Come Good Spirits Guide Reveals Spiritualism Act

2011

COME GOOD SPIRITS By Eddie Joseph The much controversial subject of spiritual interaction has been engaging the attention of the majority of thinking people since time immemorial. We have many supporters of Spiritualism in our midst today, and a far greater number of those who accept the cult with some degree of incredulity. Whether. one is for or against the subject, he is certainly not occupying a “terra firma” position for preaching his doctrine. People in either group will merely be groping in the dark, trying to reach an unknown region-a region which no living mother’s son (or daughter) can know anything about. The region is in the Great Beyond-hence outside our ken.

Eddy Joseph Abbott Magic 3/6/2011

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COME GOOD SPIRITS By Eddie Joseph Contents CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 3 Right Before Your Very Eyes. .................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Lifting The Veil........................................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 3 .................................................................................................................................................. 11 The Act and How To Present It ............................................................................................................... 11

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CHAPTER 1 Right Before Your Very Eyes. The much controversial subject of spiritual interaction has been engaging the attention of the majority of thinking people since time immemorial. We have many supporters of Spiritualism in our midst today, and a far greater number of those who accept the cult with some degree of incredulity. Whether. one is for or against the subject, he is certainly not occupying a “terra firma” position for preaching his doctrine. People in either group will merely be groping in the dark, trying to reach an unknown region-a region which no living mother’s son (or daughter) can know anything about. The region is in the Great Beyond-hence outside our ken. Great writers of international repute have filled pages on the subject. They have even described the remarkable results encountered in their spiritual pursuits. When one cannot explain an occurrence by the straight law of “physics” he tries to pin the course to Spiritualism. But by so doing, the position is not clarified, for Spiritualism in itself is a subject wrapped in obscurity. However, we are not here to discuss this highly debatable subject. We belong to the entertaining world. Therefore, we shall broach the subject from this standpoint alone. Our purpose, therefore, is to furnish an Act using as its theme, the reasonable supposition that the living can commune with the dead. My qualifications to provide such an Act has found its source twenty years ago. I was graduated into this sphere of entertainment from the school of solid practical experience and everything that is recorded here is real and concrete fact and not figments of the writer’s imagination. Circumstantially, I was brought up in a tense atmosphere of the spiritualistic creed. I was living among the believers. Owing to my teens, I was denied admittance into the practitioners’ secret chamber where, as I was told, spiritualistic phenomena were being produced. For long I had been yearning for that very much essential mediumistic quality so that I, too, could summon the “Spirit” at my pleasure. Finally, I resolved on a plan and one night, in execution of this plan, I climbed to the roof of the secret chamber just before the session began. Peeping through the skylight, I saw a number of people seated around a table with their finger tips resting on its surface. I heard a short prayer and after five minutes or so-to my utter amazement – I saw that table sway from side to side. The leader of the band addressed the table as if it was a living thing and the table began swaying again from side to side in reply to the question put to it. This I understood to be its peculiar fashion of expression. With each sway, a knock was produced. I had heard of table rapping-this was it. For over an hour I remained motionless. These strange creatures surely possessed some sort of power; or else how could the table move? My desire to emulate these strange happenings intensified a hundred fold. I had no one to guide me, but I decided to copy the formula as closely as I was able to with the outside chance of succeeding even

4 in a small way. I built a small table somewhat after the style of the one I saw in that chamber. Collecting three other associates, I got ready to give a séance. After a suspense period of several minutes I became dumbfounded to see the table begin to sway gently. Just one sway to the side then it straightened upright. In that sway it produced a single knock. I felt a cold shiver run through my veins. I felt as if I was in another world. It was a rare thrill-I experienced a sensation the likes of which I never felt before or since. That was the moment I was dreaming about. The moment came unexpectedly for I never believed that success would come so soon, if at all. That single knock I knew was the signal that the Spirit was present. He had taken possession of the table. I was ready to converse with it. “Are you there?” I said. Once again the table swayed, and straightened itself. Just one single knock, implying “Yes.” I asked its name and got it. I asked when he passed on to the other side, what was his profession on this earth. I asked a number of other questions. To each I received a fitting reply. From that night onward, I held a séance once in twenty-four hours. Each night the Spirit was summoned. Sometimes the Spirit of the previous night returned; other times different spirits arrived. I continued the practice for a whole year. I believed myself to be a natural medium for I was told that the spirits would certainly not respond unless a medium was present. This was drilled into my head again and again by those supposedly knowing better. My mediumistic reputation spread around the vicinity. I was sought by people who longed for news from their loved ones on the other side. I started holding séances in people’s homes. I allowed each interested person to talk to the Spirit-the actual Spirit of their “passed on” relative. Each séance proved a bigger success than the others. Then came the time when I could sit alone beside the table and make that table sway for hours together. I continued this practice for seven solid years. I had as much faith in my work as those before whom I demonstrated. There was not a bit of trickery in the whole thing. I never for a moment stopped to think what made the table sway. Why should I? People acclaimed me as a medium. Spiritualists, seeing me work, agreed that I possessed mediumistic qualities. No one could convince me to the contrary. I possessed something more than the normal beings. Then one night came the “Great Awakening.” After seven years of staunch belief and faithful practice came the moment of my first realization that I was no more a medium than the next man. I was living in a Fool’s Paradise. How stupid those groups of believers were. Definitely stupid ! When one wants to believe in a thing, nothing on earth can stop him. But what I am about to disclose is so remarkable in its execution that one cannot help but believe in the manifestation whether he likes it or not. By “believe” I mean definitely-one will be fully convinced that the Spirits are responsible for everything that takes place and this includes the operator as well. Although disappointed at first, my hopes were subsequently raised when I realized this fresh discovery was a blessing in disguise. I found I could put the idea to better advantage by presenting it as an entertainment. Thus, from that disappointment was born an Act, one which has proved not only lucrative but highly successful.

