Dear Friends of the Clinic! I would not be exaggerating if I were to say that dealing with shadows is my calling, my profession, and my pleasure. In terms of the situation reported here, I can say with certainty that the long shadows of the pines are beckoning like cruel black fingers from the edges of the nursery [1]. And that is without mentioning the extensive variety of strange voices which sail through my substantial office here in the Hall of the Murals from time to time. And needless to say, this is a very well-appointed place too.
It is an awful thing that we shall have to lock our doors in due course from a lack of funding after the death of our generous but unrecognised sponsor, the Old Soldier. He disappeared when I was a child, and for years he wandered in lands overseas, joining the army (he says), and travelling to the four corners of the world to discover, or invent, pioneering knowledge regarding the magic of words and beguiling music. And all the time, while he was away, I was labouring and studying, trying to make ends meet. It is fair to say that voices were always calling on him from within and from without, to accomplish considerable wonders, in his opinion at least.
In the end, after suffering much (so the story goes), when he had accumulated a stack of money through his ventures (and of course he always acted legally, except when he was playing fast-and-loose), he came home, gained a Certificate in Studies (I am learned Doctor, as you know), and became a self-taught teacher, for no reason at all in my humble opinion. Of course, while he was enjoying himself so much, it was I who was the true soldier, so to speak, who was fighting for truth and justice on behalf of the downtrodden and the afflicted, learning in the process so much about the human mind, and its peculiarities, and the ability to experience special states of consciousness. The old rogue never found true magic, despite the incessant protestations to the contrary, even on his death-bed.
However, having explained all that, one must keep to the topic under consideration. Let me say therefore that the shadow thrown by an extended object is not a unitary object, but a complex entity – like a personality, like a relationship, like information – which contains an umbra or totally black region, a penumbra or shade, which is partly dark, and an antumbra where the object displays a bright halo [2].
In this document, I present a full report on our most famous case, containing everything which was discussed and written in our Clinic, in addition to transcripts of several conversations which happened here. I have indulged myself also in including some explanatory notes at the head of each section by my secretary, Helen Grossmann MSc (the ‘prospective mentalist’ in her own words). She has provided me with exceptionally helpful warnings and ideas on a number of essential topics. In the light of these forthright observations, I need to advise you from the outset that our syncretic methods, which are based on dreaming and imagining, are more similar to poetry-making and casting spells than to the logical techniques of science. Here multiple personalities, fractured landscapes, and stream of consciousness, are the normal thing [3].
In truth, there are several characters in this report, to all appearances. Definitely, the chapters portray various voices including those of two lads, a girl, a teacher, a father and mother, a soldier, a demon, a baby in the womb, a televisual broadcaster, a doctor, a pyramid or ziggurat, and beings from beyond. They have been arranged in a way that is similar to the mathemagical pattern of seeds in the various types of female cones, spiralling out from a common hub to create an otherworldly and hypnotic object. They are all involved in an abstruse web, in which they play the part of sources which cast illumination on each other, creating shadows at the same time.
In this report, therefore, names appear and disappear constantly. Of course, in the Old Book, when Tho-vítha asks “What is your name?", the demon Az-mothus replies, at first, "My name is Legion, as we are many.” (And look where he and his siblings ended up: capering like pigs in clover on the Southern Continent!) On occasions (or, in some places), we have Daud, Stjepan, Jelena, and Ivan – elsewhere, there are Dave (Dai), Steffan (Steff, Stezza), Elen, and Jack – and also, you will meet David, Stevie, Helen, and John. Up to now, I have been speaking of shadows, voices, and names for sure; but I hesitate when it comes talking about devils in the flesh, despite all the nastiness to be discussed (together with the goodness). It is matter for you to accept or not whether such things exist in reality.
