Book review: 30 Years among the Dead

I just finished reading the well-known book by Dr. Carl A. Wickland, 30 Years among the Dead, originally published in 1924. The book recounts Dr. Wickland's efforts to cure his psychiatric patients by spiritualist methods. His wife Anna was a powerful medium, and Wickland became convinced that some of the incurable patients institutionalized at his facility were suffering from spirit obsession. He tested his theory by subjecting the patients to electroshock therapy, which was intended to drive the obsessing entity out of the patient's "magnetic aura." The entity was then attracted to the entranced Mrs. Wickland. Dr. Wickland would speak with the earthbound spirit in an attempt to convince the spirit to open his or her spiritual eyes and progress to the next stage of development. In many cases the effort proved successful, and the patient, who had previously resisted all cures, improved markedly and could be de-institutionalized.

As one channeled spirit put it:

Earthbound spirits who torment mortals by obsessing them are man-made “devils.” Selfishness has made them what they are. They go out of the physical in ignorance of the real life, full of hatred, because they were crushed in one way or another. They have hatred for all mankind, and the first persons they can attach themselves to they try to harm, and there you have obsession….

Insanity is nothing but obsession by spirits who are sent to the spirit side of life without understanding the truth of God.

Because the book is quite famous in spiritualist circles, I'd previously tried a couple of times to get through it. I found it tough sledding, not because the content is difficult, but because the book is long and repetitious. The transcripts of numerous sessions are included, and they tend to follow the same basic pattern. It took me a certain amount of willpower to finally work my way through the entire volume.

Nevertheless, I can see a certain logic to the book's repetitive structure. It reminds me of a description I once read of another famous work of parapsychological research, Phantasms of the Living, by Myers, Podmore, and Gurney. In describing the book, a writer, whose name I forget, said that by sheer repetition Phantasms "bludgeons the mind" into accepting the reality of apparitions.

Something similar happens with 30 Years among the Dead. Sheer repetition makes the initially questionable phenomena seem more convincing. In addition, as I got deeper into the book, I found several accounts indicating that Mrs. Wickland's mediumship was sometimes marked by verifiable details that she had no normal way of knowing. 

Here are an example:

A spirit who was still following his old occupation without any knowledge of his transition controlled Mrs. Wickland at one of our circles in Chicago....

“I am Hesselroth, from - the drug store,” he said.

Mr. Hesselroth, the Swedish proprietor of a Chicago drug store, had died the year before in a hospital, but we knew nothing of this man, his death, or his circumstances; however, on this evening one of his friends, Mr. Eckholm, was in, our circle.

The spirit was not aware of his death, claiming that he was still attending to his drug store.

His friend in the circle said he had been informed that the drug store had been sold to the clerk, and so stated to the spirit, but this the latter emphatically denied, saying:

“Abrahamson only manages it for me.”

The spirit told of a robbery which had occurred in his house recently, and described the three burglars. He said he had been frightened when they entered, but gaining courage, had gone for his revolver only to find that he was not able to pick it up. He had then struck at one of the burglars, but his hand had gone “right through the fellow,” and he could not understand why he could do nothing at all.

After his condition was explained to him he saw many spirit friends appear, who welcomed him to his new home in the spirit world.

Later investigation verified the statement made by the spirit that the drug store had not been sold and also the fact that the house had been burglarized.

It could not be held that the subconscious mind of the psychic played any part in this case, nor could the theory of auto-suggestion be maintained, for Mr. Hesselroth was entirely unknown to every one in the room with the exception of his friend, Mr. Eckholm, and this friend held the opposite idea regarding the sale of the store.

A second example: 

A peculiar case was that of Mr. Mc., a well known man in Chicago, whose family name is one of highest social prominence.

This man suddenly began to act strangely; he shunned the members of his family, and told his wife and relatives that he wished to live on a higher plane and wanted nothing more to do with them. Then one day he packed his trunk and left home, going to live in a small room which he had rented in the lowest section of the city.

We had never seen this gentleman, but a relative of his, who knew of our work, asked us to concentrate for him at our next psychic circle; we did so and a spirit was brought who controlled Mrs. Wickland. After some solicitation she gave her full name, confessing that she had been the first wife of Mr. Mc., and she then told her story.

[The spirit was Mr. Mc's first wife, who had left him, become a morphine addict, and committed suicide.] 

After her death she had returned to her husband, and when he married again she felt angrily aggrieved, and at last influenced him to leave his wife and child, to go to quarters where she herself felt more at home.

We convinced her of the great wrong she was doing in controlling her former husband in this manner, and after she had obtained an understanding of the progress awaiting her in the spirit world, she promised to leave, wishing to attain a higher condition.

When next we saw the relative of Mr. Mc., who had asked us to concentrate for him, we told her of the story related by the spirit, and in amazement she admitted it was true in every detail; that the name given was correct and that Mr. Mc. had been married before, but that the unfortunate episode had been regarded by the family as a skeleton in the closet and was never mentioned.

She later reported that Mr. Mc. had returned to his home, normal and sane, and was again living happily with his wife and child.

(N.B.: In all quotes, material in square brackets is mine, while material in parentheses is Carl Wickland's.)

A third example: 

Hayward [the communicator] realized that he was hovering around the earth as a spirit, and when we inquired how he had learned about spirit life he replied that while he was in jail he had read of it in some literature which had been sent him by an unknown person.

He complained that no matter where he went no one would take any notice of him; when he took a seat in a train some one would come along and sit down on his lap, and he would be powerless to move.

He was very pleased to be able to converse with people again and asked many questions about the various persons concerned with his trial and execution, inquiring particularly about the guard with whom he had spent a great deal of time playing cards.

I was under the impression that this guard had died some time before and informed the spirit so, suggesting that possibly he might be able to see him in the spirit world.

He was silent a moment, endeavoring to trace his former friend, then said emphatically: “No, that man is not dead. I see him playing cards at his son's home in Minneapolis.”

Hayward was readily enlightened concerning the higher life and left, expressing a willingness to progress in the spirit world.

