RADIESTHESIA

Certain persons are sensitive to the emissions (radiations, waves, pulsations, fields) that emanate from various bodies and objects. This ability is called radiesthesia. It also deals with all the processes that allow the detection of hidden objects, with or without instruments (divining rod, pendulum, etc.) These processes involve concentration, the transformation of a mental reaction into a physical reaction, and an analysis that leads to the object of the search.

The word radiethesia means: human sensitivity to radiations, to the influences that emanate from all that is. It is a particular way to understand or to perceive things, different from using the five senses. You cannot see an underground stream, nor a person localized thousands of miles away. Radiesthesia can give you precise and exact informations about an underground stream (localization, map of its run, direction of its flow, width, depth, quantity of water flowing, drinkability…), as well as help you locate the position of a person on a map, even from a far distance.

Vibratory radiesthesia deals more precisely with ‟waves of forms” and is connected to geobiology, the study of cosmo-telluric currents that condition the ‟power” of locations. The term ‟wave of form” was created in 1930 by Bélizal and Chaumery. This designation was then dropped.

Vibratory radiesthesia deals with ‟waves of forms” that come from objects or graphs. According to this theory, certain objects or certain forms emit positive or negative ‟waves” (or energies).

The Servanx brothers and radiesthesia:

One cannot discuss radiesthesia without mentioning the Servanx brothers. Jean-Louis-Felix, a.k.a. Felix, and his brother Guillaume-Jean, a.k.a. Willy were Belgian and used to live in Bruxelles. Willy, the eldest, despite his fragile health assisted Felix in all his works.
The Servanx brothers, fascinated by radiesthesia, released a journal, specialized in that field: La Radiesthésie pour Tous or L.R.P.T. This journal, lauched in january 1946, was published until october 1967. Within its columns, one could find consultations, information on meetings and conferences, as well as many books and files:
– Beginning in radiesthesia
– Reading people’s character with the pendulum
– A quick method of personal magnetism
– An initiation to medical radiesthesia
– Radiesthesia applied to business
– Practical lessons of radiesthesia
– The EXDOCIN files: EX-periences, DOC-umentation, IN-structions for radiesthesia, monthly files, published from june 1957 to september 1966. The Servanx brothers employed the most famous radiesthesists to constitute groups of research. The EXDOCIN files are a compilation of this research, compiled and edited by the two brothers.

Among the subjects studied: astrological medicine, graphology, self-magnetism, commercial applications of radiesthesia, luck and its techniques, designing artificial medicines, influencing people, the great pyramid and its influences, the keys to magic, increasing one’s sensitivity to radiesthesia, healing words…

People’s interest in the EXDOCINs has continuously increased for the last 40 years. These files are clear, comprehensive, easy to read and to apply. The practical exercises have obviously been thoroughly tested by the Servanx brothers. These files contain very valuable information, unmatched by the secret initiations of certain very hermetic groups.

Tireless bachelors, the Servanx brothers devoted all their time to radiesthesia. Felix, the youngest brother, died on octobre 30th 1966. His brother, a paraplegic, died on november 13th 1967.

The instruments of measurement used in radiesthesia

There are several measuring tools used in radiesthesia. The results are the same, regardless of the instrument used. The choice of a pendulum or a rod depends on the feeling between the user and the tool.

To quote only the best known pendulums: the egyptian pendulum, the Thoth pendulum, the Mermet pendulum, the universal pendulum, the rock crystal pendulum, the chakra pendulum. There are tens of designs on the market.
The most commonly used method of measurement is the Bovis scale. It is usually graduated from 0 to 18,000 units. The value of 6,500 is considered neutral for an average person. But, if your vibratory level is 8,500, objects or places with a value of 6,500 will not be suitable for you.

Like any other scale, it gives a numeric value of a vibratory level. One can thus find out the vibratory level of an apple, a ring, an organ, a person, a room in a house…

There is also several types of rods, from the simple branch of a tree, to sophisticated rods equipped with amplifiers of detection.

