The Mexican medium - fraudster

The Mexican medium - fraud

Room of Light

When Mexican mediums take us for fools

September 29, 2002

In Spanish, "cuarto de luz" means "room of light".

Everyone can make mistakes. Everyone can be deceived in life by a more or less well-organized trickery. This is what happened to one of our friends, Didier, a writer. He had gone to Mexico with Father Brune, someone I also know and who is very interested in the paranormal. Both had participated in one of these sessions and had come out very impressed, even mesmerized. It is a phenomenon with paranormal pretensions that mobilizes a relatively large number of people, who are supposed to concentrate their energies. This falls into the category of "ectoplasmic manifestations". There are sound, tactile and visual effects. In principle, one or more entities manifest. People are touched, hear "musical instruments playing on their own" and, as a final touch, see the entity materialize before their eyes, walk around the audience, caress the faces and limbs of the attendees, then throw them flowers, in the dark (taken from a pot placed on a table before the session). When it's over, the entity rings a bell to signal that the session is over.

First, let's set the scene. The events take place in Paris, in premises that resemble a dispensary or a private clinic. One of the organizers is Mr. D. (I had initially considered putting his name but I didn't think it was necessary, given the dramatic events that have marked his life and made him a victim of a despicable trickery). He is the author of a recently published book. He will give all the necessary explanations to the audience, playing the role of master of ceremonies. There were several "room of light" sessions between September 20 and 28, 2002, each lasting about five hours, mobilizing around thirty people per session, bringing the total number of participants to these "room of light" sessions to over a hundred. Our writer friend, according to him, paid for the travel expenses corresponding to the invitation of a Mexican medium and her two assistants. The sessions were free of charge. A box and envelopes were simply placed at the entrance, suggesting to participants to put a donation for the mediums. Personally, I left 50 euros before participating in the experience, following the principle of poker "you pay to see".

Most people didn't really know what was supposed to happen during the session they had signed up for. They were asked to come dressed in white, not to drink wine and not to take tranquilizers before coming to the session. They were also asked to leave their cell phones and watches in a locker provided for this purpose. We were shown the room, set up in such a way as to prevent any outside light from entering. We were encouraged "to inspect everything and check it thoroughly". The organizers had hung thick black curtains in front of all the windows, fixed with adhesive tape. The floor's carpet had been covered with linoleum, which Mr. D. explained to us was to protect it from water splashes (but we will see later that this measure had another effect). Along the walls, dozens of chairs had been lined up, forming the shape of a horseshoe (see the sketch of the layout of the place).

In the center, a small table with accessories: children's toys, a drum, a harmonica, a large vase containing red roses, pots containing water, and an important detail: a bunch of gladioli. At the other end of the room, the seat where the Mexican medium was supposed to sit, which we were encouraged to inspect with the greatest care. On the back of the chair, a blanket was placed, explaining that the medium, after the work he would accomplish (and where he was supposed to lose three to four kilograms per session), would emerge from his trance quite weakened and that this blanket was there to help him regain the lost calories, while a bottle of fruit juice, placed nearby, was supposed to help him rehydrate. The participants were supposed to hold hands, avoiding crossing their legs and not letting go "for fear of breaking the energy chain", a phenomenon that, if it occurred, would be very painfully felt by both the mediums included in it and by the one sitting in his chair.

- A broken chain, added Mr. D., believe me, "it hurts".....

Several mediums, starting with two Mexican women placed at the end of the chain, who, according to Mr. D., served as "pillars", were there to help the audience better "focus their energies". Each one was asked to leave their skepticism in the locker, trying their best to participate in the operations (which we did conscientiously. But turning off skepticism does not imply turning off observation).

Didier, the writer who had sponsored the whole operation, explained what methods had been considered to prevent any trickery. It would have been useless, he said, to chain the medium, because if he had been a good illusionist, he would have easily been able to free himself from these chains and reattach them at the end of the session without anyone noticing.

*- Moreover, he added, we are no longer in that situation. *

He had obviously been very impressed, he added, by the fact that the scenes he had witnessed during previous sessions, perfectly visible to the human eye, had not been captured on high-sensitivity film. We will see later why.

During the first sessions, an engineer present suggested that photos be taken with an infrared film (commercial), but no one followed up, simply due to negligence. As we will see later, if an observer had been able to film the scene with a camera equipped with a light intensifier, the trickery would have been exposed. But in such conditions, faced with such a flood of skepticism, the entity might have refused to manifest. Personally, I would have recommended discreet measures to highlight the fact that the medium left his seat. But for that, it would have been necessary to equip the room with an invisible infrared scanning system, which would have turned on the lights in case of beam interruption. Given that the room had been equipped by Mr. D., "a committed mystic" (see his reaction later), I think such a measure would have been difficult to implement. Last solution: bring your own light intensifying glasses discreetly, so that when you detect the fraud, you can turn on a powerful flashlight, demand the lights to be restored, and catch the fraudster in the act.

The theme is as follows. Around 1000 AD, an astrologer named "Amoro" would have lived.

The astrologer "Amoro" (around 1000 AD)

It is this character that a Mexican medium, a plumber by trade, would have been able to materialize through his paranormal abilities. It was this one, leaving his homeland for the first time, who had been invited by Didier's generosity to demonstrate his talents during these sessions in Paris.

The Mexican medium

The phenomenon would have, in a few decades, gained such momentum that our medium would have finally had to give up plumbing to devote himself to the animation of these "rooms of light", these "rooms of light". I will skip a list of impressive alleged miracles related to these sessions, miraculous healings, etc. The portrait of Amoro, a bearded man dressed like in ancient Palestine, was displayed on a wall. The phenomenon could only occur in complete darkness. As Mr. D. explained:

*- If the slightest light appeared during the medium's trance, it would kill him immediately. *

We entered the room in groups of three, sitting in the seats assigned to us in advance by Mr. D., our "master of ceremonies". Personally, I was seated next to one of the two Mexican mediums, with whom I held hands throughout the session, except during the last twenty minutes. We will see later why.

Purification ritual at the entrance, consisting of washing one's hands and letting them dry without wiping them. Then each person had to dip their hands in a mixture of water and oils or essence and drink three sips of water ritually.