With all the complexity, one must ask: can I tell you who is who on every occasion? I cannot, most assuredly – as in the old Kimbric tales, sometimes women are flowers or owls; sometimes men become eagles, deer, wolves, or wild boars. And in the Heart of the Continent, women can be does, and pine-trees also. There is enchantment everywhere in this tale, as there always is in the real world (whatever that means), if you are able to discern it accurately enough. Doubtless, these chunks of flesh are transmogrified by magical acts, through naming. They cannot tell lies, as they do not know the truth, it appears on the surface. But, having investigated in more detail, one confesses that possibly they do recognise the truth, but that they do not speak about it because they are mute. On this account, perhaps, they conceal sins of all kinds, which will be revealed here as a result of my delving, without their own knowledge. Go at it carefully, therefore, when you come into the shadows which melt and coagulate like tincture in the Magician’s cauldron.
And without doubt, this apocalyptic tale is full of shadows, namely the shadows of abuse, madness, loneliness, and loss, together with the shadow of uncertainty that hangs over the ability to judge beyond reasonable doubt. How could several appear so humorous, then, whilst reciting all these stories, as far as I can see from the enclosed notes? However, I do understand to some extent, as I myself grin from ear to ear all the time whilst working in this madhouse, especially when Swtach sneaks into the consulting room while I doze, to gnaw my gouty big toe – the old furry devil!
Then again, our story raises endless questions about these matters; about self-forgetting and self-discovery; about symbols, images, and reality and how they interact with each other, whilst inquiring about the nature of binary distinctions such as light and shadow, correct and incorrect, good and evil, logic and feeling, experience and knowledge, the individual and the group, the ‘self’ and the ‘other’, for instance. But it is not my role to answer such riddles, I can scarcely think about the ideas. After all, I am tired out after all the excitement. I never get a grain of thanks in this job, either. I shall speak more about that later on, but for the time being, I must keep quiet.
There is reference here (often incorrectly), to literary sources, and to popular culture, but I have not attempted to clarify: shadows of the real thing, we might say, are the mistakes and omissions. Also, there is a little crude language, which I have left extant, for the sake of completeness: who has the right to silence the host of voices which communicate here, whether they be refined or otherwise vulgar? And what is speech today anyway but a pale shadow of the magical singing that existed at the time of the Tower of Biblael – that original ivory-tower – which has become by now but mixed-up mumbling?
Here are the raw materials. But I must remind you that everyone will tend to suffer from the same kind of pressures to some degree, and from time to time: who knows how they will respond? We are all shadows of each other, are we not? To close, I enquire: is there a lesson to be learned from all this? From my own experience, the only answer I can give is the following. Perhaps in the fullness of time we shall see that the self will develop, reaching out to embrace the other, and wrapping it into its essence, so that their foundational differences – the ones that come between me and you, her and him, us and you – shall be overcome in some significant and lasting way. That was the hope of the Strange Old Gods, at least, as far as I know, who asked: Are not damnation and deliverance parts of the same contrary dialectics? Who, therefore, can apportion praise and blame? Should we judge, or, should we be judged? I shall leave you to decide — D.B.P.
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[1] I believe he’s thinking here of the short story by Krayg at-Lugus called “Crippled by Conflict.” — P.M.
[2] I would like to add the following here. The mythographer Bkink has commented on the fact that everything existing is a complex combination of "clockwork systems" that can be measured and analyzed, and "cloud systems" that are unpredictable and free-flowing. Furthermore, no-one knows what exactly the "psyche" of the Thorlin is, nor how far it extends into the World. He notes nevertheless that consciousness is multi-dimensional, uniting aspects that are cultural, experiential, mythological, narrative, physiological, psychological, societal, spiritual, and symbolic. According to him, the imagination is an organ of nonlocal perception that extends through time and space embracing matter and energy. It was he who realized that one's conceptions are simultaneously mediated and restricted by societal norms and expectations.
He alleges that the parts of the subconscious appear under appropriate conditions as independent, shadow-clad personalities to reveal psychological truths. Especially when a group interacts, it is possible to focus the energy to create external thought-forms, the very presence of which serves to upset the mirage that serves as reality, not to mention their words and their thoughts. They exist within, and open a pathway to, a place that is ambiguous, transient, slippery, paradoxical, liminal, marginal, anti-structural, and fundamentally illogical. Hovering between this World and the Otherworld, in a space where the normal order fails, they obliterate binary distinctions between opposites which usually appear inconsistent. It is these who blend different concepts, deconstructing the firm boundaries between the real and the unreal, the self and the other.
