book is then replaced on the shelf. Then returning

to the room, you first find the book, by the methods already given in previous feats; then laying it flat on the table you should begin to slowly and delib- erately pick each leaf up separately. This part of the feat is almost identical with the last one, in which you picked up the cards from the pack. When you get the proper impression, you should announce that you have found the leaf. If satisfied that you are right, ascertain upon which side of the leaf, the chosen page is. This can be done by press- ing the leaf to the right, or left, in succession, until you get the right impression as to which way to press it down. Then, having thus found the page, pass your finger slowly down and back over the
DIFFICULT DEMONSTRATIONS 73
page several times, until you get the impression of a centre. This centre will be the chosen line. Then by passing the finger slowly along the line, you will discover the Word when you reach it. This is a "ticklish" feat, but it may be mastered by practice — in fact some people have found it almost as simple as some of the easier feats, while others require care- ful practice with it. Do not be discouraged if you do not succeed at first trial, even in public, but try again, and after a bit you will seem to "get the knack" all at once, and thereafter will have but little trouble in making the demonstration. If you find that you do not meet with the desired degree of success in this feat, try it by the "Simpler Method" given at the last of this part of the book. But do not give it up without the proper practice. If you have carefully performed the previous feats, you should have so delevoped yourself by this time that you should have no special difficulty in this feat.
BLACKBOARD DEMONSTRATIONS.
The following feats may be performed either upon a large blackboard hanging from the wall, or upon a large sheet of card-board, or stiff paper, spread upon the table. If the blackboard is used, you should stand before it, the Transmitter standing in the usual position. If the table is used, you should stand before it, the Transmitter in his usual place.
74 PRACTICAL MIND READING
DRAWING THE CHOSEN FIGURE.
DEMONSTRATION VII. Have the audience select a number, and think intently of it. Impress upon the Transmitter that is to think of the Shape of the figure instead of merely remembering its name. For instance if the figure "8" is thought of, the Transmitter should think of the Shape of the figure, and not of the word "eight." Then begin to circle your hand around over the blackboard just as you did when finding the place of the "beginning of the trip" of the demonstration mentioned a few minutes ago. Then bring your pencil or chalk to a starting point, which you will soon perceive. Then hold your fingers pressing lightly forward, and impart to your hand a trembling vibratory motion as if in hesitation regarding the next movement, saying at the same time to your Transmitter : "Will Hard now — Will the Direction to me," and you will soon be- gin to get an impression of "Right," or "Left," or "Down," as the case may be, which you should fol- low slowly. Be slow about it, for if the impression is not right you will soon be checked up. Fence around a little until you begin to get the impres- sions clearly. You will find that the principal trou- ble is at the start, for once you are started on the right track, your Transmitter's Will will be freely emploved, and he will pour the impressions into you.
DIFFICULT DEMONSTRATIONS 75
Let him feel that it is his Will that is really doing the work, and he will exert it freely. Once started, these drawing feats are easily performed, the trouble being with the start. You should practice this feat frequently in private, before attemping it in a public demonstration. It is very effective.
THE LADY'S AGE. DEMONSTRATION VII. This is a variation of the above feat. A lady in the audience is asked to whisper her age in the ear of the Transmitter, and you are to draw it on the board or paper. The feat is performed precisely in the manner described above, the Transmitter being cautioned to think of but one figure at a time during the drawing.
THE BANK NOTE TEST.
DEMONSTRATION IX. Akin to the last two feats, is the reading of the number of a bank-note held in the hand of the Transmitter. It is performed in precisely the same manner as the preceding feat. Be sure to have the Transmitter understand that he is to think of but one figure at a time, until it is drawn, and then the next, and so on.
THE WATCH NUMBER TEST.
DEMONSTRATION X. The feat of reading and drawing the number of a person's watch is a
76 PRACTICAL MIND READING
variation of the last mentioned demonstration, and is performed in precisely the same way.
THE GEOMETRICAL FIGURE TEST. DEMONSTRATION XI. Have the audience se- lect some simple geometrical figure, such as a square, triangle, circle, right angle, etc., and proceed to draw it in the same way as the figures in the demonstrations just described. Have the Trans- mitter hold the figure in his mind and mentally draw it as you proceed. A little private practice will enable you to draw these figures easily, and in fact, they are really simpler than numbers, although more startlingly effective at times.
