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Investigating Mental Mediums: Research Suggestions from the Historical Literature

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Investigating Mental Mediums: Research Suggestions from the Historical Literature Journal of Scientifi c Exploration, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 197–224, 2010 0892-3310/10 ESSAY Investigating Mental Mediums: Research Suggestions from the Historical Literature CARLOS S. ALVARADO Atlantic University, 215 67th Street, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451, USA [email protected] Abstract—Mental mediumship is a complex process involving a variety of factors in need of further study before we can increase our understanding of the phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to offer ideas and topics for fur- ther research—mainly from the psychological perspective and with emphasis on the old psychical research literature. The topics discussed are mediumistic trance (e.g., function, stages, and depth, mediumistic mentation (e.g., imagery, symbols), the dramatic capabilities of the subconscious mind, the relationship between mediumship and psychopathology, the variety of experiences report- ed by mediums outside their performances (e.g., dissociative and ESP experi- ences), and the changing aspects of mediumship over time. It is argued that in-depth single case studies of specifi c mediums and interdisciplinary studies will greatly help us to understand mediumship more fully. Keywords: mediumship—mediumistic mentation—personation—iatrogenesis —trance—dissociation Mental mediums are individuals who claim to convey messages from discarnate spirits in such varied ways as impressions, visions, and automatic writing. Historically, this phenomenon has been important for its infl uence on psychological concepts such as the subconscious mind and dissociation (Alvarado, Machado, Zangari, & Zingrone, 2007), ideas of pathology (Le Maléfan, 1999), and for presenting phenomena that have provided both research topics and ideas for fi elds such as spiritualism (Tromp, 2006), psychical research (Inglis, 1984), and anthropology (Seligman, 2005). Modern studies of the phenomena have included approaches and questions framed from such varied fi elds as anthropology, history, parapsychology, psychology, and psychiatry, to name a few. Ideally, to understand mediumship we need a comprehensive approach that considers multiple variables and the contribution of different disciplines. While practical considerations limit such research in a single project, perhaps we might follow more general approaches within specifi c 197 198 Carlos S. Alvarado disciplines. For example, Frederic W. H. Myers (1903) not only focused on veridical mediumistic communications in his analysis of mediumship, but he also took a much wider scope considering non-veridical manifestations as well as non-mediumistic motor automatisms and secondary personalities. The purpose of this paper is to suggest some topics for further research with mental mediums, taking ideas mainly from the old psychical research literature, and, to some extent, from the spiritualist and psychological literatures. Because of the type of literature consulted, the examples cited are mainly on trance mediums. But the systematic study of mediums can and should also include mediums who do not fall into trance, a type that seems to be more frequent today. Although the topic will not be completely neglected, my emphasis will not be on studies of veridical mediumship (e.g., Beischel & Schwartz, 2007, Hodgson, 1892). Instead, I will focus on a variety of questions related to trances, mediumistic mentation, the dramatic capabilities of the subconscious, psychopathology, the variety of cognitive and psychic experiences reported by mediums in their lives, and changes in mediumship over time. Rather than present detailed suggested research designs or reviews of past studies, my intent is to raise questions that may inform current hypothesis testing. Trance The term trance1 is a problematic one. Not only has it been used to refer to a variety of apparent states of consciousness, but we need to be aware that it may manifest in degrees, a topic that has been discussed in the psychical research (Sidgwick, 1915) and spirit possession (Frigerio, 1989) literatures. In his infl uential study of music and trance, Rouget (1980/1985:3) pointed out that some individuals who have referred to trance have not used the same terms to designate the manifestations and that authors have used different terms to refer to the same phenomena. Pekala and Kumar (2000) have argued in relation to hypnosis that the concept of trance is ill-defi ned and has not been properly operationalized. The situation is similar in the mediumship literature. Nonetheless, while we need to keep this problem in mind, I will use the term trance here because the word is used to describe apparent changes in states