Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1886-06-03
MIND MYSTERIES.
strange Problems Of the Brain for Science
TO l'urrie over.

strange Problems Of the Brain for Science
20 Puzzle over.
There IA In Great Britain q Society Of
psychical Research, which Is occupied
with scientific examination Of rnesmcr-
ism, clairvoyance, mind-reading.
ghost-sceing. spiritualIsm and all simi-
lar phenomena. 1t is composed Of
gentlemen Of various occupations, and
vafious religious beliefs, who carefully
examine the singular psychical phe-
nomena reported by spiritualists and
others, to find out Just what there Is in
them. One important service rem
dercd TO the cause Of truth by the So
ciety was the examination and expos
ure Of the tricks by which Madame
Blavatsky, the theosophist, was delud-
ing even shrewd and well-informed
men in India. But the purpose Of this
notice Of the society Is to describe
briefly one class Of experiments made
by H. II was found that the mcsmer-
lists and other persons akin to them
were able to impress their own thoughts
upon the minds OF mediums and TO
a remarkable extent Therefore, these
gentlemen tested the matter among
themselves, to ascertain just how far
one mind could impress itself upon
another. One OF them, being blind
folded, was seated "a chair and sup
piled with = shee' paper and lead
pencil. Another 1T the room and
drew on another lOet Of paper what
figure he pleased. Returning to the
room, holding this drawing before him
and fixing his mind intently upon It,
he stood behind the blindfolded man
on the chair. The man on the chair in
a few moments began TO draw, and re
peated on his paper the figure his sfriend
had sketched In the hall.
An accomplished botanist, n member
Of the society. was selected TO fix his
nina intently on q botanical term and
see whether Il would be communicated
10 the blindfol man. lie chose the
name Of rare East India plant. re-
Gently discovered, the name being a
very unusual one and Of six OF eight
syllables. The man on the chair wrote
1t at once. Other experiments were
made to ascertain the distance from
which one mind could so impress itself
upon another, with very interesting re-
suits. In one case, very carefully in
vestigated, II was found that the
thoughts Of dying mother in : lgland,
which she expressed in words . those
around her, were Impressed upon the
mind Of her son in India. IL was also
found, as would be expected, that some
minds would convey their thoughts and
strong emotions more readily and dis
tinctly than others, and that some
would receive Impressions with special
distinctness and facility.
Talking OF these tests recently with
n friend, who has been a professor un-
Ill within a short time In an important
institution. he described a trial made
at his residence by company Of ac-
quaintances who were spending an
evening with his family. At his sug-
gestion and rs an experiment which
might afford amusement and instruc-
ton, lady was chosen, was blindfold-
ed and seated on q chair. and was fur
nishcd with pencil and paper. The
professor left the room and In the hall
drew a zig-zag, nondcscript figure on
a paper he held. Returning and stand
ing behind the lady on the chair and
fastening his mind intently on his draw
ings. she began in few moments to
draw slowly the irregular lines he had
put on his paper.
To test the matter still further he
again left the room and drew as per-
feet circle AS he could on a fresh pa.
per. Returning, and under the same
conditions. the lady drew = similar
circle. then hcsitated a moment, and,
to the surprise Of I'll, drew q
straight line from abo,5 the circle
down into Il. In a moment he remem-
bered that on going out the second
time his first intention had been 10
draw as perfect rectangle as he could,
and that he had carried out this inten-
ton so far as to draw the perpendicu-
lar line Of one side Of the figure, and
inadvertently left this line on the side
Of the paper when he changed his mind
in favor Of the circle. The lady had
followed a reversed order Of the pro-
cesses of his mind. and. the first inten-
ton being indistinct in him, had in a
hesitating way repeated the straight
line and carried il into the circle, in
stead Of keeping it outside Of it.
DL.I,I.I.I.. I'LL