Public Speaking Under Control.
A writer gives the following advice concerning Speaking Mediumship: "Should you be controlled to give public addresses, it will be best to withhold the name of the spirit who prompts or controls your utterances.
Most intelligent spirits prefer to be known by their teachings, rather than by the names they bore when on earth. If the addresses are eloquent and beautiful, and the thoughts presented are good and true, they will be acceptable on their own merits, and would not be one bit more valuable because they were inspired by some well-known historical persons. Whereas, if you announce the name of a spirit, your hearers may consider that the address does not come up to the standard of the ability displayed by that individual before he dies, and may discredit and discard the good that they might otherwise have found in your utterances."
Spirit Advice and Counsel.
If spirits voluntarily tender you their advice upon business matters, especially if they are friends or relatives whom you know and trust, and who, when here, were capable and experienced business people, you may well give heed to their counsel, even though you may not feel it wise to follow it; but do not make a practice of going to the spirits for information concerning trade or finance. Why should you expect that wise and enlightened spirits should concern themselves about stocks and shares, commerce, or manufacturing? Probably they knew but little about these things when they were here, and have no heed for such knowledge over there; and it will be well for you to learn to live your own life, do your business, and accept the ordinary duties and responsibilities which naturally devolve upon you. Let mediumship be a PART of your education and development, not the WHOLE.
Impersonating Manifestations.
It will often happen that some spirit will take control of the medium for the purpose of communicating with a friend present in the circle or AUDIENCE, and for the purpose of positively identifying himself to that friend, he may deem it necessary to cause you to impersonate himself as he was during his earth life. In such cases you will experience a peculiar feeling of undergoing a complete transformation of personality, and often a dual-personality for the time being. Another instance of this kind is where a spirit wishing to communicate with friends, and this being his first opportunity to manifest in the impersonating phase, he may yield to that peculiar psychic law which seems to operate in the direction of causing a spirit, manifesting for the first time, to enact his dying experiences, and to manifest a pantomimic reproduction of his last hours preceding death. In such cases, the medium reproduces, in a most startlingly real manner, the movements, ways of breathing, coughing, gestures, e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns, and may even go so far as to utter the "last words" of the dying man whose spirit now controls the medium.
Every medium should be prepared for an experience of this kind, for it will sometimes completely upset a medium unfamiliar with it, and not knowing just what it all means.
Incidents of Impersonations.
In a case such as stated above, the medium will probably find himself either partially or completely conscious of what is being said and done by the spirit through his body or vocal organs. He will naturally strive to escape the utterance of the strange cries, moans, vocal gasps and efforts, and the dead cries and farewell words of the dying man or woman. Some mediums have felt at such times as if they were losing their reason, and they have struggled to throw off the spirit control and influence in order to regain their mental balance. The best mediums advise the young mediums to keep as cool, calm, and collected as possible in such cases, and not to allow themselves to become panic-stricken. A writer on the subject has said: "Trust to the sincerity of the spirit and the good sense of the sitters, and throw off your fear. Yield obedience to your control, and neither help nor hinder it. Just do and say what you feel you HAVE to do or say, and leave the results. You cannot, or should not, be held responsible for failure by the sitters, if there is no recognition; and by responding and giving free course to the suggestion, which reaches you as an impulse or mental impression, greater success will follow, and the development you seek will be promoted. If, however, you find that the impersonations are untrue, and the sitters are unable to interpret or recognize what you do or say after you have followed out your impressions a number of times, then resist them with all your strength of will, and require from the spirit the proof of his ident.i.ty in some other way."
Incidents of Inspirational Mediumship.