At first, for a good twenty minutes, the medium, seated on his chair, his two assistants made various "magnetic passes" around him, in silence. The man, in his fifties, with a short black beard, occasionally sighed deeply while keeping his eyes closed. Then the assistants signaled that the medium had begun his trance. All the participants, having joined their hands from the start, the room was then plunged into complete darkness. The comments were delivered throughout the session by Mr. D.:

*- We are informed that a psychic door has just opened. I don't know if people see it, in the center of the room. *

Some mediums approved, but non-mediums did not seem to have seen much. One of them finally declared:

*- I see two spirits approaching. *

Given the rectangular shape of the room, this resembled a message sent by the control tower of an aircraft carrier before landing. Everyone widened their eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of spirits. According to the announced chronology, children's spirits were supposed to manifest first. We were warned that we could then experience touch, usually with flower stems (in this case, gladioli). This was indeed the case. We were all, at one time or another, brushed by objects resembling these plants. There were water sprays. Didier, the writer who had sponsored the entire operation, was clearly fully immersed in this story and also frequently spoke.

*- Concentrate your positive thoughts, try to make telepathic contact with the spirits present and send them thoughts of love. *

We did our best to concentrate. Then the Mexican mediums sang songs in Spanish, which the audience repeated when they knew the lyrics, or generally hummed. This gave the audience an atmosphere of a scout campfire, minus the fire, obviously. Then for three quarters of an hour, there were sound manifestations, attributed, according to Mr. D., to the spirit of a young man named "Botito", who would have died at eighteen during the Mexican revolution. He first gave us a rather simple harmonica concert, then used his drum in a much more persuasive way. Mr. D. and Didier "conversed" for a long time with the spirit of the young man, who answered either by using his harmonica or his drum. The point marked "A" indicates the place where "Botito" was when he played his harmonica and drum.

Two good hours had already passed, interrupted by various songs sung either by the mediums or by the audience. Mr. D. then announced that "the amount of energy accumulated by the audience" had reached a level such that "materializations would begin to manifest".

A bit of "theory" in passing. The appearances of ectoplasm are not new. The theme is as follows. First, one or more mediums or supposed ones. Then, generally around a table, people gather, joining hands "to form an energy chain". This also prevents them from putting their hands elsewhere than in those of their neighbors. Obviously, a great concentration is required, plus a blank mind, etc. The slightest hint of skepticism is said to be able to ruin the operation. Historically, not a few mediums were caught, their trickery having been revealed. One of them consists, for example, of discreetly leaving the closed chain by managing to join the hands of his two neighbors. Free to move, the medium can then practice his art, for example, inflating balloons covered with a phosphorescent substance (which may have given rise to the idea that ectoplasm came out of the mouths of mediums) or leaving the imprint of his hands, covered with rubber gloves, or his face, in a plaster basin. Thus, "spirit materializations" could be obtained, objects that adorned the meeting rooms of metaphysical institutes. That's for the trickery. For the "theory", the medium, drawing on his own energy and that of the people present, is supposed to allow "entities" or deceased people to materialize with varying degrees of density. A medium can also simply lend his voice to a "spirit", which can then speak.

In recent years, "transcommunication" experiments have developed. People then leave a tape recorder running with a blank cassette and a microphone. In the room, a white noise generator (something that resembles a breath and "provides the energy". Without this source, nothing works). The experimenters then claim that, from time to time, spirits manage to convert the frequencies of this white noise, which provides the energy, into audible messages. Some have given this phenomenon the name of "psychophony". Father Brune (Catholic priest) was very interested in this kind of phenomenon, which he dedicated one of his books to. At his request, I went to Toulouse two years ago to meet a specialist in transcommunication who used this technique to receive messages from his deceased mother. An experiment of several hours in a hotel room did not give convincing results.

In "psychophony", "spirits" or "entities" are said to act on the phase of the wave trains composing white noise to convert them during short sequences into intelligible messages. In this perspective, these entities would transmit information by using infinitesimal amounts of energy.

More simply and more classically, it can also be the medium who lends his voice to the "entity", so that a male medium can speak with a woman's voice or vice versa. If the phenomenon is real, there would also be no energy transfer, but an action on "the medium's mind". Facing such phenomena, the notions of authenticity and inauthenticity lose their meaning. The validation can only be provided by the content of the message itself, by the information it is supposed to deliver. Are relevant things being said? Are prophetic messages being brought, which have been validated a posteriori? Are facts known only by the people present being mentioned (this is particularly true for the transmission, via the medium, of messages supposedly emanating from deceased people). All this is obviously to be taken with a grain of salt for multiple reasons, not least because of the distortion of the behavior of the people present due to an emotional state caused by a very understandable affective charge.

In the case of psychophony or transcommunication with recordings, the content of the messages, if one can build a protocol that excludes any trickery, remains extremely poor. One cannot say that the word "mother", even emerging clearly, has a rich informational content. The ectoplasm represents the extension of the phenomenon, or so it is claimed, addressing not hearing, but the senses of sight and touch. The idea that "materializations" can be performed moves us up a level in terms of physics. As little energy is needed to extract an audible sound from white noise, as the fact of creating solid particles, apparently with mass, so that witnesses can feel their touch or that these emissions can leave an imprint in plaster, overcoming Archimedes' force. Without knowing it, you have often acted on white noise in your life to make it an audible sound with ... a simple flute. The reed emits waves in a wide spectrum. By positioning a "resonant cavity" downstream, you facilitate the emergence of such or such a frequency. It is not your fingers that create the sound, but your breath.

The theme of ectoplasm, following all the ghostly manifestations (which themselves are not new), has interested people a lot in the nineteenth century when various discoveries suggested to some that life could be understood, as well as its corollary: death. When Galvani was able to cause movements in frog thighs with electric shocks, some identified life with electricity. Hence the emergence of certain particularly spectacular attempts that gave rise, among other things, to the theme of the Frankenstein creature, "bringing life back to a corpse by subjecting it to an electric shock". But I think I have said enough about the general subject. Let's return to this experience of September 28, 2002, in Paris. The first lights also appeared near the location marked "A".

Mr. D. had indicated that everyone should address the entity that would materialize before our eyes (named "Amoro") by calling him "maestro", the master. It had been two good hours that we had been plunged into total darkness when we could see some points of light, apparently connected to each other, moving. Then the number of these points increased and everyone could see two hands whose palms were like fluorescent.

**"Materialization" of the hand of "the entity". **

The following routine lasted for a good hour. The "maestro", to whom Mr. D. frequently addressed, acting as "game master" and Didier, the writer, walked around the audience. During the passage, the attendees (who, we remind you, were all holding hands) were several times (including me) sprayed with water or hit gently with flower stems. Almost all the attendees received rose petal sprays. Let us hasten to clarify that the room was not empty when we installed ourselves, but that it was abundantly equipped with all the aforementioned accessories: flowers, rose petals, water, etc.

