Amazing Paranormal Phenomena # 1: Levitation
Paranormal phenomena has long interested people from all parts of the world, and this is due mostly to the fact that such incidents continue to challenge existing scientific laws and principles accepted to govern daily life.
One of the best paranormal phenomena that has mystified generations across the globe is levitation.
Understanding Levitation
Many understand levitation in the sense of people who are able to float or rise from the ground without any form of material assistance, mechanical, physical, or otherwise.
From a metaphysical perspective, levitation occurs through paranormal or mystical means.
It usually happens after a person enters into a trance state brought about by deep meditation, or through supernatural means and causes.
Among the supernatural means, the most commonly known is building up of energy in one’s body, and then releasing it in such a was as the body will rise.
This kind of levitation is a form of psychokinesis, or the ability to use the mind to lift one’s body without using any form of physical interference. Often, this kind of levitation happens when the person levitating connects with the spiritual realm.
The focus of this post is on levitation that occurs through paranormal or mystical means.
The Levitation of Saints
In Catholic belief, saints are ordinary people who have attained a high level of holiness, and as such, have been able to enter heaven.
However, saints are also known to have manifested abilities that have gone against long-held beliefs rooted in scientific or materialist understanding.
One of these saints is St. Joseph of Copertino (also sometimes spelled as “Cupertino”).
According to the site the Epoch Times:
St. Joseph of Copertino (1603–1663) sometimes hovered a few inches above the ground, sometimes flew high in the air—in front of large crowds all over Italy. The church canonization process involves in-depth investigations, and thus many written records, including 150 eyewitness testimonies, providing detailed information about Copertino’s levitations.
Michael Grosso, Ph.D., who received his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University, has written a book about this, titled “The Man Who Could Fly: St. Joseph of Copertino and the Mystery of Levitation.”
Here’s what Grosso had to say, as quoted in the Epoch Times:
Some people today may tend to dismiss any such accounts as the delusion of religious fervor or the backward superstitions of a relatively primitive society. But, said Grosso, “A fact is a timeless entity.”
Regarding potential objections from skeptics, he said: “It doesn’t hold water—not for 35 years, and all the witnesses that were involved. … The character of the witnesses was of the highest order—cardinals, a pope, the inquisitors themselves.”
Cardinals are high-ranking religious leaders within the Catholic Church, with the Pope being the highest and most revered. Inquisitors were people specifically assigned by the Church to conduct investigations into any reported phenomena.
Initially, Copertino didn’t enjoy the support of the Church. On the contrary, he was thought of as being dangerous, possibly in league with diabolical or demonic forces.
But historical records show that each time he levitated, Copertino was in full mystic mode. Grosso explains it in more detail:
“(Copertino was) in an altered state of consciousness—an ecstasy, due to his faith, which seemed integral to his ability—he was also a product of his time.
It’s not that people of that time were more gullible or more likely to participate in some mass delusion. It’s that the Reformation of the Church, the Baroque culture, the common practices of fasting and entering into solitude, all created a kind of environment in which one could more easily enter an altered state of consciousness.”
Aside from Copertino, St. Teresa of Avila was also known for her ability to rise above the ground.
The site Golden Dome describes Teresa’s ability as follows:
“Saint Teresa of Avila was another well known saint who reported levitating. She is usually painted with a bird, signifying her ability to fly. She told of experiencing it during states of rapture. One eyewitness, Sister Anne of the Incarnation, said Saint Teresa levitated a foot and a half off the ground for about a half hour. Saint Teresa wrote of one of her experiences: “It seemed to me, when I tried to make some resistance, as if a great force beneath my feet lifted me up. I know of nothing with which to compare it; but it was much more violent than other spiritual visitations, and I was therefore as one ground to pieces.” (Evelyn Underhill “Mysticism,” 1955) Also Saint Teresa observed these levitations frightened her but there was nothing she could do to control them. She did not become unconscious, but saw herself being lifted up.”
