A dowser rises up against sceptics, in the Springfield Republican. He didn't believe it either, until the hazel stick began acting up in his own hands, after that he had a happy time detecting water pipes, sewers, and drains. Even a sceptical State forester couldn't hold the thing, but he found that a rubber mat under foot stopped all manifestations. This last point is new to us. (Item from Mrs HL)
Latest translator of Nostradamus, one Henry C. Roberts, New York book dealer, says "I'm scared silly, I'd take off like a fan-tail if I knew where to hide." It's an alleged prediction of civil war, with atom bombs on New York in 1949, that's worrying him - "things too terrible for any one man to know." Roberts claims to have predicted the date of the war's end, and of D-Day in Europe, says he has affidavits to prove it. He's publishing the book himself, and if this is advance publicity it won't do him much good. (San Diego Union)
The New York Spiritualist Leader for Dec. 9 has an account of what seems to be a new or very unusual form of mediumship. The medium seems to "block out" and the observers see various scenes, landscapes, buildings, scores of faces, "neon-like letters" - a kind of crystal ball effect. At least, so says the Leader, which is not too critical in its acceptances, but nevertheless campaigns against fraud and carries many items of interest. It's worth taking if you take a little salt at the same time.
National Spiritualist, always well edited, has a useful article on "The Spirit's Own Bereavement". All of us put on garments of sorrow for a little while, sometimes for all our lives thereafter, when we lose some one near and dear to us. But the "departed" one himself, standing there beside us, is in worse case, sees and hears everything but cannot make himself seen or heard, tries desperately to reach us and reaps frustration only. Even genuine sorrow is selfishness, and wilful ignorance is cruelty? Some time, perhaps, we will learn that death is a fine new birthday, and stop doing our best to spoil it for the newly liberated soul.
The October Bulletin of the Association for Research and Enlightenment (Cayce Foundation) is concerned largely with Atlantis, atomic energy, Atlantean science. These remarkable clairvoyant readings have always dealt with Atlantis in a most casual and factual manner, and insist that "there are great numbers of Atlanteans in the earth at present." A 1932 reading mentioned the use of Uranium for releasing power (in Atlantis); other readings give a picture of Atlantean science far surpassing our own in achievement. Our notion is, that no intelligent, well informed person, no matter how critical and sceptical he may be, can afford to neglect the study of the Cayce clairvoyance, or [17] of psychic and spiritistic phenomena generally, not as a religion but as part of one's cultural equipment - and quite possibly the most important part. "The next chapter in the history of European civilization," wrote the historian Egon Friedell, "will be the history of the Light from the Other Side." . . . "The whole business of man," says Merrell-Wolff, "is to awaken from his hypnotic slumber." It seems to us that this light and this awakening, or the sharp necessity for it, draw very close upon us. Yet not official science, nor contemporary philosophy, nor the intellectual culture of our time, nor the masses of humanity are prepared for such awakening. We walk the tight-rope above the abyss - et sauve qui peut!
"Unless there is religious apprehension," said Reinhold Neibuhr recently, "we hasten our own destruction . . . Ruin follows the exaltation of nations . . . Justice turns into vengeance if the judge does not apply his laws with fear and trembling."
The Theosophical Forum for December reviews "The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell", a new book, some 750 pages of exposition and criticism, and including an autobiography. Russell, one of the most formidable intellects of our time, is a man who has examined all philosophies and found all lacking. "My intellect goes with the Humanists, though my emotions violently rebel." A full life "must serve some end which is impersonal and above mankind", but this end Russell has not found.
The Forum also has several other short articles, and eight or ten well-written book reviews, of books of interest and importance . . . The new Leader of the Theosophical Society, chosen to succeed Dr. G. de Purucker, is Colonel Arthur L. Conger, President of the American Section for the past six years.