The entity then approached each of us and there were physical contacts. These glowing hands caressed my face and shoulders. A half dozen of these glowing particles remained stuck to my shirt where they continued to emit light for several minutes. I could clearly observe that they were hands wearing a very visible mesh fabric (which I would compare to a light tulle, confirmed by the contact with my cheeks). On these hands, there were points of light similar to plankton, which, in the summer, in the Mediterranean regions, stick to the clothing of divers and, becoming luminous, signal their presence. Many attendees noticed the gestures of the "creature". Its two hands disappeared into a pocket located at the waist, which some said they could clearly distinguish. Then, what I can testify to, the creature rubbed its two palms together, which had the effect of enhancing the light effects. At one moment, the light emission was maximum. I then distinguished a person standing with his back to the audience, on the other side of the room. He had then rubbed his two palms together in such a way that the light emission came not only from his palms but also from the back of his hands, which had the effect of increasing the light emission for a few seconds. His silhouette then appeared in silhouette, the light emitted by his palms being reflected by the white clothes worn by all the participants who faced him in the following drawing. I could then clearly distinguish a garment: a kind of cassock with large sleeves and hood. The robe, relatively short, revealed ... two pants legs (a rather strange costume for a character supposed to emerge from the tenth century). Many could also see, sometimes clearly, the modern-looking white shoes worn by the entity, and, let's say, very similar to those of the medium.

**"The entity", seen from behind, in full action, facing the public.
Notice the pants legs (...). **

Didier, the writer, encouraged the assembled people to make wishes and try to make telepathic contact with the maestro. My neighbor, when the maestro caressed her face, arm and inner thighs, was moved to tears and declared "to have felt extraordinary things". A man, who had complained of back pain, was healed and recovered on the spot and testified aloud:

*- He approached. He touched my vertebra and I no longer felt any pain. *

Throughout this time, the "pillar" mediums sang songs in Spanish, which the audience repeated when they knew the lyrics, or generally hummed. But Mr. D. and Didier, the writer who had sponsored the operation, declared aloud that the maestro also appreciated French songs. People then encouraged the audience to sing the song "La Mer" by Charles Trenet and various songs of the same kind. Through the medium, the message was finally translated by Mr. D., and the entity Amoro-maestro let us know that he would appreciate receiving a cassette containing French songs. How, asked someone. Answer from Mr. D.:

*- It will be enough to send it to the mediums in Mexico, they will forward it. *

Mr. D. mentioned that the entity Amoro-maestro particularly appreciated the birthday song, which the audience sang:

Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, maestro, happy birthday....

The maestro, visibly very pleased, beat the rhythm with his glowing hands. Then, people were encouraged who might have suffered from being locked up in this room for so long to "ask for air". Some then perceived a pleasant breeze. Finally, we were informed that the session would end. A bell had been placed on a small table, next to the medium's chair, which was supposed to be activated by the entity to signal its departure. But it apparently missed the bell, which fell noisily to the ground. It was finally picked up and shaken for a long time. The host, Mr. D., announced that the maestro had left, but that for the medium to return to his normal state, it would take a little time (twenty more minutes). At this moment, the "pillar" mediums, including the woman who was to my left, detached themselves from the "human chain" to help "the spirits to leave". A half dozen glowing particles still shone weakly on the floor, like fireflies. These women, using a dim lamp with a red cover, worked either to collect them (thus explaining the function of the linoleum covering the room's carpet), or to extinguish them by spraying them with water. Mr. D. commented:

*- As long as these particles remain, they prevent the spirits from leaving, keeping them imprisoned. *

Once the last particle had been extinguished or collected, the lights were turned on. We could then see the medium slumped in his chair, looking absent-minded, "gradually re-entering his body". The reactions of the audience were varied. Some left, in a sort of trance, convinced they had witnessed something truly extraordinary, or even felt transformed psychically or physically (or both at once). Didier, the writer, added some comments.

*- During previous sessions, photos were taken, but they gave nothing. The image of the entity did not appear on the film. The medium told us that he would keep this part of the negative, saying that the maestro could (through a phenomenon that could be called "psychohotography") reconstruct these images later. *

Participants were encouraged to collect all the flowers and petals abundantly distributed during the session (but taken from the table placed in the center of the room) because "these objects could then reveal exceptional therapeutic virtues". It was especially recommended to put the rose petals in a small red bag, sewn.

Some participants preferred to leave the premises, in a bad mood, claiming to have been the victim of a bad taste. I personally decided to go through the experience to the end by joining the twenty people who accepted to join Mr. D., Didier (who was my table neighbor) and the Mexican mediums, who, in the Chinese restaurant where we sat, were seated at an independent table. My right neighbor was an engineer working with Jacques Benveniste, who had participated in a previous session and had cried fraud when leaving the premises. I reproduce here the words of the electronic engineer:

*- When I participated in the previous session, there was an unexpected incident. A woman operated a digital camera. The weak light emitted by her screen proved sufficient for many participants to see that the entity was actually the medium, whom they immediately recognized as wearing white leather shoes with laces. He quickly turned the screen of the camera away from the chair. It has been years that we have been trying, Benveniste and I, to carry out very delicate experiments where we face problems of reproducibility and where we often do not control all the parameters, due to not knowing them exactly. In this context, this kind of clowning is quite unbearable. *

A woman testified, who had been present in the same session as me.

• *At one moment Mr. D. told us that the maestro was "materializing" a rose. But I clearly saw the person bend down and pick it up from the ground in front of me, at his feet. *

The situation became embarrassing. I decided to take a direct approach, addressing Mr. D., who was walking around the tables.

