Experiences of a Psychical Researcher – Raymond Bayless

A small, unvarnished table, around which four people can be seated comfortably or five can be squeezed in if necessary, which is absolutely free from creaks, should be used.

The sitters should possess a great degree of patience and have a general conformity of views to insure a harmonious relationship, and before and during the sitting no controversial exchanges must occur. This principle is a must.

Music, either recorded or preferably sung, should be used for at least fifteen or twenty minutes, and periodic singing during the course of the sitting is an excellent idea of course, if raps are taking place, silence must prevail or nothing will be heard.

Conversation during the sitting should be occasional, but the voices should be kept at a subdued level and should not be raised in excitement. In fact, one's thoughts should be kept on harmonious, pleasant subjects. Personal thought control must be practiced.

Sittings should be held at least once a week and in the same room. They should not last more than an hour or an hour and a half.

A table-sitting is exhausting physically, because of the upright posture which one has to employ, and the strained position of hands and arms. The hands should be rested lightly upon the surface of the table and, except when "resting" on palms, should be poised on fingertips. For purposes of developing the phenomena, complete darkness is best, and eventually, when a good quantity of raps are being received, a red light of low intensity can be used.

During some personal experiments the room was lighted by reflected streetlights, which enabled us to see fairly well, yet kept the intensity to a desirable level. If one has extraordinary luck, a fairly bright red light can be used. By using light such as I have described, a controlled situation can be set up very easily.

As a personal suggestion, if six months or more go by with no results, then I would suggest that a new sitter be introduced and an old one dropped. If results still are not forthcoming, the same procedure must be followed again. When a "circle" is formed, it should be understood that such a situation may arise. The old traditional scheme of alternating sexes should be adhered to. When it is realized that this entire procedure is the traditional method of the spiritualists, then it behooves one to follow other of their habits.

An erect posture is desirable, and the experimenters should not cross their legs while sitting.

It is a good thing to actually give a “greeting" at the beginning of each sitting. In other words, aid is requested of benign discarnates, and, when the sitting is over, appreciation should be expressed. If one prefers not to accept the existence of spirits or of spirit participation in psychic experiments, then I suggest that one retain an open mind toward this possibility and follow the suggested plan of action. Far better results will be received.

In the experiments performed by the English circle ..., the phenomenon received had one major drawback. It showed little intelligence and on occasion was inclined to violent, mindless action. In my opinion, had the spiritistic concept at least been theoretically accepted for the purposes of the experiments, the phenomenon received would have been much more advanced.

Unfortunately, the British experimenters were antagonistic to the idea of surviving spirits, and to the participation of such spirits in their tests. Such an attitude is not scientific in the least but merely represents an unsupported bias. During the sittings for the development of raps, other phenomena will probably occur, such as touches, which were experienced during our experiments. Table movements may occur, and great care must be taken so that subconscious actions do not play a part here. Most of such movements, except in certain rare cases, can be safely disregarded unless levitations occur or there are movements of the table without contact. However, I am, in this plan of action, referring primarily to the phenomenon of raps.

I have presented these instructions so that eventually psychical phenomena may be developed and new mediums discovered.

In the scheme outlined, some success can be reached without the aid of a powerful medium, but if a medium should develop because of the sittings, then truly major phenomena will result. This scheme of action may seem strange to some and perhaps even silly, but if one desires results, the proper formula must be followed. In the study of any science, one's preconceived beliefs must either be ignored or abandoned when necessary.