PRACTICAL MIND-READING/PART 4
LESSON IV.
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISES.
The student should
practice privately with the assistance of a few friends, before he ventures
before a parlor audience, for by so doing he overcomes the first lack of
confidence in himself, and the awkwardness natural to the beginner along any
new line of work. By careful and repeated practice he gains confidence in
himself by reason of his growing success in his experiments, and besides wears
off the "rough edges" of his actions, etc., so that when he finally
appears before an audience he will feel perfectly self-possessed and at ease,
and thus be able to devote his entire attention to his work, without annoying
self-consciousness and awkwardness.
Begin
the Development Exercises by selecting one or more friends who are in sympathy
with you, and who are interested in the subject. Do not have any unsympathetic
or uncongenial persons around when you are practicing, for such people tend to
distract your attention from your work, and really exert a detrimental effect
upon the preliminary work. Select one of your friends as the Transmitter and
take the part of the Receiver yourself.
Begin
your practice by establishing a Psychic Harmony, or Rapport, between yourself
and your Transmitter by means of Rhythmic Breathing. Although this feature of
the work has been overlooked by many investigators of the subject, still it is
a very important feature of the work, and one that is conducive to the
production of the very best results along these lines of psychic
demonstrations.
The
term "Rapport" is one frequently met with in occult and psychic
books. The word is defined by Webster as "Relation; conformity;
correspondence; sympathetic accord." It is used by occultists in the sense
of: "having harmonious vibrations with another," the occult teachings
being that every person has his or her own rate of mental vibration which, when
in harmonious accord with the vibrations of another, induces the most favorable
conditions for the production of mental or psychic phenomena, or mental
relations; sympathetic understanding, etc. This "harmonious
vibration" does not necessarily mean that the two persons must be attuned
to precisely the same key, but that their keynotes must harmonize, instead of
producing discord. The comparison of the notes of the musical scale will
illustrate the principle thoroughly. When two persons are in
"rapport" with each other, there is a mental and psychic harmony
between them, which is productive of the best possible mental co-operative
work. Hence the necessity of good rapport conditions in Mind Reading.
Rhythmic
Breathing has been known to occultists of all ages as one of the important
adjuncts of Psychic Phenomena, and its use in bringing about Rapport Relations
is thoroughly understood by all Practical Occultists. Rhythmic Breathing
consists in the person breathing in slow measured regular rhythm. It may be
acquired by counting the indrawn breath, the retained breath, and the outgoing
breath, by regular beats like the ticking of a large clock. For instance, draw
in your breath slowly, counting mentally according to the ticking of an
imaginary large clock: "one—two—three—four." Then hold the breath,
counting "one—two." Then breathe out slowly:
"one—two—three—four." The rule is that the indrawn breath should have
the same number of counts as the outgoing breath, the held-breath taking up but
one-half the counts of either of the others. The above count illustrates this
matter. The advanced occultists get their time-beat from the pulse-beats, but
this is not absolutely necessary in this connection. The principal point about
Rhythmic Breathing that we wish to impress upon you now is that the two
persons, the Transmitter and Receiver, should breathe in unison with each
other—that is in perfect time and rhythm. This breathing in unison will soon
establish the very best possible rapport conditions between them. From
four to seven Rhythmic Breaths will be sufficient to establish the proper
conditions in ordinary cases. In the performance of a test, in case you should
feel the power of the Transmitter failing, you should stop and ask him to
breathe in unison with you for a moment, and then re-start your work. By
breathing a little loud the other person will catch your time, so that it is
not necessary for you to instruct him in the science or theory of Rhythmic
Breathing. Simply tell him to breathe in unison, and keeping time with you.
Begin
all your practicing with this Rapport Breathing, and start each demonstration
with it, also. You will find that it will have a very soothing, calming,
quieting effect upon both persons, and will produce in each a mental
earnestness and concentration that will help along the demonstration of Mind
Reading.
We
shall not mention this Rhythmic Breathing or Rapport Condition when we proceed
to give you the detailed direction, for the demonstration, but you must
remember that it should be observed in each case. Of course, you will be able
to get results without it—but not so easily, or so thoroughly and satisfying.
It
is well to conclude your practice by taking a few deep breaths by yourself, and
not in unison with the Transmitter. This destroys the Rapport Condition.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS.
The
prime requisite for a successful demonstration of Mind Reading is the
acquirement, or possession, by the Transmitter, of a clear idea of direction in his mind. The associated requisite is
that the Transmitter be able to concentrate his will upon
the mind of the Receiver, impressing upon him the Sense
of Direction so strongly that he will move in accordance with
the Will of the Transmitter. Remember the two points to be observed by the
Transmitter.
