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A public domain book is one that was never subject \n\nto copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired.","tags":["Spiritualism"],"text":"Google \n\n\n\nThis is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on Hbrary shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project \n\nto make the world's books discoverable online. \n\nIt has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject \n\nto copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. 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You can search through the full text of this book on the web \n\nat |http : //books . google . com/| \n\n\n\nN^ \n\n\n\n^ \n\n\n\ny^ \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\n\\^^' \n\n\n\n\\ \\' .^ ^ ^-- \n\n\n\nTHE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\n\n\n\u2022: / \n\n\n\nTHE f-m Y')Ri( \n\nPUBLIC Lin.HARY \n\n\n\nA.- 'I OP. :j: ^-'ok and \n\nriLDEN t\\')'JS Da TiiJi^Sl \n\n\n\ni \n\n\n\n\nMRS. JOSEPHINE M BR/! \n\nllDdependcnt Voice and Trance M.mled \n\n196 Norwilk Avenue. Buffalo. Ne' \n\n\n\nA Series of Lessons \n\nFrom Higher Intelligences \n\non the \n\nf t^0ntit^ of Htf^ \n\n\n\n\nUnlvaml Harmoay \n\n\n\nAbMlnta Wiitev. \n\n\n\nLovingly Dedicated to Htmuuuty \n^Y^ ^\"* Josephine M. Brace \n\n\n\nBuffalo. New York \n\n\n\nTO vv-'^yr^ i \n\n137038A \n\n\n\nA\u00ab\u00bb'^OP, I-^>TOX AND \n\nTILCIN FCUNDATIONS \n\nK 1024 I^ \n\n\n\nCk>pyright 1922 \n\nBy JosBPHiNB M. Brace, Buffalo, N. Y., \nAU Rights Reserved. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\\ . \n\n\n\n\u2022\u2022 \u2022 \n1 . - \u2022 \u00ab \n\n\n\n' ^reas of John F. Qigglns \n\u2022 -ftTC* W. Monroe St.. Chicago \n\n8\u00ab \n\n\n\nPrinted In the United States of America \n\n\n\nCONTENTS \n\nPAGE \n\nSketch of Mes. Brace's Mediumshtp 7 \n\nForeword 19 \n\nPurpose of the Book 33 \n\nChapter \n\nI. The Astral Body 37 \" \n\nn. Life on the Astral Plane 78 \n\nm. Personal Experiences on the Astral \n\nPlane 100 \n\nIV. Heaven \u2014 What You Make It 137 \n\nV. Who Takes Care of Our Children Gone \n\nBefore! 160 \n\nVI. Protective Forces 183 \n\nVn. Invisible Helpers 199 \n\nVIII. How Help Those Gone Before 216 \n\nIX, Earthbound Spirits 228 \n\nX. Whither Are You Going 263 \n\nXI. Universal Brotherhood 288 \n\nXn. The New Dat 309 \n\n\n\n\n\n\nSKETCH OF MRS. BEACE^S MEDIUMSHIP. \n\nThru the spiritual medinmship of Mrs. Jojsephine \nBrace many wonderful things have been gathered \nfrom the world of spirit. And because of the gen- \neral spiritual awakening of man in the physical \nexpression of life it has been thought wise to gather \nthis knowledge under different headings, or chap- \ntersy and put it in the form of a book so that all \nwho are interested in learning more of the life \n''beyond the grave'' may know how to communi- \ncate with those^in spirit ; how to approach the sacred \nchamber of communication; how to avoid the dan-, \ngers which beset the unenlightened minds, and how \nto prepare themselves for spirit conmiunication. \n\nFor the benefit of those who may not know of the \ngreat work which is being accomplished thru this \ngifted medinmship, a sketch of Mrs. Brace's life \nfollows\u2014 which is best told in her own words. \n\n'*It is the mystery of the unknown that fascin- \nates us; .we are all children still; wayward and \nwistful; with one hand we ding to the familiar \nthings we call our own, and with the other, resolute \nof will, grope in the dark for what the day will \nbring. ^' \n\nAs I look back thru the memory chambers of my \nsoul, I find that the predominant quality within \nme, all thru life, has been an indescribable fascina- \ntion and love of mystery \u2014 the unknown ; and it ^\u00ab.% \n\n\n\n8 SKETCH OF MBS. BBAOS's MBDIUM8HIP. \n\nthis which caused me to find so much solace in se- \ncret prayer \u2014 for was not the God to whom I prayed \na something of mystery t \n\nSo it was this which caused me to seek after the \nsouls of the departed, and find, first, the wondrous \npower within the soul of man, and then the hidden \nway to heaven; then the souls of those who had \ngone before ; and now the means of bringing to my \nfellow-man positive and indisputable communica- \ntions from the world beyond the grave\u2014 -the proof \nof which thousands are convinced today. \n\nMany and varied were the experiences I had in \nmy sojourns into the silence in prayer and spiritual \nmeditation \u2014 even in my early childhood, every lit- \ntle trouble I carried into the silence in prayer and \nalways felt refreshed and comforted after reach- \ning out in prayerful aspiration toward God. \n\nVery early in life I often foresaw coming events, \nand also had beautiful visions, which, when I re- \nlated them, caused my family to say, **0h, what a \nvivid imagination that child has*' and, ''We must \nbreak her of all this nonsense, *' or ''That child \nprays too much,** etc. \n\nWhen I was but 13 years old, a sad and unfor- \ngotten day came \u2014my darling mother lay seriously \nill; and they said she could not live. My mother \nmust die ! There were six little children, and I was \nthe oldest\u2014 oh, how could God, who loves us all, \ntake our mother away like thist No! no! I must \nask Him to spare her to us. Oh! He must \u2014 does \nHe not know what it means to take our mother from \nus,\u2014 six little helpless children t God who loves, \nand is love, and can do all things, surely will not do \n\n\n\n\u2022\u2022 \u2022 \u2022 \u2022 . \u2022 \n\n' \u2022 * \u00ab \u2022 \u2022\u2022 \n\n\u2022* \u2022 \u2022 \u2022 \u2022 \u2022 \n\n\u00bb \u2022 \u2022 \u2022 * \n\n\n\nBKBTOH OF MBS. BBAOB's MBDIUM8HIP. 9 \n\nthis. Thus fhe thoughts ran thru my consciousness ; \nand I sought a place where I could be all alone to \ntalk with the Father\u2014 to pray\u2014 to ask that our \nmother be allowed to stay with us a little while \nlonger. \n\nThe house being full of friends and relatives, I \nwent to the attic, just to be alone with God; then \nI sank upon my knees and oh, the anguish of soul \nI felt as I ardently begged of Him, the maker and \ncause of all things, to spare our dear mother to us. \n\n'Oh, God, we are so little and so helpless, we \nneed our mother so much just now. Look, oh. Lord, \nat baby sister \u2014 ^who will take care of hert Lord, do \nyou know allt Do you love allt If you do, please \nhear me, a helpless child pleading for a mother to \nguide and help us ; hear the voice of a little child in \ngrief crying that you please spare mammal' \n\nAs I knelt there pouring out my very soul to God, \nthis thought came to me\u2014 why should I attempt to \nshow Him the way when all my life, all my power, \nmy all, comes from Bttmt He knows best what is \nwell for all, and I must resign myself to His will. \nOh! must I give up my mother? Oh! I cannot\u2014she \nmust live\u2014she must stay with us. Now came a \nstruggle with my will and then victory \u2014 ^I was able \nto say sincerely, ' Oh, God, if it be Thy will take my \nmother \u2014 Thou knowest best\u2014 I know that in Thy \nhands all things are right.* \n\nThen came an inexpressible calm and peace \u2014 in- \ntense silence\u2014 and a great radiant light cast its \nwondrous rays upon me\u2014 I felt a presence \u2014 ^I saw a \nholy and indescribable, dazzling light ; and lo, within \nthat light I beheld the form of a man whose features \n\n\n\n10 SKETCH OF MBS. BBAOB^S MBDIUMSHIP. \n\nwere perfect, and with his right hand uplifted these \nwords seemed to come from a distance and sonnded \nupon my ears, **My child, my child, ere the snn shall \nhave risen again, the sonl of your mother will have \nflown, but you shall always be protected and guided. * * \n\nThen a blank\u2014 I knew nothing more until in the \ndarkness of the night my father, who had been \nsearching for me everywhere, forced open the attic \ndoor, which I had locked, and gathered me in his \narms saying, *'Why do you do this, child\u2014 we have \nbeen hunting for you for hours.'* And as he car- \nried me down the stairs I cried, ' * Oh, papa ! I have \nseen God, and He said that mamma is going to die \nbefore the sun rises again.\" Father suddenly \nplaced his hand over my lips and said, **Hush, don't \never say that again\u2014 no one has ever seen God ; you \nwere exhausted and fainted \u2014 ^probably dreamed \nthat you saw God. Never say that again or people \nwill call you crazy. ' ' And so I was silenced ; but in \nmy childish dreams of God I thought of Him as a \nman all powerful, all beautiful, all love, mercy and \ngoodness because I could not comprehend mind \nwithout body ; and so I believed that God must nec- \nessarily be a perfect embodiment of all these quali- \nties. And when the messenger of light, the min- \nistering angel, my guide and helper brought this \nmessage to me, I thought in my childlike simplicity \nthat he was God. \n\nAfter my mother's death, which came just as the \nmessenger had said, our home was broken up and \nwe little ones were scattered but many times I felt \nthe presence of my angel mother, and knew that I \nhad her guidance and help thru many hard and \n\n\n\nSKBTGH OF MBS. BBAOB's MBDIUKBHIP. 11 \n\nrough places in the four years following her pass- \ning; during which time many 'changes took place \nand I found new friends and associates. At all \ntimes and upon all occasions I never attempted any- \nthing without first seeking advice in the silence, \nin prayer and soul communion, at which times I al- \nways felt that my angel mother inspired me to do \nor not to do. Whilst I did not hear her voice, I felt \nher presence and knew her will. \n\nOne night a girl friend invited me to go with her \nto the home of another friend, and while there, for \nthe first time, I witnessed table tipping; it seemed \nstrange but rather interesting to me to see ^e table \ntip in response to the queries of those in the room. \nI did not place my hands upon the table, but merely \nwitnessed the manifestation\u2014 as they did not ex- \nplain the nature of the performance I had no idea \nof its being an intelligence out of the body who was \nmoving the table, but all the way home I was filled \nwith wonderment and when I reached home, told \nmy father about my experience. He said it was the \nmagnetism in the hands governed by the mind, but \neven then I wanted to investigate further for it \nseemed so mysterious to me. \n\nOne evening, father, sister and I sat around a \ntable and after holding our hands upon it for a lit- \ntle time it moved. It did not respond intelligently \nto our questions, but it moved\u2014 which was to me \nvery wonderful, for I knew positively that none of \nus moved it, and I was convinced that some unseen \nforce had caused that table to move. After several \nattempts we were able to get intelligent answers to \nour questions. Altho no reference to life after \n\n\n\n12 SKBTOH OF MBS. BBAGB^S MBDIUMSHIP. \n\ndeath, or there being any intelligence other than our \nown, was made, and at that time we believed it to be \nthe magnetism governed by our own minds, yet I \nwas still very much interested\u2014 it all seemed so \nmysterious, and doubly so when the table suddenly \nstood still and we could not get it to move. After \ntrying for about half an hour we were just about to \ngive up when distinctly we heard several tiny raps \nupon the table, and finally, after we had asked sev- \neral questions, the raps spelled, p-r-a-y! p-r-a-yl \nWe thought this rather strange, but did pray sin- \ncerely and altho the raps were very faint they were \ndistinct \n\nFrom that time the table never tipped for us, but \nthe raps always responded intelligently to our ques- \ntions. After the first request to pray, we always \nbegan our sittings in sincere prayer and silent spirit- \nual meditation. \n\nSome time after that, in the City of Pittsburgh, \nPa., several young ladies, I among them, were \ngathered around a little table and having the mys- \nterious raps responding to our questions, when one \nof the girls said, **Did you ever try darkening the \nroom? I believe we could be more passive and less \nfrivolous in the darkness.'