CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS/PART 14
LESSON XIV.
ASTRAL-BODY TRAVELING
There
is much confusion existing in the minds of the average students of occultism
concerning the distinction between astral visioning by means of the astral
senses in clairvoyance, and the visioning of the astral senses during the travels
of the astral body away from the physical body. There is such a close
connection between the two several phases of occult phenomena that it is easy
to mistake one for the other; in fact, there is often such a blending of the
two that it is quite difficult to distinguish between them. However, in this
lesson I shall endeavor to bring out the characteristics of astral body
visioning, that the student may learn to distinguish them from those of the
ordinary clairvoyant astral visioning, and recognize them when he experiences
them.
The
main points of distinction are these: When visioning clairvoyantly by means of
the astral senses, as described in the preceding chapters of this book, the
clairvoyant usually perceives the scene, person or event as a picture on a flat
surface. It is true that there is generally a perfect perspective, similar to
that of a good stereoscopic view, or that of a high-grade moving picture
photograph—the figures "stand out," and do not appear
"flat" as in the case of an ordinary photograph; but still at the
best it is like looking at a moving picture, inasmuch as the whole scene is all
in front of you. Visioning in the astral body, on the contrary, gives you an
"all around" view of the scene. That is to say, in such case you see
the thing just as you would were you there in your physical body—you see in
front of you; on the sides of you, out of the corner of your eye; if you turn
your head, you may see in any direction; and you may turn around and see what
is happening behind you. In the first case you are merely gazing at an astral
picture in front of you; while in the second place you are ACTUALLY THERE IN
PERSON.
There
are some limitations to this "seeing all around" when in the astral
body, however, which I should note in passing. For instance, if when in the
astral body you examine the akashic records of the past, or else peer into the
scenes of the future, you will see these things merely as a picture, and will
not be conscious of being present personally in the scene. (An apparent
exception is to be noted here, also, viz., if your past-time visioning includes
the perception of yourself in a former incarnation, you may be conscious of
living and acting in your former personality; again, if you are psychometrizing
from fossil remains, or anything concerned with a living creature of the past,
you may "take on" the mental or emotional conditions of that
creature, and seem to sense things from the inside, rather than from the
outside. This, of course, is also a characteristic of the ordinary clairvoyant
vision of the past.) But when, in the astral body, you perceive a present-time
scene in space, you are, to all intents and purposes, an actual participant—you
are actually present at the place and time. The sense of "being actually
present in the body" is the leading characteristic of the astral body
visioning, and distinguishes it from the "picture seeing" sensing of
ordinary clairvoyance. This is stating the matter is as plain and simple form
as is possible, ignoring many technical details and particulars.
You,
being a student of occultism, of course know that the astral body is a fine
counterpart of the physical body, composed of a far more subtle form of
substance than is the latter, that under certain conditions you may travel in
your astral body, detached from your physical body (except being connected with
it with a slender astral cord, bearing a close resemblance to the umbilical
cord which connects the newborn babe with the placenta in the womb of its
mother), and explore the realms of the astral plane. This projection of the
astral body, as a rule, occurs only when the physical body is stilled in sleep,
or in trance condition. In fact, the astral body frequently is projected by us
during the course of our ordinary sleep, but we fail to remember what we have
seen in our astral journeys, except, occasionally, dim flashes of partial
recollection upon awakening. In some cases, however, our astral visioning is so
distinct and vivid, that we awaken with a sense of having had a peculiar experience,
and as having actually been out of the physical body at the time.
In
some cases, the person traveling in the astral is able to actually take part in
the distant scene, and may, under certain circumstances actually materialize
himself so as to be seen by persons in their physical bodies. I am speaking
now, of course, of the untrained person. The trained and developed occultist,
of course, is able to do these things deliberately and consciously, instead of
unconsciously and without intention as in the case of the ordinary person. I
shall quote here from another writer on the subject, whose point of view, in
connection with my own, may serve to bring about a clear understanding in the
mind of the student—it is always well to view any subject from as many angles
as possible. This writer says:
"We
enter here upon an entirely new variety of clairvoyance, in which the
consciousness of the seer no longer remains in or closely connected with his
physical body, but is definitely transferred to the scene which he is
examining. Though it has no doubt greater dangers for the untrained seer than
either of the other methods, it is yet quite the most satisfactory form of
clairvoyance open to him. In this case, the man's body is either asleep or in a
trance, and its organs are consequently not available for use while the vision
is going on, so that all description of what is seen, and all questioning as to
further particulars, must be postponed until the wanderer returns to this
plane. On the other hand, the sight is much fuller and more perfect; the man
hears as well as sees everything which passes before him, and can move about
freely at will within the very wide limits of the astral plane. He has also the
immense advantage of being able to take part, as it were, in the scenes which
come before his eyes—of conversing at will with various entities on the astral
plane, and from whom so much information that is curious and interesting may be
obtained. If in addition he can learn how to materialize himself (a matter of no
great difficulty for him when once the knack is acquired), he will be able to
take part in physical events or conversations at a distance, and to show
himself to an absent friend at will.
