OMEGA, Vol.

45(3) 211-228, 2002

PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH: EXPERIENCES

AND EFFECTS ON BEREAVEMENT*

ARTHUR HASTINGS ELIZABETH FERGUSON

MICHAEL HUTTON ADINA GOLDMAN
WILLIAM BRAUD ELYSE GREENE
CONSTANCE BENNETT MICHAEL HEWETT

IDA BERK VERA LIND

TRACY BOYNTON KATHIE McLELLAN

CAROLYN DAWN SANDRA STEINBACH-HUMPHREY

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

*Morey Bernstein and the Bernstein Brothers Parapsychology and Health Foundation provided
financial support. A preliminary report on this research was presented at the 42nd Annual Convention
of the Parapsychological Association, Stanford University, August 4-8, 1999 (Hastings et al., 1999).

211
Ó 2002, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.
212 / HASTINGS ET AL.

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 ques-
tionnaires. 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.

For the past four years, a research team at ITP has studied the effects of a mirror
gazing procedure on apparent communication with deceased individuals. This
is a report on the experiential phenomena that occurred, and the effects on
bereavement of participants in a three-stage process to communicate with
deceased relatives and friends. As will be clear in this report, this was not an
attempt to establish that the experiences were genuine contacts with deceased
individuals, nor is this claimed. Rather it was to obtain data on whether individuals
going through our procedure would report relevant experiences and to learn what
the reported effects would be on their feelings of bereavement.
This form of the mirror gazing procedure was developed by Raymond Moody
(Moody, 1992; Moody & Perry, 1993), which he called a Psychomanteum, a dimly
lit room in which a sitter gazes with open eyes into a mirror, with the intention of
contacting a deceased individual. Moody developed a process of remembrance
and counseling combined with the mirror-gazing, and reported that about
50 percent of the participants believed they had a reunion with a loved one.
A study by Roll and Braun (1995) of 41 persons in workshop formats found
that 22 percent reported strong reunion experiences. Radin and Rebman (1995),
interested in the empirical nature of any experienced phenomena, used sophis-
ticated electronic monitoring to detect any physical changes in the mirror room
and in the physiology of the individuals. The seven participants variously reported
fluctuations in illumination and temperature, feelings of presence, and mild appar-
itions. The instruments showed significant correlations between the physiological
changes in the participants and physical environmental changes in the room,
such as temperature, electrical and magnetic field strength, and ionizing radiation.
Five of the seven participants reported that they felt the presence of a deceased
individual, an animal, or angelic spirits. Two of these included perception of
apparitions, though not full visionary experiences. The results suggested that the
participants were experiencing altered states which corresponded to physiology
 PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH / 213

and physical environmental shifts and that the effects might be stronger as these
factors moved toward extreme changes.
As part of a counseling and mirror gazing procedure in a hospice, Archangel
(1997) gave participants the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, an indicator of Jungian
typology. Though the range of types in the group was limited, the results showed
that the participants high in Feeling and Intuitive functions were more likely to
report a contact with a deceased person.
None of the above studies collected data on how the Psychomanteum experi-
ences affected feelings of loss, grief, and other effects of bereavement. As we
prepared our research, we wished to learn how many persons would report
experiences of reunion or contact with the intended person, what experiential
phenomena in the Psychomanteum chamber would be reported by the participants,
and particularly how the experience would affect unresolved feelings of the
participant in relation to the deceased person.

PILOT STUDY
An initial study was conducted with five individuals from the research team
who were learning to be facilitators for the Psychomanteum process. After facili-
tation and mirror-gazing sessions, four felt they had experienced contact with a
deceased individual, including fathers, a deceased twin sister, and a favorite dog
from childhood, and some of these contacts had beneficial effects for their feelings
and concerns. The modes of contact were visual, both in and out of the mirror,
tactile, dreamlike imagery, and mental dialog. The results of this pilot (Hastings
et al., 1998) encouraged us to develop a study with more participants, and with
specific measures of the experiences and their effects.

