From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is an alleged psychic or miraculous ability wherein an individual or object is located (or appears to be located) in two distinct places at the same time.[1][2][3][4]
The concept has been used in a wide range of historical and philosophical systems, ranging from early Greek philosophy to modern religious stories, occultism and magic.
Several religious figures have historically claimed to have bilocated. In 1774, St. Alphonsus Liguori claimed to have gone into a trance while preparing for Mass. When he came out of the trance he said that he had visited the bedside of the dying Pope Clement XIV.[citation needed]
Several Christian saints and monks are said to have exhibited bilocation. Among the earliest is the apparition of Our Lady of the Pillar in the year 40. Other Christian figures said to have experienced bilocation include St. Anthony of Padua, Ursula Micaela Morata, St. Gerard Majella, Charles of Mount Argus, St. Pio of Pietrelcina,[29] St. Severus of Ravenna, St. Ambrose of Milan, María de Ágreda,[30] and St. Martin de Porres, María de León Bello y Delgado, as well as Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria. St Isidore the Laborer claimed to be praying or attending to mass in Church while at the same time plowing in the fields.
In the 17th century, persons accused of witchcraft were reported to appear in dreams and visions of witnesses. The trials at Bury St. Edmunds and Salem included this "Spectral evidence" against defendants. Matthew Hopkins described the phenomenon in his book The Discovery of Witches.
The English occultist Aleister Crowley was reported by acquaintances to have the ability, even though he said he was not conscious of its happening at the time.[31]
Vladimir Lenin was seen in his Moscow Kremlin office digging through papers in October 1923 while he was critically ill in Gorki.[32] Another mystical story involved Soviet author Yevgeny Petrov served as inspiration for the film Envelope (2012) starring Kevin Spacey. Paranormal author Rodney Davies has written a book on the history of bilocation.[33]
The concept has been used in a wide range of historical and philosophical systems, ranging from early Greek philosophy to modern religious stories, occultism and magic.
History[edit]
The concept of bilocation has appeared in early Greek philosophy,[5][6][7][8] shamanism,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] paganism,[11] folklore,[8][12] occultism and magic,[13][14][15] the paranormal,[16][17][18] Hinduism (as one of the siddhis),[5][6][19][20] Buddhism,[21][22] spiritualism, Theosophy,[10][15] the New Age[23][24][25] and mysticism in general,[26] as well as Christian mysticism[6][27] and Jewish mysticism.[28]In religion and mysticism[edit]
In the 17th century, persons accused of witchcraft were reported to appear in dreams and visions of witnesses. The trials at Bury St. Edmunds and Salem included this "Spectral evidence" against defendants. Matthew Hopkins described the phenomenon in his book The Discovery of Witches.
The English occultist Aleister Crowley was reported by acquaintances to have the ability, even though he said he was not conscious of its happening at the time.[31]
Vladimir Lenin was seen in his Moscow Kremlin office digging through papers in October 1923 while he was critically ill in Gorki.[32] Another mystical story involved Soviet author Yevgeny Petrov served as inspiration for the film Envelope (2012) starring Kevin Spacey. Paranormal author Rodney Davies has written a book on the history of bilocation.[33]
In popular culture[edit]
- In Season 2 of the 2005 U.S. television show Supernatural, Dean Winchester experiences bilocation and briefly explains its cultural significance to a startled incorporeal girl.
- In the thirty-first minute of episode 619 of the American television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 head writer Michael J. Nelson's character quips, "Hey, quit bilocating!" in reference to the incongruous editing of the featured film, Red Zone Cuba.
- In David Lynch's 1997 film Lost Highway, the character commonly referred to as "the Mystery Man" appears to be capable of bilocation.
- In the 1982 feature film thriller Poltergeist, the gateway to the afterlife is referred to as the "area of bilocation."
- Thomas Pynchon's novel Against the Day features bilocation as one of its major themes.
- In the novel That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, John Wither, one of the main antagonists, appears to use bilocation on two occasions to deter Mark Studdock from defecting from the N.I.C.E.; the narrative indicates, however, that this may be either actual bilocation by Wither or some form of poltergeist activity.
- In the Tales of the Otori series of novels by Gillian Rubinstein the protagonist and other characters can 'be in two places at once' as one of their magical talents.
See also[edit]
- Kefitzat Haderech
- Apparitional experience
- Doppelgänger
- Etiäinen
- Flying saints
- Remote viewing
- Tay al-Ard
References[edit]
- Jump up ^
"Bilocation" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.
- Jump up ^ McGoven, Una (2007). Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained. Chambers (published December 19, 2007). p. 68. ISBN 978-0-550-10215-7.
- Jump up ^ Spence, Lewis (2003) "Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology: Part 2", Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 0-7661-2817-2
- Jump up ^ American Society for Psychical Research (1907) "An interesting case of Bilocation", American Society for Psychical Research, The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, V44-45
- ^ Jump up to: a b c McEvilley, Thomas (2002). The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. Allworth Communications. pp. 102, 262. ISBN 1-58115-203-5.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Riedweg, Christoph; Steven Rendall (2005). Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching, and Influence. Cornell University Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-8014-4240-0.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Dodds, E. R. (2004). The Greeks and the Irrational. University of California Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-520-24230-2.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Znamenski, Andrei A. (2004). Shamanism: Critical Concepts in Sociology. New York: Routledge. pp. 248–249. ISBN 0-415-33248-6.