The Hartmann rod, is another simple instrument suited for beginners. On the other hand, the Lécher antenna, is a complicated instrument for advanced users.

The applications of radesthesia are limitless:
Medical radiesthesia, divination, locating missing persons or objects, professional choices, business… The only limits are the limits of the user.

Radiesthesia and Phosphenism: testimony by a professional radiesthesist

‟I have practiced radiesthesia for many years, I mainly use the Thoth pendulum, but also other instruments specific of this discipline. With this type of pendulum, I work a lot in emission.

I have noticed that doing a phosphene before using my pendulum increases its efficiency in a remarkable way. When I use it in emission, it starts rotating much more and much faster than without the phosphene. The emission is much more intense and the pendulum’s efficiency is increased tenfold. The presence of the phosphene helps, increases and quickens the creation of a contact with the object of the emission.

The phosphene quickly becomes an essential aspect of radiesthesia, indivisible from the use of the pendulum, bringing a spectacular increase in results.

When I teach beginners, there always are persons who experience difficulties in getting the pendulum to rotate, when other persons experience no difficulties whatsoever. To help people overcome this problem, I used to lay my hands on their shoulders. This was usually enough to get the pendulum rotating. Instead, I now use a phosphene.
The student and myself both do a phosphene; I stand behind them and project my phosphene on their neck, while visualizing the rotating pendulum. It quickly starts rotating.

I advise all the persons who are beginners in radiesthesia to practice Phosphenism. It is a token of success, bringing faster results.
For more experienced persons, the practice of Phosphenism will sharpen their sensitivity and the quality of their results.
The phosphene is an undisputable plus, increasing the efficiency of radiesthesia, whatever its domain of application.”

Alain R. (a.k.a. Alain69 from the forum)

QIGONG – CHI – KI

Qigong is an ancient traditional chinese gymnastics which purpose is to achieve control of the inner energy called Qi or chi (pronounced tchee). It is based on the following concept: the energy of the universe and the energy of human beings interact and combine themselves. It is possible to stimulate this energy and to make it circulate with movements, breathing and visualizations.

For the Chinese, all diseases are due to a block of the chi. Healing comes when the blocked energy circulates again. Stimulating the chi through the meridians, the search of the balance of the Yin and the Yang are the principles on which Chinese medicine and martial arts are based. Some writers assert that Qigong is the common ancestor of these practices.

Medical Qigong dates back to thousands of years BC. Forbidden in China during the cultural revolution, it became accessible again at the end of the 70s. In 1979, the first National Seminar of Scientific Research on Qigong takes place in Beijing and, the same year, the National Institute of Qigong is founded.

Studies conducted in the Kuangan Men Hospital in Beijing, China have showed the influence of Qigong on curing cancer. Though it cannot be substituted to chemotherapy, the practice of Qigong considerably increases the chances and the rate of recovery.

Though Qigong has unquestionable healing properties, it is its preventive effects that interest us here. By favoring the circulation of energy, Qigong prevents the formation of blocks thus allowing the preservation of health. The following properties are usually attributed to Qigong: more dynamism, flexibility and balance, a feeling of well-being and of calm, an increased power of concentration and a development of self-confidence.

All these effects are also attributed to the practice of Phosphenism, a method of personal development created by Doctor Francis Lefebure, a French physician and researcher. When two techniques lead to similar results, their combination creates an extra synergy. The practice of Phosphenism makes people more attentive to their inner sensations. It thus favors the awareness of one’s body, allowing faster progress. Moreover, thanks to the phosphenes, concentration on the exercise is improved as well as visualization. Phosphenic energy makes the session of Qigong much more dynamic and results come quickly. On the other hand, the practice of Qigong creates favorable conditions for the practice of Phosphenism.

The phosphenes are all the sensations of light that are not directly produced by light stimulating the retina. A phosphene can be produced by focusing on a source of light for a short period of time.