MAIN STUDY

Design
This present study was designed to explore the occurrence of perceptual,
mental, and emotional phenomena, and to measure several effects on bereave-
ment of a process combining facilitation and mirror gazing. Pre- and post-
questionnaires were constructed to gather self-reports of the experiences that
occurred in mirror-gazing and to indicate changes in bereavement responses
felt by the participant. Two standard personality inventories were included, the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS),
to explore personality qualities that might influence the response to the process.
The MBTI (Myers & McCaulley, 1985) was chosen because of research indi-
cating that the intuitive and feeling functions appear associated with contact
experiences (Archangel, 1997). The TAS was selected because it reports the
individual’s experiences in which the boundaries of attention, identity, sensations,
214 / HASTINGS ET AL.

and perceptions are changed significantly, e.g., being absorbed in music or a

sunset, seeing colors to go with sounds (synesthesia), remembering childhood
experiences (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974). This scale has been modestly correlated
with hypnotic ability, and we were curious to learn if it would correlate with the
experiences that occurred in the mirror-gazing.

Participants

The participants were volunteers from students, administration, and staff of

this institution. They were recruited with a one-page flier distributed within the
school population. The flier stated that we did not take a position on the nature
of the experience; that is, there was no claim that there would be a contact or that
these were actual spirits of the deceased. Applicants were given a screening
interview to check for medications that might interfere with the process,
disabilities that would need attention, and psychopathology. In the interview
they were asked to indicate the person whom they wished to contact, the relation-
ship, and the length of time since the loss. Questions were answered and some
information given on the procedure. A continuous selection process was con-
ducted until the time slots available were filled by 27 participants. Table 1 shows
the demographics of the participants.
The persons sought included uncle, mother, father, great grandmother, grand-
mother, grandfather, sister, cousin, friend, spiritual teacher, a favorite cat, the past
lives of one individual, and historical figures (these were from several decades
ago, and so skewed the mean in Table 1; they were not personally known to the
participant). Some participants had more than one person whom they initially
desired to contact, and then focused on one person in the session.

The Psychomanteum Facility

The study was conducted in comfortably furnished rooms at the Institute’s

Transpersonal Counseling Center. Individual counseling rooms were used for
pre- and post-interviews, and a larger group room held the Psychomanteum. This

Table 1. Demographics

Female 19
Male 8
Total number 27
Mean age 44
Mean years since death of
sought person 16
 PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH / 215

free-standing chamber had a frame 8 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 7 feet tall, covered
with black opaque theater curtain cloth, with a flap for entering. A mirror at one
end and a chair at the other allowed for mirror gazing. A 7-watt night light
provided dim illumination, and the mirror was tilted up to reflect the darkness
rather than the person gazing. The room door was closed during the gazing period
to reduce noise, though occasional traffic sounds could be heard.

Procedure

Based on Moody’s approach (Moody, 1992; Moody & Perry, 1993), a struc-
tured protocol was developed which could be conducted with an individual in
about three hours. While Moody himself sometimes took an entire day, we wished
to develop a protocol that could be used in a more traditional counseling schedule,
though not limited to the 50-minute hour. In Part I, a guide/facilitator invited the
participant to talk about memories of the deceased, which might include bringing
mementos and photos, discussing feelings, and telling how the loss had affected
him or her. The participant was asked what she or he would like to communicate
to the deceased. The pre-questionnaire was completed ahead of time along with
the MBTI and the TAS and brought in at the time of the session. It asked for
many of these same responses, and also included a check list of personal mani-
festation of bereavement. Although this was a research measure, the questions
were also evocative of memories and reflective of current feelings, thus facilitating
the discussion of the effects of the death on the participant.
During Part II, the participant was taken to the mirror room. Sitting in semi-
darkness, he or she was instructed to relax and look into the mirror. We suggested
to the participants that they not have specific expectations or hopes, but rather be
open to whatever happened. They could mentally speak to the person or recall
memories of their times with them. They remained in the mirror chamber for
45 minutes, were then notified by the facilitator, and could stay another 15 minutes
if they chose to do so. The facilitator sat outside the room, remaining quiet or
meditating with the thought of supporting the experience of the sitter.
After leaving the mirror room, Part III consisted of talking with the facilitator
and reflecting on the experience with the mirror. The facilitator assisted in
exploring what occurred either externally or internally, whether there was a sense
of contact or not, and what the meaning was for the individual. The post-
questionnaire was completed by the participants after the discussion, with self-
reports on their bereavement responses at that point and a description of the
experiential state that occurred in the mirror gazing. The questionnaire also was
intended to assist in integration of the experience. The pre- and post-discussions
were tape recorded. At least two weeks after the session, the participant was sent
a delayed follow-up questionnaire, which asked about subsequent contacts, reflec-
tions on the experience, and reports on the current level of the various items.
Reminders were given for the follow-up questionnaires that were not returned, and
216 / HASTINGS ET AL.