The psychic invalid [previously obsessed by Hayward] showed marked changes for the better after this, and subsequent correspondence proved Hayward's statement about the old guard to be true. The latter was living, and on the evening of our experience with Hayward had been playing cards in his son's home.

A fourth example: 

On November 20, 1904, while Mrs. Wickland and I were visiting with friends in Chicago, a circle had been formed for a psychic demonstration when Mrs. Wickland heard some one say: “I am in the dark.” [Apparently an instance of direct voice.] 

She inquired who had made the remark, but no one in the room had uttered a word; however, the gentleman sitting beside Mrs. Wickland declared that he too had heard the voice.

A moment later Mrs. Wickland became entranced and fell to the floor, the spirit clutching at the throat and crying: “Take the rope away! Take the rope away! I am in the dark. Why did I do it? Oh, why did I do it?”

When the excited spirit had been somewhat quieted, she told us that her name was Minnie Harmening, that she was a young girl and had lived on a farm near Palatine. As she was speaking brokenly, between sobs, it was difficult to distinguish her words, and I understood her to say that she came from “Palestine,” which seemed rather strange.

The spirit was in great grief because she had hung herself, and thought the body of the psychic was her own, and that the rope was still about her neck.

She said that on October 5th, without any cause or premeditation, she had been overpowered by a desire to take her life, and when alone had gone to the barn and hung herself.

“A big man with a black beard made me do it.” (Spirit.) “He met me in the barnyard and hypnotized me, and made me hang myself to a rafter, but I don't know why I did it." ...

We could not at first convince her that she was expressing herself through the body of another, but after a lengthy conversation, she was somewhat enlightened and comforted, and left with spirit friends.

Previous to this incident neither Mrs. Wickland nor I had heard of the Harmening suicide mystery and we did not know that such a girl had ever existed.

Several days later, a reporter from one of the Chicago dailies came to interview us regarding our research work, and I related our recent experience with the Harmening girl.

In great surprise he said that he himself had been the reporter on the Harmening case and that the girl had lived in Palatine, Cook County, Illinois. The dead body of the girl had been found hanging in her father's barn, but no one knew of any cause for suicide, although the girl had always been peculiar.

There was a suspicion of murder because the clothes about the chest had been torn, and the neck badly scratched, leading the authorities to believe that a crime had been committed and the body hung up to avert suspicion.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 24th, the spirit of Minnie Harmening came to us again, still grieving because of the suffering of her parents, and the intolerant attitude assumed toward her family by the villagers and church members, who considered the family disgraced.

The girl had been a devout member of a German Lutheran Church, but because she had died a suicide the pastor had refused to allow the funeral service to be held in the church, nor would the congregation permit the body to be buried in the consecrated ground of the churchyard.

Minnie said that the funeral service had been held at the home of her parents, but the minister had considered the viewing of body such a sacrilege that he had stepped outside the house while others paid their last tribute, and this had added still more to the grief of her already distracted parents. (These statements I found corroborated in the papers afterward.)

I asked the spirit why her clothes had been torn, and she answered: “I did that myself. The big man (spirit) with the beard told me to hang myself, but as soon as I had kicked the box away from my feet, I felt the rope tightening around my neck and came to my senses. I clawed at the rope and tried to loosen it, but I only tightened it and scratched myself.

And one more: 

Spirit [a deceased minister]: No one seemed to care for my preaching. I was very discouraged. I felt sometimes as if I should give up the whole thing.

Dr. Why didn't you?

Sp. If I should tell you the truth and tell you why I didn't, I should say it was because I had a wife and family to support. But I was not successful as a minister. I wish I had never studied for the ministry, but had been more of a mechanic; I would have had a happier life. (It was later learned that during his earth life the spirit had made this same remark to a fellow minister.)

In addition, Mrs. Wickland's mediumship was apparently characterized at times by xenoglossy, the ability to speak a language unknown to the medium.

... one of Mrs. Wickland's guiding spirits is Movilia, an Eskimo, who brings strength and power to the circle. He lived in Greenland and was a traveling lecturer, doctor and entertainer, a Medicine Man of high order with a profound knowledge of Nature.

He journeyed among his people as an organizer and a philosopher, accompanied by his wife, a poetess and singer, and his children, who danced symbolical dances.

Some of the Eskimo songs, when given through Mrs. Wickland by Movilia and his wife, have been recognized by an Alaskan traveler as being a part of certain Eskimo ceremonies. These Eskimos do not speak English but one evening Movilia brought another Eskimo who acted as interpreter for him and told us something of the Eskimo religion. 

Another case is perhaps more interesting: 

For many years, upon various occasions, a symbolical morality play has been given through Mrs. Wickland by a group of spirit actors.

They are twelve in number, eleven actors and a director, all of whom were Russian-Slavonic when in earth life.

Under the direction of the stage manager they successively assume control of Mrs. Wickland with such ease and rapidity that the change is scarcely noticeable.

The play is given in the Russian-Slavonic tongue, a language which Mrs. Wickland herself has never heard, but which is spoken perfectly through her by these actors, as has been stated by different persons, witnessing the play, who are familiar with the language. The costumes worn by the spirit actors, and unseen by the average mortal audience, have been described by clairvoyants as being authentically Russian-Slavonic and very beautiful.

Arthur Conan Doyle, who had a deep interest in life after death, attended one of these performances and pronounced himself impressed.

During a psychic circle held at our Institute, in May, 1923, at which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lady Doyle were present, this play was given, and later, in his book “Our Second American Adventure,” Sir Arthur briefly described the play, commenting further:

“It was certainly a most extraordinary performance and left us all in a state of amazed admiration . . .

“I have seen all the greatest actresses of my generation, Modjeska, Bernhardt, Duse, Terry - but I do not think that any one of them could have played these eleven parts without a stage or a costume in so convincing a way.

“The spirits' own account is that they are a band of players on the other side, who represent this play before the undeveloped dead in order to teach them the moral, and that they use the wonderful mediumship of Mrs. Wickland in order to demonstrate their power to us mortals. It was very impressive.