They have characteristics of the Trickster, mixing attributes that are absurd and highly meaningful at the same time, and by being forced by them to appreciate difference you will come to absorb so much at random that it will take lifetimes to comprehend. These entities can possess one and cause metapsychosis, psycho-immunological effects, and symptoms like amnesia, anaesthesia, blindness, conversion and somatoform disorders, convulsions, dermatoglyphs, hallucinations, hysteria, paralysis, and stigmata. After all, the body is the chief means of self-expression which forms the interface between the Two Worlds, and is transformed during the performances. The Imagineers of the Grove Illumed have developed psycho-energetic principles to study these phenomena through biofeedback, electromyography, electroencephalography, and skin-resistance measurement. — P.M.
[3] I feel it would be useful to adduce this here. One must remember that there are common roots to enchantment, faith, and medicine, and in "life-magic" the Great Women and the Wise Men use word, touch, and emotion to cause changes. Rituals involve artefacts as well as appropriate bodily and symbolic stimuli to cause psycho-physical excitation, generate willingness to suspend disbelief, and promote the instantaneous belief that the performance will succeed. They have the ability to shift attention from every-day reality towards a sense of the numinous, that is unearthly awe arising from perceiving an extensive new perspective on existence that is hugely mysterious. Repeating the patterns stimulates a synergism between the consciousness of the participants and external force-fields and thus makes the effects more likely to occur.
Such practices can be very efficacious. The participants need to accept the suggestions, and one must bust a gut whilst performing in order to create a "virtual universe." Then, one must take the experiences seriously and embrace the anomalous happenings which are an important part of daily life for very many mystics, healers, shamans, and visionaries throughout the Wondrous World, carrying on working without worrying whether they are "real" or not. The striking outcomes such as transformational emotional responses are much more important that the details of the process itself. They can be extremely unusual, exceptionally strange, absurd even, and almost unbelievable, but they are true nevertheless. After all, there is no call for Nature to play according to the rules of the games played by us, the Thorlin (as the pre-eminent paranthropologist Rilfoh says), is there? — P.M.
Annwyl gyfeillion y Clinig! Ni fyddwn yn gorliwio pe dywedwn mai trin cysgodion yw fy ngalwedigaeth, fy mhroffesiwn, a’m pleser. O ran y sefyllfa a adroddir yma, rwy’n gallu dweud i sicrwydd y deniff cysgodion hirion y pinwydd fel bysedd duon creulon o ffiniau'r blanhigfa [1]. A dyna heb sôn am yr amrywiaeth helaeth o leisiau rhyfedd fydd yn hwylio trwy fy swyddfa sylweddol yma yn Neuadd y Murluniau o bryd i’w gilydd. Ac nid rhaid dweud mai lle â phob cyfleuster priodol ydy hwn hefyd.
Peth ofnadwy ydy y bydd rhaid inni gloi ein drysau maes o law o ddiffyg cyllid ar ôl marwolaeth ein noddwr hael ond anhysbys, yr Hen Filwr. Fe ddiflannodd pan oeddwn yn blentyn, ac am flynyddoedd crwydrai ef mewn gwledydd dros y môr, gan ymuno â’r fyddin (mae’n dweud), a theithio i bedwar ban byd i ddarganfod, neu ddyfeisio, gwybodaeth arloesol ynghylch hud geiriau a cherddoriaeth swynol. A thrwy’r amser, tra oedd ef i ffwrdd, roeddwn innau’n llafurio ac astudio, gan geisio cael deupen llinyn ynghyd. Teg dweud bod lleisiau wastad yn galw arno oddi mewn ac oddi allan, i gyflawni cryn ryfeddodau, yn ei farn o leiaf.
