05.04.2013 Views

ASPR Journal, V14 - Iapsop.com

ASPR Journal, V14 - Iapsop.com

ASPR Journal, V14 - Iapsop.com

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

92 <strong>Journal</strong> of the American Society for Psychical Research.<br />

which was the first letter in its name. He then saw clouds and a<br />

storm and then saw an Indian for a moment. He spoke of a<br />

messenger trying to get the name, and said this was the first time<br />

he had seen an Indian. He then saw the picture of a kettle on its<br />

side and thought it represented the letter 0. Then he saw the<br />

Indian stoop or fall and asked it it was Rainbow. I said it was not.<br />

Then he saw a goat then a big load of empty barrels. Neither had<br />

any meaning. I pressed for more than the letter 0 and he got I,<br />

which I admitted and then he got S which was not what I had in<br />

mind. The allusion to the Indian stooping or falling and the letter<br />

0 had reminded me of a story by which my father said some one<br />

had explained the name Ohio which I thought he might be trying<br />

to give. But the effort did not succeed in getting any evidence. The<br />

experiment then came to an end.<br />

After it was over Mr. Moriarty said he felt much as if he had<br />

been going into a trance at times. This I would expect after a<br />

number of sittings with myself. The interesting symbolism is very<br />

noticeable here, especially in the use of the man's memory to get<br />

symbolic imagery.<br />

COMMENTS.<br />

· Mr. Moriarty kept a real estate office, insurance agency and<br />

employment bureau, and these phenomena had existed a long<br />

time, but he suppressed them. He was sensitive to public opinion<br />

about them and would not allow them either to manifest or to<br />

be known, until their insistency forced him to try their pertinence<br />

a few times and his success emboldened him to try it<br />

more frequently with the result that my attention was called to<br />

the phenomena through the advice of Dr. Morton Prince to Mr.<br />

Moriarty. The consequence was the above experiments. The<br />

freedom from professional interests and the transparent sincerity<br />

of the man made it important to examine into the facts and<br />

I soon found that they were a rare phenomenon in respect of<br />

the form which they took. It is apparent to any reader that<br />

they represent some fom1 of mental pictures, whether regarded<br />

as genuine or simulative, while the coincidence with facts unknown<br />

to Mr. Moriarty insured a meaning that placed them<br />

beyond suspicion for pretension. The conditions of the experi-<br />

Digitized by Goog I e

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!