DRAWING PICTURES. DEMONSTRATION XII. The same principle described in the above mentioned test may be ex- tended to apply to the drawing of simple pictures, such as the outline figure of a pig, etc. The copy is placed on the table or blackboard, so that the Trans- mitter may easily refer to it, and then you proceed as in the feats above mentioned. Practice this until you "get it down fine."
THE HIDDEN NAME. DEMONSTRATION XIII. The same principle may be extended to the writing down of the name of a person, town, etc., previously chosen by the
DIFFICULT DEMONSTRATIONS 77
audience. Draw in large letters, so that the eye of the Transmitter may easily follow you at each step. THE UNDERLYING RULE. In all of the "Drawing Demonstrations," you should remember the primary principle, i. e. Follow the line of the least Mental Resistance, and the Will of the Transmitter will invariably lead you to the right direction.
THE "SIMPLER METHOD."
A simpler method of performing the feats and demonstrations which we have styled "The More Difficult Feats," is that of having the Transmitter stand by your right side, turning toward you and placing his right hand over yours, the tips of his fingers resting on your fingers between your large knuckles and first joints, (instead of standing on your left side with his fingers grasped in your left hand, as heretofore mentioned). This method is not nearly so good so far as appearances go, for some critical members of the audience might object that he was in confederacy with you and really helping you to draw — but it is highly effective so far as sim- plifying the feat is concerned. His finger-tips with their nervous matter aroused into activity seem to fairly charge your fingers with "nervous energy," or "magnetism," and your hand acts almost automatic- ally. The motion of the Receiver's hand and fingers,
78 PRACTICAL MIND READING
under this method becomes almost like the motion of a "Planchette," and often writes and draws the numbers, figures, letters, etc., so easily and smoothly, that they seem to be fairly "running away" from the mind of the performer. You should at least famil- iarize yourself with this method, so as to be able to use it in emergencies, or in the case of a poor Trans- mitter, or else in the case of the more delicate and complex tests. If you neglect this method, you will have failed to acquaint yourself with one of the most startling features of Contact Mind Reading, which so far touches the higher phenomena that it is closely akin to what is known as "Automatic Writing." In fact, if you are disposed, and are naturally receptive and sensitive to impressions, you may even write a letter through the Will of a good Transmitter, by this method. By all means make yourself acquainted with its possibilities, and phenomena.
We now pass on to a consideration of the more Sensational Feats.
SENSATIONAL FEATS 79
LESSON VII. SENSATIONAL FEATS.
mN addition to the feats given in this work, which, together with their countless varia- tions, form the stock in trade of the majority of the professional Mind Readers, there are a num- ber of other feats essayed by the public performers which we have seen fit to group under the general title "Sensational Feats." These feats are described here in order that the student may understand the nature of them, and the manner of their perform- ance. But we consider such feats suitable only for the sensational advertisements of the professional performers, and always dependent upon more or less spectacular accessories, and attended by even dan- gerous features in the case of the driving feat. And therefore we do not offer them for reproduction by the private student, or the parlor demonstrator. The principal Sensational Feats performed by the professionals, are as follows:
THE DRIVING FEAT.
This is performed by the performer, blindfolded
as usual, driving a team along the public streets to
some selected point, which point is usually a hotel
previously selected by a public committee. Upon
80 PRACTICAL MIND READING
■■■ll-ll —!■———■ | ||
reaching the hotel the performer goes to the hotel register, turns the pages and finds a name pre- viously selected. The performer receives his impres- sions from members of the committee who are seated beside him on the carriage seat, with their arms on his shoulders, or having hold of his hands, or even connected with him by wire. The feat is really a spectacular reproduction of the familiar feats described in previous chapters, and the principles governing it are precisely the same. The Trans- mitters impress the direction upon him, and he fol- lows the line of the Least Mental Resistance.
THE COMBINATION LOCK FEAT.
