Clairvoyance and Occult Powers. Atkinson William Walker

      Begin by having the projector select some prominent object in the room, a chair, or table for instance. Then have him take your left hand in his right hand. Raise your left hand, held in his right hand, to your forehead; then close your eyes and remain passive a few moments. Have him concentrate his mind intently on the selected object—and will that you should move toward it. Have him think of nothing else except that object, and to will you to move toward it, with all his power. Close your eyes, and quiet your mind, opening your consciousness to every mental impression that he may send you. Instruct him to think not merely "chair," for instance, but rather "there—go there." The main thought in his mind must be that of direction. He must will that you move toward that chair.

      After a moment or two, you will begin to feel a vague, general impulse to move your feet. Obey the impulse. Take a few slow steps in any direction that seems easy to you. Sometimes this will take you in an opposite direction from that of the chair, but it will "get you going," and you will soon begin to feel that the direction is "all wrong," and will begin to be mentally pulled in the right direction. You will have to actually experience this feeling, before you will fully understand just what I mean.

      After some little practice, you will begin to feel quite distinctly the mental direction, or will-force, of the projector, which will seem to tell you to "come this way—now stop—now turn a little to the right—now a little to the left—now stop where you are, and put out your right hand—lower your hand—move your hand a little to the right—that's it, now you have got it all right." You will soon learn to distinguish between the "no, that's wrong" thought, and the "that's right" one; and between the "go on," and the "come on" one. By making yourself completely passive, and receptive and obedient to the thought and will-impulses of the projector, you will soon act like a ship under the influence of the rudder in the hand of the projector.

      After you have attained proficiency in receiving the mental impressions and directions, you will find yourself attracted or drawn, like a piece of steel to the magnet, toward the object selected. It will sometimes seem as if you were being moved to it even against your own will—and as if someone else were actually moving your feet for you. Sometimes the impulse will come so strong that you will actually rush ahead of the projector, dragging him along with you, instead of having him a little in advance, or by your side. It is all a matter of practice.

      You will soon discover the great difference between different projectors. Some of them will be in perfect en rapport condition with you, while others will fail to get into tune with you. Some projectors do not seem to know what is required of them, and usually forget to "will" you to the object. It helps sometimes to tell them that the whole thing depends upon their will power, and that the stronger their will is, the easier it is for you to find the thing. This puts them on their mettle, and makes them use their will more vigorously.

      You will soon learn to recognize that peculiar feeling of "all right," that comes when you finally stand in front of the desired object. Then you begin to move your right hand up and down and around, until you get the right "feel" about that also, when you should place your hand on the place which seems to attract you most. You will find that the hand is just as responsive to the mental force, as are the feet. You will soon learn to distinguish between the mental signals: "up," "down," "to the right," "to the left," "stop now, you're right," etc. I cannot tell you just the difference—you must learn to "feel" them, and you will soon become expert in this. It is like learning to skate, run an automobile, operate a typewriter or anything else—all a matter of exercise and practice. But it is astonishing how rapidly one may learn; and how, at times, one seems to progress by great leaps and bounds. Now I shall give you the different stages or steps, which you will do well to follow in your exercises, progressing from the more simple to the more complex—but be sure to thoroughly master the simple ones, before you pass on to the more complex one. Be honest and strict with yourself—make yourself "pass the examination" before promotion, in each and every step.

      1. LOCATIONS. Begin by finding particular locations in a room; corners, alcoves, doors, etc.

      2. LARGE OBJECTS. Then begin to find large objects, such as tables, chairs, book-cases, etc.

      3. SMALL OBJECTS. Then proceed to find small objects, such as books on a table, sofa-cushions, ornaments, paper-knives, etc. Gradually work down to very small objects, such as scarf-pins, articles of jewelry, pocket-knives, etc.

      4. CONCEALED OBJECTS. Then proceed to find small objects that have been concealed under other objects, such as a pocket-book beneath a sofa-cushion, etc.; or a key in a book; or a key under a rug, etc.

      5. MINUTE OBJECTS. Then proceed to discover very small objects, either concealed or else placed in an inconspicuous place, such as a pin stuck in the wall, etc.; or a small bean under a vase, etc.

      The public performers of mind reading vary the above by sensational combinations, but you will readily see that these are but ingenious arrangements of the above general experiments, and that no new principle is involved. As these lessons are designed for serious study and experiment, and not for sensational public performances, I shall not enter into this phase of the subject in these pages. The student who understands the general principles, and is able to perform the above experiments successfully, will have no difficulty in reproducing the genuine feats of the public mind readers, by simply using his ingenuity in arranging the stage-effects, etc. Among other things, he will find that he will be able to obtain results by interposing a third person between the projector and himself; or by using a short piece of wire to connect himself and the projector. Drawing pictures on a blackboard, or writing out names on a slate, by means of thought direction, are simply the result of a fine development of the power of finding the small article—the impulse to move the hand in a certain direction comes in precisely the same way. The public driving feats of the professional mind-reader are but a more complicated form of the same general principle—the impression of "direction" once obtained, the rest is a mere matter of detail. The opening of the combination of a safe, though requiring wonderful proficiency on the part of the operator, is simply an elaboration of the "direction" movement.