B F 1261 Wz PSYCHIC SCIENCE SERIES BY EDWARD B. WARMAN, A. H. !fi yto. 6 SPIRITISM Glass _ Book_ Copyrights JljL COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. PSYCHIC SCIENCE SEKIES tto. VI SPIRITISM PSYCHIC SCIENCE SERIES No. I. Psychology. No. II. Personal Magnetism. No. III. Telepathy—Mental Telegraphy— Thought Transference — Mind Reading — Muscle Reading. No. IV. Hypnotism. No. V. Suggestion. No. VI. Spiritism. No. VII. Clairvoyance and Clairaudience — Pre- monitions and Impres- sions. No. VIII. Hindu Philosophy in a Nutshell. By EDWARD B. WARMAN, A.M. Each A. C 18mo, 50 cents, net. ). McClurg & Co. PUBLISHERS PSYCHIC SCIENCE SERIES SPIRITISM BY EDWARD B. WARMAN, A. M. Author of "The Philosophy of Expression," "The Voice— How to Train It," "Get Well; Keep Well," etc., etc. CHICAGO A. C. McCLUEG & CO. 1910 "&t ^ ^ Copyright A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1910 Published September 24,1910 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England STfje ILaftesttie tyxtz* R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY CHICAGO ©GLA2734 PREFACE TO THE SERIES rpHERE are two reasons why I JL have written these books: first, in response to thousands of my pupils throughout this country and Canada who desire the instruction in a more tangible form than simply through the medium of the voice; second, that the general public may have the result of thorough, honest, and unbiassed investigation extend- ing throughout a period of thirty-five years. Having kept abreast of the times, I am fully aware of the conclusions other writers have reached, especially on spiritism; and am further con- scious of the fact that, with few ex- ceptions, I do not, in the main, agree with these. However, my decisions have in no way been influenced by any writer, not even by my friend, the late Dr. Thomson Jay Hudson, whom I first met in 1899. When our paths converged, we found we had been PREFACE TO THE SERIES travelling on parallel lines for twen- ty-five years. Comparing notes, I was pleased to learn that we had ar- rived, practically, at the same con- clusions ; therefore, there may appear to be much of Hudson in my writings, and it could not well be otherwise, especially on spiritism. I felt highly honored to have so great an authority bear so corroborative testimony. By consulting the topics treated it will be observed that I have covered a much wider field than those who have preceded me, having touched upon every phase of Psychic Phe- nomena. This I have done as briefly and concisely as possible and practi- cable, and while my decisions are positive, they are neither arrogant nor dogmatic. E. B. W. Los Angeles, Cal. August 1, 1910. VI THE following letter, which speaks for itself, is from the late Dr. Thomson Jay Hudson, the author of "The Law of Psychic Phenomena/' etc. : No. 10 Ninth St., S. E., Washington, D. C, May 2, 1900. 1 consider Mr. Edward B. Warm an the peer of any man in his line; in fact, I know of no one who covers so wide a field. His experiences in Mental Telegraphy are equal to any I have ever known; he is the most practical psychologist it has ever been my pleasure to meet; his explanation of Hypnotism removes all fear; his sifting of the grains of truth from the Christian Science doctrine leaves nothing to be desired; his exegesis of Spiritism is scientific and logical, acknowl- edging, as every thorough investigator must, the alleged phenomena, but denying, as every logician must, the alleged cause. His Suggestions to Mothers are simply invaluable. I heartilv commend him for his sound doctrines. flhWW '£*$&%, " Reade not to contradict ; nor to believe and take for granted ; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider!' — Loed Bacon. INTRODUCTORY. I AM fully aware that in the fol- lowing pages I have propounded views which differ from those that are usually accepted, yet I have searched as thoroughly and as anxiously for considerations opposed to my conclu- sions as for arguments in their favor ; considerations based upon scientific investigations, not the mere opinions of those who accept because they de- sire so to believe. While I fully respect the decisions of those thorough investigators— Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir Wm, Crookes, Wm. T. Stead, Camillc Flammarion, the late Caesar Lombroso, and others who favor the spiritistic theory as the cause, I cannot bring myself to accept their judgment inasmuch as the evi- dence is not sufficiently conclusive of the correctness of their theories. E. B. W. ix PSYCHIC SCIENCE SERIES SPIEITISM My Conclusions — The Conclusions Con- sidered — Verbal Messages — The Origin of the Messages — Mediums — The Dif- ference BETWEEN A MEDIUM AND A Psychic — The Physical Phenomena — Kaps, Table Tilting, etc. — Independent Slate Writing — Kinetic Energy in Levi- tation — Another Form of Kinetic En- ergy — Materialization — Collective Hallucination — Spirit Photography — Ghosts — Mrs. Leonora E. Piper — Eusapia Palladino — Summary. WE are here face to face with one of the greatest truths of the universe, or else with the most la- mentable delusion. Which? One's mere opinion amounts to naught un- less that opinion is based upon a most careful, painstaking, and unbiassed investigation. Even then, the result of that opinion is wholly, as it necessar- 11 SPIRITISM ily must be, from the investigator's point of view. It is the weighing of the evidence that constitutes the proof. After a thorough and unbiassed in- vestigation extending over more than a quarter of a century ; an investiga- tion including every phase of spirit- ism extant; an investigation that brought me in close personal and friendly relationship with the leading mediums of this country, I have been led step by step to the following con- clusions : MY CONCLUSIONS 1. I believe in the alleged phenom- ena, but not in the alleged cause. 2. Every true manifestation of spiritism may be accounted for upon purely scientific grounds. 3. The phenomena are not due to or ever dependent upon, discarnate spirit. 4. There is no valid scientific evi- dence whatever that spirits of the dead have ever communicated in any manner with the living. 12 SPIKITISM 5. Not all spirit mediums are frauds, but all spirit mediums that are not frauds are self-deceived when attributing either their power or their information to spirits of the dead. 6. Clairvoyance and clairaudience are legitimately within the sphere of psychic phenomena, but are wholly independent of disembodied spirits. 