Theos-Talk Archives (November 1993 Message tl00037)

Multiple Bodies. Although Eldon's four "aspects" or possible
meanings of the quote from the Mahatma Letters are all perfectly
valid, there is no doubt in my own mind that the quote refers to
multiple physical bodies on Globe D. Although it is probably
true that "there is no value to multiple personalities/bodies to
switch between" as Eldon says, nevertheless this is a well known
magical ability for very high Adepts according to Eastern
tradition. Has anyone ever read the biography of the Tibetan
saint, Milarepa? I have an old dog-eared copy via Evans-Wentz
(Dover), but I understand that a new translation is now available
from Snow Lion. Anyway, Milarepa, after becoming a very high
Adept indeed, was able to make his physical body appear in
several places at once in order to teach more people than he
could reach in only one body (Tibetan mountains being rather
sparsely populated). I highly recommend his biography to
everyone, as it is a demonstration of how a "normal" person can
reach enlightenment in one single lifetime (ie., not easily). I
believe that the theory behind this has to do with the fact that
the Reincarnating Ego expresses itself in multiple bodies over
long periods of time, and by manipulating your sense of time, you
can express many bodies at once. It may sound bazaar, but there
it is.

After-Death Experiences. Both my wife, Betty, and I have had an
after-death experience. Hers was very vivid and occurred early
in her life. She was taken to a valley where she met with me and
my family and the children that she would have (i.e., she foresaw
future events in some detail). I, on the other hand, sat in a
rather drab room waiting and waiting for something to happen. We
were both sent back. An account of Betty's experience was
published in FATE magazine a few years ago (I do not recommend
FATE for theosophists). My own experience was not flowery enough
to write up. However, I apparently had a mild stroke one night
while sleeping (my doctor says that it is almost certain, because
my eyesight was effected in a way that is indicative of a
stroke). Betty says that I was grey and cold and she revived me
by rubbing me while talking to me. I remembered little, except
that I was in a room and the atmosphere seemed very heavy as if
the room was below ground. I sat on a bench and waited for
something to happen. Finally, someone arrived and told me that I
had to return now (I have no recollection of what this person
looked like). I awoke as if from a very very deep sleep.

I can't remember if I have told anyone of my encounter with a
real ghost (?) but if so, please skip this. My older brother
died from a gun that wasn't supposed to be loaded, many years ago
(before I knew anything about theosophy - he was 25 and I was 22
at the time). A few months after he died, I "met" him in a
dream. I was standing in a very pleasantly furnished room.
There was a fireplace with a nice warn fire blazing. I stood in
front of the fire and watched the flames for awhile. I was happy
and comfortable. I heard someone enter the room behind me, and
almost immediately I "knew" who it was. The icy thought "but
you're dead" came to me and a shiver ran up my spine. How could
my brother, who died, be here with me now? I slowly turned,
while already feeling pangs of fear run through me. And then I
saw him standing right in front of me. It was very real. Too
real. At that moment, fear overcame me, and I turned back to the
fire and literally dove into it as if it was a swimming pool. My
dive brought me back into my physical body, but way too fast. I
awoke in a sweat, dizzy and with a headache, and moaned so loud
that it woke my wife. I can't remember ever being so scared. I
was not able to go back to sleep at all that night. Soon after
the experience I chided myself for being so scared and have
wished many times since for the experience to be repeated. After
studying theosophy, I wished that I had another chance to talk
with my brother, but my own fear had preventing me from learning
anything at that time. I don't think that I would react the same
way today, but I haven't had an opportunity to test that out.
Anyway, this experience convinced me that ghosts are very real.

Suggestion and hypnotism. While I agree pretty much with Eldon
on hypnotism and mesmerism, I fail to find anything wrong with
self-directed suggestion. It may be considered magic, but then
so is most of life. Eldon writes "We learn to change the world
by changing ourselves and changing our actions in life."
Exactly. But just how do we do this? I submit that suggestion
and imagery (not only were these tools used by ancient yogis, but
modern psychology has proven their value as well) are useful
techniques that we can use to bring these changes about. The
changes, if they are to be beneficial, must take place in our
worldview. We can begin by suggestion and imagery, which when
developed over time, lead to belief. We are told, for example,
that we are inherently divine, that we each have an inner
god/goddess. We can then either accept this on faith, or imagine
our inner divinity until it becomes a reality. How such
spiritually uplifting imagery can create and strengthen "karmic
bonds that hold yourself and the rest of us back" is difficult
for me to understand.

I once went to a dentist who practiced hypnotism on many of his
patients (not on me or my family). He told me that patients who
let themselves be hypnotised became easier and easier to control.
Some fell into a hypnotic trance almost immediately. He also
told me that he conducted an experiment with a female patient.
He got her to let him come home with her to spent the night.
Then he laughed and admitted that he never did it, just tried to
see if she would go alone (which she did). Anyway, this kind of
thing convinced me years ago that hypnotism was a very bad thing
to do, and I agree with Eldon that it is a form of black magic.

                                            Jerry S.