CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS/PART 2
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 the
physical senses. As we proceed, you will see the general and special meanings
of the term, so there is no necessity for a special definition or illustration
of the term at this time.
By
"telepathy," I mean the sending and receiving of thought messages,
and mental and emotional states, consciously or unconsciously, by means of what
may be called "the sixth sense" of the physical plane. There is, of
course, a form of thought transference on the astral plane, but this I include
under the general term of clairvoyance, for reasons which will be explained
later on.
You
will remember that in the preceding chapter I told you that in addition to the
five ordinary physical senses of man there were also two other physical senses
comparatively undeveloped in the average person. These two extra physical
senses are, respectively, (1) the sense of the presence of other living things;
and (2) the telepathic sense. As I also told you, these two extra physical
senses have their astral counterparts. They also have certain physical organs
which are not generally recognized by physiologists or psychologists, but which
are well known to all occultists. I shall now consider the first of the two
above-mentioned extra physical senses, in order to clear the way for our
consideration of the question of the distinction between ordinary telepathy and
that form of clairvoyance which is its astral counterpart.
There
is in every human being a sense which is not generally recognized as such,
although nearly every person has had more or less experience regarding its
workings. I refer to the sense of the presence of other living things, separate
and apart from the operation of any of the five ordinary physical senses. I ask
you to understand that I am not claiming that this is a higher sense than the
other physical senses, or that it has come to man in a high state of evolution.
On the contrary, this sense came to living things far back in the scale of
evolution. It is possessed by the higher forms of the lower animals, such as
the horse, dog, and the majority of the wild beasts. Savage and barbaric men have
it more highly developed than it is in the case of the civilized man. In fact,
this physical sense may be termed almost vestigal in civilized man, because he
has not actively used it for many generations. For that matter, the physical
sense of smell is also deficient in man, and for the same reason, whereas in
the case of the lower animals, and savage man, the sense of smell is very keen.
I mention this for fear of misunderstanding. In my little book, "The
Astral World," I have said: "All occultists know that man really has
seven senses, instead of merely five, though the additional two senses are not
sufficiently developed for use in the average person (though the occultist
generally unfolds them into use)." Some have taken this to mean that the
occultist develops these two extra physical senses, just as he does certain
higher psychic or astral faculties. But this is wrong. The occultist, in such
case, merely re-awakens these two senses which have been almost lost to the
race. By use and exercise he then develops them to a wonderful proficiency, for
use on the physical plane.
Now,
this sense of the presence of other living beings is very well developed in the
lower animals, particularly in those whose safety depends upon the knowledge of
the presence of their natural enemies. As might be expected, the wild animals
have it more highly developed than do the domesticated animals. But even among
the latter, we find instances of this sense being in active use—in the case of
dogs, horses, geese, etc., especially. Who of us is not familiar with the
strange actions of the dog, or the horse, when the animal senses the unseen and
unheard presence of some person or animal? Very often we would scold or punish
the animal for its peculiar actions, simply because we are not able to see what
is worrying it. How often does the dog start suddenly, and bristle up its hair,
when nothing is in sight, or within hearing distance. How often does the horse
grow "skittish," or even panicky, when there is nothing within sight
or hearing. Domestic fowls, especially geese, manifest an uneasiness at the
presence of strange persons or animals, though they may not be able to see or
hear them. It is a matter of history that this sense, in a flock of geese, once
saved ancient Rome from an attack of the enemy. The night was dark and stormy,
and the trained eyesight and keen hearing of the Roman outposts failed to
reveal the approach of the enemy. But, the keen sense of the geese felt the
presence of strange men, and they started to cackle loudly, aroused the guard,
and Rome was saved. Skeptical persons have sought to explain this historical
case by the theory that the geese heard the approaching enemy. But this
explanation will not serve, for the Roman soldiers were marching about on their
posts and guard-duty, and the geese remained silent until they sensed the
approach of the small number of the enemy's scouts, when they burst into wild
cries. The ancient Romans, themselves, were under no illusion about the
matter—they recognized the existence of some unusual power in the geese, and
they gave the animals the full credit therefor.
