PSI Annual Journal 2002

Let me first make my own position clear by some words by that respected parapsychologist, Professor Charles Tart:

"Discussing who or what might survive death is difficult to do adequately…. It is hard because there is not time to do it fully…. It is hard because I do not know the answers in any final way…. I am not one of those who have had profound experiences that there is no question of doubt of any sort, although I respect and try to learn from those who have…. If that is so we here do have a bond in common…. We can share our doubts as well as what we think we know…."

This is a story of uncertainties followed by doubt, of many years of struggle and analysis before I began to understand that although there were several occasions when ostensible spirit communications originated from other sources there were just a few memorable occasions when the only reasonable explanation was that the so called dead were actually involved.

I hope that some of these milestones and memories along my Psychic Quest may strike a chord and be of some guidance to those of you who have not made up your mind and possibly, like me, are realising daily the increasing extent of your own ignorance.

So let me begin my story:

Although I was brought up C of E, confirmed and all that, by the time I was 22, I was in the Army, in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and was a very materialistic atheist. I am reminded of the story told by Rabbi Lionel Blue about a man who had fallen over the edge of a cliff and was hanging by a bush for dear life…. "Is there anybody there…please help me?"…a great booming voice answers, "Yes, my son…I am here…have faith; let go of the bush and I will hold you safely in the palm of my hand…." A pregnant silence follows, then the man asks… "Is there anybody else?"

Of course it is difficult, is it not, to have absolute faith in the timely presence of an omnipotent, invisibly ally…

It took involvement in a near fatal car accident to shock me out of my complacent materialism and to instil in me some sense of my own inadequacy, vulnerability and ignorance. The injuries sustained during the accident caused me to be removed from my draft to Burma and may well have saved my life. As often happens my brush with death triggered off my desire to discover more about the possibility of some kind of after-life.

When I returned to England and thankfully left the Army in 1946, my wife enthusiastically supported me in my psychic quest as I used my inadequate intellect to try to discover something she already knew by intuition.

I undertook my first two forays into the practical aspects of my investigations, namely a demonstration of "Transfiguration" and later "Clairvoyance"….

BOTH WERE TO PROVE EQUALLY DISASTROUS.

For Transfiguration, the usual procedure was for the room to be darkened and the medium's face illuminated from below by a red light. The communicating spirit is said to transfigure the medium's face and appear as a recognisable entity. I found the demonstration unconvincing, and to my inexperienced eyes slightly disconcerting.

The least said about that the better.

The lady who was about to demonstrate her clairvoyance appeared to be pleasant and ordinary. No cause for alarm this time. How wrong I was…. After sitting quietly for a short time the medium rose from her chair with some difficulty. Her face appeared puffed up and with pouting lips, after a few grunts spoke with a peculiar accent in broken English.

My surprise changed quickly to alarm when she spoke to me. I heard someone whisper "Now the trance…. Zulu warrior, I think…." This was little comfort to me. I could not understand what the "warrior" said and had no idea what was required of me. One thing was certain – the Zulu was not happy with my replies. With raised arms and weird incantations "he" proclaimed "Me come down to you," and proceeded towards the edge of the platform. I was ready to get up and escape, but others intervened and "he" turned his attention elsewhere.

It is only fair to point out that these unfortunate experiences were exceptional, but it does give some indication of the kind of rubbish that may have been encountered masquerading as psychical phenomena. However, things were soon to take a distinctive turn for the better. In 1949 we moved to Aylesbury, and it was there that my education concerning things of the spirit really began.

A that time Aylesbury was a rapidly expanding town, and we lived on one of the many new housing estates that were springing up in the surrounding countryside.

We soon made friends, people like ourselves, strangers in a new environment. Many had similar interests to our own. Some were actually training to be mediums. Through their contacts, we were able to witness several good demonstrations of clairvoyance, trance addresses spiritual healing and on one occasion to visit a psychic artist.

I was soon convinced of the reality of the spirit world and of their ability to communicate with us…. By far the most influential in helping and guiding our footsteps was a fireman form Liverpool called George Chapman.

