Read Ebook: Second Sight: A Study of Natural and Induced Clairvoyance by Sepharial

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e natural development of the clairvoyant faculty may be achieved. In regard then to the subject, medium or seer, there are two distinct temperaments in which the faculty is likely to be dominant and capable of high and rapid development. The first is the nervous temperament, characterized by extreme activity of body and mind, nervous excitability, dark complexion, prominent features, and wiry frame. Types of this temperament are to be seen in the descriptions of Dante, Swedenborg, Melancthon, Edgar A. Poe and others. This type represents the positive seers.

The other temperament is of the passive type and is characterized by a full lymphatic habit, pale or delicate complexion, blue eyes, straight fine hair, small hands, tapering fingers, cold and fleshy to the touch; usually a thin or high voice and languid manner.

These two types of seers--of which there are many varieties-- achieve their development by quite opposite means. The positive seer projects the mental images by a psychic process impossible of description, but by a certain psychic metabolism by which the apperceptions of the soul are transformed into mental images of a purely symbolical nature. The psychic process of picture-production is involuntary and unconscious, but the perception of the mental pictures is a perfectly conscious process and involves the exercise of an introspective faculty. The passive seer, on the contrary, is effortless, and receives impressions by reflection, the visions coming imperceptibly and having a literal interpretation. The vision is not in this case of an allegorical or symbolic nature, as is the case with the positive seer, but is an actual vision of a fact or event which has already happened or as it will transpire in the future. Thus the positive vision consists in the projection of the mind towards the things of the soul-world, while the passive vision in the result of a propulsion of the soul-world upon the passive sense. Of the two kinds of vision, the passive is the more serviceable as being the more perspicuous and literal, but it has the disadvantage of being largely under the control of external influences and consequently of greater variability than the positive vision. It is, indeed, quite the common experience that the passive medium requires "conditions" for the proper exercise of the faculty and where these are lacking no vision can be obtained.

The positive type of seer exercises an introspective vision, searching inwardly towards the soul-world whence revelation proceeds. The passive seer, on the other hand, remains in a static condition, open to impressions coming inwards upon the mind's eye, but making no conscious effort towards inward searching. Those who have experienced both involuntary and voluntary visions will readily appreciate the difference of attitude, which is difficult to convey to others in so many words.

Now the exercise of this faculty does not exist apart from some definite use, and it may be of advantage to consider what that use may be. Primarily, I should be disposed to regard the mere opening up of a channel of communication between the material and psychic worlds as adequate reason for the exercise of the faculty. The Gates of Heaven have to be kept open by human endeavour and the exercise of the spiritual and psychic faculties, otherwise a complete lesion and cutting off of our source of inspiration would follow. Except we aspire to the higher world that world will come no nearer to us. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. It was never said that the door would be opened to others than those who knocked. The law of spiritual compensation involves the fact that we receive what we ask for. If we get it otherwise, there is no guarantee of its continuance or that its possession will be a blessing. But if we ask according to our needs and strive according to our strength there is no law which can prevent a commensurate response. The ignorance of our asking and the imperfection of our striving will modify the nature of the response, but they cannot be negative of results. We can trust nature and there is a spiritual law in the natural world as well as a natural law in the spiritual world, for they are interdependent.

But even our daily life affords numerous instances wherein the use of the clairvoyant faculty is attended by beneficial results. How many people there are who have been warned in dreams-- wherein all people are naturally clairvoyant--of some impending danger to themselves or those around them, must have struck any casual reader of the daily press; for during recent years much greater interest has been taken in psychological matters and we are continually in hearing of new facts which give us knowledge of the power of the soul to foresee danger, and to know what is determined upon the world for the greater ends of human evolution. Some experiences of this nature will no doubt form a fit subject for a subsequent chapter. The qualifications which should supplement and sustain the natural aptitude of the seer or seeress demand consideration in this place, and the following remarks may not be without value in this respect.

Mental stability, self-possession and confidence in one's own soul-faculties must be the firm rock on which all revelation should rest. The element of doubt either negatives results or opens the door to the ingress of all manner of deceptive impressions.

Integrity of purpose is imperative. The purer the intention and motive of the seer the more lucid will be the vision accorded. No reliable vision can be obtained by one whose nature is not inherently truthful.

Any selfish desire dominating the mind, in regard to any thing or person will distort the vision and render it misleading, while a persistent self-seeking spirit will effectually shut the door to all revelation whatsoever.

