have no trouble in shutting-out disturbingimpressions. 

(6) Learn to concentrate on the physical plane, and you will be able toconcentrate on the astral plane as well. By the one who has masteredconcentration, trances and abnormal psychic states will not be needed. Theneedle-pointed mind is able to pierce the astral veil at will, while theblunt-pointed mind is resisted and defeated by the astral envelope, whichwhile thin is very tough and unyielding. 

A well-known authority on psychic development has well said: "Occasionalflashes of clairvoyance sometimes come to the highly cultured andspiritual-minded man, even though he may never have heard of thepossibility of training such a faculty. In his case such glimpses usuallysignify that he is approaching that stage in his evolution when thesepowers will naturally begin to manifest themselves. Their appearanceshould serve as an additional stimulus to him to strive to maintain thathigh standard of moral purity and mental balance without whichclairvoyance is a curse and not a blessing to its possessor. Between thosewho are entirely unimpressionable and those who are in full possession ofclairvoyant power, there are many intermediate stages. Students often askhow this clairvoyant faculty will first be manifested in themselves--howthey may know when they have reached the stage at which its first faintforeshadowings are beginning to be visible. Cases differ so widely that itis impossible to give to this question any answer that will be universallyapplicable. 

"Some people begin by a plunge, as it were, and under some unusualstimulus become able just for once to see some striking vision; and veryoften in such a case, because the experience does not repeat itself, theseer comes in time to believe that on that occasion he must have been thevictim of hallucination. Others begin by becoming intermittently consciousof the brilliant colors and vibrations of the human aura; yet others findthemselves with increasing frequency seeing and hearing something to whichthose around them are blind and deaf; others, again, see faces, landscapes, or colored clouds floating before their eyes in the darkbefore they sink to rest; while perhaps the commonest experience of all isthat of those who begin to recollect with greater and greater clearnesswhat they have seen and heard on other planes during sleep. "

The authority in question gives the following excellent advice regardingthe subject of the development of clairvoyant power and astral visioning:"Now the fact is that there are many methods by which it may be developed, but only one which can be at all safely recommended for general use--thatof which we shall speak last of all. Among the less advanced nations ofthe world the clairvoyant state has been produced in various objectionableways; among some of the non-Aryan tribes of India, by the use ofintoxicating drugs or the inhaling of stupefying fumes; among thedervishes, by whirling in a mad dance of religious fervor until vertigoand insensibility supervene; among the followers of the abominablepractices of the Voodoo cult, by frightful sacrifices and loathsome ritesof black magic. Methods such as these are happily not in vogue in our ownrace, yet even among us large numbers of dabblers in this ancient artadopt some plan of self-hypnotization, such as gazing at a bright spot, orthe repetition of some formula until a condition of semi-stupefaction isproduced; while yet another school among them would endeavor to arrive atsimilar results by the use of some of the Indian systems of regulation ofthe breath. All these methods are unequivocally to be condemned as quiteunsafe for the practice of the ordinary man who has no idea of what he isdoing--who is simply making vague experiments in an unknown world. Eventhe method of obtaining clairvoyance by allowing oneself to be mesmerizedby another person is one from which I should myself shrink with the mostdecided distaste; and assuredly it should never be attempted except underconditions of absolute trust and affection between the magnetizer and themagnetized, and a perfection of purity in heart and soul, in mind andintention, such as is rarely to be seen among any but the greatest ofsaints. 

"Yet there is one practice which is advised by all religions alike--whichif adopted carefully and reverently can do no harm to any human being, yetfrom which a very pure type of clairvoyance has sometimes been developed;and that is the practice of meditation. Let a man choose a certain timeevery day--a time when he can rely upon being quiet and undisturbed, though preferably in the daytime rather than at night--and set himself atthat time to keep his mind for a few minutes entirely free from allearthly thoughts of any kind whatever, and, when that is achieved, todirect the whole force of his being towards the highest ideal that hehappens to know. He will find that to gain such perfect control of thoughtis enormously more difficult than he supposes, but when he attains it itcannot but be in every way most beneficial to him, and as he grows moreand more able to elevate and concentrate his thought, he may graduallyfind that new worlds are opening before his sight. As a preliminarytraining towards the satisfactory achievement of such meditation, he willfind it desirable to make a practice of concentration in the affairs ofdaily life--even in the smallest of them. If he writes a letter, let himthink of nothing else but that letter until it is finished; if he reads abook, let him see to it that his thought is never allowed to wander fromhis author's meaning. He must learn to hold his mind in check, and to bemaster of that also, as well as of his lower passions; he must patientlylabor to acquire absolute control of his thoughts, so that he will alwaysknow exactly what he is thinking about, and why--so that he can use hismind, and turn it or hold it still, as a practiced swordsman turns hisweapon where he will. "

I have given the above full quotation from this authority, not merelybecause that from another angle he states the same general principles asdo I; but also because his personal experience in actual clairvoyantphenomena is so extended and varied that any word from him on the subjectof 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 andpractice, nevertheless I gladly testify to the soundness of his views asabove quoted, and pass them on to my students for careful considerationand attention. The student will do well to heed what he has to say, and tocombine such opinion with what I have uttered in the earlier part of thischapter--there will be found a close agreement in principle and practice. 

And, now let us pass on to a consideration of the various forms and phasesof the clairvoyant phenomena itself. The subject is fascinating, and I amsure that you will enjoy this little excursion into the strange realm ofthought regarding the astral phenomena of clairvoyance. But, be sure tomaster each lesson before proceeding to the rest, as otherwise you willhave to turn back the leaves of the course in order to pick up some pointof teaching that you have neglected. 

LESSON IX. 

SIMPLE CLAIRVOYANCE. 

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

In simple clairvoyance the clairvoyant person merely senses the auricemanations of other persons, such as the auric vibrations, colors, etc. , currents of thought vibrations, etc. , but does not see events or scenesremoved in space or time from the observer. There are other phenomenapeculiar to this class of clairvoyance which I shall note as we progresswith this chapter. 

An authority on the subject of astral phenomena has written interestingly, as follows, regarding some of the phases of simple clairvoyance: "When wecome to consider the additional facilities which it offers in theobservation of animate objects, we see still more clearly the advantagesof astral vision. It exhibits to the clairvoyant the aura of plants andanimals, and thus in the case of the latter their desires and emotions, and whatever thoughts they may have, are all plainly shown before hiseyes. But it is in dealing with human beings that he will most appreciatethe value of this faculty, for he will often be able to help them far moreeffectually when he guides himself by the information which it gives him. 

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

"As he looks at a person he will see him surrounded by the luminous mistof the astral aura, flashing with all sorts of brilliant colors, andconstantly changing in hue and brilliancy with every variation of theperson's thoughts and feelings. He will see this aura flooded with thebeautiful rose-color of pure affection, the rich blue of devotionalfeeling, the hard, dull brown of selfishness, the deep scarlet of anger, the horrible lurid red of sensuality, the livid grey of fear, the blackclouds of hatred and malice, or any of the other hundredfold indicationsso easily to be read in it by the practiced eye; and thus it will beimpossible for any persons to conceal from him the real state of theirfeelings on any subject. Not only does the astral aura show him thetemporary result of the emotion passing through it at the moment, but italso gives him, by an arrangement and proportion of its colors when in acondition of comparative rest, a clue to the general disposition andcharacter of its owner. "

By simple clairvoyance in a certain stage of development the clairvoyantperson is able to sense the presence of the human aura, by means of hisastral sight. The human aura, as all students of occultism know, is thatpeculiar emanation of astral vibrations that extends from each livinghuman being, surrounding him in an egg-shaped form for a distance of twoto three feet on all sides. This peculiar nebulous envelope is not visibleto the physical sight, and may be discerned only by means of the astralsenses. It, however, may be dimly "felt" by many persons coming into thepresence of other persons, and constitutes a personal atmosphere which issensed by other persons. 

The trained clairvoyant vision sees the human aura as a nebulous hazysubstance, like a luminous cloud, surrounding the person for two or threefeet on each side of his body, being more dense near the body andgradually becoming less dense as it extends away from the body. It has aphosphorescent appearance, with a peculiar tremulous motion manifestingthrough its substance. The clairvoyant sees the human aura as composed ofall the colors of the spectrum, the combination shifting with the changingmental and emotional states of the person. But, in a general way, it maybe said that each person has his or her or distinctive astral auriccolors, depending upon his or her general character or personality. Eachmental state, or emotional manifestation, has its own particular shade orcombination of shades of auric coloring. This beautiful kaleidoscopicspectacle has its own meaning to the advanced occultist with clairvoyantvision, for he is able to read the character and general mental states ofthe person by means of studying his astral auric colors. I have explainedthese auric colors, and their meanings, in my little book entitled "TheHuman Aura. "

The human aura is not always in a state of calm phosphorescence, however. On the contrary, it sometimes manifests great flames, like those of afiery furnace, which shoot forth in great tongues, and dart forth suddenlyin certain directions toward the objects attracting them. Under greatemotional excitement the auric flames move around in swift circlingwhirlpools, or else swirl away from a centre. Again, it seems to throwforth tiny glistening sparks of astral vibrations, some of which travelfor great distance. 

The clairvoyant vision is also able to discern what is called the "pranaaura" of a person. By this term is indicated that peculiar emanation ofvital force which surrounds the physical body of each and every person. Infact, many persons of but slight clairvoyant power, who cannot sense theauric colors, are able to perceive this prana-aura without trouble. It issometimes called the "health aura, " or "physical aura. " It is colorless, or rather about the shade of clear glass, diamond, or water. It isstreaked with very minute, bristle-like lines. In a state of good health, these fine lines are stiff like toothbrush bristles; while, in cases ofpoor health, these lines droop, curl and present a furlike appearance. Itis sometimes filled with minute sparkling particles, like tiny electricsparks in rapid vibratory motion. 

To the clairvoyant vision the prana-aura appears like the vibrating heatedair arising from a fire, or stove, or from the heated earth in summer. Ifthe student will close his eyes partially, and will peer through narrowedeyelids, he will in all probability be able to perceive this prana-aurasurrounding the body of some healthy, vigorous person--particularly if theperson is sitting in a dim light. Looking closely, he will see thepeculiar vibratory motion, like heated air, at a distance of about twoinches from the body of the person. It requires a little practice in orderto acquire the knack of perceiving these vibrations--a littleexperimenting in order to get just the right light on the person--butpractice will bring success, and you will be repaid for your trouble. 

In the same way, the student may by practice acquire the faculty toperceiving his own prana-aura. The simplest way to obtain this lastmentioned result is to place your fingers (spread out in fan-shape)against a black background, in a dim light. Then gaze at the fingers withnarrowed eyelids, and half-closed eyes. After a little practice, you willsee a fine thin line surrounding your fingers on all sides--asemi-luminous border of prana-aura. In most cases this border of aura iscolorless, but sometimes a very pale yellowish hue is perceived. Thestronger the vital force of the person, the stronger and brighter willthis border of prana-aura appear. The aura surrounding the fingers willappear very much like the semi-luminous radiance surrounding a gas-flame, or the flame of a candle, which is familiar to nearly everyone. 

Another peculiar phenomenon of the astral plane, perceived by clairvoyantsof a certain degree of development, is that which is known as the"thought-form. " A thought-form is a specialized grouping of astralsubstance, crystalized by the strong thought impulses or vibrations of aperson thinking, or manifesting strong emotional excitement. It isgenerated in the aura of the person, in the first place, but is thenthrown off or emitted from the atmosphere of the person, and is sent offinto space. A thought-form is really but a strongly manifested thought orfeeling which has taken form in the astral substance. Its power andduration depend upon the degree of force of the thought or feelingmanifesting it. 

These thought-forms differ very materially from one another in form andgeneral appearance. The most common form is that of a tiny series ofwaves, similar to those caused by the dropping of a pebble in a pond ofwater. Sometimes the thought-form takes on the appearance of a whirlpool, rotating around a centre, and moving through space as well. Another formis like that of the pin-wheel fireworks, swirling away from its centre asit moves through space. Still another form is that of a whirling ring, like that emitted from a smokestack of a locomotive, or the mouth of asmoker--the familiar "ring" of the smoker. Others have the form andappearance of semi-luminous globes, glowing like a giant opal. 

Other thought-forms are emitted in jet-like streams, like steam puffed outfrom a tea-kettle. Again, it will appear as a series of short puffs ofsteam-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 itwill appear as a bomb, or series of bombs projected from the aura of thethinker. Sometimes, as in the case of a vigorous thinker or speaker, thesethought-form bombs will be seen to explode when they reach the aura of theperson addressed or thought of. Other forms appear like nebulous thingsresembling an octopus, whose twining tentacles twist around the person towhom they are directed. 

Each thought-form bears the same color that it possessed when generated inthe aura of its creator, though the colors seem to fade with time. Many ofthem glow with a dull phosphorescence, instead of bright coloring. Theatmosphere of every person, and every place, is filled with variousthought-forms emanated from the person, or persons who inhabit the place. Each building has its own distinctive thought-forms, which permeate itsmental atmosphere, and which are clearly discernible by trainedclairvoyant vision. 

I here take the liberty of quoting a few paragraphs from my little bookentitled "The Astral World, " in which the phenomena of the astral planeare explained in detail. I reproduce them here in order to show you whatyou may see on the astral plane when your clairvoyant vision issufficiently developed to function there. The words are addressed to onewho is sensing on the astral, plane. 

"Notice that beautiful spiritual blue around that woman's head! And seethat ugly muddy red around that man passing her! Here comes anintellectual giant--see that beautiful golden yellow around his head, likea nimbus! But I don't exactly like that shade of red around his body--andthere is too marked an absence of blue in his aura! He lacks harmoniousdevelopment. Do you notice those great clouds of semi-luminous substance, which are slowly floating along?--notice how the colors vary in them. Those are clouds of thought-vibrations, representing the composite thoughtof a multitude of people. Also notice how each body of thought is drawingto itself little fragments of similar thought-forms and energy. You seehere the tendency of thought-forms to attract others of their kind--howlike the proverbial birds of a feather, they flock together--how thoughtscome home, bringing their friends with them--how each man creates his ownthought atmosphere. 

"Speaking of atmospheres, do you notice that each shop we pass has its ownpeculiar thought-atmosphere? If you look into the houses on either side ofthe street, you will see that the same thing is true. The very streetitself has its own atmosphere, created by the composite thought of thoseinhabiting and frequenting it. No! do not pass down that side street--itsastral atmosphere is too depressing, and its colors too horrible anddisgusting for you to witness just now--you might get discouraged and flyback to your physical body for relief. Look at those thought-forms flyingthrough the atmosphere! What a variety of form and coloring! Some mostbeautiful, the majority quite neutral in tint, and occasionally a fierce, fiery one tearing its way along toward its mark. Observe those whirlingand swirling thought-forms as they are thrown off from thatbusiness-house. Across the street, notice that great octopus monster of athought-form, with its great tentacles striving to wind around persons anddraw them into that flashy dance-hall and dram-shop. A devilish monsterwhich 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 sickenand shrivel! But, alas! more of its kind will come forth from that place. "

The above represents the sights common to the advanced occultist whoexplores the astral plane either in his astral body, or else by means ofclairvoyant vision. To such a one, these sights are just as natural asthose of the physical plane to the person functioning by ordinary physicalsenses. One is as natural as is the other--there is nothing supernaturalabout either. 

But there are other, and even more wonderful attributes of astralvisioning than that which we have just related. Let us take a generalsurvey of these, so that you may be familiar with what you hope to see onthe astral plane, and which you will see when you have sufficientlydeveloped your clairvoyant powers. 

What would you think if you could "see through a brick wall?" Well, theclairvoyant is able to do this. For that matter, the physical X Rays areable to penetrate through solid substances, and the astral vibrations areeven more subtle than these. It seems strange to hear of this kind ofvisioning as purely natural, doesn't it? It smacks strongly of the oldsupernatural tales--but it is as simply natural as is the X Ray. Theadvanced clairvoyant is able to see through the most solid objects, andinside of anything, for that matter. The astral senses register the subtlevibrations of the astral plane, just as the physical eye registers theordinary 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 clairvoyantsees through solid steel or granite. It is all a matter of registeringvibrations of energy--nothing more, and nothing less. 

It is in this way that the trained clairvoyant is able to read from closedbooks, sealed letters, etc. In the same way, he is able to pierce thedense soil, and to see far down into the depths of the earth, subject tocertain limitations. Veins of coal, oil, and other substances have beendiscovered clairvoyantly in this way. Not every clairvoyant is able to dothis, but the advanced ones have done it. In the same way, the trainedclairvoyant is able to see inside the bodies of sick persons, and todiagnose their ailments, providing, of course, he is familiar with theappearance of the organs in health and in disease, and has a sufficientknowledge of physiology and pathology to interpret what he sees. 

An authority on the phenomena of the astral plane has writtenentertainingly and correctly regarding this phase of simple clairvoyance, as follows: "The possession of this extraordinary and scarcely expressiblepower, then, must always be borne in mind through all that follows. Itlays every point in the interior of every solid body absolutely open tothe gaze of the seer, just as every point in the interior of a circle liesopen to the gaze of a man looking down upon it. But even this is by nomeans all that it gives to its possessor. He sees not only the inside aswell as the outside of every object, but also its astral counterpart. Every atom and molecule of physical matter has its corresponding astralatoms and molecules, and the mass which is built up out of these isclearly visible to the clairvoyant. Usually the astral form of any objectprojects somewhat beyond the physical part of it, and thus metals, stonesand other things are seen surrounded by an astral aura. 

"It will be seen at once that even in the study of inorganic matter a mangains immensely by the acquisition of this vision. Not only does he seethe astral part of the object at which he looks, which before was whollyhidden from him; not only does he see much more of its physicalconstitution than he did before, but even what was visible to him beforeis now seen much more clearly and truly. * * * Another strange power ofwhich he may find himself in possession is that of magnifying at will theminutest physical or astral particle to any desired size, as through amicroscope--though no microscope ever made, or ever likely to be made, possesses even a thousandth part of this psychic magnifying power. By itsmeans the hypothetical molecule and atom postulated by science becomevisible and living realities to the occult student, and on this closerexamination he finds them to be much more complex in their structure thanthe scientific man has yet realized them to be. It also enables him tofollow with the closest attention and the most lively interest all kindsof electrical, magnetic, and other etheric action; and when some of thespecialists in these branches of science are able to develop the power tosee these things whereof they write so facilely, some very wonderful andbeautiful revelations may be expected. 

"This is one of the SIDDIHIS or powers described in the Orientalbooks as accruing to the man who devotes himself to spiritual development, though the name under which it is there mentioned might not be immediatelyrecognizable. It is referred to as 'the power of making oneself large orsmall at will, ' and the reason of a description which appears so oddly toreverse the fact is that in reality the method by which this feat isperformed is precisely that indicated in these ancient books. It is by theuse of temporary visual machinery of inconceivable minuteness that theworld of the infinitely little is so clearly seen; and in the same way (orrather in the opposite way) it is by enormously increasing the size of themachinery used that it becomes possible to increase the breadth of one'sview--in the physical sense as well as, let us hope, in the moral--farbeyond anything that science has ever dreamt of as possible for man. Sothat the alteration in size is really in the vehicle of the student'sconsciousness, and not in anything outside of himself; and the oldOriental books have, after all, put the case more accurately than have we. I have indicated, though only in the roughest outlines, what a trainedstudent, possessed of full astral vision, would see in the immensely widerworld to which that vision introduced him; but I have said nothing of thestupendous change in his mental attitude which comes from the experimentalcertainty regarding matters of paramount importance. The differencebetween even the profoundest intellectual conviction, and the preciseknowledge gained by direct personal experience, must be felt in order tobe appreciated. "

Now, here at this place, I wish to call the attention of the student tothe fact that while the above stated, phenomena strictly belong to theclass of "simple clairvoyance, " rather than to "space clairvoyance, " or"time clairvoyance" respectively, nevertheless the same phenomena may bemanifested in connection with that of these other classes of clairvoyance. For instance, in space clairvoyance the trained clairvoyant is able notonly to perceive things happening at points far distant, but may also (ifhighly developed psychically) be able to perceive the details justmentioned as well as if he were at that distant point in person. Likewise, in time clairvoyance, the clairvoyant may exercise the power of magnifyingvision regarding the object far distant in time, just as if he were livingin that time. So here as elsewhere we find the different classes ofphenomena shading and blending into each other. At the best, classifications are useful principally for convenience in intellectualconsideration and reasoning. 

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

I would also call the attention of the student to the fact that in theabove description of the phenomena of simple clairvoyance I have made nomention of the sights of the astral plane which often become visible tothe clairvoyant, and which have to do with astral bodies, astral shells, the disembodied souls of those who have passed on to other planes ofexistence, etc. I shall take up these matters in other parts of thiscourse, and shall not dwell upon them in this place. But, I wish you toremember that the same power which enables you to sense other objects bymeans of the astral scenes, is the same that is called into operation inthe cases to which I have just referred. 

The astral plane is a wonderful plane or field of being, containing manystrange and wonderful beings and things. The person living on the physicalplane may visit the astral plane in the astral body; and, again, he mayperceive the happenings and scenes of that plane by means of the awakenedand developed astral senses. Some clairvoyants find it easy to function inone way, and some in another. It is reserved for the scientificallydeveloped clairvoyant to manifest the well-rounded power to perceive thephenomena of the astral plane in its wonderful entirety. 

Finally, you will see by reference to other chapters of this book, thatone may manifest simple clairvoyant powers (as well as the morecomplicated ones of time and space clairvoyance) not only in the ordinarywaking state, but also in the state of dreams. In fact, some of the moststriking psychic phenomena are manifested when the seer is in the dreamstate. As we proceed, you will find that every phase of the great subjectwill fit into its place, and will be found to blend with every otherphase. There will be found a logical harmony and unity of thoughtpervading the whole subject. But we must use single bricks and stones aswe build--it is only in the completed structure that we may perceive theharmonious unity. 

LESSON X. 

CLAIRVOYANCE OF DISTANT SCENES. 

Let us now consider the phenomena of the second class of clairvoyance, namely, Clairvoyance in Space. 

In space clairvoyance the clairvoyant person senses scenes and eventsremoved in space from the observer--that is to say, scenes and eventssituated outside of the range of the physical vision of the clairvoyant. In this class also is included certain phenomena in which the clairvoyantvision is able to discern things that may be concealed or obscured byintervening material objects. Some of the many different forms and phasesof space clairvoyance are illustrated by the following examples, all takenfrom the best sources. 

Bushnell relates the following well-known case of space clairvoyance:"Capt. Yount, of Napa Valley, California, one midwinter's night had adream in which he saw what appeared to be a company of emigrants arrestedby the snows of the mountains, and perishing rapidly by cold and hunger. He noted the very cast of the scenery, marked by a huge, perpendicularfront of white-rock cliff; he saw the men cutting off what appeared to betree-tops rising out of deep gulfs of snow; he distinguished the veryfeatures of the persons, and their look of peculiar distress. He awokeprofoundly impressed by the distinctness and apparent reality of thedream. He at length fell asleep, and dreamed exactly the same dream overagain. In the morning he could not expel it from his mind. Falling inshortly after with an old hunter comrade, he told his story, and was onlythe more deeply impressed by him recognizing without hesitation thescenery of the dream. This comrade came over the Sierra by the CarsonValley Pass, and declared that a spot in the Pass exactly answered hisdescription. 

"By this the unsophistical patriarch was decided. He immediately collecteda company of men, with mules and blankets and all necessary provisions. The neighbors were laughing meantime at his credulity. 'No matter, ' hesaid, 'I am able to do this, and I will, for I verily believe that thefact is according to my dream. ' The men were sent into the mountains onehundred and fifty miles distant, direct to the Carson Valley Pass. Andthere they found the company exactly in the condition of the dream, andbrought in the remnant alive. "

In connection with this case, some leading, occultists are of the opinionthat the thought-waves from the minds of the distressed lost personsreached Capt. Yount in his sleep, and awakened his subconscious attention. Having natural clairvoyant power, though previously unaware of it, henaturally directed his astral vision to the source of the mental currents, and perceived clairvoyantly the scene described in the story. Not havingany acquaintance with any of the lost party, it was only by reason of themental currents of distress so sent out that his attention was attracted. This is a very interesting case, because several psychic factors areinvolved in it, as I have just said. 

In the following case, there is found a connecting link of acquaintancewith a person playing a prominent part in the scene, although there was noconscious appeal to the clairvoyant, nor conscious interest on her partregarding the case. The story is well-known, and appears in theProceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. It runs as follows:

Mrs. Broughton awoke one night in 1844, and roused her husband, tellinghim that something dreadful had happened in France. He begged her to goasleep again, and not trouble him. She assured him that she was not asleepwhen she saw what she insisted on telling him--what she saw in fact. Shesaw, first, a carriage accident, or rather, the scene of such an accidentwhich had occurred a few moments before. What she saw was the result ofthe accident--a broken carriage, a crowd collected, a figure gently raisedand carried into the nearest house, then a figure lying on a bed, whichshe recognized as the Duke of Orleans. Gradually friends collected aroundthe 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 adoctor. He stood bending over the duke, feeling his pulse, with his watchin the other hand. And then all passed away, and she saw no more. "Assoon as it was daylight she wrote down in her journal all that she hadseen. It was before the days of the telegraph, and two or more days passedbefore the newspapers announced 'The Death of the Duke of Orleans. 'Visiting Paris a short time afterwards, she saw and recognized the placeof the accident, and received the explanation of her impression. Thedoctor who attended the dying duke was an old friend of hers, and as hewatched by the bed his mind had been constantly occupied with her and herfamily. "

In many cases of clairvoyance of this kind, there is found to exist astrong connecting link of mutual interest or affection, over which flowsthe strong attention-arousing force of need or distress, which calls intooperation the clairvoyant visioning. 

In other cases there seems to be lacking any connecting link, although, even in such cases there may be a subconscious link connecting theclairvoyant with the scene or event. An interesting example of this lastmentioned phase is that related by W. T. Stead, the English editor andauthor, 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 waitedfor sleep to come; instead of sleep, however, there came to me asuccession of curiously vivid clairvoyant pictures. There was no light inthe room, and it was perfectly dark; I had my eyes shut also. But, notwithstanding the darkness, I suddenly was conscious of looking at ascene of singular beauty. It was as if I saw a living miniature about thesize of a magic-lantern slide. At this moment I can recall the scene as ifI saw it again. It was a seaside piece. The moon was shining upon thewater, which rippled slowly on to the beach. Right before me a long moleran into the water. On either side of the mole irregular rocks stood upabove the sea-level. On the shore stood several houses, square and rude, which resembled nothing that I had ever seen in house architecture. No onewas stirring, but the moon was there and the sea and the gleam of themoonlight on the rippling waters, just as if I had been looking on theactual scene. It was so beautiful that I remember thinking that if itcontinued I should be so interested in looking at it that I should nevergo asleep. I was wide awake, and at the same time that I saw the scene Idistinctly heard the dripping of the rain outside the window. Then, suddenly without any apparent object or reason, the scene changed. 

