His family encouraged his activities, including taking him to the spiritualist community of Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts, where Elwood would assist in the readings.
Throughout various battles in Asia, Elwood's purported abilities allowed him to lead his division safely, as he claimed to have been guided by spirits who helped him avoid danger.
With physical death a fact of everyday life in the war, Elwood was able to comfort his fellow Marines with his knowledge.
During one of his college courses, he performed successful experiments in hypnosis, including, it was claimed, sending one of his students forward into the future by several days and reporting on his night out.
In the 1970s Babbitt became the spiritual counsellor and mentor to a commune called The Brotherhood of the Spirit (renamed Renaissance Community) located in Warwick, Massachusetts.