“Telekinesis” is better known in Western world by reason of its manifestation in spiritualistic circles in the movement of, or knocking on, tables and doors etc. ; all of which are usually attributed to the work of “spirits”.
Many advanced occultists are able to produce such phenomena, consciously, by an act of pure will, accompanied by the power of mental picturing. This does not take away from the wonder of the spiritistic phenomena; and does not discredit the motives and power of the mediums, but much is possible without the aid of ‘spirits’. The occultist will first picture the astral extension, and then will the projection of the astral and the passage of the prana (or vital force) around the pattern of the mental image. In the case of some very highly developed occultists the astral thought-form of their body becomes so charged with prana that it is able to move physical objects.
It can be argued that many cases of materialisation of ‘spirit-forms’ take place because of the unconscious projection of the astral body of the medium. Such a projection of the astral body may take on the appearance of some departed soul (the mind of the medium having been influenced by the minds of the persons present who knew the dead person). In most cases the medium is unable to produce the phenomenon without the psychic assistance of those in the circle.
Whether or not the revelations of mediums can be attributed to spiritualism or to occultism, or anything else, the comfort a good medium can bring to the bereaved who so often are haunted by worries for their loved ones and things that have been left unsaid cannot be denied.