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exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

Sensibility

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"Death does not change the character of a man, but simply strips off his masks and compels him to stand forth as he is, [as] he becomes after death the image of his own character." Andrew Jackson Davis

Dr. Carl & Anna Wickland 

See more about the Wicklands on the "afterlife" page.

During the early 1900s, Dr. Wickland worked as a psychiatrist and paranormal researcher; a member of the Chicago Medical Society, and director of the National Psychological Institute of Los Angeles. He specialized in cases of schizophrenia, paranoia, depression, addiction, manic-depression, criminal behavior, and phobias of all kinds. His wife Anna, a trance medium, allowed him to speak to, and help, discarnate entities which troubled his patients. For over 30 years this husband-and-wife team communicated with thousands of confused, disoriented spirits and documented their findings:

"Spirit obsession is a fact - a perversion of a natural law - and is amply demonstrable. This has been proven hundreds of times by causing the supposed insanity or aberration to be temporarily transferred from the victim to a psychic sensitive who is trained for the purpose, and by this method ascertain the cause of the psychosis to be an ignorant or mischievous spirit, whose identity may frequently be verified."

I highly recommend these two books by Dr. Wickland.

 The following is an excerpt from "The Gateway Of Understanding."

During an informal communication from the invisible side through the mediumship
of Mrs. Wickland, at the home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle several years ago,
among other intelligences the spirit of Harry Houdini, the great magician, took
control of Mrs. Wickland.

The spirit complained bitterly of his dark surroundings and referred to the great
mistake he had made in ridiculing Psychic phenomena, which he knew to be true.

Asked about the code agreed upon between himself and his wife, he declared that
in his present mental confusion he could not even recall what the code was, and
that he must first acquire more understanding of his new condition, for he had a very great deal to learn and undo.

Editor’s note: It is famously reported that Houdini and his wife, at death, pledged to communicate via secret code. This did not occur as planned (but only some years later). Skeptics claim that this is proof that there is no survival of consciousness. However, those ignorant of the conditions after transition, especially in the case of one who finds himself in darkness, do not realize that things might be very different upon crossing over. The unprepared and materialistic spirit often (1) cannot even remember his own name, (2) might not even realize that he is dead, (3) wouldn’t know the year, who's President or other common information, let alone secret codes. For a great many examples of this lack of memory see the Wicklands’ first book “Thirty Years Among the Dead.”

At the time, I was rather surprised regarding his seeming familiarity with Sir
Arthur, but learned later that Houdini, while in life, had had many discussions
with Sir Arthur about the problem of spirit return, and also that Houdini had
expressed a leaning toward the reality of spirit communication.

Readers are familiar with the recent successful decoding, through the mediumship
of Mr. Arthur Ford of New York, of Houdini's secret code agreed upon between
his wife and himself, at the time acknowledged by affidavit of Mrs. Houdini to be
authentic.

Three years later, during a private seance at our home, the spirit of Houdini again
controlled Mrs. Wickland. He expressed great regret at the stand he had taken
while on earth against the truth of spirit return and communication, and declared
he was now trying to do all within his power to right the wrong, speaking as
follows:

"It seems cruel that a man in my position should have thrown dust in the eyes of
people as I did."

"Since my passing I have gone to many, many mediums but the door is closed to
me. When I was on earth I closed the door with double locks by ridiculing psychic
phenomena and mediums. I have been able to open the door once or twice, but
only for a little while. When I try to tell people of the real truth they say I am not
the one I claim to be, because when I was on earth I did not talk that way."

"I ask you here to give me good thoughts, strength and power to undo my
mistakes. I cannot progress until I have acknowledged the truth. I must, I must do it!"

"I found an avenue through that most wonderful medium, Arthur Ford, and gave
my wife the code we had agreed upon."

"I have done great harm to many mediums. How I wish I could go to every one
and tell them that I did a wrong thing, that when they worked for the good of the
cause I tried to expose them to the world as humbugs. God help me for having
done that."

"I see my mistakes but I cannot get out of my present condition until I do good to the ones I ridiculed. I try my best to correct my mistakes but it is very hard."

Dr. Wickland: Do you recall the talk you had with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
shortly after you passed out? You spoke then through this same instrument.

Sp. "I tried my best to get through the opening but at that time I was so bewildered I did not know where I was."

"In my own soul I am so convinced of the wrongs I committed. Many do not know what awaits them on the other side of life, what the sleep of death is. When one has an understanding of death, there is no waiting, no hindrance."

