William Walker Atkinson
An occult classic, Genuine Mediumship or The Invisible Powers discusses the nature of mediumship and psychic powers and shows how anyone may heighten their latent faculties. One of the most common misconceptions of the occult sciences student is that which is expressed by the term supernatural. This term is used to express the idea of that which is outside of the realm of nature and of nature’s laws. Advanced students and teachers of the occult doctrine know that we have no direct knowledge of anything outside the realm of nature and of nature’s laws. It is true that we may, by an act of faith, profess to believe in powers and beings entirely apart from the great realm of Nature--in fact, most persons do believe in such powers and beings in connection with their formal religion--but their belief is entirely within the category of Faith, and is not even pretended to be based upon actual experience and phenomenal manifestation. The moment that there appears any manifestation which is possible of being known to, or experienced by, the human senses, ordinary or extraordinary, that moment the phenomena and the immediate cause thereof must be regarded as being properly classed in the category of 'natural.' This is true not only of such phenomena as are perceived by means of our ordinary five senses, but also of those which are perceptible only to the highest powers of perception, or higher senses, which are latent in all human beings but which are unfolded only in the case of a comparatively few individuals of the race. It should be clearly understood by all students of occultism or psychic phenomena that man’s knowledge and experience, normal or supernormal, is confined to the realm of Nature. There is a 'ring pass-not' around the boundaries of the Kingdom of Nature which mortals cannot pass, no matter how high may be their degree of development and advancement. Even those great mystics whose writings are filled with the startling revelations of 'union with the Divine,' and of 'At-one-ment with Deity,' are under no illusion concerning this fact they know full well that only in so far as Deity involves itself in Nature--wraps itself up in the garments of Nature--can it be directly experienced by man, and thus actually known by him. An occult classic, Genuine Mediumship or The Invisible Powers discusses the nature of mediumship and psychic powers and shows how anyone may heighten their latent faculties.