"Again,
he will have the additional power of being able to hunt about for what he
wants. By means of the other varieties of clairvoyance, for all practical
purposes he may find a person or place only when he is already acquainted with
it; or, when he is put en rapport with it by touching something physically
connected with it, as in psychometry. By the use of the astral body, however, a
man can move about quite freely and rapidly in any direction, and can (for
example) find without difficulty any place pointed out upon a map, without
either any previous knowledge of the spot or any object to establish a
connection with it. He can also readily rise high into the air so as to gain a
bird's eye view of the country which he is examining, so as to observe its
extent, the contour of its coastline, or its general character. Indeed, in
every way his power and freedom are far greater when he uses this method than
they are in any of the lesser forms of clairvoyance."
In
many well authenticated cases, we may see that the soul of a dying person, one
whose physical end is approaching, visits friends and relatives in the astral
body, and in many cases materializes and even speaks to them. In such cases the
dying person accomplishes the feat of astral manifestation without any special
occult knowledge; the weakened links between the physical and the higher phases
of the soul render the temporary passing-out comparatively easy, and the strong
desire of the dying person furnishes the motive power necessary. Such visits,
however, are often found to be merely the strongly charged thought of the dying
person, along the lines of telepathy, as I have previously explained to you.
But in many cases there can be no doubt that the phenomenon is a clear case of
astral visitation and materialization.
The
records of the Society for Psychical Research contain many instances of this
kind; and similar instances are to be found in other records of psychical
research. I shall quote a few of these cases for you, that you may get a clear
idea of the characteristics thereof. Andrew Lang, an eminent student and
investigator along the lines of the psychic and occult, gives us the following
case, of which he says, "Not many stories have such good evidence in their
favor." The story as related by Mr. Lang in one of his books is as
follows:
"Mary,
the wife of John Goffe of Rochester, being afflicted with a long illness,
removed to her father's house at West Mailing, about nine miles from her own.
The day before her death she grew very impatiently desirous to see her two
children, whom she had left at home to the care of a nurse. She was too ill to
be moved, and between one and two o'clock in the morning she fell into a
trance. One widow, Turner, who watched with her that night, says that her eyes
were open and fixed, and her jaw fallen. Mrs. Turner put her hand to her mouth,
but could perceive no breath. She thought her to be in a fit, and doubted
whether she were dead or alive. The next morning the dying woman told her
mother that she had been at home with her children, saying, 'I was with them
last night when I was asleep.'
"The
nurse at Rochester, widow Alexander by name, affirms that a little before two
o'clock that morning she saw the likeness of the said Mary Goffe come out of
the next chamber (where the elder child lay in a bed by itself), the door being
left open, and stood by her bedside for about a quarter of an hour; the younger
child was there lying by her. Her eyes moved and her mouth went, but she said
nothing. The nurse, moreover says that she was perfectly awake; it was then
daylight, being one of the longest days of the year. She sat up in bed and
looked steadfastly on the apparition. In that time she heard the bridge clock
strike two, and a while after said: 'In the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Ghost, what art thou?' Thereupon the apparition removed and went away; she
slipped out of her clothes and followed, but what became on't she cannot
tell."
In
the case just mentioned, Mr. Lang states that the nurse was so frightened that
she was afraid to return to bed. As soon as the neighbors were up and about she
told them of what she had seen; but they told her that she had been dreaming.
It was only when, later on, news came of what had happened at the other end of
the line—the bedside of the dying woman, that they realized just what had
happened.