* So we spent our even- \nings thus, frequently; when finally one evening I \nsaw, much to my amazement, the form of a woman. \nFor an instant I felt as if I were paralyzed, and \nwhen I recovered suflSciently to speak, I said, ' * Girls, \nT wonder if it is well for us to do this t I have just \nseen the form of a woman not in the flesh. I am \nsure of it for she stood right in front of me. ' ' * * Can \nyou describe her!'* asked one of the girls. So I \n\n\n\nSKETCH OF MBS. BBAOB's MBDIUMSHIP. 13 \n\ndescribed the form in every detail, it was so dear \nto me. One of the girls recognized her from the \ndescription and gasped, **0h, who was itt** And \nvery faintly bnt distinctly a voice, coming not from \nany physical organs, responded, * * Charlotte Morgan \n\u2014 Johnstown Flood. ' ' We all heard it very clearly. \n* * Oh I ' ' exclaimed the yonng lady, ' * that is my annt \nCharlotte, who was drowned at Johnstown, Pa., in \nthe terrible flood.'* \n\nNow, we were all overcome with fear and appre- \nhension, and immediately illuminated the room, \nfeeling that we had done something we ought not to \nhave done. What had caused this? Had we been \ntreading upon forbidden ground, or was this some \nunseen, unknown power within us which had only \nnow become evident? Yet I could not think that it \nwas evil since we were so sincere and prayerful in \nour thoughts ; and felt that it must be the awakening \nof some mysterious power within us. Here I sug- \ngested that we go together to the home of J \u2014 A \u2014 , \nwhere I had first witnessed table tipping; so we \nhastened and after explaining to them what a \nstrange experience we had had, we, together with \nJ. A. and his wife, once again sat around their table \nin a darkened room and offered a sincere, soulful \nprayer; after which we sat in silent spiritual \nthought. There was no more tipping of the table \nor raps, but after a little time of waiting a sweet \nvoice, which we all heard clearly, said, **Josie, my \nchild, God bless you \u2014 it is not wrong \u2014 ^it is true. I am \nalways with you and all my children, papa, too,\u2014 \npoor papa, tell him I never went far away. It is \nmamma, dear, just mamma.'* ^ \n\n\n\n14 SKBTCH OF MBS. BBAOB's MBDIUMSHIP. \n\nI was completely overcome for a time, for I recog- \nnized my angel mother \u2014 ^not by the sound of her \nvoice (for that was just like the finest little whistle) \nbnt by my mother's manner of speech, etc. My \nmother\u2014 1 knew it was she\u2014 she always called my \nfather \"papa** as she did then. There were other \njust as convincing messages which came to the dif- \nferent ones there, among them a message from a \ngentleman who said we should sing, that the sound \nof the spirit voices would be stronger as they used \nthe sound waves to convey the messages to us so \nthat we could hear them thru our physical sense of \nhearing. \n\nNow, I was intensely interested, for to me it was \nmost sacred and beautiful. At this time none of us \nrealized that this power was within any particular \nindividual, but we just thought that it came to us \nall, and the wonder of it overwhelmed us so that we \ndid not think of anything except that our loved ones \nin spirit were there talking to us. So night after \nnight we sat together and always found so much \ncomfort and good from the loving advice of our \nfriends in the other world. \n\nAfter my father had talked with my spirit mother \nand she had told him of things known only to himself \nand her, he was thoroughly convinced that it was \nshe who manifested to him. \n\nIt was some time before we knew who of our num- \nber was the medium that had the power to bring the \nindependent spirit voice; in fact, we had not given \nit a thought, but occasionally one of the girls would \nbe absent, still the manifestations continued just the \nsame until there came a time when I was absent \n\n\n\n8KBT0H OF MBS. BBAOS's MBDIUM8HIP. 15 \n\nthen there were no results\u2014 and thus it was we \nlearned that this mediumistic power was within me. \n\nIt was all so sacred to us, we did not wish to have \nstrangers know of it, so we kept it a secret ; only our \nmost intimate friends knew of our meetings. \n\nAfter a time I married and went to another city \nto live. My husband and I found great comfort and \nhelp in sitting and receiving communications from \nhis father, my mother, and many others in spirit \nlife, who came to talk with us. Again we kept this \njust among ourselves, but as we began to form new \nfriendships some learned of it and asked to join our \nlittle circle, always so sacred to us, and they prom- \nised to keep our little meetings secret. But the joy \nand wonderment which ^came thru the reunion of \nfamilies which had been separated by the '*Grim \nBeaper\" just couldn't be kept secret and one by one \na friend here and a friend there would in some way \nlearn of it, and they, too, begged to join us\u2014 so how \ncould I refuse or deny them the privilege of hear-, \ning from their loved ones who had passed onf \n\nSo many were seeking for tidings of their loved \nones that it became necessary for me to give all my \ntime to the work \u2014 altho it was nine years after I re- \nceived my first message before I entered into pub- \nlic work. - \n\nWhen we saw the great comfort and happiness it \ngave to the people, and the wonderful proof it was \nof life after death, we began to wonder why we had \nnot tried to learn something of the continuity of life \nand the laws regarding it, so my husband and I set \naside one evening each week, and we sat together \njust to learn of the life beyond. When our loved \n\n\n\n16 BKBTOH OF MBS. BBAOB's MBDIUMSHIP. \n\nones came we asked them to help us in our search, \nand finally one evening a teacher in spirit came to \nns and spoke just a few words\u2014 he spoke so slowly, \nand the words were so far apart that my husband \nwas able to write them as given. There were only \nfive or six words the first time, then the next week \na few more were added, and so on, xmtil finally sen- \ntences were completed. \n\nWe continued in this way until the teacher ad- \nvised us to create some vibration while he was \nspeaking as he thought this would enable him to \nspeak longer and perhaps louder\u2014 so my husband \nplayed the mouth organ, and the voice surely was \nclearer, and we were much pleased with our efforts \nfor there was a gradual improvement until the \nspirit voice became distinct and quite audible. \n\n(To assist in the creation of sound waves at iircrt the month \norgan was used, then a little music hox and after that an \nauto-harp, and now today, the wonderful invention, the elec- \ntric Victrola relieves the physical strain of playing the auto- \nharp.) \n\nThus the Circles of light originated ; as I realized \nthat in my mediumship I held a key to the realms of \nthe unseen and unknown world beyond the grave, \nand thru the proper use of this key many minds \nbecame enlightened upon the subject of the present \nand future life of man. \n\nThe little circle formed for the purpose of glean- \ning more light from that other life across the dark \nmysterious chasm called death, grew until there \nwere so many that it was necessary to form the \nsecond circle, and today there are many learned \npeople studying the laws of life under the tutor- \nship of the higher intelligences who are conducting \n\n\n\n^ \n\n\n\nSKETCH OF BiBS. BBAGB's MBDIUMSHIP. 17 \n\nthe different Circles of Light of which there are \nnow four in Buffalo and two in Rochester, N. Y. \nWith the aid of the electric Victrola the voices of \nthe teachers are full-toned and capable of filling a \nlarge auditorium. \n\nThe students in the Circles of light receive their \ninstruction direct from disembodied intelligences in \nthe independent audible voice, and are being pre- \npared for a great work in the illuminating of the \nminds of men benumbed and darkened by the false \nteachings of the past. \n\nThe new day is dawning and men shall hunger for \nthe things of the soul ; so there will be need of much \nthought and light along the line of seership and the \nstudents are being taught how to unfold the inner \nspiritual self and develop the powers within that \nthey may be able to properly impart some of that \nknowledge to their fellow-man. \n\nNo one is admitted into the Circle of Light until \npassed upon or approved by the spiritual instruc- \ntors. Upon entering the class a student has to take \na preparatory course, the length of which depends \nupon the individual student, after which he is passed \non into chapters and degrees according to his inner \nimfoldment. \n\nHundreds, yes, thousands, have found absolute \nproof of the continuity of life, spirit return and \nspirit communion in these classes, and the message \ncircles where loved ones speak entirely indepen- \ndent of any physical organs, trumpet, or any means \nof conveying sound except the sound waves w'hich \nare created by their songs and prayer \u2014 all in the \nroom hear the messages that come to the different \n\n\n\nr \n\nI / \n\n\n\n18 8KBT0H OF MBS. BRAOE's MBDIUMSHIP. \n\nones present, myself included, for I am perfectly- \nnormal and not entranced during the manifestations. \n\nAnd now this book I dedicate to humanity with \nall the love and sympathy I feel for my fellow-men \nwho have not had the wonderful privilege of hearing \n* ' the voice of the spirit ' * ; and I send it forth with \nthe hope that it will cast as bright a light upon their \nhighway of life as the wonderful truths it confains \nhave upon me and mine. \n\nIt is thru the kindness and effort of my dear \nfriend and secretary, Mrs. Agnes E. Smith, who \nhas been so faithful and true in taking notes and \ncompiling reports of stenographers of the different \nclasses and helping me to place these wonderful \nteachings in book form, that it is possible for me \nto send it forth as a messenger of light. \n\nThat this will be to dear humanity all that it is \nmeant to be is my sincere desire. \n\nJOSEPHINE M. BRACE. \n\n\n\nFOREWORD. \n\nWith the exception of the sketch of Mrs. Brace's medium- \nship, all of the material in this book was received entirely \nfrom the world of spirit thru the indei>endent voice and trance \nlectures; and the spirit teachers have i>ersonally advised in the \ncompilation of the different chapters. The following contains \nexcerpts from different trance lectures, which began to come \nthru ten years ago. \n\nIt has been said by many that no man has returned \nfrom the silent tomb to tell of the wondrous journey, \nbut today there are few who have not felt or known \nsomething of those who have passed from the flesh \nbody. No longer can men say, ''Dead men tell no \ntales, '^ because men who have investigated know \nthat man^s secrets are not buried in the grave; men \nare returning from the grave to say, ''Dead men do \nlive.