The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-05-21

nate from the spirits Of the dead or from the
spirits ofthe living. That this latter eupposi'
tion Is the true one IL demonstrated by many
OF the characteristics Of the Intelligence mani
tested. For Instance. IL is essentiallya human
intelligence and neither rises above nor Sinks
below the ordinary intelligence oil humanity.
Moreover. Il 10 always on q level with that o'
the medium through whom 1t mnnifests fser.
that is. IL never rises 80 far above that Oh
the medium as to preclude the possibiiity
OF it's having It's origin In the medium :
subjective mind. That 1t often rieos ABOVE
the mediums known objective intelligence
10 u%ndlsputed. But Sir william Hamilton mas
pointed out what remarkable powers
Of memoir. Imagination. and deductivc rea,
soning the subjective mind possesses an"
may exhibit In certain abnormal states IKE
madness. febrile delirium. somnambulism
and catalepsy. The intellectual feats OF me-
diums possess all tho characteristics belong
Ing to subjective intelligence. the same re-
markable power in certain directions ana inc
same limitations. Again. we find that the In.
tell,Gence manifested In the phenomena oi
spiritism is controllable by the power OF sug-
gcstion. This lie shown by the readiness Win
which so-cnlled spirits can be made TO re-
spond to calls made upon them. whether they
have any real existence or not 1t Is wei
known that any one can as readily OBTAIN
| nTOuRn u utuluUl u oLh
imaginary person as from q real one. from a
living person as from the dead. providing the
medium does not happen to know the facts
Mr.. Hudson has himself. he tells us. had ire
ouent and very affectionats communication
from an imaginary dead sister. and mas ocea-
sionally had a very touching communication
from himself. the medium believing the
name to represent o dead brother. This
perfect Amsnability to control ny sue-
eestion is evinced in another very striking
way. 1t Is we'll known to every person VINO
has been In the habit OF attending spiritual
seances how necessary 1t ia that harmonious
conditions" should prevail. The mere pres
ence Of an nvowed skeptic will often prevent
any manifestation. 1t frequently happens
that some one present remarks In q de-
spairing tone thai he does not expect
any manifestation because 1t always nap
pens that when I am present no communica-
tions can be obtained" When such a remark
is made. the chances arc ten to ono that the
"~spirits'' will refuse to respond. why TINS
happens Spiritualists have laboriously at
tempted to explain. but mover satisfactorily.
except to them selves Tho fact that a spirit
should be paralyzed In the presence OF one
who does not believe In spirits is simply mex
plicable, except upon tho one hypothesis that
the power evoked Is that Of tho subjective
mind OF the medium which is amenable to con-
troll by the mysterious power OF suggestion. IL
can be readily understood how a seance should
prove a failure II. with Mr.. Hudson. we as
eume that the power which moves the table or
writes the communication is exercised by the
subjective intelligence Of the medium. and
that the presence OF IN Rvowed skeptlc op-
erptes as an over. present and all-potent sug-
restion that the promised manifestation are
impossible while he is in the room. 1t Is IN
iii Aha 1n~ IF anDUAgfi0n
that such should be the result. The condi-
ton OF tho medium when in a trance. or In a
partial trance. is precisely the condition OF q
hypnotizsd person he 10 subject to the same
laws, and the same conditions are indispensa-
BILE to his success. Every hypnotist knows 1t
would be madness to antagonize u hypnotic
subject By suggesting to him in advance mat
he is an i'm poster. or that hypnotic phenomena
are mere humbug. and then expect to hypne-
tie him and produce the phenomena
Here the author anticipates a question
which will naturally suggest itself to tho
readers mind: How can a medium. profess
sional or otherwise. be entitled to credit for
honesty who represents himself az being able
to hold communion with the spirits OF the
dead or to be an instrument through which
communications from spirits OF the dead can
be obtained. II. in point Of fact. such commu-
nications have their origin wholly within
his own personality ?" Mr.. Hudson Is not one
of those who assumes that all the immense
number Of mediums. professional and private.
who are to be found In all ranks OF society
throughout the civilized world. are deliber-
ately and consciously perpetrating o fraud
upon mankind. His answer to the foregoing
question 10 simply this: The subjective MIND
OF the medium. being controlled by sugEes-
ton. believes itself to be the spirit OF any de-
ceasod person whose name Is suggested. It's.
by the laws OF Its being. absolutely controlled
By the objective belief Of the medium and the
suggestions embraced in That belief. 1t Is true
that the mediums subjective mind often acts
caprlciously and independently. but 1t always
acts In pursuance OF the auto-suggestion or
belief Of the medium that It Is an extraneous
and. therefore. IN independent powor. The
suggestion that ho Is about to be controlled by
the spirits OF the dead is ever present to the
mediums mind and Is oil potent. 1t Is a part
OF his education. 1t Is his religious belief. No
other explanation Of the mysterious phenom-
sna is known to him. He knows only that he
is moved by a powor and intelligence over
which he exerts no conscious control. The
intelligence gives uttsrance to thoughts be-
yond his comprehension and possesses knowl-
edge OF matters OF which he consciously knows
nothing. His conclusion is. first. that the In
tslligence 10 something extraneous to his per.
%sonality. and. secondly. that it must be that OF
an inhabitant OF another world. From a me-
d!um's viewpoint this is the only rational con-
~clusion, His hereditary belief In the immor-
tally OF tho soul confirms 1t. His reading
of the Bible sanctions the belief In the power
Of spirits to hold communion with the liv-
ing. His hope OF q lie beyond the
grave and his longing to hold communion
with the loved and lost combine to give his
conclusions a welcome reception in the cham
beers OF his mind. Thus we see that. in order
to explain The phenomena OF splritism on the
hypothesis that they have their origin
wholly within the sub-conscious mind OF the
medium. 1t Is quite unnecessary to pre-sup-
pose that he is dishonest when he attributes
them to disernbodied spirits. In the absence
OF knowledge on his part OF the recent dis
coyerirs in psychological science. and especi-
ally OF the power OF suggestion 10 persons In
n hypnotic state. a medium has the best OF rea-
sons for his belief. Mr.. Hudson submits. how
ever. that the two psychological laws, duality