When I first met George I soon realised that he was a modest and caring person who combined exceptional gifts with single-mindedness and great tenacity. Like many others, it was a tragic death of his first daughter that led him to investigate spiritualism.

He joined a development circle, made fast progress and soon began to "sit" on his own. In a very short time he realised his healing gift and started to take a few patients. His fame spread rapidly and it became quite common to see queues waiting outside his home.

I recall my wife, daughter, and self going to his house for tea and George showing me his newly refurbished treatment room, which he had painted a lovely restful blue. He told me of his healing successes and plans for the future and how he never ate before a "healing session."

In the coming years he was to spend many hours in trance performing his healing work. He is one of the few mediums who have been able to discover and prove the identity of his spirit guide, but more about his later.

There were other experiences at this period which also had a profound effect on our thinking. Mainly the visits to see Winifred Moyes, who was the founder of the Christian Spiritualist Church and Harry Edwards, the famous Spiritual Healer.

My wife and I were very fortunate to see and hear Winifred Moyes just before we left Aylesbury. She had been very ill and not expected to survive. We were aghast at just how ill she looked. She had to be supported to the rostrum where she held on to the woodwork to steady herself. Then, in trance, her celebrated guide "Zodiac" took control and immediately Winifred seemed to grow in stature and stood erect without support. Her voice, previously weak and faltering, rang out loud and clear. Speaking fluently, without hesitation we heard the most wonderful, inspired philosophy from Zodiac.

We all felt that there had been a great presence and that we had all witnessed something miraculous.

When my wife took our daughter and her mother to see Harry Edwards at his Spiritual Healing Sanctuary in Surrey our daughter's eyes were not noticeably improved. Mother however limped in and after healing by Harry Edwards walked out quite normally and free from pain. Her limp of many years' duration never returned during the remaining forty years of her long life.

During our years at Aylesbury we had seen trusted friends develop various types of mediumship, and had witnessed apparently miraculous phenomena. My wife, of course, was already convinced of after life, but any lingering doubts that I may have had were soon swept away when we moved to Lancaster and became friends with Doris Stokes, who was soon to become internationally famous.

Some years later we were privileged to attend courses at the Arthur Findlay College at Stansted, Essex and there witness marvellous, convincing evidence from Gordon Higginson and others. Now indeed the possibility of spirit connection had developed into Innocent Certainties.

It did seem ironic that the medium most responsible for convincing me of communication with the spirit world was mainly responsible for introducing some doubts about the sources of some alleged spirit messages.

Gordon Higginson had rather shaken my confidence in some of these spirit messages by explaining that there were many poorly trained mediums who genuinely believed that they were in touch with a spirit entity, when frequently much, if not all, the alleged spirit message had come from other sources. Gordon went on to stress that t really good, well-trained medium knew the sources of his communications…. A good medium "knew" when he was in contact with the spirit world.

In spite of my growing doubts I was not prepared for the "Rude Awakening" when I first encountered Professor Archie Roy, and he alleged that maybe there was no spirit content; it was possible to explain all these strange phenomena by previously unsuspected powers of the mind, along with our lack of understanding of the nature of time itself. Now Archie was a force to be reckoned with. He was an internationally respected psychical investigator and at one time President of both the English and Scottish Societies of Psychical Research. He was also Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at Glasgow University.

Let us have a brief look at the professor's scenario which precipitated my rude awakening. During a series of lectures he spoke about time. Characteristically he began with a little humour. He said that time seemed to vary according to the situation – an hour with a pretty girl can seem to pass like a minute, but a second seated on a hot stove can seem like an eternity. He attributed that story to Einstein but I can't vouch for the truth of his assertion.

Our perception of time passing does obviously vary with age. I am sure we can all relate to this little rhyme:

"When I was a babe and wept and slept – time crept.
When I was a boy and laughed and talked – time walked.
Then when the years saw me a man – time ran.
But as I grew older – time flew."

All this seems to be obvious and predictable, but you would not expect time apparently to vary with the level of consciousness. People have, on occasions, in certain circumstances, been convinced that they have witnessed past or even future events. In most cases the different level of consciousness seems to be the common factor.

