CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS/PART 6
LESSON VI.
CLAIRVOYANT PSYCHOMETRY.
The
word "clairvoyance" means "clear seeing." In its present
usage it covers a wide field of psychic phenomena; and is used by different
writers to designate phases of psychic phenomena differing widely from each
other. The student is apt to become confused when he meets these apparently
conflicting definitions and usages. In the glossary of the Society for
Psychical Research, the term is defined as: "The faculty or act of
perceiving, as though visually, with some coincidental truth, some distant
scene; it is used sometimes, but hardly properly, for transcendental vision, or
the perception of beings regarded as on another plane of existence."
Mrs.
Henry Sidgwick, a distinguished writer on the subject of psychic phenomena, in
one of her reports to the Society for Psychical Research, says: "The word
clairvoyant is often used very loosely and with widely different meanings. I
denote by it a faculty of acquiring supernormally, but not by reading the minds
of persons present, a knowledge of facts such as we normally acquire by the use
of our senses. I do not limit it to knowledge that would normally be acquired
by the sense of sight, nor do I limit it to a knowledge of present facts. A
similar knowledge of the past, and if necessary, of future facts may be
included. On the other hand, I exclude the mere faculty of seeing apparitions
or visions, which is sometimes called clairvoyance."
The
above definitive explanation of the term clairvoyance agrees with the idea of
the best authorities, and distinguishes between the phenomena of clairvoyance
and that of telepathy, on the one hand; and between the former and that of
seeing apparitions, on the other hand. I, personally, accept this distinction
as both scientific in form, and as agreeing with the facts of the case. You
will, of course, see that the acceptance of the existence of the astral senses
throws light on many obscure points about which the psychic researchers are in
doubt, and reconciles many apparently opposing facts.
All
scientific authorities, as well as the best occultists, divide the phenomena of
clairvoyance into several well-distinguished classes. The following
classification is simple, and indicates clearly the principal forms of
clairvoyant phenomena:
(1)
Simple Clairvoyance, in which the clairvoyant person merely senses the auric
emanations of other persons, such as the auric vibrations, colors, etc.;
currents of thought-vibrations, etc.; but does not see events or scenes removed
in space or time from the observer.
(2)
Clairvoyance in Space, in which the clairvoyant person senses scenes and events
removed in space from the observer; and, often also is able to sense such
things even when they are concealed or obscured by intervening material
objects.
(3)
Clairvoyance in Time, in which the clairvoyant person senses scenes and events
which have had their original place in past time; or scenes and events which
will have their original place in the future.
I
shall describe each of these three classes, with their many variations, as we
reach them in their proper places in these lessons. Before doing so however, I
wish to explain to you the several methods by which clairvoyant vision is
usually induced. These methods may be designated as follows:
(1)
Psychometry, or the method of getting en rapport with the astral plane by means
of some physical object connected with the person, thing, or scene about which
you desire to be informed.
(2)
Crystal Gazing, etc., or the method of getting en rapport with the astral plane
by means of gazing into a crystal, magic mirror, etc.
(3)
Clairvoyant Reverie, or the method of getting en rapport with the astral plane
by means of psychic states in which the sights, sounds and thoughts of the
material and physical plane are shut out of consciousness.
I
shall now proceed to give the details regarding each one of these three great
classes of methods inducing clairvoyant vision, or en rapport conditions with
the astral plane.
Psychometry.
Psychometry is that form of clairvoyant phenomena in which the clairvoyant gets
into en rapport relation with the astral plane by means of the connecting link
of material objects, such as bit of stone, piece of hair, article of wearing
apparel etc., which has had previous associations with the thing, person or
scene regarding which clairvoyant vision is required.
Without
going into technical occult explanations, I would say that the virtue of these
articles consists entirely of their associative value. That is to say, they
carry in them certain vibrations of past experience which serve as a connecting
link, or associated filament, with the thing which is sought to be brought into
the field of clairvoyant vision.
To
reach clairvoyantly a thing, scene, or person in this way is akin to the
unwinding of a ball of yarn, when you hold the loose end in your hand. Or, it
is like giving a keen-scented dog a sniff at a handkerchief once carried by the
person whom you wish him to nose out for you.
