Automatic Writing Is One of Many Forms of Mediumship
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Automatic Writing and the Book of Mormon: an Update
ARTICLES AND ESSAYS AUTOMATIC WRITING AND THE BOOK OF MORMON: AN UPDATE Brian C. Hales At a Church conference in 1831, Hyrum Smith invited his brother to explain how the Book of Mormon originated. Joseph declined, saying: “It was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.”1 His pat answer—which he repeated on several occasions—was simply that it came “by the gift and power of God.”2 Attributing the Book of Mormon’s origin to supernatural forces has worked well for Joseph Smith’s believers, then as well as now, but not so well for critics who seem certain natural abilities were responsible. For over 180 years, several secular theories have been advanced as explanations.3 The more popular hypotheses include plagiarism (of the Solomon Spaulding manuscript),4 collaboration (with Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, etc.),5 1. Donald Q. Cannon and Lyndon W. Cook, eds., Far West Record: Minutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1844 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983), 23. 2. “Journal, 1835–1836,” in Journals, Volume. 1: 1832–1839, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Richard L. Jensen, vol. 1 of the Journals series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2008), 89; “History of Joseph Smith,” Times and Seasons 5, Mar. 1, 1842, 707. 3. See Brian C. Hales, “Naturalistic Explanations of the Origin of the Book of Mormon: A Longitudinal Study,” BYU Studies 58, no. -
The Science of Mediumship and the Evidence of Survival
Rollins College Rollins Scholarship Online Master of Liberal Studies Theses 2009 The cS ience of Mediumship and the Evidence of Survival Benjamin R. Cox III [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls Recommended Citation Cox, Benjamin R. III, "The cS ience of Mediumship and the Evidence of Survival" (2009). Master of Liberal Studies Theses. 31. http://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls/31 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Rollins Scholarship Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Liberal Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of Rollins Scholarship Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Science of Mediumship and the Evidence of Survival A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Liberal Studies by Benjamin R. Cox, III April, 2009 Mentor: Dr. J. Thomas Cook Rollins College Hamilton Holt School Master of Liberal Studies Winter Park, Florida This project is dedicated to Nathan Jablonski and Richard S. Smith Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 The Science of Mediumship.................................................................... 11 The Case of Leonora E. Piper ................................................................ 33 The Case of Eusapia Palladino............................................................... 45 My Personal Experience as a Seance Medium Specializing -
“Spiritist Mediumship As Historical Mediation: African-American Pasts
Journal of Religion in Africa 41 (2011) 330-365 brill.nl/jra Spiritist Mediumship as Historical Mediation: African-American Pasts, Black Ancestral Presence, and Afro-Cuban Religions Elizabeth Pérez, Ph.D. Dartmouth College, Department of Religion 305 !ornton Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA [email protected] Abstract !e scholarship on Afro-Atlantic religions has tended to downplay the importance of Kardecist Espiritismo. In this article I explore the performance of Spiritist rituals among Black North American practitioners of Afro-Cuban religions, and examine its vital role in the development of their religious subjectivity. Drawing on several years of ethnographic research in a Chicago-based Lucumí community, I argue that through Spiritist ceremonies, African-American participants engaged in memory work and other transformative modes of collective historiographical praxis. I contend that by inserting gospel songs, church hymns, and spirituals into the musical reper- toire of misas espirituales, my interlocutors introduced a new group of beings into an existing category of ethnically differentiated ‘spirit guides’. Whether embodied in ritual contexts or cul- tivated privately through household altars, these spirits not only personify the ancestral dead; I demonstrate that they also mediate between African-American historical experience and the contemporary practice of Yorùbá- and Kongo-inspired religions. Keywords African Diaspora, Black North American religion, historiography, Santería, Espiritismo, spirit possession Pirates of the Afro-Caribbean World Among practitioners of Afro-Cuban religions such as Palo Monte and Lucumí, popularly called Santería, Spiritist ceremonies are frequently celebrated. !is has been the case wherever these traditions’ distinct yet interrelated classes of spirits—including Kongo mpungus and Yorùbá orishas—have gained a foot- hold, particularly in global urban centers. -
Automatic Writing by Sarah Tyler-Walters
