by
Anthony Forwood
The Hidden Keys
During the rapid growth of the spiritualist movement in the latter half of the 19th century, when séances were becoming very popular and were producing such paranormal physical phenomena as table-rappings, apparitions, levitations, materializations, etc., the acclaimed scientist William Crookes began conducting experiments to assess the existence of a ‘psychic force’ that was apparently causing these phenomena. After performing extensive experiments, he was able to confirm unequivocally that such a force existed that could move objects at a distance. In 1874, he published his findings in a paper titled Researches in the Phenomena of Spiritualism, which made a powerful impression on the intellectual minds of the day and helped to create a climate receptive to the creation of a scientific body for the purpose of formally investigating paranormal phenomena and mediumship. This led to the Society for Psychical Research being established in England in 1882 by a number of eminent scientists and other learned professionals, who set about testing the abilities of many reputed psychics and mediums over the years. Although they were able to document many extraordinary phenomena, from the very start, this scientific body appears to have been used by the powers-that-be to contain the growing spiritualist movement while exploiting it for its own purposes. Throughout this organization’s existence (it still exists today), a number of its members have been intent only on exposing fraudulence or otherwise debunking any phenomena that was legitimately produced by explaining how it might have been faked. This contributed to the decline of interest in physical mediumship.
At the
time that the Society for Psychical Research was first established,
the association between hypnosis and spiritualistic phenomena was
still well recognized, and many of the books and articles being
published on either one of these subjects at that time would also
include discussion of the other, as though it were impossible to
discuss them separately. But at a certain point,
this association between the two became ignored and forgotten. At
about the same time as this, the more remarkable phenomena associated
with mesmerism were suddenly becoming less and less common to the
point of becoming virtually nonexistent. The study of hypnosis found
its way into the newly developing domain of psychology, while
anything of a paranormal nature came to be derided and discredited
more and more by the scientific establishment – helped to a large
degree by the many charlatans who began to be publicly exposed or
debunked by this organization.
But
more than all this, the reason for the degradation in the type of
phenomena being produced under hypnosis seems to have been directly
due to the influences of James Braid, who, by changing the methods of
inducing hypnotic trance, changed the whole situation. To paraphrase
Hudson J. Thompson:
[A]s
soon as it was found that the mesmeric or hypnotic sleep could be
induced by causing the subject to gaze upon a bright object held
before his eyes, all other methods were practically abandoned. […]
[I]n
the old mesmeric method, fixity of gaze and concentration of will on
the part of the operator, were considered indispensable to success.
It seems clear, then, that it is to this change of methods that one
must look for an explanation of the change in results. […]
[W]hen
a mesmerist employs the old methods of inducing the subjective state
- passes, fixed gazing, and mental concentration - he hypnotizes
himself by the same act by which he mesmerizes the subject.
The
key requirement for establishing a telepathic connection between the
mesmerist and his subject, therefore, was that the mesmerist had to
be in a semi-hypnotic state when he induced a trance state in his
subject. Braid’s theories and methods essentially removed this
important factor, and whether intentional or not, the way that
hypnotic techniques changed after Braid made his discoveries in the
mid-1800s had a definite negative impact on the ability to elicit the
paranormal phenomena associated with hypnosis. The missing key was
the semi-hypnotic state of the hypnotist. Thompson explains this in a
way that is quite understandable and needs no improvement on:
The
far-reaching significance of this fact will be instantly apparent to
those who are aware that telepathy is the normal means of
communication between two subjective minds, and that it is only
between subjective minds that telepathy can be employed. The
objective mind has no part or lot in telepathy until the threshold of
consciousness is displaced so as to enable the objective mind to take
cognizance of the message. It will be understood, therefore, that
when the subject is mesmerized, and all his objective senses are in
complete abeyance, and the operator with whom he is en rapport is in
a partially subjective state, the conditions exist which render
possible the exhibition of telepathic powers.
I
should point out at this time that this crucial factor explains why
psychic performance can appear to be so temperamental, in that the
phenomena associated with spiritualists and psychics has often failed
to manifest, and often in the most embarrassing moments, particularly
during formal testing or in front of a large audience. The
reason for this is well understood by psychics today (as well as
those professional skeptics who make a name for themselves through
their ability to ‘debunk’ these abilities), who recognize that
the mere presence of anyone with a skeptical attitude will make it
difficult, if not impossible, for them to perform.