"The moonlight sea vanished, and in us place I was looking right into theinterior of a reading-room. It seemed as if it had been used as aschool-room in the daytime, and was employed as a reading-room in theevening. I remember seeing one reader who had a curious resemblance to TimHarrington, although it was not he, hold up a magazine or book in his handand laugh. It was not a picture--it was there. The scene was just as ifyou were looking through an opera glass; you saw the play of the muscles, the gleaming of the eye, every movement of the unknown persons in theunnamed place into which you were gazing. I saw all that without openingmy eyes, nor did my eyes have anything to do with it. You see such thingsas these as if it were with another sense which is more inside your headthan in your eyes. The pictures were apropos of nothing; they had beensuggested by nothing I had been reading or talking of; they simply came asif I had been able to look through a glass at what was occurring somewhereelse 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 authority. The story runs that in the latter part ofSeptember, 1759, at four o'clock one Saturday afternoon, Swedenborgarrived home from England, and disembarked at the town of Gothenburg. Afriend, Mr. W. Castel, met him and invited him to dinner, at which mealthere were fifteen persons gathered around the table in honor of theguest. At six o'clock, Swedenborg went out a few minutes, returning to thetable shortly thereafter, looking pale and excited. When questioned by theguests he replied that there was a fire at Stockholm, two hundred milesdistant, and that the fire was steadily spreading. He grew very restless, and frequently left the room. He said that the house of one of hisfriends, whose name he mentioned, was already in ashes, and that his ownwas in danger. At eight o'clock, after he had been out again, he returnedcrying out cheerfully, "Thank heaven! the fire is out, the third doorfrom my house!" The news of the strange happening greatly excited thepeople of the town, and the city officials made inquiry regarding it. Swedenborg was summoned before the authorities, and requested to relate indetail what he had seen. Answering the questions put to him, he told whenand how the fire started; how it had begun; how, when and where it hadstopped; the time it had lasted; the number of houses destroyed ordamaged, and the number of persons injured. On the following Mondaymorning 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 arrived at the city hall with a fullreport of the fire, which corresponded precisely with the vision ofSwedenborg. The fire had stopped precisely at eight o'clock, the veryminute that Swedenborg had so announced it to the company. 

A similar case is related by Stead, having been told to him by the wife ofa Dean in the Episcopal Church. He relates it as follows: "I was stayingin Virginia, some hundred miles away from home, when one morning abouteleven o'clock I felt an overpowering sleepiness, which drowsiness wasquite unusual, and which caused me to lie down. In my sleep I saw quitedistinctly my home in Richmond in flames. The fire had broken out in onewing of the house, which I saw with dismay was where I kept all my bestdresses. The people were all trying to check the flames, but it was nouse. My husband was there, walking about before the burning house, carrying a portrait in his hand. Everything was quite clear and distinct, exactly as if I had actually been present and seen everything. After atime, I woke up, and going down stairs told my friends the strange dream Ihad had. They laughed at me, and made such game of my vision that I did mybest to think no more about it. I was traveling about, a day or twopassed, and when Sunday came I found myself in a church where somerelatives were worshipping. When I entered the pew they looked verystrange, and as soon as the service was over I asked them what was thematter. 'Don't be alarmed, ' they said, 'there is nothing serious. ' Thenthey handed me a post-card from my husband which simply said, 'Houseburned out; covered by insurance. ' The day was the date upon which mydream occurred. I hastened home, and then I learned that everything hadhappened exactly as I had seen it. The fire had broken out in the wing Ihad seen blazing. My clothes were all burned, and the oddest thing aboutit was that my husband, having rescued a favorite picture from the burningbuilding, had carried it about among the crowd for some time before hecould find a place in which to put it safely. "

Another case, related by Stead, the same authority, runs as follows: "Thefather of a son who had sailed on the 'Strathmore, ' an emigrant shipoutbound 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 desertisland near which the wreck had taken place. He was so much impressed bythis vision that he wrote to the owner of the 'Strathmore' telling himwhat he had seen. His information was scouted; but after a while the'Strathmore' became overdue, and the owner became uneasy. Day followedday, and still no tidings of the missing ship. Then like Pharaoh's butler, the owner remembered his sins one day, and hunted up the letter describingthe vision. It supplied at least a theory to account for the ship'sdisappearance. All outward-bound ships were requested to look out for anysurvivors on the island indicated in the vision. These orders were obeyed, and the survivors of the 'Strathmore' were found exactly where the fatherhad seen them. "

The Society for Psychical Research mentions another interesting case, asfollows: "Dr. Golinski, a physician of Kremeutchug, Russia, was taking anafter-dinner nap in the afternoon, about half-past three o'clock. He had avision in which he saw himself called out on a professional visit, whichtook him to a little room with dark hangings. To the right of the door hesaw a chest of drawers, upon which rested a little paraffine lamp ofspecial pattern, different from anything he had ever seen before. On theleft of the door, he saw a woman suffering from a severe hemorrhage. Hethen saw himself giving her professional treatment. Then he awoke, suddenly, and saw that it was just half-past four o'clock. Within tenminutes after he awoke, he was called out on a professional visit, and onentering the bedroom he saw all the details that had appeared to him inhis vision. There was the chest of drawers--there was the peculiarlamp--there was the woman on the bed, suffering from the hemorrhage. Uponinquiry, 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, finallydispatching a messenger for him at half-past four, the moment at which heawoke. "

Another, and a most peculiar, phase of space clairvoyance is that in whichcertain persons so awaken the astral senses of other persons that thesepersons perceive the first person--usually in the form of seemingly seeingthe person present in the immediate vicinity, just as one would see aghostly 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 illustratethis form of space clairvoyance. 

W. T. Stead relates the case of a lady well known to him, who spontaneouslydeveloped the power of awakening astral perception in others. She seemedto "materialize" in their presence. Her power in this direction became asource of considerable anxiety and worry to her friends to whom she wouldpay unexpected and involuntary visits, frightening them out of their witsby the appearance of her "ghost. " They naturally thought that she had diedsuddenly and had appeared to them in ghostly form. The lady, her self, was totally unconscious of the appearance, though she admitted that at orabout the times of the appearances she had been thinking of her friendswhom she visited astrally. 

The German writer, Jung Stilling, mentions the case of a man of goodcharacter who had developed power of this kind, but also was conscious ofhis visits. He exerted the power consciously by an effort of will, itseems. At one time he was consulted by the wife of a sea captain whosehusband 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. Sheconsulted the gentleman in question, and he promised to do what he couldfor her. Leaving the room he threw himself on a couch and was seen by thelady (who peered through the half-opened door) to be in a state ofsemi-trance. Finally he returned and told her that he had visited herhusband in a coffee-house in London, and gave her husband's reasons fornot writing, adding that her husband would soon return to America. Whenher husband returned several months later, the wife asked him about thematter. He informed her that the clairvoyant's report was correct in everyparticular. Upon being introduced to the clairvoyant, the captainmanifested great surprise, saying that he had met the man in question on acertain day in a coffee-house in London, and that the man had told himthat his wife was worried about him, and that he had told the man that hehad been prevented from writing for several reasons, and that he was onthe eve of beginning his return voyage to America. He added that when helooked for the man a few moments afterwards, the stranger had apparentlylost himself in the crowd, disappeared and was seen no more by him. 

The Society for Psychical Research gives prominence to the celebrated caseof the member of the London Stock Exchange, whose identity it concealsunder the initials "S. H. B. , " who possessed this power of voluntaryawakening of astral sight in others by means of his "appearance" to them. The man relates his experience to the Society as follows: "One Sundaynight in November, 1881, I was in Kildare Gardens, when I willed verystrongly 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 shoulddo this at one o'clock in the morning, and having willed it, I went tosleep. Next Thursday, when I first met my friends, the elder lady told methat she woke up and saw my apparition advancing to her bedside. Shescreamed and woke her sisters, who also saw me. " (The report includes thesigned statement of the ladies, giving the time of the appearance, and thedetails thereof. )

"Again, on December 1, 1882, I was at Southall. At half-past nine I satdown to endeavor to fix my mind so strongly upon the interior of a houseat Kew, where Miss V. And her sister lived, that I seemed to be actuallyin the house. I was conscious, but was in a kind of mesmeric sleep. WhenI went to bed that night, I willed to be in the front bedroom of thathouse at Kew at twelve; and to make my presence felt by the inmates. Nextday I went to Kew. Miss V. 's married sister told me, without any promptingfrom me, that she had seen me in the passage going from one room toanother at half-past nine o'clock, and that at twelve, when she was wideawake, she saw me come to the front bedroom, where she slept, and take herhair, which is very long, into my hand. She said I then took her hand, andgazed 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. Toldme this, I took out the entry that I had made the previous night and readit to her. Mrs. L. Is quite sure she was not dreaming. She had only seenme once before, two years previously. Again, on March 22, 1884, I wrote toMr. Gurney, of the Psychical Research Society, telling him that I wasgoing to make my presence felt by Miss V. , at 44 Norland Square, atmidnight. Ten days afterwards, I saw Miss V. , when she voluntarily told methat on Saturday at midnight, she distinctly saw me, when she was quitewide awake. "

The records of the psychic researchers are filled with numerous accountsof cases in which similar astral projections have occurred when the personwas on his or her death-bed, but was still alive. It would seem that undersuch circumstances the astral senses are very much freer from theinterference of the physical senses, and tend to manifest very stronglyin the form of appearances to persons in whom the dying person is attachedby the ties of affection. Many who read this course have known of cases ofthis kind, for they are of quite frequent occurrence. 

The student will notice that in the majority of the cases cited in thischapter the clairvoyant has been in a state of sleep, or semi-sleep--oftenin a dream condition. But you must not jump to the conclusion that thiscondition is always necessary for the manifestation of this phenomenon. Onthe contrary, the advanced and well developed clairvoyants usually assumemerely a condition of deep reverie or meditation, shutting out the soundsand thoughts of the physical plane, so as to be able to function better onthe astral plane. 

The reason that so many recorded cases have occurred when the clairvoyantperson was asleep, and the vision appeared as a dream, is simply becausein such a condition the physical senses of the person are stilled and atrest, and there is less likelihood of interference from them, and a betteropportunity for the astral senses to function effectively. It is like thefamiliar cases in which one becomes so wrapped up in viewing a beautifulwork of art, or in listening to a beautiful musical rendition, that he orshe forgets all about the sights and sounds of the world outside. Onesometimes gets into this same condition when reading an interesting book, or when witnessing an interesting play. When the psychic powers areconcentrated upon any one channel of vision, the others fail to registera clear impression. The same rule holds good on the astral plane, as onthe physical. 

There are certain psychic conditions which are especially conducive to themanifestation of clairvoyant phenomena, as all students of the subjectknow very well. These conditions are somewhat hard to induce, at leastuntil the clairvoyant has had considerable experience and practice. But, in the state of sleep, the person induces the desired conditions, in manycases, though he is not consciously doing so. As might naturally beexpected, therefore, the majority of the recorded cases of clairvoyancehave occurred when the clairvoyant person has been asleep. 

I should also state, once more, that in many cases in which theclairvoyant has witnessed the "appearance" of another person, as in thecases such as I have just mentioned, there is always the possibility ofthe person having actually appeared in his astral body, unconsciously tohimself of course. No one but a skilled occultist is able to distinguishbetween cases of this kind. The line between this class of clairvoyanceand astral appearance is very thin, and, in fact, the two classes ofphenomena shade and blend into each other. In reality, when one gets downto bottom principles, there is very little difference between the actualappearance in the astral body, and the strong projection of one's presenceby means of will, conscious or unconscious, along the lines of awakeningthe clairvoyant vision of others. To attempt to explain the slight pointsof difference here, would only involve the student in a mass of technicaldescription which would tend to confuse, rather than to enlightenhim--from this I refrain. 

LESSON XI. 

CLAIRVOYANCE OF THE PAST

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

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

Many students confess themselves perplexed when they are first confrontedwith this class of phenomena. While they find it comparatively easy to seehow by astral vision the clairvoyant is able to sense events happening atthat moment, though thousands of miles away from the observer, they cannotat first understand how one can "see" a thing no longer in existence, butwhich disappeared from sight thousands of years ago. Naturally, they askto be informed how this is possible, before proceeding to develop thefaculty 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"just how" this wonderful thing becomes possible to the clairvoyant. 

In the first place, it would undoubtedly be impossible to perceive athing, even by astral vision, if it had entirely disappeared at some timein the past--this would be beyond all natural powers, astral as well asphysical. But, as a matter of fact, the things of the past have notentirely disappeared, but, on the contrary, while having disappeared onthe physical plane they still exist on the astral plane. I shall endeavorto explain this wonderful fact of nature to you in plain terms, althoughit belongs to one of the most mysterious classes of the occult facts ofthe universe. 

In the occult teachings we find many references to "the Akashic Records, "or what is sometimes called "the records of the Astral Light. " Withoutgoing into technical occult definitions and explanations, I will say toyou that the gist of this occult teaching is that in that high form of theuniversal substance which is called the Universal Ether there is found tobe recorded all the happenings of the entire World Cycle of which thepresent time is a part. All that has happened from the very beginning ofthis World Cycle, millions of years ago, is preserved on these astralrecords, and may be read by the advanced clairvoyant or other personpossessing occult powers of this kind. These records perish only with thetermination of a World Cycle, which will not happen for millions of yearsyet to come. 

To those who cannot accept the reasonableness of this occult fact, I wouldsay that there are analogies to be found on other planes of naturalmanifestation. For instance, as astronomy teaches us, a star may beblotted out of existence, and yet its light will persist long after(perhaps until the end of world-time) traveling along at the rate of186, 000 miles each second. The light that we now see coming from thedistant stars has left those stars many years ago--in some cases thousandsof years ago. We see them not as they are now, but as they were at thetime the ray of light left them, many years ago; The astronomers inform usthat if one of these stars had been[*Transcribers Note: Text missing from original]sands) of years ago, we would still see it as in actual existence. Infact, it is believed that some of these stars which we see twinkling atnight have actually been blotted out hundreds of years ago. We will not beaware of this fact until the light rays suddenly cease reaching us, aftertheir journey of billions of miles and hundreds of years. A star blottedout of existence today would be seen by our children, and children'schildren. 

The heat from a stove will be felt in a room long after the stove has beenremoved from it. A room will long contain the odor of something that hasbeen removed from it. It is said that in one of the old mosques of Persiathere may be perceived the faint odor of the musk that was exposed therehundreds of years ago--the very walls are saturated with the pungent odor. Again, is it not wonderful that our memories preserve the images of thesounds and forms which were placed there perhaps fifty years and moreago? How do these memory images survive and exist? Though we may havethought of the past thing for half a lifetime, yet, suddenly its imageflashes into our consciousness. Surely this is as wonderful as the AkashicRecords, though its "commonness" makes it lose its wonderful appearance tous. 

Camille Flammarion, the eminent French astronomer, in a book written overtwenty-five years ago, and which is now out of print, I believe, pictureda possible condition of affairs in which a disembodied soul would be ableto perceive events that happened in the past, by simply taking a positionin space in which he would be able to catch the light-waves that emanatedfrom a distant planet at that particular time in the past the happeningsof which he wanted to perceive. The little book was called "Lumen"--Iadvise you to read it, if you can find it in your public libraries. 

Another writer has written somewhat along the same lines. I herewith giveyou a quotation from him, that you may get the idea he wishes toexpress--it will help you in your conception of the Akashic Records. Hesays: "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 theether, commonly called a ray of light, which passes from the object seento our eyes. Now the speed with which this vibration passes is sogreat--about 186, 000 miles in a second--that when we are considering anyobject in our own world we may regard it as practically instantaneous. When, however, we come to deal with interplanetary distances we have totake the speed of light into consideration, for an appreciable period isoccupied in traversing these vast spaces. For example, it takes eightminutes and a quarter for light to travel to us from the sun, so that whenwe look at the solar orb we see it by means of a ray of light which leftit more than eight minutes ago. From this follows a very curious result. The ray of light by which we see the sun can obviously report to us onlythe state of affairs' which existed in that luminary when it started onits journey, and would not be in the least affected by anything thathappened after it left; so that we really see the sun not as it is, but asit was eight minutes ago. That is to say that if anything important tookplace in the sun--the formation of a new sun-spot, for instance--anastronomer who was watching the orb through his telescope at the timewould be unaware of the incident while it was happening, since the ray oflight bearing the news would not reach him until more than eight minuteslater. 

"The difference is more striking when we consider the fixed stars, becausein their case the distances are so enormously greater. The pole star, forexample, is so far off that light, traveling at the inconceivable speedabove mentioned, takes a little more than fifty years to reach our eyes;and from that follows the strange but inevitable inference that we see thepole star not as or where it is at this moment, but as and where it wasfifty years ago. Nay, if tomorrow some cosmic catastrophe were to shatterthe pole star into fragments, we should still see it peacefully shining inthe sky all the rest of our lives; our children would grow up tomiddle-age and gather their children about them in turn before the news ofthat tremendous accident reached any terrestial eye. In the same way thereare other stars so far distant that light takes thousands of years totravel from them to us, and with reference to their condition ourinformation is therefore thousands of years behind time. Now carry theargument a step farther. Suppose that we were able to place a man at thedistance of 186, 000 miles from the earth, and yet to endow him with thewonderful faculty of being able from that distance to see what washappening here as clearly as though he were still close beside us. It isevident that a man so placed would see everything a second after the timeit really happened, and so at the present moment he would be seeing whathappened a second ago. Double that distance, and he would be two secondsbehind time, and so on; remove him to the distance of the sun (stillallowing him to preserve the same mysterious power of sight) and he wouldlook down and watch you doing not what you are doing now, but what youwere 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; hewould be watching the childish gambols of those who at the same momentwere really middle-aged men. Marvellous as this may sound, it isliterally and scientifically true, and cannot be denied. "

Flammarion, in his story, called "Lumen, " makes his spirit hero pass atwill along the ray of light from the earth, seeing the things of differenteras of earth-time. He even made him travel backward along that ray, thusseeing the happenings in reverse order, as in a moving picture runningbackward. This story is of the greatest interest to the occultist, forwhile the Akashic Records are not the same as the light records, yet theanalogy is so marked in many ways that the occultist sees here anotherexemplification of the old occult axiom that "as above, so below; asbelow, so above. "

I take the liberty of quoting here from my little book, "The AstralWorld, " in order to give you some further idea of the nature of theserecords in the Astral Light. The reader is supposed to be travelling inhis astral body, having the phenomena of the astral pointed out to him bya competent occultist acting as his guide. The occultist-guide says to thestudent: "Changing our vibrations, we find ourselves entering a strangeregion, the nature of which you at first fail to discern. Pausing a momentuntil your astral vision becomes attuned to the peculiar vibrations ofthis region, you will find that you are becoming gradually aware of whatmay be called an immense picture gallery, spreading out in all directions, and apparently bearing a direct relation to every point of space on thesurface of the earth. At first, you find it difficult to decipher themeaning of this great array of pictures. The trouble arises from the factthat they are arranged not one after the other in sequence on a flatplane; but rather in sequence, one after another, in a peculiar orderwhich may be called the order of 'X-ness in space, ' because it is neitherthe dimension of length, breadth, or depth--it is practically the order ofthe fourth dimension in space, which cannot be described in terms ofordinary spatial dimension. Again, you find upon closely examining thepictures that they are very minute--practically microscopic in size--andrequire the use of the peculiar magnifying power of astral vision to bringthem up to a size capable of being recognized by your faculty of visualrecognition. 

"The astral vision, when developed, is capable of magnifying any object, material or astral, to an enormous degree--for instance, the trainedoccultist is able to perceive the whirling atoms and corpuscles of matter, by means of this peculiarity of astral vision. Likewise, he is able toplainly perceive many fine vibrations of light which are invisible to theordinary sight. In fact, the peculiar Astral Light which pervades thisregion is due to the power of the astral vision to perceive and registerthese fine vibrations of light. Bring this power of magnifying intooperation, and you will see that each of the little points and details ofthe great world picture so spread before you in the Astral Light is reallya complete scene of a certain place on earth, at a certain period in thehistory of the earth. It resembles one of the small views in a series ofmoving pictures--a single view of a roll-film. It is fixed, and not inmotion, and yet we can move forward along the fourth dimension, and thusobtain a moving picture of the history of any point on the surface of theearth, or even combine the various points into a large moving picture, inthe same way. Let us prove this by actual experiment. Close your eyes fora moment, while we travel back in time (so to speak) along the series ofthese astral records--for, indeed, they travel back to the beginning ofthe history of the earth. Now open your eyes! Looking around you, youperceive the pictured representation of strange scenes filled with personswearing a peculiar garb--but all is still, no life, no motion. 

"Now, let us move forward in time, at much higher rate than that in whichthe astral views were registered. You now see flying before you the greatmovement of life on a certain point of space, in a far distant age. Frombirth to death you see the life of these strange people, all in the spaceof a few moments. Great battles are fought, and cities rise before youreyes, all in a great moving picture flying at a tremendous speed. Nowstop, and then let us move backward in time, still gazing at the movingpictures. You see a strange sight, like that of 'reversing the film' in amoving picture. You see everything moving backward--cities crumbling intonothingness, men arising from their graves, and growing younger eachsecond until they are finally born as babes--everything moving backward intime, instead of forward. You can thus witness any great historical event, or follow the career of any great personage from birth to death--orbackward. You will notice, moreover, that everything is semi-transparent, and that accordingly you can see the picture of what is going on inside ofbuildings as well as outside of them. Nothing escapes the Astral LightRecords. Nothing can be concealed from it. By traveling to any point intime, on the fourth dimension, you may begin at that point, and see amoving picture of the history of any part of the earth from that time tothe present--or you may reverse the sequence by travelling backward, as wehave seen. You may also travel in the Astral, on ordinary spacedimensions, 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 understand that the aboveexperience is possible to every clairvoyant who is able to sense past-timeevents and happenings. On the contrary, the above experience is possibleonly to the advanced occultist, or to the student whom he may take withhim on an astral trip, in the astral body. The clairvoyant merely catchesglimpses of certain phases and fields of the great astral record region orstate. For that matter, the ordinary clairvoyant merely sees a reflectionof the true Astral-Light pictures--a reflection similar to that of alandscape reflected in a pond. Moreover, this reflection may be (andfrequently is) disturbed as if by the ripples and waves of the pond inwhich the landscape is reflected. But, still, even the ordinaryclairvoyant is able to secure results which are wonderful enough in alltruth, and which far transcend the power of the person functioning on thephysical plane alone. 

Past-time clairvoyance is frequently induced by means of psychometry, inwhich the clairvoyant is able to have "the loose end" to unwind the ballof time. But, still, in some cases the clairvoyant is able to get enrapport with the astral records of past-time by the ordinary methods ofmeditation, etc. The main obstacle in the last mentioned case is thedifficulty of coming in contact with the exact period of past-time soughtfor--in psychometry, the vibrations of the "associated object" suppliesthe missing-link. 

Lacking the "associated object, " the clairvoyant may obtain the link bybringing into the imagination some associated scene of thattime--something else that happened about the same time. All that is neededis to get hold of something associated in space or in time with the soughtfor scene. All that is needed is the "loose end" of association. Sometimesthe clairvoyant senses some past-time experience, the place and time ofwhich is unknown to him. In such cases, it is necessary for him to gethold of some "loose end" by which he may work out the solution. Forinstance, the picture of a certain building or personage, or historicalhappening, may give the key to the mystery. 

In very high forms of past-time clairvoyance, the clairvoyant is able notonly to perceive the actual happenings of the past, but also to actuallysense the thought and feelings of the actors therein--for these, too, arerecorded on the astral plane. In other cases, the clairvoyant person isable 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 catchthese glimpses of their own past lives, though able to perceive those ofother persons. All these variations are due to certain technicaldifferences into which I cannot go into detail at this place. Again somepersons are able to perceive events that have happened to persons presentbefore them, but are not able to contact past-time events in the ordinaryway. There are a thousand-and-one variations in clairvoyant work. Only thehighly advanced occultist is master of all of them. But, still every onemay develop himself or herself, from humble beginnings. 

In concluding this lesson, I wish to call your attention to the followingadvice from a man well advanced in the knowledge of the astral plane. Hesays: "It would be well for all students to bear in mind that occultism isthe apotheosis of common-sense, and that every vision that comes to themis not necessarily a picture from the Akashic Records, nor everyexperience a revelation from on high. It is far better to err on the sideof healthy skepticism, than of over-credulity, and it is an admirablerule never to hunt about for an occult explanation of anything when aplain and obvious physical one is available. Our duty is to endeaveor tokeep our balance always, and never to lose our self-control, but to take areasonable, common-sense view of whatever may happen to us, so that we maybe wiser occultists, and more useful helpers than we have ever beenbefore. 

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

"In many cases of the lower manifestations of these powers we find thatthey are exercised unconsciously. Many a crystal-gazer watches scenes fromthe past without being able to distinguish them from visions of thepresent. And many a vaguely-psychic person finds pictures constantlyarising before his eyes, without ever realizing that he is in effectpsychometrizing the various objects around him, as he happens to touchthem or stand near them. An interesting variant of this class of psychicsis the man who is able to psychometrize persons only, and not inanimateobjects as is more usual. In most cases this faculty shows itselferratically, 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 rarelywe meet with someone who gets detailed visions of the past life of nearlyeveryone whom he encounters. It may easily happen, moreover, that a personmay see a picture of the past without recognizing it as such, unless therehappens to be in it something which attracts special attention, such as afigure in armor, or in antique costume. Its probable, therefore, thatoccasional glimpses of these astral reflections of the akashic records arecommoner than the published accounts would lead us to believe. "

I would say to my students, make haste slowly. Do not try to rushdevelopment too rapidly. Perfect and develop yourself in one line ofpsychic power, before seeking another. Take things cooly, and do not loseyour head because you happen to achieve some wonderful phenomena. Do notbecome conceited and vain-glorious. And, finally, do not prostitute yourpowers to ignoble ends, and make a cheap show of them. By cheapening andprostituting the higher psychic powers, the student frequently ends bylosing them altogether. Moderation in all things is the safe policy. Andit always is well for the occultist to resist temptation to use his powersfor unworthy, sensational, or purely selfish purposes. 

LESSON XII. 

