Conjuring Up Philip: An Appraisal of the Book and the Method
Conjuring Up Philip: An Appraisal of the Book and the Method
When I started this particular book I knew early on that I couldn't do a book review. This particular text is a testament to one of the most incredible experiments that has been undertaken in what was then referred to as psychical research. I purchased the mass market paperback published by Simon & Schuster as a Pocket Book edition. As I researched the book I noted that the hardback copy (left) ran around $200-300 dollars used on various book websites. A fellow paranormal investigator sent me a link to this copy on ebay for $44 which to me was a steal. It has some chew marks like it may have been an attempted "dog ate my homework" scheme, but it read just the same as the original published version. The original book was published by Harper & Row in 1976 and written by Iris M. Owen.
Iris Owen was a nurse and psychical researcher who was married to Alan Robert George (A.R.G) Owen, a parapsychologist and the author of "Can We Explain the Poltergeist?" Both Owens were significant parts of what was to become known as "The Philip Experiment." A.R.G. Owen, who had graduated with degrees in mathematics and physics as well as receiving his PhD, founded the Toronto Society for Psychical Research in the early 1970s after moving to Canada with Iris. It is important to note that A.R.G. Owen had significant experience spanning over a decade, from his investigation and research of psychical phenomena, especially as it pertained to poltergeist phenomena. Owen himself was not one of the 8 members of the experiment but he was one of those allowed into the room over the course of the experiment.
In 1972, 8 members of the Toronto Society for Psychical Research decided to determine if they could "sustain an attempt to summon up an apparition or ghost." They had three objectives for this experiment; the first was whether they could produce the phenomena in full light; the second was to determine if a medium was necessary or if ordinary people could generate the phenomena; and third was to determined if the force involved was due to a spirit or was it generated by the living participants. Iris Owen says," This is tremendously exciting, as it shows that the human mind is an even more wonderful thing than was previously suspected," as she was discussing establishing psychokinesis as a scientific fact. Psychokinesis is considered to be intentional mental forces that a living person can use to manipulate physical objects. Unconscious psychokinesis as it is is related to Poltergeist Phenomena is called, "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" the term having been coined by William Roll.
The idea was for the 8 participants who were from various walks of life would create a narrative for a fictional person and use the information intentionally to manifest what we would consider a thought-form. Could the ordinary person have the ability to tap into the forces that make up psychokinesis? From 1972 until 1974 the group met once a week for several hours for sessions at first to generate the thought-form but also over time to test the limits and boundaries. Since I am not rewriting the book that Iris Owen already wrote, I will not be waxing poetic of all the various sessions that the group had over a 2 year period, but I will share a few details that I feel are very significant to myself as a paranormal researcher.
The first step to the experiment was to familiarize themselves with Philip's story which was created by Sue, one of the eight members. Memorizing and making Philip real to themselves allowed the members to "really see Philip as a person who existed." According to Iris, many of the initial meetings were for the group to discuss, ask questions, and to familiarize themselves with Philip and each other; as well as to utilize various meditation techniques that were known to help develop certain abilities. After a few sessions they were startled by vibrations and raps that were felt within the table at which they were seated. As time went on they developed various methods in order to get the rap responses from Philip which eventually convinced all members that Philip was indeed his own "personality". Eventually they had not only received vibrations and raps, they also experienced levitations and movement of objects within the space they met. Much of this was experienced by non-members who were "trusted" by Philip and were photographed by those in attendance.
It is important to note that the group did not have success with the experiment until they utilized procedures that were mentioned by Kenneth Batcheldor and Colin Brookes-Smith which were published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. The two researchers state that it can only be successful when the participants are relaxed without a significant reaction to the phenomena and for there to be a heightened expectancy. Iris Owen states based on their results that there are certain psychological skills or conditioning that is required to make the group or collective successful. The most important "mind feeling" is to be motivated for the experiment to work, to be mentally and physically relaxed, have a dynamic or rapport with the group, a heightened expectancy that there will be results, open mindedness towards the goal, a clear image and intentional idea of the personality, and clear/positive affirmations. It was noted that any deviation or hesitation from this would inhibit the phenomena. I enjoyed the authors analogy with the subject matter is that sleep is the most psychological skill we use. While it may seem that sleep is a natural state, we know that certain conditions have to be met in order for many of us to fall asleep. Most of the "psychological conditioning" is actually developed when we are babies and eventually it just comes naturally as long as these conditions are met. As someone with abilities, I do think that is one of the best analogies I have heard for developing receptive psi phenomena (ESP), I would think it is no different for expressive psi phenomena (PK/RSPK). In the beginning you must learn the "mind feeling" in order to perform the needed task, but as time progresses you naturally fall into the ability.
