Whisperers

by J H Brennan

  I caused Mr. Home to place his hand firmly on a piece of paper and then carefully traced an outline of the hand. At the wrist joint I placed a pencil against the “trapezium,” a small bone at the end of the phalange of the thumb. The hand gradually widened and elongated about an inch, then contracted and shortened about an inch. At each stage I made a tracing of the hand, causing the pencil point to be kept firmly at the wrist. The fact of the elongating and contracting of the hand I unmistakably established, and, be the cause what it may, the fact remains; and in giving the result of my measurements and the method adopted to satisfy myself that I had not been self-deceived, I am, I believe, rendering the first positive measurement of the extension and contraction of a human organism.

  The phenomenon of elongation I am aware has been questioned and I do not quarrel with those who maintain their doubt despite all that may be affirmed. In my own experience I have gone through the same phases of doubt and uttered disbelief in what I was seeing. The first time I witnessed an elongation, although I measured the extension of the wrist, I would not, could not, credit my senses; but having witnessed the fact some ten or twelve times, and that in the presence of fifty witnesses, from first to last, who have been present at these séances where those elongations occurred, all doubts have been removed; and that the capacity to extend is not confined to Mr. Home, was shown some months ago at Mr. Hall’s, where, at the séance held in his house, both Mr. Home and Miss Bertolacci became elongated. The stretching out and contracting of the limbs, hands, fingers above described, I have only witnessed on this one occasion and I am much pleased to have a steady Oxonian to aid me in making the measurements above detailed.11

  Although Jencken only saw it once, Home’s ability to elongate and contract was witnessed by a great many others, as was his apparent ability to control the effects of fire. On several occasions he laid his head on burning coals without injury and persuaded various sitters to handle the coals for themselves, again without harm. He was also capable of manifesting a halo of flames around his head and persuading an accordion to play of its own accord. The latter trick was commonplace among mediums of the day; Crookes undertook to investigate Home’s version scientifically. In one experiment, Crookes showed in a laboratory situation that Home could influence the weight of a board resting on a balance scale merely by placing his fingers in a glass of water resting on the end of the board. In another, an accordion purchased by Crookes played by itself in Home’s presence. During this experiment Home’s hands and feet were restrained and the accordion placed inside a wire cage through which an electrical current was passed. Crookes and two other witnesses stated that they distinctly saw the accordion “floating about on the inside of the cage with no visible support.”12 Crookes concluded that, having satisfied himself by careful experiment, the phenomena observed were genuine.13

  These paranormal powers, spectacular though some of them appear to be, seem unimportant when set against the observable fact that when a spirit makes contact with a human being, some factor of the experience is almost preternaturally persuasive. In other words, when a spirit requests or commands, the contacted human feels an almost overwhelming urge to obey. This goes some way to explain the astonishing influence spirit contact has had on the course of human history, but opens up another vital, fundamental question: what are these creatures who have whispered in the ear of humanity throughout the generations?

  We know broadly what they claim to be and the context in which they claim to live. Historical analysis shows that several themes recur across a broad range of spirit communications. Perhaps the most common is the concept of a primal, ongoing, cosmic conflict between the Powers of Light and the Powers of Darkness. This, of course, is a common motif in world religions. The New Testament book of Revelation, itself a visionary document, states:

  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.14

  In the apocryphal Book of Enoch, the war is associated with the biblical Flood. The story begins when rebel angels teach humanity military skills, a development that leads to much suffering:

  And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: “The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryings up to the gates of heaven. And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, ‘Bring our cause before the Most High.’”15

  When the Archangels do just that:

  Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: “Go to Noah and tell him in my name ‘Hide thyself!’ and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.” And again the Lord said to Raphael: “Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgment he shall be cast into the fire.”16

  The same broad theme is echoed in the Koran when God banishes the angel Eblis from heaven for his refusal to worship the newly created Adam. In banishment, Eblis becomes the Devil or Satan and stands against God thereafter as the representative of evil. The conflict of light and darkness arises again in the Hindu religion, in the benign and wrathful deities of Tibetan Buddhism, in the Ohrmazd-Ahriman conflict of Zoroastrianism, in Mormonism, in the Norse sagas, in the Jewish Qabalah, and in the opposition of Osiris and Set in ancient Egypt.

