Scott Fowler 

Shortly after Maggie, Katie and Leah Fox announced that they were communicating with spirits in their home, the “religion” of Spiritualism shot up in popularity. The church service of this new religion was the séance. In most cases, a medium and a group of about five to ten people would sit around a table, in a dark room, holding hands as the medium channeled any ghosts that may be present. Through out the heydey of Spiritualism, many paranormal phenomenon was reported during these rituals. Knocks and taps on the tables and walls from supposed spirits, table tipping, discarnate voices and apparitions were all experienced. Many of these activities have been ruled faked by dishonest mediums of the time looking for notoriety. However, some of the phenomenon has not been appropriately explained.Most of these phenomena where similar to activities reported in poltergeist cases. 

During the 1960s and 1970s, a theory began to take form that stated that most, if not all, poltergeist cases were a result of a person’s subconscious mind sending signals into the environment. These signals would then manipulate objects and move them. Upon further investigation, it was shown that most poltergeist cases tended to center around a child or teenager. It was theorized then that the hormonal changes during puberty and the emotional turmoil that caused created a situation in the mind that was conducive to creating poltergeist activity.

So, the question arose, was the phenomenon reported during seances characteristic of Spiritualism during the 19th century actual ghosts trying to communicate or created by the subconscious of the group? In 1972, the Toronto Society of Psychical Research decided that an experiment was in order to try finding out. Their goal was to create a ghost from scratch and only from their imagination.

Their first step was to create their personality. They would take great pains to make this fictional, nonexistent person seem real. As team leader Dr. A. R. G. Owen stated in his book Conjuring Up Philip, “It was essential to their purpose that Philip be a totally fictitious character. Not merely a figment of the imagination but clearly and obviously so, with a biography full of historical errors.”(Bradbury 182) Their ghost would never have existed.

As it became, Philip Aylesford was “living” during the 1600s at the time of Oliver Cromwell. The Toronto group had Philip a Catholic loyal to the king. He was married to very cold woman named Dorothea who would not mother him children. The two lived at his family home of Diddington Manor. Though there was really a Diddington Manor in England, no such person as Philip Aylesford ever lived there.

A particular incident the group created for Philip figures into his character as a ghost. One day while he rode his horse near the boundaries of the estate, he happened upon a gypsy encampment. There he met Margo, a beautiful, dark haired girl with whom he fell straight in love. He moved Margo to the gatehouse and kept their love a secret from his wife. Eventually, however, Dorothea found out and accused Margo of witchcraft. Fearing he’d lose both his reputation and possessions, Philip said nothing and let Margo be burned at the stake. Philip’s subsequent remorse sent him into deep depression. He took to pacing the battlements of Diddington Manor at night. One morning, Philip’s body was discovered at the base of the battlements an apparent suicide. He was 30 years old.

With Philip and his history now established even down to a drawing made by one of the group members, they began going about memorizing this non-existent character, creating more details, and learning about the historical period in which he “lived”. “They sought to create a ‘collective hallucination’ of Philip by describing his appearance, food preferences, and “especially his feelings toward Dorothea and Margo, until they had created a complete mental picture of him which they could all subscribe.” (Bradbury, 182) In September 1972, once the eight-member group felt ready, they began to conduct regular seances. They would gather a candle lit room with a picture of Philip in the center of the table and concentrate on conjuring Philip. Month after month went by and no Philip. After much time had passed, they decided to take a new strategy. They initiated a more relaxed attitude, as Spiritualists had done a hundred years before them. It was when they began this new tactic that experimenters began to get results.

At first, they felt only vibrations in the tabletop that they couldn’t explain. Soon, however, the vibrations developed into knocking sounds. Thinking they themselves were inadvertently causing the raps, they investigated. “But when the table started to move around the floor in an irregular, apparently aimless manner, they started questioning one another. Finally, a member asked, ‘I wonder whether Philip is doing this?’” (Bradbury 183)

At which point a loud knock came on the table. Before long, they had a system worked out where “yes” was one knock and “no” was two knocks. With this dichotomy in place, they began to conduct a series of conversations with Philip. They joked with him, teased him, even flirted with him. They learned his likes and dislikes and found he had strong views on subjects. When Philip was asked if Dorothea, his wife, didn’t want children, the members heard scratching sounds coming from the walls. One member asked if the question was too personal and one loud rap was heard responding with a yes. It was noticed by all present that “the raps and movements of the table seemed to be very closely related, if not actually activated, by the knowledge, thoughts, will, moods and power of concentration of each member of the group.” (Bradbury 183) Dr. Owen stated that if the entire team were in agreement to the answer to a question, the responses would come very quickly but if one or more people were uncertain in the answer then Philip’s responses would be hesitant, taking some time to reply.

As the group became more comfortable with their encounters with Philip, they began to treat him as just another member of the group. They learned his personality as if he was a good friend. And Philip would play tricks on them. At times, he would move the table around the room, especially to rush up to those arriving late as if to greet them and say “Hi”. Other times, the table would trap certain individuals in corners. During one especially active night, one of the members jokingly admonished Philip by telling him that he could be sent away and replaced. After that, Philip’s activity began to decrease until it stopped altogether and the experiment was stopped. It was decided that the experiment was a huge success. Far more than they ever expected. As member Iris M. Owen state, “We clearly understand and have proved that there is no ‘spirit’ behind the communications; the messages are from the group subconscious, but it is they physical force we need to know more about.” (Bradbury 183)

The Toronto Society’s success encouraged other groups to attempt similar experiments. “Another Toronto group created ‘Lilith’, a French-Canadian spy during World War II, and a group of French students from Quebec created ‘Sebastian’, a medieval alchemist, and ‘Axel’, a man from the future.” (Guiley 286) At one point the Toronto Society’s group conducted a séance with the French students. The resulting incorporeal conversation was said to be rather amusing. Before too long, it was determined the experiments took too great a time to set up.

Yes, they had proven a connection between the mind and psychokinetic activities during seances, essentially proving the theories of British psychologist Kenneth J. Batcheldor. “It was Batcheldor’s theory that the atmosphere of belief and expectation that permeates a séance in effect creates the phenomena that Spiritualists attribute to spirits.” (Guiley 286) But the time needed to produce the desired effect was prohibitive. At the beginning of the experiment, the stated goal was to eventually create an apparition. Though toward the end of 1977 they felt they were close to reaching that goal, interest in the experiment waned and activities were discontinued.

Source: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0kEqZ_7lUOLbnhnRDhGYWZSLTQ/edit?usp=sharing

Designing Philip Aylesford

In September 1972, the Toronto Society for Psychical Research, along with poltergeist expert Dr. A.R.G. Owen, set out to accomplish one singular objective:

To create a ghost.

Not conjure, or contact. They wanted to explore the Tibetan Buddhist concept of tulpas, or “thoughtforms,” the practice of “willing” tangible forms into existence using our own innate mental energies.

Designing Philip Aylesford

The group was composed of eight individuals, men and women of a variety of occupations and interests. Although Dr. Owen himself was an expert on poltergeists, none of the other members claimed to have any “psychic” abilities or other paranormal affluence.

They began their experiment, in September 1972, by creating a fictional character. They named him Philip Aylesford. As though he were an actual person, they gave him a history, likes and dislikes, and a tragic end leading to his own suicide.

Here’s his original biography:

“Philip was an aristocratic Englishman, living in the middle 1600s at the time of Oliver Cromwell. He had been a supporter of the King, and was a Catholic. He was married to a beautiful but cold and frigid wife, Dorothea, the daughter of a neighboring nobleman.

One day, when out riding on the boundaries of his estates, Philip came across a gypsy encampment and saw there a beautiful dark-eyed girl. Her name was Margo, and he fell instantly in love with her.

He brought her back secretly to live in the gatehouse, near the stables of Diddington Manor – his family home.

For some time he kept his love-nest secret, but eventually Dorothea, realizing he was keeping someone else there, found Margo, and accused her of witchcraft and stealing her husband. Philip was too scared of losing his reputation and his possessions to protest at the trial of Margo, and she was convicted of witchcraft and burned at the stake.

Philip was subsequently stricken with remorse that he had not tried to defend Margo, and would pace the battlements of Diddington in despair. Finally, one morning his body was found at the bottom of the battlements, whence he had cast himself in a fit of agony and remorse.”

The drawing of Philip Aylesford

They even had a picture drawn of Philip’s appearance.

Taking all of this information — the made-up history, the pictures, the stories — the group meditated on Philip. They visualized him appearing in their minds, concentrated as hard as they could, willing him to be.

Sometimes, they would even “feel” him in the air.

But for about a year, nothing happened, and the entire project began to seem like a foolish endeavor.

The Séances

The experiment needed a change.

At the suggestion of Kenneth J. Barcheldor, a psychologist, they threw out the clinical, “experimental” nature of the project and opted for something more traditional: A séance.

It was thought that, perhaps, some of the members were having difficulty focusing on Philip because they knew he wasn’t real. Holding something like a séance, with dimmed lights, a table surrounded by chairs, and Philip’s “personal artifacts,” would hopefully create a mood more conducive to conjuring a tulpa.

It worked.

Strange things occurred as soon as the group began their “séance.” As they sat around the table, focusing their will on conjuring Philip, an unseen force began to tap on the table.

Was it Philip? A single thud told them that yes, it was.

They asked him questions about his past, and he would answer — one knock for true, two knocks for false — communicating with them through raps on the table’s wooden surface.

Of course, the group already knew the answers to their questions. They’d created him, after all, and everything about his life. But the answers were consistent, and eventually he began to reveal new details from his “past,” which contained oddly accurate information regarding actual historical events.

He even developed his own personality and, occasionally, the lights in the room would flicker, and the table would levitate. Unexplainable noises were often heard throughout the room.

He was becoming something more. Something independent.

Something real.

Eventually, the group opened their doors to the public, inviting others to bare witness to their strange séance. Footage of one of the events was actually captured on film.

What really happened during the Philip experiments?

Do tulpas exist? Can you truly “will” something into reality?

Although the original experimenters couldn’t explain the supernatural activity surrounding the séance table, there are several possible explanations for what happened during the Philip experiments.

Supposedly, subsequent experiments involving other groups and other fictional characters even yielded similar results.

But Philip never physically manifested as an apparition, only as strange noises and rappings while the group huddled together around a table.

This may indicate that it was all a product of the human mind; perhaps a manifestation of their collective unconscious. The accurate answers that Philip gave to so many questions, for example, may have arisen from the group’s own collective, subconscious thoughts and knowledge.