the time of receipt varied from 4 weeks to 22 weeks. A total of 22 questionnaires

were returned with a mean time of about eight weeks. In collecting and analyzing
the data, participants were randomly assigned a two-digit code number from 11 to 37.
The training given the facilitators included reading the reports by Moody,
Roll, and others, viewing a video documentary about Moody and his use of the
Psychomanteum, reading a manual by Archangel (1994), going through the
process as a participant, and being coached and supervised by one of the authors
(M.H.) who had completed a certification training led by Moody. As noted, several
of the facilitators had apparent contact experiences in their sessions in the training.
None of the facilitators were licensed therapists, though some were studying for
clinical psychology as a career. The instructions were that the facilitation was not
intended to be a therapy or counseling session, though the guide should be warm,
supportive, and genuinely interested in the person’s feelings and responses.

RESULTS

Reunion and Contact With the Intended Individual

Participants wrote a description of their experience in the Psychomanteum
chamber at the end of the second interview. The questionnaire asked for an overall
description and also responses to semi-structured questions. The facilitator also
was asked to report on the success of the contact. These written reports were
evaluated by three of the researchers (one singly, and two as a team) to determine if
there was an experience of contact with the intended person. Of the 27 participants,
13 reported a contact with the person they had desired to contact. There were
14 who did not have a contact with the intended person, though six of these
reported an experience with other persons or beings such as relatives and angels.
Five of the persons who experienced a contact with the intended person also had
experiences of other individuals or images.
The intensity and complexity of the reunion experience were evaluated by
one researcher (A.H.) based on the strength of the effects (from nothing to a full
apparition), the number of senses involved, and the extensiveness in time and
quantity. These were represented as a composite number on a 1–7 scale. Ratings of
1 indicated no apparent contact, and a 2 rating was given for memories, thoughts,
and feelings about the person without a feeling of presence. Ratings of 3 to 7 were
given to experiences with contact (as determined by the participant) with 7 as
the strongest experience. There were no reports of full apparitions or strong
external imagery or voices. Based on this preliminary evaluation, Table 2
shows the distribution of these ratings. It should be remembered that some of
the experiences without reported contact were nevertheless very rich in visual,
tactile, or other responses, and rating the experiences comparatively on a scale
is definitely open to subjective interpretation as to what criteria should be
considered. The apparent contacts were experienced principally through inner
 PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH / 217

Table 2. Ratings of Experiences of Contact

Number of
Experience participants

1. No experience of contact with the person sought 10

2. No contact, but memories or thoughts of the sought person 4
3. Contact reported. Short message, dialog, or presence 6
4. Messages, physical effects, sensory events 5
5. Longer messages, touch, voices, presence, love 1
6. Strong presence, verbal dialog, personality felt 1
7. Visual apparition, dialog 0

imagery, tactile experiences, voices, mental dialog, and a “sense” of presence.

While the ratings presume a spectrum of increasing strength of experiences, we
do not know if this is a valid way to rate strength of “contact” or whether the
perceptual richness of the experience is related to the meaning and reassurance
received by the participant. For example, a very limited perceptual experience of
one relevant sentence could be more meaningful than a complex vision.

Examples of the Mirror Gazing Experiences

The participants reported a rich collection of inner experiences, images in the

mirror, and occasional external phenomena in the room. The predominant sensory
modes were visual and auditory. There were three reports of physical sensations
(e.g., warmth, body energy, being touched). Nine of the participants reported
seeing images in the mirror, ranging from shapes and faces to robed figures.
Following are direct quotes from five participants. The participants are identified
by their randomly assigned code numbers from 11 to 37.
Participant 24 sought to contact her grandmother, who had died 13 years
previously. She did not report a contact with the grandmother, but had the
following experience (rated at 1 for no contact).

