The meaning of the word medium. Who are mediums? Films about psychics and mediums

The range of literature on the topic “how to become a medium” is quite wide, however, boring treatises with terminology incomprehensible to the layman only scare away beginners and force them to engage in the simplest magic, nothing like the actions of a professional medium. Start small - try to develop supernatural abilities with simple exercises - this is how the great minds of psychics did it!

Who are mediums

In the view of the majority, a medium is a strange, awkward-looking person who gets in touch with ghosts, spirits and other inhabitants of the subtle world. Indeed, individuals with psychic abilities often look, to put it mildly, extravagant, however, a non-standard appearance does not prevent them from getting in touch with different entities, and their abilities are not limited.

How does a live contactor-transmitter work? The process of communication with representatives of the other world, described by the mediums themselves, allows us to divide the intermediary sorcerers into several categories:

1. There is such a thing as "physical mediumship". Psychics belonging to this category can reproduce various noises and movements, they are also subject to levitation.
2. The so-called "hearing mediums" are able to tune in to a special wave and catch the speech of entities. Developing his gift, the register easily interprets the sounds that appear out of nowhere in his head, he telepathically communicates with both the souls of the dead and living people.
3. Along with psychic talents, some individuals have the ability to speak in other people's voices. Having established a connection with a ghost, the contactee uses his body as a conductor between the worlds, allowing the incorporeal spirit to move into his own physical shell for the period of connection. Upon completion of the ritual, the "ventriloquist" may not remember the words that the soul that came into contact transmitted through his speech apparatus.
4. There are persons among mediums who are able to see ghostly creatures. You may have seen how small children communicate with someone invisible. So, for some adults, the ability to see ghosts living with us is preserved. In a dream or in reality, they make visual contact with the souls of the dead and other entities.
5. There are psychics who are able to diagnose various diseases, as well as cure them. As they themselves explain, the human body appears to them in different colors, each organ has its own color and pulsation, and in sick people these indicators change.

There is no such medium who has only one of the above abilities, often these people combine several of these qualities, and some are endowed with a rare gift - foreseeing the future.

As you know, not everyone can be a medium. Often they are people with innate abilities that need to be constantly developed and trained. Whether a particular person can become a good psychic is indicated by the presence of the following signs.

1. Continuity. Often the gift is passed from one generation to another. If in your family one of the ancestors possessed psychic skills, they could be inherited by you. It is also believed that the majority of hereditary psychics are women. It’s not for nothing that there is a generally accepted saying about sorceresses: “In order to, you need to be born with her!”
2. Eye color. A feature that distinguishes some mediums from the crowd is dark (almost black) or different-colored eyes, the presence of specks on the iris. People with such a sign, having noticed unusual abilities in themselves, are called upon to become strong psychics.
3. Strong intuition. If you notice that the sixth sense never fails you, more than once helped close people avoid danger, and you yourself have never been trapped, try to find a good teacher who will develop your gift to clairvoyant capabilities.
4. Prophetic dreams, repetitive images. Do you know the feeling of “déjà vu” when you realize that this situation has already happened in the past, and you know how it will end? Or do you constantly have dreams, which then strangely come true? This means that your energy shell is tuned to receive information from higher powers, learn how to interpret it correctly, and become a soothsayer.
5. Head trauma, shock, coma or clinical death in the past. Most newly-minted mediums, whose gift is not connected with the continuity of generations, testify that the trigger for its appearance was some kind of traumatic event that threatened their further earthly existence: an accident, a fall, an electric shock, a lightning strike.

Even a couple of positive statements from the list make it clear that you should use the opportunity to try yourself in mediumship, and if all the criteria have told about you, start working without delay - humanity needs strong specialists!

Any person who decides to become a medium must adhere to the basic rules and train his skills as often as possible so that they do not begin to weaken, but only grow stronger.

Everyone, psychic or clairvoyant, needs to adhere to the golden rule - no worries and stresses, even in the most emergency situations. Emotional balance and stability should always prevail over fears and worries. Otherwise, the gift, already not yet strong enough, may disappear for an indefinite period or forever.

Train your intuition

The most important thing for a medium is his intuition, which will never deceive a person who has a gift. It is vital for a psychic to keep his flair in good shape so that it does not disappear altogether. With the right approach and proper use of their skills, the sixth sense will only increase, helping the psychic to maintain contact with the subtle world at the right time.

You can start the training by trying to predict various small events, for example, when the home phone rang, before picking up the phone, try to intuitively name the one who is on the other end of the wire.

The training of intuition is based on the development of the senses of perception. A heightened acceptance of the world helps the medium strengthen the invaluable gift of heaven, and also helps out in various life situations. Listen to quiet sounds, peer into the darkness, feel inner feelings, learn to hear different notes of aromas, understand their combination in complex perfume compositions.

Learn to understand the signs: catch every word that is said by chance; record the unusual events that happen to you every day; do not neglect your feelings - if a wave of fear has covered you or you suddenly remembered someone with a feeling of nagging anxiety, try to calm the emotion and understand where it came from.

Choose the direction of mediumistic activity

Before proceeding directly to the practice of developing all the senses, it is necessary to determine which of them are more developed in you, and start training with them.

1. In a person with developed vision, it is necessary to make a bias towards clairvoyance in practices. A simple exercise will help you learn how to concentrate:
   

   Put a black dot on a white sheet of paper and every day, starting from one minute, peer into this dot, placing the sheet away from you in front of your eyes, at arm's length. Try not to blink or strain your eyes.

2. Excellent hearing speaks of the ability to get in touch with the dead. A person with such a gift is able not only to feel an invisible presence intuitively or see silhouettes, but can fully communicate with spirits.
3. Strongly developed taste buds help the medium to taste someone else's aura, in this way he can not only determine whether a person is good or bad in front of him, but also diagnose some diseases. Experiment with flavors, use natural ingredients for cooking: flowers, herbs, leaves, roots.
4. If your strong point is the sense of smell, strengthening it, you will be able to anticipate an approaching threat, an unpleasant situation, damage present on someone and any changes in his biological field.
   

   The training is quite simple: with your eyes covered with an impenetrable bandage, try to recognize different smells (first simple, then mixed). Do not forget about the care of the nasopharynx and proper nutrition - avoid foods that can irritate the taste buds.

5. The gift of touch helps to determine the presence of a negative magical influence on a person, determines the state of his health. Tactile sensations help to capture many properties of objects. Choose both inanimate and animate objects for training (let relatives and close people help you improve your skill).

While developing extraordinary skills, it is important to pay attention to physical development in parallel. Higher forces will test the strength of an emotionally receptive and subject to energy attacks medium, and dark spirits will try in every possible way to take possession of the physical shell.

Due to constant stress, a physically weak register will begin to suffer from frequent illnesses, so sports and the use of relaxing practices should become part of the daily life of any contactee. If you have bad habits, abandoning them will serve as a starting point for the formation of strong immunity.

In teaching a novice psychic, books will come to the rescue that describe detailed techniques. Among them:

• The Medium's Book (by Allan Kardec);
• “So You Want to Become a Medium (by Rosa Ainden);
• method of V. Bronnikov "Information development of a person".

Among the "spirits" mentioned in this treatise were Peter the Great, Pericles, "North American Savage", William Penn and Christina (Queen of Sweden).

Mediumship became widespread in the United States and Europe after the emergence of Spiritualism as a form of religious movement, beginning in 1848, after reports surfaced that the Fox sisters had come into contact with an invisible entity in their home in Hydesville. In the middle of the 19th century, the mediums Leonora Piper, Emma Harding-Britten, Florence Cooke, Elizabeth Hope, and Daniel Dunglas Hume also became widely known. Allan Kardec wrote extensively about mediums and mediumship, who coined the term spiritism in 1860.

As serious scientists began to study the phenomenon, reports began to appear of cases of massive fraud among mediums. At the same time, some of the mediums who were exposed from time to time by observers (for example, Eusapia Paladino) also had supporters from among well-known scientists (Oliver Lodge, William Crookes, Charles Richet, etc.)

The study of mediumship

In Britain, the Society for Psychical Research took up the study of mediumship, in particular, aspects of it related to telepathy and clairvoyance. Publications in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research were, as a rule, critical, but in some cases researchers recognized the facts of genuine mediumship and the reality of the paranormal phenomena demonstrated at the sessions.

