The most curious proofs of the existence of such an
undifferentiated sense of reality as this are found in
experiences of hallucination. It often happens that an
hallucination is imperfectly developed: the person affected will
feel a "presence" in the room, definitely localized, facing in
one particular way, real in the most emphatic sense of the word,
often coming suddenly, and as suddenly gone; and yet neither
seen, heard, touched, nor cognized in any of the usual "sensible"
ways. Let me give you an example of this, before I pass to the
objects with whose presence religion is more peculiarly
concerned.
An intimate friend of mine, one of the keenest intellects I know,
has had several experiences of this sort. He writes as follows
in response to my inquiries:--<59>
"I have several times within the past few years felt the so-
called 'consciousness of a presence.' The experiences which I
have in mind are clearly distinguishable from another kind of
experience which I have had very frequently, and which I fancy
many persons would also call the 'consciousness of a presence.
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