In a
work by Rev. F.G. Lee, there are several other cases of this kind quoted, all
of which are stated by Mr. Lee to be thoroughly well authenticated. In one of
the cases a mother, when dying in Egypt, appears to her children in Torquay,
and is clearly seen in broad daylight by all five children and also by the
nursemaid. In another, a Quaker lady dying at Cockermouth is clearly seen and
recognized in daylight by her three children at Seattle, the remainder of the
story being almost identical with that of the Goffe case just quoted.
In
the records of the Society for Psychical Research, the following case appears,
the person reporting it being said to be of good character and reputation for
truthfulness and reliability. The story is as follows: "One morning in
December, 1836, A. had the following dream, or he would prefer to call it,
revelation. He found himself suddenly at the gate of Major N.M.'s avenue, many
miles from his home. Close to him was a group of persons, one of whom was a
woman with a basket on her arm, the rest were men, four of whom were tenants of
his own, while the others were unknown to him. Some of the strangers seemed to
be assaulting H.W., one of his tenants, and he interfered. A. says, 'I struck
violently at the man on my left, and then with greater violence at the man's
face on my right. Finding, to my surprise, that I had not knocked down either,
I struck again and again with all the violence of a man frenzied at the sight
of my poor friend's murder. To my great amazement I saw my arms, although
visible to my eye, were without substance, and the bodies of the men I struck
at and my own came close together after each blow, through the shadowy arms I
struck with. My blows were delivered with more extreme violence than I ever
think I exerted, but I became painfully convinced of my incompetency. I have no
consciousness of what happened after this feeling of unsubstantiality came upon
me.'
"Next
morning, A. experienced the stiffness and soreness of violent bodily exercise,
and was informed by his wife that in the course of the night he had much
alarmed her by striking out again and again in a terrific manner, 'as if
fighting for his life.' He, in turn, informed her of his dream, and begged her
to remember the names of those actors in it who were known to him. On the
morning of the following day (Wednesday) A. received a letter from his agent,
who resided in the town close to the scene of the dream, informing him that his
tenant had been found on Tuesday morning at Major N.M.'s gate, speechless and
apparently dying from a fracture of the skull, and that there was no trace of
the murderers.
"That
night A. started for the town, and arrived there on Thursday morning. On his
way to a meeting of magistrates, he met the senior magistrate of that part of
the country, and requested him to give orders for the arrest of the three men
whom, besides H.W., he had recognized in his dream, and to have them examined
separately. This was at once done. The three men gave identical accounts of the
occurrence, and all named the woman who was with them. She was then arrested
and gave precisely similar testimony. They said that between eleven and twelve
on the Monday night they had been walking homewards altogether along the road,
when they were overtaken by three strangers, two of whom savagely assaulted
H.W., while the other prevented his friends from interfering. H.W. did not die,
but was never the same man afterwards; he subsequently emigrated."
Stead,
the English editor and psychical researcher, relates the following case, which
he accepts as truthful and correct, after careful investigation of the
circumstances and of the character and reputation of the person relating it.
The story proceeds as follows:
"St.
Eglos is situated about ten miles from the Atlantic, and not quite so far from
the old market town of Trebodwina. Hart and George Northey were brothers, and
from childhood their lives had been marked by the strongest brotherly
affection. Hart and George Northey had never been separated from their birth
until George became a sailor, Hart meantime joining his father in business. On
the 8th of February, 1840, while George Northey's ship was lying in port at St.
Helena, he had the following strange dream:
"Last
night I dreamt that my brother was at Trebodwina Market, and that I was with
him, quite close by his side, during the whole of the market transactions.
Although I could see and hear which passed around me, I felt sure that it was
not my bodily presence which thus accompanied him, but my shadow or rather my
spiritual presence, for he seemed quite unconscious that I was near him. I felt
that my being thus present in this strange way betokened some hidden danger which
he was destined to meet, and which I know my presence could not avert, for I
could not speak to warn him of his peril."
The
story then proceeds to relate how Hart collected considerable money at
Trebodwina Market, and then started to ride homeward. George tells what
happened to his brother on the way, as follows:
"My
terror gradually increased as Hart approached the hamlet of Polkerrow, until I
was in a perfect frenzy, frantically desirous, yet unable to warn my brother in
some way and prevent him from going further. I suddenly became aware of two
dark shadows thrown across the road. I felt that my brother's hour had come,
and I was powerless to aid him! Two men appeared, whom I instantly recognized
as notorious poachers who lived in a lonely wood near St. Eglos. They wished
him 'Good night, mister!' civilly enough. He replied, and entered into
conversation with them about some work he had promised them. After a few
minutes they asked him for some money. The elder of the two brothers, who was
standing near the horse's head, said: 'Mr. Northey, we know you have just come
from Trebodwina Market with plenty of money in your pockets; we are desperate
men, and you bean't going to leave this place until we've got that money; so
hand over!' My brother made no reply except to slash at him with the whip, and
spur the horse at him.