Feeling deep grief at the beginning; black robed figures coming toward me;
black spinning ball with trailing energy tail moving clockwise in mirror;
unidentified faces in the mirror; energy streaming out of mirror into space in
front of me. A foot (light skin then changed to dark skin). Hand and faint
formulations of a human (?) shape.

Participant 26 wanted to contact a close friend who had died of a painful disease
four months previously. Experience rated 3.
218 / HASTINGS ET AL.

I experienced a flash of light not in the mirror but above me to the right. I
experienced some mental “knowings” and my friend chided me for resorting
to such trappings in order to contact her. She “said” (internally) that she
did not want her energy used for my amusement. If I really wanted to connect
with her I could be more connected with the part of her that lives on in her
sister who is alive.

Participant 28 sought a contact with his sister who had died about 30 years
ago. His experience was rated 4.
1. At first, I experienced grief around my sister’s passing. I sensed her
presence and her holding me while I experienced my sadness. 2. I fell
asleep and had a dream . . . 3. I decided to meditate and fell into an altered
state where I was embodying her pain. I lost sense of having an observer
[i.e., self observation] in this state. 4. I came back to having an observer
and slowly worked my way back into both being in my body and acknowl-
edging the intensity of the prior state.

Yes, I did sense her presence—a body state more than anything, though a
couple of times it seems like I heard her voice. I got the message that I
have been holding this experience of her pain, my resentment that she had
to suffer so much, and my sadness that she is gone for 27 years. Though I
have worked in therapy around the grief issue, I didn’t know that the resent-
ment was so strong.

Participant 30 wished to contact his father, who had died about 15 years
previously. His experience was rated 5.
Conversation with my father. Feelings of wanting to connect, love, gratitude,
release. Throughout peace. Expressing sorrow that he died. Thanks for his
life. Big shift was releasing him after I experienced angel behind and over
me. Image of marble lamb face. I felt a connection with my father. Most
of it hard to say at time if talking to inner sense of father or to father “out
there.” I heard him.

Participant 34 wished to contact an uncle who had died seven years previously.
His experience was rated 4.
I believe a group of “guardians” were there in the beginning (aunts, grand-
mothers, friends—folks I randomly sense from time to time)—knowing my
uncle, he probably invited them all. There was an intense warmth (physically/
spatially) around me. My uncle’s presence was felt but it was slight and
somewhat guarded. He repeated “Don’t worry” and “Do what’s best for
you,” which I somehow can’t hear enough of.

Participant 37 sought a contact with her spiritual teacher, a martial arts master,
who died more than 10 years ago. The experience was rated 6:
Alternating waves of light and dark, silence and sound, and internal energy
waves. Feelings of connection with my teacher. Series of intense memories of
 PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH / 219

past experiences with him. Clear instructions about contacting his son and
family in Indonesia today. Clear message about my future work as a teacher
and mentor, especially to young people. Contact was a sense of connection,
strong memories, and receiving information via thoughts.

Four of the participants fell asleep briefly during their gazing session. One
of them reported dreaming about being her cat, whom she desired to contact,
chasing a rabbit.

Experiential Qualities

Questions were asked on the post-questionnaire regarding the qualities of the

experience in the Psychomanteum chamber itself, in regard to altered states, the
location of the phenomena, interaction, and absorption in the experience.
The mean for the group on the gazing as an altered state was 4.63, and 17 of
the participants gave a rating of 4 or higher on the item. Thus for more than half,
this had distinct features of an altered state. This accords with the physiological
shifts reported by Radin and Rebman. Interacting with the experience correlated
positively (Spearman correlation 0.52, p = .007) with the rating of experiences
(from Table 2), that is, more interaction with dialogue, questions, etc., correlated
with richer contact experiences.
An altered time sense was reported by 20 participants. Nine wrote that they
had no awareness of the passage of time (“I had no sense of it,” commented
one), and three reported a sense of timelessness. For 5 participants the rate of
time was more rapid, for 3 it was slower.
Generally there was little feeling that they could control the experience or
tried to control it (mean = 2.04). However, the participants’ mean for absorption
in the experience was relatively high at 4.78.
The following sections present results on the phenomena reported in the
mirror room.