Another writer speaking concerning inspirational mediumship, has said: "In inspirational speaking it will be noted that the medium often gives a really wonderful speech, although he may naturally be a very poor conversationalist. These speeches are often preserved and some of them form exceptionally interesting literature. These speeches are generally given when the medium is seated, but sometimes he loses balance and falls to the floor. Still, as long as the spirit control has anything to say, he will say it through the vocal organs of the medium. But it must always be borne in mind that a medium does not, as a general rule, become an inspirational speaker all at once. There is a stage of development through which he must pa.s.s in which the spirit control a.s.sumes charge of the body of the medium, and this takes some time and is usually accomplished in steps. First, the medium gives evidence of inspirational speaking by uttering guttural sounds, and very often his mouth merely moves without giving forth any sound whatever. Little by little the control gains access to the inner atmosphere of the medium, and when he has broken the final barriers, he can speak and act and deliver what he has to say. But it must be remembered that the mind of the medium is not to be left out of the question entirely. He is often called upon to aid in the interpretation of the speeches the spirit delivers, and these he may misinterpret and lend to them color of his own mentality, without his conscious intention to do so, however."
Value of Identification.
In impersonation mediumship, however, no matter how interesting the manifestation may be, it is of prime importance that the ident.i.ty of the spirit should be clearly established, providing that the spirit himself claims positively to be some particular individual; this, of course, does not apply to instances in which the spirit does not claim ident.i.ty with any particular departed person, and where the communications are given anonymously. It is this feature of identification that renders this phase of mediumship so valuable and important. A well-known medium, in a trance state, once delivered the following message from a spirit: "Impersonation mediumship is the most valuable that the world can possibly have today. When by the aid of the impersonating medium, the inquirer is enabled to converse with his beloved deceased friends, and they make themselves actually visible in the personality of the medium, plain to consciousness and understanding, and tell him specifically points and facts of ident.i.ty and experience that are utterly beyond the power of any other intelligence to tell, then he has something borne in upon him through the senses of sight, of hearing and understanding that appeals to him. Therefore, the impersonating medium is the most valuable medium you can present to inquirers." Another mediumistic writer has said: "This kind of mediumship carries conviction of the real presence of the so-called dead, and your aim should be to get into communication with the intelligent operator at the other end of the line, and elicit from him evidences of his ident.i.ty and purpose.
Table movements, raps, materializations, writings, messages, or controls, are of comparatively little value unless by their agency you can secure proofs of the personal ident.i.ty and survival after death of your departed friends, or some indications of a rational purpose on the part of the operator."
Fraudulent Claims of Ident.i.ty.
We would be lacking in our sense of duty and obligation toward our readers, however, were we to refrain from calling their attention to the fact that positive and strict identification of the spirits, in cases where ident.i.ty is claimed, is a duty on the part of investigators, particularly on the part of those who happen to be relatives or friends of the deceased person whose presence and ident.i.ty are being claimed by the controlling spirit who is manifesting the impersonation. As we have said, elsewhere, we must remember that there are all kinds of decarnate spirits, just as there are all kinds of incarnate spirits; and that the nature of a spirit is not greatly changed by pa.s.sing out of the body.
Just as there are imposters on the earth plane, so are there imposters on the spirit plane. And, accordingly, caution is to be exercised on both planes. The following quotations from mediumistic writers will serve to ill.u.s.trate this point, and to show that the best mediumistic authorities themselves insist upon this precaution being taken.
Guarding Against Fraudulent Spirits.
One writer says: "While most mediums seek for some guide or control of prominence, it must not be always taken for granted that the controlling spirit during a seance is always just what he claims to be. For instance, a spirit control might give his name as Henry Clay, and he might deliver a spirited talk or oration, which, however, would be reeking with grammatical errors. Even though he insist that he is Henry Clay, our reason will tell us that he is not what he pretends to be. The change which we call death cannot lead all spirits to reform, and there are many who, as in earth life, are unworthy of our a.s.sociation, and should be gotten rid of as soon as they appear. When these fraudulent spirits appear, the atmosphere of the circle should be made very sacred and high in character. Evil spirits, and those of low characters, cannot endure the presence of elevated and high thoughts, and by the holding of thoughts of this character the circle can soon rid itself for good of these troublesome ent.i.ties--and it should do so without fail."