Therefore above all things it is essential for the investigator of psychic phenomena to have an unflinching love of truth, to be resigned to the will of Heaven, to accept the revelations accorded in a spirit of grateful confidence, and to dispel all doubt and controversy by an appeal to the eyes of one's own immortal soul.

These are qualifications with which the seer or seeress should be invested, and if with these the quest of the vision is unsuccessful after a period of earnest trial, it must be taken as sufficient warrant that the faculty of clairvoyance is not in the category of one's individual powers. Haply the same qualifications brought to bear on some other psychic faculty will result in a rich recompense.

As for those triflers who at odd moments sit for the production of what they call "phenomena," with no other object than the gratification of an inquisitive vanity, I would drive them with whips from the field of psychical research. They are people whose presence in this area of serious enquiry does no good either to the cause of truth or the service of the race, and this loose traffic of sorts in the hope of finding a new sensation would, were it transferred to another sphere of activity, deservedly receive a very ugly name.

I think it right, therefore, to regard the quest of clairvoyance as a legitimate occupation, providing that it is purposeful and carried out with a right spirit, while not being allowed to interfere with the proper performance of one's ordinary duties in life. For it is possible to become over-zealous and even morbid over these mysteries of human life, and to become so obsessed by the idea of their importance as practically to render oneself unfitted for any ordinary pursuits, thereby producing an isolation that is in the best sense unprofitable. Moreover, there are mental dangers as well as spiritual and social to be feared, and it is unfortunately not uncommon to observe that neuraesthenia, nervous corrosion, and even insanity attends upon the tireless efforts of the enthusiast in this direction.

If we regard clairvoyance as a normal faculty we are more likely to treat it normally than if we give it a paramount and exceptional value and seek to beatify those in whom it appears. I am convinced from experience that it is both normal and educable though not usually active in the large majority of people. I am also of the opinion that it is not peculiar, except in its higher functions, to human beings. I have known animals to possess this faculty; in a higher degree I have seen humans in the exercise of it. Perhaps even the archangels are yet seeking their vision of God.

But to us as normal beings clairvoyance should appear a potentially normal faculty, to be studied and pursued by methods that are efficient while yet harmless; and this is the purport of the present treatise. I will therefore ask the reader to follow me in these pages with a mind divested of all disposition to the supernatural.

PRELIMINARIES AND PRACTICE

The first consideration by those who would develop clairvoyance by artificial aids is the choice of a suitable agent. It has been the practice for many years to substitute the original beryl or "rock crystal" by a glass ball. I admit that many specimens I have seen are very creditable productions, but they are nevertheless quite worthless from the point of view of those who consider material agents to be important factors in the production of clairvoyance. The glass ball may, however, very well serve the preliminary essential of concentration, and, if the faculty of clairvoyance is at all active, will be entirely effective as an agent.

Those who have any experience at all in this matter will allow that the rock crystal exerts an influence of an entirely different nature to that observable in the use of glass. Indeed, so far as experiment serves us, it may be said that glass only produces negative results and never at any time induced clairvoyance. If this state followed upon the use of a glass ball I am sure that the patient must have been naturally clairvoyant, in which case a bowl of water, a spot upon a wall, a piece of polished brass or copper, or a spot of ink would have been equally efficacious in inducing the degree of hypnosis required. That glass spheres are equally efficient as those of crystal is true only in two cases, namely, when clairvoyance is natural, in which case neither need be used; and when no results are observable after due experiment, from which we may conclude either that the agent is unsuitable or that the faculty is entirely submerged in that individual.

In hypnotic clairvoyance the glass ball will be found as useful a "field" as the best rock crystal. Yet it does not follow that because the crystal is highly odylic and glass altogether negative the former will induce clairvoyance. My own first experience with the crystal was entirely disappointing, while very striking results followed immediately upon the use of a black concave mirror.

The mirror is usually circular in shape and about one-quarter-inch curve to a six-inch diameter. This gives a long focus, so that the mirror may be hung upon a wall at about two yards distance from the subject. A greater degree of concavity proportionate to the diameter will produce a focus which allows the mirror to be held in the hand while resting in the lap.

This disposes to a very easy and passive attitude and helps towards results. The base of the mirror may be of tin, wood or other material, and it is usually filled with a composition of a bituminous nature, the glass covering being painted with a preparation of coal-tar on its nether or convex side. The exact focus and consequent size of the mirror employed as most suitable to the individual is a matter of experiment. It is also to be observed that the distance of the mirror, as also the angle of vision, are matters of experiment. Beyond a certain distance it will be found that the mirror has no "draw" on the subject. If brought closer its pull is immediately felt.