This
key factor also explains how channeled communications can seem to be
coming from the deceased loved one of a person who is present at a
séance when they’re not necessarily spirit communications at all.
In a séance setting, most or all of the participants are essentially
in a semi-hypnotic state during the height of a successful session,
and all are in rapport with each other at that time and focused on
the same general outcome. A ‘group mind’ is established at this
point, and when a ‘spirit’ appears to come through, the medium,
being the outlet for that group mind, is actually subconsciously
picking up information from the thoughts and memories of the
participants. An opposite effect will occur when a skeptic is
present. Their doubtful thoughts are picked up on just as easily, and
they act as a counter suggestion that interferes with the ability of
the medium to operate.
Let’s
now look at how the powers-that-be might have exploited these deeper
secrets for their own purposes…
The
Psychic Infiltration
We saw
in Part One that Saint-Yves’ Synarchist ideologies had been adopted
by certain secret societies, most notably the Rosicrucians and
Theosophists, both of which have since openly promoted the idea that
a group of supernatural beings secretly guide the affairs of mankind
and communicate telepathically with certain chosen individuals for
that purpose. The Freemasons also adopted similar ideologies but have
always publicly downplayed the more mystical aspects, although they
are still there at the core of their teachings. Of the former two
secret societies, we can see that they’ve had a great deal to do
with the creation of the New Age movement, promoting a ‘new
religion’ and a ‘spiritual science’ that attracted those who
weren’t satisfied with traditional belief systems, while
Freemasonry has been more focused on attracting those who were more
traditional in their beliefs and would have to be more carefully
introduced to the deeper teachings. But in all cases, they teach the
idea that supernatural beings are at the core of these secret
societies, through which they govern the affairs of the human race,
and it is through the inner teachings of these secret societies that
they offer a means for personal spiritual development towards the
lofty state of godhood. This is the lure that draws in the unwary
with good intentions as much as it does the unscrupulous with bad.
It is
my belief – based on all of the information I have presented so far
and the timing of the events being outlined – that when the early
mesmerists first began discovering the psychic phenomena associated
with their art, those within the highest degrees of these secret
societies immediately recognized the value that these talents might
offer if they could exploit them for the purpose of directing and
controlling certain individuals, and so they set out to locate those
among their membership who were both skilled in the mesmeric art and
trustworthy to their plans, and put them to the task of finding
individuals who showed the qualities of character that were known to
make the best trance subjects: individuals who were completely
trusting of the mesmerist and his skills, who showed a strong
response to the trance state and could produce the desired telepathic
phenomena associated with it, and who the mesmerist could therefore
telepathically communicate his thoughts to. At this point – if the
mesmerist proved successful – the individual would be used as a
‘channel’ to communicate with what would purportedly be those
supernatural intelligences that were at the core of the secret
society’s esoteric teachings. These mesmerists, along with their
mediums, would form private spiritualist groups around themselves, to
which would be invited those persons in positions of influence and
power who were either already members of the secret society or who
would eventually be brought into it, and these spiritualist groups
would be used to lead these people to believe that the secret society
was truly in touch with the supernatural beings described within
their doctrines – the Mahatmas, Ascended Masters, Great White
Brotherhood, Secret Chiefs, etc. – and that their members were
engaged in a Great Work of millennial proportions that would elevate
humanity to a new level of existence, and that they had been
specially chosen by these supernatural beings to take part in this
endeavor.
In
considering how convincing such an encounter with these ‘supernatural
beings’ might be, it should be remembered what was quoted from
Hudson J. Thompson in Part One regarding the abilities of one so
hypnotically entranced:
Place
a man of intelligence and cultivation in the hypnotic state, and give
him a premise, say in the form of a statement of a general principle
of philosophy, and no matter what may have been his opinions in his
normal condition, he will unhesitatingly, in obedience to the power
of suggestion, assume the correctness of the proposition; and if
given an opportunity to discuss the question, will proceed to deduce
therefrom the details of a whole system of philosophy. Every
conclusion will be so clearly and logically deducible from the major
premise, and withal so plausible and consistent, that the listener
will almost forget that the premise was assumed.
