CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS/PART 18
LESSON XVIII.
PSYCHIC INFLUENCE AT A
DISTANCE
The
second phase of Psychic Influence is that called Distant Psychic Influence, in
which psychic induction is manifested when the persons are distant in space
from one another—not in the presence of each other. Here, of course, we see the
principle of telepathy involved in connection with the process of mental
induction: and in some cases even the astral telepathic sense is called into
operation.
The
student who has followed my explanation and course of reasoning in the
preceding lessons will readily perceive that the principle involved in this
distant phase of psychic influence is precisely the same as that employed in
direct personal psychic influence. As I have explained in an early lesson, it
matters little whether the space to be covered by the psychic vibratory waves
is but one foot or a thousand miles, the principle is exactly the same. There
are, of course, other principles involved in the case of two persons meeting
face to face and calling into force their psychic powers; for instance, there
is the element of suggestion and association, and other psychological principles
which are not in force when the two persons are out of the actual presence of
each other. But so far as the telepathic or astral psychic powers are
concerned, the mere extension of space does not change the principle.
The
student who has developed his power of psychic induction in the phases
mentioned in the preceding chapter, may begin to experiment and practice
psychic induction at long-range, if he so wishes. That is to say, instead of
causing psychic induction in the minds of persons actually in his presence and
sight, he may produce similar results in persons out of his sight and presence.
The person may be brought into presence and psychic contact, for all practical
purposes, by using the visualizing powers for the purpose of bringing him into
the en rapport condition. That is to say, by using the imagination to bring
into the mind a strong clear picture of the other person, you may induce an en
rapport condition in which he will be practically in the same psychic relation
to you as if he were actually before you. Of course, if he is sufficiently well
informed regarding occult matters, he may shut you out by drawing a psychic
circle around himself which you cannot penetrate, or by surrounding himself
with psychic armor or atmosphere such as I have already mentioned in preceding
lessons. But as he will not likely know anything of this, the average person
may be reached in the manner just mentioned.
Or
again, you may establish en rapport conditions by psychometric methods, by
holding to your forehead an article which has been in the other person's
possession for some time; an article worn by him; a piece of his hair; etc. Or,
again, you may use the crystal to bring up his astral vision before you. Or,
again, you may erect an "astral tube" such as I will mention a little
further on in this chapter, and thus establish a strong en rapport condition.
Having
established the en rapport condition with the other person, and having thus
practically brought him into your presence, psychically speaking, you may proceed
to send him commands or demands, just as you did in the phase of personal
psychic influence previously mentioned. You act precisely as if the other
person were present before you, and state your commands or demands to him just
as you would were he seated or standing in your presence. This is the keynote
of the whole thing; the rest is simply an elaboration and stating of details of
methods, etc. With the correct principle once established, you may apply the
same according to your own wishes and discretion.
This
phase of distant psychic influence is at the bottom of all the wonderful tales,
stories and legends of supernatural powers, witchcraft, sorcery, etc., with
which the pages of history are filled. There is of course always to be found
much distortion and exaggeration in these legends and tales, but they have
truth at the bottom of them. In this connection, let me call your attention to
a very important psychic principle involved. I have told you that by denying
the power of any person over you, you practically neutralize his psychic
power—the stronger and more positive your belief in your immunity, and your
denial of his power over you, the more do you rob him of any such power. The
average person, not knowing this, is more or less passive to psychic influences
of other persons, and may be affected by them to a greater or less extent,
depending upon the psychic development of the person seeking to influence him.
At the extreme of the sensitive pole of psychic influence, we find those
persons who believe firmly that the other person has power over them, and who
are more or less afraid of him. This belief and fear acts to make them
particularly sensitive and impressionable, and easily affected by his psychic
induction. This is the reason that the so-called witches and sorcerers and
others of evil repute have been able to acquire such a power over their
victims, and to cause so much trouble. The secret is that the victims believed
in the power of the other person, and feared their power. The greater the belief
in, and fear of, the power of the person, the greater the susceptibility to his
influence; the greater the sense of power of neutralizing the power, and the
disbelief in his power to affect them, the greater the degree of immunity: this
is the rule!