Begin
by having the Transmitter standing beside you in the centre of the room, you being blindfolded. Have him mentally select some one
corner of the room, saying nothing to you of his choice. Then let him concentrate
his mind upon that one corner, forgetting every other part of the room. Then
have the Transmitter grasp your Left Hand with his Right Hand, you grasping his
fingers in your hand and lifting the hand to your forehead. Hold the hand
against your forehead, just above your eyes. Instruct him then to will that you go to the corner of the room that he
has selected, shutting out all other thoughts from his mind, and concentrating his entire Attention upon the
projection of his Will. He must not content himself merely forming a Mental
Picture of the selected corner, but must think of the Direction of
that corner, just as he would in case he were to wish to walk there himself. He
must not simply think "That Corner"—he must think "There!" using the sense of Direction. He must will that you shall go there,
carrying the words "Go There!" in his
mind.
You,
the Receiver, must place yourself in a perfectly passive and receptive state of mind, resigning your own Will for
the time being, and being perfectly willing and desirous of being
mentally directed or led by
the Will of the Transmitter. He is the Active factor, and you the Passive. It
is the strength of his Will, and the degree of your Receptivity that makes the
demonstration a success.
Keep
your eyes closed, even though you be blindfolded, for by so doing you induce a
Passive state of mind, and even the stray glimpses that you may catch through
the handkerchief will serve only to distract you. You must shut out sights, and
even thought of sights.
Stand
quiet a moment or two, awaiting impressions from the mind of the Transmitter,
who is making the mental command: "Go there; go there, I
say!" while at the same time he is willing that
you follow his command.
After
a moment or two of passive and receptive waiting, you will begin to feel an
impulse to move forward. Obey this impulse and take the first step, which
will often be in an entirely opposite direction from the selected corner. The
idea of this first step is to "get started." While you are taking the
first step or two, you will feel a clearer impulse toward the real selected
corner, and will find yourself swinging around to it. Do not grow impatient,
for you are but learning to receive the impressions. Advance one foot forward,
hesitatingly, resting your weight on the ball of the other foot, and you will
soon feel yourself being compelled to
move in a certain direction, which will end in your moving toward the right
corner. You will soon become conscious of being directed by the Will of the Projector, whose mind is acting upon
yours and leading and directing you toward the right place.
It
is difficult to describe to you the exact feeling that you will experience, but
a little practice will soon make it clear to you. Follow the impulse, and you
will soon begin to feel the mental command, "This way—this way—no, not
that way but this way," until you will
reach the desired spot, when you will feel the command: "That's right—stop
where you are—this is the place." If you start to wander off in the wrong
direction you will begin to feel the correcting impression: "This way—this way, I tell you," and if you will
but passively receive and follow the mental telegraph message you will
find the impulse growing stronger and stronger until you walk right into the
corner selected, when you will feel that you have "reached Base," as
the children say in their games. When you walk in the right direction you will
feel the mental message, "Right, right you are"; and when you move in
the wrong direction you will feel the mental message, saying "No, no, not
that way—This way, I say, come along, come!" By practice you will soon become quite
sensitive to these guiding thought-waves, and will act upon them almost
automatically. Practice will soon so sharpen your perceptive faculties that you
will often be able to move right off to the desired corner at once, sometimes
actually running right to it, dragging the Transmitter after you.
You
will soon begin to notice that there is quite a difference in the power of
Concentration on the part of different people acting as the Transmitter. Some
will be able to Concentrate so forcibly that they will send you the message
clear and sharp, while others will send only a feeble and wavering message. The
more Concentration the Transmitter has the stronger will be the message. It
will be very advisable for you to experiment with a number of persons acting as
the Transmitter, so that you may become familiar with the different degrees of
Concentration, personal characteristics of people in Transmitting, etc.
This will aid you when you begin your parlor performances.
When
you find a lazy Transmitter who is sending only feeble messages, you must
remonstrate with him, telling him that he must exercise his Will-Power more.
This plan will often arouse in them a desire to give a good exhibition of their
Will-power, and they will begin sending you strong mental impulses. It is a
good plan, when you have an unsatisfactory Projector, to extend his arm out its
full length and hold it up about the height of your eyes. In this way he feels
the strain, and it arouses his Will in order to hold it there, which seems to
act in the direction of his sending sharper and clearer messages and impulse.
In case the Transmitter proves very unsatisfactory, substitute another for him.
But as a rule this unsatisfactoriness arises from the fact that he does not
fully understand his duties—does not know what is required of him. A little
practice and instruction will bring him out all right. It is often advisable to
let the Transmitter read this book of instructions, if he happens to be a
personal friend who is helping you out in your practicing and experiments. The
Transmitter will find that by looking toward
the selected corner, he will be aided in concentrating his attention and directing
his Will Power.
Practice
this exercise and experiment, in different rooms, and with different
Transmitters, until you can go readily to the selected corner. Do not be
discouraged, but remember that "practice makes perfect," and that
like any other thing the art must be learned by patient practice and
repetition. It is like learning to play the violin—skating—dancing, or anything
else. If after a number of trials you begin to feel tired, stop practicing and
adjourn the experiments until the next day. Do not unduly strain yourself, or
tire out your mind. When the next day comes you will be surprised at the added
proficiency you have gained.
You
may vary the above method by holding the Transmitter's hand out at arm's
length, instead of holding it up to your head. Some find one plan more
effective, and others prefer the second. The principle is the same in both
cases, so adopt either plan, or any variation thereof, providing it proves
effective.