It could have also been an odd form of confirmation bias or groupthink, or an extreme example of the power of suggestion. Or, perhaps, their shared belief created a shared delusion. A group-wide hallucination.

Others think the group may have “opened a door,” so to speak, that Philip was in fact a ghost or, worse, a demon playing along with the participants’ desires to “create” a thoughtform. In that case, they didn’t design a tulpa; they conjured an actual spirit.

Ultimately, if we’re to be honest, it was never what you could call an “experiment” — there was no control group or real, scientific methodology involved. But whether they conjured a spirit, manifested their own unconscious will, or participated in a shared hallucination, the results of their endeavor are still a profound example of the power of the human mind.

Source: http://www.strangerdimensions.com/2012/03/20/the-philip-experiment/

IS IT POSSIBLE to create a ghost? Consider these familiar types of ghost experiences

A group of teenagers gathered around a Ouija board receives mysterious messages from a person's spirit who claims to have died 40 years ago.

A paranormal society conducts a séance where they contact a ghost that communicates though table rappings.

The residents of a century-old home continually see the spirit of a young child playing in the hallway.

What are these manifestations? Are they truly the ghosts of departed people? Or are they creations of the minds of the people who see them?

Many researchers of the paranormal suspect that some ghostly manifestations and poltergeist phenomena (objects flying through the air, unexplained footsteps and door slammings) are products of the human mind. To test that idea, a fascinating experiment was conducted in the early 1970s by the Toronto Society for Psychical Research (TSPR) to see if they could create a ghost. The idea was to assemble a group of people who would make up a completely fictional character and then, through séances, see if they could contact him and receive messages and other physical phenomena - perhaps even an apparition.

THE BIRTH OF PHILIP

The TSPR, under the guidance of Dr. A.R.G. Owen, assembled a group of eight people culled from its membership, none of whom claimed to have any psychic gifts. The group, which became known as the Owen group, consisted of Dr. Owen's wife, a woman who was the former chairperson of MENSA (an organization for high-IQ people), an industrial designer, an accountant, a housewife, a bookkeeper and a sociology student. A psychologist named Dr. Joel Whitton also attended many of the group's sessions as an observer.

The group's first task was to create their fictional historical character. Together they wrote a short biography of the person they named Philip Aylesford. Here, in part, is that biography:

Philip was an aristocratic Englishman, living in the middle 1600s at the time of Oliver Cromwell. He had been a supporter of the King, and was a Catholic. He was married to a beautiful but cold and frigid wife, Dorothea, the daughter of a neighboring nobleman.

One day when out riding on the boundaries of his estates Philip came across a gypsy encampment and saw there a beautiful dark-eyed girl raven-haired gypsy girl, Margo, and fell instantly in love with her. He brought her back secretly to live in the gatehouse, near the stables of Diddington Manor - his family home.

For some time he kept his love-nest secret, but eventually Dorothea, realizing he was keeping someone else there, found Margo, and accused her of witchcraft and stealing her husband. Philip was too scared of losing his reputation and his possessions to protest at the trial of Margo, and she was convicted of witchcraft and burned at the stake.

Philip was subsequently stricken with remorse that he had not tried to defend Margo and used to pace the battlements of Diddington in despair. Finally, one morning his body was found at the bottom of the battlements, whence he had cast himself in a fit of agony and remorse.

The Owen group even enlisted the artistic talents of one of its members to sketch a portrait of Philip (see picture above). With their creation's life and appearance now firmly established in their minds, the group began the second phase of the experiment: contact.

THE SÉANCES BEGIN

In September 1972, the group began their "sittings" - informal gatherings in which they would discuss Philip and his life, meditate on him and try to visualize their "collective hallucination" in more detail. These sittings, conducted in a fully lit room, went on for about a year with no results. Some members of the group occasionally claimed they felt a presence in the room, but there was no result they could consider any kind of communication from Philip.

So they changed their tactics. The group decided they might have better luck if they attempted to duplicate the atmosphere of a classic spiritualist séance. They dimmed the room's lights, sat around a table, sang songs and surrounded themselves with pictures of the type of castle they imagined Philip would have lived in, as well as objects from that time period.

It worked. During one evening's séance, the group received its first communication from Philip in the form of a distinct rap on the table. Soon Philip was answering questions asked by the group - one rap for yes, two for no. They knew it was Philip because, well, they asked him.

The sessions took off from there, producing a range of phenomena that could not be explained scientifically. Through the table-rapping communication, the group was able to learn finer details about Philip's life. He even seemed to exhibit a personality, conveying his likes and dislikes, and his strong views on various subjects, made plain by the enthusiasm or hesitancy of his knockings. His "spirit" was also able to move the table, sliding it from side to side despite the fact that the floor was covered with thick carpeting. At times it would even "dance" on one leg.

PHILIP'S LIMITATIONS AND POWER

That Philip was a creation of the group's collective imagination was evident in his limitations. Although he could accurately answer questions about events and people of his time period, it did not appear to be information that the group was unaware of. In other words, Philip's responses were coming from their subconscious - their own minds. Some members thought they heard whispers in response to questions, but no voice was ever captured on tape.

Philip's psychokinetic powers, however, were amazing and completely unexplained. If the group asked Philip to dim the lights, they would dim instantly. When asked to restore the lights, he would oblige. The table around which the group sat was almost always the focal point of peculiar phenomena. After feeling a cool breeze blow across the table, they asked Philip if he could cause it to start and stop at will. He could and he did. The group noticed that the table itself felt different to the touch whenever Philip was present, having a subtle electric or "alive" quality. On a few occasions, a fine mist formed over the center of the table. Most astonishing, the group reported that the table would sometimes be so animated that it would rush over to meet latecomers to the session, or even trap members in the corner of the room.

The climax of the experiment was a séance conducted before a live audience of 50 people. The session was also filmed as part of a television documentary. Fortunately, Philip was not stage shy and performed above expectations. Besides table rappings, other noises around the room and making lights blink off and on, the group actually attained a full levitation of the table. It rose only a half inch above the floor, but this incredible feat was witnessed by the group and the film crew. Unfortunately, the dim lighting prevented the levitation from being captured on the film.

(You can see footage of the actual experiment here.)

Although the Philip experiment gave the Owen group far more than they ever imagined possible, it was never able to attain one of their original goals - to have the spirit of Philip actually materialize.

THE AFTERMATH

The Philip experiment was so successful that the Toronto organization decided to try it again with a completely different group of people and a new fictional character. After just five weeks, the new group established "contact" with their new "ghost," Lilith, a French Canadian spy. Other similar experiments conjured up such entities as Sebastian, a medieval alchemist and even Axel, a man from the future. All of them were completely fictional, yet all produced unexplained communication through their unique raps.

Recently, a Sydney, Australia group attempted a similar test with "the Skippy Experiment." The six participants created the story of Skippy Cartman, a 14-year-old Australian girl. The group reports that Skippy communicated with them through raps and scratching sounds.

CONCLUSIONS

What are we to make of these incredible experiments? While some would conclude that they prove that ghosts don't exist, that such things are in our minds only, others say that our unconscious could be responsible for this kind of the phenomena some of the time. They do not (in fact, cannot) prove that there are no ghosts.

Another point of view is that even though Philip was completely fictional, the Owen group really did contact the spirit world. A playful (or perhaps demonic, some would argue) spirit took the opportunity of these séances to "act" as Philip and produce the extraordinary psychokinetic phenomena recorded.

In any case, the experiments proved that paranormal phenomena are quite real. And like most such investigations, they leave us with more questions than answers about the world in which we live. The only certain conclusion is that there is much to our existence that is still unexplained.

Source: http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghosthuntinggeninfo/a/create-a-ghost.htm

Sources: 

http://felixcircle.blogspot.ca/

http://felixcircle.blogspot.it/2012/09/the-braude-investigation-of-mediumistic.html

UFO TV’s documentary about investigations into life after death is well worth watching. It focuses on the Scole Experiments, and the Italian EVP medium Marcello Bacci. Bacci has been observed and tested for years and time and time again, messages claiming to be from deceased beings continually transmit through his vintage valve radio transmitter. He has never been debunked, takes no money for his services and generally shy’s away from publicity.

The scientists in the documentary include world renowned Cambridge Scientist - Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, Dr. David Fontana and Researcher Montague Keen who died during the filming of the documentary. Harry Oldfield is also present, and the sceptic, Chris French, tells the audience (as usual) that he doesn’t believe any of it. That said, Chris has to constantly deny all and any psychic phenomena, or he might have to give up his post as Editor-in Chief at the Sceptic Magazine.

During his presentation, David Fontana elaborated upon the Scole Report, which is a summary he originally wrote for the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. That summary follows below: The Scole Report Authors Montague Keen, Agronomist, Hon. Media Relations Officer of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), SPR Council Member, Secretary of the SPR Survival Committee; Arthur Ellison, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Vice President of the SPR and twice Past-President; David Fontana, Professor of Educational Psychology, Vice President of the SPR, recent Past-President, and Chair of the SPR Survival Committee.

The three authors have between them more than a century of interest and research into psychic phenomena. Purpose of The Scole Report. The Report details the investigation conducted by the three authors (with the help of a number of co-investigators including lawyer Dr. Hans Schaer and mechanical engineer Walter Schnittger ) into the physical phenomena associated with a home circle (known as the Scole Group), founders of the Spiritual Science Foundation. The Scole Group attributed these phenomena to a ‘Spirit Team’ working with them from the afterlife. The Team was said to include certain eminent deceased members of the SPR. Membership of the Scole Group. 

Robin Foy (sales manager; veteran psychical researchers, with a particular interest in physical phenomena), his wife Sandra (office worker; extensive experience in psychical research) and two non-professional mediums, Diana Bylett (spiritual healer; psychic since childhood) and her husband Alan (carpenter). Integrity of the Scole Group. Dr. Alan Gauld, well-known in both the UK and the USA as a leading psychical researcher, writes that he has known Robin Foy for over 30 years ‘without finding any reason to regard him as other than totally sincere’. A similar endorsement of the integrity of Diana and Alan Bylett is given by Mrs. Beverley Dear, a scientist in membership of the SPR, and a neighbor and friend of the Byletts for over 20 years. Experience of the Foys and the Byletts during the months of the investigation gave the investigators no reason to doubt the accuracy of the respective assessments made by Dr. Gauld and Mrs. Dear. 