\" \n\nMan has come into that state of unf oldment where \nit is possible for him to dare to reach into that mys- \nterious part of life; he has come to that stage of \nmental development and spiritual unf oldment where \nit is possible for him to pierce the veil twixt him and \nGod's stupendous seat\u2014 death. \n\u2022 Now that spirit return is no longer questioned by \nthinking men and women, it is time that one begins \nto use this knowledge and aspire to greater things \nthru the light of spirit. \n\nThds wondrous law of Nature should not he abused \nby ignorant minds. \n\n\n\nl^ \n\n\n\n20 FOBBWOBD \n\nThe law of spirit communion has been terribly \nabused by illiterate minds, immoral and material \nminds\u2014 minds which are sensitive but which at-^ \ntempt to investigate this sacred law without first \npurifying their souls and making themselves worthy \nof communicating with an angel. So they have come \nin contact with spirits who have not progressed, and \nwho will advise them how to spend their money \u2014 \ntell a man to divorce his wife, etc. \n\nTrue, there are spirits who will do this, but not \npure, spiritual spirits. But thru all of this the true \nlight is penetrating the souls of men. Spirit cona- \nmunion does not degrade a man nor bring him down \nto a lower plane, as a great many people think. \n\nThe spirit is the God part of man, and if his life \nis pure, no other soul can ever bring him into dark- \nness, unless that spirit comes to him into his^ own \naura and thru his own vibration. \n\nSpirit return is a beautiful thing; one of God's \nglorious privileges, given to man in his spiritual \ngrowth; so in your communion with your loved \nones gone before, meet them in spiritual thought, \nlet them help you find your weaknesses and over- \ncome your faults; help you into the higher things, \nbut please do not draw the souls of the departed \ndown to the coarse material things. \n\nOh, friends, do not invite your loved ones into \nthe thought in which many of you live and think all \nof the time; forget the physical, do not drag them \nback into the problems of your daily material life\u2014 \nno\u2014 but ascend spiritually to them and you will feel \nthe clasp of their hands and the kiss of their lips \nand the song of their souls. CSothe yourself in \n\n\n\n^ \n\n\n\nPOEBWOBD 21 \n\ntruth, indestructible truth, and you will find the \npower within you to think good, to act good, to seem \ngood, and to he good. \n\nSo- let us clasp your hands in the spirit of good \nfellowship and start upon the journey, upon the \nhighway of investigation, searching for your loved \nones in spirit with all the love possible in the illum- \nination of the soul. \n\nLet Truth be your watchword; harmony your \nkey; love and charity your stepping stones; and \nmorality your staff\u2014 and behold, the great light \noverspreading which is incomprehensible to the \nphysical mind \u2014 Infinite Love, Universal Harmony, \nAbsolute Wisdom. \n\nSo many do not always realize that the experience \ncalled death does not make a man all wise, nor does \nit make him a perfect soul. \n\nThe experience of death is not a purification. \nThe individual who manifested to you thru that \nflesh body which you laid away is just the same in- \ndividual tomorrow in the new life. If he was truth- \nful in the flesh, so will he be when he steps into his \nastral body, and if he was not truthful in the flesh, \ndeath has not chang^ his characteristics nor made \nof him a more perfect man than he was the day he \nleft that body; he must start upon the journey of \nprogression just where he was when he left that \nphysical body. \n\nNo one desires more than I to have all men know \nthat their dead can return and speak; that they are \nnot gone forever; that they are near you, but it \ngrieves me deeply to see so many plunging into the \ndangerous field of investigation with absolutely t^lc^ \n\n\n\n22 FOBBWOBD \n\nknowledge along the line of spirit communion and \ncontinuity of life. Again and again have I made \nthis statement, prepare yourself first before yon \ndelve into the communion of spirits. Learn some- \nthing of the laws which govern this because pro- \nmiscuous sitting with strangers, of whose lives yon \nknow nothing, promiscuous silting with men whose \nlives you would not dare to touch upon is a very \ndangerous thing to do. \n\nIt is important that you prepare yourself and that \nyou know whom you are calling into your home, for \nthe home of the soul is ever about you and it is very \nhard to get rid of a guest invited into the home \nof the soul. They will stay with you; not the spoken \nwords passing from your lips will send them away; \nvou must learn how to communicate thru the said \nand build about yourself strong protective forces, \nwhich can be accomplished by spiritual developnaent \nand unfoldment. Spiritualize your highway of com- \n'munication in a prayerful way. \n\nDo you know that walking with you daily there \nreally are souls out of the flesh who are of the same \nquality that you are? If your thoughts are selfish, \ndo you believe that you will attract unselfishness t \nIf you are spiteful and full of hate, do you think \nthat you will attract love? All about you they are \njust like you, some holding one of your predominat- \ning qualities and some another, but your own char- \nacteristics govern the characteristics and qualities \nof the souls who are about you, and if you sit down \nfor communication, why, how do you expect to re- \nceive messages from spiritual souls when all about '^ \nyou are those of a lower expression? \n\n\n\n1 \n\n\n\nFOBEWOBD 23 \n\nSo let me tell you, friends, as you are starting \nupon the beautiful journey along the highway of \nspirit investigation, searching for souls gone be- \nfore, prepare for your journey, purify your \nthoughts; make yourselves worthy of communica- \ntion from exalted souls that this may not only lift \nyou spiritually but that you may aid the souls of \nthose you love and who have gone on a little way \nahead of you and are attracted to you thru the love \nline. \n\nSpirit communion today is very much misinter- \npreted, misunderstood. Men have not been able to \nseparate mind reading and spirit communication; \nthey have been unable to separate the various meth- \nods of communication ; or to know enough of the hid- \nden laws of God to investigate intelligently that \nthey may know the things they are doing when they \ndare to investigate along the hidden laws of life and \nthe great laws of Nature. The thing that man must \nfirst learn is how to separate these different vibra- \ntions. He must learn how to investigate the laws \nof life intelligently and not go forth blindly and \nignorantly, thus being caught in the great net of \n(man calls it) obsession \u2014 the disease prophesied \nhere upon this platform some time ago, that dread \ndisease which would eventually come upon the earth \nplane and which would cause much insanity, unex- \nplainable, undiagnosed by mortal mind of man in \nthe flesh. But it will be governed and controlled \nand overcome only thru the spirit and the manifes- \ntation of spirit thru the proper manipulation of the \nlaws of communication, and by the proper reception \nof the spirit teachings. \n\n\n\nf \n\n\n\n24 FOBEWOBD \n\nAs man reaches out blindly into the hidden world \nthere is also danger of his being obsessed by in- \nferior intelligences whose bodies are gone, and be- \ncause of the great destructive condition which came \nupon the earth plane, souls have been taken out of \ntheir physical bodies before their earth expression \nwas completed. Souls were cast into that new life \nwith feelings of hate and murder in their hearts and \nthey will hold those thoughts for a time until they \nhave been touched by the light of spirit. \n\n\n\ni \n\n\n\nToday, in spite of all the fear thoughts, the \nprejudice, and the ignorance\u2014 in spite of all these \u2014 \nmen in every walk of life are individually searching \nfar light, for knowledge of life after death. The \nrapping between the two worlds has caught their at- \ntention ; the individual no longer lives and thinks in \ngroups the thoughts which other men have created, \nbut he is utilizing the will power and thought force \nwithin him and reaching up in his search. No longer \nis man standing still, for every individual is real- \nizing that he is a thinking power ; he has within him \nthe power to think. Why has man been imbued by \nhis creator with the power to think, if it were not \nwell for him to use that power .for goodT \n\nThe minds of men are hungering for knowledge \nalong the line of spiritual things, but because in \nearlier ages when they dared to penetrate the walls \nof mystery, the edicts held out '^forbidden** and the \nworld stopped there, so far as that investigation \nwas concerned. But today, when once again the \nminds of men in greater numbers and stronger \nquality are daring to ask the same question, the call \n\n\n\nI \n\n\n\n^ \n\n\n\nFOBEWOBD 25 \n\nthat comes out ^^forbidden,\" is unheard\u2014 it is heard \nonly by those who fear. The man who fears today \nis tiie one who is being left behind in the great prog- \nress of the world of thought. ~ The man who fears is \nthe one who will let any other mind tell him that \nanything is right or wrong. Why should he lean \nupon any other mind when he is endowed with the \nsame power to think and to xreasonf The same \npower is within him as is within any other individ- \nual; the same God is his God, the Gtod of the great \nuniverse, the same great mind that governs the lay- \nman governs the ecclesiast; the same great mind \nthat governs the laborer governs the great man in \nthe material world; tiie same God of the universe \ngoverns all things. And yet these minds will say to \ntheir fellow-men, do not do this and do not do that\u2014 \nand the very same minds that tell them this know \nnothing of the things they have forbidden their fel- \nlow-men to investigate. \n\nDo not lean upon the thought of this one or that \none, do not follow the commands of a murderous \nmind; follow the commands of a great mind which \nsays truth may fall, but truth shall ever rise; fol- \nlow the dictates of your own conscience, for man \ncan never get away from himself thru all the ages. \nThru all the ages you will continue to be TOU. This \nis not theory\u2014 -it is the word which has come from \nthe souls across the sea called death; it is the mes- \nsage of safety .which has been conveyed to man \nfrom the silent shore. ^ \n\nMan in his eagerness to know, to hear from \nwhence he came, sought to find the inner composition \nof things. Beginning in the lower elements it was \n\n\n\nJ \n\n\n\n{.