An interesting story involves a friendship between Mrs. Wickland and a certain Mrs. Lackmund.

Mrs. Lackmund and Mrs. Wickland had made an agreement that whichever one of them should first pass to the spirit side of life would try to return and communicate with the other, saying, as a test, “Spirit return is true.”

A year after this Mrs. Lackmund died, and two weeks later, during the night, appeared to Mrs. Wickland, so life-like that the latter did not realize she was a spirit.

Mrs. Lackmund touched her friend lightly on the cheek and Mrs. Wickland sat up, exclaiming, “Mrs. Lackmund!”

Then Mrs. Lackmund spoke. “Anna, spirit return is true. I will develop you. Go on with the work of obsession.”

Shortly after this she appeared to Mrs. Wickland again at a materialization séance, giving unmistakable proof of her identity, and repeated her former words: “Spirit return is true. Go on with the work of obsession. I will develop you.”

Subsequently she joined the band of invisibles who guard Mrs. Wickland and since then has very often spoken through the latter.

There were some occasions in which the Wicklands attempted to bring assistance to someone who was not one of Dr. Wickland's patients and was not known to either of them. Reportedly, these efforts proved successful.

Several years ago, a friend of ours complained of the peculiar and erratic actions of a business associate, Mr. P., who had suddenly become extremely irritable and despotic to those in his employ, highly unreasonable, impossible to please, and subject to violent attacks of swearing.

As obsession seemed indicated we concentrated for the gentleman in question, and after several weeks an irate spirit spoke through Mrs. Wickland and frankly admitted having tormented this man, wanting revenge for attentions which he claimed the latter had been paying to his wife. (The situation had existed during his life but he did not discover this until after his death.)...

He was puzzled by the fact that whenever he thought about any persons he immediately found himself with them and involved in their affairs. Recently he had been around Mr. P. but could not get away from him; this had exasperated him exceedingly, he had “done a lot of swearing,” kept the man awake, made him go to work “early,” and had annoyed him in every way possible.

After many explanations the spirit finally realized that he had “died,” although this was at first difficult for him to comprehend, for he “had always thought death ended all, and that was all there was to it.”

Being assured that activity and progression awaited him in the spirit world, and that matters would there be explained to him to his entire satisfaction, he left.

The following day there was such a remarkable improvement in the conduct of Mr. P., and his behavior was so wholly normal that the entire office force noticed the change, although Mr. P. himself never knew of the experimental effort which had been made in his behalf.

Dr. Wickland's numerous sessions with earthbound spirits return over and over again to the same themes. Prominent among these is the idea of being lost in darkness.

Dr. You are dead to your own people and friends. We know you are not dead in reality; you only lost your physical body. But you also have a spirit body when you pass out of your mortal body. You find yourself alive, and you have a spirit body, but you cannot explain it.

Sp. I know I have been walking a very great deal, and it seems to me I never get anywhere. I saw a lot of people here. I came here with the crowd, and before I knew it, everything was light, and I saw you all sitting around in a circle, singing. I thought it was a prayer meeting, so I stopped, and before I knew anything, I could talk. Before then I thought I must be deaf and dumb and blind, because I could not see anything, and I am so tired.

The spirit's blindness is said to result from the fact that the physical eyes have been lost and the spiritual eyes have not yet been opened. The following excerpts are taken from several different sessions with different channeled entities, the first of which is allegedly John Jacob Astor, one of the world's wealthiest men. For clarity, the sessions are separted by horizontal lines. 

Bless you all for the help you have been to me, and for having opened my eyes. It is misery to be blind, yet able to see the procession of your past life, and not be able to see or hear anything else. 

 =====

Dr. Do you know why you were blind? You had lost your physical eyes but were not aware of the fact. You were in the spirit world but you knew nothing of the spiritual laws. You were in what the Bible calls “outer darkness.”

Sp. Does outer darkness mean when you don't understand?

Dr. Yes. When you lost your physical body you lost your physical eyes, but you did not know it, and since you did not understand the higher life your spiritual vision was not open.
Sp. I have had a body and I have had eyes.

Dr. You have a spiritual body, but you were mentally blind. Do you remember that Paul spoke of a natural body and a spiritual body? “First that which is natural and afterward that which is spiritual.”

====

Sp. Tell my wife I have found that life is more serious than I thought and we should try to understand more of God's wonders and not only believe.

(Spiritual vision opening, with a flood of understanding, face upturned and arms outstretched.)

I want to tell my wife that I have learned more about the wonderful world beyond than I ever knew before. My spiritual eyes are open. I wish so much that she could accept the proof that has been revealed to me.

All this time, as you have told me, I have been dead. I have been in darkness but, as this gentleman tells me, it was a spiritual darkness. My eyes are open and I can now see.

A beautiful world lies before me. I want my wife to understand these things so that she will not be in the dark as I have been. Tell her not to have belief alone. Investigate, and find out what the life beyond is.

I do wish I could teach about the beautiful land beyond as I see it before me. There are wonderful landscapes and homes of all descriptions. My eyes are open and now I see. Here is one beautiful home, and there another.

As indicated above, the opening of one's spiritual eyes is a dramatic event and leads to immediate improvement. This apparently is why the spirits can show pronounced changes in their outlook after a relatively brief dialogue.

Some spirits, however, are too stubborn or lost to be helped, at least for the time being. Dr. Wickland found that religious fanatics particularly immune to his treatment. He could be withering in his assessment of their psychology and beliefs.

The spirit who assumed control of the psychic tonight was vigorously singing a religious hymn.

Doctor. Have you been here before?

Spirit. Let's sing some more.

Dr. We are going to talk now.

Sp. I think we'd better sing another song.

Dr. If we did, you might become too enthusiastic.

Sp. We are in church, and you know you have to sing. Sing! Hallelujah! Tell the story! 

Dr. We are going to be sensible.