7. Premonitions and impressions are God-given gifts to all His chil- dren, albeit He is no respecter of per- sons ; for all who will may hear the 1 ' still, small voice. ' ' In 1874, during my investigation of spiritism, which was then designated spiritualism, I had the pleasure of meeting the man (a spiritist) who had the distinction of having given the first public lecture ever heard on this subject. This occurred directly after the Fox sisters had startled the world with the announcement of " spirit rappings." The gentleman to whom I refer was a lecturer, not a medium ; a man far above the average medium in intelligence. As a rule— in fact I know of no exception— the lecturer on 13 SPIRITISM spiritism has too much intelligence to be a medium ; the medium, not enough to be a lecturer. To further my investigations I took room and board in the same house with this gentleman, the additional household consisting of a man and his wife (both spiritists) and a well- known medium. Night after night we held seances, and these_ being of a private character, were the more in- teresting, were conducted with less likelihood of fraud, and furnished a more satisfactory opportunity for careful investigation. As I now look back over these intervening years I can see clearly, whereas at that time I saw " as through a glass, darkly. " It may not be out of place to state that at that time and for many years thereafter I was, in consequence of many wonderful and unaccountable personal experiences, a believer in spiritism ; but (and I want that word "but" fully emphasized) a believer with a mental reservation, a shadow of a doubt, as to the cause of the phe- nomena. I have always been thank- ful for that shadow; for, in later 14 SPIRITISM years, it proved to be "the pillar of cloud by day" and "the pillar of fire by night" which led me safely out of the wilderness of error and supersti- tion. Ever since childhood I have been an impressionist and my impressions having been verified were the cause of my early and continuous investiga- tions. It was years before I learned to distinguish the spiritist from the impressionist, but having distin- guished, I have learned also to dis- criminate. In the Winter of 1899, in Cleveland, Ohio, I had the pleasure and the honor of meeting the late Dr. Thomson Jay Hudson. In the many interviews that followed the first meeting, we ex- changed notes on our observations and experiences along the lines of psychic phenomena. We found, to our surprise, that we had been travel- ling on parallel roads for twenty-five years. Our conclusions, in the main, were identical, especially regarding spiritism and hypnotism. We dif- fered in a few minor points, each looking from his own viewpoint; 15 SPIRITISM therefore we agreed to disagree. I shall now take up, one by one, the de- fence of each plank in the platform as previously stated. THE CONCLUSIONS CONSIDERED 1. It may be thought strange that any one could or would accept the phenomena of spiritism after so many years of faithful study ; or that, hav- ing accepted the phenomena, he could reject the generally accepted cause. Many persons have said to me that they could find out all there is in spir- itism in about twenty-five minutes instead of as many years. Possibly so; they could find out all that their prejudice would allow them to inves- tigate. The fact that every phase of spirit- ism can be faked is no assurance that the phenomena are unreal. There are honest and conscientious mediums (in the minority, I will admit), but they are not conscious of the origin of their power. They attribute it, in all sin- cerity, to departed spirits. Why? Be- cause they have been so informed, and 16 SPIRITISM the information has become a verity in consequence of autosuggestion. As was stated in another volume of this series, the subjective mind is amenable to suggestion. It will reason deductively from any premise given and then give back to the objective mind the result of that reasoning. If the premise is wrong the conclusion will be wrong. You can repeat an untruth so often that eventually you, yourself, will believe it is true. If you want proof as to the amena- bility of the subjective mind of the medium to a suggestion from the sit- ter, and further proof of the power of autosuggestion of the medium on her own subjective mind, you have but to ask for a communication from one who has never existed; suggesting, thereby, that such a person (say a brother) has passed into spirit life. It is an indisputable fact that you can obtain a communication from an ima- ginary dead person as readily as from one who actually lived, provided, of course, that the medium is not aware of the facts. I believe, as I shall here- inafter endeavor to prove, that the 17 SPIRITISM power is not from an extraneous source, but is inherent. 2. Science is a knowledge of facts and forces. A scientific investigation reveals the fact that man possesses inherently the power to produce or re- produce every phenomenon of spirit- ism; therefore it is unnecessary and unscientific to seek elsewhere for the source of power. 3. Dr. Hudson says: "Back of the manifestation there is, unques- tionably, an intelligence — presumably that of the medium. This statement should be ac- cepted until the contrary can be proved. I do not mean the objective intelligence of the me- dium, but that knowledge which has passed, telepathically, or otherwise, into the subjective mind." 4. Communications, all communi- cations given by mediums, are sup- posed to be from the spirits of the dead. Proof, however, is wanting. "No medium can communicate matter which is at once capable of verification, if the matter is unknown to any living mind. Therefore, as telepathy cannot be eliminated, and as it is the factor in every so-called message, it is not necessary to ascribe to spirits of the dead [disembodied] the knowledge which is in the 18 SPIRITISM subjective mind of the living — the embodied spirit." 5. While many spirit mediums are honest, it must be admitted that, as a class, they are not noted for their brilliant intellectual attainments ; therefore they are the easier self- deceived. Now and then an edu- cated man or woman accepts spiritism in t oto— the more 's the pity— but few of them ever become mediums. The majority of mediums are not only ignorant but neurotic; and the more so, the better they are fitted for mediumship— the more abnormal. To become a professional medium it is necessary to become objectively pas- sive, and that to such an extent that the passive condition becomes the rule; the positive, the exception; in other words, to " let go" of the objec- tive mind. This is not a difficult thing for mediums to do, as the average me- dium has so little to "let go" of. The less the purely intellectual or analyti- cal mind is developed the more power- ful are the workings of the subjective attributes. Prof. Charles Richet, the eminent 19 SPIRITISM physiologist of the Sarbonne, than whom there is no more thorough and unbiassed investigator, sums up his conclusions as follows, viz. ; "The normal personality of the medium dis- appears, and another completely different and gifted lucidity enters upon the scene — a mere variation of the medium's own intelligence. And surely it is as reasonable to accept in- dwelling force in explanation of the genuine phenomena as to assume, in their production, the agency of demons, angels, or excarnate human spirits. The human personality must be as powerful and as variously gifted as any outside intelligences under God. It is unphilo- sophical to seek for novel doctrines and ex- planations to account for the results of easily apprehended causes. "Spiritism is a foe to all intellectual, moral, and material progress. It thrives because of its pretence to satisfy the most intense longing of human nature, the craving for a re-establish- ment of objective relations with the departed. But we have no evidence that the spirits of the dead are concerned in its phenomena. The idea of intercourse with discarnate friends through