Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and ObservationsMaxwell, J. (Joseph)
Philosophy
Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and Observations
Maxwell, J. (Joseph)
Parapsychology -- Investigation
It may be useful to give one or two of our medium’s visions. If these
simple phenomena—where so much of the personal consciousness seems
at play—be studied, some idea may be gained of how far, if at all,
the subliminal is responsible for the production of this particular
medium’s more intricate phenomena, such as intelligent messages given
by means of raps without contact.
* * * * *
M. Meurice was once visiting Paris. He dined at my house on the evening
of his arrival. This was the first time I met him. During dinner, an
hour or so after his arrival, the medium said he saw a vision near me,
and described a personage ‘dressed in white and gold-embroidered robes,
who looks like a priest of ancient times.’ The only interest in this is
that it corroborates what two other sensitives, unknown to our medium
and to each other, have on two different occasions told me.
M. Meurice also claimed to recognise in me and this bedecked personage,
two persons who figured in a dream-vision he had had, three years
previous to meeting me. We give this dream chiefly for the sake of its
rich symbolism.
The medium wrote an account of the dream at the time, at Dr. Maxwell’s
request, the latter being struck by its oddity. Here is the vision:—
“I dreamt I was sleeping in a bed, the framework of which nearly
touched the ground; the bed was raised on a kind of platform. I was in
a large hall, which looked like a church. Suddenly a tall, fair woman,
dressed in black, entered. A man wearing long, white, ancient-looking
garments, embroidered all over in gold, followed her. Then Dr. Maxwell
entered. The man in white read aloud out of the book, which the fair
woman held open before him. I was suddenly overcome with emotion. I
wept, and wept, and wept. My tears caused the flowers embroidered on
the counterpane to spring into life; they grew and multiplied with
amazing rapidity, completely covering the bed and, finally, burying
me beneath their abundance and weight. The fair woman then said: ‘We
must seek for him,’ and set to work to remove the flowers. During this
operation, Dr. Maxwell stepped on my body; I screamed with pain and
awoke.”
When M. Meurice awoke, he was suffering from colic; this fact may
explain parts of the vision.
* * * * *
One day in December 1903, at the close of a seance when some fine raps
at a distance had been obtained, M. Meurice wrote a few German words.
He does not know German. At the same time he saw, in the crystal, the
words: ‘Kolbe, chimiste, mort à Leipzig 1730.’ A few hours after this
seance, the medium had a vision of the personification Chappe, who
said, ‘Vous ne savez donc lire? C’est “mort à Leipzig le 25 Novembre
1884,” et pas “1730.”’
Kolbe the chemist died at Leipzig on the 25th of November 1884. This
information is to be found in Larousse’s dictionary.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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