Furthermore, the investigators concluded that the Scole Group had no discernible financial motive for practicing deception; they were considerably out-of-pocket as a result of their work, and refused financial assistance from the SPR to cover their expenses. Publicity could also be ruled out as a motive for deception, at least in the case of the two mediums, who remained anonymous at their own request throughout the investigation, and would have continued to do so but for a subsequent report in the national press which betrayed their confidence. Duration of the Investigation. Two years, with monthly 2-3 hour sittings with the Scole Group plus additional sittings as detailed below. Setting Venue: A cellar in the Foys’ house converted into dedicated seance room. Construction: brick walls, floors and ceiling. Accessible only be a single staircase with a lockable door at the top. Available for thorough search by the investigators both before and after all sittings. Furniture: round table (approx. 1.2m diameter), obstructed underneath to prevent clandestine movement; upright plastic stacking chairs; trolley holding audio tape recorder. All sittings at Scole were held around this table. 

Additional Sittings 

Additional sittings were held in the home of Dr. Hans Schaer in Zurich (Switzerland), in Dr. Schaer’s holiday retreat on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, in two venues in the USA, and in other European locations. Phenomena were variable across locations, but remained consistent with that witnessed at Scole. Dr. Hans Schaer and Montague Keen were present as investigators at the majority of these additional sittings. 

Experimental Conditions. 

The Scole Group, allegedly on the instructions of their ‘Spirit Team’, agreed to some of the controls requested by the investigators, but could not agree to them all. The Report provides details, and given the fact that sittings were held primarily in darkness, records particular regret at the embargo placed by the ‘Spirit Team’ upon infra-red and imageintensifying equipment (allegedly because such devices would distract the attention of the investigators, thus disrupting the focused attention said to be necessary for success). However, sufficient controls operated to render fraud extremely difficult in many instances (e.g. the respective positions of the members of the Scole Group during the sittings were identified by illuminated wrist cuffs). At no time during the sittings was any direct evidence of fraud apparent to the investigators or to any of their co-investigators. 

The ‘Spirit Team’ maintained that they would ‘bring their own light’, thus rendering infra-red and image-intensifying equipment redundant, and that they were also working towards the eventual production of phenomena in natural light. The first of these promises was fulfilled to the extent that many of the ‘spirit lights’ referred to in due course below were sufficiently bright and sustained to allow restricted viewing of the seance room, and the second of them to the extent that Dr. Shaer’s final sitting was held in good electric light. (NB Although the absence of infra-red or image-intensifying equipment was disappointing, and has been criticized by skeptics, it is worth pointing out that the presence of this equipment would only have invoked the usual skeptical claim that proficient magicians can fool investigators under their noses in broad daylight.) 

Magician’s Testimony. 

Arguments against fraud were strengthened by the presence of a retired professional stage magician (James Webster, an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle with some 40 years interest in psychical research) at three of the sittings. James Webster testified that in his professional opinion even leading magicians could not duplicate the phenomena he witnessed at Scole without lengthy and expensive preparations, and probably not even then. He further testified that any magician who could produce the Scole effects would rapidly make a fortune on the professional stage. 

The Phenomena The Lights 

The light phenomena were among the most dramatic features observed by the investigators. In most cases, these phenomena were consistent with those reported by past investigators in other settings. Briefly the lights consisted chiefly of the following. 

* Single light points, varying from the size of peas to that of medium-sized glass marbles, which variously darted around the room at great speed, appeared to pass through the surface of the seance room table (appearing immediately underneath in areas inaccessible to the Scole Group), settled on outstretched hands for close inspection, sustained circles in mid-air at a speed and with a precision inconsistent with manual manipulation (often ‘switching’ off various segments of the circle), responded to requests and apparently entered investigators’ bodies, entered crystals placed upon the table and either illuminated the whole crystal or moved as a small point of light throughout their structure, entered a glass dome in the center of the table. 

* Small lights which appear to enter, illuminate and levitate crystals.

* Diffused patches of light not reflected off surfaces which traveled around the room at various heights. 

* Light sources which took the form of ‘materialized’ shapes (‘robed’ figures with brighter patches of light where faces would be) which then floated around the room, touching the investigators on request. 

* Lights which illuminated an upturned Pyrex bowl from within, providing sufficient sustained light for ‘spirit hands’ to be seen by the investigators.

* A light which entered and fully illuminated a crystal in the confines of a Pyrex bowl. The investigators were invited to touch the illuminated crystal before being asked to take their hands away briefly and then ‘feel’ the crystal again. Although still steadily illuminated and apparently unchanged in shape, the latter on this second investigation offered no resistance to the fingers (i.e. appeared to have become totally insubstantial). On a third investigation the illuminated crystal was felt once more to be substantial. 

* A light which faintly illuminated the inactivated electric light bulb in the center of the room, producing a general glow unconnected with the filament. 

* A small light which entered a glass of water held by Professor Fontana and agitated the water, the proximity of the glass to his lips preventing any obvious intrusion of wires or rods. 

* A small light which entered and illuminated a table tennis ball which was then projected by unknown forces across the room. 

* Lights which illuminated the investigators’ feet below the table in areas inaccessible to the Scole Group due to the solid foundation upon which the table rested. 

* A light which illuminated simultaneously six separate 5-cm solid Perspex supports beneath a glass dome on the table, and which also entered the dome itself. 

* A small light which settled on the open palm of a co-investigator (Professor Grattan-Guiness), who then closed his hand to eliminate the possibility of any mechanical attachment to the light. 

* A light which built up into a rock-like shape on the table, before levitating, passing in front of one of the investigators (David Fontana) and halting in front of a co-investigator (Ingrid Slack), allowing her to feel its muslin-like texture. 

* Diffused patches of light which traveled slowly across the room, appearing to take on the rudimentary shape of human faces with apparent ‘lips’ that moved in synchronicity with strangled attempts at speech. The Table At relatively frequent intervals the table around which the sittings were held commenced a very rapid vibration which could both be heard and felt by the investigators. On occasions, in spite of its solid base, the table then began to swivel round (as evidenced by the movement of luminous tabs placed on the surface at the cardinal points), passing through some 20 degrees before returning to its original position. Touches The investigators experienced frequent touches by allegedly spirit hands during the sittings. These touches took the following form. 

* A masculine hand associated with a ‘direct voice’ phenomena which, at his request, found with immediate accuracy Professor Fontana’s hand, grasped and shook it. 

* Small, child-like, feminine hands which gently touched and stroked the hands of the investigators. Perfectly formed hands apparently ending at the wrist, visible in dark outline by the illumination of attendant ‘spirit lights’. 

* Touches on the legs of the investigators at points inaccessible to the Scole Group without detection. 

* Hands which placed objects in the palms of investigators at request and with unerring accuracy (explicable by normal means only if the Scole Group are credited with infra-red viewers or image intensifiers). 

* Hands which grasped those of the investigators’ and raised their arms to full extension above their heads. 

* Hands which gave playful slaps on the wrist to Montague Keen. Voices The allegedly paranormal voices took several different forms, in particular as follows. 

* Various ‘communicators’ spoke through the entranced mediums. 

* ‘Direct voices’ apparently originated from the region above the table, sometimes speaking in strangled whispers, at other times clearly and relatively strongly. Long experience of sitting in the dark sharpened the hearing and the sense of direction of the investigators, rendering it possible to locate the position of these voices with some accuracy (the investigators were consistently in accord in assigning these voices to precise positions in the room, and in differentiating them from the positions occupied by the members of the Scole Group). 

* Voices impressed themselves upon audio tape in a recorder from which the microphone had been removed. 

Apports 

Several small apports appeared during the investigation, though the Scole Group had a wide range of more impressive objects which had apparently appeared during their closed sittings. One of the most notable of their apports was a copy of the Daily Mail newspaper of 1st April 1944 containing an account of the celebrated trial of medium Helen Duncan. Analysis by the Print Industry Research Association (PRIA) instigated by the investigators confirmed that the newspaper was printed by letterpress on wartime newsprint (which ruled out the possibility of it being a facsimile copy). The PRIA expressed themselves baffled by the fact that the paper was in pristine condition, and showed no signs of the yellowing or aging that would be unavoidable in a newsprint retained from 1944. 

Messages 

Throughout the sittings the investigators were given messages by the Spirit Team, (usually in the course of long conversations) speaking through one or other of the entranced mediums. All sittings were tape-recorded, and the tapes subsequently transcribed in order to provide a complete record of proceedings. The messages were purportedly designed to strengthen the evidence for survival, and consisted for the most part of enigmatic snippets of information about the writings and doings of the deceased SPR members who claimed to make up part of the ‘Spirit Team’. 

These pieces of information were effectively in the form of puzzles, which the investigators then attempted to solve by a study of early copies of the SPR Proceedings or books such as Sir Oliver Lodge’s The Survival of Man. Opinions differ as to the value of these messages in supporting the concept of survival. Puzzles which prove difficult to solve may not be difficult to set, and although considerable research by the investigators was required in order to solve some of the puzzles, the availability of the necessary information in publications held by the SPR or available in the public domain weakens its impact. Full details are given in the Report, and a close study of these details is necessary before conclusions can be drawn. The same close study is required of information allegedly originating with the 18th/19th Century English poet William Wordsworth. 

The Films 

One of the most impressive features of the phenomena was the production of images on unexposed color film. These images took many forms, including the following. 

* Photographs apparently of unknown groups of people, such as First World War soldiers or airmen. 

* A view of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, with subtly incorrect dimensions. 

* Unknown faces surrounded by cloud-like structures. 

* Abstract images. 

* Hermetic symbols. 

* Written verses of poetry, some of which was identifiable as copies of known poems by F. W. Myers and William Wordsworth. 

The investigators placed particular emphasis upon the films in the hope of obtaining permanent paranormal objects (PPO) - i.e. films produced paranormally under conditions precluding any possibility of fraud. The investigators sought to produce a PPO using a 4-step protocol consisting of 

(i) their own film, 

(ii) a secure container in which to locate the film during the sittings, 

(iii) their control of this container throughout, and 

(iv) their control over the subsequent development of the film. 

In the event, results using this protocol fell short of full satisfaction. A film subjected to this protocol produced only a very few tiny star-like points of light against a black background, and was of such poor quality that it was not considered worth retaining (an error of judgement). Other films produced excellent results, but the secure container concerned (referred to in our Report as the ‘Alan Box’) was provided by the Scole Group and proved possibly vulnerable to fraud, although on one occasion it was held throughout the sitting by co-investigator Walter Schnittger rendering interference by the Scole Group apparently impossible. 

