Modern spiritism; its science and religion - SpiritArchive.org

EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA 75
Psychology of Mediums
This brings us again to these extraordinary beings,
for there is no doubt they are out of the ordinary.
Any one cannot be a medium, but a great many more
could be if
they were aware of the power they possess.
A well-known Christian doctor discovered one of his
servant-maids had these powers to an extraordinary
degree; and eventually she turned his house upside
down with physical phenomena.*
We do not know exactly what is the peculiar
psychic condition of a medium. It appears to be,
so far as I can judge, some state akin to auto-hypnotism,
or, to use inexact, old-fashioned language,
" self- mesmerism, " during which the unconscious
mind, usually buried in the deepest obscurity "below
the threshold," is brought into prominence and
dominance, while the conscious mind is in abeyance
and not used, as in hypnorism. With most
mediums this results in an apparent "trance" condition
of unconsciousness, but others do not appear
to be wholly asleep or unconscious (as in modern
hypnotism), but. reach the same condition. There
is a great tendency for professional hypnotic subjects
to become mediums.
It must be borne in mind that those who alone,
in their rooms, get direct writing or raps are themselves
mediums, though at first they may not have
known their powers.
The medium is always exhausted by her efforts,
sometimes to a dangerous extent. As I have said
elsewhere, the power is seldom lifelong;
in Stainton
* See p. 39.