5 Right before your very eyes the table will sway and answer every question of yours or of those seated around it. Right before your very eyes a pencil held by one end by one of the collaborators will write a word in answer to your query. A regular Act of real convincing Spiritualism is presented, defying anyone present to dare even suggest how it is done. A playing card selected is named by the Spirit in possession of the table. A column of figures is correctly added. But these are only a few of the things that you can do. In short, the table will converse with you as if it was a real human being. All this may sound like a passage from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I know that you will not believe a single word. I say here, but I guarantee you that once you finish with this book of words, and get down to the practical side of it, you will definitely make the table talk. You may even leave the table and without your connivance whatsoever the table will still sway and answer questions put to it. This is no course in Hypnotism that requires months of practice, but a study of a subject which should not take you more than seven days to understand and use in practice. To many the idea will work in the first hour. I have shown the way to scores of people and although all of them practice it today, to none of them did I reveal what I am going to tell you now. These people-a11 of them-actually believe that some spiritual force is behind it all. Surely this in itself is sufficient proof of the convincing nature of the manifestations. I, therefore, request you to read through the words with an unbiased mind. Start the first practice with the belief that you are going to succeed and you will. Finally, although I never indulge in rash statements I give you my word of honor that as sure as God made apples, you will definitely make that table sway and talk to you. Can I say more? Eddie Joseph

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CHAPTER 2 Lifting The Veil If I were to suppress the inside secret of "Spiritual Communion" and describe the routine business you would, probably, not have confidence to try it. To put this idea into practice, the demonstrator need not be concerned with the cause at all. The working is automatic. Whether one recognizes the cause or not, the ultimate result would be the same. This is the principal reason why for seven years I was convinced I was a medium. I believed I had the natural power to summon the Spirit. I believed the table swayed and knocked because the Spirit was present. There was no reason to seek for any other cause. I was actually producing results without knowing the actual cause. I did not need to know the cause. You do not need to know the cause. The first question arising in the reader's mind is "What makes the table sway?" My answer may seem fantastic ; nevertheless, it is true. Your collaborators around the table do that unconsciously. Yes, sir ! They do that and you aid toward this end without them or even you knowing it. Even now, after I tell you the truth, if you were to sit at the table with your associates and find the table swaying and knocking you will still believe that you had nothing to do with it. But despite that fact, you would be equally guilty along with your associates. It took me seven years to discover that. This shows how eluding the whole thing is. However, whether the spirits aid you or you are aided by your associates is immaterial. The table has to rock. I shall return to this matter again. Now we come to the next phase. How can one get a fitting reply to the questions put to the table. Before going into this matter, let us consider a few things from our every day action. When a girl puts on a new hat she has just bought and asks how she looks, what sort of an answer does she expect? When a stout person goes on a diet to knock some of the surplus off and invites opinion, what sort of a reply does he expect? When you have practiced a trick for weeks on end and ask a pal, "How's that?" what sort of a reply do you expect? In each of these cases, the nature of the reply was anticipated when putting the question. Whether the anticipated reply materializes or not is a different matter. We are merely concerned with the mental attitude of the questioner. Now, in our everyday life you know how much, as I do, such questions yield the anticipated replies most of the time. The few times when you do get an unexpected reply does not weigh with us, because that has no bearing on our similitude. The person replying deliberately opposed our expectation. In "Spiritual Communion" the questioner will get only one sort of reply - the anticipated sort. Why? Because there is no opposition. As I said before, the table is directly under the questioner's sub-conscious control. He anticipates a certain reply to his question. '