Mirror Gazing Perceptions

Several visual images were seen in the mirror. These included black robed
figures, animal faces, flowers, a starry night, a landscape, and faces. These may be
similar to imagery seen in crystal gazing and the uses of mirrors by shamans and
priests, where images are seen to form in the reflective surface (Lang, 1910;
Myers, 1903). Our participants also reported colors and flashes of light, but
most were not formed into images, and we presume that they could have been
due to physical responses in the visual system. It may be that these images seen
by our participants could be developed into more complete and long lasting
images, perhaps with symbolic meaning, by those participants. So far as our
reports go, there were no definite free-standing figures or external voices, though
11 of the participants rated the external nature of the experience at 4 or more.
220 / HASTINGS ET AL.

Other perceptual modalities that were involved were sound (hearing voices and
unusual sounds, waves of sound and silence), proprioception (warmth, being
touched, body movements), and smell (incense). Voices, smells, and touch have
been reported with appearances of deceased persons to spouses and other sur-
vivors, but the body sensations are less common and may be worth further study.

Sense of Presence
Nine of our participants said that they felt the “presence” of the sought person
through energy, presence, a connection, or a sense of contact. These wordings may
represent different inner experiences, but the sense is a feeling the person is
there, perhaps as one might be aware of another person through any of the subtle
non-verbal senses that are in play in everyday life. For several participants there
was dialog or a message that came with the presence.

Communication and Dialog

It appears that most of the reported communication from the deceased and
resulting dialog took place subjectively, that is in the mind of the participant.
Telepathy was mentioned by one of the participants. Sometimes this was one
sided, with the deceased person giving a message, and for other participants, this
was a mutual dialog. From the reports, most of the communication was brief,
except for participants 30 and 37. Because of their educational training at this
institute, many of our participants were used to conducting inner dialogue with
sub-personalities (as in Psychosynthesis) and imagined persons and images (as
in Jungian active imagination, Gestalt dreamwork, and guided imagery), so this is
not a foreign experience for them. Almost half of the participants said they
believed they had contacted the person they had sought, or that the person had
contacted them. Two of the participants commented that they were not sure
whether it was the deceased individual or their own minds producing the apparent
contact. Whether the communication comes from an independent source outside
the individual or from the depths of the mind are questions that raise larger issues,
and the reports here do not have enough specificity to lead to any answers.

Changes in Bereavement Responses

The questionnaires presented 21 items listing possible responses to the death
of an individual. Participants indicated their experience of these by rating them
on a Likert type scale from 1 to 7, with 1 meaning No, Never, or None, and
7 meaning Yes, Always, or Strong. Table 3 analyzes the changes in group means
from the pre-questionnaire to the follow-up questionnaire for these items. The
post-questionnaire asked for responses to some of these items, but the analysis was
done for the follow-up questionnaire to obtain longer term changes. The changes
in the non-contact group and the contact group means were statistically analyzed
 PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH / 221

Table 3. Analysis of Changes in Bereavement Ratings for

Non-Contact (n = 14) and Contact (n =–13) Participants from
Pre-Questionnaire to Follow-Up Questionnaire

Non-Contact Contact

p Value p Value
Item (paraphrase) Wilcoxon z (2-t) Wilcoxon z (2-t)

I think of this person every day 1.05 0.29 0.42 0.67

I have unresolved feelings 1.82 0.07 1.32 0.18

Unresolved issues affect my

ability to carry out daily activities 0.80 0.42 0.53 0.59

Unresolved issues affect

general quality of life 1.82 0.07 1.11 0.65

I miss this person 0.91 0.36 1.71 0.08

I need to improve my
relationship with this person 1.48 0.14 2.20 0.02*

I feel good about the status

of my relationship with this person 1.78 0.08 1.78 .07

Indicate the strength of your feelings on the following items:

Grief 2.52 0.01** 2.11 0.03*

Missing the person 1.83 0.07 1.27 0.20
Anger 1.83 0.07 0.80 0.42
Worry 1.60 0.11 0.37 0.71
Guilt 1.83 0.07 1.48 0.13
Sadness 2.38 0.02* 1.52 0.13
Resentment 1.34 0.18 0.81 0.42
Loss 1.63 0.10 2.45 0.01**
Peace 0.71 0.48 1.47 0.14
Need to communicate 2.67 0.007** 2.09 0.04*
Love 0.18 0.86 0.36 0.72
Fear 1.60 0.11 1.34 0.18
Longing 1.60 0.11 0.42 0.67
Anxiety 1.83 0.07 0.00 1.00
*p £ .05. **p £ .01.
222 / HASTINGS ET AL.

with a Wilcoxon signed ranks test. With persons who felt they had a contact with
the deceased person, four items changed significantly. For non-contact partici-
pants, three items changed significantly (see Table 3).
When all the participants (contact and non-contact) were analyzed as a group,
there were significant changes in 12 of the 21 items. Other responses moved in a
direction of resolution or comfort but did not achieve significance (see Table 4).
We recognize that we have made multiple analyses, and statistically a number
of changes might be expected to be significant by chance alone. In this case of 21
statistical tests, using p = .05, one significant outcome would be expected on the
basis of chance. In fact, the 21 Wilcoxon tests set yielded 12 significant outcomes.
In many cases, the p values associated with these tests were much less than .05.

Impact on Areas of Life

Four items on the follow-up questionnaire inquired as to the effect on the
participant’s life. Table 5 shows the numerical responses, with I meaning “has not
impacted my life at all” and 7 meaning “strongly impacted my life.” A Spearman
test showed correlations between the rating of the contact experience (Table 2) and
the means of the impact on spiritual life and general well being.
When the participants are divided into non-contact and contact groups, it is
evident that the experience of contact had a significantly stronger impact on the
participants’ lives (see Table 6).

TAS and MBTI Results

The Tellegen Absorption Scale mean score for the group was 25.42 (out of 34
possible), with the norm for adult mothers at 17.2 and adult fathers at 13.7
(Tellegen, 1982), so this group is well above the norm. There was no significant
correlation of the TAS with the rating of experiences (Table 2). The Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator showed that 20 of the 27 participants scored as having Intuitive and
Feeling preference styles. These functions are also predominant in the population
from which we recruited the participants, and in counselors and therapists. This
is not a wide enough distribution of the participants to draw any conclusions
about the effects of the personality types on the mirror-gazing process. The
research by Archangel (1997) had a similar predominance of NF participants.
We did not do an analysis of gender effects because of the small size of the
group and the predominant distribution of 70 percent female, but both men and
women reported strong contact experiences.

Facilitator’s Role
Facilitators were instructed not to take a position on whether the participant had
experienced a contact; we allowed him or her to decide. This information was also
stated in the announcements of the research. In one case a facilitator told a
 PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH / 223

Table 4. Changes in Bereavement Ratings for All Participants (N = 27)

from Pre-Questionnaire to Follow-Up Questionnaire

Pre-Q Follow-up p Value

Item mean mean Wilcoxon z (2-t)
I think of this person every day 3.50 2.95 1.06 0.29

I have unresolved feelings 3.00 2.52 2.68 0.007**

Unresolved issues affect my

ability to carry out daily activities 1.32 1.09 0.94 0.35

Unresolved issues affect

general quality of life 2.06 1.14 1.96 0.05*

I miss this person 4.24 3.14 1.96 0.05*

I need to improve my
relationship with this person 2.80 1.36 2.84 0.004**

I feel good about the status

of my relationship with this 4.96 6.09 2.17 0.03*
person

Indicate the strength of your feelings on the following items:

Grief 2.88 1.59 2.63 0.009**

Missing the person 4.04 2.59 2.30 0.02*
Anger 1.80 1.18 1.10 0.27
Worry 1.32 1.09 1.10 0.27
Guilt 2.06 1.23 2.08 0.04*
Sadness 3.60 2.00 1.83 0.005**
Resentment 1.48 1.14 1.08 0.28
Loss 4.33 2.70 2.35 0.01**
Peaceful 4.96 5.14 0.30 0.76
Need to communicate 4.40 2.14 3.36 0.0008**
Love 6.16 6.31 0.35 0.72
Fear 1.56 1.00 2.02 0.04*
Longing 3.08 2.05 1.68 0.09
Anxiety 1.56 1.09 1.54 0.12
*p £ .05. **p £ .01.
224 / HASTINGS ET AL.