\u25a0\u25a0 \n\n\n\n26 FOBBWOBD \n\nall right with the mind who dared to dominate, but \nwhen the investigative minds of thinking men be- \ngan to penetrate the things which they call mys- \nterious, things which they call secrets, which ought \nnot be known by the minds of men in the flesh, then \nthey were forbidden to continue ; and so it has been \nin all ages. Today the door again swings open and \nthe minds of men are becoming quickened once again \nand they are responding to a something which calls \nthem to investigate. And again we hear it very dis- \ntinctly sounding out thru the universe from minds \nincarnate, ''Do not investigate; it is evil \u2014 it is evU/' \n\nFor man to know himself\u2014 it is evil? For man \nto seek a higher light\u2014 it is evil? To know why he \nhe is and into what and where he will go\u2014 it is evil? \nIs iff \n\nDo you think the mind of any thinking man would \npermit him to believe that God, who is ALL GOOD ; \nGod, who is all Justice; God who is all love; God, \nwho is all mercy ; god, who is all compassion ; God, \nwho hath a clear understanding, the perfect under- \nstanding, would forbid man after having endowed \nhim with the power to think, forbid his using thos^ \npowers to know more of himself ; more of life ; more \nof what he is and what he is to be; more of the \nthings of the earth ; the planet upon which he will \nmanifest; more of the plane upon which he will \nmanifest after passing from this? Do youf Does \nany reasoning individual who can and does think, \nbelieve this? \n\nBut the minds of the men who dared to send out \nthe order in the past ages that the study of the great \nlaws of life by the laymen must not continue, are \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\nFORBWOBD 27 \n\n\u25a0 \n\ntoday striving to do the same thing. Can it be ac- \ncomplished f \n\nIn speaking of this great knowledge of spirit \ncommnnion, they say as they argue against man 's \nindividual investigation that the air is full of de- \nmons who were cast out from the heavens thousands \nof years ago \u2014 ^but thinking men cannot accept this \nbecause science has proved the fact that man has \nreturned and proved his identity ; and of the demons \nthere is no absolute proof,\" merely theory. But \nthousands of people accept this argument. Whyt \nBecause the masses have been taught to lean upon \nthe teachings of some few thinkers, to lean upon \nsome one else's theory; they have depended upon \nsome one to save them. But today men are in- \ndividually awakening, they are learning how to cul- \ntivate the inner powers; learning how to find the \nkingdom of heaven which is within them. Men who \nnever studied until the last year or two are begin- \nning to study; something makes them wknt to know \nand so they delve into the interior of things\u2014 it is a \npart of the great law of evolution. \n\nThe walls have been broken down. There is \nnaught between you and that realm beyond but just \na little bridge. You have stood at the bridge and \nfeared the way ; and now as your loved ones call to \nyou from just across the bridge, they are so happy \nand so natural, they still love and speak in the same \nold way, but they love you with a deeper love, a \nstronger love, and they speak to you out of the very \ndepths of their souls ; and the words they speak to \nyon hold a great lesson. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n28 FOBBWOBD \n\nAll things have been abnsed by man, as in our \nmodem time the law of communication, has it not \nbeen abnsed f Has it not been bitterly abnsed f Has \nit not been trifled witht Have not men in their \neagerness to delve into the nnseen been catight in \nthe great web of insanity? Yes, bnt let me tell you, \ndo not forbid him or her to investigate because it is \nevil\u2014 suggesting to them, for they will go eventually \nto search for loved ones. Do not suggest to them \nthat it is evil for they may go in a sneaking way or \nfilled with deception or shame or things filled with \nearthy thoughts. Let them go in a spiritual way to \nprotect humanity. Oh, do not say it is evil, and \nforbid them. As soon as you know it is true and \nyou know it is good then teach them how to com- \nmunicate, teach them something of the dangers and \nsomething of the blessings of communion with \nspirit; teach them how to communicate with the \ndead, so to speak. Teach them that they may not \nopen the door continually to receive their guests \nfrom the spirit side; teach them when to open the \ndoor in spiritual thought and prayerful aspiration \nto receive their guests from the world beyond. \n\nMen in their blindness and in their eagerness will \ninvestigate even when other minds suggest to them \nthat it is evil; they will continue to investigate \u2014 \nsome just to satisfy their curiosity; and it is going \nto break up the great monopoly of churches, of sects \nand denominations ; it is going to bring men together \n\u2014 the Jew and the Gentile, the Indian and China- \nman, all races; yes, and it is going to bring the \nchurches together. \n\nThe ecclesiasts in their foresight see what will \n\n\n\n^ \n\n\n\nFOBEWOBD 29 \n\nultimately come about and they are striving to hold \nback the minds of men \u2014 ^it will be some struggle\u2014 \nbut, aye, the time has come and the age has come \nwhen the masses are mentally fit to reach out into \nthe hidden laws of life. Today, when every mind \nis asking something of the life beyond the grave, \n^when everywhere thinkers are talking pro and con, \nwe feel that it is the duty of those who can to come \nto man and tell him something of the great law \nwhich governs spirit conununion. *Tis well to tell \nmankind to search ; 'tis well to tell him the dead, \nso-called, can return, but 'tis better to prepare him, \nto teach him how to investigate and to communicate \nwith those who have experienced death \u2014 to teach \nhim how to find his loved ones gone before. \n\nIt is because of the ignorance of the laws of nature \nthat man meets with all misfortunes. In the inves- \ntigation of any great power of the universe, unless \none understands something of its law, it is danger- \nous to do this. Oh, dear brothers and sisters, if you \nonly knew what you are doing when you sit in jest \nfor spirit communion; when you take your ouija \nboard before you in jest, in fun, in laughter\u2014 just \nto amuse you. Oh, do you not realize that that law \nwhich, opens the gates between, that law which \nbrings back to you those who have passed on is too \nsacred for you to use simply for your amusement \nand for material gain. If those who do this could \nonly realize, if they could see thru the eye of spirit \nthe things they are doing, they wovld never do it \n\nThere are two distinct forces in the great law of \nnature in the universe, one is constructive, the other \ndestructive. So 'tis well that those who can come \n\n\n\n30 FOBEWOBD \n\nin touch with men in the physical expression to teach \nthem something of this great law, to show them thru \nspiritual thought what it really is. What is the \nspiritual vision T It is that which reveals to man the \nhidden things of life \u2014 ^why, it is understanding. And \nso when you penetrate the walls between in ignor- \nance, when you do it blindly, what can you expectf \n\nSo in your investigation as to whether or not .we \nare all being fooled, and whether or not the atmos- \nphere is full of demons whom this great, just, holy, \npure and infinite God has let come back to deceive \nhis children \u2014would a God of love do thist Oh, no, \nbrothers and sisters, it is because they are spirit- \nually blind that they have allowed this theory, these \nstories to take root in the undeveloped mind and to \nstand between them and God. No just and perfect \nGod would say to any undeveloped forces, * ' Go and \ndeceive my children and see whether or not they \nwill go to you or come to me \u2014 ^and if they go to you, \nI will crush them/' Oh, no, this is not God \u2014 it is \nonly the conception of God in the unenlightened \nminds of men. \n\nMan, know thyself, and in knowing thyself thou \nwilt find thy God. Find the God which loves every \none of his children, which lets the little worm live, \nthe little birds to sing to you, the God which sends \nyou the beautiful expressibn of nature in the spring \ntime, the beautiful snow to cover the earth in the \nproper season\u2014 the great God of love which has \nconsideration for all mankind. \n\nNow, those who have embraced the beautiful \nthought of spirit return and spirit communion\u2014 do \nyou know that they have the eyes of the world turned \n\n\n\n\n\n\nFOBBWOBD 31 \n\nupon them today t So it is for you to live the life that \nwill compel them to look up to you ; that will make \nthem see the great good that communication with the \nworld of spirit has brought into your lives and \nbrought out thru your lives into otiiers. 'Tis not \nwhat you say so much as it is what you do, and more \nthan anything it is what you think, the thoughts you \nentertain, for as a man thinketh, so is he. 'Tis ^ue \nthat negative thoughts float thru your brain, \nunwelcome guests, they will pass thru, but the \nthoughts which are entertained in your soul 's home \nas your guests, see that they are such as you would \nlike to have your friends know and see, because \nevery thought becomes eventually more than a \nthought \u2014 so guard your thoughts. \n\nSome will hold that it is wrong to commune with \nthose who have passed on, but I defy any man to \nsay this when spirit communion is sought for the \nspiritual growth of his soul thru love\u2014not thru \nselfishness, not thru inquisitiveness or eagerness to \nreach out for material things. When it is sought \nthru love for him who has left your physical vision, \ncan any one say it is wrong T Can you say your \nloved ones would return upon such a thought wave \nas that? Is not love a God quality? Can any man \nwho seeks spirit communion thru pure spiritual self- \nsacrificing love feel that it retards his progression \nwhen he seeks in that vibration? \n\nIt wiU not retard the progression of any soul who \nseeks in spirittial aspiration. \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\nPURPOSE OF THE BOOK \n\nWe desire to lift spirit return and spirit com- \nmunion to that high standard to which it belongs; \nto bring the reader into a realization of spirit re- \nturn whilst still in the flesh body; to show man the \ndangers of investigating spirit return before he fully \nxmderstands the laws which govern this; to show \nhim how to reach into the higher realms and to pro- \ntect himself from the spirits who are undeveloped \u2014 \nthose who live very close to the earthy thoughts ; to \ninstruct the people of the earth how to find their \nloved ones who have gone before ; how to create a \nchannel of purity and truth thru which those in \nspirit can come to man in the physical expression; \nto prove to man conclusively that spirit communion \nis possible and to show him the diflference between \nconstructive mediumship and destructive medium- \nship. \n\nWe will not attempt to explain all the diflferent \nmethods and phases of mediumship \u2014 there are vari- \nous avenues for communication, all of which can be \nused beneficially if the investigators first learn the \nlaws which govern these and know how to protect \n.themselves from the lower minds who have not yet \nawakened spiritually. Spirit communion is very \nmuch abused by man reaching out into the unseen \nworld without first preparing himself for the jour- \nney. \n\nGod never intended that this beautiful law should \n\n\n\n34 PURPOSE OF THE BOOK \n\nbe used for man's material and sellBish desires. The \nreason that this sacred law of the GREAT CAUSE \nOF ALL THINGS GOOD has been kept hidden so \nlong is because man has abused it, ignorantly per- \nhaps, but it has not been used for man 's spiritual un- \nfoldment, but for his material and earthly gains. \n\nFirst, it was needful to prove to the world that \nanother life there was, and then it was needful to \ncomfort the bereaved and to give the knowledge of \nwhat shall confront the traveler of the earth to that \nmysterious country. So we have opened the doors \nthat there might be poured over you a greater un- \nderstanding: that understanding which gives you \npeace; but the world has mistaken the spirit door, \nand they have knocked upon these doors for selfish \npurposes, and thought that all there was to learn \nfrom that other side was to see, to test, to try, to \nfind out that the consciousness of man beyond the \nvale of death could still define {questions pertaining \nto earth and earthly problems \u2014 but that is not our \nmessage to you. \n\nWe desire to give you a knowledge of eternal pro- \ngression. There are many master minds in spirit \nwho are preparing to speak to the children of the \nearth within the next year ; to bring a greater light, \nand great shall be the demonstration of-the spirit, \nand the time shall come when mortal eye shall