Who Was Robert Crookall?
By Bob Lebak
Mirrored from Ballabene's OBE and Astral Pages
Dr. Crookall, a geologist, became a well respected investigator of out of body experiences. He produced numerous manuscripts which were extremely well referenced. In his writings he had a predilection for digressing and, consequently, often repeated himself within individual books. In fact, much of the same information is found in several of his books, however, the approach he utilizes for many of them differs. To the average reader many of his books could be considered a bit on the laborious side but his consistent attention to detail was outstanding.
Often he broke his writings into separate sections that dealt with specific aspects of the out of body experience. Topics found throughout his writings include (1) Testimonies from astral projectors, deathbed observers, clairvoyants, the pseudo-dead (NDE´s ?), mediums and the supposed discarnate, (2) Cooperation between the living and the newly dead, (3) Comparisons with major religious literature, (4) Stages of astral projection, (5) The astral cord, and (6) Various types of nonphysical bodies and realities. He used a number of terms that are vestiges of psychic and astral projection literature from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Based on information he collected Crookall deduced the existence of at least four planes or realities. He believed that we each possess a specific body designed to operate best in each of the separate realities. That is, each body interpenetrates the others but has the ability, under proper circumstances, to leave the successively denser bodies behind and journey into the plane that it is best suited for. He referred to these withdrawals by various names such as births, dissociations, sheddings and loosenings. In his hierarchy the densest matter is that which makes up the physical body which obviously operates in the physical world. Next is the more subtle body called the vehicle of vitality, also called the etheric or vital body. Even more subtle is the soul body, also called the emotional or psychical body. At the top of this progression is the spiritual body. This has also been called the divine, cosmic or celestial body.
He believed that the vehicle of vitality was a vital link between the physical body and soul body. According to him this may be the subconscious self and the part that operates in most dreams. The corresponding world for this body he often called Hades, Sheol, Bardo or Greyworld. However, he did not consider this body to be a vehicle of consciousness. He believed that the soul body possessed a super-conscious mind which is responsible for psychic phenomena like telepathy, clairvoyance, telekinesis and other phenomena. He believed the spiritual body was the eternal self or oversoul that was responsible for mystical experiences, transcendence and selflessness. The place of animation for this body is the true heaven.
While the foregoing may seem a bit tedious I would direct your attention to the easiest of his works to digest. For the most part they contain numerous brief anecdotes about individual out of body experiences. Dr. Crookall collected them over many years and often went to great lengths to get follow up information. They are quick to read. The books are :
Astral Projection : A Record of Out of Body Experiences; Casebook for Astral Projection; The Study and Practice of Astral Projection; and More Astral Projections, Analyses of Case Histories. All of them are listed below.
A word about the list of publications that follows. It has been compiled from many sources and is as accurate as I can get it for now. You can see that many books have been reissued. Many are now available from, or at least listed with, various online book companies. The capitalized titles are those I am still looking to obtain. If anyone knows of any other Crookall publications I would greatly appreciate the detailed information, including where you found it and where it may be available. If you find any errors feel free to let me know. Also, if you have any biographical information it would be welcome. Please email me if you want.
PUBLICATIONS BY ROBERT CROOKALL
Crookall, Robert, Casebook for Astral Projection, 545-746, Citadel Press, 1972, Reprints 1980 (ISBN : 0806560061) and 1986 (ISBN : 0806507306).
Crookall, Robert, DREAMS OF HIGH SIGNIFICANCE, Darshana International, Moradabad, India, 1974.
Crookall, Robert, During Sleep - The Possibility of Co-operation Between the Living and the Dead, Theosophical Publishing House, London, 1964 (ISBN : 0821601709).
Crookall, Robert, ECSTACY : THE RELEASE OF THE SOUL FROM THE BODY, Darshana International, Moradabad, India, 1973.
Crookall, Robert, Events on the Threshold of the Afterlife, Clues as to the Greatest of All Enigmas, Darshana International, Moradabad, India, 1967.
Crookall, Robert, EXPERIENCES ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE AFTER LIFE, Darshana, International, Moradabad, India, 1969.
Crookall, Robert, Intimations of Imortality, James Clark, London, 1965.
Crookall, Robert, LIFE, CHEAT OR A SACRED BURDEN ?, Darshan a International, Moradabad, India, 1976.
Crookall, Robert, MORE ASTRAL PROJECTIONS, ANALYSES OF CASE HISTORIES, Aquarian Press, London, 1964.
Crookall, Robert, Out of the Body Experiences, A Fourth Analysis of the Mystic Arts, Citadel Press, 1970, Reprint 1986, 1992 (ISBN : 0806513837).
Crookall, Robert, OUT-OF THE BODY EXPERIENCES AND SURVIVAL, Churches Fellowship for Psychical and Spiritual Studies, London, 1969.
Crookall, Robert, OUT-OF-THE-BODY EXPERIENCES AND SURVIVAL, In : Pearce-Higgins, JD and Whitby, GS (Editors), Life, Death and Psychical Research, pages 66-68, Rider, London, 1973 (ISBN : 009115809), Samuel Weiser (ISBN : 0091158117).
Crookall, Robert, Psychic Breathing, Cosmic Vitality from the Air, Newcastle Publishing Company, 1979, Reprints 1981, 1985 (ISBN : 0878770801), Borgo Press, 1985 (ISBN : 0893706809).
Crookall, Robert, The Interpretation of Cosmic and Mystical Experiences, James Clark, London, 1969 (ISBN : 0227677293).
Crookall, Robert, THE JUNG-JAFFE VIEW OF OUT-OF-THE-BODY EXPERIENCES, World Fellowship Press, 1970 (ISBN : 0902742000).
Crookall, Robert, THE MECHANISMS OF ASTRAL PROJECTION, Darshana International, Moradabad, India, 1968.
Crookall, Robert, The Next World - and the Next, Ghostly Garments, Theosophical Publishing House, London, 1966.
Crookall, Robert, The Study and Practice of Astral Projection, Citadel Press, 1960, Reprint 1988, Lyle Stuart 1977, (ISBN : 0806505478).
Crookall, Robert, The Supreme Adventure, The Analyses of Psychic Communication, James Clark, London, 1961, Reprint 1975.
Crookall, Robert, The Supreme Adventure, The Analyses of Psychic Communication, Lutterworth Press, Reprint 1987.
Crookall, Robert, The Techniques of Astral Projection, Denouement After Fifty Years, Aquarian Press, London, 1964.
Crookall, Robert, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE ?, Gerrards Cross, England : Smythe, 1968 (ISBN : 0900675845).