The
most interesting of all is how he had described the results of his
experiment:
But
the most remarkable of all was the wonderful system of spiritual
philosophy evolved. It was so clear, so plausible, and so perfectly
consistent with itself and the known laws of Nature that the company
sat spell-bound through it all, each one almost persuaded, for the
time being, that he was listening to a voice from the other world.
It’s
important to understand here that a person who is put into a properly
induced trance state is not dependent on just their own memory and
imagination, but is able to pick up the thoughts and memories of the
hypnotizer, as well as those of anyone else they have developed
sympathetic rapport with, which will include to one degree or another
all of those people taking part in a channeling group. With the
proper suggestions already planted in the mind of the entranced
medium, this telepathic connectivity to a group of properly prepared
individuals provides all that would be necessary for the medium to
access and communicate information of a very complex nature that
might otherwise be outside of their own limited knowledge and
abilities, and to be able to present that information in a meaningful
dialogue with such articulation and eloquence as to seem to come from
a greater intelligence than any of those present.
Also
remember that a person in such a trance state will often take on a
different personality and speak in an entirely different voice, and
that this can be induced with a simple suggestion, so that the voice
they use in trance can sound like what these supernatural beings
might be imagined to sound like. Also remember that this second
personality carries with it its own continuous memory that’s
completely separate from the medium’s normal memory, so that what
is communicated during trance can be progressively built on from one
session to the next, slowly developing into an ever more complex and
detailed discourse that could easily rank with some of the works of
the greatest minds in history.
From
this, the reader should be able to conceive how hypnotic trance
phenomena could be exploited in order to give the appearance of
legitimacy to the idea that supernatural beings were communicating to
certain individuals who were dedicated to fulfilling a ‘Great Work’
around which their secret society was established.
There
is one more point I should touch on here. This regards the fact that
as a hypnotist continues working with his trance subject over a
number of sessions, the ability to put them into trance and the
subsequent telepathic connectivity becomes progressively stronger to
the point that he can soon put his subject into a trance state from a
remote distance by thought alone. Similarly, where the same group of
people continue to meet and take part in séances or channeling
sessions, the ‘group mind’ that is established becomes stronger
over time, to the point that these people become telepathically
connected in a similar way, whether or not they are ever conscious of
the fact.
Of
Influencing Machines and Mystic Boxes
Is
there any other evidence to be found that these secret societies were
dabbling with hypnosis and psychic phenomena as far back as when
Mesmer was first becoming popular with his discoveries? Yes…
In
the late 1700s, when the psychic phenomena associated with mesmerism
was becoming well recognized among experimenters in France, there was
already evidence that it was being covertly used by these secret
societies for sinister purposes. The story of James Tilly Matthews is
a case in point. Matthews was
an English spy who ended up in a French prison in 1793. He would
later claim that while there, a group of Jacobins
(a Masonic offshoot)
had implanted a magnetic
device in his head, and that they were able to control him remotely
from their secret lair through an ‘influencing machine’
that sent out magnetic rays
to affect the magnetic device in his head. He even drew up detailed
diagrams of the machine – housed in an artfully decorated wooden
casing with brass fittings and consisting of a series of levers and
knobs that were used to manipulate the magnetic rays – and provided
an explanation for how it worked. He claimed that these Jacobins
could implant thoughts in his head, inhibit his speech, alter his
reasoning abilities, etc. He also claimed that members of this group
would materialize in his dreams and interrogate him while he slept.
He claimed that there were other groups with similar machines
that were being used against various politicians
and public figures in Britain,
France,
Prussia,
and elsewhere.
Given
what we’ve learned that hypnosis is capable of so far, it’s very
possible that Matthews was under its influence and that this group
was in telepathic communication with him. However, whether or not a
machine or an implanted device was actually involved is another
matter. It’s not my intention to argue that this was necessarily
the case, since it doesn’t seem to be necessary at all, but
nonetheless there is further evidence that came to light one hundred
years later that very similar machines were in the possession of the
Freemasons.