Owen W. Washburn, writing in Chimes for December, makes points worth repeating and not often mentioned. (1) There are many spiritualists among wealthy and influential people, but they do not cooperate by these means; (2) One reason is, they believe there are no spiritualists who are competent to handle large endowments; (3) Also, spiritualists are continually getting involved with other issues and subjects, astrology, numerology, reincarnation and the like - any of which may be offensive to the prospective donor; (4) Foolish and extravagant claims by psychics and mediums, and inefficient Church management, and quarrels and mutual accusations of fraud, certainly do not attract the interest of practical persons with money to spend; (5) In addition, a certain social stigma still attaches to spiritualism, and many people do not want to risk this, nor do professional men care to lose clients and patients. All of these comments, in our opinion, are entirely justified. We might add that if spiritualists would cooperate willingly with psychic research activities, and if PR workers would try to learn A,B AB about the conditions of psychic phenomena, the whole subject would fast acquire a definite scientific status and begin to make some real progress.
"Sane occultism is what our world needs," says the distinguished author Shaw Desmond in Occult Review for October. "The study of the occult is essential to all education, and should be in the curriculum of all schools. Children should be taught about the existence of the invisible worlds, the etheric and astral planes, and the influence of occult forces on human life. The dangers of the occult should be [18] explained also, to everyone who is mature enough to receive such knowledge. 'I have myself fought life and death encounters with demoniacal poltergeists . . . the man who denies the reality of such encounters is either a fool or a knave.'" Finally, the author adds a few don'ts "for the budding occultist." Don't rush in where angels fear to tread, without full and gradual preparation. Don't pierce the veil without prayer and spiritual preparation, cleanliness of both mind and body. And don't talk about diabolism to small children, but make sure that they learn the necessary facts as they grow older . . . "I have definitely, many times, seen apports dropped from the air, sometimes in strong light, and varying from a serpent of two and a half feet to a beautifully carved silver hawk, and to diamonds and other precious stones which I still possess."
Other titles in the Occult Review are: A Cosmic Mystery - Rudolf Steiner - Experiences of Ultra-Perception - The Dream Mechanism - The Way Ahead - The Teachers and the Taught - Occult Factors in Mental Conflicts - The Opus - Book Reviews . . . The I.Q. of this publication is much above the average in the occult field.
Fortean Doubt, which froths at the mouth whenever official scientism comes to the fore, leads off in a shower of sparks, re the atom bomb. "The crime is the effort, through shock and awe, to paralyze mass mentality." The "Powers" of government, of capital, and of official science are in a kind of conspiracy to set up a dictatorship over all our thinking processes, on any and all subjects... The Fortean always appears to be going off the deep end on such subjects, but maybe that's the only way to get certain ideas across - and it is undeniably an idea-full magazine . . . "It is known to many that wires have not been necessary for the transmission of messages, light or power for the past fifteen years . . . we live at the level decreed by our betters . . . Fat Boys in high places who are afraid of what will happen to them in a world of plenty for the multitude."
"History is the accepted lie. There are no final truths; there are even no final facts. There are simply things that appear to be true under certain rigidly controlled conditions, and usually some important condition has escaped control. There are only hypotheses, theories fictions, and conventional lies..." (Swann Harding, quoted in Doubt).
Dr. Rhine's position. This is summed up, from one angle, by his article Parapsychology and Religion, reprinted by MIND DIGEST for November. Telepathy is a completely established scientific fact. Pre-cognition, which is ESP applied to the future (or prophecy) is a reality; it exists to a demonstrable degree. PK effects (the power of the mind to affect objects, as in the throwing of dice) have been proven to exist, and the force exerted is of a non-physical order. All these facts, however, do not prove that mind or personality can exist apart from the body. A great deal of "survival evidence" can be explained by ESP and the PK effect; the real question is, how much? The unexplored territory now opening up is of enormous extent - but this is one kind of scientific research which has a net guidance value to human conduct and happiness - whether its finding coincide with current religious views, or not.
