THE MEDIUMS’ BOOK

Allan Kardec

Back to the menu
Somnambulic Mediums

172. Somnambulism may be considered as a variety of the medianimic faculty, or, rather, they are two orders of phenomena very often found combined. The somnambulist acts under the influence of his own spirit; it is his soul, which, in moments of emancipa- tion, sees, hears, and perceives, outside the limit of the senses ; what he expresses, he draws from himself; his ideas are, in general, more just than in the normal state, his knowledge more extended, because his soul is free; in a word, he lives, by anticipation, the life of spirits.

The medium, on the contrary, is the instrument of a foreign intelligence; he is passive, and what he says comes not from himself. To recapitulate: the somnam- bulist expresses his own thought, the medium that of another. But the spirit who communicates to an ordi- nary medium could also as well to a somnambulist; often the state of emancipation of the soul renders this communication more easy. Many somnambulists see spirits perfectly, and describe them with as much pre- cision as the seeing mediums; they can talk with them, and transmit their thought to u s ; what they say beyond the circle of their own knowledge is often suggested to them by other spirits. Here is a remark- able example, where the double action of the spirit of the somnambulist and of the foreign spirit reveals itself in the most unequivocal manner.
173. One of our friends had for a somnambulist a young boy of fourteen or fifteen years of age, of very ordinary intelligence, and extremely limited instruc- tion. Nevertheless, in somnambulism he gave proofs of extraordinary lucidity and great perspicacity. He excelled especially in the treatment of diseases, and made a great many cures regarded as impossible. One day he gave a* consultation to a sick person, whose malady he described exactly.

" That is not all," said they ; " now you must indi- cate the remedy." " I cannot," he answered. " My angel doctor is not here" "What do you mean by your angel doctor?" "He who dictates to me." " It is not you, then, who see the remedies ?" " Why, n o ; don't I tell you my angel doctor dictates them to me ?"

Thus, with this somnambulist, the action of seeing the disease was that of his own spirit, who for that needed no assistance, but the indication of the reme- dies was given by another; this other not being there, he could say nothing. Alone, he was only a somnam- bulist ; assisted by what he called his angel doctor, he was a somnambulistic medium.

174. Somnambulistic lucidity is a faculty that per- tains to the organism, and which is entirely indepen- dent of the elevation, of the advancement, and even of the moral state of the subject. A somnambulist may, then, be very* clear, and be incapable of solving certain questions, if his spirit be but little advanced. He who talks by himself may say good or bad, true or false things ; put more or less delicacy or fastidiousness into his proceedings, according to the degree of eleva- tion or inferiority of his own spirit; then the assist- ance of a foreign spirit may supply his insufficiency; but a somnambulist may be assisted by a lying, or trifling, or even a bad spirit, as well as mediums ; it is here, above all, that the moral qualities have a great influence to attract good spirits. (See Book on Spirits, Somnambulism, No. 425; and in this, the chapter on the Moral Influence of the Medium)

Related articles

Show related items