Vol 3 No 1 PRINT -... Espiritualidade E Sociedade

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Vol 3 No 1 PRINT -... Espiritualidade E Sociedade Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal Contemporary Physical Mediumship: Is it Part of a Continuous Tradition? Jack Hunter “It is prodigiously strange, prodigiously unusual, amongst others (Braude 1997). Such phenomena are, and it would seem so unlikely as to be incredible; by their very physical nature, particularly but we must give in to the facts...Yes, it is absurd; controversial even within the parapsychological but no matter – it is true.” community. Nevertheless, there is an extremely large body of literature composed by highly credible -- Prof. Charles Richet on Ectoplasm observers that seems to support the idea that certain mediums have, even under strictly controlled conditions, been able to produce these strange To many, physical mediumship seances are a social phenomena (Braude 1997: 23-48; Tymn n.d: 1; phenomenon relegated to the history books: rising to McLuhan 2010; Haule 2011: 122-125). Although the prominence in the mid-nineteenth century and eventually main focus of this paper does not require these petering out amidst high profile exposures of fraud in the phenomena to be genuine, as it will be primarily first decades of the twentieth century. In recent years, concerned with the “culture of physical mediumship” however, physical mediumship has made something of a which undoubtedly exists regardless of whether or comeback with new circles working towards the not its phenomena are ontologically real, it is both manifestation of physical phenomena being established in interesting and important to note that apparently private homes across the UK, Europe and the United good evidence does exist to suggest that such Sates. This resurgence has been facilitated by the phenomena may be possible in the presence of development of internet forums promoting the subject, particularly gifted mediums. enabling private circles to disseminate their experiences The Spiritualist movement itself was founded and to exchange tips and procedures for the production of upon physical phenomena. In the small town of physical phenomena. This paper will aim to explore the Hydesville, New York State, in 1848 the Fox family issue of whether the forms of physical mediumship was plagued by anomalous raps and knocks that popular today are part of a continuous tradition seemed, once a practical code for communication beginning in the nineteenth century, or essentially had been devised, to demonstrate the continued modern phenomena with roots in the 1990s. The main spiritual existence of a deceased peddler by the name point of the discussion will be to ascertain the extent to of Charles B. Rosma, who had allegedly been which the phenomena of contemporary physical murdered in the house some years previously (Doyle mediumship resemble those documented in the early 2006 [1926]; Moreman 2010: 161). This example of literature of psychical research. what would later be termed physical mediumship was Jon Klimo provides a fairly standard definition of physical mediumship as the purported ability of certain mediums to “channel unknown energies that affect the physical environment in ways that can be directly experienced by persons other than the channel” (Klimo 1987: 200). Manifestations of these “unknown energies” can take a variety of different forms including: the levitation and manipulation of physical objects (such as knocks and raps, table levitations etc); the production of anomalous environmental changes (such as breezes and unusual drops in room temperature); the generation of so- called “spirit-lights”; the “apportation” of physical objects into and out of the seance room, and the materialization of ectoplasmic forms (manifestations of limbs, heads or, occasionally, whole bodies), Vol. 3 No. 1 35 Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal found to be focussed around the three Fox children and spawned a movement which spread rapidly across the United States and Europe, and which still persists today. The Fox sisters, Leah (1814-1890), Kate (1837-1892) and Margaret (1833-1893), became the first physical mediums and toured all over the United States giving demonstrations of their ability to produce anomalous knocks through which ostensible spirits were able to communicate. As the Fox sisters toured, new mediums began to appear in their wake, and with them came an increasingly varied array of different spiritual manifestations: from mental mediumship and deep-trance communication to the materialization of spirit forms (Moreman 2010: 161). Perhaps the most influential innovator in early horizontally out through a third-story window at physical mediumship was the Scottish-born Daniel Ashley House in London. This event was apparently Dunglas Home (1833-1886). After an early life witnessed by Lord Lindsay, Lord Adare and Captain allegedly filled with spiritual visions and Charles Wynne, all men of high repute and premonitions, and coming from a long line of considered at the time to be honest in what they Scottish seers, Home conducted his first seance at the described (Doyle 2006 [1926]: 99; Lamont 2006: age of eighteen and swiftly gained a reputation as a 185-187). In 1874 Home’s mediumship received powerful medium. By 1856 Home was conducting further support with the publication of Sir William seances in Britain. In 1868 he performed his most Crookes’ report which seemed to confirm, after famous paranormal feat -- the levitation of his body laboratory experimentation, that Home did indeed possess the ability to manipulate physical objects by paranormal means. Using specially designed laboratory equipment Crookes tested Home’s ability to change the