The foreboding spirit of Doubt, mentioned above, finds sympathetic response in articles by R. H. Naylor, in Prediction for December. "A new hierarchy of military science may arise and control the world. That possibility is one side issue of coming world control by the scientific hierarchy" . . . Universal labor serfdom in underground cities is seen as inevitable result of atom-weapons, as things now stand . . . "It should be obvious to all who have eyes to see, that we are reaching the end of an age . . . labyrinthine excavations, fulfilling the astrological predictions . . . the economic system is out of date by a couple of millenniums . . ."
This issue also carries Rudolf Steiner (by Eileen Bird), The Clock in Your Head (T. S. Douglas), Psychic Evidence of Life after Death (Arthur Lemsley), Our Thought Barrage (Arthur Prince), Psychology Confirms Occultism (comment on Adler by Rathnell Wilson), an Occult Case Book (Frank Lind). Some of this is very competent writing, and there are also sections devoted to palmistry, numerology, graphology, dreams and the like, for those whose interests run to such matters.
Radio-Perception is the Journal of the British Society of Dowsers, the object of which is (a) to encourage the study of all matters connected with the study of radiation by the human organism, with or without an instrument, (b) To spread information about the use of dowsing for geophysical, medical, agricultural and other purposes, (c) To keep a register of dowsers for water, minerals, oil and other purposes. The list of members covers 12 closely printed pages, but the names classified under United States number only 11. We note some distinguished names, and many with honors and degrees among the membership. The Journal is a scientific, semi-technical publication, and just as much in the field of parapsychology (and as much or as little occult) as are Dr. Rhine's experiments in telepathy and PK effects.
There's a new world of psycho-physico-biological studies opening up, with a host of obscure phenomena, obviously interrelated. We call this magazine to the attention of readers interested in radiesthesia, radiation physics, psycho-kinetics, ESP phenomena, auric emanations, magnetic fields, weather prediction, psychometry and so forth, fifth and sixth, not excluding our own pet problem of "Vitic"; add vitality globules and "prana" for good measure - and pendulum diagnosis also. Productive leads are found everywhere; the problem is discrimination, to read rudely and yet specialize effectively.
(Radio-Perception is published quarterly at York House, Portugal St. W.C.2, London. 5/0 or $1.00 per yr.)
Re Vitamine exploiters, we note with satisfaction a book by Prof Dr. W. Stepp, Dr Kuhnau, and Dr. H. Schroeder, called Vitamines and Their Clinical Applications, in which the authors point out the dangers of vitamine excess, and of the popular notion that the more vitamines the better. It should be more generally known that various vitamines possess opposite principles, and if taken at the same time often neutralize each other. A and C, for example, cancel each other, and the toxic action of B complex is abolished by taking D. A pathetic case was that of Dr L.D., who "itched and tickled all over" twenty minutes after taking a drink of whisky. The trouble here was surplus vitamine E, and there was no anti-vitamine, but vegetable charcoal did the trick nicely. Well, if liquor gives you the tickles, and you must have it, you now know what to do about it.
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"It couldn't happen but it did." So says Lieut. Commander Robert Esson Rew, Jr. in his article Typhoon Off Okinawa, in Reader's Digest for January '46. The rudder engine was jammed and flooded, the gear teeth blocked with floating wood and other debris. The executive officer, working with it, declared it could not and did not move. Later examination confirmed the fact that it was physically impossible to move the rudder by turning the wheel on the bridge. Yet during a two-day typhoon of unprecedented violence the bridge wheel kept the port bow to a shifting gale, brought the ship clear of Okinawa and to final safety. "None of us has been able to offer a rational explanation. There just isn't any? It's incomprehensible - makes the chills go up and down the back of my neck." What did Commander Rew have to do with it? "I hung on to a stanchion and prayed" - and kept the wheel manned.
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"Let us make no mistake," writes the Editor of Sunflower. "The signs of the times are portent with indications that war against the religious liberty of spiritualists is on. It threatens in practically every estate legislature... The opposition is on the march... Admit such opposition against one religion and the door has been opened for persecution of one sect by any other sect, until the whole nation would be embroiled in religious strife." Unfortunately, there is more good reason for the see forebodings than sane and intelligent people like to believe. (Sunflower is published at 15 North Maryland Ave., Atlantic City, NJ. Israel Shotz, Editor. Bi-monthly, 2 yrs for $1.00. Has a bookfinder service).