Practicing Qigong with the phosphenes

If you practice facing the sun, you can produce phosphenes by focusing on the sun through a piece of fabric for one or two seconds.
Always take your glasses or contacts off when you do phosphenes with the sun. They could have the same effect as a magnifying glass and cause burns on your retina.
You can break your session down in two parts:
First, practice the Qigong exercise as usual, but during the presence of the phosphene.
Then, practice the exercise again mentally during the presence of the phosphene. This way, you will work with the myophene, the equivalent of the phosphene that corresponds to muscular activity.

OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES & ASTRAL PROJECTION

The head of the School of Dr Lefebure, Daniel Stiennon, practiced the exercises of static tension for many years. In the following text, he relates his experiences of astral projection, from the early stages of his training to the production of highly spiritual phenomena.

‟I remember my first out of body experiences as they took place yesterday. After 2 months of practice, at the rate of half an hour a day, I observed that I was practicing the exercises again in my mind as I slept, i.e. that my ‛double’ was reproducing the exercises of static tensions. This process kept me absolutely conscious while I was asleep. The consciousness of my ‛double’ and the state of hyper consciousness, allowed me to move in the subtle world with perfect ease.

In the beginning, being conscious of my ‛double’ allowed me to fly and hover in the air, to travel huge distances at a tremendous speed, to ascend and decend like a supersonic plane. These moments were unbelievably pleasant and wonderful and reminded me of what I used to experience as a child. At night, I often had the impression that my bed was taking off with me, travelling in a fantastic universe that only children can imagine, like ‛Alice in Wonderland’.”
It is interesting to note that many children have this kind of experiences and that science fiction and fantasy are simply the adults’ exteriorization of this rich and fascinating inner life.

Here are a few of my early experiences with the practice of static tensions. I selected them to try and convey what astral projection is really like.
March 1986: After two months of practicing static tensions, fourth out of body experience.

After a small journey in a subtle universe, I decided to return to my body, trying to stay lucid until my double returned to my physical body.

I decided to progress by steps and to stop first on the roof of a large building nearby. I heard a noise that I interpret as the sound of a jet airplane. I started panicking somewhat: ‟What if the plane hit me?”. This doubt made me return to my body almost instantly and I suddenly woke up. My heart was pounding and the temperature on the surface of my chest was the same as if I had a fever.

Ten minutes later, this sensation had disappeared. I understood that the sound that I had interpreted as the sound of an airplane was actually the sound of the garbage truck.

Conclusions:

1) There are levels of consciousness where the mind can create whatever it wants.

2) It is better to have a healthy heart to practice astral projection. Note that blind persons do not drive racing cars.

3) Out of body experiences are powerful sensations. One has to be a bit of a thrill seeker to really appreciate them. But, if you are, this is a chance to experience incredible sensations in a safe and economical way.

I decided to try and master what the traditions call ‟lower astral plane”, a plane of consciousness on which the mind can create whatever it wants. With patience and perseverance, I learnt to go through closed doors, walls, ceilings, trees, and various objects like tables or cupboards.
After a few months, this process became like a second nature.
Though these experiences were very pleasant, I decided to go for something a little bit more thrilling.

In books of occultism, authors mention the dangers of astral projection, mainly the creatures populating the lower astral plane. But, how could I create such entities when I am not particularly impressed by this kind of litterature? During out of body experiences, we encounter our own psyche. The world we delve in is affected by our beliefs, our biases, our intellect, our way of life, our education and the books we have read, even a long time ago.
Thus, during an astral projection, I decided to create my own ‟entity”. I created a three-headed dragon that contained all my fears. It was a materialization of my deepest feelings of fear.

I decided to engage combat with the creature during a fantastic astral chase. I was feeling more and more frightened, like a soldier chased by enemies.

I played that game for a while, until I decided to end it by waking up. The experience was just like a thriller movie, though much more intense.