The professor gave many examples. I have selected two:

One cold winter's night, Miss Smith and her dog were travelling home, when her car skidded on the treacherous icy road, ending up in the ditch. She set off to walk the eight miles home. Her little dog soon tired, and had to be carried. It is not surprising that as she neared home, Miss Smith was almost exhausted.

Turning the familiar bend in the road she was surprised to see several lights in a field she knew to be uninhabited. As she came close she could distinguish strangely clad figures, bending over what appeared to be dead bodies.

News of her strange experience spread rapidly, and after thorough and detailed questioning the experts concluded that Miss Smith had described the aftermath of the "Battle of Nechtansmere," which took place in 685 A.D.

The second example concerned the professor himself:

He was travelling on a train, and the sun shone pleasantly warm through the window. Soothed by the motion of the carriage he drifted into a kind of reverie. In this dream state, he became aware of a small group of people on the sea shore who seemed to be in danger of being cut off by the rapidly advancing tide. Then, in his reverie, he saw these people building a mound of sand in an attempt to keep themselves above the water level. The train stopped with a jolt, and the professor returned to normality to find himself in the station. Three days later he read an article in the local paper describing such an incident, exactly as he had seen in his reverie.

The actual incident did not take place until two days after the professor's experience. This was undoubtedly a first class example of precognition.

There are many well authenticated examples of similar incidents where the past or future events are witnessed by those in an altered state of consciousness. Dreams, reveries, exhaustion, hypnosis and even mediumship itself can all be regarded as altering the level of consciousness, and these, according to the critics, are the real cause of the phenomena.

The mysteries of time and consciousness are obviously common factors in the alternative explanations to alleged spirit communications.

A little simplistic, superficial analysis may be helpful. For the benefit of those who dislike anything technical I promise it will only take a few minutes, and let us start with a little humour….

Time, the more we think about it the less we understand it. Time, which we try to kill, kills us.

"There once was a lady called Wright,
Who could travel faster than light.
She went out one day
In a "relative" way,
And came back the previous night."

To our simple understanding Time must surely have had a beginning and Space have an end. It was some consolation to learn that treating Time and Space as separate has been shown to be false and only a kind of link between the two will preserve an independent reality.

Some scientists also suggest that the Past is still with us, and the Future already there waiting for us.

Now they side-step the difficulties by postulating what they call a "Block Universe"…Four Dimensional with Length, Breadth, Depth and Duration.

There is no Past, Present or Future in this static universe; these are introduced by Consciousness.

So there we have all these mysterious ingredients together…and scientists postulate the imperfect but useful analogy of human consciousness travelling like a tiny torch beam along with is called the observer's "world line," which is the obse4rver's individual experiences as he passes through life. He is then under the illusion that although the 4-D Block Universe is static and unchanging, things happen rather like the illusion experienced when driving at night, when tress rush in and out of the headlights as the car turns a corner.

To elaborate the analogy further, it is suggested that the tiny torch beam represents the present moment but when, for example, we are in a dream state the beam can be imagined as being slightly out of focus but with a larger spread, so that it can reveal past events still with us and the future already there waiting for us. However imaginative this analogy may be, it does support the idea of memory in nature, past still with us and future already there waiting for us.

Of course, this memory in nature idea is echoed by people like psychiatrist/psychologist Jung who believed that at certain levels of consciousness our separate unconscious minds can merge into one which he calls "universal unconscious," called by some "Cosmic Reservoir," or "Akashic Records."

Those who have read about sub-atomic particles and non-locality theories will know that we support the idea of "field consciousness," some kind of shared memory. Some go so far as to say that all things are interconnected. Alexander Pope wrote – "We are all part of one stupendous whole Whose Body Nature is and God the Soul."

I found this all very depressing, like most of us I hoped for some kind of after-life, like Woody Allen, who said, "I don't want to achieve immortality be being remembered for something I did – I want to achieve immortality by not dying."

This was the most miserable part of my investigation and it lasted for quite some time. The situation did not look very promising. That was until I met Don Galloway….

Here was a respected and distinguished medium who was prepared to discuss the vexed question of the origin of alleged spirit messages.