This feat is employed either separately, or in con- nection with the Driving Feat. It consists in the performer opening the combination safe of a hotel or some business establishment. In this case the Transmitter must know the combination perfectly, and his mental impressions acting upon the per- former give him the cue to turn "right" or "left" or "repeat" as the case may be. Of course one must have cultivated a great degree of sensitiveness to mental impressions before he will be able to receive and respond to the direction impressions in this case. And yet almost any person by following the direc- tions given in this work, and carefully and repeat- edly practicing the various feats and demonstrations
SENSATIONAL FEATS 81
given herein, may be able to reproduce this feat of the professional performer, who is in constant daily practice, and who is able to devote his entire time to the work, as his "bread and butter" is concerned therein. Once the sensitiveness is gained, the de- tails of the work are nothing more than those em- ployed in any of the "finding" or "drawing" feats herein described and explained.
THE OFFICE DETECTIVE FEAT.
In this feat the public committee picks out an object on the desk, or about the office of some one of its members, the office being located some dis- tance from the place of meeting. The performer then rushes along the public streets, dragging the Transmitter with him, until the office is reached, then up stairs, and into the room selected, and up to the desk, or other place, and lo! the object is found. Divesting this feat of all its sensational fea- tures, the student will see that it is merely a varia- tion of the ordinary "finding" feat performed in the parlor. It creates a great sensation, but there is nothing more wonderful about it than about the simplest "finding" feat.
THE POSTOFFICE FEAT.
Another feat favored by some of the professional performers is that of having a letter placed in a post-
PRACTICAL MIND READING
office lock-box, the key of which is given the per- former at a point some distance from the post-office. Rushing through the public streets, dragging the Transmitter with him, the performer finds the post- office in the usual way, and then locates the lock- box, into which he inserts the key and extracts the letter, thus trimphantly completing the feat. This feat, as every student will see, is merely a variation of the simpler feats manifested in a sensational man- ner for the purpose of public advertisment.
THE FIRE-ALARM FEAT.
This feat is another "free advertisement" demon- stration, in which the performer, with the permis- sion of the city officials, discovers the location of a certain fire-alarm box, and turns on the alarm with the key which had been previously loaned him. Some public officials allow this test to be performed, using it as a test alarm for the department as well, and the sight and sound of the clanging fire-engines, the smoke, and confusion following upon the sen- sational Mind Reading demonstration is calculated to cause great excitement and interest in the town, which usually results in packed houses at the night entertainment. But the test is really nothing but a variation of the simple "finding the spot" demon- stration, with sensational accompaniments.
SENSATIONAL FEATS 83
VARIATIONS.
We might enlarge our list of "Sensational feats," but to no real benefit to the student, for they are all cut from the same cloth, and are but "improve- ments" upon the simple parlor feats. If the student wishes to do so, he may invent a dozen similar feats, just as sensational and just as effective. The pur- pose of the sensational feat is primarily to gain free advertisements for the public performers. As scien- tific demonstrations they have but very slight value.
"FAKE DEMONSTRATIONS" EXPOSED.
In concluding this part of the book, we wish to warn our students against some of the so-called "Mind Readers" who are travelling around the coun- try giving exhibitions of so-called Mind Reading which while interesting enough in themselves are nothing but cleverly devised devices intended to counterfeit the genuine phenomena. The majority of these performers have a series of cleverly ar- ranged "signal-codes" by which the confederate con- veys to the "Mind Reader" the name and description of the article handed to the former by some one of the audience. One of the principal performers in this line in this country had a signal-code of over five-thousand objects, which he and his confederate had carefully memorized. This code was worked by the plan of asking the blindfolded "Mind Reader"
84 PRACTICAL MIND READING
to name the object. You can see the possibilities of this when you remember the many different ways in which the same question may be asked, and when you remember that each word, and combination of words, conveys a distinct and separate meaning to the blindfolded one.
Others employ sleight-of-hand, and legerdemain, in order to produce the illusion. Prepared pads of paper upon which questions are written, and similar means, are commonly used in such exhibitions. We do not purpose going into this matter in detail, for such is not the purpose of this work. But we think it well to call the attention of our students to the same, in order that they may get a clue to some of the various counterfeit exhibitions of Mind Reading which are being advertised by some of the public performers. There are other public performers, however, who give fine exhibitions of the genuine phenomena. The student of this work should have acquired a sufficient knowledge of its underlying principles to enable him to distinguish between the genuine and the spurious when he sees an exhibi- tion. If any wish to know more of the counterfeit, there are many good works published on "Legerde- main" which will satisfy his curiosity.
