The Study and Practice of Astral Projection

«reliance is chiefly placed on (1) cases in which the claim that a person is exteriorized in a ‘double’, or Psychical Body, seems to be corroborated by the fact that his apparition was seen by others, and (2) cases in which the experience is repeated experimentally» — enumera las dos vías probatorias que la literatura previa había usado

«He invites the reader to compare the accounts given in this book, to note the comments made [in square brackets] and to consider whether the concordances and coherences that occur can be explained except on the assumption that the narratives are, in fact, descriptive of genuine experiences» — su método declarado: comparar concordancias entre relatos, y dejar la conclusión al lector

«Scientific papers in The Geological Magazine, The Annals of Botany, Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain» — la credencial que la obra exhibe, de un campo ajeno al asunto

«Prof. E. Bozzano (Discarnate Influence in Human Life, J. M. Watkins, 1938) pointed out that the conclusions which Muldoon and Carrington had published in 1929 had been arrived at by him, by a process of comparative analysis, and published in 1910» — consigna una reclamación de PRIORIDAD: Bozzano dice haber llegado en 1910, por análisis comparativo, a lo que Muldoon y Carrington publicaron en 1929

«Muldoon considered that he possessed a natural power to ‘project’ his ‘double’ from his Physical Body. This, however, states the case in reve» — y objeta la autodescripción de Muldoon; el corte trunca «reverse»

«gave evidence which included accounts both of natural and enforced exteriorizations» — la partición que hereda del comité de la London Dialectical Society de 1869

«I had a nightmare and could not move a muscle [= catalepsy]. While in this state, I saw the spirit of my sister-in-law whom I knew was confined to her bedroom» — el caso de Varley, con la catalepsia anotada entre corchetes por Crookall

«five loosely woven strands, stretching from my body, as far as I could see, back to the house» — cómo describe el cordón uno de sus testigos: cinco hebras tejidas flojamente

«The cord was attached to the head of my Psychical Body and to the centre of my Physical Body» — y dónde se inserta en cada cuerpo

«Here is a whole complex of statements, given independently, that exhibit a remarkable coherence and concordance» — enuncia su criterio probatorio: coherencia entre testimonios independientes

«the writer considers that many, though not of course all, accounts which people give of having temporarily left their Physical Bodies in some sort of ‘Spiritual Body’ are basically true.» — abre el prefacio con su tesis y con la decisión devuelta al lector: tiene por básicamente verdaderos muchos relatos —no todos— de haber dejado temporalmente el cuerpo físico.

«they point unmistakably to man’s survival of bodily death (since they are identical with those given by the ‘dead’— see Appendix V).» — y la consecuencia que les saca: apuntan a la supervivencia a la muerte corporal, y lo deriva de que coinciden con lo que dicen los muertos en su apéndice V.

«they suggest that our entrance into the ‘next’ world is no more (and no less) a religious matter than entrance into the physical world at birth.» — de ahí saca una tercera consecuencia, que rebaja el asunto: entrar al otro mundo no es más ni menos asunto religioso que nacer a éste.

«These evidences have not proved convincing to many.» — y reconoce que las dos vías probatorias de sus predecesores no convencieron.

«On the other hand, we suggest that the cumulative evidence here adduced, though necessarily of an indirect nature, serves to establish the reality of out-of-the-body experiences quite as firmly as the theory of evolution is established (see Appendix IX).» — frente a eso propone otra clase de prueba, acumulativa y por su propio reconocimiento indirecta, y la mide contra el patrón de la teoría de la evolución.

«Although a number of authors give methods for inducing astral projections, the present writer considers that, in general, these or any other psychic experiences, should not be forced in any way.» — el título anuncia práctica y el prefacio la desaconseja: hay autores que dan métodos, pero él sostiene que ninguna experiencia psíquica debe forzarse.

«There is a time when an egg-shell can break and the chick emerge in comfort and safety.» — y la imagen con que lo sostiene, del cascarón que se rompe a su tiempo.

«The person who takes pride in his ‘commonsense’ outlook on life naturally regards such narratives as representing mere dreams. The present writer, who has studied them systematically over a period of many years, does not.» — sitúa su desacuerdo con el sentido común: quien se precia de él lee estos relatos como sueños, y él, que los ha estudiado sistemáticamente durante años, no.

«The writer has studied the supposed experiences of people who had left the body permanently (i.e., died): he found that those who said that they died naturally described one series of experiences while those who said their death was enforced described another, a more restricted, series» — la partición que trae de su estudio previo de los muertos: los que dijeron morir de forma natural describen una serie de experiencias, y los de muerte forzada otra más restringida.

«Some of the ‘dead’ gave explanations of these differences. Their explanations are reasonable. Moreover, in some cases, they agree with the findings of psychical science.» — y por qué acepta esas explicaciones: le parecen razonables y en algunos casos concuerdan con lo que halla la ciencia psíquica.

«We therefore conclude that the accounts of the after-death experiences which we examined are very probably, indeed almost certainly, genuine.» — de ahí su conclusión sobre los relatos de después de la muerte, dicha con su gradación: muy probablemente, casi con certeza, genuinos.

«They are not, as is often supposed, mere products of the ‘subconscious mind’» — y lo que niega expresamente: que sean producto de la mente subconsciente.

«The present book analyses the experiences of people who claim to leave the body temporarily. It is found that those who did so naturally typically describe one series of experiences, while those whose exteriorization was enforced typically describe another, a more restricted, series.» — traslada la misma partición al material de este libro, que es la salida temporal: la exteriorización natural da una serie y la forzada otra más restringida. Es el eje de toda la compilación.

«This correspondence in independent narratives seems explicable only if both sets of narratives are substantially true. No alternative explanation seems possible (see ‘Conclusions’, p. 140).» — y el argumento que levanta sobre la correspondencia entre los que dicen haber dejado el cuerpo para siempre y los que solo temporalmente: solo se explica si ambas series son sustancialmente verdaderas, y no ve alternativa.

«She became certain that, ‘The soul exists and is indestructible’.» — del caso número 1, el de Miss Elizabeth Blakeley, publicado en Prediction en marzo de 1953: la certeza con que la testigo salió de la experiencia.

«Gradually the consciousness, which normally suffuses the whole body , became condensed in the head. I became all head, and only head.» — y cómo describe Blakeley el comienzo: la consciencia, que normalmente empapa todo el cuerpo, se condensa en la cabeza.

«Contrary to general belief, there was no loss of consciousness. [There was no ‘sleep’ until ‘the end of the age’-—compare Statement No. 34.]» — Blakeley niega la pérdida de consciencia, y Crookall le añade entre corchetes su remisión al aparato: no hay sueño hasta el fin del tiempo, compárese la declaración 34.

«there flashed a complete series of pictures embodying the most important events of my life |= the review of the past life, the ‘Judgment’—cf. Statement No. 34]» — la revisión de la vida en el relato de Blakeley, con la glosa del compilador incrustada entre corchetes; la capa de texto abre el corchete como una barra vertical.

«I became my own judge of my own actions, for good or bad, throughout my preceding life.» — y en qué consiste ese juicio según la testigo: ella misma juzga sus propios actos, sin prejuicio ni emoción confusa.

«I knew then, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that my soul, free from the Physical Body, was about to enter another existence, entirely different from that of earth. I was experiencing death and realized that it is not a thing to fear.» — del caso número 2, el del Dr George Kelley, cuyo relato publicó su esposa en The Aquarian Age: lo que el testigo dice haber sabido durante la experiencia.

«I tried to inform my wife of my safety while absent, and to assure her that I would return. I found communication impossible.» — y el rasgo que Crookall irá recogiendo caso por caso: el exteriorizado intenta comunicarse con los vivos y no puede.

«The experience of Dr A. S. Wiltse, of Skiddy, Kansas, first published in The St. Louis Medical and Surgical Journal (1889), is also given in Proc. S.P.R. viii, p. 180.» — del caso número 3, el del Dr A. S. Wiltse: Crookall declara la procedencia doble del relato, una revista médica de 1889 y las actas de la S.P.R.

«I looked,’ said Dr Wiltse, ‘in astonishment for the first time upon myself, the Me, while the not-Me closed in upon all sides like a sepulchre of clay. With all the interest of a physician, I beheld the wonders of my bodily anatomy, intimately interwoven with which, even tissue for tissue, was I, the living soul of the dead body.’» — y cómo Wiltse, médico, dice haberse visto: el Yo frente al no-Yo que se cierra como un sepulcro de arcilla.

«Wiltse heard and felt, ‘the snapping of innumerable cords’ (cf. Statement No. 19], began to retreat from the feet towards the head of his Physical Body and finally emerged from the head» — el desprendimiento en el relato de Wiltse —el chasquido de cordones innumerables, la retirada de los pies a la cabeza— con las remisiones del compilador a sus declaraciones numeradas.

«I floated up and down laterally, like a soap bubble attached to the bowl of a pipe, until at last I broke free from the body and fell lightly on the floor» — y el símil con que Wiltse describe la salida, la burbuja de jabón prendida a la cazoleta de una pipa.

«There were two men near the door of the room and one of them, without realizing it, passed his arm through the ‘dead’ doctor’s Psy» — el detalle que Crookall retiene de Wiltse como prueba de la inmaterialidad del doble: un brazo lo atraviesa sin que su dueño lo note.

«He realized, ‘That [Physical Body] is not I; this is I, and I am as much alive as ever,» — la fórmula con que Wiltse separa las dos cosas; los corchetes que aclaran a qué cuerpo se refiere son del compilador.

«Passing out through the door and looking back, he saw ‘a small cord like a spider’s web’ connecting his Physical and Psychical Bodies» — y la primera aparición del cordón en la compilación, en la descripción de Wiltse: un cordoncillo como telaraña.

«Statements corroborating his were obtained from those present.» — Crookall cierra el caso con lo que le importa como prueba: los presentes corroboraron lo que Wiltse dijo haber visto mientras estaba *muerto*.

«The experience of being almost dead also occurred to the Revd L. J. Bertrand who gave Dr Hodgson an oral, and Prof. Wm. James a written account: details were published in Proc. S.R., vill, p. 194.» — del caso número 4, el del reverendo L. J. Bertrand: Crookall consigna que hay dos testimonios recogidos, uno oral a Hodgson y otro escrito a William James; la capa de texto lee S.P.R. como S.R. y el volumen viii como vill.

«here Iam, what they call a dead man—a “ball of air” in the air, a captive balloon still attached to the earth by a kind of elastic string [= the ‘silver cord’ cf. Statement No. 19], and, going up, always up.’» — Bertrand, congelándose en el Titlis, se describe como un globo cautivo atado a la tierra por una cuerda elástica, y Crookall identifica esa cuerda entre corchetes con el cordón de plata.

«If only I had a hand and scissors to cut the thread which ties me still to it ... I was never as alive as» — y lo que el testigo dice haber deseado: unas tijeras para cortar el hilo que aún lo ata al cadáver.

«he had taken the students up by the right-hand path, and the strong student no longer brought up the rear of the party.» — el material verificable que Crookall busca en el caso: desde fuera del cuerpo Bertrand ve que el guía tomó el sendero equivocado y deshizo el orden de la cordada.

«Then Bertrand saw the guide secretly drinking Bertrand’s own bottle of wine and eating the chicken reserved for his lunch. Rising still higher, he saw his wife (who was not due to arrive until next day) and four other persons in a carriage on their way to Lucerne, stopping at an hotel in Lungren.» — y lo que ve después, que es lo que permitirá contrastarlo: el guía bebiéndose su vino y comiéndose su pollo, y su esposa en un carruaje camino de Lucerna un día antes de lo previsto.

«‘Were there five of you in the carriage, and did you stop at the Lungren Hotel?” ‘Yes,’ answered his wife, ‘but who told you?’» — el cotejo con que se cierra el caso, en boca de la esposa: la pregunta y su respuesta, que Crookall reproduce sin comentario.

«This symbol for the exteriorized psychical body, that of a balloon, was used independently by several others who claimed to have left their bodies: they include Gerhardi, Helen Brooks, Frank Lind and Mrs R. Ivy ‘Prothero’.]» — y el comentario del compilador entre corchetes, que es su método en pequeño: el símbolo del globo aparece de forma independiente en otros cinco relatores, a los que nombra.

«the corpse swallowed the “balloon”, and Bertrand was Bertrand again.» — el reingreso contado por Bertrand, con el globo que el cadáver se traga.

«The account was first published in Gail Hamilton’s Life in Letters, edited by H. Augusta Dake (Boston, 1901) and later in Muldoon’s The Case for Astral Projection (Aries Press, Chicago).» — del caso número 5, el de Miss Gail Hamilton: la fuente declarada son sus cartas editadas en 1901 y una recopilación de Muldoon.

«There was no pain, no alarm, no fear [cf. Statement No. 7]. I had but one thought —that it would be a shock to the family to find me on the floor.» — y lo que Hamilton dice haber sentido, o dejado de sentir: ni dolor ni alarma ni miedo, solo el disgusto de que la familia la encuentre en el suelo.

«It seemed, and it seems still, as if my spirit were partially detached from my body ... not absolutely free from plas of the ‘silver cord’—Statements No. 19 and 20], but floating about» — su reserva sobre el grado de separación, que Crookall lee entre corchetes como el tirón del cordón de plata: no absolutamente libre, sino flotando.

«Another experience due to serious illness (given in Journ. S.P.R., xxxiv, 1948) concerns a colonel who had pneumonia.» — del caso número 6, el de un coronel con neumonía, tomado del Journal de la S.P.R. de 1948.

«I left my body. I felt it getting heavier and heavier and sinking into the bed |cf. Statement No. 9]. I was sitting on top of a high wardrobe, looking down on myself in bed [cf. Statement No. 17] and the nurse sitting by me. I was disgusted at my unshaven appearance. I saw everything in the room. Fear was absent entirely’» — el coronel describe el cuerpo que se hunde en la cama mientras él lo mira desde lo alto de un ropero, y le molesta verse sin afeitar.

«When told of his experience, the nurse said it was the effect of delirium. The colonel replied, ‘No, I was dead for that time. I made myself go back.’» — y el desacuerdo que Crookall deja en pie sin arbitrarlo: la enfermera lo atribuye al delirio y el coronel lo niega.

«Arthur J. Wills, Ph.D. (Life Now and Forever, Rider & Co., 1942) and E. H. Hunt (Why We Survive, Rider) cited the experience of Dr O. Rose, of Cheltenham, as follows.» — del caso número 7, el del Dr O. Rose: Crookall lo toma de segunda mano, de dos libros que ya lo citaban.

«Although I was insensible,’ he writes, “I could see my body, lying there on the ground [cf. Statement No. 17]. I could see the men pick me up, heard them say I was dead and saw them carry me into the house.» — Rose, tirado por un caballo y dado por muerto, dice haber visto desde fuera cómo lo recogían.

«Now, the points I wish to make are: First, I had never seen the men who picked me up, and have never seen them since, as they were strangers to the district, just passing through, yet I was able to describe» — y el primero de los dos puntos con que el propio testigo arma su prueba: describió a dos desconocidos de paso que nunca había visto ni volvió a ver.

«Secondly, although I was totally unconscious, I was able to tell the doctors everything that had taken place, and what my injuries were.» — y el segundo: pudo referirles a los médicos todo lo ocurrido y qué heridas tenía.

«I am convinced that I was outside of my body, yet I was able to see and hear. It makes me certain that there is a life after death, which does not require a material body for us to be able to see and» — la conclusión que Rose saca de eso, y que es la que interesa a la compilación: una vida después de la muerte que no necesita cuerpo material para ver y oír.

«‘Only then,’ said the Countess, ‘did I realize that I too had crossed the “Great Divide”» — del caso número 8, el de Leonora, condesa de Tankerville: el momento en que la testigo se da cuenta de dónde está.

«She continued, ‘At first the environment [= ‘Paradise’ conditions] proved so attractive that I thought of nothing else.» — y la categoría que Crookall le encaja entre corchetes al entorno que ella describe: condiciones de Paradise.

«Someone at my side confirmed the fact that I was indeed in the Spiritual World.» — en el mismo relato, la confirmación viene de un tercero presente en la experiencia, no de la testigo.

«I felt as if my whole self were being split in two» — del caso número 9, el de Mrs Frances Leslie: la separación descrita como una partición en dos del yo entero.

«An expression of sadness escaped from me [reluctance to return—Statement No. 8].» — y la renuencia a volver, que Crookall indexa entre corchetes contra su declaración número 8; es el rasgo que va contando de caso en caso.

«The Countess published her out-of-the-body experience in Prediction for June, 1952, under the title, “Can we die twice?» — la fuente del caso número 8: la propia condesa de Tankerville lo publicó en Prediction en junio de 1952.

«She gave help to a newly-dead officer, encouraging and comforting him until ‘strong and bright’ discarnate helpers appeared and took him away.» — y lo que la testigo dice haber hecho estando fuera del cuerpo durante la guerra de los bóers: asistir a un oficial recién muerto hasta que llegaron ayudantes descarnados.

«This is'an example of ‘co-operation’ between the ‘living’ and the “dead’—see Statement No. 30, and compare the accounts of experiences by Jeffrey H. Brown and Wm. E. Edwards.)» — Crookall interrumpe el relato para nombrar la categoría y remitir a otros dos casos suyos; la capa de texto pega el apóstrofo a la palabra siguiente.

«You may return. You will live as long as the pneumogastric nerve [= the “silver cord”: cf. Statement No. 20] holds out» — y la fórmula con que el acompañante le concede el regreso, donde el compilador identifica entre corchetes el nervio neumogástrico con el cordón de plata.

«This experience was told by K. Frank Feldman in Prediction for December, 1952.» — la fuente del caso número 9, el de Mrs Frances Leslie.

«I seemed to float in a long tunnel [cf. Statement No. 9]. It appeared very narrow at first, but gradually expanded into unlimited space [= shedding the Physical Body—cf. Mrs Tarsikes and Miss Peters].» — el túnel que se ensancha en el relato de Leslie, y la lectura que Crookall le encaja entre corchetes: es el desprendimiento del cuerpo físico.

«How near Mrs Leslie was to death during this experience is shown by the fact that she did die twelve hours later.» — y el dato con que Crookall calibra el caso: la testigo murió doce horas después.

«A case given in Journ. S.P.R. concerns a man who had dysentery.» — el caso número 10, el de un enfermo de disentería, tomado del Journal de la S.P.R.

«Shortly after hearing these instructions, I found myself lying parallel to the bed, about three or four feet above it and face downwards [cf. Statement No. 16]. Below me I saw my body and witnessed them giving the injection» — el testigo se ve tendido sobre su propia cama, boca abajo, mientras le ponen la inyección.

«I told my story to the orderlies, who were sceptical. They said I couldn’t possibly know of that matter as I was unconscious. I enquired about the strange M.O. ... There had been one. I never saw him again.» — y el contraste que Crookall retiene: los camilleros no le creyeron porque estaba inconsciente, y el oficial médico desconocido por el que preguntó había existido.

«I have always been convinced that my soul had actually left my body, but returned as a result of the injection.» — la conclusión del propio testigo, dicha como convicción y no como prueba.

«John Oxenham, the well-known Methodist writer, who disclaimed ‘any connexion with supernaturalism, spiritualism or psychical research’, had a ‘dream’ four months before he died.» — del caso número 11, el de John Oxenham: Crookall subraya que el testigo se declara ajeno al espiritismo y a la investigación psíquica.

«A narrative, entitled, ‘Or out of the Body’ was first published in the Methodist Recorder. Later, with the help of his daughter, the account was given in a book entitled, Out of the Body (Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd., 1941).» — y la procedencia del texto: primero un artículo en el Methodist Recorder y después un libro hecho con ayuda de su hija.

«Oxenham was far from regarding his experience as a mere dream. It was his ‘greatest wish’ that his readers should accept it as a last message and as assuring them of the happy nature of the after-life.» — el estatuto que el propio Oxenham le da a lo suyo: no un sueño, sino un último mensaje que deseaba que sus lectores aceptaran.

«Such being the case, his insistence of his independence of spiritualism, etc. assumes importance, for the conditions he described are identical with those given in spiritualistic literature generally.» — y el uso probatorio que Crookall le saca a esa independencia declarada: si el testigo no viene del espiritismo y describe lo mismo que la literatura espiritista, la coincidencia no es contagio.

«They correspond to the ‘Third Sphere’, ‘Paradise’, or ‘Summerland’ State after death. Had this book been published anonymously, it might have been attributed to any spiritualistic writer.» — el mismo argumento llevado al extremo: publicado sin firma, el libro de Oxenham se habría atribuido a cualquier escritor espiritista.

«He ‘awoke’ to find himself in a non-physical environment, with his sight and hearing greatly improved, and a feeling of ‘perfect peace and abiding security’» — lo que Oxenham dice haber hallado al despertar fuera del cuerpo: vista y oído mejorados y una paz sin sobresalto.

«I had been elsewhere ... I had been vouchsafed a glimpse of a life sweeter than I had ever dreamed of. To be back in the bondage of the flesh was a sore trial’» — y la renuencia a volver, dicha por él como servidumbre de la carne.

«There were ‘no shadows’, since ‘the strange rare light emanated from no one centre’» — el rasgo de la luz sin fuente que Crookall irá reencontrando en otros relatos: no hay sombras porque la luz no sale de un centro.

«He said with regard to the newly-dead, “After a certain time allowed for rest [cf. Statement No. 22], everyone had his or her chosen task, chiefly in connexion with those dear ones still struggling in the bonds of flesh, who could be helped, though not visibly, by suggestion and the influence of thought’» — y lo que Oxenham dice de los recién muertos: tras un descanso, cada uno tiene su tarea, casi siempre con los vivos a los que quiso.

«This ‘third death’ would involve the shedding of the Psychical Body, when True ‘Heaven’ conditions are entered in the Higher Mental, or Causal, Body. Oxenham was unaware of shedding the vehicle of vitality.» — el corchete donde Crookall sobrepone su propia doctrina de los cuerpos a lo que el testigo cuenta, y de paso declara lo que el testigo no supo: Oxenham no se dio cuenta de desprenderse del vehículo de vitalidad.

«It is significant that the orthodox and highly respected John Oxenham’s descriptions of his experiences in Out of the Body agree in all essentials with those of spiritualists, Quakers, Anglicans, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, atheists and nondescript men and women who have claimed temporarily to leave their Physical Bodies.» — el argumento central de la compilación aplicado a un caso: lo que importa es que un metodista ortodoxo describa en lo esencial lo mismo que espiritistas, cuáqueros, budistas, agnósticos y ateos.

«It is further remarkable, in view of Oxenham’s disclaimer of any connexion with ‘spiritualism’, etc., that three years later Erica Oxenham wrote an introduction to a typical spiritualistic account by Mrs L. N. Geldert (Thy Son Liveth, Frederick Muller Ltd.) which originally had been published anonymously in 1918.» — y una reserva que Crookall no oculta aunque le juegue en contra: la hija del testigo prologó tres años después un relato espiritista típico.

«Canon Anson (The Truth about Spiritualism, Student Christian Movement Press Ltd., 1941) related an experience which was given him by Bishop Eden.» — del caso número 12, el del obispo Eden: llega de tercera mano, por un canónigo que lo publicó en 1941.

«she had felt an extraordinary sense of freedom and elation [Statement No. 26]. She could look down and see her “‘dead” body lying on the bed, while she herself was bending over it» — lo que la enferma dada por muerta dice haber sentido y visto, con las remisiones del compilador intercaladas.

«dragged back into a miserable prison-house [cf. Statement No. 8 and note that Mme d’Espérance also called her body ‘the prison’].» — y el corchete donde Crookall empareja su metáfora con la de otra testigo: las dos llamaron prisión al cuerpo.

«Mrs Tarsikes of Lanagan, U.S.A., sent the following account to the writer. “I had read no books on these matters and had no other information when I had my first experiences. I do not belong to any spiritualist organiza» — del caso número 13, el de Mrs Mary Tarsikes, enviado directamente al autor: otra vez el testigo empieza declarando que no había leído nada ni pertenecía a organización alguna.

«There is no great pain at death—unless one struggles against death |cf. Statement No. 7] ... the thrill comes after death.» — y la regla que la testigo formula sobre el morir: no duele salvo que uno se resista.

«The surviving spirit thinks about his soul [here = the vehicle of vitality or ‘body-veil’ ]|}—he somehow sees that he needs his soul along with him.» — aquí el compilador traduce entre corchetes el vocabulario de la testigo al suyo: lo que ella llama alma es para él el vehículo de vitalidad o velo corporal.

«But when one projects while still in the Physical Body, the soul stays within the Physical Body. Only death takes the soul from the Physical Body.» — y la distinción que Tarsikes traza entre proyectarse y morir: en la proyección el alma se queda en el cuerpo físico; solo la muerte se la lleva.

«Death was like passing through a thick dark wall of cloud with an opening about 1 in. in diameter.» — cómo describe el paso: un muro espeso de nube con una abertura de una pulgada.

«Robert Owen (Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World, Trubner & Co., 1860) vouched for the genuineness of this narrative which he had received from a personal friend.» — del caso número 14, el de Mr *S*: Crookall lo toma de un libro de 1860 y consigna quién sale fiador de él y por qué.

«I had to go to the town where he lived. I seemed to arrive at a particular house, enter it, and go upstairs into a darkened chamber. There, on the bed, I saw “S” as if about to die. I walked up to him, and, as if filled with hope, said, “You are not going to die. Be comforted. You will live.”» — la testigo, Miss *A.M.H.*, sueña que viaja a la ciudad del enfermo y lo consuela.

«As I spoke I seemed to hear an exquisite strain of music sounding through the room.» — y el detalle que hará de bisagra con el segundo testimonio: la música que oye mientras habla.

«In reply he informed me that he had been at the point of death and that my letter, which for several days he had been too ill to read, had been a great happiness to him.» — la primera confirmación, por carta: el enfermo estaba en efecto agonizando.

«This is singular indeed: for a night or two before your letter arrived, I had a dream the very counterpart of yours.» — y la segunda, tres años después y de viva voz: el enfermo dice haber tenido el sueño complementario.

«She would,’ I insisted and added, ‘I would also hear my favourite Sonata by Beethoven’.» — lo que él dice haber pedido en su sueño, y que explica la música que ella oyó en el suyo.

«Miss Yeoman knew nothing whatever of spiritualism, etc. The account of her experience was published by Wm. Oliver Stevens in his book The Mystery of Dreams (George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1950).» — del caso número 15, el de Miss I. V. Yeoman: otra vez la ignorancia declarada del testigo, y la fuente, un libro de 1950 sobre sueños.

«I knew that I was dying, but to my unbounded surprise, I felt no fear» — lo que la testigo dice haber notado al saberse muriendo: ninguna clase de miedo.

«They regarded me quietly, as if interested but not upset [i.e., they also were temporarily exteriorized from their Physical Bodies].» — los muertos que la miran desde el pie de la cama, y la explicación que Crookall les añade entre corchetes: también ellos estaban exteriorizados.

«It was almost like a tight glove being pulled from a finger. [It is noteworthy that Miss Addison similarly said that leaving her Physical Body was like leaving a tight bathing-suit. Mrs Williams and Miss Johnson, who were conscious of the reverse process, namely, re-entering the Physical Body, independently described it as like fitting on a glove.]» — el símil del guante que se quita, y el corchete donde Crookall reúne tres testigos más: el traje de baño de Miss Addison para la salida y el guante que se calza para el regreso. Es su método de concordancias en una sola nota.

«This pulling sensation travelled up my body until it reached my shoulder and throat. Then came a second of blank unconsciousness [= shedding the Physical Body—cf. Statement No. 9].» — la sensación que sube del pie a la garganta y el instante de inconsciencia que Crookall lee como el desprendimiento del cuerpo físico.

«To my surprise I found that I still had hands and feet and a body, for I had always regarded the soul as something without shape, and void. I had read no spiritualistic books on after-death conditions. To find that, though dead, I still had form, was new to me.» — y lo que a la testigo la sorprende, que es justamente lo que a Crookall le sirve: esperaba un alma sin forma y se encontró con un cuerpo.

«Then suddenly there appeared an opening, like a tunnel, and at the far end a light [cf. Statement No. 9]. I moved nearer to it and was drawn up the passage. I found myself standing at the top, on the summit of a hill covered with the greenest grass I have ever seen» — el túnel con luz al fondo y la colina de hierba verdísima, que el compilador cataloga entre corchetes como condiciones de Paradise.

«There was no sun visible, but the light had a wonderful and unusual quality» — y otra vez la luz sin sol, que Crookall remite al Apocalipsis.

«In the same book, Mr Stevens stated that no less than four of his friends had had a spontaneous exteriorization from the body.» — del mismo libro, un dato de frecuencia que a Crookall le interesa: cuatro amigos del autor habían tenido exteriorizaciones espontáneas.

«One of these friends, when she lay at the point of death, made spontaneously a long journey out of the body to her home and brought back unexpected factual details which were later confirmed.» — y el único de esos cuatro que trae verificación: detalles inesperados traídos de un viaje fuera del cuerpo, confirmados después.

«Elliott O’Donnell’s account of the experience of an Anglican clergyman, an old friend of his family, with the dying ‘Janie’, was given in his Ghosts with a Purpose (Rider & Co., 1951). The narrative, here abbreviated, was headed, “Was it projection?» — del caso número 16, el de *Janie*: Crookall conserva incluso el título interrogativo que le puso su fuente.

«He was about to climb over this wall when a stone hit him softly in the back, causing him to look round. Confronting him was a girl with a lantern. She beckoned and he followed. The girl kept in front of him and did not speak. At length they came to a cottage and the girl pointed to the door. At that moment the moon shone out and the girl disappeared.» — la muchacha con el farol que guía al clérigo perdido entre pozos de mina y desaparece al salir la luna.

«I dreamed I fetched you here. You are just like the gentleman I saw in my sleep. You were about to step into Pember’s Shaft when I threw a stone to stop you.» — y el reconocimiento mutuo con que se cierra el caso: la moribunda dice haberlo traído ella, y nombra el pozo del que lo apartó.

«Dr Smith’s experience was described in Psychic News, July 3, 1954. Her enforced exteriorization (under an anaesthetic) is given as Case No. 124.» — del caso número 17, el de la Dra Enid Smith, y una remisión que muestra cómo está armado el libro: la misma testigo reaparece en la serie de las exteriorizaciones forzadas.

«The next moment I seemed to be sinking into a dark river with folds of warm grey light above me. The water, kind and gentle, momentarily closed over my head. The swish of the waves seemed to whisper softly, comfortably, serenely in the silence.» — el río oscuro bajo pliegues de luz gris en el relato de Smith.

«This is a typical description of temporary ‘sub-normal’ consciousness in the ‘Hades’ condition. Consciousness was enshrouded by the still-unshed» — y el corchete donde Crookall lo declara descripción típica de la consciencia subnormal en la condición de Hades, envuelta todavía por el velo corporal; el comentario sigue en la plana siguiente.

«The ‘greyness’ and ‘dark river’ clearly represent the ‘River Styx’ of mythology which was supposed to encompass Hades. Descriptions by the ‘dead’ include all gradations of symbols from ‘mist’, through ‘fog’, ‘a heavy murky atmosphere’ to ‘water’ (see Statement No. 41). Dr Smith’s account may be compared with those of Mme d’Espérance, Gerhardi, Sir A. Ogston, Miss Roos, Walter de la Mare, Frank Hives, Mrs I. M. Joy, etc., who temporarily quitting the body, were, for a time, aware that consciousness was enshrouded by the ‘body-veil’]» — continuación del mismo corchete: identifica el río oscuro con el Estigia de la mitología, escalona los símbolos de los muertos de la niebla al agua y alinea ocho testigos que describieron lo mismo.

«I rose quickly out of the water to a bank on the other side. The scene had changed to one of light» — el paso de una condición a la otra en el mismo relato: sale del agua y la escena cambia a luz.

«A lovely figure ... was standing near in a radiantly white gown. He said, “Not yet. ... There is more work for you to do. You must return to earth.”» — y quién la manda de vuelta, según ella: una figura de blanco que le dice que aún tiene trabajo.

«Sir Alexander Ogston (Reminiscences of Three Campaigns, Part I, The South African War, p. 222) had typhoid fever and was almost dying.» — del caso número 18, el de Sir Alexander Ogston, tomado de sus propias memorias de campaña.

«In my delirium, mind and body seemed to be dual, and to some extent separate. I was conscious of the body as an inert, tumbled mass near the door; it belonged to me, but it was not I.» — cómo lo dice el cirujano militar: mente y cuerpo se le volvieron duales, y el bulto junto a la puerta le pertenecía sin ser él.

«My mental self used regularly to leave the body, always carrying something black and soft, I did not know what, in my left hand [= the ‘silver cord’—cf. Statement No. 19 and note that a German author, Abdruschin, gave details from the “dead’ which are identical with those described by this British Officer]» — el objeto negro y blando que llevaba en la mano izquierda sin saber qué era, que Crookall identifica entre corchetes con el cordón de plata, y de paso empareja al oficial británico con un autor alemán que lo habría recibido de los muertos.

«I seemed to wander off as before by the side of a dark, slowly-flowing, great flood [= “Denser Between Worlds’ = ‘Hades’ = ‘earth-veil’—cf. Statement No. 41]» — y el gran río lento junto al que vagaba, que el compilador rotula con sus tres nombres: Denser Between Worlds, Hades, velo terrestre.

«I was then rapidly drawn back to it. I joined it with disgust and it became I and was fed.» — el regreso al cuerpo dicho sin adorno por el testigo: se unió a aquello con asco y lo alimentaron.

«In my wanderings everything was transparent to my senses [= clairvoyance]. I saw plainly, for instance, a poor R.A.M.C. surgeon, of whose existence I had not known, and who was in quite another part of the hospital, grow very ill and die. I saw them a him softly out on shoeless feet, lest we should know that he had died, and the next night, I thought, take him away to the cemetery.» — y el material verificable del caso: vio morir a un cirujano cuya existencia ignoraba, en otra parte del hospital, y cómo se lo llevaban descalzos para que nadie se enterara.

«His friend almost died but, when brought back to life, declared that he had been fully conscious.» — del caso número 19, el amigo médico de Geddes: el testigo sostiene haber estado plenamente consciente.

«I was very ill ... but suddenly realized that my consciousness was separating from another consciousness, which was also “me’’.» — y cómo describe el desdoblamiento: una consciencia que se separa de otra consciencia que también era él.

«I was conscious of a psychic stream flowing with life through time, and this gave me the impression of being visible» — la corriente psíquica que fluye con vida a través del tiempo, con la aclaración del compilador entre corchetes.

«Lord, then Sir Auckland, Geddes, medical man, and former Professor of Anatomy, in 1937, related a doctor-friend’s experience to the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. His friend almost died but, when brought back to life, declared that he had been fully conscious. He dictated his experience and the account was read by Geddes to the Society.» — la procedencia del caso número 19: un profesor de anatomía leyó ante la Sociedad Médica Real de Edimburgo, en 1937, el relato dictado por un colega suyo.

«The ego-consciousness, which was now me, seemed to be altogether outside my body, which I could see» — y la distinción con que el testigo, médico, ordena lo que le pasó: una consciencia del yo, que era él, y otra del cuerpo, que veía desde fuera.

«Gradually I realized that I could see not only my body and the bed, but everything in the whole house and garden. There I saw not only things at home, but in London and in Scotland, in fact wherever my attention was directed» — la extensión de la vista hasta donde dirigiera la atención, que el compilador rotula entre corchetes como clarividencia.

«From now on the description is and must be entirely metaphorical. There are no words which really describe what I saw, or rather, appreciated.» — el límite que el propio testigo le pone a su relato, y que Crookall reproduce sin quitárselo: de aquí en adelante todo es metáfora y no hay palabras para lo que vio.

«I understood from my mentor that all our brains are just end-organs projecting, as it were, from the three-dimensional [= physical] universe into the psychical stream, and flowing with it into the fourth and fifth dimensions.» — la doctrina que el testigo dice haber recibido de un mentor: los cerebros son órganos terminales que asoman desde el universo tridimensional a la corriente psíquica.

«limits while it defines thought but it does not create thought.]» — y el corchete con que Crookall la respalda desde su otra serie: los comunicadores muertos insisten en que ésa es la función del cerebro, que limita y define el pensamiento pero no lo crea.

«Around each brain, as I saw it, there seemed to be ... a condensation of the psychic stream [= the ‘aura’] which formed in each case as though it were a cloud» — la condensación de la corriente psíquica alrededor de cada cerebro, que el compilador iguala entre corchetes al aura.

«Gradually I began to recognize people and I saw the psychic condensation [aura] attached to many of them. ... Quite a number had very little. ... “A’’ gave a visual impression of blueness; “B’”’ gave blue and dark red; “C” pink; “D” grey-brown; “E” peatly; ete. Each of these condensations varied from all others in bulk, sharpness of outline and apparent solidarity.’» — y las condensaciones de color que el testigo adjudica a personas concretas, distintas en volumen, nitidez y aparente solidez.

«The “psychic condensation’ here described obviously represents the ‘aura’, part of the Psychical Body. The predominant ‘colours’ indicate the predominant desires, thoughts and feelings of the person observed. Compare Arnold Bennett, Appendix VII.)» — Crookall lo cierra con su lectura: esas condensaciones son el aura, parte del cuerpo psíquico, y los colores dominantes indican deseos y pensamientos dominantes.

«I was really cross when he took a syringe and rapidly injected my body with something which I afterwards learned was camphor.» — el enfado del testigo con su propio médico por reanimarlo con alcanfor.

«Although statements as to reluctance to return are understandable in the light of these accounts, they seem to be unbelievable otherwise: everyone clings to physical life.» — y el corchete donde Crookall convierte la rareza en argumento: la renuencia a volver solo se entiende a la luz de estos relatos, porque todo el mundo se aferra a la vida física.

«Once back, all the clarity of vision of everything and anything disappeared, and I was just possessed of a glimmer of consciousness [cf. the kenosis| which was suffused with pain. This experience has shown no tendency to fade ... as a dream would do» — el contraste que el testigo marca con el sueño: al volver perdió la claridad, y el recuerdo no se desvaneció como se desvanece un sueño.

«Thus ended the record,’ concluded Lord Geddes; ‘what are we to make of it? Of one thing only can we be quite sure—it was not fake. Without that certainty I should not have brought it to your notice.» — y cómo cierra Geddes ante la Sociedad, con la única certeza que se permite: no era un fraude.

«Muldoon’s first out-of-the-body experience occurred when he was aged twelve, long before he had heard that such things were possible.» — del caso número 20, el de Sylvan J. Muldoon: Crookall subraya la edad y la ignorancia previa del testigo.

«My entire rigid body (I thought it was my physical, but it was my astral), commenced vibrating at a great rate of speed, in an up-and-down direction, and I could feel a tremendous pressure being exerted in the back of my head.» — cómo describe Muldoon el arranque: el cuerpo rígido que vibra de arriba abajo y la presión en la nuca, con su propia corrección de a qué cuerpo pertenecía.

«There was another “me’’ lying quietly on the bed [cf. Statement No. 17]. My two identical bodies were joined by means of an elastic-like cable |= the ‘silver cord’, cf. Statement No. 19] which extended across the space of probably six feet which separated us.» — y el cable elástico entre los dos cuerpos, que el compilador identifica entre corchetes con el cordón de plata.

«Muldoon wished to go to his mother, who slept in another room, to tell her of his plight. He found himself passing through the door without opening it» — lo que hace al verse fuera: buscar a su madre, y pasar la puerta sin abrirla.

«I tried to shake them but my hands passed through them.» — y el fracaso que se repite en toda la compilación: quiso sacudir a los durmientes y las manos lo atravesaron.

«At the moment of coincidence, every muscle in the physical body jerked, and a penetrating pain, as if I had been split open from head to foot, shot through me |cf. accounts by Mrs Lester, Capt. Burton, Gerhardi, etc.]» — el dolor del reingreso en el relato de Muldoon, que Crookall alinea entre corchetes con otros tres testigos.

«After this, Muldoon had hundreds of out-of-the-body experiences during which he made all kinds of critical observations and experiments such as would be impossible in mere dream-states.» — y lo que a Crookall le importa de él: no un relato, sino cientos de experiencias con observaciones y experimentos imposibles en un sueño.

