I wonder if a psychomanteum can be used to communicate with the soul self, like a sort of physical feedback loop through the external into the internal?
Some excerpts from my searching about this psychomanteum...
http://www.near-death.com/experiences/tr...nteum.html
Quote:Dr. Raymond Moody's Method to Induce ADCs (After Death Communication)
1. Food: Get into a serene state of mind by eliminating caffeine and dairy products the day before your encounter. Eat simply, such as only fruit and vegetables.
2. Location: Go to the quietest part of your home. It is important to find a comfortable place where you can truly relax. Unplug clocks and phones in that room so as not to be disturbed.
3. Clothing: Leave your wristwatch and all jewelry off. Wear only loose, comfortable clothing.
4. Mirror: Place a large mirror in front of comfortable chair and arrange it so that you can gaze into it without having to hold your eyes at an uncomfortable angle.
5. Chair: Sit in your chair. Be sure that it supports the back of your head, even if you are deeply relaxed.
6. Awareness: The goal is to ease the transition into an altered state of awareness.
7. Posture: A relaxed posture is important.
8. Mood: Create a mood by soothing yourself with beauty for about 15 minutes by looking or listening to works of art. Art alone is enough to induce altered states in many people. Soft music can go far to stimulate awareness.
9. Memories: Gather photographs and personal items of your departed loved one around you. Touch them and remember your loved ones fondly. It is important to imprint that person firmly in your mind. Doing so shouldn't be too difficult. A family album filled with great memories stirs up the conscious as well as the unconscious mind. Family films and videos do the same thing. Some people use articles of clothing associated with the person. Such items include fishing poles, woodworking tools, chess sets, pipes, glasses, old letters, and so on. Anything associated with that person is an effective way of bringing up memories and feelings.
10. Light: In the twilight of the day, light a candle and place it behind you. Dim light from behind usually works the best, although you will have to experiment until you get the lighting just right. The twilight hours is a time that seems to better inspire altered states in many people. Later, when you become more proficient, you will find that mirror gazing is possible even in bright lights.
The technique of mirror gazing itself is remarkably easy. Seated comfortably, relax and gaze into the clear depth of the mirror without trying to see anything. Some compare this to looking off into the distance. Properly relaxed, your arms will feel very heavy and the tips of your fingers will tingle as though charged slightly by electricity. This tingling feeling almost always signals the beginning of the hypnagogic state (altered consciousness).
The mirror will most likely become cloudy now. Some people report an image that resembles the sky on a cloudy day. Others say that the mirror becomes darker. Whatever the case, this change in the clarity of the mirror signals you that the visions are about to appear.
Do not direct the experience at first or pose particular questions when the visions appear. It is best to first watch them unfold passively. Just let the images flow. Attempting to guide the images decrease the likelihood that one will see images in the mirror. After you have become more adept at mirror gazing, putting specific questions into your mind before entering the trance state can be very helpful, especially if your object is self-exploration or self-understanding. Attempting to direct images after they have begun will usually cause them to fade away. Why this happens Dr. Moody is not sure, but his guess is that conscious thought brings you out of the hypnagogic state of mind where these images occur.
How long do the images last? Usually less than a minute, especially for those unable to stay relaxed. Some of Dr. Moody's subjects have been able to maintain images for as long as ten minutes on their first attempt. The more proficient you become at mirror gazing, the longer you will see images in the mirror.
Sometimes you may see nothing yet hear the departed person talk or feel his or her touch. Some may experience all the sensations of a given person, or location, without actually seeing anything. Sometimes, like Nostradamus, you may have the sensation of passing into the mirror, or the images may actually come out to be with you. Whatever the case, it will be obvious when the visionary experience starts and when it is over.
Dr. Moody recommends that you record the experience immediately after the session as you would a dream. Write it down in as much detail as possible. Careful record keeping will help you know what to expect the next time you mirror gaze. It will also show differences between sessions and will eventually let you know how to get the most out of your mirror-gazing experience. Recording your experiences will also help you remember them as they really were.
If the visions do not occur during a session, then it is necessary to consider some of the possible factors involved. The most common reason for failing to see anything is trying too hard. People sometimes report that the visions miraculously begin after they give up, or at least after they entertain thoughts of doing so. Distractions are another common reason that visions fail to take place. These can include outside noise and physical discomfort. Perhaps the room is too hot or too cold, or maybe it is just too noisy. Distractions also take place in the form of diet. Some people simply cannot have visionary experiences after eating a heavy meal, though a light one is recommended since it elevates your blood sugar and keeps you from focusing on your hunger.
Dr. Moody also emphasizes that exercise is an important component of relaxation. Most people are far more relaxed after even gentle exercise and have lower blood pressure and a slower heart rate to prove it. If you are having difficulty relaxing, or letting your mind wander while mirror gazing, it might be due to a lack of exercise
http://whitecrowbooks.com/carlawillsbran...rit_world/
Quote:“That evening, I enjoyed a light supper with the rest of Moody’s visitors and had a delightful time talking with Dianne Arcangel, who has spent years researching both ancient and modern-day Psychomanteums.
“While eating dessert, I suddenly had a strong desire to put my plate down and go upstairs to the third psychomanteum. I had not been in this one. What was funny about this sudden “urge” was that during dinner, I made fun of this particular Psychomanteum. A rather obsessive engineer had built it.
“So, up the stairs I trudged, like a woman on a mission.