*- I think it's time to draw conclusions from this affair. Your materialized entity is none other than the medium himself. His trick is relatively simple. He can first move around the room easily using the gladiolus stems as a cane for the blind. Hence these touches on the people present. This avoids him from falling and hitting the table or the feet of people. He had no difficulty in grabbing these gladiolus stems since these stems were in front of him, at a meter, deliberately placed in his direction. He only had to stretch out his hands to grab them. Let's pass over the harmonica and drum performances, which may be appreciated by a Mexican illiterate. The light phenomena have an explanation. There are many bioluminescent mushrooms. I myself have seen them on a decaying tree trunk at night, in Brittany, in the spring, when I was a dozen years old. Many corals in the marine depths are also light emitters, although this emission takes place, this time, in a range to which the human eye is not sensitive. The mushrooms I saw in Brittany emitted a very strong greenish light. Since it has been known to synthesize the "luciferin" of fireflies, this "cold light" is no longer mysterious for chemists. Even necklaces filled with these products are sold for more than twenty years. Many say they have seen a sort of "banana" that the medium wore at his waist. Periodically, his hands disappeared into this kind of bag. He then rubbed them together, and this gesture was accompanied by a light emission. I think that in the banana there were spores of bioluminescent mushrooms that emitted light when crushed. *

*- But, how do you explain that no image formed on the photographic films? *

• When "the maestro made his entrance," that is, when the light phenomena began, the entire audience was in complete darkness for more than two hours. All present were therefore in a state of subception, meaning their eyes had become sensitive to extremely weak light. The cells of the retina can be triggered by a single photon. When the human retina is not saturated by a strong light, it is a more efficient light detector than the most sensitive photographic film you can find on the market. It is therefore not surprising that with these weak illuminations, human eyes were able to perceive what the film was unable to capture. I will give you another indication. During the session that took place two days earlier, a woman wanted to use a digital camera. At that moment, her monitor behaved like a real lighthouse. The person then hurriedly turned the screen away from the chair, otherwise the audience would have noticed that it was... empty. There is a good chance that during future sessions, digital cameras, camcorders, and generally all devices with a monitor will be banned.

D. was visibly destabilized by my remarks.

• How do you explain that this Mexican medium lives in a very modest house?

• One can live modestly and be a kind illusionist. This activity made him a personality in the country.

• But he is half-illiterate!

• I heard that this phenomenon of light room dates back many years, at least sixty years. It was enough for a parent of this man or one of his acquaintances to "initiate" him by revealing the properties of these mushrooms. For this, there is no need to have done long studies or to speak Latin and Greek. There are a thousand ways to produce light in the dark "in a magical way." I could demonstrate it to you with a simple roll of real cellophane (it doesn't work with tape). When you peel off the tape, a strong bluish light appears. This is called tribo-electricity. If you can create light with a roll of cellophane, you will admit that you can do the same with mushrooms. Moreover, why do you claim that the light could instantly kill your Mexican medium?

• I read it in books. Well, if you don't believe it, what are you doing in these light rooms? Who asked you to come?

• Didier asked me to come, as he did with other scientists, like Benveniste and his engineer assistant. I myself came with two of my collaborators. We, as you asked us, "eliminated our barrier of skepticism" in such a way that it could not hinder the manifestation of any alleged paranormal phenomenon. We observed all your rules, clothing and rituals. But, turning off your skepticism does not mean that you have to do the same for your sense of observation. What we saw was a crude and unacceptable trickery.

The mediums, realizing that the conversation was turning sour, preferred to discreetly disappear. D., completely destabilized, started to curse me.

• What do you, scientists, think you know? What do you know about reality? Who tells me that you are really sitting in front of me now and that you are not an illusion?

To physically answer the question, I firmly grabbed his wrist and shook it. He reacted very strongly, considering himself attacked. Grabbing a pen and losing all his head, he tried to hit me with it. Fortunately, the table separated us.

• Calm down, dear sir. Your very vivid reaction is in itself proof that I am really standing in front of you as a solid and concrete material entity, otherwise you would not have reacted that way.

I told Didier that I would post a report of this session on my website the very next day, as I had perceived it with my eyes as a scientist. I knew that he was going to give a long interview the next day on a radio show. He told me:

• Personally, it doesn't bother me if there was indeed a trickery. What matters is the human event, the current that passed between people and the way this could have possibly changed them spiritually and in their bodies.

I hope I have recorded here the essentials of my observations and the testimonies I have gathered from everyone. I fully admit that people can succeed in acting on their bodies through rituals and possibly heal from various ailments. Our medical knowledge remains embryonic. It is only recently that doctors have admitted that certain conditions, starting with the most serious like cancer, can have a strong psychosomatic component. Now, if individuals can so "give death," why shouldn't they have the power to heal, to "give health"? For me, the door remains open to all possibilities, including phenomena that one could qualify as "miraculous."

In the matter that concerns us, the only justification for such happenings is based on alleged miracles. But things can go much further. People who have lost loved ones can go to mediums asking them to put them in communication with these deceased people. It would be unscientific to claim that this is not possible. To claim this, we would need a perfect understanding of what we call life, death, consciousness, etc. Only people like Charpak live with tranquil assurances applying to all possible areas, and in a way, one can only envy them. However, the techniques mentioned above can be used for abominable manipulations. Modern techniques, soon accessible to anyone, will allow to "create a telepathic contact," thanks to pulsed microwaves in audible frequencies, allowing to [talk directly to people in their heads](../Cuarto de luz/../Non Lethal Weapons/Non_lethal_weapons.htm#nasa_hf) without using sound waves.

But, more simply, imagine that people go to this Mexican medium asking him to make a loved one appear. Instead of limiting the costume to a pair of gloves linked to a hood, it will be enough for him to ask one of his assistants to wear a tulle stocking and to sprinkle it with luminous particles using the famous phosphorescent mushrooms, for example, stored in a bag on the back of the young woman. Add to this the emotion, plus the generous generosity of the operation, having the value of proof ("They do not do this for money"): Hello, the damage. Unless one considers that creating in someone the belief in an afterlife, even with an artifice, can be considered a service, insofar as this certainty has a calming effect.

**Ectoplasm created using phosphorescent mushrooms deposited by friction on a stocking. **

That said, there is another way to cause concrete consequences of such manifestations: by writing books trying to accredit the phenomenon among the public. I hope neither Didier nor Father Brune will dare to do so. Personally, if I discovered that some of my writings could have been based on a trickery, I would not only stop referring to such a source immediately but I would also inform my readers immediately out of simple intellectual honesty. I have always been ready to debate these aspects before any competent assembly willing to welcome me, including in public, that is, to jump headfirst into all the lion's pits, but it is rather the opponents who have failed for the past quarter of a century.

It is certain that when one ventures off the beaten path, one takes risks, including the risk of being deceived for a certain time. I think this was the case for Didier and for Father Brune, and I cannot blame them for it. Anyone can be taken in at any time. There are quite可怕的 supercheries or artifacts.