the machinery of the seance is repug- nant to reason. Aside from the fact that if the communications be accepted as messages from the souls of the righteous dead (such belief can- not be reconciled with an exalted conception of the powers of disembodied spirits), we are con- fronted with the equally significant fact that 20 SPIRITISM the intellectual status of all circles is foisonless and low. No important truths are communi- cated, no sky-inspiring thoughts. "The revelations made by our alleged de- ceased relatives are distasteful to us and, what is most conclusive, utterly at variance with their gifts and characters. Not a page of me- diumistic literature has the smallest value. More unmitigated rubbish was never issued from the printery." VERBAL MESSAGES When you go to a medium and you are told why you came, you may think it strange, especially if it is your first experience. If you have written some questions and they are answered cor- rectly without having been seen by the medium or having been written on a padded block, you may think it still more strange, unless, perhaps, you are wise enough to attribute it to thought-transference. But when the medium tells you of something which you "have never told a living soul," then you are astonished ; when she (I say "she" because "she" is in the majority) tells you something you were not thinking of at the time or something you had forgotten, you are 21 SPIRITISM amazed at her wonderful power ; but when she tells you of something you never knew but the truth of which you afterward prove, you are then dumfounded and quite ready to es- pouse the cause of spiritism. But wait. Has she told you of that which you never knew? Impossible. You may have no conscious recollec- tion of it, but rest assured that no medium, even the most expert in the world, can give you any information that is not already in your subjective mind. Many things find their way into the subjective mind without objective consciousness. Add to this fact that the subjective mind is the storehouse of memory, and that its memory is ab- solutely perfect ; that everything you have ever heard or read or seen or thought or said is registered therein* ; that the medium is in telepathic touch with your subjective mind, and can delve into that storehouse and bring forth those long-buried thoughts ; that she gets them directly * "Psychology," No. I, Psychic Science Se- ries. 22 SPIRITISM from your own embodied spirit and not from the disembodied spirit of one who previously lived. Suppose that, in addition to a message pur- porting to be from the dead, the med- ium gives you an accurate description of the departed spirit. " Surely/ ' you exclaim, "that cannot be telepathy or thought-transference or mind read- ing.' ' Let us see. A mother, dressed in deep mourning, calls to consult a med- ium. She has been informed that she can communicate with her child that has but recently " passed over." In that state of passive expectancy she enters the presence of the medium, who immediately informs her that she has lost a loved one (very evi- dent) . The medium says, hesitating- ly, feeling her way, "Ah, I see, it is a little child— let us see— ah, yes,— a little girl." (From the mother's mind.) "She gives me the name of the child " (another hesitancy) , "Ah, yes,— Mary." (Also from the moth- er's mind.) Then she describes the child, even to the clothing, if the mother has in mind some favorite cos- 23 SPIRITISM tume ; if not, then she is clothed in a white robe (always white). Then comes the climax when the medium says, " Your little Mary is standing by you, puts her arms around your neck, and says, ' Mamma, I'm so glad to be with you; I 'm very happy.' " This and many more like sayings every medium has on hand to fit the situation. It is a part of her stock in trade. What is the result of this inter- view? In all probability another convert to spiritism. Did the medium really see the spirit of the child? She may have been honest in thinking she did. She may have read the description from the mother's mind, or she may have seen, subjectively, the mental image held by the mother. Whatever she saw or thought she saw or said she saw was not the spirit of the child. Why look for information to the spirit of one who has passed over? "Why should a dead man's spirit in abnormal union with a living man's body possess more knowledge than a living man's spirit in normal union 24 SPIRITISM with his own body V 9 Why should we expect that spirit to possess any more knowledge than our own spirit possesses % We should not, for it does not and cannot. I used to believe such was the case, and was ever ready with the argument that the disembodied spirit is no longer subject to natural law. That was merely an assertion without a single prop to sustain it. Every- thing is subject to natural law. There is no other. The phenomena may be facts, but never supernatural while convincingly supernormal. "It is possible that if spirits could communicate as familiarly with the living as we commune with one an- other," says Dr. Hudson, "they would have no language which could bring to our comprehension their true condition. How can the caterpillar, crawling upon the ground, hold intel- ligent communion with the airy but- terfly, or the butterfly reveal to the caterpillar the mysteries of her winged life?" While soul intercourse unquestion- ably takes place between the living— 25 SPIRITISM the embodied spirits— there is every reason, analogically, to infer that communication — soul intercourse— may and does take place between those who have passed over the Great Divide— the disembodied spirits. But that does not signify that communi- cation takes place between embodied and disembodied spirits. There is no valid scientific evidence that there has ever been intercommunication between incarnate and discarnate spirits. "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed ; so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot ; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." Luke xvi :24. Dr. John Duncan Quackenbos, who has delved deeply into this subject, says: "Of this telepathic communication with the dead there exists, at the present stage of inves- tigation, no convincing evidence" He further states that he "has never heard a spiritistic medium say any- thing that was not readily comprehensible, on the theory of thought-transference ; has never seen a medium do anything that could not be rationally explained as due to the action of 26 SPIRITISM supersensible psychic force which he believes to inhere in every human personality, but which only a few human beings have power conscious- ly or unconsciously to exploit in their earth- lives, or make visible or tangible in the so-called phenomena of the seance (rappings, levitation, movement of heavy objects without physical contact, etc.)