  As an archetypal theme, it has lost none of its appeal today. In America, it provides a basis for the entire Wild West mythos. It forms the plotline of movies like George Lucas’s Star Wars. It appears again and again in works of literature from the most banal thrillers to the literary epics of great authors. But the spirit communications tend to take the theme further than either its religious or literary statements. The primal conflict is often linked with human evolution and the idea that those on a spiritual path may be called on to take sides and fight … or at very least, stand up and be counted. But the conflict itself tends to be seen in more sophisticated terms than simple Good versus Evil. It is often presented as a need for increased consciousness, personal responsibility, spiritual growth, and a developed—as opposed to imposed—ethical base. All this, by definition, requires change from the individual and from society as a whole. This, in turn, highlights two doctrines that run like luminous threads through many spirit communications.

  One is the idea that the evolution of humanity is being helped, guided, and perhaps even directed by individuals and entities who stand higher on the evolutionary ladder than the rest of us. These beings are the Guides of Spiritualism, the Hidden Masters of Theosophy, the Secret Chiefs of the Western Esoteric Tradition, the Polar Brotherhood of the White Eagle Lodge. Time and time again, these communities claim to be in touch with the voices.

  The second is the notion that individual evolution—and hence the evolution of our species as a whole—is intimately linked with the processes of reincarnation and karma. The expression “karma” derives from Hindu philosophy. It is rooted in a Sanskrit term that translates as “activity” and is broad enough to encompass any type of human action, thought, or feeling. The doctrine of karma suggests that thoughts and deeds are seeds that produce fruit according to their nature. Good thoughts and deeds generate beneficial circumstances for the individual, while bad thoughts and de
eds generate misery. On the face of it, this seems naive. It is a matter of observation that sinners often flourish while the greatest saints are sometimes forced to endure lives of poverty and pain. To meet this problem, exponents of karmic doctrine suggest that the rewards (or punishments) of karma are not always harvested in this life, but in later incarnations. Thus the doctrines of karma and reincarnation are inextricably linked.

  A rather more profound exposition of karma describes it as the mechanism that conditions the evolution of the human soul. Thoughts and deeds determine who and what you are, influencing character, your level of spiritual evolution, and how far you are a prey to old, unconscious patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior. Since beliefs, desires, and habits all influence actions and actions in turn influence circumstances, the mechanism of karma is seen as a wholly rational process that can be clearly traced in, for example, psychoanalysis. From this viewpoint, the problem of the comfortable sinner disappears. Appearances are no longer important. It is the interior life that counts; the prince in his palace may be brutally unhappy despite his wealth and power, and may indeed be so locked into unconscious behavior patterns that he is barely alive. Thus, at this level, karma and reincarnation are no longer necessarily linked. Exponents simply state that if reincarnation is a fact, then the inheritance of old patterns could very well carry the karmic process from life to life.

  Both karma and reincarnation are widely accepted in the belief systems of Asia. In the industrialized West, however, they are associated only with the minority tradition of occult, hermetic beliefs.17 The same can be said for the vast body of spirit communication. While it is often expressed in religious terms, its essential nature is almost always occult. The association is so close that one school of thought actually holds that most hermetic teachings originate in the spirit world. As seminal a text as the Poemandres begins with the words “Methought a Being more than vast, in size beyond all bounds, called out my name and saith: What wouldst thou hear and see, and what hast thou in mind to learn and know?”18 Another Hermetic text, The Secret Sermon on the Mountain, is presented as a discourse between Hermes Trismegistus and his son Tat as they return together from a mountain. But it quickly becomes clear that Hermes is present only in spirit form: “I have passed through myself into a Body that can never die. And now I am not as I was before; but I am born in Mind.”19 Hermes explains that his original form has been dismembered, purged of the “brutish torments” of matter, leaving him in a colorless, immortal body that cannot be touched or measured, although it can still be seen—almost the classical description of a spirit. The transformation, which is recommended to Tat, was accompanied by the arrival of ten benevolent spirits (called “powers” in Mead’s translation).20

  Within the spirit messages, there are several interesting subtexts. One is the idea that each of us somehow elects to be born into the world in order to learn. Another is that personal evolution not only involves multiple incarnations but incarnations outside this planet. A third is that the Spirit Masters have sometimes taken on physical bodies as well—and in so doing often formed relationships with the very people who act as their mediums today. Although conveniently thought of as a Native American, Grace Cooke’s White Eagle claimed to have incarnated as a Tibetan, an Egyptian priest-pharaoh, a monk, and an alchemist … and that some of these lives were shared with previous incarnations of Grace herself. Jane Roberts’s Seth has dictated a body of teachings that include the idea that the individual develops spiritually over a series of incarnations until (s)he reaches sufficient ethical heights to gain access to “higher planes” where godlike powers await. White Bull remarks, “The first purpose of your presence in a physical body is to evolve spiritually” and indicates that the evolution involves reincarnation.