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THERE IS A RIVER, The Story of Edgar Cayce, by Thomas Sugrue, 453 pp. Revised Edition. Henry Holt & Co. $3.00.
This is the story of one of America's greatest seers and of a career interwoven with the lives of thousands of our people. It should be read for its inherent interest, and carefully considered by all students of esoteric subjects. Order from Edgar Cayce Publishing Co. Virginia Beach, Virginia. Publication free on request.
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Realism is the acceptation of the world of significant facts. But what kind of facts are significant? Only aspirations, desires, ideals, and dreams, since these alone are generative of all things. The true realist is therefore the dreamer, who is no longer enslaved by the fictions of false values.
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The symbolism of trifling things. One notes with mordant interest that the fad of post-war America is bubble blowing. Sheen of colors, evanescent nothingness, the play of young children! Bubbles do not last long, but then, if they did, few people would care any-thing about them.
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- With Our Correspondents -
Mrs HMG (New M.) has been reading Governor Osborn's The Earth Upsets. "It's a must if you're interested in shifts of the earth's axis. He also lists all the known earthquakes, from ancient times on down. I was specially interested in a terrible one in Argentina, preceded by a waterspout that came on a clear day without warning . . . There was one of the Duponts, a woman, who bound photographic plates to her head and got the most amazing pictures . . . According to a Cayce bulletin from Virginia Beach, about a year ago, on a specified date only 13 males were born in the United States..."
(Most PR students are familiar with thought photographs, secured by Fukurai and other experimenters. Bind the plate on forehead or top of head, or hold between palms; either visualize something or keep the mind "blank" as you prefer. Experiment as to time required, may be five minutes or several hours. Develop very carefully and see what you get. It's a fine field for amateur work . . . The orthodox scientific dictum (formerly, anyhow), that there's no connection between earthquakes and meteorological phenomena, is contradicted by an immense amount of data. Read Fury in the Earth some time, for a remarkable picture of the Missouri quakes of 1811 and accompanying lights, winds and storms (Harry H. Kroll, Bobbs-Merrill Co.) . . . Mrs HMG also suggests the Cayce statement could be checked by birth statistics, which sounds feasible.)
Author VHG (Ind.) refers to Research, by A.R. Martin, reviewed elsewhere in this bulletin. Mrs HL (Mass.) makes inquiry about this same book, and also calls attention to South of the Sahara, by the explorer Attilio Gatti, which contains some good descriptions of primitive magic and its effectiveness. "The latter half of the book has a special appeal to students of occult matters." We gather that the author accepts telepathy, witch doctor magic and the like as matters of course and does not bother to argue in their behalf.
(The remarkable works of Summers on Witchcraft, the Vampire, and similar subjects should be familiar to every student of the occult. Here we have a wealth of genuine scholarship which also accepts these so-called superstitious as completely factual. One notable result of our fine pseudo-scientific scepticism has been the near-paralysis of whole fields of research, in enormously productive material.)
Mrs HL has also been experimenting with exercises given by Vincent in Lighted Passage; we would like to hear from other persons who have been working with these . . . She calls attention to a second operation by a spirit doctor, reported in Psychic Observer . . . And Mrs HL finds "Vitic" a real help for certain types of nervousness (as a number of other readers have also reported) . . . Being more or less of a taffy addict, we also quote her opinion that even serious subjects (psychic research problems, for example) may be treated somewhat lightly, with-out solemnity at any rate, and become more readable without loss in exactitude . . . Why most scientists, philosophers, religionists, uplift writers, imitators and quoters of them have to wear long faces, intone [21] through their noses, has always been a prime mystery to us. The God Thoth, according to the Egyptians, created the world by uttering three great peals of laughter. Maybe it was sardonic, but somehow we prefer it to the thunders of Yahweh.