weight of physical objects and to play tunes on an accordion suspended out of reach in a cage (Lamont 2005: 204-207; Alvarado 2006: 142; Melechi 2008: 198-200). Home’s seances also often featured the alleged materialization of glowing hands that would mischievously touch the sitters, though he never produced full-body materializations (Doyle 2006 [1926]: 106). Arthur Conan Doyle considered Home to be something of a virtuoso medium in that he was proficient in four different forms of mediumship: the direct voice (whereby spirits communicate verbally independent of the medium), trance mediumship (whereby spirits communicate verbally through the body of the medium), clairvoyance (the ability to see visions of the spirit world, the future and distant locations) and physical mediumship (the ability to psychically manipulate physical objects) (Doyle 2006 [1926]: 106). Although accusations of fraud were made, Home was never actually caught cheating (Moreman 2010: 164-165). The substance known as “ectoplasm” is by now practically synonymous with physical mediumship and is well documented in the early literature of Vol. 3 No. 1 36 Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal psychical research. The term itself was first coined in sitters, a fully modeled arm and hand seized the 1894 by the Nobel prize winning physiologist Prof. medium’s left arm around the elbow and thrust her Charles Richet (1850-1935) in reference to roughly backwards. Eva, frightened, cried out and observations of anomalous limbs during experiments started to tremble; she had an attack of nerves that with the medium Eusapia Paladino (1854-1918). I had to calm. Some minutes later the arm and hand Writing a little later, in his book “Clairvoyance and reappeared on the medium’s knees; this time they Materialization: A Record of Experiments” (2006 were flat and motionless. This phenomenon is all [1927]), the psychical researcher Dr. Gustav Geley the more remarkable in that it suggests a will (1868-1924) provides a good description of this operating independently of the medium, myself mysterious substance: and others” (as cited in Barrington 2011: 5) “During trance a portion of [the medium’s] The so-called ‘Margery’ mediumship was arguably the organism is externalised. This portion is real cutoff point for serious psychical research into sometimes very small, sometimes very physical mediumship. Margery was alleged, by a certain considerable... Observation shows this ectoplasm Dr. Crandon, to have produced a variety of impressive as an amorphous substance which may be either physical phenomena. Dr. Walter Franklin Prince, one of solid or vaporous. Then, usually very soon, the the chief investigators of Margery’s (Mina Crandon’s) formless substance becomes organic, it condenses, mediumship, provides a survey of some of her feats: and forms appear, which, when the process is complete, have all the anatomical and physiological “At hundreds of sittings, it is claimed, characters of biologic life. The ectoplasm has ‘ectoplasmic’ limbs -- extruded from her body and become a living being or a fractional part of a living afterwards reabsorbed -- have performed various being, but is always closely connected to the body acts, such as touching persons seated nearby in the of the medium, of which it is a kind of darkness, shoving, lifting and throwing objects, prolongation, and into which it is absorbed at the overturning a small table, ringing the bell in a box end of the experiment” (Geley 2006[1927]: 176) activated by contact cover, producing ! phosphorescent lights, etc.” (Prince 1926: 431) Ectoplasm quickly became an essential component of any good Spiritualist seance. Some of the most intensive Mina Crandon’s mediumship, however, was very publicly studies of ectoplasmic phenomena were conducted with declared fraudulent by the escape artists Harry Houdini in the medium
Recommended publications
  • The Witch of Lime Street: Seacute;Ance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World Online
    q6gpo (Ebook pdf) The Witch of Lime Street: Seacute;ance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World Online [q6gpo.ebook] The Witch of Lime Street: Seacute;ance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World Pdf Free David Jaher *Download PDF | ePub | DOC | audiobook | ebooks Download Now Free Download Here Download eBook #362942 in Books Jaher David 2016-10-11 2016-10-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .90 x 5.20l, .0 #File Name: 0307451070448 pagesThe Witch of Lime Street Seance Seduction and Houdini in the Spirit World | File size: 62.Mb David Jaher : The Witch of Lime Street: Seacute;ance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World before purchasing it in order to gage whether or not it would be worth my time, and all praised The Witch of Lime Street: Seacute;ance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World: 0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. scientists vs. spiritualists in the 1920sBy lisaleo (Lisa Yount)This nonfiction book describes the investigation of scientists from Scientific American magazine and several eastern universitiesmdash;not to mention famous magician and anti-spiritualist crusader Harry Houdinimdash;of probably the most famous medium of the early to mid-1920s, a woman generally known as Margery. Margery, whose real name was Mina Crandon, supposedly channeled her older brother, Walter, who had been killed in a train accident. She and Walter specialized in physical manifestationsmdash;moving furniture, ringing bells, and the like, along with production of filmy ectoplasmmdash;rather than messages from sittersrsquo; deceased loved ones, as some other mediums did.Margery was different from most other mediums of the era in other ways, too.