"The
younger of the ruffians instantly drew a pistol, and fired. Hart dropped
lifeless from the saddle, and one of the villains held him by the throat with a
grip of iron for some minutes, as thought to make assurance doubly sure, and
crush out any particle of life my poor brother might have left. The murderers
secured the horse to a tree in the orchard, and, having rifled the corpse, they
dragged it up the stream, concealing it under the overhanging banks of the
water-course. Then they carefully covered over all marks of blood on the road,
and hid the pistol in the thatch of a disused hut close to the roadside; then,
setting the horse free to gallop home alone, they decamped across the country
to their own cottage."
The
story then relates how George Northey's vessel left St. Helena the next day
after the dream, and reached Plymouth in due time. George carried with him a
very vivid recollection of his vision on the return voyage, and never doubted
for an instant that his brother had been actually murdered in the manner and by
the persons named, as seen in the vision. He carried with him the determination
to bring the villains to justice and was filled with the conviction that
through his efforts retribution would fall upon the murderers.
In
England, justice was at work—but the missing link was needed. The crime aroused
universal horror and indignation, and the authorities left nothing undone in
the direction of discovering the murderers and bringing them to justice. Two
brothers named Hightwood were suspected, and in their cottage were found
blood-stained garments. But no pistol was found, although the younger brother
admitted having owned but lost one. They were arrested and brought before the magistrates.
The evidence against them was purely circumstantial, and not any too strong at
that; but their actions were those of guilty men. They were committed for
trial. Each confessed, in hopes of saving his life and obtaining imprisonment
instead. But both were convicted and sentenced to be hanged. There was doubt in
the minds of some, however, about the pistol. The story continues:
"Before
the execution, George Northey arrived from St. Helena, and declared that the
pistol was in the thatch of the old cottage close by the place where they had
murdered Hart Northey, and where they had hid it. 'How do you know?' he was
asked. George replied: 'I saw the foul deed committed in a dream I had the
night of the murder, when at St. Helena.' The pistol was found, as George
Northey had predicted, in the thatch of the ruined cottage." Investigation
revealed that the details of the crime were identical with those seen in the
vision.
It
is a fact known to all occultists that many persons frequently travel in the
astral body during sleep; and in many cases retain a faint recollection of some
of the things they have seen and heard during their travels in the astral.
Nearly everyone knows the experience of waking up in the morning feeling
physically tired and "used up;" in some cases a dim recollection of
walking or working during the dream being had. Who among us has not had the
experience of "walking on the air," or in the air, without the feet
touching the ground, being propelled simply by the effort of the will? And who
of us has had not experienced that dreadful—"falling through space"
sensation, in dreams, with the sudden awakening just before we actually struck
earth? And who has not had the mortifying dream experience of walking along the
street, or in some public place, and being suddenly overcome by the
consciousness that we were in our night-clothes, or perhaps without any
clothing at all? All of these things are more or less 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
astral into which it is dangerous and unpleasant for the uninstructed person to
travel; unless accompanied by a capable occultist as guide. Therefore, I caution
all students against trying to force development in that direction. Nature
surrounds you with safeguards, and interposes obstacles for your own protection
and good. Do not try to break through these obstacles without knowledge of what
you are doing. "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," remember;
and "a little learning is a dangerous thing." When you have reached
the stage of development in which it will be safe for you to undertake
conscious astral explorations, then will your guide be at hand, and the
instruction furnished you by those capable of giving it to you. Do not try to
break into the astral without due preparation, and full knowledge, lest you
find yourself in the state of the fish who leaped out of the water onto the
banks of the stream. Your dream trips are safe; they will increase in variety
and clearness, and you will remember more about them—all this before you may
begin to try to consciously "go out into the astral" as do the
occultists. Be content to crawl before you may walk. Learn to add, multiply,
subtract and divide, before you undertake the higher mathematics, algebra,
geometry, etc., of occultism.
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