Accordingly
we find that persons in various stages of the history of the world have been
affected by the influences of witches, sorcerers, and other unprincipled
persons. In most cases these so-called witches and sorcerers themselves were
under the delusion that they were assisted by the devil or some other
supernatural being. They did not realize that they were simply using perfectly
natural methods, and employing perfectly natural forces. For that matter, you
must remember that magnetism and electricity, in ancient days, were considered
as supernatural forces in some way connected with demonic powers.
Studying
the history of witchcraft, sorcery, black-magic, and the like, you will find
that the devotees thereof usually employed some psychometric method. In other
cases they would mould little figures of clay, or of wax, in the general shape
and appearance of the person whom they wished to affect. It was thought that
these little figures were endowed with some supernatural powers or attributes,
but of course this was mere superstition. The whole power of these little
figures arose from the fact that they aided the imagination of the spell-worker
in forming a mental image of the person sought to be influenced; and thus
established a strong en rapport condition. Added to this, you must remember
that the fear and belief of the public greatly aided the spell-worker and
increased his power and influence over these poor persons.
I
will give you a typical case, taken from an old German book, which thoroughly
illustrates the principles involved in cases of this kind. Understand this
case, and you will have the secret and working principle of them all. The story
is told by an eminent German physician of the last century. He relates that he
was consulted by one of his patients, a wealthy farmer living near by. The
farmer complained that he was disturbed every night by strange noises which
sounded like someone pounding iron. The disturbances occurred between the hours
of ten o'clock and midnight, each and every night. The physician asked him if
he suspected anyone of causing the strange trouble. The farmer answered that he
suspected an old enemy of his, an old village blacksmith living several miles
away from his farm. It appears that an old long-standing feud between them had
broken out afresh, and that the blacksmith had made threats of employing his
"hex" (witchcraft) powers on the old farmer. The blacksmith was
reputed to be a sort of "hex" or male-witch, and the farmer believed
in his diabolic powers and was very much in fear of them. So you see the ideal
condition for psychic receptivity was present.
The
physician called on the blacksmith, and taking him by surprise, gazing sternly
into his eyes and asked him: "What do you do every night between ten and
twelve o'clock?" The blacksmith, frightened and disturbed, stammered out:
"I hammer a bar of iron every night at that time, and all the while I
think intently of a bad neighbor of mine who once cheated me out of some money;
and I 'will' at the same time that the noise will disturb his rest, until he
will pay me back my money to get peace and quiet." The physician bade him
to desist from his evil practices, under threats of dire punishment; and then
went to the farmer and made him straighten out the financial dispute between
the two. Thereafter, there was no more trouble.
So
you see in this case all the necessary elements were present. First there was
the belief of the blacksmith in his own powers—this gave him self-confidence
and psychic power. Then there was the belief and fear on the part of the
farmer—this made him an easy subject, and very susceptible to psychic
induction, etc. Then there was the action of the blacksmith beating the iron—this
gave force and clearness to his visualization 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 in the direction of the concentrated wish and purpose of
influencing the farmer. You see, then, that every psychic element was present.
It was no wonder that the old farmer was disturbed.
Among
the negroes of the South, in America; and among the Hawaiians; we find marked
instances of this kind. The negro Voodoo men and women work black magic on
those of their race who are superstitious and credulous, and who have a mortal
fear of the Voodoo. You see the conditions obtained are much the same as in the
case of the German case just cited. Travellers who have visited the countries in
which there is a large negro population, have many interesting tales to recite
of the terrible workings of these Voodoo black magicians. In some cases,
sickness and even death is the result. But, mark you this! it is only those who
believe in, and fear, the power of the Voodoos that are affected. In Hawaii,
the Kahunas or native magicians are renowned for their power to cause sickness
and death to those who have offended them; or to those who have offended some
client of the Kahuna, and who have hired the latter to "pray" the
enemy to sickness or death. The poor ignorant Hawaiians, believing implicitly
in the power of the Kahunas, and being in deadly fear of them, are very
susceptible to their psychic influence, and naturally fall easy victims, unless
they buy of the Kahuna, or make peace with his client. White persons living in
Hawaii are not affected by the Kahunas, for they do not believe in them,
neither do they fear them. Unconsciously, but still strongly, they deny the
power, and are immune. So, you see, the principle working out here, also. Once
you have the master-key, you may unlock many doors of mystery which have
heretofore been closed to you.