    [Show full text]
  • Umi-Uta-1189.Pdf (299.6Kb)
    PARTICIPATION, IDENTITY, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT IN A SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY by LA DORNA MCGEE Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SOCIOLOGY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON December 2005 Copyright © by La Dorna McGee 2005 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my mom who always supported me in my endeavors. I would also like to thank Kathy Rowe, Jane Nicol, and Suzanne Baldon for their support. Lastly, I would like to thank my committee members for their extreme patience and guidance through this process. April 22, 2005 iii ABSTRACT PARTICIPATION, IDENTITY, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT IN A SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY Publication No. ______ La Dorna McGee, M.A. The University of Texas at Arlington, 2005 Supervising Professor: Frank Weed Paganism is a loosely organized community whose religious ideology incorporates the immanence of Deity. As a religious association with an ideology different from traditional Judeo-Christian faiths, members are often labeled as deviant and subjected to various negative sanctions. By relying on survey data collected on April 9-12, 1996 and in depth personal interviews collected on October 10-13, 1996, this study presents a model that best describes and explains acceptance and participation in Pagan spiritualism. This study identifies three characteristics associated with positive ratings of childhood religious affiliation (church disaffection, family closeness, and iv membership role), three characteristics associated with feelings of belonging to the Pagan community (church disaffection, social support, and participation), and finally examines a member’s disclosure of their Pagan identity as being a function of occupational prestige, weighing the costs of negative sanctions versus the Pagan value of openly expressing a Pagan identity, and self-efficacy.
    [Show full text]
  • Psypioneer V6 N2 Feb 2010
    PSYPIONEER JOURNAL Founded by Leslie Price Edited by Archived by Paul J. Gaunt Garth Willey EST 2004 Volume 6, No 2: February 2010 Highlights of this issue: Dr. Walter Franklin Prince versus Simon P. Kase – Paul J. Gaunt 29 Includes:— The Aetiology of a Psychical” legend – Dr. Walter Franklin Prince 30 In Memoriam—Mrs. Margaret Wilkinson – The Two Worlds 46 Rare journals and book for sale 47 “Albert” talks about his work and his life – James Leigh 48 Books for sale 54 How to obtain this Journal by email 55 ========================================= 28 [Note by Psypioneer editor:—In October 2009 Psypioneer published NETTIE COLBURN MAYNARD (Part One).1 Below is published Part Two. It should be noted that Dr Walter Franklin Prince spells the name of one of the central characters of the story, the medium J.B. Conklin, incorrectly as ‘Conkling.’] Dr. Walter Franklin Prince Versus Simon P. Kase PART TWO:— Considering the worldwide attention that has been given to “Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist?” by Nettie Colburn and to earlier accounts by Simon Kase, there is little ready information as to what actually happened and if the scattered reports are authentic. There is to my knowledge only one investigation into the accounts where the information is collated—by the prominent American psychical researcher, Dr Walter Franklin Prince (1863- 1934),2 but this has remained rather obscure. Prince’s research was published by the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in their Journal (JSPR) December 1930,3 then a private publication unlike its Proceedings. We express our thanks to the SPR for supplying Psypioneer with a photocopy which we re-publish below.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry Handel Richardson, a Secret Life – by Dr Barbara Finlayson
    Henry Handel Richardson, a Secret Life – a talk given by Dr Barbara Finlayson at the Bendigo Philosopher’s Group on July 2, 2018 The background music are songs to which Henry Handel Richardson (HHR mainly from now on) wrote the music, some whilst she was at school, others as a music student at Leipzig. That she wrote music is not well known as was her deep involvement in Spiritualism, the subject of my talk. Firstly though, I shall give a very, very, potted summary about this author Henry Handel Richardson, the nom de plume of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson. She was born on the 3rd January 1870 in East Melbourne, the eldest daughter of Dr Walter Richardson and his wife Mary. The family lived in various Victorian towns, as well as Melbourne itself during HHR’s childhood and youth. These included Chiltern, Queenscliff, Koroit, and Maldon after her father’s death. Her mother took the family to Europe in 1888 to enable HHR and her sister Lill to continue her musical studies at the Leipzig Conservatorium. HHR married George Robertson who became chair at the University of London and they moved to that city 1903. She published her first novel, Maurice Guest in 1908 and that is when she adopted her pseudonym. (I have included a list of her writing in the hand out.) The best known are The Getting of Wisdom and The Fortunes of Richard Mahony. She died in 1946, aged 76. In Dorothy Green’s book about Henry Handel Richardson, Ulysses Bound, she said, ‘Richardson’s life-long adherence to Spiritualism is a fact which has largely been ignored.’ This book was first published in 1973, and HHR’s involvement in Spiritualism was largely ignored until 1996 when 2 events occurred.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MEDIUMSHIP of ARNOLD CLARE Leader of the Trinity of Spiritual Fellowship