Yn y pen draw, ar ôl dioddef lawer (felly yn ôl y stori), pan gronasai bentwr o arian trwy ei fentrau (ac wrth gwrs yr oedd yn gweithredu’n gyfreithlon bob amser, ac eithrio pan oedd yn chwarae'r llaw wen), daeth ef adref, ennill Tystysgrif mewn Astudiaethau (Doethur hyddysg ydwyf fi, fel y gwyddoch), a dod yn athro hunanddysgedig, heb reswm yn y byd hwn yn fy nhyb ostyngedig. Wrth gwrs, tra oedd e’n mwynhau’i hunan gormod, myfi oedd y gwir filwr, fel petai, a oedd yn brwydro dros wirionedd a chyfiawnder o ran y gorthrymedig a’r cystuddiedig, gan ddysgu yn ystod y broses gymaint am y meddwl dynol, ei hynodweddau, a’r gallu i brofi cyflyrau arbennig o ymwybyddiaeth. Ni ddaeth yr hen gnaf o hyd i hud go iawn erioed, er gwaethaf y datganiadau di-baid i’r gwrthwyneb, hyd yn oed ar ei wely angau.
Fodd bynnag, wedi esbonio hynny oll, rhaid i ddyn gadw at y pwnc dan sylw. Gadwech imi ddweud felly nad endid unedol yw’r cysgod a deflir gan wrthrych estynedig, ond hanfod cymhleth – megis personoliaeth, megis perthynas, megis gwybodaeth – sy’n cynnwys wmbra neu barth hollol ddu, penwmbra neu ogysgod, sy’n rhannol ddu, a rhag-wmbra lle yr arddangosa’r gwrthrych leugylch llachar [2].
Yn y ddogfen hon rwy’n cyflwyno adroddiad llawn ar ein hachos mwyaf enwog, yn cynnwys popeth a drafodwyd ac ysgrifennwyd yn ein Clinig, yn ogystal ag adysgrifau o sawl sgwrs a ddigwyddodd yma. Yr wyf wedi ymbleseru hefyd mewn cynnwys rhai nodiadau esboniadol ar ben pob adran gan fy ysgrifennydd, Helen Grossmann MSc (y ‘darpar feddyliaethydd’ yn ôl ei geiriau ei hunan). Mae hi wedi darparu ar fy nghyfer rybuddion a syniadau eithriadol o gynorthwyol ar nifer o bynciau hanfodol. Yng ngoleuni’r sylwadau plaen hyn, mae arnaf angen eich hysbysu o’r dechrau fod ein dulliau syncretaidd, sy’n seiliedig ar freuddwydio a dychmygu, yn debycach i farddoni ac i fwrw hud nag i dechnegau rhesymegol gwyddoniaeth. Yma, personoliaethau amryfal, tirweddau wedi’u torri, a llif yr ymwybod, yw’r peth arferol [3].
Yn wir, mae sawl cymeriad yn yr adroddiad hwn, yn ôl pob ymddangosiad. Yn bendant, bydd y penodau’n portreadu amryw leisiau’n cynnwys eiddo ddau lanc, merch, athro, tad a mam, milwr, cythraul, baban yn y groth, darlledwr teledol, meddyg, pyramid neu sigwrat, a bodolaethau o’r tu hwnt. Fe’u trefnwyd mewn modd sy’n gyffelyb i batrwm mathemahudol hadau yn yr amryw fathau o bigyrnau benyw, gan ymdroelli o foth gyffredin i greu gwrthrych arallfydol a hypnotaidd. Gwnânt i gyd â gwe astrus, ym mha le y byddant yn chwarae rhan tarddleoedd sy’n bwrw goleuni ar ei gilydd, wrth greu cysgodion ar yr un pryd.
Yn yr adroddiad hwn, felly, bydd enwau’n dod i’r golwg a mynd o’r golwg yn gyson. Wrth gwrs yn yr Hen Lyfr, pan ofyn Tho-vítha “Beth yw dy enw?", etyb y cythraul Az-mothus, i ddechrau, "Lleng yw fy enw; am fod llawer ohonom.” (A sylwer ar yr hyn a ddigwyddodd iddo fe a'i frodyr a'i chwiorydd yn y pendraw: aethant i ymdrybaeddu mewn trythyllwch ar y Cyfandir Deheuol!) Ar adegau (neu, mewn rhai lleoedd), ceir Daud, Stjepan, Jelena, ac Ivan – yn rhywle arall, dyna Dave (Dai), Steffan (Steff, Stezza), Elen, a Jack – a hefyd, fe gwrddwch â David, Stevie, Helen, a John. Hyd yn hyn, yr wyf wedi bod yn sôn am gysgodion, lleisiau, ac enwau’n wir; ond rwy’n petruso ynghylch siarad am ddiawliaid yn y cnawd, er gwaethaf yr holl helbul i’w drafod (yn ogystal â’r daioni). Mater ichi yw derbyn neu beidio a yw'r fath bethau'n bodoli mewn gwirionedd.