Automatic Writing by Sarah Tyler-Walters When we mention messages from Spirit most of us are familiar with the idea of these being spoken or delivered by a medium rather than in written form which gets sidelined for its flashier siblings. However, it is having a resurgence and rightly so. “What is it?” simply put it is communication from a Spirit through a medium in the form of written words (this can include drawings). Historically, even the use of an ouija board was thought to be a form of automatic writing. Though today we have a better understanding of the mechanics involved and can, therefore, be more accurate in the description; using Automatic Writing as an umbrella term. Spirit communication can come in pictures, sounds or feelings either via the mind as in Mental Mediumship or by blending with the energy system as in Trance/Physical Mediumship again two umbrella terms. Automatic Writing, therefore, has several levels to it, the lightest being Inspirational which uses the same techniques and mechanics as modern-day mediumship. The information is relayed from the Spirit through the upper chakra system into the mind and the medium then writes the information down. Then you have Channelled / Automatic which is done by the Spirit blending with the medium as for channelling or trance and moving the hand to write. The deepest level is Auto-script where the Spirit takes full control of the medium to write or draw, and there is no knowledge or memory of it by the medium. “What about your subconscious or ego?” Well yes, they can both write at the Inspirational level and often do when people are journaling for their own self- development. -
King of the Paranormal
King of the Paranormal CNN's Larry King Live has a long history of outrageous promotion of UFOs, psychics, and spiritualists. CHRIS MOONEY roadcast on CNN, the July 1, 2003, installment of Larry King Live was a sight to behold. The program, Bin Kings words, explored "the incredible events of fifty-six years ago at Roswell, New Mexico." What most likely crashed at Roswell in 1947 was a government spy bal- loon, but the panel of guests assembled on King's show pre- ferred a more sensational version of events. Jesse Marcel, Jr., son of a Roswell intelligence officer, claimed that just after the crash, his father showed him bits of debris that "came from another civilization" (Marcel 2003). Glenn Dennis, who worked at a Roswell funeral home at the time, said a military officer called him to ask about the availability of small caskets (i.e., for dead aliens). Later Dennis, obviously SKEPTICAL INQUIRER November/December 2003 a UFO enthusiast, abruptly observed that the pyramids in Roswell crash site. Doleman admitted to King rJiat his dig had Egypt had recently been "[shut down] for three or four days not yet yielded any definitive evidence, but added that the and no tourists going out there on account of the sightings" "results" of his analysis will air on Sci-Fi in October—as (Dennis 2003). opposed to, say, being published in a peer-reviewed scientific King's program didn't merely advance the notion that an journal (Doleman 2003). [See also David E. Thomas, "Bait alien spacecraft crashed at Roswell in 1947. -
Belief in Psychic Ability and the Misattribution Hypothesis: a Qualitative Review
BJP 180—12/5/2006—ANISH—167162 1 The British Psychological British Journal of Psychology (2006), 1–17 Society q 2006 The British Psychological Society www.bpsjournals.co.uk Belief in psychic ability and the misattribution hypothesis: A qualitative review Richard Wiseman1* and Caroline Watt2 1University of Hertfordshire, UK 2 University of Edinburgh, UK This paper explores the notion that people who believe in psychic ability possess various psychological attributes that increase the likelihood of them misattributing paranormal causation to experiences that have a normal explanation. The paper discusses the structure and measurement of belief in psychic ability, then reviews the considerable body of work exploring the relationship between belief in psychic ability, and academic performance, intelligence, critical thinking, probability misjudgement and reasoning, measures of fantasy proneness and the propensity to find correspondences in distantly related material. Finally, the paper proposes several possible directions for future research, including: the need to build a multi-causal model of belief; to address the issue of correlation verses causation; to resolve the inconsistent pattern of findings present in many areas; and to develop a more valid, reliable and fine-grained measure of belief in psychic ability. Surveys suggest that approximately 50% of Americans believe in the existence of extra- sensory perception (e.g. Newport & Strausberg, 2001), and that similar levels of belief exist throughout much of Western Europe and in many other parts of the world (e.g. Haraldsson, 1985). Attempts to identify the mechanisms underlying the formation of such beliefs have adopted one of three theoretical perspectives. Some of the research has adopted a motivational perspective and examined whether such beliefs develop, in part, because they fulfil a need for control (e.g. -
The Problem of Seth's Origin: a Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts Paul Cunningham Rivier College