Levitating Mediums, Monks, and Fakirs
Outside of the Catholic Church, the blog Nexus Illuminati describes how a noted Scottish spiritualist medium, D. D. Home was able to demonstrate his mastery of levitation:
“The annals of 19th-century spiritualism contain many references to human levitations, as well as to tables, chairs, and other objects gaining or losing weight, levitating, and moving without human contact. The most famous levitator of all was the medium St._Teresa_of_Avila (pronounced: Hume). His first recorded levitation took place at a seance in August 1852. He was suddenly ‘taken up into the air . . . He palpitated from head to foot with the contending emotions of joy and fear . . . Again and again he was taken from the floor, and the third time he was carried to the ceiling of the apartment, with which his hands and feet came into gentle contact.’
He later became able to levitate at will, and believed he was lifted up by ‘spirits’. During a public career spanning 30 years, hundreds of people witnessed his levitations. The most famous incident was when in the company of Lord Adare, the Master of Lindsay, and a friend of theirs, he floated out of one window of a London house and in at another. The eminent English scientist Sir William Crookes saw him levitate on several occasions and verified that there was no trickery involved. On one occasion, Crookes’ wife, who was sitting beside Home, was raised off the ground in her chair.”
And on the site Pravda Report, there are other recorded instances of levitation, one of the best paranormal phenomena:
As regards the ancient levitators, records at hand say that they were able to rise above the ground up to 90 cm. They did not lift off to impress the onlookers, they simply wanted to assume the most suitable position for performing religious rites.
The art of levitation still exists both in India and Tibet. Many scholars engaged in oriental studies also mention the phenomenon of “flying lamas.” Alexandra David-Neel, a British explorer, one day witnessed the flight of a Buddhist monk. The monk flew a few dozen meters over the alpine plateau Cnang Tang. He was bouncing off the ground like a tennis ball to rise in the air again and again. He kept his eyes on some guiding star hanging somewhere in the distance, the monk was the only person who could see the star in broad daylight.
The cases of the persons mentioned above are only a few among those who have actually experienced levitating at a point in their lives. Although many levitators have been ridiculed as fakes, or suspected of being under the control of malignant spirits, records show otherwise. In fact, the most famous levitator of all time, St. Joseph Copertino has a clean reputation, and is well loved by many, up to the present.
What do you think of levitation? Do you think that you could possibly learn to levitate someday?
Tell me if you liked this post! This post about levitation is the first of a series on paranormal phenomena. If I get enough positive feedback about this, I’ll continue with my series on amazing paranormal phenomena. So, please let me know if you enjoyed this article.
And if you’d like to get a personal and more in-depth counseling on which paranormal phenomena is having huge effects on your life, career, finances, and relationships you can schedule a psychic reading with me and find those answers and more.
If You Enjoyed This Article, Here are Some Other Suggested Articles for You to Read:
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How To Access The Higher Spiritual Realms For Help And Answers
The acquisition and use of psychic Abilities is well beyond my understanding..Its a cool power to have, assuming the angle is the phenomena of psychic abilities rather than paranormal events. From what’s here, it seems to be both.
Before I said anything, I wanted to see the community reaction before stating my own. Even if you don’t get that much of a response for this now, someone in the future might want to know. You could set up an archive for something like this. A good documentation on various psychic and paranormal abilities is something that people who are interested in will not want to miss out on. Good research needs to be out there. The blog was made to share all forms of information, regardless of popularity. Its up to you but you have my support on this, not to mention the support of any silent readers who are also interested. Some might even go as far as doing some research of their own on such topics. I have done myself at times when you’ve posted.
This was awesome!
A very interesting read. Thank you, Tana! ?
I have had many dreams where I am levitating!!
In my dreams I put both arms out at my sides then straight down! Over and over, and it makes me rise, higher and higher in my dream! I used to have it all the time, I haven’t in a while but I just asked Saint Joseph coopertino to help me levitate! ??❤️?????????
This was awesome! Sent with love 🙂