Later films placed in a secure box provided by the investigators produced no results. Excellent results were produced on other occasions, although the films concerned were placed upon the table in their sealed tubs rather than in the secure containers. 

Survival 

Given that it is debatable whether the messages conveyed during the sittings can be regarded as strongly supporting the continuing existence of the SPR members concerned, what other evidence does the investigation provide for survival (or, if preferred, for some form of intelligent activity beyond that available to the Scole Group themselves)? Assuming for present purposes the para-normality of the phenomena, this evidence takes a number of forms, in particular those listed below. 

* The direct voices, which were distinct not only in tone but in position from the members of the Scole Group. (As explained in the Report the presence of accomplices can effectively be ruled out.) 

* The ‘personalities’ ostensibly communicating through the mediums, who manifested a consistency of speech, thought and mannerisms throughout the sittings difficult to explain as conscious deception on the part of the mediums, and incompatible with the existence of multiple trance sub-personalities. 

* The strength and variety of the physical phenomena. To date there is no laboratory evidence that individuals, using known (if not yet universally recognized) psychic abilities are capable of producing the macro pk effects witnessed at Scole in such profusion and with such power. Individuals capable of producing these effects through their own abilities would rapidly become psychic superstars.

Criticisms of the Investigation

Criticisms of the investigation are fully detailed in the Report, and come primarily from three distinguished and highly experienced SPR members, namely Dr. Alan Gauld and Professor Donald West (both to whom had a sitting with the Group at which no sign of possible fraud was detected) and Tony Cornell. These criticisms contain no charges of fraud and no direct evidence for it, and focus upon the fact that as the controls were imperfect, fraud could theoretically have taken place. 

These criticisms can be summarized and answered as follows. 

* The vulnerability of the Alan Box which contained some of the films used during the sittings. Experiments by Dr. Gauld revealed that even when padlocked the lid could be opened by swiveling the sockets holding the hasp through which the padlock was threaded. Anticipating this danger we had ensured that paint seals were applied to the screws holding the sockets as a safeguard. When the box was returned to us after Dr. Gauld’s experiments these seals were seen to be broken (although Dr. Gauld informs us that this did not happen on his initial openings). However, the challenge is to take the box from the table (or from Walter Schnittger’s grasp in the experiment detailed above), to open the box under the conditions operating during the sittings, to abstract the film contained in the box and to substitute it for a prepared fake, to place the arms of the hasp back in their sockets (a difficult maneuver even in daylight), to replace the box in its exact position on the table (which on occasions was carefully marked prior to the sittings), and to effect all this without detection and without breaking the paint seals. To date, no critic has undertaken to attempt this feat. 

* Some of the images on the films have the appearance of being faked on acetate before being transferred to the films. This criticism is less weighty than it appears. It applies only to one particular film, and the similarity of the images concerned to those obtainable by the acetate method does not constitute direct evidence of fraud. The challenge to critics is to reproduce the filmed material, using this method, under the conditions operating during the sittings. 

* Some of the images appearing on the films are taken from identifiable sources. This criticism has little to commend it. We were told in advance that some of the images (though by no means all) were taken from existing sources. The use of existing sources is not regarded as suspicious in remote viewing experiments, which indeed rely upon such sources. 

* A major part of the material contained in the messages from allegedly deceased SPR members is reasonably available in the public domain. This is correct, and weakens the impact of the evidence concerned, as mentioned above. However, if indeed communication is possible from deceased individuals, we have no knowledge of the effectiveness of their memories. In the present instance, it may be easier for the ‘communicators’ to remember information with which they were very familiar while alive rather than obscure references hidden deep in the SPR archives. The matter is one for speculation. 

* The controls operated by the investigators were inadequate. It is true that they fell short on occasions of what we desired and requested (e.g. the presence of infra-red viewers). However, the question is whether or not the controls that did operate were sufficient to render fraud unlikely. Attention can be drawn once more to magician James Webster’s conviction that the phenomena witnessed under the conditions operating during his sittings could not be replicated even by leading magicians without extensive (and doubtless costly) preparation, and probably not even then. Conclusion A brief summary such as this does inadequate justice to the Report and to the various arguments for and against the para-normality of the phenomena. A careful reading of the Report remains necessary if informed conclusions are to be reached by those interested. As an appendix to this summary, an extract from the final chapter of the Report is reproduced (slightly edited) in order to make clear the conditions that would have had to be satisfied if fraud is the explanation of the phenomena witnessed at Scole. 

American investigator, George Dalzell, is a licensed clinical social worker and bereavement counsellor. He is the author of 'Messages', a book which explores the authenticity of mediumship. He attended one of the experimental sessions when the Scole Group travelled to the US. His experiences 'transformed a life's worth of limited perceptions overnight'. In his witness testimony to 'The Scole Experiment' author, Grant Solomon - at The Scole Debate in London

he describes light phenomena which responded to his thoughts and states that he received 'authentic communication' from a deceased friend. George later travelled to the UK to take part in the Scole Debate and give evidence in the form of a first-hand account of his experiences with the Scole Group. His story is covered in more detail in the updated 2006 edition of The Scole Experiment

The Scole Experiment: Scientific Evidence for Life After Death' - first published in 1999 - was featured on the front page of the Sunday Times Magazine and in the centre page spread editorial in The Daily Mail. The authors, Grant and Jane Solomon, were interviewed on Granada TV (UK) for the book launch. They described the incredible results of the experiments, which had been conducted in various countries of the world, including the US. These experiments appeared to show that 'beings' from other 'dimensions of existence' had been in contact with the human investigators. 

Evidence included lights, voices, photographs, videos, and a whole range of phenomena that the visiting highly qualified scientists - physicists, psychologists, astrophysicists, engineers, mathematicians - could not explain. An updated edition of the book was published in 2006 by Campion Books. 

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Ivor Gratton-Guinness, attended The Scole Experiment sessions. His witness testimony, to 'The Scole Experiment' author, Grant Solomon - at The Scole Debate in London - confirms that he had grabbed several pea-sized flying orbs of light in his cupped hands in an effort to prove to himself that they were not attached to fibre-optic cords or part of some other magician's device. He confirms that, to his utter amazement, the glowing orbs were NOT attached to anything. In fact, they proceeded to buzz about inside his cupped hands as if alive. When the professor released them, the orbs flew off around the room again.

Jennifer Jones attended an early session of The Scole Experiment, prior to the start of the photographic phenomena. Fifteen people attended as this was an experiment to see if the 'buzzing lights' the small Scole group had been experiencing could be re-created for larger groups. In her witness testimony to 'The Scole Experiment' author, Grant Solomon - at The Scole Debate in London 

Jennifer describes how a ball of green light, 'a bit like a bee', first touched her hands and gave her a little 'static' shock before buzzing around in her hair. She provides a detailed account of her experiences in the 'Perspectives' section of the updated 2006 edition of The Scole Experiment

German investigator, Walter Schnitger, is a consultant automotive engineer and his wife, Karin, is an interpreter. They attended a number of experimental sessions at Scole. In his witness testimony to ‘The Scole Experiment’ author, Grant Solomon – at The Scole Debate in London – Walter describes how he bought a roll of film, put the unopened film in the locked security box, and held the box in his hands throughout the session, neither putting it on the table nor allowing anyone else to touch it. 

He then supervised the development procedure. Despite the film he purchased being unopened and in a locked box in Walter’s hand for the whole session, there was writing along the length of the film in the form a German poem. The Schnitger’s testimony, and the images from this photographic film, are included in the updated 2006 edition of The Scole Experiment, published by Campion Books. For ‘The Scole Experiment: Scientific Evidence for Life After Death’, a book covering the whole five-year experiment, and further recommended reading.

From Psychic News, March 10th, 2001

Extracts from two letters published in the psychic press

Along with virtually everyone who has corresponded with or talked to me about the Report, my colleagues and I consider our rejoiner to these reservations dealt pretty conclusively with those criticisms, both in the Report itself and subsequently in the Study Day held to debate it. Indeed, only one person who claims to have read the Report has written to me in the belief that it was obviously fraudulent, and he did not attend the Study Day when Professor David Fontana and I, as well as a number of members of the audience, gave examples to show the feebleness of the fraud hypothesis when matched against actual evidence. Virtually all my other correspondents have been profoundly impressed by the Report.

What is depressing about the critics is their willingness to construct an upturned pyramid of hypotheses and speculations, all balanced on one improbable assumption after another. What is so remarkable is their unwillingness to accept the oft-repeated challenge to take the scientifically warranted course of viewing all the evidence together, rather than attempting to pick theoretical holes in every individual item.

From Psychic World, June 2001

Dear Sir,

... As the principal author of the Scole Report, and the person who has borne the brunt of criticisms from colleagues, perhaps I could comment on Mr Zammit's attack on Professor Poynton's references, in an extempore radio interview, to magicians' claims. I have no doubt that some magicians, particularly those who have taken the trouble to remain in ignorance of the Report, will say that all claims of physical paranormal phenomena can be explained by clever deception. However, only two persons with professional qualifications and long experience in illusionism have offered public comments. One was Dr Richard Wiseman, a colleague who is a noted sceptic. He had no opportunity to attend any sittings of the group, but his observations were extremely circumspect. He pronounced the report as a whole to be "very impressive" and, at the Study Day meeting where the newly issued Report was discussed confined his remarks to explaining how undesirable it was to have anything happen in darkness, that the absence of infra-red cameras made it difficult to assess what really went on, etc. That view is difficult to dispute, but it does not amount to a claim that all we heard, felt, saw, and were able to a greater or lesser extent to control, could be replicated by skilled conjurors. Any careful reading of our analysis of just what assumptions would have been made to account normally for the evidence will show why Dr Wiseman has prudently remained silent.

The only other qualified magician, Mr Webster, attended three sittings, well before our entry onto the scene. He was and remains quite clear that what he experienced could not have been fake. Another critic, Mr Comell, went to much trouble to show how certain Polaroid pictures produced when I was experimenter in charge could have been faked, and how a so-called apport, in the form of an issue of the Daily Mail for April 1, 1944, carrying a report of Helen Duncan's prison sentence, was nothing but a readily purchasable replica. It is regrettable, but by no means rare, that when evidence was produced, as it has been in our response to critics, showing the faking hypothesis to be inconsistent with the physical conditions prevailing at the time; while the Daily Mail apport was proved to have been printed by letterpress on wartime newsprint, no admission of error has been forthcoming...