Table 5. Correlation of Life Impact with Experience Ratings for

All Participants on Follow-Up Questionnaire (n = 22)

Item Group mean Spearman r p Value

Relationships 3.09 0.38 0.09

Work 2.32 0.22 0.35
Spiritual life 4.14 0.50 0.02*
Sense of general well being 3.45 0.50 0.02*
*p £ .05.

Table 6. Comparison of Non-Contact and Contact Participants’

Ratings of Life Impact of Experience

Item Non-Contact Contact Mann-Whitney

mean mean U z-score p Value

Relationships 1.71 4.18 2.46 0.01**

Work 1.73 2.91 1.87 0.06
Spiritual life 3.00 5.27 2.79 0.005**
Sense of general well being 2.72 4.60 2.22 0.03*
*p £ .05. **p £ .01.

participant that the contact could come verbally as well as visually, when the
participant said she did not contact the person but only heard his voice. However,
we learned much later that another facilitator apparently told a participant who
did not experience a contact that her opinion was that the person was not ready
to come. There were no other reports of a facilitator intervening in this manner.

DISCUSSION

Contact with the Intended Person

Thirteen participants believed they had a reunion experience, based on their

subjective judgment. The most extensive communication was apparently with
participants 30 and 37. The latter included instructions from her spiritual teacher,
which was very persuasive to the participant because of the fullness of the
experience and her familiarity with the person. The apparent reunions usually
provided informative messages and emotionally charged communication for the
 PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH / 225

participants, and the reports after the session and in the follow up indicated that
these were helpful, comforting, and therapeutic for the participants. Many of the
participants (including some who did not report a reunion) stated that their inten-
tion for the session had been accomplished. From the statistical analysis of bereave-
ment responses, it is evident that even persons who did not believe they experi-
enced a contact were nevertheless often significantly helped by the experience.
Regarding the messages, many of the participants found them meaningful and
related to their need to contact the deceased. The messages included personal
advice, family matters, and instructions on practical affairs. Some statements
which might have seemed trivial to an outsider, e.g., “Don’t try to make things
happen . . . they are happening to you,” and “Look for love inside yourself
[not from me],” could have been significant to the recipient because of timing,
circumstances, and salient concerns.
These reports are similar to the results found by Moody, in that about half of the
group said they felt a sense of contact. It appears that Moody’s participants had a
higher frequency of images in the mirror and apparitions. In our pilot study there
were two visions of the sought person in the mirror, and one outside; this was not
reported in the main study. It might be that Moody’s longer preparation time of
several hours is relevant in this regard. Both Moody and this study had cases with
extensive dialogue and interaction. The kinds of phenomena reported here seem
consistent with the results of Moody, Roll, and Braun, and Radin and Rebman
(the frequency of contacts in this study was higher than Roll and Braun’s
22 percent). They are also consistent with the reports of spontaneous cases of
persons who experience apparent contact with a deceased spouse. However, none
of our participants were seeking to contact a spouse who had died. We did
not conduct physiological measures as did Radin and Rebman, though some
participants in both studies reported similar sensations, e.g., warmth. The high
level of contact reports in our study by intuitive and feeling types on the MBTI is
similar to the findings of Archangel, but as with her group, there was not a broad
spread among the participants.

Effects on Unresolved Feelings

The statistical analyses indicate that there were strong shifts in unresolved
feelings, according to the self-reports. A study of Tables 4 and 5 shows that the
changes in the means were in a direction of resolution, healing, and comfort. There
is limited research on effects on interventions in the literature on bereavement, but
the general tenor is that bereavement reactions are long lasting and tenacious
(Stroebe, Stroebe, & Hansson, 1993). The impact of this process on persons’
feelings and lives is a strong effect for a one time experience, and suggests that a
Psychomanteum setting can have some use in encouraging grief reduction.
The experiences of our participants are quite consistent with the reports of
spontaneous contacts from deceased friends and relatives which occur in many
226 / HASTINGS ET AL.