What he had to say was music to my ears. He told me that when he first began to exhibit unusual powers he was unwilling to accept that perhaps he was communicating with a spirit entity and would not accept that his future calling could be that of a medium. He gleefully chalked up a goodly record of items that could be explained away be means of telepathy, imagination, pure intuition, keen personal perception, tricks of the subconscious, and indeed straightforward coincidence.

Nevertheless, to his surprise, he was always left with the residue that could not be explained by any other than the spirit "communication hypothesis." He dismissed the idea that mediums could tap the millions of thoughts that were residing consciously and subconsciously throughout the universe. He added that the idea that mediums possessed such capabilities was almost farcical. Some people would accept any theory rather than that of survival.

I wondered if those people who dismissed telepathy as rubbish were now the ones who gladly accepted telepathy and akashic records when they realised they provided a possible alternative to spirit communication. I had been persuaded that some kind of "universal memory" could possibly exist but had found it difficult to accept that a medium could obtain detailed information about anyone or anything from that memory.

I was very pleased that a distinguished medium shared my doubts and asserted moreover that spirit entities were responsible for at least some of the information, but then came support from a most unexpected source in the shape of Archie Roy, the man who had been mainly responsible for my disillusionment.

At one of the professor's lectures some time later I was relieved to learn that he shared some of my concerns. He had been speaking about the excellent results obtained during the early years of the Society for Psychical Research.

He observed: "Anyone of open mind, looking for evidence would be forced to conclude that the paranormal did exist. Telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, ostensible communication from the other side of death that could not be explained in a normal way, but that had to be, either real communication from the other side of death or a demonstration of the most fantastic, telepathic, clairvoyant facility."

I was naturally surprised but greatly encouraged by the professor's remarks and so resolved to investigate the work of the Society for Psychical Research in greater detail.

The Society, formed in 1882, included leading scientists, philosophers, classical scholars, politicians, all people of great integrity. The original object of many of them was to get to the bottom of these strange and disturbing phenomena and probably invalidate the wild claims made by the psychics.

At last the elusive, uncanny PSI was to have turned on it the power and perception of cold-blooded, co-ordinated scientific research.

To their surprise many of them were convinced of the reality of the spirit world and its ability to communicate.

Here are the opinions of two distinguished members of the SPR, first Sir William Barrett, Professor of Physics at the Royal College of Science, Dublin:

"No candid student of evidence, so carefully sifted in recent years, can, in my opinion, resist the conclusion that there exists an unseen world of intelligent beings, some of whom have striven to prove, with more or less success, that they once lived on earth."

Sir Oliver Lodge FRS, DSc, LLB, is even more convincing:

"I tell you with all the strength of conviction that I can muster that we do persist…and are able, from time to time, to communicate with us. Why do I say that? I say it because I know for certain that friends of mine have died, and still exist, because I have talked with them."

I remember thinking, "This was pretty convincing testimony," and although not all members of the SPR were persuaded of after death survival, this evidence coming from these distinguished men made me feel much more optimistic.

It was time to test some of my own elementary experiences in the light of my newly acquired knowledge. When she was quite young, my wife had a vivid dream in which she "saw" her father in his coffin, in just the same surroundings and with the same scent of flowers that she was to experience when her father died sometime later. At the time of the dream her father was in good health and there was no thought of imminent death. It could have been a warning from spirit but it is realised that precognitive dreams are frequently explained by the altered state of consciousness in the dream state.

Medium Jill Harland told us that our daughter, Joyce, would get a job, out of the blue, which at that time she had not even contemplated. It would take place about the end of March, or beginning of April in the next year. The prophecy turned out to be correct in every detail.

Again it could all be put down to an altered state of consciousness. It could possibly be spirit involvement, but no proof.

Gordon Higginson said I was not to worry about my eyes; there was nothing wrong. My doctor had in fact arranged for me to see a consultant because he suspected some defect. Gordon was proved right. This could have been a spirit message but Gordon was a good diagnostician and knew my eyes were all right. He could have picked up my thoughts and my concern.