Yours sincerely,

Montague Keen

The Scole Experiment Witness Testimony from Professor Ernst Senkowski

Extracts from two letters published in the psychic press

'They delivered messages from 'no-where' into 'now-here'-Astonishing Mind-Matter Interactions'

I and my wife had the opportunity to take part in two sessions of the Scole Experimental Group in 1995 and 1996. My own observations as well as later personal reports of my colleagues, the Schnittgers, left me convinced of the genuineness of the phenomena. I considered a number of them to be physical anomalies that cannot be incorporated into the current scientific framework. Nevertheless, it is possible to integrate these (and other) ‘paranormal’ effects within broader proposed systems which arise from the results of modern consciousness research, particularly the interactions of mind and matter.

The following considerations are based on my twenty years’ experience in the lesser known field of Instrumental Trans-communication, or ITC. [Dr Senkowski coined this term in the 1970s to describe ‘electronically supported contacts with other ranges of human consciousness’ including ‘the beyond’.] Given a wider view of the nature of the laws which may govern the universe, the many-faceted Scole phenomena may enlarge our always limited vistas of life and may one day appear quite normal.

Throughout history, ‘mediums’ in ‘trance’ states have expressed ‘transinformation’ and performed ‘transcommunication’ through speech or automatic writing. Since the 1950s, all types of electronic apparatus (audio-tapes, video tapes, radios, telephones, TVs, computers) have been used in this field. Each piece of apparatus constitutes the final link in a hypothetical translation chain. They delivered messages from no-where into now-here and allowed dialogues with otherwise hidden ‘virtual transpartners’ or ‘communicators’. 

Unlike telecommunications devices that function in the hands of any user, transcommunication appears to be subject to the psychic faculties of the operator (and perhaps other less obvious factors). In spite of the remarkable observations collected by private persons – including the Scole Experimental Group – no ‘official’ scientific verification of ITC under laboratory conditions has been undertaken. We are still left with many open questions.

However, the results of the current research could bring us nearer to significant answers. The Scole Experiment presents itself as a combination of mediumistic and instrumental single and two-way transcommunication. Additional extraordinary effects were manifested and documented. These carried less direct information but demonstrated the possibilities of astonishing mind-matter interactions.

I believe we should clearly differentiate between extraordinary facts and their interpretation. We should also avoid separating the currently mutually exclusive materialistic and spiritualistic views and instead consider a holistic cosmos. The materialistic-spiritualistic controversy appears to be a consequence of an historical split in ways of thinking. This split could possibly be overcome by a new perspective as expressed by the renowned psychologist Stanislaw Grof, who said that the comprehension and classification of paranormal phenomena is not yet possible in the light of an, as yet, unfinished world-view into which mysticism, modern physics, neurophysiology, consciousness research, information theory, and theory of systems may converge.

Note from Editors regarding 'The Scole Experiment: Witness Testimony from Dr Ernst Senkowski'

Dr Ernst Senkowski joined the Scole Experiment in 1995. He is highly qualified. He studied experimental physics at the University of Hamburg in 1946 and gained his doctorate at the University of Mainz in 1958. He worked for UNESCO as a physics expert in the National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt, before being appointed as a professor training engineering students in physics and electrotechniques in 1961.

Kenneth Batcheldor (1921-1988) was a British psychologist who during the 1960s and 1970s carried out groundbreaking experiments in macro-psychokinesis (PK), based on the nineteenth century activity of ‘table tipping’.  Batcheldor investigated which states of mind were conducive to PK of this kind, which tended to inhibit it, and how to create psychological conditions for anyone to produce it. 

Background

Kenneth Batcheldor was, by his own account, always interested in ‘anything intriguing beyond the usual’.1 As a youth, he studied psychology and the mind; he also acquired books on the paranormal and experimented with table-tipping. He applied to six colleges to take physics but none would accept him, so he took psychology instead. He then worked as a clinical psychologist for hospitals in Devon in south-west England.

In 1964, at the age of 42, he suggested to two friends that they team up to try table tipping. This requires participants to sit around a table, each person with their hands flat on it, and try to make it move by the power of mind. Batcheldor was aware that movements could occur by means of unconscious muscular action (UMA), a theory first advanced on the basis of experiments by Michael Faraday in the late nineteenth century, and he was not surprised when the table in fact moved as a result of their endeavors. During their eleventh session, one of the group commented that it would be great if the table floated up off the floor, at which almost immediately, according to Batcheldor, ‘it rose up several inches, swung from side to side rather like a pendulum and settled down again.’2 This did not seem explicable either in terms of fraud or UMA, and Batcheldor was sufficiently intrigued to experiment more formally, taking early retirement in 1976 for the purpose.

First Experiments

In April 1964, Batcheldor and his two friends, PM Coghlan and WG Chick, began a series of sittings which numbered 200 by December 1965.  Others occasionally sat in.  Chick was absent for 120 of these sitting, and these produced almost no results. Of the 80 sittings where Chick was present, 70 produced positive results. Full transcripts based on recordings were made for 27 of the 70 positive sessions; detailed notes were written for the remainder, totalling 800 pages.  

The tables that were used weighed from two to 40 pounds, their corners marked with luminous paint.  Various levels of lighting was tried, from total darkness to full daylight; most of the sessions were carried out in low light or full darkness, with only the luminous paint showing.  The first full levitations occurred in total darkness, and could be confirmed only by touch and sound. Batcheldor then contrived an apparatus made up of four switches, one on the bottom of each table-leg, that would turn on a red light in the centre of the table if either all four legs lifted from the floor or the table inclined sharply. The light was soon replaced by a buzzer that could be picked up in the recording, providing evidence independent of the sitters’ senses.  A camera was set up to record levitations, but they proved harder to attain while it was there.

A typical sitting lasted two hours with a half-hour break and took place in a regular living room. In contrast to nineteenth century spiritualist practice, no ceremonies were performed, conversation was not limited and no one went into trance. Nor did the participants normally link hands, instead laying their hands flat on the table, palm-down.

Usually, nothing happened for five to ten minutes.  The first activities were usually creaks or cracking noises, short taps, scraping or soft thuds, on the table and sometime elsewhere. 

Next, the table typically slid a few inches across the floor, then tilted up on two legs and dropped again.  The movements grew stronger; the table would sometimes slide as far as several feet, forcing the sitters to jump up and chase after it.  It might land silently after tilting or fall with a loud crash; sometimes it would rotate around its centre. Yet more strikingly, the table would also sometimes levitate, hovering in the air for as long as 20 seconds.

Other spontaneous phenomena included breezes (usually around the hands), intense cold (usually under the table), lights, touching, pulling back of sitters’ chairs, movements of other objects, ‘gluing’ of the table to the floor so that it could not be budged, and apports (a small stone and a box of matches).  During one lively session Coghlan counted 84 levitations, as indicated by the table’s red light.  During another session, Batcheldor observed the table moving extensively with no one’s hands touching it.

In the group’s later sessions, the movements were obtained more easily and with greater power. The phenomenon of raps also appeared, and, as in the nineteenth century séance, these appeared to have an intelligent source. In one instance, anomalous changes in Batcheldor’s weight were recorded, including an apparent increase of some 60 lbs.

All three regular sitters signed a statement avowing that they did not use any artificial means.

Video

A 1978 film (uploaded to YouTube in 2009 with Italian subtitles) shows infra-red camera footage of sessions interspersed with comments by Batcheldor. The group of five sitters is new, Batcheldor explains, consisting of himself and four psychology students; the aim is not to demonstrate paranormality – at no time did the table levitate without contact – but rather to record the progress achieved over eight sessions.

The group is able to tilt and then rock a small table, then a large one.  The sitters experiment with one member attempting to keep the table from moving (unsuccessfully); pushing it down from a tilted position (successfully but with great difficulty); and sitting on it without being tipped off (this could be done by two people together but not by a single person). (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Methodology

Batcheldor notes that PK is a physical phenomenon that nonetheless starts with the mind.3 He was unable to identify any physical condition that correlated to positive results, but did note a relationship between anomalous movements and positive attitudes among participants. For instance, success tended to breed more successes, as participants believed that repeating the conditions in which striking movements had been achieved earlier would lead to more of the same.  A heavier table presented more of a challenge, not because of its weight, but because of the perception in the minds of sitters that it would be harder to move.

Batcheldor generally found darkness to be conducive to good results, but again, theorizes that this is more a matter of psychology than physical conditions: full visibility of the table and other objects makes it impossible for the sitters to avoid analytical thoughts interfering with the process.

Belief, Batcheldor holds, is crucial to success. Following an earlier parapsychologist, Colin Brookes-Shield, he differentiates between long-term belief and instant belief. He writes:

What seems to matter is the balance of belief over doubt at the very instant when a PK event is about to occur… it is a far cry from a vague general belief in the paranormal to believing that the table in front of you is going to levitate right now.4 

Batcheldor distinguishes between a general belief in the possibility of PK and the involuntary belief that comes with actually witnessing it. The latter is more likely than the former to stimulate PK activity, in his experience. The witnessed event does not even have to be genuinely anomalous, but rather an artifactual effect of UMA or chance; if it is perceived as paranormal it may still facilitate true PK events – a possible reason, Batcheldor suggests, why the very tight controls insisted on by sceptics tend to inhibit the production of psi events.

Batcheldor lists practices that promote success: retain the same sitters, location and table; choose conditions set apart from everyday life; work in darkness; increase the difficulty of the PK tasks incrementally; and read and talk about PK. He notes that belief can develop among the sitters that one of them is gifted in PK, which can then influence results; conversely, a belief among the sitters that the phenomena are caused by cheating can hinder them.

Conversely, Batcheldor notes that macro-PK phenomena can disturb sitters and cause them to put up emotional defenses, declaring ‘this won’t work!’ or, in extreme cases, abandoning the experiment.  He divides emotional resistance of this kind into two types: ‘ownership resistance’, (a reluctance to possess paranormal abilities oneself), and ‘witness inhibition,’ (the disturbance felt when witnessing any paranormality, whatever the source).

Just as belief is conducive to success, resistance is an obstacle, Batcheldor comments; the trick is to calm the latter without inhibiting the former. Accordingly, he worked to create a light-hearted atmosphere, encouraging noise, trivial chatter and laughter, as this allays fears and interrupts analytical thoughts.  A successful sitting, he notes, is characterized by ‘a state of heightened expectation and belief, which is also slightly tense’, and is in fact a slightly-altered state of consciousness.5  He recommends abandoning the usual ‘divided’ state of consciousness, in which conscious and subconscious are separate, in favour of a ‘blended’ state in which the division is blurred, and true voluntary control of psi ability becomes possible.