see \u2014 \nfor this we are planning. \n\nNow that the great awakening has come, because \nman 's mind is developing to that state where he can \nreceive spiritual things, he has dared to plunge into \nthe darkness into the other world and talk and walk \nwith spirits of whom he has known nothing. Some \n\n\n\nPURPOSE OF THE BOOK 35 \n\nof the spirits have not awakened as yet\u2014 souls \nsteeped in sin in their earth life^ and they are still \nin it; the desires of the flesh have not gone; de- \nsires to wrong have not left them\u2014 and man invites \nsouls of this caliber into his presence. When he \ndoes this, he sins not only against himself, but \nagainst man. Do not do this until you have the \npower to aid discamate souls who return and ask \nfor aid. There are many souls out of the flesh, as \nwell as in the flesh, who will step into the homes of \nthose who are constantly inviting spirits to them. \n\nBecause of man's ignorance of the laws of spirit \ncommunion, he does not know how to investigate; \nso he investigates in a material sense and finds \nfraud, finds wrong. He opens the door for mani- \nfestation, holding the pencil and getting writing and \nhe becomes so fascinated that he is at it constantly, \ncalling in any tramp soul who happens to be go- \ning by. \n\nIf you wish to draw frona the lower realms; if \nyou wish to invite destructive spirits into your \nmidst, you can do it by simply speaking and calling \nthem and inviting them thru concentrated thought \non physical and material matter, holding no spirit- \nual thought ; if you sit thus, you will invite just that \nkind. Thoughts are things; and if \"you are putting \nthings around you all the time which are impure and \nunholy then when you talk or attempt to talk to the \nspirit world about you, the things about you will \ncall their like to you. You may scoff at this expres- \nsion, you may laugh, but it is true, nevertheless. \nThey have laughed at many things which are true\u2014 \nthis is one of them. If you build about you and have \n\n\n\n36 PUBP08B OF THB BOOK \n\nall about you pure, holy thoughts, and you sit for \ncommunion with spirits, why they invite their like. \n\nTrue, spiritual love never dies, but grows and \ngrows as your loved ones see you and know you as \nyou are. They know why you are weak ; they know \nwhy you sin ; they love you so. And wh6ther your \nthoughts be coarse or fine, your loved ones will \ncome to you\u2014 but would you invite them thru the \ncoarser realm of thought, impure conditions, if you \nknew it? Then know it \u2014 ^when you do invite them \nby that suggestion of falsehood, of anything but \nspiritual and good, you are causing them to reduce \nto a very low de^ee, not making them evil, but \nmaking it possible for them to be stained during the \ntime of their manifestation to you by the impurities \naround them. If they reflect to you in th^ midst of \ntheir sweet message of love a falsehood, close the \nrealm ; look to your lives ; what is that they picked \nup as they penetrated your thought realm 1 \n\nSo in your search for your loved ones, search in \nthe name of God, in the holy spirit of righteousness \nand truth. Too many souls have found the lower \nrealms because they knew not what they did; knew \nnot how to search. So cultivate in your investiga- \ntion a prayerful thought. To receive good you must \nsend out good ; and to receive evil, send forth evil. \n\nSo, hewaref If the good return, so can the evil. \n\nNow, another thing in which spiritualists and men \nwho call themselves investigators are blind and \nignorant of the laws is when they will sit for de- \nvelopment, as they call it, and when some spirit \ncomes and shakes up the body arid causes them to \nmake faces, they are bringing themselves down to a \n\n\n\n\u2022^ \n\n\n\nFUBPOSB OF THB BOOK 37 \n\nlower vibration than that in which they are. In al- \nlowing intelligences who are inferior to themselves \nto control their organs, they are dealing with de- \nstructive forces; but those who seek spirit com- \nmunion thru spiritual thought\" in spiritual aspira- \ntion, create a channel of communion thru spiritual \nthought and come in touch with the higher realms \nwhich are composed of constructive forces. \n\nIt is a fact that many people desire to develop \nmediumship immediately upon being convinced that \nspirit return is possible\u2014 but mankind must be more \nenlightened upon this subject; mankind must not \ndelve into such things so ignorantly, so absolutely \ninnocent ; for there is a price and you may be called \nupon to pay that price; a price which may mean \nsorrow to you. Many times you will have to sacri- \nfice all that which is nearest and dearest to you in \nthe mortal world. Are you willing to make that \nsacrifice? If not, why do you send forth that desire \nto be a medium? \n\nDo you know that a rapid development of med- \niumship is but a surface mediumship or psychology \nmediumship, and not a spiritual mediumship? Be- \ncause the outer vibrations of your consciousness can \npenetrate the outer vibrations of another man's \nconsciousness and bear this knowledge to you that \nyou are able to express it to another, and he under- \nstands then that you know something of him and \ncan tell something of his thoughts, about the condi- \ntions in his home, his desires, etc., this is no proof of \nspirit return. Perhaps you can tell him the names of \nhis friends, but this is not the spiritual mediumship \nthat the higher teachers in spirit wish to develop in \n\n\n\n38 PURPOSS OF THE BOOK \n\nmankind today; this is the objective or outer \nmediumship, and it is not constructive. \n\nNow, what the teachers from the higher realms \nwish to bring forth from within you and out of \nyou is to perfect and bring forth that spiritual part \nof you which is in direct line with the GREAT \nCAUSE\u2014 the great white light\u2014 knowledge, perfec- \ntion, divinity, GOD. This is within you, but it takes \ntime to bring it forth according to the necessity of \nyour material thought, which may in the course \nof your mortal life confront you ; but eventually it \nshall be brought forth, and then from this great \nfountain of knowledge you can draw freely, and tell \nit to mankind that they may be guided in the true \nsense. \n\nOh, what a pity to waste your force in telling a \nman the number in his family \u2014 ^what benefit is it \nto tell him the position he holds in the material \nworld. That which we are trying to bring forth \nwithin you is subjective mediumship; that which \nwill awaken man spiritually ; that which will illumi- \nnate the God spark within his soul. Do not desire \nthe outer, or objective, which is a destructive force, \nbut strive for the inner, the spiritual mediumship, \nthe subjective which is constructive. The outer will \nin time be detrimental so that it will tend to drag \nyou down or it will tend to give that which is untrue ; \nso develop the spiritual part of yourselves and then \nbrothers and sisters, you will see the great white \nlights surrounding you; you will find the fountain \nof truth and the kingdom of heaven which lies within \nyou. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nPUBP08E OF THE BOOK 39 \n\nAs the great realization permeates all parts of \nthe globe today that the dead have returned to say \nthey are not dead, that they still live and can touch \nman in the flesh ; that the dead have spoken words ; \nthat they have come from the land beyond, now the \neflForts of man to reach his loved ones are clothed in \nmaterial thought. He steps as it were out of his \neveryday life and stands upon the brink which is \nso close to the great and deep abyss; (you do not \nsee it, but I see it) and then he calls into the world \nunseen by him, and the mesage comes back, and he \ncalls again and the message comes back, and in his \neagerness to come closer he falls into the pitfall; \nand then when he has risen out of it, he turns from \nspirit communion. The fault is in him \u2014 ^it is he who \nis at fault. \n\nNow, promiscuous sitting and opening of the door \nto communication blindly and ignorantly is bound \nto bring harmful results. We will speak of one \nmethod of communication, automatic writing, for \ninstance. A man going into a seance room gets in \ntouch with some individual whom he knew in this \nlife and perhaps he will say, **What can I do to \nhear from you at home?\" And the advice comes \nback, **Hold a pencil. *' So this individual having \nno thought of how to protect himself from mis- \nchievous spirits desiring to manifest, starts with a \npencil in his hand, invited manifestation, not clothing \nhimself, so to speak, and his environment with \nspiritual thoughts and in prayerful aspiration, but \nhe merely sits eagerly watching that pencil and \ncalling for manifestation \u2014and after a time he re- \nceives a written message ; a beautiful writing signed \n\n\n\n40 PUBPOBS OF THB BOOK \n\nby one whom he knew. Now, after he had accom- \nplished this, and the message having proven the \nidentity of the sender, if he would close the door \nfor a time, say several days, then again open the \ndoor in prayerful, soulful thought to receive a mes-^ \nsage, all would be well. But instead of this method \nof procedure the man in his eagerness to get more \nand more, and in his blindness sits again and again \nuntil the thought is almost an obsession, inviting \nany soul that will write for him; and he will ex- \nultantly exclaim to his friends, **0h, I am getting \nwriting**\u2014 then finally he gets messages that are \nnot good or true, and he begins to see that he is \nbeing misled. \n\nWhen he finds that he has received messages from \nundesirable spirits, he attempts to shake them oflf \nimmediately, but he cannot do it. It requires a great \neffort, a power of mind cultivated to a high degree \nto accomplish this. \n\nSo let me drop this little word along the way. Do \ntake a pencil, but sanctify your surroundings for \nspiritual communion; open the doorway into a \nhigher realm of thought. You would not desire to \nhave spirits come to you from a lower realm of \nthought, from a lower plane of life than that in \nwhich you are walking\u2014 not one of you. So con- \nsider the dangers you face in opening the door of \ncommunion too often to invite unwarily any who \nmay be passing by. Sit for development with the \npencil in the sanctified spiritual realm of thought \nbuilt about you in spiritual aspiration and ask within \nthe consciousness of you\u2014 not the word-spoken pray- \ners, not the lip prayers, but the deep soul prayer \n\n\n\nPUBP06B OF THB BOOK 41 \n\nwhich asks for naught but that whidi is good and \nuplifting. \n\nOpen the doorway of conmiiinication in light that \nyou may receive communication that will aid many \nto be better men and women ; and then sit for only \na few minutes\u2014 do not overdo it. If you sit for \nfive or ten minutes for communication and do not \nreceive any, do not sit and wait untU you do, but \nclose the door again in prayer and say, ** Friends, \nif you are here, God bless you, I will meet you again \nat such a time** \u2014 and then meet them again in that \nsame prayerful thought. \n\n\n\nThe greatest power manifesting upon the earth \nplane today is the power of the human mind. There \nis a power within each and every one of you to \ncreate a channel of communication. You can get in \ntouch with a realm of spirit whichj 'will be de- \nstructive to you, or you can come in touch with the \nhigher realms which will be constructive to the soul \nof you. \n\nThen there is a great danger\u2014 I wish to impress \nthis deeply upon you\u2014 in the instrument which man \nfrequently