The Big Book of Mysteries. Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe

about this possible connection. In his brilliant book The Romeo Error he argues that certain very gifted people can produce physical effects at a distance — purely by mental power. Watson also wonders whether magnetic flaws in specific locations may assist this process. He conjectures that dragons, elves, fairies, and UFOs may all exist, but that those who say these things are all in the mind might be right, too — because these strange tulpa-type phenomena could be produced at what Watson calls the “second or etheric” level.

      The aberrant behaviour of these phenomena gives Watson cause to wonder whether they are subject to laws that differ from the laws and principles of the natural sciences as we currently understand them in this twenty-first century. When psychic or other anomalous phenomena behave in ways that support the theories of those who examine and explore them, Watson suggests that this indicates a degree of influence from the mind of the participant observer over the external phenomena themselves. He feels that if these two ideas could be studied seriously together, they would go some way toward explaining many phenomena that are currently regarded as anomalous.

      There is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that Alexandra David-Neel’s reported episode with a tulpa in Tibet was a perfectly genuine and objective experience. According to mystical Tibetan wisdom, a tulpa is an entity created by an act of imagination. A parallel may be drawn with the author, or script-writer, who “creates” a fictional character with words. Tulpas do not have to be written down — they are creatures of the mind. The technique of tulpa creation is a protracted one that requires very powerful concentration and visualization, but Alexandra was almost too successful. Her tulpa began as an entirely benign and innocuous, monk-like figure, plump and smiling. After a while other members of the party reported seeing him, too, but as time passed he became leaner and lost his benign smile. He had apparently managed to escape from Alexandra’s conscious control and was only disposed of with great effort and difficulty.

      There are researchers into the various sea monster phenomena who subscribe to the idea that Nessie, Caddy, and some of their strange companions may be akin to tulpas — quasi-solid thought forms with a kind of objectivity that can be influenced by group contemplation of the type involved in the experiments conducted by Doc Shiels, his daughters, and their colleagues. If the tulpa-creation theory can be applied to some sea and lake monsters, it would be one possible explanation for the success which Saint Columba had in rescuing the man being threatened by Nessie. The very powerful, sharply focused mind of the benign but formidable saint would have shattered a quasi-real thought-form like a sledge hammer going through an egg shell.

      A PREHISTORIC FISH

      The coelacanths, related to lungfishes and tetrapods, were believed to have been extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period. The first coelacanth known to modern science was discovered in 1938 when a young museum curator named Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer was invited down to the docks to examine a strange fish brought aboard a fishing trawler. She sent a sketch of the fish to experts, who identified it as a living coelacanth — a word meaning “hollow spine” in Greek. The coelacanths were previously known only from fossils, the most recent of which dated from the late Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago.Understandably, the discovery created a worldwide sensation and was referred to as the “biological find of the century,” similar to finding a living dinosaur. Since 1938, coelacanths have been found in the waters off the coast of northeast, northwest, and southern Africa. The coelacanth has no real commercial value, apart from being coveted by museums and private collectors.As a food fish the coelacanth is almost worthless as its tissues exude oils that give the flesh a foul flavour. The continued survivability of the coelacanth may be at threat due to commercial deep-sea trawling. An interesting fact: Coelacanths have a tiny heart that looks like a straight tube and a brain that occupies only 1.5 percent of the braincase — the rest of the cavity is filled with fat!

5 SUBTERRANEAN MYSTERIES

      The mysteries of labyrinths and mazes can be examined under seven broad main headings:

      1. Those built for religious purposes, including the induction of altered states of consciousness and deep meditation.

      2. The maze as a sacred place where a god or goddess may be found.

      3. Gateways and vortices leading to other dimensions — tesseracts for example.

      4. Places of imprisonment for people and spirit beings.

      5. For defensive purposes against physical or psychic opponents.

      6. The Virgin-in-the-Maze rituals as aspects of courtship and marriage practices.

      7. The use of mazes and labyrinths as aptitude tests, or intelligence tests.

      The induction of altered states of consciousness by using mazes and labyrinths seems to have been effected in two main ways: a small stone maze or labyrinth pattern is cut into a portable piece of stone such as a sheet of slate and kept at home by the user; or a maze pattern is carved into a large rock or cliff face, which the users then have to visit — perhaps at particular times such as the full moon, new moon, solstices, or equinoxes. Whether the stone is portable or fixed, the users seeking an altered state of consciousness close their eyes and trace the labyrinth pattern with their fingertips. This ritual can be accompanied by a low chanting or singing. Once the desired state of trance has been achieved, much depends upon the belief system of the particular labyrinth user. Some may think that they are in communication with the Cosmic Consciousness. Others believe that they are in touch with the spirits of dead ancestors or other psychic entities. Some users may simply feel that they are in contact with the vast powers stored in the depths of their own subconscious minds.

      LABYRINTHS IN ART

      Many artists have depicted labyrinths and mazes in their artwork. Some works include Piet Mondrian’s Dam and Ocean (1915), Joan Miró’s Labyrinth (1923), Pablo Picasso’s Minotauromachia (1935), M.C. Escher’s Relativity (1953), Jean Dubuffet’s Logological Cabinet (1970), Richard Long’s Connemara Sculpture (1971), Joe Tilson’s Earth Maze (1975), Richard Fleischner’s Chain Link Maze (1978), István Orosz’s Atlantis Anamorphosis (2000), and Dmitry Rakov’s Labyrinth (2003).

      Rocky Valley is a unique and spectacular beauty spot near Tintagel in Cornwall. Carved into one of its steep sides is an ancient maze design that has defied the passage of time.

      At the Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft, not far from Tintagel, is another stone that is closely connected with the Rocky Valley carving. This one is a sheet of slate forty-five centimetres long and fifteen centimetres wide carrying a typical labyrinth design very similar to the one at Rocky Valley. This fascinating old slate came from a field in Michaelstow, south of Boscastle. It had for many years done duty as a ritual object and been used by several local wise women. The stone was actually donated to the museum in the 1950s by the daughter of Kate “The Seagull” Turner, who had enjoyed a great reputation as a local wise woman during the first half of the twentieth century. Kate Turner had received it from Nan Wade, the Manx wise woman. Sarah Quiller from Ballaveare, Port Soderick, Isle of Man, had given it to Nan. But Sarah was far from being its maker; she had simply received it from an older wise woman. It appeared to have been handed down over many generations.

      Carving of a labyrinth in Rocky Valley, near Tintagel, in Cornwall.

      TROY STONES