Clairvoyance and Occult Powers

by William Walker Atkinson

Savage man also has this faculty developed, as all travellers and explorers well know. They are as keen as a wild animal to sense the nearness of enemies, or, in some cases, the approach of man-eating beasts. This does not mean that that these savages are more highly developed than is civilized man—quite the reverse. This is the explanation: when man became more civilized, and made himself more secure from his wild-beast enemies, as well as from the sudden attacks of his human enemies, he began to use this sense less and less. Finally, in the course of many generations, it became almost atrophied from disuse, and ceased reporting to the brain, or other nerve centres. Or, if you prefer viewing it from another angle, it may be said that the nerve centres, and brain, began to pay less and less attention to the reports of this sense (trusting more to sight and hearing) until the consciousness failed to awaken to the reports. You know how your consciousness will finally refuse to be awakened by familiar sounds (such as the noise of machinery in the shop, or ordinary noises in the house), although the ears receive the sound-waves.

Well, this is the way in the case of this neglected sense—for the two reasons just mentioned, the average person is almost unaware of its existence. Almost unaware I have said—not totally unaware. For probably every one of us has had experiences in which we have actually "felt" the presence of some strange person about the premises, or place. The effect of the report of this sense is particularly noticed in the region of the solar plexus, or the pit of the stomach. It manifests in a peculiar, unpleasant feeling of "gone-ness" in that region—it produces a feeling of "something wrong," which disturbs one in a strange way. This is generally accompanied by a "bristling up," or "creepy" feeling along the spine. The organs registering the presence of a strange or alien creature consist of certain delicate nerves of the surface of the skin, generally connected with the roots of the downy hair of the body—or resting where the hair roots would naturally be, in the case of a hairless skin. These seem to report directly to the solar-plexus, which then acts quickly by reflex action on the other parts of the body, causing an instinctive feeling to either fly the scene or else to crouch and hide oneself. This feeling, as may be seen at once, is an inheritance from our savage ancestors, or perhaps from our lowly-animal ancestral roots. It is a most unpleasant feeling, and the race escapes much discomfort by reason of its comparative absence.

I have said that occultists have developed, or rather re-developed this sense. They do this in order to have a harmonious well-developed seven-fold sense system. It increases their general "awareness." Certain other knowledge of the occultist neutralizes the unpleasant features of the manifestation of this sense, and he finds it often a very valuable adjunct to his senses of seeing and hearing, particularly in the cases in which he is approached by persons having antagonistic or hostile feelings toward him, as in such cases this faculty is particularly active. In connection with the telepathic sense (to be described a little further on) this sense operates to give a person that sense of warning when approached by another person whose feelings are not friendly to him, no matter how friendly the outward appearance of that person may be. These two extra senses co-operate to give a person that instinctive feeling of warning, which all of us know in our own experience.

This particular, as well as the telepathic sense, may be cultivated or developed by anyone who wishes to take the time and trouble to accomplish the work. The principle is simple—merely the same principle that one uses in developing any of the other physical attributes, namely, use and exercise. The first step (a) is the recognition of the existence of the sense itself; then (b) the attention given to its reports; then (c) frequent use and exercise. Just think of how you would proceed to develop any of the five ordinary senses—the hearing, sight, or touch, for instance—then follow the same process in the cultivation of this extra sense, or two senses, and you will accomplish the same kind of results.

Now, let us consider the other extra physical sense—the "telepathic" sense, or sense of becoming aware of the thought-waves, or emotional waves, of other persons. Now, as strange as this may appear to some persons—the most of persons in fact—this telepathic faculty is not a "higher" faculty or sense, but is really a comparatively low one. Just like the sense just described, it is possessed in a higher degree by many of the lower animals, and by primitive and savage man. That which really is "higher" in this kind of psychic phenomena is the manifestation of that higher form of telepathy—by use of the astral counterpart of this sense—which we shall consider, later, under the name of clairvoyance, for this is really a particular phase of clairvoyance.

As strange as it may appear to some of you, the lower animals possess a kind of telepathic sense. An animal is usually aware of your feelings toward it, and your purposes regarding it. Domestic animals lose some of this by generations of confinement, while the wild animals have the sense highly developed. But even some of the domestic animals have more or less of it. You will readily recognize this fact if you have ever tried to "cut out" a certain animal from a herd or flock. You will find that the animal in some way has sensed your designs upon it, no matter how indirectly you approach it, and it will begin circling around the other animals, twisting in and out in its endeavors to be lost to your sight. The other animals, likewise, will seem to know that you are after only that particular one, and will manifest but little fright or distrust, comparatively.

I have frequently seen this thing, in my own country and in others, among poultry raisers. The poultryman will think, to himself, "Now, I am going to get that black hen with the yellow legs—that fat, clumsy one," and he will move toward the flock slowly and with an air of unconcern. But, lo! as soon as he gets near the creatures, that black hen will be seen edging her way to the outer circle of the flock, on the opposite side from the man. When the man moves around to her side, she will be found to have plunged into the crowd, and it is hard to find her. Sometimes she will actually try to sneak off, and conceal herself in some dark corner, or back of some large object. Every poultryman will smile when this occurrence is mentioned to him—he knows by experience that hens have a way of sensing what he has in his mind regarding them.

Moreover, as every farmer knows, the crow family has a most uncanny way of sensing the intentions of the farmer who is trying to destroy them, and shows great sagacity in defeating those intentions. But, while the crow is a very intelligent bird—one of the wisest of the bird family, in fact—it obtains its knowledge of what is in the mind of the man not alone from "figuring on his intentions," but rather from that instinctive sensing of his mental states. The hen, as all know, is a very stupid bird, showing but little intelligent activity. But, nevertheless, she is very quick about sensing the poultryman's designs on her, though generally very stupid about planning out a skillful escape.

Every owner of dogs, cats and horses, has had many opportunities for observing the manifestation of this sense on the part of those animals. Every dog feels the emotional states of his owner, and others. The horse knows when his owner seeks to throw the halter over his neck, or when, on the contrary, he is merely walking through the field. Cats sense their owners' feelings and thoughts, and often resent them. Of course, the lower animals can sense merely elementary mental states, and generally only emotional states, as their minds are not developed so as to interpret the more complex mental states. Primitive men likewise almost instinctively sense the feelings and designs of other men. They do not reason the thing out, but rather merely "feel" the ideas and designs of the others. The women of the lower races are more adept in interpreting these sense reports than are the men. Women are more sensitive, as a rule, than are men—on any point on the scale of development.

When we come to consider ordinary telepathy in the case of men of civilized countries, we find a more complex state of affairs. While civilized man, as a whole, has lost some of the quick telepathic perception of the lower races, he has, in some exceptional cases, acquired a faculty of receiving and interpreting more complex thought-forms and mental states. The investigations of the Society for Psychical Research, and those of private investigators as well, have shown us that a picture of a complicated geometrical design held in the mind of one person may be carried to and received by the mind of another person, who reproduces the design on paper. In the same way, complicated thoughts have been transmitted and received. But these are only exceptional cases. In many cases this sense seems almost dead in the ordinary civilized individual, except when aroused in exceptional cases.