MEDIUMSHIP: SOMNAMBULISM AND SOMNAMBULIC MEDIUMSHIP   

 
Somnambulism Defined | More on the Somnambulic State  | 
 The Somnambulic Medium  | 
 Related Topics: Ecstatic Trance and Second Sight

Related Topics: Ecstatic Trance and Second Sight

Second Sight 

There is another phenomenon that occurs in a state in which the spirit is partially free. It's called second sight, and the key distinction here is that the body is not asleep.  It is a kind of spiritual vision.  To define this phenomenon, we will include here an excerpt from Kardec found in "The Spirits Book" (#455):

When the liberation of the soul occurs in the waking state, it produces the phenomenon of second sight or double vision.  Individuals with this faculty can see, hear, and feel beyond the limits of human perception.  They break through the barriers of ordinary sight as if the latter were a mirage, perceiving things and events as far as the action of their souls extend...   People endowed with second sight consider their gift to be as natural as ordinary sight.  They regard it as an attribute of their being and are not aware of its exceptional character.  Generally, they tend to forget their passing clairvoyance, and the memory of their revelations becomes more and more vague until, dream-like, it disappears.  The gift of second sight varies from a confused sensation to a clear and distinct perception of things present or at a distance.  In its early stages, it appears as a sort of definite intuition about events that have already happened or that are about to occur.

* You can read more about natural and induced trances (somnambulism), ecstatic trances, and second sight in "The Spirits' Book" Chapter XII (#s 425-455).

Kardec, Allan. "Liberation of The Soul." The Spirits' Book.  Trans. Allan Kardec Educational Society (translated from 2nd edition in French). Philadelphia, PA. Allan Kardec Educational Society. 1996. 151-161.

Kardec, Allan. "Mediums." The Mediums' Book. 2nd ed (1st edition FEB). Trans. Anna Blackwell (translated 1876). Ed. Livraria Espírita Allan Kardec. Brasilia-DF, Brazil:  Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation}. 1986. 183-185 (items 183-185).

Kardec, Allan. "Mediuns Sonambulicos" [Somnambulic Mediuns]. Obras Póstumas  [Posthumous Works]. 8th ed. Trans. Salvador Gentile. Ed (of translation). Elias Barbosa. (translated from 6th edition in French). Araras-SP, Brazil. Instituto de Difusão Espírita [Institute for Spiritist Dissemination].1993. 59.

Delanne, Gabriel.  "O somnambulismo natural" [Natural Somnambulism]. O Espiritismo Perante A Ciencia. Trad. de Carlos Imbassahy. Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil: Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation]. (2nd ed) 1993. 93-98.