In a 1994 posthumously published paper,6 Batcheldor draws these elements together into a single theory. He posits a ‘Universal Creative Principle’ that creates and sustains ‘normal reality’ and which, under unusual conditions ‘creates localized rearrangements of normal reality’ (psi phenomena).7  He then tries tentatively to determine how such ‘localized rearrangements’ can be formed by creating unusual conditions.

Julian Isaacs

PK researcher Julian Isaacs assessed the value of Batcheldor's approach as an experimental methodology for parapsychology, having carried out similar research with sitter groups.8 On the positive side, it provided him with first-hand experience of macro PK: this both convinced him of its reality and confronted him with his own fear of it, helping to desensitize him to the shock effect. The lessons he learned were directly applicable to his later researches in PK metal bending.

But Isaacs doubts the value of the sitter group as a long-term methodology for psi experimenters, owing to many and diverse problems, for instance:

• An experimenter must refrain from imposing tight controls against fraud or artefact until the group has achieved a reliable performance. This runs counter to a scientist’s natural impulse and is difficult to comply with in practice. 

• Sitters must refrain from feeling or expressing natural doubts about the phenomena, and avoid analytical thinking. However, a powerful need to obtain results tends to generate tension and anxiety, which inhibit the phenomena. A highly motivated group therefore starts with an inbuilt disadvantage. Leading such a group demands social and personal skills which take time and effort to learn. 

• Problems also arise from the slowness with which the phenomena develops, sometimes requiring months of weekly meetings. This makes it difficult to find and keep suitable sitters. Some abandon the group just as the phenomena is starting to develop, because they find it unnerving. 

• Security against fraud is difficult to achieve, although the use of infrared video can improve this.

• It is difficult to identify which members of the group are responsible for the PK effects. The traditional view that certain people are ‘gifted’ appears to be supported when the most striking events occur in the presence of certain individuals. However, an alternative view is that such people act as triggers for the whole group, and their performance is dependent on the social interaction and setting.

Sceptics

At the time of writing, Batcheldor’s work appears to be unknown in the sceptic community. However, there is a substantial sceptical literature on table-tipping, which became a popular social past-time in the early 1850s, and, following Faraday’s demonstration, is usually explained in terms of unconscious muscular action.9 More recently, magician Chung Ling Soo demonstrated a table-lifting method involving a slotted ring worn by the ‘lifter’ by means of a pin attached to the top of the table,10 and John Mulholland has described many methods of cheating.11

KM Wehrstein

Literature

Barham, A. (1988). The Crawford Legacy Part II: Recent Research in Macro-PK with Special Reference to the Work of Batcheldor and Brookes-Smith. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 55, pp. 196-207.

Batcheldor, K.J. (1965-66). Report on a Case of Table Levitation and Associated Phenomena. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 43, 1965-66, pp. 339-56.

Batcheldor, K (1984). Contributions to the Theory of PK Induction from Sitter-Group Work. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 78, pp 105-122.

Batcheldor, K., Giesler, P., ed. (April 1994).  Notes on the Elusiveness Problem in Relation to a Radical View of Paranormality. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 88, pp. 91-111.

Faraday, M. (1853). Experimental Investigation of Table-Moving. Journal of the Franklin Institute 56 (5), pp. 328-33.

Isaacs, J. (1984).  The Batcheldor Approach: Some Strengths and Weaknesses. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 78, pp 123-132.

Mulholland, J. (1938). Beware Familiar Spirits. C. Scribner's Sons.

Playfair, G.L. (1983).  Interview with Kenneth J. Batcheldor.  Unpublished; from the private archive of Guy Lyon Playfair, Exeter, UK.

Soo, C.L. (1898). Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena. Munn & Company.

References

• 1.Playfair (1983), p. 6.

• 2.Playfair (1983), p. 7.

• 3.Batcheldor (1984).

• 4.Batcheldor (1984), p. 108.

• 5.Batcheldor (1984), p. 115.

• 6.Batcheldor & Giesler (1994).

• 7.Batcheldor & Giesler (1994), p. 108.

• 8.See Isaacs (1984).

• 9.Faraday (1853).

• 10.Soo (1898), pp. 71-2.

• 11.Mulholland (1923), p. 107.

An experiment using a digital light filter - BioField Reader (BFR) - with the aim of finding a 'visual channel' for the 'communicators' to transmit moving images. The back wall becomes a 'screen'. Lighting and camera set up is important. Lighting and video camera set up will be varied to provide more options for the 'communicators' to transmit moving images on different 'channels'. The current footage has been processed using digital filter 001. Other filters will be used to provide more visual 'channels'. We, and others, have received paranormal results using digital light filter equipment such as BioField Reader.

See: http://www.biofieldimaging.com 

10th sitting

Last evening Emily and I held an impromptu table tipping séance together.  This followed my week-off holiday break.

The evening began quietly. Emily was seated in the open cabinet, with myself immediately opposite, with the small table between us. The red light was set dimply, to barely illuminate the room, to the extent that most furniture outlines could be seen.  After a short time luminescent cloudy masses could be seen within the cabinet area, where the medium appeared to be unconscious.  A prominent spirit communicator came forward, through the medium, and spoke with me at some length before withdrawing.  The medium then returned to consciousness and together we laid our hands upon the table. 

The table soon responded to questions offered by myself, spelling names and messages (tipping or turning as I repeated the alphabet).  This method, although a little 'lengthy', enabled the medium to share in the experience, as she normally works in deep trance and is therefore unconscious throughout most séances held.

As the séance progressed both the medium and myself became aware of an energy form to her left, the medium said that she could physically feel this, whereas I was aware, without actually physically feeling or seeing (I could see 'something').  Through the table a name was offered, which with historical reference offered clarification.

The evening came to a close soon after this.

9th sitting

This evenings sitting was held within dim red lighting conditions (the red lamp was set facing towards the door, away from the table area, but effectively illuminating the room).  Emily was seated in the chair within the open cabinet.  I sat to her right, and Helen to her left.  Whilst the other two were seated as described, I first opened the séance from my normal position as circle host, before joining them after the music was set and the prayer of intent had been spoken. 

Emily was the designated medium...so it was her team that effectively acted as primary gate keepers to ensure 'clean' communication was received.  I acted as circle leader also...basically I acted as spokesperson for communication from 'this' side. 

Note: Not all table tilting groups set such rigid controls, but from my experience I have learned that séance etiquette and structure are most effective in ensuring that things run smoothly and that the optimum benefits are achieved.

The séance began quietly. There was very little movement from the table, with the three sitters sitting with their finger tips upon the table surface for a period in excess of 30 minutes.  All were aware of the energy around the table and within the room...but there was virtually no table movement.  Helen reported feeling pressure to the side of her throat, Emily reported a similarly described sensation, and said that her 'feeling' was of heat in that area.  Helen's nose itched, Emily wanted to touch her face...I told both to remain seated with their hands upon the table as the energy built.

I kept getting distracted by shadowy movements within the room.  These weren't 'specific' but were nevertheless causing distraction.  Emily could also see them and Helen (she had her back to the room) was aware of 'visual' activity also.  After about 30 minutes the table tilted in what is best described as a purposeful manner.  So we re-settled ourselves to focus upon the task in hand.  This recording offers an insight into what unfolded.  It isn't very exciting to listen to, at first, as all that is heard is me tediously chanting the alphabet whilst we received some currently inexplicable communication.  However, things changed as time went on. I became distracted by a white energetic shape 'standing' in the room.  The shape had height and form and was presented with sufficient definition for the form to be physically seen.  Soon after this Emily saw (psychically) a figure standing slightly behind me.  The séance proceeded as intended until the energy reduced towards closure.

Audio recording (16 minutes duration)

8th sitting

The table tipping session was this time held in pitch dark conditions at the prior request of the spirit team.  This was an interesting experiment and one that was worthy of note for the mere reason that the phenomena was no more and no less than on previous occasions when some light was present.

The table worked well and the communication was strong and clearly demonstrated.  There were some rough edges ironed out in the management of the séance, both from our side and that of the spirit communicators.  The alphabet chanting became more speedily effected and the responses more 'sharp'.  Movements were stable and effective, with the spirit controls clearly demonstrating intellect.

I feel that we know what we're doing now and that 'Spirit Knights' has the potential to become a credible circle within the Lodge setting.  It could potentially offer another form of experience towards those with an interest in the witnessing of physical phenomena...yet may not be ready to sit in with the 'heavier' more established circles here. 

The next step is to find two compatible sitters to join Emily and myself, with intent to sit with dedication within a closed circle once-a-month.

Sitters tonight: Emily seated centrally with Jacqi to her left and Chris to her right.

7th sitting

This evenings séance replaced an intended Lythe Spirit séance.  Emily had had a problematical few days previously (earth life getting in the way!) and wasn't feeling 100%....therefore we wanted something a bit lighter to share for the evening.  Table tipping seemed an ideal option!

There were four sitters present around the table.  Emily was seated on a chair matching that of the other sitters, rather than being in the cabinet chair, as she has previously when within the Spirit Knights experiments.  I was seated opposite her, with Susan to my right and Helen to my left.  The smallest of the Lodge tables was utilised as usual...we have named it 'Woody'. 

The energy could be felt building within the wooden table during the first piece of music and by the end of the second piece some movement was apparent.  This evenings sitters were proven to be far from adept when it came to efficiently repeating the alphabet, and the communicating spirits were clearly also learning the ropes.  However, it has to be said that we all felt that we were on fact 'getting the hang of it'....whereas until now our experiments have been far from 'efficient'.  As you might imagine...hilarity reigned when 'Winnie blew first' was spelled out!  This made no sense to us whatsoever, so we figured that it would take a bit of time before 'genuine' messages would become received!

There were also some emotional moments within the seance, when Jean (who was recognised Susan) came forward and then others...amongst them Sam, Gordon, Bert...came through with their personalities felt.  By the end of the evening the table was tilting with clear purpose and many movements were being firmly and consistently felt. 

At close of séance Chris left the table first...and as she returned to her chair the table followed her!  This actually happened on a previous occasion too, and therefore it may now be regarded as a part of the closing etiquette.

Feedback

A few days after this séance Helen carried out some research and found a story referring to 'Winnie blew first' ...which refers to an averted problem.  Knowing the various challenges that had occurred on a personal level over the few days previously Emily felt that this reference 'hit the nail on the head' perfectly.  I, having been privy to some of these issues, have to agree! Spot on!