Running head: THE PROBLEM OF SETH'S ORIGIN The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts Paul Cunningham Rivier College Author Note Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Paul Cunningham, Department of Psychology, Rivier College, Nashua, NH 03055. E-mail: [email protected] Running head: THE PROBLEM OF SETH'S ORIGIN 2 Abstract Jane Roberts channeled the purported discarnate entity called "Seth" from 1963 through 1984. The purposes of this paper are to (a) discuss the question of whether the content of a mediumistic communication can aid in determining the source of that communication, (b) address a gap in the literature by presenting an outer history of the trance-possession mediumship of Jane Roberts, and (c) examine eight explanations for Seth's origin in light of the published evidence of the case, including fraud, cryptomnesia, hypnotic self-suggestion, incipient schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder, high creativity, psi functioning, basic source Aspect, and energy personality essence. Either Seth is or is not a production of Jane Roberts' psyche. In either case, we are led to the possibility that human personality may have a greater reality and greater awareness than is generally supposed. Keywords: case study, mediums, mediumship, possession, trance, survival of consciousness, discarnate communication, content analysis. Running head: THE PROBLEM OF SETH'S ORIGIN 3 The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts On December 8, 1963 an entity that called himself Seth emerged under the auspices of a ouija board to take possession of the body of a woman named Jane Roberts of Elmira, New York with the expressed purpose of dictating information about the nature of reality beyond the five senses in a trance-possession mediumship that lasted for 21 years. -
Psychic Phenomena Following Near-Death Experiences: an Australian Study
Psychic Phenomena Following Near-Death Experiences: An Australian Study Cherie Sutherland, B.A. University of New South Wales ABSTRACT: This study examines the incidence of reports of psychic phe nomena and associated beliefs both before and after the near-death experience (NDE). The near-death experiencers interviewed reported no more psychic phenomena before the NDE than the general population. There was a statis tically significant increase following the NDE in the incidence of 14 of 15 items examined. The near-death experience (NDE) occurs when a person is on the brink of death, or in some cases actually clinically dead, and yet survives to recount an intense, profoundly meaningful experience. Although there have been a number of studies conducted in other countries, to date there has been no detailed empirical study of the phenomenon in Australia. In 1980-1981, a major survey by George Gallup, Jr. (1982) discovered that eight million Americans, or approximately five percent of the adult American population, have had what Gallup called a "verge-of death" or "temporary death" experience with some sort of mystical encounter associated with the actual "death" event. In view of the Ms. Sutherland was formerly a lecturer in the Department of Social Work, University of Sydney, and is currently a full-time doctoral student in the School of Sociology, University of New South Wales. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Ms. Sutherland at the School of Sociology, University of New South Wales, P.O. Box 1, Kensington, NSW 2033, Australia. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 8(2) Winter 1989 1989 Human Sciences Press 93 94 JOURNAL OF NEAR-DEATH STUDIES major changes in values and beliefs that can occur as a result of these experiences, this is a figure of sociological significance and importance. -
Mediumship and the Economy of Luck and Fate: Contemporary Chinese Belief Trends Behind the Filmic Folklore
http://dx.doi.org/10.7592/FEJF2016.65.bao MEDIUMSHIP AND THE ECONOMY OF LUCK AND FATE: CONTEMPORARY CHINESE BELIEF TRENDS BEHIND THE FILMIC FOLKLORE Huai Bao Abstract: This study explores the pen spirit, a mediumistic game simplified out of fuji, which is shown in a number of popular horror films in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). While Chinese literary works in the past often made reference to fuji as an ancient Chinese mediumistic ritual, the communist government has suppressed expressions on the supernatural in publications and official media, but not in films – at least not in the popular pen spirit series. What is a pen spirit? Why is it so popular in China, especially among Chinese youngsters? Is there a ‘cultural obsession’ among the Chinese with fate, luck, and divination? This study seeks to discover the evolution of the pen spirit and the socio-cultural psychological dimensions behind the phenomenon. Keywords: divination, economy of luck and fate, filmic folklore, fuji, medium- ship, supernatural INTRODUCTION In the past few years, a number of low-budget pen spirit thrillers have been released in the PRC with great box office outcome. These films may be classified as filmic folklore, a term coined by Juwen Zhang, which is defined as “a folklore or folklore-like performance that is represented, created, or hybridized in fictional film” (2005: 267). These films have been released and publicized by the media in the PRC largely due to their filmic folkloric nature. A 2014 news report on the lawsuit between some Beijing-based film production companies brought attention to the popularity of horror films featuring the pen spirit – a popular form of mediumship in China similar to the Ouija board in the West (more on Ouija board see Brunvand 1998 [1996]: 534). -