«Reading Dr Hereward Carrington’s earlier books, he realized that he, a young and unknown man, without any instructions in these matters, probably had more real knowledge of this extremely significant phenomenon than anyone else in the world. Eventually, in collaboration with Carrington, he wrote The Projection of the Astral Body, a book of inestimable value.» — cómo cuenta el encuentro que dio lugar al libro de Muldoon y Carrington, y el juicio que Crookall le pone encima.

«an astral body [= the Psychical Body of St Paul—I Cor. xv, 44] that this evidence is now very strong.’» — la posición de Carrington en aquel prólogo, con el corchete donde Crookall traduce *cuerpo astral* al cuerpo psíquico de san Pablo.

«At a later date he went further and said that the existence of the ‘astral body’ is ‘virtually proved’.)» — y el endurecimiento posterior de esa posición, que Crookall consigna aparte y entre paréntesis.

«In other words, Muldoon, so far from possessing a natural power to quit his Physical Body, actually lacked the natural power, vitality or nervous energy, to keep his Psychical and Physical Bodies ‘in gear’; he was, we may say, half-dead.» — la objeción de Crookall a la autodescripción de Muldoon, invertida: no un poder natural para salir, sino la falta de energía para mantener engranados los dos cuerpos.

«Muldoon himself in another part of the book recognized the ‘half-dead’ condition (which he called ‘the morbidity factor’) as one of several features that predispose to exteriorization.» — y reconoce que el propio Muldoon había nombrado esa condición, llamándola factor de morbilidad.

«It would appear that this condition, as well as prolonged fasting, tend to cause fainting and collapse, with the exteriorization of the Psychical Body from the Physical Body, because the Physical Body is ‘vibrating’ too slowly for their continued coincidence.» — la explicación que Crookall propone, dicha en condicional: el cuerpo físico vibra demasiado despacio para seguir coincidiendo con el psíquico.

«But this is not the only possible cause of exteriorization. Mystics who are in robust health (as well as non-mystics who are ‘half-dead’) tend to have out-of+the-body experiences: the mystic’s Psychical Body is temporarily ‘vibrating’ too quickly for it to remain ‘in gear’ with the Physical Body.» — y la simétrica, que impide leer la exteriorización como mera enfermedad: el místico sano se exterioriza porque su cuerpo psíquico vibra demasiado deprisa.

«Certain of the factors which affect temporary exteriorizations from the body modify, even nullify, the effects of others. The same statement is true of permanent exteriorizations—see Statements No. 1 and 24.» — una cautela sobre su propio esquema: los factores se modifican y hasta se anulan entre sí, y lo mismo vale para las salidas permanentes.

«Muldoon described exercises that aid in the production of out-of-the-body experiences, inviting those who are sceptical about the genuineness of his experiences to investigate for themselves.» — Muldoon describe ejercicios e invita al escéptico a comprobarlo por su cuenta; es la parte práctica que Crookall recoge sin adoptar.

«If you are neurotic, easily influenced, lack “will”, and are fearful ...; if you live in an atmosphere of discord, do not try to practise astral body projection. If you are of this type, never “think within yourself” and never “watch yourself in the process of falling asleep”; turn towards physical culture.’» — y la advertencia con que el propio Muldoon la acota: quien sea nervioso, influenciable o temeroso, o viva en discordia, que no lo intente.

«This advice is in agreement with the statements of supposed discarnates: they say that a man who indulges in fearful thoughts or discordant emotions will, when freed from the insulating effect of his Physical Body, tend to create analogous conditions in the ideo-plastic environment [cf. Statement No. ro] and to attract others with similar defects.» — Crookall respalda esa advertencia con su otra serie: el que cultiva pensamientos temerosos crea condiciones análogas en un entorno ideoplástico y atrae a semejantes.

«envelope, will automatically create happy conditions and attract high and helpful discarnate personalities; “To him that hath shall be given’.)» — y el reverso, cerrado con una cita evangélica: al valiente y generoso le corresponden condiciones felices y compañías altas.

«About the same time as Muldoon was experimenting with out-of-the-body experiences in America, Turvey was having involuntary ones in England. They were unknown to each other. Turvey also was ‘half-dead’ and had been very ill for many years.» — del caso número 21, el de Vincent Turvey, y el argumento de independencia con que Crookall lo presenta: contemporáneo de Muldoon, en otro país y sin conocerlo.

«he made of his ability to ‘travel’ in what he called his ‘mental body’ was in an English newspaper in 1903. Six years later he gave details of his experiences and evidence in support of their genuineness in his book, The Beginnings of Seership (Stead’s Publishing House).» — la procedencia: un anuncio en la prensa inglesa en 1903 y, seis años después, un libro suyo con las pruebas.

«According to Turvey, he ‘travelled’, in his “mental body’ at about two miles above the surface of the earth and at a velocity that rendered objects indistinct and blurred.» — cómo dice Turvey que viajaba: a dos millas de altura y a velocidad que le desdibujaba los objetos.

«When I arrive at, say, Mrs Brown’s house in Bedford, I am not only able to see into one room, but am able to walk about the house, see the contents of various» — y qué podía hacer allí, según él: no solo ver una habitación, sino recorrer la casa entera.

«Turvey mentioned the ‘silver cord’; he said, ‘This cord appears whenever the “I” leaves the “Me.”’ It seems to join one body to the other, passing from the solar plexus of the one to the back of the neck of the other. It is very like a spider’s cord. It is silver, tinged with heliotrope, and it extends and contracts as does an elastic cord’» — la descripción del cordón que da Turvey, con los datos que Crookall irá cotejando: dónde se inserta en cada cuerpo, de qué color y cómo se estira.

«Muldoon spoke of the total non-physical body (‘phantom’) as a unit; Turvey recognized three sub-divisions of his total non-physical body, (a) the “energy-’, ‘vitality-’ or “etheric-’ body (which evidently represents the vehicle of vitality and memory, i.e., the “body-veil’), (b) the ‘astral body’ (= the Psychical Body) and (c) the ‘mental body’ (= the Spiritual Body)—cf. Statement No. 1b.» — aquí el compilador registra una discrepancia entre dos de sus testigos sin resolverla: Muldoon trata el cuerpo no físico como una unidad y Turvey le reconoce tres subdivisiones, que Crookall traduce a su propio vocabulario.

«Turvey gave examples of veridical information which he obtained while out of his Physical Body.» — y lo que Crookall retiene del caso como prueba: los ejemplos de información verídica traída de fuera del cuerpo.

«ape cannot have been influenced by the accounts of others. He is an Icelander, ignorant of languages other than his own. No such accounts had been published in his language when, in 1910, he had his experience.» — del caso número 22, el de G. J. Einarsson: el argumento con que Crookall lo blinda es lingüístico, un islandés que no leía otra lengua y sin nada publicado en la suya en 1910; la capa de texto corrompe la primera palabra.

«The case was published by Muldoon and Carrington (The Phenomena of Astral Projection, Rider & Co. Ltd., 1951).» — y de dónde lo toma: una recopilación de Muldoon y Carrington de 1951.

«I felt that someone was coming. Then I saw a man come into the room. ... He seemed to read my thoughts, because he said, “You need not fear me. I invite you to come and see those places intended for you after death”» — el visitante que Einarsson dice haber visto y la invitación que le hizo, que el compilador indexa entre corchetes contra su categoría de los liberadores.

«All at once I found that I was standing upon the floor, looking at my own material body lying in the bed [cf. Statement No. 17].... The “I’’ who stood there on the floor, looking at the “I” on the bed, was so strangely light. I felt that it would be no effort to move.» — y la ligereza del que mira desde el suelo al que sigue en la cama.

«Miss Fancher was bed-ridden for nearly thirty years, and lived almost entirely without food. Prolonged illness and fasting are among the factors that favour the production of these experiences.» — del caso número 23, el de Miss Mollie Fancher, y la regla que Crookall le saca en el mismo renglón: enfermedad prolongada y ayuno favorecen estas experiencias.

«Her case (Mollie Fancher, the Brooklyn Enigma, by Judge H. Dailey, Brooklyn, 1894) was supposed to include multiple personality.» — la fuente, de 1894, y lo que se decía del caso: que incluía personalidad múltiple.

«Sometimes the whole top of my head seems on fire with the influx of light; my range of [clairvoyant] vision is very great and astonishingly clear [corresponding to ‘super-consciousness’ in the Psychical Body and to ‘Paradise’ conditions]» — la primera de las dos condiciones que la testigo distingue, que Crookall hace corresponder entre corchetes con la superconsciencia en el cuerpo psíquico y con Paradise.

«Then again, it seems as if I were seeing through a smoked glass, and my vision, or consciousness, is dim and indistinct’ [corresponding to ‘sub-normal’ consciousness in the vehicle of vitality or ‘body-veil’ and to ‘Hades’ conditions]» — y la segunda, el vidrio ahumado, que hace corresponder con la consciencia subnormal en el vehículo de vitalidad y con Hades. Las dos correspondencias son suyas, no de la testigo.

«I am not at present a spiritualist in the accepted sense of the term,’ wrote Mr Wheatley, though the experience he described was clearly of a nature that is usually regarded as typically spiritualistic.» — del caso número 24, el de Horace E. Wheatley, con el desmentido del testigo y la observación de Crookall de que lo que describe es lo que suele llamarse espiritista.

«It was published in Two Worlds, Feb. 27, 1954 only because Mr Wheatley was concerned with the fact that so many people find it difficult to believe in an after-life. Like Oxenham, having had a ‘vivid’ experience of the after-death state, he felt it his duty to place it on record.» — y el motivo declarado de la publicación: que a mucha gente le cuesta creer en una vida posterior.

«While in this beatific sphere, a local government officer I knew quite well came forward to meet me. He greeted me ... “Welcome Wheatley,” he said, and then continued, “I shall have to see you later’. And he slowly faded from my view.» — el funcionario conocido que le sale al encuentro en lo que el testigo llama esfera beatífica.

«Now the interesting point about this “interview” is that at the time I did not know that this friend had “passed on’’. I was told it afterwards by my wife.’» — y el punto que hace del caso una prueba para Crookall: el testigo no sabía que ese conocido había muerto.

«There are many cases recorded in which dying persons have claimed to see friends or relatives who have died, but of whose death they have not been told. They say, “There is so-and-so. Why did you not tell me that he had died?’ On the other hand, it is said that there is no case on record in which a dying person has said something of this nature by error, the person ‘seen’ being actually ‘alive’.]» — el corchete donde generaliza el rasgo y ofrece una negativa como argumento: no hay caso registrado en que el moribundo se equivoque y la persona vista siga viva.

«Mrs Gussie Dowell, of De Lion, Texas, U.S.A., a nurse, informed me (in litt.) that she had had an out-of+the-body experience when she was eleven years old. Since then, although she has followed certain instructions for the production of astral projection, she has not succeeded in repeating the experience.» — del caso número 25, el de Mrs Gussie Dowell, enviado al autor por carta: tuvo la experiencia a los once años y, siguiendo instrucciones para provocarla, no volvió a conseguirla.

«She has observed many deaths in hospital, and, like the supposed discarnates who have communicated details of their ‘passing’, she said, “Always it is a peaceful “slipping away’’ that seems to be absolutely painless’» — y el cotejo que Crookall arma con ella: enfermera, ha visto morir a muchos, y describe el paso igual que sus supuestos descarnados.

«In later years I have read of the experiences of people who say that there is a “silver cord”. I had no “silver cord’’.» — una negativa que la compilación no esconde: esta testigo dice expresamente no haber tenido cordón de plata.

«I went to a place through a veil of mist [= through ‘Hades’ conditions—cf. Statement No. 41] high above the earth [into ‘Paradise’ conditions—cf. Statement No. 26]» — y el recorrido que sí describe, con las dos etiquetas del compilador incrustadas: la niebla es Hades y lo alto es Paradise.

«It seemed that I “blacked-out”’ at the same distance from my body when I approached it, and regained my consciousness, as when I left it.’» — el dato fino que Crookall celebra: el desmayo momentáneo se le repitió a la misma distancia del cuerpo al salir y al volver.

«not only observed the momentary coma that, according to those of the ‘dead’ who were conscious of the process, occurs during the shedding of the body—see Statement No. 9—but also had the same experience at the corresponding stage on returning. Mme d’Espérance was similarly conscious of both shedding and re-entering the body.]» — y por qué le importa, dicho en su corchete: la testigo observó en los dos sentidos el coma momentáneo que sus muertos sitúan solo en la salida.

«Mr J. Redgewell, of Parkhurst avenue, Barnehurst, informed me (in litt.) that, at a time when he was ignorant of psychic matters, having read no books on astral projection, etc., he experienced an exteriorization. Since then he has had several, though not deliberate ones.» — del caso número 26, el de J. Redgewell, también recibido por carta y con la misma cláusula de ignorancia previa.

«Mr Redgewell was indeed a sceptic as regards the after-life. When ill, lying in bed, he was ‘scared’ by feeling his Physical Body ‘dropping’ and his Psychical Body ‘rising’ [cf. Statement No. 9]. Although he realizes that he had not projected ‘far’, the experience convinced him of the truth of survival. He no longer feared death.» — el escéptico que sale convencido: Crookall anota que ni siquiera se proyectó lejos y que aun así perdió el miedo a la muerte.

«He found that he could jump over a wall which was much too high for him to clear in the Physical Body. He ‘landed gently on the other side’.» — y el detalle que el testigo no encuentra sorprendente: saltó un muro que en el cuerpo físico no habría podido salvar.

«This case was published in Prediction, May, 1936: ‘I was very ill. I fell into a deep slumber in which I seemed to be taken to the astral plane. An aunt who had died came and began to magnetize my arm (cf. Statement No. 3]. She took me with her and said, “This is the first stage when you come over here.”» — del caso número 27, el de Mrs A. Land: una tía muerta la magnetiza y le nombra la etapa en que está.

«I believe that my spirit ... was on the astral plane. It was a very similar world to this one but more beautiful [cf. Statement No. 26]. I know that death does not end all.’» — y cómo lo entiende la testigo: un plano astral muy parecido a éste pero más hermoso, y la certeza de que la muerte no lo termina todo.

«Richet (Thirty Years of Psychical Research, Collins & Co. Ltd., 1923, trans. by de Brath) gave the case of Mr Baeschly who, with his father, was awakened about midnight by great noises for which they could» — del caso número 28, el de Mr Baeschly, que Crookall toma de Richet.

«Later they received a letter from America to say that Baeschly’s brother had died, and that, shortly before his passing, he had awakened from a long coma saying, ‘I have made a long journey: I have been to my brother at Brunatte.’» — y en qué consiste: el hermano moribundo, en América, dijo haber hecho un largo viaje hasta donde estaban ellos.

«This case was reported by J. Arthur Hill (Man is a Spirit, Cassell & Co. Ltd., 1918). Burton said, ‘I had heart-failure. I found myself standing at the foot of my bed, looking at myself and the doctor [cf. Statement No. 17] and feeling very well and bright [cf. Statement No. 26], though puzzled.» — del caso número 29, el del capitán Burton: fallo cardiaco, y el testigo se ve a sí mismo y al médico sintiéndose muy bien.

«Then suddenly I found myself dragged violently over the bed-rail where I floated above myself; following which came a tremendous crash [= the ‘repercussion’, due to a rapid return of the highly ‘vibrating’ Psychical Body to the slowly ‘vibrating’ Physical Body the effect resembling that of a severe clutch on a motor car—cf. Muldoon, Mrs Lester, Gerhardi etc.].» — el choque del regreso, que Crookall explica entre corchetes con un símil mecánico: un embrague brusco entre un cuerpo que vibra rápido y otro que vibra despacio.

«Arnold Bennett (The Glimpse) gave a résumé of Theosophical teachings in the form of a personal narrative. We give extracts in Appendix VII.» — del caso número 30: Crookall admite en su serie un texto de Arnold Bennett que él mismo declara resumen de enseñanzas teosóficas en forma de narración personal.

«declared that he originally had no knowledge whatever of experiences such as he described. He was delicate and had many illnesses.» — del caso número 31, el de Oliver Fox, con la misma cláusula de ignorancia previa; la capa de texto corrompe el apellido con que abre el párrafo.

«His experiences, which were described in Astral Projection, Rider & Co. Ltd., resembled those of Gerhardi by starting as dreams, and it was from a dream that he first ‘woke’ to full out-of-the-body consciousness: his awakening was accompanied by the use of his critical faculties, since he observed that his ‘dream environment’ differed from the physical world in certain respects—the paving-stones were not normally aligned.» — y cómo empezaron, según él: en un sueño del que despertó a consciencia plena al notar una incongruencia, las losas mal alineadas.

«in a subsequent dream, seeing a parrot fly through a wall, and realizing the physical impossibility of the feat, he ‘awoke’ to ‘astral’ conditions.» — el procedimiento de Fox tal como Crookall lo resume: la imposibilidad física advertida dentro del sueño es lo que lo despierta a lo que él llama condiciones astrales.

«Then something seemed to ‘click’ in his brain, his Physical Body ceased to have a strong attraction for his Psychical body, and he was ‘free’» — y el chasquido con que, según Fox, el cuerpo físico deja de atraer al psíquico.

«Walking along and seeing a man, he asked what time it was. But he was unseen and unheard (cf. Statement No. 28]. This made him feel lonely; he willed to awake in his Physical Body, and did so.» — el episodio con que se comprueba la invisibilidad: pregunta la hora, nadie lo ve ni lo oye, y la soledad lo devuelve al cuerpo.

«Fox made an experiment with chloroform. ‘It seemed to me,’ he said, ‘that I shot up to the stars, and that a shining silver thread [= the ‘silver cord’—cf. Statement No. 19] connected my celestial self with my Physical Body.’» — la única experiencia provocada que Fox refiere aquí, con cloroformo, y el hilo de plata que dice haber visto.

«He only once saw (though often feeling) his Physical Body though he saw that of his wife. Muldoon commented, “There are many reasons why this could be true’.» — una anomalía que Crookall no resuelve: Fox solo vio una vez su cuerpo físico y sí vio el de su esposa, y se limita a citar el comentario de Muldoon.

«Some of these may have existed in the past; and others I suspect to be powerful thought-forms [cf. Statement No. 10] ... or perhaps the astral foreshadowings of earthly buildings yet to come.» — y las tres hipótesis que él mismo ofrece sin decidirse: pasado, formas de pensamiento o anticipación de lo que se construirá.

«If you can become connected up with the psychic trail of the forces governing Xtown Technical College, you may get a vision of the new buildings to be occupied by that institution in 1960—which is what a psychometrist actually does.» — el ejemplo con que lo concreta: engancharse a la traza psíquica de una institución para ver los edificios que ocupará en 1960.

«the investigator who makes his nth trip to the astral Xtown will still find the same features (non-existent on earth) that puzzled him on his first adventure.» — y el rasgo de constancia que Fox alega como prueba: los mismos elementos inexistentes en la tierra reaparecen viaje tras viaje.

«The fact that he was ‘puzzled’ indicates that his critical faculties were alert and that the experience was no mere dream. All the above is very similar to ‘communications from supposed discarnates —e.g. Life Beyond the Grave.)» — Crookall convierte el desconcierto del testigo en criterio: si estaba perplejo, sus facultades críticas estaban despiertas y no era un sueño.

«Fox acquired the ability to leave his Physical Body through the head— through the ‘door’ in the pineal gland» — la vía de salida que Fox dice haber aprendido a usar, la puerta de la glándula pineal.

«People who cannot forget or forgive poor Raymond’s cigar will get very cross with me when I say that there are electric trams on the astral plane; but there are» — y una pulla del propio Fox contra sus lectores, defendiendo que hay tranvías eléctricos en el plano astral.

«Occasionally I have not been able to see.any astral body when I looked for it—no legs, no arms, no body—an extraordinary sensation— just a consciousness, a man invisible even to himself, passing through busy streets.» — una experiencia que contradice al resto de la serie y que Crookall reproduce igual: a veces Fox no ve cuerpo alguno, solo una consciencia invisible para sí misma.

«We suggest that these were ‘partial’ or ‘preliminary’ awakenings—cf. Statement No. 25.)» — y la explicación con que la encaja, dicha como sugerencia: despertares parciales o preliminares.

«The experience is so extremely real that one who undergoes it may wonder if he is still walking in his sleep—if he cannot see his body upon the bed. His doubts will speedily be set at rest when he finds he can walk through the wall’» — el criterio práctico de Fox para saber si uno está fuera del cuerpo: si atraviesa la pared, no está sonámbulo.

«Gerhardi had no previous knowledge of out-of-the-body experiences. In a prefatory note to his book, Resurrection, published in 1934 by Cassell & Co. Ltd., he insisted that, ‘incredible as it may seem’, what he described was ‘a true experience’.» — del caso número 32, el de William Gerhardi: la ignorancia previa y la nota preliminar de su libro de 1934, donde insiste en que aquello ocurrió.

«Gerhardi intended to write a book on the subject of immortality and went to bed in a state of nervous exhaustion. He dreamed that he had broken a tooth but that when he tried to pull it out, ‘It came out easily, in a long sticky strand, like molten toffee’.» — el sueño del diente que se estira como caramelo, que es lo que le abre la experiencia.

«This awakening of the critical faculties during a dream (as with Oliver Fox) caused a real (yet not a physical) awakening: that is, it caused an out-of-the-body experience.» — y la regla que Crookall saca de emparejarlo con Fox: el despertar de la facultad crítica dentro del sueño produce un despertar real que no es físico.

«I had stretched out my hand to press the switch of the lamp on the bookshelf over my bed, and instead found myself grasping the void, and myself suspended in mid-air, on a level with the bookcase. The room, except for the glow from the electric stove, was in darkness, but all around me was a milky pellucid light.» — cómo lo cuenta Gerhardi: la mano que va al interruptor agarra el vacío y él queda suspendido a la altura de la librería, en una luz lechosa.

«The suspension in mid-air lasted only a few minutes, during which I felt as if I were being suspended by a steel arm which held me rigid. [Others use this symbol of a ‘steel arm’; it is clearly related to the cataleptic condition which is fairly common.]» — el brazo de acero que lo sostenía rígido, y el corchete donde Crookall lo declara símbolo compartido y lo empareja con la catalepsia.

«Then I was seized, pushed out horizontally, placed on my feet, and thrust forward with the gentle-firm hand of the monitor—"There you are, now proceed on your own”» — y la figura que lo pone de pie y lo suelta, con la frase que Crookall alinea con otros cuatro testigos.

«I stood there, the same living being, but rather less stable, as if defying gravity. If the whole world united in telling me that it was a dream, I would remain unconvinced.» — la certeza con que el testigo se blinda de antemano contra la objeción del sueño.

«At the back of me was a coil of light [the ‘silver cord’— cf. Statement No. 19]. It was like a luminous garden-hose resembling the strong broad ray of dusty light at the back of a dark cinema projecting on the screen in front. To my utter astonishment, that broad cable of light at the back of me illuminated the face on the pillow, as if attached to the brow of the sleeper» — el cordón visto por Gerhardi como manguera luminosa o haz de proyector de cine, iluminando su propia cara dormida.

«It was as if my mould were walking through a murky, heavy space which however, gave way easily before my emptiness.» — y el medio espeso por el que dice moverse, que Crookall cataloga como condiciones de velo terrestre o Hades.

«The ‘murky heavy space’ symbolized ‘earth-veil’ or ‘Hades’ conditions; compare ‘the dark river’ of Dr Enid Smith, the ‘dark flood’ of Sir Alex. Ogston, the “River Styx’ of mythology, etc. See also the accounts of Mrs Joy, Walter de la Mare, Miss Roos, etc. and Statement No. 41.]» — el corchete donde reúne cinco relatos más bajo el mismo símbolo, incluido el Estigia de la mitología: es su método de concordancias funcionando.

«The door passed through me, or I through the door» — una vacilación del propio testigo sobre quién atraviesa a quién, que la compilación conserva.

«There was this uncanny tape of light between us, like the umbilical cord, by means of which the body on the bed was kept breathing [this function, assigned to the ‘cord’, agrees with that given by discarnates; Statement No. 20]» — la función que Gerhardi le atribuye al cordón —mantener respirando al cuerpo de la cama— y el corchete donde Crookall la hace coincidir con lo que dicen sus descarnados.

«These critical observations indicate that he was not merely dreaming— cf. Statement No. 12.]» — y el corchete con que Crookall lo convierte en criterio, el mismo que aplicó a Fox.

«All this I said to myself while going round and collecting such evidence as: that window is open; that curtain is drawn; this is the new towel-heater.» — las pruebas que efectivamente reúne, todas comprobables al despertar: qué ventana está abierta, qué cortina corrida.

«It did not occur to me to cast a glance at myself, but I noticed a familiar outline of myself in the looking-glass’» — y el detalle del espejo, que en esta compilación es dato y no adorno.

«Whether the ‘double’ is, or is not, seen in a mirror might depend on its relative density. This feature in the accounts is significant. We have already noted that Gerhardi’s Psychical Body was accompanied by much of the vehicle of vitality or “body-veil’, i.e. it was relatively ‘objective’. The same applied to Miss Peters (who, after seeing her ‘double’ in a mirror, described the act of shedding the (exteriorized) vehicle of vitality). On the other hand, Gibier’s engraver, who did not see his ‘double’ in a mirror, gave no indication that it was impregnated with the vehicle of vitality. In Gerhardi and Miss Peters the latter was relatively loosely associated with the Physical Body].» — el corchete donde Crookall levanta una hipótesis sobre por qué unos ven su doble en el espejo y otros no: dependería de cuánto vehículo de vitalidad lo acompañe. La formula como dependencia posible y la contrasta con tres casos.

«Then I noted the time. I could think of no other way of collecting evidence to convince myself later, for my consciousness flared up full and then grew so dim again that I was near to sinking back into my dream [cf. Kelley, who realized that his condition approached, but did not equal that of the dead and Mrs Leonard, who suggested that consciousness is reduced by the amount of vitality that passes along the ‘cord’» — el testigo nota que su consciencia sube y baja, y Crookall lo cruza con la explicación de Mrs Leonard: la vitalidad que se va por el cordón la reduce.

«I was being pushed along like a half-filled balloon [cf Bertrand, Lind, Helen Brooks and Mrs ‘Prothero’]» — otra vez el símbolo del globo, con la lista de los que lo usaron por su cuenta.

«When I flew thus swiftly, my consciousness seemed to blot out and only returned when again I walked or moved at a reasonable speed.» — una regularidad que el testigo formula solo: la velocidad le apagaba la consciencia, y volvía al moverse despacio.

«I was apparently hanging on to a thick brown beam on a white ceiling, effortlessly, like a bat, and in my enfeebled state of consciousness and the balloon-like lightness of my new body this seemed as unquestionable to the mind as it seemed natural to the body.» — la escena colgado del techo como un murciélago, que él mismo atribuye a lo débil de su consciencia.

«Not a detail of my experience had been lost to my mind and there was quite another quality about it all, that of reality, which removed it from the mere memory of a dream» — y el rasgo con que el testigo separa esto del sueño: la cualidad de realidad, y que no se le borró ningún detalle.

«We had a duplicate body all there and ready for use, the almost indistinguishable double of our natural body. ... It seemed that, for the first stage of survival at any rate, we already had a body, stored away, it is true, like a diver’s suit, but nevertheless neatly folded in our own every-day bodies, always at hand in case of death or for special use.» — la conclusión que saca de ahí, con su símil del traje de buzo doblado dentro del cuerpo de todos los días.

«I got up, and went through the rooms, checking the mental notes I had made about which windows were closed or open, which curtains drawn; and the evidence in all cases proved correct.» — y la verificación al despertar, que es la parte del caso que Crookall recoge como prueba.

«I have always considered that, intellectually, the case for and against survival was pretty equally balanced. Now, after having surprised myself, with my senses and consciousness unimpaired, in a duplicate body, the scale went down heavily for survival.» — cómo describe Gerhardi el cambio de su propia posición: el fiel estaba equilibrado y se le inclinó del lado de la supervivencia.

«For if my body of flesh could project this other more tenuous and shadowy body, while I could still behold my flesh stretched out as if in death and of no more account to me than if it were my coat, then this subtler body, adapted to the subtler uses of another plane, was also but a suit or vehicle, to be in turn perhaps discarded for another» — y el argumento que lo lleva más allá de lo que vio: si el cuerpo de carne proyecta otro, ese otro también sería un traje descartable.

«All experience,’ continued Gerhardi, ‘goes to prove a progressive discarding of so-called essentials. The essential to man has many embodiments; on each plane of life these embodiments are retained as hostages and slain: but the man behind the scenes does not appear till the end, and we do not know in what guise’» — la generalización de Gerhardi, con el límite dentro: el hombre de detrás no aparece hasta el final y no se sabe con qué figura.

«Perhaps it was rash to think that conditions beyond the grave were entirely different from ours. The surprise might be that they were the same.» — y una corrección de expectativa que Crookall retiene: lo sorprendente podría ser que el otro lado se pareciera a éste.

«On the second occasion that Gerhardi found himself out of his Physical Body, he was conscious of whirling blindly through his rooms and he ‘felt too dim to realize what was happening’.» — la segunda salida del mismo testigo, con la consciencia demasiado apagada para entender qué pasaba.

«The answer flashed across my mind: it was another astral projection. And the proof was to see my body in bed [cf. Statement No. 31]. No sooner thought than complied with. But how queer! I saw myself in bed.» — cómo se orienta: deduce que es una proyección y se pone a comprobarlo mirándose en la cama.

«Here I sat, my own ghost, who could touch and feel his writing materials, but could not as much as lift a pencil.» — el límite de acción que el testigo se reconoce: podía tocar sus útiles de escribir y no levantar un lápiz.

«I suddenly saw Bonzo enter the room [cf. Statement No. 18]. “But how did you come in?” I exclaimed. “I heard the lift, but whoever opened the door to you?”» — la aparición de Bonzo, y la primera incongruencia que el propio testigo advierte.

«Whither, homing bird?” “Why “homing bird’?” “Because,” he said, “you are tied [cf. Statement No. 19] and we are free’» — la distinción que el aparecido le hace en el momento: el que vuelve está atado y ellos no. Crookall la indexa contra sus declaraciones del cordón.

«Only, when turning a corner, I noticed the thin ray of light which extended from me, fading away into bright daylight. I also noticed that Bonzo had no such little tail of light.» — y el dato en que se apoya: Gerhardi ve su propio hilo de luz y ve que el otro no lo tiene.

«We walked up the steps to Bonzo’s bedroom, and there we stood. There I stood by his side and together we looked down at Bonzo’s body on the bed. The man on the bed was not breathing. ... The Bonzo at my side, who looked at his double with an air of fastidious, almost quizzical dismay, was the living Bonzo.» — la escena que cierra el caso: los dos mirando el cuerpo de Bonzo, que no respiraba.

«After breakfast,’ he said, ‘I rang up Woburn Square. ... It was as I thought. A terrible thing had happened. The butler’s voice broke into a sob. Bonzo had had his wrist smashed to be re-set. But he hadn’t come round from the anaesthetic.» — y la verificación al día siguiente, por teléfono: el otro había muerto bajo anestesia.

«Like so many who have had out-of-the-body experiences (and like those supposed discarnates who were brought back to life by injections etc.), Gerhardi was reluctant to return to the physical body» — Crookall generaliza otra vez a partir del caso: la renuencia a volver, común a los exteriorizados y a los muertos devueltos con inyecciones.

«In her book Telepathy (Creative Age Press, Inc., N.Y., 1941), Mrs Garrett mentions that astral projection very often occurs in telepathic experiments.» — del caso número 33, el de la enfermera de Eileen J. Garrett, tomado de un libro suyo de 1941 sobre telepatía.

«I believe that projection takes place more often than any of us realize, and that it happens very easily when we are emotionally distressed, or when we are ill and the physical hold upon ourselves is less tenacious.’» — y la regularidad que Garrett propone: la proyección sería más frecuente de lo que se cree y se facilita con la angustia o la enfermedad.

«The present writer suggests that exteriorization may occur in illness because, although the ‘double’, or Psychical Body, may be ‘vibrating’ at or near its normal (relatively high) rate, the Physical Body is unusually sluggish and the two cannot remain ‘in gear’. Exteriorizations that are due to drugs are similarly explained.)» — Crookall la reformula con su propia mecánica, y lo dice como sugerencia: el cuerpo físico enfermo va demasiado lento para seguir engranado con el psíquico, y las drogas obrarían igual.

«Desire plays an important role in my own projection [cf. Muldoon, etc.], and I feel that this is true for everyone who is working creatively, and who wishes to relate an interpretation of a spiritual understanding to his work.» — y el papel que Garrett le da al deseo, extendido a quien trabaja creativamente.

«he experienced ‘dual’ or ‘alternate’ consciousness, being aware of both physical and non-physical environments. He said, ‘I could feel myself standing in the dream and see the scenery; but at the same time I could feel myself lying in bed, and see my bedroom’» — la consciencia doble mientras se está cerca del cuerpo —dentro de lo que Muldoon llamaba el radio de actividad del cordón—: el testigo se siente a la vez en el sueño y en la cama.

«the astral counterpart (if such it be) of a city appears much larger than the earthly one» — la observación de Fox sobre las ciudades del plano astral, dicha con su propia reserva entre paréntesis sobre si existe tal contraparte.

«Like them, Fox asserted that even a sceptic who persevered with the directions could satisfy himself that these are genuine experiences» — y la pretensión que Crookall le atribuye junto con Muldoon y Bulford: que el escéptico constante puede comprobarlo por sí mismo.

«Now to be scientific,” I said, “this is one chance in a million. You must convince» — el testigo se propone a sí mismo un protocolo mientras está fuera: aprovechar una oportunidad entre un millón y convencerse.

«yourself so that nothing later will make you think it was merely a dream.”» — y para qué: para que nada, después, le permita rebajarlo a sueño.

«The thought occurred to me: how do I know I am not dreaming this? and the answer: look for the lighted cord behind you. I looked round. It was there, but it was very thin.» — y el uso que Gerhardi le da al cordón: buscarlo detrás de sí como prueba de no estar soñando.

«Gerhardi now had a review of his past earth-life [cf. Statement No. 5].» — la revisión de la vida en este caso, que el compilador indexa contra su declaración número 5.

«I took possession of one or the other of the milliard forms I had been at this or that instant of my past. I was re-living the authentic moment, not merely recalling it.» — y la distinción que el testigo insiste en marcar sobre esa revisión: revivir el momento, no recordarlo.

«I have heard Anna Pavlova say that she achieved her great spiritual beauty in the dance, and her phenomenal lightness, by the ability which she herself possessed of getting outside of herself, and demanding that her body portray perfectly the spiritual» — el testimonio de segunda mano que Garrett aporta sobre la bailarina Anna Pavlova y su modo de salir de sí para bailar.

«She poured out a dose of the cough-mixture that she had been in the habit of leaving by my bedside before she slept, and without further a to me, she went back to bed, and quickly fell asleep» — el caso de la enfermera de Garrett en su detalle probatorio: el doble hace el gesto habitual, servir el jarabe, mientras el cuerpo duerme.

«Next morning, on awakening, she retained no recollection of the incident of the night before, and neither could she recall the dream material that had obviously awakened her in the night.’ Mrs Garrett said that the ‘double’, as seen in the dim light of the room, was by no means ethereal but apparently solid and real.» — y los dos datos con que Garrett lo cierra: ella no recordaba nada, y el doble no parecía etéreo sino sólido.

«The explanation of the above is as follows. Using Muldoon’s terminology, the lady had a strong desire to perform that habitual act: as she was unusually tired, her ‘double’ was considerably detached from, or ‘out of gear’ with, its physical counterpart; the physical counterpart being ‘incapacitated’ so far as the desired movement was concerned, the ‘double’ [which was not incapacitated] went through the movements and was observed to do so by Mrs Garrett.)» — Crookall lo explica con el vocabulario de Muldoon: el deseo de ejecutar un acto habitual con el cuerpo físico incapacitado y el doble desengranado.

«I remember, he says, ‘with vivid distinctness asking myself whether I was asleep or not, when, to my amazement, I heard the voice of one who, while on earth, was far too pure for such a world as ours.’» — del caso número 34, el de D. D. Home, tomado de su autobiografía de 1864.

«He saw ‘the whole of his nervous system, as it were, composed of thousands of electrical scintillations’.» — lo que Home dice haber visto de su propio sistema nervioso, y que Crookall empareja entre corchetes con otros dos videntes.

«Gradually,’ Home continued, ‘I saw that the extremities were less luminous [cf. Bertrand, Miss Yeoman, Miss Blakeley, etc.] and the finer membranes surrounding the brain became, as it were, glowing, and I felt that they were in a spirit body in every respect similar to the body which I saw lying motionless before me on the bed» — y la secuencia: las extremidades pierden luz, las membranas del cerebro se encienden, y él se halla en un cuerpo espiritual semejante al que ve tendido.

«The only link which held the two forms together seemed to be a silvery-like light which proceeded from the brain [= the ‘silver cord’—cf. Statement No. 19]» — el cordón en la versión de Home: una luz plateada que sale del cerebro.

«The voice said, “Death is but a second birth, corresponding in every respect to the natural birth: should the uniting link be severed, you could never again enter the body’”’”» — y la doctrina que la voz le dicta, que Crookall retendrá como correspondencia: la muerte es un segundo nacimiento, y romper el vínculo impide volver.

«A man may leave his Physical Body not only because he is more or less ill and physically exhausted but also because of either extreme mental or physical pain (or because of both, since physical pain usually causes mental pain). Mrs Eileen Garrett’s out-of-the-body experiences, which began in girlhood, resulted from attempts to avoid mental pain caused by an unsympathetic aunt. The experience of ‘Starr Daily’ (Release, Arthur James, 1941), was due to physical, accompanied by mental, pain. It would appear that when pain gets beyond endurance there is a tendency for the sufferer to escape it by the simple expedient of quitting his Physical Body.» — Crookall amplía aquí la lista de causas de su propia clasificación: no solo enfermedad y agotamiento, sino dolor extremo, del que se escaparía dejando el cuerpo.

«This agrees with the statements of supposed discarnates—cf. Statement No. 6—that about an hour before death a man may have left his Physical Body and stand, observing, beside it. This statement, in turn, agrees with No. 7 (that no physical pain is felt in the natural act of dying), No. 17 (that the Physical Body is often seen, from without, by the dying man, and No. 18 (that ‘departed’ friends are often seen before death actually takes place).» — y encadena cuatro de sus declaraciones de los muertos para sostenerlo: la salida una hora antes de morir, la ausencia de dolor, la visión del propio cuerpo y la de los amigos difuntos.

«Morrell’s account was published in his book, The Twenty-Fifth Man. His statements were verified by the Governor of the State of Arizona.» — del caso número 35, el de Edward Morrell, y la credencial que Crookall le adjunta: el gobernador de Arizona verificó sus declaraciones.

«Morrell, in the State prison, was subjected to excruciating tortures. But as soon as the pain reached a certain intensity he ceased to feel it. He felt as though his mind left his body in a ‘mind-body’ and, before long, was free of the prison.» — el mecanismo del caso: la tortura pasa cierto umbral y el testigo deja de sentirla.

«His Physical Body was in a windowless underground cell, but he was able to give accurate descriptions of people and events outside.» — y por qué le sirve a Crookall: describía con exactitud gente y sucesos de fuera desde una celda subterránea sin ventanas.

«He could not, however, leave his Physical Body at will—only involuntarily when pain became unbearable.» — con su límite: no podía salir a voluntad, solo cuando el dolor se volvía insoportable.

«Those statements of Morrell which were verified by others may be accepted, but other statements made by him appear to belong to a dream-consciousness.» — y la discriminación que el compilador aplica dentro de un mismo testigo: acepta lo verificado y remite lo demás a una consciencia de sueño.

«The case of N. F. Ellison is given in Journ. S.P.R., xxv, p. 126. He said, ““‘H”’ and I were in the worst trenches we had ever been in.» — del caso número 36, el de N. F. Ellison, en las trincheras, tomado del Journal de la S.P.R.

«I became acutely conscious that I was outside myself; that the real “me’’—the Ego or Spirit—was entirely separate and outside my fleshly body. I was looking in a wholly detached and impersonal way, upon the discomforts of a khaki-clad body [cf. Statement No. 17], which, whilst I realized that it was my own, might easily have belonged to somebody else, for all the direct connexion I seemed to have with it» — cómo lo dice el testigo: miraba las incomodidades de un cuerpo de caqui que sabía suyo y que podría haber sido de otro.