Amplification of feelings in the subtle planes.

Among the classic experiences related by certain authors, the theme of ‟astral lovemaking” is recurrent. Thoughts can be charged with any kind of emotion, so why not an erotic emotion?
During the static tensions, I visualized a cascade of sparks rotating around my partner.

After a week of practicing this exercise, I woke up in the middle of the night by the static tensions performed by my double. I perceived my partner’s double. I was filled with a powerfully erotic sensation, much more intense than usual.

‟Astral” lovemaking is an unbelievable sensation, exhilarating and impossible to describe. A fantastic discovery.

After six months, I considered that I had explored the main sensations of the ‟lower astral”. As a researcher and explorer, the conclusion I made was that everything is connected to the psyche of the person. What you experience shows who you are. There are as many different experiences as there are individuals. For a person with a sound mind, this plane is an unending reserve of perceptions and sensations: our amplified thoughts…

November 1986

I decided to densify my double further to reach another plane of consciousness.
The theme of my program of exercises was representing my double within the phosphene, filled by a vortex of light, while visualizing cascades of sparks swaying to a precise rhythm between the image of my double and myself. Light rises inside the image of my double, from the perineum to the top of my head, and then whirls back down around my double. Again, the cascade of sparks goes from my body to the representation of my double, enter it, gather in the perineum, rise in a whirling motion, and so on, following a precise rhythm.

Eight days later, the static tensions repeated themselves while I was asleep, with a strength I had never experienced before. A majestic force in which I perceive my double surrounded by powerful, whirling currents of light. Carried away by these currents, I started moving upwards like a rocket.

I had the feeling that I was above the clouds, in a very clear sky. It is an intoxicating experience, accompanied by a feeling of calm and beauty.
I had this experience several times. But, every time, I felt there was a limit to my elevation, a limit that I could not pass.

December 1986

Thanks to the exercises of static tensions, it is easy to produce out of body experiences. Nevertheless, one needs to learn how to evolve in that intangible universe.
Few people manage to reach the higher planes of consciousness where they meet a spiritual guide that helps them in their research.
To understand fully this problem, let us compare it to travelling on the Earth. There are many paths to travel on, many countries to visit, many places to go to. The world is vast.

The main difference in the astral plane is that one needs precise information to get anywhere. One cannot go anywhere without prior knowledge.

One must study thoroughly the keys that will give them access to the various planes of consciousness, the same way one needs to study maps before going on a trek.

This is the profound meaning of the term meditation: from the latin meditatio, ‟exercise”. To reach grand experiences, one must have the right keys.

All these informations can be found in the ‟Meditation for Elevating the Soul Through the Cosmos” CD by Dr Lefebure.

The exercise of meditation consists in adding a session of meditation to the exercises of static tensions. This meditation consists in giving a direction to one’s thoughts.

Contacts in the Astral

February 1988

Every night, I was woken up by my double repeating the static tensions. Progressively, it acquired a greater density. One night, I found myself in a scenery that I know very well: my cousin’s farm in Brittany where I spent all my summer holidays as a child. There, in the middle of a field, there was a large tree. I walked towards the tree and, slowly, I entered it, as if I wanted to be one with nature. Then, I felt propelled upwards, and found myself in the sky. I was ascending. The earth appeared smaller and smaller as it got further and further away from me. Above me, I perceived the infinity of space. Suddenly, I started freefalling, at a vertiginous speed. I had just crossed the spiritual equivalent of the line of equigravitation, i.e. the line where the gravity of the sun is cancelled by the gravity of the earth. I had just entered the ‟higher astral plane”. I kept travelling and found myself in the cosmic plane. I contemplated a grand scene.

Myriads of stars shone in the distance. I sensed presences. I was filled with a great joy and happiness. A being that I did not know yet came closer and I felt, instinctively that it was going to be one of my ‟guides”. But, at that moment, I simply contemplated the universe in the company of that being of light.