HIGHER PHENOMENA 85
LESSON VIII. HIGHER PHENOMENA.
mN the demonstrations described and explained in the previous parts of this work, the men- tal impressions travel from one mind to an- other over the channels of the "telegraphic wires'* of the nervous system of the Transmitter and Re- ceiver. In other words the Mind Reading that is employed in the feats and demonstrations given, is akin to the ordinary "telegraphic current" travelling over the wires from sending station to receiving sta- tion— the nervous system of the two persons fur- nishing a very close counterpart to the telegraphic wire, etc. But there is a step beyond this — many steps in fact. While the "Contact Mind Reading" which we have described and explained is surely wonderful enough to attract the attention of all thinking minds, still when the advanced student passes on to the field of the Higher Phenomena he is destined to meet with marvelous results which in some cases almost surpass belief. This Higher Phenomena of Mind Reading, or "Telepathic Mind Reading," when compared to the Contact Mind Reading, is as the "wireless telegraph" when com- pared to the ordinary telegraph using wires. In Lesson I, of this book, we have given you the
86 PRACTICAL MIND READING
theories held by scientific men regarding the nature of the waves or currents that proceed from one mind to another, and the mechanism by which these waves are registered. We think it will be interest- ing to many of you to know that certain Occultists have their own theory regarding this matter, which while not widely known is still of the greatest inter- est to earnest students of the scientific side of the subject. We allude to what is known as "The Pineal Gland" theory.
The Pineal Gland is a small gland, cone-shaped, and of a reddish-gray color, situated in the brain about the middle of the skull, nearly above the top of the spinal column. It is a compact mass of nerv- ous matter, containing a quantity of what has been called "brain-sand," which is composed of very small particles of gritty matter. The anatomists and physiologists confess their ignorance of the function and purpose of the Pineal Gland, and it re- mains for the Occultists to explain its real nature, which is the receiving and registering of the waves or currents, or vibrations of thought and Will re- ceived from another person. This Pineal Gland is, according to the Occultists, the receiving instrument for the "wireless Mind Reading," and in fact it re- sembles the actual receiver of the wireless telegraph in more than one respect.
HIGHER PHENOMENA 87
THE FIRST STEPS. In the first place, the student who is practicing the experiments given in previous chapters, and who is making the demonstrations given there, will find that at times he is able to do away with the physical contact. He will loosen his hold upon the hand of the Transmitter, and at times will sever the contact entirely, and after the feat is demonstrated he will realize to his astonishment that he has per- formed the principal part of the feat without contact at all. He may be almost unconscious of this fact, for the reason that he was so much immersed and absorbed in his work that he did not have time to think of these details. At other times he will find that even before he has made the physical contact with the Transmitter, he will receive a flash of men- tal impression which will enable him to proceed to the selected location, or object, at once.
DEMONSTRATIONS WITHOUT A TRANS- MITTER.
These experiences will become so frequent and so strong that he may often (in the cases of peculiarly sensitive people) perform the entire feat without the physical contact of the Transmitter, and perhaps without any Transmitter at all. In well developed cases the Receiver may perform the simple feats, and sometimes some of the more complicated ones,
88 PRACTICAL MIND READING
merely by the aid of the Concentrated Will of the audience.
We have known of cases in which a pocket-knife was the selected and hidden object, and when the demonstrator would enter the room he would re- ceive a sudden mental impression of the word "knife," followed by the impression "under the sofa- pillow," etc., and upon going to the designated spot the knife would be found. Every person who care- fully practices the demonstrations given in this book will be able to add actual experiences of this kind, of his own, which have been experienced by him dur- ing the course of his work.
In order to develop the ability to produce the Higher Phenomena, the best course is for the stu- dent to frequently practice the demonstration and experiments of Contact Mind Reading, as this will develop the receptive faculties of the mind. Then the student may occasionally practice with a few sympathetic and harmonious friends, endeavoring to reproduce the demonstrations without physical con- tact.
EXERCISES FOR DEVELOPMENT.
