Part 8 (2/2)

”Of what occurs after I enter the trance period I remember nothing--nothing of what I said or what was said to me. I am but a pa.s.sive agent in the hands of powers that control me. I can give no account of what becomes of me during a trance. The wisdom and inspired eloquence which of late has been conveyed to Dr. Hodgson through my mediums.h.i.+p is entirely beyond my understanding. I do not pretend to understand it, and can give no explanation--I simply know that I have the power of going into a trance when I wish.”

Professor James says: ”The Piper phenomena are the most absolutely baffling thing I know.”

Professor Hudson, Ph.D., LL.D., author of ”The Law of Psychic Phenomena,” comes as near giving an explanation of ”spiritualism,” so called, as any one. He begins by saying:

”All things considered, Mrs. Piper is probably the best 'psychic' now before the public for the scientific investigation of spiritualism and it must be admitted that if her alleged communications from discarnate spirits cannot be traced to any other source, the claims of spiritism have been confirmed.”

Then he goes on:

”A few words, however, will make it clear to the scientific mind that her phenomena can be easily accounted for on purely psychological principles, thus:

”Man is endowed with a dual mind, or two minds, or states of consciousness, designated, respectively, as the objective and the subjective. The objective mind is normally unconscious of the content of the subjective mind. The latter is constantly amenable to control by suggestion, and it is exclusively endowed with the faculty of telepathy.

”An entranced psychic is dominated exclusively by her subjective mind, and reason is in abeyance. Hence she is controlled by suggestion, and, consequently, is compelled to believe herself to be a spirit, good or bad, if that suggestion is in any way imparted to her, and she automatically acts accordingly.

”She is in no sense responsible for the vagaries of a Phinuit, for that eccentric personality is the creation of suggestion. But she is also in the condition which enables her to read the subjective minds of others.

Hence her supernormal knowledge of the affairs of her sitters. What he knows, or has ever known, consciously or unconsciously (subjective memory being perfect), is easily within her reach.

”Thus far no intelligent psychical researcher will gainsay what I have said. But it sometimes happens that the psychic obtains information that neither she nor the sitter could ever have consciously possessed. Does it necessarily follow that discarnate spirits gave her the information?

Spiritists say 'yes,' for this is the 'last ditch' of spiritism.

”Psychologists declare that the telepathic explanation is as valid in the latter cla.s.s of cases as it obviously is in the former. Thus, telepathy being a power of the subjective mind, messages may be conveyed from one to another at any time, neither of the parties being objectively conscious of the fact. It follows that a telepathist at any following seance with the recipient can reach the content of that message.

”If this argument is valid--and its validity is self-evident--it is impossible to imagine a case that may not be thus explained on psychological principles.”

Professor Hudson's argument will appeal to the ordinary reader as good.

It may be simplified, however, thus:

We may suppose that Mrs. Piper voluntarily hypnotizes herself. Perhaps she simply puts her conscious reason to sleep. In that condition the rest of her mind is in an exalted state, and capable of telepathy and mind-reading, either of those near at hand or at a distance. Her reason being asleep, she simply dreams, and the questions of her sitter are made to fit into her dream.

If we regard mediums as persons who have the power of hypnotizing themselves and then of doing what we know persons who have been hypnotized by others sometimes do, we have an explanation that covers the whole case perfectly. At the same time, as Professor James warns us, we must believe that the mind is far more complex than we are accustomed to think it.

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