We exchanged a few impressions telepathically, and I enjoyed every minute that passed. Suddenly, I waqs taken away by a vortex and I woke up.

Cosmic meditation

January 1988

I knew that Dr Lefebure meditated in the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius, as we had discussed it. I started gathering information about this region of the cosmos in astronomy books. As I said before, it is better to prepare one’s astral projection, the same way one prepares a trip abroad.

After having consulted books and pictures of astronomy, I practiced the exercises of static tensions, while keeping in mind the memory of the photos of the constellation of Sagittarius. As soon as the image of one of the pictures was clear in my mind, I associated the image of Dr Lefebure to it. Then, I visualized cascades of sparks moving from him to me, with the idea that he was doing the mental contractions.

After several sessions of practice, I experienced contact. I found myself with Dr Lefebure, somewhere in space. We were not alone and he introduced me to his masters. They talked together, then nothing. Pitch black. I woke up in the morning with only a few snippets of memory of the night.
Dr Lefebure called me in the morning and asked me if anything happened last night. I did not dare talk and stayed silent for a few seconds. He anticipated my answer and told me that he had met me, that I had appeared made out of light and that we had talked about initiation.
The bond was created beyond my wildest dreams!

OM

The mantra OM or pranava mantra is the primordial mantra. Its use is common to various traditions like buddhism, zoroastrianism or celtic druidism though they are very distant in space and time. This fact has been lost in translation.

The mantra OM is a vibration and, in essence, all vibrations are rhythms. It is interesting to develop this notion in the light of the discoveries of a French researcher, Doctor Francis LEFEBURE. Indeed, his discoveries in cerebral physiology can transform our understanding of the phenomena responsible for illumination and initiation in a revolutionary way.

For many years, Dr Lefebure studied the relationship between the rhythms of the phosphenes and religious rites. The phosphenes are all the subjective sensations of light, i.e. those which are not directly caused by light stimulating the retina. They correspond to what ophtalmologists call images of retinal persistance or post-images.

Thanks to the phosphenes, Dr Lefebure detected unknown cerebral rhythms. Indeed, there is a particular relationship between the phosphenes and the rhythms of the brain, between light and rhythms.
The phosphenes behave in a rhythmic manner: they pulse, vibrate, alternate or oscillate. Produced by the action of light on the brain, they illustrate the rhythmic functioning of the nervous system. They adapt to the rhythms of thoughts in a subjective fashion, enabling their precise measurement.

Nevertheless, the phosphenes also have a profound and mysterious action on the nervous system. Indeed, if one thinks while observing a phosphene, it is, on the contrary, thoughts which are going to be influenced by the natural rhythms of the phosphenes.

Thus, it is the rhythms of the phosphenes that induce the rhythms of prayers, chants, mantras or sacred musics, generating currents of energy in the body that are exteriorized in the form of dances and postures.

To sum up, it is praying while focusing on a source of light that is at the origin of all religious rites.

In his book OM and the mantras, Dr Lefebure proceeds with a pertinent analysis of the mantra OM, describing many connections between human physiology and the sound of the mantra OM.
The mantra OM was not developed by mere chance, and the morphological analysis of the mantra OM by Dr Lefebure brings much information about the reasons of its development.

Extract from Om and the mantras:

MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MANTRA OM

We are going to study the pranava mantra, first of all mantras, in its simplest form: O and M. Later on, we will see that it has another aspect that is spelt AUM. Nevertheless, let us note now that the sankrit letters A and OU are pronounced together as the phoneme [O], and thus, whatever the spelling used, there is no doubt that the true pronunciation is OM. This is what Arthème Gallip (the Zoroastrian master who initiated me) recommended, a fact that has been confirmed many times by the Indians.