He may also try the experiment of having a friend
hold a certain number of small buttons, etc., in his
hand, and endeavor to will that the student shall
"guess" the right number, Some people attain a
HIGHER PHENOMENA 89
surprising proficiency in this work, almost from the first. A similar experiment with the pack of cards, the student endeavoring to "guess" the card drawn from the pack, naming color, suit, and number in turn, may afford successful results. A number of these experiments may be thought of by an ingen- ious person, remembering always that the "guess" is not a guess at all, but an attempt to register the mental impression of the Transmitter.
REPRODUCING THE SPERRY FEATS.
The student may with great profit endeavor to re- produce the experiments of the Sperry children re- lated in Lesson II of this work, in our account of the experiments of the Society for Psychical Research.
THE WILLING GAME.
The well-known "Willing Game" will afford you an opportunity to develop this faculty of "wireless" Mind Reading. Your audience is seated in the room, and you enter blindfolded. An object has been pre- viously selected. You stand in the centre of the room, and the audience wills "to the right"; then "forward" ; then "a little lower down," etc., etc., etc., until the object is found, just as was the case when the Transmitter sends the impressions. The audi- ence should Will only one step at a time, and you should take that one step without thought of the
90 PRACTICAL MIND READING
succeeding ones. The mind should be held as re- ceptive as possible, that is "open" to vibrations. Take your time, and do not let hurry or anxiety enter your mind. It will be well to practice this experiment with members of your family, or with harmonious and sympathetic friends.
LONG DISTANCE EXPERIMENTS.
Experiments of "wireless" Mind Reading or Te- lepathy may be tried between friends at long dis- tances, space apparently presenting no obstacle to the passage of the thought waves. Pick out some friend with whom you have established a strong rapport condition by means of his having acted as your Transmitter in your Contact Mind Reading ex- periments, and by having practiced Rhythmic Breathing, as heretofore described. Have the Trans- mitter sit in his room at the appointed time, gazing intently at some small simple object, such as a knife, a glass, a cup, a book, etc., and endeavoring to make a clear mental picture of it, which picture he should also Will to be reproduced in your mind. Remem- ber he should think of the looks or appearance of the object not merely of its name — he should think of the shape, etc., 9f the book, instead of thinking the word "book." At the same time you should sit quietly in your room, placing yourself in the same passive, receptive mental attitude that you have ac-
HIGHER PHENOMENA 91
quired and practiced in your Contact Mind Readings. Then wait patiently for impressions. After a while, if successful, you will get the mental picture of a book, or whatever object was thought of by the Transmitter. This experiment may be varied from time to time, the principle being the same in all cases. It will be well for both the Transmitter and the Receiver to keep a written record of the time of each experiment, and the objects thought of. Sev- eral objects may be thought of at a sitting of say five minutes apart, a careful record being kept by both parties of the time, and object, so that a later comparison may show the result of the experiments. In case of the two people bemg in different cities, they may mail each other copies of their record for comparison.
THE "AUTOMATIC WRITING" EXPERI- MENTS.
Another way of conducting experiments along the lines of the Higher Phenomena of Mind Read- ing, is akin to the "Automatic Writing" known to all students of Occultism. The Transmitter concen- trates his thought and Will in the usual manner, while the Receiver places himself in the usual re- ceptive, passive state of mind, and awaits the im- pressions. But instead of the Receiver merely sit- ting as usual, he draws his chair to a table, having
92 PRACTICAL MIND READING
a soft pencil in his hand and a pad of paper on the table before him. He holds the pencil lightly ber tween his fingers, with its point touching the paper — and then awaits impressions. Under good condi- tions, after waiting a time the pencil will begin to twitch and move feebly. The hands and fingers should allow it full and free motion. After a few moments of indecision the pencil will often begin to write out words. In many experiments the word, or object thought of by the Transmitter will be written out, or drawn in full by the hand of the Receiver acting automatically. Some experimenters succeed much better with this plan than with the more common method;
THE STEAD EXPERIMENTS. Mr. W. T. Stead, the well-known London editor and investigator of Psychic Phenomena, discovered this method while he was experimenting along the lines of Automatic Writing from disembodied souls. He found that he was really coming in contact with the thought-waves emanating from the minds of the living, instead of the dead. He persisted in his experiments along these lines, and after a time was able to write out full letters embodying the thoughts in the minds of persons of his acquaintance, and others. Other investigators have reproduced his experiments with marvelous results. There is a
HIGHER PHENOMENA 93
great field here, awaiting investigation, and it may be that some of the students of this work are des- tined to add to the scientific testimony on the sub- ject. The above simple directions are all that are necessary, in order to conduct this scientific ex- periment.
