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| Matthias F. Gueldenstein, Author, Researcher and Founder of the Basle PSI Association |
Matthias F. Gueldenstein can be easily counted to the most experienced mediumship researchers of the European heartland.
Born in Basle 1939 he did studies in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, Pedagogics and the art of drawing. Astrology, Parapsychology, Hypnosis and Auto-Hypnosis etc., Awareness Groups and Transpersonal Psychology, Holistical Client Centered Therapy and Integrative Body work were his main interests.
He became Founder (1967) and Chairman of the Parapsychological Workgroup Basle (Basle PSI Ass.) and (1983) together with his wife Eva of the PSI Center Basle(ATES AG).
He is the Author of Several Books about todays Spiritualism.
Therapeutical work with transpersonal and client centered concepts, with relaxation, meditation, hypnotic conditions, intuitive self-awareness, body work and spiritual recovering, consultation in parapsychological problems and spiritistism, resp. spiritualism, lectures and workshops, sensitivity and mediumship-training is his todays focus and makes him the expert who he is.
Far beyond the Switzerland borders his expertise is wanted and appreciated.
Gueldenstein was moreover a friend of Hans Bender (the „spirit control“ of the FEG Medium).
He is a respected ISF representative and has sat and worked with countless different mediums, among them the english mediumship icon Gordon Higginson for example.
In regards to Physical Mediumship he considers himself to be a sceptic, but willing to accept the possibility of genuineness he has witnessed before!
Eva Holzer-Gueldenstein has a comparable impressive Vita, is also coming from a highly involved family – her parents for example did investigate the famous Maria Silbert of Graz, Austria in the 30ies and accompanied Matthias to visit the FEG-Homebase near Frankfurt, Germany!
Like Stephen Braude Matthias is discussing several hypothesises and counterhypothesises and comes to interesting results!
The 28th of September 2012 Matthias, like Braude or Susan Farrow of Psychic News the weeks before, did sit directly adjacent to the medium and hold it in the so called „four limb control‘ (medium hold at every limb by two persons, that additionally control themselves vice versa) in his chair during a full scale physical seance.
Additionally he was privileged to observe during the red light phases of the Seance closely the strange evolution of ectoplasmic phenomena together with the fully visible medium.
Please enjoy his report:
Account on the evening with the Felix-Circle Saturday, September 28th at Hanau.
(by Matthias F. Gueldenstein / all accentuations and captions by the editor)
My wife Eva and I had been to the Felix circle already once some time ago. At that time the phenomena were already quite impressive, but I couldn’t get a good look at the ectoplasmic hand, which waved from the cabinet at the end of the séance (there exist photographs of this though).
This time I had the privilege not only to search the séance room and cabinet in advance to our session, but also to sit directly beside the cabinet and to get hold of the mediums hands and knees, whenever the control (Hans Bender) asked Julia (who sat at the mediums right side) and me on the left to do so.
Therefore I couldn’t experience so many “touches” and couldn’t see so well what happened in the “experimental area”, where the drum, the instruments, the plate with the luminous balls and the “plaque” were placed.
All the better I could witness what happened directly in front of the cabinet.
After the medium had gone into his altered state of consciousness sitting in the cabinet, accompanied by loud music, Hans Bender started to speak.
Julia had the remotecontrol of the CD-player and turned the music low each time Hans was speaking.
He greeted the group and especially my wife and myself, since we had known him when he was still working at the Eichhalde-Intitute in Freiburg-Herdern.
I know that Kai is (sometimes – the editor) a bit doubtful about the personality of Hans, because he thinks he might be just part of his subconscious. I cannot judge this, but the way Hans is speaking, his melody and sound of speech remind me really of Hans Bender, although he didn’t use so many unusual words in his time.
It is in a way typical for Hans Bender to explain that there will be three parts to the séance: 1. Phenomena in total darkness, 2. Phenomena with luminous tools and 3. Phenomena to be observed in red light.
The sitters had to hold hands during the phenomena to make sure nobody of them was moving or doing anything. Julia and I had to control the medium, whenever he came to sit in front of the open cabinet. From time to time Hans asked me to make sure that Julia was holding the medium properly as well.
The Telekinetic Movements in a Distance from the Medium
I can testify to the fact that during most of the phenomena happening about at least two meters away from the cabinet, the medium was sitting in the cabinet or just in front of it and was securely held by Julia and me. No way he could have stood up and/or handled anything like hidden ropes or rods or anything like that – and there were not any tools like that in the room anyway.
The only possibility for a “trick” I could imagine would be a very sophisticated computer programme which would by some ingenious technique make move all these different objects in the room, operated by remote control by Julia. But then there is a lot of evidence, which speaks against this hypothesis: The moving light point for example was touching Eva very gently on her cheek. I think you would need somebody with night vision goggles to be able to do this – and again there was nothing of the sort in the room.