PDF Download Talking to Heaven: a Mediums Message of Life After Death
TALKING TO HEAVEN: A MEDIUMS MESSAGE OF LIFE AFTER DEATH PDF, EPUB, EBOOK James Van Praagh | 208 pages | 05 Nov 2009 | Little, Brown Book Group | 9780749941505 | English | London, United Kingdom Talking to Heaven: A Mediums Message of Life After Death PDF Book James also relays physical traits and death conditions as evidence. When he had his show where he did readings for people much like John Edwards show , I watched that. It was one of the best books I have read in a long, long time. James Van Praagh. Spiritually Uplifting, No Dogma! But also, writing about that other world that I see is going to help people. Want to Read saving…. He moves on to sessions he's had with clients, getting them in touch with family members have passed over, whether from a tragic accident, a long-term illness, old age, suicide, etc. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Write a customer review. Best Selling in Nonfiction See all. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. I compliment him on the feeling of comfort and healing that I received from his book. It seemed to assume that everyone should believe in heaven the same way as he does and stuff and I think he could have handled that a little better. Only humans limit their thinking. Van Praagh basically begins by talking about his childhood and how he discovered his gift of psychic abilities. James Van Praagh enjoys an extraordinary gift - he can communicate with the spirits of men, women, children and animals who have died. -
Priming Psychic and Conjuring Abilities of a Magic Demonstration Influences Event Interpretation and Random Number Generation Biases
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLEprovided by Frontiers - Publisher Connector published: 21 January 2015 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01542 Priming psychic and conjuring abilities of a magic demonstration influences event interpretation and random number generation biases Christine Mohr 1, Nikolaos Koutrakis 2 and Gustav Kuhn 2 * 1 Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland 2 Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths – University of London, London, UK Edited by: Magical ideation and belief in the paranormal is considered to represent a trait-like character; Amir Raz, McGill University, Canada people either believe in it or not. Yet, anecdotes indicate that exposure to an anomalous Reviewed by: event can turn skeptics into believers. This transformation is likely to be accompanied by David Hamilton Landy, Indiana altered cognitive functioning such as impaired judgments of event likelihood. Here, we University, USA Jonathan Schooler, University of investigated whether the exposure to an anomalous event changes individuals’ explicit California Santa Barbara, USA traditional (religious) and non-traditional (e.g., paranormal) beliefs as well as cognitive biases Ray Hyman, University of Oregon, that have previously been associated with non-traditional beliefs, e.g., repetition avoidance USA (retired) when producing random numbers in a mental dice task. In a classroom, 91 students saw a *Correspondence: magic demonstration after their psychology lecture. Before the demonstration, half of the Gustav Kuhn, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths – University students were told that the performance was done respectively by a conjuror (magician of London, New Cross, SE14 6NW, group) or a psychic (psychic group). -
The Confessions of a Leading Psychic
The confessions of a leading psychic MERE PUFFERY THE CONFESSIONS OF A LEADING PSYCHIC If one of the "world's leading psychics" confessed to being a hoax what would he or she say? Seldom does the world find out because leading psychics seldom ever reveal to the public the tricks of their trade. In 1981, however, one of this country's leading psychics did confess to being a hoax. That confession, unfortunately, took place during a television special which was aired only once and never repeated (a transcript was never published). SCS is pleased to publish here for the first time excerpts from that rare and fascinating television interview with confessed psychic James Hydrick. First some background information on James Hydrick. Hydrick rose to national fame after appearing on a December 1980 taped broadcast of ABC's popular program "That Incredible." Hydrick appeared to demonstrate for the viewing audience very strong psychokinetic powers. These powers enabled Hydrick to flip the pages of a telephone book (without touching the book) and cause a pencil to turn on a table merely by the power of his will. The tabloid newspaper The Star quickly ran an article on Hydrick labeling him "The World's Top Psychic." The glowing account labeled Hydrick's powers as "incredible and staggering." Other newspapers revealed that Hydrick could cure headaches and colds with a touch and answer questions before they were asked. A scientist and electrical engineer from the University of Utah after much testing also concluded that Hydrick's psychic powers were indeed authentic. Hydrick claimed that he had learned these powers from special training in the martial arts and that he could teach these powers to anyone.