Jill Harland claims "Your mother is here, talking about Margaret – the one with the funny hats." Now that simple remark was quite evidential. Auntie Maggie (Margaret) had been a dressmaker, well known for making surprising and eccentric clothes – I could not have had better evidence pointing towards the survival after death of my mother.

But the best evidence, suggestive of survival came from my old friend, George Chapman, and my, at that time, new friend, Geoffrey West.

"Proof of Survival," George Chapman.

It is now fifty years since George Chapman enthused to me about his healing successes, and his plans for the future. He could not possibly have imagined the exceptional career that lay before him.

Several books have been written about him, extolling the miraculous cures that have been achieved at his healing centres in Wales and also many countries in Western Europe. He has long waiting lists for treatment, and has had the honour of being selected as "Spiritualist of the Year."

When he discovered that he was a trance healer, into his life came William Lang, and eminent eye surgeon who had died some years earlier. Soon after Dr. Lang made himself known to George's sitters, it was confirmed that he was a respected and much loved ophthalmologist and doctor. In time his daughter Lyndon Lang learned that her father was dead, speaking through a medium, and decided to expose the hoax. But as soon as she spoke to her father through the entranced George Chapman, she became convinced that he had survived death.

From then on she was one of George Chapman's biggest supporters, arranging for him to meet with many of the doctors who had worked with Dr. Lang before his death. They in turn were able to renew their acquaintance with him.

His daughter proclaimed and testified in writing that "Truthfully the William Lang who operates through George Chapman is without doubt my father."

What better proof could there be that Dr. Lang has survived the state called death.

Geoffrey West

I had the good fortune to meet Geoffrey West when I joined the CFPSS about 10 years ago. He was local Chairman and a man of great psychical and biblical knowledge. He seemed to know all the leading researchers and was a friend of Archie Roy.

I discovered that he and his wife Barbara worked with a Spirit Reception Team in the early 1970's during which time they talked to 500 souls. The proceedings are recorded on 3500 pages and I had the privilege of reading through and commenting on the manuscripts. Geoffrey is currently seeking publication in the USA.

The members of the Spirit Reception Team had all been biological relatives. This close bonding, they were told, would contribute to the quality of the communications that were to follow.

Geoffrey and Barbara had regular daily sessions with the troubled souls who were brought by Spirit members of the Team. They were addressed by Geoffrey and then communicated by directed writing through Barbara.

In the early days they were troubled by mischievous spirits but as Barbara improved her automatic writing ability she was able to spot and confront them. Sometimes Geoffrey and Barbara realised that their own thoughts had affected the quality of the communications and this had to be guarded against.

One of the first communicators was Geoffrey's father, Alfred. They soon realised that he was who he claimed to be. He was clearly aware of what they were thinking, and was able to give useful information about a relative who was ill. From his privileged position Alfred was able to give valuable information concerning the books of the accusing party when Geoffrey's company was in serious financial trouble, through no fault of his own and thus bring about a successful conclusion.

Alfred was certainly a very potent ally with exceptional powers.

I found the information revealed by these spirit communications very persuasive of an after-life and suggestive of reincarnation.

The objective of the reception team was to help troubled souls, and not to prove the identity of the communicating spirit. I would like to confine myself to one particular episode which to my mind was very evidential.

Geoffrey's daughter, Vivien, had written poetry from an early age. Sometimes the theme would appear to be something far beyond her mental age. She was also quite mediumistic, and was able to receive directed writing. On one occasion she discovered that she had received a complete poem under the signature of "Stevie Smith." She was surprised to find that the poem seemed to have a message for her, giving some appropriate advice in dealing with a current problem.

Not having heard of Stevie Smith, Vivien brought this poem to Geoffrey who, by strange coincidence had been attracted to the poems of Stevie, but did not know that she had died. The signature seemed to be like that of Stevie, and the poem was in her style.

Some time later, Stevie Smith's executors published posthumously her hitherto unpublished work. Geoffrey then ordered the book from the library. In it was the poem exactly as the one received by daughter Vivien by directed writing.

I was at this stage beginning to realise a few of the complications involved in consciousness and communication. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that when one passes over one sees and hears things as before; some don't even realise they have died, but as one progresses other senses develop and take over. It is believed that the unconscious memory previously hidden from the conscious mind, takes over. Telepathy is now the normal means of communication. It appears that communication with earthly matters becomes increasingly difficult.