CLAIRVOYANCE OF THE FUTURE

Future-Time Clairvoyance, as indicated by its name, is that class ofclairvoyant phenomena which is concerned with the perception of facts, events and happenings of future time. In this class of clairvoyantphenomena naturally fall all genuine cases of prophecy, prevision, foretelling, second-sight, etc. History, theological and secular, isfilled with instances of the foretelling of the future by prophets, wisemen, and others. By many, such powers are generally regarded assupernatural or divine. Without wishing to combat such theories andbeliefs, I would say that the advanced occultists account for all suchphenomena under the general laws of clairvoyance. 

But while the phenomena itself is very well known, and is accepted asgenuine in even many cases in which past-time clairvoyance is doubted, still it is even more difficult to explain than is past-time clairvoyancebased on the Akashic Records or the Astral Light. To the person not wellversed in occult knowledge, and esoteric principles, it is deemedimpossible to intelligently account for the perception of an event beforeit has actually happened--perhaps years before its actual happening. WhileI cannot hope to make this matter absolutely clear to the person who isnot an advanced student of occultism, still I shall try to throw at leastsome light on the underlying principles of this wonderful class of occultphenomena. The main point for the student to realize is that there arenatural laws underlying this phenomenon, and that it is not a matter ofsupernatural power, or necessarily of divine special dispensation. 

In the first place, in some of the simpler forms of future-timeclairvoyance, there is merely a high development of subconscious reasoningfrom analogy. That is to say, the subconscious mental faculties of theperson reason out that such-and-so being the case, then it follows thatso-and-so will result, unless something entirely unexpected should preventor intervene. This is merely an extension of certain forms of reasoningthat we perform ordinarily. For instance, we see a child playing with asharp tool, and we naturally reason that it will cut itself. We see a manacting in certain ways which generally lead to certain ends, and wenaturally reason that the expected result will occur. The more experiencethat the observer has had, and the keener his faculty of perception andhis power of deductive reasoning, the wider will be the range of his powerin the direction of predicting future results from present happenings andconditions. 

In this connection, we must remember that the ordinary clairvoyant haseasier access to his subconscious mentality than has the average person. The subconscious mind perceives and notes many little things that theconscious mind overlooks, and therefore has better data from which toreason. Moreover, as all students of the subconscious know, thesewonderful subconscious mental factulties have a very highly developedpower of reasoning deductively from a given premise or fact. In fact, thesubconscious faculties are almost perfect reasoning machines, providingthey are supplied with correct data in the first place. Much of theso-called "intuitive reasoning" of persons arises from the operations ofthe subconscious mental faculties just mentioned. 

But, you may say, this is very interesting, but it is not clairvoyance. Certainly, good student, but still clairvoyance plays an important parteven in this elementary form of prevision and future-seeing. You mustremember that by clairvoyant vision the real thoughts and feelings of aperson may be perceived. But, unless the attention of the clairvoyant isspecially directed to this, the conscious mind does not note it, and thematter reaches the subconscious faculties without interference orconscious knowledge on the part of the clairvoyant. This being so, it willbe seen that the subconscious mind of the clairvoyant is able to reasondeductively, in such cases, far beyond the power of even the subconsciousmind of the ordinary person--it has fuller data and more complete materialto work upon, of course. 

It has become a proverb of the race that "coming events cast their shadowsbefore"; and many persons frequently have little flashes of future-timeseeing without realizing that they are really exercising elementaryclairvoyant powers. The combination of even a simple form of clairvoyanceand an active subconscious mind will often produce very wonderfulresults--although not of course the more complex phenomena of fullclairvoyance and prevision. Some persons have claimed that even this formof prevision implies something like fate or predestination, but this isnot fully true, for we must remember the fact that in some cases it ispossible to so act in accordance with a clairvoyant warning of this kindthat the impending calamity may be escaped. But, on the other hand, wemust also remember that every event is the result of certain precedingevents, without which it could not have happened, and which existing itmust happen unless some new element intervenes. There is such a thing ascause and effect, we must remember--and if we can reason clearly from oneto the other with sufficient clearness, then we may actually prophesycertain things in advance, always making allowance for the intervention ofthe unexpected. 

An authority says on this phase of the question: "There is no doubtwhatever that, just as what is happening now is the result of causes setin motion in the past, so what will happen in the future will be theresult of causes already in operation. Even on this plane of life we cancalculate that if certain actions are performed, certain results willfollow; but our reckoning is constantly liable to be disturbed by theinterference of factors which we have not been able to take into account. But if we raise our consciousness to the higher planes we can see muchfurther into the results of our actions. We can trace, for example, theeffect of a casual word, not only upon the person to whom it wasaddressed, but through him on many others as it is passed on in wideningcircles, until it seems to have affected the whole country; and oneglimpse of such a vision is more efficient than any number of moralprecepts in impressing upon us the necessity of extreme circumspection inthought, word, and deed. Not only can we from that plane see thus fullythe result of every action, but we can also see where and in what way theresults of other actions apparently quite unconnected with it willinterfere with and modify it. In fact, it may be said that the results ofall causes at present in action are clearly visible--that the future, asit would be if no entirely new causes should arise, lies open before ourgaze. 

"New causes of course do arise, because man's will is free; but in thecase of all ordinary people the use which they make of their freedom maybe calculated beforehand with considerable accuracy. The average man hasso little real will that he is very much the creature of circumstances;his action in previous lives places him amid certain surroundings, andtheir influence upon him is so very much the most important factor in hislife-story that his future course may be predicted with almostmathematical certainty. With the developed man the case is different; forhim also the main events of life are arranged by his past actions, but theway in which he will allow them to affect him, the methods by which hewill deal with them and perhaps triumph over them--these are all his own, and they cannot be foreseen even on the mental plane except asprobabilities. 

"Looking down on man's life in this way from above, it seems as though hisfree will could be exercised only in certain crises in his career. Hearrives at a point in his life where there are obviously two or threealternative courses open before him; he is absolutely free to choose whichof them he pleases, and although someone who knew his nature thoroughlywell might feel almost certain what his choice would be, such knowledge onhis friend's part is in no sense a compelling force. But when he haschosen, he has to go through with it and take the consequences; havingentered upon a particular path he may, in many cases, be forced to go onfor a very long time before he has any opportunity to turn aside. Hisposition is somewhat like that of a driver of a train; when he comes to ajunction he may have the points set either this way or that, and so canpass on to whichever line he pleases, but when he has passed on to one ofthem he is compelled to run on along the line which he has selected untilhe reaches another set of points, where again an opportunity of choice isoffered to him. "

But, interesting and wonderful as this phase of future-time clairvoyanceundoubtedly is, it pales before the fuller and more complete phases. And, in the latter, we must look elsewhere for the explanation--or approach toan explanation. The explanation of this higher form of future-timeclairvoyance must be looked for in a new conception of the nature andmeaning of time. It is difficult to approach this question withoutbecoming at once involved in technical metaphysical discussion. As anexample of this difficulty, I invite you to consider the following fromSir Oliver Lodge, in his address to the British Association, at Cardiff, several years ago. While what he says is very clear to the mind of aperson trained along these lines of subtle thought, it will be almost likeGreek to the average person. Sir Oliver Lodge said:

"A luminous and helpful idea is that time is but a relative mode ofregarding things; we progress through phenomena at a certain definitepace, and this subjective advance we interpret in an objective manner, asif events moved necessarily in this order and at this precise rate. Butthat may be only one mode of regarding them. The events may be in somesense of existence always, both past and future, and it may be we who arearriving at them, not they which are happening. The analogy of a travellerin a railway train is useful; if he could never leave the train nor alterits pace he would probably consider the landscapes as necessarilysuccessive and be unable to conceive their co-existence * * * We perceive, therefore, a possible fourth dimensional aspect about time, theinexorableness of whose flow may be a natural part of our presentlimitations. And if we once grasp the idea that past and future may beactually existing, we can recognize that they may have a controllinginfluence on all present action, and the two together may constitute the'higher plane' or totality of things after which, as it seems to me, weare impelled to seek, in connection with the directing of form ordeterminism, and the action of living being consciously directed to adefinite and preconceived end. "

Sir Oliver's illustration is somewhat akin to that of a person who sees amoving-picture show for the first time, and does not know how it isproduced. To him it looks as if the events of the pictured story actuallywere developing and happening in time, whereas, in reality the wholepicture is existing at one time. Its past, present and future is alreadypictured, and may be seen by one who knows the secret and how to look forthe past or future scene; while, to the ordinary observer, the sceneprogresses in sequence, the present being followed by something else whichis at this moment "in the future, " and therefore, unknowable. To thesenses of the ordinary observer 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 alittle, and let the idea sink into your mind--it may help you tounderstand 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 isa scientific fact that a person in the dream state may cover years oftime in a dream that occupies only a few seconds of time. Persons havenodded and awakened immediately afterwards (as proved by others present inthe room), and yet in that moment's time they have dreamed of longjourneys to foreign lands, great campaigns of war, etc. Moreover, a loudsound (a pistol shot, for instance) which has awakened a sleeping person, has also set into effect a dream-state train of circumstances, constituting a long dream-state story which, after many events andhappenings, terminated in the shot of a firing-squad--and then the manawoke. Now in this last mentioned case, not only has the dreamerexperienced events covering a long time, all in the space of a second oftime; but, also, the very sound which terminated the dream, also inducedit from the very beginning--the last thing caused the first things toappear and proceed in sequence to the last! Persons under the influence ofchloroform, or "laughing gas, " have similar experiences--often the firstsound heard at the moment of recovering consciousness seems to be the lastthing in a long dream which preceded it, though the long dream was reallycaused by the final sound. Now, remember, that here not only did past, present and future exist at the same moment of time; but, also, the futurecaused the past and present to come into being. 

On the physical plane, we have analogies illustrating this fact. It issaid that in every acorn rests and exists, in miniature, the form of thefuture oak. And, some go so far as to say that the oak is the "ultimatecause" of the acorn--that the idea of the oak caused the acorn to be atall. 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 advancedmetaphysicians--they have a still more dazzling explanation, let us listento it. 

These occultists and metaphysicians who have thought long and deeply uponthe ultimate facts and nature of the universe, have dared to think thatthere must exist some absolute consciousness--some absolute mind--whichmust perceive the past, present and future of the universe as onehappening; as simultaneously and actively present at one moment ofabsolute time. They reason that just as man may see as one happening of amoment of his time some particular event which might appear as a year tosome minute form of life and mind--the microscopic creatures in a drop ofwater, for instance; so that which seems as a year, or a hundred years, tothe mind of man may appear as the happening of a single moment of a higherscale of time to some exalted Being or form of consciousness on a higherplane. You remember that it is said that "a thousand years is but as a dayto the Lord;" and the Hindu Vedas tell us that "the creation, duration, and destruction of the universe, is as but the time of the twinkling of aneye to Brahman. " I shall not proceed further along this line--I have givenyou a very strong hint here; you must work it out for yourself, if youfeel so disposed. But there are certain consequences arising from thisultimate universal fact, which I must mention before passing on. 

The high occult teachings hold that there is a plane of the higher astralworld which may be said to carry a reflection of the Universal Mind--justas a lake contains a reflection of the distant mountain. Well, then, theclairvoyant vision at times is able to penetrate to the realm of thatastral reflecting medium, and see somewhat dimly what is pictured there. As the future may be discerned in this reflected picture, by theclairvoyant mind, we see how future-seeing, prevision, and second-sightmay be explained scientifically. 

A writer has said: "On this plane, in some manner which down here istotally inexplicable, the past, the present, and the future, are all thereexisting simultaneously. One can only accept this fact, for its cause liesin the faculty of that exalted plane, and the way in which this higherfaculty 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 triflenearer to a dim possibility of comprehension. When the pupil'sconsciousness is fully developed upon this higher plane, therefore, perfect prevision is possible to him, though he may not--nay, he certainlywill not--be able to bring the whole result of his sight through fully andin order into his physical consciousness. Still, a great deal of clearforesight is obviously within his power whenever he likes to exercise it;and even when he is not exercising it, frequent flashes of foreknowledgecome through into his ordinary life, so that he often has an instantaneousintuition as to how things will turn out. "

The same writer says: "Short of perfect prevision we find that all degreesof this type of clairvoyance exist, from the occasional vague premonitionswhich cannot in any true sense be called sight at all, up to frequent andfairly complete second-sight. The faculty to which this latter somewhatmisleading name has been given is an extremely interesting one, and wouldwell repay more careful and systematic study than has hitherto been givento it. It is best known to us as a not infrequent possession of theScottish Highlanders, though it is by no means confined to them. Occasional instances of it have appeared in almost every nation, but ithas always been commonest among mountaineers and men of lonely life. Withus in England it is often spoken of as if it were the exclusive appanageof the Celtic race, but in reality it has appeared among similarlysituated peoples the world over, it is stated, for example, to be verycommon among the Westphalian peasantry. 

"Sometimes the second-sight consists of a picture clearly foreshowing somecoming event; more frequently, perhaps, the glimpse of the future is givenin some symbolical appearance. It is noteworthy that the events foreseenare invariably unpleasant ones--death being the commonest of all; I do notrecollect a single instance in which the second-sight has shown anythingwhich was not of the most gloomy nature. It has a ghastly symbolism ofits own--a symbolism of shrouds and corpse-candles, and other funeralhorrors. In some cases it appears to be to a certain extent dependent uponlocality, for it is stated that inhabitants of the Isle of Skye whopossess the faculty often lose it when they leave the island, even thoughit be only to cross to the mainland. The gift of such sight is sometimeshereditary in a family for generations, but this is not an invariablerule, for it often appears sporadically in one member of a familyotherwise free from its lugubrious influence. 

"There may be still some people who deny the possibility of prevision, butsuch denial simply shows their ignorance of the evidence on the subject. The large number of authenticated cases leave no room for doubt as to thefact, but many of them are of such a nature as to render a reasonableexplanation by no means easy to find. It is evident that the Ego possessesa certain amount of previsional faculty, and if the events foreseen werealways of great importance, one might suppose that an extraordinarystimulus had enabled him for that occasion only to make a clear impressionof what he saw upon his lower personality. No doubt that is theexplanation of many of the cases in which death or grave disaster isforeseen, but there are a large number of instances on record to which itdoes not seem to apply, since the events foretold are frequently trivialand unimportant. "

In the following chapter I shall present to your consideration some veryremarkable cases of future-time clairvoyance, prevision, or second-sight;some of these are historical cases, and all are vouched for by the bestauthorities. I quote these cases not merely for their own interestingfeatures, but also to give you an idea of how remarkable some of theseinstances are; and also to give you a clear conception of the way in whichthis form of clairvoyance tends to manifest itself. 

Before passing on to these interesting cases, however, I wish to remindyou that in future-time clairvoyance, as well as in past-timeclairvoyance, the phenomenon may be manifested in many ways and accordingto several methods. That is to say, that in future-time clairvoyance thevision may come in the state of meditation or reverie; it may come alongthe lines of psychometry, some associated object or person supplying theconnecting link; or, again, it may come as the result of crystal-gazing, etc. This is as we might naturally expect, for this form of clairvoyanceis merely one special and particular phase of clairvoyance in general, andof course, comes under the general laws and rules governing allclairvoyant phenomena. 

Future-time clairvoyance, prevision and second-sight may, like any otherform of clairvoyance, be developed and unfolded, by means of the samerules and methods that I have already suggested to you in the precedinglessons. It is all a matter of attention, application, patience, exerciseand practice. I may say, however, that the strong desire and wish for theperception of future events, held firmly in mind during the practicing andexercising, will tend to unfold and develop the clairvoyant faculties inthis particular direction. Strong desire, and earnest attention in thedesired direction, will do much to cultivate, develop and unfold anypsychic faculty. 

Just as meditation and reverie about past times and things tend to developpast-time clairvoyance, so will meditation and reverie about future timeand things tend to develop prevision and the seeing of future things. This, indeed, is the very first step toward the attainment of this form ofclairvoyance. The attention clears the psychic path, over which the astralfaculties travel. In the astral, as on the physical, the rule is: alwayslook where you are going--look ahead on the path over which you wish totravel. 

LESSON XIII. 

SECOND-SIGHT, PREVISION, ETC. 

Notwithstanding the difficulties in the way of an intelligent explanationof the phenomena of future-time clairvoyance, second-sight, prevision, etc. , of which I have spoken in the preceding lesson, the human race hasalways had a lively reminder of the existence of such phenomena; and therecords of the race have always contained many instances of themanifestation thereof. Among all peoples, in all lands, in all times, there have been noted remarkable instances of the power of certain personsto peer into, and correctly report from, the mysterious regions of thefuture. Passing from the traditional reports of the race, and the minorinstances known to almost every person, we find that the scientificinvestigators of psychic phenomena have gathered together an enormousarray of well authenticated cases of this class. The reports of theSociety for Psychical research contain hundreds of such cases, which thestudent may read and study with interest and profit. 

It is not my intention to present a full history of the reports of thischaracter. Rather, I shall call your attention to a few striking cases, inorder to illustrate the phenomenon clearly and forcibly. There is such awealth of material of this kind that it embarrases one who wishes toselect from it. However, I shall do the best I can in that direction. Following, to commence with, I give you extracts from a well known casereported by a prominent member of the Theosophical Society, which hasattracted much attention. It was related to this person by one of theactors in the scene. It happened in India. A party of English armyofficers was entering a dense jungle. Then follows the story, as below:

"We plunged into the jungle, and had walked on for about an hour withoutmuch success, when Cameron, who happened to be next to me, stoppedsuddenly, turned pale as death, and, pointing straight before him, criedin accents of horror: 'See! see! merciful heavens, look there!' 'Where?what? what is it?' we all shouted confusedly, as we rushed up to him, andlooked around in expectation of encountering a tiger--a cobra--we hardlyknew what, but assuredly something terrible, since it had been sufficientto cause such evident emotion in our usually self-contained comrade. Butneither tiger nor cobra was visible--nothing but Cameron pointing withghastly 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 matter?' Scarcely were the words out of my mouth when a lowbut very peculiar sound struck upon my ear, and Cameron, dropping hispointing hand, said in a hoarse, strained voice, 'There! you heard it?Thank God it's over!' and fell to the ground insensible. There was amomentary confusion while we unfastened his collar, and I dashed in hisface some water which I fortunately had in my flask, while another triedto pour brandy between his clenched teeth; and under cover of it Iwhispered to the man next to me (one of our greatest skeptics, by theway), 'Beauchamp, did you hear anything?' 'Why, yes, ' he replied, 'acurious 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 havesworn that it was the rattle of musketry. ' 'Just my impression, ' murmuredI; 'but hush! he is recovering. '

"In a minute or two he was able to speak feebly, and began to thank us andapologize 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 oweyou an explanation of my extraordinary behavior. It is an explanation thatI would fain avoid giving; but it must come some time, and so may as wellbe given now. You may perhaps have noticed that when during our voyage youall joined in scoffing at dreams, portents and visions, I invariablyavoided giving any opinion on the subject. I did so because, while I hadno desire to court ridicule or provoke discussion, I was unable to agreewith you, knowing only too well from my own dread experience that theworld which men agree to call that of the supernatural is just as realas--nay, perhaps even more real than--this world we see about us. In otherwords, I, like many of my countrymen, am cursed with the gift ofsecond-sight--that awful faculty which foretells in vision calamitiesthat are shortly to occur. 

"'Such a vision I had just now, and its exceptional horror moved me as youhave seen. I saw before me a corpse--not that of one who has died apeaceful, natural death, but that of the victim of some terrible accident;a ghastly, shapeless mass, with a face swollen, crushed, unrecognizable. Isaw this dreadful object placed in a coffin, and the funeral serviceperformed over it. I saw the burial-ground, I saw the clergyman: andthough I had never seen either before, I can picture both perfectly in mymind's eye now; I saw you, myself, Beauchamp, all of us and many more, standing round as mourners; I saw the soldiers raise their muskets afterthe service was over; I heard the volley they fired--and then I knew nomore. ' As he spoke of that volley of musketry I glanced across with ashudder at Beauchamp, and the look of stony horror on that handsomeskeptic's face was not to be forgotten. "

Omitting the somewhat long recital of events which followed, I would saythat later in the same day the party of young officers and soldiersdiscovered the body of their commanding officer in the shocking conditionso vividly and graphically described by young Cameron. The story proceedsas follows:

"When, on the following evening, we arrived at our destination, and ourmelancholy deposition had been taken down by the proper authorities, Cameron and I went out for a quiet walk, to endeavor with the assistanceof the soothing influence of nature to shake off something of the gloomwhich paralyzed our spirits. Suddenly he clutched my arm, and, pointingthrough some rude railings, said in a trembling voice, 'Yes, there it is!that is the burial-ground of yesterday. ' And, when later on we wereintroduced to the chaplain of the post, I noticed, though my friends didnot, the irrepressible shudder with which Cameron took his hand, and Iknew that he had recognized the clergyman of his vision. "

The story concludes with the statement that in all the little details, aswell as the main points, the scene at the burial of the commanding officercorresponded exactly with the vision of Cameron. This story brings out thefact that the Scotch people are especially given to manifestations ofsecond-sight--particularly the Highlanders or mountain people of thatland. It is hard to find a Scotchman, who, in his heart, does not believein second-sight, and who has not known of some well authenticated instanceof its manifestation. In other lands, certain races, or sub-races, seem tobe specially favored (or cursed, as Cameron asserted) with this power. Itwill be noticed, usually, that such people dwell, or have dwelt in thehighlands or mountains of their country. There seems to be something inthe mountains and hills which tends to develop and encourage this power inthose dwelling among them. The story is also remarkable in the fact thatthe impression was so strong in the mind of Cameron that it actuallycommunicated itself by clairaudience to those near to him--this is quiteunusual, though not without correspondence in other cases. Otherwise, thecase is merely a typical one, and may be duplicated in the experience ofthousands of other men and women. 

George Fox, the pioneer Quaker, had this faculty well developed, andnumerous instances of its manifestation by him are recorded. For instance, he foretold the death of Cromwell, when he met him riding at HamptonCourt; he said that he felt "a waft of death" around and about Cromwell;and Cromwell died shortly afterwards. Fox also publicly foretold thedissolution of the Rump Parliament of England; the restoration of CharlesII; and the Great Fire of London--these are historical facts, remember. For that matter, history contains many instances of this kind: theprophecy of Caesar's death, and its further prevision by his wife, forinstance. The Bible prophecies and predictions, major and minor, give ussemi-historical instances. 

A celebrated historical instance of remarkable second-sight and prevision, is that of Cazotte, whose wonderful prediction and its literal fulfilmentare matters of French history. Dumas has woven the fact into one of hisstories, in a dramatic manner--but even so he does not make the tale anymore wonderful than the bare facts. Here is the recital of the case by LaHarpe, the French writer, who was a personal witness of the occurrence, and whose testimony was corroborated by many others who were present atthe time. La Harpe says:

"It appears as but yesterday, and yet, nevertheless, it was at thebeginning of the year 1788. We were dining with one of our brethren at theAcademy--a man of considerable wealth and genius. The conversation becameserious; much admiration was expressed on the revolution in thought whichVoltaire had effected, and it was agreed that it was his first claim tothe reputation he enjoyed. We concluded that the revolution must soon beconsummated; that it was indispensible that superstition and fanaticismshould give way to philosophy, and we began to calculate the probabilityof the period when this should be, and which of the present company shouldlive to see it. The oldest complained that they could scarcely flatterthemselves with the hope; the younger rejoiced that they might entertainthis very probable expectation; and they congratulated the Academyespecially for having prepared this great work, and for having been therallying 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 thisconversation, and had even gently and cheerfully checked our splendidenthusiasm. This was Cazotte, an amiable and original man, but unhappilyinfatuated with the reveries of the illumaniti. He spoke, and with themost serious tone, saying: 'Gentleman, be satisfied; you will all see thisgreat and sublime revolution, which you so much desire. You know that I ama little inclined to prophesy; I repeat, you will see it, ' He was answeredby the common rejoinder: 'One need not be a conjuror to see that. ' Heanswered: 'Be it so; but perhaps one must be a little more than conjurorfor what remains for me to tell you. Do you know what will be theconsequences of this revolution--what will be the consequence to all ofyou, and what will be the immediate result--the well-establishedeffect--the thoroughly recognized consequences to all of you who are herepresent?'

"'Ah' said Condorcet, with his insolent and half-suppressed smile, 'let ushear--a philosopher is not sorry to encounter a prophet--let us hear!'Cazotte replied: 'You, Monsier de Condorcet--you will yield up your lastbreath on the floor of a dungeon; you will die from poison, which you willhave taken in order to escape from execution--from poison which thehappiness 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 arazor, and yet will not die till some months afterward. ' These personageslooked at each other, and laughed again. Cazotte continued: 'You, MonsieurVicq d'Azir, you will not open your own veins, but you will cause yourselfto be bled six times in one day, during a paroxysm of the gout, in orderto 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, onthe scaffold. 'Ah, God be thanked, ' exclaimed Roucher, 'and what of I?'Cazotte replied: 'You? you also will die on the scaffold. ' 'Yes, ' repliedChamfort, 'but when will all this happen?' Cazotte answered: 'Six yearswill not pass over, before all that I have said to you shall beaccomplished. ' Here I (La Harpe) spoke, saying: 'Here are some astonishingmiracles, but you have not included me in your list. ' Cazotte answered me, saying: 'But you will be there, as an equally extraordinary miracle; youwill then be a Christian!' Vehement exclamations on all sides followedthis startling assertion. 'Ah!' said Chamfort, 'I am conforted; if weshall perish only when La Harpe shall be a Christian, we are immortal;'

"Then observed Madame la Duchesse de Grammont: 'As for that, we women, weare happy to be counted for nothing in these revolutions: when I say fornothing, it is not that we do not always mix ourselves up with them alittle; but it is a received maxim that they take no notice of us, and ofour sex. ' 'Your sex, ladies' said Cazotte, 'your sex will not protect youthis time; and you had far better meddle with nothing, for you will betreated entirely as men, without any difference whatever. ' 'But what, then, are you really telling us of Monsieur Cazotte? You are preaching tous the end of the world. ' 'I know nothing on that subject; but what I doknow 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, andwith your hands tied behind your backs. 'Ah! I hope that in that case, Ishall at least have a carriage hung in black. ' 'No, madame; higher ladiesthan yourself will go, like you, in the common car, with their hands tiedbehind 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 countenanceof the host was dark and lowering--they began to feel that the joke wasbecoming too serious. Madame de Grammont, in order to dissipate the cloud, took no notice of the reply, and contented herself with saying in acareless 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 onebesides. 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 towhom this prerogative will be given?' Cazotte replied: 'It is the only onewhich he will have then retained--and that will be the King of France!'"This last startling prediction caused the company to disband in somethinglike terror and dismay, for the mere mention of such thing was akin totreason. 