Nevertheless, these Mexican mediums really took us for fools, and I don't like it, considering Didier, Father Brune, and Mr. D. as victims. I think this plump and bearded Mexican would do well to... go back to being a plumber and stop clowning around with his costume and phosphorescent mushrooms. As he is intelligent, he does not drive a fancy car. As Mr. D. said, that seemed to convince "there are no windows in his house." But he must find other advantages in these activities. The fact of being the object of a cult and possibly, like Raël, the possibility of jumping his groupies. Towards the end of the session, he passed by the Mexican medium who was next to me. She suddenly burst out laughing. I asked her why, but she refused to answer me. Perhaps these people, when their victims, this poor Mr. D. in particular (who lost his daughter years ago), have their backs turned, are doubled over with laughter. I am sorry for Brune and for Didier and even more for D., living in Mexico, for whom this realization may turn into a tragedy.

If someone can translate this file into Spanish, even of average quality, I think it would be a useful act. Contact me at. my email. We will then find a site frequented by Mexicans to post these informations that can enlighten more than one (that is the exact word). As soon as the opportunity arises, everything will be done to make these scammers close shop. Because that is the word. These people are just plain scammers, who only have the intelligence to proceed slowly, playing on the register "we do not do this for money."

But in France, we have a precedent: Tartuffe.

October 3, 2002: I reproduce below the content of an email sent by one of the people who participated in the same session as me. The names have been removed.

Dear Mr. Petit,

We attended this session and your report seems quite plausible, with one or two exceptions: 1- We believe that the mediums were somewhat "manipulated" by Mr. D. A trip paid for, in Paris, you don't refuse... 2- My wife is also a medium, and she perceived things such as, for example, this blue door and a piece of music that she had requested via telepathy and which was interpreted. 3- Didier, who is also a friend, is manipulated by the D.s. I believe that the staging and certain events that occurred in Mexico convinced him of the authenticity of these performances. He is, however, of good faith. 4- Father François Brune, whom I spoke to on the phone, strongly doubts this experience, as does J.M.G and Professor D., who attended a previous session, emeritus professor of psychiatry at the Universities of Mons Hainaut and the Free University of Brussels, specializing for over thirty-five years in paranormal research. I believe this is a lesson to learn for all experimenters, including us. There are good things, less good things, and the circus!!! Regarding the Spanish translation, I believe I can find someone. I will check and keep you informed. Finally, if you are interested in instrumental transcommunication, I invite you to visit my modest site and leave your opinions if possible as objective as possible. http://www.beleternet.com

We hope that this experience will be an asset for you and all the participants, because it is true that in this field (the paranormal), caution is always necessary and honest people can be discredited by others who are less so. Looking forward to reading or seeing you again, cordial greetings.

I have reproduced this email, preserving the anonymity of its sender (unless he authorizes me to specify his name), first because it was an additional testimony (and I invite all people who attended these sessions to come forward, assuring them, if they wish, that their anonymity will be preserved). Moreover, this message refers to a site where one can download sound elements corresponding to these "transcommunication" experiences mentioned in the text. By sending readers to this site, it does not in any way mean that I endorse the authenticity of these documents. I have no opinion on what I have not seen with my own eyes or experienced myself. Personally, I doubt that the Mexican medium was manipulated by Mr. D. Logically, it would be the other way around. I have removed from the email a passage where the author referred to the rather lively discussion we had, Mr. D. and I, at the restaurant, after this session. Indeed, I consider that a man who has lost a child (as was also the case for me) has the right to compassion and understanding from others. When one has experienced such an awful experience, is it easy to escape any manipulation?

**Here is another email I received on October 4, 2002. **

Dear sir.

I am president of the French Institute of Spiritist Research and Experimentation. We, too, wish to denounce the fraud you witnessed, having ourselves participated in the session where the device was turned on, thus making it visible to all those observing the medium standing. If you agree, I will forward your text to the president of the French and Francophone Spiritist Union so that he translates it into Spanish and sends it to the members of the International Spiritist Council so that their practices can be denounced around the world.

Sincerely ............

I immediately transmitted my agreement. Here is therefore an additional testimony that seems to confirm the idea that the Mexicans mentioned above engaged in a lamentable trickery. As a scientist, I have no prior ideas about the reality of the so-called spiritist phenomena.

But, until we know more about this alleged phenomenon, it seems at least necessary to denounce such grotesque pantomimes as those we witnessed. If indeed my text can be translated and submitted to a Mexican audience, it may be able to stop the activities of this group of scammers in their own country. I do not agree that "theatricality can be tolerated as long as it creates a mystical atmosphere with positive outcomes," even in Mexico. I would be curious to know why the Mexican medium who was to my left suddenly burst out laughing when "the entity" passed by her.

Noted by Philippe Huleux on the site of the

51, rue de l'Aqueduc
75010, Paris - FRANCE Métro : Louis-Blanc, or Stalingrad Tél/fax.: +33 (0)1 46 07 23 85 imi-paris@Wanadoo.fr

The following report:

The "spiritist" sessions of the "cuarto de luz"

In the middle of 2002, the IMI was informed of the upcoming visit to France of some spiritist mediums from Mexico. The writer Didier Van Cauweleart and Father François Brune had attended sessions organized by these mediums in their country and testified to having observed phenomena that could interest the Institute. Some members of our Executive Committee were cordially invited, on a private basis, to meet these mediums during their stay in Paris in September 2002, in order to organize some sessions.

The International Metapsychic Institute is the main French scientific institute that has looked into so-called "parapsychological" or "metapsychic" phenomena. Systematic, as methodical as possible, observation of these phenomena was the subject of numerous publications, notably in the Revue Métapsychique, from the 1920s. The IMI studied, among others, under the direction of Dr. Geley and then Dr. Osty until the 1930s, the "paranormal" abilities of certain spiritist mediums, famous at that time when spiritism was widely spread in European countries.

The announcement that Mexican mediums "with physical effects" (we mean effects that could potentially be observed and measured by scientific tools) could be seen in Paris today was a news that the Institute could not ignore and which naturally aroused the curiosity of its members. One of the members of the Executive Committee, the psychoanalyst Djohar Si Ahmed, proposed to the organizers of these sessions (Messieurs Van Cauweleart, Dray and Brune) to host the sessions free of charge in the premises of her Parisian institute, the ICLP (15 rue Bargue, 75015 Paris). This proposal was made freely and spontaneously by Djohar Si Ahmed, personally, the ICLP having no way participated in the organization or holding of the 4 "cuarto de luz" sessions: it was just about lending premises, which were available on the weekend when the sessions took place.