We
do not have to fall back on cases of witchcraft, however, in order to
illustrate this phase of the use of psychic influence for selfish ends. In
Europe and America there are teachers of a low form of occultism who instruct
their pupils in the art of producing induced mental states in the minds of
others, for purposes of financial gain or other selfish ends. For instance,
there is a Western teacher who instructs his pupils to induce desired mental
states in prospective customers, or others whom they may wish to influence for
selfish reasons. This teacher tells his pupils to: "Imagine your
prospective customer, or other person, as seated in a chair before which you
are standing. Make the imagined picture as strong as possible, for upon this
depends your success. Then proceed to 'treat' this person just as if he were
actually present. Concentrate your will upon him, and tell him what you expect
to tell him when you meet him. Use all of the arguments that you can think of,
and at the same time hold the thought that he must do as you say. Try to
imagine him as complying with your wishes in every respect, for this imagining
will tend to 'come true' when you really meet the person. This rule may be
used, not only in the case of prospective customers, but also in the case of
persons whom you wish to influence in any way whatsoever." Surely this is
a case of employing psychic powers for selfish purposes, if anything is.
Again,
in Europe and America, particularly in the latter country, we find many persons
who have picked up a smattering of occult knowledge by means of some of the
many healing cults and organizations which teach the power of thought over
physical diseases. In the instruction along the lines of distant mental
healing, the student is taught to visualize the patient as strongly and clearly
as possible, and to then proceed to make statements of health and strength. The
mind of the patient, and that of the healer, cooperate and in many cases work
wonderful cures. As you will see in the last lesson of this course, there is
great power in the mind to induce healthful vibrations in the mind of others,
and the work is a good and worthy one. But, alas! as is so often the case, the
good teaching is sometimes perverted, and applied for unworthy and selfish
ends. Some of the persons who have picked up the principles of mental healing
have discovered that the same power may be used in a bad as well as in a good
direction. They accordingly, proceed to "treat" other persons with
the object of persuading them to do things calculated to benefit the person
using the psychic power. They seek to get these other persons under their
psychic influence, and to then take advantage of them in some way or other.
I
hope that it is practically unnecessary for me to warn my students against evil
practices of this kind—I trust that I have not drawn any students of this class
to me. In case, however, that some of you may have been, or may be in the
future, tempted to use your psychic powers improperly, in this way, I wish to
caution and warn you positively against so doing. Outside of the ordinary
morality which should prevent you from taking advantage of another person in
this way, I wish to say to you that anyone so misusing psychic or astral powers
will inevitably bring down upon his head, sooner or later, certain occult
astral forces which will prove disastrous to him. He will become involved in
the web of his own making, and will suffer greatly. Never by any means allow
yourself to be tempted into indulging in any of the practices of Black Magic,
under any form of disguise. You will live to regret it if you do. Employ your
powers, when you develop them, for the good of others; or at least, for purely
scientific investigation and knowledge.
The
scientific investigator of this phase of psychic influence, will wish to become
acquainted with what the occultists call "the astral tube." In this
phase of the phenomena, you manifest upon the astral plane, rather than upon
the physical. The astral form of telepathy is manifested, rather than the
ordinary form. While there are a number of technical points involved in the
production of the astral tube, I shall endeavor to instruct you regarding its
creation and use in as plain words as possible, omitting all reference to
technical occult details which would only serve to distract your attention and
confuse your mind. The advanced occult student will understand these omitted
technicalities without being told of them; the others would not know what was
meant by them, if mentioned, in the absence of a long stage of preparatory
teaching. After all, the theory is not of so much importance to most of you as
are the practical working principles. I ask your careful attention to what I
have to say in this subject of the astral tube.
The
Astral Tube is formed by the person forming in his imagination (i.e., on the
astral plane by means of his imagination or visualizing powers), a tube or
small tunnel between himself and the person whom he wishes to influence. He
starts by picturing it in his mind a whirling vortex, similar to the whirling
ring of smoke emitted from a "coughing" engine, and sometimes by a man
smoking a cigar, about six inches to one foot in diameter. He must will the
imagined vortex-ring to move forward as if it were actually boring a tunnel
through the atmosphere. When the knack of producing this astral tube is
acquired, it will be found that the visualized tunnel seems to vibrate with a
peculiar intensity, and will seem to be composed of a substance far more subtle
than air. Then, at the other end of this astral tube you must picture the other
person, the one whom you wish to influence. The person will seem as if viewed
through the wrong end of an opera-glass. When this condition is gained, there
will be found to be a high degree of en rapport between yourself and the other
person. The secret consists in the fact that you have really established a form
of clairvoyance between yourself and the person. When you have induced this
condition, proceed with your mental commands and pictures just as if you were
in the presence of the person himself. That is the whole thing in a nutshell.
