been
favored with "crystal visions." Very probably the rule here is the same
as in ordinary hypnotism. Those persons who have a strong will and
sound nerves are able to hypnotize themselves, while those whose nerves
are disordered are subject to the hypnotic influence of others.
A
well-known lady in New York City, in conversation with the writer, a
few years ago, on the subject of crystal balls, was advised by him to
try a ball herself and see what results she obtained. At the end of two
years she found that by concentration she had been able to better her
understanding of herself; and this effect is not only obtainable now by
means of a crystal ball, but by fixing her gaze upon any bright object.
This visual fixation has centred her whole being in such a way that her
health has notably improved.
What
are the laws that govern the production of these phenomena? That the
"visions" are real enough has been proven time and again, but it seems
almost certain that they do not offer anything but the ideas or
impressions existing in the minds or optic nerves of the gazers. One
of the most painstaking students of the subject, Miss Goodrich-Freer,
gives many instances in proof of this, which show how easy it would be
for a less critical observer to suppose that the crystal revealed
something unknown to the gazer. On one occasion this lady was at a loss
to remember the correct address of a friend whose letter, received a
few days before, she had torn up. She resorted to her crystal, and
after a few minutes saw in it, in gray letters on a white ground, the
address she had forgotten. She mailed her answer to this address, and
the reply came duly to hand, with the address stamped in gray upon the
white paper of the note, which was