Sp. You have to sing. You have to do that. That belongs to church. Let us pray, in Jesus' name, for evermore!

Dr. That would be very tiresome.

Sp. Let us sing and pray to the Lord. Hallelujah! Jesus Christ!

Dr. Now stop; that is enough. What is your name?

Sp. Let's sing and pray!

Dr. You must be sensible or leave. Tell us who you are and where you came from.

Sp. What church is this anyhow, where you talk in this way?

Dr. Be sensible, otherwise you will have to go. How long have you been dead? You know something happened to you. You have been hovering around the earth, probably for years, and have never gotten anywhere. Be sensible.

Sp. I am sensible; I'm not crazy.

Dr. You are religiously insane.

Another case: 

Sp. If I am dead, then I should see God.

Dr. You will never “see” God. God is not a person on a throne. God is Spirit and God is Intelligence. Have you ever seen music?

Sp. I have heard it.

Dr. Did you love your wife and family?

Sp. Yes, I did.

Dr. Have you ever seen that love? If you understand the Love Principle in the higher sense you will understand that God is Love. That was Jesus' own teaching.

Sp. We have to teach as I did.... 

Dr. You say you are a man, and yet here you are, controlling my wife's body. Did you ever believe in mediumship?

Sp. That is all humbug.

Dr. There must be some truth in it. You are proving it yourself.

The danger of being controlled by abstract ideas to the point where you can no longer see the truth that's all around you is repeatedly stressed. As one spirit puts it:

Do not let yourselves be hypnotized by ideas. Every theory has some good in it, but let us take the good and discard the rest.

One idea Dr. Wickland emphatically rejects is reincarnation. He attributes such cases to spirit obsession.

That the belief in reincarnation on earth is a fallacious one and prevents progression to higher spiritual realms after transition has been frequently declared by advanced spirits, while numerous cases of obsession which have come under our care have been due to spirits who, in endeavoring to “reincarnate” in children, have found themselves imprisoned in the magnetic aura, causing great suffering to both their victims and themselves.

A little boy in Chicago, Jack T., had been normal until the age of five when he began to manifest precocious tendencies and acted strangely.

Formerly he had had the natural disposition of a child but began to fret about things ordinarily foreign to a child's mind and acted in many ways like an adult.

He worried over trifles, lay awake at night with strange mutterings and presentiments, and at times had an uncontrollable temper.

He was a boy of good appearance but talked constantly of being old, homely and ugly looking, and was so intractable that efforts at reprimand and correction proved of no avail.

This condition became so aggravated that his family despaired of restoring the boy's reason.

A relative who knew of our experimental work in abnormal psychology wrote to the Institute requesting us to concentrate for the boy. This was done and an entity, whose actions and expressions were in every way like those of the boy, was attracted to the psychic, Mrs. Wickland.

This entity said his name was Charlie Herrman; he was aware of having died and declared he was a very homely man, with ugly features and a face covered with pock marks. Nobody had cared for him and this fact preyed on his mind.

Someone had once told him that after death individuals could reincarnate and become whatever they wished to be. Since his only desire was to be good looking, so that others would not shun him, he decided to try and reincarnate.

As a result, he became entangled in the magnetic aura of a small boy and was unable to free himself.

Finding that he was helplessly imprisoned, and incapable of making himself understood, he had outbursts of temper and “felt like flying to pieces.”

“They called me Jack at times, but I am not Jack. That was not my name, and I could not understand.”

Our concentration for the boy had freed the spirit and for this he was very grateful....

In a letter written a few days later by the boy's mother we were informed that a remarkable change had occurred in the child.

“Jack is now a boy again and has been very good this week, really like he used to be.”

He remained normal and received excellent grades in school, where his progress from that time on was unusually rapid.

A former Theosophist spoke through Mrs. Wickland: 

I realize now how dangerous the doctrine of Reincarnation is. According to that doctrine, this would be the time for me to reincarnate. Should I reincarnate and obsess a child and tie both of us up in one body until such time as the child leaves the mortal body? Why should I “reincarnate” and make a child become an idiot?

All creeds should be set aside and we should seek the simple truth of life. Love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself. There would be great rejoicing if everybody tried to live up to that teaching; then there would be true happiness. Creeds and dogmas interfere and make us selfish, and selfishness is the root of all evil.

Mme. Blavatsky herself allegedly made an appearance through Mrs. Wickland in order to recant her Theosophical teachings. 

I felt that I remembered far back in my past. I felt I knew all about my past, but I was mistaken.

Memories of “past lives” are caused by spirits that bring such thoughts and represent the lives they lived. A spirit impresses you with the experiences of its life and these are implanted in your mind as your own. You then think you remember your past.

Blavatsky was not the only famous person to show up in the Wicklands' circle. Because Dr. Wickland practiced in Los Angeles, his wife sometimes channeled deceased movie personalities like silent star Olive Thomas and minor screen actress Virginia Rappe, whose death was at the center of the Fatty Arbuckle scandal. We are also told that two famed victims of the Titanic disaster, W.T. Stead and the aforementioned John Jacob Astor, spoke through the medium. Fortunately the book does not make too much of these celebrity cases.

In contrast to complicated theories of reincarnation or Theosophical ascendancy to the state of a "spirit master," the dying process, according to the communicators, is actually quite simple and straightforward, especially for those who are emotionally and spiritually prepared for it.

If one would prepare himself for passing out of the body as he does for a journey he would be able to say: “Now I am ready to go. I am through with this world. It is time for me to go, and I want to go to the spirit side of life.” Then there would be no dread.

====

When I thought of my spiritual body, I arose; I felt I had new clothes and I received strength and left the physical altogether. The magnetic current was cut and I dropped my old clothes entirely.

I was then lifted bodily, so it seemed, and I felt I was floating, and we went through conditions of all kinds. I felt so strange and saw so much that I grew fearful, so they told me to shut my eyes and keep them shut, which I did.

I did not know anything after that until they placed me on a beautiful bed. I was very tired and all I wanted was to rest, just rest.