- Jump up ^ Fenn, Richard K.; Donald Capps (1995). On Losing the Soul: Essays in the Social Psychology of Religion. SUNY Press. pp. 243–4. ISBN 0-7914-2493-6.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Gardner, J., Faiths of the Word, cited in Tylor Sir, Edward Burnett (1920). Primitive Culture: Researches Into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art, and Custom. J. Murray. p. 448. ISBN 1-112-19097-X.
- ^ Jump up to: a b York, Michael (2005). Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion. NYU Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-8147-9708-3.
- Jump up ^ Synge, John Millington; Tim Robinson (1992). The Aran Islands. Penguin Classics. p. 148. ISBN 0-14-018432-5.
- Jump up ^ Harris, Dean W. R. (2006). Essays in Occultism, Spiritism and Demonology. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 46–66. ISBN 1-4286-0202-X.
- Jump up ^ Olliver, C. W. Analysis of Magic and Witchcraft. Kessinger Publishing, 2003. pp. 117, 155–6. ISBN 0-7661-5699-0.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Olcott, Henry Steel (1895). Old Diary Leaves: The True Story of the Theosophical Society. G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 388. ISBN 0-524-07951-X.
- Jump up ^ LeShan, Lawrence L. (2004). The World of the Paranormal: The Next Frontier. Allworth Communications, Inc.,. pp. 51, 121. ISBN 1-58115-360-0.
- Jump up ^ Ramsland, Katherine (2002). Ghost: Investigating the Other Side. Macmillan. p. 27. ISBN 0-312-98373-5.
- Jump up ^ Seymour, Percy (2003). The Third Level of Reality: A Unified Theory of the Paranormal. Cosimo, Inc. p. 146. ISBN 1-931044-47-3.
- Jump up ^ Yoga Sutras of Patanjali cited in Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. Diamond Pocket Books. p. 29. ISBN 81-902562-0-3.
- Jump up ^ Yoga Sutras of Patanjali cited in O'Brien, Justin (1996). A Meeting of Mystic Paths: Christianity and Yoga. Yes International Publishers. pp. 29, 140. ISBN 0-936663-14-6.
- Jump up ^ Comfort, Alex (1984). Reality and Empathy: Physics, Mind, and Science in the 21st Century. SUNY Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-87395-762-8.
- Jump up ^ Vetterling, Herman (2003). Illuminate of Gorlitz Or Jakob Bohme's Life and Philosophy Part 3: V. 3. Kessinger Publishing. p. 967. ISBN 0-7661-4788-6.
- Jump up ^ Prophet, Elizabeth Clare (2001). The Masters and the Spiritual Path. Summit University Press. p. 331. ISBN 0-922729-64-6.
- Jump up ^ Waterfield, Robin (2002). Rene Guenon and the Future of the West: The Life and Writings of a 20th-Century Metaphysician. Sophia Perennis. p. 72. ISBN 0-900588-87-X.
- Jump up ^ Hollenback, Jess Byron (1996). Mysticism: Experience, Response, and Empowerment. Penn State Press. p. 137. ISBN 0-271-01552-7.
- Jump up ^ Herzog, Johann Jakob; Philip Schaff, Samuel Macauley Jackson, Albert Hauck, Charles Colebrook Sherman, George William Gilmore, Lefferts A. Loetscher (1910). The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Embracing Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology and Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Biography from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Funk and Wagnalls Company. p. 69.
- Jump up ^ Hastings, James; John Alexander Selbie; Louis Herbert Gray (1917). Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. T. & T. Clark. p. 101.
- Jump up ^ Samuel, Gabriella (2007). The Kabbalah Handbook: A Concise Encyclopedia of Terms and Concepts in Jewish Mysticism. Jeremy P. Tarcher. p. 51. ISBN 1-58542-560-5.
- Jump up ^ Day, Malcolm (September 2002). "Blood brother: Padre Pio". Fortean Times.
- Jump up ^ This holy virgin burned with a most ardent love for God and for the salvation of souls. One day, she beheld in a vision all the nations of the world. She saw the greater part of men were deprived of God's grace, and running headlong to everlasting perdition. She saw how the Indians of Mexico put fewer obstacles to the grace of conversion than any other nation who were out of the Catholic Church, and how God, on this account, was ready to show mercy to them. Hence she redoubled her prayers and penances to obtain for them the grace of conversion. God heard her prayers. He commanded her to teach the Catholic religion to those Mexican Indians. From that time, she appeared, by way of bilocation, to the savages, not less than five hundred times, instructing them in all the truths of our holy religion, and performing miracles in confirmation of these truths. When all were converted to the faith, she told them that religious priests would be sent by God to receive them into the Church by baptism. As she had told, so it happened. God, in his mercy, sent to these good Indians several Franciscan fathers, who were greatly astonished when they found those savages fully instructed in the Catholic doctrine. When they asked the Indians who had instructed them, they were told that a holy virgin appeared among them many times, and taught them the Catholic religion and confirmed it by miracles. (Life of the Venerable Mary of Jesus of Agreda, § xii.) Thus those good Indians were brought miraculously to the knowledge of the true religion in the Catholic Church, because they followed their conscience in observing the natural law. Muller, Michael. The Catholic Dogma: "Extra Ecclesiam Nullus omnino Salvatur"
- Jump up ^ Booth Martin (2000) "A Magick Life: Biography of Aleister Crowley", Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, ISBN 0-340-71805-6
- Jump up ^ "Strange but True". LIFE Books (Time Home Entertainment Inc) 12 (6): Page 56. April 20, 2012.
- Jump up ^ Rodney Davies. (2001). Doubles: The Enigma of the Second Self. Robert Hale Ltd. ISBN 978-0709061182
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