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Second Sight: A study of Natural and Induced Clairvoyance by Sepharial

III. THE FACULTY OF SEERSHIP

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These are qualifications with which the seer or seeress should be invested, and if with these the quest of the vision is unsuccessful after a period of earnest trial, it must be taken as sufficient warrant that the faculty of clairvoyance is not in the category of one's individual powers. Haply the same qualifications brought to bear on some other psychic faculty will result in a rich recompense.

As for those triflers who at odd moments sit for the production of what they call "phenomena," with no other object than the gratification of an inquisitive vanity, I would drive them with whips from the field of psychical research. They are people whose presence in this area of serious enquiry does no good either to the cause of truth or the service of the race, and this loose traffic of sorts in the hope of finding a new sensation would, were it transferred to another sphere of activity, deservedly receive a very ugly name.

The suggestion that the clairvoyant faculty is latent in all of us has no doubt been responsible for much misunderstanding, and not a little disappointment; but I doubt if it is so far removed from the truth as that which makes the possession of the faculty a certain sign of a superior degree of evolution. Although the faculty of clear vision brings us into more intimate conscious relations with a new order of existence, where the past and future, the distant and the near, would seem to be brought into immediate perception, it does not therefore confer upon us a higher degree of spirituality. It may undoubtedly offer us a truer perspective than that we may derive from the ordinary circumstance of our lives, and may suggest good grounds for a more comprehensive ethical system, but it cannot compel one to do the right thing or to lead the virtuous life. Clairvoyance, indeed, is a faculty which has no direct moral relations. It is no more the gift or property of the wise or the good man than extraordinary muscular power is an adjunct of high intelligence. And yet it is a curious fact that in all the sacred writings of the world there is a suggestion that holy men, or "Men of God," have this and other transcendent faculties, such as clairaudience and the power of healing. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures clairaudience seems to constitute the peculiar authority of the teacher or prophet. Thus we have expressions such as: "The Word of the Lord came to me saying," etc., and "I heard a voice which said," etc., which is sometimes but not always associated with direct vision. But because holy men of old were distinguished by this power of direct vision it is not to be supposed that all who have it are equally sanctified. By natural gift or by such means we are here discussing, the faculty may be brought into active function, but we should not lose sight of the fact that the attainment of righteousness implies that "all these things shall be added unto you."

I think it right, therefore, to regard the quest of clairvoyance as a legitimate occupation, providing that it is purposeful and carried out with a right spirit, while not being allowed to interfere with the proper performance of one's ordinary duties in life. For it is possible to become over-zealous and even morbid over these mysteries of human life, and to become so obsessed by the idea of their importance as practically to render oneself unfitted for any ordinary pursuits, thereby producing an isolation that is in the best sense unprofitable. Moreover, there are mental dangers as well as spiritual and social to be feared, and it is unfortunately not uncommon to observe that neuraesthenia, nervous corrosion, and even insanity attends upon the tireless efforts of the enthusiast in this direction.

If we regard clairvoyance as a normal faculty we are more likely to treat it normally than if we give it a paramount and exceptional value and seek to beatify those in whom it appears. I am convinced from experience that it is both normal and educable though not usually active in the large majority of people. I am also of the opinion that it is not peculiar, except in its higher functions, to human beings. I have known animals to possess this faculty; in a higher degree I have seen humans in the exercise of it. Perhaps even the archangels are yet seeking their vision of God.

But to us as normal beings clairvoyance should appear a potentially normal faculty, to be studied and pursued by methods that are efficient while yet harmless; and this is the purport of the present treatise. I will therefore ask the reader to follow me in these pages with a mind divested of all disposition to the supernatural.