When I awoke from that sleep of rest my relatives and friends were around me. Somebody said: “Now you are well and strong and we will take a journey to our home in the spirit world.”

Summing up, Dr. Wickland says that he is continuing to investigate these phenomena. His concluding words are refreshingly modest:

It is not presumed or held that this avenue of research is a panacea for, or a full explanation of, all mental aberrations or obscure mortal vagaries, but indicative of the need for fuller knowledge of the role which the invisible world plays in human problems.

Comments

[snorkler]

Gee Michael, have you reprinted the whole book here. Will try and read and absorb it all a bit later. In the mean time, if there are any spirit Auto Mechanics out there that are continuing their occupation, I'd appreciate a bit of help with a couple of old Landrovers that require some long overdue TLC.

[Sleepers]

The repetitions are what make this more persuasive. Who would do all of the above for the purpose of an unrewarded elaborate fraud? Its too much work.

[Philemon]

"All creeds should be set aside and we should seek the simple truth of life. Love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself. There would be great rejoicing if everybody tried to live up to that teaching; then there would be true happiness. Creeds and dogmas interfere and make us selfish, and selfishness is the root of all evil."

Pretty profound stuff. Also, the rejection of reincarnation is cause for pause. I've gone back and forth on the issue a great deal. In all honesty, I'd rather not reincarnate. However, I've also been inclined in recent years to accept that it occurs for most people on account of a need for further growth (and, if I'm entirely honest, also due to a hope that if it is true, that I can get some things right another time around...).

I wonder what Chris Carter would think of Wickland's view on reincarnation, especially considering he uses Stevenson's research on reincarnation as a pillar in his argument for survival.

[Michael Prescott]

"I wonder what Chris Carter would think of Wickland's view on reincarnation, especially considering he uses Stevenson's research on reincarnation as a pillar in his argument for survival."

I don't know, but whether the cases are explained as reincarnation or spirit obsession, they still count as evidence for survival.

[zerdini]

Dr Wickland also wrote another book "The Gateway of Understanding" published in 1934.

"The Gateway to Understanding" is a comprehensive overview of the experiences & beliefs held by the Wicklands re: the spiritual realm - most of which were obtained through their research with those suffering from spirit obsessions (where an earthbound spirit literally latches on to a person's aura, and impacts the way they think & act).

Anna Wickland died on 3rd March 1937 after a nine-months illness.

Carl Wickland died November 13, 1945.

[snorkler]

Interesting reading.
This may be the book that will sway me. Any details of who the publisher is? With my lousy 3Gig per month wireless internet allowance, I probably couldn't download it even if it was available online.

[Ray]

@snorkler

You can read it PDF style here :http://new-birth.net/booklet/30_years_among_the_dead.PDF

Also for more "sober" analysis of the evidence of survival check out these collections of essays and field reports by scientist and parapsychologist who got their hands dirty by doing some street level research.
http://www.survivalafterdeath.info/articles.htm

[Ray]

To clarify I meant that as a counter to your objections to VZ

[snorkler]

Thank you Ray. quite a bit of reading before bed time.

[Tony]

Things mentioned here can also be explained in Jungian Archetype terms quite as well.

It's difficlt to define these as survival or generated by the creative use of the Unus Mundus.

[Philemon]

"I don't know, but whether the cases are explained as reincarnation or spirit obsession, they still count as evidence for survival." -MP

Very true, but Carter does defend reincarnation itself. As an aside, I've been following the Eben Alexander case pretty closely. On his website, he lists a number of books he has found helpful to him in the wake of his NDE. One of these books is "Why Jesus Taught Reincarnation" by Herbert Puryear. I got hold of it through an interlibrary loan and have been perusing it the past couple days. The book mentions Stevenson, addresses some of the so-called rational objections to reincarnation, but then focuses greatly on a biblical argument for reincarnation, such as Jesus' statements about John the Baptist being Elijah returned, etc. It's kind of frightening to think that the closer you get to a belief in reincarnation, the more it may have to do with spirits trying to obsess you.

A skeptical thought occurred to me in regard to the Wicklands being in touch with these celebrities, but in particular, H.P. Blavatsky. What could be more helpful to your viewpoint (which happens to conflict with a very influential person at the time) than to claim you're in touch with them beyond the grave and that they recant the position that conflicts with yours? - In this case, reincarnation. It feels a little suspicious, no? Ditto on the unnamed "theosophist" who also rejected reincarnation after the fact.

Which brings up another thing. These accounts make dead people sound pretty stupid - and simple. What was up with the one who wanted to sing hymns? If the theosophist was able to come to his/her wits about things and think clearly enough to change their mind about reincarnation (apparently without their spiritual eyes being opened), why could these other ones hardly think at all?

The whole "lower astral" idea is starting to feel a good deal more compelling to me - that it's filled with the likes you'd find in the corner bar and the types who like to go on talk shows - a bunch of histrionic sorts who are incapable of subjugating their wild emotionality to a more focused sort of life.

[Joshua Cearley]

@Tony
As I recall, Jung was also directed towards his work by an NDE and was fairly involved in the occult at the time. I would not be surprised to see connections between the archetypes based on his work and other occult topics.

@Philemon
Therein is the problem. How do we know if they're talking to a spirit at all? And if they are, how do we know its actually who they say it is? We're still stuck debating possibility with little research actually going to any question other than such.

[j9]

I'm always frightened about why not all people have NDE's. Could it be that not everyone is chosen for survival?

[zerdini]

@Joshua

"Therein is the problem. How do we know if they're talking to a spirit at all? And if they are, how do we know its actually who they say it is? We're still stuck debating possibility with little research actually going to any question other than such."

How do you know that the person you talk to on the phone is who they say they are?

The answer to that question is the same as the answer to the question you pose.

[Michael Prescott]

'A skeptical thought occurred to me in regard to the Wicklands being in touch with these celebrities, but in particular, H.P. Blavatsky. What could be more helpful to your viewpoint (which happens to conflict with a very influential person at the time) than to claim you're in touch with them beyond the grave and that they recant the position that conflicts with yours? - In this case, reincarnation. It feels a little suspicious, no?'