The amazing sequel to this strange story is that within the six yearsallotted by the prophecy, every detail thereof was verified absolutely. The facts are known to all students of the French Revolution, and may beverified by reference to any history of that terrible period. Toappreciate the startling nature of the prophecy when made, one needs butto be acquainted with the position and characteristics of the personswhose destinies were foretold. This celebrated instance of highly advancedfuture-time clairvoyance, or prevision, has never been equalled. Thereason, perhaps, is that Cazotte indeed was an advanced and highlydeveloped occultist--the account mentions this, you will notice. Thisclass of persons very seldom prophecy in this way, for reasons known toall occultists. The ordinary cases recorded are those in which themanifestation is that of a person of lesser powers and less perfectdevelopment. 

Advanced occultists know the danger of a careless use of this power. Theyknow that (omitting other and very important reasons) such revelationswould work a terrible effect upon the minds of persons not sufficientlywell balanced to stand the disclosure. Moreover, they know that if theaverage person knew the principal details of his future life on earth, then he would lose interest in it--it would become stale and would losethe attraction of the unknown. In such a case, the pleasant things to comewould lose their attractiveness by reason of having been dwelt on so longthat their flavor was lost; and the unpleasant things would becomeunbearable by reason of the continual anticipation of them. We are apt todiscount 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 thething itself--we suffer a thousand pangs in anticipation to one inreality. But, as I have intimated, there are other, and still more seriousreasons why the advanced occultists do not indulge in public propheciesof this kind. It is probable that Cazotte decided to, and was permittedto, make his celebrated prophecy for some important occult reason of whichLa Harpe had no knowledge--it doubtless was a part of the working out ofsome 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 thecase of advanced occultists and masters of esoteric knowledge. 

Another case which has a historic value is the well-known case concerningthe assassination of Spencer Perceval, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, inEngland, which occurred in the lobby of the House of Commons. The personswho have a knowledge of the case report that some nine days before thetragic occurrence a Cornish mine manager, named John Williams, had avision, three times in succession, in which he saw a small man, dressed ina blue coat and white waistcoat, enter the lobby of the House of Commons;whereupon another man, dressed in a snuff-colored coat, stepped forward, and, drawing a pistol from an inside pocket fired at and shot the smallman, the bullet lodging in the left breast. In the vision, Williams turnedand asked some bystander the name of the victim; the bystander repliedthat the stricken man was Mr. Spencer Perceval, the Chancellor of theExchequer. The valuable feature of the case, from a scientific standpoint, lies in the fact that Williams was very much impressed by histhrice-repeated vision, and was greatly disturbed thereby. His anxietywas so great that he spoke of the matter to several friends, and askedthem whether it would not be well for him to go to London for the purposeof warning Mr. Perceval. His friends ridiculed the whole matter, andpersuaded him to give up the idea of visiting London for the purposenamed. Those who had a knowledge of the vision were greatly startled andshocked when several days afterward the assassination occurred, agreeingin perfect detail with the vision of the Cornishman. The case, vouched foras it was by a number of reliable persons who had been consulted byWilliams, attracted much attention at the time, and has since passed intothe history of remarkable instances of prevision. 

In some cases, however, the prevision seems to come as a warning, and inmany cases the heeding of the warning has prevented the unpleasantfeatures from materializing as seen in the vision. Up to the point of theaction upon the warning the occurrence agree perfectly with thevision--but the moment the warned person acts so as to prevent theoccurrence, the whole train of circumstances is broken. There is an occultexplanation of this, but it is too technical to mention at this place. 

What is known to psychic researchers as "the Hannah Green case" is of thischaracter. This story, briefly, is that Hannah Green, a housekeeper ofOxfordshire, dreamt that she, having been left alone in the house of aSunday evening, heard a knock at the door. Opening the door she found atramp who tried to force his way into the house. She struggled to preventhis entrance, but he struck her with a bludgeon and rendered herinsensible, whereupon he entered the house and robbed it. She related thevision to her friends, but, as nothing happened for some time, the matteralmost passed from her mind. But, some seven years afterward, she was leftin charge of the house on a certain Sunday evening; during the evening shewas startled by a sudden knock at the door, and her former vision wasrecalled to her memory quite vividly. She refused to go to the door, remembering the warning, but instead went up to a landing on the stair andlooked out the window, she saw at the door the very tramp whom she hadseen in the vision some seven years before, armed with a bludgeon andstriving to force an entrance into the house. She took steps to frightenaway the rascal, and she was saved from the unpleasant conclusion of hervision. Many similar cases are recorded. 

In some cases persons have been warned by symbols of various kinds; orelse have had prevision in the same way. For instance, many cases areknown in which the vision is that of the undertaker's wagon standingbefore the door of the person who dies sometime afterward. Or, the personis visioned clad in a shroud. The variations of this class areinnumerable. Speak to the average dweller in the highlands of Scotland, orcertain counties in Ireland, regarding this--you will be furnished with awealth of illustrations and examples. 

This phase of the general subject of clairvoyance is very fascinating tothe student and investigator, and is one in which the highest psychic orastral powers of sensing are called into play. In fact, as I have said, there is here a reflection of something very much higher than the astralor psychic planes of being. The student catches a glimpse of regionsinfinitely higher and grander. He begins to realize at least something ofthe existence of that Universal Consciousness "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. Hesees the signboard pointing to marvelous truths!

LESSON XIV. 

ASTRAL-BODY TRAVELING

There is much confusion existing in the minds of the average students ofoccultism concerning the distinction between astral visioning by means ofthe astral senses in clairvoyance, and the visioning of the astral sensesduring the travels of the astral body away from the physical body. Thereis such a close connection between the two several phases of occultphenomena that it is easy to mistake one for the other; in fact, there isoften such a blending of the two that it is quite difficult to distinguishbetween them. However, in this lesson I shall endeavor to bring out thecharacteristics of astral body visioning, that the student may learn todistinguish 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 bymeans of the astral senses, as described in the preceding chapters of thisbook, the clairvoyant usually perceives the scene, person or event as apicture on a flat surface. It is true that there is generally a perfectperspective, similar to that of a good stereoscopic view, or that of ahigh-grade moving picture photograph--the figures "stand out, " and do notappear "flat" as in the case of an ordinary photograph; but still at thebest it is like looking at a moving picture, inasmuch as the whole sceneis all in front of you. Visioning in the astral body, on the contrary, gives you an "all around" view of the scene. That is to say, in such caseyou see the thing just as you would were you there in your physicalbody--you see in front of you; on the sides of you, out of the corner ofyour eye; if you turn your head, you may see in any direction; and you mayturn around and see what is happening behind you. In the first case youare merely gazing at an astral picture in front of you; while in thesecond place you are ACTUALLY THERE IN PERSON. 

There are some limitations to this "seeing all around" when in the astralbody, however, which I should note in passing. For instance, if when inthe astral body you examine the akashic records of the past, or else peerinto the scenes of the future, you will see these things merely as apicture, and will not be conscious of being present personally in thescene. (An apparent exception is to be noted here, also, viz. , if yourpast-time visioning includes the perception of yourself in a formerincarnation, you may be conscious of living and acting in your formerpersonality; again, if you are psychometrizing from fossil remains, oranything concerned with a living creature of the past, you may "take on"the mental or emotional conditions of that creature, and seem to sensethings from the inside, rather than from the outside. This, of course, isalso a characteristic of the ordinary clairvoyant vision of the past. ) Butwhen, in the astral body, you perceive a present-time scene in space, youare, to all intents and purposes, an actual participant--you are actuallypresent at the place and time. The sense of "being actually present inthe body" is the leading characteristic of the astral body visioning, anddistinguishes it from the "picture seeing" sensing of ordinaryclairvoyance. This is stating the matter is as plain and simple form as ispossible, ignoring many technical details and particulars. 

You, being a student of occultism, of course know that the astral body isa fine counterpart of the physical body, composed of a far more subtleform of substance than is the latter, that under certain conditions youmay travel in your astral body, detached from your physical body (exceptbeing connected with it with a slender astral cord, bearing a closeresemblance to the umbilical cord which connects the newborn babe with theplacenta in the womb of its mother), and explore the realms of the astralplane. This projection of the astral body, as a rule, occurs only when thephysical body is stilled in sleep, or in trance condition. In fact, theastral body frequently is projected by us during the course of ourordinary sleep, but we fail to remember what we have seen in our astraljourneys, except, occasionally, dim flashes of partial recollection uponawakening. In some cases, however, our astral visioning is so distinct andvivid, 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 takepart in the distant scene, and may, under certain circumstances actuallymaterialize himself so as to be seen by persons in their physical bodies. I am speaking now, of course, of the untrained person. The trained anddeveloped occultist, of course, is able to do these things deliberatelyand consciously, instead of unconsciously and without intention as in thecase of the ordinary person. I shall quote here from another writer on thesubject, whose point of view, in connection with my own, may serve tobring about a clear understanding in the mind of the student--it is alwayswell to view any subject from as many angles as possible. This writersays:

"We enter here upon an entirely new variety of clairvoyance, in which theconsciousness of the seer no longer remains in or closely connected withhis physical body, but is definitely transferred to the scene which he isexamining. Though it has no doubt greater dangers for the untrained seerthan either of the other methods, it is yet quite the most satisfactoryform of clairvoyance open to him. In this case, the man's body is eitherasleep or in a trance, and its organs are consequently not available foruse while the vision is going on, so that all description of what is seen, and all questioning as to further particulars, must be postponed until thewanderer returns to this plane. On the other hand, the sight is muchfuller and more perfect; the man hears as well as sees everything whichpasses before him, and can move about freely at will within the very widelimits of the astral plane. He has also the immense advantage of beingable to take part, as it were, in the scenes which come before hiseyes--of conversing at will with various entities on the astral plane, andfrom whom so much information that is curious and interesting may beobtained. If in addition he can learn how to materialize himself (a matterof no great difficulty for him when once the knack is acquired), he willbe 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 forwhat he wants. By means of the other varieties of clairvoyance, for allpractical purposes he may find a person or place only when he is alreadyacquainted with it; or, when he is put en rapport with it by touchingsomething physically connected with it, as in psychometry. By the use ofthe astral body, however, a man can move about quite freely and rapidly inany direction, and can (for example) find without difficulty any placepointed out upon a map, without either any previous knowledge of the spotor any object to establish a connection with it. He can also readily risehigh into the air so as to gain a bird's eye view of the country which heis examining, so as to observe its extent, the contour of its coastline, or its general character. Indeed, in every way his power and freedom arefar greater when he uses this method than they are in any of the lesserforms of clairvoyance. "

In many well authenticated cases, we may see that the soul of a dyingperson, one whose physical end is approaching, visits friends andrelatives in the astral body, and in many cases materializes and evenspeaks to them. In such cases the dying person accomplishes the feat ofastral manifestation without any special occult knowledge; the weakenedlinks between the physical and the higher phases of the soul render thetemporary passing-out comparatively easy, and the strong desire of thedying person furnishes the motive power necessary. Such visits, however, are often found to be merely the strongly charged thought of the dyingperson, along the lines of telepathy, as I have previously explained toyou. But in many cases there can be no doubt that the phenomenon is aclear case of astral visitation and materialization. 

The records of the Society for Psychical Research contain many instancesof this kind; and similar instances are to be found in other records ofpsychical research. I shall quote a few of these cases for you, that youmay get a clear idea of the characteristics thereof. Andrew Lang, aneminent student and investigator along the lines of the psychic andoccult, gives us the following case, of which he says, "Not many storieshave such good evidence in their favor. " The story as related by Mr. Langin one of his books is as follows:

"Mary, the wife of John Goffe of Rochester, being afflicted with a longillness, removed to her father's house at West Mailing, about nine milesfrom her own. The day before her death she grew very impatiently desirousto see her two children, whom she had left at home to the care of anurse. She was too ill to be moved, and between one and two o'clock in themorning she fell into a trance. One widow, Turner, who watched with herthat 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. Shethought 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 homewith her children, saying, 'I was with them last night when I was asleep. '

"The nurse at Rochester, widow Alexander by name, affirms that a littlebefore two o'clock that morning she saw the likeness of the said MaryGoffe come out of the next chamber (where the elder child lay in a bed byitself), the door being left open, and stood by her bedside for about aquarter of an hour; the younger child was there lying by her. Her eyesmoved and her mouth went, but she said nothing. The nurse, moreover saysthat she was perfectly awake; it was then daylight, being one of thelongest days of the year. She sat up in bed and looked steadfastly on theapparition. In that time she heard the bridge clock strike two, and awhile after said: 'In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, what artthou?' Thereupon the apparition removed and went away; she slipped out ofher clothes and followed, but what became on't she cannot tell. "

In the case just mentioned, Mr. Lang states that the nurse was sofrightened that she was afraid to return to bed. As soon as the neighborswere up and about she told them of what she had seen; but they told herthat she had been dreaming. It was only when, later on, news came of whathad 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 kindquoted, all of which are stated by Mr. Lee to be thoroughly wellauthenticated. In one of the cases a mother, when dying in Egypt, appearsto her children in Torquay, and is clearly seen in broad daylight by allfive children and also by the nursemaid. In another, a Quaker lady dyingat Cockermouth is clearly seen and recognized in daylight by her threechildren at Seattle, the remainder of the story being almost identicalwith that of the Goffe case just quoted. 

In the records of the Society for Psychical Research, the following caseappears, the person reporting it being said to be of good character andreputation for truthfulness and reliability. The story is as follows: "Onemorning in December, 1836, A. Had the following dream, or he would preferto call it, revelation. He found himself suddenly at the gate of MajorN. M. 's avenue, many miles from his home. Close to him was a group ofpersons, one of whom was a woman with a basket on her arm, the rest weremen, four of whom were tenants of his own, while the others were unknownto him. Some of the strangers seemed to be assaulting H. W. , one of histenants, and he interfered. A. Says, 'I struck violently at the man on myleft, 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 struckagain and again with all the violence of a man frenzied at the sight of mypoor friend's murder. To my great amazement I saw my arms, althoughvisible to my eye, were without substance, and the bodies of the men Istruck at and my own came close together after each blow, through theshadowy arms I struck with. My blows were delivered with more extremeviolence than I ever think I exerted, but I became painfully convinced ofmy incompetency. I have no consciousness of what happened after thisfeeling of unsubstantiality came upon me. '

"Next morning, A. Experienced the stiffness and soreness of violent bodilyexercise, and was informed by his wife that in the course of the night hehad much alarmed her by striking out again and again in a terrific manner, 'as if fighting for his life. ' He, in turn, informed her of his dream, andbegged her to remember the names of those actors in it who were known tohim. On the morning of the following day (Wednesday) A. Received a letterfrom his agent, who resided in the town close to the scene of the dream, informing him that his tenant had been found on Tuesday morning at MajorN. M. 's gate, speechless and apparently dying from a fracture of theskull, and that there was no trace of the murderers. 

"That night A. Started for the town, and arrived there on Thursdaymorning. On his way to a meeting of magistrates, he met the seniormagistrate of that part of the country, and requested him to give ordersfor the arrest of the three men whom, besides H. W. , he had recognized inhis dream, and to have them examined separately. This was at once done. The three men gave identical accounts of the occurrence, and all named thewoman who was with them. She was then arrested and gave precisely similartestimony. They said that between eleven and twelve on the Monday nightthey had been walking homewards altogether along the road, when they wereovertaken by three strangers, two of whom savagely assaulted H. W. , whilethe other prevented his friends from interfering. H. W. Did not die, butwas never the same man afterwards; he subsequently emigrated. "

Stead, the English editor and psychical researcher, relates the followingcase, which he accepts as truthful and correct, after carefulinvestigation of the circumstances and of the character and reputation ofthe person relating it. The story proceeds as follows:

"St. Eglos is situated about ten miles from the Atlantic, and not quite sofar from the old market town of Trebodwina. Hart and George Northey werebrothers, and from childhood their lives had been marked by the strongestbrotherly affection. Hart and George Northey had never been separatedfrom their birth until George became a sailor, Hart meantime joining hisfather in business. On the 8th of February, 1840, while George Northey'sship 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 Iwas with him, quite close by his side, during the whole of the markettransactions. Although I could see and hear which passed around me, I feltsure that it was not my bodily presence which thus accompanied him, but myshadow or rather my spiritual presence, for he seemed quite unconsciousthat I was near him. I felt that my being thus present in this strange waybetokened some hidden danger which he was destined to meet, and which Iknow my presence could not avert, for I could not speak to warn him of hisperil. "

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

"My terror gradually increased as Hart approached the hamlet of Polkerrow, until I was in a perfect frenzy, frantically desirous, yet unable to warnmy brother in some way and prevent him from going further. I suddenlybecame aware of two dark shadows thrown across the road. I felt that mybrother's hour had come, and I was powerless to aid him! Two men appeared, whom I instantly recognized as notorious poachers who lived in a lonelywood near St. Eglos. They wished him 'Good night, mister!' civillyenough. He replied, and entered into conversation with them about somework he had promised them. After a few minutes they asked him for somemoney. The elder of the two brothers, who was standing near the horse'shead, said: 'Mr. Northey, we know you have just come from TrebodwinaMarket with plenty of money in your pockets; we are desperate men, and youbean't going to leave this place until we've got that money; so handover!' My brother made no reply except to slash at him with the whip, andspur the horse at him. 

"The younger of the ruffians instantly drew a pistol, and fired. Hartdropped lifeless from the saddle, and one of the villains held him by thethroat with a grip of iron for some minutes, as thought to make assurancedoubly sure, and crush out any particle of life my poor brother might haveleft. The murderers secured the horse to a tree in the orchard, and, having rifled the corpse, they dragged it up the stream, concealing itunder the overhanging banks of the water-course. Then they carefullycovered over all marks of blood on the road, and hid the pistol in thethatch of a disused hut close to the roadside; then, setting the horsefree to gallop home alone, they decamped across the country to their owncottage. "

The story then relates how George Northey's vessel left St. Helena thenext day after the dream, and reached Plymouth in due time. George carriedwith him a very vivid recollection of his vision on the return voyage, and never doubted for an instant that his brother had been actuallymurdered in the manner and by the persons named, as seen in the vision. Hecarried with him the determination to bring the villains to justice andwas filled with the conviction that through his efforts retribution wouldfall upon the murderers. 

In England, justice was at work--but the missing link was needed. Thecrime aroused universal horror and indignation, and the authorities leftnothing undone in the direction of discovering the murderers and bringingthem to justice. Two brothers named Hightwood were suspected, and in theircottage were found blood-stained garments. But no pistol was found, although the younger brother admitted having owned but lost one. They werearrested and brought before the magistrates. The evidence against them waspurely circumstantial, and not any too strong at that; but their actionswere those of guilty men. They were committed for trial. Each confessed, in hopes of saving his life and obtaining imprisonment instead. But bothwere convicted and sentenced to be hanged. There was doubt in the minds ofsome, however, about the pistol. The story continues:

"Before the execution, George Northey arrived from St. Helena, anddeclared that the pistol was in the thatch of the old cottage close by theplace where they had murdered Hart Northey, and where they had hid it. 'How do you know?' he was asked. George replied: 'I saw the foul deedcommitted 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 ofthe ruined cottage. " Investigation revealed that the details of the crimewere identical with those seen in the vision. 

It is a fact known to all occultists that many persons frequently travelin the astral body during sleep; and in many cases retain a faintrecollection of some of the things they have seen and heard during theirtravels in the astral. Nearly everyone knows the experience of waking upin the morning feeling physically tired and "used up;" in some cases a dimrecollection of walking or working during the dream being had. Who amongus 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 effortof the will? And who of us has had not experienced that dreadful--"fallingthrough space" sensation, in dreams, with the sudden awakening just beforewe actually struck earth? And who has not had the mortifying dreamexperience of walking along the street, or in some public place, and beingsuddenly overcome by the consciousness that we were in our night-clothes, or perhaps without any clothing at all? All of these things are more orless distorted 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 astralinto which it is dangerous and unpleasant for the uninstructed person totravel; unless accompanied by a capable occultist as guide. Therefore, Icaution all students against trying to force development in thatdirection. Nature surrounds you with safeguards, and interposes obstaclesfor your own protection and good. Do not try to break through theseobstacles without knowledge of what you are doing. "Fools rush in whereangels fear to tread, " remember; and "a little learning is a dangerousthing. " When you have reached the stage of development in which it will besafe for you to undertake conscious astral explorations, then will yourguide be at hand, and the instruction furnished you by those capable ofgiving it to you. Do not try to break into the astral without duepreparation, and full knowledge, lest you find yourself in the state ofthe fish who leaped out of the water onto the banks of the stream. Yourdream trips are safe; they will increase in variety and clearness, and youwill remember more about them--all this before you may begin to try toconsciously "go out into the astral" as do the occultists. Be content tocrawl before you may walk. Learn to add, multiply, subtract and divide, before you undertake the higher mathematics, algebra, geometry, etc. , ofoccultism. 

LESSON XV. 

STRANGE ASTRAL PHENOMENA. 

There are several phases of astral phenomena other than those mentioned inthe preceding chapters, which it will be better for the student to becomeacquainted with in order to round out his general knowledge of thesubject, although the manifestations are comparatively rare, and not sogenerally recognized in works on this subject. 

One of the first of these several phases of astral phenomena is that whichmay be called Thought-Form Projection. This manifestation comes in theplace on the psychic scale just between ordinary clairvoyance on the onehand, and astral body projection on the other. It has some of thecharacteristics of each, and is often mistaken for one or the other ofthese phases. 

To understand this phenomena, the student should know something regardingthe fact that thought frequently takes on astral form, and that thesemanifestations are known as thought-forms. I have spoken of these in someof the preceding lessons. The ordinary thought-form is quite simple, as arule, and does not bear any particular resemblance to the sender thereof. But in some cases a person may, consciously or unconsciously, strongly andclearly think of himself as present at some other place, and thus actuallycreate a thought-form of himself at that place, which may be discerned bythose having clairvoyant vision. Moreover, this thought-form of himselfis connected psychically with himself and affords a channel of psychicinformation for him. As a rule these thought-forms are only projected bythose who have trained their minds and will along occult lines; butoccasionally under the stress of strong emotion or desire an ordinaryperson may focus his psychic power to such an extent that the phenomena ismanifested. 

Here I will quote from an English investigator of astral phenomena, whohas had much experience on that plane. He says: "All students are awarethat thought takes form, at any rate upon its own plane, and in themajority of cases upon the astral plane also; but it may not be sogenerally known that if a man thinks strongly of himself as present at anygiven place, the form assumed by that particular thought will be alikeness of the thinker himself, which will appear at the place inquestion. Essentially this form must be composed of the matter of themental plane, but in very many cases it would draw round itself matter ofthe 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 personthought of--most probably by means of the unconscious influence emanatingfrom the original thinker. None of the consciousness of the thinker would, however, be included within this thought-form. When once sent out fromhim, it would normally be a quite separate entity--not indeed absolutelyunconnected with its maker, but practically so as far as the possibilityof receiving any impression through it is concerned. 

"This type of clairvoyance consists, then, in the power to retain so muchconnection with and so much hold over a newly-created thought-form as willrender it possible to receive impressions by means of it. Such impressionsas were made upon the form would in this case be transmitted to thethinker--not along an astral telegraph line, but by a sympatheticvibration. In a perfect case of this kind of clairvoyance it is almost asthough the seer projected a part of his consciousness into thethought-form, and used it as a kind of outpost, from which observation waspossible. He sees almost as well as he would if he himself stood in theplace of his thought-form. The figures at which he is looking will appearto him as of life-size and close to hand, instead of tiny and at adistance as in the case of some other forms of clairvoyance; and he willfind it possible to shift his point of view if he wishes to do so. Clairaudience is perhaps less frequently associated with this type ofclairvoyance than with the others, but its place is to some extent takenby a kind of mental perception of the thoughts and intentions of those whoare seen. 

"Since the man's consciousness is still in the physical body, he will beable (even when exercising this faculty) to hear and to speak, in so faras he can do this without any distraction of his attention. The momentthat the intentness of his thought fails, the whole vision is gone, and hewill have to construct a fresh thought-form before he can resume it. Instances in which this kind of sight is possessed with any degree ofperfection by untrained people are naturally rarer than in the other typesof clairvoyance, because the capacity for mental control required, and thegenerally finer nature of the forces employed. "

I may mention that this particular method is frequently employed byadvanced occultists of all countries, being preferred for various reasons. Some of the reasons of this preference as follows: (a) The ability toshift the vision, and to turn around almost as well as in the case ofactual astral-body projection--this gives quite an advantage to thismethod over the method of ordinary clairvoyance; (b) it does away withcertain disadvantages of "going out into the astral" in the astral-body, which only trained occultists realize--it gives almost the same results asastral-body clairvoyance, without a number of disadvantages andinconveniences. 

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

In India, moreover, we find many instances of another form of psychic, orastral phenomena. I allude to the production of thought-form pictureswhich are plainly visible to one or more persons. This phase of psychicphenomena is the real basis for many of the wonder tales which Westerntravellers bring back with them from India. The wonderful cases of magicalappearance of living creatures and plants, and other objects, out of theclear air are the result of this psychic phenomena. That is to say, thecreatures and objects are not really produced--they are but astralappearances resulting from the projection of powerful thought-forms fromthe mind of the magician or other wonder-worker, of whom India has aplentiful supply. Even the ignorant fakirs (I use the word in its truesense, not in the sense given it by American slang)--even these itinerantshowmen of psychic phenomena, are able to produce phenomena of this kindwhich seems miraculous to those witnessing them. As for the trainedoccultists of India, I may say that their feats (when they deign toproduce them) seem to overturn every theory and principle of materialisticphilosophy and science. But in nearly every case the explanation is thesame--the projection of a strong and clear thought-form on a large scale. 

Although I have purposely omitted reference to Hindu psychic phenomena inthis book (for the reason given in my Introduction), I find it necessaryto quote cases in India in this connection, for the simple reason thatthere are but few counterparts in the Western world. There are noitinerent wonder-workers of this kind in Western lands, and the trainedoccultists of the West of course would not consent to perform feats ofthis kind for the amusement of persons seeking merely sensations. Thetrained wills of the West are given rather to materializing objectively onthe physical plane, creating great railroads, buildings, bridges, etc. , from the mental pictures, rather than devoting the same time, energy andwill to the production of astral though-forms and pictures. There is agreat difference in temperament, as well as a difference in the generalpsychic atmosphere, between East and West, which serves to explain mattersof this kind. 

