proponents claim that aromatherapy is a complete medical system that can strengthen immune systems and cure disease, and studies have shown aromatherapy is effective in relieving pain and in alleviating fatigue, reducing anxiety and promoting relaxation. When inhaled, scents work on the brain and nervous system by stimulating the olfactory nerves.
Botanical essential oils are aromatic essences extracted from plants, flowers, trees, fruits, bark, grasses and seeds which have distinctive therapeutic, psychological and physiological properties to improve and prevent illness. There are about 150 essential oils. Most of these oils have antiseptic properties; some are antiviral, antiinflammatory pain-relieving, antidepressant and expectorant. To get the maximum benefit from an essential oil, it should be made from natural, pure raw materials. Synthetically made oils do not work.
Aromatherapy is one of the fastest growing fields in alternative medicine. It is widely used at home, in clinics and in hospitals for a variety of applications such as pain relief for women in labour, relieving pain caused by the side effects of chemotherapy undergone by cancer patients, and rehabilitating cardiac patients.
In Japan, engineers are incorporating aroma systems into new buildings. In one bank, the scent of lavender and rosemary is pumped into the customer area to calm the waiting customers, while the perfumes from lemon and eucalyptus are used in the bank teller counters to keep the staff alert.
ARRIVAL CASES
The appearance of a person before their actual arrival. Frequently the arriving phantom appears in the same clothing the individual is wearing at the same time. The individual is usually not aware of appearing in a distant location until told about it.
Arrival cases were collected and studied by the founders of the Society for Psychical Research in the early twentieth century. They collected their evidence in their exhaustive survey Phantasms of the Living (1918).
Arrivals have been claimed to eat, sleep and seem so real that anyone could believe it was a double (doppelgänger) of the real person. The most likely explanation of arrival cases is that the individual somehow projects a double, which is perceived as real, perhaps as an out-of-body projection (bilocation) or as a psychic projection of intent or desire to be in that different place. Others think that arrival cases are a quirk of time duplicating itself.
In the Highlands of Scotland, the term for arrival cases is ‘spirits of the living’. In Norway, the arrival case phenomenon is called vardøger, which means ‘forerunner’.
One unusual vardøger case occurred in Oslo and concerned Erikson Gorique, an American importer. For years, Gorique had wanted to go to Norway but was forced to keep postponing the trip. In July 1955 he was finally able to go. On his arrival in Oslo, Gorique asked where he might stay. Much to his astonishment, when he arrived at the recommended hotel he was greeted by name by the hotel clerk. The clerk told him it was nice to see him again. When Gorique protested that he had never before travelled to Norway or been at the hotel, the puzzled clerk insisted that he could not mistake Gorique’s unusual name and American appearance. He said Gorique stayed at the hotel several months earlier and had made reservations to return that month.
Gorique was even more surprised when he visited a wholesale dealer, who also greeted him like an old friend, saying it was terrific to have him back to conclude previous business. Gorique told the dealer that he hadn’t been there before, whereupon the dealer nodded knowingly and explained the vardøger phenomenon: ‘It is not uncommon in Norway’, he said.
ART, PSYCHIC
Also known as automatic painting, psychic art occurs when individuals who often have little or no artistic training suddenly feel overcome by a desire to draw or paint in distinctive, professional styles. They feel guided by a spirit and may actually feel an invisible hand pushing theirs.
A psychic artist can produce amazing likenesses of deceased relatives of an enquirer, people unknown to the artist. Such an artist may also draw or paint spirit guides, angels, animals or figures who are subsequently discovered to be connected to the enquirer in some way.
In addition to artists who create images of guides and people in spirit, there are others who unconsciously collaborate on pieces of original artwork. Some psychic artists claim contact with great masters who have taught them a special skill or who use them as a vehicle to add new collections to works they produced while still alive. Some psychic art is also sacred art. Many shamanic or healing traditions from around the world have used sacred art in ceremonies of healing and as a bridge between the physical and non-physical worlds. The Navajo people, who reside in the Southwestern region of the USA, have passed down the practices of hand painting from generation to generation. Tibetan monks, too, conduct healing ceremonies that involve the creation and destruction of detailed sand paintings.
One of the most famous psychic art cases is the Thompson-Gifford case, which occurred early in the twentieth century. In 1905 an engraver from New York, Frederic Thompson, was seized with the urge to draw and paint in the style of the recently dead artist Robert Gifford. Thompson had met Gifford when he was alive but was not well acquainted with him. When Thompson painted he felt he was Gifford, and he often heard Gifford’s voice urging him to sketch. Thompson produced many works that reminded buyers of Gifford’s style and sold at good prices.
See also Automatic writing; Automatism.
ARUNDEL CASTLE
This magnificent castle in the heart of West Sussex has been the home of the Dukes of Norfolk since 1580. It was severely damaged by fire in the seventeenth century but has now been restored to its former glory. Not only is Arundel Castle the home of countless priceless works of art, but it also is thought to house several ghosts.
The ghost of a young woman dressed in white has been seen wandering round Hiorne’s Tower, particularly on moonlit nights. According to legend, she threw herself off the tower because of a tragic love affair. A ghost has also been encountered in the library and has become known as the ‘Blue Man’. He has been seen on several occasions searching through books, and is thought to date back to the time of King Charles II (1660-1685).
A kitchen boy of 200 years ago or so is said to have been so badly treated that he died young. His ghost has been seen furiously polishing pots and pans. Another ghost is that of a small white bird, which reputedly flutters around the windows of the castle. It is said to signify the imminent death of someone connected to the castle and was reported to have appeared just before the death of the Duke of Norfolk in 1917.
ASH MANOR GHOST
Psychical researcher Nandor Fodor solved the mystery of the Ash Manor ghost in 1930s England. The case was one of his most famous and helped to establish his theory of the psychological underpinning of some hauntings. He recorded the case in detail in his book The Haunted Mind (1959). Mr and Mrs Keel (a pseudonym assigned by Fodor) moved into Ash Manor House in Sussex, England, with their 16-year-old daughter and servants on 24 June 1934. They were aware that parts of the house dated back to the thirteenth century and that it had a reputation for being haunted. It wasn’t long before the daughter and servants reported strange noises coming from the attic, and Mr and Mrs Keel heard strange bangs on their bedroom doors.
The Keels suspected something supernatural was afoot, and on 23 November
