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That's the spirit! Beware spooks - it's Hallowe'en
IT'S Hallowe'en, the last day of the ancient Celtic calendar
- and the night when spirits are said to roam the earth.
For many years after I settled in the UK, I supposed it was
a Christian festival, and my children were encouraged not
to take much notice of it.
But I was wrong - the paranormal strangeness of tonight seems
to be hard-wired, not just into the British brain but into
the countryside itself.
Even the hills and trees seem to be expecting the dead to
walk tonight.
More than 1,500 years ago, Christian missionaries and priests
in the Britain of the Dark Ages found they could not exorcise
Hallowe'en from the pagan mind. So they called it All-Hallows
Eve instead.
But it's no more a Christian date than it is a Jewish one.
It belongs to a time as old as Moses.
You don't believe in ghosts, of course. Or you think you
don't. But pick up a Stephen King novel or watch a Wes Craven
movie and I guarantee that for an hour or two you will believe
in the spirit world.
Perhaps the veil that divides us from the supernatural really
is gossamer thin tonight - or perhaps it's just that we're
half-expecting to hear an eerie wail and a clanking of chains,
and so we open our minds a little wider.
That makes Hallowe'en a perfect opportunity to investigate
the untapped potential of the human brain.
It can conjure up incredible special effects that would make
you leap out of your seat at any scary movie. But these aren't
tricks - all my psychic techniques are special treats that
anyone can learn to enjoy.
So gather a group of friends around you, draw the curtains
and dim the lights. And when you hear something go BUMP in
the night . . . it's probably the beating of your own heart!
PSYCHOMETRY: Ask all your friends to each bring a valued
object, sealed in an envelope, to the party. It has to be
something with strong sentimental meaning - dad's old watch,
gran's brooch, a school tie.
As they arrive, your guests can drop the envelopes into a
box by the front door. Form a circle, and ask everyone to
link hands as you pick out an envelope and open it.
Without asking who brought the object, cradle it against
your heart, and see what impressions flow through your brain.
There's no trick to this - just be open and responsive, and
say honestly what comes to mind.
Your friends may be astonished at how accurately the history
of each item unfolds.
Metals work well for many people who are trying this old
Victorian parlour game, called psychometry, for the first
time.
Others find they can read any object, seeing through a succession
of ownerships and brief contacts stretching back hundreds
of years.
One person sees events unfold before their eyes, another
hears voices, a third gleans general impressions, a fourth
has brief, hallucinatory flashes, a fifth enters into a trance,
a sixth speaks or writes automatically. Don't be afraid. Let
the psychic sense work its magic.
BLIND SIGHT: Find three or four identical objects of different
colours - one red, one green, one blue and one white, for
example.
Fresh balls of wool are great, or how about painting some
flowerpots (children love this)? Put them in a bag and close
your eyes. For extra effect, don a blindfold.
Mix the objects round in the bag and draw one out at random.
Keep your eyes tightly closed and see if you can divine the
colour. Let the colour energy radiate through your hands and
flood your mind.
What emotions are you feeling as you handle the object -
what colour provokes these emotions?
Red can feel full of lively energy or even heat. Blue enhances
the clarity of your mind. Green fills your imagination with
lush, verdant images. White can feel cold or electrifying.
Pass the bag and the blindfold around, giving every guest
a chance to try the experiment. You might find it easiest
in a brightly lit room, and remember, it's always a case of
'the more the merrier'! Psychic energy always flows best in
a group.
PAPER SPINNER: Try this and amaze yourself - it's a great
Hallowe'en experiment to try when you're on your own or with
just one friend (though I've seen it work well at big parties,
too).
Take a piece of paper. Cut a square about two-and-a-half
inches on each side, and fold it from top to bottom. Open
it up again.
Fold it from side to side and open it up again. You now have
a square piece of paper creased into four smaller squares.
Fold it from corner to corner, open it and fold it along the
other diagonal, corner to corner.
Now you have a square divided into eight triangles. Pinching
it along the diagonals, push it into a star shape. Take a
needle and a little ball of Blu-tac.
Stick the eye of the needle in so the sharp tip points straight
up, and place the paper star on it like a hat.
The needle's point should be at the centre of the paper where
the creases meet, without piercing it, so the star balances.
A light breath or a touch of the finger will set the star
spinning smoothly. Here's the amazing part.
Without touching it or breathing on it, simply by cupping
your hands around it you can make the star spin. This is not
air currents or body heat or sleight of hand. It is psychic
power.
Put your paper spinner on a desk or table and seat yourself
in front of it. Bring your open palms towards the star. Curl
your fingers around the spinner. Stare at it and breathe evenly
and lightly.
Gently will the star to turn. Urge it silently with your
mind. Focus on it and persuade it. For 30 seconds or so it
is likely that nothing will happen.
Then the star may start on its axis, very slowly, probably
in an anti-clockwise direction.
SPOON-BENDING: For the best results you'll need at least
a dozen friends - pick the kind of people who'll try anything
for a laugh, because your efforts won't be helped if there's
a moaning sceptic around.
And invite people who have children to bring - kids make
great spoon-benders and their happy energy is infectious.
Let everyone choose a spoon or a fork from a basket of cutlery.
When you pick your piece, ask it out loud: 'Will you bend
for me?'
If you feel a sympathetic tingle in your fingertips, this
is the one for you. Tell your guests to hold up their spoons
and shout, 'Bend! Bend!'
The atmosphere now will be hilarious, a scene of Carry On
madness, and that's ideal for parascientific phenomena. You're
about as far removed from dry laboratory experiments as possible!
Holding your spoon by the bowl, rub the stem between your
forefinger and thumb. Tell it to bend, bend, bend!
Walk around and tell your friends' cutlery to bend - especially
encourage the children. Very often, particularly for first-time
partygoers, nothing will happen for a few minutes - and then
one spoon will start bending.
Usually, it begins with the children, most commonly the girls.
I think complete innocent open-mindedness is the key.
And once one bends, a chain reaction kicks in. Everybody
begins to believe that metal-bending is possible for anyone.
You'll all be tying knots in knives and loops in ladles -
have fun!
After the party: Here's a great game to encourage mental
and physical closeness with your partner.
Take off your top and close your eyes, and focus on the tingling
in your skin while your partner traces a simple shape with
his or her hand just a few millimetres above your back or
your tummy.
You'll be amazed at how sensitive your skin is to their energy.
Body telepathy is a powerful, primitive tool which most of
us neglect - when you know how to turn it on, you'll feel
instantly more confident and assertive. You'll soon be able
to tell if your partner is tracing a circle, or a square,
or a heart, over your skin.
For extra effect, play this game when both of you are totally
naked. It's as relaxing as a luxurious massage . . . and who
knows where it can lead!
And one note of warning: Never mess around with ouija boards,
and don't try in any way to summon up spirits. All the psychic
games I have described are designed to focus your own psychic
powers. Your own mind cannot harm you.
It's foolish, on the other hand, to open the door to other
beings. This is Hallowe'en, the night when spirits are reputed
to walk the earth . . . be wary who you let in!
Email
him at uri@urigeller.com
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