And then for some time I was holding Julia’s hands as well as those of the medium when some of the movements happened. And the only other regular member of the circle who was present had her hands held on both sides by visitor sitters, who kept the participant’s chain linked.
I cannot see how any of the movements which happened could have been tricked: There was the sometimes quick, sometimes very slow flying around of a little light (rather a bit like a firefly), but which was apparently (from what my wife felt) like being held by two fingers. This would explain also, why the light couldn’t be seen by sitters on the right side of the medium, when the sitters on the left could see it and vice-versa.
The same applies to the three luminous balls on the tray, which were moved around on the tray and finally kind of “jumped” from it. The shadowy forms, which were seen moving on the luminous “plaque” I could not see well enough to talk about them.
But for me it was interesting that the medium often put his hands on his ties and seemed to press very hard, as if to concentrate the energy.
My observation was, that during this pressing nothing special happened, but then as soon as the medium relaxed, the phenomena became more active.
The most impressive of these movements with luminous objects was the flying around of the “trumpet” which Julia had placed – following the instructions by Hans – in front of the cabinet.
To me it was absolutely clear that there was no trick whatsoever connected to this “flight-show” of the trumpet.
The Arrival of Ectoplasm and its autonomous evolution
For me the highlight of the séance was the third part where the medium produced quite a lot of ectoplasme, which was shown from time to time in the red light. Just before this Hans allowed a very short brake, because one of the sitters needed a drink and the air had become quite stuffy. The ventilator was put on for a short time and then the séance continued. The medium hadn’t moved from his cabinet during this time.
Since I was sitting directly beside the medium I could see the phenomena from a distance of less than a meter.
In a first preliminary try Hans asked Julia to adjust the red light so that everybody could see the medium sitting in the opened cabinet quite clearly. Then we had to let go of the curtains until Hans announced that now the flow of the ectoplasme was starting.
We could open the curtains and put on the red light. The medium was holding his left hand to his mouth and pulling with his right hand some white, slightly transparent substance through his left hand from his mouth. Now one could argue that if he had swallowed before some chemical which now, by being drawn through another chemical in his hand reacted to result in this mist-like, half transparent substance he could have tricked this. We clearly were not equipped to search for chemicals. But I doubt very much that it would be possible to fake this effect of this very special substance to be drawn from the mouth by any combination of chemicals.
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| Ectoplasm produced under the agency of the mediums spirit control „Hans Bender“at a seance 2011 in the rooms of the Basle PSI Association, Switzerland |
After a short interval in the dark the red light showed quite a heap of this strangely fluffy and at the same time smooth and half transparent substance lying on the floor between the mediums legs. The next time the red light came on one could see this heap moving (“breathing”) like something alive. There protruded from it a few “ears” or “fingers”, which were easier to see from in front.
In another spell of red light out of the heap came something like a hand and an arm.
From in front it looked apparently like a normal hand and arm, just protruding from the floor out of and formed by this substance. From my point of view arm and hand seemed flattened, not rounded like a normal arm and hand. Then Hans announced he wanted to build up a column out of the ectoplasme.
Indeed a cone-like form started do grow up, but didn’t reach higher than about the chin of the medium. Hans said there was not enough energy to build the column completely. For me it was interesting that I could see the right shoe of the medium through the uprising substance. Then Hans said they would now cover the body of the medium with the substance. When the red light came on the mediums face and a good part of his body was covered with his in this case gauze-like substance, transparent where there was like just one layer, whitish where there seemed to be more substance. Hans announced he would now cover the whole body by helping with the mediums hands. Next time we could look the whole body was really covered by this very fine veil.
Then Hans thanked everybody and said he would now bring the medium back to consciousness. The cabinet was again closed completely so that the guests could leave the room guided by the light of a torch. Julia and I remained in the room until the medium was totally back.
If there was such a transparent, very light and easy to handle substance, looking somewhat like gauze or veil, but without textile structure, rather like mist or clouds of dry ice, which one could fabricate out of easy to handle chemicals and which could evaporate completely after being used, then I would say: That is, what we saw. But to my knowledge there is no such substance (except the ectoplasme). And there remains the question how the medium could form such an arm and hand out of this substance, able to move like alive.
The medium was clearly in sight of everybody whilst this arm and hand was forming from the floor between the mediums legs and moving, whilst the medium didn’t move at all.
If somebody could show me the same under the same conditions done by tricks, then I would accept that this could be done.
But I doubt very much that somebody could possibly create the same phenomena by trickery whilst being so closely watched by attentive and critical people.
I would say therefore that I am satisfied that all the phenomena we could witness with this medium were genuine and good examples of the traditional physical mediumship.
Thank you for this and keep the good work up!
Matthias Güldenstein
(end of report)
We want to thank Matthias for enabling us to present such a detailed report and the FEG Entities for letting Matthias have such an insight in their work – the editor.