A
well-known authority on the subject of psychic phenomena has said on this
point: "The untrained clairvoyant usually cannot find any particular
astral picture when it is wanted, without some special link to put him en
rapport with the subject required. Psychometry is an instance in point. It
seems as though there were a sort of magnetic attachment or affinity between
any particle of matter and the record which contains its history—an affinity
which enables it to act as a kind of conductor between that record and the
faculties of anyone who can read it. For instance, I once brought from
Stonehenge a tiny fragment of stone, not larger than a pin's head, and on
putting this into an envelope and handing it to a psychometer who had no idea
what it was, she at once began to describe that wonderful ruin and the desolate
country surrounding it, and then went on to picture vividly what were evidently
scenes from its early history, showing that the infinitessimal fragment had
been sufficient to put her into communication with the records connected with
the spot from which it came. The scenes through which we pass in the course of
our life seem to act in the same way upon the cells of our brain as did the
history of Stonehenge upon that particle of stone. They establish a connection
with those cells by means of which our mind is put en rapport with that
particular portion of the records, and so we 'remember' what we have
seen."
One
of the simplest and most common form of psychometry is that in which the
psychometrist is able to tell the physical condition of a person by means of
holding to the forehead, or even in the hand, some trinket or small article
such as a handkerchief recently worn on the person of the individual regarding
whom the information is sought. In the case of some very sensitive
psychometrists, the psychic person "takes on" the condition of the
other person whose former article of clothing, trinket, etc., she is holding.
She will often actually experience the physical pain and distress of the
person, and will be able to indicate from what ailment the person is suffering.
Some persons attain great proficiency in this direction, and are a great
assistance to wise physicians who avail themselves of their services. Some
successful physicians themselves possess this faculty well developed, and use
it to great advantage, though, as a rule they keep very quiet about it, from
fear of creating unfavorable comment from their fellow-physicians and from the
general public who "do not believe in such tom-foolery."
A
step further is the power of some psychometrists to correctly describe the
personal characteristics, and even the past history of persons with whom they
come in contact, or whose "associated article" they have in their
hands. Some very remarkable instances of this phase of psychometry are related
in the books containing the history of clairvoyance. An interesting case is
that related by Zschokke, the eminent German writer, who relates in his
autobiography his wonderful experience in this direction. Listen to the story
in his own words: "It has happened to me occasionally at the first meeting
with a total stranger, when I have been listening in silence to his
conversation, that his past life up to the present moment, with many minute
circumstances belonging to one or other particular scene in it, has come across
me like a dream, but distinctly, entirely involuntarily and unsought, occupying
in duration a few minutes. For a long time I was disposed to consider these
fleeting visions as a trick of the fancy—the more so as my dream-vision
displayed to me the dress and movements of the actors, the appearance of the
room, the furniture, and other accidents of the scene; till on one occasion, in
a gamesome mood, I narrated to my family the secret history of a seamstress who
had just quitted the room. I had never seen the person before. Nevertheless,
the hearers were astonished, and laughed and would not be persuaded but that I
had a previous acquaintance with the former life of the person, inasmuch as
what I had stated was perfectly true.
"I
was not less astonished to find that my dream vision agreed with reality. I
then gave more attention to the subject, and as often as propriety allowed of
it, I related to those whose lives had so passed before me the substance of my
dream-vision, to obtain from them its contradiction or confirmation. On every
occasion its confirmation followed, not without amazement on the part of those
who gave it. On a certain fair-day I went into the town of Waldshut accompanied
by two young foresters, who are still alive. It was evening, and, tired with
our walk, we went into an inn called the 'Vine.' We took our supper with a numerous
company at the public table, when it happened that they made themselves merry
over the peculiarities of the Swiss in connection with the belief in mesmerism,
Lavater's physiognomical system, and the like. One of my companions, whose
national pride was touched by their raillery, begged me to make some reply,
particularly in answer to a young man of superior appearance who sat opposite,
and had indulged in unrestrained ridicule.
"It
happened that the events of this person's life had just previously passed
before my mind. I turned to him with the question whether he would reply to me
with truth and candor, if I narrated to him the most secret passages of his
history, he being as little known to me as I to him. That would, I suggested,
go something beyond Lavater's physiognomical skill. He promised that if I told
the truth he would admit it openly. Then I narrated the events with which my
dream vision had furnished me, and the table learned the history of the young
tradesman's life, of his school years, his peccadilloes, and finally, of a
little act of roguery committed by him on the strongbox of his employer. I
described the uninhabited room with its white walls, where to the right of the
brown door there had stood upon the table the small money-chest, etc. The man,
much struck, admitted the correctness of each circumstance—even, which I could
not expect, of the last."