«I knew that my body must be feeling acutely cold and miserable, but I, my spirit part, felt nothing» — y la disociación del dolor, que es el rasgo por el que Crookall trae el caso aquí.

«At the same time, it seemed a very natural happening ... and it was only afterwards that I realized that I had been through one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. ... Nothing will shake my inward belief that my soul and body were entirely separated from each other.’» — el testigo declara que en el momento le pareció natural y que solo después midió lo que había vivido; termina con una convicción, no con una prueba.

«There in the open doorway stood a perfect double of myself [cf. Statement No. 17]. ... My image stood smiling at me, and in an instant I was up in a corner of the room and could see both myself and the image in the doorway.» — y lo que hace singular al caso: el testigo se ve a sí mismo desde un tercer sitio, con el doble todavía en la puerta.

«This suggests a series of three bodies—see below.]» — el corchete donde Crookall extrae de ahí su doctrina de los tres cuerpos, dicho como sugerencia.

«At that time I knew nothing of spiritualism or of astral theories. But years later I learned that, according to the Yogin teaching, each person has a corporeal body, an astral body, and a soul. Still I have never heard otherwise of a double projection.’» — el testigo declara ignorancia previa, encuentra después el esquema yóguico de tres cuerpos y dice no haber sabido de otra proyección doble.

«A number of others are given in these pages, e.g. Mrs Joy, Mrs Jeffrey, Miss Stables, Messrs Scunthorp, Turvey, Lind and Yram.]» — y el compilador lo contradice en el acto, con la lista de los que sí hay en su propio libro.

«This early case, one of exteriorization caused by pain, was given in Dr Kerner’s The Seeress of Prevorst (printed in Germany in 1829, translated into English by Catherine Crowe and published by J. C. Moore in 1845).» — del caso número 38, el de Georginus: Crookall declara la cadena entera, un libro alemán de 1829 traducido al inglés en 1845.

«Georginus, persecuted for religion, was stretched on the rack at Prague. He ‘became insensible to pain and appeared so lifeless that the executioners took him down and flung him on the earth for dead.» — el hecho de partida: torturado en el potro, se volvió insensible y lo dieron por muerto.

«He described these men and it is a remarkable fact that, six years afterwards three men, answering his description, were appointed to rule over the Church.’» — y el elemento verificable, que Crookall cita de su fuente sin añadirle nada: los tres hombres descritos fueron nombrados seis años después.

«The Seeress of Prevorst (Frau Hauffe) clearly had a loose vehicle of vitality or ‘body-veil’—she was barely alive over a considerable period of time.» — el diagnóstico que Crookall le hace a la propia vidente de Prevorst con su vocabulario: velo corporal flojo y apenas viva durante mucho tiempo.

«It often appears to me that I am out of my body, and then I hover over it. This is not pleasant because I recognize my body. ... The bonds of my nerve-spirit [= ‘body-veil’] are becoming daily weaker.’» — y cómo lo decía ella: el desagrado de reconocer el propio cuerpo desde arriba, y los lazos de su espíritu nervioso cada día más débiles.

«This case was given by J. Arthur Hill (Man is a Spirit, Cassell & Co. Ltd., 1918). Mr Huntley said, ‘I had been under great mental stress. T had not been indulging in psychism, had never attended a seance, nor had I been reading anything that might act as suggestion.» — del caso número 39, el de F. Huntley, con la triple negativa del testigo: ni práctica psíquica, ni sesión, ni lectura que pudiera sugerirlo.

«I woke from sleep to find myself out of the body. I was conscious in two places [= “dual consciousness’ ]—in a feeble degree in the body in bed, and in a great degree away from the body [cf. Statement No. 18]. I was surrounded by a white opaque light [cf. Geddes, Gerhardi, Oxenham, etc.—and Statement No. 26]. I felt absolutely happy and secure.» — la consciencia doble en dos sitios a la vez, y la luz blanca opaca que Crookall alinea con tres testigos suyos.

«The whole of my personality lay “out there’, even to the replica of the body [cf. Statement No. 17]. I was not conscious of leaving the body, but woke up out of it. It was not a dream, for the consciousness was an enhanced one, as superior to the ordinary waking state as that is to the dream state.» — y el criterio con que el testigo lo separa del sueño: una consciencia realzada, tan superior a la vigilia como la vigilia al sueño.

«I am sure that had a feeble thread [= the ‘silver cord’—cf. Statement No. 19] between soul and body been severed, I should have remained intact» — el testigo del caso 39 formula lo que la compilación irá repitiendo: cortado el hilo, él habría quedado íntegro fuera del cuerpo.

«The grosser Physical Body is sloughed off for a finer one.» — y cómo lo cierra: el cuerpo físico más grosero se muda por otro más fino.

«HEPWORTH had what he claimed to be a genuine out-of-the-body experience, describing it in his book, Brown Studies.» — del caso número 40, el del reverendo George Hepworth, que abre la cuarta clase de la serie natural, la de quienes estaban del todo sanos; la capa de texto parte el tratamiento del apellido.

«I seemed to step out of my body, and stand beside it, looking down upon it. I felt as light as air, and thought, “This must be what St Paul calls the Spiritual Body”’’» — el testigo se reconoce en la fórmula paulina, que es la misma que Crookall usa en todo el libro.

«I moved away from my Physical Body towards the door, and to my surprise, I found that the door was no obstruction whatsoever: I simply passed through it» — la puerta que no ofrece obstáculo, uno de los rasgos que la compilación cuenta caso por caso.

«I knew that a cold wind was blowing ... but I was not chilled» — y otro que Crookall alinea con dos testigos más: sabía que hacía frío y no lo sentía.

«It is not dead,” I said to myself, “only I have stepped out of it. I shall have to return to it by and by,” and at that thought I shuddered» — la renuencia a volver, aquí como estremecimiento ante la idea.

«Then he apparently caught sight of me standing by the door. With a single leap, he reached my side, but turned instantly, took his place between me and the body, looked first at one and then at the other, and trembled in evident agony.» — y lo que hace después, según el testigo: lo ve a él junto a la puerta y se planta entre el cuerpo y la figura.

«Just then the thought of my lost love came into my mind. An intense desire to see her seized me. ... It seemed to be an impelling force, and I flew with incredible speed through the darkness.» — el deseo que dispara el viaje, que es el mecanismo que Garrett y Muldoon también invocan.

«I suffered tortures in the thought that I was invisible and could not make her recognize me» — y el fracaso de siempre: no consigue que lo vean ni lo oigan.

«she looked up, then rose from her chair, went to the other side of the room, and stood there looking at an old photograph of me» — aunque algo ocurre, dicho por el testigo con un *quizá*: ella se levanta y va a mirar una fotografía suya.

«This was the ‘Call’ —Statement No. 2—in reverse]» — y el compilador lo indexa contra su propia categoría, puesta del revés: la llamada, pero al contrario.

«He turned and his eyes rested on me. He stretched both arms in my direction and whispered, ‘Clarence! Clarence!” and then fell back in a stupor. I am sure he saw me. ... That man’s soul, half freed from his body, saw my soul standing at the foot of the bed, and, recognizing me, called me by name. I have no doubt of that.» — el moribundo lo ve y lo llama por su nombre, y el testigo lo interpreta como alma que ve alma.

«This was Statement No. 18 in reverse.]» — el compilador vuelve a indexarlo invirtiendo su categoría: aquí el que ve al difunto es el moribundo, y lo visto es un vivo exteriorizado.

«I looked at the clock: it was three minutes past twelve.» — el dato que hará de prueba, anotado dentro de la experiencia.

«Time for bed, sir.” “What is the hour?” “Three and a half minutes past twelve, sir.” Had I really made the journey from Florida to the Adirondacs in thirty seconds?» — y el cotejo inmediato con el criado, que deja al testigo preguntándose por el tiempo del viaje.

«He breathed his last on the night of sth March, at three minutes past twelve.” It was clear that I had been by Edward’s bedside and saw him die.’» — la carta que llega tres días después con la hora exacta; es el tipo de coincidencia sobre el que se sostiene toda la compilación.

«Ralph Shirley (The Mystery of the Human Double, Rider & Co. Ltd.) gave the case of an engraver, first published by Gibier in his Analyses de Choses.» — del caso número 41, el del grabador del Dr Gibier, tomado de segunda mano por Ralph Shirley.

«I became giddy [= shedding the Physical Body—cf. Statement No. 9] and found myself in the middle of the room. Looking round, ... I saw my body stretched on the sofa’» — el mareo con que empieza —para Crookall, el desprendimiento— y el cuerpo visto desde el centro de la habitación.

«Approaching his Physical Body, he was surprised to find it still breathing. He tried to turn out the lamp but could not» — y los dos comprobantes del testigo: el cuerpo seguía respirando y él no pudo apagar la lámpara.

«He stood in front of the mirror but did not see his own image.» — el dato negativo que Crookall usará para su hipótesis sobre la densidad del doble: este testigo no se vio en el espejo.

«I found I could perceive quite plainly by what appeared to be a ray of light emitted from my epigastrium which illuminated the objects in the room’» — la luz que el testigo dice emitir desde el epigastrio, que el compilador alinea con otros cuatro casos.

«I had hardly conceived the wish,’ he said, ‘when I found myself there.’» — el desplazamiento por mera voluntad, que Crookall declara entre corchetes común a media docena de sus testigos y a sus comunicaciones de muertos.

«He inspected the rooms with a view to recalling their contents and especially noted the titles of books on the shelves.» — el testigo se fabrica la prueba dentro de la experiencia, anotando los títulos de los libros de un piso donde nunca había estado.

«I recognized,’ he said, ‘the pictures and the furniture which I had seen the night before, as well as the titles of the books which I had specially noted.’» — y el cotejo posterior con el portero, que es lo que hace del caso una prueba para la compilación.

«A lady described an experience in The Spectator of March 22, 1930. Her husband being ill in the next room, she intended to go to him if he grew worse. She slept. She ‘awoke’ to find herself inside the doorway of her husband’s room. The latter was filled with a bright light (cf. Gerhardi etc.]. She could see her Physical Body lying in bed» — del caso número 42, el de una señora publicado en The Spectator en 1930: se despierta dentro del cuarto de su marido enfermo y ve su propio cuerpo en la cama.

«I particularly noticed a curious folding-back of the eiderdown. ... As I advanced, I seemed to fall asleep again [= re-enter the body]. I knew that I had been out of the body with my full personality, living and intensely aware, with my husband’s illness paramount in my thoughts.» — el detalle nimio que retiene —un edredón doblado de manera curiosa— y la conciencia plena con que dice haber estado allí.

«Some people might say I had only dreamed, but it was a real and very intense experience. .... A night or two afterwards she saw the eiderdown in exactly the same peculiar position in which it had been during the experience; she said, “That took away my last lingering doubt. I knew that I had stood there apart, yet a living person, that had looked upon my own mortality.’» — la testigo se adelanta a la objeción del sueño, y dice que ver después el edredón en esa misma posición le quitó la última duda.

«Mme d’Espérance (Shadow Land, Redway, 1897) described an out-of-the-body experience as follows. ‘I felt a faint sinking sensation. The printed pages became indistinct. Everything became dark.» — del caso número 43, el de Mme d’Espérance, tomado de su libro de 1897.

«I had moved away [in the ‘double’] from the sofa, but somebody else [the Physical Body] was there holding the book.» — el desdoblamiento dicho en tercera persona por la propia testigo: ella se ha apartado y otro sostiene el libro; los corchetes que dicen quién es cada uno son del compilador.

«Gloomy overhanging rocks were on each side, obstructed here and there b projections which seemed to block up the passage. It was dark and cheerless, surrounded by cold mist.» — el camino angosto entre rocas y niebla fría.

«Symbolic representation of consciousness as limited by the unshed vehicle of vitality or ‘body-veil’ i.e., in “earth-veil’ or ‘Hades’ conditions—Statement No. 39.]» — que Crookall interpreta entre corchetes como representación simbólica de una consciencia limitada por el vehículo de vitalidad no desprendido.

«Afar off, a brilliant gleam of light burst out, flooding the road with unconceivable glory. ... We turned aside. ... A sense of motion, increasing light, intense living radiance, and then—Who can describe the indescribable?» — y el paso a la otra condición, con la abstención que el propio relato incorpora.

«above, since they include the statement that a point was soon reached when all pain ceased and, indeed, the sufferer became happy and free» — el otro apoyo que aduce: quienes casi murieron ahogados, ahorcados, asfixiados o electrocutados coinciden en que el dolor cesa de golpe y el que sufría queda libre.

«It is probable that some people naturally escape from the body more quickly and more readily than others. The facility would be increased by age» — y una generalización dicha como probabilidad: unos saldrían del cuerpo más fácilmente que otros.

«An anonymous contributor to Fate for Feb. 1953 gave the following narrative. ‘That particular night I was especially tired. ... I sat staring blankly ahead, thinking of nothing. Then something made me look towards the door to the dining-room.» — del caso número 37, anónimo, publicado en Fate en 1953.

«the tail, snuffed at my legs, and then appeared to be confused. Something was not as he expected to find it. He then deliberately snuffed at my legs a second time. Not satisfied, he sat on his haunches gazing into the face. I thought that perhaps his confusion arose from the fact that the eyes were closed. On ordinary occasions, when he wished to wake me from a doze, he put his paws on my knees, and gave a quick, sharp bark, as though to say, “Come, master, rouse yourself!’ But this time he exhibited signs of terror ... and uttered a mournful howl.» — el perro que huele el cuerpo como siempre y se desconcierta, y acaba aullando: es la reacción animal que Crookall retiene como observación externa.

«a marvellous sense of health, strength and power. Every part of my body glowed with vigour, and a sense of untrammelled freedom. For the first time I knew what it was to live.» — el vigor que la testigo declara haber sentido, hasta decir que solo entonces supo lo que era vivir.

«The light of this great life penetrated me, and I understood that thoughts were the only real, tangible substances [cf. Sir Humphry Davy, etc.], and why, between my [discarnate] friend and me, utterance was not needed.» — en el caso 43, lo que la testigo dice haber entendido allí: que los pensamientos son las únicas sustancias reales, y por eso sobraba hablar.

«My interest in the mysterious dream-life drew me ... nearer to a misty cloud-like region in which one felt stifled [= ‘Hades’ conditions—cf. Statement No. 41] and cramped, as though the atmosphere had become close, thick and substantial. A feeling of almost fear and anxiety oppressed me, and I felt a desire to escape from the sense of heaviness which was gradually closing in.» — y el descenso a la región de niebla, que Crookall rotula entre corchetes como condiciones de Hades.

«Yet the desire to learn was stronger and I combated the instinct which would lead to clearer air and freedom.» — con la decisión de la testigo dicha como pugna: el deseo de aprender venció al instinto de subir.

«Something in the vaporous mistiness, in the forms and shapes, recalled the dream-life: I knew that in this region [= the ‘earth-veil’ or ‘Hades’ condition] the dream-life was lived.» — la testigo identifica esa región con el sitio donde se vive la vida onírica.

«But I wondered why the objects were so different: these rocks, which before had seemed so solid [i.e., while she was in the corresponding bodily condition, namely, enshrouded by the ‘body-veil’] were only vapours or clouds through which I now passed without» — y su propio desconcierto, que Crookall explica entre corchetes por el cambio de cuerpo: las rocas que antes eran sólidas ahora son vapor.

«I saw that this life, which animates all things, is undying, immortal, that there is no death, no annihilation; that it is the same life which, circling for ever through form after form, dwelling in the rocks, the sand, the sea, in each blade of grass, each tree, each flower, in all forms of animal existence and culminates in man’s intelligence.» — la afirmación cosmológica del relato: una sola vida que circula por forma tras forma, de la roca al hombre.

«Mme d’Espérance was here experiencing ‘mystical’, ‘spiritual’ or “cosmic consciousness. |» — que el compilador clasifica en el acto con su tercer grado de consciencia, la mística o cósmica.

«The longing to help these blind ones [the ‘earthbound’] became intense. I became aware that, to come within their ken, I too must clothe myself with mist [= must assume material of ‘body-veil’ type]. It was a repugnant thought, yet I would do it» — y el motivo del regreso, dicho por la testigo como repugnancia aceptada: para acercarse a los ciegos hay que vestirse de niebla.

«The longing had taken me from a world of radiant light [= ‘Paradise’ conditions], of love and sympathy, and brought me to this dim, shadowy world to which the light could scarcely penetrate» — el trayecto completo entre las dos condiciones que dan nombre al esquema del libro, con las etiquetas del compilador incrustadas.

«That form was the prison from which I had escaped, and I must again become captive [cf. Mrs Tarsikes, who called the Physical Body a ‘cage’: Plato called it a ‘tomb’]» — el cuerpo como prisión, y el corchete donde Crookall alinea la jaula de Mrs Tarsikes y la tumba de Platón.

«Had I not known better, I should have said that the earthly scenes were the realities and the world I had visited the dream-world.» — la inversión que la testigo se permite: si no supiera, diría que lo terreno es el sueño.

«They may say that my experience was a dream, but I know that it was a foretaste of life, real and indisputable. During the remainder of my journey through the shadows it will help me to bear with patience whatever may befall, and give me courage to» — y cómo se planta ante la objeción: podrán llamarlo sueño, ella lo llama anticipo de vida.

«Why should Mme d’Espérance (and a few others who left their bodies naturally) have consciousness first of “Hades’ and only later of ‘Paradise’ conditions, whereas most passed directly from ‘normal’ (= physical) to ‘super-normal’ (= ‘Paradise’ conditions?). The answer seems to be that these few exceptional people had a vehicle of vitality» — Crookall se plantea un problema que su propio esquema le crea —por qué unos pasan primero por Hades y la mayoría no— y lo contesta con una hipótesis, dicha como lo que parece.

«or ‘body-veil’, which was in relatively loose association with the Physical Body: it therefore tended to leave the latter along with the Psychical Body, and, until shed, to restrict consciousness to the ‘sub-normal’ (= ‘Hades’) level. These few exceptional people (who exteriorized naturally) were thus temporarily in the same bodily condition (and therefore state of consciousness) as is typical for others whose exteriorization was enforced.» — y en qué consiste la hipótesis: un velo corporal flojo sale con el cuerpo psíquico y restringe la consciencia hasta que se suelta, poniendo al exteriorizado natural en la condición típica del forzado.

«The fact that Mme d’Espérance was a ‘materialization’ medium indicates that she had a loose “body-veil’.» — el indicio con que la sostiene en este caso concreto: la testigo era médium de materialización.

«Out-of-the-body-experiences were described by Mrs Leonard in Brief Darkness (Cassell, 1942).» — del caso número 44, el de Gladys Osborn Leonard, tomado de un libro suyo de 1942.

«I call it double consciousness because I was aware of the Spiritual, Astral or Etheric» — y por qué la testigo lo llama consciencia doble, con los tres nombres que le da al segundo cuerpo y la traducción del compilador entre corchetes.

«For a few moments I lay in my Physical Body unable to move or speak [cf. Muldoon, etc.]. I found myself—my mind, my consciousness—gradually transferred to the Etheric Body. I moved easily and lightly in it.» — la parálisis inicial y el traslado gradual de la consciencia al otro cuerpo.

«She also saw two friends who were still living on earth and who, like her, were temporarily exteriorized.» — un rasgo que Crookall va reuniendo: entre los que se ven allí hay vivos exteriorizados, no solo muertos.

«Like Muldoon, etc., she found that ‘strong emotion, such as fear or pity, brings one back to the Physical Body’.» — y la regla que comparte con Muldoon: la emoción fuerte devuelve al cuerpo.

«she exteriorized from her Physical Body so gently that she was unaware of having left it. On such occasions she was rendered aware of being outside the body by critical observations: she noticed that her new environment differed from the physical» — otras veces sale sin notarlo y solo se entera por observación crítica, que es el criterio que la compilación privilegia.

«Once Mrs Leonard experienced a greater freedom and clarity of thought than she had ever felt before, and there was no ‘pull’ or influence from the Physical Body. She concluded that the ‘silver cord’ was either broken, or was about to be broken [cf. Statement Nos. 19 and 20], and was ‘overwhelmed with joy’ at her release from the body.» — el episodio en que la testigo creyó roto el cordón, con la alegría que declara por la liberación.

«But,’ she continued, ‘with a shock, I gathered that I must go back. There was still something that I must do on earth’.» — y el corte: tiene que volver porque le queda algo por hacer.

«As our etheric body approaches the physical counterpart, the astral (= ‘silver’) cord becomes shorter, thicker and less elastic» — una regularidad sobre el cordón que Crookall alinea con Muldoon, Fox y Simons: se acorta y engruesa al acercarse el cuerpo.

«like discarnate communicators, she said that in natural death ‘the cord wears gradually thinner and thinner’» — y su contraparte en la muerte natural, donde el cordón se adelgaza poco a poco.

«She considered that ‘the actual material elements’ of the Etheric (here = Psychical) Body are watery substances energized by the electro-magnetic stresses.» — de qué estaría hecho ese cuerpo según ella: sustancias acuosas energizadas por tensiones electromagnéticas.

«On this account, Mrs Leonard considered that the dying require much water (and little or no food).» — y la consecuencia práctica que ella misma le saca, sobre lo que necesitan los moribundos.

«When she saw the ‘double’ of a person, she found it a sign that that person might make the transition ‘within a limited time’: in her experience the shortest interval was two days, but on two occasions it amounted to two years.» — la regla pronóstica que formula, con el rango de sus propios casos: de dos días a dos años.

«Mrs Leonard pointed out that the seeing of a person’s ‘double’ did not necessarily indicate approaching death: on the one hand, the person might be ‘proficient in exteriorizing’; on the other hand, the percipient might be clairvoyant.» — y la acotación que ella misma le pone: ver un doble no anuncia necesariamente la muerte.

«She pointed out that many say that the cord unites the heads of the ‘Astral’ and Physical Bodies and added, ‘Yes, I think this is so, but from certain experiences of my own, I believe there is also a connexion of some kind with the solar plexus.» — una discrepancia de detalle que Crookall deja abierta: la mayoría pone el cordón entre las dos cabezas, y esta testigo añade, por experiencia propia, una conexión con el plexo solar.

«I may be mistaken. An alternative aay may be that ... the etheric body may “pull” on the solar plexus, though it actually leaves by the head.’» — y la abstención de la propia testigo, que la compilación conserva entera: puede estar equivocada, y ofrece una alternativa.

«Still later she described experiencing a severe shock in the solar plexus on returning to her Physical Body after exteriorization.» — el dato con que ella misma apoya la sospecha del plexo solar.

«Then I felt a tingling, as if a slight current of electricity were passing through my body, and the sensation of not resting on the bed. I held my mind quiet, saying to myself, “I will notice anything that happens, but will not anticipate or wonder.”» — el protocolo que la testigo se impone dentro de la experiencia: observar sin anticipar ni asombrarse.

«I thought, “I should like to see the caller” and found myself at once at my husband’s elbow [cf. Hepworth, Muldoon, Gerhardi, etc. and discarnate communicators]. The bedroom door was closed but I passed through it» — el desplazamiento por deseo y la puerta atravesada, los dos rasgos que Crookall lleva contando desde el principio.

«I saw that the caller was from the Gas Company. Just then a maid from an upstairs flat passed them, and I saw my husband, without speaking, take a coin from his pocket and hand it to her. I thought, “That’s funny! Why did he give her a coin? I will remember that and ask him.”» — el par de observaciones comprobables que se propone retener: el hombre del gas y la moneda que su marido le da a la criada.

«Then I found myself back in my bedroom. Clarity of thought was leaving me: I was less conscious, and thought it was possibly because I was returning to my Physical Body.’» — y la merma de claridad que ella atribuye a la cercanía del cuerpo físico.

«René C.’ also observed the effect of proximity to the Physical Body, though he expressed it in terms of the density of the Psychical Body or ‘double’. Lt.-Col. Lester’s (deceased) wife made the same observation regarding her husband’s exteriorized ‘double’, but expressed it in still different terms, namely the luminosity of the Psychical Body. Costa also expressed the matter in the latter way; his own ‘double’, which was near his Physical Body, was dull; his mother’s ‘double’, which was at a distance from her Physical Body, emitted a ‘phosphorescent radiance’.» — Crookall reúne tres formulaciones distintas del mismo efecto —densidad, luminosidad, claridad de pensamiento— sin unificarlas.

«This is Statement No. 1b; limitation is at a minimum when the Higher Mental (= Causal) Body is used, giving ‘mystical’, ‘cosmic’ or ‘spiritual’ consciousness: restriction of consciousness is somewhat greater when the Psychical Body is employed, in which case telepathic, clairvoyant and pre-cognitive faculties are in evidence, giving ‘super-normal’ consciousness: it is great when the Physical Body is used, giving ‘normal’ consciousness.» — la escala completa de su doctrina, dicha aquí de una vez: mínima limitación en el cuerpo mental superior, mayor en el psíquico, grande en el físico.

«Our awareness is, however, at its lowest ebb when, stopping short of the Physical Body, it is limited by the vehicle of vitality or ‘body-veil’. The latter, having no ‘sense organs’, is not a vehicle of consciousness» — y el escalón más bajo, que es el que le da sentido a su Hades: el velo corporal no tiene órganos de sentido y no es vehículo de consciencia.

«hence, there may be more or less brief periods (just before or just after deep sleep) of ‘sub-normal’, or ‘dream’ consciousness, a condition which also obtains in certain cases immediately after the permanent shedding of the Physical Body at death.» — de ahí deriva la consciencia de sueño, tanto en los bordes del dormir como después de morir.

«It is especially liable to occur when a man dies in the prime of life and one is more or less ‘awake’: the Psychical Body is at first enshrouded by the ‘body-veil’. Only when, at the ‘second death’, the latter is shed are ‘super-normal’ consciousness and ‘Paradise’ conditions entered.)» — y cuándo se agrava: en la muerte en la plenitud de la vida, hasta la segunda muerte en que se suelta el velo.

«I ceased thinking to facilitate return and, looking around, soon saw that I was in some room that I had never seen before. The lady and gentleman I expected that afternoon were there, talking to a gentleman unknown to me. My name was mentioned. They were inviting the stranger to share their “sitting” that afternoon. I thought, “I must be dreaming: these people would not do this.”» — la testigo se ve en una habitación desconocida donde sus clientes invitan a un tercero, y ella misma lo descree.

«Looking up, I saw the (deceased) son of the “sitters’’ whom I was expecting. (I had seen him clairvoyantly at one of our earlier sittings.) I said, “Hullo, Philip, who is that playing and singing?” He replied, “It’s Gertrude.”» — y el diálogo con el hijo muerto de esos clientes, que le da un nombre que ella no conocía.

«When I resumed consciousness I was back in my bedroom, lying in my Astral Body just over the Physical Body. My astral felt quivery and I thought, “There is going to be difficulty in returning.” Then I said, “Keep calm and you will slip back.”» — el regreso, con la técnica que la testigo se dicta a sí misma: calmarse y deslizarse.

«Then he admitted that I must have seen him. He said that while he spoke to him, he had given the girl a sixpence for some trifling service she had done two or three days before, when he did not happen to have change. He had forgotten about it and, seeing the maid passing, remembered it.» — la primera comprobación, con el marido dando la explicación del detalle que ella no podía saber.

«You were right—they have brought that gentleman you described.” I went into the room. The stranger was the man that I had seen when in my astral body. The lady explained that he was her brother.» — la segunda, con el desconocido presentándose en la sesión tal como ella lo había descrito.

«Philip had a cousin, Gertrude, who came over weekly to play and sing to us. She passed over six years ago.”» — y la tercera, que cierra el caso: el nombre oído allá corresponde a una prima muerta seis años antes.

«Dorothy Grenside (The Meaning of Dreams, G. Bell, 1923) told of an airman who was unconscious for some days after an accident. On recovering, he insisted that, immediately after the crash he was standing beside his unconscious body and wrecked machine» — del caso número 45, el del aviador de Dorothy Grenside, que tras el accidente insistía en haber estado de pie junto a su cuerpo.

«That author also mentioned a friend who awoke to see both her husband apparently standing by the window, and his Physical Body asleep beside her. She shook the latter and instantly the ‘double’ left the window and, rushing towards the sleeping body, disappeared. The husband awoke but knew nothing of the matter.» — el segundo caso de la misma fuente, con el detalle que interesa a la compilación: el doble vuelve corriendo al cuerpo sacudido, y el durmiente no se entera de nada.

«Miss ‘P.L.’ told H. E. Hunt (Why We Survive, Rider & Co. Ltd.) that once, when she ‘awoke’ from sleep, she saw a ‘cord’ which was looped over the roof. Following it, she found that it led to the bed on which lay her sleeping body» — del caso número 46, el de Miss *P.L.*: encuentra su cuerpo siguiendo el cordón, que estaba tendido por encima del tejado.

«It was as if another body slowly rose up from my natural body coming out at the top of the head [cf. Statement No. 13]. I could see the natural body [cf. Statement No. 17]. Then the Real Self, or Soul-Body, floated through the walls and up into the air’» — cómo describe la salida esta testigo: por lo alto de la cabeza, y después atravesando las paredes.

«Miss Peters published accounts in Two Worlds, Aug. 1952. She said, “My first experience occurred before I had heard of astral projection.’» — del caso número 48, el de Dorothy Peters, publicado en 1952, otra vez con la ignorancia previa declarada.

«I was roused to awareness by ... a tremendous pulling of the head. I was out of, and above, my Physical Body, turning round at right angles to it [cf. Statement No. 17]. It felt so strange that I said, “Oh!” and returned smoothly to the body ... I was annoyed at having thus ended the experiment.’» — el tirón por la cabeza y el regreso inmediato, que la testigo lamenta como experimento malogrado.

«Miss Peters made critical observations: opening a drawer she found everything disarranged, whereas it had been left in good order. The incongruities between the physical and non-physical environments made her realize that ‘things were not normal’ and that she was outside her body» — el método que Crookall más valora en un testigo: notar incongruencias entre los dos entornos y deducir de ahí dónde está.

«Descending, she stood ‘at the entrance to a dark tunnel’ [= shedding most of the vehicle of vitality (that had been exteriorized along with the Psychical Body, as with Miss Blakeley and Mrs Parker). Mrs Leslie, Mrs Tarsikes, etc., used the symbol of a tunnel for shedding their Physical Bodies—cf. Statements Ib and 9.]» — el túnel, que aquí Crookall lee como desprendimiento del vehículo de vitalidad y no del cuerpo físico, y declara que otros lo usan para lo segundo.

«It was, no doubt, the presence of the vehicle of vitality that had rendered Miss Peters’ ‘double’ visible in the mirror [cf. Gerhardi]. On the other hand Gibier’s engraver could not see his ‘double’ in a mirror.» — y el cierre de la hipótesis que había abierto con Gerhardi: lo que hace visible el doble en el espejo sería el vehículo de vitalidad, y el grabador de Gibier, que no se vio, no lo llevaba.

«type, while the environment tends no longer to be bright and clear but more or less ‘misty’, ‘foggy’ etc. (in extreme cases, ‘dark’). Thus, those who come from ‘Paradise’ conditions to help either the ‘earthbound’ or mortals find the process neither easy nor pleasant: they say that they ‘come at some cost’. ]» — el corchete donde Crookall trae su mecánica de las vibraciones: bajar hasta los de abajo embota la consciencia y enturbia el entorno, y por eso dicen que vienen a un costo.

«Mrs Leonard knew that she seldom remembered the whole of her out-of-the-body experiences. Like Mrs Gilbert and others, she attributed this to ‘dream-visions’, i.e. to psychic impressions received in the ‘sub-normal consciousness’ caused by the “‘body-veil’: she said that she often had ‘curious dream-visions’ between the etheric [here = ‘Paradise’ ] experiences and re-awakening in the Physical Body. She used the term ‘dream-visions’ to distinguish such impressions (many of which were prophetic) from» — la testigo atribuye la amnesia parcial de sus salidas a las visiones oníricas del velo corporal, muchas de ellas proféticas; Crookall lo encaja con su consciencia subnormal.

«Supposed discarnates similarly say that the ‘double’ usually leaves the Physical Body via the head—Statement No. 13—but that with some» — y cómo lo cierra Crookall desde su otra serie: la salida es normalmente por la cabeza.

«people, who have some ‘weak spot’, it may leave by the chest, the feet, etc.)» — con la excepción que admite: quien tenga un punto débil puede salir por el pecho o por los pies.

«I was surprised at seeing it there. I was not aware of its having been changed that morning for the one I had been using. I thought, too, how funny it was that my head was resting on it, because I don’t usually do that. I was pleased with myself for noticing these things.» — la clase de detalle que la testigo anota como prueba, una funda de almohada que no sabía cambiada, y el gusto que se da por haberlo notado.

«Then I felt a little nervous—‘‘Shall I be able to get back?” That slight fear drew me back about a foot towards my Physical Body.» — el miedo que la arrastra un palmo de vuelta al cuerpo, medido por ella misma.

«Thus,’ concluded Miss Grenside, ‘two phrases in common use—‘‘He is beside himself”, and “He is wandering” —may have originally held» — la conjetura que la autora del caso 45 saca de él, y que Crookall reproduce: dos frases hechas del inglés podrían haber tenido sentido literal.

«wrote to tell the writer that she had out-of-the-body experiences before she had heard of such phenomena. The available details correspond with those of others.» — del caso número 47, el de Mrs *M.A.E.*, recibido por carta, con la cláusula de ignorancia previa y la constatación de Crookall de que los detalles concuerdan con los demás.

«When the writer read this, he thought that he had found a discrepancy between this and other accounts, but Miss Peters later (without specific reference to the matter) provided an explanation, namely, that on this occasion ‘hasty return was prevented by invisible operators’]» — el compilador cuenta un desacuerdo consigo mismo y cómo se resolvió: creyó haber hallado una discrepancia y la propia testigo se la deshizo después, sin saber de qué se trataba.

«On this occasion her ‘costume’ combined leather snow-boots with a summer dress! Like Fox, etc., she found that such incongruities awoke her from the dream-state to full consciousness.» — y el disparate de vestuario que, como en Fox, saca a la testigo del estado de sueño: botas de nieve con vestido de verano.

«She considers that in these experiences she was assisted, as part of her education, by discarnate ‘guides’ [cf. ‘deliverers’— Statement 3].» — lo que la testigo cree que estaba pasando, dicho como creencia suya: guías descarnados la asistían como parte de su educación.

«The experience of Mr Dennis was given to me in a letter. He had read no literature on this subject and had attended no spiritualistic meetings. He had no interest in survival.» — del caso número 49, el de J. H. Dennis, recibido por carta, con la triple negativa: sin lecturas, sin sesiones y sin interés en la supervivencia.

«Before having this experience, Mr Dennis often awoke to find himself unable to move (= catalepsy). He noted that this occurred when he lay on his back (cf. Mrs Gilbert, ‘René C.’, etc.).» — y la regularidad postural que Crookall recoge de varios testigos: la catalepsia previa le venía al dormir boca arriba.

«Actual exteriorization occurred after a period of sleep. (This is commonly the case.)» — una generalización del compilador metida entre paréntesis: la exteriorización suele darse tras un rato de sueño.

«I felt a great purring in my ears like vibrations at high impulse [cf. Muldoon, Fox, etc.]. I felt myself rise, lying level as I was on my back, to about eighteen inches above the bed» — el zumbido y el ascenso rígido en el relato de Dennis, que Crookall alinea con Muldoon y Fox.

«I returned by the way I went out. My head was the last part to re-enter my body [this is Statement No. 13 in reverse]» — y el reingreso, con la cabeza como última parte, que el compilador indexa como su declaración 13 puesta del revés.

«Towards morning I dreamed that I saw my wife, whom Thad left in the United States, come to the door of my state-room, clad in her night-dress. At the door she seemed to discover that I was not the only occupant of the room, hesitated a little, then advanced to my side, stooped down and kissed me, and after gently caressing me, quietly withdrew.» — lo que el marido dice haber soñado en alta mar: su esposa entra al camarote, lo besa y se retira.

«At length he related what he had seen while wide awake, lying in his berth. It exactly corresponded with my dream. ... I questioned him about it, and on three separate occasions he repeated to me the same account of what he had witnessed.» — el testigo que cambia el caso de categoría: el compañero de camarote, despierto, vio lo mismo y lo repitió tres veces.

«Almost the first question my wife put when we were alone together was, “Did you receive a visit from me a week ago Tuesday?” “A visit from you?” said I, “we were more than a thousand miles at sea.” “I know it,” she replied, “but it seemed to me that I visited you.”» — y la primera pregunta de la esposa al reencontrarse, antes de que él contara nada.

«About four a.m. it seemed to her that she went out to seek me. Crossing a wide and stormy sea, she came at length to a low, black steamship, whose side she went up, then, descending into the cabin, passed through it to the stern until she came to my state-room.» — el viaje contado desde el otro extremo, con el trayecto sobre el mar hasta el camarote.

«Tell me,” said she, “do they ever have state-rooms like the one I saw, where the upper berth extends farther than the under-one? A man was in the upper berth, looking right at me. For a moment I was afraid to go in, but I soon went up to the side of your berth, bent down and kissed you, and embraced you, and then went away’’.’» — y el detalle que ella no podía conocer: la litera de arriba más salida que la de abajo, y el hombre que la miraba.

«The description given by my wife of the steamship was correct in all particulars, though she had never seen it.’» — la comprobación que el marido hace de la descripción del barco.

«Replying to a question, Mrs Wilmot said, ‘I had a very vivid sense, all that day, of having visited my husband: the impression was so strong that I felt unusually happy and refreshed—to my surprise.’» — y el rastro que la experiencia le dejó a ella durante el día.

«The shipping information was checked with the files of the New York Herald.» — el compilador consigna la verificación documental del caso contra los archivos de un diario.

«This case is of interest in several respects. Mrs Wilmot had a sense of travelling (cf. Walter de la Mare, though that feature alone is not significant).» — Crookall enumera lo que le interesa del caso y descarta de entrada un rasgo por insuficiente: la sensación de viajar no prueba nada por sí sola.

«Mrs Wilmot both saw and was seen and that not only by her husband, but by a stranger. She realized the presence of that stranger, in the state-room, and knew that the bunks had a peculiar arrangement.» — lo que sí retiene: fue vista por un extraño y supo cosas del camarote que ignoraba.

«At first sight the experience might be referred to telepathy and/or clairvoyance (though the mutual aspects render this most improbable)» — y considera la objeción antes de contestarla: telepatía o clarividencia, que le parece improbable por lo mutuo del caso.

«However, the correct knowledge of successive intervening objects (that were not in the perception either of the husband or the stranger) shows it to be almost certainly an actual visit in a ‘double’ which has objective reality.» — el argumento con que la descarta, dicho con su cuantificador: el conocimiento de los objetos intermedios, que nadie más percibía, la hace casi con certeza una visita en un doble objetivo.

«An exteriorization described by Brunton in A Search in Secret Egypt (Rider & Co. Ltd.) was also given in Prediction, Sept., 1950: it occurred when he spent a night in the Great Pyramid.» — del caso número 51, el de Paul Brunton, ocurrido según él en una noche dentro de la Gran Pirámide.

«I noted a trail of faint silvery light [the ‘silver cord’—Statement No. 19] projecting down from me, the new me, to the cataleptic creature who lay upon the block. Then I discovered that this mysterious psychical umbilical cord was contributing towards the illumination of the corner of the King’s chamber where I hovered, showing up the wall-stones in a soft, moonbeam-like light.’» — el cordón visto por Brunton como rastro plateado que además alumbraba la cámara del rey.

«There is, indeed, some experimental evidence of its radio-activity. Col. de Rochas, the French experimenter, said that if screens were coated with calcium sulphide, they glowed when approached by a ‘double’ exteriorized (in this case by hypnosis) from its physical counterpart. Similarly, Dr Omoda found that when Eusapia Paladino was in a normal state she had no influence on the electroscope, but when her ‘double’ was exteriorized from the physical (in trance) she could affect it.» — aquí Crookall sale del testimonio y aduce experimento: pantallas de sulfuro de calcio que brillan ante un doble, y el electroscopio que Eusapia Paladino solo afecta en trance.