Varieties of mediumship

There are two main types of mediumship: mental (trance) and physical.

mental mediumship

Mental mediumship implies the possibility of communication between spirits and a medium through telepathy. At the same time, the medium "hears", "sees" or "feels" information that is transmitted to him by the intermediary spirit and, in turn, transmits it to those present (who are called "sitting" - "sitters"). Among their abilities required for the exercise of mental mediumship are clairvoyance (clairvoyance; as a rule, implies the presence of "inner vision"), "clairaudience" (clairaudience) and "clairsentience" (clairsentience). The latter is the most common form of mediumship: it is generally believed that the development of "psychic" abilities begins with it. The most common varieties of mental mediumship are "direct voice" (or "speech mediumship") and automatic writing.

Speech mediumship

Followers of spiritualism believe that the phenomenon of speech mediumship (its other name is “direct voice”) has been known since antiquity. As evidence of this, they cite the “demon” with whom Socrates communicated (F. W. Myers called this entity “the deep layer of wisdom itself,” which “communicated with the surface layer of the mind”), the “voice” of Joan of Arc.

The pioneer of modern speech mediumship is considered to be Jonathan Kunz, an Ohio farmer who allegedly received messages in his cabin starting in 1852 using a tin megaphone from which "voices" came. Similar phenomena (according, in particular, to Professor Mapes) occurred at the sessions of the Davenport brothers, and the biographer of the latter, R. Cooper, claimed that he often heard the voice of "John King" outside the room, in the daytime, when he walked with the brothers down the street . That the voices of John King and other spirits also sounded in the presence of Mary Marshall (Britain's first public medium) was testified, in particular, by Dr. W. G. Harrison, editor of The Spiritualist. Each time, skeptics in such cases suspected mediums of ventriloquism. To exclude such suspicions, D. D. Hume tried to speak himself when the spirits “broadcast”, arguing that “it is impossible to speak and ventriloquize at the same time”, and did it convincingly.

A. Conan Doyle (who claimed that he repeatedly heard several voices at the sessions at the same time), among the modern speech mediums of Great Britain mentioned Roberts Johnson, Blanche Cooper, John C. Sloan, William Phoenix, Mrs. Dunsmore, Ewen Powell.

physical mediumship

Physical mediumship in spiritualism implies the energy contact of the “spirit” with the world of the living through the medium, as a result of which the latter demonstrates various paranormal phenomena: materialization, apportions, psychokinesis, levitation, etc.

Among the boundary mediumistic phenomena, combining the features of both mental and physical mediumism, is, in particular, the phenomenon of "spiritual photography".

Photographic mediumship

In 1861, Boston engraver William G. Mumler exhibited photographs that he claimed contained something beyond his will that had come from the underworld. The phenomenon soon gained popularity and became known as "spiritual photography". Mamler claimed that at first this happened to him involuntarily: he simply found on his records “twins” of living people and some mysterious figures, completely unwilling to see them there. Thomas Slater followed in his footsteps in Britain, and (according to some followers of spiritualism) his participation was predicted in 1856 at a séance Slater held in London with Lord Bruham and Robert D. Owen. A number of researchers have authenticated the photographs: among them was the naturalist Sir Alfred Russel Wallace, who wrote in On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism:

Spirit Guides

In Western spiritualism, the "spirit guide" (eng. spirit guide or "spirit-connected" (eng. spirit communicator) is commonly called an incorporeal spiritual entity that establishes constant contact with a medium - as a rule, guided by noble goals (to give advice, instructions, etc.). The term spirit operator spirit operator) is used in relation to an entity that uses a medium as an energy source.

In early spiritualism, ethnic Indians often acted as spirit guides. One of the most popular characters in 19th-century séances in the United States was someone who called himself the "White Hawk" (it is curious that in the Negro communities of the same kind, in particular those founded by Mother Leafy Anderson, the "Black Hawk" was active). Among the "mentors" were also the ancient Chinese and Egyptians. This term is also sometimes used in relation to "angels" and "spirits of nature"; in some cases (most often in shamanism) - even to animal spirits.

Disagreements between followers of spiritualism and theosophy

Serious disagreements in the interpretation of mediumship exist between the followers of spiritualism and theosophy. Manly Hall in his book The Occult Anatomy of Man, defining the difference between clairvoyance and mediumship, criticizes the latter:

... Belief in the constant communication of the living with the dead, either through their own mediumistic abilities, or through the so-called medium, is nothing more than the materialization of the spirit and the degradation of human and divine souls. Those who believe in such intercourse simply dishonor the dead and constantly blaspheme. In ancient times this was rightly called "Necromancy".

...Let no one<…>does not consider mediumship as a gift. On the contrary, it is the greatest danger and stumbling block for the growth of the spirit. The medium is an inn, there is an obsession. Verily, the medium has no open centers, and high psychic energy is absent in it...<…>Let us remember one rule - you cannot receive any Teachings through mediums. H. P. Blavatsky struggled all her life against the ignorant attitude towards mediums. There are many of her articles devoted specifically to describing the dangers that people who attend séances without sufficient knowledge and strong will are exposed to.

The Dangers of Mediumship

Parapsychology recommends experimenting with mediumship with extreme caution, believing that since these situations involve the deep layers of the medium's subconscious, any surprise during the session can cause an unpredictable reaction and the most unexpected consequences. In particular: despite the fact that some "materializations" sometimes behave provocatively and playfully during the sessions, physical contact with them is potentially dangerous.

The case with Maria Zilbert

Edalbert Avian, the author of the biography of the medium Maria Zilbert, describes the behavior of the latter after he could not resist during the session and (by his own admission) “caressed” the “spirit” girl who had taken shape from her ectoplasm: “The door swung open by itself. On the threshold stood Maria Zilbert, or, more precisely, her ghostly likeness. She looked at me, her eyes glowing green. During these few minutes, Maria grew noticeably: now she was a head taller than me. Her features froze, turning into a lifeless gray menacing mask. From time to time, her body emitted electrical discharges that sparkled like lightning. Avian retired to the living room. The medium, moving like a robot, followed him. He fled to one of the rooms and locked the door behind him, but a few minutes later, for the first time in his life, "... he saw the process of interpenetration of matter", which he called a "terrible" spectacle, "contradicting all the laws of nature":

Nandor Fodor notes that E. Avian's story serves as a kind of "reverse version" of the chronicle of the phenomenon known as "flat materialization". So, at the sessions that Baron Albert von Schrenk-Notzing conducted with the medium Mademoiselle Bisson, the latter, according to those present, materialized two-dimensional figures that were repeatedly recorded by the camera. The photographs of these spatial images resembled newspaper clippings to such an extent that skeptics have repeatedly tried to find the publications from which they were withdrawn. Subsequently, in parapsychology, an assumption arose that such spatial "cartoons" are nothing but mental images supernaturally carried by the mind into space. On the other hand (notes N. Fodor), the assumption that not a “spirit”, but a medium could “shrink” into a plane in order to overcome a material obstacle (as Maria Zilbert allegedly did), looks incredible.

Mediumship today

Since the 30s of the twentieth century, the popularity of spiritistic mediumship began to fade away - it was gradually replaced by technology channeling, now often associated with the traditions of the New Age movement. Traditional mediumship is still practiced within the community of Spiritualist churches and sects, in particular within the British Association National Spiritualist Association of Churches(NSAC).

Spiritualist churches

In modern spiritualist churches, communion with the dead is part of the daily religious practice. The term “session” is rarely used here: here they often talk about “receiving messages”. As a rule, such meetings are not held in darkened rooms, but in brightly lit church halls or outdoors in spiritualist camps (such as Lily Dale in New York State or Camp Cassadaga in Florida). As a rule, "message service" or "demonstrations of the eternity of life" (in the terminology of the ministers) are open to everyone. In some churches, the service is preceded by healing sessions.

In addition to the "spirits" that are related to one of the guests or directly to the medium, entities are sometimes called, one way or another connected with the history of this spiritualist church. An example of the latter is the Blackhawk, a red-skinned Fox Indian who lived in the 19th century and was the spirit guide of the medium Lifi Anderson. In Latin American religion Espiritismo, in many respects akin to spiritualism, seances are called "masses" (misas). The "spirits" here invoked are usually represented as Catholic saints.