    THE MEDIUMSHIP OF ARNOLD CLARE Leader of the Trinity of Spiritual Fellowship by HARRY EDWARDS Captain, Indian Army Reserve of Officers. Lieutenant, Home Guard. Parliamentary Candidate North Camberwell 1929 and North-West Camberwell 1936. London County Council Candidate 1928, 1931, 1934, 1937. Leader of the Balham Psychic Research Society. Author of ‘The Mediumship of Jack Webber’ First Published by: THE PSYCHIC BOOK CLUB 144 High Holborn, London, W.C. 1 FOREWORD Apart from the report by Mr. W. Harrison of the early development of Mr. Arnold Clare's mediumship, the descriptions of the séances, the revelations of Peter and the writing of this book took place during the war years 1940-41. As enemy action on London intensified, the physical séances ceased and in the autumn of 1940 were replaced by discussion circles. The first few circles took place in the author's house before a company of about twenty people. It was soon appreciated that the intelligence (known as Peter), speaking through the entranced medium, was of a high order and worthy of reporting. So these large discussion groups gave way to a small circle held in the medium's house, attended by Mr. and Mrs. Clare, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, Mrs. Edwards and the author, an occasional visitor and with Mrs. W. B. Cleveland as stenographer. The procedure at these circles would be that, in normal white light, Mr. Clare would enter into a trance state. His Guide, Peter, taking control, would discourse upon the selected topic answering all questions fluently and without hesitation. Frequently, during these sittings, the air-raid sirens would be heard and the local anti- aircraft guns would be in action.
    [Show full text]
  • Science of the Seance Transnational Networks and Gendered Bodies in the Study of Psychic Phenomena, 1918–40
    Science of the Seance Transnational Networks and Gendered Bodies in the Study of Psychic Phenomena, 1918–40 beth a. robertson UBC Press • Vancouver • Toronto Sample Material © UBC Press 2016 © UBC Press 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher, or, in Canada, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright, www.accesscopyright.ca . Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Robertson, Beth A. (Beth Anne), author Science of the seance : transnational networks and gendered bodies in the study of psychic phenomena, 1918–40 / Beth A. Robertson. Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued in print and electronic formats. ISBN 978-0-7748-3349-3 (hardback).–ISBN 978-0-7748-3351-6 (pdf).– ISBN 978-0-7748-3352-3 (epub).–ISBN 978-0-7748-3353-0 (mobi) 1. Parapsychology–Research–History–20th century. 2. Spiritualism– Research–History–20th century. 3. Parapsychology and science–History– 20th century. 4. Science and spiritualism–History–20th century. 5. Parapsychologists–History–20th century. 6. Sex role. I. Title. BF1028.R63 2016 130.72′2 C2016-905163-3 C2016-905164-1 UBC Press gratefully acknowledges the fi nancial support for our publishing program of the Government of Canada (through the Canada Book Fund), the Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council. Th is book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
    [Show full text]
  • Psypioneer Journals
    PSYPIONEER F JOURNAL Edited by Founded by Leslie Price Archived by Paul J. Gaunt Garth Willey EST Amalgamation of Societies Volume 9, No. —12:~§~— December 2013 —~§~— 354 – 1944- Mrs Duncan Criticised by Spiritualists – Compiled by Leslie Price 360 – Correction- Mrs Duncan and Mrs Dundas 361 – The Major Mowbray Mystery – Leslie Price 363 – The Spiritualist Community Again – Light 364 – The Golden Years of the Spiritualist Association – Geoffrey Murray 365 – Continued – “One Hundred Years of Spiritualism” – Roy Stemman 367 – The Human Double – Psychic Science 370 – Five Experiments with Miss Kate Goligher by Mr. S. G. Donaldson 377 – The Confession of Dr Crawford – Leslie Price 380 – Emma Hardinge Britten, Beethoven, and the Spirit Photographer William H Mumler – Emma Hardinge Britten 386 – Leslie’s seasonal Quiz 387 – Some books we have reviewed 388 – How to obtain this Journal by email ============================= Psypioneer would like to extend its best wishes to all its readers and contributors for the festive season and the coming New Year 353 1944 - MRS DUNCAN CRITICISED BY SPIRITUALISTS The prosecution of Mrs Duncan aroused general Spiritualist anger. But an editorial in the monthly LIGHT, published by the London Spiritualist Alliance, and edited by H.J.D. Murton, struck a very discordant note:1 The Case of Mrs. Duncan AT the Old Bailey, on Friday, March 31st, after a trial lasting seven days, Mrs. Helen Duncan, with three others, was convicted of conspiring to contravene Section 4 of the Witchcraft Act of 1735, and of pretending to exercise conjuration. There were also other charges of causing money to be paid by false pretences and creating a public mischief, but after finding the defendants guilty of the conspiracy the jury were discharged from giving verdicts on the other counts.