Mr Jack Tate (Ky.), known to many RR readers, is something of an authority on Rudolf Steiner, and from the occult angle thinks Dion Fortune the best of Western writers. (We agree. Whoever reads her Psychic Self-Defence, with an understanding and interlinear eye, will get a picture of modern operative occultism unobtainable elsewhere. Also, her Mystical Qabalah is the only systematic exposition of the great glyph of the TREE, and a remarkably fine piece of writing. Apart from this, there is only the Middle Pillar and Garden of Pomegranates of Dr Israel Regardie, also invaluable on this subject.) Mr Tate also thinks that "if the reincarnation theory is substantiated anywhere, it is in the 2500 Life Readings given by Edgar Cayce . . ." He reminds us that a book by Gina Cerminara based on 15 life readings by Cayce will appear shortly, and says it will give the sceptics something to worry about.
Mrs MH (Va.) also refers to The Earth Upsets (Chase Salmon Osborn, Waverly Press, Baltimore, Md. 1927, probably O.P.) and sends us two pages of quotes. We understand Governor Osborn is read and respected by scientific authorities. Like a number of other writers, he predicts the submergence of the Japanese archipelago, and here's one quotation from it:
"The earth sweats and has fevers; it buckles and creeps, it has boils and cancers and ulcers; it has psoriasis and toxic tremors; it sinks and swells, there is no such thing as inertia or status quo ante. Something is happening to our planet daily; it swirls giddily on its axis, rushing as a drunken driver round its orbit, swaying to and fro or capsizing as a small craft yaws or submerges at sea - a sorry old raft in an ocean of ether . . ."
Where, OH where can we buy a copy of The Earth Upsets? We always thought there was something wrong with this spinning stone, "dust mote whirled up by the Sun's chariot wheel" - and now we know it is even worse than we feared.
Mr C.K.S., who predicted a disaster for Japan, for November 15 last, sends us a quote from his communicator, Capt F.C. le D., deceased. The Captain gives some details about himself, then goes on to explain that all predictions are made on the basis of conditions as existing at the time; they deal with probabilities only, and their failure should not call forth unjust "aspersions." We thank the Captain, and assure him that these facts are well understood even on the level of our own insignificant I.Q. - and that no aspersions were intended. The existence of fore-knowledge, at least on occasion, is indubitable predictions should be recorded, and their failure does not invalidate the general principle.
Eleven years ago last month, the Chicago Herald Examiner printed an A.P. dispatch concerning the work of Professor Calligaris at the Royal University of Rome. He is said to have demonstrated that by pressing or agitating certain parts of the body (as, the right side of the thorax), one could "see through a wall", or see objects "at any distance." Professor Andrew G. Ivy of Northwestern University said he [22] had been working along similar lines for two years, but the chief difficulty was "the devising of a conclusive experiment". We wish Professor Ivy had untwined himself a little more, but clearly he thought it a worthy subject for research. Does anyone know where to get details of Dr. Calligaris experiments? . . . The reticence, timidity, intellectual snobbishness of scientific workers, the pea-soup fogginess of our "educated" classes, and the general ignorance and sappiness of the press, combine to suppress about half of all the really important leads and facts that keep cropping up . . . For example, clairvoyant vision has been used extensively in the study of the constitution of matter, but don't ask us to prove it, because no university department would admit it . . . any more than officialdom will admit the extent to which mediums and clairvoyants were used during the war. Author Vincent H. Gaddis sends us the memo about Calligaris work.
Mr E.C. Krieger (Cinn. O.) has been collecting data about physiological phenomena connected with mediumship, and notes that clonic (muscular) spasms usually occur, followed by fatigue, "as if the operative force were guided directly or indirectly via the more familiar bodily motions." We're not sure that we understand this quote, but about clonic spasms, it's a mistake to assert that they always accompany ectoplasmic extrusions, though they are common and sometimes violent. (Not Mr Krieger, but others have laid down the "laws" of the ectoplasm, as if they actually knew all about it) . . . Mr Krieger also says that Nostradamus is among those who have predicted a great disaster for Japan . . . also adds a note on the aura which we shall print elsewhere.