." "It has been shown that brutes are capable of telepathic communication with one another. It cannot, then, seem marvellous that a pro- fessional trance-medium in perfect training should be able to project her transliminal self indiscriminately, or with method in her ecstasy, force her way subjectively into the penetralia of selected human minds, and so possess herself of information calculated to confuse, deceive, or otherwise impress her investigators. For, has such a medium ever revealed anything that did not exist either in her own consciousness, or in the consciousness of some living human being present at the seance? "But neither telepathy nor the agency of the dead can account for much that is referred to the ' control' of the medium. Self-delusion, in- duced bv autosuggestion, explains not a little of it," THE OKIGIN" OF THE MESSAGES Supposing a medium gives infor- mation concerning some transaction during the earthly career of one now dead, said transaction not being 27 SPIRITISM objectively known by the one con- sulting the medium, what do we infer? Does the so-called message come from a departed spirit? An honest medium will say so, and an honest medium will think so, in conse- quence of the autosuggestion that all information is from the departed. But what are the facts % The information came from the one now dead while he was living. All this is explainable by telepathy.* Inasmuch as telepathy is a faculty belonging exclusively to the subjec- tive mind this information, pre- vious to the death of the departed, was unconsciously communicated to the subjective mind of the sitter (the one consulting the medium) , but was never elevated above the threshold of his normal consciousness, and in all probability would never have become known to him had he not come in touch with a medium. How did the medium get it % Telepathically from the sitter; not from the dead, but from the living. * "Telepathy," Vol. Ill, Psychic Science Series. 28 SPIRITISM In the same way the sitter is told of the death of a friend, possibly a trag- ic death, of which he had no objective knowledge. The medium reveals to him the minutest detail, claiming, of course, that the messages are from the dead friend, w T hen, in reality, he (the medium) is merely receiving, tele- pathically, the information lying la- tent in the subjective mind of the sitter. How did the sitter get it? Telepathically from his dying friend, at the very moment of the tragedy. Of the eight hundred and thirty cases cited in ' ' Phantasms of the Liv- ing/' a large proportion are of such a nature as to furnish unmistakable evidence that dying persons make an effort to inform their relatives and friends of their condition, especially if there is any object to be gained by so doing. These messages lie latent in the subjective consciousness of those persons until they are revealed by a medium. This is what is known as " telepathy by three." It has been ably handled bv Dr. Hudson in his thorough trea- tise, " The Evolution of the Soul." 29 S P I R ITiSM The question hinges on this : Can in- formation telepathically received be telepathically transmitted to a third person ? Says Dr. Hudson: "If it can, spiritism, as a scientific prop- osition, lias not a leg to stand upon; for not a case lias yet been recorded that can- not be telepathically explained if that simple proposition is true. If it is not true, there must be a valid answer to the proposi- tion ; but that answer has never been attempted otherwise than by the bare assertion, without argument, that 'it is carrying telepathy too far. ? On the other hand, if the proposition is true, spiritism, considered as a scientific prop- osition, is disposed of." MEDIUMS What constitutes a medium? One who can reach the content of the sub- jective mind of another. Is this mediumistic power a gift? Yes, and it is susceptible of great cul- tivation. Is it a desirable gift to cultivate ? Not unless one wishes to make medi- umship a profession. Is it a desirable profession? No; 30 SPIRITISM because the power is purchased at a very great cost, the weakening of the objective faculties; the habitual in- dulgence invariably results in some form of nervous derangement and disease. Dr. Hudson says: "No one can become a good medium until a nervous derangement has been induced. The best mediums are those whose nervous systems are completely shattered; and the degree of mediumistic power attainable by any one is in exact proportion to the intensity of the nervous derangement." The question arises, Is the power worth the price? When the idea is once implanted in the mind of the me- dium that the communications are from the spirits of the dead, that dominant idea soon takes such posses- sion of the ones so deluded that they lose all interest in the everyday af- fairs of life, read no books except on spiritism, read no papers, do not keep abreast of the times, and when ques- tioned as to the reason, invariably say, "Oh, they tell me all I ought to know." "Who are they?" "Why, my guides, of course." 31 SPIRITISM Men and women who expend their vitality in the cultivation of the sub- jective faculties for the development of mediumistic power are compara- tively worthless in the practical, ev- eryday affairs of life. THE DIFFEKENCE BETWEEN A PSYCHIC AND A MEDIUM There is a decided difference be- tween a psychic and a medium: the former is influenced and controlled on the psychical plane; the latter is influenced and controlled on the physical plane. The psychic does not surrender his or her own physical consciousness but merely listens to or receives information from the so-called " other side " (in reality the subjective mind), while the reason and will are subject to his or her own control. A medium surren- ders his or her physical organism to the control of another, supposedly, who forcibly takes possession. There is, as will be seen, a marked difference. You know whether you are physically conscious, and capable 32 SPIRITISM of reason, analysis, and discrimina- tion (psychic), or whether you don't know what you are doing when you receive messages from the invisible (medium) . Let me caution all who are interest- ed in this abnormal development to first count the costs. It is much eas- ier to awaken the subjective power than it is to control it. All is well so long as the objective has control, but not so when the subjective gains supremacy beyond the power of the objective to say, " Thus far and no farther." Not long ago a well-known educa- tor in California extended his inves- tigations to the extent that he heard, or thought he heard, voices. Believ- ing them to be voices of the departed he lost his mental balance, reason ab- dicated her throne, and he ended life's fitful dream by his own hand. Possibly the strongest argument in the minds of spiritists is the query so often propounded by them: "If two embodied spirits can communicate with one another by means of tele- pathy, why cannot a disembodied 33 SPIRITISM spirit communicate with an embodied spirit in the same way?" This is usually supposed to be a set- tler. It is, from the viewpoint of the spiritist, because his mind is settled when he asks it. . No amount of argu- ment can ever convert a deep-dyed-in- the-wool spiritist. This important question is best answered in Dr. Hud- son 's own words: "As for myself, I do not know why they cannot— I do not even know that they cannot— so communicate. The question is, Do spirits of the dead communicate with the living through mediums?" Throughout the whole field of in- vestigation, including every phase of spiritism extant, and with unbiassed judgment, have I sought and sought in vain for the proof that spirits do so communicate. I have been personally acquainted with the very best and most prominent mediums in this coun- try, but I have yet to meet one that has been able to give me any intelli- gent or definite message from the be- yond—" the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller re- turns." 