In
order that you may have another viewpoint from which to consider the astral
tube, or what corresponds to it, I wish to give you here a little quotation
from another writer on the subject, who presents the matter from a somewhat
more technical standpoint. Read this quotation in connection with my own
description of the astral tube, and you will form a pretty complete and clear
idea of the phenomenon. The writer mentioned says: "It is 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 a definite connecting-line that
shall act as a telegraph wire to convey vibrations by means of which all that
is going on at the other end of it may be seen. Such a line is established, be
it understood, not by a direct projection through space of astral matter, but
by such action upon a line (or rather many lines) of particles of that
substance as will render them capable of forming a conductor for vibrations of
the character required. This preliminary action can be set up in two
ways—either by the transmission of energy from particle to particle, until the
line is formed, or by the use of a force from a higher plane which is capable
of acting upon the whole line simultaneously. Of course this latter method implies
far greater development, since it involves the knowledge of (and the power to
use) forces of a considerably higher level.
"Even
the simpler and purely astral operation is a difficult one to describe, though
quite an easy one to perform. It may be said to partake somewhat of the nature
of the magnetization of a bar of steel; for it consists in what we might call
the polarization, by an effort of the human will, of a number of astral atoms
reaching from the operator to the scene which he wishes to observe. All the
atoms thus affected are held for the time being with their axes rigidly
parallel to one another, so that they form a kind of temporary tube along which
the clairvoyant may look. This method has the disadvantage that the telegraph
line is liable to disarrangement or even destruction by any sufficiently strong
astral current which happens to cross its path; but if the original creative
effort were fairly definite, this would be a contingency of only infrequent
occurrence. The view of a distant scene obtained by means of this 'astral
current' is in many ways not unlike that seen through a telescope. Human
figures usually appear very small, like those on a distant stage, but in spite
of their diminutive size they are as clear as though they were close by.
Sometimes it is possible by this means to hear what is said as well as to see
what is done; but as in the majority of cases this does not happen, we must
consider it rather as the manifestation of an additional power than as a
necessary corollary of the faculty of sight."
I
would feel that I had not done my whole duty to the student, or reader of this
book, were I to conclude this chapter without pointing out a means of
protection against the use of this phase of psychic influence against them on
the part of some unscrupulous person; or for that matter, against the meddling
influence of any person whatsoever, for any purpose whatsoever, without one's
permission and consent. Therefore, I wish now to point out the general
principles of self-protection or defense against this class of psychic
influence.
In
the first place, you must, of course, refuse to admit to your mind any feeling
of fear regarding the influence of other persons—for that is the open door to
their influence, as I have pointed out to you. If you have been, or are fearful
of any persons psychic influence, you must get to work and drive out that
feeling by positive and vigorous denials. The denial, you remember, is the
positive neutralizer of the psychic influence of another person, providing you
make it in full belief of its truth. You must take the position (which is a
true one) that you are immune to the psychic attack or influence. You should
say, mentally, "I deny to any person the power to influence me psychically
without my consent; I am positive to all such influences, and they are negative
to me; I neutralize them by this denial!"
If
you feel sudden impulses to act in some way which you have not thought of
doing, or toward which you have had an aversion, pause a moment and say,
mentally, "If this is an outside influence, I deny its power over me; I
deny it, and send it back to its sender, to his defeat and confusion." You
will then experience a feeling of relief and freedom. In such cases you may
frequently be approached later on by the person who would have been most
benefitted by your action; he will appear surprised when you "turn him
down," and will act in a confused way. He may not have consciously tried
to influence you, but may have merely been wishing strongly that you would do
as he desired.
It
should encourage you to know that it requires much less force to repel and
neutralize psychic influence of this kind, than is required to send forth the
power; an ounce of denial and protection overcomes a pound of psychic attacking
power. Nature gives you the means of protection, and gives you "the best
end of the stick," and it is your own fault if you do not effectively use
it. A word to the wise is sufficient.
NEXT CHAPTER
Comments
Post a Comment