Hunters
in wild and strange lands have told us that often when they were lying
concealed for the purpose of shooting the wild animals when they came within
range, they have witnessed instances of the existence of this strange faculty
in the wild beasts. Though they could not see the concealed hunters, nor smell
them (as the wind was in the other direction) all of a sudden one or more of
the animals (generally an old female) would start suddenly, and a shiver would
be seen to pass over its body; then it would utter a low warning note, and away
would fly the pack. Nearly every hunter has had the experience of watching his
expected game, when all of a sudden it would start off with a nervous jerk, and
without waiting to sniff the air, as is usual, would bolt precipitately from
the scene. Moreover, many beasts of prey are known to sense the presence of
their natural prey, even when the wind is in the other direction, and there is
no sound or movement made by the crouching, fearstricken animal. Certain birds
seem to sense the presence of particular worms upon which they feed, though the
latter be buried several inches in the earth, or in the bark of trees.
Savage
man also has this faculty developed, as all travellers and explorers well know.
They are as keen as a wild animal to sense the nearness of enemies, or, in some
cases, the approach of man-eating beasts. This does not mean that that these
savages are more highly developed than is civilized man—quite the reverse. This
is the explanation: when man became more civilized, and made himself more
secure from his wild-beast enemies, as well as from the sudden attacks of his
human enemies, he began to use this sense less and less. Finally, in the course
of many generations, it became almost atrophied from disuse, and ceased
reporting to the brain, or other nerve centres. Or, if you prefer viewing it
from another angle, it may be said that the nerve centres, and brain, began to
pay less and less attention to the reports of this sense (trusting more to
sight and hearing) until the consciousness failed to awaken to the reports. You
know how your consciousness will finally refuse to be awakened by familiar
sounds (such as the noise of machinery in the shop, or ordinary noises in the
house), although the ears receive the sound-waves.
Well,
this is the way in the case of this neglected sense—for the two reasons just
mentioned, the average person is almost unaware of its existence. Almost unaware
I have said—not totally unaware. For probably every one of us has had
experiences in which we have actually "felt" the presence of some
strange person about the premises, or place. The effect of the report of this
sense is particularly noticed in the region of the solar plexus, or the pit of
the stomach. It manifests in a peculiar, unpleasant feeling of
"gone-ness" in that region—it produces a feeling of "something
wrong," which disturbs one in a strange way. This is generally accompanied
by a "bristling up," or "creepy" feeling along the spine.
The organs registering the presence of a strange or alien creature consist of
certain delicate nerves of the surface of the skin, generally connected with
the roots of the downy hair of the body—or resting where the hair roots would
naturally be, in the case of a hairless skin. These seem to report directly to
the solar-plexus, which then acts quickly by reflex action on the other parts
of the body, causing an instinctive feeling to either fly the scene or else to crouch
and hide oneself. This feeling, as may be seen at once, is an inheritance from
our savage ancestors, or perhaps from our lowly-animal ancestral roots. It is a
most unpleasant feeling, and the race escapes much discomfort by reason of its
comparative absence.
I
have said that occultists have developed, or rather re-developed this sense.
They do this in order to have a harmonious well-developed seven-fold sense
system. It increases their general "awareness." Certain other
knowledge of the occultist neutralizes the unpleasant features of the
manifestation of this sense, and he finds it often a very valuable adjunct to
his senses of seeing and hearing, particularly in the cases in which he is
approached by persons having antagonistic or hostile feelings toward him, as in
such cases this faculty is particularly active. In connection with the
telepathic sense (to be described a little further on) this sense operates to
give a person that sense of warning when approached by another person whose
feelings are not friendly to him, no matter how friendly the outward appearance
of that person may be. These two extra senses 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 or developed by
anyone who wishes to take the time and trouble to accomplish the work. The
principle is simple—merely the same principle that one uses in developing any
of the other physical attributes, namely, use and exercise. The first step (a)
is the recognition of the existence of the sense itself; then (b) the attention
given to its reports; then (c) frequent use and exercise. Just think of how you
would proceed to develop any of the five ordinary senses—the hearing, sight, or
touch, for instance—then follow the same process in the cultivation of this
extra sense, or two senses, and you will accomplish the same kind of results.