«This is precisely what the supposed dead say—that the rapid ‘vibration’ and high luminosity of the ‘double’ (with which is correlated “super-normal’ consciousness) is necessarily more or less ‘quenched’ when the ‘double’ is near, and still more when it is ‘in gear’ with, the Physical Body.» — la regla con que unifica todo eso: la luminosidad y la vibración rápida del doble se apagan al acercarse al cuerpo físico y más aún al engranar con él.

«note that psychics (who owe their abilities to their being less immersed in the Physical Body than non-psychics) are more or less visible to discarnates, especially during intense thought or emotion: it is, indeed, noteworthy that psychics are often described by independent communicators simply as ‘lights’.» — y el corolario sobre los psíquicos, que dice menos inmersos en el cuerpo físico y a quienes los comunicadores describirían simplemente como luces.

«Brunton commented on the bird as a symbol of the soul to the ancient Egyptians, on account of its ability to ‘fly’ and the freedom that accompanies that ability. He might have added that, for the same reason, the Greek symbol for the soul generally bore the wings of a butterfly, while the Burmese was a butterfly.)» — y lo que Crookall le añade entre paréntesis, marcando que es adición suya: el símbolo griego con alas de mariposa y el birmano.

«Following the description, by Muldoon and Carrington, in Prediction (Feb. 1951), of exteriorizations, Miss Newby described her experience (in March). She clearly knew little of these matters beforehand.» — del caso número 52, el de Margaret Newby, llegado a raíz de un artículo previo; Crookall vuelve a medir cuánto sabía la testigo de antemano.

«But now I experienced the continuity of consciousness between waking and dream-life and was aware of two bodies, one lying inert, while the Real Me occupied a body of a different texture» — la continuidad entre vigilia y vida onírica que la testigo declara, y la conciencia de dos cuerpos a la vez.

«Negotiating those familiar stairs was no simple matter. I had not sufficient command of my light-as-air body to fly from top to bottom; nor, since my dream-body was not subject to the law of gravity, could I walk down in the usual way. Finally, I walked down very slowly, pausing on each stair, otherwise my feet would slide from under me, leaving me suspended in mid-air until I floated gently down again.» — una dificultad práctica que la testigo del caso 52 describe con precisión: sin gravedad no se puede bajar una escalera del modo habitual.

«I considered returning home to find out whether my body still breathed, but remembered in time that I might be drawn in and so lose part of the rare experience.» — y la cautela que se impone dentro de la experiencia: no acercarse al cuerpo para no ser reabsorbida.

«I lost no time in finding out what others say on astral projection. I was not aware of any “‘clicking-in” sensation on returning to my body, nor had I noticed the “silver cord”’. ... But, although aware of my body in bed, I had not looked closely at it» — la testigo va a leer después de lo suyo, y declara lo que le faltó: ni chasquido ni cordón de plata.

«nor, during my journey, had I once looked behind me. Had I done so, I too might have seen the cord.’» — y la explicación que ella misma propone para esa ausencia: no miró hacia atrás.

«Fox did not always sce his ‘cord’ and probably for the same reason.» — que Crookall respalda en una línea con el caso de Fox; la capa de texto corrompe el verbo.

«Miss Johnson informed me (in litt.) that she had had several experiences of this nature. She said, ‘In 1935, I cut my finger and fainted. I found myself sitting in a lovely meadow full of sunshine, and felt very light and happy [= ‘Paradise’ conditions—cf. Statement No. 26]. I was quite free from pain [cf. Statement No. 7]. I heard the sound of children’s» — del caso número 53, el de Marjorie T. Johnson, recibido por carta: se desmaya al cortarse un dedo y se halla en un prado soleado.

«Then I seemed to be drawn back down a dark tunnel. [Cf. Statement No. 9 and note that the symbol of a ‘tunnel’, used by dozens who were conscious of leaving their Physical Bodies is used by Miss Johnson to describe re-entering the body. That symbol is also used by supposed discarnates in their accounts of the act of dying. More significant still is the fact that discarnates who ‘enter’ the body of a medium (vacated in trance), in order to communicate with mortals, use the same symbol. This employment, by independent persons, of a single term in describing identical processes, as seen from different angles, indicates something real and objective.]» — aquí el túnel sirve para el regreso, y Crookall lo aprovecha para su argumento más general: el mismo símbolo, usado por personas independientes para procesos idénticos vistos desde ángulos distintos, indicaría algo real.

«I found myself in the room at home again. The room seemed very small and dark, and at first my parents looked unfamiliar.’» — y el efecto de vuelta: la habitación pequeña y oscura, los padres desconocidos por un momento.

«Mrs Piper, returning to her Physical Body from trance, similarly described people’s Physical Bodies and material objects as ‘dark’ (in comparison with Psychical Bodies and the ‘Paradise’ conditions she had just left). She referred to those (discarnates) she was just leaving as ‘white people’, while those to whom she was returning appeared ‘black’ to her. This refers to the relative luminosity of the bodies.» — el corchete donde Crookall trae a Mrs Piper, que llamaba blancos a los que dejaba y negros a los que volvía, y lo reduce a luminosidad relativa.

«Similarly, with regard to weight: the Psychical Body is described as ‘light’ and ‘balloon-like’ in contrast with the Physical Body which is ‘heavy’» — y la serie paralela del peso, con siete testigos que llaman ligero al cuerpo psíquico y pesado al físico.

«the Physical Body limits consciousness considerably, acting like ‘blinkers’ etc.; the Psychical Body, more responsive, permits telepathy, clairvoyance and pre-cognition.|» — el efecto de cada cuerpo sobre la consciencia, dicho con su símil de las anteojeras.

«When I reached the “‘legs” part of me, it was like fitting myself into a tight rubber skin [Mrs H. D. Williams gave a similar description of re-entering the body, while Mrs Parker spoke of entering a ‘bag’: on the other hand, Miss Yeoman described quitting her body as ‘like a tight glove being pulled from a finger]» — la piel de goma ceñida al reingresar, y el corchete donde Crookall reúne la bolsa de Mrs Parker y el guante de Miss Yeoman.

«Suddenly cold air [ectoplasmic phenomena] began to waft over me as strongly as if an electric fan had been turned on, and the room seemed full of mist.» — el aire frío y la niebla, que el compilador rotula como fenómeno ectoplásmico y como parte del velo corporal.

«I was for a time, super-conscious: my mind was clearer than it had ever been [cf. Statement No. 26]. For the rest of that day I knew only peace and joy, and seemed to be literally “treading on air”.» — y el estado que le siguió, con la paz del día entero.

«The experience was repeated several times, and always when I was lying on my back [cf. Muldoon, Mr Dennis, etc.].» — la misma regularidad postural de otros casos: siempre boca arriba.

«These travels were always characterized by the cold ‘‘air” and the rushing “ Spirit-of-the- Wind” sensation [ectoplasmic phenomena from the ‘body-veil], followed by a heightening of the faculties and indescribable peace and exaltation’» — y el patrón fijo que la testigo declara para todos sus viajes, que Crookall traduce a consciencia supernormal en Paradise.

«Cromwell Varley, well-known engineer and inventor and a member of the Committee appointed in 1869 by the London Dialectical Society to investigate Spiritualism (Report on Spiritualism of the Committee of London Dialectical Society, J. Burns, 1873, 3rd ed.)» — del caso número 54, el de Cromwell F. Varley: la credencial del testigo y la fuente, el informe de 1873 del comité de la London Dialectical Society.

«She said, “If you do not move you will die.” But I could not move, and she said, “I will frighten you and then you will be able to move» — en el episodio cataléptico de Varley, la aparecida decide asustarlo, y Crookall explica entre corchetes por qué: el miedo lo devolvería al cuerpo.

«My shouting had aroused Mrs Varley; we examined the door and it was still locked and bolted, and I told my wife what had happened, having noted the hour (3.45 a.m.) and I cautioned her not to mention the matter to anybody, but to hear her sister’s version if she alluded to the subject.» — la precaución probatoria que el propio testigo toma en el momento: anotar la hora y no contárselo a la cuñada.

«In the morning, the latter told us that she had passed a dreadful night, that she had been in our room, greatly troubled, since I was nearly dying. This was between half-past three and four a.m. and she had aroused me by exclaiming, “Oh, Cromwell, lam dying’’.’» — y la coincidencia con lo que la cuñada contó por su cuenta a la mañana siguiente, con la hora.

«The other natural experience occurred when Varley had to catch a steamer early next morning. He had often successfully ‘willed’ himself to awake at a necessary time and this he did now. However, although he himself was awakened, his body remained asleep and cataleptic; he saw it lying inert on the bed [cf. Statement No. 17]. He could not arouse it.» — el segundo episodio de Varley: se despierta a voluntad y el cuerpo se le queda dormido y cataléptico.

«Then he saw a timber-yard in which two men were moving planks and conceived a method of awakening his body from its torpor. The method significantly enough, as in the experience just cited, involved the use of fear.» — y el recurso con que lo despierta, que Crookall subraya que es otra vez el miedo.

«I leapt out of bed, opened the window, and there was the yard, the timber and the two men, just as I had seen them. I had no previous knowledge of the locality. It was dark the previous evening when I entered the town, and I did not know that there was a yard there. I could not see the timber ee I opened the window. I had seen these things while my body lay asleep.» — y la comprobación inmediata: el patio, la madera y los dos hombres, en un sitio que no conocía.

«I was struck, on my first visit, to the astral [here = ‘Paradise’ condition] by having to pass through one plane beforehand, where everyone and everything seemed to be in semi-darkness and completely unaware of anything.» — y el plano intermedio en penumbra por el que dice haber tenido que pasar antes.

«Much of the ‘body-veil’ had been exteriorized from the Physical Body along with the Psychical Body, so that both the consciousness and the environment were more or less enshrouded. Miss Brooks was, therefore, temporarily in ‘earth-veil’ or ‘Hades’ conditions and her consciousness was of the ‘sub-normal’, or dream-type—cf. the accounts of Mme d’Espérance, Gerhardi, Ogston, de la Mare, Hives, Mrs Joy and Miss Johnson.]» — que Crookall explica con su hipótesis de siempre y alinea con siete testigos suyos.

«People in this condition just walked right through me and seemed not to know they were even there. Evidently they were not trained enough to remember the sleep-state [cf the Biblical account which, no doubt, applies to many of the ‘dead’ who are in the ‘Hades’ condition—‘The dead know not anything’—Eccles. ix, 5]» — lo que la testigo dice de los que habitan ese plano, y el versículo con que el compilador lo empareja.

«I noticed a misty vapour emanating from the tops of their heads [cf. Statement No. 13]. It teemed with life and I saw what they were doing astrally, for, reflected in the vapour, were the activities of their astral bodies» — en su segunda salida, lo que Brooks dice ver sobre unos niños dormidos: un vapor donde se reflejaba su actividad astral.

«Through the connecting link, or cord, to their heads, these children were able to record their astral experiences as dreams, and remember them, according to their capacity, next day.’» — y la explicación del sueño que ella deriva de ahí: el cordón registraría las experiencias astrales y permitiría recordarlas.

«Like Muldoon, Mrs Garrett, Dr Leaf, etc., she considered that ‘astral travelling is done by everybody, though few are aware of» — la generalización que Crookall recoge de cinco testigos a la vez: todos viajarían astralmente, y pocos lo saben.

«Mrs Larsen (My Travels in the Spirit World) whose accounts of the out-of-the-body experiences were published in 1927 by The Tuttle Co., Rutland, U.S.A., said, ‘I have no doubt that what I have experienced is real, very real. Nothing in all my life has made such a lasting and vivid impression upon my mind.» — del caso número 56, el de Caroline D. Larsen, publicado en 1927, con la certeza de la testigo por delante.

«This case was given in Proc. S.P.R. (vii, p. 41) and in Myers’s Human» — del caso número 50, el de S. R. Wilmot, con doble procedencia: las actas de la S.P.R. y el Human Personality de Myers.

«Personality (I, p. 682). Wilmot sailed from Liverpool to New York, encountering a great storm.» — y la situación de partida: una travesía de Liverpool a Nueva York con temporal.

«Dr Hodgson got into touch with Mr and Mrs Wilmot and with Wilmot’s sister (who was on the ship with Mr Wilmot» — la cadena de testigos que la S.P.R. levantó alrededor del caso, incluida la hermana que iba a bordo.

«if her exteriorized hand touched photographic plates that were wrapped in opaque paper, finger-like impressions appeared on the plates. Such phenomena indicate radio-activity in the trance-state (see, e.g., Ceasare Lombroso’s After Death—What?, T. Fisher Unwin, 1909).» — y las placas fotográficas envueltas en papel opaco, con la fuente que lo publicó; Crookall concluye actividad radiante en el estado de trance.

«Had I not risen into the air and remained floating above my discarded body, even as a bird rises into the sky and remains circling round a point?» — la correspondencia que el propio testigo propone entre su experiencia y el jeroglífico egipcio del pájaro para el alma.

«On July 25, 1939, as I lay in bed, I felt the same rushing sensation» — la fecha con que la testigo del caso 53 encabeza otra de sus salidas.

«inside me, but that time I was moving upwards, not downwards. Then everything was blotted out for a while [cf. Statement No. 9]. Then I found myself flying through space. I seemed to have a companion. A voice said, “Where to2” and I answered, “Paris.” I was not afraid, but before I reached my destination I lost consciousness again.» — esta vez el movimiento es hacia arriba, con el destino pedido en voz alta y la consciencia que se apaga antes de llegar.

«body dream that there was a bomb-shell thrown in front of me. ... When the men threw down a plank I made it dream that a bomb had burst and cut open my face. This woke me.» — el método con que Varley despierta a su propio cuerpo: hacerle soñar que estalla una bomba.

«Helen Brooks (Prediction, 1949, 1950) had several exteriorizations.» — del caso número 55, el de Helen Brooks, publicado en Prediction en dos entregas.

«I was mystified that there was no rent in the eiderdown. It dawned on me that I was exteriorizing. My astral legs were waving backwards and forwards. Then I glided up to the ceiling. When I got perturbed, I immediately lost consciousness and found myself back in bed.’» — y lo que la hace caer en la cuenta: el edredón intacto por el que asomaban las piernas de su doble; al inquietarse, vuelve.

«Through force of habit I went through the motions of turning on the electric light, which, of course, I did not actually turn on» — en el caso 56, el gesto por costumbre que no surte efecto: la testigo va a encender la luz y no la enciende.

«But there was no need for illumination, for from my body and face emanated a strong whitish light that lighted up the room brilliantly’» — y por qué no le hacía falta, según ella: de su propio cuerpo y su cara salía una luz blanquecina.

«Mrs Larsen walked downstairs, but a ‘spirit’ ordered her back into her Physical Body. When she awoke to the physical world she learned that what she had ‘heard’ agreed to the smallest detail with what had actually transpired.» — el elemento comprobable del caso: lo que dice haber oído desde fuera coincidió al detalle con lo ocurrido.

«Her account includes a reference to the ‘silver cord’; she said, ‘a current of mysterious influence united astral and Physical Body’» — y cómo nombra el cordón esta testigo, sin llamarlo así: una corriente de influencia misteriosa.

«Sigrid Kaeyer’s account was given in I was in the Spirit, Rider & Co. Ltd. A Bachelor of Music and a member of the Church of England, Miss Kaeyer said that she had read no books on mysticism or spiritualism.» — del caso número 57, el de Sigrid Kaeyer: título en música, anglicana, y sin lecturas de misticismo ni espiritismo.

«Iam glad that such is the case, for in my mind, anyway, my experience is all the more trustworthy, since it has not been coloured by anything I have read.» — la testigo convierte esa ignorancia en argumento propio: hace su experiencia más fiable por no estar teñida de lecturas.

«Her ‘absolute honesty, sincerity and deep spiritual nature is vouchsafed for by her pastor.» — la credencial que Crookall le adjunta al testimonio, y de quién viene.

«As my bodily senses become dulled, I begin to live in another body, which seems to take flight. I have a sense of lightness and of ascension [cf. Statement No. 9]. With that comes the consciousness of contact with cosmic power.» — cómo describe Kaeyer el paso: los sentidos se embotan y ella empieza a vivir en otro cuerpo.

«Indeed, what I see is the only Reality; Everything we see in the physical world is but the shadow of the real» — y la inversión ontológica que declara, remitida por el compilador a san Pablo.

«St Paul was right when he said, “There is a natural [= Psychical] body, and there is a spiritual body” [I Cor. xv, 44]. The Spiritual Body is mine now, and it is for use. It is also the body in which our loved ones dwell. I have seen them again and again.» — la testigo se apoya en la fórmula paulina de los dos cuerpos, la misma que da el vocabulario a todo el libro.

«There is still a connection [= the ‘silver cord’—cf. Statement No. 19] between my two bodies, and I sometimes feel something holding them together. If they were not still united thus, I am sure my Spiritual Body, and therefore my Soul, would not return from these ascensions it makes.» — el cordón en su versión: algo que siente sujetando los dos cuerpos y sin lo cual no volvería.

«Compare this, written by one who has no knowledge of spiritualistic literature, with statements by the supposed dead with regard to the ‘loosening’ of the ‘silver cord’—Statement No. 20]» — y el uso que Crookall le da: viene de quien no ha leído literatura espiritista y coincide con lo que dicen sus muertos sobre el aflojamiento del cordón.

«I seem to be actually passing through death. ... A moment’s blackness [cf. Statement No. 9], then the feeling of letting go something dense and heavy. It is my Physical Body» — en otra salida, la testigo dice atravesar la muerte: un instante de negrura y el soltar algo denso y pesado.

«So, this is death! Oh, death, what a fraud you are! You are the opener of the gate which sets us free. ... There is something greater in life than what is seen and experienced in earthly living. There is a larger life which is our possession now, a new existence which belongs to man in this present world.» — y la conclusión con que lo cierra, que es lo que la compilación va a buscar en cada caso.

«There is one I recognize, my cousin who was afflicted in mind and in body. How lovely she is! Her mind, shut up so long, is now free to think.» — el detalle que más le importa a la testigo: una prima con la mente enferma, allí libre para pensar.

«A friend of Miss Mary Monteith (A Book of True Dreams, Heath Cranton, 1929) was sometimes aware, as he awoke, that he had been traversing different ‘planes’ of consciousness. Similar experiences occurred under nitrous oxide. He carefully observed each ‘plane’ and tried to impress his observations on his memory for future reference.» — del caso número 58, el del amigo médico de Mary Monteith: observaba cada plano y trataba de fijarlo para después.

«Similar experiences occurred under nitrous oxide.» — y un dato que cruza las dos series del libro: al mismo testigo le pasaba también con óxido nitroso.

«On one occasion, when his return to the Physical Body was retarded, like Fox, Muldoon, etc., he had “dual consciousness’: he was not only ‘able to see, to hear and to reason, apparently out of the body’ but was also aware of ‘the familiar surroundings’ of his room» — la consciencia doble, aquí por un regreso retardado: veía y razonaba fuera del cuerpo y a la vez reconocía su habitación.

«Frank Hives (Glimpses into Infinity, John Lane the Bodley Head Ltd., 1931) was having out-of-the-body experiences in 1908, more than twenty years before Muldoon published his account.» — del caso número 59, el de Frank Hives, con el dato de prioridad que a Crookall le sirve de blindaje: sus experiencias son de 1908, veinte años anteriores a Muldoon.

«When I see people whom I know, they do not appear to see me, or to be aware that I am near |cf. Statement No. 28]. But I can see my own body ... and I can hear—or at any rate understand—what people say to each other» — lo que Hives dice poder y no poder en esos viajes: no lo ven, y él ve su propio cuerpo y entiende lo que se habla.

«When I am away on these journeys, anyone seeing my body would think I was dead. ... The sensation is one of gliding away, very slowly at first but gradually gaining speed until I am travelling very fast. At first I speed through darkness, nothing being visible; then there is a feeling of falling» — la secuencia de la salida en su relato: el cuerpo como muerto, el deslizarse que se acelera, la oscuridad y la caída de pies.

«Gradually light begins to show and I am in a thick grey mist, with a mighty wind sweeping past me» — la niebla gris con viento, que Crookall etiqueta con sus tres nombres para la condición intermedia.

«Then I begin to see through the mist, many shapeless forms that appear in front, drift past and vanish again in the white fog. These I see, as they become clearer, have human heads but their bodies tail away into indefiniteness» — y las formas de cabeza humana y cuerpo indefinido que el compilador identifica entre corchetes con cascarones astrales, es decir cadáveres parciales.

«The mists [= the ‘earth-veil’, ‘Hades’ or ‘Greylands’] disappear and there is a bright light all around me [= ‘Paradise’]—though nothing is visible by it» — el paso a la luz, con la reserva que el propio relato trae y que Crookall lee como despertar parcial: hay luz y no se ve nada por ella.

«Having seen the things I came to see (things that may be in the past, in the present, or yet to come), my Doorkeeper [cf. Statement No. 3 regarding ‘deliverers’] bids me return» — quién decide el regreso en este caso: un Doorkeeper que el compilador alinea con su categoría de los liberadores.

«The ground was covered with snow, and I glanced at my tropical kit—bush shirt, khaki shorts and puttie-—and wondered why I did not feel cold.» — el testigo, destinado en Nigeria, se ve con ropa tropical sobre la nieve inglesa; Crookall resuelve la incongruencia como forma de pensamiento.

«I proceeded along a narrow path leading to the main entrance of the church, noticing as I went that my feet left no marks in the snow.» — y el detalle que él mismo registra como prueba de no estar en un cuerpo: sus pies no dejaban huella.

«Look down,” said my Guardian. I did so, and saw the top of a coffin on which was a metal plate; on it was my brother’s name and date of his birth. I knew that he was dead.» — la placa del ataúd con el nombre de su hermano, que es el dato que el caso irá a comprobar.

«this came the return journey through the mist, the rushing wind and drifting wraiths [= ‘astral shells’, seen in ‘Hades’ conditions, exactly as described by Mme d’Espérance» — el viaje de vuelta en el caso 59, con las mismas nieblas y los mismos jirones, que Crookall empareja entre corchetes con otra de sus testigos.

«told my brother officers about my experience, that I was sure my brother was dead, and was buried in Breamore churchyard the day before. I wrote a description and made a plan of what I had seen. The officers signed both.» — y la precaución probatoria que el testigo toma antes de saber nada: cuenta la muerte a sus compañeros y les hace firmar una descripción y un plano.

«Several months later I returned to England and went to stay at Breamore. There I visited the churchyard with my sister and two of the others who had been in the group. I showed them the place where I had passed through the hedge and fence. Following this I walked over the ground my ego had covered, under the guidance of my Doorkeeper, and as we came round the church I saw the grave, over which the grass had by then grown. It was not at that time marked by a headstone, but I went straight to it and indicated that it was my brother’s. And I was quite correct; it was!’» — y la comprobación en el sitio, meses después: fue derecho a una tumba sin lápida y la señaló como la de su hermano.

«With Dr Leaf (What Mediumship Is, Spiritualist Press Ltd., 1938), the exteriorization of the astral body from the physical body does not take place at will.» — del caso número 60, el del Dr Horace Leaf: la exteriorización no le ocurre a voluntad.

«It has always occurred unexpectedly or during sleep, out of which I have awakened to find myself either floating over my physical organism or standing beside it, my body meanwhile lying asleep. Nevertheless, I have always been aware of being out of my physical body.» — y en qué condiciones se le da, según él: sin aviso o durante el sueño, y siempre con conciencia de estar fuera.

«On one occasion I tried to make it speak whilst I was extruded. The effort was quite successful, and I heard my own voice speaking in clear but distant tones. This effort brought me back to normal.» — un experimento que el testigo dice haber hecho desde fuera: hacer hablar a su propio cuerpo, con el efecto de devolverlo a él.

«This, you will observe, is one of the characteristics of telepathy and clairvoyance. The telepathic thought finds the person to whom it is “projected” wherever he may be, and similarly, the clairvoyant locates the person who is the subject of the vision’» — y el paralelo que él mismo traza con la telepatía y la clarividencia, que en este libro es justamente la explicación rival.

«In Dr Leaf’s experience, ‘Surprisingly few ever experience complete separation of the two bodies; and when that has occurred, it has usually been unexpected. Mostly it has been accompanied by catalepsy, either before or after, but generally before.» — una frecuencia declarada con su cuantificador: pocos llegan a la separación completa, casi siempre inesperada y precedida de catalepsia.

«Partial extrusion does not deprive the individual of his normal awareness and he functions through his brain the whole time, although the tendency in some instances is towards unconscious trance» — y la extrusión parcial, que no quita la conciencia normal porque el sujeto sigue funcionando por el cerebro.

«The indications of partial extrusion are a feeling as if falling downward, forward, backwards or sideways, or of being elevated above the Physical Body |cf. Statement No. 9]. Another frequent feeling is that of swaying to and fro whilst in the Physical Body» — los signos por los que Leaf dice reconocerla: caída en cualquier dirección, elevación, o balanceo dentro del cuerpo.

«When the separation of the two bodies is complete, and the individual fully aware of it, he may notice a cord-like connexion between them, stretching from head to head. This is the “psychic cord” or “psychic umbilical cord” le Statement No. 19]. It supplies vitality from the astral to the physical body» — su descripción del cordón, de cabeza a cabeza, con la función que le adjudica: llevar vitalidad del cuerpo astral al físico.

«The Astral Body [here = vehicle of vitality or ‘body-veil’] not only exists during life-time, but continues to exist after death; not, it is maintained, indefinitely, but as long as the physical organism exists. According to some, it disintegrates step by step with the coarser body. It is therefore, conceivable, that it may retain vitality for a short time after physical death and, during that period, make an appearance”.» — la tesis que sostiene sobre la duración de ese cuerpo, dicha con las reservas de quien reporta opiniones ajenas: duraría lo que dure el organismo físico, y según algunos se desintegraría con él.

«As a relief from these studies, the present writer, on one occasion, turned to a book of adventure. This is what he found.» — una de las pocas veces que el compilador se pone en escena: dice haber tomado un libro de aventuras para descansar de estos estudios.

«A Latvian, Fred Rebell (Escape to the Sea, Youth Book Club Lid., 1951) was a sceptic of twenty-five years standing. He became a firm believer as a result of certain ‘dreams’ that clearly included out-of-the-body experiences. These occurred while he was sailing across the world, alone, in a small boat.» — y lo que halló, que es el caso número 61: un escéptico de veinticinco años convertido por unos sueños en plena travesía a solas.

«Rebell obviously had no knowledge of psychic matters, though he does not specifically say so.» — Crookall marca aquí el límite de su propia inferencia: da por sentado que el testigo no sabía de estas cosas, y admite que el testigo no lo dice.

«I dreamed one night that I was floating in the air above the dark ocean. I knew myself to be roughly a hundred miles to the N.N.E. of my boat’s present position. There on the ocean, on the dark water below me, I saw a curious hull which I took to be a derelict. As I looked at it, the light increased and I made it out to be a ship with a stumpy mast and the Captain’s bridge aft resembling a hen-coop.» — el sueño del casco a la deriva, con los detalles que después servirán para el cotejo.

«This was no mere dveaty since Rebell continued, “The next morning, as I took my first peep outside my berth, I saw, about a mile ahead, the very duplicate of the ship I had dreamed about. She looked like a steamer, but there was no smoke coming from her stack. I wondered if she was in fact a derelict. But no: she was moving. It was not till I drew closer that I was able to make her out to be a diesel-engined freighter with a deck-cargo of timber. ... Never till that moment had I passed a ship of any kind on the high seas. ... At the time I dreamed of this steamer she was far below the horizon, and it was not till next day that our paths crossed.’» — y el cotejo mismo: al día siguiente aparece el barco, y el testigo subraya que nunca antes se había cruzado con uno; la capa de texto corrompe la frase del compilador.

«If dreams like this mean that the soul wanders from the body, it is a curious fact that the soul nevertheless remains clearly conscious of just where the body is at the time.’» — la anomalía que el propio testigo señala sin resolverla: el alma que se aleja sabe exactamente dónde quedó el cuerpo.

«Others who are conscious when exteriorized from the physical bodies realized“that it was this feature which carried sensory stimuli from the Physical Body to the ‘soul’ (which uses the Psychical Body) and ideas, observations, etc. from the ‘soul’ to the Physical Body, so that there is awareness of two bodies and of two corresponding environments.» — cómo la formula: el cordón llevaría estímulos del cuerpo al alma e ideas del alma al cuerpo, y de ahí la conciencia de dos cuerpos y dos entornos.

«But there was something mysterious about the scene: for though I could see the bellied sail, I could feel no breeze; though I could see the rippling ocean, I eould not hear the wavelets lapping.» — las incongruencias sensoriales que Rebell registra —vela hinchada sin brisa, olas sin sonido—, del tipo que Crookall valora como observación crítica.

«I cannot say how long I tarried in this state of happiness: all I know is I wanted to remain there for ever [cf. Statement No. 8]. But consciousness was stealing upon me that I could not do so as yet. Some bond [the ‘silver-cord’] seemed to hold me to an earthly existence: I felt that I had still something to do in the world.» — la renuencia a volver y el motivo del regreso, dichos otra vez en los mismos términos que en los demás casos.

«Originally a sceptic, Lester eventually concluded that sleep differs from death chiefly in that ‘the astral cord’ remains attached.» — y la tesis con que salió: entre el sueño y la muerte la diferencia principal sería que el cordón sigue puesto.

«During early experiences he had difficulty in distinguishing between ‘real astral travel’ and ‘mere dreams’. Later he distinguished them by two criteria: in astral travel events occur in proper sequence and the details are so vivid that they remain almost permanently in the memory; dream-memories, on the other hand, are ‘always confused’ and tend to fade on waking.» — los dos criterios con que dice haber aprendido a separar el viaje astral del sueño: secuencia correcta y recuerdo que no se borra.

«Most of Lester’s out-of-the-body experiences took place “on our own’ (earth) plane but in some he visited his (deceased) wife in the ‘etheric world’ [here = ‘Paradise’ conditions]. He ‘co-operated’ with her in ‘rescue work’» — lo que dice hacer en ellas: acompañar a su esposa muerta en trabajo de rescate, que es una categoría del libro.

«Part of his wife’s duties were said to consist in helping people who, having been suddenly killed in accidents, ‘did not realize where they were’» — y en qué consiste ese trabajo según ella: ayudar a los muertos de accidente, que no se dan cuenta de dónde están.

«While many people (of average type) who die naturally in old age fail, at first, to realize that they have shed the Physical Body, this applies to most people (of average type) whose death is enforced. The latter require special help and this is often most effectively given by others who are newly-dead]» — el corchete donde Crookall gradúa esa afirmación con su propia estadística de casos: es raro en la muerte natural y frecuente en la forzada.

«His wife told him that when she took him beyond the ‘astral’ plane [here = ‘Hades’ conditions] to her own world ['etheric’ here = ‘Paradise’ conditions] it involved much preliminary work by way of ‘thinning’ the density of his Psychical Body lin communicators’ terms, ‘raising his vibrations’ ]» — y el requisito técnico que la comunicante le puso, traducido por el compilador a su vocabulario: adelgazar la densidad del cuerpo psíquico.

«Whether or not, therefore,’ she continued, “what I have seen and heard corresponds to the visions and» — la testigo del caso 57 se abstiene por delante: no sabe si lo suyo coincide con lo de otros.

«revelations of others, I do not know. Nor do I know whether what I get agrees with doctrinal beliefs. It makes no great difference so far as I am concerned; there must be more of truth than what is set forth in theological treatises.’» — ni con doctrina alguna, y declara que le da igual: para ella hay más verdad que la de los tratados teológicos.

«People, people, a new world of people.» — lo que Kaeyer dice encontrar al otro lado.

«alive; they are real beings! Absolutely no difference from the human world; at least, none that I can see» — y el rasgo que Crookall indexa como su declaración 11: aquello no se distingue del mundo humano, al menos para ella.

«I moved a little nearer so that I was close to my sister who was one of the group. I spoke to her but she took no notice; nor did any of the others show that» — el grupo junto al tejo, con su hermana entre ellos, y la invisibilidad de siempre.

«A month later all the details were confirmed in a letter from my sister in England. My brother had returned to England from New Zealand quite unexpectedly, and had gone to stay for a few days at Breamore» — la confirmación que llega un mes después: el hermano había vuelto de Nueva Zelanda sin avisar y estaba en casa de la hermana.

«From this he had died, a fortnight later, and had been buried in Breamore churchyard on the same day that my ego had been present at the funeral.» — y el cierre del cotejo: murió de neumonía y lo enterraron el mismo día en que el testigo dice haber asistido al entierro.

«is that of floating by a mere effort of the will’, and that, ‘the individual may be quite unaware of the direction in which he wished to travel, yet will find himself in the right place.’» — la regla de desplazamiento que formula el testigo del caso 60: se flota por voluntad, y se llega aunque no se sepa la dirección.

«Dr Leaf pointed out that “astral projection” is the best explanation of some apparitions of the “living”» — y para qué la usa: explicar las apariciones de vivos, y sobre todo las del momento de morir.

«In this connexion, it may be said that Rebell’s description of a subsequent ‘dream’ indicates why this is possible. In this latter experience he was aware of the presence of the ‘silver cord’» — Crookall propone una explicación para esa anomalía, apoyándose en un segundo sueño del mismo testigo donde sí aparece el cordón.

«carried in the hands of some very powerful friendly being: but I could not see him» — el acompañante invisible en el relato de Rebell, que el compilador alinea con Muldoon y Fox.

«For my body seemed to be garbed in a sort of a night-shirt from which came a faint light» — la prenda luminosa con que el testigo se ve vestido.

«which there spread downwards, in the direction I had come from, a thin, slightly wavy and speckled, luminous ribbon» — y el cordón en su versión: una cinta luminosa, ondulada y moteada, que baja hacia donde quedó el cuerpo.

«described out-of-the-body experiences in his In Search of the Hereafter (Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1952).» — del caso número 62, el del teniente coronel Reginald M. Lester, periodista y fundador de una asociación eclesial de estudios psíquicos, en su libro de 1952.

«suddenly she would collapse in my arms as though stricken with sickness.’» — el enigma del caso 62: la esposa muerta se desploma enferma en el país luminoso donde el testigo la visita.

«She told him that the ‘picture’ of illness was ‘flashed across’ his sub-conscious mind ‘at the impact of waking’.» — y la explicación que ella misma le dio, con su propia imagen del destello al despertar.

«This may be true, but it is not an explanation. In view of numerous psychic communications, an actual reason is suggested.» — Crookall la rechaza sin descalificarla, en una fórmula que vale para todo el libro: puede ser cierto y no es una explicación.

«It should be noted that the remembrance of the illness which caused his wife’s transition came to him after a period in the Psychical Body and just before he entered his Physical Body, that is, during a brief period of consciousness in the “body-veil’. In other words, Lt.-Col. Lester’s experience was an example of the ‘taking-on’, by psychics, of the illness-symptoms (etc.) of their communicators.» — y la suya, apoyada en el momento en que ocurre: sería el fenómeno por el que un psíquico toma los síntomas de su comunicante.

«This well-known phenomenon seems to be due to a communicator in ‘Paradise’ conditions contacting the vehicle of vitality and memory, the ‘body-veil’, (the organ of detailed memory) of the psychic, which contact vivifies certain memory-traces of the deceased, causing certain experiences to be ‘remembered’ by both communicator and psychic.» — el mecanismo que propone, dicho como lo que parece: el comunicante toca el velo corporal del psíquico, que es órgano de memoria, y vivifica trazas del difunto.

«The phenomenon is related to the vivification, by a medium, of the memory-traces in ‘astral shells’, the effect being to simulate truncated communications. The latter is, of course, the basis of the ‘Mindlet’ or ‘Psychic Factor’ Theory.» — y lo empareja con la teoría rival que conoce y nombra: la del Mindlet o Factor Psíquico, que explica las comunicaciones por trazas de memoria de un cadáver astral.

«Here the medium unconsciously ‘reads’ the memory-traces of an astral corpse: in the ‘taking-on’ of symptoms (as in Lester’s case), he ‘reads’ the memory-traces of the non-physical body actually in use by a discarnate -person. Lester’s account is, therefore, highly evidential.» — la distinción con que la contesta: en un caso el médium lee un cadáver astral y en el otro el cuerpo que una persona descarnada está usando.

«A second interesting feature mentioned is that his (deceased) wife reported that, during his earlier ‘astral’ visits, when the time arrived that he must return to his Physical Body, he ‘vanished’ suddenly. Later she noted that, just as he was about to ‘vanish’ in this manner, the ‘colours’ of his ‘etheric body’ began to dim and fade away.» — el segundo dato que retiene del caso: la comunicante notó que los colores del cuerpo etérico se apagaban justo antes de que él desapareciera.

«Although he did not see the implication of his wife’s observation, it seems clear in relation to what is said in numerous psychic communications: the increasing influence of the Physical on the Psychical Body reduced the ‘vibrations’ (and consequently the brilliance of the latter) until it was quenched as it re-entered the Physical Body. Lester’s Psychical Body, visible to his wife so long as it was exteriorized from his Physical Body, became dim as he approached it, and disappeared as they coincided.» — y por qué le importa que el testigo no viera lo que su observación implicaba: la influencia del cuerpo físico baja las vibraciones hasta apagar el otro cuerpo.

«Costa made the interesting observation that his mother’s Psychical Body (which was at some distance from her Physical Body) was luminous, but his own (which was near to its physical-counterpart) did not glow.» — el mismo efecto medido en dos cuerpos a la vez por otro testigo: el doble lejano brillaba, el cercano no.

«Matters which are either misunderstood or only partially understood by an author, his communicator, or both, and yet which are concordant with the general philosophy of communications may have additional significance on that account: they are ‘pointers’ to the truth.» — una regla de crítica de fuentes que Crookall enuncia aquí y aplica en todo el libro: lo que el testigo no entiende y aun así concuerda con el resto vale más, no menos.

«Frank Lind (My Occult Case Book, Rider & Co. Ltd.) gave the experience of a woman which was earlier published in Prediction, Sept. 1950.» — del caso número 63, el de Miss *W.S.*, que llega a Crookall por un libro que a su vez lo tomó de una revista.

«Here exteriorization was caused by fear. In Muldoon’s terminology, her Physical Body was ‘incapacitated’ but her Psychical Body was not.)» — la causa que Crookall le adjudica con el vocabulario de Muldoon: cuerpo físico incapacitado y psíquico no.

«She patted the ceiling several times ‘in order to fix upon her mind that she had been able to do it’ (i.e., she sought experimental evidence that she was exteriorized from the Physical Body).» — la testigo palpa el techo para fijarlo en la memoria, lo que el compilador lee como búsqueda de prueba experimental.

«So strong was the impression that, although she knew it was absurd to try, she endeavoured to touch the ceiling the next day» — y el resto que le quedó: intentó tocarlo al día siguiente sabiendo que era absurdo.

«Mr Lind considered, first, that she was exteriorized from the Physical Body in her ‘double’ (a conclusion with which we would agree); secondly, that she had continued to dream while thus out of her Physical Body in her ‘double’.» — Crookall separa las dos conclusiones de su fuente y las trata por separado.

«We suggest, however, that the image of her mother as in her last illness, was not a dream but was due to the (deceased) mother impressing her presence on her daughter and incidentally contacting the latter’s ‘body-veil’: this process caused a partial review of the last illness in both their minds.» — acepta la primera y discrepa de la segunda, con su propia hipótesis: no era un sueño, sino la madre muerta tocando el velo corporal de la hija.

«Mr F. C. Sculthorp informs me (in litt.) that, when exteriorized, he ‘visited’ places both on earth and in ‘astral’ spheres, pleasant and other» — del caso número 64, el de F. C. Sculthorp, recibido por carta.

«At first the astral body left the Physical Body vibrating as if being drawn over a corrugated surface.’» — la vibración de la salida en su versión, comparada con arrastrarse sobre una superficie corrugada.

«A third point of similarity is that Mr Sculthorp described his ‘astral’ body as leaving the earth ‘at a tangent’ [Einarsson, Hout, Rebell, Mrs Parker, ‘Betty’ and all others who mentioned the direction of its movement said it was ‘oblique’, ‘spiral’, etc., never vertical]» — y una regularidad que Crookall dice medida sobre todos los que mencionaron la dirección: la salida es oblicua o en espiral, nunca vertical.

