The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. Motto: Public service. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1920. SPIRITUALISM.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 592, 14 December 1920, Page 2

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. Motto: Public service. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1920. SPIRITUALISM.

Conan Doyle's visit to New Zealand has brightened in this Dominion the already very prevalent world-wide interest taken in various psychic phenomena coming, sometimes rightly and sometimes wrongly, under the term "spiritualism." Very often common cases of thought transference, or "telepathy" are characterised as being manifestations of spiritualism, and thus the average uninitiated person is led astray. However, while it is not the purpose of this article to decry spiritualism, nof to deny its existence, a word of warning timely. Confronted with propositi jns or experiences that are seemingly inexplicable on any other ground than that of spiritualism, the mind not ' trained to analyse psychic phenomena is prone to come to very wrong and ultimately injurious conditions, and t.i be adversely influenced, mentally and physically, for the remainder of life. Experience has amply proven that only a very powerful mind here and Jhere is able to give close study to things occult without becoming overbalanced; especially is this so with the female sex, who are, as a rule, more "highly strung," emotional and temperamental than men. In many cases the victim becomes a monomaniac, thrown off his or her balance in regard to one subject, and is therefore no longer a fully rational being. Whether or not there is any truth in some of the milder claims of spiritualifts, it is certain that there is more, humbug and imposture practised in this field than in any other —so-called fortune-telling not excepted. With all due deference to the intellectual standing of Sir Oliver Lodge and other leading lights of the Society of Psychical Research, the hard fact remains that there is not one solitary case on record wherein it has been proven beyond doubt that any mortal mind has ever had communication, directly or indirectly, with the spirit of one who has departed from this world. Nor is there any unchallengeable case in which the "aura" spirit, or presence—use what term you will—has ever been seen by human eye, or by the "eye" (sensitised plate) of the camera, though many highly ingenious illusions have been perpetrated at times, and have even baffled intelligent investigators. In the light of experience the commonsense of the average individual should teach him or her that it is better to hold fast to the good old faith in the existence of a Divine Architect of the Universe, which has sustained countless generations of our forefathers from time immemorial, and be content with that, than to dabble in occult sciences which, while they may be very fascinating, are rarely productive of aught but injury.