We can notice that the vowel [O] is obtained by forming a circle with the lips and by creating the shape of a sphere with the mouth, with the tongue pointing upwards. On the contrary, the phoneme [M] on its own is obtained by completely relaxing all the muscles involved in phonation: it is a hum produced with the mouth closed, the lips relaxed and the soft palate lowered.
The sound produced by the lips forming a circle generates circular waves in the air, i.e. the simplest possible waveforms. This process ressembles what happens when a hoop is dropped horizontaly in water.

The circular waves, centered on the point of impact, take the form of a sinewave, when observed from the side. The sinewave is the simplest of all possible forms of vibration, complex vibrations being but a combination of sinewaves (as demonstrated by the Fourier series).

We already can notice the oppositions between the phoneme [O] and the phoneme [M] as, when the latter is pronounced, the closed lips push the air into the nasal cavity. The nasal cavity is the most irregular bone cavity of the organism because of the three nasal conchae that contribute to air filtration. Moreover, the frontal and maxillary sinuses constitute oddly shaped sounding boxes.

Consequently, a vibration rising from the vocal cords that follows this course, will produce a maximum of harmonics and overtones, as the vibrations of the bones will be added to the vibrations of the air.

An interesting experience to illustrate the importance of the vibration of the bones produced by the phoneme [M] is to place one’s hand delicately on the anterior fontanelle of a baby who is crying. The sound emited by crying babies is very close to the phoneme [M] or, more precisely to the phoneme [N]. It is produced by bringing the soft palate forwards, forcing even more air into the nose than during the pronunciation of the phoneme [M].

When we will study the value of phonemes as mantras, we will see that air projected higher in such a way makes the frontal sinus vibrate more than the maxillary sinus. The former being smaller, it renders a higher-pitched sound. That is why the phoneme [N] is very close to the phoneme [M], with the difference that it contains more high frequencies.
So, when one places one’s hand on the fontanelle of a crying baby, one is surprised by the intensity of the vibrations perceived by the palm of the hand. Later, when the fontanelle is closed, the vibrations of the cerebrospinal fluid underneath are even more powerful, as their energy cannot disperse through the fontanelle any more. The vibrations produced by the sound of the voice are thus locked in the skull, spreading to the whole surface of the cortex. This very simple experiment illustrates very well how chanting stimulates the surface of the cortex but also how the pertinent choice of a mantra is important. Every phoneme generates different waveforms that will influence the cortex in different, specific ways.

The opposition between the simplicity of the phoneme [O] and the complexity of the phoneme [M] can be illustrated experimentally by analysing these sounds with a cathode-ray oscilloscope.

The principle of the oscilloscope is very simple: a microphone picks up the sounds to analyse; these sounds generate an electrical current; the vibrations of this current appear as a curve on a screen. With a proper setting of the apparatus, the curve that appears on the screen is an exact image of the motion of the molecules of air.

The aspect of the curve will vary, depending on the setting of the electrodes. Similarly, the waves of the sea will appear differently on television if a camera is placed above them, in front of them or lateraly.

For a certain setting of the electrodes, the phoneme [O] appears as a circle on the screen of the cathode-ray oscilloscope. The quality of the emission of the sound can thus be monitored, and an almost perfect circle can be obtained by changing the pronunciation. For a perfect circle, the phoneme emited is typically an [O]. For a different setting of the electrodes, the form that appears on the screen is a sinewave, i.e. the curve of the waves of the sea.

Now, if we analyse the phoneme [M] (the hum produced with the mouth closed) with a cathode-ray oscilloscope, we obtain a very precise square. This is related to what is call squarewave in the field of electronics.

Thus, cathode-ray oscilloscope analysis lead us to represent the sound [OM] geometrically by a circle within a square. We thus obtain a perfect ANALOGIC RESONANCE between the sound and its waveform. Let us also note that this structure matches the basic structure of the mandala (a circle within a square).

Practical exercise with the mantra OM

Do a phosphene, by focusing on the phosphenic lamp for thirty seconds.
Close your eyes.
Chant the mantra OM.
Observe the influence of the mantra on the colors of the phosphene.
Is the phosphene brighter?