Criticism of mediumship

Not only the followers of Spiritualism, but also some scientists, including those who worked within the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), claimed that at least a few mediums were known to demonstrate genuine phenomena. However, a skeptical attitude towards mediumship prevails in society and science. Belief in the possibility of communicating with spirits and other otherworldly forces is considered as one of the most common pseudoscientific misconceptions. It is believed that mediums use the methods of "cold reading" well known in modern psychology to collect information about those present at the session and then provide plausible information about them. A key role in this kind of mediumship is played by the “effect of subjective confirmation” (see the Barnum effect) - people are predisposed to believe that information is reliable, which, although it is a random coincidence or guess, seems to them personally important and significant and corresponds to their personal beliefs.

An article about this phenomenon in Encyclopedia Britannica emphasizes that "...one after another, the 'spiritualist' mediums were convicted of fraud, sometimes using tricks borrowed from stage "magicians"-illusionists, in order to convince those present that they had paranormal abilities. The article also notes that "... the discovery of a large-scale scam that took place at the seances caused serious damage to the reputation of the Spiritualism movement and pushed it to the public periphery in the United States" .

Among those who deny mediumship are both atheists and theists, who either do not believe in the existence of "spirits of the dead" or deny the possibility of lifetime contact with them through mediums. The arguments put forward by critics of mediumship mention "self-deception", "intervention of the subconscious", the use of illusionistic tricks, magic and forgery.

From the point of view of individual representatives of Christianity, mediumship manifests itself in people possessed by demons.

Debunkers of false mediumship

Among the most famous debunkers of false mediumship were researchers Frank Podmore (Society for Psychical Research), Harry Price (National Laboratory for Psychical Research), as well as professional stage magicians John N. Maskelyne (who exposed the tricks of the Davenport brothers) and Harry Houdini. The latter declared that he had nothing against spiritualism as a form of religion, he was only called upon to expose charlatans who deceive people in the name of this religion.

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Notes

1. . www.spiritlincs.com. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
2. . Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
3. Nandor Fodor.. Thomson Gale; 5 Sub edition (2000). Retrieved September 24, 2009. .
4. Channeling translated from English. (channelling) means "laying a channel" or "channeling". This implies the receipt of information from the Higher Mind, through the physical person.
5. National Science Board. . Science and Engineering Indicators 2006. National Science Foundation (2006). Retrieved September 3, 2010. .

   “…[A]bout three-fourths of Americans hold at least one pseudoscientific belief; i.e., they believed in at least 1 of the 10 survey items…”

   « Those 10 items were extrasensory perception (ESP), that houses can be haunted, ghosts/that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places/situations, telepathy/communication between minds without using traditional senses, clairvoyance/the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future, astrology/that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives, that people can communicate mentally with someone who has died, witches, reincarnation/the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death , and channeling/allowing a "spirit-being" to temporarily assume control of a body."

6. Lyttleton, George (First Baron) and Montegue, Mrs. Eizabeth, Dialogues with the Dead, W. Sandby, London, 1760
7. (unavailable link - history) . anomalyinfo.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
8. . veritas.arizona.edu. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
9. (unavailable link - history) . pathwaystospirit.com. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
10. (unavailable link - history) . www.spiritlincs.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
11. A. Conan Doyle.. rassvet2000.narod.ru. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
12. Journal of S.P.R., Vol. IV, p.127.
13. The Spiritualist, November 1, 1873
14. A. R. Wallace. - On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism, 1901, p.198
15. A. Conan Doyle.. rassvet2000.narod.ru. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
16. W. H. Mumler. - Personal Experiences of William H. Mumler in Spirit Photography, Boston, 1875.
18. . First Spiritual Temple. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
20. Wington P.. paganwican.about.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
21. . www.animalspirits.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
22. Bailey A.
23. Manly Hall. Human occult anatomy
25. . Website of the Helena Roerich Charitable Foundation. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
26. N. Fodor.. www.abc-people.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .
27. Lily Dale: The True Story of the Town that Talks to the Dead Christine Wicker. Harper Collins. 2004. ISBN 0-06-008667-X
28. Barry J. The Spirit of Black Hawk: A Mystery of Africans and Indians". University Press of Mississippi, 1995. ISBN 0-87805-806-0
29. Robert T. Carroll.. // The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved September 28, 2011. .
30. Robert T. Carroll.. // The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved September 28, 2011. .
31. . www.britannica.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010. .

Literature

• Vinogradova E. P., Volovikova M. L., Kanishchev K. A., Kupriyanov A. S., Kovaltsov G. A., Tikhonova S. V., Chubur A. A. Brief reference book of the concepts of pseudoscience // / [editor: S.V. Tikhonova (editor-in-chief) et al.]. - St. Petersburg. : VVM Publishing House, 2013. - 291 p. - 100 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9651-0742-1.
• "Parapsychology and modern natural science", V. Pushkin, A. Dubrov Moscow: Sovaminko, 1989
• Dubrov A.P., Pushkin V.N. Parapsychology and modern natural science. - M ., 1990. - 200,000 copies. - ISBN 5-85300-001-2.
• "Parapsychology" (facts and opinions), M. Ritzl (translated from German) Lvov-Kyiv-Moscow, 1999.

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An excerpt characterizing the Medium

Four weeks have passed since Pierre was in captivity. Despite the fact that the French offered to transfer him from a soldier's booth to an officer's booth, he remained in the booth in which he entered from the first day.
In devastated and burned Moscow, Pierre experienced almost the extreme limits of deprivation that a person can endure; but, thanks to his strong build and health, which he had not realized until now, and especially due to the fact that these hardships approached so imperceptibly that it was impossible to say when they began, he endured not only easily, but also joyfully his position. . And it was at this very time that he received that calmness and self-satisfaction, for which he had vainly sought before. For a long time in his life he searched from various sides for this peace, harmony with himself, that which so struck him in the soldiers in the Battle of Borodino - he searched for this in philanthropy, in Freemasonry, in the dispersion of secular life, in wine, in heroic deeds. self-sacrifice, in romantic love for Natasha; he sought it by way of thought, and all these searches and attempts all deceived him. And he, without thinking about it, received this peace and this agreement with himself only through the horror of death, through deprivation and through what he understood in Karataev. Those terrible moments that he experienced during the execution seemed to have washed away forever from his imagination and memories the disturbing thoughts and feelings that had previously seemed important to him. He did not even think about Russia, or about the war, or about politics, or about Napoleon. It was obvious to him that all this did not concern him, that he had not been called and therefore could not judge all this. “Yes, let Russia fly - there is no union,” he repeated the words of Karataev, and these words strangely reassured him. It seemed to him now incomprehensible and even ridiculous his intention to kill Napoleon and his calculations about the cabalistic number and the beast of the Apocalypse. His bitterness against his wife and anxiety that his name should not be put to shame now seemed to him not only insignificant, but amusing. What did he care about the fact that this woman led somewhere the life that she liked? To whom, especially to him, what did it matter whether or not they found out that the name of their captive was Count Bezukhov?
Now he often recalled his conversation with Prince Andrei and fully agreed with him, only understanding Prince Andrei's thought somewhat differently. Prince Andrei thought and said that happiness can only be negative, but he said this with a touch of bitterness and irony. As if, saying this, he expressed a different idea - that all the strivings for positive happiness invested in us are invested only in order to torment us, not satisfying. But Pierre, without any ulterior motive, recognized the justice of this. The absence of suffering, the satisfaction of needs, and, as a result, the freedom to choose occupations, that is, a way of life, now seemed to Pierre the undoubted and highest happiness of a person. Here, now only, for the first time, Pierre fully appreciated the pleasure of eating when he was hungry, drinking when he was thirsty, sleeping when he was sleepy, warmth when it was cold, talking with a person, when he wanted to speak and listen to a human voice. Satisfaction of needs - good food, cleanliness, freedom - now, when he was deprived of all this, seemed to Pierre perfect happiness, and the choice of occupation, that is, life, now that this choice was so limited, seemed to him such an easy thing that he forgot the fact that an excess of the comforts of life destroys all the happiness of satisfying needs, and a great freedom in choosing occupations, the freedom that education, wealth, position in the world gave him in his life, that this freedom makes the choice of occupations inextricably difficult and destroys the very need and opportunity to practice.
All Pierre's dreams were now striving for the time when he would be free. Meanwhile, subsequently, and throughout his whole life, Pierre thought and spoke with delight about this month of captivity, about those irrevocable, strong and joyful sensations and, most importantly, about that complete peace of mind, about perfect inner freedom, which he experienced only at this time. .
When on the first day, having risen early in the morning, he left the booth at dawn and first saw the dark domes, the crosses of the Novo Devichy Convent, saw frosty dew on the dusty grass, saw the hills of the Sparrow Hills and the wooded shore meandering over the river and hiding in the lilac distance, when I felt a touch of fresh air and heard the sounds of jackdaws flying from Moscow through a field, and when then suddenly light splashed from the east and the edge of the sun solemnly floated out from behind clouds, and domes, and crosses, and dew, and distance, and the river, everything began to play in a joyful light - Pierre felt a new, not experienced by him, feeling of joy and strength of life.
And this feeling not only did not leave him during the whole time of captivity, but, on the contrary, grew in him as the difficulties of his position increased.
The feeling of this readiness for everything, moral selection was even more supported in Pierre by the high opinion that, soon after his entry into the booth, was established among his comrades about him. Pierre, with his knowledge of languages, with the respect that the French showed him, with his simplicity, giving everything that was asked of him (he received an officer's three rubles a week), with his strength, which he showed to the soldiers by pressing nails into the wall of the booth , with the meekness that he showed in his treatment of his comrades, with his incomprehensible ability for them to sit still and, doing nothing, to think, seemed to the soldiers a somewhat mysterious and higher being. Those very qualities of him that, in the light in which he lived before, were for him, if not harmful, then embarrassing - his strength, disregard for the comforts of life, absent-mindedness, simplicity - here, among these people, gave him the position of almost a hero. . And Pierre felt that this look obliged him.

