My Library

"On another occasion I was very anxious to see a certain man. I had never seen him in my life nor any photographs of him, and according to my conscious knowledge he lived in Chicago, Illinois, where I had his late address. When I left my body a peculiar thing happened. I knew instinctively and instantly that the person I desired to see was now living in California and not Chicago. Where did that superconscious knowledge come from? "I had no consciousness of intervening space but found myself in California, found his new bungalow, noted the street corner, went inside, had a good look at the man, learned that he was a dope fiend, etc. Later I investigated the matter physically, secured photos both of the man and the bungalow, and found everything to be exactly as I had seen them with my spiritual eyes while out of my body. I also learned later on that the man really was a dope addict." "To those who would proclaim his statements to be nonsensical," says Mr. Muldoon, "Dr. Ostby simply replies: 'Laugh, if you care to — laughing is good for the health.' To those who would have it that his experiences were only vivid dreams, he says: 'Then our whole conscious life is a mere vivid dream, or a succession of dreams, and nothing more.' " Well, that is a very good send-off for this phase of the subject, and Dr. Ostby's experience closely resembles that of others who have first slipped unaware out of their bodies, and later developed a conscious method.
A corollary to this story is furnished in a letter sent to Mr.
Muldoon from a correspondent, Mr. H., in Bournemouth, England, on December 17th, 1930. He writes: "I had a bit of a shock today. I was in Boot's, Bournemouth, changing my book at their library, when I happened to pick up a copy of your book, I opened it — and what a shock! It was those illustrations. They astonished me; I could only say to myself