The group often tested Philip in various ways to gather additional information regarding the phenomena it could produce. During one such session they requested that Philip go visit one of their members who was home sick. The member claimed to have experienced a rap in her bedroom possibly in the vicinity of a piece of furniture. These results could mean that phenomena could be produced at a distance. During a meditation session on a hot evening they were able to produce cool breezes that could be felt near the surface of the table they used. The day was calm and still with no drafts noted, but even guests during the experiment felt these cool breezes. They had requested at times during "table tipping" that the table would lean certain ways or move towards certain people. As the experiments continued they did note that certain tensions did encourage the phenomena to be produced and as such when these tensions were removed, the activity halted. The experiments usually resulted in the desired request or intention. They often used certain methods of speaking that reinforced the "story" that was created of Philip, rather than asking questions that could influence a different result. It is important to note that Iris Owen did mention that there were times that the responses from Philip did deviate and when it happened they attempted to get the sessions back on track.
In the chapter "Comparison with some Poltergeist cases," we see mention of psychical researchers like Sir William Barrett, William James, Sir William Crookes, Professor de Morgan, Sir Oliver Lodge, Frederic Myers, Professor Henry Sidgwick, and Camille Flammarion. The Philip group noted that much of the poltergeist cases that these researchers documented aligned with the results of their experiment. Owen says "It seems clear that the Canadian investigators have not discovered something entirely new and unknown in the field of parapsychology." This is especially true in the theory that having a spirit present is not necessary in order to produce the "poltergeist" phenomena, it holds true for their experiment as well. I can appreciate their mention of some psychical researchers investigating claims that present as poltergeist or PK dismissed them out of hand because the "agent" was actually still living. I often wonder myself how often cases are dismissed because they are not caused by a "spirit of the dead." Owen even said "This is the danger of looking only for one particular thing when you are doing research work and ignoring the rest of the evidence." How telling is this comment? While this experiment occurred in the 1970s this exact concern is still happening today, but I also think that many paranormal investigators today attribute all activity to ghosts, spirits of the dead, or "demons." The lack of expansive thought and research into this very subject matter has been set aside for the thrill of possible spirit communication. In order to understand the psychology of a "spirit of the dead," we should utilize our best subjects in the experiment, the living. How much of this experiment could explain the phenomena that occurs after we are no longer living?
There are a few mentions within the book regarding things to remember or consider regarding their experiment. First, was that each member had never had any type of psychic ability or experience. Second, was that they understood the potential dangers of performing the experiment and wanted to hold firm boundaries with clear "exit strategies." They did not want the experiment going outside the bounds of the room (though I did question them asking Philip to visit one of the members) and they tried to maintain a positive rapport with each other and the experiment. They were cautious of things becoming negative and the potential effects this could have on the results. Third, several times it was mentioned that even though they were successful with this experiment, they didn't want it to seem that they were discounting the possibility of hauntings or phenomena being caused by spirits of the dead. Their experiment was merely to prove the ability for individuals to consciously create phenomena associated with psychokinesis and possibly even an apparition (which never occurred). Fourth, was that each member of the team was trusted and appropriately skeptical. Owen mentions how many of the psychical researchers of the past were eventually viewed as "frauds" and their subsequent data or case studies as skewed. It should be mentioned that some of these psychical researchers were the founders of what we call psychology today. The Philip group maintained that all of their members and their data were aboveboard.
In the culminating chapters Iris Owen attempts to put her and the groups thoughts regarding the mechanics and results of the experiment into words. The psi force that it took the group to develop Philip comes from the human personality and may not be fully automatic. The use of this psi force by a collective group can result in physical phenomena like sounds of raps and object movement. They felt that they were only steps away from manifesting an apparition, which was their ultimate goal. There is mention of links to telepathy, clairsentience, bilocation, apportation, and energy healing. They proved that this phenomena is not due to hallucination or sensory deception.
My thoughts... Reading this book reaffirmed much of my theories regarding how much the human being is capable of doing. Many paranormal investigators assert that much of paranormal phenomena is due to spirits of the dead, demons, or simply our imagination, however by doing an experiment of this magnitude the Owens and the members of the Toronto Society for Psychical Research created a proven link to the human personality and certain paranormal phenomena. Even further they have linked their own study to hundreds of years of poltergeist phenomena that has been documented. How much of our reality and environment can we manipulate? How often have supposed hauntings been caused by the living? This brings up the possibility that the living are causing the phenomena that seems like a spirit of the dead. Owen mentioned the ability to cast our thoughts onto the environment which could potentially cause the manifestation of a person who has passed. Can our mental abilities project the image of an apparition for not just us, but others to see? I personally know without a doubt that there are many cases of "spirits of the dead" out there, but I do want to see how our abilities as living, conscious human beings can translate into the soul's survival of bodily death. Could The Philip Experiment give us clues?
Notes about acquiring the book: I highly recommend this book and suggest using a lending library to obtain it. It is dry content, however the book as I mentioned before is a very important piece of documented study and research.
Co-Founder/ Case Manager
Antietam Paranormal Society
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