While people in the East, perhaps due to a lack of methodology or curiosity, remain indifferent to metaphysical phenomena, Americans and Europeans actively employ experiments to confirm the existence of the soul and astral body within humans.
In 1893, Colonel Rochas, author of the book “Les vies successives” (Successive Lives), conducted an experiment with a medium to project her astral body.
After entering a hypnotic state, the medium lost all sense of self and memory, but she became receptive to the knowledge and perceptions of the spiritual circle. Suddenly, a stream of blueish gas appeared on her right side, swirling around, while a reddish gas emerged on her left. These two streams then merged on her left side, forming an ethereal double, an exact replica of her. This was her astral body, projected from her physical form. Those with clairvoyant abilities could perceive it.
When a piece of sugar was brought near the astral body’s mouth, the medium tasted sweetness. When pine resin was presented, she recoiled. In short, she and her astral self shared the same sensations.
Attempts were made to photograph the astral body, but the results were inconsistent, sometimes capturing an image and sometimes not, leading to skepticism.
More recently, Mr. H. Durville, Secretary General of the Institute of Magnetism, also conducted research on the astral body with concrete results. He hypnotized a subject and projected their astral body out of their physical body, then directed it to another room. He then proceeded to test the senses of the sleeping subject. When he showed a newspaper to the astral body in the other room, the sleeping subject in the original room could read it. Any object placed near the astral body was accurately described by the inert physical body in the other room.
The astral body could also hear the ticking of a clock, whispers nearby, and perceive the smell of ammonia, perfume, and other scents. It even tasted castor oil, quinine sulfate, and orange blossom water, transmitting these sensations to the physical body without any discrepancy.
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