RAPPORT CONDITIONS.
There is a great difference in the degrees of rap- port existing between different people, and as the degree of success depends upon the degree of rap- port, it is of the greatest importance that you find some person with whom you are in harmonious vibration, in order to try these experiments in the Higher Phenomena.
We will not burden the student with recitals of experiments to perform in this Higher Phenomena demonstration. He may readily devise experiments for himself, from the examples given in connection with the Contact Mind Reading. The Transmitter may think of a card; an object; a name; a place; a scene; a thought; a feeling, etc., etc., without limit. And it makes no difference in the nature of the experiment or test, whether it be tried at long- range, or in the same room, without contact. The feat is the same — the principle is the same.
94 PRACTICAL MIND READING
THE BLACKBURN-SMITH EXPERIMENTS.
As a further suggestion to the student, we would refer him to Lesson II of this work, to the report of the experiments with Mr. Smith and Mr. Black- burn. If you will carefully read this report again, you will find a wealth of suggestions regarding the forms of demonstrations. But, bless your hearts, the experiments may be varied without end — the principle is the same in each case. The underlying principle is that the Transmitter thinks intently upon the appearance of the object or thing, or else upon the feeling connected with it if it be a feeling instead of an object; and the Receiver endeavors to receive the impression. The Transmitter manifests an Active Will to transmit the mental image, while the Receiver assumes a passive, receptive desire to receive the impression. The one is all Will — the other is all Desire.
Concluding this chapter on the Higher Pheno- mena of Mind Reading, we would say to the stu- dents that very few of them will have the persever- ance to continue their experiments beyond the point of Contact Mind Reading, or perhaps the simplest forms of the Higher Phenomena. Contact Mind Reading is far more satisfactory to the average per- son, for its results are very constant indeed, and comparatively little labor, time and trouble are nec- essary to make the demonstrations. While on the
HIGHER PHENOMENA 95
contrary the results of the demonstrations of the Higher Phenomena are less constant except in the cases of very highly developed Receivers, working with Transmitters in almost perfect rapport and harmony. Then the average experiments" along the lines of the Higher Phenomena, some days will prove highly successful, while other days will be almost barren of result. In fact there seems to be a sort of spontaneous action in the production of the Higher Phenomena, and the degree of success depends more or less upon some conditions of the mental world, not as yet fully understood by science. But to those who wish to push into the Unknown as far as they may do so, this field of the Higher Phenomena of Mind Reading offers a fasci- nation and attraction difficult to express to those who have not experienced it.
FINIS.
Practical
PsycKomancy and
Crystal Gazing
By WILLIAM WALKER ATKINSON
A Series of Eleven Lessons on the Psychic; Phe-
nomens of Distant Sensing, Clairvoyance,
Psychometry, Crystal Gazing, etc.
PARTIAL SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS:
Scientific principles underlying Psychomancy, Sensing ob- jects by the Astral Senses. Projection of the Astral Body.
How to Develop Yourself. Development Methods. Con- centration. Visualization. Psychometry. How to use the Crystal and Mirror. General Instruction.
Simple and Space Psychomancy and their difference. See- ing Through Solid Objects. Seeing Down Into the Earth. Diagnosis of Disease by Psychomancy.
The Astral Tube.
Psychometry. Five Methods.
Various forms of Crystal Gazing. Directions of " How to Do It," etc.
Astral Projection. What the Trained Experimentor may do.
Space Psychomancy. What may be accomplished by means of it.
Sensing the scenes, occurrences and objects of the Past, by Astral Vision.
Future Time Psychomancy. Future events casts their shadows before.
Dream Psychomancy. This lesson will explain many in- stances in your own experience.
This most interesting study is stated clearly, so that all may readily understand the fundamental principle of Psychic communication.
Price, Cloth, 50 cents
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