34 SPIRITISM Said Dr. Hudson: "I have every reason to believe that Christ had a full, accurate, intuitive knowledge of every attribute of the human soul. I further believe that in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus we have a full, clear, concise, and definite expression as to His view of spirit re- turn." Note the following expressions to which Dr. Hudson refers, and see how significant and unmistakable are the utterances: " Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed ; so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." Also, " Though one rose from the dead," etc. Mark well that word ' ' though, ' ' and see what it implies. What is the con- clusion to which we must naturally arrive ? I believe it will be the general consensus of opinion that if Christ considered it possible for spirits of the dead to commune with the living, He would have taken this occasion to impart the information. Not having done so, the import of the parable is 35 SPIRITISM that "it is neither possible nor expe- dient, for any purpose whatever, for spirits of the dead to communicate with the living." Thus far I have dealt with verbal messages only. What about table tilt- ing, raps, levitation of objects, inde- pendent slate-writing? Are they sleight of hand? Quite often, but not always so. It is more difficult to pro- duce the genuine than the counterfeit ; the one is purely a physical manifes- tation ; the other legerdemain. THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA All the physical phenomena of spir- itism can be accounted for on the ground that living man possesses, in- herently, the power to produce them. The power resides within the medium and is in no way connected with or in- fluenced by a discarnate spirit. It is a power belonging exclusively to the subjective mind, and has been well named by Professor Cowes, who evi- dently coined the word— "telekine- sis " from the Greek words tele, far off, and kinesis, movement. 36 SPIRITISM Dr. Hudson says : "The only thing that can he said of this power with certainty is that it exists; that it is not a power of the objective mind; that it is a power of the human soul, and that it is valuable in this life only as an evidence that there is a kinetic force resident in the soul. There is no valid evidence whatever that dis- embodied spirits either do or can produce the phenomena of telekinesis." RAPS, TABLE-TILTING, ETC. "It is that power [telekinesis] which, in spiritistic circles, produces raps upon floor, walls, and furniture; levitates the medium, tilts tables, and sometimes causes the most orderly and dignified parlor furniture to 'play fantastic tricks before high heaven.' " But of what use is all this? Is it all trickery? I am frank to confess that it may be legitimately done and may serve a purpose, but I fully agree with Dr. Hudson and others that the power is inherent. I am well aware that it is difficult for some persons to comprehend that any object can be made to move without visible force. Yet we have illustrations in nature: 37 SPIRITISM when the wind slams the door we have the movement of an object without visible contact; the same in various electrical movements. It is a noticeable fact that mediums are seldom developed in more than one method or means of communica- tion. Those that give verbal mes- sages, whether in the trance or semi- trance state, rarely resort to physical means of communication. Surely a power that can levitate ponderable objects can cause the raps that are distinctly heard and can move the pencil in the independent slate-writing. When circled around a table it is the custom for one person to act as spokesman; the established code of signals is agreed upon. The questions are asked; and if the an- swers come from raps heard upon the table or elsewhere, the power that produces them is the kinetic force of which I have spoken, and the intelli- gence, if there is any, comes from the same source— the subjective mind containing the information. If the answers are received by the 38 SPIRITISM tilting of the table, the force employed is not usually the kinetic energy of the soul, but an unconscious muscular action of the one whose subjective mind holds the information, all others yielding to the stronger movement. No intelligent answer is ever given unless the knowledge or information is in the subjective mind of some one present, although that person may have no objective knowledge of the same. INDEPENDENT SLATE-WRITING Independent slate-writing may be genuine. It is possible to receive messages in that manner and have the assurance that every possible chance of fraud has been eliminated. But I must repeat over and over again that these messages are not from the dead. You may even receive a message (or information), in which the writing is a perfect f ac-simile of that of one who is dead. But that information and the knowledge of the style of writing must be in the subjective mind of 30 SPIRITISM some one present. It is telepathically transmitted to the subjective mind of the medium, and from him emanates this unseen, unfelt, kinetic energy that moves the pencil. All this may be done without physical contact with either the slate or the pencil. This I have witnessed when only three others were present, one of them a medium. The slate was locked in the drawer of a large library table, and there was not the slightest chance of fraud; besides, the three present were particular friends, the medium a member of the family. A medium will inform you that this is all due to the departed spirit that sent the mes- sage, and he (or she) firmly believes that both the transmission of thought and the transmission of energy came from the same source. They did, but not from that to which it is ascribed. These are instances wherein I go back to one of the strongest planks in my platform, namely, I believe in the al- leged phenomena, but not in the alleged cause. This is a case, probably, in which the searcher for light and truth finds 40 SPIRITISM it more difficult to understand the ex- planation than the thing explained; while the believer in spiritism finds it much easier to believe that which he ardently desires to be true. But you may be curious to know how a power resident within you, a power of which so little is known, can move with such delicacy an object so small as the smallest bit of pencil, and can also move, with ease, some pon- derous object or objects. How? I cannot say, nor can any one. But I do say that I see no need of attributing any power to the dead that is inherent in the living. And further, I know that the power exists, as I have both observed and experi- enced it. I will give two cases in my own experience in which there could have been no possible fraud because there was no medium connected therewith. I acknowledge that I do so with some degree of hesitancy, be- cause the two incidents are so unusual ; besides, facts stated in cold print lack the convincing power that accompanies the individual