"At first I was so confused that everything which belonged to
memory was forgotten for quite a long time. (A common complaint
of many spirits in their first efforts to communicate after
transition.) Later, things came clearly to me, the things I had
promised to do, and I tried very hard to get a message through. I
wanted to tell the truth and undo my former error."

"I found a wonderful instrument in Mr. Ford. I talked through
him and my wife was in a receptive spirit to accept me. I was very
happy but suddenly the door was shut."

"How I also wish I could say a few words to another very
wonderful medium, Margery. (Mrs. Crandon, of Boston.) I did
much harm to that poor woman. How she has suffered because of
my antagonistic thoughts."

"I tried to upset her and once I nearly killed her, but I did not
think much of it at the time. I wish I could undo the wrong I did
her. She is a very wonderful medium."

"I lectured and charged money—for what? To blind the eyes of
the people. They would pay to hear me lecture and run down poor,
honest mediums. (Covering face with hands.) Oh, it is awful!"

Dr. Wickland: Do not carry on that way, friend. You are controlling a medium and
must be more careful. Do not over-excite yourself.

Spirit: I see things so differently now. Everything I did stands out before
me.

Dr. Change your attitude and look for the intelligent spirits around you.
Do not think of your troubles all the time. Work your way out of them.

Sp. But it is as if I am in a prison and cannot see anything.

Dr. You will see in time. Ask the intelligent forces to give you strength
and power to overcome so you can carry on.

(Features brightening.) Thank you! I can see more clearly now.
Standing here is a very beautiful little lady (spirit) and she says she
will help me. (To spirit.) You say you will take me to your home?
Does she say who she is?

(Addressing an invisible.) What is your name, pretty little lady?
She says her name is Miss Dresser. (Former member of our circle.)
And you say you will take me and help me? I knew better in my
heart than to lecture as I did. I did it, however, for money, money I was so selfish.

Dr. You can overcome that.

Beautiful lady, will you really help me? How peaceful your soul
must be. You are like a transparent angel!

Her mind was occupied with higher ideals while in the physical
body.

She seems to float, not walk, and here I am, as heavy as lead.

Dr. You must not think of that all the time. You made mistakes, but
from now on determine to see the better side. Do not be so
discouraged.

You will give me your help, little lady?

Dr. Of course she will. That is why she came here tonight. Until recently, she met with us in this little circle.

Houdini, it seems, had made a kind of Faustian bargain with lower-level spirits, in order to become famous in magic

Sp. Will you all send thoughts to me for strength? I know I did wrong, and I knew I was wrong at the time. If I had done what my conscience urged me to do, I would not be where I am now. I was a psychic, and I knew it. I was helped in my work by the spirit forces, but more by the materially-minded forces, those who could work magic. But I shut the door to the higher intelligences.

Little lady, you who are so beautiful and bright, will you help me? Another one comes to me now.

Listen! Listen to that beautiful music! This little lady has brought
two others who are now singing. Such music! At last my soul is at
peace and I can go on. I have much work to do to right the wrongs of
my past.

But listen, such beautiful music! Heaven is opening! I cannot
describe this music because I never heard anything like it before.

And see those most beautiful flowers! Never, never, have I seen
such beauty. Heaven is surely opening for me!

Dr. You will find many wonderful things in your new life but you will have to work your way out of your present condition. Realize your mistakes and profit by them. Life is a school.

Sp. Can you hear that wonderful orchestra playing? They tell me it is an orchestra that plays to open the eyes of those in darkness so they can see the beauty of the spirit world.

Oh, how I do wish I could tell my wife that I can see! It would
make her so happy to know that I have found peace.

Dr. We will all send you helpful thoughts.

Sp. One thing I must ask all of you, and that is, do not be doubting Thomases as to my identity. I have enough to combat now. I am Houdini.

What place is this?

Dr. This is The National Psychological Institute in Los Angeles, established for research in normal and abnormal psychology to ascertain the condition of spirits after transition .Experience has shown that intelligent spirits play an important role for good in human affairs; on the other hand, many spirits, owing to ignorance, often unwittingly
act as contributing factors in many mental aberrations.

This is also a clearing-house where intelligent spirits, in cooperation with mortals, can enlighten the perplexed spirits who are often unaware of their transition.

Sp. Now they tell me I must leave. But before going I want to thank you for the help I have received. God bless you all! Good-bye.

A report of this communication from Houdini was published in an eastern magazine and ten days later the spirit of Houdini again controlled Mrs. Wickland.