On the night of October 6-7, the movement of the French speakers began: kitchens, booths were broken, wagons were packed and troops and carts were moving.
At seven o'clock in the morning, a French convoy, in marching uniform, in shakos, with guns, knapsacks and huge bags, stood in front of the booths, and a lively French conversation, sprinkled with curses, rolled along the entire line.
Everyone in the booth was ready, dressed, girded, shod, and only waited for the order to leave. The sick soldier Sokolov, pale, thin, with blue circles around his eyes, alone, not shod and not dressed, sat in his place and, with eyes that rolled out from thinness, looked inquiringly at his comrades who did not pay attention to him and groaned softly and evenly. Apparently, it was not so much suffering - he was sick with bloody diarrhea - as fear and grief to be left alone made him moan.
Pierre, shod in shoes, sewn for him by Karataev from cybik, who brought a Frenchman to hemming his soles, girded with a rope, approached the patient and squatted down in front of him.
“Well, Sokolov, they don’t quite leave!” They have a hospital here. Maybe you will be even better than ours,” said Pierre.
- Oh my God! O my death! Oh my God! the soldier groaned louder.
“Yes, I’ll ask them now,” said Pierre, and, rising, went to the door of the booth. While Pierre was approaching the door, the corporal who yesterday treated Pierre with a pipe approached with two soldiers. Both the corporal and the soldiers were in marching uniform, in knapsacks and shakos with buttoned scales that changed their familiar faces.
The corporal went to the door in order to close it by order of his superiors. Before release, it was necessary to count the prisoners.
- Caporal, que fera t on du malade? .. [Corporal, what to do with the patient? ..] - began Pierre; but at the moment he said this, he doubted whether this was the corporal he knew or some other, unknown person: the corporal was so unlike himself at that moment. In addition, at the moment Pierre was saying this, the crackling of drums was suddenly heard from both sides. The corporal frowned at Pierre's words and, uttering a meaningless curse, slammed the door. It became half dark in the booth; drums crackled sharply from both sides, drowning out the groans of the sick man.
“Here it is! .. Again it!” Pierre said to himself, and an involuntary chill ran down his back. In the changed face of the corporal, in the sound of his voice, in the exciting and deafening crackle of drums, Pierre recognized that mysterious, indifferent force that forced people to kill their own kind against their will, the force that he saw during the execution. It was useless to be afraid, to try to avoid this force, to make requests or exhortations to people who served as its instruments, it was useless. Pierre knew this now. I had to wait and be patient. Pierre did not go up to the sick man again and did not look back at him. He, silently, frowning, stood at the door of the booth.
When the doors of the booth opened and the prisoners, like a herd of rams, crushing each other, squeezed into the exit, Pierre made his way ahead of them and went up to the very captain who, according to the corporal, was ready to do everything for Pierre. The captain was also in marching uniform, and from his cold face also looked “it”, which Pierre recognized in the words of the corporal and in the crackle of drums.
- Filez, filez, [Come in, come in.] - the captain said, frowning severely and looking at the prisoners crowding past him. Pierre knew that his attempt would be in vain, but he approached him.
- Eh bien, qu "est ce qu" il y a? [Well, what else?] - looking around coldly, as if not recognizing, the officer said. Pierre said about the patient.
- Il pourra marcher, que diable! the captain said. - Filez, filez, [He'll go, damn it! Come in, come in] - he continued to sentence, without looking at Pierre.
- Mais non, il est a l "agonie ... [No, he is dying ...] - Pierre began.
– Voulez vous bien?! [Go to…] – the captain shouted with an evil frown.
Drum yes yes ladies, ladies, ladies, the drums crackled. And Pierre realized that a mysterious force had already completely taken possession of these people and that now it was useless to say anything else.
The captured officers were separated from the soldiers and ordered to go ahead. There were thirty officers, including Pierre, and three hundred soldiers.
The captured officers released from other booths were all strangers, were much better dressed than Pierre, and looked at him, in his shoes, with distrust and aloofness. Not far from Pierre walked, apparently enjoying the general respect of his fellow prisoners, a fat major in a Kazan dressing gown, belted with a towel, with a plump, yellow, angry face. He held one hand with a pouch in his bosom, the other leaned on a chibouk. The major, puffing and puffing, grumbled and got angry at everyone because it seemed to him that he was being pushed and that everyone was in a hurry when there was nowhere to hurry, everyone was surprised at something when there was nothing surprising in anything. The other, a small, thin officer, was talking to everyone, making assumptions about where they were being led now and how far they would have time to go that day. An official, in boots and a commissariat uniform, ran in from different directions and looked out for burned-out Moscow, loudly reporting his observations about what had burned down and what this or that visible part of Moscow was like. The third officer, of Polish origin by accent, argued with the commissariat official, proving to him that he was mistaken in determining the quarters of Moscow.
What are you arguing about? the major said angrily. - Is it Nikola, Vlas, it's all the same; you see, everything has burned down, well, that’s the end of it... What are you pushing about, is there really not enough road, ”he turned angrily to the one who was walking behind and was not pushing him at all.
- Hey, hey, hey, what have you done! - heard, however, now from one side, now from the other side the voices of the prisoners, looking around the conflagrations. - And then Zamoskvorechye, and Zubovo, and then in the Kremlin, look, half is missing ... Yes, I told you that all Zamoskvorechye, that's how it is.
- Well, you know what burned down, well, what to talk about! the major said.
Passing through Khamovniki (one of the few unburned quarters of Moscow) past the church, the entire crowd of prisoners suddenly huddled to one side, and exclamations of horror and disgust were heard.
- Look, you bastards! That is not Christ! Yes, dead, dead and there ... They smeared it with something.
Pierre also moved towards the church, which had something that caused exclamations, and vaguely saw something leaning against the fence of the church. From the words of his comrades, who saw him better, he learned that it was something like the corpse of a man, standing upright by the fence and smeared with soot in his face ...
– Marchez, sacre nom… Filez… trente mille diables… [Go! go! Damn! Devils!] - the convoys cursed, and the French soldiers, with renewed anger, dispersed the crowd of prisoners who were looking at the dead man with cleavers.