«Like Turvey, Lind, Mrs Jeffrey, Zoila Stables, Mrs Joy, Yram, etc. Mr Sculthorp found that his total non-physical body was divisible. On two occasions it was ‘made into two distinct bodies’ and he found himself looking at himself.» — la divisibilidad del cuerpo no físico, que Crookall documenta con seis testigos independientes.

«This experience gave him ‘the impression that the etheric body could be made into several complete bodies, according to advancement, each body capable of awareness and activity on its own plane and always connected to a central body’.» — y hasta dónde llega el testigo con ella, dicho como impresión suya: varios cuerpos completos, cada uno activo en su plano y unidos a uno central.

«I at once realized that she could see the “silver cord” that went from my head to my Physical Body on earth.» — el detalle con que el testigo explica el interés de los descarnados por él: le veían el cordón saliéndole de la cabeza.

«As with Muldoon, Mrs Leonard, Helen Brooks, Varley, etc., strong emotion caused Mr Sculthorpe to re-interiorize. The operative emotion with Muldoon was fear: that with Fox was love. Sculthorp’s return was due to annoyance.» — Crookall reúne aquí las emociones que devuelven al cuerpo en cada testigo, y son distintas: miedo, amor, enojo.

«His explanation is that, “There seems to be a law that does not allow the feeling of annoyance in the etheric body’.» — la explicación del testigo, en forma de ley.

«But it seems more likely that the cause of return lies in the nature of the emotions while one is exteriorized but still connected with a Physical Body—that emotions are near-physical, or ‘semi-physical’, in nature.» — y la del compilador, dicha como lo más probable: las emociones del exteriorizado serían semifísicas.

«Discomfort in the Physical Body is registered in the same part of the Etheric [here = Psychical] Body through the connecting ‘silver cord’. This I experienced when talking to a soldier, an acquaintance while on earth, in the ‘astral’. I felt an increasing numbness in my right arm and knew that my Physical Body in bed was overlaying an arm. I tried to dismiss the feeling, but the discomfort became so great that I told the soldier that I must go. Concentrating, I returned to my body, sat up in bed and rubbed my right arm.’» — la consciencia doble contada como incidente: el brazo entumecido en la cama lo obliga a despedirse del interlocutor y volver.

«He also made an interesting point when he said that, when exteriorized, consciousness is, in general, more vivid than ordinarily, but that in his case, ‘consciousness is not even and regular (as on earth), but seems to wax and wane according to the life-force reaching it through the astral cord’» — y la irregularidad que este testigo declara y otros confirman: la consciencia fuera del cuerpo crece y mengua con la fuerza vital que llega por el cordón.

«Again Lind pointed out that the symbols for the shedding of the Physical Body include ‘dreams’ of falling out of a cart, of floating through a doorway and of floating through an open window.» — los símbolos que Lind repertoria para el desprendimiento del cuerpo físico.

«a constant preliminary to loss of consciousness is the symbolic passing through a pitch-dark tunnel’» — y el que declara constante: el túnel a oscuras.

«Mr Lind also said, “Fright invariably exerts a sharp pull upon the cord’.» — más la regla del susto, que en este libro se repite en boca de casi todos.

«One of Lind’s correspondents wrote, ‘I was in a narrow, dimly-lit passage ... [= ‘tunnel’ = the Physical Body], down both sides of which was a row of black doors. A child’s dress came flying through the air towards me. It got wrapped around my head, but I threw it off and drifted out through the doors into an empty room where I sank on the floor’.» — el sueño de un corresponsal del caso 65, con el pasillo de puertas negras que el compilador lee entre corchetes como el propio cuerpo físico.

«Lind commented, ‘When this lady reached the room and fell down, she had, as Mr Fox allegorically expresses it, forced her “incorporeal self through the doorway of the pineal gland’.» — y la lectura de Lind, que toma prestada la alegoría de Fox: forzar el yo incorpóreo por la puerta de la glándula pineal.

«The impression that something like a child’s dress got wrapped around her head, was produced by the final effort of her exteriorized consciousness to detach itself completely from the physical brain» — el vestido infantil enredado en la cabeza, explicado como el último esfuerzo por desprenderse del cerebro físico.

«Astral projection may be caused by the brain remaining active while the Physical Body is exhausted. Sometimes one thinks one hears a sharp snap as the “double” interlocks with the latter’» — y la causa que Lind propone, dicha como posibilidad: el cerebro activo con el cuerpo agotado, con el chasquido del reingreso.

«Some men, while ‘out’, can, while others cannot, be seen in a mirror: some can, and some cannot, pass through walls, etc.» — Crookall enuncia la variación sin resolverla: unos se ven en el espejo y otros no, unos atraviesan paredes y otros no.

«When ‘out’, Yram once received a slap in the face. Apparently it did not affect his Physical Body. However, a correspondent of Lind’s, when ‘out’ received a similar blow that did affect his Physical Body and the mark could be seen for days.» — y el par de casos que la agudizan: una bofetada recibida fuera del cuerpo que no dejó rastro, y otra que dejó marca visible durante días.

«The ‘repercussion’ in ‘materializations’ and in witchcraft are clearly of a similar nature. The differences here noted are presumably due to the different densities in the total non-physical body (or to ‘layers’ of the latter) as projected, either by different people, or by one and the same person at different times. They are among the indications that the non-physical body is objective and that it is not simple but consists of components of various densities.» — la explicación que propone para la diferencia, con su cuantificador: densidades distintas del cuerpo no físico, lo que además probaría que no es simple.

«As the astral body is the servant of suggestion, objects take shape or dissolve in obedience to every play of fancy.» — la regla de la ideoplastia según Lind: los objetos toman forma o se deshacen al capricho de la fantasía.

«One does not enjoy it until one has overcome the breathless astonishment first felt at being lifted off one’s feet and “carried away’’, as by some forceful emotion, which it is one’s instinctive urge to resist: that, of course, brings one’s “double’’ rushing back into its material sheath.’» — la ligereza de vilano y el reflejo que la arruina: resistirse al ser arrebatado devuelve el doble a su vaina material.

«One night Lind ‘travelled, with breathless swiftness, through houses, shops, lamp-posts, etc.’ to a friend’s house a mile away but was invisible to anyone there.» — el viaje de Lind a casa de un amigo, sin ser visto por nadie.

«We have referred above to claims that the total non-physical body or ‘double’ consists of a series of progressively subtler components (or alternatively, that man is equipped with a series of successively subtler ‘bodies’).» — el compilador plantea la pluralidad de cuerpos como dos formulaciones alternativas, sin escoger.

«This plurality of bodies is mentioned independently by Turvey, Bennett, Yram, Mrs Jeffrey, Mrs I. M. Joy, Mr Sculthorp, Zoila Stables, etc., and we find it given (without mention of these similar cases or of its significance in connexion with the bodily constitution of the observer) by Mr Lind.» — y el argumento con que la sostiene: siete testigos la mencionan por separado, y el último sin advertir su alcance.

«Or more correctly, it moved in a series of connected pictures as if revolving on the surface of an immense oval-shaped bubble.» — y en qué forma se le presentaba: cuadros encadenados sobre la superficie de una burbuja ovalada.

«Strangely enough consciousness seemed to have shifted from one centre to another more remote; that is to say, out of the Physical Body to one more in contact with the dream phenomena, but still not within the film-like oval reflecting them» — el desplazamiento del centro de consciencia que el testigo describe, y que el compilador identifica con parte del velo corporal.

«The auric oval swayed with the beats of my heart. ... It responded to the pulsations of my heart in the manner of an air-balloon on the jerks of a hand holding it by a thread.» — el óvalo áurico latiendo con el corazón, comparado por el testigo con un globo tironeado por un hilo.

«And I soon became aware that the closer I fixed my attention upon the bubble, the nearer the centre of my consciousness moved towards it— and out of the physical; so I concluded that, with sufficient concentration, I might become fully conscious inside, and not outside, the dream-world of which I was viewing certain faint and shifting reflections.’» — y la conclusión que saca, en condicional: con bastante concentración podría entrar del todo en ese mundo onírico.

«Mrs E. F. Sheridan informed me (in litt.) that she has had exteriorizations that were usually assisted by discarnates [cf. Statement No. 3 regarding ‘deliverers’]. In one, she saw her (deceased) brother (cf. Statement No. 18]. In another she saw her Physical Body (looking down on it from somewhere about the ceiling) [cf. Statement No. 17]. Fear then caused re-interiorization.» — del caso número 66, el de Mrs E. F. Sheridan, recibido por carta, con las categorías del libro puestas encima por el compilador.

«I hated leaving the “heavenly” condition to take up earth-life again.’» — y la renuencia a volver, dicha por ella.

«Like others who claim to have had such experiences, she was ‘conscious of physical things actually present in the room, things that could not have been visible unless one was out of the body, because of the complete absence of ordinary light.’» — el elemento comprobable que Crookall retiene: veía cosas de la habitación que sin luz no podían verse.

«Mrs Roberts informed the author that she had read no books whatever on this subject. The experience came as a complete surprise.» — del caso número 67, el de Peggy Roberts, otra vez con la ignorancia previa por delante.

«Since my first experience I have read of other cases, but I have never met anyone who could understand what I meant when I told them about it.» — y el aislamiento que la testigo declara: nadie a su alrededor entendía de qué hablaba.

«After this sort of thing had happened a few times I saw a book called The Projection of the Astral Body by Muldoon and Carrington. The descriptions given were almost identical to my own experiences.» — el reconocimiento que la testigo hace del libro de Muldoon y Carrington después de sus propias salidas, no antes.

«Projection begins when I am dozing: a kind of whirring begins in my head, and I know I am “off”. It is as if I am floating over strange countrysides and cities. So far I have never met any other beings on my travels.» — cómo describe sus viajes, con una negativa que la aparta de casi todos los demás casos: nunca encontró a nadie.

«Projection is quite different from ordinary dreaming. It has taught me belief in life after death. Before, I always thought this the only life.» — y el efecto sobre su creencia, que es lo que la compilación busca caso por caso.

«Enough,” I cried, and stopped a foot from the ceiling. Looking down, I saw my Physical Body lying on the bed [cf. Statement No. 17]. I also noticed a silver light [the ‘silver cord’— cf. Statement No. 19] between me and my body. A bluish light seemed to permeate everything; everything seemed alive, glowing and pulsating.» — la testigo se detiene por orden propia y describe la luz azulada que lo animaba todo.

«Wishing myself back, I felt what was like a violent push in the chest. It then felt like slipping into a coat, and I found myself back in my body.» — y el regreso, con el empujón en el pecho y la sensación de meterse en un abrigo.

«It is, the writer considers, correspondences such as these that indicate that these people were, in fact, outside their Physical Bodies in an objective ‘astral’ body. Such converse descriptions cannot be explained as images.» — el corchete donde Crookall convierte esas comparaciones en su prueba: los símiles inversos de salir y entrar, en testigos distintos, no se explicarían como imágenes.

«On the other hand, the fact that a percipient claims to see the projected person is not, by itself, evidence that he was there in a non-physical body. The percipient might be psychic and see a ‘thought-form’, etc.]» — y el límite que se pone a sí mismo en la misma nota: que alguien vea al proyectado no prueba por sí solo que estuviera allí en un cuerpo.

«Asked if she thought she might be dreaming, Mrs Boorman replied ‘No—because it was more real than the matter of this world in which we dwell’» — la respuesta de la testigo a la objeción del sueño, en la forma en que se repite en todo el libro.

«Is it a cord? To me it’s just a stream of light. I take no notice of it, coming from behind. I should say it is joined to the head.’» — y su reserva sobre el propio término: para ella no es un cordón sino un chorro de luz, y ni siquiera lo mira.

«Mrs H. W. Jeffrey Sr., of Rockdale, New York, who furnished me with the following particulars of her experiences, knew practically nothing of psychical matters.» — del caso número 69, el de Mrs Howard W. Jeffrey, con la medida de cuánto sabía: prácticamente nada.

«Walking on the edge of a pond with thick mud, my boots were quite» — la incongruencia que registra el testigo del caso 64: caminó por el lodo espeso y las botas le quedaron limpias, para su sorpresa.

«seems to be that the pond and mud were physical but the ‘boots’ in which Mr Sculthorp ‘walked’ were mental images or ‘thought-forms’]» — y la explicación de Crookall entre corchetes: el charco era físico y las botas una forma de pensamiento.

«suggestion: it was that since fear tends to involve the idea of flight, to experience that emotion while exteriorized, tends to cause concealment by interiorization.» — una tercera explicación del regreso, de otra corresponsal, que Crookall reproduce como sugerencia: el miedo lleva a huir, y huir estando fuera sería esconderse dentro.

«The “room” in which the dreamer was “trapped” was a corporeal prison. She was not the first to escape from those symbolical enemies—warders, comprising» — del caso número 65, el de Frank Lind, leyendo el sueño de una corresponsal: el cuarto donde está atrapada es el cuerpo, y los enemigos son carceleros.

«the lower emotions [fear, anger, sensuality] which would prevent the “double” from leaving its narrow cell [others use such terms as ‘prison’ and ‘cage’|—through that slightly open “window”? (in reality, the head)’» — y qué son esos carceleros según él: las emociones bajas que impiden salir de la celda estrecha, por una ventana que sería la cabeza.

«It is this ready response to suggestion while out in the ‘double’ which, for the beginner, is the cause of fright.» — la consecuencia práctica de la ideoplastia según Lind, que es el aviso al principiante.

«I was definitely awake; yet became aware that I was watching the process» — lo que Lind dice haber conseguido estando despierto: mirar desde fuera cómo se le formaba un sueño.

«Mrs D. E. Boorman ‘had read no books on the subject’. She wrote (in litt.) ‘I was resting in bed. There was first a stillness [= shedding the Physical Body—cf. Statement No. 9]. Then there was a swaying of what I thought» — del caso número 68, el de D. E. Boorman, con la ignorancia previa declarada: primero una quietud y luego un balanceo.

«was my Physical Body [cf. Muldoon, Sculthorp, Wiltse, Miss Addison, etc.] and I rose horizontally above it.» — y el ascenso horizontal, que el compilador alinea con otros cuatro testigos.

«The dread of attack by entities of a peculiar astral type brings them, by the law of attraction, into tempor» — y en qué consiste el peligro que Lind señala: el temor a ser atacado trae por ley de atracción, a existencia temporal, aquello mismo que se teme; la frase se corta en el cambio de plana.

«invited visit to another friend’s house and was afterwards informed that my presence there had been sensed’.» — la excepción a su invisibilidad, con la alternativa que Crookall deja abierta entre corchetes: o el doble estaba más denso o los presentes eran sensibles.

«sit in a chair and the other-me floats out of me. Floating out of the» — cómo describe la salida la testigo del caso 69: un otro-yo que sale flotando de ella.

«body, and re-entering it, is rather like swimming. It does not hurt [cf. Statement No. 7]. I suppose I am aided in leaving my body, but, if so, it is not by anyone on earth. I cannot go out at will, though I know when it is about to take place.» — y el símil con que la nombra, más el límite que declara: no puede salir a voluntad, aunque sabe cuándo va a ocurrir.

«A woman told me that if I left from my middle my heart would stop—but I answered, “How can I get up to my head, when my middle is much closer?”» — en el caso 69, la testigo desatiende una advertencia ajena sobre salir por el vientre con un argumento de comodidad.

«I guess perhaps that when it comes to these matters we do the easiest way for us» — y la regla que propone, dicha como conjetura: cada quien sale por donde le resulta más fácil.

«I watch what goes out of me like white intestines and floats under the door and goes away, and I get from “‘me’’ and leave too.» — lo que la testigo dice ver salir de sí, con una imagen que no viene de ninguna lectura: intestinos blancos que se van por debajo de la puerta.

«These “white intestines’ clearly correspond to (1) the ‘violet gaseous counterpart of the Physical Body’, or ‘pale, greyish heliotrope form’ described by Arnold Bennett; (2) to the substance often seen leaving the bodies of dying men and (3) to that seen emerging from ‘physical’ mediums in trance to form the basis of ‘materializations’. It has been called ectoplasm.» — Crookall lo identifica entre corchetes con tres series de observaciones ajenas y le pone el nombre técnico: ectoplasma.

«Ectoplasm (from the vehicle of vitality) is variously described by supposed discarnates, and by more or less clairvoyant observers of the process of dying, as (1) a ‘vapour’ (‘a pearly vapour’, ‘a thin violet vapour’, ‘a fine luminous vapour’, etc.) a ‘mist’ (‘a deep violet mist’, ‘a light haze or mist’, ‘a mist-like wraith’, etc.) a ‘cloud’ (‘a thick white cloud’, ‘a cloud-like form’, etc.) and a ‘substance’ (‘a curling, shadowy grey substance’, etc.). These are also descriptions of ectoplasm as seen (and photographed) at seances.» — y despliega el repertorio de descripciones —vapor, niebla, nube, sustancia— para mostrar que coinciden con lo fotografiado en sesiones.

«It is remarkable that these accounts agree so closely, yet Mrs Jeffrey had no knowledge of psychic matters (as indeed her narrative shows). She therefore saw part of the vehicle of vitality, or “body-veil’, leave the Physical Body and presumably she saw this (as well as the temporarily discarded Physical Body) from the Psychical Body.]» — el argumento de siempre, aplicado aquí: la coincidencia vale porque la testigo no sabía nada de estas cosas, y su propio relato lo muestra.

«That is, she recognized three ‘bodies’. So did Mrs Joy—‘There must have been three of me’. Others in whose accounts a plurality of bodies is claimed include Miss Stables, and Messrs Yram, Sculthorp, Turvey, and Lind and the anonymous Case No. 37.]» — y la pluralidad de cuerpos otra vez, sostenida sobre seis testigos independientes.

«We can hear all that a mortal gives utterance to through the body, and a good deal that he does not utter through the body, for we hear his thoughts as words.’]» — que Crookall empareja con una comunicación anónima de 1876, cuidando de precisar de qué clase de muertos hablaba.

«The floating-me,’ continued Mrs Jeffrey, ‘is white. It is very happy and knows more than the earth-me could ever know. It talks with those who have “passed over” (cf. Statement No. 18]. I have seen nothing but earth-scenes and people.’» — y el límite que la propia testigo le pone a su experiencia: nunca vio más que escenas y gente de la tierra.

«Mr Wm. E. Edwards (in litt.) informed me that, prior to an exteriorization, he had no knowledge of, or interest in, psychic phenomena and had never heard of the subject of astral projection. He was against such things, since he belonged to a religious sect that took that attitude.» — del caso número 70, el de William E. Edwards: no solo no sabía del asunto, sino que su secta religiosa lo desaprobaba.

«Then I felt the pull of the cord as though it were made of stout elastic. It was pulling from the centre of my forehead» — y una variante del cordón que rompe la regla del libro: a este testigo le tiraba del centro de la frente.

«This,’ said Mr Edwards, ‘was the only occasion on which I have felt the pull of (as it were) a cord. Since then, I have had thousands of experiences of allied phenomena. I have been able at times to leave my body at will, fully conscious, and so to return.» — la frecuencia que declara, con su asimetría: sintió el cordón una sola vez y tuvo después miles de experiencias, algunas a voluntad.

«There are two kinds of projection, one to places on earth, the other to the astral world. The latter has occupied the great majority of my experiences, and I have met and spoken with the “dead” [cf. Statement No. 18] and seen the other worlds, both the great heights and the terrible depths.» — la partición que el testigo hace de sus salidas y adónde dice haber llegado, alturas y profundidades.

«I have been used in giving healing in the sleep-state and also in rescue-operations» — y para qué dice haber servido, que Crookall indexa contra su categoría de la cooperación.

«Almost at once my consciousness was projected into the dining-room of an acquaintance some six miles distant. From the adjoining living-room I could hear this man and his wife, discussing the status of a young man who worked for them, whom they were deciding to discharge. At no time did I actually see those who were talking, but every detail of the dining-room in which I was could be distinctly seen. Later I verified the appearance and arrange» — el comedor de un conocido a diez kilómetros, con el detalle del caso: oyó a la pareja sin verla y verificó después la habitación.

«The result of this experiment was that while I was able vividly to see both the appearance of her home, interior lay-out, the several items of furniture, etc., etc., she was unable to see me, though she declared that she distinctly felt my presence.» — y el resultado, asimétrico: él vio la casa con detalle y ella no lo vio, aunque dijo sentirlo.

«In the latter experiment, immediately after I returned, I wrote a complete description of all I had seen, all of which was verified, with the exception of the direction towards which the house faced.» — con el fallo consignado en la misma frase que el acierto: todo se verificó salvo hacia dónde daba la casa.

«Miss Stables, of Brisbane, wrote (in litt.) ‘My first projection was in my early teens. I had not then heard, nor read, nor had the slightest inkling of projection, or any other psychic subject. We lived then on a small selection in the empty western grazing areas, and were 200 miles from the nearest town.» — del caso número 72, el de Zoila Stables: ignorancia previa y aislamiento geográfico, que en este libro son la misma clase de argumento.

«It was not until thirty years later that I saw Muldoon’s book, The Projection of the Astral Body, I remembered that early flight and set out to experiment according to the instructions given—with some result.’» — y el orden de los hechos, que es lo que a Crookall le importa: la experiencia treinta años antes de leer a Muldoon.

«My method is to imagine the astral body vibrating faster and faster—to imagine it so hard that I can actually feel it.’» — el método que la testigo dice haberse hecho: imaginar el cuerpo astral vibrando cada vez más rápido.

«They are all methods of keeping the attention “at home’, as it were; of keeping the mind alert and focused on its own mental sensations—if that is not a contradiction in terms.» — cómo lee ella los métodos publicados, con su propia reserva sobre si la fórmula se contradice.

«It is just as if the astral body were a train seeking an opportunity to slip away without its passenger—which does seem to be the case, for I find that if I let my attention wander for only a moment, all is lost, and lam asleep.» — y el símil con que explica por qué fallan: basta distraerse un momento para dormirse.

«When, however, I do manage to project by my own efforts, the final sensation before floating free is invariably a jolt in the feet, as if that were the last point to separate. Sometimes it is quite severe, a kind of grinding jerk (not painful), sometimes only a light tap, but always there.» — la constante que declara para sus salidas voluntarias: un tirón en los pies, más o menos fuerte pero siempre presente.

«The ‘dead’ occasionally describe exteriorization by way of the feet.» — que Crookall respalda en una línea desde su otra serie.

«Another very frequent sensation (after getting free this time) is that of going down a long tunnel [= shedding the vehicle of vitality—cf. Miss Blakeley, Miss Peters and Mrs Parker]. ... It is usually going down a creek with high banks, or sometimes down inside a long pergola: but it is too frequent a happening not to have some correspondence with reality.» — el túnel, que aquí toma formas variables —un arroyo entre taludes, una pérgola— y que la testigo tiene por real solo porque se repite.

«Another rule that I have discovered for myself is that if the Physical Body lies on its back, the phantom may go to any height and be in any position but if the Physical Body lies on its side (either side), the phantom floats face downward and only about a foot above the ground. Of course, this may be true only for me.» — una regla postural que la testigo formula y acota en la misma frase: puede valer solo para ella.

«Once, while floating in a horizontal position, I looked down and saw a luminous outline (following the contours of my body), about six inches below me.’» — y el contorno luminoso que dice haber visto debajo, que Crookall lee como indicio de tres cuerpos.

«Mr Jeffrey H. Brown had astral projection experiences since six or seven years of age, but did not recognize them for what they were until the age of thirty. He had neither read any books on the subject nor discussed it with other people until then.» — del caso número 73, el de Jeffrey H. Brown, con la fórmula del libro: las tuvo desde niño y no supo qué eran hasta los treinta.

«He mentioned several features that strongly suggest an actual out-of-the-body experience and not mere clairvoyance or telepathy: they include the cataleptic condition and the ‘silver cord’» — los rasgos por los que Crookall lo considera salida real y no clarividencia ni telepatía: la catalepsia y el cordón.

«Mr Brown gives an example of ‘directed’ projection—‘with the object of assisting spirit helpers’ [= ‘co-operation’—cf. Statement No. 30]» — en el caso 73, una salida que el testigo llama dirigida, con un fin declarado: asistir a ayudantes espirituales.

«Mr Brown then cited a newspaper paragraph describing the accident he ‘saw’ during the night hundreds of miles from his Physical Body.» — el elemento comprobable que Crookall retiene: el testigo aportó el recorte del accidente que dice haber visto.

«I willed myself to move forward in the air, in a horizontal position, feet first [compare Muldoon, Mr ‘H’, etc.] until I was quite clear of the house; then I seemed to change direction, turning over on my face, and moved forward as if swimming.» — cómo describe el desplazamiento, de pies primero y después nadando.

«Very quickly I seemed to find myself moving through what appeared to be a light blue mist which I apparently mistook for water» — la niebla azul que el testigo tomó por agua, y que el compilador cataloga como condición de Hades.

«I recall trying to swim through it, although I was surprised to find that I remained dry.» — con la incongruencia que él mismo advierte: nadaba y seguía seco.

«Climbing out of the “mist”, I looked round and saw groups of people standing about as if waiting for somebody. An atmospheric vibration extended in every direction and the blueness created a feeling of rest and calm.’» — la orilla dorada, los grupos que parecían esperar y la vibración azul que él describe como reposo.

«You have visited the Plane of Healing [compare experiences of Miss Peters and Mrs Cripps]. You must now return.”» — el nombre que la voz le da al sitio, que Crookall cruza con otras dos testigos.

«I have now learned the futility of struggling against the cataleptic condition, for to do so only makes matters worse and the discomfort greater. So now I wait, more or less calmly, for the condition to break naturally.’» — la técnica que el testigo dice haber aprendido para el regreso: no forcejear con la catalepsia y esperar.

«Like Mrs Cripps and others, Mr Brown found that ‘as life on one plane is succeeded by life on another, all our senses become more acute and we are, consequently, more sensitive both to beauty and ugliness’.» — y una regla de agudeza sensorial que Crookall recoge de varios a la vez, con su reverso incluido: más sensibles a lo bello y a lo feo.

«Dr R. B. Hout, a medical man, published an account of his out-of-the-body experiences in Prediction, 1936 and in the National Spiritualist, 1937.» — del caso número 74, el del Dr R. B. Hout, publicado en dos revistas a mediados de los años treinta.

«George, my trusted etheric friend [cf. Statement No. 18] appeared. ... He asked whether I would go with him.» — el acompañante que este testigo nombra, y que Crookall indexa contra su categoría de los liberadores.

«Then I found myself in a new but very natural environment. It was a grove or park [= ‘Paradise’ conditions—cf. Statement No. 26]. And there was George, seated opposite me.» — el entorno que describe, un parque, catalogado por el compilador como condiciones de Paradise.

«Here were my departed friends and here also, was myself, able to function actively there 46 a limited time and in a feeble manner’» — y el límite que el propio testigo pone a su presencia allí: por tiempo limitado y de manera débil.

«Then, as the pull of the body became stronger, I suddenly stiffened in my astral form, assumed a position parallel to and immediately above the physical counterpart, and dropped into it» — el reingreso, con la postura paralela sobre el cuerpo que Crookall alinea con otros cuatro casos.

«These out-of-the-body experiences are real and objective. In them I meet people living in a real world, doing natural things. Until I had my first visit I could not possibly have understood the objectivity of the next world.’» — y la conclusión del testigo, en la forma que interesa a la compilación: solo después de la primera visita entendió que aquello era objetivo.

«Mrs E. J. Garrett (Awareness, Creative Age Press Inc., N.Y., 1943), President of the Parapsychology Foundation Inc., N.Y., is a famous sensitive. She takes an objective and thoroughly scientific attitude towards psychic phenomena.» — del caso número 75, el de Eileen J. Garrett, con el cargo que Crookall le reconoce y el juicio que hace de su actitud.

«Mrs Garrett had out-of-the-body experiences long before she had heard of their existence. Since childhood she had observed the ‘double’, ‘aura’, ‘surround’, ‘astral body’, etc., surrounding living creatures and found it difficult to believe that others were unaware of that feature.» — y el dato de siempre puesto del revés: veía el doble y el aura desde niña y le costaba creer que los demás no.

«I was one day surprised and disturbed to perceive a shadowy replica of myself at some distance in front of me. After observing it for a moment, I rose and attempted to approach it; as I did so, it lost outline and drew back towards me. It was my own “‘surround’’.’» — la testigo se ve a sí misma delante de sí, y llama surround a lo que ve.

«Mrs Garrett told how she had learned when very young, consciously to project a ‘fluid’ part of herself into a tree, a flower, or even a rock.» — lo que dice haber aprendido de niña: proyectar una parte fluida de sí en un árbol, una flor o una piedra.

«As a child she used the ability to dissociate in order to avoid mental pain: when her aunt spoke unkindly she quietly dissociated and, though seeing the aunt’s lips moving, she heard no word.» — y para qué le servía: no oír a una tía que le hablaba con dureza. Es la causa por dolor que Crookall había enunciado como regla.

«When Mrs Garrett projected a ‘double’ involuntarily it was sometimes unable to pass through physical objects, but when she projected a ‘double’ deliberately it could always do so, i.e. as with Yram, etc.» — el hallazgo que Crookall más aprovecha de ella: el doble involuntario a veces no atravesaba objetos y el deliberado siempre sí.

«This indicates that the ‘double’ which is exteriorized by one and the same person may be of different density (according to circumstances)» — y lo que deduce: un mismo sujeto puede exteriorizar dobles de densidad distinta según las circunstancias.

«the conclusion is supported by two other observations: (1) while some (e.g., Gerhardi, Miss Peters) saw their own ‘doubles’ in mirrors, others (e.g., Gibiet’s engraver) did not; and (2) in some few cases (¢.g., Maginot and Lind) ‘repercussion’ can have physical effects, though in most instances the ‘double’ cannot affect physical matter» — con las dos observaciones en que lo apoya, que venía arrastrando desde casos anteriores: el espejo y la repercusión con efectos físicos.

«I never forget the smallest detail of any such experience which has come to me through conscious projection, though in ordinary daily living I can be quite forgetful.» — y el contraste de memoria que ella misma señala entre esas experiencias y la vida diaria.

«In my projected state in that place in Newfoundland, where the experiment was set up, I found myself not only at the place of the experiment, but before I entered the house, I was able to see the garden and the sea, as well as the house I was supposed to enter; I sensed the damp of the atmosphere and saw the flowers growing by the pathway» — el experimento de Terranova: lo que dice haber percibido antes de entrar en la casa, incluida la humedad del aire.

«Speaking aloud and addressing me, he said, ““This will be a successful experiment,” and I, sitting in a New York room, was able to receive this speech, seemingly, through my physical hearing.» — y cómo dice haber recibido la voz del experimentador desde Nueva York.

«I could see the objects on the table, not by means of ordinary sight, but through clairvoyant vision; I then gave a description of what I saw to the note-taker with me in New York.» — la testigo distingue por qué facultad percibe cada cosa, que es justo la distinción que este libro necesita.

«I heard the doctor say, “Make my apologies to the experimenters at your end. I have had an accident and cannot work as well as I had hoped.” I transmitted what I was hearing in Newfoundland to the note-taker in New York, in the exact words which had been spoken to me, and I also described the bandage on the doctor’s head.» — el dato imprevisto que da la vuelta al experimento: el accidente del experimentador y la venda que ella describe.

«This had scarcely been done, when I heard the experimenter in New York comment, in an aside, “This can’t possibly be true, because I had a letter a few days ago and the doctor was quite well then.”» — y la incredulidad inmediata del otro extremo, que la compilación conserva.

«The next thing he did was to walk slowly to his book-case in his room; before he reached it I knew that he was thinking of a certain book and I knew its position on the shelf; this was telepathy.» — la testigo adjudica ella misma la facultad implicada en cada tramo del experimento.

«In earth-life you listen to people speaking with their mouths—in floating you know what their brains are thinking. You hear what people are saying to each other, and what their brains are thinking at the same time. It is amusing,» — lo que la testigo del caso 69 dice ganar allá: oír a la vez lo que se dice y lo que se piensa.

«for they do not say what they think.’» — y de qué se ríe: de que nadie diga lo que piensa.

«The Revd J. R. Staver, PH.D., of Saginaw, Michigan, informed me» — del caso número 71, el del reverendo J. R. Staver, de Michigan, recibido por carta.

«that while his first exteriorization was of an involuntary nature, he subsequently left his body deliberately.» — con la partición que interesa al libro: la primera salida involuntaria y las siguientes buscadas.

«I selected as my goal the residence of a lady in Con» — el experimento concertado del caso 71: el testigo elige por destino la casa de una corresponsal.

«with her as to time, etc., and, since she also was a psychic, I asked her to endeavour to see my astral form on the occasion of its presence in her home.» — con hora convenida y con la corresponsal advertida, psíquica ella misma, de que intentara verlo.

«I have always been an astral projectionist ... but it was not until I began the serious development of the psychic faculties that I found it possible to control this erstwhile liability, and even now there are occasions on» — el testigo del caso 73 se declara proyector de siempre, y consigna que solo el desarrollo psíquico le dio control.

«which I fail to control the situation. Sometimes the experiences seem to be directly under my control, whilst at others they appear to be directed by another intelligence, and sometimes it would appear that the projection is purely spontaneous and without a definite end in» — y la gradación que reconoce, sin decidirse: unas veces controla, otras lo dirige otra inteligencia, otras no hay fin ninguno.

«out of the Physical Body and far from my bedroom at home. From the difficulty experienced in walking, I knew that I was still on the earth-plane. I seemed to be alone and could see nothing in the darkness. Then I heard a voice, though I could not see who spoke: it said, “You are in the North of England and have been brought to assist us. An accident is going to occur on the railroad”.’» — la salida dirigida del caso 73, con la instrucción que el testigo dice haber recibido de una voz sin cuerpo.

«pare Blue Island, said to be communicated by the supposed discarnate W. T. Stead. The latter, newly-dead, described an ‘island’ with a general condition of ‘blueness’ while Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, com» — Crookall empareja la isla azul del testigo con una comunicación atribuida a W. T. Stead.

«that of healing, and an island may be only an isolated sphere» — y añade la glosa que Conan Doyle le puso al color azul y a la isla, que él lee como esfera aislada.

«Everybody has a double of finer substance than the Physical Body; it is referred to either as the astral or as the etheric body by some scientists. This is not to be confused with the surround [= the vehicle of vitality, “Denser Between Body’ or ‘body-veil’] which remains in position enveloping the human body, while the double» — la distinción de Garrett entre el surround, que se queda envolviendo al cuerpo, y el doble; los corchetes que la traducen al vocabulario del libro son del compilador.

«Body] can be projected. I never forget the smallest detail of any such experience which has come to me through conscious projection, though in ordinary daily living I can be quite forgetful.» — y el contraste de memoria que ella misma señala entre esas experiencias y la vida diaria.

«Had this experiment rested on telepathy alone, I could never have reached nor seen the experimenter, the locality or the room and set-up for the experiment. All that pure telepathy could have produced would have been the thoughts in the experimenter’s mind, and the impressions of the words he spoke aloud to me.» — en el caso 75, la testigo descarta ella misma la explicación rival: la telepatía sola no le habría dado el lugar ni la disposición del cuarto.

«The record of the experiment in New York-was posted that night to the doctor in Newfoundland. Next morning a telegram was received from him; in it, he described an accident which had occurred just before we began our experiment, and a day later a letter was received from him, listing the steps of the experiment as he had planned it.» — y el orden en que llegaron las comprobaciones, por telegrama y por carta, después de enviado el registro.

«The telegram proved that I had not only heard his message correctly, when he spoke to my “double” there, but I had actually perceived his bandaged head.» — lo que el telegrama probó, según ella: había oído bien y había visto la cabeza vendada.

«Remember, he opened the experiment by predicting that it would be successful; this prophecy was more than justified by our unusual results. I had succeeded in catching and relaying this prediction telepathically, so that in this case precognition and telepathy occurred simultaneously.» — y cómo desglosa las facultades implicadas, incluida una predicción captada de antemano.

«Mrs Garrett did not describe seeing the ‘silver cord’. It is evident however, that like many others who did not report perceiving the ‘cord’ she felt its presence, since she said that, in her case, the ‘double’ was projected from the centre of the chest» — Crookall consigna la falta y la explica: no vio el cordón pero lo sintió, y en su caso el doble salía del centro del pecho.

«From the moment I begin to project, I am aware, at this point, of a pull, accompanied by a fluttering» — con la frase de la testigo en que se apoya: un tirón y un aleteo en ese mismo punto.

«I could see myself clearly at any time. Whenever I wished to assure myself that my personal appearance was in order, I need never glance at a looking-glass; I could use my lipstick or powder my nose in the reflection of my own “surround’’.’» — y la escena doméstica en que ella lo cuenta: se maquillaba mirándose en su propio surround.

«For example, Dr Hout saw a patient brought into an operating theatre: the Physical Body, being ‘swathed in sterile sheets’, was not visible, but the doctor could see, from the exteriorized ‘double’ that it was an elderly lady.» — el segundo apoyo, de otro testigo: vio por el doble que la paciente era anciana, con el cuerpo físico tapado por sábanas estériles.

«In the same way many others who claimed to see their exteriorized ‘doubles’ observed details of which they had no information via the physical senses and which was later known to be true.» — y la generalización con que cierra: otros vieron en sus dobles detalles que no tenían por los sentidos y que resultaron ciertos.

«The objectivity of the ‘double’ is similarly strongly suggested by the fact that, although few of us have any clear mental image of what we ourselves look like (and are often quite surprised at a side-glimpse we may get in passing some shop window) and few of us are trained artists with good visualizing powers, yet ‘doubles’ (and these are most commonly seen a short time before or a short time after death) exhibit all details necessary for their identification with the Physical Body to which they correspond.» — un argumento indirecto sobre la objetividad del doble: casi nadie tiene imagen mental precisa de sí mismo, y los dobles se ven con todo el detalle necesario para identificarlos.

«In Dr J. M. Peebles’s Immortality (sth ed., Boston, 1883) B. B. Wirt, of Ohio, is described as deliberately leaving his Physical Body.» — del caso número 76, el de B. B. Wirt, tomado de un libro de 1883: salidas deliberadas.

«I desire, and become conscious that I am about to leave my body. I feel that my body is not ‘me’ but my dwelling-place.» — cómo lo dice el testigo: el cuerpo no es él, sino su morada.

«And, further, I see the silver cord or chain connecting my spiritual body, or myself, with the earthly body» — y el cordón, aquí nombrado con las dos palabras, cordón o cadena.

«After becoming accustomed to these excursions, I so far experimented as to find that I could pass through doors, etc.’» — el testigo experimenta una vez habituado, que es la actitud que Crookall más valora en su serie.

«If I know anything absolutely, I know that I have left my body and that hundreds of times and, while on these journeys, have investigated the grades and conditions of spirits in the spirit-world.’» — y la certeza con que lo cierra, con su recuento de cientos de veces.

«Mrs Gilbert (Philip in the Spheres, Aquarian Press, 1952) described a number of out-of-the-body journeys. She lay flat on her back (a position found by ‘René C.’, Mr Dennis, etc. to facilitate exteriorization), with palms upwards. She emptied her mind of everyday thoughts, relaxed, drew deep rhythmic breaths and (much as is suggested by Muldoon) visualized her Psychical Body emerging from her head [cf. Statement No. 13] and floating above her Physical Body.» — del caso número 77, el de Alice Gilbert, con el procedimiento entero: boca arriba, palmas hacia arriba, respiración rítmica y visualización de la salida por la cabeza.

«Suddenly,’ she said, ‘this was not an imagined vision. I, the essential Me, was no longer on the divan but outside it. On the bed was stretched my discarded form (cf. Statement No. 17] with a cloudy-looking cord extending between it and my etheric self’» — el momento en que la testigo separa lo imaginado de lo demás, y el cordón de aspecto nuboso entre los dos cuerpos.

«Then she met the object of her journey, namely, Philip, her son who had died some time before but with whom she was often in telepathic communication» — el destino declarado del viaje: su hijo muerto, con quien ya decía comunicarse.

«The earth was behind us, vanishing into a grey yet glowing mist. Around us seemed to be pure ether, intersected by myriads of rays. The light was intense» — y el paso de una condición a otra en su relato, con la tierra desapareciendo en niebla gris.

«Like Mrs Leslie, Mrs Tarsikes, Miss Peters, Miss Stables, Miss Yeoman, etc. she experienced leaving the body as ‘like going through a tunnel’» — y otra vez el túnel, que Crookall alinea aquí con cinco testigos suyos.