Now,
let us consider the other extra physical sense—the "telepathic"
sense, or sense of becoming aware of the thought-waves, or emotional waves, of
other persons. Now, as strange as this may appear to some persons—the most of
persons in fact—this telepathic faculty is not a "higher" faculty or
sense, but is really a comparatively low one. Just like the sense just
described, it is possessed in a higher degree by many of the lower animals, and
by primitive and savage man. That which really is "higher" in this
kind of psychic phenomena is the manifestation of that higher form of
telepathy—by use of the astral counterpart of this sense—which we shall
consider, later, under the name of clairvoyance, for this is really a
particular phase of clairvoyance.
As
strange as it may appear to some of you, the lower animals possess a kind of
telepathic sense. An animal is usually aware of your feelings toward it, and
your purposes regarding it. Domestic animals lose some of this by generations
of confinement, while the wild animals have the sense highly developed. But
even some of the domestic animals have more or less of it. You will readily
recognize this fact if you have ever tried to "cut out" a certain
animal from a herd or flock. You will find that the animal in some way has
sensed your designs upon it, no matter how indirectly you approach it, and it
will begin circling around the other animals, twisting in and out in its
endeavors to be lost to your sight. The other animals, likewise, will seem to
know that you are after only that particular one, and will manifest but little
fright or distrust, comparatively.
I
have frequently seen this thing, in my own country and in others, among poultry
raisers. The poultryman will think, to himself, "Now, I am going to get
that black hen with the yellow legs—that fat, clumsy one," and he will
move toward the flock slowly and with an air of unconcern. But, lo! as soon as
he gets near the creatures, that black hen will be seen edging her way to the
outer circle of the flock, on the opposite side from the man. When the man
moves around to her side, she will be found to have plunged into the crowd, and
it is hard to find her. Sometimes she will actually try to sneak off, and conceal
herself in some dark corner, or back of some large object. Every poultryman
will smile when this occurrence is mentioned to him—he knows by experience that
hens have a way of sensing what he has in his mind regarding them.
Moreover,
as every farmer knows, the crow family has a most uncanny way of sensing the
intentions of the farmer who is trying to destroy them, and shows great
sagacity in defeating those intentions. But, while the crow is a very
intelligent bird—one of the wisest of the bird family, in fact—it obtains its
knowledge of what is in the mind of the man not alone from "figuring on
his intentions," but rather from that instinctive sensing of his mental
states. The hen, as all know, is a very stupid bird, showing but little
intelligent activity. But, nevertheless, she is very quick about sensing the
poultryman's designs on her, though generally very stupid about planning out a
skillful escape.
Every
owner of dogs, cats and horses, has had many opportunities for observing the
manifestation of this sense on the part of those animals. Every dog feels the
emotional states of his owner, and others. The horse knows when his owner seeks
to throw the halter over his neck, or when, on the contrary, he is merely
walking through the field. Cats sense their owners' feelings and thoughts, and
often resent them. Of course, the lower animals can sense merely elementary
mental states, and generally only emotional states, as their
minds are not developed so as to interpret the more complex mental states.
Primitive men likewise almost instinctively sense the feelings and designs of
other men. They do not reason the thing out, but rather merely "feel"
the ideas and designs of the others. The women of the lower races are more
adept in interpreting these sense reports than are the men. Women are more
sensitive, as a rule, than are men—on any point on the scale of development.
When
we come to consider ordinary telepathy in the case of men of civilized
countries, we find a more complex state of affairs. While civilized man, as a
whole, has lost some of the quick telepathic perception of the lower races, he
has, in some exceptional cases, acquired a faculty of receiving and
interpreting more complex thought-forms and mental states. The investigations
of the Society for Psychical Research, and those of private investigators as
well, have shown us that a picture of a complicated geometrical design held in
the mind of one person may be carried to and received by the mind of another
person, who reproduces the design on paper. In the same way, complicated
thoughts have been transmitted and received. But these are only exceptional
cases. In many cases 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 of telepathy—just
enough to make them realize that "there is something in it." The
renewed interest in the subject, of late years, has directed the public mind to
the phenomena of telepathy, and, consequently, more persons are now taking note
of the cases of thought-transference coming under their personal notice. It
must be remembered, of course, that all of us are constantly receiving
thought-waves, and feeling thought-influence, unconsciously. I am speaking now
only of the conscious perception of the thought-waves.
