In this issue, we continue the study of the book, Practical Instructions on Spiritist Manifestations, work published by Allan Kardec in 1858. This work which we suggest you read, refers to the edition published by “Casa Editora O Clarim”, and is based on Cairbar Schutel’s translation.
Questions for discussion
A. In what environment, in the nineteenth century, were communications received originally through pneumatography or direct writing?
B. What is psychophony and what are its advantages?
C. We know that every person that suffers somehow the influence of the Spirits is a medium. This ability, however, is reserved, in Spiritism, to what kind of people?
Reading Text
89. Apparitions happen when we are awake and in the full power of our faculties. Spirits can manifest themselves openly in several ways: in the form of flames or light flames with varying brightness, or as a known or unknown person. (Chapter II, page 90).
90. In certain cases the apparition becomes tangible, i.e. it momentarily acquires the properties of the solid matter. It cannot only be seen, but also touched. (Chapter II, pages 90 and 91).
91. Most phenomena, mainly the physical and apparent manifestations, can be produced spontaneously, i.e. with no interference of the will. These manifestations are not rare, nor new. Fear, undoubtedly, often exaggerated these facts. With the aid of superstition, the houses where they took place gained the reputation of being haunted by the devil and as a consequence all the wonderful or terrible tales of souls of the other world. (Chapter II, page 91).
92. Spontaneous manifestations very rarely occur in isolated locations. It is almost always in occupied houses and due to certain persons who live there and have a particular influence without even being aware of it. They are mediums, but do not know it, and therefore called natural mediums. (Chapter II, page 92).
93. We must be careful not to assign to a hidden source what we do not understand. A multitude of very simple and very natural causes can produce strange effects at first, and it would be superstitious to see Spirits everywhere busy overturning furniture, breaking crockery, in short, causing a thousand and one domestic disturbances, which more logically should be put on carelessness account. (Chapter II, pages 92 and 93).
94. In such a case we must look for the cause and we can bet a hundred to one that we will find a natural fact where we thought there was the influence of a disturbing Spirit. When an unaccounted-for phenomenon occurs, our first thought should be that it is due to some material cause, and not caused by the Spirits, unless we have full knowledge of this. (Chapter II, page 93).
95. Of all the spiritual manifestations, the most common and simplest of them all are the noises and taps. But a multitude of natural causes can produce them: the wind whistling or shaking an object, a body that moves without us being aware of it, a sound effect, a hidden animal, and so on. Spirits’ noises have, in fact, a particular feature, with a pitch and intensity that makes them easily recognizable. The tapping is deliberate, sometimes a deaf tone, weak and mild, sometimes clear, distinct, and noisy; they also change places and are repeated with no regularity. (Chapter II, pages 93 and 94).
96. Of all the means of control, the most effective is their obedience to the command of the mediator. If the tapping is heard in the designated location; if they respond to thought through established sequences or using intensity, one cannot deny that there is an intelligent cause. Failure to comply is not, however, evidence to the contrary. (Chapter II, page 94).
97. If the interested party does not dispose of a medium/psychic to help him, the solution is to become one of them. In the absence of a writing medium, we can directly question the Spirit that is tapping and he may answer in the same manner, i.e., through conventional taps. Nine out of ten people can be writing mediums. (Chapter II, page 97).
98. Every manifestation that has an intention or a will is, therefore, intelligent. (Chapter III, page 99).
99. It is generally believed that questioning the Spirit of a man, who was wise in a certain area of his life, when on Earth, most assuredly will get us to the truth. This is logical, but it is not always true. Wise men as much as the other men, especially those who have left Earth recently, are still under the influence of the prejudices of their corporeal life. Thus, the human science, with which they are provided, is not always a guarantee of their infallibility as Spirits. (Chapter III, pages 102 and 103).
100. General rule: The Spirit becomes more enlightened when he cares less for matter. He stubbornly holds on to the same ideas he had on Earth, if his death is still recent. (Chapter III, page 103).
101. At death, the soul is always in a state of disturbance during which it barely recognizes itself: it is an awakening that is not complete. Many do not believe they are dead, mostly the tortured ones, or those who committed suicide and, in general, those who die a violent death. (Chapter III, page 103).
Answers to the proposed questions
A. In what environment, in the nineteenth century, were communications received originally through pneumatography or direct writing?
In the beginning, a sheet of paper and pencil were left on a grave, near a statue or picture of any dead person and, the next day, a few hours later the paper had a name written, a sentence and sometimes some unintelligible signs. It is obvious that the tomb, the statue, and the picture had no influence on this; it simply happened due to evocation by thought. According to Kardec, it was the Baron L. Guldenstubbe, author of La réalité des Esprits et le merveilleux Phénomène of leur écriture directe, published in Paris in 1857, who highlighted this phenomenon. (Practical Instructions, Chapter IV, pages 117-119).
B. What is psychophony and what are its advantages?
Psychophony is the name given to the transmission of the thought of the Spirit through the voice of certain mediums endowed with a special faculty for this purpose. This form has all the advantages of the automatic writing due to its speed thus allowing the study of extensive issues. It is much to the liking of the Superior Spirits, but perhaps, for those who doubt it, it has the inconvenience of not showing in a quite obvious way, the intervention of a strange intelligence. It is convenient mainly to those, who already have a good knowledge about the Spiritist facts, and therefore make use of it to complement their studies and have no need to add more to their conviction. (Ibid, Chapter IV, pages 119-121).
C. We know that every person that suffers somehow the influence of the Spirits is a medium. This ability, however, is reserved, in Spiritism, to what kind of people?
The psychic faculty is inherent in man and, therefore, it is not an exclusive privilege. For this reason, mediumship is found in all individuals and only in very few is it still rudimentary. However, in this current use, mediumship only applies when it is clearly characterized and is proved by evident effects of certain intensity, and this depends on a more or less sensitive organization. (Ibid, Chapter V, page 122).