In the foregoing illustration let A-B be the mirror with F for its focus. Let the subject be stationed at S. Then the rays directed towards the surface of the mirror will be represented by RR-RR. These rays impinge upon a diamagnetic surface which is concave. The rays are therefore bent inwards and thrown back upon the person at S in the form of a cone of energy which has the effect of producing auto-hypnosis. There are other forms of agency, such as the zinc disc with the copper centre as used by Braid to induce the hypnotic sleep, but these appear to depend upon tiring the optic nerves and thus, through their action upon the thalami to produce temporary inhibition of the whole basilar tract of the brain.

These, however, are considerations which need not trouble us overmuch, since by whatever agent the subject is made clairvoyant, the results are equally curious and informing. Auto-suggestion, at least, can hardly be regarded in the category of objections, since we cannot auto-suggest that which does not first of all arise as an image in the mind. It is in the spontaneous and automatic production of auto-suggested impressions that the phenomena of clairvoyance very largely consist; only we have to remember that the suggesting self is a more considerable quantity than the personality to which these suggestions are made, and is in touch with a world immeasurably greater and in every sense less limited than that to which the person is externally related. Looked at from whatever point of view we may choose, the phenomena of clairvoyance cannot be adequately explained without recourse to psychology on the one hand and occultism on the other. Psychology is needed in order to explain the nature and faculty of the human soul, and occultism to define for us the nature of that universal mirror in which the whole category of human events, both past and future, are reflected. Having decided upon a course of experiments with a crystal or mirror, the best of the kind should be obtained. A black velvet covering should be made in which to envelop the crystal when not in use. Mirrors are usually made with a suitable lid or covering. Care should be taken not to scratch the surface, and all cleaning should be done with a dry silk handkerchief kept for the purpose. Exposure to the sun's rays not only scores the surface of a crystal or mirror, but also puts the odylic substance into activity, distributing and dissipating the magnetic power stored up therein.

And now a word or two about the disposition and attitude of the subject. The visions do not occur in the crystal itself. They may appear to do so, but this is due, when it occurs, to the projection and visualization of the mental images. The visions are in the mind or soul of the seer and nowhere else. It is a matter of constitutional psychism as to where the sense of clear vision will be located. Personally I find the sense to be located in the frontal coronal region of the brain about 150 to the right of the normal axis of vision, which may be regarded as the meridian of sight. Other instances are before me in which the sense is variously located in the back of the head, the nape of the neck, the pit of the stomach, the summit of the head, above and between the eyes, and in one case near the right shoulder but beyond the periphery of the body. The explanation appears to be that the nervo-vital emanations from the body of the seer act upon the static odyle in the agent, which in turn reacts upon the brain centres by means of the optic nerves. And this appears to be sufficient reason why the crystal or mirror should be kept as free as possible from disturbing elements. Water is extremely odylic and should never come in contact with the agent employed as it effectually carries off all latent or stored imports. I am forced to use a crude terminology in order to convey the idea in my mind, but I recognize that the whole explanation may appear vague and inadequate. It is of course at all times easier to observe effects than to offer a clear explanation of them. Yet some sort of working hypothesis is constructed when we collate our observations, and it is this that I have sought to communicate.

For similar reasons, when in use the crystal or mirror should be shaded and so placed that no direct rays from sun or artificial light may fall upon it. The odyle, as Reichenbach so conclusively proved by his experiments, rapidly responds to surrounding magnetic conditions and to the vibrations of surrounding bodies, and to none more rapidly than the etheric vibrations caused by combustion or light of any kind. There should be no direct rays of light between the agent and the seer.

The room in which the sitting takes place should be moderately warm, shady, and lit by a diffused light, such as may be obtained by a light holland blind or casement cloth, in the daytime. The subject should sit with his back to the source of light, and the illumination will be adequate if ordinary print can be read by it.

It is important that all persons sitting in the same room with the seer should be at least at arm's length from him.

Silence should be uniformly observed by those present, until the vision is attained.

It will then be found convenient to have two persons present to act as Interrogator and Recorder respectively.

The Interrogator should be the only person whose voice is heard, and it should be reduced to a soft but distinct monotone. The Recorder will be occupied in setting down in writing all questions asked by the Interrogator and the exact answers made by the seer. These should be dated and signed by those present when completed. It is perhaps hardly necessary to remark that precautions should be taken to prevent sudden intrusions, and as far as possible to secure general quiet without.