7 He unconsciously rocks the table to code out that particular reply. All this will dawn on you when you get down to the practical side of the business. No matter how long you work the act, you will get a fresh thrill each time. Let us now revert to the rocking of the table. The table is small and a light one. It has only three legs. The three legs are there, ostensibly, to attract the Spirit, but actually, they simplify matters. You sit at the table and ask three or four other people to join you. You place your finger tips lightly on the table top so that the tips of both your thumbs contact each other. Tell your neighbors to do likewise. Now each person must contact the tip of his or her little finger with that of the neighbor. The result is a continuous chain of hands. Remember, it is absolutely necessary to place fingers on the table lightly. Now the first thing to know is that no matter how steady one's nerves are, it is impossible to keep the hands on the table as I explained without developing certain nervous reactions. You just try this out by yourself and study the tips of your fingers. You will see them vibrating after a little while. You have to watch closely to detect this. You may think your fingertips are lying dead against the table but they are not. You have already lowered the light. The room is in semi-darkness (never total darkness). You have shown them how to place their fingertips against the table top. You have told them the Spirit will arrive at any moment and knock at the table. You have told them the moment the Spirit arrives, the table will tilt. You have told them not to resist the movement of the table. Finally, you have told them that some people repel the Spirit while others attract it; if the séance does not prove a success, you shall have to make a few changes. Thus you have created a tense atmosphere, an atmosphere of Great Expectancy. Every body's nerve is on edge so to say. You can rest assured that all present will have a single thought in their minds to see the table tilt and knock. After a short interval of suspense, the table will slowly tilt on one side and straighten up again. two of the three legs acting as a hinge. The third leg when contacting the floor again will produce a single knock. This is your signal that the Spirit (?) has arrived. You immediately query, "Are you there?" Once again the table will tilt and produce a second knock. Before going any further let us examine the force that conduced that single tilt and knock. I said earlier that you and your associates contributed toward this phenomenon. But how? Surely neither of you have any consciousness in this regard. I mentioned higher up about the vibrant condition of your fingertips. The vibratory power of the fingers of one hand alone does not possess sufficient force to tilt the table right over, but enough to give it a start. But when the cumulative power of ten hands vibrate on the table ever so minutely, they generate sufficient force to tilt the table. The combined vibratory power of the 50 digits forces the table on one side. A logical question emerges at this point. Why should the table tilt? No one is pushing it. So you think. To the question, "Why should the table tilt?" I would say, "Because everyone present expects it to." They unconsciously pushed it to one side. To the person who reasons out, this does not make sense. If

8 everyone starts pushing, there is equal force on all sides, since all are seated around the table, and therefore the table cannot tilt. Actually no one deliberately pushes the table outward, but unconsciously the vibrations of the 50 digits tilt it sideways. Remember you warned them at the start not to resist the movements of the table. Take a matchbox and stick three pins on one side to form a triangle. These three pins we will assume to be the three legs of the table. Now stand the matchbox on a table. Near the edge of one side you gently tan on the box very gently and although you are tapping downward, you will find the matchbox moving forward. Now, it moves forward because there is no obstruction on the other end. Now if you were to place a book or some other object on the other side to impede its movement, the matchbox has to yield to your gentle tapping which is equivalent to the vibration of the fingertips on the table. Since the matchbox cannot move forward it will tilt to one side. The three pins representing the three legs of the table help the tilting. If you stuck four pins in the matchbox in the form of a square, then the box would not tilt so easily. I am saying all this with a reason. I want you to thoroughly satisfy yourself on the idea so that when you finally settle down to work it, you will have the confidence that you are not trying some fanatical experiment but something that the writer has been working successfully for the past twenty years. Now, let us get on with the main issue. When the table tilts the first time, and as soon as it reaches the furthest point on any side, it cannot go forward for two reasons. Firstly, the person on that side unconsciously stops it. The thing looks very eerie. It will send a cold shiver up and down everyone's spine. Secondly, the person's body will prevent the table from going any farther. From this point, the table straightens up. It was actually balancing on two legs. The moment it straightens up, it produces a single knock. Now, after the first tilt, you address it, "Are you there?" Everyone expects the "affirmation." Again subconsciously you get a second tilt. I want you to remember that once the table begins to tilt and knock, each successive tilt becomes easier and easier. This is because those around you are getting more and more used to the idea. If you sit with the same people successively for three nights, you will be surprised how soon you can get the Spirit (?) later. But this act does not depend upon using the same people all the time. You use strangers, selecting people from your audience. When you get to the final part of this book, you will understand the whole business better because I shall detail how to go about it all. Once the table starts knocking, you will have to leave it to convince them that you have nothing to do physically to bring about the various manifestations. Let us now study the answers to the questions. After you confirm that the Spirit is present you ask its name. The table signifies by knocks (I shall explain this later) that its name is "Jack." Now eight times out of ten you will find that Jack was either a relative or a friend of one of those present around the table. This is not guess work - I am quite definite about it. The name need not necessarily be "Jack." I just picked this name to serve the purpose in view. The table starts knocking after you inquire its name. Let us say it stops at "H." Everyone present will try to guess the name. "H" stands for Harry-for Henry, or whatever other name it stands for. Those around the table begin to speculate in their minds, and actually anticipate a certain name beginning with "H."