Spirit Jokers.
Another writer says, on this point: "That there are spirits who sometimes impersonate, and seek to pa.s.s themselves off as friends of the sitters, cannot be denied; in fact, we have had personal proof of the same on several occasions. But these troublesome and vexatious visitors invariably get "bowled out" if the investigators are observant and careful. In fact, such ent.i.ties are neither as numerous, or as evilly disposed, as many persons imagine them to be. There are spirits who "play up to" the weaknesses and flatter the vanity of those to whom they communicate. And it is equally true that there are spirits who give glowing a.s.surances of the good things that they will perform by-and-by, and profess to be some of the "great ones" of the past, is equally true.
It is a well-known saying that "people love a lord," and this amiable weakness is fully realized by the jokers on the other side--but the fault does not wholly rest with them! Their too confiding and credulous mediums are too often in the main responsible for their own mystification and misleading. They are often so anxious to be guided by some "eminent" person who will be to them an "authority," that they practically invite spirit pretenders to fool them to the top of their bent. This does not apply to all cases of real or supposed deception, but it does cover a large proportion of such experiences. In many instances there is an element of self-deception--or auto-suggestion--and the "wish becomes father to the thought," and the sensitive medium"s unrestrained imaginative powers do the rest."
A Typical Case of Identification.
The following typical case of undoubted identification of a visiting spirit is related by Smedley in his work concerning spiritualistic experiences, and may be taken as a pattern to be followed by investigators in demanding and obtaining proofs of ident.i.ty in cases where same is a.s.serted. The medium in this case was a woman of high standing in spiritualistic circles, and the seance took place in Mr.
Smedley"s own home. The medium was at that time a perfect stranger to the Smedley family, and to their little circle of invited friends. The seance was opened by the singing of hymns, and before long the medium went under control. Mr. Smedley says: "She pa.s.sed under the control of an intelligent being, opened her eyes, and manifested the greatest amazement." He then relates the subsequent experience as follows:
Recalling Past Incidents.
"After looking around the room very deliberately at various objects, then at one person after another, and fixing her eyes on my wife, she ran across the room, and throwing her arms around my wife"s neck, she kissed her most affectionately, addressing her as "My dear sister."
After speaking with my wife in endearing terms, she came across the room to me, and placing her right hand on my shoulder, said: "Well, my dear brother." (This was exactly as a deceased sister of my wife had been in the habit of doing.) "How unspeakingly glad I am for such a privilege as this! When we used to sit by the hearth at night, conversing on various topics that used to interest us so much, we little expected we should ever have such a privilege. You know we used to sit up at night discussing theological questions till the embers in the grate died out, and sometimes a chiding voice from upstairs cried out: "Alfred, Alfred, do come to bed. Do you know what time it is? You know Charlotte is not fit to sit up so late."" This was precisely what had taken place, the exact words being used.
Identifying Property.
"She referred to a number of incidents known only to her and ourselves.
She asked for an alb.u.m in which she had written the dedication, pointing this out, and also various pieces of poetry she had written in it. She asked for a hymn-book, and desired us to sing what had been her favorite hymn, which at my request she instantly found. She next asked for a Bible, and asked me to read her favorite Psalm. I requested her to find it, although I knew well which it was. She turned to it instantly, and I read: "The Lord is my shepherd," etc. When the Psalm was finished, the medium stood transfigured before us; her countenance was radiant, and her eyes bright with a heavenly light. Turning to my wife, she said: "Sister, dear, by inviting strangers to your house tonight you have entertained angels unawares!" After the meeting, the medium remarked: "When under control I was strongly influenced to look around for a picture, but could not find it. I do not know what it meant, but the control was anxious to find a picture." My wife replied: "My sister painted a picture of the Saviour bearing His cross, many years ago, and it now hangs in our dining room." The above incidents, combined with her mannerisms, and bearing in mind that the medium was an entire stranger to us, and uneducated, were sufficient evidence of the presence and influence of her deceased sister to cause my wife to exclaim, "OF A TRUTH, THAT WAS MY SISTER CHARLOTTE!""