An American writer truly says: "The first principle underlying the wholebusiness of Hindu wonder-working is that of a strong will; and the firstnecessary condition of producing a magical effect is an increase in thepower of thought. The Hindus, owing to that intense love for solitarymeditation, which has been one of the most pronounced characteristics fromtime immemorial, have acquired mental faculties of which we of the Westernand younger civilization are totally ignorant. The Hindu has attained apast master's degree in speculative philosophy. He has for years retiredfor meditation to the silent places in his land, lived a hermit, subduedthe body and developed the mind, thus winning control over other minds. "

In India, I have seen scenes of far distant places appearing as a miragein clear air, even the colors being present to the scenes. This, thoughsome what uncommon, was simply a remarkable instance of thought-formprojection from the mind of a man highly developed along occult lines. Youmust remember that in order to produce a picture in the astral, of thiskind, the occultist must not only have the power of will and mind to causesuch a picture to materialize, but he must also have a remarkable memoryfor detail in the picture--for nothing appears in the picture unless ithas already been pictured in the mind of the mind of the man himself. Sucha memory and perception of detail is very rare--in the Western world it ispossessed by only exceptional artists; however, anyone may cultivate thisperception and memory if he will give the time and care to it that theHindu magicians do. 

You have heard of the Hindu Mango Trick, in which the magician takes amango seed, plants it in the ground, waves his hands over it, and thencauses first a tiny shoot to appear from the surface of the ground, thisfollowed by a tiny trunk, and leaves, which grow and grow, until at lastappears a full sized mango tree, which first shows blossoms and then ripefruit. In short, in a few moments the magician has produced that whichNature require years to do--that is he apparently does this. What hereally does is to produce a wonderful thought-form in the astral, fromseed stage to tree and fruit stage; the astral picture reproducingperfectly the picture in his own mind. It is as if he were creating amoving picture film-roll in his mind, and then projecting this upon thescreen of the air. There is no mango tree there, and never was, outsideof 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 intothe air. It travels far up until the end is lost sight of. Then he sends aboy climbing up after it, until he too disappears from sight. Then hecauses the whole thing to disappear, and lo! the boy is seen standingamong the audience. The boy is real, of course, but he never left thespot--the rest was all an appearance caused by the mind and will of themagician, pictured in the astral as a thought-form. In the same way themagician will seem to cut the boy into bits, and then cause the severedparts to spring together and reassemble themselves. These feats may bevaried indefinitely but the principle is ever the same--thought-formprojection. 

Western visitors have sought to obtain photographs of these feats of theHindu magicians, but their plates and films invariably show nothingwhatever except the old fakir sitting quietly in the centre, with apeculiar expression in his eyes. This is as might be expected, for thepicture exists only in the astral, and is perceived only by the awakenedastral senses of those present, which have been stimulated into activityby the power of the magician--by sympathetic vibration, to be exact. Moreover, in certain instances it has been found that the vision isconfined to a limited area; persons outside of the limit-ring see nothing, and those moving nearer to the magician lose sight of what they hadpreviously seen. There are scientific reasons for this last fact, whichneed not be gone into at this place. The main point I am seeking to bringout is that these wonderful scenes are simply and wholly thought-formpictures in the astral, perceived by the awakened astral vision of thosepresent. This to be sure is wonderful enough--but still no miracle hasbeen worked!

I may mention here that these magicians begin their training from earlyyouth. In addition to certain instruction concerning astral phenomenawhich is handed down from father to son among them they are set to workpracticing "visualization" of things previously perceived. They are set towork upon, say, a rose. They must impress upon their memory the perfectpicture of the rose--no easy matter, I may tell you. Then they proceed tomore difficult objects, slowly and gradually, along well known principlesof memory development. Along with this they practice the art ofreproducing that which they remember--projecting it in thought-form state. And so the young magician proceeds, from simple to complex things; fromeasy to difficult; until, finally, he is pronounced fit to give publicexhibitions. All this takes years and years--sometimes the boy grows to bea middle-aged man before he is allowed to publicly exhibit his power. Imagine a Western boy or man being willing to study from early childhoodto middle-age before he may hope to be able to show what he has beenlearning! Verily "the East is East, and the West is West"--the two polesof human activity and expression. 

Another phase of psychic astral phenomena which should be mentioned, although it is manifested but comparatively seldom, is that which has beencalled "Telekinesis. " By the term "telekinesis" is meant that class ofphenomena which manifests in the movement of physical objects withoutphysical contact with the person responsible for the movement. Iunderstand that the term itself was coined by Professor Cowes, with whoseworks I am not personally familiar. It is derived from the two Greek wordsTELE, meaning "far off, " and KINESIS, meaning "to move. "

This class of phenomena is known better in the Western world by reason ofits manifestation in spiritualistic circles in the movement of tables, etc. ; the knocking or tapping on tables and doors, etc. ; all of which areusually attributed to the work of "spirits, " but which occultists know aregenerally produced, consciously or unconsciously, by means of the power inthe medium or others present, sometimes both. I would say here that I amnot trying to discredit genuine spiritualistic phenomena--I am notconsidering the same in these lessons. All that I wish to say is that manyof the phenomena commonly attributed to "spirits" are really but resultsof the psychic forces inherent in the living human being. 

Under certain conditions there may appear in the case of a person stronglypsychic, and also strongly charged with prana, the ability to extend aportion of the astral body to a considerable distance, and to thereproduce an effect upon some physical object. Those with strong clairvoyantvision may actually perceive this astral extension, under favorablecircumstances. They perceive the astral arm of the person stretching out, diminishing in size as it extends (just as a piece of flexible rubbershrinks in diameter as it expands in length) and finally coming in contactwith the physical object it wishes to move or strike. Then is seen astrong flow of prana along its length, which (by a peculiar form ofconcentration) is able to produce the physical effect. I cannot enter intothe subject of astral physics at this place, for the subject is far tootechnical to be treated in lessons designed for general study. I may atleast partially explain the phenomenon, however, by saying that theprojected astral arm acts in a manner almost precisely like that of anextended physical arm, were such a thing possible in nature. 

This astral-body extension produces spirit raps on tables; table-tiltingand movement; levitation, or the lifting of solid objects in the air;playing upon musical instruments such as the guitar, accordian, etc. Insome 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 themovement 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 thephysical hand. In the case of the levitation of the person himself, theastral arms, and sometimes the legs as well, extend to the floor and pushup the physical body into the air, and then propel it along. There aremany complex technical details to these manifestations, however, and in ageneral statement these must be omitted. 

Some who are firmly wedded to the spiritistic theory resent the statementof occultists that this form of phenomena may be explained without thenecessity of the "spirits. " But the best ground for the statement of theoccultists is that many advanced occultists are able to produce suchphenomena, consciously, by an act of pure will, accompanied by the powerof mental picturing. They first picture the astral extension, and thenwill the projection of the astral and the passage of the prana (or vitalforce) around the pattern of the mental image. In the case of some veryhighly developed occultists the astral thought-form of their body becomesso charged with prana that it is able to move physical objects. There arenot mere theories, for they may be verified by any occultist ofsufficiently high development. 

I do not wish to intimate that the mediums are aware of the true nature ofthis 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 thingbe done, and a little cross-examination will reveal the fact that theygenerally make a clear mental picture of the actual happening just beforeit occurs. As I have already stated, however, the best proof is the factthat advanced occultists are able to duplicate the phenomena deliberately, consciously, and at will. I do not think that detracts from the wonder andinterest in the so-called "spiritistic" phenomena; on the contrary, Ithink that it adds to it. 

Again invading the realm of the "spirits, " I would say that occultistsknow that many cases of so-called materialization of "spirit-forms" takeplace by reason of the unconscious projection of the astral body of themedium. Moreover, such a projection of the astral body may take on theappearance of some departed soul, by reason of the mental picture of thatperson in the mind of the medium. But, it may be asked if the medium hasnever seen the dead person, how can he or she make a mental picture of himor her. The answer is that the minds of the persons present who knew thedead person tend to influence the appearance of the nebulous spirit form. In fact, in most cases the medium is unable to produce the phenomenonwithout the psychic assistance of those in the circle. In this case, also, I would say that the advanced occultist is able to duplicate the phenomenaat will, as all who have enjoyed the privilege of close acquaintance withsuch persons are aware. 

The fact the medium is usually in a trance condition aid materially in theease with which the phenomena are produced. With the conscious mindstilled, and the subconscious mind active, the astral phenomena areproduced with much less trouble than would be the case if the medium werein the ordinary condition. 

Now, I wish to impress upon the minds of those of my readers who have astrong sympathy for the spiritistic teachings that I recognize thevalidity and genuineness of much of the phenomena of spiritism--I knowthese things to be true, for that matter; it is not a matter of merebelief on my part. But I also know that much of the so-called spiritisticphenomena is possible without the aid of "spirits, " but by, the employmentof the psychic astral forces and powers as stated in these lessons. I seeno reason for any honest investigator of spiritism to be offended at suchstatements, for it does not take away from the wonder of the phenomena;and does not discredit the motives and power of the mediums. We mustsearch for truth wherever it is to be found; and we must not seek to dodgethe results of our investigations. There is too much wonderful phenomenain spiritism to begrudge the explanation that the occultist offers forcertain of its phases. 

While I am on the subject of materialization however, I would direct theattention of the student to my little book entitled "The Astral World, " inwhich I have explained briefly the phenomena of those planes of the astralin which dwell the cast-off shells of souls which have moved on to thehigher planes of the great astral world. I have there shown that manyastral shells or shades, or other astral semi-entities may bematerialized, and thus mistaken for the "spirits" of departed friends. Ihave also explained in the same little book how there are certain powerfulthought-forms which may be mistaken for spirit materializations. I havealso shown how many a honest medium is really a good clairvoyant, and byreading the records of the astral light is able to give information whichseems to come from the departed soul. All of these things should befamiliar to the earnest investigator of spiritism, in order that he may beable to classify the phenomena which he witnesses, and to avoid error anddisappointment. 

In this connection, before passing on to the consideration of other phasesof psychic phenomena, I would say that one of the best mediums known tothe modern Western world--a medium who has been consulted by eminent men, university professors, psychologists, and others--and whose revelationsregarding past, present and future astounded careful and intelligent menof international reputation--this medium at the height of her professionalsuccess made a public announcement that she felt compelled, fromconscientious motives, to assert that she had come to the conclusion thather message came not from departed "spirits" but rather from some unknownrealm of being, brought hither by the exercise of some faculty inherent inher and developed to a high power in her for some reason, which power seemto manifest more effectively when she shut off her ordinary physicalfaculties and functioned on a plane higher than them. I think that thestudent of the present lessons will be able to point out the nature of thephenomena manifested by this medium, and also the source of her power. Ifnot, 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 attentionof the student from the very beginning is that which may be called PsychicInfluence. By this term is meant the influencing of one mind byanother--the effect of one mind over another. There has been much writtenand said on this phase of the general subject in recent years, but fewwriters, however, have gone deeply into the matter. 

In the first place, most of the writers on the subject seek to explain thewhole thing by means of ordinary telepathy. But this is merely a one-sidedview of the truth of the matter. For, while ordinary telepathy plays animportant part in the phenomena, still the higher form of telepathy, i. E. , astral thought-transference, is frequently involved. The student who hasfollowed me in the preceding lessons will understand readily what I meanwhen I say this, so there is no necessity for repetition on this point atthis place. 

At this point, however, I must ask the student to consider the idea ofpsychic vibrations and their inductive power. It is a great principle ofoccultism, as well as of modern science, that everything is in a state ofvibration--everything has its own rate of vibration, and is constantlymanifesting it. Every mental state is accompanied by vibration of its ownplane: every emotional state or feeling has its own particular rate ofvibration. These rates of vibrations manifest just as do the vibrations ofmusical sound which produce the several notes on the scale, one risingabove the other in rate of vibration. But the scale of mental andemotional states is far more complex, and far more extended than is themusical scale; there are thousands of different notes, and half-notes, onthe mental scale. There are harmonies and discords on that scale, also. 

To those to whom vibrations seem to be something merely connected withsound-waves, etc. , I would say that a general and hasty glance at someelementary work on physical science will show that even the differentshades, hues and tints of the colors perceived by us arise from differentrates of vibrations. Color is nothing more than the result of certainrates of vibrations of light recorded by our senses and interpreted by ourminds. From the low vibrations of red to the high vibrations of violet, all the various colors of the spectrum have their own particular rate ofvibration. And, more than this, science knows that below the lowest redvibrations, and above the highest violet vibrations, there are othervibrations which our senses are unable to record, but which scientificinstruments register. The rays of light by which photographs are taken arenot perceived by the eye. There are a number of so-called chemical rays oflight which the eye does not perceive, but which may be caught by delicateinstruments. There is what science has called "dark light, " which willphotograph in a room which appears pitch dark to the human sight. 

Above the ordinary scale of light vibrations are the vibrations of theX-Rays and other fine forces--these are not perceived by the eye, but arecaught by delicate instruments and recorded. Moreover, though science hasnot as yet discovered the fact, occultists know that the vibrations ofmental and emotional states are just as true and regular as are those ofsound or light, or heat. Again, above the plane of the physical vibrationsarising from the brain and nervous system, there are the vibrations of theastral counterparts of these, which are much higher in the scale. For eventhe astral faculties and organs, while above the physical, still are underthe universal rule of vibration, and have their own rate thereof. The oldoccult axiom: "As above, so below; as below, so above" is always seen towork out on all planes of universal energy. 

Closely following this idea of the universality of vibrations, andintimately connected therewith, we have the principle of "induction, "which is likewise universal, and found manifesting on all planes ofenergy. "What is induction?" you may ask. Well, it is very simple, or verycomplex--just as you may look at it. The principle of induction (on anyplane) is that inherent quality or attribute of energy by which themanifestation of energy tends to reproduce itself in a second object, bysetting up corresponding vibrations therein, though without direct contactof the two objects. 

Thus, heat in one object tends to induce heat in another object withinits range of induction--the heated object "throws off" heat vibrationswhich set up corresponding vibrations in the near-by second object andmake it hot. Likewise, the vibrations of light striking upon other objectsrender them capable of radiating light. Again, a magnet will inducemagnetism in a piece of steel suspended nearby, though the two objects donot actually touch, each other. An object which is electrified will byinduction electrify another object situated some distance away. A notesounded on the piano, or violin, will cause a glass or vase in somedistant part of the room to vibrate and "sing, " under certain conditions. And, so on, in every form or phase of the manifestation of energy do wesee the principle of induction in full operation and manifestation. 

On the plane of ordinary thought and emotion, we find many instances ofthis principle of induction. We know that one person vibrating stronglywith happiness or sorrow, cheerfulness or anger, as the case may be fendsto communicate his feeling and emotions, state to those with whom he comesin contact. All of you have seen a whole room full of persons affected andinfluenced in this way, under certain circumstances. You have also seenhow a magnetic orator, preacher, singer or actor is able to induce in hisaudience a state of emotional vibration corresponding to that manifestedby himself. In the same manner the "mental atmospheres" of towns, cities, etc. , are induced. 

A well-known writer on this subject has truthfully told us: "We all knowhow great waves of feeling spread over a town, city or country, sweepingpeople off their balance. Great waves of political enthusiasm, orwar-spirit, or prejudice for or against certain persons, sweep over placesand cause men to act in a manner that they will afterward regret when theycome to themselves and consider their acts in cold blood. They will beswayed by demagogues or magnetic leaders who wish to gain their votes orpatronage; and they will be led into acts of mob violence, or similaratrocities, by yielding to these waves of contagious thought. On the otherhand, we all know how great waves of religious feeling sweep over acommunity upon the occasion of some great 'revival' excitement or fervor. "

These things being perceived, and recognized as true, the next questionthat presents itself to the mind of the intelligent student is this: "Butwhat causes the difference in power and effect between the thought andfeeling-vibrations of different persons?" This question is a valid one, and arises from a perception of the underlying variety and difference inthe thought vibrations of different persons. The difference, my students, is caused by three principal facts, viz. , (1) difference in degree offeeling; (2) difference in degree of visualization; and (3) difference indegree of concentration. Let us examine each of these successively, so asto get at the underlying principle. 

The element of emotional feeling is like the element of fire in theproduction of steam. The more vivid and intense the feeling or emotion, the greater the degree of heat and force to the thought wave or vibratorystream projected. You will begin to see why the thought vibrations ofthose animated and filled with strong desire, strong wish, strongambition, etc. , must be more forceful than those of persons of theopposite type. 

The person who is filled with a strong desire, wish or ambition, which hasbeen fanned into a fierce blaze by attention, is a dynamic power amongother persons, and his influence is felt. In fact, it may be asserted thatas a general rule no person is able to influence men and things unless hehave a strong desire, wish or ambition within him. The power of desire isa wonderful one, as all occultists know, and it will accomplish much evenif the other elements be lacking; while, in proper combination with otherprinciples it will accomplish wonders. Likewise, a strong interest in athing will cause a certain strength to the thought-vibrations connectedtherewith. Interest is really an emotional feeling, though we generallythink of it as merely something connected with the intellect. A coldintellectual thought has very little force, unless backed up by stronginterest and concentration. But any intellectual thought backed up withinterest, and focused by concentration, will produce very strong thoughtvibrations, with a marked inductive power. 

Now, let us consider the subject of visualization. Every person knows thatthe person who wishes to accomplish anything, or who expects to do goodwork along any line, must first know what he wishes to accomplish. In thedegree that he is able to see the thing in his mind's eye--to picture thething in his imagination--in that degree will he tend to manifest thething itself in material form and effect. 

Sir Francis Galton, an eminent authority upon psychology, says on thispoint: "The free use of a high visualizing faculty is of much importancein connection with the higher processes of generalized thought. A visualimage is the most perfect form of mental representation wherever theshape, position, and relations of objects to space are concerned. The bestworkmen are those who visualize the whole of what they propose to dobefore they take a tool in their hands. Strategists, artists of alldenominations, physicists who contrive new experiments, and, in short, allwho do not follow routine, have need of it. A faculty that is ofimportance in all technical and artistic occupations, that gives accuracyto our perceptions and justice to our generalizations, is starved by lazydisuse instead of being cultivated judiciously in such a way as will, onthe whole, bring best return. I believe that a serious study of the bestway of developing and utilizing this faculty, without prejudice to thepractice of abstract thought in symbols, is one of the pressing desiratain the yet unformed science of education. "

Not only on the ordinary planes is the forming of strong mental imagesimportant and useful, but when we come to consider the phenomena of theastral plane we begin to see what an important part is played there bystrong mental images or visualized ideas. The better you know what youdesire, wish or aspire to, the stronger will be your thought vibrations ofthat thing, of course. Well, then, the stronger that you are able topicture the thing in your mind--to visualize it to yourself--the strongerwill be your actual knowledge and thought-form of that thing. Instead ofyour thought vibrations being grouped in nebulous forms, lacking shape anddistinct figure, as in the ordinary case; when you form strong, clearmental images of what you desire or wish to accomplish, then do thethought vibrations group themselves in clear, strong distinct forms. Thisbeing done, when the mind of other persons are affected by induction theyget the clear idea of the thought and feeling in your mind, and arestrongly influenced thereby. 

A little later on, I shall call your attention to the Attractive Power ofThought. But at this point I wish to say to you that while thoughtcertainly attracts to you the things that you think of the most, still thepower of the attraction depends very materially upon the clearness anddistinctness of the mental image, or thought visualization, of the desiredthing that you have set up in your mind. The nearer you can actually seethe thing as you wish it to happen, even to the general details, thestronger will be the attractive force thereof. But, I shall leave thediscussion of this phase of the subject until I reach it in its properorder. For the present, I shall content myself with urging upon you theimportance of a clear mental image, or visualized thought, in the matterof giving force and direction to the idea induced in the minds of otherpersons. In order for the other persons to actually perceive clearly theidea or feeling induced in them, it is necessary that the idea or feelingbe strongly visualized in the mind originating it; that is the whole thingin one sentence. 

The next point of importance in thought-influence by induction, is thatwhich is concerned with the process of concentration. Concentration is theact of mental focusing, or bringing to a single point or centre. It islike the work of the sun-glass that converges the rays of the sun to asingle tiny point, thus immensely increasing its heat and power. Or, it islike the fine point of a needle that will force its way through where ablunt thing cannot penetrate. Or, it is like the strongly concentratedessence of a chemical substance, of which one drop is as powerful as onepint of the original thing. Think of the concentrated power of a tiny dropof attar of roses--it has within its tiny space the concentrated odor ofthousands of roses; one drop of it will make a pint of extract, and agallon of weaker perfumery! Think of the concentrated power in a lightningflash, as contrasted with the same amount of electricity diffused over alarge area. Or, think of the harmless flash of a small amount of gunpowderignited in the open air, as contrasted with the ignition of the sameamount of powder compelled to escape through the small opening in thegun-barrel. 

The occult teachings lay great stress upon this power of mentalconcentration. All students of the occult devote much time and care to thecultivation of the powers of concentration, and the development of theability to employ them. The average person possesses but a very smallamount of concentration, and is able to concentrate his mind for but a fewmoments at a time. The trained thinker obtains much of his mental powerfrom his acquired ability to concentrate on his task. The occultist trainshimself in fixing his concentrated attention upon the matter before him, so as to bring to a focal centre all of his mental forces. 

The mind is a very restless thing, and is inclined to dance from one thingto another, tiring of each thing after a few moment's considerationthereof. The average person allows his involuntary attention to rest uponevery trifling thing, and to be distracted by the idlest appeals to thesenses. He finds it most difficult to either shut out these distractingappeals to the senses, and equally hard to hold the attention to someuninteresting 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, instead of, being a master of both. 

The occultist, on the contrary, masters his attention, and controls hisimagination. He forces the one to concentrate when he wishes it to do so;and he compels the latter to form the mental images he wishes tovisualize. But this a far different thing from the self-hypnotizationwhich some persons imagine to be concentration. A writer on the subjecthas well said: "The trained occultist will concentrate upon a subject orobject with a wonderful intensity, seemingly completely absorbed in thesubject or object before him, and oblivious to all else in the world. Andyet, the task accomplished, or the given time expired, he will detach hismind from the object and will be perfectly fresh, watchful and wide-awaketo the next matter before him. There is every difference between beingcontrolled by involuntary attention, which is species ofself-hypnotization, and the control of the attention, which is an evidenceof mastery. " An eminent French psychologist once said: "The authority ofthe 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. Iconcentrate it upon each point, as long as my will can stand the effort. "

In an earlier lesson of this series, I have indicated in a general way themethods whereby one may develop and train his powers of concentration. There is no royal road to concentration; it may be developed only bypractice and exercise. The secret consists in managing the attention, soas to fix it upon a subject, no matter how uninteresting; and to hold itthere for a reasonable length of time. Practice upon some disagreeablestudy or other task is good exercise, for it serves to train the will inspite of the influence of more attractive objects or subjects. And thisall serves to train the will, remember; for the will is actively concernedin every act of voluntary attention. In fact, attention of this kind isone of the most important and characteristic acts of the will. 

So, as you see, in order to be successful in influencing the minds ofothers by means of mental induction, you must first cultivate a strongfeeling of interest in the idea which you wish to induce in the otherperson, or a strong desire to produce the thing. Interest and desireconstitute the fire which generates the stream of will from the water ofmind, as some occultists have stated it. Secondly, you must cultivate thefaculty of forming strong and clear mental images of the idea or feelingyou wish to so induce; you must learn to actually "see" the thing in yourimagination, so as to give the idea strength and clearness. Thirdly, youmust learn to concentrate your mind and attention upon the idea orfeeling, shutting out all other ideas and feelings for the time being;thus you give concentrated force and power to the vibrations andthought-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 whichthe person is seeking to attract to himself certain conditions, environment, persons, things, or channels of expression, by setting intomotion the great laws of mental attraction. We see them also employed whenthe person is endeavoring to produce an effect upon the mind of someparticular person, or number of persons. We see them in force in allcases of mental or psychic healing, under whatever form it may beemployed. In short, these are general principles, and must thereforeunderlie all forms and phases of mental or psychic influence. The soonerthe student realizes this fact, and the more actively does he set himselfto work in cultivating and developing these principles within himself, themore successful and efficient will he become in this field of psychicresearch and investigation. It is largely in the degree of the cultivationof these three mental principles that the occultist is distinguished fromthe ordinary man. 

It may be that you are not desirous of cultivating or practicing the powerof influencing other persons psychically. Well, that is for you to decidefor yourself. At any rate, you will do well to develop yourselves alongthese lines, at least for self-protection. The cultivation of these threemental principles will tend to make you active and positive, psychically, as contrasted with the passive, negative mental state of the averageperson. By becoming mentally active and positive you will be able toresist any psychic influence that may be directed toward yourself, and tosurround yourself with a protective aura of positive, active mentalvibrations. 

And, moreover, if you are desirous of pursuing your investigations ofpsychic and astral phenomena, you will find it of great importance tocultivate and develop these three principles in your mind. For, then youwill be able to brush aside all distracting influences, and to proceed atonce to the task before you, with power, clearness and strength of purposeand method. 

In the following chapters I shall give you a more or less detailedpresentation of the various phases or forms of psychic influence. Some ofthese may seem at first to be something independent of the generalprinciples. But I ask that you carefully analyze all of these, so as todiscover that the same fundamental principles are under and back of eachand every instance presented. When you once fully grasp this fact, andperfect yourselves in the few fundamental principles, then you are wellstarted on the road to mastery of all the various phases of psychicphenomena. Instead of puzzling your mind over a hundred different phasesof disconnected phenomena, it is better to master the few actualelementary principles, and then reason deductively from these to thevarious manifestation thereof. Master the principles, and then learn toapply them. 

LESSON XVII. 

PERSONAL PSYCHIC INFLUENCE OVER OTHERS

Psychic Influence, as the term is used in this book, may be said to bedivided into three general classes, viz. , (1) Personal Influence, in whichthe mind of another is directly influenced by induction while he is in thepresence of the person influencing; (2) Distant Influencing, in which thepsychic induction is directly manifested when the persons concerned aredistant from one another; and (3) Indirect Influence, in which theinduction is manifested in the minds of various persons coming in contactwith the thought vibrations of the person manifesting them, though noattempt is made to directly influence any particular person. I shall nowpresent each of these three forms of psychic influence to you forconsideration, one after the other in the above order. 

Personal Influence, as above defined, ranges from cases in which thestrongest control (generally known as hypnotism) is manifested, down tothe cases in which merely a slight influence is exerted. But the generalprinciple underlying all of these cases is precisely the same. The greatcharacters of history, such as Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Julius Caesar, manifested this power to a great degree, and were ableto sway men according to their will. All great leaders of men have thispower strongly manifested, else they would not be able to influence theminds of men. Great orators, preachers, statesmen, and others of thisclass, likewise manifest the power strongly. In fact, the very sign ofability to influence and manage other persons is evidence of thepossession and manifestation of this mighty power. 

