Coming now to what may be termed ordinary Expectancy sittings, that
is to say, evening sittings in a lighted or semi-lighted room, the
conditions of visibility admit of more elaborate manifestations than
are possible in darkness. Automatic writing in particular becomes
practicable. Provision should be made for this by placing a pencil
and one or more sheets of paper on a table or desk. And, of course,
signalling apparatus should be furnished of either an audible or a
visible kind. When these matters are attended to the proceedings at the
sitting should follow the course described as suitable for the midnight
_séance_; but, naturally, both eyes and ears should be active in the
detection of signs indicating the presence of spirits. And every now
and then the pencil should be taken in the hand and held close to the
paper in a writing position, the result frequently being that a strong
impulse to write is felt. This should not be resisted. The hand should
be given free play; but, of course, there should not be any conscious
guidance by the sitter. At first the script is, in the majority of
instances, found to be a confused scribble or a meaningless sequence of
words. Later on, if the sitter be patient and persevering, order begins
to take the place of chaos and intelligible messages are obtained;
always supposing that the enquirer is really gifted with an appreciable
degree of psychic power.
Self-deception and the imaginations bred of wishes and emotions are
to be guarded against. This is an additional reason for cultivating
a tranquil habit of mind and a level-headed habit of judgment. It
should be remembered that in solitary Expectancy fraud and trickery are
completely absent, and that all manifestations are matters of the most
simple personal observation, the accuracy of which can be confirmed--as
in an ordinary scientific laboratory--by the test of repetition. For
the friends and acquaintances of the sitter the only evidence available
is the latter’s personal and uncorroborated statements, which from a
scientific point of view are worthless; but for the sitter himself or
herself the very same evidence is in the highest degree conclusive, and
rightly so. The facts are _known_ to have occurred.
* * * * *
3.--The next step after solitary Expectancy has been tried is to
arrange with one’s friends for Expectancy Circles; that is to say, for
groups of persons to meet together at appointed times and in appointed
places for the purpose of joint sittings. There are marked advantages
in proceeding thus.
First, the probabilities of success are multiplied. It is frequently
the case that living individuals, and especially those who have
recently lost some relative or friend by death, are “haunted,” although
they themselves are seldom conscious of the fact. If, then, several
persons are present at a sitting the chances of there being some
spirits near at hand are much increased.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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