PRACTICAL MIND-READING/PART 8
LESSON VIII.
HIGHER PHENOMENA.
In the demonstrations
described and explained in the previous parts of this work, the mental
impressions travel from one mind to another over the channels of the
"telegraphic wires" of the nervous system of the Transmitter and
Receiver. In other words the Mind Reading that is employed in the feats and
demonstrations given, is akin to the ordinary "telegraphic current"
travelling over the wires from sending station to receiving station—the nervous
system of the two persons furnishing a very close counterpart to the
telegraphic wire, etc. But there is a step beyond this—many steps in fact.
While the "Contact Mind Reading" which we have described and
explained is surely wonderful enough to attract the attention of all thinking
minds, still when the advanced student passes on to the field of the Higher
Phenomena he is destined to meet with marvelous results which in some cases
almost surpass belief. This Higher Phenomena of Mind Reading, or
"Telepathic Mind Reading," when compared to the Contact Mind Reading,
is as the "wireless telegraph" when compared to the ordinary
telegraph using wires.
In Lesson
I, of this book, we have given you the theories held by scientific men
regarding the nature of the waves or currents that proceed from one mind to another,
and the mechanism by which these waves are registered. We think it will be
interesting to many of you to know that certain Occultists have their own
theory regarding this matter, which while not widely known is still of the
greatest interest to earnest students of the scientific side of the subject. We
allude to what is known as "The Pineal Gland" theory.
The
Pineal Gland is a small gland, cone-shaped, and of a reddish-gray color,
situated in the brain about the middle of the skull, nearly above the top of
the spinal column. It is a compact mass of nervous matter, containing a
quantity of what has been called "brain-sand," which is composed of
very small particles of gritty matter. The anatomists and physiologists confess
their ignorance of the function and purpose of the Pineal Gland, and it remains
for the Occultists to explain its real nature, which is the receiving and
registering of the waves or currents, or vibrations of thought and Will
received from another person. This Pineal Gland is, according to the
Occultists, the receiving instrument for the "wireless Mind Reading,"
and in fact it resembles the actual receiver of the wireless telegraph in more
than one respect.
THE FIRST STEPS.
In
the first place, the student who is practicing the experiments given in
previous chapters, and who is making the demonstrations given there, will find
that at times he is able to do away with the physical contact. He will loosen
his hold upon the hand of the Transmitter, and at times will sever the contact
entirely, and after the feat is demonstrated he will realize to his
astonishment that he has performed the principal part of the feat without
contact at all. He may be almost unconscious of this fact, for the reason that
he was so much immersed and absorbed in his work that he did not have time to
think of these details. At other times he will find that even before he has
made the physical contact with the Transmitter, he will receive a flash of
mental impression which will enable him to proceed to the selected location, or
object, at once.
DEMONSTRATIONS WITHOUT A
TRANSMITTER.
These
experiences will become so frequent and so strong that he may often (in the
cases of peculiarly sensitive people) perform the entire feat without the
physical contact of the Transmitter, and perhaps without any Transmitter at
all. In well developed cases the Receiver may perform the simple feats, and
sometimes some of the more complicated ones, merely by the aid of the
Concentrated Will of the audience.
We
have known of cases in which a pocket-knife was the selected and hidden object,
and when the demonstrator would enter the room he would receive a sudden mental
impression of the word "knife," followed by the impression
"under the sofa-pillow," etc., and upon going to the designated spot
the knife would be found. Every person who carefully practices the
demonstrations given in this book will be able to add actual experiences of
this kind, of his own, which have been experienced by him during the course of
his work.
In
order to develop the ability to produce the Higher Phenomena, the best course
is for the student to frequently practice the demonstration and experiments of
Contact Mind Reading, as this will develop the receptive faculties of the mind.
Then the student may occasionally practice with a few sympathetic and
harmonious friends, endeavoring to reproduce the demonstrations without
physical contact.
EXERCISES FOR
DEVELOPMENT.
He
may also try the experiment of having a friend hold a certain number of small
buttons, etc., in his hand, and endeavor to will that
the student shall "guess" the right number. Some people attain
a surprising proficiency in this work, almost from the first. A similar
experiment with the pack of cards, the student endeavoring to "guess"
the card drawn from the pack, naming color, suit, and number in turn, may
afford successful results. A number of these experiments may be thought of by
an ingenious person, remembering always that the "guess" is not a
guess at all, but an attempt to register the mental impression of the
Transmitter.
REPRODUCING THE SPERRY FEATS.
The
student may with great profit endeavor to reproduce the experiments of the
Sperry children related in Lesson II of this work, in our account of
the experiments of the Society for Psychical Research.
THE WILLING GAME.
The
well-known "Willing Game" will afford you an opportunity to develop
this faculty of "wireless" Mind Reading. Your audience is seated in
the room, and you enter blindfolded. An object has been previously selected.
You stand in the centre of the room, and the audience wills "to the
right"; then "forward"; then "a little lower down,"
etc., etc., etc., until the object is found, just as was the case when the
Transmitter sends the impressions. The audience should Will only
one step at a time, and you should take that one step without thought of
the succeeding ones. The mind should be held as receptive as possible,
that is "open" to vibrations. Take your time, and do not let hurry or
anxiety enter your mind. It will be well to practice this experiment with
members of your family, or with harmonious and sympathetic friends.
LONG DISTANCE
EXPERIMENTS.