9 The table tilts again, and stops tilting depending on which name the majority of the sitters are speculating. If "Harry," they unconsciously stop the table at "A." And so it goes' on. One person, for instance, asks, "What is my age?" The table starts knocking and you count each knock aloud. The person asking the question will automatically stop at the exact number of knocks to coincide with his age. Usually the Spirit of some dead relative of those around the table appears. Does that not signify that the person has something to do with it? Did he not unconsciously stop the knocking when the right letter of the alphabet was rapped He may not think so, but that is precisely what takes place. Let us take an example : A lady has lost her husband. His name, let us say, was "Fred." She asks for a demonstration of "Spiritual Communion." Five of us sit around the table. She is among us. The preliminaries are got over The tense atmosphere of expectation has not lapsed yet. We are waiting for the table to knock. When it comes to asking the Spirit's name, the lady in question is anticipating her Fred to appear. So the table begins to tilt. As soon as the correct knock is produced to signify "F," the lady will unconsciously stop further movement. She may not know it, but she has been responsible for that "F." to be coded. Now the next letter is "R." Likewise the table starts to knock again until " R and once again it stops at "R." Others around will speculate that the name must be "Fred." From then on they all lend a hand. You will find in practice that after the first few knocks, the work becomes easier. That is because the people get used to the idea. The more nervous a person is the better and quicker the results. I could go on citing many examples but, as I said before, whether you know the cause or not, the result must follow and it would be no different to those produced by a person who goes about it in utter ignorance. It is just like dipping a finger into an inkpot and staining it. There is no need to know why! By knowing the reason, the stain does not become different. It's the same stain in either case. I shall now explain the language of the table: One tilt, followed by a knock signifies, "Yes." Two tilts (and of course two knocks) signify, "No." Now the answers to your questions are spelled out. As the table starts knocking you take the first knock to mean "A," the next one "B," the next "C," and so on. Everyone must keep quiet when the operator is spelling off. If the table knocks four times and stops, it means "D." Then you will get it confirmed by saying, "D." Again let us suppose the table knocks five times. "E" is the fifth letter of the alphabet and so it must be "E." You don't count the knocks off, but call out a letter of the alphabet for each knock, such as: A-B-C-D. Then you say, "D." This repetition serves a dual purpose. It impresses those around that the first letter is "D." Furthermore, if someone around has a particular name in his or her mind, the person will unconsciously sway the table through the vibrations in his fingers. You will find all this out when you sit at the table. Now and again you will find that a word does not spell right, such as "DARLKMN." That actually means that the different people around are vibrating at cross-purposes, so to say. You immediately address the table, "Are you joking?" and immediately the table will knock once implying, "Yes." That "Yes" has to come because it is quite evident to all that the word received makes no sense.

10 When you inquired, "Are you joking?" the rest of them anticipated the answer. Thus the table was allowed to knock once. After you have been seated at the table with your associates for a few minutes, you may leave the table. Your place may be taken by someone else or the two persons on either side of you may close the gap by contacting the tip's of their little fingers. You stand a little way out and direct operations from a distance. Those who suspected that you used trickery of some sort will now have something else to think about. When you find that the demonstration is in full swing, you may ask someone else to leave the table. Continue with the act for a little while, then again dismiss another person. This is still continued until only one person is left. The table will still knock. Let this person stand while his fingertips are still on the table. The table will start rocking and since there is no obstruction on the opposite side, it will start walking. All the time that solitary person must retain his fingertips on the table and follow the table wherever it goes. If you will look back to that example I cited with a matchbox and pins, you will readily understand what makes the table walk. This manifestation of making the table walk must be done at least five or ten minutes after the table first knocked. In fact, the longer the interval, the better result. The more nervous a person is, the greater the force of the knock. If a person is highly nerve strung, you will be surprised to see that he has to practically run to keep up with the table. My original intention was just to describe the Act and leave you to find the cause. There would have been much doubt fermenting in your mind. I feared that many would not have tried it. If I was sure that I could get you to work this Act without my defining the cause, I would have definitely carried out my original plan. I know that you are going to have success within the first seven days. 'That is the maximum period I allow, whereas many will work the Act in the very first hour. Being automatic, it is easier than palming a card, and easier than any elementary slight in conjuring. The effect on the beholders is stunning. Everyone will recognize that you are dabbling in matters that belong to the other world. You yourself will be surprised at what will be taking place right before your very eyes. I have said so much here because I want you to put this idea into practice. I want you to feel that rare sensation that I felt twenty years ago. I want you to get that thrill that I am still getting out of it. If you will follow the Act as I have described it and you will not be acclaimed by all present as a genuine medium, then I will know that I have wasted my time with "Spiritual Communion." I am playing a safe bet by making this statement. I know what is awaiting yon at the very first public trial. This is no stunt for auto-suggestion. I don't care whether you are antagonistic to this idea or not. You may even sit at the table with the firm belief that the table will not rock, but, provided you place your fingers on it as I have detailed, and provided you have others with you, that table will definitely tilt, whether you like it or not.