presenta- tion. 41 SPIRITISM KINETIC ENERGY IN LEVITATION I had charge of forty French Cana- dian expert fishermen, whom I had taken to the month of Saginaw River, but a short distance from Saginaw Bay. Ere the ice moved out I had oc- casion, many times, to cross and re- cross the river on my trips to and from Bay City. On this special oc- casion I was impressed that there was unusual danger, and my many pre- vious experiences had taught me the wisdom of heeding the warning and making the necessary preparation. In consequence of this I procured a long stout rope and fastened one end of it securely around my body, and the other end around the body of one of the fishermen who was to accom- pany me. We walked quite a distance apart, enough so as to keep the long rope al- most taut. We also walked in a line with one another, not one in advance of the other. Feeling a security in the comparative firmness of the ice, I be- came a trifle careless ; instead of look- ing straight ahead, I was looking in 42 SPIRITISM other directions at the snow-covered landscape. How often in life we feel most se- cure when we are nearest danger, and in that sense of security fail to hear the warning voice! In this case I had previously heard, listened, heeded, and made necessary preparation. At the very moment, however, an un- guarded moment, being too objec- tively active, I did not get the im- pression of immediate danger, but felt myself lifted bodily (an indescrib- able feeling), and in less time than I can w r rite it I was, by this unseen power, borne across an iceless area, where the water was deepest, a dis- tance of many feet in width— so wide, I could neither have stepped nor jumped it. If I was surprised, what about my companion? As soon as he felt the rope becoming more taut he looked in my direction and saw me moving through the air without any effort on my part. There was no break in the ice at his end of the line. He moved cautiously toward me. Had he not been tied, being very superstitious, he 43 SPIRITISM would have moved very rapidly in the opposite direction. He could not un- derstand it; neither could I. Can you % At that time, I could arrive at but one conclusion,— it was spirits, the disembodied spirits of departed friends; yet, as the Scotchman says, I had my " doots." At this time, I can arrive at but one conclusion, also, —it was a spirit, my own embodied spirit, using the kinetic energy resi- dent within myself. Of this, I have no " doot." Upon this occasion, as upon all oc- casions of a similar nature, an ejacu- latory prayer of thankfulness escaped my lips to the Great Spirit, the Source of All Good ; for I was assured that whatever the power, or whence- soever it came, it was His power. It will thus be seen that this kinetic en- ergy is the power that controls the physical forces of nature, the power of moving ponderable objects and the power of moving one's own body; "the power that enabled Jesus and Peter to walk upon the water," says Dr. Hudson. 44 SPIRITISM ANOTHEK FOEM OF KINETIC ENEKGY During the Civil War, while en- camped at Savannah, Georgia, I was passing from a cabin to my tent. There was no occasion for me to halt, at least none that I could see, but all at once some one back of me (as I supposed) placed a powerful hand on each shoulder and thus prevented my taking another step. My feet seemed riveted to the spot, but I turned my head and was greatly surprised to be- hold no one behind me. Had I taken one more step, the result undoubtedly would have proved fatal. Just as I was halted, a bullet grazed my chest. A negro (a former slave who had joined us on the " March to the Sea," serving as cook for our mess) was standing some distance away when he was attracted by the peculiar noise of the bullet and the flying of a chip in the air. He said: "Who frew up dat chip?" I informed him that it was a bullet that struck the spot where he saw the chip fly up. He dug about a foot into the ground and 45 *> SPIRITISM found the bullet, which had been com- pletely flattened by its impact with a large stone. In the meantime I had not moved from my position, so that I might gauge the distance and the angle. The conclusion was in accord with my previous reckoning, namely, that one step would have been fatal. The negro handed me the bullet, I looked at it, and tossed it away (bul- lets were so common then) . I thought of what might have been, and was truly thankful that it was outside of me instead of inside. Here was another illustration of kinetic energy, the inherent power that held me as in a vise, a power which I did not then understand. MATEEIALIZATION Such a thing as spirit materializa- tion does not in reality exist. It is true that shadowy forms issue forth from the cabinet, and some of them are, indeed, truly and unmistakably material. The only mistake made is by the medium in allowing those pres- ent to discover the material of which 46 SPIRITISM the spirit is made. The very name is a misnomer, a spiritual body is not a physical (material) body. Christ said, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones." "But," you may ask, "are there no genuine manifestations?" As for my- self, during all my years of investiga- tion I have never witnessed anything genuine in the line of materialization. More fraud is perpetrated by materi- alizing mediums than by any other. Dr. Hudson, although denying that there is such a thing in reality, be- lieved that " the production of gen- uine apparitions, resembling the per- sons they profess to represent, is a possibility within the range of psy- chic power." It is not to be denied that a good medium can produce any number of visions of men, women, and children, and all this without fraud. But it should be understood that the forms that are seen are not materialized spirits, but instead, the mental im- ages held in the subjective minds of those present at the seance, perceived telepathically by the medium, and by 47 SPIRITISM the medium projected in such a way as to be perceived and even recognized objectively by those present. Dr. George F. Tuttle of Waverly, Massachusetts, comments as follows: " How the materialization of spirit forms are received depends on the attitude of the observer. If they are seen with the firm belief that they are really spiritual manifestations, and under an emotional condition which precludes the ex- ercise of sound judgment, they appear convin- cing. With such a mental attitude the possibil- ities for deception are endless. "A gauze mask in front of a handkerchief made luminous by phosphorus, has been recog- nized by many different people as a dear de- parted relative. This is, properly speaking, a delusional interpretation rather than an illu- sion. "I am quite certain, however, that the most convincing proof of the doctrine of spiritism which causes its acceptance by many people of education, refinement, and otherwise good judg- ment, is the evidence of their own senses — the voices and touch of departed friends ; in other words, the hallucinations or illusions that come to them while in an emotional condition, under the influence of suggestion and expectant atten- tion, which are afterward perpetuated by habit. This seems to be the reason why so many who attempt to investigate spiritism become be- lievers." 