“Into the black box I went and sat down. Within just a few minutes of mirror gazing (just looking into a plain old mirror hanging on a wall, about four feet away) a mist, clouds, or blue-gray “something” started pouring out of the mirror. A swirl of mist touched me on my right wrist and I became frightened. At this point, Dianne Arcangel happened to be walking by, heard me gasp, and asked if she could help me. I responded with, “I’m glad you are there (just outside the psychomanteum) because it’s getting weird in here. I don’t know who’s visiting, but there are many, and I’m feeling very overwhelmed!” Something intuitively told me I was encountering many visitors from the other side. Dianne asked me if I wanted to continue. Hearing her voice calmed me down, and I said yes.
“After she left, I began saying to myself, “What can I learn from this?” over and over again. This mantra kept me grounded. Within moments, it was happening again. This time, the mirror first became black in color and then light. After this, white light tinged in blue started sprinkling down upon me. I wasn’t scared, and I could even hear Moody talking on the telephone in the next room. Then the sprinkle of light turned into balls of light. These balls of light started to get bigger, and it looked like they were trying to take form. One began to toke the shape of a head, and I thought to myself, “l wonder if that is my grandmother?”
“The next part of the experience is still hard to talk about. I get very emotional. One of these bluish-white orbs, not very large in size, hit me on my left side, near my heart area. Though it felt like a light push, it literally took my breath away. It was as if the light had gone through me. With this, I suddenly felt very peaceful, joyous, calm, and intensely loved. I also noticed the temperature in the psychomanteum was suddenly cooler.
“Then I saw more light around me and I was inundated with unlimited unconditional love. Because it felt as though things were happening rather quickly, I sensed urgency for contact from whoever was reaching out to me. With this awareness, very thin etheric streams of whirling white energy come toward my left side, touching my left arm, as if in on embrace. From this soft, cool touch, I felt pure amazement and joy.
“I will never know what would have happened next because one of Moody’s more aggressive visitors suddenly burst in and told me he wanted to try this psychomanteum. With this intrusion, the swirling, loving light immediately disappeared. For a moment, I just sat there stunned. Then, in a state of aw, love, confusion, grief, and numbness, I got out of the psychomanteum and started to talk to the other guest about my experience, but then silenced myself.
Outside the room, I once again found Dianne Arcangel. After seeing the look on my face, she led me to on outride porch where I began to cry. The encounter had overwhelmed me and I now found myself missing the loving touch I had received from the cool, swirling whitish-blue light.
“Out of a group of approximately ten or so participants, I was one of two who experienced a reunion. My rational mind wants to explain the experience away, but it can’t. I saw with my eyes and tactilely felt something beyond this physical plane of existence. During the encounter my intuition was certain, unshakable. The over pouring of gray misty clouds that initially floated toward me, the whitish-blue bolls or orbs of soft, love energy and light that entered me’ the unexpected drop in temperature inside the psychomanteum, and the streams of pure white, swirling thin light, energy that came toward me, encircling me, cannot be explained away. I am changed forever.
http://withloveandlight.com/articles/my-...eve-trask/
Quote:When I arrived to try out the psychomanteum, Jamie noted that seven of my spirit guides had arrived about 90 minutes prior and were waiting to watch and assist my experience. I excitedly entered the darkened booth, we placed a fan inside for white noise, and a small light behind my chair to allow me to see slightly in the darkness. I sat in the chair, took some deep breaths, looked up at the mirror (which I really couldn’t see- it was so dark!), and waited.
In the back of my mind, I expected to see faces, or even my mother or other recently passed relatives. I don’t think it’s a good idea to have preconceived notions for these types of things. Anyhow, the first things I experienced were blobs or orange/white colors, which quickly moved from the top to the bottom of my vision, and sometimes from right to left. This was exciting, but lasted only for a few minutes. After that, I stared into the blurry darkness. It reminded me of meditating – where my mind would wander, and I would see a lot of moving fuzziness in front of me. After about 15-20 minutes of this I noticed my eyes were tiring from staring ahead and I was blinking a lot. Shortly after that, I started to lose focus, my eyes would occasionally roll back and I would nearly fall asleep. Something told me to stay awake or I would miss the visual experiences from dreaming the whole time. It was difficult to stay awake, especially with the white noise (which is optional).
When I was able to stay alert and focused, I sometimes noticed small movements of sparkling light. Brief, and fleeting, but they were there. Were my eyes just playing tricks on me? Probably about 30-40 minutes in, I started seeing some white clouds that would drift slowly and dissolve. Then, just the blurry blackness returned to view. Ok, I thought. I have seven helpers here – let me see something! Let me hear something! At one point in a trance like daze, half awake and half alert, I had a vision of my mother in a garden, looking young and happy. Mom passed away two years ago and I’ve really missed her. It was a nice feeling to see that, however briefly.
I waited further and something strange happened, something unexpected. I felt a warming in my chest area. It was if a beam of energy was shooting right into my heart chakra, opening it up, and healing me. I’ve been very much trapped in work lately and have been emotionally blocked – serious and analytical. Was this my spirit guide team trying to open me up emotionally? This lasted for about 10 min, then the feeling was gone. I thanked whoever was helping there. Then, the alarm I had set to go off in one hour started to go off. Disappointed, I moved the light around so I could actually see the mirror in front of me a little better, and remained for 20 more minutes, determined to see something in the mirror. All I could see was that under-water like blurry/foggy vision.
When I left the psychomanteum, I felt somewhat disappointed, as my ego was anticipating some kind of paranormal experience. I got in the car and started to drive away, and surprisingly, I started crying. I don’t usually cry, in fact, I rarely cry! My chest area felt warm and tight, as if someone had given me a massage in that area. Emotions poured out of me and I felt open, sensitive and aware. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. As I’m sitting here writing this tonight, I’m still feeling the after effects of my experience. I feel emotionally drained, but in a good way.
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