I may here interject an observation which appears to me suggestive and may prove valuable. It has been observed that the inhabitants of basaltic localities are more generally natural clairvoyants than others. Basalt is an igneous rock composed largely of augite and felspar, which are silicate crystals of calcium, potassium, alumina, etc., of which the Moonstone is a variety. The connecting link is that clairvoyance is found to be unusually active during and by means of moonlight. What psycho-physical effect either basalt or moonlight has upon the nervous system of impressible subjects appears to be somewhat obscure, but there is little difference between calcium light and moonlight, except that the latter is moderated by the greater atmosphere through which it comes to us. It is only when we come to know the psychological values of various chemical bodies that we can hope for a solution of many strange phenomena connected with the clairvoyant faculty. I recollect that the seeress of Prevorst experienced positive pain from the near presence of water during her abnormal phases. Reichenbach found certain psycho-pathological conditions to be excited by various metals and foreign bodies when brought into contact with the sensitive. These observations are extremely useful if only in producing an awareness of possible reasons for such disturbance as may occur in the conditions already cited.

At the outset the sittings should not last longer than at most half-an-hour, but it is important that they should be regular, both as to time and place. We are already informed from a number of observations that every action tends to repeat itself under similar conditions. Habits of life and mind are thus formed so that in time they become quite involuntary and automatic. A cumulative effect is obtained by attention to this matter of periodicity, while the use of the same place for the same purpose tends to dispose the mind to the performance of particular functions. In striving for psychic development of any sort we shall do well not to disregard these facts. For since all actions tend to repeat themselves and to become automatic, to pass from the domain of the purposive into the habitual, the psychic faculties will similarly, if actuated at any set time and place, tend to bestir themselves to the same effects as those to which they were first moved by the conscious will and intention of the seer. Until the clairvoyant faculty is fully assured and satisfactory results obtained without any inconvenience to the seer, not more than two persons should be present at the sittings. These should be in close sympathy with the seer and with each other.

When the sitting is over it will be found useful to repair to another place and fully discuss the results obtained, the impressions and feelings of the seer during the seance, and matters which appear to have a bearing on the facts observed.

A person should not be disheartened if at the first few sittings nothing of any moment takes place, but should persevere with patience and self-control. Indeed, if we consider the fact that for hundreds of generations the psychic faculties latent in man have lain in absolute neglect, that perhaps the faculty of clear vision has not been brought into activity by any of our ancestors since remote ages, it should not be thought remarkable that so few find the faculty in them to be practically dormant. It should rather be a matter of surprise that the faculty is still with us, that it is not wholly irresponsive to the behests of the soul. While in the course of physical evolution many important functions have undergone remarkable changes, and organs, once active and useful, have become stunted, impotent, and in some cases extinct, yet on the other hand we see that seeds which have lain dormant in arid soil for hundreds of years can spring into leaf and flower under the influence of a suitable climate.

KINDS OF VISION

There are two kinds of vision, and each of these may be perceived in two different ways. The two sorts of vision are called the Direct Vision and the Symbolic Vision.

The first of these is an exact representation of some scene or incident which has taken place in the past or will subsequently be experienced in the future. It may have relation to the experience of the seer, or of those who are present at the sitting, or yet may have a general or public application.

The second order of vision is a representation by ideograph, symbol or other indirect means, of events similar to those conveyed by direct vision. The visions of Ezekiel and John of Patmos are of the symbolic order, and although to the seers themselves there probably was a very clear apperception of their import, yet for others they require interpretation. In most cases it will be found that the nature of the vision has relation to that sphere of life and interest in which the seer or those for whom he is serving are concerned. But this is not always the case, for there are some peculiarly sensitive seers whose visions have a wider range and a more general application. In the first case it would seem that the impressions latent in the individual sphere of subconscious activity are brought into evidence, and in the other case the seer comes into relations with the world-soul or earth-sphere, so that political, social and cosmic events are brought out of latency into conscious perception. In most cases it will be found that answers to questions are conveyed by symbols, though this is not an invariable rule, as will appear from the following remarks.

The vision, when it occurs, may be conveyed in one of two ways: first, as a vivid picture affecting the focus and retina of the eye, perfect in its outline and colouring, and giving the sense of nearness or distance; secondly, as a vivid mental impression accompanied by a hazy or dim formation in the "field" of vision. In this latter form it becomes an apperception rather than a perception, the mind receiving the impression of the vision to be conveyed before it has had time to form and define itself in the field.