48 SPIRITISM COLLECTIVE HALLUCINATION While it requires a medium of much practice and powerful concen- tration to produce apparent materi- alization, they are not worthy to be compared with the feats of the East India fakirs who possess the power of producing hallucinations in the minds of others simply by forming pictures in their own minds, which they mentally impress upon the minds of the spectators. It is in this manner that what is known as a " collective hallucina- tion" is made upon the minds of hun- dreds or even thousands at the same time, all of whom would be willing to swear that they really saw the mango tree grow ; saw the girl step into the bamboo basket, and then heard her shriek as she was pierced through and through with the magician's sword; saw her blood trickle from the sword as it was withdrawn; saw the lid raised and the basket empty; saw a rope thrown high into the air, and then saw a boy climb aloft; saw the magician follow; saw the boy come 49 SPIRITISM down in sections— head, arms, legs, and trunk; then saw the magician (the fakir) descend ; then saw the dis- membered portions of the boy gather themselves together, rim toward the fakir, and then disappear. I say— saw them. Did they? Yes, they saw them just as surely as you ever saw materialized spirit. There can be no doubt about these perform- ances being illusions, because an at- tempt to photograph them reveals nothing on the plate other than the magician, the musicians, and the place where the hallucinations took place ; other than that, nothing, noth- ing whatever. These fakirs simply have the power to make you see things which do not exist. Says Frederick J. Haskin : "The first principle underlying the whole business is that of a strong will, and the first necessary condition of producing a magical ef- fect is an increase in the power of thought. The Hindus, owing to that intense love for soli- tary meditation, which has been one of their most pronounced characteristics from time im- memorial, have acquired mental faculties of which we of the Western and younger civiliza- tion are totally ignorant. The Hindu has at- 50 SPIRITISM tained a past master's degree in speculative philosophy. He has for years retired for medi- tation to the silent places in his land, lived a hermit, subdued the body and developed the mind, thus winning control over other minds." SPIKIT PHOTOGRAPHY I have seen some excellent examples of so-called spirit photography, but in every case I have failed to see photo- graphs of spirits. It is true that other faces than that of the subject ap- peared upon the photographic plate. This is another case in which I am frank to admit that not all "spirit photography" is the work of deceiv- ers ; yet this is not an admission that spirits are ever photographed. It is possible that these impressions were on the prepared plate, and it is possible they were not. If not, whence came they? That is the important point to consider in determining the truth. Experiments have been made which clearly demonstrate the power of producing the picture of any one, living or dead, by vividly recalling the image of the person to be photo- graphed, and concentrating the mind 51 SPIRITISM upon the mental picture. You will ob- serve that it is not necessary for one to be dead in order to have his "spir- it" photographed. Usually, however, the sitter may hold in his mind, consciously or un- consciously, the image of one or more friends that have "passed over." The medium, telepathically perceiving the image, re-creates it with sufficient power to produce the impression upon the photographic plate. No one should deny the possibility of photographing thought waves of an image held in the mind, after hav- ing read or heard of the recent re- markable and successful experiment made by Dr. M. A. Veeder of Lyons, New York. He, with four others standing around a table, placed the tips of the fingers of their right hands under the photographic plate pre- pared in the ordinary manner and enclosed in the plate-holder. The fin- gers of the left hands were placed on the top of the plate. After concentrating the attention for a few seconds on a ball of sur- geon's gauze on the floor, the plate 52 SPIRITISM (not having been exposed during the experiment) was duly developed. The result? There, at the exact spot where the finger tips of the experi- menters had centred, was an object clearly photographed, of the size, shape, and general appearance of the ball of gauze. Question: Was this the spirit of the ball of gauze that was photo- graphed? Just as much so as are the impressions upon the plate in "spir- it" photography the photographs of spirits. GHOSTS It would probably be less objection- able to speak of ghosts as "phantasms of the dead," or, in some cases, as fan- tastics of the dead. I never have seen any ghosts, but have slept in haunted houses where dishes were rattled and doors were slammed in my face; where I have heard chandeliers fall with a crash and seen doors that could not be kept locked or chained. But I never was able to catch the ghost, al- though I have felt, or thought I felt, his (or her) uncanny touch as soon as 53 SPIRITISM the lights were extinguished. This may sound like a ghost story; but strange as it may seem, there are ghost stories that possess an element of truth and that rest upon a secure foundation— are not wholly imagin- ary, but will bear the light of scientific investigation. That which is called a ghost is a cre- ation of the subjective entity. It has been clearly demonstrated by the So- ciety for Psychical Eesearch that the subjective personality of man pos- sesses the power to create phantoms or visions which in many instances are visible to the objective senses of others. "Phantasms of the living" and "phantasms of the dead" are both creations of the subjective entity. Sometimes a phantasm of the living has been projected when the said liv- ing person was in a profound slum- ber, as the result of a desire before entering sleep, and sometimes without any such desire; yet the vision made its appearance so perfectly as to be easily recognized by the one to whom it was projected. The more profound 54 SPIRITISM the sleep of the person whose " ghost" appears, the better are the results. The power is greatest, however, at the hour of death, when the functions of the body are entirely suspended. Ghosts, or phantasms of the dead, are not produced by the dead, but are often seen after the death of the per- son; hence the name " ghosts," or spirits of the dead. As a rule these phantasms are projected by those who have died a violent death, or under circumstances of great mental stress or emotion. I believe that in every case of a haunted house, especially where the " ghost" is visible, there is a reason for the presence. This is the more manifest from the fact that as soon as its mission is fulfilled it vanishes never to return. Bear in mind that the " ghost" is not the subjective en- tity, but a creation of the subjective entity. Dr. Hudson considered the vision, or ghost, as "an embodied thought, rather than a human soul," and said, " it possesses but one idea or purpose." If the apparition were a real phantom or spirit of the one de- 55 SPIRITISM ceased, it could convey any informa- tion