Meeting Dr. Peebles
By Summer Bacon
Thomas was the greatest trance medium—the only trance medium—I had ever known. It was through Thomas that I was introduced to the beautiful spirit Dr. James Martin Peebles. Dr. Peebles had at one time walked the earth. He died in 1922 at the age of 99, just days short of his one-hundredth birthday, March 23. His friends threw a post-mortem birthday party for him.
Dr. Peebles was a naturopath and became a medical doctor at the age of sixty. He wrote prolifically on the topics of Spiritualism and mysticism.
He was a Spiritualist minister, and also a channel himself. He traveled the earth five times, visiting South Africa, China, Australia, Ireland, and other remote regions…all in a time when there were no airplanes! He acted as the American Consult to Turkey. It has been told that he was also one of the Founders of the Kellogg’s Company, although, because of his controversial beliefs in spirits and natural medicine, he was considered to be the scourge of the company, and shunned.
Dr. Peebles was a doctor and surgeon during the Civil War. He actively campaigned for anti slavery, and women’s suffrage. He was a remarkably compassionate and caring man. The Publisher of Dr. Peebles’ book, “Seers of the Ages,” wrote: “In conclusion we will say that Dr. Peebles is distinguished as an author, orator, physician and traveler. His name is recognized in every clime that encircles the globe. His kindness and benevolence are too well known to need mention.”
Over one hundred thousand people came to Dr. Peebles’ memorial service in Los Angeles where he died. His secret to such a long life? “I have no conception of ‘tottering’ down the decline of life,” he said, “The phrase is beyond my comprehension. I expect to work on to the very morning of my departure, and sleep into the better land of immortality at the sunset of the same evening. I feel as though I had but just begun to live—to see, to comprehend. I am planning work for twenty-five coming years.” He was eighty-two when he said this, “Heights rise above me, and I am conscious of the mighty immensities lying beyond. Sometimes, for the moment, a sad thought comes to me when I think that I have outlived so many of my esteemed contemporaries. They are not dead, but my co-workers still.
“Personally, I am too busy to think about death, and there is anyway, too much fuss made about dying. It is nature’s process of laying down a fleshly burden, and of the rising of the spiritual up into the brightness and blessed beatitudes of immortality.”
I was twenty-three years old when my mother suggested we listen to the David Viscott, MD talk radio show on KABC, upon which Dr. Peebles would be a guest through Thomas. She joyfully announced that Viscott, a prominent American psychologist, was going to interview Thomas, “a man who allows a spirit to come into his body so that it can speak to people.”
I was terrified! At that time I considered myself to be “born again”—a “good” Christian – something I had discovered that might keep me safe from the demons that seemed to follow me everywhere. (More about this later.) What my mother was describing was, by my determination, called possession, and I was not about to give my energy to something that certainly came from Satan.
Nevertheless, my ever-charming, persuasive and open-minded mother dimmed the lights, lit candles, and managed to coax me to the couch where she wrapped me up in a cozy blanket assuring me that nothing bad would happen, but that if it did—wouldn’t it be an interesting adventure? The radio squealed as she tuned it to pick up the station’s frequency. I trembled.
Since I do not have actual transcripts of a recording of their conversation, I will relay my perspective of what I heard, to the best of my memory.
Viscott calmly introduced Thomas who sounded so young, shy and normal when he spoke that I immediately felt my heart open wide to this courageous man. Viscott was interested in metaphysical phenomenon. He was a healthy skeptic who decided to openly explore trance channeling on his radio program. He wanted to watch as Thomas went into trance to study the channeling process from a scientific perspective. Clearly the assumption was that Thomas probably suffered from some sort of psychological delusions. At least, I felt strangely comforted by this thought.
“Oh, this is a psychological study, not a study of the occult,” I convinced myself, feeling greatly relieved.
The procedure would be as follows: Thomas would go into trance, and anyone who wanted to ask the so-called “spirit” a question could call the radio station. Silly, I thought. Plain silly.
The radio went silent as Thomas went into trance. I held my breath. My eyes widened as the seconds passed. The airwaves seemed to transmit the very large and loving energy of the spirit. Suddenly, this didn’t feel like a joke anymore. There was an audible gasp as the spirit entered Thomas’s body, and then a magnificent voice boomed through the speaker.
“God bless you! Dr. Peebles here! It is a joy and a blessing when man and spirit join together in search of the greater truths and awarenesses!”
I was immediately entranced. The room felt light, peaceful and serene. My mother and I listened, mesmerized for more than forty minutes, as Dr. Peebles answered question after question with astonishing clarity, accuracy, and unwavering and unconditional love. I settled deep into the couch, feeling safe and warm. I knew in my heart that God approved of this. There was no Satan here.
The session concluded with Thomas returning to his body with a loud groan. Viscott bubbled with enthusiasm. He vulnerably admitted to his listening audience that he had seen a puff of blue smoke above Thomas’ head as he went into trance. He said that he could not explain what had happened in scientific terms, but that the experience was so beautiful and loving, who cared? The trance process was clearly a phenomenon to explore.
A phenomenon, indeed!
Here was this Dr. Peebles—not Archangel Michael, or Jesus, or aliens, or the usual cast of spiritual characters that seemed to pop through modern day channels. It was just Dr. Peebles, a really nice, unpretentious guy who happened to live a very fulfilling life on the earth. This was the spirit for me!