Several memo. from medium G.A. Emberg (Vancouver). A propos of vitality globules (spiritons, zo-ites), Emberg says that when a boy he used to see floating colored balls, size of apples, also spirals. A copy of Spiritual Guide (Toronto) describes experiments by Mr Emberg, in which metal balls lost weight after being held by him - also the peculiar behaviour of a flash light, decreasing and then recovering its intensity . . . A communication Mr E. says comes from his Guide, explains levitation as being an annulment of gravity by thought energy, and this is connected with a special theory of "electrons" as the cause of gravity, set forth in a booklet dictated by the Guide. (We add, that levitation seems to be produced by a variety of means, including ectoplasmic formations, and does not necessarily indicate the presence of spirit operators. The subconscious energies of the sitters may govern the whole performance; furthermore, ectoplasm can be extruded under hypnotic suggestion . . . When this last fact became known, a considerable company of jackasses uttered loud brays, to the effect that spiritualism was now disposed of (!!!) . . . We refer again to our pet hypothesis, or grand principle of trying-to-think, viz., of identical effects from diverse causes - or that green apples are not the only things that produce tummy-pains, and that Occam's razor is not such a safe instrument for pseudo-scientists to play with) . . .
A propos of which, a tidbit: "If there are more trees in the world than there are leaves on any one tree, then there must be at least two trees with the same number of leaves." This brief but beautiful test for straight thinking has broken up many friendships, dinner parties, even happy homes. Money back if not satisfied.
ADDRESSES -----
DOUBT (Fortean Society Magazine). Box 192, Grand Central Annex, New York City.
Harbinger of Light. Adelaide, Australia. (Bobbitt Agency)
HIBBERT JOURNAL. 178 Tremont St., BOSTON, Mass.
Journal of Parapsychology. Duke University Press, Durham, N.C.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH. 40 E. 34th St. New York 16, N.Y.
Light. 16 Queensbury Place, So. Kensington, Lon. S.W.7 (Bobbitt Agency)
MIND DIGEST. York, Penna.
OCCULT REVIEW, Rider, Lon. (Bobbitt)
PREDICTION. Link House, 24 Store St., London W.C.1 (Agency)
National Spiritualist. 765 Oakwood Blvd., CHICAGO 15, Ill.
Psychic Observer. Dale News Inc., Box 92, Lily Dale, N.Y.
THEOSOPHICAL FORUM, Covina, Calif.
(The Bobbitt Agency, 1609-10th Ave., Nashville 8, Tenn., sells sample copies of psychic and spiritistic periodicals and accepts subscriptions).
* * * * *
The following booklets are for sale by TALK OF THE TIMES, Box 1467, San Diego 12, California.
| GEOMANCY - | The Art of Divination by the Element of Earth. An ancient and curious divinatory mode still employed in many Occult Orders. It is easily learned and highly esteemed by many students. It is very interesting, whether you believe in Divination or not. There is no other separate treatise now print. It was compiled by Editor of the Round Robin, size 8x11, high-class mimeo job, over 24 p.p. 2 copies for $3.50, single copy $2.00 postpaid. |
| LETTERS TO A | SOLDIER, 4th printing. Reduced in size for your convenience, but nothing has been omitted. Despite its title, this is not a war publication only; it is a very simple and direct explanation of what happens at the time of death, according to the consensus of Esoteric knowledge. The second part of the booklet is a simplified summary of basic ideas found in occultism and spiritism. No propaganda, but a good first book for persons unfamiliar with occult modes of thinking. Compiled by the Round Robin Editor. Size 5x8, 35 pp, with reading list, attractively mimeographed. 3 copies for $2.00 or single copy $1.00 |
Order from Talk of the Times, Box 1467, San Diego 12, California.