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CHAPTER 3 The Act and How To Present It "Spiritual Communion" should be presented as a demonstration of Spiritualism. You as the Medium have the necessary power to summon the spirit of any dead person. The Spirit will give his identity and answer every question put to it. The Spirit finds expression through them table. The table tilts and knocks. The technical term for this is "Table Rapping" or "Table Tipping." The operator must emphasize the fact that no foolish questions should be asked and no one must be allowed to smoke at the table or in the séance room. Smoking cannot be permitted at the t3ble because it would mean that the contact on table would have to be broken. The contact must remain intact throughout. Throughout the proceedings the operator must not do anything to create an air of mystery. He must remain natural and serene. After all, the Spirit is not influenced physically but through the operator's mediumistic qualities. The question must be addressed to the table as if it was a living thing and with respect. Those around must be made to feel and realize that a serious proceeding is in progress. This will cut out all possibilities of clowning on the part of your collaborators. They must be told that their full attention must be focused on the table; never to press hard on the table. They must allow their hands to follow the movement of the table and never raise their hands from it. The opening lecture follows : "Ladies and gentlemen, you know as well as I do that the subject of Spiritualism has been arresting the attention of people from time immemorial. People in all ages have endeavored to contact those who have passed on. We have read of experiences of different researchers from time to time, and all of them have contributed to the belief that the spirits of the Dead can definitely be summoned by one in possession of certain spiritual influence". "While theoretically we are all convinced that such things can happen. I am sure that not one of you here have any visual evidence of the subject. Certain classes of people are liable to discount matters of which they have no visual evidence. This evening I hope to supply you with ample evidence in this direction. For the purpose of our demonstration, it is necessary to invite collaboration from your midst. Will four, five or six persons kindly offer their assistance?" While the people are coming up, you continue, "This spiritual influence which I have mentioned is not an acquired character but a natural trait. Each of us possess this quality in varying degrees. The success of our experiment naturally depends on how much of this quality we could converge at one time. If our demonstration is unduly prolonged, then it will be necessary for me to make a few changes in our

12 personnel. I mention this fact so as to assist you in the selection of the proper committee. Each person within himself or herself should know whether he or she possesses any mediumistic tendency. The simplest way to find this out is to look back in your life and try to recall some occasion when you had a feeling that something was going to happen and it happened. That's a sure sign that you have the essential trait in sufficient degree to work with me." We all have "hunches", and the last part of the lecture was with the object of instilling into their heads that all collaborators must have this necessary quality. After you start proceedings each one of those seated around the table will do his best to collaborate. YOU have told them that certain changes will have to be effected unless you meet with success. Not one of those would like to be dismissed. After the committee has been formed you have them sit around the table. You take your position with them. The table is a small light one with only three legs. You place your finger tips of both hands on the table nearer the edge and not on the center. Spread your fingers out naturally. Now contact both your thumb tips. You continue : You will observe that I place my fingertips ever so lightly upon the table and I allow the tips of my thumbs to contact lightly. Will someone please put out all the lights leaving only one dim light on?" (If the room has a powerful light, shade it with newspaper.) "I want you also to copy my example. Remember, you must not press unduly hard on the table. Merely contact the table top with your fingertips - that's all. Now I want each of you to contact your neighbor's little finger tip. That's it. You will observe that we have formed an endless chain around the table. This contact must persist throughout our experiment. As I do not wish to interrupt our séance once we begin, I wish to make observations on certain points to which I wish you to adhere. "The signal for the Spirit's arrival will be felt by each one of you any moment from the time we start operation. That signal will be felt in your veins. You will feel a cold shiver creeping up your spine. That is the signal that the Spirit is approaching us. You must not make any physical movement but only wait in expectation, and immediately after, the table will begin to tilt on one side. When that happens, do not resist its movements but allow it to go as far as it will. Then the table will stand upright again. That means the Spirit has taken possession of the table. "Before we commence I want each of you present around the table to think intently of some loved one who has passed on to the other side. Just think of this person and drive all other thoughts out of your minds. Everybody ready." At this point you address the table in a low but firm voice, "Any good spirit passing by, please knock at the table. Any good spirit passing by, please knock at the table." You continue to repeat this several times. Within a few minutes, the table will start to tilt slowly on one side. This is a definite statement that I am making-that table has to tilt; that table can do no other but tilt. I guarantee you, dear reader, that is no abstract statement. I have never failed once in my life at such demonstrations. Those whom I have shown this never failed once in their lifetimes. You keep repeating, "Any good spirit passing by, please knock at the table." As soon as the table begins to tilt, a peculiar sensation will be felt by all seated around the table including the operator. You immediately say, "Come, friends, come." Time this so that you finish when the table stands upright.