desired. The fact that it does not do so, or cannot do so, shows con- clusively that said phantom is merely an embodied thought of the deceased, projected at the supreme moment for a specific purpose. "It seems probable," says Henry Eutgers Marshall, president of the American Psychological Society, " that in the near future many of these recorded facts will appear easily explicable without resort to the spirit- istic hypothesis." MRS. LEONORA E. PIPER Every one is more or less familiar with the reported tests, extending over many years, with Mrs. Piper. It is generally conceded that she is one of the best mediums— mentally, mor- ally, and physically considered— that could be found for the trying ordeal, and that the investigators were gen- tlemen of ability, learning, and un- compromising integrity. The strictest surveillance has characterized every movement of the Psychical Research 56* SPIRITISM Society investigators; but, not- withstanding all this, and that in every test there was an entire absence of the slightest element of fraud, they seem to be as much in the dark as at the beginning. In the meantime Mrs, Piper, after years of honest and con- scientious endeavor to aid in unravel- ling the mystery that surrounds " the shadow world," began to realize that whatever knowledge or information she was able to give came not from "the departed" but was, instead, the result of an inherent faculty possessed by her and developed to an unusual degree, which manifested itself the more that the objective faculties were in abeyance. In consequence of this awakening she readily passed from the less desirable role of "medium" to the more desirable one of "psychic." As to the conclusions reached by the investigators, I fail to see any plaus- ible theory whereby the phenomena can be said to be due to disembodied spirits, to the return of friend or rela- tive, or to any knowledge or message from the same after they have "passed over." But I can see, very 57 SPIRITISM clearly, how the knowledge of every transaction was lying dormant in the subjective mind of some of the in- vestigators, but of which they may have had no objective consciousness. Dr. Hudson's infallible key, " telep- athy by three, " will unlock the mys- tery of all those cases wherein the objective mind may never have pos- sessed the knowledge or wherein the objective memory may have been at fault, EUSAPIA PALLADXNO There has recently come to our shores one who has mystified all Europe with her truly wonderful se- ances. This ignorant peasant woman of Naples has been closely watched by eminent scientists, believers as well as unbelievers. While she was caught, now and then, simulating psychical phenomena by legerdemain, there were many phases of her seances that were inexplicable to the investigators. The majority of those who studied each and every performance have 58 SPIRITISM expressed themselves as being con- vinced that she possesses powers be- yond the normal, although they have no clear conception as to the cause that is back of the effect. Those, like the late Caesar Lombroso and other believers, naturally attributed each phenomenon to some extraneous force, while the non-believers in spir- itism did not hesitate to acknowledge the phenomena, but were not willing to subscribe to the alleged cause. She was brought to this country to un- dergo special scientific investigation of the same seances given abroad. Whether it was due to the closer scru- tiny, if possible, of the committee, or to the environment in a strange land, or to the fact that she was caught in the act of trickery— be that as it may —she failed to make good. Mr. Hereward Carrington, member of the Council of the American So- ciety for Scientific Research, and also of the English Society for Psychical Research, considered one of the most expert investigators in America, has this to say of her many private 59 SPIRITISM seances for which he arranged both here and abroad: "The majority of investigators oppose a spiritistic interpretation of the facts and rather incline to the belief that we deal, in Eusapia's case, with the operation of an unknown but intelligent force directed, perhaps by the sub- consciousness of the medium which has the ca- pacity at times of externalizing itself, as it were, and creating images and phantoms out- standing and real at the time, but nevertheless, reflected images (such as those we see in a look- ing-glass) which disintegrate and vanish at the conclusion of the seance, just as the living image seen in the glass vanishes when the mirror itself is shattered. "These phenomena indicate the existence of a force or forces unrecognized by physical sci- ence as it exists to-day. There is no a priori objection to the existence of a force, since the nature of the vital action within the human body is but little understood; and it is only necessary to conceive that this vital or nervous energy might extend, at times, beyond the pe- riphery of the body (whereas, normally, it is terminated at the surface) in order to account for any of the phenomena observed." The morning of April 10, 1910, the daily paper contained the following startling headlines "by direct wire from New York ": 60 SPIRITISM "The bubble bursts. Medium is branded faker by scientists. Eusapia Palladino fooled the world nineteen years, but is exposed. Sav- ants of Europe duped by old tricks of an Italian woman, bailed by learned bodies as most won- derful spiritualist. American college profes- sors secrete spies and discover how the public was hoodwinked." Then follows an extended and ex- haustive article bv Dickinson Miller, Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College, in which the details of the expose are given. SUMMARY After weighing all the evidence, pro and con, I conclude by repeating what I have heretofore stated; namely, it is not necessary to ascribe to spirits of the dead (disembodied) the knowl- edge which is in the subjective mind of the living— the embodied spirit. Also I would repeat the unanswerable question, " Why should a dead man's spirit in abnormal union with a living man's body possess more knowledge than' a living man's spirit in normal union with his own body?" I am well aware, as before stated, 61 SPIRITISM that the searcher for light and truth may find it more difficult to under- stand the explanation than the thing explained ; while the believer in spir- itism finds it much easier to believe that which he ardently desires to be true. 62 p 29 im Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Nov. 2004 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111 THE WARMAN BOOKS PHYSICAL EDUCATION SERIES Physical Training Simplified. Care of the Body. Indian Club Exercises. Hints on Health. 285 Health Answers. Physical Education and Hygiene. Fencing Exercises. Get Well: Keep Well. Twenty-Minute Exercises. How to Live 100 Years — AND THEN SOME. PSYCHIC SCIENCE SERIES Psychology. Personal Magnetism. Telepathy Mind Reading, etc. Hypnotism. Suggestion. Spiritism S Clairvoyance and Clairaudience. ( Premonitions and Impressions. Hindu Philosophy in a Nutshell. MISCELLANEOUS Practical Orthoepy and Critique. The Philosophy of Expression. How to Read, Recite, and Impersonate. The Voice: How to Train It. Don'ts for Speaker and Writer,