takes first as a means of amusement, the \nouija board. This is one means of communication, \nit is true, but man does just the same with this \ninstrument as he does with the pencil \u2014 opens the \ndoor of communication continuously inviting promis- \ncuous souls who may be passing along. \n\nThe fact that the spirit can and does communicate \nand that the minds of men can come in touch with \nindividuals out of the flesh is all the more reason \nthat the man who has gained this knowledge, or who \n\n\n\n42 PUBP06E OF THE BOOK \n\nis searching for it, should know the necessity of \nfirst preparing himself or educating himself for \nspirit communion. \n\nYou would not go from here to your northern \ncountries where it is bitter cold, leaving here in the \nhottest days without preparing for tiie journey ; but \nblindly you delve into the secrets of another life \nand expect them to always come to you with good \nand true messages. \n\nIf there is nothing about one that will attract \ngood, if one is searching for falsehood or untruth, \nif the strongest thought about that one is untruth, \nthat is just what he will attract to him. Untruth i& \nnegative \u2014 a negative thought, and it will draw the \nthings which are destructive; it is a destructive \nthought; there is nothing positive about it and it \nis a destructive quality of thought that it builds. \n\nIf you are searching for truth, you may not find \nit at first, you may see manifested all about you \nuntruth for a time, but it will not touch you, it will \nnot hurt you because you have builded about you a \nquality of truth, the positive quality of thought \nwhich can be created within the consciousness of \nman and protect him from the destructive forces- \nwhich may come to him in his investigation. \n\nMen do not understand the laws of vibration as \nyet, but the eyes of the world are opening and men \nare coming into the realization of things which they \nnever dreamed of. The reality of life is sinking into \nthe consciousness of minds who are in the physical \nbody today. Men search for messages from those \nwho have entered spirit life in truth, in spiritual \nthought, and not as in the olden time when they \n\n\n\nd \n\n\n\nPUBP08E OF THE BOOK 43 \n\nsought it to have their fortunes told. Think of \nthis. Think of dragging disembodied souls down \nthrough all the density of all the earth conditions \njust to have your fortune told; to tell you of your \nold physical expression; if you should sell your \nhouse ; to help you injure your neighbor's prospects ; \nto tell you how to get rid of some one you do not \nlike \u2014 think of it \u2014 ^why, it is a crime. \n. The man who dares ta use this beautiful law of \nspirit conununion for such purposes is a mental \ncriminal\u2014 for it is a crime. Spirit return is one of \nGk)d*s doorways through which man can find his \nsoul, his spiritual powers, then would you drag this \ndown to the coarse vibration of the earthly things 1 \n\nIf you think of visiting the seance room for the \npmpose of bettering your material condition at \ntJhe expense of your neighbor, stay at home\u2014^^ay \nat home\u2014 witil you can know that spirit is of God \nand that man is of God's creation, and the spirit \nwho has left the physical body has gone into a \npurer and higher vibration, a higher conception of \nthings. Do not invite your loved ones into that dense \nvibration, but build a spiritual home that you can \nreach them\u2014 I do not mean a home builded of lum- \nber, but a spiritual thought house into which you \ncan go into meditation and touch the spirit world. \nYou need not go to a public seance room, but go \ninto the silence of your own room ; build your little \nthought house of spiritual aspiration, of service, of \nlove. \n\nBut, do not think you can go into silent prayer \nperhaps today and build^ a beautiful thought house \nthen tomorrow go forth and injure your neighbor \n\nV \n\n\n\n44 PUBP06B OF THB BOOK \n\nor start or create some condition about him whidb \nwill make him unhappy, then when you go back to- \nmorrow night to your little thought house, do not \nexpect to find it there, for it has crumbled back to \nearth. But if you had truthfully spoken to your \nneighbor and had been sincere in all your dealings, \nyou would still have your beautiful thought house ; \nyou would find that it was not all thought, but also \ndeeds and service. \n\nThen go into that holy sanctuary of spirit and \nyour loved ones will come and speak to you and \nyou will feel their presence. Do not abuse this \nholy, this sacred law of spirit communion, and then \nyou will know more of the condition into which mian \nsteps at death. Build your spiritual thought house \nnow and when you leave that body and step into \nthat house directly you will know and directly you \nwill see all things are possible to the human nodnd \nthrough spirit, and man is indeed a reflection of the \ngreat Godhead. So make your physical temple \nworthy of being a part of the Great Cause of all \nthings; make yourself worthy of being a reflection \nof the Godhead\u2014 make your physical temple worthy \nof its tenant. \n\nMediumShip today is very much abused, very \nmuch misrepresented; is very much in demand by \nthose who have no desire for anything but knowledge \nof how to better their material conditions. But \nwhen man realizes what mediumship, true, spiritual \nmediumship really is, he will enter the chamber of \nconmiunication with a feeling of holiness. He will \nnot go there with the hope to find a fakir, because \n\n\n\nPUSPOSB OF THB BOOK 45 \n\nhe -wilLknow that if it is a fakir he is searching for, \nhe will find it. \n\nIf you desire to develop your powers of medium- \nship, do be careful about all those who are assembled \nin the circle with you, for as you are joined together \nin thought of development there may be some among \nyou who would deceive, and if this be true, you \nsurely will draw deceptive forces about you\u2014like \nattracts like \u2014 the world beyond the grave is full of \nspirits that you would not like to invite into your \nhome, your soul 's home. \n\nFirst, educate yourselves along the line of spirit- \nual thought, learn to know yourselves, learn to build \nthe glorious spiritual protective powers, and then to \nyou spiritual mediumship is bound to come ; because \nthrough the holy light of spirit all things are pos- \nsible ; and by reaching out through the spirit, build- \ning by service, by kind words and kind thoughts, \ntearing down selfish thoughts within you, by living \na true life in so far as you are able, you will find \nyou are able to lift and enable man to unfold spirit- \nually and to express God^s truth and light. \n\n15ie door is open into the realms of spirit. One \ndoes not have to leave the flesh body to live in a \nhigher sphere. There are those walking in the flesh \ntoday who are in higher realms of thought than some \nwho are out of the body. Disembodied spirits who \nare walking in the lower realms of thought cannot \ntouch you, cannot stand before you unless there is \nwithin yourself something of the same thought, \nsome desire in direct and harmonious tune with \nthem. \n\nAs man learns more of the wondrous law which \n\n\n\n46 PUBP06B OF THE B06K \n\ngoverns all things, he will know that there is walking \nabout him more that is invisible than of the tilings \nwhich he can see, that those which he cannot discern \nin his mortal thought are stronger about him than \nthose things which he can touch with his physical \nsense. \n\nPurify your thought world and your act world \nwill become purified by its illumination, then you \ncan see the glorious light of the over-ruling mind, \nthe God power which guides you into all truth. If \nyou deceive your fellow-men, expect to be deceived \nby the spirits who return to you ; if you are selfish, \nexpect the selfish spirit to come to you because when \nyou attempt to commune, you open the doors to the \nrealm of thought in which you are. \n\nThis is the thing which has hindered us, this is the \nthing which has helped to keep the glorious light \nof spirit return dimly lighted in your world. This \nis why so many greater minds forbid your investiga- \ntion of spirit return, because they realize that man \nhas walked in such paths of life that he may be \nmisled by undeveloped spirits. \n\nTherefore, our object in coming to you is that \nwe wish to have the door opened wide to the spiritual \nworld; that we come to tell you there is no death, \nbut first prepare yourself, make yourself worthy of \nthe message. Do not go into that sacred chamber \nof communion and when your loved ones come, say, \n''What about that investment? ^^ Or, **Is that you, \nmother? Well, say, what shall I do about the house? \nShould I sell it?*' Oh, do not drag that mother who \ncomes to you in the pure and holy light of spirit, \nwhose soul has been severed from all the physical \n\n\n\n\n\n\nPURPOSE OF THE BOOK 47 \n\nmemories for years, down to the lower and coarser \nexpression. It hurts, it grieves the soul who reduces \ndown through all the density of the earth plane to \ntell her child that she lives and that she still loves \nand still prays that her child will awaken to a \nrealization of spiritual things. \n\n\n\nOh, the glorious truth that lies within spirit com- \nmunion. Remember, friends, that gathering in little \ngroups to develop mediumship is not true spiritual \nunfoldment when you gather in to see what you can \nfind, and let some tramp spirit who happens along \n(whose vibration just fits yours) come in and \ncontrol you. Oh, it grieves us to see all these repre- \nsenting themselves as spiritual helpers and leaders. \nBrothers and sisters, if you intend to present true \nspiritual light to man, rise out of this. Make a \nspiritual leader of yourselves by unfolding the spirit \nwithin you, by reaching out not for the personal \nbenefits, but that you may come closer to spirit, and \nfeed the spirit with spiritual food. \n\nYou must prove to the world the truth of spirit \nreturn. Do not let material mongers come to you \nasking that you tell them of their past, of their \nfamily, etc. That does not prove that the spirit is \nthere. Build a spiritual, foundation of truth which \nwill prove the greatest thing the world has ever \nknown. The laws are so simple if you just hold \nthe truth about you. \n\nThere is another danger which man must learn to \navoid. A spirit returning will step into the vibration \nof an individual so closely that it can formulate \nwords to speak its thought. It is impressed upon \n\n\n\n48 PUBP06B OF THB BOOK \n\nthe brain of that individual just as sound is im- \npressed upon the brain through the ears and then \nhe knows he has heard the words, and as he utters \nthese words the minds of men who have never been \ntouched by the spirit feel a pity for him. They say \nthat his brain is deficient, and so they have homes \nwhere are many whom they call insane. The truth \nis that many of them have their brain cells weakened \nby the continual practice of different intelligences \nupon their brain cells, because so many are endeav- \noring to reach mankind with little spoken messages. \nThere are numberless spirits who are searching \nalong every possible avenue to reach mankind. \n\nA musical instrument which has been played on \nby one and another, abusing it until it is all out of \ntune\u2014 this is the way many sensitive brains are used \nby outer influences, which because of their lack of \nspiritual unfoldment have come in touch with the \nundeveloped minds who endeavor to use this in- \nstrument through curiosity. This law, so little \nunderstood by man, so very much abused and