PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH: EXPERIENCES AND EFFECTS ON BEREAVEMENT
ARTHUR HASTINGS A1, ELIZABETH FERGUSON A1, MICHAEL HUTTON A1, ADINA GOLDMAN A1, WILLIAM BRAUD A1, ELYSE GREENE A1, CONSTANCE BENNETT A1, MICHAEL HEWETT A1, IDA BERK A1, VERA LIND A1, TRACY BOYNTON A1, KATHIE McLELLAN A1, CAROLYN DAWN A1, SANDRA STEINBACH-HUMPHREY A1
A1 William James Center for Consciousness Studies, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, California
Abstract: A Psychomanteum Process involving mirror-gazing was conducted in a research setting to explore apparent facilitated contact with deceased friends and relatives, and to collect data on the phenomena, experiences, and effects on bereavement. A pilot study with five participants resulted in strong experiences and four apparent contacts. The main study took 27 participants through a three-stage process: remembering a deceased friend or relative, sitting in a darkened room gazing into a mirror while thinking of the person, and finally discussing and reflecting on the experience. Data were collected with pre- and post-questionnaires, a follow-up questionnaire at least four weeks after the session, interviews by the facilitators, and two personality measures, the Tellegen Absorption Scale and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Contacts with the sought person were reported by 13 participants. Participants reported that a variety of imagery appeared in the mirror, as well as experiences of dialogue, sounds, light, body sensations, and smell. Several specific messages were reported by participants who believed that they were from the sought persons. Twenty-one self-report items relating to bereavement were analyzed for changes between pre- and follow-up questionnaires. Using a Wilcoxon signed ranks analysis, statistically significant reductions in bereavement responses were found over the entire group (p = .05 to .0008). These included unresolved feelings, loss, grief, guilt, sadness, and need to communicate. Participants also reported significant impact on their lives following the session.
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