Dr. Vignal
Dr. Vignal was one of the earliest members of the Spiritist Society of Paris. He died on March 27th, 1865. Before his funeral, a highly spiritually aware somnambulist was asked to observe him spiritually and describe what she perceived during the separation of his spirit from the body.
The somnambulist speaks while observing spiritually...
MediumI see a body in which an extraordinary process is taking place.
MediumThere is a mass whose every particle is moving.
MediumSomething within it is trying to detach itself.
MediumBut it struggles against the resistance still binding it to the body.
MediumI can't yet distinguish any clearly formed spirit-body.
Four days later, on March 31st, the Spiritist Society of Paris formally evoked Dr. Vignal.
AllanDear Dr. Vignal, all your old friends at the Society of Paris remember you affectionately.
AllanI especially am very happy to call you here.
AllanWe would be grateful if you are able and willing to speak with us.
The medium’s hand begins writing...
Dr. VignalDear friends... and you, my dear and worthy teacher...
Dr. VignalYour remembrance and sympathy bring me great happiness.
Dr. VignalIf I'm able to come among you today and participate freely in this gathering without the chains of the physical body...
Dr. VignalIt is thanks to your kind thoughts and the assistance provided by your prayers.
Dr. VignalAs my young secretary observed earlier, I have spent the entire evening impatiently wishing to communicate with you.
Dr. VignalI have had to exercise great self-control not to rush immediately into speaking.
Dr. VignalThe discussions you were holding interested me greatly and helped make the wait less difficult.
Dr. VignalForgive this impatience, dear friends.
Dr. VignalMy gratitude wished to express itself immediately.
AllanPlease tell us how you now find yourself in the spirit world.
AllanDescribe your separation from the body.
AllanWhat sensations did you experience?
AllanAnd how long did it take before you regained full awareness?
Dr. VignalI'm happy to tell you that my experience has fully confirmed the teachings of our comforting and enlightening doctrine.
Dr. VignalI'm happy.
Dr. VignalYes... truly happy.
Dr. VignalBecause I can now clearly see, without obstacle, the future development of both Science and Spiritist Philosophy.
Dr. VignalBut let us set aside those subjects for today.
Dr. VignalI will return another time to discuss them further.
Dr. VignalI already know that my visits will give you pleasure, just as your company gives pleasure to me.
Dr. VignalThe separation from the body happened quickly.
Dr. VignalMore quickly than I could have hoped, considering how small my merits are.
Dr. VignalYour prayers greatly assisted me during this process.
Dr. VignalAnd the somnambulist gave such an accurate description of the separation that I have little to add.
Dr. VignalIt felt like an irregular oscillation.
Dr. VignalA kind of pulling in two opposite directions.
Dr. VignalAt last, the spirit triumphed.
Dr. VignalAnd here I'm.
Dr. VignalI completely freed myself from my body only at the moment it was lowered into the grave.
Dr. VignalThen I returned here with all of you.
AllanWhat did you think of the funeral ceremony?
Dr. VignalI considered it my duty to attend it.
AllanAt that moment, were you detached enough from your body to observe the ceremony clearly?
AllanAnd did the prayers I offered for you reach you?
Dr. VignalYes.
Dr. VignalI returned from the cemetery together with all of you.
Dr. VignalI left behind my old chrysalis completely separated from me.
Dr. VignalYou know that earthly things mattered little to me.
Dr. VignalMy thoughts were directed mainly toward spiritual life and toward God.
AllanDo you remember that five years ago, while you were still alive, we used you as the subject of a Spiritist experiment?
AllanDuring that experiment, your spirit partially detached from your body and communicated with us.
AllanCan you explain the difference between that experience and your present state?
Dr. VignalCertainly, I remember that experiment.
Dr. VignalBut what an immense difference exists between that state and my present condition.
Dr. VignalAt that time, the rigid network of matter still held me tightly.
Dr. VignalI longed to separate myself more completely from the body...
Dr. VignalBut I could not.
Dr. VignalNow I'm entirely free.
Dr. VignalAn immense field — the field of the unknown — now opens before me.
Dr. VignalAnd with your help, together with the help of the good spirits to whom I entrust myself...
Dr. VignalI hope to advance rapidly.
Dr. VignalI hope to acquire, as soon as possible, the sentiments we must possess and the actions we must practice in order to pass through the narrow road of earthly trials and become worthy of the worlds of reward.
Dr. VignalWhat majesty...
Dr. VignalWhat grandeur...
Dr. VignalWe are filled almost with awe when, weak as we still are, we try to gaze upon the sublime splendors now before us.
AllanOnce again, I tell you that we would be very happy to continue these conversations whenever you desire to return.
Dr. VignalI have done my best to answer your questions.
Dr. VignalBut don't ask too much, at first, from your faithful disciple.
Dr. VignalI'm not yet completely freed from earthly influences.
Dr. VignalI would gladly continue speaking with you.
Dr. VignalBut my guide is trying to moderate my enthusiasm.
Dr. VignalAnd I trust too deeply in his wisdom and kindness not to follow his advice, even though I regret ending this conversation.
Dr. VignalI take comfort in knowing that I will often return invisibly to your spiritual gatherings.
Dr. VignalI love you all.
Dr. VignalAnd I will come back.
Dr. VignalBut now I give my place to spirits more advanced than myself, who kindly allowed me to pour out the flood of thoughts I longed to express.
Dr. VignalFor now, I withdraw.
Dr. VignalI thank you for calling me here.
Dr. VignalAnd I also thank the spirit who kindly yielded his place to me...
Dr. VignalThe spirit who, while on Earth, bore the illustrious name of Pascal.
Dr. VignalHe who was, and always will remain, your devoted disciple.