NOSTRADAMUS

Much has been written about the prophecies of Nostradamus (1503-1566). Their interpretation is still difficult and confusing and seems to be a waste of time. Nevertheless, the Centuries (the compilation of Nostradamus’ prophecies) comprise some interesting passages that describe the mode of operation that he used to produce visions. Visions that he not only perceived himself, but that the queen Catherine of Medici perceived too.

We will study the instructions provided by Nostradamus in the light of the discoveries of Doctor Francis Lefebure, a French physician and researcher. He designed a method of personal development based on the systematic use of the phosphenes: Phosphenism. The phosphenes are all the subjective sensations of light, i.e. those which are not directly provoked by light stimulating the retina. The discoveries of Doctor Lefebure in cerebral physiology bring a full understanding of the cerebral mecanisms that are involved in clairvoyance phenomena, and allow to reproduce them at will.

Nostradamus wrote his prophecies at night in his house in Salon-de-Provence (France), by the light of a candle, often facing a silver mirror or a crystal ball. That way, he used to produce phosphenes with polarized light. At other times, he would focus on the reflection of the moon in a silver tray. It is interesting to note that the light reflected by the moon is already polarized.

Any light that is reflected on a surface is polarized. Polarized light develops intuition and eventually clairvoyance, if one practices regularily. Is the moon not supposed to inspire poets? Yes, but only if it is focused on. For a more complete explanation, check Dr Lefebure’s book: The Key to Supernatural Manifestations.

When Catherine of Medici asked Nostradamus to perform a clairvoyance in order to know how long the reign of her heirs would last, she demanded to experience this vision herself. The clairvoyant then practiced focusing on the reflection of the moon on a silver tray. A month later, when he felt ready to comply with the queen’s wishes, he had to perform a mental effort in order to let her perceive characters moving around the tray. The number of laps the characters did around the tray was supposed to correspond to the number of years her sons would reign.

The vision took place within a cloud of light. Obvioulsy, Nostradamus could not focus on the reflection of the moon every night for a whole month. It was much more simple for him to focus on the reflection of the sun during the day, or on the bright sky. In the evening, he could use the flame of candles or, even better, the fire in his chimney.

When this story is commented, authors usually emphasize on the importance of the astrological signs that decorated the silver tray. But, it seems only obvious that an object that belonged to a renowned astrologer would bear a mark of his quality; the same way the knights’ coat of arms would decorate their shields. Before Dr Lefebure, no one showed any interest in the fact that Nostradamus used to focus on the reflection of the moon on a silver tray. If many commentators insisted so much on the decoration of the tray, and on the symbolic interpretation it implies, it is because they were completely ignorant of the physiological reality that underlined Nostradamus’ practices. Though he always explained how he proceeded, Nostradamus ended up shrouded in mystery. Indeed, in the first quatrain of the Centuries, Michel de Nostre-Dame describes the technique he used to produce visions.

The astrological symbols and the ‟lunar” aspect (wrongly associated to witchcraft) of Nostradamus’ practices have hidden the essential and confused commentators, stuck in would-be occult considerations. Under the guise of a mysterious operation realised with the complicity of a character called Sélénée (actually the greek word for ‟the moon”), a constant of Nostradamus’ techniques of clairvoyance appears: focusing on a direct or indirect source of light, and thus using the phosphenes.

So, why speculate so much on Nostradamus’ Centuries? If all the books on the subject had dealt with the phosphenes, humankind might have evolved differently.

Exercise: Developing clairvoyance by concentrating on a detail of the visual chaos

The visual chaos is the name of the tiny lights that keep dancing in your field of vision, even if you have remained in the dark for a long time.

In a dark room, place an eyepatch over your eyes, in order to create optimal conditions of darkness.
Observe your visual chaos.