Gyda’r holl gymhlethdod, rhaid gofyn: a allaf ddywed wrthych bwy yw pwy ar bob adeg? Na allaf, yn ddilys ddiamau – megis yn yr hen chwedlau Kimbreg, weithiau mae gwragedd yn flodau neu wdihŵiaid; ambell dro mae gwŷr yn dod yn eryrod, ceirw, bleiddiau, neu faeddod. Ac yng Nghalon y Cyfandir, gall menywod fod yn ewigod, ac yn binwydd, hefyd. Mae wastad hud a lledrith ym mhob man yn yr hanes hwn fel y mae bob tro yn y byd go iawn (beth bynnag mae hwnna'n ei olygu), os medrwch ei glywed yn ddigon manwl. Yn ddiau, gweddnewidir y talpiau hyn o gnawd gan weithredoedd swynol, trwy enwi. Ni fedrant ddweud celwyddau, gan na wyddant y gwirionedd, ymddengys ar y wyneb. Ond, wedi archwilio’n fwy manwl, fe gyfeddyf dyn o bosibl yr adwaenant y gwir, ynteu na siaradant amdano gan eu bod yn fud. O’r herwydd, efallai, byddant yn celu pechodau o bob math, a ddatgelir yma o ganlyniad i’m cloddio, heb yn wybod iddynt eu hunain. Ewch ati’n ofalus, felly, pan ddewch chi i mewn i’r cysgodion fydd yn toddi a tholchennu fel trwyth yng nghrochan y Dewin.
A heb os nac oni bai, llawn cysgodion yw’r hanes dadlennol hwn, sef cysgodion camdriniaeth, unigrwydd, a cholled, ynghyd â chysgod ansicrwydd sy’n hongion tros y gallu i feirniadu y tu hwnt i amheuaeth resymol. Sut y gallai sawl gohebydd ymddangos mor hwyliog, felly, wrth adrodd y chwedlau hyn i gyd. am a welaf fi o’r nodiadau amgaeedig? Fodd bynnag, deall i ryw raddau a wnaf fi, gan mai myfi fy hunan fydd yn gwenu o glust i glust bob tro wrth weithio yn y madws hwn, yn enwedig pan fydd Swtach yn snecian i mewn i’r ystafell ymgynghori wrth imi bendwmpian, i gnoi fy mawd troed gowtog – yr hen gythraul blewog!
Eto i gyd, mae ein stori yn codi cwestiynau di-rif am y materion hyn; am hunan-anghofio a hunanddarganfod; am symbolau, delweddau, a realiti a sut y byddant yn rhyngweithio â’i gilydd, wrth holi am natur gwahaniaethau deuaidd megis goleuni a chysgod, gywir ac anghywir, da a drwg, rhesymu a theimlo, profi a gwybod, yr unigolyn a’r grŵp, yr ‘hunan’ a’r ‘arall,’ er enghraifft. Ond nid fy rôl i yw ateb y fath bosau, braidd y gallaf feddwl am y syniadau. Wedi’r cwbl rwy wedi blino’n lân ar ôl yr holl gyffro. Ni dderbyniaf fi byth ronyn o ddiolchgarwch yn y swydd hon, ychwaith. Soniaf mwyaf am hynny yn nes ymlaen, ond am y tro, rhaid cadw’n dawel.