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As soon as the table stands upright, you will hear a single knock. I explained earlier that this is clue to the third leg of the table hitting the floor. As soon as the knock is heard you say, "Are you there ?" Once again the table will tilt and produce a second knock. ~ This implies, "Yes." At this point you will know that the vibrations emitting through the fingers of those seated around are beginning to act. You address the table again, "Who are you." Remember you did not ask anyone around what name is in any particular individual's mind. The table starts tilting again. With each tilt you call out a letter of the alphabet, such as A-B-C-D-E-F, etc., etc. Now let me explain. For instance, there are five other people around the table besides you. If each of them have a certain name in his or her mind there will be confusion. Although this may seem to the reader to be the logical consequence, the actual result is different. Remember each one of those collaborators is expecting his or her departed spirit to appear. Remember also that you warned them not to resist the movement of the table. Let us suppose that three out of the five have three different names in their minds. The other two are neutral. Now the first person, say, has Arthur in his mind. The second of the three has "Rex," and the third has, let us say, "William" in his mind. Each of these three is expecting a different name. The table knocks once and you say "A." Now the first person who has "Arthur" in his mind will subconsciously stop the table from further movements. But, there are the other two, each interested in the name he has in his mind. The two neutral persons we do not reckon. The odds are against the first person because in their expectancy the other interested parties will vibrate against the single person's subconscious effort to stop the table. A second tilt ensues and you call out "B," and the table moves on uninterruptedly until you come to "R." The second person now resists any further movement of the table. The first person is no longer interested and neither are the two neutrals. The table stops further action, unless, of course, the third person's fingers are vibrating more than the second's. It makes no difference which spirit appears. I am just trying to make clear the point that depending on the nervous reaction of the persons, the table responds. Now let us assume the table stops at "R." The inference is that the vibration of the third person is not sufficiently strong to counteract the impulses of the second person. As soon as the table stops, you say, "R." You continue, "Yes?" and once again the table starts to tilt and you start off with the alphabet again from "A" onward. Up to now no one knows what that name is going to be, but the fellow who has "Rex" in his mind is pretty sure that his or her Rex has responded. The table moves again. One person only has the sub-conscious control of the table the person who is thinking of Rex, but that person does not know it. The others are merely speculating the name is one beginning with "R." Again, since no one beside that person is directly interested, the table will come to rest at "E." You verify this and once again it moves and stops at "X." "Who is thinking of Rex?" you ask. It is acknowledged. Now I said all this to serve a general example because I am not going to repeat it again. I just want you to know the "why," although as I said in the last section, the "why" is not necessary. After you get "Rex" you ask the person concerned if he wishes to ask any question. The first question asked is, "Are you happy?" Without going into details, what sort of an answer do you suppose will

14 come? Naturally, "Yes." Several questions are now put to the table and in each case a fitting reply will be got. The reply will be anticipated from the first letter of the alphabet. Suitable questions will be found lower down. It is necessary to continue with this question and answer business for several minutes so that everyone around may be used to the idea. The longer you sit at that table, the better and. quicker will be the knocks. After you find the table working as fast as you would like it, you are all set to present the next phase of the Act. At this point you say, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have often been accused of using some physical secret means of controlling the destiny of the table. I am going to prove to you that so long as I am present in the room, we shall continue to exercise influence upon this friendly spirit." You leave the table and let them close the gap. You address the table from a distance, "Are you there?" Once again the table tilts to one side and stands upright. You ask, "Will you please call the spirit of (Here you ask someone in the audience to whisper the name of some dead relative to you. Let us say he said Jack) Jack. Please call Jack. We want to talk with him." You ask a lady seated at the table to put her hand under the table while you tell the Spirit to touch her hand. She will withdraw her hand at once. She will say in nine cases out of ten that she felt something cold. If she does not, it makes no difference. Remember the room lights are dimmed and under such conditions, we imagine a great deal. You say, "And now if our friend Rex will oblige us, we shall be talking to Jack." Suddenly the table will tilt, and since all are expecting Jack, the table will spell "J-A-C-K." You talk to it, you ask if Rex sent him. You tell Jack to thank Rex for you ; you ask Jack how he is doing and to each of your subsequent questions you will receive a fitting reply. Continue, "As we do not wish to trouble the spirits further, we shall ask him if he will help us to entertain the audience. Are you willing, Jack? (The table tilts once.) Produce a pack of cards and hand it to someone other than those seated around the table. Ask the person to take out one card and hand it to you. You take that card and show it to everyone present. Be sure that everyone of those around the table sees it. Now ask the spirit to tell "us" the name of the card. Since those operating the table expect a certain card whose identity they all know, the table will spell out that very name. As soon as this is done, you thank the Spirit. Borrow a coin, write its date on a slate and hold up. Ask the Spirit to call out the date. The table knocks to give the date. Ask a person his or her name. Write it down on a slate. Let all see it. The table will spell that name out. Hold a handkerchief in your hand. Let all see it. Ask the Spirit to give the color. The table will spell it out. Borrow two or three articles. Hold each up and the table will spell out the name of each one as held up. Take a few match sticks from a box and ask the Spirit to say the number. The corresponding number of knocks will give the number.

