Deirdre Meintelchance to catch up with each other’s lives. Some never see the others
outside the meetings of the group, but several who have been coming
for a few years have formed friendships and see others socially. After
the break we sit again for “active meditation”, or clairvoyance. Now
the blue light is replaced by a red one, a stimulus for our clairvoyant
capacities. That first evening, when Michel instructs us to “see” some-
thing for two others in the group, I’m surprised. I feel paralyzed: even
if I could see what is normally invisible in others, do I want to? Not
that I expect to discover any clairvoyant gifts in myself. For the first
few months, I feel, as most beginners do, that anything that popped
into my mind was my imagination. I try to go along with the clairvoy-
ance exercises, simply as a way of getting better acquainted with Spir-
itualists and better understanding their religious experience.
Typically, Michel gives guidelines such as, “Look for a color that
the two people to your right need, and why they need it,” or “See
something physical [that is, part of ordinary life, not spirituality] for
any three people in the group.” In December he might suggest, “See
a Christmas present for each of the two people on your right and ex-
plain what it means.” Later in the year, students are asked to see via
objects, a type of clairvoyance known as psychometry. Each leaves
a personal object on a tray that is passed around, and each chooses
an object without looking at the tray. Or the students may be told to
write their name on a strip of paper. Then each draws a strip from a
container and reads for that individual without knowing whose name
is on the paper until after clairvoyance is given.
Normally, the students concentrate for ten or fifteen minutes on
the exercise they have been asked to do. Usually, members have their
eyes closed during this period, though occasionally they may be in-
structed to look at several individuals in the group for a minute or
two and “enter into their aura.” Sometimes Michel gets up to give
healing to a few of the individuals present. After ten or fifteen min-
utes, he announces that time is up. He calls on a member of the group
and this time moves around the group counter-clockwise. Each tells
what they have seen and what it means. Afterward, he is likely to tell
some of those present what he saw for them (time rarely permits giv-
ing a message to everyone). If he has conferred with someone before