Focus your attention on one of those little lights and, at soon as it has disappeared, on another one, and so on, always maintaining your concentration in the center of your field of vision.
After practicing this exercise for 4 or 5 minutes, you will notice that the region you are concentrating on has become brighter, more luminous. This brightness is the third phase of the phosphene: the diffuse glow, that you have produced without focusing on a light source, thanks to this exercise.

If you keep searching for a detail within this glow, it will become more and more precise. On the other hand, if you let your attention spread to the whole of the luminous mass, it will blur.

If you keep ‟chasing for details”, you perceive something stirring within the glow: maybe a whirling vortex or tiny blots reminding of lightning bolts.

Focus on a detail of this stir, the angle of a bolt or a line within a vortex, for example. Keep concentrating on details, rather than on the glow as a whole.

Suddenly, the cloud turns into a vision. This phenomenon might appear straight away or after practicing this exercise regularily (every day for a few weeks, for example).

The visions that are generated by this process can be prophetic: in this case, they occur a few days later.

When a vision appears, if you focus your attention on the vision as a whole, the process wil stop. If, on the contrary, you concentrate on a detail of this vision, another vision often springs up. By practicing this way, you can engage an incredible inner cinema…

NLP

Neurolinguistic programming was created in America in the 70s by John Grinder, a professor of linguistics, and Richard Bandler, a mathematics student. NLP presents a set of models that describe human activity and allow to operate deep and lasting changes. Its universality is striking: a sort of user’s manual of the brain, it can be applied at work, at school or at home. Very pragmatic, it can help high-level sportspersons to improve their results, parents to educate their children, companies to train their staff in communication, sales, excellency.

Humans base their actions on the representation they have of the world, rather than on its objective properties: ‟The map is not the territory”.
This famous quote by Alfred Korzybski describes the fact that everyone builds a subjective representation of the world and assume that it is reality. Indeed, our five senses can receive millions of informations at the same time when, consciously, we can only process 7 items of information at a time. To compensate, the brain filters sensory messages: it deletes some, distorts others or operates a generalization, all this being dependent on the language we speak, the memories we have, the beliefs and the values we have adopted.

This inner representation that we build at a given moment is responsible for physiological changes, and has an effect on our behavior. The models suggested by NLP can allow us to become aware of this, to modify our representations and the responses that they trigger. They also help us understanding other people’s representations.

The key concept of NLP is modelization. Thanks to which we can install a new behavior, the same way one installs a new software in a computer. Besides, NLP stems from the modelizations of exceptional therapists like Milton Erickson. Bandler and Grinder observed his practices, extracted its essential principles and constructed a permanent model allowing the accurate reproduction of observed behaviors.

In the domain of learning, all that needs to be done is to observe the strategies adopted by outstanding students and modelize them. Student who do not experience spelling problems, for example, have discovered incidentally that it was more efficient to store words as images rather than as sounds. For most of us, recalled images are located on the top left of our field of vision. If the word has been stored in the right place, it is easy to remember it when the time comes.

Dr Francis Lefebure, a French researcher, had already found very original solutions to learning difficulties, mainly to spelling problems. As soon as 1963, he published Phosphenic Mixing Applied to Education, a book that describes the action of light on mental processes. By focusing shortly on a source of light, a phosphene is obtained, i.e. a luminous sensation that persists for several minutes. Studying during the presence of the phosphene is more efficient. Indeed, the phosphene channels the attention on the subject of study and favors associations of ideas. Moreover, it stimulates all types of memories. Spelling is the visual translation of a sound. Writing confers a kinesthesic dimension to a word. The presence of the phosphene stimulates these three sensory channels.

EXERCISE: MEMORIZING THE SPELLING OF A WORD

Observe the spelling of a word that you want to memorize.
Do a phosphene by focusing on the phosphenic lamp for thirty seconds.
Close your eyes and/or put on an eye patch.
Project the word and the phosphene to the top left of your field of vision in order to store it in your visual memory.
Write the word several times during the presence of the phosphene.