Many
investigators have so developed their telepathic sense that they are able, at
times, to obtain wonderful test results. But, it has been a source of
disappointment to many of them to discover that at other times, under
apparently similar conditions, their success was very slight. So true is this
that many authorities have accepted the theory that telepathy is more or less
spontaneous, and cannot be produced to order. This theory is true as far as it
goes, but there is a side of the case that these investigators overlook,
probably because of their lack of the occult principles involved in the
phenomena. I mean this: that their most brilliant successes have been obtained
by reason of their unconscious "switching on" of the astral
telepathic sense, the clairvoyant sense. While in this condition, they obtained
startling results; but the next time 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-sense
telepathy, and astral-sense telepathy, if you will carefully consider the
nature of each, as I shall now present it to you. I ask your close attention to
what I shall have to say on this subject in the remaining pages of this
chapter. Do not pass over these explanations as "dry," for unless you
have a clear fundamental understanding of the thing, you will never be able to
get the best results. This is true of every phase of learning, physical as well
as psychical—one must get started right, in order to obtain the best results.
In
the first place, every thought process, every emotional activity, every
creation of ideas, is accompanied by a manifestation of force—in fact, is the
result of the manifestation of a force. Without entering at all into the
question of what mind is, in itself, we may rest firmly on the natural fact
that every manifestation of mental or emotional activity is the result of an
action of the brain or nervous system, manifesting in a form of vibrations.
Just as in the case of the manifestation of electricity in which certain
chemical elements are consumed, or transformed, so in the case of mental or
emotional activity there is a consuming or transformation of the substance of
which the nervous system is composed. When I say "nervous system" in
this connection, I include the brain, or brains of man—for these are but a part
of his great nervous system in which all emotional or mental activity is
manifested.
Moreover,
just as there is no real destruction of matter in any of Nature's processes—all
seeming destruction being but a transformation—so in the case before us there
is a transformation of the energy released in the thought or emotional process.
We may grasp this idea more clearly if we consider what takes place into
transformation of electrical energy. For instance, transmit a strong current of
electricity over a fine wire, or filament of carbon, and lo! the current is
transformed into light. Use another kind of channel of transmission, and the
current is transformed into heat. Every electric light, or electric heating
apparatus is proof of this. In the same way, the electric current is sent into
space in the form of wireless waves. These waves coming in contact with certain
forms of apparatus are transformed into forms of force which are registered and
interpreted by the wireless operator.
In
the same way, the telepathic waves of energy are sent forth by the activity
released by the thought or emotion state. These waves travel in every
direction, and when they come in contact with physical apparatus sufficiently
sensitive to register them, they may be reproduced or retransformed into
thought or mental states similar to those which originally sent them forth. You
talk into the receiver of the telephone, and the sound waves are transformed
into waves of electricity. These electric waves travel over the wires, and on
reaching the other end of the telephone circuit are again transformed into
sound-waves which are heard by the ear of the listener. Well, then, when your
brain sends out thought waves, these travel until they are received by the
apparatus in the brain of another person, when they are re-transformed into
thoughts of the same kind that originally caused the thought-waves. I will have
much more to say on this subject in the next chapter. I will pause here to
point out the difference between the phenomena of this form of telepathy, and
the higher form which is really a phase of clairvoyance.
Now,
in the case of what may be called a clairvoyant-telepathy, or astral telepathy,
the ordinary thought-waves play but a small part. Instead of these, there is a
transmission of force along the channels of the astral plane. It is almost
impossible to describe the phenomena of the astral plane in the terms of the
physical. I may illustrate the matter, in a general way, by saying that is
something like your astral self actually extending itself out until it touches
the astral self of the other person, and thus actually "feels" the
astral activities there, instead of it being a case of something like waves
travelling along space between brain and brain. Do you get this clearly? This
is about as near to it as I can explain it to you at this place. Telepathy is
simply a matter of the transmission and receiving of waves of vibratory force
which have travelled along the ether between two persons. But clairvoyance or
astral-telepathy is something like your mind being extended out until it
actually touches the mind of the other person and sees what is there.
I
shall have much to say regarding the working out of the processes of
clairvoyance, as we proceed. I have merely given the above explanation for the
purpose of distinguishing between ordinary telepathy and clairvoyance, so as to
prevent you from falling into a common error. Now let us consider the phenomena
of ordinary telepathy—this is very wonderful in itself, although it is on a
lower plane of activity than its astral or clairvoyant counterpart.
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