Along the lanes of Khamovniki, the prisoners walked alone with their escort and the wagons and wagons that belonged to the escorts and rode behind; but, having gone out to the grocery stores, they found themselves in the middle of a huge, closely moving artillery convoy, mixed with private wagons.
At the very bridge, everyone stopped, waiting for those who were riding in front to advance. From the bridge, the prisoners opened behind and in front of endless rows of other moving convoys. To the right, where the Kaluga road curved past Neskuchny, disappearing into the distance, stretched endless ranks of troops and convoys. These were the troops of the Beauharnais corps that had come out first; Behind, along the embankment and across the Stone Bridge, Ney's troops and wagon trains stretched.
Davout's troops, to which the prisoners belonged, went through the Crimean ford and already partly entered Kaluga Street. But the carts were so stretched out that the last trains of Beauharnais had not yet left Moscow for Kaluzhskaya Street, and the head of Ney's troops was already leaving Bolshaya Ordynka.
Having passed the Crimean ford, the prisoners moved several steps and stopped, and again moved, and on all sides the carriages and people became more and more embarrassed. After walking for more than an hour those several hundred steps that separate the bridge from Kaluzhskaya Street, and having reached the square where Zamoskvoretsky Streets converge with Kaluzhskaya Street, the prisoners, squeezed into a heap, stopped and stood for several hours at this intersection. From all sides was heard the incessant, like the sound of the sea, the rumble of wheels, and the tramp of feet, and incessant angry cries and curses. Pierre stood pressed against the wall of the charred house, listening to this sound, which in his imagination merged with the sounds of the drum.
Several captured officers, in order to see better, climbed the wall of the burnt house, near which Pierre was standing.
- To the people! Eka to the people! .. And they piled on the guns! Look: furs ... - they said. “Look, you bastards, they robbed him… There, behind him, on a cart… After all, this is from an icon, by God!.. It must be the Germans. And our muzhik, by God!.. Ah, scoundrels! Here they are, the droshky - and they captured! .. Look, he sat down on the chests. Fathers! .. Fight! ..
- So it's in the face then, in the face! So you can't wait until evening. Look, look ... and this, of course, is Napoleon himself. You see, what horses! in monograms with a crown. This is a folding house. Dropped the bag, can't see. They fought again ... A woman with a child, and not bad. Yes, well, they will let you through... Look, there is no end. Russian girls, by God, girls! In the carriages, after all, how calmly they sat down!
Again, a wave of general curiosity, as near the church in Khamovniki, pushed all the prisoners to the road, and Pierre, thanks to his growth over the heads of others, saw what had so attracted the curiosity of the prisoners. In three carriages, intermingled between the charging boxes, they rode, closely sitting on top of each other, discharged, in bright colors, rouged, something screaming with squeaky voices of a woman.
From the moment Pierre realized the appearance of a mysterious force, nothing seemed strange or scary to him: neither a corpse smeared with soot for fun, nor these women hurrying somewhere, nor the conflagration of Moscow. Everything that Pierre now saw made almost no impression on him - as if his soul, preparing for a difficult struggle, refused to accept impressions that could weaken it.
The train of women has passed. Behind him again trailed carts, soldiers, wagons, soldiers, decks, carriages, soldiers, boxes, soldiers, occasionally women.
Pierre did not see people separately, but saw their movement.
All these people, the horses seemed to be driven by some invisible force. All of them, during the hour during which Pierre watched them, floated out of different streets with the same desire to pass quickly; they all the same, colliding with others, began to get angry, fight; white teeth bared, eyebrows frowned, the same curses were thrown over and over, and on all faces there was the same youthfully resolute and cruelly cold expression, which struck Pierre in the morning at the sound of a drum on the corporal's face.
Already before evening, the escort commander gathered his team and, shouting and arguing, squeezed into the carts, and the prisoners, surrounded on all sides, went out onto the Kaluga road.
They walked very quickly, without resting, and stopped only when the sun had already begun to set. The carts moved one on top of the other, and people began to prepare for the night. Everyone seemed angry and unhappy. For a long time, curses, angry cries and fights were heard from different sides. The carriage, which was riding behind the escorts, advanced on the escorts' wagon and pierced it with a drawbar. Several soldiers from different directions ran to the wagon; some beat on the heads of the horses harnessed to the carriage, turning them, others fought among themselves, and Pierre saw that one German was seriously wounded in the head with a cleaver.
It seemed that all these people now experienced, when they stopped in the middle of the field in the cold twilight of an autumn evening, the same feeling of unpleasant awakening from the haste that gripped everyone upon leaving and impetuous movement somewhere. Stopping, everyone seemed to understand that it was still unknown where they were going, and that this movement would be a lot of hard and difficult.
The escorts treated the prisoners at this halt even worse than when they set out. At this halt, for the first time, the meat food of the captives was issued with horse meat.
From the officers to the last soldier, it was noticeable in everyone, as it were, a personal bitterness against each of the prisoners, which so unexpectedly replaced the previously friendly relations.
This exasperation intensified even more when, when counting the prisoners, it turned out that during the bustle, leaving Moscow, one Russian soldier, pretending to be sick from his stomach, fled. Pierre saw how a Frenchman beat a Russian soldier because he moved far from the road, and heard how the captain, his friend, reprimanded the non-commissioned officer for the escape of a Russian soldier and threatened him with a court. To the excuse of the non-commissioned officer that the soldier was sick and could not walk, the officer said that he was ordered to shoot those who would fall behind. Pierre felt that the fatal force that crushed him during the execution and which was invisible during captivity now again took possession of his existence. He was scared; but he felt how, in proportion to the efforts made by the fatal force to crush him, a force of life independent of it grew and grew stronger in his soul.
Pierre dined on rye flour soup with horse meat and talked with his comrades.
Neither Pierre nor any of his comrades spoke about what they saw in Moscow, nor about the rudeness of the treatment of the French, nor about the order to shoot, which was announced to them: everyone was, as if in rebuff to the deteriorating situation, especially lively and cheerful . They talked about personal memories, about funny scenes seen during the campaign, and hushed up conversations about the present situation.
The sun has long since set. Bright stars lit up somewhere in the sky; the red, fire-like glow of the rising full moon spread over the edge of the sky, and the huge red ball oscillated surprisingly in the grayish haze. It became light. The evening was already over, but the night had not yet begun. Pierre got up from his new comrades and went between the fires to the other side of the road, where, he was told, the captured soldiers were standing. He wanted to talk to them. On the road, a French sentry stopped him and ordered him to turn back.
Pierre returned, but not to the fire, to his comrades, but to the unharnessed wagon, which had no one. He crossed his legs and lowered his head, sat down on the cold ground at the wheel of the wagon, and sat motionless for a long time, thinking. More than an hour has passed. Nobody bothered Pierre. Suddenly he burst out laughing with his thick, good-natured laugh so loudly that people from different directions looked around in surprise at this strange, obviously lonely laugh.
– Ha, ha, ha! Pierre laughed. And he said aloud to himself: “The soldier didn’t let me in.” Caught me, locked me up. I am being held captive. Who me? Me! Me, my immortal soul! Ha, ha, ha! .. Ha, ha, ha! .. - he laughed with tears in his eyes.
Some man got up and came up to see what this strange big man alone was laughing about. Pierre stopped laughing, got up, moved away from the curious and looked around him.
Previously, loudly noisy with the crackling of fires and the talk of people, the huge, endless bivouac subsided; the red fires of the fires went out and grew pale. High in the bright sky stood a full moon. Forests and fields, previously invisible outside the camp, now opened up in the distance. And even farther than these forests and fields could be seen a bright, oscillating, inviting endless distance. Pierre looked into the sky, into the depths of the departing, playing stars. “And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me! thought Pierre. “And they caught all this and put it in a booth, fenced off with boards!” He smiled and went to bed with his comrades.

In the first days of October, another truce came to Kutuzov with a letter from Napoleon and an offer of peace, deceptively signified from Moscow, while Napoleon was already not far ahead of Kutuzov, on the old Kaluga road. Kutuzov answered this letter in the same way as the first one sent from Lauriston: he said that there could be no talk of peace.
Soon after this, a report was received from the partisan detachment of Dorokhov, who was walking to the left of Tarutin, that troops had appeared in Fominsky, that these troops consisted of Brusier's division, and that this division, separated from other troops, could easily be exterminated. Soldiers and officers again demanded activity. Staff generals, excited by the memory of the ease of victory at Tarutin, insisted on Kutuzov's execution of Dorokhov's proposal. Kutuzov did not consider any offensive necessary. The average came out, that which was to be accomplished; a small detachment was sent to Fominsky, which was supposed to attack Brussier.
By a strange chance, this appointment - the most difficult and most important, as it turned out later - was received by Dokhturov; that same modest, little Dokhturov, whom no one described to us as making battle plans, flying in front of regiments, throwing crosses at batteries, etc., who was considered and called indecisive and impenetrable, but the same Dokhturov, whom during all the Russian wars with the French, from Austerlitz and up to the thirteenth year, we find commanders wherever only the situation is difficult. In Austerlitz, he remains the last at the Augusta dam, gathering regiments, saving what is possible when everything is running and dying and not a single general is in the rear guard. He, sick with a fever, goes to Smolensk with twenty thousand to defend the city against the entire Napoleonic army. In Smolensk, he had barely dozed off at the Molokhov Gates, in a paroxysm of fever, he was awakened by the cannonade across Smolensk, and Smolensk held out all day. On Borodino day, when Bagration was killed and the troops of our left flank were killed in the ratio of 9 to 1 and the entire force of the French artillery was sent there, no one else was sent, namely the indecisive and impenetrable Dokhturov, and Kutuzov was in a hurry to correct his mistake when he sent there another. And the small, quiet Dokhturov goes there, and Borodino is the best glory of the Russian army. And many heroes are described to us in verse and prose, but almost not a word about Dokhturov.