In developing this power to influence others directly and personally, youshould begin by impressing upon your mind the principles stated in thepreceding chapter, namely (1) Strong Desire; (2) Clear Visualization; and(3) Concentration. 

You must begin by encouraging a strong desire in your mind to be apositive individual; to exert and manifest a positive influence overothers with whom you come in contact, and especially over those whom youwish to influence in some particular manner or direction. You must let thefire of desire burn fiercely within you, until it becomes as strong asphysical hunger or thirst. You must "want to" as you want to breathe, tolive. You will find that the men who accomplish the great things in lifeare those who have strong desire burning in their bosoms. There is astrong radiative and inductive power in strong desire and wish--in fact, some have thought this the main feature of what we generally call strongwill-power. 

The next step, of course, is the forming of a clear, positive, distinctand dynamic mental picture of the idea or feeling that you wish to inducein the other person. If it is an idea, you should make a strong clearpicture of it in your imagination, so as to give it distinctness andforce and a clear outline. If it is a feeling, you should picture it inyour 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 doingthe thing, or acting in that particular way. By so doing you furnish thepattern or design for the induced mental or emotional states you wish toinduce in the other person. Upon the clearness and strength of thesemental patterns of the imagination depends largely the power of theinduced impression. 

The third step, of course, is the concentration of your mind upon theimpression you wish to induce in the mind of the other person. You mustlearn to concentrate so forcibly and clearly that the idea will stand outclearly in your mind like a bright star of a dark night, except that theremust be only one star instead of thousands. By so doing you really focusthe entire force of your mental and psychic energies into that oneparticular idea or thought. This makes it act like the focused rays in thesun-glass, or like the strong pipe-stream of water that will break downthe thing upon which it is turned. Diffused thought has but acomparatively weak effect, whereas a concentrated stream of thoughtvibrations will force its way through obstacles. 

Remember, always, this threefold mental condition: (1) STRONG DESIRE; (2)CLEAR MENTAL PICTURE; and (3) CONCENTRATED THOUGHT. The greater the degreein which you can manifest these three mental conditions, the greater willbe your success in any form of psychic influence, direct or indirect, personal or general, present or distant. 

Before you proceed to develop the power to impress a particular idea orfeeling upon the mind of another person, you should first acquire apositive mental atmosphere for yourself. This mental atmosphere isproduced in precisely the same way that you induce a special idea orfeeling in the mind of the other person. That is to say, you firststrongly desire it, then you clearly picture it, and then you applyconcentrated thought upon it. 

I will assume that you are filled with the strong desire for a positivemental atmosphere around you. You want this very much indeed, and actuallycrave and hunger for it. Then you must begin to picture yourself (in yourimagination) as surrounded with an aura of positive thought-vibrationswhich protect you from the thought forces of other persons, and, at thesame time impress the strength of your personality upon the persons withwhom you come in contact. You will be aided in making these strong mentalpictures by holding the idea in your concentrated thought, and, at thesame time, silently stating to your mind just what you expect to do in thedesired direction. In stating your orders to your mind, always speak as ifthe thing were already accomplished at that particular moment. Never saythat it "will be, " but always hold fast to the "it is. " The following willgive you a good example of the mental statements, which of course shouldbe accompanied by the concentrated idea of the thing, and the mentalpicture of yourself as being just what you state. 

Here is the mental statement for the creation of a strong, positivepsychic atmosphere: "I am surrounded by an aura of strong, positive, dynamic thought-vibrations. These render me positive to other persons, andrender them negative to me. I am positive of their thought-vibrations, butthey are negative to mine. They feel the strength of my psychicatmosphere, while I easily repel the power of theirs. I dominate thesituation, and manifest my positive psychic qualities over theirs. Myatmosphere creates the vibration of strength and power on all sides of me, which affect others with whom I come in contact. MY PSYCHIC ATMOSPHERE ISSTRONG AND POSITIVE!"

The next step in Personal Influence is that of projecting your psychicpower directly upon and into the mind of the other person whom you wish toinfluence. Sometimes, if the person is quite negative to you, this is avery simple and easy matter; but where the person is near your own degreeof psychic positiveness you will have to assert your psychic superiorityto him, and get the psychic "upper hand" before you can proceed further. This is accomplished by throwing into your psychic atmosphere someparticularly strong mental statements accompanied by clear visualizationsor mental pictures. 

Make positive your psychic atmosphere, particularly towards the personwhom you seek to influence, by statements and pictures something alongthe 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 unable toinfluence me in the slightest, while I can influence him easily"; "Mypower is beginning to operate upon his mind and feelings. " The exact wordsare not important, but the idea behind them gives them their psychic forceand power. 

Then should you begin your direct attack upon him, or rather upon hispsychic powers. When I say "attack, " I do not use the word in the sense ofwarfare or actual desire to harm the other person--this is a far differentmatter. What I mean to say is that there is usually a psychic battle for alonger or shorter period between two persons of similar degrees of psychicpower and development. From this battle one always emerges victor at thetime, and one always is beaten for the time being, at least. And, as inall battles, victory 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 booksmakes mention of these duels of psychic force between individuals, asfollows: "There is that deadly Indian hug in which men wrestle with theireyes, over in five seconds, but which breaks one of their two backs, andis good for three-score years and ten, one trial enough--settles the wholematter--just as when two feathered songsters of the barnyard, game anddunghill, come together. After a jump or two, and a few sharp kicks, thereis an end to it; and it is 'After you, monsieur' with the beaten party inall the social relations for all the rest of his days. "

An English physician, Dr. Fothergill by name, wrote a number of years agoabout this struggle of wills, as he called it, but which is really astruggle of psychic power. He says: "The conflict of will, the power tocommand others, has been spoken of frequently. Yet what is this will-powerthat influences others? What is it that makes us accept, and adopt too, the advice of one person, while precisely the same advice from another hasbeen rejected? Is it the weight of force of will which insensiblyinfluences us; the force of will behind the advice? That is what it is!The person who thus forces his or her advice upon us has no more power toenforce it than others; but all the same we do as requested. We acceptfrom one what we reject from another. One person says of somethingcontemplated, 'Oh, but you must not, ' yet we do it all the same, thoughthat person may be in a position to make us regret the rejection of thatcounsel. Another person says, 'Oh, but you mustn't, ' and we desist, thoughwe may, if so disposed, set this latter person's opinion at defiance withimpunity. It is not the fear of consequences, not of giving offense, whichdetermines the adaption of the latter person's advice, while it has beenrejected when given by the first. It depends upon the character orwill-power of the individual advising whether we accept the advice orreject it. This character often depends little, if at all, in some cases, upon the intellect, or even upon the moral qualities, the goodness orbadness, of the individual. It is itself an imponderable something; yet itcarries weight with it. There may be abler men, cleverer men; but it isthe one possessed of will who rises to the surface at these times--the onewho can by some subtle power make other men obey him. 

"The will-power goes on universally. In the young aristocrat who gets histailor to make another advance in defiance of his conviction that he willnever get his money back. It goes on between lawyer and client; betwixtdoctor and patient; between banker and borrower; betwixt buyer and seller. It is not tact which enables the person behind the counter to inducecustomers to buy what they did not intend to buy, and which bought, givesthem no satisfaction, though it is linked therewith for the effort to besuccessful. Whenever two persons meet in business, or in any otherrelation in life, up to love-making, there is this will-fight going on, commonly enough without any consciousness of the struggle. There is a dimconsciousness of the result, but none of the processes. It often takesyears of the intimacy of married life to find out with whom of the pairthe mastery really lies. Often the far stronger character, to allappearances, has to yield; it is this will-element which underlies thestatement: 'The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to thestrong. ' In Middle-march' we find in Lydgate a grand aggregation ofqualities, yet shallow, hard, selfish Rosamond masters him thoroughly inthe end. He was not deficient in will-power; possessed more than anaverage amount of character; but in the fight he went down at last underthe onslaught of the intense, stubborn will of his narrow-minded spouse. Their will-contest was the collision of a large warm nature, like acapable human hand, with a hard, narrow selfish nature, like a steelbutton; the hand only bruised itself while the button remainedunaffected. "

You must not, however, imagine that every person with whom you engage inone of these psychic duels is conscious of what is going on. He usuallyrecognizes that some sort of conflict is under way, but he does not knowthe laws and principles of psychic force, and so is in the dark regardingthe procedure. You will find that a little practice of this kind, in whichno great question is involved, will give you a certain knack or trick ofhandling your psychic forces, and will, besides, give you that confidencein yourself that comes only from actual practice and exercise. I can pointout the rules, and give you the principles, but you must learn the littlebits of technique yourself from actual practice. 

When you have crossed psychic swords with the other person, gaze at himintently but not fiercely, and send him this positive strongthought-vibration: "I am stronger than you, and I shall win!" At the sametime picture to yourself your forces beating down his and overcoming him. Hold this idea and picture in your mind: "My vibrations are stronger thanare yours--I am beating you!" Follow this up with the idea and pictureof: "You are weakening and giving in--you are being overpowered!" A verypowerful psychic weapon is the following: "My vibrations are scatteringyour forces--I am breaking your forces into bits--surrender, surrendernow, I tell you!"

And now for some interesting and very valuable information concerningpsychic defense. You will notice that in the offensive psychic weaponsthere is always an assertion of positive statement of your power and itseffect. Well, then, in using the psychic defensive weapon against one ofstrong will or psychic force, you reverse the process. That is to say youdeny the force of his psychic powers and forces, and picture them asmelting into nothingness. Get this idea well fixed in your mind, for it isvery important in a conflict of this kind. The effect of this is toneutralize all of the other person's power so far as its effect onyourself is concerned--you really do not destroy it in him totally. Yousimply render his forces powerless to affect you. This is important notonly when in a psychic conflict of this kind, but also when you wish torender yourself immune from the psychic forces of other persons. You mayshut yourself up in a strong defensive armor in this way, and others willbe powerless to affect you. 

In the positive statement, "I deny!" you have the Occult Shield ofDefense, which is a mighty protection to you. Even if you do not feeldisposed to cultivate and develop your psychic powers in the direction ofinfluencing others, you should at least develop your defensive powers soas to resist any psychic attacks upon yourself. 

You will find it helpful to practice these offensive and defensive weaponswhen you are alone, standing before your mirror and "playing" that yourreflection in the glass is the other person. Send this imaginary otherperson the psychic vibrations, accompanied by the mental picture suitablefor it. Act the part out seriously and earnestly, just as if the reflectedimage were really another person. This will give you confidence inyourself, and that indefinable "knack" of handling your psychic weaponsthat comes only from practice. You will do well to perfect yourself inthese rehearsals, just as you would in case you were trying to masteranything else. By frequent earnest rehearsals, you will gain not onlyfamiliarity with the process and methods, but you will also gain realpower and strength by the exercise of your psychic faculties which haveheretofore lain dormant. Just as you may develop the muscle of your arm bycalisthenic exercises, until it is able to perform real muscular work ofstrength; so you may develop your psychic faculties in this rehearsalwork, so that you will be strongly equipped and armed for an actualpsychic conflict, besides having learned how to handle your psychicweapons. 

After you have practiced sufficiently along the general offensive anddefensive lines, and have learned how to manifest these forces in actualconflict, you will do well to practice special and specific commands toothers, in the same way. That is to say, practice them first on yourreflected image in the mirror. The following commands (with mentalpictures, of course) will give you good practice. Go about the work inearnest, and act out the part seriously. Try these exercises: "Here! lookat me!" "Give me your undivided attention!" "Come this way!" "Come to meat once!" "Go away from me--leave me at once!" "You like me--you like mevery much!" "You are afraid of me!" "You wish to please me!" "You willagree to my proposition!" "You will do as I tell you!" Any special commandyou wish to convey to another person, psychically, you will do well topractice 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 actualpractice, you may proceed to experiment with persons along the lines ofspecial and direct commands by psychic force. The following will give youa clear idea of the nature of the experiments in question, but you mayenlarge upon and vary them indefinitely. Remember there is no virtue inmere words--the effect comes from the power of the thought behind thewords. But, nevertheless, you will find that positive words, used in thesesilent commands, will help you to fit in your feeling to the words. Alwaysmake the command a real COMMAND, never a mere entreaty or appeal. Assumethe mental attitude of a master of men--of a commander and ruler of othermen. Here follow a number of interesting experiments along these lines, which will be very useful to you in acquiring the art of personalinfluence of this kind:

SEVEN VALUABLE EXERCISES

EXERCISE 1: When walking down the street behind a person, make him turnaround in answer to your mental command. Select some person who does notseem to be too much rushed or too busy--select some person who seems tohaving nothing particular on his mind. Then desire earnestly that he shallturn around when you mentally call to him to do so; at the same timepicture him as turning around in answer to your call; and at the same timeconcentrate your attention and thought firmly upon him. After a fewmoments of preparatory thought, send him the following message, silentlyof course, with as much force, positiveness and vigor as possible: "Heythere! turn around and look at me! Hey! turn around, turn around at once!"While influencing him fix your gaze at the point on his neck where theskull joins it--right at the base of the brain, in the back. In a numberof cases, you will find that the person will look around as if someone hadactually called him aloud. In other cases, he will seem puzzled, and willlook from side to side as if seeking some one. After a little practice youwill 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 message to someone seated a little distance in front ofyou. Use the same methods as in the first exercise, and you will obtainsimilar results. It will seem queer to you at first to notice how theother person will begin to fidget and move around in his seat, and finallyglance furtively around as if to see what is causing him the disturbance. You, of course, will not let him suspect that it is you, but, instead willgaze calmly ahead of you, and pretend not to notice him. 

EXERCISE 3: This is a variation of the first exercise. It ispracticed by sending to a person approaching you on the street, or walkingahead of you in the same direction, a command to turn to the right, or tothe left, as you prefer. You will be surprised to see how often you willbe successful in this. 

EXERCISE 4: This is a variation of the second exercise. It ispracticed by sending to a person seated in front of you in a public placethe command to look to the right, or to the left, as you prefer. Do notpractice on the same person too long, after succeeding at first--it is notright to torment people, remember. 

EXERCISE 5: After having attained proficiency in the foregoingexercises, you many proceed to command a person to perform certainunimportant 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 persons to say someparticular word having no important meaning; to "put words in his mouth"while talking to him. Wait until the other person pauses as if in searchof a word, and then suddenly, sharply and forcibly put the word into hismouth, silently of course. In a very susceptible person, well under yourpsychic control, you may succeed in suggesting entire sentences andphrases to him. 

EXERCISE 7: This is the summit of psychic influencing, and, ofcourse, is the most difficult. But you will be surprised to see how wellyou will succeed in many cases, after you have acquired the knack andhabit of sending the psychic message. It consists of commanding the personto 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 isacquired by beginning with small things, and gradually proceeding togreater, and still greater. At this point I should warn you that all thebest occult teachings warn students against using this power for baseends, improper purposes, etc. Such practices tend to react and reboundagainst the person using them, like a boomerang. Beware against usingpsychic or occult forces for improper purposes--the psychic laws punishthe offender, just as do the physical laws. 

Finally, I caution the student against talking too much about hisdeveloping powers. Beware of boasting or bragging about these things. Keepsilent, and keep your own counsel. When you make known your powers, youset into operation the adverse and antagonistic thought of persons aroundyou who may be jealous of you, and who would wish to see you fail, or makeyourself ridiculous. The wise head keepeth a still tongue! One of theoldest occult maxims is: "Learn! Dare! Do! Keep Silent!!!" You will dowell to adhere strictly to this warning caution. 

LESSON XVIII. 

PSYCHIC INFLUENCE AT A DISTANCE

The second phase of Psychic Influence is that called Distant PsychicInfluence, in which psychic induction is manifested when the persons aredistant in space from one another--not in the presence of each other. Here, of course, we see the principle of telepathy involved in connectionwith the process of mental induction: and in some cases even the astraltelepathic sense is called into operation. 

The student who has followed my explanation and course of reasoning in thepreceding lessons will readily perceive that the principle involved inthis distant phase of psychic influence is precisely the same as thatemployed in direct personal psychic influence. As I have explained in anearly lesson, it matters little whether the space to be covered by thepsychic vibratory waves is but one foot or a thousand miles, the principleis exactly the same. There are, of course, other principles involved inthe case of two persons meeting face to face and calling into force theirpsychic powers; for instance, there is the element of suggestion andassociation, and other psychological principles which are not in forcewhen the two persons are out of the actual presence of each other. But sofar as the telepathic or astral psychic powers are concerned, the mereextension of space does not change the principle. 

The student who has developed his power of psychic induction in thephases mentioned in the preceding chapter, may begin to experiment andpractice psychic induction at long-range, if he so wishes. That is to say, instead of causing psychic induction in the minds of persons actually inhis presence and sight, he may produce similar results in persons out ofhis sight and presence. The person may be brought into presence andpsychic contact, for all practical purposes, by using the visualizingpowers for the purpose of bringing him into the en rapport condition. Thatis to say, by using the imagination to bring into the mind a strong clearpicture of the other person, you may induce an en rapport condition inwhich he will be practically in the same psychic relation to you as if hewere actually before you. Of course, if he is sufficiently well informedregarding occult matters, he may shut you out by drawing a psychic circlearound himself which you cannot penetrate, or by surrounding himself withpsychic armor or atmosphere such as I have already mentioned in precedinglessons. But as he will not likely know anything of this, the averageperson may be reached in the manner just mentioned. 

Or again, you may establish en rapport conditions by psychometric methods, by holding to your forehead an article which has been in the otherperson's possession for some time; an article worn by him; a piece of hishair; etc. Or, again, you may use the crystal to bring up his astralvision before you. Or, again, you may erect an "astral tube" such as Iwill mention a little further on in this chapter, and thus establish astrong en rapport condition. 

Having established the en rapport condition with the other person, andhaving thus practically brought him into your presence, psychicallyspeaking, you may proceed to send him commands or demands, just as you didin the phase of personal psychic influence previously mentioned. You actprecisely as if the other person were present before you, and state yourcommands or demands to him just as you would were he seated or standing inyour presence. This is the keynote of the whole thing; the rest is simplyan elaboration and stating of details of methods, etc. With the correctprinciple once established, you may apply the same according to your ownwishes and discretion. 

This phase of distant psychic influence is at the bottom of all thewonderful tales, stories and legends of supernatural powers, witchcraft, sorcery, etc. , with which the pages of history are filled. There is ofcourse always to be found much distortion and exaggeration in theselegends and tales, but they have truth at the bottom of them. In thisconnection, let me call your attention to a very important psychicprinciple involved. I have told you that by denying the power of anyperson over you, you practically neutralize his psychic power--thestronger and more positive your belief in your immunity, and your denialof his power over you, the more do you rob him of any such power. Theaverage person, not knowing this, is more or less passive to psychicinfluences of other persons, and may be affected by them to a greater orless extent, depending upon the psychic development of the person seekingto influence him. At the extreme of the sensitive pole of psychicinfluence, we find those persons who believe firmly that the other personhas power over them, and who are more or less afraid of him. This beliefand fear acts to make them particularly sensitive and impressionable, andeasily affected by his psychic induction. This is the reason that theso-called witches and sorcerers and others of evil repute have been ableto 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 person, and feared their power. The greater the belief in, and fear of, the powerof the person, the greater the susceptibility to his influence; thegreater the sense of power of neutralizing the power, and the disbelief inhis power to affect them, the greater the degree of immunity: this is therule!

Accordingly we find that persons in various stages of the history of theworld have been affected by the influences of witches, sorcerers, andother unprincipled persons. In most cases these so-called witches andsorcerers themselves were under the delusion that they were assisted bythe devil or some other supernatural being. They did not realize that theywere simply using perfectly natural methods, and employing perfectlynatural forces. For that matter, you must remember that magnetism andelectricity, in ancient days, were considered as supernatural forces insome 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 psychometricmethod. 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 toaffect. It was thought that these little figures were endowed with somesupernatural powers or attributes, but of course this was meresuperstition. The whole power of these little figures arose from the factthat they aided the imagination of the spell-worker in forming a mentalimage of the person sought to be influenced; and thus established a strongen rapport condition. Added to this, you must remember that the fear andbelief of the public greatly aided the spell-worker and increased hispower and influence over these poor persons. 

I will give you a typical case, taken from an old German book, whichthoroughly illustrates the principles involved in cases of this kind. Understand this case, and you will have the secret and working principleof them all. The story is told by an eminent German physician of the lastcentury. He relates that he was consulted by one of his patients, awealthy farmer living near by. The farmer complained that he was disturbedevery night by strange noises which sounded like someone pounding iron. The disturbances occurred between the hours of ten o'clock and midnight, each and every night. The physician asked him if he suspected anyone ofcausing the strange trouble. The farmer answered that he suspected an oldenemy of his, an old village blacksmith living several miles away from hisfarm. It appears that an old long-standing feud between them had brokenout afresh, and that the blacksmith had made threats of employing his"hex" (witchcraft) powers on the old farmer. The blacksmith was reputed tobe a sort of "hex" or male-witch, and the farmer believed in his diabolicpowers and was very much in fear of them. So you see the ideal conditionfor psychic receptivity was present. 

The physician called on the blacksmith, and taking him by surprise, gazingsternly into his eyes and asked him: "What do you do every night betweenten and twelve o'clock?" The blacksmith, frightened and disturbed, stammered out: "I hammer a bar of iron every night at that time, and allthe while I think intently of a bad neighbor of mine who once cheated meout of some money; and I 'will' at the same time that the noise willdisturb his rest, until he will pay me back my money to get peace andquiet. " The physician bade him to desist from his evil practices, underthreats of dire punishment; and then went to the farmer and made himstraighten out the financial dispute between the two. Thereafter, therewas no more trouble. 

So you see in this case all the necessary elements were present. Firstthere was the belief of the blacksmith in his own powers--this gave himself-confidence and psychic power. Then there was the belief and fear onthe part of the farmer--this made him an easy subject, and verysusceptible to psychic induction, etc. Then there was the action of theblacksmith beating the iron--this gave force and clearness to hisvisualization of the idea he wished to induce in the mind of the other. And, finally, there was his will employed in every stroke, going out inthe direction of the concentrated wish and purpose of influencing thefarmer. You see, then, that every psychic element was present. It was nowonder that the old farmer was disturbed. 

Among the negroes of the South, in America; and among the Hawaiians; wefind marked instances of this kind. The negro Voodoo men and women workblack magic on those of their race who are superstitious and credulous, and who have a mortal fear of the Voodoo. You see the conditions obtainedare much the same as in the case of the German case just cited. Travellerswho have visited the countries in which there is a large negro population, have many interesting tales to recite of the terrible workings of theseVoodoo black magicians. In some cases, sickness and even death is theresult. But, mark you this! it is only those who believe in, and fear, thepower of the Voodoos that are affected. In Hawaii, the Kahunas or nativemagicians are renowned for their power to cause sickness and death tothose who have offended them; or to those who have offended some client ofthe Kahuna, and who have hired the latter to "pray" the enemy to sicknessor death. The poor ignorant Hawaiians, believing implicitly in the powerof the Kahunas, and being in deadly fear of them, are very susceptible totheir psychic influence, and naturally fall easy victims, unless they buyof the Kahuna, or make peace with his client. White persons living inHawaii are not affected by the Kahunas, for they do not believe in them, neither do they fear them. Unconsciously, but still strongly, they denythe 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 mysterywhich have heretofore been closed to you. 

We do not have to fall back on cases of witchcraft, however, in order toillustrate this phase of the use of psychic influence for selfish ends. InEurope and America there are teachers of a low form of occultism whoinstruct their pupils in the art of producing induced mental states in theminds of others, for purposes of financial gain or other selfish ends. Forinstance, there is a Western teacher who instructs his pupils to inducedesired mental states in prospective customers, or others whom they maywish to influence for selfish reasons. This teacher tells his pupils to:"Imagine your prospective customer, or other person, as seated in a chairbefore which you are standing. Make the imagined picture as strong aspossible, for upon this depends your success. Then proceed to 'treat' thisperson just as if he were actually present. Concentrate your will uponhim, and tell him what you expect to tell him when you meet him. Use allof the arguments that you can think of, and at the same time hold thethought that he must do as you say. Try to imagine him as complying withyour 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 thecase of prospective customers, but also in the case of persons whom youwish to influence in any way whatsoever. " Surely this is a case ofemploying psychic powers for selfish purposes, if anything is. 

Again, in Europe and America, particularly in the latter country, we findmany persons who have picked up a smattering of occult knowledge by meansof some of the many healing cults and organizations which teach the powerof thought over physical diseases. In the instruction along the lines ofdistant mental healing, the student is taught to visualize the patient asstrongly and clearly as possible, and to then proceed to make statementsof health and strength. The mind of the patient, and that of the healer, cooperate and in many cases work wonderful cures. As you will see in thelast lesson of this course, there is great power in the mind to inducehealthful vibrations in the mind of others, and the work is a good andworthy one. But, alas! as is so often the case, the good teaching issometimes perverted, and applied for unworthy and selfish ends. Some ofthe persons who have picked up the principles of mental healing havediscovered that the same power may be used in a bad as well as in a gooddirection. They accordingly, proceed to "treat" other persons with theobject of persuading them to do things calculated to benefit the personusing the psychic power. They seek to get these other persons under theirpsychic influence, and to then take advantage of them in some way orother. 

I hope that it is practically unnecessary for me to warn my studentsagainst evil practices of this kind--I trust that I have not drawn anystudents of this class to me. In case, however, that some of you may havebeen, or may be in the future, tempted to use your psychic powersimproperly, in this way, I wish to caution and warn you positively againstso doing. Outside of the ordinary morality which should prevent you fromtaking advantage of another person in this way, I wish to say to you thatanyone so misusing psychic or astral powers will inevitably bring downupon his head, sooner or later, certain occult astral forces which willprove disastrous to him. He will become involved in the web of his ownmaking, and will suffer greatly. Never by any means allow yourself to betempted into indulging in any of the practices of Black Magic, under anyform of disguise. You will live to regret it if you do. Employ yourpowers, when you develop them, for the good of others; or at least, forpurely scientific investigation and knowledge. 

The scientific investigator of this phase of psychic influence, will wishto become acquainted with what the occultists call "the astral tube. " Inthis phase of the phenomena, you manifest upon the astral plane, ratherthan upon the physical. The astral form of telepathy is manifested, ratherthan the ordinary form. While there are a number of technical pointsinvolved in the production of the astral tube, I shall endeavor toinstruct you regarding its creation and use in as plain words as possible, omitting all reference to technical occult details which would only serveto distract your attention and confuse your mind. The advanced occultstudent will understand these omitted technicalities without being told ofthem; the others would not know what was meant by them, if mentioned, inthe absence of a long stage of preparatory teaching. After all, the theoryis not of so much importance to most of you as are the practical workingprinciples. I ask your careful attention to what I have to say in thissubject of the astral tube. 