«On another occasion she visited a Tibetan monastery, and brought back veridical information, since the details she described were corroborated by someone who was familiar with Tibet.» — el elemento verificable del caso: alguien conocedor del Tíbet corroboró lo que la testigo describió.

«Van Eeden’s experiments with his ‘dreams’ are mentioned by Carrington (Higher Psychical Development, Kegan Paul, 1929) and by Mary E. Monteith (A Book of True Dreams, Heath Cranton, 1929).» — del caso número 79, el de Frederick Van Eeden, con doble procedencia bibliográfica.

«He maintained that the soul, in the ‘dream body’ [= the Psychical Body] dissociates from the Physical Body and that in dreams it is more or less completely re-integrated in a non-physical environment.» — la tesis del testigo sobre lo que es un sueño: el alma disociada y reintegrada en un entorno no físico.

«found that the ‘dream body’ still enabled him to see and hear, but objects were somehow seen from a different angle than normally» — y la anomalía que registra: veía y oía, pero desde otro ángulo que el habitual.

«He passed from place to place by ‘floating’ or ‘flying’ and observed that the perspective of branches etc. changed in a normal manner as he passed the trees that bore them.» — el detalle que Crookall convierte en argumento: la perspectiva de las ramas cambiaba como en un desplazamiento real.

«This strongly suggests a definite journey and not mere telepathy and/or clairvoyance—cf. the accounts of Wilmot, Hives and Mrs Garrett.]» — y así lo dice, con su cuantificador: sugiere fuertemente un viaje y no telepatía ni clarividencia.

«he was aware that his Physical Body was lying on its back and his dream body was lying on its chest» — la consciencia doble con las dos posturas distintas a la vez, que es un dato incómodo para la hipótesis de la imagen mental.

«He deliberately awakened slowly in order to make careful observations [cf. Eden , Yram and Miss Addison ]. he had ‘the feeling of slipping from one body into another’ and ‘a distinct recollection of two bodies’.» — el testigo se despierta despacio a propósito para observar el traspaso, y declara recordar dos cuerpos.

«Van Eeden was, indeed, seen lookin out of the window by a passing dog» — y el único testigo externo del caso: un perro que pasaba.

«These three features, the density of the ‘double’, its brilliance and the intensity or clarity of consciousness are, of course, directly inter-related.» — Crookall reúne las tres formulaciones del mismo efecto —densidad, brillo y claridad de consciencia— y las declara interrelacionadas.

«Their appropriate occurrence in independent accounts is not explicable on the basis of telepathy, clairvoyance, body-images or ‘split personalities’. It seems, indeed, explicable only if the accounts are directly related to fact.» — y el argumento que levanta con ellas, en su forma más nítida: que aparezcan bien encajadas en relatos independientes no lo explicarían ni la telepatía ni la personalidad escindida.

«The idea then struck me that I might make some experiments. A paper, open, lay on the table. I resolved to attempt to read a few lines. ... I did it with ease.’» — el testigo se pone a experimentar desde fuera del cuerpo: leer unas líneas de un diario abierto.

«Then he experimented with the creation of mental images, creating first an image of a work-table and later images of objects on it. He realized that some mediums might mistake such images for objective environment» — y la segunda prueba, que Crookall retiene como advertencia: creó imágenes mentales y vio que podían confundirse con entorno objetivo.

«It seems as though I have another body which has a different method of sensing sound than from vibrations on the ear-drum.’» — del caso número 81, el de Nancy Price: otro cuerpo que oye sin tímpano.

«Miss Price found that, ‘In dreams one is not exactly anywhere in particular, because one experiences constant transport of mind and body.’» — y cómo describe el estar allí, que no es estar en ningún sitio en particular.

«The latter told her daughter that she was surrounded by ‘a web’ [= a relatively large proportion of the vehicle of vitality or “body-veil’], that rendered her a ‘half-way’ person. It was difficult for her to ‘get through’ this ‘web’ [into ‘Paradise’ conditions], though each attempt made it easier.» — la madre muerta se describe envuelta en una red que la deja a medio camino, y que Crookall identifica entre corchetes con el velo corporal.

«There was a sort of cracking sensation in my body, as if something were struggling to free itself [cf. the ‘click’ which, in the cases of Muldoon, Fox, Hives, Lind, Ouspensky, Dennis etc. accompanied the release of the ‘double’ from (or its return to) the Physical Body]. Then there was a sound like the tearing of silk.» — la salida en el relato de Price, con dos sonidos: el chasquido que Crookall alinea con otros seis testigos y un rasgar de seda.

«It looked to me particularly distasteful and I had a remarkable feeling of exhilaration in that I could leave it there. I was seized by an overmastering pity for this shell of myself, which I resented and fought» — y la ambivalencia que la testigo no oculta: repugnancia por el cuerpo y a la vez piedad, que ella misma resiente.

«Mme Alexandra David-Neel (With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet, first English Ed., 1931; Penguin Books Ltd., 1936) pointed out that the Tibetans, like the Chinese and Egyptians, believed that we possess a ‘double’, an ‘astral’ or Psychical Body.» — del caso número 82: Crookall no trae un testimonio sino una doctrina, la tibetana, por medio de Alexandra David-Neel.

«During life, in the normal state, the “double” is closely united with the material body. Nevertheless, certain circumstances may cause their separation. The “double” can then leave the material body and show itself in different places: or, being itself invisible, it can accomplish various peregrinations. With some people the separation of the “double” from the body happens involuntarily, but trained people can effect it at will.» — la doctrina tal como ella la expone: separación involuntaria en unos y a voluntad en los entrenados.

«The separation of the “double” from the Physical Body, however, is not complete, for a strand [= the ‘silver cord’— cf. Statement No. 19] subsists, connecting them.» — y el vínculo que la doctrina tibetana pone donde el libro pone el cordón de plata.

«This link persists for some time after death [cf. Statement No. 21]. The destruction of the corpse generally, but not necessarily, eventually brings about the destruction of the “double”. In certain cases it may survive its companion» — con la duración que le atribuye después de la muerte, ligada a la del cadáver, y la excepción admitida.

«These travellers are called “delogs”, which means: “those who have returned from the Beyond”. Though the “‘delogs” vary in their descriptions of places and events [according, in part, to the conditions contacted, as just noted], they usually agree in depicting the feelings of the pseudo-dead as definitely pleasant’» — el nombre tibetano de estos viajeros y la constante que David-Neel les reconoce pese a la variedad de sus descripciones.

«But she found it impossible to cut ‘an almost impalpable cord that attached her ethereal being to her Physical Body’» — y el cordón imposible de cortar, en la formulación de esa testigo tibetana.

«The cord lengthened indefinitely; nevertheless, it sometimes hampered her movements; she would ‘get caught up in it’, she said.» — con un detalle que no aparece en los casos occidentales: se enredaba en él.

«Doctrines similar to those of ancient Tibet were held both in ancient China and ancient Egypt.» — la tesis comparativa con que Crookall abre el caso número 83.

«Esoteric Taoist teachings which date back to the 8th century were written on wooden tablets in the 17th century and printed in Chinese in 1920. They are found in The Secret of the Golden Flower. A Chinese Book of Life [meaning Superphysical Life], translated and explained by Richard Wilhelm, with a European Commentary by C. G. Jung» — y la cadena de transmisión que declara, tablillas del siglo VIII escritas en el XVII e impresas en 1920, hasta la edición con comentario de Jung.

«The Golden Flower’ is described as representing the ‘Immortal’ or ‘Spiritual’ [here = the Psychical] Body and the powers of people who function therein. The expression “Golden Flower’ includes the word ‘Light’, referring, of course, to ‘Spiritual’ Iumina» — la equivalencia que Crookall propone: la Flor de Oro sería el cuerpo psíquico, y la palabra incluye la luz.

«Average followers of these doctrines used talismans, written charms, prayers, sacrifices and mediumistic seances to obtain results of a psychical nature (they evidently concentrated on the development of ‘physical’ mediumship, with the exteriorization and control of much of the ‘body-veil’ and the ectoplasm therein—the ‘Bardo’ Body of the Tibetans).» — y la partición que hace de esos practicantes: los corrientes usaban talismanes y sesiones, que él lee como mediumnidad física.

«Advanced disciples employed meditation to develop, organize and eventually exteriorize the ‘Spiritual’ [here = Psychical] Body, the “Golden Flower’, in which they had “super-conscious’ (clairvoyant and other) experiences.» — frente a los adelantados, que meditaban para exteriorizar el cuerpo psíquico.

«According to this book, the first stage of meditation consists in ‘gathering’ the [super-physical] Light. Then, “Within the Physical Body we must strive for the form [= Psychical Body] which existed before [the physical] heaven and earth were laid down.’» — el primer paso del método según ese libro: reunir la luz y buscar dentro del cuerpo la forma anterior al cielo y la tierra.

«The breathing must be rhythmical. The attention being fixed on a point between the eyes [ = on the ‘Spiritual’ eye], Spiritual Light streamed into the soul. The use of effort defeated its own end.» — la técnica, con su paradoja incluida: respiración rítmica, atención entre los ojos, y el esfuerzo que malogra el resultado.

«The ‘new body’ then formed by the spirit crystallizing in ‘the place of power’ [= the solar plexus]. Then the Psychical Body exteriorized from the Physical Body. It left by way of the head» — y dónde cuaja el cuerpo nuevo según esa doctrina, que Crookall traduce a plexo solar, con la salida por la cabeza.

«Practical Astral Projection, by “Yram’, published by Rider & Co. Ltd., is a translation from the French Le Médicin de L’ Ame. In it are described out-of-the-body experiences that occurred over a period of fourteen years.» — del caso número 84, el de *Yram*, traducido del francés y con catorce años de experiencias detrás.

«Whereas with Muldoon, Turvey, etc., the chief predisposing cause to such experiences was a Physical Body with relatively low ‘vibrations’, in Yram’s case it was a Psychical Body with relatively high ‘vibrations’. This reflected his moral nature. In either case the Physical and Psychical Bodies are ‘out of gear’, causing exteriorization.» — aquí Crookall aplica su esquema para separar dos causas opuestas del mismo efecto: vibraciones bajas del cuerpo físico en unos, altas del psíquico en otros.

«Yram’ said that most of us can have these experiences and so prove survival but the timid person must first acquire courage and calmness: excesses of all kinds, including Over-eating, must be avoided: the psychological state must be one of earnestness, peacefulness, gentleness and patience: the ‘man of the world’ constantly tries to live with the maximum of comfort and the minimum of consideration for others, an attitude that must be reversed [cf. Lind]. Prayer and meditation are essential.» — el régimen que Yram prescribe, moral antes que técnico, y que Crookall reproduce entero.

«You leave your Physical Body with greater ease than taking off a suit of clothes. The result is a certainty, without the least doubt. It is a cold fact, beyond all judgment, beyond all hypothesis, hallucination, or suggestion.’» — y la certeza con que lo respalda, sin grados.

«It may be remembered that Aristotle said, ‘Nothing is known for certain, and even this cannot be positively asserted.’ Well, “Yram’ says that this ability to leave his Physical Body and live in a new dimension ‘is the only obvious truth that I claim as being true without the least doubt’.» — Crookall le opone a esa certeza una frase de Aristóteles, y deja el contraste sin resolver.

«As soon as we slip out of the physical wrapper this truth strikes us with all its force. We see the familiar furniture of our room just as before. The only difference we notice is a slight phosphorescent glow. Our Physical Body rests inert, like a corpse, on the couch. The impression is striking that instinctively we think we are dead.’» — cómo describe Yram el momento: los muebles iguales, un leve resplandor fosforescente y la impresión instintiva de estar muerto.

«In order to inspect its junction with the physical body, experimented at leaving and re-entering the physical body very slowly» — el experimento con que Yram estudia el cordón: salir y entrar muy despacio para ver dónde se engancha.

«Yram’ considered that, “The principle of self-projection is within the range of science’ and stressed the need for preliminary work of a physical, psychological and psychic nature ‘because it involves penetrating other worlds, and to enter these without due preparation might well lead to trouble.’» — la pretensión de Yram de que esto cae dentro de la ciencia, junto con la advertencia de no entrar sin preparación.

«There is no sharp line of demarcation between involuntary and deliberate out-of-the-body experiences. Muldoon’s first experience was involuntary and so was that of Dr O. A. Ostby. The latter was first published by Muldoon in his Case for Astral Projection.» — Crookall matiza aquí su propia clasificación: entre la salida involuntaria y la deliberada no hay línea neta, y lo apoya en el propio Muldoon.

«Apart from any other considerations» — Crookall declara de primera importancia las experiencias del caso 75, y por una razón concreta que desarrolla en la plana siguiente.

«since she made effective use of her exteriorized ‘double’ as a mirror, an operation which would be impossible with a mere image.» — el argumento que considera decisivo: la testigo usó su propio doble como espejo, y con una mera imagen mental eso no se podría.

«took ‘travelling clairvoyance’ only under expert direction» — del caso número 78, el de L. M. Bazett, con una condición que ella misma se pone: hacerlo solo bajo dirección experta.

«I realized that, though detached, I was on a very material plane, close to the physical, and I reflected that I could retain greater materiality in my» — en el caso 80, el de *René C.*, la regla que el testigo formula: cerca del cuerpo físico su doble conservaba más materialidad.

«A woman told Mme David-Neel that she had been out of her» — el caso concreto que David-Neel recogió de una tibetana.

«Physical Body in a body which was remarkably light, agile and rapid in its movements [cf. Statement No. 17]. She had only to wish herself in a certain place to be there at once.» — con el cuerpo ligero y el desplazamiento por deseo que se repiten en todo el libro.

«In his ‘double’ he visited a person who lived hundreds of miles away. He took» — Yram visita en su doble a alguien que vivía a cientos de kilómetros.

«stock of their furniture and its arrangement, etc. and, on returning to physical consciousness, wrote down the details and sent them to his friend and had them confirmed.» — y el protocolo con que lo verifica: anotar los detalles al volver, mandarlos y hacerlos confirmar.

«But just then I thought it would be dreadful for my wife to awaken and find my lifeless form beside her. So I determined that I must try to re-animate my physical form.» — en el caso 85, lo que decide al testigo a volver: que su mujer no encuentre el cuerpo sin vida a su lado.

«I would think it was my physical self until I would discover the Physical Body still on the couch.» — y la confusión que se repite en toda la serie: el testigo toma el cuerpo psíquico por el físico hasta que ve el otro en el sofá.

«A letter was received by Muldoon, soon after the publication of The Projection of the Astral Body, from Mr ‘H.’ who wrote, ‘I had a bit of a shock to-day. I was changing my book at the library, when I happened to pick up a copy of your book. I opened it—and what a shock! It was those illustrations. They astonished me! I could only say to myself, “That is I—that is I.’”» — del caso número 86, el de Mr *H*: el testigo reconoce su propia experiencia en las ilustraciones de un libro que aún no había leído.

«The floating was exactly as you have pictured it.,I always began lying horizontally over my body, floating outwards, then assuming an upright position.» — el detalle que hace del caso un cotejo y no un contagio: la secuencia dibujada coincide con la que él ya conocía.

«have not yet read your book, not even the Preface, it was the amazement, the shock, of seeing those marvellously accurate illustrations which prompted this letter’» — y la garantía que el propio testigo ofrece: escribió antes de leer una sola línea.

«When Ralph Shirley was editing The Occult Review he received much correspondence similar to that of Mr ‘H.’ He cited H. P. Okeden in his Mystery of the Human Double (Rider & Co.) as follows.» — del caso número 87, el de Hermione P. Okeden, que Crookall toma del libro donde lo recogió el editor de una revista.

«I wonder if any of your readers have the power to travel as I do. Whenever I desire to know how and where a friend is, I go and find him. It is done when awake, either sitting quietly in my chair or before going to sleep at night. Perfect quiet is necessary.» — la testigo describe una facultad a voluntad, con su condición: quietud perfecta.

«I close my eyes, and have a feeling of going over backwards, ... and I find myself going down a long dim tunnel [cf. Statement No. 9]. ... At the far end is a tiny speck of light which grows as I approach into a large square and I am “‘there”» — y el túnel con el punto de luz al fondo, que Crookall alinea con seis testigos más.

«I can describe the room my friends are in, the clothes they are wearing, the people to whom they are talking. On several occasions when I have been anxious about a friend who lives in London I have found myself in a strange room among strange people in the country, and there was my friend.» — lo que dice traer de esos viajes, y el caso que más le sirve: halló a un amigo donde no lo esperaba.

«Only once have I been seen and addressed. ... | have been tested over and over again when I have arranged (beforehand) to go. One friend put on a new evening gown, another moved her bedroom furniture round, which I at once noticed and questioned her about later.’» — y las pruebas concertadas de antemano que la testigo aduce: un vestido nuevo y unos muebles cambiados de sitio.

«Mr Bulford (Man’s Unknown Journey, Rider & Co. Ltd., 1941) experimented with exteriorization of the ‘double’ from the Physical Body by means of hypnosis and insisted that the phenomenon is natural to the individual who is developing morally and spiritually.» — del caso número 88, el de Staveley Bulford, que experimentó por hipnosis y sostiene que el fenómeno es natural al que progresa moralmente.

«Many thousands of experiments have been successfully carried out, and may be repeated at any time by those who will equip themselves for such work.’» — y la pretensión de repetibilidad con que lo respalda, con su condición: quien se prepare para ello.

«Bulford insisted that in natural out-of-the-body experiences the ‘densest counterpart’ still remains with the Physical Body (whereas it entirely leaves the Physical Body in natural death). ‘This part,’ he said, ‘resembles the skin of the Physical Body; it is an outer covering, a shell.» — el testigo la formula con su símil de la piel, y Crookall la contrasta con la muerte natural.

«This ‘densest counterpart’ clearly corresponds to Mrs Garrett’s ‘surround’, to Clare’s ‘expanding bag’, to the ‘Bardo Body’ of Tibetans, the ‘Denser Between Body’ of supposed discarnates and the vehicle of vitality or ‘body-veil’.» — y el compilador la traduce a cinco vocabularios distintos —el surround, la bolsa, el cuerpo Bardo, el cuerpo denso intermedio— para mostrarlos como una sola cosa.

«Bulford described the ‘silver cord’, with its cap-like attachment to the Physical and Etheric Bodies, as ‘the missing link in the study of psychical research’.» — lo que Bulford dice del cordón, en una frase que le pone al asunto un rango que la investigación psíquica no le daba.

«The etheric double of another person has been seen by the writer. This was deliberately produced in the presence of others who, seated on each side of him, were able to see the etheric form as clearly as he did. In this demonstration it was possible for the etheric double to appear with such density and luminosity that the physical sight of everyone present could clearly register this manifestation.’» — el experimento que aduce: un doble producido a propósito y visto por varios presentes a la vez.

«If this is true, then, in this case, the ‘double’ was not a mere body-image but was objective in nature: it was ‘real’, not imaginary. Compare the evidence based on (a) doubles seen in mirrors (Gerhardi, Miss Peters); (b) ‘repercussion’ which caused physical effects (under Lind, etc.); and (c) the fact that Mrs Garrett claimed actually to use her exteriorized ‘double’ as a mirror. ]» — Crookall lo acepta en condicional y no de otro modo, y lo empareja con las otras tres pruebas de objetividad que viene reuniendo.

«Bulford described the following experiments which, he considered, proved the existence of the ‘double’: (1) the exteriorized ‘double’ of ‘G.P.” was seen by Mme ‘A.’ in hypnotic sleep; (2) Mme ‘A.’, under hypnosis, was sent to find ‘G.P.’s exteriorized ‘double’ and gave descriptions identical with those of “G.P.’ himself; (3) ‘G.P.’ and Mme ‘A.’, hypnotized in different rooms of a house and unaware of each other’s presence there, were sent to a particular place (unknown to the hypnotist, in order to eliminate the possibility of telepathy), and, on awakening, gave identical details of the place and were conscious of having met there; (4) “G.P.’ exteriorized his ‘double’ and observed his Physical Body asleep (cf. Statement No. 17); (5) Mr ‘X’, a barrister, discovered the whereabouts of Mme ‘A’, who, unknown to him, was away from London on holiday.» — los cinco experimentos hipnóticos que el testigo da por probatorios, uno de ellos con el destino oculto al hipnotizador para descartar la telepatía.

«Like Gerhardi, Muldoon, Yram, etc., Bulford pointed out that mental harmony is an important pre-requisite to experimenting, since in projecting one is stepping out of the physical into ‘next world’ conditions where ‘thoughts are things’» — la armonía mental como requisito, que Crookall documenta en cuatro testigos, y su razón: allá los pensamientos son cosas.

«A man who enters such conditions with harmonious thoughts and feelings contacts a happy and helpful environment, but one who does so with discordant thoughts and feelings contacts an injurious environment.» — con la consecuencia que se sigue, simétrica.

«He insists that exteriorization is natural and there is no cause for fear. It is fear, he says, that caused the catalepsy experienced by so many: ‘astral’ catalepsy is a condition of consciousness but also of paralysis, due to fear and lack of preparation before attempting projection» — y la explicación que Bulford da de la catalepsia, que en él no es rasgo del fenómeno sino falla del operador: miedo y falta de preparación.

«The National Spiritualist for April, 1930, carried a report to the effect that Mrs M. C. Vlasek not only exteriorized from her Physical Body during a train-journey, but, in accordance with a pre-arranged plan, ‘materialized’ to friends who were holding a seance.» — del caso número 89, el de Mary Vlasek, con la pretensión más fuerte de todo el libro: haberse materializado ante amigos reunidos en sesión.

«Although, according to Dr Wills, the results were ‘properly checked by all parties’, such experiments are not convincing in the absence of suitable reports from scientific investigators with special training for such work.» — y Crookall lo rechaza en el mismo párrafo en que lo presenta: pese a estar comprobado por las partes, no le parece convincente sin investigadores formados.

«Those who claim that they can deliberately vacate their Physical Bodies should submit to scientific investigation in the interests of truth.» — con la exigencia que dirige a sus propios testigos, que es lo más cerca que el libro está de un programa.

«Mrs Cripps sent the writer the contents of an address she had given to a study group in 1952: she stated, ‘I have not been able to read any book devoted exclusively to astral projection—only articles in psychic papers.’» — del caso número 90, el de Gwen Cripps, con la cláusula de siempre matizada por ella misma: ningún libro del asunto, solo artículos.

«The spontaneous projection of the Astral [here = Psychical] Body is not so rare as one might suppose [cf. Dr Leaf, Mrs Garrett, Muldoon, etc.]. The bringing back to physical consciousness the memory of astral travels is rare.» — y la distinción que Cripps introduce, y que le sirve a Crookall para su recuento: lo raro no es proyectarse sino recordarlo.

«Owing to ignorance of their nature, projections, when realized, cause fear, but ... they are often closely allied to normal sleep.» — el miedo atribuido a la ignorancia, con la afinidad que ella les ve al sueño normal.

«If the Physical Body is kept relaxed and the mind composed, recovery is speedy, with no unpleasant reactions [cf. Bulford, Brown, etc.]. If, on the other hand, one fights, the heart may palpitate.» — la instrucción práctica que da, con la consecuencia de no seguirla.

«There is reason to assume that all aspects of mediumship involve some modification of the relationship between the Psychical and Physical Bodies.» — una generalización que Cripps propone como suposición razonable, y que emparenta toda la mediumnidad con este fenómeno.

«Very often the projection is only partial, consciousness still remaining in the Physical Body. In this state the Physical Body feels very unstable—a feeling of being “in air’’, of being “here and there’» — y la proyección parcial, con la consciencia todavía en el cuerpo físico.

«One notices a connecting-force between the two bodies, and, as far as I can judge, the line of force is between the two heads. This connecting link, or cord, is of an etheric quality and luminous [cf. Gerhardi, etc.]. It looks like a shaft of sunlight that has penetrated a hole in a blind, passing into a darkened room.» — el cordón en su versión, de cabeza a cabeza, con el símil del haz de sol por el agujero de una persiana.

«During the processes of changing from one body to another, there seem to occur lapses of consciousness, almost as, when in the Physical Body, one fainted [= shed the physical body—cf. Statement No. 9], recovered consciousness, and fainted again» — en el caso 90, la testigo describe un desmayo por cada cambio de cuerpo, que Crookall lee como los dos desprendimientos sucesivos de su esquema.

«Now, as to returning to the physical state. One seems to take on tremendous accelerations of speed. The sensation is of being shot out of space into greater space.» — el regreso descrito como aceleración, con su imagen de ser disparada hacia un espacio mayor.

«one realizes how true it is that the body has a life of its own and yet without the power to act without the mind» — lo que la testigo dice comprender en el estado intermedio: que el cuerpo tiene vida propia y no puede obrar sin la mente.

«The memories of the Physical Body are of the earth, relations, homes, jobs, etc., but they are distasteful to the mind.» — y el desagrado con que reencuentra sus propias memorias terrenas.

«I always found that as I was trying to unite with my Physical Body, at a certain stage of the process, I became aware of my bedroom. It was always deeply misty [= ‘Hades’ conditions—cf. Hives, Mme d’Espérance, Gerhardi, Ogston, de la Mare, Miss Johnson, Miss Brooks, and Mrs Joy, also Statements No. to and 41]. Penetrating the mist, however, were cloud-like white and red lights which somehow guided me back to my body.» — la niebla del cuarto y las luces que la guiaban de vuelta, catalogadas por el compilador como condiciones de Hades.

«It is with regret that one returns, movement in the Astral Body being so light and unconfined» — y la renuencia de siempre, aquí dicha por la ligereza que se pierde.

«It is possible to travel in the Psychical Body (1) round certain areas of the physical world, (2) to places, both lower and higher, in the “astral” spheres, (3) to my father in the Spiritual World, (4) to an animal plane, and (5) to a spiritual healing-plane.» — los cinco destinos que la testigo enumera para el cuerpo psíquico, después de negar que puedan nombrarse con nombres físicos.

«The last mentioned was completely dark to me; I felt I was somewhere; I knew I was “in the being’, but was not conscious of any body of expression.’» — y el último, del que declara no haber percibido nada: sabía estar allí sin cuerpo con que expresarse.

«Mrs Cripps said that astral projection assures one of survival, demonstrates the reality of thoughts, shows that the Psychical Body is the ‘power-house’ for the energy that animates the Physical Body and that prayer is most important to those who are out of the body» — lo que Cripps dice que la proyección demuestra, con la oración incluida entre sus condiciones.

«The link made by prayer with higher sources gives power and obviates ‘repercussion’ in the return to the Physical Body.» — y el efecto técnico que le atribuye a la oración: evitar la repercusión al volver.

«One can get into difficulties and with uncongenial companions on the astral. Protection is there but it must be asked for» — el aviso que comparte con otros tres testigos, con su condición: la protección hay que pedirla.

«Oft-times in astral travelling one cannot find a like set of experiences on which to base one’s actions [Muldoon and Fox also made this observation]. One is non-plussed, since our experiences are mainly of the physical world.» — y una dificultad de orden distinto: allá falta experiencia previa con que orientarse, porque la nuestra es del mundo físico.

«Astral travelling is an education for the life-to-come’» — y para qué sirve todo esto según la testigo, en una frase que resume la utilidad que el libro le atribuye.

«Mrs Cripps warns those who would enjoy such experiences to seek them under the right conditions—‘Purity of motive must be the foundation of the experience’.» — con la condición moral que le pone, que es la misma que ponen Yram y Bulford.

«Mrs Hilda D. Williams had not read any books about out-of-the-body experiences before having one herself. She wrote {in litt.] as follows. ‘The incident occurred fifteen years ago, but is still very clear to me.» — del caso número 91, el de Hilda D. Williams, recibido por carta, con la ignorancia previa declarada.

«Although the room must have been pitch dark, there was a soft, evenly distributed, pale, yet clear light» — y la luz sin fuente en el cuarto a oscuras, que Crookall alinea con cuatro testigos suyos.

«I had not been aware of leaving the body [cf. Statement No. 9] but re-entering it felt like slipping the hand into an easy-fitting glove.’» — la testigo no notó la salida y sí el regreso, que compara con calzarse un guante.

«The symbol of a glove, here used by Mrs Williams—who had read nothing about these matters—for re-entering the body, was independently employed by Miss Yeoman—who also was ignorant of things psychic—for shedding the body. Similarly, while Miss Addison said that shedding the body was like getting out of ‘a tight rubber bathing-suit’, Miss Johnson described re-entering the body as like getting into ‘a tight rubber skin’. These ‘doubles’ are not mere images! ]» — y el corchete donde Crookall convierte esos símiles inversos en su argumento: dos testigos ignorantes de estas cosas usan la misma imagen para operaciones contrarias.

«After the experience he was reluctant to publish the account since it might affect his literary reputation. The Editor of the American Magazine persuaded him.» — con un dato que Crookall retiene como garantía: el testigo no quería publicarlo por su reputación literaria.

«About 3 a.m. a ghastly inner shriek seemed to tear through me and I thought, “I’m dying! This is death! My body may lie in this lonely house for days undiscovered.” Then two spirits came to his aid, saying, “Don’t be alarmed: we are here to help you”» — cómo empieza el episodio según él, con los dos que dice haber acudido a ayudarlo.

«Eventually,’ said Mr Pelley, ‘I found myself an existing entity in a locality where persons I had always called “dead” were not dead but very much alive [cf. Statement No. 18]. I pledge my reputation that I talked with these people, identified many of them, called others by their wrong names and was corrected.» — y la prueba que él mismo alega, con su punto más fino: se equivocó de nombres y lo corrigieron.

«Pelley was convinced this experience was not a dream: ‘We never dream,’ he says, “by the process of first coming awake.”» — el criterio con que descarta el sueño, que es suyo y no del compilador.

«He claimed that the message was given in Sanskrit in order that it could not be explained away as a purely ‘sub-conscious’ production.» — y el argumento que el propio testigo le monta encima, contra la explicación por lo subconsciente.

«We may add that Prof. Bozzano cited Pelley’s experience in his Polyglot Mediumship, Rider & Co. Ltd., regarding this and similar cases as beyond explanation by the hypothesis of the ‘sub-conscious mind’ of the ‘living’ person with super-normal powers of telepathy, clairvoyance, etc. He considered that it constituted evidence of the intervention of ‘spirit-entities independent of the medium and those present’.» — Crookall añade quién más lo usó y para qué: Bozzano lo tuvo por prueba de entidades independientes del médium.

«Those (somewhat similar) cases which had been available and analysed by Prof. Richet he agreed to be inconclusive on this question. But Pelley’s and certain other cases left him in no doubt.» — con la distinción que el propio Bozzano hacía entre casos concluyentes y no concluyentes, que la compilación conserva.

«Dr I. K. Funk the publisher and theologian gave the experience of a physician well known to, and trusted by, him in The Psychic Riddle, (Funk and Wagnall’s Co.).» — del caso número 93, el del amigo médico del Dr I. K. Funk, con la relación de confianza declarada entre los dos.

«All at once ... for an instant I became unconscious [= shedding the Physical Body—cf. Statement No. 9]. When I recovered, I seemed to be walking in the air. No words can describe the exhilaration and freedom and clearness of mental vision that I experienced» — el instante de inconsciencia y lo que el testigo dice haber sentido después, sin conseguir describirlo.

«When I was about twenty years old I began to have an almost nightly experience of a body coming out of» — lo que el testigo del caso 86 llevaba viviendo casi cada noche desde los veinte años.

«Whereas some authors, without explicitly saying so, give the impression that the whole of the non-physical body is exteriorized, Bulford, like Mrs Garrett, Clare, Mrs Tarsikes and others, made an important point: it is that, during physical life, the densest portion is never entirely exteriorized from the Physical Body.» — Crookall separa aquí una tesis que la mayoría de sus fuentes deja implícita: la porción más densa nunca sale del todo en vida.

«With the knowledge of the etheric double [here = Psychical Body—cf. Statement No. 19], and how it is connected with the Physical Body, as well as the ease with which it can be projected, many of the phenomena recorded as dreams, phantasms of the living and of the so-called dead, as well as much hypnotic tech» — el programa que Bulford deriva de conocer el doble etérico y su enganche: comprender sueños, fantasmas de vivos y de muertos y buena parte de la técnica hipnótica.

«Bulford claimed that any investigator can, with practice, project his ‘double’, but says difficulty may be experienced by men who are» — y su pretensión de que cualquier investigador puede proyectarse con práctica, acotada en la misma frase.

«Continuity is better: the memory brought back into the Physical Body on return is less confused.» — y el recuerdo, que vuelve menos confuso.

«Walking and floating are common, though I have found myself in another place without being conscious of any» — los modos de moverse que la testigo distingue, hasta hallarse en otro sitio sin conciencia de haberse desplazado.

«a veil is drawn over our perceptions while we are in the Physical Body» — la tesis del velo, que Crookall empareja con su noción de las anteojeras: el cuerpo físico cubre las percepciones.

«Prior to his experience, Pelley was a materialist. He had not concerned himself with psychical research, etc.» — con la posición previa del testigo, que en este libro siempre es dato.

«his description of what he saw in the ‘next’ world agrees with those of supposed discarnates, of clairvoyants and of others who claim to have had out-of-the-body experiences.» — y el uso que Crookall le da, el mismo de siempre: coincide con los demás sin conocerlos.

«He once heard a voice speaking in a language unknown to him. A stenographer wrote the words phonetically. Twelve pages of script were thus obtained.» — el episodio del idioma desconocido, transcrito fonéticamente por una taquígrafa hasta llenar doce páginas.

«that complete exteriorization involves death.)» — y la razón que esos testigos dan, entre paréntesis: salir del todo sería morir.

«tises, the longer degree of consciousness one seems to hold. Continuity is better: the memory brought back into the Physical Body on return is less confused.» — lo que la práctica mejora según la testigo del caso 90: no la salida, sino cuánta consciencia se conserva y la nitidez del recuerdo.

«Pelley’s experience was first described in the American Magazine, March, 1929. Later it was published as “Seven Minutes in Eternity—with» — del caso número 92, el de William Dudley Pelley, publicado en una revista en 1929 y reeditado el mismo año con título propio.

«logist who found over a thousand words of Sanskrit in them. It was a message concerning present-day happenings.’» — lo que el testigo dice que dictaminó un filólogo sobre esas páginas: más de mil palabras de sánscrito.

«have been a minute after I thought of my friend before I was standing in a room with him. Suddenly turning and seeing me, he said, “What are you doing here? You were in Florida» — el elemento comprobable del caso 93: el amigo lejano se dirige a él y menciona dónde debía estar.

«I can readily understand what Paul meant when he said, “I knew a man, whether in the body or out of the body I know not, who was caught up into the third ‘heaven’, and there saw things which it was not possible [‘lawful’] to utter.”» — el testigo del caso 93 se reconoce en el pasaje paulino del tercer cielo, con la enmienda de lectura que el compilador le añade entre corchetes.

«In this latter experience there was neither consciousness of time nor of space. ... Then I thought of the friends on earth and my duties there. ... I found myself looking down upon my own apparently lifeless body propped up in bed. Here I was apart from the body with ... another body to which matter offered no resistance» — y la abolición del tiempo y del espacio, más el cuerpo al que la materia no ofrece resistencia.

«I may add here that the friend referred to as having been seen by me that night was distinctly conscious of my presence and he made the exclamation mentioned. We both wrote the next day, relating the experiences of the night. The letters corroborating the incident crossed in the post.’» — la comprobación del caso: los dos escribieron al día siguiente y las cartas se cruzaron en el correo.

«About 2 a.m. I awakened to the sound of the telephone. I got up, pushed my feet into my slippers, dashed down the long passage, and knocked loudly. He answered, and I flew back, fearing to be caught in my pyjamas. I rested both my hands on the bed when, to my horror, I saw myself asleep in bed» — la testigo se levanta a avisar de una llamada y al volver se ve dormida en su propia cama.

«In the morning I thought I had dreamed it all, but at breakfast I heard the young man say, “I wish I knew who called me—I'd like to thank them.”» — y lo que oye al día siguiente en el desayuno, que convierte el sueño en caso.

«I kept silent as, on reflection, I realized that I had not, until then, seen the lad, and, what was more important, we had been in the house only two days and had no idea of the layout of the rooms. I did not know which room he occupied.’» — con el detalle que la testigo misma pondera: llevaba dos días en la casa y no sabía qué cuarto ocupaba el muchacho.

«As I looked at him he opened his eyes, saw me, put out his arms and said, “Come and give me a kiss!’ This I readily did and then he said, “You know, after that last injection I don’t remember anything until now, and I feel fine.”» — y lo que el marido muerto dice, que en el esquema del libro es un dato: no recuerda nada desde la última inyección.

«I thought, “What is the matter with me, there has been no funeral. I must get the doctor to see him at once.” I looked at Eric, and it was then, and then only, that I knew he had passed on» — la confusión de la testigo, que tarda en entender de qué lado está cada uno.

«I awoke to find myself floating over my body a few feet from the ceiling. I could see my Physical Body on the bed [ct. Statement No. 17]. I was cataleptic, yet with intensified consciousness.» — del caso número 95, el de Cromwell Addison: catalepsia y consciencia intensificada a la vez.

«This was not my first projection, as I had several times been observed by others, in my astral form, many miles away. But this time I awakened while yet over my body.» — y lo que hace nueva a ésta, según ella: otras veces la habían visto de lejos, pero era la primera vez que despertaba encima de su cuerpo.

«Panic seized me. ... I wondered how to get back before anyone discovered my “corpse”! This fear instantly made me recoil into my form with a great shock» — el pánico y el retroceso instantáneo, que es la regla que la compilación repite.

«Presently there was a strong “‘pulling’’ sensation as if from a giant hand, at the top of my head [cf. Statement No. 13]. Then I was gradually drawn as if out of a tight rubber bathing-suit, which I knew to be my flesh» — el tirón como de mano gigante y el traje de baño de goma del que se sale, símil que Crookall coteja con otros tres.

«Fully conscious, though cataleptic, I thought, “Iam in my bedroom at such and such an address; C.A. is my name, my bed is head to the wall adjoining the garden—now my head and shoulders are passing through the wall [cf. Statement No. 31]—now they are over the garden—now I am out to my knees”’, and still I could feel the tightness of the flesh below the points which were not free. “There, now I am out to my ankles; what is going to happen?”» — la testigo se recita su propia identidad y su posición mientras sale, midiendo por dónde va: es la observación crítica que el libro busca.

«Then I heard the words “Let her return now slowly, and next time she will not be afraid.”» — y la instrucción que dice haber oído, que el compilador indexa contra sus liberadores.

«The whole process was then repeated in reverse, and I glided into my body as slowly as I had withdrawn. There was a moment of darkness as the head of my Astral [here = Psychical] Body slipped into my Physical Body [cf. Statement No. 9] but no shock.» — el regreso hecho despacio, sin sacudida, que contrasta con el de casi todos los demás casos.

«On another occasion a friend saw me (as she thought) leave my room and the house, even rising to go in search of me. But she returned to find me sound asleep in bed.» — el episodio con testigo externo: una amiga la ve salir y la encuentra dormida.

«T have often awakened just prior to entering the body, and am also now well acquainted with the preparatory process of the loosening of the Astral Body, though I have never set myself to attain this object.’» — la testigo cierra declarando que nunca se lo propuso, lo que en este libro cuenta a favor.

«This case followed that just cited, the exteriorization being subsequently corroborated.» — del caso número 96, el de Mrs F. Collins, que Crookall coloca justo detrás por venir corroborado.

«I have at different times, without any conscious wish, found myself leaving my Physical Body and travelling through space to some scene in which I was present and heard and saw what was taking place at the time.» — la testigo declara que ocurre sin desearlo, y que ve y oye lo que está pasando.

«One night ... found myself leaving my body and floating towards the house of a friend. At that period of my life she was a great deal in my thoughts.» — y el destino, con la causa que ella misma admite: la amiga la ocupaba mucho por entonces.

«I stopped at her house and wandered around outside, and then suddenly found myself in the scullery where I saw my friend walking up and down in great pain and very ill. I felt very distressed and tried to help her but found I could not do so» — lo que ve en la trascocina y su impotencia para ayudar, que es el rasgo constante de la serie.

«The following day I called upon my friend, and, on being questioned, she admitted that she had been ill in precisely the manner and at the exact time (11.30 p.m.) that I had visited her in my Astral Body.’» — y la comprobación al día siguiente, con la hora exacta.