PRACTICE EXERCISE I.
FINDING LOCATIONS.
After
you have grown proficient in locating the corners of rooms, you may have the
Transmitter select other parts of the room, such as doors, mantels, windows,
alcoves, projections, etc. Try a number of these selected locations in turn,
gaining a variety of experiences which will prove valuable later on. In
all of these experiments the Transmitter must guard you from running into
obstacles, furniture, etc., by telling you to avoid them, guiding you past
them, and in other proper ways prevent you from bruising yourself or breaking or
upsetting things. You must impress this upon his mind, and then you should give
yourself into his care with the utmost confidence, giving yourself no further
concern about these things, and keeping your mind as passive as possible. Don't
allow your mind to be distracted by outside things—attend to the matter of the
experiment in which you are engaged.
PRACTICE EXERCISE II.
FINDING LARGE OBJECTS.
The
next step should be the selecting and finding of large objects in the room,
such as chairs, tables, etc. Proceed as in the previous exercises. Do not
neglect this exercise in your desire to do more wonderful things, for you need
just this training. You will realize the importance of these exercises after
you begin to appear before friends and evening companies, etc., when you will
be called upon to find hidden objects, selected articles secreted under tables,
on persons, on furniture, etc. If you can find selected chairs you will be able
to more readily find persons seated on chairs. Continue this exercise until you
can readily find any and every piece of furniture in a room, and the other
large objects in a room as well, when they are thought of by the Transmitter.
PRACTICE EXERCISE III.
FINDING SMALL OBJECTS.
After
mastering the above exercise have the Transmitter select some small articles,
such as a book, vase, ornament, etc., on a table, mantel-piece, etc. Proceed as
before, varying the objects and places, endeavoring to get as wide a range of
experiences as possible along the line of Mind Reading of this kind.
PRACTICE EXERCISE IV.
FINDING HIDDEN ARTICLES.
After
you have mastered the last mentioned exercise, have the Transmitter select a
small object, such as a watch-key, match-safe, etc., and secrete it in some
part of the room, you remaining out of the room until the article is selected
and hidden. Proceed as before, until you find the secreted object. Your
Transmitter should endeavor to give you a great variety in this exercise, in
order to properly train you for the public demonstrations before companies,
etc. Have him place a key in a book, under a rug, back of a picture, and in
similar difficult places. Let him exercise his ingenuity in
finding strange places in which to hide the object. In the experiments in
finding the hidden objects he must train himself to give you the mental
messages "up"; "down"; "to the right"; "to
the left," etc., just as he did his old message or impulse "this
way." And you must train yourself to receive them. This training will be
of the greatest possible benefit to you when you are called upon later to find
objects hidden in people's pockets, etc.
GENERAL REMARKS ON
PRACTICE.
The
above exercises will train the student to receive and act upon the mental
commands or messages of the Transmitter, under a great variety of circumstances
and conditions. Many of the most successful public "Mind Readers"
started out in public work with far less careful and thorough training. But
there are now still greater degrees of proficiency possible. The student will
find in succeeding chapters a number of interesting and startling feats and
experiments which are intended for parlor audiences, etc., but which may be
most profitably practiced previously with the aid of a good friendly
Transmitter, in order that the Performer may familiarize himself with the
details of the experiment, and thus be more at his ease when he demonstrates it
in public. Then other new experiments and feats will suggest themselves from
time to time, to the intelligent student which, likewise, should be
practiced previous to a public demonstration.
In
finding a hidden object, the first thing to do is to get an idea of the
direction. Then the general location of the hiding place; and so on, from
general impressions to detailed ones, until at last the fingers close upon the
object itself. The Transmitter will be greatly relieved when the object is
finally found, and the relaxing of his mental tension may be distinctly felt,
and then you will know that your search is at an end.
PREPARING FOR PUBLIC
WORK.
Before
taking you on with the work before an audience, we must urge upon you to
prepare yourself thoroughly by means of the above mentioned exercises. The
great tendency among students is to hurry through to the public work, and
skipping the exercises as much as possible. This is all wrong. You will never
be a thoroughly good demonstrator of anything in life, until you master the
rudiments, and by practice familiarize yourself thoroughly with the details of
the work. And Mind Reading is no exception. It is true that after a few
exercises you may be able to give a fair demonstration before an audience, but
you will never get further than "fair" without careful practice. And
therefore we urge you to have patience and perseverance, and to stick to
the exercise until you become a Master of Mind Reading, when you need fear no
audience whatsoever, and will be able to give a demonstration that will be a
great credit to both yourself and to us, your instructors.
And,
now for your work before an audience, remembering, always that the feats and
experiments that we shall mention, should be practiced by you privately, with
the aid of a friendly Transmitter, before you reproduce them in public. In the
case of feats, in which the audience is a party to the experiment, such as the
finding of a scarf-pin on a member of the audience, you may practice with a
dummy audience, that is with an imaginary audience consisting of chairs, etc.,
until you familiarize yourself with the details of the feat.
NEXT CHAPTER
Comments
Post a Comment