Experiments
of "wireless" Mind Reading or Telepathy may be tried between friends
at long distances, space apparently presenting no obstacle to the passage of
the thought waves. Pick out some friend with whom you have established a
strong rapport condition by means of his having
acted as your Transmitter in your Contact Mind Reading experiments, and by
having practiced Rhythmic Breathing, as heretofore described. Have the
Transmitter sit in his room at the appointed time, gazing intently at some
small simple object, such as a knife, a glass, a cup, a book, etc., and
endeavoring to make a clear mental picture of it,
which picture he should also Will to be
reproduced in your mind. Remember he should think of the looks or appearance of
the object not merely of its name—he should think of the shape, etc., of the
book, instead of thinking the word "book." At the same time you
should sit quietly in your room, placing yourself in the same passive,
receptive mental attitude that you have acquired and practiced in your Contact
Mind Readings. Then wait patiently for impressions. After a while, if
successful, you will get the mental picture of a
book, or whatever object was thought of by the Transmitter. This experiment may
be varied from time to time, the principle being the same in all cases. It will
be well for both the Transmitter and the Receiver to keep a written record of
the time of each experiment, and the objects thought of. Several objects may be
thought of at a sitting of say five minutes apart, a careful record being kept
by both parties of the time, and object, so that a later comparison may show
the result of the experiments. In case of the two people being in different
cities, they may mail each other copies of their record for comparison.
THE "AUTOMATIC
WRITING" EXPERIMENTS.
Another
way of conducting experiments along the lines of the Higher Phenomena of Mind
Reading, is akin to the "Automatic Writing" known to all students of
Occultism. The Transmitter concentrates his thought and Will in the usual
manner, while the Receiver places himself in the usual receptive, passive state
of mind, and awaits the impressions. But instead of the Receiver merely sitting
as usual, he draws his chair to a table, having a soft pencil in his hand
and a pad of paper on the table before him. He holds the pencil lightly between
his fingers, with its point touching the paper—and then awaits impressions.
Under good conditions, after waiting a time the pencil will begin to twitch and
move feebly. The hands and fingers should allow it full and free motion. After
a few moments of indecision the pencil will often begin to write out words. In
many experiments the word, or object thought of by the
Transmitter will be written out, or drawn in full by the hand of the Receiver acting
automatically. Some experimenters succeed much better with this plan than with
the more common method.
THE STEAD EXPERIMENTS.
Mr.
W.T. Stead, the well-known London editor and investigator of Psychic Phenomena,
discovered this method while he was experimenting along the lines of Automatic
Writing from disembodied souls. He found that he was really coming in contact
with the thought-waves emanating from the minds of the living, instead of the
dead. He persisted in his experiments along these lines, and after a time was
able to write out full letters embodying the thoughts in the minds of persons
of his acquaintance, and others. Other investigators have reproduced his
experiments with marvelous results. There is a great field here, awaiting
investigation, and it may be that some of the students of this work are
destined to add to the scientific testimony on the subject. The above simple
directions are all that are necessary, in order to conduct this scientific
experiment.
RAPPORT CONDITIONS.
There
is a great difference in the degrees of rapport existing between different
people, and as the degree of success depends upon the degree of rapport, it is
of the greatest importance that you find some person with whom you are in
harmonious vibration, in order to try these experiments in the Higher
Phenomena.
We
will not burden the student with recitals of experiments to perform in this
Higher Phenomena demonstration. He may readily devise experiments for himself,
from the examples given in connection with the Contact Mind Reading. The
Transmitter may think of a card; an object; a name; a place; a scene; a
thought; a feeling, etc., etc., without limit. And it makes no difference in
the nature of the experiment or test, whether it be tried at long-range, or in
the same room, without contact. The feat is the same—the principle is the same.
THE BLACKBURN-SMITH
EXPERIMENTS.
As a
further suggestion to the student, we would refer him to Lesson II of
this work, to the report of the experiments with Mr. Smith and Mr. Blackburn.
If you will carefully read this report again, you will find a wealth of
suggestions regarding the forms of demonstrations. But, bless your hearts, the
experiments may be varied without end—the principle is the same in each case.
The underlying principle is that the Transmitter thinks intently upon the
appearance of the object or thing, or else upon the feeling connected with it if
it be a feeling instead of an object; and the Receiver endeavors to receive the
impression. The Transmitter manifests an Active Will to
transmit the mental image, while the Receiver assumes a passive,
receptive desire to receive the impression. The
one is all Will—the other is all Desire.
Concluding
this chapter on the Higher Phenomena of Mind Reading, we would say to the
students that very few of them will have the perseverance to continue their
experiments beyond the point of Contact Mind Reading, or perhaps the simplest
forms of the Higher Phenomena. Contact Mind Reading is far more satisfactory to
the average person, for its results are very constant indeed, and comparatively
little labor, time and trouble are necessary to make the demonstrations. While on
the contrary the results of the demonstrations of the Higher Phenomena are
less constant except in the cases of very highly developed Receivers, working
with Transmitters in almost perfect rapport and
harmony. Then the average experiments along the lines of the Higher Phenomena,
some days will prove highly successful, while other days will be almost barren
of result. In fact there seems to be a sort of spontaneous action in the
production of the Higher Phenomena, and the degree of success depends more or
less upon some conditions of the mental world,
not as yet fully understood by science. But to those who wish to push into the
Unknown as far as they may do so, this field of the Higher Phenomena of Mind
Reading offers a fascination and attraction difficult to express to those who
have not experienced it.
FINIS.
END
OF THIS BOOK.
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