Famous investigator, F. W. Myers, explained the problem like this:

"I appear to be standing behind a sheet of frosted glass which blurs sight and deadens sound, dictating feebly to a reluctant and obtuse secretary."

These problems in communication may explain the large number of very poor, vague messages we receive. However when the medium is well trained and in tune with the spirit messenger and all circumstances are right, then very accurate transmission of information can be achieved.

WELL, WHAT DID I DEDUCE FROM ALL THIS ANALYSIS???

Confucius declared that "To know that you do not know is the beginning of Wisdom"…and I was beginning to get just a glimmer of my own ignorance….

Let me preface any provisional conclusions by some remarks by Professor Charles Smart:

"Our minds are wonderfully clever, so clever that they can make sense of almost anything, with hindsight, that is, they come up with some sort of plausible interpretation of why things happened the way we observed them to…. Just because our theories and explanations seem brilliant and logical, that does not mean that we really understand the world we observed."

Most scientists will tell you that they rely on experiment for their information. The quantum physicist will say that the world we experience depends for its meaning and reality, on our perception of it. It depends on our thought, our consciousness. Many philosophers and mystics believe that the only reality is thought – consciousness. Many of you may have read that excellent talk by Arthur Ellison which goes into greater details.* In short, there is a lot of argument in favour of everything being illusion…or Maya. Edgar Allan Poe puts it all in a nutshell…"all that we see or seem – is just a dream within a dream."

In view of the above complications I decided to confine what I believed to be proof of survival after death to two seemingly straightforward cases where the dead gave clear evidence of their identity….

Take the case of George Chapman and the entity claiming to be Dr. Lang:

The alleged Dr. Lang, speaking through George Chapman had displayed intimate family knowledge to his daughter and other relatives and friends.

His daughter had stated in writing that the Dr. Lang was indeed her father, who had survived death. Medical men and old friends and colleagues had testified that this was the Dr. Lang they had known when on earth. Surely that would be accepted as evidence in any Court of Law.

The case of Stevie Smith seems to me to be equally convincing. The facts are that Stevie died in 1971 yet in 1973 Geoffrey West's daughter Vivien received, by direct writing, a poem that was not published until 1975. The signature after the poem was later confirmed as being that of Stevie Smith.

I have had the advantage of knowing George Chapman and Geoffrey West for many years, and can rule out fraud and deception. There can be no doubt about their integrity.

There has to be either real communication from the other side of death or a demonstration of the most fantastic, telepathic, clairvoyant facility. Any alternative explanation must stretch credulity to the absolute limit.

I feel that I can safely assume that Dr. Lang and Stevie Smith have survived death and I believe that this facility is open to all.

Let me conclude with a few words of wisdom from Professor Archie Roy:

The professor had been speaking about possession cases, where the spirit of a deceased person takes over a living person for a long or shorter time. The possessed person can display the talent and skills of the possessing spirit. There are many well authenticated cases. Mostly investigated by Professor Stevenson but some by Archie Roy himself.

We have seen, for example that George Chapman, when in trance, can demonstrate the knowledge of a famous eye surgeon.

Professor Roy ended his lecture as follows:

"These ostensible possession cases show, beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt that, at least the personalities, the knowledge, the characteristics, the skills of some human beings can, under some circumstances we are not clear about, persist after death, in some cases for centuries, and then subsequently enter the physical world in a new body. If these things are true, if even one tenth of them is true, then they should be listened to.

Prime Minister Gladstone is on record as saying that Psychical Research was the most important research being undertaken, and a century later I would still agree that this is so, and I am very, very tired of people who say that after a century of research there is still no evidence whatsoever.

"They really should either put up, or shut up."
The humorous professor once remarked that…
"After death, if he awakens to find there is nothing but oblivion…he will be most surprised…"
And so will I.
Robert Cresswell is a member of the USPS.

* Arthur Ellison's talk appeared in USPS Journal No. 60.

PSI Symposium Annual Journal 2002