15

Now ask several persons (other than those seated at the table) to write a single figure on the slate. Each one writes beneath the last one. Say you collected three or four figures. Draw a line under the figures and ask the Spirit to total it. The Spirit raps out the correct total. Since all see the figures, they subconsciously control the table to give the right total. Now take the pack again. Have a card selected. Get the selected card to the bottom. Hold pack in left hand. Say, "This time, no one but the selector knows what that card is. That card is buried in the pack. No one knows where it is. Now ask the Spirit to tell "us" the location of the card. Each time the table knocks you take one card from the top of pack and pass to bottom. This is done throughout. The card is only taken after the knock is completed. Actually you do not put the card on the bottom but above the bottom card, i.e., the selected one. When the table stops knocking, you turn pack over and show the bottom card, thus proving the Spirit has located the card. Take a small card and write a figure on it. Actually you write just any figure that comes to your mind and drop card on a chair so no one can see what you wrote. You tell them that the Spirit will tell us the exact figure written on that card. Say, "The figure is under 50." By saying so, you lead them to expect a figure below this one. You count the knocks loudly. Your right hand is in your trouser pocket holding a small pencil and another card is in the same pocket. The moment the table stops you write the figure on the card and bring it out finger-palmed. Pick up the card on the chair and drop it (?) on the table, however, actually switching the card from the chair for the one finger palmed. They will be surprised to see the same figure on the card. Ask a person to write a small word or a name on a slate. Place this in position so all may see it. Place a paper on the table and let someone hold a soft lead pencil by its extreme end over the paper. Tell him to hold pencil perpendicularly so that the point contacts the paper without undue pressure. You now explain that the table will start knocking and the Spirit will write the very word they see on the slate. Strange as it may seem, that very word will slowly form bit by bit in the "hazy" letters. It is a startling demonstration! The speed with which the letters form depends upon the nervous reaction of the holder of the pencil. Many times you will find that the pencil just flashes across the paper. Other times it works slowly. By now you will find that as soon as you ask the Spirit to speak, the table will start tilting. Everyone around will have gotten used to the idea. The table will knock with such precision that one would imagine it is controlled by some hidden motor. This is the time to get only one person to control the Spirit. One by one you dismiss everyone until the last person remains. Tell him or her (it works better with a woman) that every attention must be focused on the table. Ask the person to inquire of the Spirit his name. The table tilts almost immediately and the person's name is spelled. No one knows that name until then. Ask the Spirit the day, the year. Ask the Spirit the number of the person's house, the name of the street. To each of these questions, the correct reply is got. Why? Just because the person is asking questions of which he is fully cognizant. He expects a particular type of reply. The anticipated reply is subconsciously induced through the vibratory condition of the person's fingers.

16 Ask the person to stand. You address the table and tell the Spirit, "We have delayed you long. Please forgive us for the intrusion, I but before you leave us, I want you to convince our friends that you cause the table to move around the room. Please be gentle with the person through whose mediumistic character you find expression. Convince my friends, good spirit." You now address the person to remain still. Tell her on no account to leave the table when it starts moving. Slowly the table will start swaying from side to side. It increases in its momentum gradually until it gains real speed. All the time the single person retains her fingers on the table and follows it around. Allow this to continue for some time. Place your hands on the table and ask that person to retire. You thank the Spirit and bid it adieu. This finale is not only convincing, but on certain instances terrifying. You will find that the occasion will not be rare, especially if a girl is following the table, she will shriek and yet she will not have the power to move away. She will be magnetized to the table and will follow it around. Not a single sound will be heard from anyone else in the room. They will me mesmerized by what they see "right before their very eyes." I have told you all I have to. In fact, more than was necessary. I now ask you to stage your first séance. Get three or four friends together. The members of your family will do just as well. There need be no previous practice or preparation. One night after dinner dim your lights and sit around a three legged table. Place your fingers around its top, exactly as I have defined. Tell your associates to remain serious throughout. Proceed as I have suggested. Ask for the Spirit to knock at the table. If you go about it as I expect you to, you will be as much startled as the rest of them to find that table responding. For the I first evening confine your demonstrations to asking questions only. To each you will receive a fitting reply. The reason already has been told you. This will give you all the confidence that you want. You will, as a result of the first demonstration, want to work "Spiritual Communion" at every opportunity you get. You will never find a better form of entertainment at a social intimate gathering. Here is something so different to what they have been accustomed to. You will be proclaimed a genuine medium. If there should be anyone present sufficiently daring to express his skeptical views, you could hold out your tongue at him. He will never, never be able to explain how it all happens. Even if you were to read passages from this book of words, they will never believe it. But I know, dear reader, that you will have to believe because when you find the table knocking and walking, you cannot help but think within yourself, "Here, at last, is something I could present and startle everyone without any special qualification." Now for a few words of advice. Do not on any account call yourself a Spiritualist. There are certain communities who oppose this form of religion. You are merely demonstrating the power of your mediumistic qualities. The Spirit finds expression through you. When the table is spelling out a reply, name, etc., you will find at times the spelling runs in order and then a foreign letter is spelled out. You immediately say, "Surely that is not correct? Could it be so and so?" As an example, let us suppose you ask which horse is going to win the Kentucky Derby. You already know the names of the horses entered. Let us suppose one horse is called "Jason." There may be other horses running beginning with a "J" but that does not matter. The table spells J-A-S. After "S" let us suppose the letter "P" was spelled. You immediately say, "Surely that cannot be right. Is it 'O'?" Rest