The section is very easy to use. In the proposed field, just enter the desired word, and we will give you a list of its meanings. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-building dictionaries. Here you can also get acquainted with examples of the use of the word you entered.

The meaning of the word medium

medium in the crossword dictionary

medium

Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, Vladimir Dal

medium

m. lat. intermediary, communicator; now the name of people who are supposedly capable of spiritual communications.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

medium

medium, m. (Latin medium - medium, middle). Spiritists have an intermediary between "spirits" and people. The trial session will be with your medium. L. Tolstoy.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova.

medium

In parapsychology: a person with supersensory perception, a psychic. medium sessions.

In spiritualism: a participant in a seance, communicating with the souls of the dead.

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

medium

m. One who is an intermediary between people and the "world of spirits" (in spiritualism).

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

medium

medium

MEDIUM (from lat. medium - middle, something in between, intermediate, intermediate) in spiritualism - an intermediary between the world of "spirits" and people, through which "messages" of the dead are transmitted in a state of trance; in parapsychology, a person with unusual ("mediumistic") abilities, for example. to supersensory perception.

Wikipedia

Medium

Medium- a sensitive physical person, who, according to the followers of spiritualism, serves as a link between the two worlds: material and spiritual. The practice of mediumship is also used in voodoo, candomble, umbanda, and other esoteric traditions.

According to James Maxwell, a medium is "a person in whose presence psychic phenomena can be observed." Gustave Jelly wrote: "A medium is a person whose constituent elements of his personality - mental, dynamic and material - are capable of instant decentralization."

F. W. H. Myers sharply objected to such definitions: he considered the term "medium" "barbaric and ambiguous." Considering that many phenomena associated with mediumship are in fact manifestations of subconscious activity, he proposed calling such individuals "automatists" ("automatist"). Professor Pierre Janet, in his book L'Automatisme Psychologique, used the term "les individus suggestibles" for mediums, believing that they are under the control not of an otherworldly "spirit", but of an idea or suggestion, either of internal origin or brought in from outside.

Lombroso argued that there was a direct connection between mediumship and the state of hysteria. Partly agreed with him and Professor Richet, who said: "Mediums to one degree or another are psychopaths ... Their consciousness suffers from dissociation, which results in a certain mental instability and a reduced sense of self-consciousness in a trance state."

The National Science Foundation refers to the belief in the possibility of mental communication with the spirits of the dead and channeling to one of the most common pseudoscientific misconceptions among Americans

“…[A]bout three-fourths of Americans hold at least one pseudoscientific belief; i.e., they believed in at least 1 of the 10 survey items…”

« Those 10 items were extrasensory perception (ESP), that houses can be haunted, ghosts/that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places/situations, telepathy/communication between minds without using traditional senses, clairvoyance/the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future, astrology/that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives, that people can communicate mentally with someone who has died, witches, reincarnation/the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death , and channeling/allowing a "spirit-being" to temporarily assume control of a body.".

Medium (TV series)

Medium is an American television series. The premiere took place on January 3, 2005. Broadcast on NBC from January 3, 2005 to January 21, 2011.

Medium (disambiguation)

Medium, from, "middle":

• Medium - a person-intermediary for communication with the spiritual world.
• The Medium is an opera by Giancarlo Menotti.
• Medium - the middle register of a singing female voice.

Medium (opera)

"Medium"- opera to music, words and libretto by Giancarlo Menotti. Commissioned by Columbia University, where the first hearing took place on May 8, 1946. The first professional performances took place on February 18-20, 1947 at the Heckscher Theater in New York, USA. The premiere took place in conjunction with another opera by Menotti - "Telephone, or Love for Three". The Broadway production opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on May 1 with the same cast.

Examples of the use of the word medium in the literature.

A bewildered smile appeared on Abaddon's face, but he did not look at medium, but on Prospero.

In the meantime, it is necessary to establish that Veselovsky gives a completely different picture than Banzarov, but at the same time makes the same mistake, mixing the cult of nature, magic, signs and ecstatic manipulations of shamanic mediums.

Winckelmann's influence was very effective, but he needed intermediaries, mediums- poets and writers who helped him bring his ideas beyond the narrow circle of enlightened people.

Hell, akasha, alcoholism, Angel, antimatter, antigravity, antiphoton, asthenia, astrology, atom, Armageddon, aura, autogenic training, delirium tremens, insomnia, dispassion, God, divine, divine way, Buddhism, buddhi, future, future of the universe, the future of the solar system, vacuum, the Great vow, substance, virtual, influence on fate, extraterrestrial civilization, the Universe, the global flood, incarnation, time, Higher Intelligence, Higher Knowledge, galaxy, geological periods, Hermes Trismegistus, hyperon, hypnosis, brain, horoscope, gravitational waves, gravity, guna, Tao, double, depersonalization, mass defect, demon, Zen Buddhism, good evil, DNA, Ancient Knowledge, continental drift, Spirit, soul, dhyana, devil, Unified Field Theory, life, diseases psyche, origin of life, star, earthly life, knowledge of the future, knowledge, zombies, zombification, change of fate, altered states of consciousness, measurement of matter, Emerald Tablet, immune system, instinct, intellect, intuition i, warp light, is

I warmed up the spaghetti sauce, and over the course of the meal we never returned to questions about mediums, evil, Quakusha and Jason.

At the same time, it is essential to guard against prejudice, and I think that mediums, like Eusapia Palladino, may succumb to the temptation of trickery if their natural mediumistic gift betrays them, while at other times the validity of their gift cannot be questioned.

Medium, immersed in sleep by an invisible magnetic influence, for some time leaves his physical body in the power of beings who inhabit it and enter into communication with us through voice, gestures, and posture.

Yes,” added the guest, “I must tell you that my wife is a spiritualist and even belongs to the mediums.

Yes, any spiritualist, any medium for the sake of such an occasion, no doubt, he will put aside all other affairs.

Yamaguchi talked with Abrikosov, who readily responded, and conveyed that, in spite of all the Jews, he would not only not rise again, but would die even more - the meaning of this expression medium failed to explain.

It remains in force even when they resort to help. medium, for the strongly emotional coloring of the spirit of the questioner tends to influence the psychoanalyst significantly on a subconscious level, so that the results obtained either turn out to be strongly colored by the desire of the questioner, or, if the influence meets with subconscious resistance, may tend to the other extreme.

There was no need to talk about several profitable houses in St. Petersburg, his own mansion on Liteiny, an estate in the Crimea, a stud farm in the Kuban and a huge collection of paintings and jewelry. Three of them inherited all these untold riches - von Pallen's widow - Baroness Nina Dmitrievna, nee Princess Dolgorukaya and their two children, a son - Stepan Arkadievich and daughter Irina Arkadyevna von Pallen Needless to say, with such a combination of happy circumstances of fate, Irina Arkadyevna from early girlhood did not know the end of her fans and was sincerely and devotedly loved by at least a dozen of them, and one the cadet, belonging to an ancient aristocratic family, shot himself because of her coldness, fortunately not to death. However, all this was boring for Irina Arkadyevna and had nothing to do with the fantasies that she dreamed of at night. At the same time, about the bad character of the young baroness legends circulated in the capital of the empire. She was both eccentric and capricious beyond measure, moreover, hysterical - and often tripled perfect

Feeling the Power of Energy Proceeding from the senses, which is possible only by entering the senses into the Image of the Progressing by the Power of the Perfect Medium, which acts in Space as a superconductor of the current of Thought, is Tantra - Unity by inseparable Consciousness in the Perfect Medium by sounding the feelings of the Three Expressions of Existing: Imagining, Imagining and Imagining.

In that era, the tendency of both Curies to the mystical, combined with scientific curiosity, leads them to a strange path: they are present at seances held by the famous medium Eusapia Paladino.

Because all this is broadcast materially, you understand, this is not just another little trick that all kinds of mediums!

A medium is a person who serves as a link between the material and spiritual worlds. This practice is in demand in spiritualism and other esoteric traditions. The history of mediums goes back to antiquity. The Bible also mentions the sorceress of Endor, who summoned the spirit of the prophet Samuel.