The
above incident is typical of this class of psychometry, and many persons have
had at least flashes of this phase of the power. The only remarkable thing
about this particular case is its faithfulness regarding details—this shows a
very fine development of the astral sense. The feature that makes it
psychometric, instead of pure clairvoyance, is that the presence of the other
person was necessary to produce the phenomenon—a bit of clothing would probably
have answered as well. Zschokke does not seem to have been able to manifest
time-clairvoyance independent of the presence of the person concerned—he needs
the associated link, or loose end of the psychic ball of yarn.
Next
in order in the list of the phenomena of psychometry is that in which the
psychometrist is able to describe a distant scene by means of a bit of mineral,
plant, or similar object, once located at that place. In such cases, the
psychometrist gets en rapport with the distant scene by means of the connecting
link mentioned. Having obtained this, he is able to relate the events that are
happening on that scene at that particular moment. Some very interesting cases
are mentioned in which the psychometrist has been able to "spy" in on
a certain place, by means of some small article which has recently been located
in that place. For instance I once gave a young psychometrist a penholder from
the office of a lawyer, a friend of mine, located about eight hundred miles
from the psychometrist. She gave a perfect picture of the interior of the
office, the scene across the street visible from the office window, and certain
events that were happening in the office at that moment, which were verified by
careful inquiry as to persons and time. Every occultist, or investigator of
psychic phenomena has experienced many cases of this kind.
Another
phase of psychometry is that in which the psychometer is able to sense the
conditions existing underground, by means of a piece of mineral or metal which
originally was located there. Some wonderful instances of phychometric
discernment of mines, etc., have been recorded. In this phase of psychometry,
all that is needed is a piece of the coal, mineral or metal which has come from
the mine. Following up this psychic "lead" the psychometrist is able
to describe the veins or strata of the surrounding land, although they have not
yet been uncovered or discovered.
Still
another form of psychometric discernment is that in which the psychometrist
gets en rapport with the past history of an object, or of its surroundings, by
means of the object itself. In this way, the psychometrist holding in his hand,
or pressing to his head, a bullet from a battle field, is able to picture the
battle itself. Or, given a piece of ancient pottery or stone implement, the
psychometrist is able to picture the time and peoples connected with the object
in the past—sometimes after many centuries are past. I once handed a good
psychometrist a bit of ornament taken from an Egyptian mummy over three
thousand years old. Though the psychometrist did not know what the object was,
or from whence it had come, she was able to picture not only the scenes in
which the Egyptian had lived, but also the scenes connected with the
manufacture of the ornament, some three hundred years before that time—for it
turned out that the ornament itself was an antique when the Egyptian had
acquired it. In another case, I had the psychometrist describe in detail the
animal life, and the physical phenomena, of the age in which a fossil had
existed when alive—many thousands of years ago. In the proper place in this
book, I will explain just how it is possible to penetrate the secrets of the
past by psychometric vision—that is to say, the psychic laws making the same
possible.
Some
of the most remarkable of recorded instances of this form of psychometry known
to the Western world are those related in the works of a geologist named
Denton, who some fifty years ago conducted a series of investigations into the
phenomena of psychometry. His recorded experiments fill several volumes. Being
a geologist, he was able to select the best subjects for the experiments, and
also to verify and decide upon the accuracy of the reports given by the
psychometrists. His wife, herself, was a gifted psychometrist, and it has been
said of her, by good authority, that "she is able, by putting a piece of
matter (whatever be its nature) to her head, to see, either with her eyes
closed or open, all that the piece of matter, figuratively speaking, ever saw,
heard, or experienced." The following examples will give a good idea of
the Denton experiments, which are typical of this class of psychometry.
Dr.
Denton gave the psychometrist a small fragment broken from a large meteorite.
She held it to her head, and reported: "This is curious. There is nothing
at all to be seen. I feel as if I were in the air. No, not in the air either,
but in nothing, no place. I am utterly unable to describe it; it seems high,
however I feel as though I were rising, and my eyes are carried upwards; but I
look around in vain; there is nothing to be seen. I see clouds, now, but
nothing else. They are so close to me that I seem to be in them. My head, and
neck and eyes are affected. My eyes are carried up, and I cannot roll them
down. Now the clouds appear lighter and lighter, and look as though the
sunlight would burst through them. As the clouds separate, I can see a star or
two, and then the moon instead of the sun. The moon seems near, and looks
coarse and rough, and paler and larger in size than I ever saw it before. What
a strange feeling comes over me! It appears as if I were going right to the
moon, and it looks as if the moon were coming to me. It affects me
terribly."
