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"Every exit is an entry to somewhere else." - Tom Stoppard

In parapsychology and spiritualism and spiritualism, a psychomanteum is a small, enclosed area set up with a comfortable chair, dim lighting, and a mirror angled so as not to reflect anything but darkness intended to communicate with spirits of the dead. It requires capability to mirror gaze and readying the self for a hypnogogic state.

Preparation:

The day prior, eat simply – fruits and vegetables while eliminating caffeine and dairy products.

Prepare what you feel is the quietest place in your home where you will not be distracted. Turn of any phones, clocks, or anything else that produces background noise and sounds.

Place a large mirror in front of a comfortable chair. Use a chair that supports your back and head well and adjust the mirror so your eyes can gaze into it comfortably.

Place photographs and personal items of your departed loved one within easy reach.

The day of the session:

Sessions are best conducted at the twilight of the day. Wear comfortable, loose clothing and remove any jewelry and a wristwatch if you are wearing one.

Adjust your mood by listening to soft music or viewing pleasant artworks for at least 15 minutes.

Wrap yourself in spiritual protection in whichever way is your custom.

When you have accomplished this -

Light a candle and place it behind you. Dim light from behind usually works the best, although you will have to experiment until you get the lighting just right.

Sit in the chair and get comfortable. Take a deep breath through your nose and exhale out of your mouth. Get ready to ease into an altered state of awareness.

Open the session with loving intent.

Mirror gazing is an old art and not hard to do. Once relaxed, gaze into the clear depth of the mirror without trying to see anything. As you begin to enter the hypnogogic state you may feel tingling in the tips of your fingers. It has been reported from experiments by Dr. Raymond Moody that at first the mirror my look cloudy or even go dark. Just go with the flow.

As visions begin to occur do not force issues or start asking questions – simply observe what is going on. Let it all unfold passively. If you try to direct the situation the visions will disappear. Visions usually last between 1 minute and 10 minutes depending upon how proficient and patient you are. Sometimes people do not visualize anything but hear the voice of the departed or feel their touch. Further attempts adds to each experience and also buoys the ability to connect.

When you are finished close the session. When you are ready, record your experience in a journal.

According to Moody’s findings: (Via Karen Wehrstein https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/psychomanteum-mirror-gazing

• about a quarter of subjects encountered a deceased person other than the one they planned to contact
• in about ten percent of cases, the apparition seemed to come out of the mirror, sometimes seeming to touch the subject
• a few subjects felt they entered the mirror into the other world
• about half the subjects held conversations with the apparition, mentally or audibly
• in a quarter of cases, the apparition was encountered not during the psychomanteum session but afterwards, usually within 24 hours
• almost all asserted that they experienced the reunions as real events, not fantasies or dreams, certain they were in the presence of deceased loved ones
• as with NDEs, the subjects were powerfully affected by their experiences, which challenged their view of reality and life’s meaning

Moody notes that historically mirror-gazing has been discouraged, for reasons such as

• fear of the unconscious
• suspicion on the part of religious authorities about people having personal spiritual experiences
• charlatanism
• the perception that altered states are unscientific
• discordance with the officially-sanctioned view of reality

Are there monsters in the mirror?

At the end of a 10 min session of mirror gazing, the participant was asked to write what he or she saw in the mirror. The descriptions differed greatly across individuals and included: (a) huge deformations of one’s own face (reported by 66% of the fifty participants); (b) a parent’s face with traits changed (18%), of whom 8% were still alive and 10% were deceased; (c) an unknown person (28%); (d) an archetypal face, such as that of an old woman, a child, or a portrait of an ancestor (28%); (e) an animal face such as that of a cat, pig, or lion (18%); (f ) fantastical and monstrous beings (48%). - Vaughan Bell, Mind Hacks Neuroscience and psychology news and views.

According to Roy Weedmark of http://exploringparanormal1.blogspot.com : Practicing the ancient art of mirror gazing can be an informative and life changing experience. Mirror Gazing, is the ancient technique of gazing into a mirror to try to bridge our world with the spirit realm. Mystics like Nostradamus used variations of this to see into the future, solve problems, and find lost things. Much like meditation, mirror gazing takes extreme practice and patience. There are different ways of practicing with different results. Due to the resemblance to meditation, the question surfaces is conjuring or communicating during mirror gazing a real occurrence or a product of the subconscious mind? Perhaps further evidence that consciousness is not stored locally in the body?

Other resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychomanteum

https://www.near-death.com/psychology/experiences/psychomanteum.html