mis- \nused, as are a ^eat many other wondrous things, \nyou will find some day to be of great benefit to you. \nSpirit return is a beautiful realization ; it is one of \nGod^s open doorways of spiritual unfoldment, and \nyour loved ones come through that doorway to you; \nWould you lay in their way that which would spoil \ntheir happiness? Would you ask that they aid you \nin wrong doing and in tearing down good that you \nmight accumulate a little more of material things? \n\nThey return to aid you, to help you, to guide you, \nto awaken the spiritual part of yourselves, and not \nto make conditions which will enable you to get the \n\n\n\nPUBPOBB OF THB BOOK 49 \n\nbest of a material bargain. You are transgressing \nwhen you ask them to help you sell your house, or \nto eject from homes those whom you think are \ncausing unhappiness\u2014 you are doing wrong when \nyou do this. That is why spirit return has been \nheld down. It is unwise to reach into the world un- \nseen for commimication of a trivial nature. And \nuntil you have thoroughly gathered into your con- \nsciousness a clear understanding of the laws of com- \nmimication, and how to create that protective force \nand build the proper channel it is better to leave \nspirit communication alone. \n\nDo not build a condition which will grieve your \nloved ones who are close to you, loving, serving, \nguiding you, who are ministering angels bringing \ntidings of light \u2014 and through that illuminated light \nof God they come to you burning with love, en- \nthused with happiness, for they love you and they \nshall not leave you. \n\nHumanity needs various forms or expressions of \nhelp. There are some who can help in one form and \nothers in other forms. A great many people in \ncoming years will be seemingly suffering from in- \nsanity; but it will be merely through the weakness \nof their own mentality or thought that they will slip \naway because of the nearness of many undeveloped \nsouls. But this insaMty will be overcome by man^s \nknowledge created by spirit communion, because by \ngetting in touch with minds out of the flesh man can \nknow what is the trouble and remedy it. \n\nIn ignorance mankind opens the door to spirit \ncommunion in material and physical thought inviting \ninto their midst undeveloped souls before they are \n\n\n\n50 PURPOSE OF THB BOOK \n\nilluminated spiritually. Oh, friends, if you could \nsee the great harm in sitting and inviting intel- \nligences lower than yourselves, inviting minds not \nnearly so illuminated as you are into your body to \ncontrol the mind of you, you would not dare do it. \nNever permit a soul who ia unf oldment and develop- \nment is beneath yourself, to control your mind. \n\nKnow this: That it is true, as those who say it \nis, many souls come back masquerading \u2014 ^true, true \u2014 \nand many men in the flesh will masquerade. So if \nmen in the flesh will maslquerade, so also will un- \ndeveloped souls out of the flesh. \n\nBut there is a way to protect yourselves that you \nmay delve into the great life beyond the grave and \nderive great benefit therefrom. Let TRUTH be \nyour watchword in everything you do, and when you \ninvestigate the great law of spirit communion, clothe \nyourselves in truth, make the soul of you spiritual \nso that you will receive the spiritual things, that the \nsouls who are akin to you may come close to you. \nThat law of attraction is very evident, and you will \nbring them close to you when you sit alone for com- \nmunion; so open the way in solemn prayerful \nthought, and when you go to a public meeting to \ncommunicate with your friends who are gone, first \nstudy the life of the instrument through which your \nloved ones must come ; know something of what that \nsoul is because every soul that manifests to you \nthrough this instrument must come in very close \ntouch with the souls surrounding the soul of the \ninstrument who brings your messages to you. \n\nStudy the lives of the instruments who bring your \ncommunications to you. See the life they live every- \n\n\n\nPUBPOSB OP THE BOOK 51 \n\nday ; know whether or not yon wonld like yonr loved \nones to come into their vibration, whether or not \nvon wonld like to invite them close to this individual. \nStndy the lives of those with whom you sit for mani- \nfestation frequently. Be very careful ; beware, that \nthey do not open the door to spirit intelligences \nwhom yon wonld not desire to invite into your soul 's \nhome. \n\nYon wonld not invite into your home any tramp \nthat happened along\u2014 not one of you \u2014 ^unless you \nmight help him, and yon were strong enough to help \nhim before he destroyed you\u2014 you would not do it. \nAnd so until you are strong enough mentally and \nspiritually ta help those souls gone before, and know \nhow to build the protective forces about you, be \ncareful ; for insanity and obsession are many times \nbrought to the poor individual who starts upon the \nhighway of investigation blindly and ignorantly. \n\n\n\nWhen man first comes into the knowledge of spirit \nreturn, and it is ever so with man, he plunges madly \ninto it, enthused over this knowledge, it comes upon \nhim overwhelming him, and filling him with more \nand more desire to know what it really is; what \nwondrous power is back of it all, and he never stops \nto find first upon what realm he stands. He never \nstops to say, * * Now, am I spiritually fit to delve into \nthe hidden things of God?*' He very rarely finds \nhimself speaking in the silence to his own conscience \nand finding whether or not he truly loves all man- \nkind, asking himself whether he has cultivated to \na very high degree his hate power, or has he culti-. \nvated within him his love force. Has he learned to \n\n\n\n52 PUHPOBE OF THE BOOK \n\nsee through the eyes of spirit? Has he cultivated \nuniversal love ? If he will ask himself these questions \nand finds that he is deficient in the spiritual and \nconstructive part of himself, it is well that he goes \nwarily about his investigation. \n\nThe illuminated spirit returns to the earth plane \nand manifests \u2014 ^not to lead you through material \nexperiences\u2014 no, that is youi^ part, but to teach you \nhow to live and to illuminate the God spark within, \nto teach you how to love, how to serve your brother. \n\nIt is the purpose of the spirit to warn you against \nopening the door of spirit communion with all those \nthoughts of earth, with all those desires for riches, \nwith all those thoughts of selfishness, seeking from \nthe other world those things which through your \nselfishness you desire. True, the door is ever open \nto all beings and man is privileged to gather for \nhimself. If he first purifies himself that he may \ndraw from the higher realms of spirit he will find \nfood for his soul, and he is always hungry for more \nand more light of spirit, and the brighter and more \ncheery becomes his life because he sees spiritually\u2014 \nthe spirit can discern all things. \n\nYet there are those who would try to use the spirit \nto better their material conditions, who would go \ninto a seance room and ask the holy spirit for things \nthat are sinful, for things of the earth ; they would \neven ask the spirit to put a bar between man and \nwife, to break the ties of matrimony. Man would \nuse this glorious power of spirit communion to \ncreate discord\u2014 oh, what a mistake. \n\nKnow that just so high as you rise spiritually, \nfrom just such a high realm of thought can you \n\n\n\nPUBP06B OF THB BOOK 53 \n\ndraw the things that your soid needs. Tbe glorious^ \nor the belittling messages received through the open \ndoorway are the results of your own vibration. Even \nthose pure and beautiful spirits who love you must \ndescend through the density of the vibrations around \nthe earth plane^ and even their love messages are \ncolored by your sins. If you deceive your fellow- \nman^ and you receive your loved ones through those \nvibrations a message from one who has risen, who \nknows but that pure word which would tell you the \ntruth, would be so colored by your impure thought \nthat you woiild not recognize his voice. \n\nSo if you wish to receive the very best, make your- \nselves worthy ; build that condition around you that \nwill not discolor the brightest message ever sent out. \n\nNow that you know this, why not begin today to \nlive a pure life, to rise and reach out to the glorious \nand grand realities which are yours. Let us help \nyou ; let us show you the way. We have learned by \nbitter experiences those things which we are trying \nto teach you. Because when we dwelt upon the earth \nplane man in his ignorance and prejudice closed the \ndoor to that higher realm, but you are privileged \ntoday to open the doors wide to that unseen world \nand listen to the soft voice of the spirit. Therefore, \nwe hope that the door to the lower realms of spirit \nexpression, inhabited by those spirits disembodied \nwho have not yet risen, wUl be closed. This door can \nbe closed. Are you going to close it, or are you going \nto receive those tearing-down thoughts from the \nlower realms because they help you materially? Are \nyou going to waste the glorious gift of mediumship \n\n\n\n54 PUBPOBB OF THB BOOK \n\nby entertaining visitors from the lower realm of \nthought? \n\nWe come to tell you that the mere fact that some \ncan put their minds in tune with others is not a \nproof of spirit return. True, the spirit power is \nback of it, but who knows whether or not that spirit \nis out of the body! You are just as much a spirit \nnow as you will be when you have cast off the flesh. \nDo you think that because one can tell you where \nyou were bom, can tell you what you were thinking \nof when you left home, can tell you where you have \nlived, that this is a proof of spirit return t It is not. \nIt is a proof of spirit powers, but the spirit while \nin the flesh body can do these things. But why culti- \nvate these powers? They are not uplifting\u2014 then \nwhy do it? \n\nThe pure spirit returns to speak into your soul \nthose things which will make you better, those things \nwhich illuminate your soul in its growth and fill you \nwith a desire to rise and be better. And if you sense \nthe messages today you can tell that your soul is \nrising by the messages you receive. You can know \nwhen you hear from that spirit how much higher \nthey are. These things prove spirit return, these \nthings prove the progression of the soul. \n\nThere are none, not any, who have not some spirit \npower within which will bring positive proof of \nspirit return to them, if they have the proper \nspiritual meditation and aspiration in harmony. \nKnow that the basis of all things spiritual is har- \nmony. If you are not in a discordant condition you \nwill surely get positive proof of the spirit's return \nto earth. It is hard to tell you just when you will \n\n\n\nPUBP08E OF THE BOOK 55 \n\nreceive that message, I mean through your own \ninstrumentality, but know that if you want to witness \npositive proof of spirit return, if you doubt all \nhumanity, go into the silence in spiritual meditation \ndaily, and daily, and just as true as I am speaking \nto you here, you will receive positive proof\u2014 this is \ntrue. \n\n\n\nTHE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nCHAPTER I. \n\n\n\nTHE ASTEAL BODY. \n\n(The material for this chapter was gathered from different \nlectures which were given thru tiie mediumship of Mrs. Brace \nduring complete entranoement. The lectures are given every \nSunday evening in a large auditorium and the subjects are \nannounced by the spirit teachers a week in advance.) \n\nFirst, we vfUl tell you something