As already intimated, there appears to be a connection between the temperamental peculiarities of the two classes of clairvoyants and the kind of vision developed in them. Thus the direct vision is more generally found in association with the passive temperament. The direct vision is neither so regular nor so constant as the symbolic vision owing to the peculiarities of the negative or passive subject. When it does develop, however, the direct vision is both lucid and actual, and has literal fulfilment in the world of experience and fact. It is an actual representation of what has actually happened or will have place in the future, or yet may be presently happening at some place more or less distant.

The symbolic vision, on the other hand, is more generally developed in the positive or active type of seer. It has the advantage of being more regular and constant in its occurrence than the direct vision, while at the same time being open to the objection that it is frequently misinterpreted. Nothing shows this better perhaps than the various interpretations which have been made of the Apocalypse.

The positive temperament appears to throw off the mental images as speedily as they are developed in the subconscious area, and goes out to meet them in a mood of speculative enquiry. But the passive temperament most frequently feels first and sees afterwards, the visionary process being entirely devoid of speculation and mental activity. In a word, the distinction between them is that the one sees and thinks while the other feels and sees.

The manner in which the visions appear to develop in the field requires some description, and for reasons which will presently appear it is essential that the earliest experiments should be made in the light of a duly informed expectancy.

At first the crystal or mirror will appear to be overclouded by a dull, smoky vapour which presently condenses into milky clouds among which are seen innumerable little gold specks of light, dancing in all directions, like gold-dust in a sunlit air. The focus of the eye at this stage is inconstant, the pupil rapidly expanding and contracting, while the crystal or mirror alternately disappears in a haze and reappears again. Then suddenly the haze disappears and the crystal looms up into full view, accompanied by a complete lapse of the seer into full consciousness of his surroundings.

This may be the only experience during the first few sittings. It may be that of many. But if it occurs it is an entirely satisfactory and hopeful symptom. For sooner or later, according to the degree of susceptibility or responsiveness in the subject, there will come a moment when the milky-looking clouds and dancing starlights will suddenly vanish and a bright azure expanse like an open summer sky will fill the field of vision. The brain will now be felt to palpitate spasmodically, as if opening and closing again in the coronal region; there will be a tightening of the scalp about the base of brain, as if the floor of the cerebrum were contracting; the seer will catch his breath with a spasmodic sigh and the first vision will stand out clear and life-like against the azure screen of space.

Now the danger at this supreme moment is that the seer will be surprised into full waking consciousness. During the process of abstraction which precedes every vision or series of visions, the consciousness of the seer is gradually but imperceptibly withdrawn from physical surroundings. He forgets that he is seated in a particular place or room, that he is in the company of another or others. He forgets that he is gazing into a crystal or mirror. He knows nothing, sees nothing, hears nothing, save that which is being enacted before the senses of his soul. He loses sight for the time even of his own identity and becomes as it were merged in the vision itself.

When, therefore, his attention is suddenly arrested by an apparition, startling in its reality and instantaneous production, the reaction is likely to be both rapid and violent, so that the seer is frequently carried back into full waking consciousness. When, however, the mind is previously instructed and warned of this stage of the process, a steady and self-possessed attitude is ensured and a subconscious feeling of expectancy manifests at the critical moment. I have known so many cases of people being surprised out of clairvoyance and so to have lost what has often been an isolated experience, that this treatise will be wholly justified if by the inclusion of this warning the novice comes successfully through his first experience of second sight.

We come now to the point where it becomes necessary to consider other important reactions which the development of any psychic sense involves. To some favoured few these supernormal faculties appear to be given without any cost to themselves. Perhaps they are direct evolutional products, possibly psychic inheritances; but to such as have them no price is asked or penalty imposed.

It is not less dangerous when we begin to pursue a course of psychic development. The ordinary functions of the mind are well within our knowledge and control. There is always the will by which we may police the territory under our jurisdiction and government. It is another matter when we seek to govern a territory whose peculiar features and native laws and customs are entirely unknown to us. It is obvious that here the will-power, if directed at all, is as likely to be effectual for evil as for good. The psychic faculties may indeed be opened up and the unknown region explored, but at fatal cost, it may be, to all that constitutes normal sanity and physical well-being; in which case one may say with Hamlet it be better to "bear those ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of."

Some of the conditions imposed upon those who, not being naturally gifted in this direction, would wish to experiment in clairvoyant development, may conveniently be stated and examined in another chapter.

OBSTACLES TO CLAIRVOYANCE

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