  In summation, then, the worldview propounded by many spirit voices suggests that we are all of us involved in a cosmic conflict between good and evil. As spirit entities ourselves, we make a decision to incarnate in order to learn, evolve, become increasingly conscious, and thus more fully play our part in the grand design. In the process we are helped by entities, human or otherwise, still in the spirit world. Their influence works at a cultural level and may account for the peculiar patterns in history and equally peculiar coincidences. It also works specifically in the lives of many individuals, some of whom become aware of the influence and decide to cooperate with it consciously. Alongside these benign helpers are their adversaries who do not wish well for the human race. Their influence is also felt both culturally and individually, as the archetypal possession of politicians like Adolf Hitler ably attests.

  There is, however, a second level to the spirit teachings. The entire range of doctrines just outlined, all the way up to the cosmic conflict between Good and Evil, relates only to the world of phenomena. Beyond there is a reconciliation of opposites in absolute Unity. This concept, which is characteristic of all mystical doctrines, appears time and again in spirit communications. “You really exist in a fog that screens you from this extraordinary beauty, this complete oneness,” says the spirit collective “Mark” in a communication with the British therapist and author Jacquie Burgess. “All is one. All is one, darlings. This is our song.” The same message emanates from Upuaut: “In reality every particle of intelligent life is a God. You who read this, I who teach it, your neighbor, your friend, your employer, your enemy, all are a living part of the Creator, therefore all is God without exception.” White Eagle, White Bull, Seth, and scores of other communicators are united in their belief that All is One.

  Is there any justification for believing them? In other words, are spirits what they claim to be?

  23. A SKEPTICAL INQUIRY

  JAMES RANDI DOUBTS THE SPIRITS. HE SAYS CATEGORICALLY, “NO REALLY good evidence for spirits is currently available.”1 His online Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural2 repeats the quote and makes short work of Daniel Dunglas Home, claiming he controlled all aspects of his “séance performances” and was “discovered cheating several times.” The same entry suggests that trickery was the driving force behind Home’s spirit accordion—his sitters were fooled by his playing a mouth organ hidden in his mustache.

  Randi, a Canadian/American stage conjurer who has made a lifetime career out of investigating reports of the paranormal, represents the tip of an iceberg. He has been, for many years, the most recognizable public face of a movement that began, in its modern manifestation, with a book published in 1952—Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science by Martin Gardner. The book was, according to its own subtitle, a study of human gullibility, investigating “the curious theories of modern pseudoscientists and the strange, amusing and alarming cults that surround them.” Subjects covered included UFOs, orgone therapy, Dianetics, phrenology, reincarnation, and vegetarianism. Gardner followed up with more books and many essays on similar themes, stimulating public interest in the process. For a time he seemed to be fighting a losing battle—there was a significant upsurge of interest in the paranormal in the United States and Britain during the early 1970s—but then, in 1976, a philosophy professor named Paul Kurtz used a conference of the American Humanist Association as the launching pad of a new organization originally called The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP for short) and later changed to The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry or CSI. The organization was—and is—dedicated to the critical examination of a wide range of claims about the validity of the paranormal. Its official organ is the Skeptical Inquirer, an international bimonthly “magazine for science and reason.” At about the same time as this was going on, James Randi was getting into his stride with public challenges to psychics, personal investigations, and numerous media appearances. Dozens of skeptical groups sprang up throughout the United States and abroad. The science writer Dr. Michael Shermer founded the Skeptics Society and launched the magazine Skeptic. On the face of it, these developments were very welcome, some might even suggest overdue. Bu
t experience suggests the Skeptical movement quickly showed itself less interested in evenhanded scientific examination of the paranormal than in debunking the paranormal at any cost, often with ridicule and innuendos of fraud. Randi clearly expressed one of the most common suspicions underlying skeptical thought:

  James Randi, a leading debunker of spirits and the paranormal

  Replication by [stage] conjurers of such wonders as spoon-bending, clairvoyance, precognition and levitation (long established as items in the conjuring repertoire) cannot prove anything about claims of real paranormal performance—except that it can easily be done by trickery.3

  He was by no means the first to promote the theory that spirits (and most other paranormal phenomena) might be explained by trickery. In 1854, as word of the strange occurrences at Hydesville was spreading throughout America, Ira and William Davenport, two brothers from Buffalo, New York, announced they were experiencing similar marvels and went on tour to prove it. They were accompanied and introduced by Dr. J. B. Ferguson, a Restoration Movement minister, who assured audiences that everything they saw was the result of spirit power. What they did see was vividly described to his grandson by the Victorian illusionist John Nevil Maskelyne who, as a young man in 1865, witnessed a Davenport performance in Cheltenham, England: