Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and ObservationsMaxwell, J. (Joseph)
Philosophy
Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and Observations
Maxwell, J. (Joseph)
Parapsychology -- Investigation
Levitation seems to me more difficult to realise than gliding
movements. I have frequently obtained the latter without contact, by
directing the palm of my hand towards the table, and trying to draw it
after me as though an elastic thread united the table to my hand. Under
these conditions the table seems to obey a kind of attraction.
I think I have some observations to make on this subject, but I cannot
formulate them with much certitude, and I only point them out in order
to provoke—if that be possible—the examination of these facts by
persons more competent than I am. First of all, it is not always the
medium who obtains the best results in the manœuvre I indicate. I have
seen some experimenters obtain more marked movements than the sensitive
himself. This is not generally the case, but the fact does not appear
to me to be rare. It is rather disconcerting, because those persons,
who in a seance manifest a force relatively greater than the medium’s,
cannot obtain any supernormal fact when alone; the presence of a medium
is necessary for the energy of their action to be manifested. I wonder
if this be not due to the medium’s inexperience. I never observed this
peculiarity in seances with Eusapia, although the sitters could, in her
presence, produce certain phenomena themselves. I have only noticed it
with the non-professional mediums, who kindly consented to allow me
to experiment with them. Nearly all of them had no notion whatever of
psychical experimentation; most of them were altogether ignorant of
the practices of spiritism; and many were frightened by their first
phenomena. These mediums have not the tranquillity and presence of
mind of myself and friends, whom a long experience has freed from all
kinds of bias. Perhaps, therefore, they do not operate under such good
conditions as we do, or as more experienced mediums would. Whatever may
be the reason, I note the fact observed.
A second interesting observation I have to make is the unequalness of
the radiations or emanations which appear to issue from the back or
palm of the hand. The action of the palm is decidedly more energetic
than that of the back; as an example, I will recall to mind the
experiment with the letter-balance. To lower it, Eusapia lightly moved
her hand from top to bottom, palm downwards; to obtain the contrary
movement, she turned her hand in the opposite direction. There are
certain obscure peculiarities to elucidate in this curious unequalness.
It is desirable to study it, for it is one of the rare points where
experimentation is really possible, in the studies of the kind I am
setting forth. It is to be noted, and this is I think a very important
consideration, that the innervation of the palm of the hand is much
more abundant than that of the back.
In what concerns movements without contact, I have not noticed any
unequalness of action between the two hands: the left hand appears to
act quite as well as the right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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