True. Wickland was also opposed to Christian Science, and on more than one occasion its deceased founder, Mary Baker Eddy, purportedly showed up to recant some of her views.

There is an element of theatricality to the sessions. They can seem overly dramatic and artificial. And yet apparently many otherwise incurable patients were helped, and veridical information was obtained. So there is fodder for both skeptics and proponents.

Snorkler, IMO it's a mistake to think that any one book will convince you. Usually conviction arises from prolonged study of many cases (or from a dramatic personal experience). I also think it can be counterproductive to try too hard or to want 'proof' too badly. I certainly understand your desire to come to terms with your personal tragedy, but sometimes it's better to let time pass and put your mind on other things. The mind can become a tyrant, tormenting you with memories and doubts and fears, but distraction can work wonders. Going out with friends, watching a funny movie, or taking up a hobby can quiet the mind and shut off the flow of bad thoughts. Grief counseling and support groups are also very valuable. It might be best to pursue these avenues for now, and return to the subject of life after death when you're in a better place emotionally. Just a thought.

[Barbara]

"The whole "lower astral" idea is starting to feel a good deal more compelling to me - that it's filled with the likes you'd find in the corner bar and the types who like to go on talk shows - a bunch of histrionic sorts who are incapable of subjugating their wild emotionality to a more focused sort of life."

I agree Philemon. Mostly, the spirits just aren't interesting or creative enough to be whole souls.

[jack]

@ Ray | October 19, 2012 at 03:34 AM

http://www.survivalafterdeath.info/articles.htm

I really miss that website.
I am hoping that someone made a copy of all the articles on a dvd.
I would be happy to pay $50 for a copy

[Ray]

@Jack

Click on it, it actually works, it has not "dematerialized".

[Matt Rouge]

Ah yes, here we are in that murky world where we wonder what's really real.

I would say the majority of psychics and mediums would never encounter spirit obsession at all. But it seemed to be this couple's "thing." It may have been a case of finding what they were looking for.

I have no doubt that genuine psi and mediumship was at work--at least part of the time. Who knows about all of it, however. There's no reason why the real can't be mixed with the unreal.

I am also quite wary of the famous people making appearances to confirm their belief system. The BS meter starts to tingle.

Overall, I don't like fear-based stuff of this type. To me, it seems as though if you start in a place of fear, you'll confirm your fears. My overall view is that spirits that are "stuck" are typically, by dint of their low vibration, not empowered to do much. My guess is that spirits able to take over others' lives are quite rare.

[jack]

@ Ray
Thanks. I know it works *today*, it used to work some years ago. Then it stopped working.
I feel that it is a valuable assortment of psychic knowledge. (and perhaps I really don't trust computers to always work!)

[Tony]

@Joshua - Anybody thats done any serious evp work will soon realise the voices tend to act how you want them to - they act like Archetypes, Spirits, non local interaction from the experimenter and people around you, Abstract sounds.
And even messengers from the future.
The Collective may have been given us by a creator so we can tap into it. Or is it simply generated by all our thought's?Maybe our Spirit is outside all of this?

[Joshua Cearley]

@zerdini
I listen to their voice tone and what they say, and the way they behave. In many mediums we do not have this voice tone, so its a case of passing messages by whisper. Furthermore even if there is a voice, I've answered the phone for another before and the person calling couldn't tell the difference between our voices.

@j9
I put forth the idea that since many NDEs revolve around imminent danger (or are in very fatalistic scenarios), the experience is something of an artifact of spirits/the universe stepping in and making an adjustment. A lot of NDE accounts I read have the survival chance to be low, or the impending danger to be traumatic, and the NDE appeared in conjunction with a serious 'bad event' being... well, deleted.

[snorkler]

Thanks Michael. Distractions? I've tried them all short of taking a lover.Always come away feeling worse, and even a bit guilty for trying to enjoy myself.
But I do take your point and will try to moderate my obsession in trying to seek confirmation of something that is proving to be impossibly elusive for me.2 weeks ago a friend of my wife from her mutual support group had a heart attack in hospital. In his words his heart stopped and he died twice, before being successfully revived.In answer to my question to him about any recollection of NDE, he said no. just like falling asleep without dreaming. I just cannot get a break!
In the interest of balance it is probably best i visit a couple of sceptic blogs to weigh up the evidence both for and against.
Thanks to all for your compassion and advice these past weeks.
Bill.

[juicy couture outlet]

I do not agree with all the ideas you have in your post. They are very convincing, and certainly will work. Also, the post is a short novice. You can extend them a little from the next? Thank you to share …

[Kevin]

@Michael There is an element of theatricality to the sessions. They can seem overly dramatic and artificial. And yet apparently many otherwise incurable patients were helped, and veridical information was obtained. So there is fodder for both skeptics and proponents.

I actually own an old, dusty, worn copy of this book (and I, like you, have had a hard time getting through it). As for what you said about the veridical information obtained (this is me being about as skeptical as I get) do we have any recourse to the third parties mentioned to see that they truly occurred? Otherwise, isn't this a bit like Pat Robertson telling us that Bobbie McDoogle and Billy Bly wrote emails in to tell the viewers of the 700 Club that their stomach ulcers went away via prayer power. The source of our information regarding these other parties is the book itself. We need outside verification that is outside of this book.

@Joshua Therein is the problem. How do we know if they're talking to a spirit at all? And if they are, how do we know its actually who they say it is? We're still stuck debating possibility with little research actually going to any question other than such.

You got me! I have additional paranormal burdens to bear that the folks strictly looking at spiritualism/spiritism don't have to cope with - I have to also consider claims coming from occultists like Dion Fortune and Israel Regardie. These folks tell us that a lot of what we're hearing from the spirit realm are "elementals" putting on the discarded "astral sheaths" of the deceased, who left them behind in the "second death" in their ascent through the planes. I mean, how do you evaluate a claim like that!?