The audience of the session on September 18 consisted of about thirty people, including researchers, doctors, journalists and an illusionist. All curious and apparently in favorable conditions for the good running of the session. Among the participants, Mario Varvoglis, president of the IMI, and Francis Mobio, his secretary. Both came on a friendly basis and out of personal curiosity, they were not presented to the rest of the audience as official representatives of the IMI. (Two other members of the Institute, Djohar Si Ahmed and Paul-Louis Rabeyron, also came on a personal basis, attended the session on Monday, September 21).

What follows is a review of the first session written according to the accounts of MM. Varvoglis and Mobio.

After agreeing on the protocol of the Mexican mediums (all dressed in white, "purification" by passing over a brazier, etc.), we took our seats in the room darkened by curtains on the windows. Sitting in a half-circle, next to each other, holding hands (if the chain was broken, the medium "risked dying" explained Mr. Dray), we tried collectively, at the urging of Messieurs Dray and Van Cauwelaert, to create an atmosphere of fun, music and good humor that we were told was necessary for the manifestation of the phenomena (this detail joins certain traditions of spiritist sessions, where the spirits required the relaxation or distraction of the audience, in order to manifest themselves fully).

After a period of time difficult to estimate due to the imposed conditions (total darkness and absence of time references), sounds were heard by the audience. First, it were children's noises, who were manipulating, at floor level, various toys that had been placed in the center of the room (a laser gun with light effects, a rattle, a ball). Then an entity was presented by Mr. Dray as the memory of a young Mexican revolutionary who would be the fiancé, in the other world, of his deceased daughter, Carine.

The entity spoke through a harmonica, thus creating a musical exchange with the public who greatly participated in the playful atmosphere that prevailed at that moment.

Then we witnessed the manifestation of another entity, of Amerindian origin according to Mr. Dray's comments, which punctuated its interventions with powerful drum rolls, emitted from different points of the room.

Finally, the one who was announced by Mr. Dray as "the spirit Amajur" appeared. Two parts of his body were clearly luminous, his hands which were clearly gloved (the mesh of the gloves was visible) and the buckle of the belt. The light emitted, fluorescent and green in color, was accompanied by a strong smell close to phosphorus or perhaps sulfur. The bright substance was clearly viscous, perhaps liquid, in any case so earthly that it left many stains or drops, both on the floor and on the clothes and skin of several participants.

One of the members of the audience then took a photo (without flash) of "the spirit Amajur," which allowed some of us to see the earthly clothes of the apparition (a pair of pants resembling jeans and shoes), emerging from a veil of tulle (probably white) covering the silhouette. During the photo, a more intense light source, external to the entity (perhaps a light source from the camera), allowed at least six people to notice the disappearance of the medium from his assigned chair. Note that the medium, a certain Samuel, was the only one in the entire audience who did not have to make the "chain." Once in the dark, he was completely free of movement.

This last point - the medium's freedom of movement and the chair seen empty in the middle of the session - seems particularly important to us, as it strongly suggests that the entity "Amajur" and the medium Samuel are in fact only one person.

This observation, which added to a set of other suspicious elements, left several of us particularly skeptical about the authenticity of the phenomena observed. In addition to the complete freedom of movement of the medium, the darkness was complete and no surveillance device (thermal camera, infrared beam linked to a security system, or simply flour placed on the floor to detect any possible footprints) was set up during the sessions.

Certainly, we are not supposed to ignore the role of the "ritual," of the "stage setting" (which should not be confused with simple fraud) intended to favor the manifestation of certain psi phenomena. A complex magical-religious apparatus consisting of symbols, rituals, songs, objects, is systematically mobilized in the magical devices of traditional cultures (shamanism, tarantism, etc.). They contribute to the modification of consciousness states, and could thus create a state conducive to the manifestation of interesting psychological or physical phenomena for metapsychics.

Nevertheless, in the case that concerns us here, nothing allows us to assert that paranormal phenomena actually occurred. On the contrary, we are inclined to think that we were spectators throughout the session of a series of sounds, lights and physical contacts (the spirit sometimes touched people) whose nature does not belong to metapsychic phenomenology and is more related to spiritist proselytism.

In conclusion, we are in no way able to support the authenticity of what we witnessed during the session on Friday, September 18, 2002, in Paris.

For the Executive Committee of the Institute, Mario Varvoglis, President, Francis Mobio, secretary and Grégory Gutierez, member of the Executive Committee, October 12, 2002, in Paris ---

Another testimony from Jacques Mandarola, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Clairvoyance.

I participated, like you, in the last session of the "Mexican mediums." I share your opinion on the entire session. I add two additional details:

• Regarding the three previous sessions, it seems that the medium changed his supplier of phosphorus grains, because those used during our session were very (too) bright, to the point of seeing his painted face and the whole of his gauze costume!

• I wondered how the medium could move so easily in the room, despite the total darkness. So I went to observe him closely at the end of the session: he had dilated pupils. Probably with the help of an eye drop of the type that ophthalmologists use to prepare for an eye fundus examination. This is why the medium, upon leaving the building, was the only one to wear sunglasses at the end of the day.

JACQUES MANDORLA

**On the other hand, Mayvonne and Yvon Dray, mentioned in my file (through the testimony of the I.M.I. (Institut Métapsychique International) asked me to include the following comments (my own comments in blue): **

We are obviously sad by this light analysis by a scientist, in the sense that the text contains accusations, insults and serious and unfounded vulgarities. J. P. Petit had the obligation to study the theme of materializations and the session of the cuarto de luz more seriously. Indeed, his document is based on simple observation, of which you will see how erroneous and full of prejudices it is.

Fortunately, there are many more precise, reliable and objective reports of sessions, starting with the book of Gutierre Tibón "Ventana al mundo invisible" ed. Planeta 1994 or for example, those of Professor Jean Dierkens and his wife Christine (medium), concerning the 3rd cuarto de luz in Paris on September 26, 2002 (we would like to have their testimonies). These two people have the advantage of having participated in hundreds of spiritist sessions for more than 40 years and have read books that recounted experiences with ectoplasm and material phenomena.

We should clarify that the TCI and automatic writing have brought us peace for 6 years since the departure of our beloved daughter Karine (the Drays have lost their daughter), while we have known the 3 mediums mentioned in the report for about a year. We have been able to observe their behavior during and outside the 35 cuartos de luz we attended. Their family environment is healthy, they live very modestly from the donations received during the weekly sessions and consultations for treatment. We unreservedly affirm that they are very honest people. Moreover, we are absolutely convinced of the reality of the materializations. The different morphologies of the beings, the multiple materializations and the treatments performed are three irrefutable elements, when they are practiced under favorable conditions, like in Mexico (vibrational level, discipline, harmony between the participants, etc.).