Since 1760, books began to appear on the subject of communication between people and the dead. In the middle of 1848, Spiritualism became widespread in the United States and Europe as a form of religious movement. The best mediums are widely known.

However, when scientists began to study the phenomenon, it turned out that there was massive fraud. Nevertheless, there are mediums today, despite the denial of their capabilities. The very fact of the existence of the soul is questioned, and, accordingly, the establishment of contact with them. However, people believe in it, as they trusted the most famous mediums.

Daniel Douglas Hume (1833-1886). This man is considered by many to be the most famous spiritualist medium. He had unusual abilities in levitation, clairvoyance and the demonstration of psychic phenomena. Hume had many high-ranking admirers - Queen Victoria, Napoleon III, Alexander II, Kaiser Wilhelm I, the rulers of Bavaria and Württemberg. Charles Dickens and Conan Doyle appeared at the Hume sessions. The medium was born in Scotland. His father claimed to be the illegitimate offspring of the Earl of Hume. Mother Elizabeth McNeil was a hereditary psychic. However, in the country it was considered a family curse, so the ancestors of the medium had to hide their talent. As a child, Hume was given to be raised by an aunt who moved to the United States in the late 1830s. There, Daniel went to school, but instead of active games, he preferred to walk with a friend through the forests. The boys read the Bible to each other and agreed to make contact if one of them leaves this world. Since childhood, Hume has shown his unusual abilities - at home, furniture began to move next to him. It was not possible to exorcise demons from the boy, because the priest declared this Tao of God. But the aunt kicked out the strange pupil. Hume began to travel around the country, holding séances. Even pundits were amazed at the young man's unusual abilities. Attempts to bring him to clean water failed - the researchers recognized the talents of the medium. In addition, he began to demonstrate also the wonders of levitation. At 22, Hume returned to England. His daylight sessions are immediately popular. Surprised people stated that this called into question the latest achievements of science. The medium's tour of Europe was a success, and in Russia they even found a bride for him. With Hume's hand, Napoleon from the afterlife wrote his name, the handwriting was recognized by his grandson, Napoleon III. Spirits made sounds, played invisible musical instruments, knocked. Objects moved even in closed rooms. Hume differed from most of his colleagues in his disinterestedness, as well as his desire to work in the light. He himself said that he was trying to prove to people their immortality. The medium won sensational fame in London with his sessions with levitation. He flew out of one window and flew into another. At the age of 38, Hume's health deteriorated so much that he stopped giving séances. In total, Daniel spent about one and a half thousand sessions in his life. The great medium died at the age of 53, on his grave is inscribed "Until the next meeting with the spirits."

Florence Cook (1856-1904). This woman is one of the most famous figures of the heyday of interest in spiritualism. The researchers note that Cook was able to materialize the spirit of Katie King, who admitted that he was the daughter of the pirate Henry Morgan. Florence was born in the family of an ordinary worker. Since childhood, she felt the presence of certain spirits nearby. The gift of a medium manifested itself in a girl at the age of 14. Friends at the tea party suggested an experiment with table-turning. However, a round massive object suddenly became uncontrollable, rising with Miss Cook into the air. After that, the mother forbade her daughter to conduct sessions in public places, limiting herself to her own home. A circle formed around Florence, which included her relatives and the maid. The Hackney Circle became famous in London. Miss Cook herself began to demonstrate the talents of automatic writing. From under her hand began to appear messages that could be read in the mirror. Following the instructions of the spirits, Florence met other spiritualists. The girl entered their circle and began to conduct sessions for the general public. In 1872, a white figure of a woman who called herself Kathy King suddenly appeared at a session of a medium. The guests touched the figure, testifying to its incorporeality. Katie promised that she would communicate with people through Florence for three years. Surprisingly, the spirit appeared during daylight hours, even allowing himself to be photographed. The medium herself at that time was bound in the next room, completely unconscious. Attempts to expose Florence and prove that it is she who appears in the form of a spirit have failed. Thus, the public even more believed in the phenomenon of the medium. Professor Crooks conducted a series of experiments with Florence, which clearly proved that she and Cathy cannot be the same person. In 1874, Cathy left our world forever, saying goodbye to the medium in front of Crookes. Florence herself married and for a time left spiritualistic practice. Her return after 6 years was unsuccessful, single sessions could not return to its former reputation. The female medium died of pneumonia. The very same spirit of Katie King has repeatedly appeared to mediums around the world after the death of Florence Cook.

Madame d'Esperance (1855-1919). Under this name, the Englishwoman Elizabeth Hope entered the history of spiritualism. You can learn about her childhood from the autobiographical work "Land of Shadows". Elizabeth's family lived in an old house, the girl herself began to notice strange shadows of strangers here. These figures passed through her without noticing, others bowed and smiled. So the medium had her first friends. As a child, she suffered from hallucinations and somnambulism, her mother scolded her and took her to the doctor. Once tired, Elizabeth did not complete her homework, leaving a blank sheet on the table. Imagine her surprise when in the morning she found on it an excellent essay written by her own hand. The essay was named the best in the class. At the age of 19, the girl got married and moved to Newcastle. Then she heard about séances and strange phenomena happening there. Overcoming indecision, the woman went there. In the very first session, oddities began. The table began to vibrate strongly, and an unknown force began to answer questions with knocks. The medium began to take part in such sessions, producing unexpected effects. When Elizabeth shared her experience with the shadow people, they offered to teach her automatic writing. Her circle of respondents included a young student, a philosopher, and even a seven-year-old girl. Elizabeth began to show skills and artistic mediumship - she began to sketch transparent figures. Traveling around Europe, Madame d'Esperance learned to materialize spirits. She herself was unconscious. Elizabeth turned out to be a disinterested medium, her fees went to organizational expenses. Instead of the spirit of Walter, a 15-year-old Arab woman, Yolanda, began to come. She turned out to be very curious and asked many questions herself, brought plants and flowers from nowhere. The phenomenal popularity and missionary activity of the medium did not bring her happiness. The woman was depressed, tormented by doubts. In addition, monitors constantly tried to convict her of fraud, causing physical injuries to the woman three times. Before the outbreak of World War II, the medium ended up in Germany, where she was arrested, and her papers and manuscripts were destroyed. The life of Madame d'Esperance is a clear example of what a talented medium had to face in Victorian England.

Emma Harding-Britten (1823-1899). This activist belonged to the first wave of spiritualism. The practicing medium also left many well-known books. Emma was born in London, from childhood she showed unusual musical abilities. The young girl showed the ability to clairvoyance and mediumship - she predicted the fate of people she did not know, guided by visions. In 1854, Emma Harding becomes an actress and ends up in the United States. In February 1856, she received a message from a spirit that the Pacific had sunk. This event was confirmed, it made Emma a convinced spiritualist. The medium became famous, she traveled around the country and gave basic lectures. In 1864, she supported Abraham Lincoln in his bid for re-election to the presidency. In his book The History of Spiritualism, Conan Doyle himself singled out her talents as a medium and a talented speaker. In 1870, a woman published Modern American Spiritualism, which became the bible of the movement. Attempts to publish a magazine on this subject failed. And in general, the sessions and lectures of Harding met with an unfriendly attitude from the church and public figures. Visitors were subjected to insults and pressure. Not surprisingly, Emma returned to England, where spiritualism took root more deeply. There she founded a weekly, even visited Australia and New Zealand with her teachings. It is Harding who is credited with the canonical "7 Principles of Spiritualism". Conan Doyle recalls that during her lifetime, Emma was called "the apostle Paul in female form" for her work.

Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910). This American is considered by many to be the founder of spiritualism as a science. He was especially famous for his books dictated in trance, which went through 40 reprints in the USA alone. The medium was born into a poor family on the banks of the Hudson. His mother was very religious. By the age of 16, he himself had not received an education, and from the books he read only the Catechism. At the age of 17, Davis got into a lecture on mesmerism, which interested him. However, the acquired knowledge could not be applied in practice. It turned out that in a state of trance the young man is capable of much. He read closed books, made diagnoses and, having no medical knowledge, prescribed the right treatment for the sick. Under the guidance of a hypnotist, Davis began to develop his abilities. Davis learned spiritual travel, he described mineral deposits, saw the earth from a height. Soon the medium learned to go into a trance on his own. In 1844, under the influence of some force, Davis ran out of the house and ended up 40 miles from home, in the mountains. Here he began to communicate with the spirits of prominent philosophers, which gave the medium enlightenment. After that, Davis began to preach about the structure of the world, spirituality, the meaning of life. The professors noted that the texts dictated by the medium were so deep that this could not be achieved even by reading all the books in the world. The medium also engaged in predictions, describing the appearance of a typewriter and a car, the number of planets in the solar system. From 1845 to 1885, Davis wrote about 30 books that dealt with topics ranging from medicine to cosmology. In 1878, the medium suddenly broke with spiritualism, because the supporters were thirsty for sensationalism and showed no interest in the philosophy of this phenomenon. At the end of his life, Davis opened his own bookstore and sold medicinal herbs.