A
number of books from the late 1800s refer to what was described as a
portable wireless telephone that was in the possession of each of the
members of the Supreme Council of Freemasonry – at a time when
wireless (radio) was still unknown. The device was called the ‘Arcula
Mystica’ or ‘Mystic Box’, of which there were reportedly only
seven in existence – at the Masonic headquarters in Charleston,
Borne, Berlin, Washington, Monte Video, Naples and Calcutta. It was
described as having a trumpet-shaped mouthpiece and a bell-shaped
hearing piece attached by a cord to the main body, similar to early
telephones. Seven mounted golden statuettes designated each of the
seven directories, which were manipulated in various ways to call the
other Masonic headquarters. The existence of these devices was never
verified, but perhaps there was actually something to these claims,
or at least to the claims that these Masonic leaders were able to
communicate over such long distances. Perhaps they were communicating
telepathically, and these machines served as a mechanical ‘medium’
of some sort. I will have to leave this to the reader to speculate on
for themselves.
One
more piece of supporting evidence to all of this has just come to my
attention, so I will briefly include it here. In The
Hidden Life in Freemasonry,
by Charles W. Leadbeater, we find a discussion of the underlying
mechanisms involved in a certain Masonic ritual:
Everywhere
on the surface of the earth there are great magnetic currents passing
both ways between the poles of the earth and the equator, and others
coming at right angles to them round the earth. The CoMasonic
procession of entry into the Lodge makes use of these currents,
forming of the space which we circumambulate a distinct eddy or
specially magnetized portion of space.
As
the Brn. march round the floor, singing, they should be thinking of
the words of the introcessional hymn and canticle, and taking care
that the procession is well done and in good order; but in addition
they should be deliberately directing their thoughts to the
magnetization of the mosaic pavement and the space above it. In
ancient Egypt it was considered to be the duty of the R.W.M. to
direct the currents and form the eddy in them, so as to magnetize
very strongly the floor round which he passed. It is for this purpose
that the officers and distinguished visitors pass clear round the
Lodge, and even go over some of the ground twice; for they do not go
straight to their places on first approaching them as do the E.A.s,
the F.C.s and the M.M.s, but continue so as to complete the
circumambulation, as described in The Ritual of Universal Co-Masonry
(5thEdition).
With
us also it is the Master of the Lodge who is responsible for the
magnetization of the double square, but the Brn. ought all to help in
that work. The object is to charge that space heavily with the
highest possible influence, and to erect a wall round it in order
that the influence may be kept in place. The part played by the
thought-form is much like that of a condenser. It matters not how
much steam may be generated, it is useless for work unless it is
enclosed and kept under pressure. In this scheme we accumulate and
use the force which otherwise would scatter itself freely over the
surrounding neighbourhood.
As
has been explained in Chapter III, when the floor has thus been set
apart and prepared, no one passes across it except the candidates who
are taken there for the purpose of initiation and are intentionally
submitted to the influence of its magnetism, the Thurifer when he is
censing the altar, and the I.P.M. when he goes down from the dais to
perform the duty of opening the V.S.L. or of altering the position of
the s … and c … as we change from one degree to another. One
other exception is made when the S.D. during the ceremony of lighting
the candles comes to the altar to receive the sacred fire from the
I.P.M. The I.P.M. lights a taper at the sacred fire, and with it
kindles the small candle standing in an ornamental brass vessel,
which the S.D., as Lucifer, carries to the R.W.M. and the W.W.s.
The
floor has now rushing across it magnetic currents or lines of force
like the warp and woof of a piece of cloth, and this forms the
foundation upon which we build the great thought-form which is one of
the objects of our Masonic meeting. In view of the enormous value of
the thought-form made on the floor of the Lodge, we can see how
important it is that none should disturb or confuse the currents by
walking in the wrong direction, or by bringing into the Lodge
thoughts of ordinary business - the cares and worries and conflicts
of the world of daily life. We go to the Lodge to do a definite piece
of work for humanity, and we must devote our entire attention to it
during the whole time of the meeting.
The
singing of the introcessional canticles is intended to help us to
harmonize our minds. The words of the canticles tell us of the basis
upon which all edifices are built, T.G.A.O.T.U., who is Himself the
foundation and structure of all things, because there is nothing that
is not part of Him. Every member, as he goes round in the procession,
should be dedicating himself and all his thought and strength to the
great work about to be undertaken.
The
reader who has followed me this far will see that the above is
describing a basic method for establishing group hypnosis during a
Masonic ceremony, which incorporates visualization and meditation
techniques to lead the participants into a single uniform mental
state before their main proceedings begin.
There is still more to come, so stay tuned…