«Mrs Joy, of Fordingbridge, is the daughter of a Methodist Minister. She is not a spiritualist and had attended no seances. She informed me (in litt.) that she had projections before having read any book or article of any kind dealing with these matters.» — del caso número 97, el de Mrs I. M. Joy, con la triple negativa: ni espiritista, ni asistente a sesiones, ni lectora del asunto.

«My ea experience followed much activity in my home, such as ornaments changing place and raps» — el contexto doméstico de su primera salida, que el compilador lee como signo de un velo corporal flojo.

«I passed right through the piano [cf. Statement No. 31], opened the door in the usual way» — la mezcla que se repite en estos relatos: atraviesa el piano y abre la puerta por costumbre.

«I was seen by one of my neighbours when I was “out”: she saw me enter her cottage—I have done this many times and she thought it was a “vision” of me. ... I also visited my aunt in this way on several occasions. I touched her once and she looked round, worried. She knew who it was, but could not see me.» — los testigos externos que la testigo aduce, con lo que cada uno percibió.

«On one of my journeys I visited the house of Sibelius the Finnish composer ...’ [The details which Mrs Joy saw in Sibelius’s house were said to be confirmed later.]» — y una visita cuyos detalles Crookall consigna como confirmados, sin decir por quién.

«Until she had these experiences Mrs Joy was not sure of survival. They convinced her of the fact.» — el efecto sobre su creencia, que es el que la compilación busca caso por caso.

«It was warm and I was tempted to go further, but fear drew me away.’» — en el caso 97, el agua tibia y el miedo que la aparta, que Crookall interpreta como condiciones de Hades por lo flojo de su velo corporal.

«Mr Wills’s first exteriorization, described in Muldoon’s The Case for Astral Projection, like that of Morrell and Georginus, was caused by pain. Wills was at the dentist’s, having a tooth drilled without an anaesthetic. The pain became so acute that he ‘lost’ himself [= shed the Physical Body, cf. Statement No. 9] and then found himself looking over the dentist’s shoulder into his own mouth» — del caso número 98, el de A. J. Wills, cuya primera salida Crookall clasifica como causada por dolor: el torno del dentista sin anestesia.

«I was as fully conscious as ever I was in my life. The light was greyish ... I thought, “It is the middle of the night—what am I doing here?” And with that thought I was returned to my body.» — en otra salida, el testigo se sorprende de estar donde está y el propio pensamiento lo devuelve.

«Then I saw that it was not my Physical Body in which I was propped up (by my right arm). Looking downwards, I saw my Physical Body still sleeping on the seat» — el episodio del tren, con las dos posturas simultáneas que Crookall alinea con Van Eeden y Sculthorp.

«For a few moments I admired this new and beautiful body (the astral). It was rosy-pink and glowed like a luminous pearl» — y cómo describe ese cuerpo: rosa perlado y luminoso.

«Something which looked like an arm [the ‘silver cord’— cf. Statement No. 19] seemed to run down and merge into the brain of the Physical Body.» — con una variante del cordón que el testigo no nombra como tal: algo semejante a un brazo que se funde en el cerebro.

«Like so many others who made this claim, he found that to experience strong emotion while ‘out’ was to cause his return. He said, ‘If I think emotionally of my physical self while “out”, I am instantly back into it again.’» — la regla de la emoción, aquí en su forma más estricta: basta pensar con emoción en el propio cuerpo físico.

«I have done things while projected which would be physically impossible, such as defying gravity. ... When, while projected at a great height, I realize that there is no physical support under me, I sometimes have a feeling of nausea.» — y una reacción que casi nadie más declara: náusea al advertir que nada lo sostiene.

«If this realization of non-support comes slowly, I can overcome it; but if it comes suddenly, I return to the physical body speedily with a shock, causing a jerk of the body.» — con la diferencia que él mismo traza entre advertirlo despacio y advertirlo de golpe.

«It also, doubtless, corresponds to the ‘repercussion’, often of an injurious nature, felt by ‘physical’ mediums when the exteriorized ectoplasm, part of the “Denser Between Body’, or ‘body-veil,’ returns suddenly to the Physical Body because, for instance, a bright light has suddenly been flashed on the entranced person. When an ectoplasmic ‘materialization’ of Mme d’Espérance’s was assaulted, her Physical Body was severely injured» — Crookall extiende la repercusión a la mediumnidad física: el ectoplasma que vuelve de golpe por una luz repentina, con el caso de una materialización agredida.

«The ‘repercussion’ is similarly observed in certain phenomena in connection with ‘witches’ (and ‘wizards’) and with ‘black magic’ among savage or semi-savage tribes: after the phantom, apparition or ‘double’ has received an injury (and this was, no doubt, a ‘double’ highly impregnated with ectoplasm from the ‘body-veil’, and not a pure hallucination), the Physical Body of the ‘witch’ or ‘black magician’ was later found to be injured in the same place and same manner as the ‘double’.» — y la lleva a la brujería y a la magia negra, con la reserva puesta dentro del paréntesis: aquel doble estaría impregnado de ectoplasma y no sería pura alucinación.

«Mr Wills differentiated his experiences from dreams, saying, ‘In dreams there is always a sense of confusion and disorder, as if one had nothing fixed or concrete to tie to, and on awakening there is the immediate realization of having been deluded by the somnolent mind.» — cómo separa el testigo el sueño de lo otro: en el sueño hay confusión y al despertar se sabe que hubo engaño.

«In projection I find none of this. At first the sensation of being in different conditions tends to arouse the emotions, which usually cause a return to the physical. But later ... one is never more clear-minded than when projected.» — y su contraste, con la salvedad del principio: la emoción de lo desconocido devuelve al cuerpo, pero después la mente está más clara que nunca.

«Mr Banks told me (in litt.), ‘My first projection happened naturally some time before I understood anything about the occult.’» — del caso número 99, el de C. L. Banks, con la cláusula de ignorancia previa.

«Compare the experience of Oliver Fox: when out of the body, he tried to touch his sweetheart, and he returned at once. Similarly, the Revd. P. H. Newnham ‘returned’ when he put his arm round his sweetheart’s waist. It is, however, doubtful whether the latter was a case of astral projection or of telepathy and/or clairvoyance.» — Crookall lo empareja con Fox y con otro caso, y sobre el segundo se abstiene: duda de si fue proyección o telepatía.

«She would not tell me for some time. After some trouble, to my great surprise, she told me about my dream up to the time when she stood in the middle of the room.» — la comprobación del caso, que llega por la otra parte y hasta el mismo punto en que él despertó.

«Like several others, Mr Banks said that, on one occasion when he was ‘out’, he saw two of himself (besides his Physical Body).» — otra vez la pluralidad de cuerpos, aquí como dos figuras propias además del cuerpo físico.

«He said that things seemed quite real and solid in that condition, but there was one constant difference—the light. He said, “The light is very bright and clear; there is no light like it here ... it is quite soft, without glare; objects stand out much more against their background, yet there are no shadows.’» — el único rasgo constante que este testigo halla distinto: una luz clara y sin sombras.

«The nature of the light enabled him to realize when he was out of his Physical Body.» — que le sirve además de criterio para saber dónde está.

«Mr Banks, like the Countess of Tankerville, Col. Lester and Messrs Brown and Edwards, said that during out-of-the-body experiences he was used in ‘rescue work’ in the ‘lower astral planes’ [= the ‘earth-veil’ or ‘Hades’], ‘co-operating’ with those from the ‘Third Sphere’ [= ‘Paradise’, the ‘Finer Between Worlds’, ‘Summerland’, etc.] in assisting the ‘earthbound’ who are said to be the ‘spirits in prison’ of the Bible» — el trabajo de rescate, que Crookall documenta en cinco testigos y empareja con una expresión bíblica.

«My Guide and I are in coincidence. My Astral Body being straight out of the Physical Body, increases the density of his and so we can be perceptible to the person in need of our help.’» — y el mecanismo que el testigo declara para ello, que Crookall subraya haber hallado también en sus comunicaciones de muertos: su cuerpo astral aumenta la densidad del guía.

«Mrs Smith informed me (in litt.) that she had heard nothing about projection before having the experience. She published her account in Fate for Dec., 1950.» — del caso número 100, el de Mrs C. H. Smith, con la ignorancia previa y la fuente publicada.

«I awoke to find myself lying in a horizontal position about one foot above my body [cf. Statement No. 16] which I could see on the bed below me» — la postura horizontal sobre el propio cuerpo, que en esta serie se repite con medidas.

«Then, in a flash, I found myself standing upright in my cousin’s home eighty-six miles from my home. 1 was in the dining-room and afterwards described the exact position of a night-lamp on the table. I also saw the foot of my cousin’s casket, remembered the colour (a grey velour), and also told the exact place in the living-room where he was laid out.» — y los detalles verificables que la testigo dice haber traído de una casa a ochenta y seis millas.

«I entered a bedroom where my friend was sleeping, approached her, and, intending to awaken her, pulled her arm. Then I remembered that I must be dead and it would startle her if she saw me. So I started to turn away from the bed. Suddenly she opened her eyes and saw me.» — el gesto que provoca el testimonio ajeno, con la razón por la que se arrepiente a medias.

«There seemed to be an opening in the chest through which I entered.» — una vía de reingreso que rompe la regla del libro, y que Crookall anota como excepción documentada en dos casos más.

«When my friend returned from the funeral, she told how she had felt me pull at her arm, awakened, recognized me, and then saw me vanish.’» — y la comprobación por la amiga, que cierra el caso.

«During sleep I frequently have the following experience. I suddenly become wide and fully conscious but unable to move my limbs or use my voice [= catalepsy]. This condition is accompanied by a feeling of gasping and a sensation of coolness» — del caso número 101, el de *A.P.H.*: catalepsia con jadeo y frío, que el compilador aventura como emisión de ectoplasma, con signo de interrogación incluido.

«Sometimes during these “attacks” I feel that I am revolving through the air at a terrific speed; at other times I hear voices, either terrifying or human. This is not the ordinary type of nightmare. I enjoy good health and am not troubled with indigestion.’» — y cómo el propio testigo se adelanta a la explicación fisiológica.

«Being on the verge of sleep, I suddenly perceived a long object about eighteen inches above my body and parallel with it [cf. Statement No. 16]. It looked like a bolster,» — del caso número 102, el de *T.S.*: un objeto alargado suspendido sobre el propio cuerpo.

«Mrs H. E. Wheeler, of Woodbridge, told me (in litt.) of her two» — del caso número 94, el de H. E. Wheeler, recibido por carta y con dos episodios.

«I knew nothing of projection until after my first experience; it so impressed me that I read every book I could on the subject.’» — y el orden que este libro exige y ella declara: la experiencia primero, las lecturas después.

«Call’ rather than an “astral projection’. ]» — Crookall cierra el caso declarando qué es lo único que lo salva de ser una llamada telepática: que la testigo se viera a sí misma.

«The second incident occurred about two weeks after my husband’s passing in 1945. I was getting into bed when the thought came into my mind, “T’ll see him tonight!” For the first time since he died I slept at once and that very soundly. The next thing I knew was that I was standing beside him.» — el segundo episodio de la misma testigo, con la intención formulada antes de dormir.

«My “double” was dressed in a red frock which she recognized. Next day I wrote of the incident to an American friend whose letter, also written the same day, crossed mine and arrived two weeks later. She said that she had seen me in the U.S.A. that night, the difference in time being allowed for. I had been followed» — el vestido rojo que la amiga reconoció, y la carta de una tercera persona en América escrita el mismo día.

«and seen departing from England, and arriving in the U.S.A. The witnesses were unknown to each other and both mentioned the red dress.» — y la coincidencia que hace del caso una prueba: dos testigos que no se conocían mencionaron el vestido.

«Astral travelling has happened quite naturally to me for these last few years at any time, day or night. I do not try to get it at all; I just cannot help it happening.» — la frecuencia que declara la testigo del caso 97, sin buscarla y sin poder evitarla.

«I dreamed that I was standing at her bedroom-door, asking her to come to me. She heard, got up, and followed me downstairs to the living-room, when I stood with my back to a cupboard near the fire» — lo que el testigo del caso 99 dice haber soñado, con el sitio exacto de la escena.

«She stood in the middle of the room. I beckoned her to come to me and at that point I awoke in the Physical Body.» — y el punto exacto en que se corta el sueño.

«She said that she was so afraid that she stood cataleptic, screaming repeatedly.» — lo que la muchacha declaró por su cuenta: se despertó de pie en medio de la sala, cataléptica y gritando.

«I asked why, and she said that she could still see me after she had awakened: not only so, she could see the cupboard door through me.» — y lo que dijo seguir viendo después de despertar: a él, y el mueble a través de él.

«Then I caught sight of a face on it and it came to rest. Staring at me from it was the image of my own face. Then the vision faded.» — en el caso 102, el testigo reconoce su propia cara en el objeto suspendido sobre él.

«Had his consciousness been transferred (by way of the ‘silver cord’) to the ‘double’, he would then have seen the Physical Body from the ‘double’ [cf. Statement No. 17].» — y Crookall lo clasifica como primer estadio de la proyección, con lo que habría faltado dicho en condicional: que la consciencia se hubiera trasladado al doble.

«Here is an experience given in Prediction, Nov., 1938. I partially awoke to the strange sensation of ascending rapidly. My body was rigid [= catalepsy]. Suddenly I became afraid. Coinciding with this fear, I descended rapidly; a little jerk of the body and I awoke in bed.» — del caso número 103, el de *N.D.*: ascenso, miedo, descenso inmediato.

«I sank back into a state of semi-slumber and the same thing happened again. Once more I felt frightened and began the descent, apparently in consequence. This occurred three times.’» — y la repetición, que el propio testigo cuenta tres veces con la misma secuencia.

«Mr A. G. Bennett Focus on the Unknown (Rider & Co. Ltd., 1953) described what was almost certainly an out-of-the-body experience (though he did not recognize it as such).» — del caso número 104, el de Alfred Gordon Bennett, con la adjudicación de Crookall dicha con su cuantificador: casi con certeza una salida del cuerpo que el testigo no reconoció como tal.

«Mr Bennett also mentioned an author-friend who, having learned the methods in the East, could enter a state of suspended animation. On awakening from the trance he gave a ‘perfectly lucid account of the astral journeys he had undertaken whilst his body was in samadhi.’» — el amigo que Bennett menciona, con una técnica aprendida en Oriente y un estado que llama samadhi.

«What he said ‘appeared to provide abundant proof of the theory concerning the existence of adjoining spheres or super-terrestrial dimensions. But at the same time, it was obvious that he had also travelled extensively in our normal dimensions» — y lo que Bennett saca de aquello, con la mezcla que Crookall no deshace: esferas contiguas y a la vez recorridos por las dimensiones normales.

«Like Bulford, Mr Bennett insisted that it is important, prior to attempting leaving the body, clearly to visualize every detail of what is to be performed and that progress should be slow. Merely leaving the body and walking a few feet should, he considered, be spread over weeks, even months.» — el método que Bennett propone, con su ritmo: visualizar cada detalle de antemano y no pasar de unos pasos en semanas o meses.

«If, at the end of that period all tendency to fear has not been eliminated, and if there is a sensation that the mind is blacking-out and you are losing control over its functioning, then abandon the experiment for good. ... You are not psychically constituted to undertake it.’» — y la única instrucción de abandono que aparece en todo el libro, dicha por el propio practicante.

«No one can explain why I, who have repeatedly projected without the slightest alarm or discomfort, am unable to climb a high ladder or stand on top of a lofty precipice without wanting to throw myself down.’» — la anomalía que Bennett declara sin resolver: se proyecta sin miedo y no soporta las alturas.

«But the explanation is obvious. The passing through the ‘door’—of the Physical Body—in the ‘dream’ indicated that Mr Bennett has a relatively loose Psychical Body. The ‘Temptation’ (Matt. iv; Mark i, 13; Luke iv) ‘cast thyself down’ (from the pinnacle of the Temple) was in the nature of a test. Mr Bennett’s wish to ‘cast himself down’ represented a ‘sub-conscious’ desire to exteriorize and so to enter the free and happy conditions known as ‘Paradise’, of which he, and indeed all of us, are ‘sub-’ (really ‘super-’) consciously well aware. But he has yet to overcome habitual thought processes: he instinctively thinks that a fall in the Psychical Body, like one in the Physical Body, would hurt and injure.» — Crookall la resuelve con su esquema, y aquí no se pone reservas: leería el vértigo como deseo subconsciente de exteriorizarse, frenado por el hábito de temer la caída.

«Until this habitual shrinking from a fall is overcome, the extent of his ‘astral journeys’ is necessarily limited and that affects his ability, during exteriorizations, to ‘co-operate’ with discarnates in helping the newly-dead, the ‘earthbound’, etc.—cf. Statement No. 30.]» — y le pone consecuencias prácticas: mientras no lo venza, sus viajes seguirán siendo cortos y no podrá cooperar con los descarnados.

«At the age of eighteen, while in bed, my left side became numb. I found myself outside my body, looking down at it on the bed [cf. Statement No. 17]. I noticed a slight summer rash on my throat which was not known to me, but was found to be there the next morning.» — del caso número 105, el de Mrs *H.F.P.*, con un detalle comprobable poco común: vio en su propio cuello un sarpullido que no conocía y que a la mañana estaba ahí.

«I said to myself, “If this is what it feels like to be dead, I shall never be afraid of dying.”» — y la frase con que la testigo lo resume, que es la moraleja que el libro repite.

«Looking at my body, I thought, “Must I get back into that?” [cf. Statement No. 8]. But I was drawn into it with a rush.» — la renuencia y el regreso brusco, en dos líneas.

«It will be seen that, whereas many of those who, like Mrs “H.F.P.’, claimed to shed the body naturally did so slowly and gently, often, indeed, so gently and naturally that the process passed unnoticed (as it does when we naturally ‘fall asleep’).» — aquí Crookall abre la comparación que sostiene todo el libro: en las salidas naturales el desprendimiento es lento y a menudo pasa inadvertido, como al dormirse.

«On the other hand, many of these people were conscious of re-entering the body and these are the ones who also describe a rapid and sudden return, and that from considerable (‘vibrational’) distances» — y esos mismos sí notan el regreso, que describen rápido y desde lejos.

«When these descriptions are compared with those of people whose shedding of the body was enforced (by anaesthetics, etc.), we observe a significant difference: these, who shed the body rapidly and suddenly, are more often conscious of ejection from the body but less often aware of the process of re-entering it.» — la asimetría inversa en la serie forzada, que es el hallazgo que Crookall presenta como significativo.

«These matters increase in significance when a comparison is made of the above with what is said by those who claimed to have shed the body permanently, i.e., ‘died’: the proportion of those who died naturally and who were conscious of shedding the body was relatively small compared with that of those whose death was enforced.» — y su tercer término, tomado de los que dicen haber dejado el cuerpo para siempre: los de muerte natural notaron menos el desprendimiento que los de muerte forzada.

«The latter fairly often said they ‘felt dizzy’, ‘fell down’, ‘went to sleep’, ‘became unconscious’, that ‘all went dark’, that ‘things became black’, etc. Being awake and alert at the time of transition, they were aware of something happening. While the Physical and Psychical Bodies were disconnecting, and ‘out-of-gear’ with each other, consciousness could not operate in either, so that a momentary ‘blackout’ was produced.» — con las expresiones concretas de esos muertos y la explicación mecánica que les pone: desengranados los dos cuerpos, la consciencia no opera en ninguno.

«When this work is completed, the ‘earthbound’ man has to shed the ‘medium’s body’. Now, when he “died’ he may or may not, have been conscious of shedding his body but he is now conscious, alert, and aware of leaving the medium’s body. He experiences death by proxy!» — la figura con que lo nombra: una muerte por poderes.

«It is significant that in this death by proxy, he makes exclamations identical with those cited above—the commonest exclamation is to complain that he is ‘falling’. (It is, of course, the ‘medium’s’ Physical Body which is ‘falling’ away from him.) How can these correspondences be explained unless they refer to something objective?]» — y el argumento que le saca, formulado como pregunta: la queja de estar cayendo se repite igual, y no ve cómo explicar la correspondencia si no remite a algo objetivo.

«Later someone told me that it was dangerous to leave the body, and I became afraid to do so, and whenever a numbness came over me I shook myself to prevent it. But I have occasionally been ‘half out’ and was then simultaneously conscious both of the numbness of my Physical Body and the ‘aliveness’ of the ‘inner’ and more vital body’.» — en el mismo caso, el miedo introducido por un tercero y la consciencia doble que la testigo describe estando a medio salir.

«I found myself looking down on a railway line where two trains had crashed into one another. ... I was rushing to the help of the injured [cf. Statement No. 30 regarding ‘co-operation’, and the accounts of Lester, Banks, Edwards, Brown, Mrs Fisher and the Countess of Tankerville]. ... The morning papers next day showed photographs of the accident that had occurred during the night’.» — el accidente ferroviario que la testigo dice haber visto y el recorte del día siguiente.

«A friend of my husband’s came, one who had died abroad and whom I had never met or even heard described (cf. Statement No. 18]. “Can you help me?” he said, “I want to talk to your husband, but do not want to frighten him’’» — y el conocido muerto que le pide de intermediaria con su marido, para no asustarlo.

«Next day my husband had no remembrance of “going over’’ in his sleep, but he said that my description of the appearance and mannerisms of his friend was correct in every detail.» — con la comprobación al día siguiente: el marido no recordaba nada y confirmó la descripción.

«On the “other side’’ I also saw his widow, whom I had not then met, but when we did meet (after her return to England a few months later) I recognized her.» — y una segunda comprobación, diferida meses: reconoció a la viuda cuando la conoció en persona.

«He walked straight to the foot of my bed and leaned over a white-railed cot, which, I must mention, I had moved on the previous day from the night nursery and put in my room. My little girl had been ailing and I wished to have her with me at night.» — el detalle sobre el que se juega el caso: una cuna que la testigo había mudado de cuarto el día anterior.

«The child awoke, and, seeing her father, sat up and held out her arms to him, saying, “Why, Daddy’s come home.”» — y la reacción de la niña, que es el segundo testigo.

«The only unusual thing he noticed was that the white cot, which was generally in the nursery, was at the foot of our bed with the child in it.» — lo que el marido, desde otra ciudad, dice haber notado como raro: exactamente esa cuna.

«The times were identical and he could not possibly have known that the child’s cot was in my room unless he had seen it. I had not told him that the child was ailing.» — con lo que Crookall retiene como prueba: coinciden las horas y él no podía saber lo de la cuna.

«In this case the ‘double’ was seen collectively and that without any possibility of verbal suggestion. This strongly suggests that the man was actually present in his Psychical Body.» — y cómo lo cierra, con su cuantificador: una percepción colectiva sin sugestión verbal posible sugiere fuertemente presencia real.

«This case, from H. F. Brown’s J. A. Symonds, A Biography, London, 1895, is given by Wm. James in his The Varieties of Religious Experience (Longmans Green and Co., rst ed., 1902, 28th impression, 1917). It is a mystical rather than a psychical experience, one apparently involving the Higher Mental rather than the Psychical Body.» — del caso número 107, el de J. A. Symonds, que Crookall clasifica aparte: experiencia mística y no psíquica, del cuerpo mental superior.

«Space, time, sensation, etc. were obliterated and the underlying, or essential, consciousness acquired intensity. At last nothing remained but a pure, absolute, abstract Self. The universe became without form and void of content. But Self persisted.» — y lo que queda cuando todo se borra, según él: un Yo puro, absoluto y abstracto.

«The return to ordinary consciousness began by my recovering the sense of touch. ... At last I felt myself once more a human being» — el regreso por escalones, que Crookall indexa contra su despertar parcial.

«This case was given in Proc. S.P.R., xxxiii, 355. Mrs ‘H’ ‘dreamed’ that she was walking in Richmond Park with her husband and a friend, Mr ‘J’. She saw, posted on the trees, a notice to the effect that Lady ‘R’ was giving a garden party.» — del caso número 108, el de Mrs *H*, tomado de las actas de la S.P.R.

«Mr ‘H’ awoke too at that moment and said, ‘I have had such a vivid dream. I dreamed that we were walking in Richmond Park and were told that Lady “R’ was giving a garden party. We were invited. I was troubled as to how we should get home, as the party was at ten, and the last train at eleven, when ‘J’, who was with us, said, “Oh, I will manage that for you”’.’» — y el relato del marido, que despierta en el mismo instante y repite la escena con la misma frase.

«This kind of experience is technically called a ‘reciprocal dream’. We suggest that Mr “H’, Mrs ‘H’ and Mr ‘J’ were all exteriorized from their Physical Bodies. Similar experiences may be common, but they are very rarely remembered.» — Crookall lo nombra con el término técnico y propone su lectura: los tres estaban exteriorizados, y estos casos serían frecuentes y rara vez recordados.

«Some reciprocal dreams may, of course, be due to telepathy. Each case calls for individual interpretation.» — con la abstención inmediata, que es lo que impide leerlo como regla: algunos serán telepatía, y cada caso hay que interpretarlo por separado.

«This is another ‘reciprocal’ case from the files of the S.P.R. It concerns Miss Emma Steele and Mr Claude Burgess, a paralytic.» — del caso número 109, el de Emma Steele y Claude Burgess, también de los archivos de la S.P.R.

«During the night of May 5, Miss Steele awoke to find herself in the middle of her bedroom calling, ‘I'm coming!’ She had heard the voice of Mr Burgess calling, “Miss Steele’ three times. She put on her dressing gown and lit the gas, and then realized that Mr Burgess no longer lived in the house.» — la testigo despierta de pie en su cuarto respondiendo a una voz, y cae en la cuenta de que el llamante ya no vivía allí.

«The next morning Miss Steele told the cook of her ‘dream’. That afternoon a note was delivered at the house. It was from Mr Burgess and read thus: ‘My dear Emma, I had a dream about you last night. I dreamed that you appeared at about 3 a.m. Just a glimpse of you.» — y la nota que llega esa tarde del otro lado, con la misma hora.

«This experience also may well be a partially-remembered astral projection. The case next cited strongly supports that view.» — Crookall lo propone con su cuantificador —bien puede ser— y remite el peso de la prueba al caso siguiente.

«In the last two cases cited a ‘dream’ experience was ‘shared’ by two people. In this one (from Journ. American S.P.R., Feb., 1939) three people were involved. There are obvious indications of ‘astral projection’.» — del caso número 110, el de Mrs Dreisch, que Crookall presenta como el mismo fenómeno con tres personas.

«Never before have I had such a strong dream-impression. It was, in some way, different from other dreams. I didn’t see a picture, but knew that there was danger in connexion with a fire.» — la testigo distingue esa impresión de sus otros sueños: no vio una escena, supo que había peligro de fuego.

«When my maid came in with my coffee, she said, “Madam, what a terrible night! I saw a ghost [? Mrs Dreisch’s exteriorized “double'—see below], and then something happened to Clara and there was fire and white smoke.”» — el primer testimonio ajeno, de una criada que además dice haber visto un aparecido.

«Now she and the cook did not like each other and I was sure that no communication had passed between them in the morning.» — con la razón por la que Crookall descarta el contagio entre las dos: no se llevaban bien.

«Suddenly, I felt that you, Madam, were awakening me. I opened my eyes and saw beside me, on the little table, a huge fire. ... In reality, it was only the candle that had burned down and set off a lot of matches. I took the candle-stick and threw it into the water in the wash-stand. Some hot wax dropped on my arm.”» — el segundo testimonio, el de la cocinera, con el fuego real detrás de lo que ella vio como enorme.

«Clara showed me the inside of her arm: it was covered with red spots up to the elbow.» — y la marca física que queda, que es lo más cercano a una prueba material en toda la serie.

«I had the feeling that I was awakened expressly and knew exactly what to do as if I had been told in my sleep!”» — lo que la cocinera declara del modo de despertar, que Crookall indexa contra su categoría de la llamada.

«The door of my bedroom and that of the two girls close very tightly and my bedroom is separated from theirs by two other doors, so that I could not possibly have seen a light or smelled the smoke of a fire in their room, which could have inspired my dream. ... All three of us had the feeling that a contact took place between us, though separated by space.» — y la testigo se adelanta a la explicación física, describiendo las puertas que separaban los cuartos.

«Catherine Griggs and her mother lived in Waterbury, Conn. They slept in twin beds in one room. One night Catherine lay awake with toothache. Her mother was reading in bed. Shortly before 5 a.m. the daughter fell asleep. Suddenly she felt herself outside her body. Her withdrawal had been so gentle and natural as to pass unnoticed [cf. Statement No. 9]. She walked round the foot of the bed, observing her own body and her mother [cf. Statement No. 17]. Her mother’s eyes were fixed on her book.» — del caso número 111, el de Catherine Griggs: sale sin notarlo y da la vuelta a la cama mirándose a sí misma y a su madre.

«Since Catherine had had previous exteriorizations and (like Fox, Muldoon, Sculthorp, Mrs Peters, etc.) had noted ‘incongruities’ between the physical and non-physical environments, she walked out of the room and through the half-lighted hall with the object of seeing if the house looked perfectly natural on the present occasion.» — y lo que hace a continuación, que es lo que a Crookall le interesa: recorre la casa a propósito, buscando incongruencias.

«She thus, like Gerhardi, Miss Newby, Mrs Leonard, etc., deliberately set out to make critical observations, a characteristic of waking—not of dream-consciousness.]» — el corchete donde lo declara rasgo de vigilia y no de sueño, que es el criterio con que el libro separa las dos cosas.

«Her descriptions of the process of re-entering the body is interesting: ‘I slipped back into myself (body) and then awoke—two separated conditions.’» — la testigo separa el reingreso del despertar como dos operaciones distintas.

«Mrs Griggs exteriorized immediately afterwards. [Looseness of the ‘double’ is known to be hereditary.]» — y la madre sale poco después, con una generalización de Crookall dicha como cosa sabida: lo flojo del doble sería hereditario.

«Outside her body, she looked at her daughter and heard her murmur to the parrot, “You're a nice little bird!’—‘Nice little nuisance!’, Mrs Griggs said. She walked up to the cage and tapped it, but the bird did not seem to hear» — el engarce entre los dos relatos: la madre oye la frase que la hija dijo al loro, y el pájaro no la oye a ella.

«In such ‘dreams’, if some object appeared unnatural to her, she could usually, by an effort of will, make it resume its natural appearance.» — una técnica que la testigo dice tener: enderezar por voluntad lo que se ve anómalo.

«She went downstairs and into the living-room and noted that the wallpaper was of a different pattern from the actual paper. Although, however, she concentrated on it, her efforts were unavailing on this occasion.» — y el caso en que le falla, con el papel de la pared que no vuelve a su dibujo.

«But she realized that there was no need to open the door, that, by concentrating on the idea, she could pass right through it. This she did and found herself out on the porch» — el paso por la puerta cerrada, hecho por concentración y no por costumbre.

«She touched the wire screening and felt it give way slightly at first, after which her hand passed through it» — y un detalle de resistencia gradual que Crookall alinea con otros dos casos del interruptor de la luz.

«are among symbols for passing out of the Physical Body.» — el corchete donde Crookall repertoria los símbolos del desprendimiento: puerta, pasillo, túnel.

«The same symbols are used by certain dying persons: a dying boy said that he could see a ‘door’ in the corner of the room, adding, ‘When that door opens, I shall go through it.’ Further, a number of supposed dead communicators described leaving their bodies as passing through a doorway» — y los cruza con los de los moribundos y los de sus muertos, incluido el niño que veía una puerta en el rincón del cuarto.

«Nor is this all. Where ‘earthbound’ men (who have delayed the shedding of the “body-veil’ and who are consequently delayed in ‘Hades’ conditions and unaware that they have ‘died’) are brought to a seance (a “Rescue Circle’) for instruction, they are allowed to enter the Physical Body of a ‘medium’» — añade un cuarto término, el círculo de rescate, donde a un muerto que ignora serlo se le permite entrar en el cuerpo de un médium.

«Members of the ‘circle’ can then converse with the ‘earthbound’ and explain their condition to them.» — y para qué: para que los presentes puedan hablarle y explicarle en qué estado está.

«This case was published in Light, Jan. 6th, 1912, and in Drayton» — del caso número 106, el de Mrs *F.B.*, con doble procedencia: una revista de 1912 y un libro de 1930.

«His ‘double’ was seen both by his wife and child.» — y lo que lo hace distinto de casi toda la serie: el doble fue visto por dos personas a la vez.

«Suddenly ... always when my muscles were at rest, I felt the approach of the mood. Irresistibly it took possession of my mind, lasted what seemed to be an eternity» — cómo describe el testigo del caso 107 la llegada del estado, con la condición muscular que le pone.

«sembled the awakening from an anaesthetic. Space, time, sensation, etc. were obliterated and the underlying, or essential, consciousness acquired intensity. At last nothing remained but a pure, absolute, abstract Self. The universe became without form and void of content. But Self persisted.» — y cómo se va: con sensaciones parecidas al despertar de una anestesia, borrado todo menos un Yo puro.

«I threw myself on my knees and told him about our problems. I asked him if he can see and hear us. He replied, “I always see you. I always can hear you’.’» — en el caso 111, lo que la testigo dice haber preguntado a su marido muerto y lo que él contestó.

«In some of her previous experiences a familiar face had turned into a mocking one—cf. Mme David-Neel’s ‘monk’, a mental image, or ‘thought-form’ which, apparently, became ensouled by a ‘joker’ on ‘the other side’. Impersonation is well known to occur on the lower psychic levels—(hence the injunction to ‘try the spirits whether they are of God’—I John iv, 1]» — el corchete donde Crookall consigna la suplantación en los niveles psíquicos bajos, con la advertencia bíblica de probar los espíritus.

«Her doubts aroused, Mrs Griggs watched her husband’s face carefully. It did not change. Nevertheless her fear caused her re-interiorization: she awoke in the Physical Body.» — y lo que pasó pese a que la cara no cambió: la duda misma la devolvió al cuerpo.

«With regard to the fur coat, Catherine declared that she had worn that coat for the first time that winter and had flung it on the chair after her mother had gone to bed. Next morning it had been removed and put away, yet Mrs Griggs was able correctly to indicate the chair.» — la comprobación del caso: el abrigo estrenado y tirado en una silla después de que la madre se acostara, y retirado antes de que despertara.

«This case, given among ‘clairvoyant dreams’ in The Mystery of Dreams, by William Oliver Stevens (George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1950), is probably an example of ‘astral projection’.» — del caso número 112, el de Mr Stevens, que Crookall reclasifica desde la categoría en que lo halló, y con su cuantificador: probablemente.

«Coming downstairs, he repeated it to the maid and then told it to his father over the breakfast table.» — el detalle procesal que hace verificable el caso: el testigo lo contó a tres personas antes de que llegara noticia alguna.

«It was all so clear that I am sure it really happened somewhere. There will be something about it in the paper to-day. Let’s watch for it.’» — y la predicción que él mismo formula sobre su propio relato.

«The newspaper arrived in the afternoon. Mrs Stevens brought it into the room with part of the front page exposed. The son started up from his chair, pointed to the picture on the front page, and cried, “There! that is the very man I saw in my dream!’» — el reconocimiento en el diario de la tarde, ocho horas después.

«The details described of the accident were exactly as seen in the ‘dream’ and described eight hours before the paper arrived, except that, according to the young woman, the skid occurred in avoiding a truck. Stevens saw no truck.» — con la discrepancia consignada en la misma frase que el acierto: la testigo del accidente habló de un camión que él no vio.

«Mrs Fisher, of Halesowen, sent me the following (in litt.). “My first out-of-the-body experience occurred when I was young and unaware that such things were possible. I had read no book on the subject.» — del caso número 113, el de Phyllis Fisher, recibido por carta, con la ignorancia previa declarada.

«Some years later, after having been asleep, I woke with a feeling that I was floating in the air. I relaxed in order not to break this condition.» — y la conducta que la testigo se impone dentro de la experiencia: relajarse para no romperla.

«On a subsequent occasion, I was taken by a guide into the “dark regions” [= the lower ‘Hades’ conditions]. It was exactly like Dante’s Inferno—people groped in darkness, scarcely discernible as human beings.» — las regiones oscuras que ella compara con el Infierno de Dante, y que el compilador cataloga como Hades inferior.

«Richet gave this case (Thirty Years of Psychical Research, Collins & Co. Ltd., 1923). Mrs Elgee, staying in Cairo, awoke as though she had been called to see the ‘double’ of an old friend whom she knew to be in England.» — del caso número 114, tomado de Richet: una aparecida en El Cairo de alguien que estaba en Inglaterra.

«The figure came forward and pointed to Mrs Dennys (who slept in the same room). Mrs Dennys awoke and saw the apparition. It then vanished but she was able to describe it exactly, though she did not recognize whom it represented.» — y lo que hace del caso una percepción colectiva: la segunda testigo despierta, ve la aparición y la describe sin reconocerla.

«This lady ‘dreamed’ that she floated away from her body. She said, ‘I saw myself in bed with a smoky string [= the ‘silver cord’—cf. Statement No. 19] connecting the two of me. Then I snapped back into my body’» — del caso número 115, el de Mrs *T.D.*: el cordón nombrado por ella como una cuerda ahumada.

«Mrs Bounds’s case was given in Psychic News, Oct. 2, 1954. This lady, ninety-four years of age, was pronounced dead by a doctor at the Richard Cusden Home, Streatham. But the matron felt a slight flicker of the pulse and, massaging the heart, restored Mrs Bounds to physical life.» — del caso número 116, el de Elizabeth Bounds, de noventa y cuatro años, dada por muerta y reanimada por la matrona.

«I was rushing along a pitch-black tunnel [cf. Statement No. 9], but a voice said, “Go back, we don’t want you yet al heard Matron’s voice calling out of the black tunnel, “Elizabeth, come back”. I returned and I opened my eyes.’» — y el túnel negro del que la sacan dos voces, una de ellas la de la matrona.

«Dr Hereward Carrington gave this account, by an acquaintance for whose sincerity he vouched. It was published in Psychic Oddities (Rider & Co. Ltd., 1952).» — del caso número 117, el del amigo de Carrington, con la fianza que el compilador consigna: Carrington sale garante de su sinceridad.

«My experiences have left an indelible impression on my mind, convincing me that certain happenings of the kind are genuine. Nothing that anyone can say will shake that conviction.» — la certeza con que el testigo abre, sin grados.

«These experiences were not dreams. I retained full waking consciousness. I could look about me, see my body asleep on the bed and note its position [cf. Statement No. 17]. I was functioning outside my material body, which I could then realize was not the real “me’’, but a mere shell.» — y el criterio con que separa esto del sueño, más la conclusión que saca sobre el cuerpo físico.

«The first emotion is one of panic. The subject thinks that he has died. It comes as a shock. This emotion often tends to end the projection: there is a sudden “drawing” sensation at the back of the head [cf. Muldoon, etc. and Statement No. 13]. A moment of blackness [= re-entering the Physical Body—cf. Statement No. 9 in reverse] and the subject finds himself back in the body again.» — una regularidad que el testigo formula en tercera persona, como si fuera doctrina: el pánico inicial y el tirón en la nuca que devuelve al cuerpo.

«If instead of panicking, he had kept cool and “willed” to project further, he would have had a never-to-be-forgotten experience—that of living outside his body!» — con lo que propone hacer en su lugar.

«My first experience occurred in 1932, when I had never heard of astral projection. I had been asleep and suddenly found myself “awake”, in full possession of my consciousness.» — la primera salida, en 1932 y sin haber oído hablar del asunto.

«I reached out my hand to touch my body: the hand passed completely through it [cf. Statement No. 31]. This was an added shock. More intense fear shot through me— and then I was back in the Physical Body.» — y el gesto que lo asusta hasta devolverlo: la mano que atraviesa su propio cuerpo.

«I read it and tried again, controlling my fear. I had learned that desire facilitates projection. All that day I ate large quantities of salt and would not drink water. I went to bed with a terrific thirst, and slept.» — y el método que se fabrica a partir de esa lectura: provocarse una sed enorme para que el deseo lo saque del cuerpo.

«I saw a man who seemed normal except that his head appeared to be composed of yellowish gas. This dream-like character struck me and I said, “This isa dream!”» — la incongruencia que le abre la consciencia plena: un hombre con la cabeza de gas amarillento.