Identifying Historical Personages.
Of course, a close, personal identification, similar to that stated in the above recital, is impossible in cases when the spirit claims to be some well-known historical personage. But in the last named cla.s.s of cases it will be found possible to ask questions concerning the life and career of the supposed celebrity, and to form a general idea of the correctness of the claim by the quality and general character of the answers given. It will be found that genuine spirits are nearly always anxious to definitely establish the truth of their claims to ident.i.ty, and will often go to great pains to do so. The character of the language employed, the grammar followed, and the general evidence of the intellectual capacity of the spirit, all these will be found useful in testing cases of claimed ident.i.ty; and no genuine spirit has any just cause to object to such tests and questions, if made in the proper scientific spirit, and with ordinary politeness. In short, treat the spirit just as you would were he in the flesh, speaking to you over a telephone, and endeavoring to establish his ident.i.ty; this will always be a safe and just rule to employ and follow.
PART XI
HIGHER SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS
We frequently hear of, and witness manifestations of, what is called "spirit psychometry," "spirit clairvoyance," and "spirit clairaudience."
In the earlier chapters of the present book we have spoken of the psychic principles and laws underlying psychometry, clairvoyance, and clairaudience. We have seen that all of these forms and phases of psychic phenomena are capable of being produced independent of spirit guidance, control, or influence. In fact, most of such manifestations are so produced, even when they are considered to be phases of spirit mediumship. But, outside of these manifestations, there are found cases in which such phenomena are produced by the aid, influence, and a.s.sistance, if not indeed the direct power of, the controlling spirits of the medium.
Spirit Psychometry and Clairvoyance.
In those instances in which the controlling influence of such phenomena is clearly that of disembodied spirits, we find two distinct cla.s.ses of the same, as follows: (1) cases in which the spirits aided in the establishing of the psychic rapport, and thus rendered more efficient, clear, and strong; (2) cases in which the spirits exerted their own psychometric, clairvoyant or clairaudient power, and then communicated the result through their mediums to the circle. In the first of above cla.s.ses, the psychic faculties of the medium really perform the work, although greatly aided by the addition of the psychic power of the spirit. In the second of the above cla.s.ses, the work is performed solely by the psychic powers of the spirits, and the medium acts merely as the line of communication between spirit and the circle. It must be remembered that the spirits who have pa.s.sed out of the body are possessed of the same order of psychic faculties as are those still in the body, and that, likewise, on both planes there is a great variation of the degree of such powers between different individuals.
Spirit Psychic a.s.sistance.
From the above, it will be seen that a mediumistic person may practice in psychometry, clairvoyance, and clairaudience, either with or without the a.s.sistance of the spirits. In case the spirits are a.s.sisting in the direction of performing the psychic work themselves, and then communicating the result to the medium, the medium of course has but to remain pa.s.sive and receive the communication. In cases, however, in which the spirits a.s.sist merely by strengthening the psychic power of the medium by aiding in the production of the rapport conditions, or by lending the psychic power to add to that of the medium, then the medium has but to proceed just as we have pointed out in the earlier portions of this book devoted to the subjects of psychometry, clairvoyance, etc.
Writing Mediumship.
In what is known as "writing mediumship" the medium"s hand is controlled by the spirit, and is caused to write messages to those present, or to answer questions propounded by some of those present at the circle. In some quarters such writing is called "automatic writing," but inasmuch as this last term is also applied to cases in which the hand of the person writes a message telepathed by a living person, it would seem that the old term "writing mediumship" is still the best one to use in the cases in which the spirit control is using the hand of the medium for the purpose of communication. The following statements made by different mediumistic writers on this particular subject will prove interesting and instructive to the young mediums seeking development along the lines of this special phase of mediumship.