Spirit I have come to thank you for the help you have given me.

Dr. Did we help you?

Sp. Yes, and I am much happier now. I had denied facts which I knew in my heart were true. I wanted to be original and have everybody think I was scientific so I denied facts and criticised others.

"When you have the truth, acknowledge it. Now I have
acknowledged my mistakes and I want to ask forgiveness of the ones I
tried to harm."

"I thank you for publishing that article and letting the public know
that I came back. I am glad it was given out to the world that I
confessed I wanted to [hurt] that little medium, Margery, (Mrs. Crandon) who
lives only for the truth and sacrifices her life to demonstrate her work."

"I tried trickery with her but Walter (Mrs. Crandon's spirit brother) found me out before hand."

"God bless the Crandons and God bless you! I am so glad that article was given out to show that poor Mrs. Crandon was persecuted. That is now known."

How did Houdini accomplish his amazing escape tricks? - not even he knew exactly how

Dr. Many believed that you were a wonderful medium yourself and that spirits helped you in your work. Was that correct?

Sp. Yes, but I would not acknowledge it. Whenever I was going to do something spectacular, if I did not hear a voice telling me to go ahead I
did not dare go on. Many times I did not perform my tricks because I
did not hear the voice. When I heard it I knew that everything was all
right. I cannot tell you exactly how I did my tricks because I do not
know myself. I was in a semi trance when all that took place.

Question: I should like to know how you got out of the tank of water and came
up on the stage from the front. I claim that could not have been done
without spirit agencies.

Sp. I do not even know myself how it was done. When I was in the tank of water I could hear the voices talking but I could not hear what was said. Up to a certain point I was myself, but not after that.

From the time I was tied and locked up until I was free I did not
know what took place. But I could not have told that. People would
have wondered what was the matter with me and that is the reason I
did not dare say anything. I wanted them to think I was doing the
tricks myself, but the spirits were the ones who acted through me.

Dr. You are making progress now, are you not?

Sp. Yes; I have progressed far enough to give enlightenment to some and I do all I can to help the unfortunate ones. I have certain duties to do to
help others before I can progress to new development. I am happy but
in a way I am restricted because I have to find those who are in trouble
and help them and give them strength.

I do work now that I should have done in earth life. If I had stood
for the truth and given credit to spirit power, the world would have
been more enlightened, because the spirits did wonderful things through
me.

Dr. Have you contacted the spirit of Sir Arthur? (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.)

Sp. Yes, and I have also asked him to forgive me. I said many unkind things about him. I was down on all Psychic Research and on every good
medium. If I had happened to know you, Dr. Wickland, and your wife,
you would also have gotten something. Those who escaped only did so
because they had not come under my notice. I thought I knew it all and that there was nothing more to learn. I want to tell you, when ever you reach that state of mind where you know it all, ask God to help you out of it. When you feel you know
everything and condemn everybody and have the idea that you are the
only one, it is very bad. There is always something to learn. The more
you learn the better it is for you.

I am more than glad that the world knows I came back and have
asked to be forgiven. That means more to me than I can explain. I thank
you for the light you gave me. Now I will not take up any more of
your time but I thank all of you.

Dr. We all wish you well.

Sp. Thank you and Good-night,

 
Intelligent Spirit Forces ask for human co-operation in diffusing a rational
understanding of the relationship between the two spheres; they earnestly implore
scientific minds to set aside prejudice and skepticism, which lead nowhere, and co-
operate by establishing institutions for careful, unbiased research, centers to which
ignorant spirits can be brought and enlightened from the mortal side.

For this purpose The National Psychological Institute was organized and
incorporated as a benevolent association to carry on experimental research in
normal and abnormal psychology as a nucleus to disseminate knowledge relating to
the problem of Life and Death and the Science of Religion.

Maintaining no allegiance to any sect, belief, ism or cult, the Institute especially
desires, so far as practicable, to encourage, and offer advice to, hospitals, asylums,
educational associations and religious institutions to follow up similar research in
the hope that the fact of survival will ultimately be placed on a rational, scientific
basis proving "It is not all of life to live, nor all of death to die."

Editor’s note: Afterlife researchers attorney Victor and Wendy Zammit report that over the years they have attended more than 200 direct-materialization sessions. While more of a rarity today, these opportunities are still available. And they inform us that some of the spirits-entities coming through to offer evidence of survival included Harry Houdini. They've actually met him. It seems that Harry is determined to live a better life now. See the Zammit’s website and search for Houdini to find out more.