The 3 mediums agreed to leave their work for 2 weeks to present these cuartos de luz in Paris, considering it as a mission.

Their trip and accommodation were funded by Didier van Cauwelaert. Their food by us. Our own trip and accommodation were at our own expense as well.

The 3 mediums only received 10% of the amount we had estimated for them to compensate for the loss of income during their absence and the effort of 4 cuartos de luz in 9 days. Not a single donation during the first two cuartos de luz, very few in the next two. We joined this donation system, having previously proposed a participation in the costs, which in our opinion would have valued the events.

The cuartos de luz had an average duration of 3 hours (and not 5). An hour-long complete information was given by Didier to the participants.

Regarding the description of the room, even with the light, J.P. Petit already shows that he is a bad observer. The gladioli were in a vase near the medium and not on the table where there were also no water bowls (J.P. Petit says that this point is important). The chain is not broken at the entrance door as in the drawing. There is no master of ceremonies. With my wife, we translated for the mediums upon entry and exit or for the guests the rules and comments of each, when necessary. It was necessary for all of us to assume the non-application of these rules in some cases. Our role was to warn you about this.

A regrettable error (the light of the digital camera) and very negative behaviors led the spiritual guide to protect the medium (according to what I was told and according to the interpretation that Mr. Dray would have given the "spiritual guide" would have strongly diverted the screen of the digital camera to avoid that this light "killed the medium during his trance," or more prosaically that the participants would notice that his chair was... empty), which triggered a series of comments, which we understand well, given the shock caused. However, we think that the guests and scientists in particular could have kept their composure and taken some distance from the facts instead of "shouting scandal" during the session, that some wanted to abandon, that after it.

The next day, an undisputed specialist in these phenomena gave us the explanation of these facts (we would like to know it) which have already occurred in Mexico in the past and that the same measures were taken, however extraordinary it may seem. We communicated it immediately to the interested parties. This is what allowed us to continue the experiment for the other 3 cuartos de luz.

Continuing to read J.P. Petit's analysis, note that he did not realize that the spiritual guide is named Amajur and not Amoro, and that the young Mexican revolutionary is Botitas and not Botito. The IMI could have also understood that when we asked if Karine was Botitas's fiancée, it was a joke... and not a fact that deserved to be reported by them. The caricature of the guide Amajur (who of course looks like Samuel...), makes us think that the author clearly saw the face of the guide. Maria Luisa told us upon her return to Mexico that she had just had the privilege of seeing the face of the guide Amajur for the first time in 20 years, as she attended the cuartos de luz every week.

We could be surprised that the testimonies of the mediums present in the room, who described the non-materialized beings, were not taken into account in J.P. Petit's report.

Botitas was not only at point A but was constantly moving. As for the too-short clothes and white shoes described by the author of the document, it is surprising that no one else observed this fact, which seemed so absurd to us (this fact was observed by the people close by at the time of the lighting due to the screen of the digital device. I personally saw the shoes and the legs of the pants as indicated on my drawing, when the person was facing away).

Regarding Maria Luisa's laughter (and not just a laugh) that so worries J.P. Petit, it was actually him who caused it by being afraid of the flower moving on his shoulder with each of his movements... Maria Luisa told us immediately. (No, she laughed when "the entity" passed near her, I remember perfectly.)

Regarding the songs from Paris, it was simply to send a cassette to Maria Luisa so that these tunes would be sung in the cuartos de luz in Mexico (let us recall that the Mexican medium assistants had said during the session that Amajur, the master, "was very fond of French songs").

What you did not see, Mr. Petit, during the fourth cuarto de luz, was that a guest kicked the guide. However, he did not scream or fall, and Samuel had no mark. It was the same guest who later confessed to this act, meeting physicality, as he was looking for it, and not humanity as he thought. That is why the session was interrupted. Finally, the group was penalized because other significant materializations had been announced. It should be known that the guide, in a previous meeting, indicated to us his "concerns" about people's behavior, without giving us the details. As you know, we transmitted his recommendations before each session, without being listened to by everyone.

Regarding the linoleum, it's almost funny... It was something to think of, but the explanation was given by Didier: to protect the carpet and try to have the strongest possible floor to hear the children playing (I don't know if it's that funny).

Regarding the dinner after the fourth cuarto de luz, the mediums had to get up at 5 a.m. and not accompany us. Not finding a taxi, they decided to quickly eat a meal. A guest accompanied them and they quickly returned to their hotel with applause. Therefore, they were not there during the attack on me.

This attack is simpler than described. At the end of the meal, I was approached by J.P. Petit about the mediums, I listened to him until he said they were frauds and a hoax. I did not accept his remarks. It is true, I said that he could also be an illusion and I had the innocence to extend my arm as he asked me to. With violence and malice, he "ripped" my arm, almost throwing me to the other side of the table (don't exaggerate). I had to control myself because I had just signed a dedication and had a pen in my hand (with which Mr. Dray threatened me). I had open-heart surgery and still feel the effects of this useless demonstration (I'm sorry. I didn't know).

The unknown woman who testified to having seen the guide picking up a rose is mistaken. The guide materialized a gladiolus in front of us that Didier recovered.

No, the medium did not have a "banana," he was in a trance... Spiritual beings often carry a small leather bag, clearly visible... This proves they have nothing to hide.

A verification protocol was never defined with the mediums. As we said, it was about presenting the phenomenon of materializations. (This "phenomenon" is certainly far from being harmless, damn it. I recall what Mr. Dray said to me: "If you don't believe in it, what are you doing at a cuarto de luz?").

The mediums perform the cuartos de luz for strictly spiritual reasons, however, we are certain that they would not oppose this protocol if we defined and carried it out with respect and dignity (it would have been entirely possible. We did not come to these sessions armored with aggressive skepticism. I would not personally assert that "materialization" is inherently impossible. I don't know, that's all. But we have come to the conviction, through a convergence of testimonies, that what was produced in Paris by these mediums was merely a lamentable hoax). For 60 years, the group has had dozens of checks. This does not mean, however, that the world is convinced of survival, but no one has found any trickery either. It is probably for this reason that the mediums are not interested in science.

We know that in the short term, we will be able to carry out these checks, in a small group, as it should be, in more favorable conditions than in Paris and with interlocutors who have the ability and motivation for it.

We are surprised that the guests of the IMI and IFRES attended the cuartos de luz on a personal basis but expressed their disapproval on behalf of these institutions.