17 assured the table will tilt once. That will clear the way for "Jason" to be spelled. You will find as you go along that you could actually control the replies yourself. If you desire, you could stop the knocking whenever you please without anyone being the wiser. You have told them from the beginning not to resist the movement of the table. All you need do is to press a little on the table after it knocks the correct letter and there you are. The others are, after all, following the movement of the table. If the table does not move, well, they do not follow it. Please don't misunderstand what I have to say now. Although I have repeated several times that the Act does not depend on any physical effort, yet, in order to speed matters, I recommend sometimes the use of physical energy. By this, I do not mean that you should jerk the table forward and keep jerking it to spell a certain word. Let us suppose that you have been seated at the table along with the others for two or three minutes, and you wish to speed matters. You only have to press your fingers (without lifting from the table) a little forward and the table starts to tilt. That's all you have to do if you wish to speed matters, The subsequent tilts will follow in consequence. In other words, you just start the ball rolling. the others will carry it from that point. Then again, suppose someone asked a question. You could guess the reply from the way the words are being spelled. If a wrong letter comes in, you just say, "Are you sure?" and then when you get the confirmation, you could stop the table from further action as I have explained previously. All this may be disregarded if you so wish. I am only passing this additional suggestion to help you along sometimes when you find it necessary to speed up matters.

SOME SUITABLE QUESTIONS TO PUT TO THE TABLE QUESTION Who are you? Are you Happy? Have you any messages to give? Do you think I will succeed in my new venture? Will I get a raise in my salary? Through whom will I get a raise? Who will be our next President? Will I ever be rich? Which horse will win the Derby? Will my health improve? Who will win the baseball game? I am holding a number of coins in my hand, can you tell how many? Is so-and-so envious of me?

LIKELY REPLIES Depends on whom questioner is concentrating. Yes (definitely). Either Yes or No. Either Yes or No. Either Yes or No (most times yes). Person responsible in the business . His name definitely will be spelled. This depends on who the questioner has in mind. Most times a Yes. Everyone likes to be rich. Here again the answer will depend on the questioner’s fancy. Yes. Depending upon your favorite. The table will knock to give corresponding number. Yes (We like people to envy us although we pretend we don’t).

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The above questions are merely given to serve as examples. Now, a great deal depends upon how a person asks a question. Suppose you are dining at home and suddenly a friend pops in. You ask him, "Won't you have a bite with us?" The chances are 99 times out of a hundred he will say, "No, thanks." Why? Because you actually do not mean what you said. You were just trying to be nice. Oh, yes! But, if you tell him, "Come on, have a bite with us," you can bet that fellow will. Therefore, from the way a question is put, one can guess what sort of a reply to expect. Now, let us look over a couple of the questions I have recorded above. "Are you happy?" There can be two answers to this one - either "Yes" or "No." We get "Yes" because the person asking the question is concerned with the Spirit. He or she hopes that the relative is happy. But, if a disinterested party asks this question, the result would depend upon the extent of vibration of those around. Suppose we turn this question into "Aren't you happy?" The answer anticipated by everyone would be "Yes." The nature of the question suggests no other. Similarly if one has a particular horse in mind and he asks, "Won't Jason win?" then "Yes" would again follow. I said before that one knock implies, "Yes," and two knocks imply, "NO." Doubt is suggested when the table does not move. Now, whenever a complicated question is put, and you feel that a direct answer may hurt someone's feelings, it is your job to see that the table does not move. You could then tell the Spirit, "I see you don't wish to answer. Right. We shall not press you." From here you go to something else. The reason for this is that some person may ask certain personal questions of an objectionable nature, such as "Do you think E. D. has robbed my watch or money." E. D. may be present and whether the table says, "Yes" or "No" it may lead to complications. Therefore, I suggest you stop the table from moving. You immediately remark to the questioner, "The Spirit does not see fit to indulge in clowning. I would suggest that only serious questions be put to the Spirit." To stop the table from moving you have only to lean forward to address it. After all is said and done, whichever way you look at "Spiritual Communion" the results that you will obtain from its practice will prove highly entertaining and I make no wide claim when I say it is a great reputation builder. Go to it with an unbiased mind and you will agree with me.