The Astral Tube is formed by the person forming in his imagination (i. E. , on the astral plane by means of his imagination or visualizing powers), atube or small tunnel between himself and the person whom he wishes toinfluence. He starts by picturing it in his mind a whirling vortex, similar to the whirling ring of smoke emitted from a "coughing" engine, and sometimes by a man smoking a cigar, about six inches to one foot indiameter. He must will the imagined vortex-ring to move forward as if itwere actually boring a tunnel through the atmosphere. When the knack ofproducing this astral tube is acquired, it will be found that thevisualized tunnel seems to vibrate with a peculiar intensity, and willseem to be composed of a substance far more subtle than air. Then, at theother end of this astral tube you must picture the other person, the onewhom you wish to influence. The person will seem as if viewed through thewrong end of an opera-glass. When this condition is gained, there will befound to be a high degree of en rapport between yourself and the otherperson. The secret consists in the fact that you have really established aform of clairvoyance between yourself and the person. When you haveinduced this condition, proceed with your mental commands and picturesjust as if you were in the presence of the person himself. That is thewhole thing in a nutshell. 

In order that you may have another viewpoint from which to consider theastral tube, or what corresponds to it, I wish to give you here a littlequotation from another writer on the subject, who presents the matter froma somewhat more technical standpoint. Read this quotation in connectionwith my own description of the astral tube, and you will form a prettycomplete and clear idea of the phenomenon. The writer mentioned says: "Itis impossible here to give an exhaustive disquisition on astral physics;all I need say is that it is possible to make in the astral substance adefinite connecting-line that shall act as a telegraph wire to conveyvibrations by means of which all that is going on at the other end of itmay be seen. Such a line is established, be it understood, not by a directprojection through space of astral matter, but by such action upon a line(or rather many lines) of particles of that substance as will render themcapable of forming a conductor for vibrations of the character required. This preliminary action can be set up in two ways--either by thetransmission of energy from particle to particle, until the line isformed, or by the use of a force from a higher plane which is capable ofacting upon the whole line simultaneously. Of course this latter methodimplies far greater development, since it involves the knowledge of (andthe power to use) forces of a considerably higher level. 

"Even the simpler and purely astral operation is a difficult one todescribe, though quite an easy one to perform. It may be said to partakesomewhat of the nature of the magnetization of a bar of steel; for itconsists in what we might call the polarization, by an effort of the humanwill, of a number of astral atoms reaching from the operator to the scenewhich he wishes to observe. All the atoms thus affected are held for thetime being with their axes rigidly parallel to one another, so that theyform a kind of temporary tube along which the clairvoyant may look. Thismethod has the disadvantage that the telegraph line is liable todisarrangement or even destruction by any sufficiently strong astralcurrent which happens to cross its path; but if the original creativeeffort were fairly definite, this would be a contingency of onlyinfrequent occurrence. The view of a distant scene obtained by means ofthis 'astral current' is in many ways not unlike that seen through atelescope. Human figures usually appear very small, like those on adistant stage, but in spite of their diminutive size they are as clear asthough they were close by. Sometimes it is possible by this means to hearwhat is said as well as to see what is done; but as in the majority ofcases this does not happen, we must consider it rather as themanifestation of an additional power than as a necessary corollary of thefaculty of sight. "

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

In the first place, you must, of course, refuse to admit to your mind anyfeeling of fear regarding the influence of other persons--for that is theopen door to their influence, as I have pointed out to you. If you havebeen, or are fearful of any persons psychic influence, you must get towork and drive out that feeling by positive and vigorous denials. Thedenial, you remember, is the positive neutralizer of the psychic influenceof another person, providing you make it in full belief of its truth. Youmust take the position (which is a true one) that you are immune to thepsychic attack or influence. You should say, mentally, "I deny to anyperson the power to influence me psychically without my consent; I ampositive to all such influences, and they are negative to me; I neutralizethem by this denial!"

If you feel sudden impulses to act in some way which you have not thoughtof doing, or toward which you have had an aversion, pause a moment andsay, 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 casesyou may frequently be approached later on by the person who would havebeen most benefitted by your action; he will appear surprised when you"turn him down, " and will act in a confused way. He may not haveconsciously tried to influence you, but may have merely been wishingstrongly that you would do as he desired. 

It should encourage you to know that it requires much less force to repeland neutralize psychic influence of this kind, than is required to sendforth the power; an ounce of denial and protection overcomes a pound ofpsychic attacking power. Nature gives you the means of protection, andgives you "the best end of the stick, " and it is your own fault if you donot 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 IndirectPsychic Influence, in which psychic induction is manifested in the mindsof other persons coming in contact with the thought vibrations of theperson manifesting them, although no deliberate attempt is made toinfluence the mind of any particular person or persons. Closely connectedwith and involved in this phase of psychic influence, is that which iscalled the Psychic Law of Attraction. So closely are these two connectedthat I shall consider them together in this lesson. 

The fundamental principle of this phase of psychic influence is thewell-known psychic fact that mental and emotional states not only inducesimilar vibrations in those who are similar attuned on the psychicvibratory scale, but also tend to attract and draw to the person otherpersons who are vibrating along similar lines, and also tend to repelthose 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 toarouse in others mental and emotional states similar to our own. But thereis a law in effect here, which must be noted if you wish to thoroughlyunderstand this phase of psychic influences. Omitting all technicalexplanations, and getting right down to the heart of the phenomenon, Iwould say that the general principle is this: Psychic induction isdifficult in proportion to the opposing quality of the characteristicmental and emotional states of the person affected; and easy in proportionto the harmonious quality thereof. That is to say, in plain words, that ifa person's habitual thought and emotions are along the same lines that youare trying to induce in him, you will find it easy to induce the same inhim; if, on the contrary, they are of an opposing nature, then you willfind it difficult to so influence him. The many degrees of agreement anddifference in the psychic vibrations of persons constitute a scale ofcomparative response to any particular form of mental or emotionalvibrations. 

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 changethe characteristic mental and emotional states of a person by psychicinduction, except after long and repeated efforts. On the contrary, let aperson have certain characteristic mental and emotional habits, then thesemay be aroused in them with the greatest ease by means of psychicinduction. For instance, if a person is characteristically and habituallypeaceful, mild and calm, it will be very difficult to arouse in him bypsychic induction the vibrations of anger, fight and excitement. On theother hand, if the other person is combative, fierce and easily excited towrath, it is the easiest possible thing to arouse these feelings in him bypsychic induction. So much for ordinary psychic induction; let us nowconsider indirect psychic induction, in which the same principle operates. 

In indirect psychic induction, that is to say in cases in which psychicvibrations are aroused by induction without deliberate attempt or designto influence any particular person or persons, there is noted themanifestation of a peculiar law of attraction and repulsion along psychiclines. This psychic law operates in the direction of attracting to oneselfother persons who, actively or passively, vibrate on the same note, or onsome note or notes in general harmony therewith. In the same, way, the lawcauses you to repel other persons who vibrate on a note or notes ingeneral inharmony or discord to yourself. So, in short, we go through lifeattracting or repelling, psychically, others in harmonious or inharmoniouspsychic relation to us, respectively. An understanding of this law and itsworkings will throw light upon many things in your life which you have notunderstood previously. 

You of course understand that you are constantly radiating currents ofpsychic vibrations, some of which flow out to great distances from you, and affect others often far removed from you in space. But you may notalso know that on the astral plane there is manifesting a similar sequenceof cause and effect. A strong emotional vibration, or a strong desire orwill, tends to manifest on the astral plane by attracting or repellingothers in psychic harmony or inharmony with you. This phenomenon is not socommon as is that of ordinary thought vibrations from brain to brain, butit is far more common that is generally supposed. It is particularlymarked in cases of men of strong desire and will, and strong creativeimagination. These vibrations awakening response in the minds of those inharmony with them, tend to draw to one those other persons whose generalcharacter will fit in with the desires and ideas of the first person, orto repel those who are not harmonious therewith. This explains thepeculiar phenomenon of strong men in business, politics and other walks oflife, drawing and attracting to them other men who will fit in with theirgeneral plans and aims. 

This law works two ways. Not only do you draw such persons to you as willfit in with your plans and purposes, but you are attracted to them by thesame law. Not only this, but you will find that through the peculiarworkings of this law even things and circumstances, as well as persons, will seem to be moulded by your strong desires and ideas, providing yourpsychic vibrations are sufficiently strong and clear. Have you nevernoticed how a strong, resourceful magnetic man will seem to actually drawto him the persons, things and circumstances that he needs to carry outand manifest his plans and designs. To many, not understanding this greatlaw, these things have seemed positively uncanny and mysterious. But, now-a-days, the big men of business and politics are beginning tounderstand these psychic laws, and to apply them deliberately and withpurpose. 

Some of the great leaders in the business world, and in politics, areknown to deliberately start into operation strong psychic vibrations, andto send out strong psychic currents of attraction, by the methods that Ihave already explained to you. They, of course, are filled with a morethan ordinary degree of desire and will and, in the second place, theycreate very strong and clear mental pictures of their plans working outsuccessfully 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) byholding the mental picture of that which they strongly desire to come topass, and by concentrating their thought and will strongly upon it. 

A favorite mental picture of some of these men (who have been instructedby teachers of occultism), is that of themselves as the centre of a greatpsychic whirlpool, drawing to themselves the persons, things andcircumstances calculated to bring success and realization to them. Otherspicture their thought-vibrations flowing from them like the rings in apond into which a stone had been dropped, influencing a constantlywidening circle of other persons; then they picture the persons beingdrawn to them in the manner just mentioned. They persist in this practiceday after day, week after week, month after month, year after year--is itany wonder that they draw to themselves that which they desire?

Other persons of lesser caliber take similar advantage of the law in thesame way, but on a smaller scale. In every community there are certainpersons who seem to draw to themselves the patronage and custom of thecommunity, in some peculiar way. In most cases this may be traced back tosome form of psychic influence. I do not mean that these personsconsciously and deliberately set these forces into operation. On thecontrary, many of them do so more or less unconsciously, and without aknowledge of the underlying psychic principles involved. Such persons havestumbled on a portion of the psychic laws, and have used them more or lessunconsciously and without understanding the real reason of the happening. They found out that certain mental states and certain mental picturestended to produce certain results--that they "worked out"--and so theycontinued them. Some of these men think of the whole thing as somethingsupernatural, and get to believe that they are being helped by somesupernatural power; whereas, they are simply operating under a universalpsychic law of cause and effect. 

In America a number of teachers and writers have devoted much attention tothis phase of the general subject of psychic influence. Cults have beenformed upon this general basis, the main idea of their followers beingthat of attracting financial and other success by means of this phase ofpsychic force. One of the leading writers along this line, says: "Anindividual who has cultivated the faculty of concentration, and hasacquired the art of creating sharp, clear, strong, mental images, and whowhen engaged in an undertaking will so charge his mind with the idea ofsuccess, will be bound to become an attracting centre. And if such anindividual will keep his mental picture ever in his mind, even though itbe in the background of his mind, when he is attending to the details andplanning of his affairs--if he will give his mental picture a prominentplace in his mental gallery, taking a frequent glance at it, and using hiswill upon it to create new scenes of actual success, he will create forhimself a centre of radiating thought that will surely be felt by thosecoming 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 into him, and all of his plans working out right. In short, he mentallyimagines each step of his plans a little ahead of the time for theirexecution, and he concentrates forcibly and earnestly upon them. It isastonishing to witness how events, people, circumstances, and things seemto move in place in actual life as if urged by some mighty power to serveto materialize the conditions so imaged in the mind of the man. But, understand, there must be active mental effort behind the imaging. Daydreamers do not materialize thought--they merely dissipate energy. The manwho converts thought in activity and material being throws energy intothe task, and puts forth his willpower through the pictured image. Withoutthe rays of the will there will be no picture projected, no matter howbeautifully the imagination has projected it. Thought pictured in mentalimages, and then vitalized by the force of the desire, and will, tend toobjectify themselves into material being. "

The student will be interested in reading and hearing the various theoriesand explanations given by different writers and teachers to account forthe phenomena of psychic influence. Once he has grasped the realscientific principles involved, he will be able to see the same inoperation in all of the cases cited by the different teachers and writers, and will find that this fundamental principle fully explains and accountsfor all of these cases, no matter how puzzling they may seem, or howmysterious they may be claimed to be by those mentioning them. Truth isvery simple when we brush away the fantastic dressings which have beenplaced around it by those who have lacked knowledge of the truefundamental principles. 

We see this same law or principle operating in very many different waysfrom those previously mentioned. For instance, we frequently find cases inwhich one person has a strong desire for a certain kind of assistance inhis business or other work. He has almost given up hope of finding theright kind of person, for those whom he has tried have failed to measureup the requirements of the situation. If he will (and he sometimes does)follow the general plan just mentioned, he will set into operation thepsychic forces which will attract that person to him, and him to thatperson. In some peculiar way, the two will be thrown together, and thecombination 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 certain knowledge andinformation that he requires or is desirous of gaining. But, and you mustalways remember this, no miracle is worked, for it is simply a matter ofthe working out of natural laws of cause and effect--attraction andresponse to attraction--on the psychic or astral plane. Such a person willaccidently (!) run across some other person who will be led to give himthe key to the knowledge he seeks. Perhaps a book may be mentioned, orsome reference to some writer be made. If the hint is followed up, thedesired information comes to light. Many persons have had the psychicexperience of being led to some book store and induced to examine aparticular shelf of books, whereupon a particular book presents itselfwhich changes the whole course of the person's life. Or, perhaps, one willpick up a newspaper apparently at random, and without purpose; and thereinwill find some information, or at least a hint in the direction where theinformation may be found. When one accustoms himself to the workings ofpsychic forces, these things soon become accepted as a matter of course, and cease to arouse wonder or surprise. The workings of the Psychic Law ofAttraction is seen to be as natural and invariable as the law ofgravitation, or magnetic attraction, once one has mastered its principles, and learned the methods of its application. Surely such a wonderful law iswell worth study, attention, investigation, and mastery, isn't it?

A writer along the lines of Mental Science, which is really based on theprinciples which have been stated in this book, has the following to sayregarding his system: "Wonderful results arise by reason of what has beencalled 'The Law of Attraction, ' by the workings of which each person iscontinually drawing to himself the people, things, objects, and evencircumstances in harmony and accord with his prevailing mental states. Like attracts like, and the mental states determine that which one drawsto himself. If you are not satisfied with what is coming to you, start towork and change your mental attitudes and mental states, and you will seea change gradually setting in, and then the things that you want willbegin to come your way. * * * A most important fact about the effect ofmental vibrations upon people lies in the principle that one is moreaffected by vibrations in harmony with his own accustomed feelings andmental states, than by those of an opposite nature. A man who is full ofevil schemes, and selfish aims, is more apt to be caught up by similarvibrations than one who lives above that plane of thought. He is moreeasily tempted by evil suggestions and influences, than one to whom thesethings are abhorrent. And the same is true on every plane. A man whosemental attitude is one of confidence and fearlessness, is not apt to beaffected by vibrations of a negative, pessimistic, gloomy nature, and viceversa. Therefore, if you wish to receive the vibrations of the thoughtsand feelings of others, you must place yourself in a mental attitudecorresponding with those vibrations which you wish to receive. And if youwish to avoid vibrations of a certain kind, the best way is to rise abovethem in your own mind, and to cultivate the mental states opposite them. The positive always overcomes the negative--and optimistic mental statesare always positive to pessimistic mental states. "

Another writer on, and practitioner of Mental Science, in America, severalyears ago, explained her theory and practice by means of the term"corelation of thoughts and things. " She held that when one thoughtpositively, clearly and forcibly of a thing, he "related" himself to thatthing, and tended to attract it to him, and to be attracted toward it. Sheheld that true wisdom consists in so managing our thoughts that we shallrelate ourselves only to those things which we know to be desirable andbeneficial to ourselves, and to avoid thinking of those which are harmfuland detrimental to us. The student of this book will see how thispractical Mental Scientist was really using the same principles that wehave examined and become acquainted within this book, although she calledthem by another name, and explained them by another theory. At the bottomof all the teachings and theories you will always find the one same basicprinciple and universal law. 

The advanced student of occultism knows that each and every one of us isreally a creator of his own circumstances, environment and conditions, toa great extent. Each of us is able to so modify our mental activities asto bring about such changes in our environment and surroundings as toactually re-create them. The things accomplished by successful men arereally but materializations of that which they have previously held intheir mental vision. Everything is first created on the psychic plane, andthen manifested in the physical world. All the great works of man, thegreat bridges, great buildings, tunnels, machinery, cities, railroads, canals, works of art, musical compositions, etc. , first existed in themind of their creators, and were then afterward materialized in physicalform and shape. And, so you see we are proceeding with our work of mentalcreations whenever we think and make mental images. This, however, is nonew teaching. It is as old as the race of mankind. Over twenty-fivehundred years ago, Buddha said to his disciples: "All that we are is theresult of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts; it is madeup of our thoughts. "

I would be telling you but half the story did I not warn you that strongFear may play the part ordinarily filled by Desire in the production ofthe psychic phenomena of materialization of mental pictures. Strange asit may appear at first, a strong fear that a thing will come to pass willact much the same as a strong desire that the happening will occur. Consequently, many persons by continually dwelling upon the thing thatthey fear may happen to them, actually attract that thing to them, just asif they had actually desired and wished for it. I cannot go into occulttechnicalities in explaining this strange fact; but the gist of the secretmay be said to consist in the fact that the person clearly and vividlypictures in his mind the thing that he fears may happen to him. He thuscreates a strong mental-picture or image of it, which sets into forces theattractive power of psychic influence and draws the feared thing intomaterial reality. As Job said: "The thing that I feared hath come uponme. " The moral of this is, of course, that persons should learn to stampout fear and mental images of things feared. Instead, they should makestrong positive mental denials of the things that they may find themselvesfearing. They should deny the reality of the feared thing, and assertpositively their own superiority to the thing, and their power to overcomeit. 

A great religious cult has sprung into existence which makes a leadingdoctrine of this ability to materialize the things which one desires, andto deny out of existence undesirable things. Many persons who havewitnessed the wonderful success of some of the followers of this cult ororganization, have been puzzled to account for the same on scientific andrational grounds. A little understanding of fundamental occult andpsychic principles, as given in these lessons, will show the "why andwherefore" of these strange and wonderful manifestations. In thisconnection you must remember that the combined thought of the thousands ofpersons composing this cult or organization undoubtedly gives additionalpsychic force to the mental affirmations and denials of the individualmember thereof. 

In past and present, and probably in future time, there have been manyinstances of magical procedures tending to bring about the results that wehave herein seen to come about by reason of psychic influence, in some ofits many phases. These magic procedures have usually been accompanied byincantations, ceremonies, strange rites, evocations, etc. , which weresupposed to have great virtue in bringing about desired results. But thetrue occultists now know that these ceremonies and rites were merely hopesto the imagination and aids to faith, and thus tended to bring about thepsychic phenomena. There was no virtue in these ceremonies themselves, andthe same results may be secured by simply following the procedure outlinedin this book. The wonders of ancient magic have been reproduced by themodern occultists, without all the mumbo-jumbo of the past rites andceremonies. 

A gifted English writer upon the subject of the relation of mysticism andmagic, sums up the gist of the principles of Magic as follows:

"The central doctrine of Magic may now be summed up thus:

"(1) That a supersensible and real cosmic medium exists, whichinterpenetrates, 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 subtleform or framework of all that exists on the physical plane. ]

"(2) That there is an established analogy and equilibrium between the real(and unseen) world, and the illusory manifestation that we call the worldof sense. " [By this of course is meant the correspondence and balancebetween 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 offate. " [The essence of Will consists of strong desire accompanied by aclear mental picture of the thing desired, and held steady and firm byconcentration. ]

So you see by reference to the above very clear statement of the centraldoctrine of Magic, and my explanations thereof, that in these lessons youhave been taught the very essence of the wonderful, mysterious ancientMagic, and its modern counterpart. As for the various rites andceremonies, as I have said, these are mere symbols and aids to mentalimaging and concentration. As an eminent occultist once said, "Ceremoniesbeing but artificial methods of creating certain habits of the will, theycease to be necessary when these habits have become fixed. " The master ofoccultism sees ceremonies, rites, and ritual as but the playthings of thekindergarten scholar--useful and important so far as they go, but servingmerely to teach the scholar, sooner or later, that he may proceed withoutthem. 

In this chapter I have condensed enough information 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 averageperson of the Western world than is that of the healing of physical illsand conditions by means of psychic influence under 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 popularmovement. 

As is natural in cases of this kind, there have been hundreds of theoriesadvanced to account for the phenomena of psychic healing, and a stillgreater number of methods of treatments devised to carry out theprinciples of the theories. Ranging from the teaching of actual divineinterposition and influence arising from certain forms of belief andpractice, covering many intermediate stages, the theories even include asemi-materialistic hypothesis in which mind is considered as an attributeof matter, but having a magic influence over the forms of matter whenproperly applied. But it is worthy of note that no matter what the generalor particular theory, or what the favored method of application, thesehealing schools or cults, as well as the independent practitioners, meetwith a very fair degree of success and perform quite a number of cures. 

Many of these Western advocates and practitioners of psychic healingpractically hold that the whole system is of very recent discovery, andthat it has nothing whatsoever to do with ordinary occult science. Theoccultists however are able to smile at these ideas and beliefs, for theynot only recognize the general principles involved, but they also areaware that these principles, and their application, have been known toadvanced occultists for thousands of years. I do not say this in anydispargement of the moderns schools of psychic healing, for I am in fullsympathy with their great work; I merely mention the matter that thestudent may get the right historical perspective in considering this phaseof psychic phenomena and influence. 

So far as the methods of application are concerned, the true occultistrecognizes that most of the methods and forms of treatment are but outwardcloaks or disguises for the real psychic healing principle. The gist ofthe real methods is to be found in the principles of the application ofpsychic 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 thedesired 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 afocus to two preceding mental states. Here you have the real secret ofpsychic healing methods--the rest are all elaborations thereof, dressed upforms and ceremonies which affect the imagination, faith, belief andconfidence of the patient, and thus make the healing process much easier. In fact, with the proper degree of faith and confidence on the part of thepatient, there is but little need of a healer, for the patient may treatand cure himself. However, in most cases, the presence of the healer aidsmaterially in arousing the fate and confidence of the patient, and hastensthe cure. 

Again, so far as the theories underlying the cures are concerned, occultists are able to reduce them all to a single working theory orprinciple, which includes all the rest. Brushing aside all technicaldetails, and all attempts to trace back the healing process to theultimate facts of the universe, I may say that the gist of the principleof all psychic healing is that of influencing the astral foundation of thevarious organs and parts, cells and centres, so as to make it proceed tomanifest a more perfect physical counterpart. All psychic healing isreally accomplished on the astral body first--then the physical bodyresponds to the renewed activities of its astral counterpart. To get thereal significance of this statement it is necessary for you to realizejust what the astral body really is. This once grasped, the difficultiesvanish, and you are able to form a clear conception of the entire matterand 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 thepattern upon which the physical body is materialized. The astral body iscomposed of an etheric substance of a very high rate of vibration. In onesense it may be considered as a very subtle form of matter--in another asa semi-materialized form of force or energy. It is finer and more subtlethat the rarest vapors or gases known to science. And, yet, it has astrong degree of tenacity and cohesiveness that enables it to resistattacks from the material side of nature. As I have said, each organ, part, centre or cell, of the physical body has its astral pattern orbasis. In fact, the physical body has been built up, in whole and in allof its parts, on the pattern and base of the astral body. Moreover, incase of impaired functioning of the physical organs or parts, and impairedactivity of the physical body, its limbs, etc. , if we can manage to arousethe activities of the astral body we may cause it to re-materialize orre-energize the physical body, and thus restore health and activity to it. If the liver, for instance, is not functioning properly, we proceed tostart up the activities of the astral counterpart of that organ, to theend that the physical organ may be re-energized, and recreated in ameasure. All true psychic healing work is performed 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 Westernhealers mean when they speak of "human magnetism" in their healing work. So far from being an imaginary force, as claimed by the physicalscientists and materialists, it is known to all occultists as an activeprinciple of the human body, and as of great efficacy in the psychictreatment of disease. I shall mention the details of this form oftreatment as we proceed--I mention it at this place merely to call yourattention to the fact of its existence. 

Before passing on to the consideration of other phases of the subjectbefore us, I would like to call your attention to the fact that from theearliest days of history there have been recorded instances of some formof psychic healing. In the earlier days the psychic healing work was leftentirely in the hands of the priesthood of the various religionsprevailing in the several counties of the world. Claiming to have anexclusive divine sanction to perform healing work, these priests usedvarious ceremonies, rites, incantations, etc. , in order to obtain theirresults. In many cases these priests were ignorant of the real psychicforces invoked and set into operation; they merely practiced methods whichhad been found to work out effectively, and which had been handed down tothem by their predecessors. In other cases, however, the priestsundoubtedly were skilled occultists, and had a very full knowledge of theforces they were using; though, as the masses of the people were veryignorant it was impossible to acquaint them with these things so far abovetheir understanding; and, consequently, the priests applied the healingforces under the disguise of their religious ceremonies and rites. 

From time to time, however, as civilization progressed, there came intoprominence persons who worked cures of physical ills by means of magicalceremonies and other similar methods, but who were outside of thepriesthood. Some of these men undoubtedly had a very fair knowledge of thereal secret of their cures, though they disguised them to suit the mentalcondition of their patients, and, also, probably for purposes of selfglorification. In other cases, however, it is probable that these healershad merely stumbled across the fact that certain things said in a certainway tended to work cures; or that certain physical objects seemed to havetherapeutic virtue. They did not realize that the whole healing virtue oftheir systems depended upon the strong idea in their own minds, coupledwith the strong faith and confidence in the mind of the patient. And sothe work went on. 

In some of the oldest records of the human race, the scriptures of thevarious peoples, we find that "laying on of hands" was the favorite methodemployed by the holy men and priests, and other performing healing work. From the first there seems to have been an almost instinctive recognitionon the part of man of the fact that there is a healing power in the touchof the hand. Even ignorant and savage mothers instinctively apply theirhands to the hurt bodies of their children--a custom that has itscounterpart in civilized races, by the way. The child is taught to expectphysical relief from the application of the mother's hands, and its mindat once pictures relief. Not only is the mental picture created, but thedesire and confidence is established in the minds of both persons. Thesame thing is true of all "laying on of hands, " and thus are theprinciples of all psychic influence brought into play. But this is not allthere is to it. In the first place, there is an actual transference ofprana from the body of the healer to that of the patient, which serves toenergize 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 thepatient, which tends to materialize better physical conditions. In thethird place, there is that combination and union of the minds of the twopersons, which gives extra force and power to psychic influence. Is it anywonder that cures take place under these circumstances?