cultures. Studies of these have found that they often provide comfort for spouses
and others who survive (Grimby, 1993; Rees, 1971; Rosenblatt, 1993; Rosenblatt
& Elde, 1990; Yamamoto, Okonogi, Iwasaki, & Yoshimura, 1969). In a quali-
tative study, Whitney (1992) interviewed 25 individuals who had experienced
spontaneous reunion events and found that 12 of them reported that the event
helped them resolve their grief more quickly or lowered the intensity of the
feelings. She also found that the experience strengthened the interviewees’ spiritual
practices, which is consistent with the reports from our facilitated reunion sessions.
Cautions and Limitations
There are several cautions to consider. The first is that this report is not asserting
that mirror gazing does, in fact, produce a contact with the dead. This may seem
somewhat paradoxical, since the most likely reason that most participants entered
the study was to contact a deceased friend or relative. Nevertheless, what the
individuals reported from the mirror gazing session does not establish the claim
of communication from a deceased person. We do not claim that these findings
either prove or disprove theories about survival of death. Many other theoretical
explanations are available, from need driven misinterpretation of sensations, to
self-created inner imagery, to perceptual hallucinations. The same questions of
interpretation in spontaneous cases also apply to this facilitated study. Further,
since there were no contrast or control conditions used in this study, it is not
possible to know with certainty how non-specific factors such as demand charac-
teristics and the passage of time may have contributed to the changes that were
reported. Strong expectations, like a self fulfilling prophecy, could also contribute
to feeling better after an experience such as the Psychomanteum. The use of
the delayed follow-up measures was an attempt to go beyond such immediate
responses. We hope to conduct further studies with control conditions. Another
caution is that all the participants were from this institution. There could have been
peer pressure to provide the desired responses or to conform to the ways other
persons responded. To address this we asked participants not to discuss their
experience until the project was completed. Our participants were a homogenous
group (viz., the MBTI scores) who had experience in inner self-reflection, and
whose belief systems were often compatible with the assumption that the deceased
might be present for the mirror gazing, and the effects may not apply to more
varied participants. Also, the relative contributions of the facilitation and the
mirror gazing are not addressed by this research and we do not know what the
effects would be of just one or the other, though our impression is that both
contribute to the healing experiences and either by itself would be less effective.
Is the mirror gazing itself an essential part of the experience? Could similar
experiences and effects be obtained by guided imagery, suggestion, or a reflec-
tive mindset? We do not know. The limitations mean that extending these
findings to other kinds of individuals and groups, and other facilitation protocols
would not be justified.
 PSYCHOMANTEUM RESEARCH / 227

There were some participants who expressed disappointment that they did not
have a contact. Several wanted a repeat and more time to be in the chamber. At
least one person said she was more aware of feelings of loss and sadness after the
experiences (and felt that this was appropriate), and for a few participants some
bereavement reactions were rated as being stronger after the experience (though
this was lost in the group mean). At least one person was concerned that this
might be a devilish process, but this did not stop her engaging in it.
These results should not be interpreted as meaning that this is an automatic
technique for effective bereavement counseling. It is not a mechanical method,
but requires, in our view, careful facilitation and respect for the persons partici-
pating. Further, in a counseling setting, there are personal beliefs and cultural
attitudes about these matters held by counselors and clients alike. These can create
uncritical resistance on the one hand and uncritical acceptance on the other, neither
being an optimum approach to resolution of bereavement. There can also be valid
concerns about the helpfulness (and ethicality) of implying that a person lives on
after death and can appear to friends and relatives in a mirror or some other way.
These are legitimate considerations, but, for at least some persons it appears that
facilitated Psychomanteum sessions can provide a supportive and productive
setting for therapeutic changes in bereavement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Arthur Hastings was the research director for the project and the primary author
of this report. Michael Hutton was the supervisor of facilitation for these studies.
William Braud provided statistical consultation. The research was conducted
under the auspices of the William James Center for Consciousness Studies.
The Transpersonal Counseling Center provided space for the research sessions
and ITP provided support for supervisor certification, facilities, and curriculum
arrangements.

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Arthur Hastings
William James Center for Consciousness Studies
Institute of Transpersonal Psychology
744 Antonio Rd.
Palo Alto, CA 94303
e-mail: [email protected]