The phenomena of telepathy, or thought transference, occurs on both the physical and the mental plane.  On the physical plane it is more or less spontaneous and erratic in manifestation; while on the astral plane it is as clear, reliable and responsive to demand as is astral sight, etc.

The ordinary person has but occasional flashes of astral sensing, and as a rule is not able to experience the phenomenon at will.  The trained occultist, on the contrary, is able to shift from one set of senses to the other, by a simple act or effort of will, whenever he may wish to do so.  Advanced occultists are often able to function on both physical and astral planes at the same time, though they do not often desire to do so.  To vision astrally, the trained occultist merely shifts his sensory mechanism from physical to astral, or vice versa, just as the typewriter operator shifts from the small-letter type to the capitals, by simply touching the shift-key of his machine.

Many persons suppose that it is necessary to travel on the astral plane, in the astral body, in order to use the astral senses.  This is a mistake.  In instances of clairvoyance, astral visioning, psychometry, etc., the occultist remains in his physical body, and senses the phenomena of the astral plane quite readily, by means of the astral senses, just as he is able to sense the phenomena of the physical plane when he uses the physical organs—­quite more easily, in fact, in many instances.  It is not even necessary for the occultist to enter into the trance condition, in the majority of cases.

Travel in the astral body is quite another phase of occult phenomena, and is far more difficult to manifest.  The student should never attempt to travel in the astral body except under the instruction of some competent instructor.

In Crystal Gazing, the occultist merely employs the crystal in order to concentrate his power, and to bring to a focus his astral vision.  There is no supernatural virtue in the crystal itself—­it is merely a means to an end; a piece of useful apparatus to aid in the production of certain phenomena.

In Psychometry some object is used in order to bring the occulist “en rapport” with the person or thing associated with it.  But it is the astral senses which are employed in describing either the past environment of the thing, or else the present or past doings of the person in question, etc.  In short, the object is merely the loose end of the psychic ball of twine which the psychometrist proceeds to wind or unwind at will.  Psychometry is merely one form of astral seeing; just as is crystal gazing.

In what is known as Telekinesis, or movement at a distance, there is found the employment of both astral sensing, and astral will action accompanied in many cases by actual projection of a portion of the substance of the astral body.

In the case of Clairvoyance, we have an instance of the simplest form of astral seeing, without the necessity of the “associated object” of psychometry, or the focal point of the crystal in crystal gazing.