Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys Davids - Influence of Spiritualism

Influence of Spiritualism

Unlike her husband, C.A.F. Rhys Davids became strongly influenced by Spiritualism and possibly by Theosophy. Of the two, it was probably spiritualism and her own education in psychology under George Croom Robertson at University College London which most influenced her later reinterpretation of Buddhism. She seems to have had little actual interaction with Theosophical groups until very late in her career, and can even be seen to criticize Theosophical belief in some works. She became particularly involved in various forms of psychic communication with the dead, first attempting to reach her dead son through seances and then through automatic writing. She later claimed to have developed clairaudience, as well as the ability to pass into the next world when dreaming. She kept extensive notebooks of automatic writing, along with notes on the afterlife and diaries detailing her experiences, which are held by the University of London.