Mae cyfeirio yma (yn aml yn wallus) ar achlysuron, at ffynonellau llenyddol, ac at ddiwylliant poblogaidd, ond nid wyf wedi ceisio egluro: cysgodion y peth go iawn, allem ddweud, yw’r camgymeriadau a hepgoriadau. Hefyd, mae ychydig iaith fras, rwy wedi’i adael yn gyfan, er mwyn cyflawnder: pwy sydd â hawl i roi taw ar y llwyth o leisiau a fydd yn cyfathrebu yma, p’un a fyddant yn goeth ai ynteu’n aflednais? A pha beth yw llefaru heddiw beth bynnag ond cysgod gwelw'r canu hudol a fodolai gyfnod Tŵr Biblael – y tŵr ifori cysefin hwnnw – sydd wedi dod bellach yn ddim ond mwmial cymysglyd?
Dyma’r defnyddiau crai. Ond rwy’n gorfod eich atgoffa y bydd pawb yn tueddu i ddioddef o’r un fath o bwysau i ryw fesur, ac o bryd i’w gilydd: pwy a ŵyr sut yr ymatebant? Cysgodion ein gilydd ydym ni i gyd, onid ife? I gloi, rwy’n holi: oes gwers i’w ddysgu o hyn oll? O’m profiad fy hunan, yr unig ateb y gallaf ei roi yw’r canlynol. Efallai gyda threigl amser fe fyddwn ni’n gweld y datblyga’r hunan, gan ymestyn i anwesu’r arall, a’i lapio i mewn i’w hanfod, nes y caiff eu gwahaniaethau sylfaenol – y rhai a ddaw rhyngof fi a ti, rhyngddi hi ac ef, rhyngom ni a chi – eu goresgyn mewn rhyw ffordd arwyddocaol a pharhaol. Dyna oedd gobaith yr Hen Dduwiau Rhyfedd, o leiaf, hyd y gwn i, a ofynnai: Onid rhannau’r un dilechdid trofaus yw damnio a gwaredu? Pwy, felly a all ddosrannu clod a bai? A ddylem farnu, neu, a ddylem gael ein barnu? Gadawaf i chi benderfynu — D.B.P.
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[1] Dw i’n credu ei fod e'n meddwl yma am stori fer Krayg at-Lugus o’r enw “Clwyfedigion Cythrwfl.” — P.M.
[2] Hoffwn i ychwanegu'r canlynol yma. Mae'r mythograffydd Bkink wedi sylwi ar y ffaith bod popeth yn bodoli'n gyfuniad cymhleth o "systemau clocwaith" y gellir eu mesuro a'u dadansoddi, a "systemau cwmwl" sy'n anrhagweladwy a yn llifo'n rhwydd. Ymhellach, nad oes neb yn gwybod beth yn enwedig yw "seice" y Thorlin, na pha mor bell mae'n ymestyn i'r Byd. Mae'n nodi serch hynny fod ymwybyddiaeth yn amlddimensiynol, yn uno agweddau cymdeithasol, diwylliannol, ffisiolegol, mytholegol, profiadaidd, seicolegol, storïol, symbolaidd, ac ysbrydol. Yn ei ôl ef, organ canfyddiad anlleol ydy'r dychymyg sy'n ymestyn trwy amser a'r gofod gan gofleidio mater ac egni. Ef a sylweddolodd fod syniadaeth dyn wedi'i chyfryngu a'i chyfyngu ar yr un pryd gan normau a disgwyliadau cymdeithas.
Mae'n honni bod rhannau'r anymwybod yn ymddangos dan yr amgylchiadau cywir fel personoliaethau annibynnol yn gwisgo cysgodion i ddatgelu gwirioneddau seicolegol. Yn enwedig pan fydd grŵp yn rhyngweithio, bydd yn bosibl ffocysu'r egni i greu ffurfiau meddyliol allanol, a'u presenoldeb ei hun yn anhrefnu'r rhith sy'n gwneud y tro am ddirwedd, heb sôn am eu geiriau na'u meddyliau. Maent yn bodoli y tu mewn i, ac yn agor llwybr at, le amwys, byrhoedlog, llithrig, paradocsaidd, trothwyol, ymylol, a gwrthstrwythurol, sy'n afresymegol yn y bôn. Gan hongian rhwng y Byd Hwn a'r Isfyd, mewn lle ble mae'r drefn arferol yn methu, maent yn diddymu gwahaniaethau deuol rhwng gwrthwynebau sy'n ymddangos yn anghydweddol fel arfer. Y rhain sy'n blendio gwahanol gysyniadau, gan ddadadeiladu 'r ffiniau cadarn rhwng y real a'r afreal, yr hunan a'r arall.