6th sitting (supporting Spirit Knockers)

Jacqi had been feeling an interest in starting a table tipping group in her own home, so had invited Emily and myself to go along to meet her friends and hopefully together start the ball rolling...although in this instance the ball was a balloon!

The grouped sitters of friends (I think there were 9 in total) knew each other well, so the energy blend was readily established. 

The table had been recently purchased.  It was a sturdy second-hand circular one (measuring about 2ft across) with three legs, which was perfect for the job.

In preparation for the event, Jacqi had hung extra curtains at the windows of her dining room to block the daylight...although light leakage was apparent and we felt that an evening sitting when the room was further darkened might be more effective.  Nevertheless...we proceeded with shared enthusiasm and were not disappointed by what ensued!

All sitters began seated and grouped around the table with their finger tips lightly touching its surface.  Most sitters laid two hands upon the table, although some, like myself laid just one. 

We placed a balloon centrally upon the table, to act as a focal point and as an indicator of movement.  We felt that the balloon might be affected by smaller energetic vibratory movements, prior to the table itself becoming moved. 

In fact the balloon was a welcome addition to the experiment as it did 'react' quite soon after the sitting was opened and this activity evoked interest and increased our excitement.

The sitting lasted for just over an hour (the length of a pre-recorded CD) and within that time (for about 15 minutes) the table vibrated, moved and rocked.  It did this at first when both Emily and I had contact with its surface, but the movement continued after we removed our hands from the table and sat back.  Therefore we feel confident that Jacqi's new 'Spirit Knockers' experiment will enjoy success.  Of course we wish them all the very best with their new venture!

Note: I believe that it is Jacqui's intent for the 'Spirit Knockers' group to sit together fortnightly.

Feedback

We've just heard that the Knockers following session (held two weeks later) has got off to a high energy start with the table already rocking and rolling!  Great news! 

5th sitting

This evenings séance was set as previously, with dim red light to one side of the room, leaving the table area in darkness.  Popular background music played as we opened with the customary prayer before Chris moved across to sit at the table.  On this occasion Emily was seated in the open cabinet with Jacqi and Chris opposite...the three sitting equidistant around the small circular table with their hands placed lightly upon it.

The energy felt upon the table top and within the wood was felt to be building, and then small shudders and movements began...I guess this process took about 15 to 20 minutes this evening.  After this Woody tipped in response to asked questions. We did our best to follow the management guidance learned during our last sitting (as detailed below).

During the evening a friend of Jacqi's came through...with the letters MU being spelled in order to indicate Muriel's name.  ED came through for Emily...who has two 'deceased' family members of that name...Woody indicated that the communicator was the younger of the two.  A lady, a gentle energy, offering her initials as FM, was recognised as being Florence Marryat.  Chris has recently made a short DVD about the Lodge project and oddly when the play-back was heard by Emily, and by Chris's first husband Bryan, both said that upon occasion the spoken voice heard was not Chris's own.  Chris in fact felt this also...and at the time had thought Florence may have had some influence.  Communication with FM, through the table, confirmed this.

FC then came through and was strongly active for an extended period, with short sentences partially spelled, each single word being guessed after a few letters, until complete sentences were received.  The table moved with confidence at this time...rocking back and forth, sliding sideways, tipping and lifting from the floor and onto Emily's lap. 

This evenings sitting lasted for 1 hour 15 minutes.  Next week, as was mentioned after our third 'Spirit Knights' sitting, we are meeting with Jacqi and her friends to celebrate the founding of their new 'Spirit Knockers' circle.

4th sitting

This evening's table tipping session took place as a result of another change of plan!  Four sitters were present, this time with Emily as the designated medium (taking charge of the table) with myself sitting opposite as 'leader/host/observer' to begin with (I opened with the prayer, as I would do in the more regular séances).  Susan and Hazel were seated on either side of the table, along with Emily. 

In the background pop music was set to play.  The room was dark, but I had put the red lamp on dimly, facing away from the table, just to give a little light.  The intent for the Spirit Knight experiment is to develop to work with the table in increased lighting conditions, with all sitters being conscious.  The plan is to offer new experiences for each of the sitters taking part.  The development of Table Tipping isn't something that we've ever focussed upon within the Lodge circle. 

After the prayer, and one piece of 'opening' music had been played, I moved across to the table to join the others.  I (as host) then invited spirit to communicate through the designated medium, using the table as a conduit to effect communication and demonstrate phenomena.

We began with all four of us laying our finger tips lightly upon the table, but as the energy built during the evening most of us had just a few, or even just one finger, touching the surface.  At first a few tiny taps or pops were felt within the table top, and a very slight 'juddering' was felt beneath our finger tips.  After about 15 minutes the table 'slid' a little and soon after this became tilted.  It fell over several times and was each time calmly returned (by sitters) to its original central position.  We all felt that there was learning to be shared, on both sides, with the team learning to balance and move the table with increased efficiency and ourselves learning to 'translate' the movements and vibrations.  I felt, we all felt, that the 'structure' that we'd set for the evening was immensely helpful.

There was clear communication effected through the table this evening.  A variety of different communicators 'channelled' through the table (conduit) with tilts offered in response to alphabet runs.  It took awhile for us to learn the form...but by the end of the evening we had all reached a far greater understanding, and I feel that we are able to proceed further now that we have a working structure in place.

This is how far we've got with out 'action plan':

1: Circle to be opened by the Lodge host, just as we do with 'Spirit Harmony' and 'Lythe Spirit'.

2: Table to have a designated medium...someone whose spirit team acts as gatekeeper

3: The table to be placed centrally at the start.  Some form of 'order' needs to be set so that 'both sides' know how to communicate effectively....

4: All sitters to begin with their finger tips lightly placed upon the table to form a connection.  The host then invites communication through the designated medium, and through the conduit (table).

Note: It is this practise of host management control that sets and confirms appropriate séance etiquette. This stabilising structure has proven highly effective within the Lodge séances.  If control is lost then the conduit could become an open door to be entered by all an sundry. Just as within the physical world a home owner will protect themselves and their family from uninvited intruders so the séance room must be 'manned' in an effective manner by the host.  It is the role of supporting sitters to ensure that séance etiquette is upheld.  It is their respect for the host, and their support of séance etiquette that protects the medium, the Lodge environment, and the sitters themselves.

5:  Wait whilst the shared energy has sufficiently built (initial signs here being juddering and small taps).

6:  When 'charged' the table (we have named ours Woody) can be asked by the host whether there is a message for anyone present.  Woody will then tilt his readiness and agreement.

7:  When 'yes' is received Woody can then be asked by the host to go to the person for whom the message applies. The table will respond to do this, or will move in a circle to indicate that the message applies to all sitters present.

8:  Woody can then be asked by the message recipient whether they are 'male or female', and after that the alphabet can be used to enable the name of the communicator to be received. 

If the communicator is not approaching an individual sitter, but is instead offering a message to the group as a whole, then it is the host that takes control of the communication procedure.

Note: At present communication is being offered through a mix of tilts in response to questions requiring a yes or no reply, and by alphabet repetition.  Sometimes, when approached by Woody, a recipient may pick up their offered message on a psychic level.  Such exchange should then be shared with the group as this prevents recipient isolation, which could result in the established protective field becoming broken.   

9: Each time, when communication had finished, Woody returns to its original central position awaiting further invitation.

These are the 'basics' according to this evening's experience. 

Others holding their own experiments may well find alternative methods work for them...there is no set of rules to say that one circle must comply with methodology or guidance offered by others.  Each group is unique.

We hold a variety of séance experiments within the Lodge and each Circle has its own format.  Séance etiquette is set according to individual requirements, and these vary slightly.  This is why, when we start a new Circle or hold an experiment, we cannot 'forge ahead' until the specific needs are being met and the stabilising ground work is completed.  It is also true that some sitters find it difficult to comply with some forms of séance etiquette as set within a certain group, and may themselves be happier in another group where less complex rules apply.  It is only through trial that things like this can be discovered.

This short audio clip, taken from tonights séance recording, offers an insight into the fun element and the enjoyment shared.  It is group energy that enables spiritually-effected phenomena to become developed: Spirit Knights

3rd sitting

This evening we had invited Jacqi to join us.  Jacqi had spoken previously of her interest in table tipping and had said that several of her friends feel a similar interest.  As Jacqi has sat as a supporting sitter in the Lodge (sitting as a witness with both 'Lythe Spirit' and 'Spirit Harmony') several times now.  It seemed a good idea to share the Spirit Knights experiment with her...after all, circles 'start' and then develop through trial and error. 

Both 'Lythe' and 'Harmony' began with similar experimentation.

On this occasion Emily was seated in the open cabinet area with the smaller tri-pod table between her and Jacqi, who sat opposite.  I took my 'usual' place (as host and objective observer) beside the music player and took control of the red light, which was left on dimly, facing slightly away from the table area.  The light was sufficient for me to see the location of the two sitters and also the chairs around the edge of the room.

I was aware quite quickly of 'moving shadows' around the room, and of greenish energy above the table area.  I then saw pinkish cloud formations around the room (these were also seen by both Emily and Jacqi).  I could feel energy under my feet and was 'aware' that this extended across the room towards and 'beneath' the table.  This latter awareness was felt spasmodically through the evening, it was not a constant sensation.

The table itself slid, rocked, juddered and at times moved across the floor, several times causing Jacqi and Emily to stand with it.  There were many small taps and knocks heard from the table top, and Emily had an impression (perhaps psychically) of physical hands being on top, and a figure to her left side, as if assisting.

Emily lifted her hands from the table on one occasion, and Jacqi felt the energy release as she did so.  Note: This, to those working with table tipping, is useful to become aware of, as some sitters are able to channel more energy that others and it is good to be able to feel this and to position sitters where balance is best effected. 

From my point of view, seated apart from the table, the table appeared most active when sound was raised and when sitters were most relaxed and clearly 'involved' and enjoying a particular piece of music.  Despite being seated apart I was aware of my connection, and aware that the table, several times, seemed to become 'driven' towards myself. 

Note: This latter fact too may be helpful for other potential table-tippers to note, as if others are attending, perhaps as observers seated on the peripheral, their energy force may be utilised to assist.

Jacqi's Report:

Report on Table Tipping, Friday 22nd January 2016.

