Mar 9, 2017 06:54 PM
(This post was last modified: Mar 9, 2017 07:03 PM by Magical Realist.)
(Mar 8, 2017 05:08 PM)C C Wrote:(Mar 7, 2017 08:23 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [...] I will contextualize Spiritualism’s history and highlight its surprising connections to nineteenth-century social reform, scientific inquiry, artistic practice and popular culture.
Yes, that's something not fully appreciated much: That we and our artificial world are the result of the bad / destructive and the imaginary (whether dreams, speculative goals, prescriptive academic concepts, fictional works, mythos, or bogus practices or whatever). Not just the "good" / constructive, the real or factual, and productive skills that are usually celebrated as forging contemporary times, while the rest is disparaged in some fashion. They all (if significant) had influences and causal effects -- take this or that away from history (especially controversy, opposition, and rivalry between beliefs) and many of us either wouldn't be here or would be replaced by some other version of ourselves in a different realm ranging from either trivially so to radically altered.
I attended one of my paranormal pub lectures a few months ago that detailed the account of the 11 year old boy Ernest Harps back in early 1900's Portland who was plagued with poltergeist activity. The phenomena was quite a public attraction, prompting a steady stream of visitors trying to catch some piece of furniture moving or plates being smashed. At this time spiritualism was all the rage, and along with scientists some mediums visited and did tests on the child. Eventually he was trained to harness his powers thru mediumship. Back then electricity was a new phenomena too, and so there was a popular connection of that with bizarre new effects on the human body and the environment. It was an exciting time to be alive, in a world full of burgeoning mysteries and wonders at every turn.
http://www.crystalballroompdx.com/mobile...elekinetic