of consciousness in the literature I am reviewing. Trance has long been considered important for the manifestation of phenomena. According to James H. Hyslop (1918): “The trance of the living medium more or less excludes her own mind or thoughts from intermingling with or dominating the messages . .” (p. 218). Unfortunately, there has been no systematic research on the subject to test such an idea. Perhaps a contrast of the medium’s experiences in trance vs. no trance, or between different stages of trance, could produce information relevant to the subject. Medium Leonora E. Piper illustrates interesting research possibilities. As Investigating Mental Mediums 199 described by Charles Richet, Piper started in silence and in semi-darkness and, after an interval of 5 to 15 minutes, exhibited “small spasmodic convulsions” that ended in a small epileptic episode (in W. Leaf, 1890:619). [This and other translations in this paper are mine.] Following this, the medium showed stupor and heavy breathing, and then started talking. Others observed similar convulsive behaviors with Piper, generally at the beginning of the trance: “She twitched convulsively, ejaculated ‘don’t,’ and went into apparent epilepsy” (Lodge, 1890:444); “She continually groaned as if in suffering. After long waiting . she went through a kind of struggle or crisis, confi ned to the upper part of the body . .” (W. Leaf, 1890:606); “Convulsions strong; continue ten minutes” (Hodgson, 1892:537). There were similar observations at the end of the trance: “Mrs. Piper had begun to come out of trance, but was strongly convulsed again . .” (Hodgson, 1892:483).2 While not every medium shows these manifestations, it would be worth determining how prevalent they are. Psychophysiological recordings at the time the tremors take place may be compared with periods without the tremors. It seems these phenomena were more frequent during the early years of Piper’s trances. Are such manifestations developmental? That is, did they appear during the early years of the medium’s practice as her nervous system developed or was trained (so to speak) to manifest the phenomena, disappearing as the processes involved became second nature? Eleanor Sidgwick (1915) documented the existence of stages of trance and the variety of phenomena accompanying Mrs. Piper’s mentation. Particularly interesting were Hodgson’s (1898) observations of an initial stage in which he believed the subliminal mind of the medium took over at the beginning of the trance in which the medium was “dreamily conscious of the sitter, and dreamily conscious of ‘spirits’” (Hodgson, 1898:397). This led to a “fuller and clearer consciousness—we may call it her subliminal consciousness—which is in direct relation . not so much with our ordinary physical world as with ‘another world’” (p. 397), and later into a state in which he thought the “subliminal consciousness withdraws completely from the control of her body and takes her supraliminal consciousness with it” (p. 398). Hodgson wrote further that at the end there were indications of a return to Mrs. Piper’s consciousness in reverse of the order it had disappeared. He wrote: But in passing out of trance, the stages are usually of longer duration than when she enters it. She frequently repeats statements apparently made to her by the “communicators” while she is in the purely “subliminal” stage, as though she was a “spirit” controlling her body but not in full possession of it, and, after her supraliminal consciousness has begun to surge up into view, she frequently has visions apparently of the distant or departing “communicators”. (Hodgson, 1898:400–401) 200 Carlos S. Alvarado Unfortunately, very little work has been conducted since the old days to assess the existence and characteristics of stages of mediumistic trance. Many basic questions need to be explored empirically. In addition to the above- mentioned—the actual function of trance, its psychophysiology, features, and stages—there is the issue of veridical mediumistic mentation. Just as modern parapsychologists have studied ESP in relation to aspects of altered states of consciousness (e.g., depth, changes in sense of time and body image (Alvarado, 1998)), we may study veridical mentation in mediums in relation to the presence or absence of trance and its depth. While trance mediums do not seem to be as common today as they used to be, observations of such states suggest that psychophysiological recording techniques could be profi tably used in new studies, as has been done sporadically in the past (Evans & Osborn, 1952, Solfvin, Roll & Kelly, 1977). On a more basic level, we may better document today the variety of states of consciousness shown by some mediums, such as was the case with Mrs. Willett (pseudonym of Winifred Coombe-Tenannt (Balfour, 1935)). Mediumistic Mentation There are discussions in the literature about the features and diffi
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