The energy was there from the moment we put our hands on Woody, the table.  After the opening prayer and during the first song the energy was so strong I felt as if my hands were on fire, it was the most amazing experience.  A few times it felt as if the table moved.  Spirit obviously loved the music, when the music started to rock it up the table started moving, hesitant at first then really moving around the room.  It always returned to the same spot, then the taps started.  One tap was so loud I jumped but felt spirit under my fingers as if to say sorry.  The movement and tapings were so exciting and spirit was so strong around me.  I sense Spirit but don’t think I’ve ever felt them so strong.  When 'Rock Around the Clock' came on the table was so excited and started spinning, we were laughing and enjoying the experience but the table got a bit carried away and tried to tip but slipped and fell.  I didn’t have a clue where in the room I was.  We got our bearings and sat again.  Emily asked the table if it wanted to speak to us to move but it just stayed still.  Emily then asked if the table just wanted to enjoy the moment and the table gave a great big move, we laughed.  The energy then started to change and Emily went into trance.  Charles came through and spoke to Chris and myself.  Although it was only my hands on Woody at this point the energy was still oozing.  On Emily’s return we started moving again.  Woody seemed to want to go to Chris and at one point Chris had to stop me sitting on her lap.  It was all so exciting and as the last song was playing Woody actually tilted and this time didn’t slip.  As the last song came to an end it was strange how the energy just seemed to leave.  A truly amazing experience where  Emily and myself were giggling like 12 years olds most of the evening.

Thanks to Chris, Emily, Spirit and of course Woody for a truly amazing experience.

Jacqi Hart

Finally

Jacqi now feels inspired to begin a table tipping experimental circle of her own.  With humour she is considering calling her group 'Spirit Knockers'!  Sounds fun eh???  We think so...therefore, Emily and I are heading to her place next month to meet her potential sitters and act as cheer leaders to their proposed new project!

2nd sitting

This evenings séance was held in blackout conditions, with Emily seated in the chair in the open cabinet and myself seated opposite, with the circular wooden tripod table between us. 

I had set the music player at a comfortable volume prior to moving to sit at the table, but within a minute or two the volume had risen and continued to rise until it became uncomfortable...so I returned to turn it down, and whilst doing so told the team to leave it alone! 

Until this point Emily and I had been sitting still with our hands upon the table...and although we both felt some subtle signs of energy around us there had been no actual physical activity (aside from the music rising in volume) witnessed.

Shortly after I'd moved to adjust the music and returned to the table we felt some 'shakes' to the table top...and then the table tilted towards me.  This was repeated several times and the tilt was also felt in the opposite direction, towards Emily.  Some heavy 'random' rocking was also felt, and then some rhythmic rocking, seemingly in time with the music being played.  Emily and I tried to ascertain a 'name' for the table...using the spoken alphabet.  'Hi' was spelled out on two occasions, with random letters also.  After awhile we decided to offer several names ourselves and when the table responded to 'Woody' we decided to leave it at that.  So...the table will now be referred to as Woody. 

I have decided to make a CD to suit the Spirit Knights seances...something lively and singalong seems appropriate as we can sing to add volume for part of the time, without having to cross the room to adjust the music player.

We'll maybe invite someone else in to sit with us next time as the experiment does need to become shared.  We don't know where it's leading, but we're enjoying the sessions, and as a light hearted experiment...it's so far so good! 

Adjustments since our first sitting...

Since our first sitting both Emily and I have been sharing our thoughts. 

I do not actually feel any interest in sitting in the cabinet myself on a regular basis.  The Lodge project was founded as a result of my wanting to learn, observe and support the development of physical mediums. 

Likewise, Emily, although she enjoyed taking my place as circle leader for an evening, feels no desire to do this on a regular basis.

Basically, by changing places, we have more clearly confirmed our preferred positions. 

The Spirit Knights experiment will therefore continue, but the set-up will be altered to reflect our confirmed preferences. 

So, during this experiment we are now intending for Emily to remain conscious...this is because she already sits in deep trance as the designated medium in the Lythe Spirit circle and she welcomes a new experience.  I too will remain conscious, as usual, but will share in the experience, sitting at the table, rather than sitting apart as I normally do.

We will continue to experiment, and hopefully we'll  'get it right'  at some point!

Chris Di Nucci

1st sitting

The Lodge was set up in it's intended format (as discussed in the previous post).  Red lighting conditions were applied.  Emily sat in my usual chair as 'leader'.  This chair is placed about 6ft away from the cabinet.  I sat in the open wooden cabinet.  The chair was comfortable and I felt relaxed within this environment.  As I listened to the CD playing my mind was at ease, so I made no attempt to open my eyes nor to move my head or any other part of my body.  Although I was aware that we had set the intent for table tilting, and that the wooden table was placed in front of the cabinet, I felt comfortable allowing the spiritual energy to settle around me whilst I sat as described.  It entered my mind that as I was not sitting in my usual role as circle leader I did not need to make any decisions.

Within a few minutes, I think around the end of the second song, I felt what I can best describe as a soft 'crawling' sensation, not uncomfortable, under my skin.  I felt this on my bare face, bare hands and upper legs (though I was wearing trousers).  I felt some involuntary movements of my fingers and remember being aware of one hand 'lifting' from the chair arm very slightly...it felt as if there was an 'air cushion' between my hand and the wood of the chair arm. 

Emily came to sit at the table I guess about half-way through the duration of the séance (the séance ran for about an hour and a half).  At this time I pulled myself to sit forward a little, in order to place my hands on the table.  After a while I felt as if there was the same sort of 'air cushion', that I'd experienced beneath my hand earlier, between my back and the back of the chair.

As we sat with our hands rested lightly on the table, the top now and then vibrated slightly and several times I could see energy fuzz on its surface.  My feet were placed on the floor, with both sides pressed to the tri-legs of the table's pedestal. At one point the table top tilted, whilst my feet confirmed that the base tri-leg remained on the floor...basically that's impossible!  There were also some slight movements, which seemed controlled by 'not us'...so Emily asked for a name for us to potentially call the table by. The table moved at the letter H...but afterwards gave no further indication.

Emily's report will describe tonight's experience from her perspective.

Emily's report

We entered the seance room and headed to our seats...a complete role reversal which at first felt a little strange!  I was given a quick 'how to' on the controls for music and lighting and then, after everyone settled, opened with the prayer. 

Being the first sitting I had little knowledge of the optimum conditions for things like the level or music and lighting so had to 'go with the flow' of trial and error and feel my way through it.  Chris had decided, around the table prior to séance, that she would like red light the whole time but was open to the brightness of it.

The music began and I could see coloured energy haze begin to build in the cabinet and reaching out into the room.   I suddenly became very aware of how important the circle hosts role is to get the lighting right for spirit and the medium.  After several tracks I could really see and energy mask building and being manipulated over Chris's face which was changing shape and size quite frequently!  This also began to extend to the right of her and down her neck on this side. 

It took me by pleasant surprise to see features (not clearly defined), suddenly press into this haze several times throughout the transfiguration part of the evening, showing the potential of the mask holding two faces at once facing in different directions!

I could see energy lights and sparkles within the cabinet, around and over Chris and also reach out to the table in front of her.  I can't remember the specific order of phenomena so will bullet point what I witnessed;

- At least three faces were repeatedly seen and able to present clearly to hold themselves for time in the energy mask.  The mask clearly a different shape to Chris's own face but not defined around the edges but in fact most of the time in seance her own features were obscured!

- One of the faces had a moustache and prominent chin which extended from the energy.  After becoming familiar with seeing this gentleman a number of times he suddenly smiled and his lips parted to show a set of teeth!  It was sweet and me laugh and the more I laughed the more he did it...very clever!

- I saw several light flashes on Chris's lap...not a bright flash but a dim one and little sparkly lights around her.

- I saw little energy lights running over her hands.  At times the right hand moved to change position slowly and the fingers looked 'wavy' as I rippling....this same wavy effect continued along the arm of the chair.

- I heard and acknowledged a number of little 'clicks' near me.

- About halfway through the evening I began to 'see' Chris's face again.  I was aware of the energy moving away from the face and heading downwards and out toward the table.  I felt it time to head to the chair opposite, and as spirit had been able to move Chris's hand, asked for a sign through this if I was wrong.  It didn't come, so I changed position and sat opposite Chris at the table.  Red lighted dimmed and facing away from the base we settled, hands lightly placed on the tables surface.

The table felt less than solid a number of times and I was energy aware.  There were a number of tremors or vibrations occurring and one period of sustained rocking...however during this Chris had her feet 'glued' to the pedestal feet and didn't feel the movement there which was interesting! 

Chris referred to the table as 'bluebell wood' a couple of times which caused laughter between us and I casually asked the table if it liked that name to which we received a clear rock on 'no'!  That told us haha!  So I asked the name wanted, spelt the alphabet and they gave the letter 'H'.  We weren't able to obtain a second letter...but its early days!  Besides 'H' is a great nickname :)

- Several times whilst sat at the table Chris was aware of a presence to her left and energy build up behind her.  I couldn't see anything at this point as the light was facing away from us. 

In all an interesting experiment that I look forward to trying out again another time...well done F.C and Co!

The First Steps...setting it up...

Emily and I have been discussing this experiment together for some time now.  Basically, since joining the Lodge project, she has spent the vast majority of her time sitting within a spirit-induced deep trance state, as a designated medium within the cabinet chair, supported by myself and a small group of regular sitters.  She is, whilst unconscious, relying upon the support of myself and those around her, whilst having little experience of this supporting role...nor indeed of her own role as deep trance medium, as she's unconscious.

I have, in turn, spent the vast majority of my time, since the founding of the Lodge project, sitting as circle leader/host in support of many developing Physical mediums.  I have no concept of the frustrations and concerns faced by the mediums who sit within the cabinet week upon week.

Therefore Emily and I have decided to 'change places'.  For the purpose of this experiment I will be taking a channelling role, sitting with a small wooden table...that we hoped would respond in some way and perhaps become a tool for communication...whilst Emily takes over my role as host and objective witness.  It won't be a complete role reversal for us...but the experience should be of value nevertheless.

The first step was for me to choose my own music.  This is important as I do not generally sit in meditative state...so if I am to 'stay put' for long enough for energetic connections to become established I need something enjoyable to listen to! 

I also offered forward my personal lighting preference, which is in fact to sit in red light.  I have no objections to blackout, but as demonstrations of table tilting have been proven possible within the light I see no reason to sit in total darkness.

With these decisions made, we are now ready for our first sitting. 

Source:  http://harmony-video.blogspot.ca/