Glimpses Of The Next State.Pdf - Spiritualists' National Union

9CHAPTER IEARLY PSYCHIC EXPERIENCESFraud – Temptations of professional mediums – Mediumship not the only profession in which fraud ispractised – The worst frauds – The psychic or medium only a telegraph office – Used on account of hispeculiar organisation – Personal character does not, apparently, have any connection with the gift –What is a medium? – Fraud and genuine phenomena frequently mixed at a séance – Under favourableconditions professional mediums do not commit fraud – Evil of promiscuous séances – The only curefor fraud – Rejection of evidence obtained through a medium who has been convicted of fraud onsome previous occasion, a mistake – Every séance with professional mediums should be judged on itsown merits – Darkness sometimes beneficial for tests – Effect of a hostile mental attitude in the sitters– My first séances – Reasons for and against the entire genuineness of Husk – My departure for NewYork.No account of experiences in spiritism is of any use without a few remarks on fraud by thenarrator; if hew neglected to touch upon this disagreeable subject, he would be rightly deemedignorant of the history of the movement. It is desirable that he should demonstrate to his readersthat he is aware, and has always been aware, of its prevalence. It is the canker which destroys hispeace and darkens his hours of observation and reflection. More than half his time is occupiedwith searching self-questions – “Could this or that have been done in a normal manner, and, if so,by what means?” This is the worst feature in the study. Psychical research is full of perplexitiesand difficulties, even if one is satisfied that the medium is honest; for, all the time, we are dealingwith invisible beings who appear to be operating in more than three dimensions; everymanifestation is outside of ordinary human experience; not one can be explained by the ascertainedlaws of nature; and when, in addition to these obstacles, we have doubt as to the fidelity of themedium, the task of investigation is hard enough to make many a man turn back in disgust fromthe quest. Fraud has been painfully common among professional mediums.It is, however, no use complaining because, when it comes to physical phenomena, publicmediums have to be employed. There are few private psychics who will undergo the exhaustionthat is the inevitable accompaniment of manifestati0ns of telekinesis and materialisation. Mentalphenomena are inconclusive; no man of ordinary critical judgement will be satisfied with thatalone. Thomas Jay Hudson and writers of his type will sweep it all away by dwelling on the powersof the sub-conscious self; and these powers are acknowledged among the classes of investigators.So it comes to this, that he who would peer into the mysteries of nature, and endeavour to discover,experimentally, if life extends beyond the grave, is obliged to employ professional mediums. Thetemptations of these psychics are great; whatever powers they possess are sporadic and cannot besummoned at will; they find this out early in their development, and, in order to maintain regularséances, they learn the arts of jugglery to “help out” their particular gift at times when they feelthey have not got their usual power. People travel long distances to sit with them. They have notthe moral courage to say, “I have little or no power today; come another time”. Possibly they donot know how much power they have, nor hoe far their guides can assist them, until they go intotrance. If they turn their patrons away from the door, a murmur is soon circulated that they arenot reliable, and sitters fail to attend; their income, never large, dwindles away, and they arestranded without means of a livelihood. Having surrendered themselves for two or three years tothe trance condition, they cannot adopt any of the ordinary wage-earning occupations of life, andthey become destitute. Competition is keen, and they see others prospering by keeping up theirséances with artificial assistance. Though we cannot defend, we can at least understand the causesof fraud in mediumship.