The results we obtain from the checks will be the answer given to them. (Mr. Dray, during our restaurant discussion, said to us: "And what are you going to do about the fact that the entity is not visible on the photos?" To which I replied that human beings, placed in complete darkness for two hours, are in "subception" and their retinal cells become much more sensitive than the most sensitive films available in the market).

As for the anonymous testimony of the one who publicizes his website, it is obvious that he understood nothing; this confirms the information we received about him after his testimony. It must be said that before and after the cuarto de luz, he was in a state that does not speak in his favor (what state?).

In conclusion, J.P. Petit's intentions will not escape anyone (I came to this session without any prior intention. The fact that the demonstration by the Mexican mediums turned out to be merely a lamentable hoax means nothing to me. I would be ready to participate in any other so-called "paranormal" events at any time. But my scientific integrity compelled me to inform my readers of what I had witnessed and what I had heard from other witnesses. I heard people say that the hoax did not bother them, that they were not against "a certain theatricality," as long as it "stimulated the mystic fervor of those present." But then the theater must be flawless, otherwise it produces the opposite effect on the non-believers).

We will also have compassion for him and forgive him because the dramatic events that punctuate his life make him a victim as well.

I can very well understand the position of the Drays, having myself lost a child twelve years ago, a son who was twenty-three years old and was lured by these sirens of the extreme and the vertigo of the Great Blue, which has been reflected for twelve years in the most ridiculous way by the media (see the recent record of Loïc Leferme: 162 meters in October 2002, clinging to a gueuse and rising with a balloon, as well as the death of the Frenchwoman Audrey Mestre, a few days before, recognized "recordwoman posthumously" by a federation composed of irresponsible people). I would say that, in a way, I envy the Drays. In a child's death, the absence of belief leaves the grieving person with a gaping wound, without any recourse, and the skepticism of scientific colleagues does not offer much answer to the problems of birth, life, and death. But, as my friend Rémy Chauvin said:

The skeptic is the one who suspects nothing.

Cuarto de Luz: The testimony of Didier Van Cawelart:

Excerpt from an interview given by Didier Van Cauwelaert in Le FIGARO Madame of Saturday, December 28, 2002, issue 18159, titled "Live from the Beyond"

A.L. - What you tell in your book already exceeds understanding. You saw objects dematerialize in the atmosphere, musical instruments playing on their own, ectoplasms appearing, including that of an Arab sage from the 10th century!

D.v.C. -

I attended sessions conducted by a medium whose tradition has been passed down in Mexico since 1939. They are called "cuartos de luz" (rooms of light). Indeed, strange things happen for common sense. But all the leading figures who have succeeded each other since their creation, including the most skeptical scientists and their anti-fraud protocols, have never managed to detect any trickery. The parents of Karine brought me there. They said they had met their daughter among the spiritual entities that take form during the sessions. As for me, I only saw a silhouette.

A.L. - It pleased you so much that you brought the medium to Paris to organize the same kind of sessions!

D.v.C.

• It was so hallucinating and, at the same time, the atmosphere was so festive, light, euphoric. I never imagined that one could communicate with spirits under these conditions! In any case, Father Brune assured me that, in this case, it couldn't be the work of the Devil! I wanted to share this experience with friends, curious people, experts, scientists. Let people from all walks of life say what they think about it.

A.L. - And then?

D.v.C.

• The atmosphere was fairly the same. The participants left filled with real joy. Except for some institutional parapsychologists who, on the other hand, left angry because they felt attacked in their prerogatives. They reproached me for daring to conduct this kind of experience without a scientific protocol, as an amateur.

In other words, to discredit them! But the official parapsychological circles are so paralyzed that they dare not try anything themselves!

A.L. - And the rationalists, just to say, what did they say?

D.v.C.

• I received very nice thank-you letters that also said: "We don't agree. It can be explained by illusionism." It's the "Open sesame". The paranormal is replaced by illusionism and there's no more problem. The place chosen for the sessions was controlled by a bailiff, without any possibility of trickery. No false ceiling, etc. The medium was searched before each session. It is true that it was not a body search like in prison, so one cannot exclude ultra-miniaturized equipment, but there we are in full delirium. The medium received no financial compensation for his performance. He was not subjected to any media hype. He had to endure, to come to Paris, two times ten hours of flight, which he hates. But, no doubt, it's illusionism!

A.L. - Are you sure, you, that it's not?

D.v.C.

• I'm not sure of anything! And I think that even if we could conclude, in one way or another, my free will would be in a real mess! But in both cases, unless we ignore two thirds of disturbing elements, we cannot conclude. I'm not trying to proselytize for the beyond or God knows what. I want to allow reflections, dreams, experiences beyond our usual limits. And especially to break fears and frustrations. If all this could open a gap, I would have achieved my goal.

A.L. - In the end, for you, it's a game!

D.v.C.

• No, it's a gift. I don't like people who sell you the beyond, divination, in a peremptory way. I hate sorcery, prophecies, predestination, anything that claims to take power, to exert influence. On the other hand, when the spectator, the listener, the reader leaves with a little less limits, a little more air, then yes, I take it.

It's not only Karine.

A.L. - Oh no?

D.v.C.

• When you start to dig a little, you discover that under the somewhat awkward words of "supernatural" or "paranormal" there is an entire range of experiences that escape the commonly accepted laws and which is absolutely fascinating. For example, in the 18th century, there are testimonies stating that some Jansenists were insensitive to torture and even, on the pyre, refused to burn. As if being cornered into a form of marginal mysticism, being persecuted, accentuated a disposition that we may all have but that we do not exploit. The Chinese are said to have experienced the same with some Tibetan monks.

A.L. - Where did you find out about all this?

D.v.C.

The archives were published and commented on by Princeton University in 1978. Everyone can access them, it's available on the Internet. I must say that the discovery of the fireproof Jansenists was really a shock for me! It's an extraordinary novel subject. But it really happened in his life. We are in the register of the impossible becoming plausible. At the same time, as a social observer - like the novelist - I note that this kind of phenomenon causes violent tensions among the proponents of pure reason. While the most advanced scientists in their fields have, on the other hand, broken all barriers.

A.L. - Are you interested in this too?

D.v.C.

I participate every year in the Sciences-Frontières festival of Jean-Yves Casgha. There we meet independent researchers who tend to starve but who will be the Nobel Prize winners of tomorrow. To stay within our register, there are, for example, recent incredible scientific discoveries, such as those of Dr. René Péoc'h on the mind's ability to influence matter. Does our consciousness create a world? It's vertiginous, but what does quantum physics tell us!

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