CONFESSIONS OF A "SPIRIT SEEKER"

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 307, 23 September 1919, Page 6

CONFESSIONS OF A "SPIRIT SEEKER"

MIXED IMPRESSIONS

PUZZLING INCIDENTS AND

NONSENSE

Tho Dean of St. Paul's presided at the eecond of tho summer conferences of the Religious Thought Society, held in London recently.

Professor L. P. Jacks gave some of his experiences at three seances "arranged with ono of the best, tested mediums in the country" while he was president of the Psychical Research Society. Ho explained that during the first two seanee3 the medium was not aware of his identity. Before the third, owing to a friend's indiscretion, ehe got. to know who ho was, but Though there was ample time to arrange his "Viossior" this made no difference. He dismissed tho hypothesis of fraud in this case, though fraud was unquestionably practised by some professional mediums. All the seances he had attended wero "staged," which was not quite satisfactory to an impartial investigator. It was only by unconsciously assuming the reality of the "spirit," known as the "control," who was presont continuously and began after a time to treat the investigator as if he were an old familiar friend, that he could get into communication through him at all. This also was unsatisfactory, for the , control himself professed to be the spirit of some departed person, and having accepted him they could hardly help taking the whole lot for grantyj. The whole problem was very largely centred in those "controls," and their characteristics should be classified and carefully studied. The spirits were generally people whom ,they knew and could cross-exam-ine, but the "controls" were often romoto people liko a French doctor of tlho tuno of Louis Phillipe, on emigre of the Revolution, an Oriental girl, or even, ae in a case he recently heard of, an Egyptian priest of the time of Pharaoh. Dr. Jacks described the common "stage patter" and tho 6trong tinge of tho vernacular of theosophy as "very annoying," and, coming to the actual phenomena of tho seances, said that nono of his own blood relations appeared on tho scene, though thero wero many of them with whom 'he was most anxious to communicato. In ono instance the epirit was about tho last person in the world ho expected. He referred in. particular to four manifesting spirits, A, B, C, and D. On several occasions the voice of the deceased friend was introduced with startling effect, breaking in on the babbling tones in wihick the medium usually spoke, like a well-known strong man's voice breaking into the tones of a'chikl. Ono of the spirits got on the track of an article he had, written which was lying in MSS. in hie study drawer, the contents of which were known to no living person but himself and showed quito an intelligent grasp of it, mastering a highly peculiar phrase, but boggling over eomo of the words. Another phenomenon was the introduction of a gentleman whose obituary notice ho had agreed to write the day befoio the seance. Dr. Jacks spoke of the marked tendency of spirits A, B. C, and D, or two. of tliom, to get. mixed up without tJw knowledge of the medium, and took tho cases ot two whom he named "Old Scott" and Young Scott." To put the case clearly he asked the audience to imagine that "Old Scott" was Sir Walter Scott, and "Young Scott" Sir Gilbert Scott, architect. "Sir Walter" made his identity clear, spoke about Abbotsford and his dogs, and answered questions ti> tho point, but suddenly tlio conversation left tho track, and he declared that ho had died 1000 miles from Abbotsford. Tho professor asked, , "What Scott are you—are you Scott at all?" The answer ivas, "Yes, I am Scott." "But what Scott are you?" "Oh, il am Six Gilbert Scott." He did not, frankly, know what to make of. this. It soenied to him they were still, after all these years, very near the beginning of their investigations, and the haste somo peoplo wore showing to force "survival" as the only possible explanation was damaging inquiry. The difficulties of investigation wero 60 great that it was a pity further to accentuate them by exciting the prejudice of the public. In the courso of some amusing "confessions," Professor Jacks emphasised the powerful influence of "the desire to believe," and its overpowering influence on the exercise of common reason. While, ut times, it actually seemed as if lie wore communicating with departed spirits, at others this leeluiy was iruclely broken by triviality, and foolishness. He discussed tho .analogy of spirit seeking with dreams, and said that if a person onco committed himself to the statement that he believed in spirits he would fight to tho last ditch until 'every vestige of regard for facts had been thrown to tho wind. The same thing happened with ghost hunting. He hail been asked by experts who had seen a ghost to investigate a haunted house. He was distinctly on the point of seeing tho ghost himself— (laughter)—and now realised that witu a very little more ncrvon*. tension he would have seen it. This was a fact they could hardly understand till they had tried it. When he presented his explanation he got the blackest of Mack looks—and the temptation to avoid a lot of .trouble by saying he had seen the ghost had .suggested itself. As a-matter 01 fact, me courage of the madness of fear caused him to run towards a column of light instead of running away, and he found it was an unclouded moon shining through a skylight and reflected from a higuiy polished floor. In the discussion several ladies offered explanations of tho "mixing up" ' phenomena. Ono said a psychic friend of hers was conscious of the duality of snirits. Another lady suggested that the spirits who. intervened when not wanted were "lying spirits." Professor Jacks said they certainly told lies. (Laughter.) Dr. Aleade said the whole thing was terribly mixed, but there was an explana< tion. A lady who said she was a medinni .said that all that was wanted was normal clairvoyance. She had seen eight or nine spirits round her, but was. always able to get those not wanted outside tfie door. It was just liko saying, "Thank you, I am not at home to-day." "Those spirits ere pressed," she said, "just as you and I are pressed in the tube. (Laughter.) That is tlie reason of this mix-up. It is quite common. I have seen ghosts when I was not at all emotional. I have seen the ghost of a man who had died an hour before when I was pouring out tea for other people. Highly oiuutio..<il persons should never be ghost seers." Professor Jack said that a sufficiently extended hypothesis of telepathy would account for all that the spirits liad told him.