In the modern revival of the almost lost art and science of psychichealing among the general public, there has been unusual stress laid uponthe feature of "absent healing, " in which the patient and the healer arenot in each other's presence. To many this has seemed actually miraculous, and as a positive proof of divine interposition. But a little thought willshow 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 willshow. Moreover, the student will see that to the effect of certainprinciples of psychic influence there needs but to be added the principlesof telepathic communication, or, better still, the principles of astralcommunication by some phases of clairvoyance, to account for the entirephenomena of "absent healing. "

Space is no barrier on the astral plane, as you have seen in thepreceding chapters of this book. Once the en rapport condition isestablished between healer and patient, and the rest is simple--the astralbody is induced to energize more actively, and as a result the physicalmanifestation is improved and normal functioning restored. Of course, allthis is wonderful enough--all psychic phenomena is, for that matter; but, we see that we do not have to go outside of established occult laws, principles and facts in order to account for some of these modern miracleswhich have puzzled and perplexed so many good persons who have not knownof the occult teachings, and who fear that the world is being turnedupside down, and Nature's laws overturned by these "new fangled" ideas andmethods. 

Perhaps the most simple method of healing by psychic influence is thatwhich is at the same time the oldest method, i. E. , the "laying on ofhands. " This method was revived about twenty years ago in America andEurope by the new school of "magnetic healing" which sprung rapidly intopublic favor. The other schools of psychic healing, generally known as"mental healing, " "spiritual healing, " "divine healing, " etc. , generallyfrown upon the use of the hands in psychic healing, deeming it "toomaterial, " and too much allied to hypnotism, etc. But this view is quitebigoted and narrow, for this method has no relation to hypnotism, and, moreover, it gives the patient the benefit of the flow of prana from thehealer, while at the same time producing the psychic effect on the astralbody, as I have just mentioned. 

I take the liberty of quoting here something on this subject from mylittle book entitled "The Human Aura. " In the chapter of that book devotedto the consideration of the subject of "Auric Magnetism, " I said: "Incases of magnetic healing, etc. , the healer by an effort of his will(sometimes unconsciously applied) projects a supply of his pranic auravibrations into the body of his patient, by way of the nervous system ofthe patient, and also by means of what may be called the induction of theaura itself. The mere presence of a person strongly charged with prana, isoften enough to cause an overflow into the aura of other persons, with aresulting feeling of new strength and energy. By the use of the hands ofthe healer, a heightened effect is produced, by reason of certainproperties inherent in the nervous system of both healer and patient. There is even a flow of etheric substance from the aura of the healer tothat of the patient, in cases in which the vitality of the latter is verylow. Many a healer has actually, and literally, pumped his life force andetheric substance into the body of his patient, when the latter wassinking into the weakness which precedes death, and has by so doing beenable to bring him back to strength and life. This is practically akin tothe transfusion of blood--except that it is upon the psychic plane insteadof the physical. "

But the true "magnetic healer" (call him by whatever name you wish) doesnot make this pranic treatment the all-in-all of his psychic treatment. On the contrary it is but the less subtle part, which leads up to thehigher 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 mentalimage of restored health and physical strength; he pictures the diseasedorgan as restored to health and normal functioning; he sees the entirephysiological machinery operating properly, the work of nutrition, assimilation, and excretion going on naturally and normally. By properwords of advice L and encouragement he awakens hope and confidence in themind of the patient, and thus obtains the co-operation of that mind inconnection to his own mental efforts. The astral body responds to thistreatment, and begins to energize the physical organs and cells intonormal activity--and the journey toward health is begun. 

[In the little book just mention, "The Human Aura, " I gave some valuableinformation regarding the influence of colors in psychic healing, which Ido not reproduce here as it is outside the scope and field of the presentlessons. Those who may feel interested in the subject are respectfullyreferred to the little manual itself. It is sold for a nominal price bythe publishers of the present work. ]

In the form of psychic treatment which comes under the head of SuggestiveTherapeutics, great insistence is laid upon the verbal suggestion to thepatient, on the part of the healer. The patient is told that he will getwell; that his organs will function normally; etc. , etc. But the studentof the present lessons will readily see that the only virtue in the spokenwords consists in their power to evoke and induce the mental image of thedesired condition in the mind of the patient. The mental picture thusevoked produces a corresponding effect in the astral body of the patient, and sets into operation the materialization of desired results. Inaddition, the words produce a strong mental picture in the mind of thehealer himself, and thus give form and strength to his psychic vibrationswhich are being poured out toward the patient. This is really the secretof suggestive treatment. 

The many cults of metaphysical healing, in America and Europe, lay greatstress upon what they call "affirmations, " which are but statements of thepatient of his or her faith in the healing power of God, or of Mind, orSpirit, or Principle (different names are used). The patient naturally hasconfidence aroused, and as naturally begins to picture the desiredcondition; this in turn reacting upon the astral body, and this upon thephysical body or organ. In addition, the healer's mind is also set to workin the same way, and sets into motion the healing psychic forces in theway just mentioned. You will notice that the same principle is alwaysinvolved and set into operation and manifestation. 

There is no particular virtue in the form of affirmation used by thehealer or patient, except the important virtue of being able to arousestrong mental pictures of restored health, proper functioning, etc. Thereis of course this also: certain forms of affirmations or mental statementsare better suited than others to the particular wants of certain persons. For instance, a very religious person will be aroused better byaffirmations and statements filled with religious sentiments and ideas;while a person of a purely scientific turn of mind will receive morebenefit from affirmations in which the precise physiological functions arespecifically mentioned; while the person who is fond of mystery andstrange ceremonies will be better served in the affirmations or statementstaken in the form of some magical incantation, etc. The difference, however, lies in the mind of the patient, rather than in the wordsthemselves. Words are merely invokers of ideas--symbols of ideas. Inthemselves, words are nothing--ideas are everything. 

If you wish to treat yourself psychically for some physical disorder, orif you wish to do good to others in the same way, you have but to put intooperation the general principles of psychic influence herein described. That is to say, you must first be filled with the strong desire and wishto make the cure; then you must make a strong mental image of the desiredresult, as actually present. (Do not think of it as "going to be;" insteadsay and think that it "is now!"); then concentrate the attention firmlyand positively upon the idea. You may aid yourself and others byaffirmations or auto-suggestions (words creating desired ideas and mentalpictures) if you wish--you may get better results in this way. In thisconnection, let me remind you that the healing work in many cases consistslargely 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 becauseof improper and harmful mental pictures that they have allowed to beplaced there by the suggestions of others. Fear and dread of disease oftenacts to bring about the feared condition, for reasons that you can readilysee. 

And, now, finally for the work of "absent healing" by psychic influence. Ican state this to you very simply; it is this: take what I have just toldyou regarding personal treatments, and combine it with what I have toldyou in previous lessons about "long distance psychic influence"--then youwill have the whole thing. Here is a sample of an effective distanttreatment; or "absent treatment, " to use the popular term--it may bevaried and enlarged up to fit individual cases:

Sit quietly in your own room, inducing a calm, peaceful mental attitudeand state. Then (in the way already told you in this book) make a mentalpicture of the patient as sitting opposite to you, or lying down in frontof you. If you have never seen the patient, make simply a mental image ofa man, or a woman, as the case may be, and think of the figure as beingthe patient. The best practitioners of distant psychic healing producesuch a strong mental image of the patient that they can often actually"feel" his or her presence. (This of course is the result of a simpleform of clairvoyance. ) Then make a strong mental picture of the conditionthat you wish to induce in the patient--the healthy physical condition ofthe organ, or part or body, as the case may be. See this condition asexisting at the present time, and not as merely to come in the future. Atthe same time, you will do well to mentally speak to the patient, just asyou 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 thesuggestions, or affirmations, or whatever you may wish to call them. Insome cases in which an excellent en rapport condition is established, patients become aware of the treatment, and sometimes can almost see andfeel the presence of the healer. 

A prominent Mental Scientist, of America, instructs his pupils to considereach of the organs of the patient, or of themselves, as having a separateintelligence; and, therefore, to "speak up to it" as if it reallyunderstood what was being said to its organ-mind. I would say that suchform of treatment would be calculated to bring about very good results, indeed. The principle of concentration and mental picturing would beinvoked very strongly in such a case, and the astral counterpart of theorgan should respond to such treatment quickly and effectively. It is anoccult fact that there is mind in every organ and cell of the body, and ifthe same is awakened in the astral counterpart, it will respond to thecommand, suggestion, or direction. The writer in question evidently iswell acquainted with this occult law, judging from his other writings, andhas simply veiled his knowledge with this easily understood method oftreatment which undoubtedly will "do the work, " to use the American term. 

Finally, no matter what may be the theory, or method, given in connectionwith psychic healing of any or all kinds, you will find the same generalprinciples underlying it that have been presented over and over again inthis book. In fact, many purely material and physical remedies owe theirsuccess 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 patient, and will bring to his mind strongmental pictures of restored health and normal functioning of hisorgans--that thing will make for health for him. So, there you have thewhole theory and practice in a sentence!

 * * * * *

I would remind the student that these are not lessons to be read but onceand then laid aside. In order to get from them all that they contain foryou, you will find it necessary to read them several times, with areasonable interval between readings for the knowledge to sink into yourmind. I feel sure that you will find with each reading that there are manypoints that you over-looked before. The lessons cover a wide field, withmany little excursions into bye-paths and lanes of thought. I trust thatthe reading and study will make you not only a wiser person, but also astronger and more efficient one. I thank you for your kind attention, andtrust that we shall meet again in the future. 

FINIS. 

The Art and Science ofPERSONAL MAGNETISMBy THERON Q. DUMONTTHE SECRET OF FORTUNE, FAME AND LOVE

_Success can be made more certain by being able to mold minds and toinfluence them to act as you wish_. 

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF PERSONAL MAGNETISM

By Theron Q. Dumont

A Chicago paper in a recent editorial said: "There are men in this countryin abundance, but good men, while in great demand, are as scarce as theclams in chowder at a church supper. "

A man need not be a college graduate if he is to rise to the height ofpower and success. Personal Magnetism will help to control and influenceothers. 

This book contains 238 pages crammed with most interesting advice onPersonal Magnetism--what it is and how to develop it. It contains 21chapters dealing with the different phases of the subject. Here are a fewof the chapter headings:

The Mental Phase--The Physical Phase--Physical Magnetism--MentalRadiation--Mental Atmosphere--The Direct Flash--The Positive Aura--TheDirect Command--The Magnetic Duel--Magnetic Self-Defence--The Power ofControlling Others

No. 6, 238 Pages, Cloth Bound, Size 5x7. 

Medical Hypnotism and Suggestion By Alexr. Verner, F. A. I. P. 

This book is full of secrets. It explains what hypnotism (or mesmerism)is, and gives an interesting outline of its history. It explains the greatvalue of hypnotism in the cure of disease and in surgical operations. Ittells how to hypnotise a man, how to put him in a trance for a week. Thereis an explanation on how to give an hypnotic entertainment for yourfriends or on the stage, making your subjects do things such as acting, singing, speechmaking, things that, in their ordinary state, they would beunable to do. Further it explains the method of curing badhabits--drinking, swearing, lying, stealing, gambling, betting, smoking, envy, hatred, temper, etc. 

The author's object in writing this book is to give a brief but accuratedescription of Hypnotism and Suggestive Therapeutics, as practiced by themost advanced schools of the present day; and also to enlighten the publicmind on the great advantages of hypnotism in the treatment of disease, ascompared with the drug method now used in this and other countries. Size6 x 4-1/2. 

No. 12, 37 Pages, Paper Bound--Price Postpaid Outside U. S. A. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEERSHIPTHE SCIENCE OF KNOWING THE FUTUREHINDOO and ORIENTAL METHODSCOMING EVENTS CAST THEIR SHADOWS BEFORE

By Swami Bhakta Vishita (Hindoo Master)

Everyone possesses in the latent state the wonderful faculty of Seership. This can be developed. You can train yourself so you can foresee eventsand be your own adviser--see your own future. 

If you want to make the most of yourself, both in a human and divinesense, you should read this book. 

The most profound and conscientious occult work published in years. Teaches how to pierce the veil--enter at will into the spiritual world andconverse with your loved ones now across the border. 

No. 3. 384 Pages, Cloth Bound, Size, 5x7

Practical Mind ReadingBy William Walker Atkinson

_A course of Lessons on Thought Transference, Telepathy, Mental Currents, Mental Rapport, etc_. 

This book is full of practical condensed instruction about every phase ofMind Reading, Telepathy, etc. The exercises and directions are so plainand simple that they can be understood and demonstrated by any person ofordinary intelligence. 

Here you will find complete instruction in all the latest points aboutMind Reading. It tells how Thought Transference is practiced in thescientific laboratory as well as by a public performer. It tells you howto perform feats that will mystify an audience and arouse the deepestinterest and enthusiasm, or how you can conduct telepathic experimentswith your friends right in your own home. 

Here are the titles of the lessons and a few of the subjects treated:

THE NATURE OF MIND READING--A vast, mysterious subject; Power ofEtheric Vibrations; Mental wireless telepathy; the mysteries of science;Action of mind upon mind; The mental battery. 

THE PROOFS OF MIND READING--The Psychic post office; Wonderfulresults; A convincing experiment. 

CONTACT MIND READING--The two classes of mind reading; The simplestform; Nerve current theory; The truth about public performances. 

DEVELOPMENT EXERCISES--How to begin; Rapport conditions--Rhythmicbreathing; Details of finding objects. 

PRICE POSTPAID--Outside U. S. A. 

No. 8--95 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2

THE SOLAR PLEXUS or Abdominal BrainBY THERON Q. DUMONT

Man has four brains, and not merely one, as is commonly believed to be thecase. Each of the four brains have separate characteristics anddistinctive offices and functions. 

The Solar Plexus, or Abdominal Brain is situated in the upper part of theabdomen, behind the stomach, in front of the great artery, and in front ofpillars of the diaphragm. 

The Solar Plexus is the great plexus, i. E. , network of nerve-fibres, massof nerve-substance, etc. , of the great sympathetic nervous system. It iscomposed of both gray and white nervous substance, or brain-matter, similar to that of the other three brains of man. It receives anddistributes nerve-impulses and currents to all the abdominal organs, andsupplies the main organs of nutrition, assimilation, etc. , with nervousenergy. 

It performs a most important work, supplying the nerve-energy which isrequired for the process of nutrition, assimilation, growth, etc. In fact, it is the great powerhouse of physical life-energy. The bodily functionscannot be performed without it; when it is injured the entire physicalwell-being is at once seriously affected; when it receives a severe shock, death often ensues. 

Its name, "solar" was bestowed upon it by reason of its central position;its filaments extend in all directions to the important abdominal organs, like the rays of the sun; and it is recognized as being the powerhouse, and great reservoir of "life force, " just as the sun is the greatpowerhouse and reservoir of material energy of our solar system. 

Not alone modern scientific investigators; but also many very ancientinvestigators, such as the oriental occultists and sages, who manycenturies ago recognized certain subtle functions and offices of thiswonderful "fourth brain" of man, and taught their students many valuablemethods of effectively employing its finer forces and hidden energies. 

NO. 9, 64 PAGES, PAPER BOUND, SIZE 6x4-1/2 PRICE POSTPAID--OUTSIDEU. S. A. 

HOW TO KNOW YOUR FUTUREByAlexr. Verner, F. A. I. P. 

As St. Paul points out, man has a natural (or material) body and aspiritual body. There are also a material world and a spiritual world. With the eye we can only see material things. To see the spiritual worldwe must cultivate the spiritual sight. Seeing spiritual things with thespiritual sight is called Clairvoyance (or "Second Sight"). 

You can if you choose, cultivate clairvoyant faculty. If you do, you maybe able to see places and persons in the spiritual world. This may enableyou to describe to your friends, people in spirit life that they haveknown here. 

It can also help you to see what is going on at a distance in this world. To see into the past and the future. To obtain hidden information, and togive advice, of the utmost value. This faculty when properly developedenables one to trace hidden treasure, to find lost friends, animals, andproperty. With the development of Clairvoyance it is also possible todevelop Clairaudience (Spiritual Hearing). 

Crystal Gazing means looking into a crystal ball or into something else ofa like kind. When this faculty is developed one sees a picture or image inthe crystal. Presently the picture will dissolve and another will take itsplace. All the above matter is described in this book. 

No. 15, 42 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2. 

Price Postpaid--Outside U. S. A. 

How to Converse with Spirit FriendsByAlexr. Verner, F. A. I. P. 

A medium is a person whose presence is necessary before a spirit cancommunicate. "How To Converse With Spirit Friends" tells you how you maydevelop mediumistic powers, so as to be able to receive messages from theother world when sitting alone. 

The book also tells you about different kinds of spirits, includingapparitions (ghosts) and spirit guides (the spirit friends that areconstantly with each of us); about spirit control (how spirits workthrough the organisms of mediums); and about spirit-given premonitions, warnings, death-signs, etc. The work, moreover, gives other interestingand valuable matter. This work is calculated to "comfort those thatmourn. "

This book is printed in very legible type and contains illustrations tobring out points. One of the illustrations shows spirit forms as seen by amedium. Size 6x4-1/2

No. 14, 36 Pages, Paper Bound--Price Postpaid Outside U. S. A. /b>

THE POWER OF CONCENTRATIONBy Theron Q. Dumont

_It is of the utmost value to learn how to concentrate. To make thegreatest success of anything, you must be able to center your entirethought upon the idea you are working on. The person who is able toconcentrate, utilizes all constructive thoughts and shuts out alldestructive ones. The greatest man would accomplish nothing if he lackedconcentration. _

TWENTY FAMOUS LESSONS IN CONCENTRATION

In these twenty lessons, this famous author gives you in simple, concreteform the results of his lifetime investigations. He shows you how toacquire that mental quality of concentration which has made world-knownleaders. He shows you how to focus your ideas, to get away from mindwandering, to eliminate day dreams--how to use your mind like anever-ready tool and to accomplish in hours what the man without thisability does only in weeks or months. He tells clearly why some men lead, while others with equal intelligence remain in the ranks. He shows theclear way to make the utmost out of your mentality. No degree of success, within reason, is impossible when one possesses the Power ofConcentration. 

Read the principles laid down so clearly by Professor Dumont. Practice theexercises which he has so carefully worked out. This training is as much aguarantee of success as any other method known. Simply learn to use yourbrains--learn to focus, to concentrate and the highway to bigger things isopen to you. 

A FEW OF THE TOPICS

Opportunities Made Through Concentration. (Shows the plain road to thetop. ) Self Mastery. (How to centralize attention. ) Training the Will. (Amighty force at your disposal. ) Mental Poise. (How to command conditions. )Business Success. (How to coordinate forces by concentration. ) AttainingWealth. (How to attract money bringing factors. ) How Courage is Gained. (Use of concentration to drive out fear. ) Memory by Concentration. (A veryvaluable lesson. ) Practical Exercises. (The actual application of theprinciples of concentration. ) Many more topics all as interesting andimportant as those listed. 

No. 5--186 Pages, Cloth Bound, Size 5x7 Price Postpaid--Outside U. S. A. 

DYNAMIC THOUGHTHow to Develop your PersonalityByHenry Thomas Hamblin

This book develops your personality and the personal power that sways andcompels and gives you a powerful influence over the minds of others. 

Dynamic Thought reveals new and marvelous facts about the human system. Men and women achieve success according to the development of their ownpowers. You have as much power within you as anyone, but it is lyingdormant; and this development can be attained. 

There are certain definite principles that rule human beings in theirattitude toward each other. When once you understand these principles youcan convert enemies into friends and can make almost everyone be friendlytoward you. 

No 1 298 pages, Cloth Bound, Size 5x7. Price Postpaid--Outside U. S. A. 

Mental InfluenceBy William Walker Atkinson

_A course of Lessons on Mental Vibration, Psychic Influence, PersonalMagnetism, Fascination, Psychic Self-Protection, etc. _

LESSON 1. --Why one mind can be made to influence another. LESSON 2. --How thought waves manifest, and how they affect other persons. LESSON 3. --How mental states are transmitted. LESSON 4. --What mental concentration is, and how it works. The occultteachings regarding developing the powers of concentration. A course oftraining described and explained. LESSON 5. --How occultists form a mental image. LESSON 6. --The secret of mental fascination and personal magnetism. Whysome have such a charming, irresistible influence. How it can becultivated. LESSON 7. --Difference between fascination and hypnotism. How hypnoticinfluence upon others affects the person. The truth about hypnotism. LESSON 8. --Influencing at a distance. How you can exert a mental influenceupon others at a distance. How distant treatments are given. The mosteffective occult methods and practices. LESSON 9. --How mental influence may be used to affect a great number ofpeople at the same time. LESSON 10. --The need of instruction on the part of the public. 

No. 7--96 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2

SUCCESS AND HAPPINESSBYSWAMI BRAHMA

_A guide to Success in matters relating to Health, Friendship, Love, Marriage, etc. _

"Success and Happiness" tells you how to develop magnetism and tostrengthen your will. It tells you how to influence people to act as youso desire. It gives suggestions on how to relieve pain without medicine. 

No matter what your condition or position may be, "Success and Happiness"tells you how you may improve it. It gives you plain directions as to howto achieve success tin friendship, love, matrimony, and business; how tomake money and how to secure happiness. 

Send for this book at once and learn how magnetism and will-power enablepeople to achieve success. 

No. 16, 40 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2 Price Postpaid--OutsideU. S. A. 

GENUINE MEDIUMSHIPTHE INVISIBLE POWERSBYSWAMI BHAKTA VISHITA

This book will prove invaluable to anyone who feels that they might haveany kind of psychic power. It contains lengthy discussion of thefollowing:

Mental vibrations and transmission--Thought transference--Clairvoyance andkindred phenomena--Mediumship--Mediumistic conditions--How to developmediumship--Mediumistic phenomena--Higher spirit manifestations. 

This work explains clearly how to develop "mediumship. " It tells how toform a "medium" circle. Questioning the spirits, the spirit communicationcode, persistent watchful waiting, building lines of communication. 

No 2, 277 pages. Cloth Bound, Size 5x7. 

PRACTICALPSYCHOMANCY ANDCRYSTAL GAZINGBYWILLIAM WALKER ATKINSON

_A Series of Eleven Lessons on the Psychic; Phenomena of Distant Sensing, Clairvoyance, Psychometry, Crystal Gazing, etc. _

PARTIAL SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS:

Scientific principles underlying Psychomancy, Sensing objects by theAstral Senses. Projection of the Astral Body. 

HOW TO DEVELOP YOURSELF. Development Methods. Concentration. Visualization. Psychometry. How to use the Crystal and Mirror. GeneralInstruction. 

Simple and Space Psychomancy and their difference. Seeing Through SolidObjects. Seeing Down Into the Earth. Diagnosis of Disease by Psychomancy. 

THE ASTRAL TUBE. 

PSYCHOMETRY. Five Methods. 

Various forms of Crystal Gazing. Directions of "How to Do It, " etc. 

ASTRAL PROJECTION. What the Trained Experimenter may do. 

SPACE PSYCHOMANCY. What may be accomplished by means of it. 

Sensing the scenes, occurrences and objects of the Past, by Astral Vision. 

FUTURE TIME PSYCHOMANCY. Future events cast their shadows before. 

DREAM PSYCHOMANCY. This lesson will explain many instances in yourown experience. 

This most interesting study is stated clearly, so that all may readilyunderstand the fundamental principle of Psychic communication. 

No. 20--Paper Bound, 93 Pages, Size 6x4-1/2 Price Postpaid--OutsideU. S. A. 

TABLE RAPPINGANDAUTOMATIC WRITINGByAlexr. Verner, F. A. I. P

Founder and Principal of the British Psychological Institute

"If a man die, shall he live again?" Does death end all: or is it merely"the gate of life"? If there be a next world, can we communicate withthose that are in it?

These are questions that have agitated the minds of millions. "TableRapping and Automatic Writing" answers the questions. It also does more, it tells you how you can answer them. It tells you how to prove there isanother life, and how to open up communication with those who dwelltherein. To the Materialist it says: "Belief is unnecessary. You demandevidence--here it is. "

"Table Rapping and Automatic Writing" gives full instructions on how toform a Circle for receiving messages from spirit friends; how to enablespirits to make themselves visible to ordinary sight; how to get writtenmessages, drawings, etc. , from those who have "passed over. "

No. 18--25 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2 Price Postpaid--OutsideU. S. A. 

THEASTRAL WORLD_Its Scenery, Dwellers and Phenomena_BySwami Panchadasi

Containing treatment on such matter as the following:

CHAPTER I. --The Seven Planes of Being. What is meant by a Plane. A staterather than a place. CHAPTER II. --Astral Regions. What is meant by an Astral Region. Wherelocated. CHAPTER III. --Reality of the Astral. What one encounters on an astraljourney. CHAPTER IV. --Passing the Border. Passing out of the physical body. Alonein the astral body. CHAPTER V. --Some Lower Sub-Planes. Why the soul sheds. The Astral shell, bodies without souls, still seemingly alive and conscious. CHAPTER VI. --Disembodied Souls. The resting place of the souls. Not dead, but sleeping. CHAPTER VII. --Scenes of the Astral. How the low entities pass their time. Punished by their sins not for them. CHAPTER VIII. --Life and Work on the Astral. Character and occupations ofthe Astral Dwellers. CHAPTER IX. --Higher Planes and beyond. The true home of the soul. TheHeaven worlds. CHAPTER X. --The Astral Light. What the astral light is. A startlingpresentation of a wonderful occult truth. CHAPTER XI. --Astral Entities. Non-human dwellers on the astral. 

No. 10, 94 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2 PRICE POSTPAID--OutsideU. S. A. 

PRACTICAL PSYCHOMETRYByAlexr. Verner, F. A. I. P. 

There is a great demand for good Psychometrists at the present time, andin the near future there will be a greater demand for the vast amount ofgood that can be done by the God-given science of Psychometry (pronounced"Si-com-et-rie"). 

A Psychometrist is a person able to see these scenes, hear these sounds, read these thoughts, and "sense" these feelings. If therefore, a lock ofhair, a letter, a pocket-knife, or anything belonging to a stranger behanded to a Psychometrist, he will be able to understand much of theperson's past, present, and future--about their character, disposition, health, surroundings, capabilities, friends, marriage, business, etc. 

In this way very valuable information and advice can be obtained foroneself or given to others. 

Can you Psychometrize? If not, why not learn? You will benefit yourself, and also astound and help your friends. 

Full and complete particulars are contained in this book. 

No. 17--25 Pages, Paper Bound, Size 6x4-1/2