research assistant at the Division of 1 of Personality Studies) at the Uni- MJ a constant flow of information Moreover, Alvarado, a foFi&g Parapsychology (now the DF psychologicafAssociation. Mexico Mexico has been known for a long time as the land of the sacred mushroom or peyotl, a plant used by the Indian shaman to induce an altered state of consciousness, which allegedly facilitates the man- ifestation of psychic powers. This country has also been a major source for many parapsychological researchers interested in unor- . thodox psychic healing practices. Famous curanderas (healers) such as Maria Sabina and Dojia Pachita have been extensively investi- gated by Stanley Krippner and other famous parapsychologists (Krippner & Villoldo, 1986). Although Mexico has been a major source of study for many paransychologists from foreign countries, psychical research has not flourished there as it has in other countries such as Argentina and Spain. Moreover, even though the country is located on the south- ern border of the United States and has been subject to very strong American cultural influence in almost every aspect of life, the dom- inance of the United States has not been a factor in the develop- ment of parapsychology. Even though in the United States there are more parapsychological research centers than anywhere else in the world, very little is known in Mexico of their research. Most of what is known about serious parapsychology comes from Latin American countries such as Brazil. For example, the writings of Quevedo are well known in Mexico, and also most of what is known generally comes from popular magazines. Early efforts to study psychical research within a scientific frame- work in Mexico began in 1919 with the isolated efforts of such re- searchers as the German-born medical doctor Gustav Pagenstecher, the first researcher to conduct serious psychical research in Mexico. Pagenstecher was a very well-known and respected physician in the Approved For Release 2003/09/10 : CIA- CIA-RDP96-00792R000700TOBBO PG ™ te Fera-American World 197 t Mexican medical community as well as in political circles. In the course of his career he delivered speeches before two presidents of Mexico, Diaz and Obregén (Allison, 1943)."" A respected member of the medical profession, Pagenstecher said he had been a materialist for forty years when he had his first encounter with the paranormal. It was during a hypnosis treatment of one of his patients who had insomnia that he discovered the re- markable psychical gifts of Maria Reyes de Zierold. Pagenstecher be- gan a series of psychometric experiments with her in 1919. The re- sults were so striking that he brought them to the attention of the Mexican medical society, which appointed a commission to verify them. Pagenstecher also decided to write to the ASPR and send some ofthe results he had obtained. The results induced Walter Franklin Prince, Research Officer of the ASPR, to go to Mexico to investigate the case. After a series of experimental sittings with Zier- old, Prince was so impressed with the results that he decided to pub- lish them in the Journal of the ASPR in 1920 (Pagenstecher, 1920). Prince later published another paper in which he discussed the ex- periments in which he participated (Prince, 1921b). Moreover, the ASPR published a monograph by Pagenstecher entitled Past Events Seership: A Study of Psychometry (Pagenstecher, 1922). According to William Roll (1967), Pagenstecher contributed to two major areas in parapsychology: [He was], as far as I know the first investigator to use hypnosis as a means to cultivate ESP in a gifted subject. ... Pagenstecher’s studies were also, I believe, the first to indicate that the (parapsychological) associa- tion of objects may be governed by the same laws that govern the (psy- chological) association of ideas. (p. 238) Pagenstecher showed great courage in undertaking these exper- iments. He jeopardized his professional standing as well as his med- ical practice by trying to substantiate the claims for Zierold’s psychic abilities. The Medical Commission appointed to investigate the case was skeptical of the reported phenomena. Fortunately, however, the Commission’s leading experts obtained successful results in the ex- periments in which they participated (Gomezharper de Trevifio, 1990). 1 Obreg6n was a revolutionary military leader, later President of Mexico. Walter Franklin Prince (1921a) relates an interesting psychic experience witnessed by Ob- regén, about a precognitive dream Obregén’s brother had about the death of their mother. ; RDP96-00792R000700100001-9