Kate Fox (1837-1892), Margaret Fox (1833-1893). Kate was one of three sisters who were destined to be at the center of important events. Psychic abilities were inherited by girls. The Fox family settled in Hydesville, New York. Their house had a bad reputation - a man disappeared here, and noises and knocks could be heard from his room. The sisters began to assert that someone came to them at night - he touched Katie with a cold hand, pulled off the blanket from Margaret, steps were heard. The practical father of the family searched the whole house, but found no sources of noise. On March 31, 1848, Kate turned to an invisible spirit, asking him to make contact by knocking. It succeeded, the claps indicated the correct age of the children. Then a special alphabet was developed, thanks to which the spirit told that he was the merchant Charles Rosma, who was killed and buried in the basement. Over time, a human skull was discovered in the basement, and after the death of the sisters, a skeleton. After leaving the mysterious house, the sisters found that the spirits continued to communicate with them through knocking. Beginning in 1850, public séances began to be held, attended by many celebrities. There was a wave of revelations in the press, albeit with many inconsistencies. But many people around the country found that they were also able to communicate with spirits. A powerful movement emerged, which by 1855 already had a million supporters. From 1861 to 1866, Kate Fox conducted about 400 sessions for the manager and businessman Charles Livermore, the course of which was carefully documented. There was even a materialization of the spirit of Livermore's wife. In 1876, Kate was reunited with her sister Margaret in England. Joint tours were more missionary in nature. Constant stress associated with psychological stress, a hostile atmosphere, and simply commercial exploitation of the sisters led to addiction to alcohol. In 1888, Margaret held a self-exposure session for money, showing her snapping her toes. However, spiritualists were not impressed by this, because they heard sounds from different parts of the room. As a result, Margaret retracted her statements. The sisters died in poverty. And their old home in Hydesville is now open to the public. It bears a plaque that reads: "Birthplace of Modern Spiritualism."

Evsalia Palladino (1854-1918). This woman was born in Naples, her phenomenon was studied by scientists for 40 years. The medium was a very controversial person, because she was repeatedly convicted of deception. Nevertheless, Evsalia demonstrated such phenomena that no one could explain somehow, despite the strict methods of control. But thanks to the noisy fame of Palladino, the phenomenon of spiritual materialization turned out to be the focus of serious research, among which even the Curies can be mentioned. Ever since childhood, Evsalia has shown herself strange. There were knocks in her presence, she felt the touch of invisible hands. The orphaned girl found herself in a new family, where her talent as a medium was quickly recognized. The famous Italian paranormal researcher Damiani learned from spirits in London about the existence of an unusual girl in Naples. Under his leadership, Evsalia began to rapidly develop her abilities. At first she was engaged in non-contact mediumship, then transparent hands and figures began to appear at her sessions. Scientists began to conduct scientific research on the phenomenon of Palladino. They wrote that she attracts objects to herself, makes them fly. Even the woman herself can rise into the air. The venerable professors stated the reality of what was happening. With all this, Palladino herself manifested herself as an ordinary undeveloped peasant woman. True, he was cunning, which even bordered on a lie. The wild nature led to the disruption of the study of the talent of a woman in Cambridge. In 1910, Palladino moved to the United States. Her abilities as a medium had by then declined, she was simply trying to cheat using her former glory. In 1918, the illiterate woman medium died, she never knew what disputes around her personality had been waged by pundits for decades. Conan Doyle wrote that although her phenomenon was peculiar, there had never been such a strong medium in the history of spiritualism before her.

Leonora Piper (1857-1950). This woman was destined to play one of the key roles in spiritualism at the end of the 19th century. It is believed that it was thanks to this woman and her correspondence with the spirits that clear evidence of the posthumous existence of the human spirit was obtained. Piper allowed research into her communication with the dead. Her séances brought many influential devotees to Spiritualism. At the same time, the reputation of the medium was impeccable, unlike many of her colleagues. Leonora said that she received her first spiritual experience at the age of 8, playing in the garden. The girl felt pain in her ear, after which she heard a voice. He said that Aunt Sera did not die at all, she was nearby. What was the surprise of the family when, a few days later, the news of the death of this relative came. Apart from this incident and a few others like it, childhood was normal. At 22, Leonora married the Boston spiritualist Piper. Soon the woman got an appointment with a clairvoyant who plunged her into a trance. In this state, she wrote on paper a message to Judge Frost from his dead son. The astonished addressee declared that he had never seen a more convincing message from the underworld. Newspapers wrote about it, Mrs. Piper became famous, she was invited to seances as a professional medium. Even the skeptic Dr. James was so impressed by what he saw that he became Leonora's manager, and later created the American Society for Psychical Research to organize the work. At first, Piper spoke in a trance in the voice of a certain Finney, in 1892 George Pelham joined him. He took control by automatic writing, leaving messages to his "colleague". From 1897, control of the medium passed to a group led by the spirit of the "Emperor". Leonora did not have the ability for physical mediumship, everything was limited to messages. In 1889, the medium arrived in Great Britain. Scientists believed that in an unfamiliar environment it would be easier to prove her fraud. But already in the first sessions, Piper demonstrated a phenomenon - she described the appearance of the deceased relatives of Dr. Lodge, told the details of his family and the history of generations. Even the hired detectives could not shake the reputation of the medium. The studies of 1908-1909 so exhausted Piper that it left an imprint on her entire career. Control methods were literally torture, and she herself began to lose her abilities. In 1911, it was announced that the medium was no longer giving séances. An outstanding woman returned to her work only occasionally. Leonora Piper devoted her whole life, strength and health to the study of the mysterious phenomenon of spiritualism.

George Anderson (b. 1952). The medium recalls that he acquired his gift in childhood, after suffering from chicken pox. True, initially the manifestation of talent was hindered by religiosity. There was simply no place in the belief system for such paranormal abilities. Such a gift was even perceived by adults as hallucinations. Since the mid-1970s, the medium began to actively use his abilities. Anderson hears a noise in his head, and then through it the souls begin to transmit their messages. At the same time, the accuracy of information reaches 85%. In 1982, George becomes the first medium to get his own time on cable TV. Since 1991, Anderson has been under the scrutiny of scientists. The medium has successfully passed all the tests, proving its abilities. This brought him international fame. Anderson's messages were brought together to form the bestseller We Don't Die. George Anderson's Conversations with the Other World. In 1997, the book “Children remained forever” was published, in which the medium spoke about his experience of communicating with dead children. In "Lessons of Truth" in 1999, Anderson spoke about the afterlife, told what awaits us after death, and gave advice on the right life. A Walk in the Garden of the Soul, released in 2001, continued this theme. Since 2004, the medium has ceased to appear in the media, devoting all of himself to work in his non-profit organizations.

Sylvia Brown (b. 1936). This is one of the most respected mediums living in our time. An energetic woman is very close to the people. After all, her books are often published and have a wide readership. Sylvia was born in Kansas. I must say that since childhood, she was surrounded by people with an unusual gift. Her grandmother Ada was also a medium and a healer. The girl showed her talent at the age of three. She says that she loved to go to big companies, noting to herself who is sick and what, who has problems in the family. Sylvia has always used her talent for the benefit of people. In 1964, she realizes that she can practically use unusual opportunities. Brown moves to California, where he enters the circle of lovers of the paranormal. In the 1970s, Sylvia becomes famous as a practicing medium. In order to promote her experiments, she herself creates the organization "Society of the New Spirit". She teaches that the soul survives death, God exists, it is necessary to create a unity of loving people, rejecting prejudices. For many years, the Browns served as a conduit for messages from a spirit named Francine. Thanks to him, the medium received answers to many questions, which served as material for books and lectures. In 1989, the first book of the medium was published, in which she told the reader tips on how to look into another world on your own. Sylvia is loved by SMT, she successfully demonstrates her talents on television shows.