    [Show full text]
  • Helen Duncan “Special” —~§~— 215 Images of Albert Stewart —~§~—
    PSYPIONEER F JOURNAL Founded by Leslie Price Edited by Archived by Paul J. Gaunt Garth Willey Established 2004 —~§~— Volume 11, No. 10/11: October – November 2015 —~§~— 216 – Images of Albert Stewart – Paul J. Gaunt Materialised Spirit Poses For Sculptor And For Artist – Psychic News Brother Lived A Few Hours—But Proves Survival – Psychic News 225 – Helen Duncan, Esson Maule and Harry Price – Paul J. Gaunt 240 – The London Psychical Laboratory – Light 243 – Sittings with Mrs. Duncan: Ectoplasm and Materialisation – Light 248 – First Series – Notes of Sittings with Mrs Duncan – London Spiritualist Alliance 256 – Leslie Xmas Quiz 257 – Britten Memorial Research Weeks at the Arthur Findlay College 258 – Some books we have reviewed 259 – How to obtain this Journal by email ============================= —~§~— Helen Duncan “Special” —~§~— 215 Images of Albert Stewart —~§~— In the SNU Pioneer issue November 2015 psychic artist Marcel Poncin is featured. He produced numerous images of well-known guides and mediums like Silver Birch, Estelle Roberts, and the healer William (Billy) Parish. Another well-known artist of this period was Mrs. Mary Winefride Slater. In Psypioneer February 2015 we published her image of Helen Duncan’s child communicator “Peggy”. Like Poncin, Mary Winefride Slater’s images are today still well known, unlike the artist’s name. Slater produced one of the images of “Zodiac” the guide/control who first entranced medium Winifred Moyes in 1921, giving the first public address in August 1928. This resulted in the formation of the Greater World Christian Spiritualist League (later becoming the Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association) on the 30th May 1931. The painting on canvas measured 24 x 18 inches and hangs in the Sanctuary at the Greater World Headquarters.
