Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1920-01-23
Through The Dream Stratum.
(New York Times.)

Sir Oliver Lodge expressly dis
claims the black magic which Owen
Klcndowcr varnted. He cannot call
spirits from the Yasty deep. of they
don't want to come, we can't make
them" But he is equally far removed
from liotspur's skcptic;ll scorn A re-
spectful invitation to the spirits is
accepted by some. 1t is true that they
speak an awful lot of rubbish; but, us
Sir Oliver explains, they apparently
lind that necessary to the process of
identifying themselves.
Some few of them talk philosophy
and theology. From these he has
CLEANED details as to the future life.
As far Us he has learned, there is no
hell, and his own mind is firmly set
against any "place of permanent bad
ness" He is equally in doubt IS to
the other place, the place of perrran-
nent goodness. When we die, except
for the loss of n material body; the
order is apparently military "as
you were!" The spirits who come
when he invites them tell of "trces
and flowers and animals" The other
side, Sir Oliver sometimes thinks, is
still this side seen from another
point of vicv-it may be this same
old world" Their trees, flowers, and
animals a:c thus our trees, flowers,
and animals. Apparently they are as
little disconnected by our presence as
we are by theirs. When one considers
the multitude of generations that
have passed beyond, however, the
available trees, flowers, and animals
must be pretty well throngcd. Yet
we hear of no ghostly park policeman
bidding them "Movc on!"
Sir Oliver physics of the ghostly
! Central Park is equally simple and
| inviting. The inhabitants are made
Of ether. There are, he admits, scicn-
lists who edo not take ether into
account or deny its existence because
they cannot perceive it, But ether is,
and worlds move through it. We in
Ter the ether is the connecting link
between the worlds and blends them
all into cosmos. Having inferred
ether, nothing is more natural than
to infer that ether is what spirits
are made of. No explanation OF the
marvellous is half as satisfying as the
still more marvellous
The science of psychology gives
! Sir Oliver Il little more difficulty. All
the phenomena of spiritualism, in
Guiding apparently distinct 'pcrson-
alitics" who talk r:r. ci:;, read minds.
and give 81 occasional instance of
prophecy, have been parallcled in the
laboratory by men who more prosaic-
ally explain the mysterious only in
terms of The l5no~r. TO these men
they are manifestations of n region
OF the mind which was once myster-
ious, but which under their re-
searches is every year becoming Il lit
Tie more definitely ascertaincd Sir
| Oliver Lodge is aware of the sub
conscious mind and very POLITICALLY
calls it "thc dream of stratum" But
instead of regarding it rs IL thing
capable of developing clevcrly men
dacious "subconscious personalities"
he chooses to regard it as IL mere
medium through which the ether
spirits pass their messages 1t may
he so. Few trained minds indulge in
universal negatives. But the spiritual
istic hypothesis differs from the n.y.
pothess Of ether in the fact that its
phcnomcnan have another and a more
familiar explanation.
Man men, many minds. Some men
and women are unhappy without am
assurance of Immortality which seems
based upon ascertaincd fact. That is
quite intelligibl human. To others,
the pcrmanencc of the human spirit
Is conviction so wonderful that
metliumistic rubbish" can only be-
little it, Il conviction so sure that it
does not need demonstration.
Personally, we are willing To loan
our last red to Europc.