Dr.
Denton adds: "She was too much affected to continue the experiment longer.
Had this aerolite at some period of its history, come within the sphere of the
moon's attraction, and had its velocity so increased that its augmented
centrifugal force had carried it off into space again, whence, drawn by the
superior attractive force of the earth, it had fallen and ended its career
forever?"
At
another time, Dr. Denton tested the psychometrist with a whalebone walking
cane. She supposed it to be wood, but when she began to report her psychic
impressions, they came as follows: "I feel as though I were a monster.
There is nothing of a tree about it, and it is useless for me to go further. I
feel like vomiting. Now I want to plunge into the water. I believe that I am
going to have a fit. My jaws are large enough to take down a house at a gulp. I
now know what this is—it is whalebone. I see the inside of the whale's mouth.
It has no teeth. It has a slimy look, but I only get a glimpse of it. Now, I
see the whole animal. What an awful looking creature."
Another
time, Dr. Denton gave the psychometrist a minute piece of the enamel of the
tooth of a mastodon, which had been found thirty feet below the surface of the
earth. The psychometrist had not the slightest knowledge of the character of
the tiny flake of enamel handed her, but nevertheless reported: "My
impression is that it is a part of some monstrous animal, probably part of a
tooth. I feel like a perfect monster, with heavy legs, unwieldy head, and very
large body. I go down to a shallow stream to drink. I can hardly speak, my jaws
are so heavy. I feel like getting down on all fours. What a noise comes through
the woods. I have an impulse to answer it. My ears are very large and leathery,
and I can almost fancy they flap in my face as I move my head. There are some
older ones than I. It seems so out of keeping to be talking with these heavy
jaws. They are dark brown, as if they had been completely tanned. There is one old
fellow, with large tusks, that looks very tough. I see several younger ones. In
fact, there is a whole herd. My upper lip moves curiously; I can flap it up. It
seems strange to me how it is done. There is a plant growing here, higher than
my head. It is nearly as thick as my wrist, very juicy, sweet, and
tender—something like green corn in taste, but sweeter. It is not the taste it
would have to a human being—oh no! it is sickenish, and very unpleasant to the
human taste." These instances might 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 Egypt to a psychometrist who was uneducated and who knew
nothing of ancient Egypt or its history. Notwithstanding this, she gave me such
a detailed and complete account of the life of ancient Egypt, which was in such
complete accordance with the opinions of the best authorities, that I would
hesitate about publishing the report, for it certainly would be regarded as
rank imposture by the average 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 the experiments 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 be given to develop all psychic
powers, in another part of this book. But much will depend upon actual practice
and exercise. Take strange objects, and, sitting in a quiet room with the
object held to your forehead, shut out all thoughts of the outside world, and
forget all personal affairs. In a short time, if the conditions are all right,
you will begin to have flashes of scenes connected with the history of the
object. At first rather disconnected and more or less confused, there will soon
come to you a clearing away of the scene, and the pictures will become quite
plain. Practice will develop the power. Practice only when alone, or when in
the presence of some sympathetic friend or friends. Always avoid discordant and
inharmonious company when practicing psychic powers. The best psychometrists
usually keep the physical eyes closed when practicing their power.
You
have doubtless heard the sensing of sealed letters spoken of as clairvoyance.
But this is merely one form of psychometry. The letter is a very good
connecting medium in psychometric experiments. I advise you to begin your
experiments with old letters. You will be surprised to discover how readily you
will begin to receive psychic impressions from the letters, either from the
person who wrote them, or from the place in which they were written, or from
some one connected with the subsequent history. One of the most interesting
experiments I ever 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 a young Hindu maiden. Although ignorant of the
outside world, she was able to picture the people and scenery of every part of
the globe in which the letter had traveled. Her report was really an
interesting "travelogue" of a trip around the world, given in tabloid
form. You may obtain some interesting results in psychometrizing old letters—but
always be conscientious about it, and refrain from divulging the secrets that
will become yours in the course of these experiments. Be honorable on the
astral plane, as well as on the physical—more so, rather than less.
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