    [Show full text]
  • Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press 2015
    Jan 15 #1 Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press Sherlockians (and Holmesians) gathered in New York to celebrate the Great Detective's 161st birthday during the long weekend from Jan. 7 to Jan. 11. The festivities began with the traditional ASH Wednesday dinner sponsored by The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes at Annie Moore's, and continued with the Christopher Morley Walk led by Jim Cox and Dore Nash on Thursday morn- ing, followed by the usual lunch at McSorley's. The Baker Street Irregulars' Distinguished Speaker at the Midtown Executive Club on Thursday evening was Alan Bradley, co-author of MS. HOLMES OF BAKER STREET (2004), and author of the award-winning "Flavia de Luce" series; the title of his talk was "Ha! The Stars Are Out and the Wind Has Fallen" (his paper will be published in the next issue of The Baker Street Journal). The William Gillette Luncheon at Moran's Restaurant was well attended, as always, and the Friends of Bogie's at Baker Street (Paul Singleton and An- drew Joffe) entertained the audience with an updated version of "The Sher- lock Holmes Cable Network" (2000). The luncheon also was the occasion for Al Gregory's presentation of the annual Jan Whimsey Award (named in memory of his wife Jan Stauber), which honors the most whimsical piece in The Ser- pentine Muse last year: the winner (Jenn Eaker) received a certificate and a check for the Canonical sum of $221.17. And Otto Penzler's traditional open house at the Mysterious Bookshop provided the usual opportunities to browse and buy.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Download the Two Worlds of Helen Duncan Ebook, Epub
    THE TWO WORLDS OF HELEN DUNCAN PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Gena Brealey,Kay Hunter | 252 pages | 30 Nov 2008 | Saturday Night Press | 9780955705038 | English | York, United Kingdom The Two Worlds of Helen Duncan PDF Book Get A Copy. I leave the reader to visualize the scene. This is a record of the Quest of Dorothy and Russell Flexer, to understand the key elements of Metaphysical thought in their search for a Spiritual Truth. More information about this seller Contact this seller 4. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Top reviews from Australia. Top reviews Most recent Top reviews. No additional import charges at delivery! Pembridge Publishing. Gena relates the whole story of her mother's mediumship, her early life, the deterioration in her health and her ultimate passing, due in no small measure to the stress endured as a result of police prosecution and imprisonment. At the conclusion of the fourth seance we led the medium to a settee and called for the apparatus. Irish-born, he lived much of his life Seller Image. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Cornwall. Customers who bought this item also bought. A must read if you have an interest in physical mediumship. Harry Edwards. Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled. More information at returns. Anyone interested in the history of spiritualism and in what Helen endured as a medium standing for her beliefs and her own truth should read this book. New Holland Publishers. Canongate books. It was useless. Alan Crossley, In the first part her daughter, Gena tells the true story of this remarkable woman who cared so deeply for her family and all who needed her help.
    [Show full text]
  • Dream, Levitation, and Life After Death Searching for Connections
    Network Review 2016/2 3 Dream, Levitation, and Life articles after Death Searching for Connections Michael Grosso Michael Grosso has been active in consciousness research since the 1970s – I first met him in New York in 1984 when he was focusing on the wider implications of NDEs as explained in his brilliant book The Final Choice. Even then he was interested in the parapsychology of religion and his most recent book is on St Joseph of Copertino, also reviewed in this issue. Here he looks at some wider connections between dreams, life after death and levitation. A theory should simplify and connect disparate phenomena -- We can begin with dreams and death. Is death a kind of like an apple falling from a tree and a planet revolving around migration to a world of dreams? Price wrote “The Idea of the sun -- as Newton did with the hypothesis of gravity. In this ‘Another World’”5 to solve a philosophical problem. We brief essay, I want to talk about levitation and life after death generally have no idea of what a “next” world might be like. in light of the familiar but mysterious world of dreams. The There’s no credible conception at hand. Evidence for life after dream is my gravity that connects the disparate. The afterlife death – some of it impressive -- needs a theory of the ‘next’ and levitation may seem like strange bedfellows, but I will try world to make it intelligible. Without some coherent picture to connect them via the dreaming mind. in mind, talk of an ‘afterlife’ is just words.
    [Show full text]
  • Theory in Magic a Capstone Course for Majors in Religious Studies
    Theory in Magic A Capstone Course for Majors in Religious Studies David Walker University of California, Santa Barbara Institutional Setting: The University of California at Santa Barbara, one of ten UC campuses, is a large public institution with some 18,000 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students. Although boasting certain strengths in the natural and social sciences (financial resources, number of faculty, and number of majors), UCSB has excellent programs also in the humanities and fine arts, and the university has worked to develop and promote them since the 1960s. Among these is the program in Religious Studies, and it is both an indicative and special case of UCSB’s focus on the humanities: formed in 1964, the Department of Religious Studies is by far the largest such department in the UC system, with over 25 faculty members and continuing lecturers, offering a BA degree program and MA and PhD degrees in several subfields. The department is unique also nationally and internationally, being one of the first public academic programs supporting a secular approach to the study of matters religious; and it ranks consistently among the top programs in the field. There are currently 6 faculty members working in the subfield of Religion in the Americas. Curricular Setting: The Department of Religious Studies has been working to provide greater cohesion to its undergraduate major. Whereas the graduate programs are tracked through a series of complementary and cumulative classes, the department has hesitated to implement such a structure for the undergraduate degree. This is in part because many undergraduates declare majors towards the end of their time at UCSB, rather than at the beginning; and the department worries that too many prerequisite or sequenced courses may frustrate students’ ability to “find their niche” without “backtracking” to lower-level offerings.
    [Show full text]