The incredible phenomenon of levitation consists in overcoming the force of gravity exclusively by the supernatural capabilities of the body. Modest descriptions of the magical phenomenon can be found in the legends and biographies of the saints.
For example, in the biography of St. Francis of Assisi, written in the 13th century, there is a mention of the saint's ability to soar above the ground for time. In the description of the life of the saint, which appeared 100 years after his death, there are cases of the legend of the church hovering over the trees during prayer.
Unfortunately, the stories about the historical character are very vague, since, as it is suspected, Saint Francis was a very modest person and was ashamed of his obscure gift. More detailed descriptions of levitation can be found in the biography of the Spanish nun St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582).
The nun willingly expressed her feelings and experiences during religious ecstasy, including rare cases of levitation. Immersed in a state of closeness to God, she sometimes took off from the ground and floated from a few centimeters to half a meter. Moreover, the delightful state of victory over the forces of gravity could last up to half an hour.
For the first time, Saint Teresa was greatly frightened by the resulting effect. In front of the astonished eyewitnesses, the woman with loud exclamations tried to resist the "charms" that gripped her, but could not resist the force that lifted her.
She later defined the embracing feeling as "Blissful Lightness." By the way, Olivier Leroy in the book "Levitation" counted more than 200 Catholic saints who allegedly possessed the gift of levitation.
By the 17th century, there are descriptions of impressive cases of Joseph of Copertino levitation, witnessed by more than 100 people. Joseph, as they say, began to fly in his youth. It rose above the ground to a height of about three meters, uttered a scream and stretched out flat in the air.
You may not believe, but in this position, the "mere mortal" moved a considerable distance. He literally floated in the air like a fish in water, which even the noble saints did not demonstrate.
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Cases of levitation are not unique to Christendom. This inexplicable phenomenon is known from Buddhism to Taoism and many other faiths. Reports of levitation are especially frequent in India, and it is believed that popular yoga practices in this country contribute to the development of supernatural abilities.
People experiencing a state of levitation describe the phenomenon as a bodily manifestation of religious ecstasy, where an important determining factor is direct contact with the divine principle. Levitation, apparently, is observed only when the soul ascends above the material world and dissolves in something truly divine.
At the same time, levitation is not considered a mandatory component of religious meditation or trance. And what is striking is that the church does not view levitation as a miracle or a measure of the sanctity of an individual who has abilities bordering on miracles.
Levitation or quackery? Supernatural
The phenomenon of levitation is not the privilege of true religious mystics. It is believed that the tendency to levitate is manifested not only in a state of religious ecstasy. This is also available to those people who have the gift of a medium and certain psychophysiological qualities that they can control at their own will.
Clairvoyant Daniel Hume.
One such famous example - the miracle of levitation - was demonstrated by the Scotsman Daniel Dunglas Hume in the middle of the 19th century. Daniel's amazing "flights" invariably attracted crowds of admiring spectators trying to find a catch in the Scotsman's levitation.
The well-known chemist and physicist Sir William Kuruks studied the phenomenon. As the researcher of talent Daniel Hume came to the conclusion, he could use the huge hidden physical forces of the human body.
A strange mystery of the hidden forces of the body, in general, lean Daniel demonstrated by moving furniture, making bells ring, or he could make the ladies scream - they felt something invisible lifting their skirts. Looking at this little man, it is impossible to imagine the tremendous power in his sickly body - the press wrote about Daniel Hume.
And the truth is, when the psychic (the term just appeared, although the author is unknown) by the power of thought or whatever he arranged it there, playfully moved the heavy table with five men … no one could explain the paranormal abilities. But most of all the delight was delivered by Hume's flights, when he effortlessly lifted himself off the floor and rose up, for a while soaring above the groaning audience.
The mysterious Scotsman stated simply about the ability to levitate and influence surrounding objects with the mighty power of thought: My gift was given to me by the Almighty. - God wants me to show people the existence of powerful invisible forces! And he showed supernatural power, evoking admiration, mystical delight among the public in many countries, and in some people a burning envy of popularity.
Daniel's uniqueness has passed a rigorous quality test in Amsterdam. A dozen experts, who had heard about the clever tricks of an illusionist posing as the owner of God's gift, came to disgrace the "arrogant artist." The unprecedentedly skeptical whistleblowers sat down with the medium at a large round table and amicably began to make fun of the psychic.
The mockery instantly stopped when the massive table began to move - at that moment the specialist who came decided to look under the table, apparently wanting to find some mechanism there, but only the table spun around the room.
Another expert cried out loudly - the man clearly felt the touch of strong and invisible hands on his body. Meanwhile, the rampage of invisible paranormal forces continued: the next expert was tugged so hard by the "spirits" that the man fell head over heels from his chair.
The exposure of the charlatan did not take place, the utterly discouraged psychic specialists signed their impotence to understand the mystery of the flying man: With the most careful study of the demonstrated experiments, we came to the conclusion that Daniel Hume undoubtedly has the gift of controlling invisible forces.
“In any case, we have not been able to find any signs of involvement in illusionism. In general, the experts no longer doubted the honesty and capabilities of Daniel Hume, having signed their impotence to comprehend the true nature of the phenomenon.
An amazing thing, but possessing remarkable powers from God, Hume was not distinguished by a heroic article and iron health. But the biography of the psychic is charming. He met with Napoleon III and the Russian emperor, who was there at that time as a guest, he even invited the Scotsman to Russia. And by the way, in St. Petersburg, the “flying man” not only found grateful spectators, but also his future wife.
It is not clear why the British are as they are, but if earlier the public admired the unique talent, now the press in England threw all sorts of nasty things at Daniel.
But in Paris, the famous writer Alexander Dumas, who admired the magic of Hume, became his close friend. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attended several clairvoyant sessions and left the most flattering comments about the unique personality.
And just imagine the impossible, almost a legend, the creator of the theory of the origin of species, Sir Charles Darwin himself, tried to comprehend the incomprehensible nature of the Hume phenomenon. For a long time, the scientist strove to reveal the capabilities of a person, which, by definition, cannot be available to him by various methods and ways.
In the end, having never been able to figure out anything, the natural scientist abandoned the fruitless pursuit. Moreover, the scientist tried not to advertise his interest in the abilities of the "flying man".
Meanwhile, the medium personally and eagerly invited independent observers to witness his practices, among the many who attended the sessions were prominent scientists: O. Lodge, W. Crookes, W. Barrett, C. Lombroso. The absolute absence of cheating, exceptional superpowers and nothing more, that's what gave Daniel the reputation of "the greatest physical medium of all time."
The clairvoyant died in 1886 from consumption, while in deep disgrace. Before willingly accepting the talent of the Scotsman, some began to accuse Hume of "cheap tricks" that any novice provincial illusionist will skillfully demonstrate. However, until today, a person has not yet appeared who can reproduce the unique demonstrations of Daniel Hume.