«As soon as I did this, I became fully conscious and found myself “projected”. The dream had changed into reality! I now realized that I was in Wentchee, Wash. My body was in Los Angeles.» — y el efecto de advertirla, con las dos ciudades que el testigo nombra.

«The difference between astral projection and death is that the “cord” binding together the two bodies is intact in the one case and broken in the other [cf. Statement No. 20]. Astral projection proves that there is nothing to fear in death.’» — la tesis con que el testigo cierra, que es la del libro entero: el cordón intacto en un caso y roto en el otro.

«The following experiences are given in The Prodigal (J. M. Watkins, 1921). The first is of a ‘mystical’ nature, the second a more typical ‘astral projection’ [cf. the Symonds case].» — del caso número 118, el del *Prodigal*, que Crookall separa en dos: una experiencia mística y otra de proyección.

«Then there began to pour into me an indescribably great vitality which filled me from the feet up, gently and slowly. As it rose higher, I felt the sensation of being freed from the law of gravity—I was a free spirit.» — la vitalidad que sube desde los pies y la sensación de quedar libre de la gravedad.

«One night I composed myself for sleep, but I did not sleep, nor was my wakefulness the usual wakefulness. I did not dream. I could not move» — el segundo episodio, distinguido por el testigo tanto del sueño como de la vigilia habitual.

«My consciousness was alight with a new energy and extended to an infinite distance beyond my body. Yet it remained connected with my body [by the ‘silver cord’—cf. Statement No. 19]. I lived a life in which none of my senses was used yet which was a thousand times as vivid» — con la consciencia extendida lejos del cuerpo y aun así conectada a él por el cordón.

«It was, by some de-insulation, aware of the spirit-life as it will be when free from the flesh.’» — y el término con que el testigo lo explica, que Crookall recoge para su repertorio: una desaislación.

«This case is mentioned in W. Whately Smith’s A Theory of the Mechanism of Survival (Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co. Ltd., 1920), where it was said to be derived from Death: its Causes and Phenomena, by Hereward Carrington and John R. Meader (Rider & Co. Ltd., IQII).» — del caso número 119, anónimo, con la cadena de dos libros por la que llega.

«He thought of a friend who was some hundreds of miles distant and at once found himself in the presence of his friend, who spoke to him.» — el desplazamiento por deseo y el amigo que le habla, que es lo que hará comprobable el caso.

«Smith said, ‘The credentials of this case are good, and it is important to note that the friend to whom he referred wrote spontaneously to say that he had seen the narrator at the time and in the circumstances described.» — y la comprobación que su primer editor destaca: el amigo escribió por su cuenta diciendo haberlo visto.

«For this reason it can hardly be dismissed as a mere hallucination or dream. ... The narrator, apparently embodied all the time in a vehicle of some sort, saw his own body from outside.’» — con la conclusión de aquel autor, dicha con su cuantificador: difícilmente puede despacharse como alucinación.

«inhaled chloroform to relieve pain. He said, ‘Suddenly, I found my soul, clothed and in the form of my body, standing two yards outside my body which lay motionless on the bed’» — del caso número 120, el del Dr George Wyld, que abre la serie de las exteriorizaciones forzadas por anestésicos.

«He noted Sir Humphry Davy’s experience under nitrous oxide. The latter ‘lost all connexion with physical things’ and “existed in a world of newly-connected and newly-modified ideas’, exclaiming, on returning to the body, ‘Nothing exists but thoughts. The universe is composed of impressions, ideas, pleasures and pains’» — y lo que el mismo testigo trae a cuento: la frase de Humphry Davy bajo óxido nitroso, que no existe más que el pensamiento.

«Davy’s experience transformed that scientist into an idealist» — con el efecto que le atribuye sobre la filosofía del químico.

«Mrs Arnot died at 11 a.m. Her daughter was being given chloroform at 12 noon. On recovering consciousness she told those around her that her mother had died, for she had seen her [cf. Statement No. 8]. Tidings of the mother’s death did not reach that house for another four hours.» — y el segundo caso que Wyld aporta, con las horas contadas: la hija ve a la madre muerta bajo cloroformo cuatro horas antes de que llegue la noticia.

«Varley used an acid in certain experiments. The fumes affected his throat and he obtained relief by using ether. Later he used chloroform.» — del caso número 121, el de Cromwell Varley, aquí en su versión forzada: el mismo testigo que ya apareció en la serie natural.

«I willed an impression on my wife’s brain that I was in danger [cf. the telepathic ‘Call’, Statement No. 2]. Thus aroused, she came down and removed the sponge.» — y lo que dice haber hecho desde fuera, que el compilador indexa contra su categoría de la llamada telepática.

«I then used my body to speak to my wife. I said, “I shall forget all about this, and how it came to pass, unless you remind me in the morning. Be sure to tell me what made you come down and then I shall be able to recall the circumstances’’.’» — con una maniobra que casi nadie más refiere: usar el propio cuerpo para hablar y dejarse instrucciones para después.

«It may be added that Varley not only described both his wife’s sister and his wife as having out-of-the-body experiences, but on one occasion Mrs Varley (like Varley himself in the case just cited), though outside her body in trance, made it speak in a manner similar to that said to be used by the ‘control’ of a medium. Mrs Varley said, ‘It is not the spirits that now speak, it is myself. I make use of my body the same as spirits do when they speak through me.’» — y el caso de su esposa, que Crookall usa para emparentar todo esto con la mediumnidad: fuera del cuerpo, hizo hablar al suyo como lo haría un control.

«Another case in which a telepathic ‘Call’ [Statement No. 2] seems to have occurred was given by H. F. Prevost Battersby (Man Outside Himself, Rider & Co. Ltd.).» — del caso número 122, el de Miss *M.A.B.*, que Crookall clasifica bajo la misma categoría de la llamada.

«I noticed the white crosses on the nurses’ backs, where the bands of their uniforms crossed. I heard them say, “Miss B., don’t scream; you are frightening the other patients’.» — el detalle que la testigo dice haber visto desde arriba, y lo que oyó decir sobre su propio cuerpo.

«I was quite apart from my screaming body and unable to stop it.» — con la disociación llevada al extremo: el cuerpo gritaba y ella no podía pararlo.

«I said to myself, “If only they would send for ‘E’ [a friend, waiting below], she could stop it”. At my thought, that was exactly what they did. A nurse rushed downstairs and begged “E” to come up. She touched my body, speaking to me. Immediately the screaming ceased.» — y el efecto que el testimonio atribuye a un pensamiento suyo, sin explicarlo.

«Mrs Hatfield, a Methodist, wrote (in litt.), ‘In 1927, I was given ether. I seemed to float down a dark tunnel [cf. Mrs Leslie, Mrs Tarsikes, Miss Peters, Miss Yeoman, Miss Stables, Miss Bazett, etc., and Statement No. 9], moving towards a half-moon of light that was miles away. 1 heard the sound of music and smelled the scent as of an old-fashioned bouquet. Then my flight down the tunnel was halted: although there was no obstruction, I could not go further. I staged a rebellion. I wanted to go on. A voice said, “Go back and live.” Then I found myself back in the body.» — del caso número 123, el de Mrs E. Hatfield, metodista: el túnel bajo éter, la media luna de luz y la voz que la manda volver.

«I am convinced that I was dead to this world but wholly alive in another.’» — y la certeza con que la testigo lo resume.

«Muldoon and Carrington published this experience, which was also printed in Psychic News, July 3, 1954. Dr Smith, Professor of English at Bethel College, was freed from the body by chloroform.» — del caso número 124, el de la Dra Enid Smith, que es la versión forzada del caso 17: la misma testigo en las dos series.

«I tried to tell those who were anxious about me, because my breath, heart and pulse had stopped, that I was out of my body and above it, perfectly natural and safe [cf. Statement No. 17]. I tried to tell them that I was in no hurry to return.» — lo que dice haber intentado comunicar mientras el cuerpo no respiraba.

«Before I returned to my body I visited two friends in Los Angeles, one a renowned artist. Although the artist and his wife, to whom I appeared, did not know that I was undergoing an operation in hospital in New York, I had awakened and appeared to them in California at exactly the time of my passing out of my body.» — el elemento comprobable del caso: apareció a dos amigos de California, que ignoraban la operación.

«(This statement was verified by the friends concerned.)» — y el compilador consigna la verificación en una línea aparte.

«Hymans told Richet the following and he published the account in the Revue Métapsychique, 1930. ‘I was given chloroform. I awoke to find myself floating in the air near the ceiling, whence, to my astonishment, I saw the dentist at work on my teeth» — del caso número 125, el de M. L. Hymans, tomado de Richet: bajo cloroformo, ve al dentista trabajarle la boca desde el techo.

«The research officers of the Society learned that Mrs Griggs» — la Sociedad investigó por su cuenta a las dos testigos del caso 111.

«and her daughter had had exteriorizations all their lives, but they could not produce them at will.» — y lo que halló, con el límite incluido: toda la vida con estas experiencias y ninguna a voluntad.

«visits, obtaining information about rooms, their contents, etc. that later proved to be correct.’» — la parte comprobable que la testigo del caso 113 declara: datos de habitaciones que resultaron ciertos.

«Until this time I had been a sceptic of all things psychic, but I went next day to the library and there found The Projection of the Astral Body» — el orden que este libro registra caso por caso: escéptico, experiencia, y solo después la biblioteca.

«this man exteriorized slowly but returned» — el corchete donde Crookall convierte el caso 117 en regla: en la salida natural el desprendimiento es lento y el regreso rápido.

«On the other hand, rapid ejection and unconsciousness of return characterizes enforced exteriorizations.]» — y la forma inversa que atribuye a la serie forzada.

«The Power rose in me until it reached the crown of my head» — el ascenso de la fuerza hasta la coronilla en el relato del caso 118.

«and immediately the barrier between God and me came down.» — y lo que el testigo dice que ocurre entonces.

«logy, as well as those of ‘blinkers’, ‘blankets’, ‘brakes’, etc.]» — el corchete donde Crookall reúne las cuatro imágenes con que sus fuentes describen el cuerpo físico: aislante, anteojeras, mantas, frenos.

«One night I rolled on my back retaining the chloroform» — el accidente con la esponja de cloroformo en el caso 121.

«saturated sponge, which remained in my mouth. Mrs Varley was in the room above. After a little time, I became conscious. I saw myself on my back with the sponge to my mouth [cf. Statement No. 17], but was powerless to move my body.» — con el testigo consciente, viéndose a sí mismo y sin poder mover el cuerpo.

«Were I to die a thousand deaths each would be like the calm, joyous stepping from one room in a happy house» — la comparación con que la testigo del caso 124 resume la muerte.

«Meanwhile, Mrs Cole also had a warning dream, though she did not tell her husband about it until after the operation. Mrs Cole dreamed that she saw her husband lying with a towel round his neck. On his cheek was a streak of blood which ran from the corner of the mouth and then at right angles up the cheek. She could not understand how the blood could run up the face.» — en el caso 126, el sueño de aviso de la esposa, con el detalle que ella no consigue explicarse: la sangre que corre hacia arriba por la mejilla.

«His wife connected this with her dream and told two members of Mr Cole’s staff—this at a later date, but prior to the event itself.» — y la precaución probatoria: lo contó a dos personas antes de que ocurriera.

«The doctor pulled open my eye and said, “He’s gone!” but I could see his face and the lamp-shade, so I tried to say, “I’m not gone!’’ My words, however, were unheard and I let myself go.» — el testigo se oye dar por muerto y no consigue contradecirlo.

«Then I could see that the doctor had some doubt about my condition. I had stopped breathing. I heard him shout, “Breathe! breathe! Mr Cole!’ Somehow, although I was outside my body, I managed to make my lungs start breathing again.» — y lo que el testigo dice haber hecho estando fuera: poner en marcha sus propios pulmones.

«the cases of Varley, the army officer and Mrs ‘Prothero’", who all claimed that, though outside the body, they were able to control it in some way.» — que Crookall alinea con otros tres casos de gobierno del propio cuerpo desde fuera.

«I could see the doctor’ s thoughts: he was afraid I might slip through his fingers.» — el testigo declara además haber visto los pensamientos del médico.

«The walls were curiously transparent: I could see into the passage, although the door was closed.» — y las paredes transparentes, que es un rasgo que la serie forzada trae con frecuencia.

«So I turned away from the bright light [= ‘Paradise’ conditions] which shone on my left and entered a gloomy tunnel [= the Physical Body—this is Statement No. 9 in reverse]» — el regreso descrito como entrada en un túnel sombrío, que Crookall identifica entre corchetes con el propio cuerpo físico y con su declaración 9 invertida.

«I fought my way back to a tiny light in the distance [= ‘normal’ consciousness in the physical world] against a stream of shadows which passed all around me» — con las sombras que lo rodean en el trayecto, catalogadas como condiciones de Hades.

«The curious streak of blood, which she had seen in the dream had been caused by my cheek pressing against the pillow. The blood had trickled out of the corner of my mouth and then, when my head had flopped over to the opposite side, the dried blood ran up my cheek at an angle, as she had seen.» — la explicación física del detalle soñado, que la esposa había contado antes: la cabeza volteada hizo que la sangre seca subiera por la mejilla.

«I was too intent watching the little drama being played in the bedroom to make any observations about the psychic cord.» — por qué este testigo no observó el cordón, dicho por él mismo.

«Several others explained their failure to observe the ‘silver cord’ by the fact that their attention was fully occupied elsewhere. However, some of them felt, if they did not see, the cord.» — y Crookall lo generaliza en el corchete: varios explican la falta por tener la atención en otra parte, y algunos lo sintieron sin verlo.

«I was certainly attached by something, otherwise I could not have made my body breathe when it had stopped.» — con el argumento que el propio testigo saca de haber hecho respirar a su cuerpo.

«I checked up with the doctor next day, when he rang up to see how I was. He said that what I had heard of the conversation was correct. This was confirmed by the dentist.» — y la comprobación al día siguiente, por los dos profesionales.

«In his Behold this Dreamer (Faber and Faber Ltd., 1939), de la Mare said, “Only twice have I brought back any clear glimpse of the beyond when under the influence of an anaesthetic: once, of a bare patch of gravel brilliant with sunshine, and again of the shelving sandy banks of a slow-moving river» — del caso número 127, el de Walter de la Mare, con el recuento exacto que él mismo hace: solo dos veces trajo algo bajo anestesia.

«The experiences were unusually vivid and appeared to be fragments (as in waking there are many memories) of an impressive experience otherwise lost.» — y cómo las califica el testigo: fragmentos vívidos de una experiencia por lo demás perdida.

«Though it may be merely a deceit of the senses, this coming back certainly suggests a definite journey» — y la abstención con que lo cierra, que la compilación conserva entera: puede ser un engaño de los sentidos, y aun así el regreso sugiere un viaje.

«An account of Symonds’s mystical (rather than psychical) states is given on an earlier page. This enforced experience (due to chloroform) was also given in H. F. Brown’s biography of Symonds and subsequently in James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience. The difference which may occur in the content of consciousness, as between a natural and an enforced exteriorization, is noteworthy. (It is also shown in the case of Dr Enid Smith.)» — del caso número 128, el de J. A. Symonds bajo cloroformo, que Crookall usa para medir la diferencia de contenido entre una salida natural y una forzada en el mismo sujeto.

«The fact that this man had mystical states of natural origin suggests that his Higher Mental (or Causal) Body was in relatively loose association with the Psychical Body: hence, when his ‘higher bodies’ were forced ‘out of gear’ with the Physical Body, his consciousness operated on a ‘plane’ that was ‘higher’ than with average people.» — y la explicación que propone, dicha como sugerencia: su cuerpo mental superior estaría flojamente asociado al psíquico.

«Suddenly my soul became aware of God who was manifestly dealing with me in an intense present personal reality [= the Psychical Body had been shed (= ‘third death’ or unveiling) and he was conscious in the Higher Mental Body]. I felt Him streaming like light upon me.» — lo que el testigo dice haber vivido bajo el anestésico, en presente y en primera persona.

«Then, as I gradually awoke from the influence of the anaesthetic, the old sense of my relation to the world began to return and the new sense of my relation to God began to fade» — y cómo se pierde al despertar, que Crookall indexa contra su noción del vaciamiento.

«I shrieked, “It is too horrible!’ meaning that I could not bear this disillusionment. Then I flung myself on the ground and awoke, calling to the surgeons, “Why did you not let me die?”’’» — con lo que gritó a los cirujanos, que es la forma más cruda de la renuencia a volver.

«Wm. James published the case of ‘a gifted woman’ who had been given ether and who had a ‘most vivid and real’ experience. She said, ‘I understood for a moment things that I have now forgotten, things that no one could remember while retaining sanity» — del caso número 129, publicado por William James: la testigo declara haber entendido cosas que no se pueden recordar sin perder la razón.

«The lady’s experience during temporary exteriorization corresponds, of course, to the ‘Judgment’ in the accounts from the supposed dead— cf. Statement No. 34 and remarks under Cases No. 1, 133.]» — que Crookall hace corresponder con el juicio de sus relatos de muertos.

«Commenting on ‘anaesthetic revelation’ in his book After Life, Wilson remarked that the similarity in the descriptions of the experience showed ‘how identical is the revelation to all. It is not a mere subjective phantasy, as a dream may be, but something very definite.» — del caso número 130, el del Dr William Wilson, con el argumento por semejanza: las descripciones coinciden, luego no sería fantasía subjetiva.

«The nature of the “revelation” is such that the failure of verbal expression is comparable to the ludicrous failure of words to describe music itself.’» — y el límite que él mismo le pone, con su símil: las palabras fracasan como fracasan al describir la música.

«It is curious that experiences on the border of death and under anaesthesis should be so similar.» — la extrañeza que ese autor declara ante el parecido entre morir y anestesiarse.

«The similarity between the two sets of experiences, as described, is not at all curious if, as we maintain, the narratives are closely related to fact. Otherwise, it is inexplicable.)» — y la respuesta de Crookall, que es su tesis en una línea: no tiene nada de curioso si los relatos remiten a hechos.

«He quoted communications from the ‘dead’ to the effect that many discarnates are ‘in a grey, misty land or state [= “Hades’] between the physical earth and the full state of living [= ‘Paradise’], a kind of half-and-half state, a borderline plane.’» — en el caso 132, el del Dr Frederic H. Wood, la descripción que él toma de sus comunicantes: una tierra gris a medio camino entre la tierra física y el vivir pleno.

«Miss Hinton’s experience under chloroform was given by J. Arthur Hill (Man is a Spirit, Cassell & Co. Ltd., 1918). It is as follows.» — del caso número 133, el de Beryl Hinton, tomado de un libro de 1918.

«I wondered why I was not being judged, since I was obviously dead [cf. Statement No. 11]. I had been brought up as a strict Roman Catholic and taught that individual judgment follows death.» — el desajuste sobre el que Crookall monta su argumento: la testigo, católica estricta, esperaba ser juzgada y no lo fue.

«This difference between what was expected and what was experienced indicates that the experience was not merely due to suggestion.» — y el uso que le da: si lo esperado y lo vivido no coinciden, la sugestión no explica la experiencia.

«The same conclusion is indicated by the fact that Gerhardi and Miss Yeoman expected to find themselves bodiless and were surprised that they had, in fact, a Psychical Body. ]» — con dos casos más del mismo tipo: los que esperaban hallarse sin cuerpo y se sorprendieron de tener uno.

«I have never forgotten that “dream”. Had it been a dream, it would have been coloured by the accepted orthodox idea of what the after-death condition would be. But nothing of the sort.» — la testigo aplica el mismo razonamiento por su cuenta: un sueño habría venido teñido de su doctrina.

«When given chloroform thirty years later, I was anxious to see if anything of the same sort happened again. But it did not: I had no “dream”. So it looks as if the soul had lifted from the body on the previous occasion.» — y la contraprueba que ella misma buscó treinta años después, sin resultado.

«That experience has gone further to prove survival to me than all the religious books I have read.» — con el balance que hace entre su experiencia y sus lecturas religiosas.

«After coming round, my body, especially the hands, seemed very heavy. [Others said this, while Miss Kaeyer, etc. gave the converse—they said that shedding the body was like dropping a heavy load.]» — y el peso del cuerpo al volver, que Crookall empareja con su descripción inversa en otra testigo.

«I saw another, brilliantly glistening, body within the shell of the Physical Body [cf. Statement No. 17]. As I watched this new body (of which I seemed to be a part, and which was more objective to me than my Physical Body had ever been), I slid out of my fleshly envelope with rapidly increasing acceleration.» — y el cuerpo brillante que dice haber visto dentro del físico antes de deslizarse fuera.

«I experienced a soul-shaking wrench that seemed to extend to every cell of my body ... and heard a voice saying, ‘“You are now suffering the pangs of violent death. You are in the hands of friends and everything will be all right”» — con el desgarro y la voz que lo tranquiliza, que el compilador indexa contra sus liberadores.

«I did not lose consciousness until I was entirely separate from the Physical Body. This experience convinced me of a future life.» — y el efecto sobre su creencia, que es lo que la compilación busca.

«This also was given by Muldoon. It first appeared in Ghost Stories Magazine. The lady was given ether. She said, ‘I lost consciousness [= shed the Physical Body—cf. Statement No. 9]. Then suddenly I found myself walking up Bryan Street towards my home. I came to our house and went inside. Mother was there. I said, ““Mamma, I am so cold!” Then I realized that there were other people present—my baby brother who had died at birth and my grandmother.’» — del caso número 136, el de una señora de Dallas: bajo éter se halla en su propia casa con dos parientes muertos.

«This experience, first published in Two Worlds, and also in Muldoon’s Case for Astral Projection, was caused by an overdose of arsenic and quinine.» — del caso número 137, el de J. M. Stuart-Young, cuya causa Crookall declara distinta de la anestesia: una sobredosis de arsénico y quinina.

«This did not happen. My confidence in survival has been greatly strengthened by this incident. There was nothing 99 9 to fear in the act of ‘‘passing’’.» — con el resultado —no ocurrió— y la conclusión que igual saca.

«Landa had been given an anaesthetic. He felt as if being ‘torn apart’, after which ‘calmness came’. He said, “Hovering free above my Physical Body, I looked down and saw it on the operating table [cf. Statement No. 17]. I saw the wound of the operation, etc. Then it vanished.» — del caso número 138, el de B. Landa: el desgarro, la calma y la herida vista desde arriba.

«Mrs Porter had an anaesthetic. She said, ‘I found myself free in the room ... outside my body which was stretched out below me on the bed [cf. Statement No. 17]. In the room were my sisters and mother. I had no wish to re-enter my body, but was forced to do so» — del caso número 139, el de Mrs J. Porter, con la renuencia de siempre.

«The most remarkable thing was this: while hardly awake, I asked, ““Where is Mrs ‘K’?” Mrs “K’’, in fact, had not been present when I went to sleep. In answer to a question by my mother, I said, “I saw Mrs ‘K’ standing there.”» — y el elemento comprobable: nombró a una persona que no estaba cuando la durmieron.

«Mrs Parker was given gas. She said, ‘I found myself passing out of my body, out of the building and out into space. Soon I encountered a tunnel or passageway, through dark clouds [= vehicle of vitality or “body-veil’] at the end of which I could see light» — del caso número 140, el de Mrs D. Parker: el túnel entre nubes oscuras que el compilador identifica con el velo corporal.

«I felt as if a bag were being pulled down over my head and onwards to my feet. [This symbol for re-entering the body is the reverse of that given independently by others, e.g., Mrs Palmer, for leaving the body: some use the identical symbol ot'a bag, others those ofa glove, a skin, a rubber bathing-suit, a coat, a jacket, etc.]» — y la bolsa del reingreso, con el corchete donde Crookall reúne los seis símiles inversos que sus testigos usan para entrar y salir.

«On another occasion, during anaesthesia, Mrs Parker noted the spiral spin of her Psychical Body as it was being forced out of the Physical Body [cf. Rebell, Sculthorp, Hout, Einarsson, Thompson, etc. ]. She said, ‘It began with a wheel spinning. Then I moved upwards and outwards, through the walls of the place [cf. Statement No. 31]. I thought, “This is death!”» — en otra ocasión, la misma testigo registra el giro en espiral de la salida, que Crookall alinea con cinco casos más.

«Ludlow (The Hasheesh Eater) took the drug called Indian Hemp and found that ‘the soul left the physical self’. He said, “From where I was, hovering in the air, I looked down on my former container’» — del caso número 141, el de F. Ludlow, cuya causa es una droga y no un anestésico.

«I was visible and tangible to myself and yet knew that no physical eye could see me |cf. Statement No. 28]. I could go through the walls of the room and return again» — lo que el testigo dice de sí mismo en ese estado, con la asimetría entre lo que él percibía y lo que podía ser percibido.

«Hartmann’s experience under chloroform, first published in The Occult Review, 1908, illustrates the fact that, so long as an exteriorized person is within a few feet of his Physical Body, consciousness can alternate between the Physical and Psychical Bodies, giving ‘dual’, or ‘alternate’ consciousness, awareness of both this physical world and the ‘next’.» — del caso número 142, el de Franz Hartmann, que Crookall usa para ilustrar la consciencia alterna mientras se está a pocos pies del cuerpo.

«I found myself standing behind the armchair in which my body reclined. I saw my body and everything about me and heard what was said [cf. Statement No. 17]. When I tried to touch the instruments, etc., my fingers passed through them» — lo que el testigo vio y oyó desde fuera, y el intento de tocar los instrumentos.

«When in the condition in which the “doubling” [= exteriorizing] happened, the conscious faculties continued to reside in the [Physical] Body [and] I saw my phantom [= ‘double’ or Psychical Body] in front of me. On the other hand, when the conscious faculties were concentrated in the phantom body, I saw my Physical Body lying on the bed.» — y la alternancia que él mismo describe con precisión: según dónde estuviera la consciencia, veía el fantasma o veía el cuerpo.

«The facts convinced me that man has an Astral [here = Psychical] Body capable of existing independently of the Physical Body.’» — con la conclusión que saca, en la forma en que la compilación la busca.

«According to an anonymous lady’s ‘Experiences’ published by J. M. Watkins, 1926, she had a number of typical exteriorizations. This lady was clearly ignorant of psychic matters.» — del caso número 143, anónimo, con el juicio de Crookall sobre lo que la testigo sabía.

«The following experience is only recorded because years after, the writer read of experiments with a medium in America which confirmed her belief that the idea she had received might be an actual truth’.» — y por qué ella lo puso por escrito, dicho por ella misma: porque años después leyó algo que se lo confirmó.

«she discovered that she was not wholly free, but was connected to her body by something that looked like a beam of light» — el cordón en su versión, un haz de luz, y lo que la testigo dice haber advertido: que no estaba del todo libre.

«was between the doctor and the dentist. They were talking about a house that was for sale and mentioned the price that was asked for it.» — en el caso 126, la conversación ajena que el testigo retiene desde fuera, con el precio incluido, y que después servirá de cotejo.

«This description of returning, first to the “‘body-veil’, and the environment corresponding to it, and then to the Physical Body, and physical world, is identical with the account which Mrs Cripps gave of shedding those two ‘bodies’.» — el corchete donde Crookall hace coincidir, invertido, el regreso de este testigo con el desprendimiento descrito por otra.

«That of the river was suffused with an intense feeling of home-sickness. I grieved» — la nostalgia que el testigo del caso 127 asocia al río.

«at having to come away. The dentist’s gas may have accounted for the tears that were on my cheeks, but hardly for my acute regret at being called back» — y cómo descarta por su cuenta la explicación por el gas del dentista, que no cubre la pena de tener que volver.

«The angle was an obtuse angle. As I awoke I thought that had the Being who had charge of me made it an acute angle, I should have suffered and “seen” still more» — la imagen del ángulo con que la testigo del caso 129 gradúa cuánto vio y cuánto le habría costado ver más.

«and should probably have died. He went on, however, and I came to. In that moment the whole of my life passed before me» — y la revisión de la vida en su versión, que le sobreviene al volver.

«less piece of distress. | understood then: this was what it had all meant, this was the piece of work it had all been contributing to do.’» — con el sentido retrospectivo que le encuentra a cada tramo de sufrimiento; la capa de texto abre el corchete como una barra vertical.

«He said that though mortals pass through this state during sleep or under the influence of» — por qué casi nadie trae noticia de esa tierra gris, según el testigo del caso 132.

«anaesthetics, the experience is seldom remembered.» — porque se pasa por ella dormido o anestesiado.

«To my surprise, I found myself standing in company with the doctors and nurses. I noticed every detail of my surroundings—my Physical Body lying limp on the table, the instruments,» — del caso número 134, el de Mrs *X*, bajo éter: el detalle del quirófano observado desde fuera.

«bottles, etc. [cf Statement No. 17]. After coming round, my body, especially the hands, seemed very heavy. [Others said this, while Miss Kaeyer, etc. gave the converse—they said that shedding the body was like dropping a heavy load.]» — y el peso del cuerpo al volver, que Crookall empareja con su descripción inversa en otra testigo.

«Muldoon (The Case for Astral Projection) took this case from J. A.» — del caso número 135, el de J. C. Edgerton, que Crookall toma de una recopilación de Muldoon.

«Edgerton’s Invading the Invisible. His son, given an anaesthetic said, ‘My senses suddenly seemed to shift into a body other than the physical. Without mental lapse, I was conscious that I was sitting up and my eyes had X-ray qualities which reduced the Physical Body to a mere» — con la vista de rayos X con que el testigo dice haber mirado su propio cuerpo.

«I thought, “If I see someone whom I know to be dead, I shall realize that I also am dead» — el criterio que el testigo del caso 137 se da a sí mismo para saber si ha muerto.

«break the thread [= the ‘silver cord’—cf. Statement No. 19] that holds me to life” [cf. Statement No. 20]. This did not happen. My confidence in survival has been greatly strengthened by this incident. There was nothing 99 9 to fear in the act of ‘‘passing’’.» — y lo que se propone hacer entonces con el hilo, más el resultado y la conclusión que igual saca.

«In Muldoon’s phrase, she had a wish which the ‘incapacitated’ Physical Body was unable to gratify but which the loosened Psychical Body was able to do).» — en el caso 143, Crookall explica la salida con el vocabulario de Muldoon: un deseo que el cuerpo físico no podía satisfacer y el psíquico sí.

«In some of these journeys this lady’s critical faculties were operating [cf. Muldoon, Gerhardi, Hives, etc.].» — y lo que le da valor al caso para él: la testigo razonaba mientras estaba fuera.

«Then she suddenly realized that she could not, in the Physical Body, have made such a journey in so short a time. She made an inspection of the club-like building and its courtyard, awaking convinced that her son was not in the country for which he had sailed.» — la testigo deduce dónde no está su hijo por el tiempo que habría tardado en llegar allí.

«In due time the news came that he was held up for some months in another quarter of the world, and in a town whose club offered him hospitality. The club was noted for its pleasant courtyard.’» — y la confirmación posterior, con el patio del club que ella había inspeccionado.

«Wheeler, almost drowned and pronounced dead, recovered the next day. He said, ‘While I was apparently dead, I never was so much alive in my life» — del caso número 144, el de J. C. Wheeler, casi ahogado y dado por muerto.

«Being dead is delightful; of that Iam sure. After I had been engulfed in the waters, I seemed to float away from my body, and soared above the waters of the lake. I looked down and could see my body [cf. Statement No. 17]. I watched the rescuers find it and place it on the bank.» — lo que el testigo declara de estar muerto, y lo que dice haber visto hacer a sus rescatadores.

«Up to the time of that experience I had been an agnostic ... but I never since have had a shadow of doubt with regard to a spiritual state of existence.’» — con el cambio de posición que la compilación registra caso por caso: de agnóstico a sin sombra de duda.

«Costa almost died from suffocation. His experience was first published in the book, Di Ia della Vita, and later by his friend Prof. E. Bozzano. He knew nothing whatever of psychic and kindred matters.» — del caso número 145, el de G. Costa, con la cadena por la que llega y la ignorancia previa declarada.

«He saw not only his Physical Body [Statement No. 17] but also ‘the network of nerves and veins in a state of luminous vibration.’» — lo que Costa dice haber visto de su propio cuerpo: la red de nervios y venas vibrando luminosa.

«The room itself,’ said Costa, ‘was almost dark. In spite of this, I noted the objects around me or rather their contours, glowing in phosphorescent luminosity. These gradually melted away as I watched them, and even the walls of the room themselves, so that I found myself able to perceive, in the same manner, the objects in the adjoining apartments’» — y cómo describe la disolución de las paredes, hasta ver los objetos del cuarto contiguo.

«The body in which he functioned, the Psychical Body, was light and free but it could not affect physical objects» — el límite que Crookall retiene: ese cuerpo no podía actuar sobre objetos físicos.

«Fear for his Physical Body now turned his attention to his mother, who slept in the next room. ‘I saw her,’ he said, ‘through the wall, sleeping tranquilly in her bed.’» — el testigo ve a su madre a través de la pared.

«But her Body, unlike his, emitted a ‘phosphorescent radiance’.» — y la diferencia entre los dos cuerpos, que Crookall declara rasgo probatorio: el doble lejano brillaba y el suyo, pegado al cuerpo, no.

«Costa’s intense desire to arouse his mother had the desired effect (cf. ‘the Call’—Statement No. 2]. ‘I saw her,’ he said, ‘hurriedly get out of bed, run to the window, throw it open, then go out of the door into the passage, grope her way to my room and stand over my» — y la llamada que surte efecto, con la madre levantándose a abrir la ventana.

«Mrs ‘Prothero’ informed me (in litt.) that she had not read any books on this subject before having the experience. It occurred in 1926, some years before Muldoon published his account.» — del caso número 146, el de Mrs R. Ivy *Prothero*, con el dato de prioridad que a Crookall le importa: 1926, años antes de que Muldoon publicara.

«One night, being very cold, I snuggled down in bed, tucked the clothes well in and covered my head to warm up with my breath. I fell asleep and was almost suffocated. I found myself out of my body, suspended horizontally above the bed. I was attached by a cord (cf. Statement No. 19], much the same as a barrage balloon in the war» — la causa —asfixia bajo las mantas— y el símil bélico con que la testigo describe su cordón.

«I realized what was happening and thought, “I must get my arms out and get some air.”’ Then I made a more vigorous effort. As I saw my hands appearing, I slipped back into my body, gasping for breath.» — y cómo vuelve: sacando los brazos, con el cuerpo tomando aire.

«It was not a dream. It was extremely pleasant and I was not afraid [cf. Statement No. 7]. The experience convinced me that I have a soul as well as a body.’» — con la conclusión de la testigo, en la forma de siempre.

«A lady-guest in an hotel was almost asphyxiated by a defective gas-jet. While unconscious, she felt herself leave her body and immediately found herself in her husband’s bedroom, at home, many miles distant from the hotel.» — del caso número 147, el de una huésped asfixiada por una llave de gas defectuosa.

«Leaning against the head of the bed was a stout cudgel which had some bark still attached. The room itself was in great disorder.» — y el detalle sobre el que se juega el caso: un garrote con corteza y la habitación desordenada.

«The doctor told her that she had been given up as dead. She described her experience. The doctor checked up with the story and every detail was verified.» — la comprobación, hecha por el médico y no por la testigo.

«Smythe, the distinguished mountaineer, described an experience when he fell over a precipice (The Spirit of the Hills, Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1937).» — del caso número 148, el de F. S. Smythe, alpinista, en una caída detenida por la cuerda.

«A curious rigidity gripped my whole being [= catalepsy]. ... It swamped all pain and fear [cf. Statement No. 7] and rendered me insensible to bumps and blows» — la rigidez que le suprime dolor y miedo, y que Crookall alinea con los dos casos de tortura de la serie natural.

«Then suddenly this feeling was superseded by one of complete indifference and detachment ... I seemed to stand aside from my body. I was not falling, for the reason that I was not in a dimension where it was possible to fall. I, that is, my consciousness, was apart from my body, and not in the least concerned with what was befalling it.» — y la frase que el testigo construye para decirlo, con su razón dentro: no caía porque no estaba en una dimensión donde se pueda caer.

«Had the tenant already departed, in anticipation of the wreck that was to follow? [cf. Statement No. 6]. The experience convinced me that consciousness survives the grave.’» — con la pregunta que él mismo deja abierta y la conclusión que igual saca.

«Lt. Callan, of Hillford rd., Liverpool, described (Liverpool Echo, June 9, 1954) an enforced exteriorization that occurred when he was injured by a motor-car. He said, ‘I saw myself leave my body and go slowly upwards. I hovered about four feet above my body [cf. Statement No. 16]. I could see it lying on the ground [cf. Statement No. 17]. I became scared and suddenly felt myself coming down again [Muldoon, Lind, Sculthorp, Varley, etc. all found that strong emotion, such as fear, caused re-interiorization]. I felt content.’» — del caso número 149, el del teniente Callan, atropellado por un coche: sale, se asusta y vuelve, y queda contento.

«Callan was not reluctant to return to physical life. Whereas many who exteriorized naturally (and typically into ‘Paradise’ conditions) were reluctant to return to earth, only two (Mrs Porter and de la Mare) whose exteriorization was enforced» — el corchete donde Crookall convierte esa falta de renuencia en dato de su comparación entre las dos series.

«This officer published his experience in Journ. S.P.R. xxxiv, 1948. In August, 1944, his car received a direct hit from an anti-tank gun and he was thrown a distance of twenty feet.» — del caso número 150, el de un oficial cuyo coche recibió un impacto directo en 1944.

«I was conscious of being two persons—one lying on the ground, on fire, waving my limbs about wildly and gibbering with fear—I was conscious of both making these sounds and at the same time hearing them as though coming from another person.» — el desdoblamiento dicho con precisión: hacía los sonidos y a la vez los oía como de otro.

«I told myself, “It’s no use gibbering: roll over and over to put the flames out.” This my ground-body did. The flames went out and I suddenly became one person again» — y el episodio que hace singular al caso: se da una orden a sí mismo desde arriba y el cuerpo la obedece.

«G. B. Crabbe gave the experience of a soldier (cited by J. Arthur Hill in his Man Is a Spirit) who was blown up in an explosion, as follows: “He said that he was up in the air, looking down at his own body which lay on the ground at some distance from him [cf. Statement No. 17]. He seemed to be yet connected with the body by a slender cord of clear silvery appearance [cf. Statement No. 19]. While he looked on, two surgeons came by, and, after looking at the body, remarked that he was dead. ... Stretcher bearers came along and carried him to the rear.’» — del caso número 151, el de un soldado en una explosión, que ve a dos cirujanos declararlo muerto.

«I came down that silver cord and returned to the old body.’» — en el caso 151, cómo describe el soldado el regreso, con el cordón como vía.

«Exactly the same phrase was used by Mrs Piper in U.S.A. when returning to her Physical Body after being exteriorized from it in trance. An objective ‘double’ is clearly indicated. ]» — y el corchete donde Crookall lo cruza con una médium estadounidense que usó la misma frase, y saca su conclusión sobre la objetividad del doble.

«In his Autobiography (World Within World, 1951), Stephen Spender mentioned a man named Bill. The latter received an injury and nearly died. Spender described how Bill very seriously told how he had ‘felt his soul leave his body’. He said ‘that it had hovered about the ceiling, floated to a corner of the room, and then returned to his body.’» — del caso número 152, tomado de la autobiografía de Stephen Spender: el testimonio más escueto de toda la serie.

«to first-hand descriptions of out-of-the-body experiences are accounts by doctors, nurses, etc. who have seen exteriorizations of patients.» — aquí empieza la sección de los relatos ajenos, que es la otra mitad de su aparato: médicos y enfermeras que dicen haber visto la exteriorización de sus pacientes.

«The latter described the same features as those given by the patients themselves. Moreover, both agree with the narratives of clairvoyants who have recorded their observations of the process of dying. Finally, all three independent sets of accounts agree with a fourth set, namely, the statements of the supposed dead» — y el argumento con que la justifica, que es el eje del libro entero: cuatro conjuntos independientes de relatos que concuerdan.

«Hout, in a hospital, saw three patients who, under anaesthetics, were exteriorized from the Physical Body. He said, ‘I became aware of this when the first patient was wheeled into the operating room, partially under the influence of the anaesthetic. Above, and near the patient, who lay swathed in sterile sheets on the cart, there hovered in mid-air a vague misty outline, having the general contour of the human body.» — del caso número 153, el del Dr R. B. Hout, aquí como observador y no como sujeto.