[Joshua Cearley]

@Kevin
I don't think we really can. I don't think we even have a good grasp on what happens during regular death; let alone if a second (or further) death is an awakening or a literal destruction of being. Some text suggests the energy for those bodies is reclaimed, others suggest higher planar beings can wrap themselves in a new body to stay down a level for a while.

There's a lot of fuzz between what is a person's spirit, consciousness, whether what you're talking to is them or if they are projecting a familiar face (some text suggests the consciousness assumes a familiar appearance to comfort the deceased, but can have any appearance it finds appealing.)

[zerdini]

@zerdini
I listen to their voice tone and what they say, and the way they behave. In many mediums we do not have this voice tone, so its a case of passing messages by whisper. Furthermore even if there is a voice, I've answered the phone for another before and the person calling couldn't tell the difference between our voices.

I am not talking about the medium's voice (although they are recognisable) but the spirit communicator's voice which is loud and clear.

We obviously have had different experiences regarding communication with incarnate and discarnate voices (not whispers!) so we will have to agree to differ.

As I have stated on here before, during more than fifty years of experience with spirit communicators, there has never been a problem in recognising voices of the discarnate.

[Sophie]

'There is an element of theatricality to the sessions. They can seem overly dramatic and artificial. And yet apparently many otherwise incurable patients were helped, and veridical information was obtained. So there is fodder for both skeptics and proponents.'

Wow, Michael! Thanks a million for this. I think I shall now make a better fist of understanding Dean Radin's Entangled Minds. Re-reading begins instantly.

[tony]

Speaking of Mediums - as Physical mediumship bit the dust. Like the Felix Experimental Group??

[Ray]

Professor Stephen Braude recently investigated the reported and filmed some classic physical seance phenomena and will publish his findings but I don't see much evidence in the way that points to survival. Lots of ohs and ahs with trumpets and ectoplasm (I find the trumpet phenomenon a little stale, cant the other side think of another game to play) but not a lot of veridical evidence by any spirits.

A least they are willing to be tested unlike some other physical medium that has been mentioned on this blog just a few times :)

[tony]

Seems to me that most physical mediums have been caught with their pants down and out of their tye wraps!

Julie Beischel's work with mental mediums seems quite interesting - she's interviewed by Dean Radin on the Neotic's Site

[tsavo]

One thing about 30 Years that bothered me was that the spirits all started sounding very much alike. Not just in terms of the content or message (which were of course the same core story), but more with respect to their manner of speaking. There was a certain style associated with the majority of correspondents. A generous interpretation would be that Wickland reconstructed the spirit conversations from notes and paraphrased much of what was actually said in his own words. That might not have been true of course, but that's the way it *sounded* to me. Maybe it's just my ears.

[Michael Prescott]

"One thing about 30 Years that bothered me was that the spirits all started sounding very much alike. Not just in terms of the content or message (which were of course the same core story), but more with respect to their manner of speaking."

Good point. I have to assume the sessions were, at the very least, abridged. Perhaps they were revised also.

"But I do take your point and will try to moderate my obsession in trying to seek confirmation of something that is proving to be impossibly elusive for me."

Sometimes you can try too hard. You know the old Zen saying, "When the student is ready, the master appears"? Some things can't be rushed. Things happen in their own good time. It may be necessary to let more time pass and to let go of your memories a bit before you can profitably explore afterlife communications.

If you haven't tried grief counseling and/or a support group, you may want to consider it. I don't think mediums etc. should be used as a substitute for emotional healing. They can be an adjunct to healing in some cases, but not a substitute or a shortcut.

If reading about evidence for life after death is helpful to you, by all means continue. But if it's making you feel worse, give it up for now. There's no deadline to meet and no obligation to "find the answer."

One book that might interest you, of you choose to pursue the subject further at this time, is Induced After-Death Communication, by Allan Botkin. You can find my post on it by using the Google search box on the left side of this page (keyword: Botkin).

Botkin's website: http://induced-adc.com

[Joshua Cearley]

@zerdini
I have yet to have an encounter through an actual medium, so I'll defer any further commenting on that line until I have found a way to do so.

@tony
Indeed. Beischel seems to have decent lab results so far; she seems to be straddling a half-way line between leniency for the medium and protocol requirements. Some of the others change mediums (Rob-Roy), seem to hold no regard for them (Wiseman), or such. It will be interesting to see if she can maintain those good ratings with a larger sample size, especially since they're now tracking how specific the overall reports are to guard against the force-choice causing false positives.

[zerdini]

"@zerdini
I have yet to have an encounter through an actual medium, so I'll defer any further commenting on that line until I have found a way to do so."

Very sensible, Joshua.

[Joshua Cearley]

@Soldier
That wiki seems to be a back-patting nexus for skeptics. Here's a fun quote:

"[..]but has not actually done any experiments or investigations into parapsychology other than read books on the topic."

That's funny; how many skeptics have done experiments or investigations, compared to how many run around the JREF touting a single Wiseman or Randi situation as ultimate law? Not many.

I wrote the wiki off as trash when they blasted Skeptiko for being a "pseudoskeptic." In the recent Eben debacle, a skeptic who was lambasting the doctor was invited to talk to the doctor directly and made up excuses not to. It's easy to sit on an anonymized wiki and trash talk, it's apparently less desirable to talk directly to a person involved.

[Matt Rouge]

I'd love to see the objective guidelines on how to look at data objectively. I'll be sure to follow those. :/

[Ray]

Also as a rational wiki entry I would expect to see sources to back up the claims, and there is not one citation in the reference section. There is classic sceptical misdirection on this as well. The person who wrote this must have attended a workshop hosted by Randi on how do character assinate to build your case. He lists Michael as having "some success" as an author, an attempt to marginalize his influence. He has more than some success.

The author of this also claims that Michael accepts every claim made by mediums which anyone who has spent 5 minutes on this blogs knows that he is sceptical of some mediums that others find genuine, another Randi tactic to build credulity.