Mae ganddynt nodweddion y Twyllwr, yn cymysgu priodoleddau sy'n absẃrd ac ystyrlon iawn ar yr un pryd, a thrwy gael eich gorfodi i werthfawrogi gwahaniaeth ganddynt y dewch i amsugno cymaint trwy hap a damwain, y cymer fywydau i'w ddirnad. Yn aml byddant yn benthyg eu gwedd gan y mythau'n rhedeg yr ymennydd heb yn wybod inni. Gall yr endidau hyn feddiannu dyn ac achosi metaseicosis, effeithiau seiconiwroimiwnolegol, a symptomau fel amnesia, anaesthesia, anhwylderau trosi a somatoffurf, confylsiynau, dallineb, dermatoglyffau, hysteria, parlys, rhithweledigaethau, a stigmâu. Wedi'r cwbl, y prif ddull o hunanfynegiant ydy'r corff sy'n ffurfio'r rhyngwyneb rhwng y Ddau Fyd, ac yn cael ei drawsffurfio yn ystod y perfformiadau. Mae Tybwyr y Llwyn Goleuedig wedi datblygu egwyddorion seico-egnïeg i astudio'r ffenomenau hyn trwy fioadborth, electromyograffeg, electroenceffalograffeg, a mesuro gwrthiant y croen. — P.M.
[3] Rwy'n teimlo y byddai'n ddefnyddiol crybwyll hyn yma. Rhaid cofio yma fod yna wreiddiau cyffredin i swyngyfaredd, crefydd, a meddyliaeth, ac mewn "hud bywyd" mae'r Gwragedd Mawr a'r Dynion Hysbys yn defnyddio gair, cyffyrddiad, ac emosiwn i beri newidiadau. Mae defodau'n cynnwys arteffactau yn ogystal â symbyliadau corfforol a symbolaidd priodol i achosi cynhyrfiad seicoffisiolegol, ennyn parodrwydd i atal anghrediniaeth, a hybu cred enydaidd y llwydda'r perfformiad. Mae ganddynt y gallu i symud sylw o realedd bob dydd at synnwyr y niwminaidd, hynny yw parchedig ofn annaearol yn codi o ddirnad persbectif helaeth newydd ar fodolaeth sy'n aruthrol o ddirgel. Ailadrodd y patrymau sy'n symbylu synergedd rhwng ymwybod y cyfranogwyr a meysydd grym allanol ac felly yn gwneud yr effeithiau'n fwy debygol o ddigwydd.
Gall y fath ymarferion fod yn effeithiol iawn. Bydd angen parodrwydd ar y cyfranogwyr i dderbyn yr awgrymiadau, a bydd yn rhaid i ddyn fwrw bogail wrth berfformio er mwyn creu "bydysawd rithiol." Wedyn, dylai gymryd y profiadau o ddifrif a chofleidio'r digwyddiadau anomalaidd sy'n rhan bwysig o fywyd beunyddiol i lawer o gyfrinyddion, iachawyr, siamaniaid, a gweledyddion ledled y Byd Rhyfeddol, gan ddal ati i weithredu heb boeni a ydynt yn "real" neu beidio. Mae'r canlyniadau trawiadol fel ymatebion emosiynol trawsffurfiannol yn fwy pwysig o lawer na manylion y broses ei hun. Gallant fod yn dra anarferol, eithriadol o rhyfedd, absẃrd hyd yn oed, a bron yn anghredadwy, ond byddant yn wir serch hynny. Wedi'r cyfan, nid oes raid i Natur chwarae yn unol â rheolau'n gêm ni'r Thorlin (fel y dweud y paranthropolegwr heb ei hafal Rilfoh), on'd oes? — P.M.