Also you cant have it both ways. Sceptics mostly do arm chair debunking and hardly do feel research yet this is used as a critique of MP.

This is an absolute embarrassment to rational thinking and would get an F in any intro level college course for the above reasons. If that is what it means to be rational I will have no part in it.

[Matt Rouge]

Ray,

Hyup. One thing one may never expect from skeptics is any form of self-policing of or shame about their own level of rationality. It's truly a comedy of errors, and they don't even know it.

[Bruce Siegel]

Geez, Michael, that rationalwiki article crosses the boundary into downright slander. What do you have to say about the allegation that you're from New Jersey?

Actually, I'm from New Jersey, too--Teaneck. What part are you from?

Also, I couldn't help but check out their article on NDEs. Here's a quote from it:

"Proponents also claim the observation that blind people see images during NDE's is evidence of their reality. However, it may be that blind people see what they expect to see."

Now that's the sort of high-powered analysis we need more of on this here blog. Blind people see what they EXPECT to see!

[Matt Rouge]

Haha, Bruce!

[Michael Prescott]

Funny stuff. I didn't mind the Wiki thing. It's always nice to be noticed.

Bruce, I was born in Passaic. It was a lot nicer back then.

[Davidfor treatmenter the last]

There seems to be a pattern of self-fulfillment here. The Wickland accounts were obtained by a husband/wife team who were fully invested in their view that the "lower astral" is populated by wayward spirits trying to possess the living, and that this accounted for many serious mental conditions. They consistently found what they were looking for. Similarly, Michael Newton looks for and expects his hypnotic regression subjects to find between-lives memories, so sure enough many of his subjects come up with such memories. Past-life therapists believe that many serious mental and emotional problems are due to buried past life traumatic memories, and sure enough, many of their patients come up with past life traumatic memories that seem to explain their problem. Sometimes this process even seems to resolve the problem. Then there is Alan Botkin and his Induced After-Death Communication for treatment of PTSD, using special eye movement therapy to induce apparent communication with the dead. Then there was Helen Wambach, who used low level hypnotic induction of large groups of people to get statistics on the patterns of past lives in the population over several thousand years. She hoped to get results correctly reflecting population statics developed by historians, and, sure enough, the reported past life characteristics fit the historical data.

In all these examples the common thread is that a charismatic expert therapist or other expert believes they have found a powerful new cure, therapy or technique. Their subjects know this and hope or expect to be helped. Conveniently, the patients tend to come up with the results expected by both them and the therapist. Often the results decline drastically when other therapists try the same techniques.

It seems to me that this is a pattern of self-fulfillment and suggestion that puts in doubt the underlying truth of any of the theories adopted by the originators. It is too much as if the "subliminal mind" (to use F. W. H. Myers' term) is all too willing to come up with whatever a charasmatic expert suggests will solve the problem.

[David]

I don't know what happened to my name in the comment above. It should just be David.

[Juan]

David, I don't agree with you write, because if these researchers found what they were searched, is because other researchers before they found similar phenomena without having searched.

There are other cases where investigators found some strange phenomenon that they were not searched, such as: Friedrich Jürgenson, when he was recording birdsong seems he heard the voice of her deceased mother, giving birth without having searched at what we know as EVP. And Brian Weiss hypnotized a patient and he found without having searched the patient seemed to remember a previous life. Look here:

http://www.brianweiss.com/

So although these phenomena appear are not searched. Pointing to its reality. So it is normal to be real, to be found by later researchers.

[W Vogt]

David said: It seems to me that this is a pattern of self-fulfillment and suggestion that puts in doubt the underlying truth of any of the theories adopted by the originators. It is too much as if the "subliminal mind" (to use F. W. H. Myers' term) is all too willing to come up with whatever a charasmatic expert suggests will solve the problem.

It seems to me that David is looking for a pattern of self-fulfillment that will explain away any positive results obtained in a wide range of experiments and, by golly, he found it. It's all wishful thinking. In any event, wishful thinking only tells us about the motive of a person believing that a statement is true. It tells us nothing about the truth of the statement itself.

[David]

It is certainly much more than mere wishful thinking. The phenomena obtained by these investigators/therapists that I used as examples are to a large extent real and paranormal, with many veridical and evidentiary aspects, that can't be just explained away with skeptic materialist arguments. This certainly applies to Dr. Wickland's work, though in his case it is just him and his writings - there is no group of credentialed investigators with a lot of credibility and objectivity as there was with the Leonora Piper mediumship for instance. We just have to take his word for it, though we don't have any substantive reason to doubt the accounts.

Anyway, the underlying mechanism(s) seem to be complicated. The prevalance of lower astral plane spirits trying to possess or obsess the living are generally not mentioned in the mediumistic communication literature. Neither is the prevalence of reincarnation. Yet therapists and doctors like Wickland successfully treat patients apparently "tuning in" to entities or to previous lives. There seems to be a disconnection here. The effect of suggestion and need is ignored in just naively assuming that the source(s) are what they represent themselves to be.

[Michael Prescott]

There is some evidence that hypnosis enhances psi abilities. Perhaps when Newton or others hypnotize their patients, they unwittingly allow the patients to establish a psychic connection with them. The patients could then unconsciously feed the hypnotist whatever he wants or expects to hear.

In the Wickland case, it's conceivable that the electric shocks administered to psychotic patients to drive out the obsessing spirits actually served to effect a cure, as electroshock therapy sometimes does today. The tales of spirit obsession may have been unconscious dramatizations by Mrs. Wickland combined with psi. However, this wouldn't explain healings conducted at a distance for people they'd never met (assuming these stories are true).

[tony]

@Joshua - Yes some intersesting protocols.
Dean Radin put forth the idea of a few mediums trying to read the same descarnate rather than just one - to try and find out what's being communicated with?!

[Joshua Cearley]

@Tony
I want to say there was someone (SPR?) who actually did that. It would be interesting if you could get the spirit to agree to it, I will admit, though we have no idea how busy or bored they are to sit around for some scientists.