of that new body \nthrough which you will manifest after death, as you \ndo through your physical body today. \n\nThe astral or star body is that which would appear \nas a reflection or electric flash, were you able to \ncatch a glimpse of it through the physical sense of \nsight. This body which envelops your physical body \nis growing and developing each day of your physical \nexpression. \n\nIt has every appearance of the physical body ex- \ncept its composition which embodies ether, elec- \ntricity, star magno, or star magnetic force, holding \nrecords of every emotion, thought and act of the \nindividual. \n\nEther is a chemical or quality of the atmosphere \nwhich permeates everything, but which, as yet, \nscientists have not been able to analyze. The astral \nbody has more of this in its composition than has \nthe physical body. \n\nUpon this astral body is recorded every emotion, \n\n\n\n58 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nevery thought, every act which passes through the \nparticular material expression of the individual who \nmanifests through this body of whi<jh we speak. The \nastral body is that body which you are building, \nmaking, every day of your expression upon the \nphysical platie. It is more of the electric force; \nit is formed or rather composed of more of the con- \nditions which come from the atmosphere, but in, \naround and about you, penetrating within you are \nthese rays with which you in time become directly \nin touch by thought. You may not understand this \u2014 \nit is spoken of as being electricity in wonderful \nmagnetic healers. This electric force which is about \nthem is gathered through their astral bodies; apd \nthey are able to draw and express more of the force \nfrom the atmosphere. This force is the food, so \nto speak, upon which the astral body, I will not say \nexists, but gathers its force. \n\nYour physical body would grow terribly weak \nwere it not possible to feed and satisfy it\u2014 material \nfood is placed in the mouth; that is the way to feed \nthe physical body, but the astral body gathers its \nfood, its force, from the atmosphere as one would \ndraw within him electric force. This is why electric \ntreatments aid greatly the physical body; but it \nenters into that body through tiie astral body, and \nthe stronger the astral body the more beneficial the \nelectric treatments; because if the astral body is \nundeveloped, which is so in many instances until \none grows to be of some age, it does not gather \nmuch electric force ; but if it is in a strong condition \nthere you will see one who is magnetic, and has \ngreat force to heal. I am not speaking of mental \n\n\n\nTHB ABTBAIi BODY 59 \n\nhealings but magnetic healing, two distinctly differ- \nent kinds of healing. \n\nMan is now beginning to find the power of elec- \ntricity\u2014he can do much with it now, but he is only \ntouching upon the very edge of it. Electricity is \nthe food of the astral body. Man attempts to place \nit in the physical body, but it only comes away, \nleaves it again and goes into the astral body which \ncan gather it through natural means. And as the \nchild is fed before its birth into the flesh by natural \nmeans so is the astral body whilst in the physical, \nbut after death it is for you to learn how to manipu- \nlate, and how to care for the astral body. \n\nIn each expression you have a body \u2014 in the \nphysical expression, a physical body, and in the \nastral expression, an astral body, and each is con- \ntrolled by you ; an instrument in your hands, so to \nspeak. \n\nThe terrestrial or star magno, which is part of \nthe astral body, causes it to respond to the law of \ngravity^\u2014 and this enables the soul to be in close \ntouch with the earth life. It is the force which \nattracts bodies to the particular planet upon which \nthey manifest; and there is a strong sympathetic \nvibration between the astral and the earth. \n\nBut after they have reached a certain stage of \nperfection, so to speak, the soul in its growth and \nthe spirit in its unfoldment rises and grows to \nunderstand, not more wise, as you would say in the \nphysical, but grows in spirituality, in spiritual \ngrowth7 in spiritual unfoldment nearer and nearer \nto that perfect standard; then in time it outgrows \nand casts aside that astral body; after which it is \n\n\n\n60 THS DB80BNDING IJOHT \n\npossible for that spirit to pass to other planets and \nrise far into the unknown world planets, unknown \nas yet. \n\nIt is possible for those who have left their astral \nbodies to borrow another's astral body and return \nto their old familiar planet to manifest, but it is \nthrough the astral body borrowed for the time, just \nas the spirit returning from the astral plane borrows \nyour body\u2014 the body of an instrument, the medium, \nas you fcaow it, to speak through it. Thus they \nmanifest as missionaries from the purer and more \nperfect realms of spirit through the astral body \non the astral plane, and come for the purpose of \nenlightening and lifting souls to a higher conception \nof spirit. \n\nThe astral body in appearance is very mudi like \nthe physical body of the individual because it reflects \nupon this star magno, (electric force, I will call it, \nbut it is a finer force than electricity; yet it can \nbe compared in a sense to it that you might the \nmore clearly comprehend it). It appears so much \nlike the physical body that one who can just catch \na glimpse of it thinks it is surely a materialized \nform that they see. \n\nThe astral body depends greatly upon the environ- \nments, the life and expression of the individual. \nMuch of it is but a solid\u2014 it is not solid as you would \ncall it, because your thought of this is material\u2014 \nbut it is solid for the astral\u2014 coarser\u2014 heavier \u2014 ^less \nlike the spirit. He who has not progressed very \nfar from the physical thoughts and needs, to him \nit is solid. \n\nSo as you live and as you express yourself in \n\n\n\nTHB ASTRAL BODY 61 \n\nyour service and such, you are building and building \nthat body about you which envelops you, so to speak. \nIt is just as a reflection would seem to your eye, so \nfine you cannot see it, yet it is there ; and it is the \nvehicle through which you will manifest as you are \nmanifesting today. After you have discarded your \nphysical body that astral body will be just as much \nyou as the physical body through which you manifest \ntoday is you. \n\nTrue, you use but one body at a time because \nthrough the physical life the astral is being com- \npleted, perfected, made ready for its tenant. Dur- \ning the physical expression of the individual the \nastral body is in an embryonic state of development, \nso those who live to a **ripe old age'* have a more \nfully developed and perfectly formed astral body to \nstart in their new expression. This is the case also \nwith those who pass out after a long illness, for as \nthe physical body declines the other body through \na natural process grows stronger in preparation for \nits tenant. \n\nWhen death comes suddenly as by accident, etc., \nthe astral body is weak, not fully developed, and the \nsoul finds some difficulty in manifesting for a time, \nmuch as does the child prematurely bom into the \nflesh. However, souls who pass into the other life \nunder those conditions are oared for by other souls \nwho serve in this way. There are great armies of \nsouls who devote much time and thought to the care \nof weak and undeveloped astral bodies, much the \nsame as there are many in the flesh who give their \ntime, thoughts and lives to the study of the physical. \n\nAnd so kind and loving souls on the astral plane \n\n\n\n62 THE DESCENDING UOHT \n\ngive succor to their unforttmate brothers and sisters \nwho pass into that life without completing their \nphysical expression. \n\nThe astral body radiates color vibrations which \nare governed by the predominating characteristics \nand thoughts of the individual, (see chapter on \nHeaven) and generally the last thought a soul has \nin the physical is much colored with fear and doubt ; \nthis causes the new body to reflect a dull grey, but \nwhich becomes illuminated more and more as the \nsoul unfolds the finer qualities. \n\nEvery person has some particular thought or \nquality which is more pronounced in them than any \nother \u2014 a pet thought \u2014 ^and this gives the astral body \na certain predominant color. These color rays are \nnot always discernible through the physical sense, \nbut sometimes one does catch a glimpse of light \nwhich he cannot explain any other way than that it \nwas a light which did not come from any place, \u2014 ^jusl \na light. However, through spiritual unfoldment and \ncultivation of the powers within one can see the \nastral body very plainly at times. \n\nSome astral bodies hold almost every color there \nis. As you sit in a seance or in the silence of your \nown room, many times you will see a light\u2014 blue, \nred, gold\u2014 they vary in color, and as you study the \nmeaning of these colors you will learn to know when \nyou see that color that it is just a little portion of \nan astral body, your friends are near you. In your \nmeditation or when you are weary and filled with \nwoe, you will know that your loved ones are near, \nand as you study the language of colors, you will \n\n\n\nTHB ABTBAIi BODY 63 \n\nknow after you have studied, as you would know the \ncharacteristics of your friends. \n\nThe astral body is in a higher rate of vibration \nthan the physical body so it can rarely be discerned \nthrough the physical sense of sight. It vibrates \nhigher than light; in fact, higher than any vibra- \ntion which can be reached through the physical \nsenses. Although sometimes one feels a presence\u2014 \nas for instance, one sitting in a circle will receive a \nshock much like an electric shock or thrill which \nwill sometimes cause him to visibly tremble \u2014this is \ncaused by the close proximity of the astral body \nof a discamate soul whose vibrations are not in the \nsame rate as the one who is effected thus, and then \nalso the one vfho is endeavoring to manifest does \nnot understand how to reduce or increase the vibra- \ntion to harmonize with the one in the flesh\u2014this \ncaus/es a shock. But through a sympathetic response \non the part of one or the other, harmony is produced \nand frequently a message is received in one way or \nanother. \n\nHe astraL body is lighter than light ; it is lighter \nthan the light rays because it is of a higher vibra- \ntion ; it is lighter and higher, and yet more powerful \nthan electricity, yet it is a form of this. There are \ntwo distinct principles in all of nature\u2014 the positive \nand negative \u2014 and the contact of these two prin- \nciples in the atmosphere produces a dynamic power \ncalled electricity. And man is going to find these \nthings in the near future. \n\nToday man knows positively that when he has \nfinished with the physical expression of life that he \nwill step into a new expression \u2014 every living man \n\n\n\n64 THE DE80BNDINO LIGHT \n\nand woman must live in another expression\u2014 and \ndeath is that condition or experience through which \nevery man is placed in an entirely different expres- \nsion of life. \n\nAll mankind expressing itself upon this lower \nplane of expression holds within its own existence \na trinity. First, the elements, the terrestrial body, \nthe lower grosser qualities of the beast expression ; \nsecond, the higher or star body, the astral body; \nthird, the spirit, the God spark, that quality within \nman which reflects his Creator, which reflects har- \nmony, love, truth and the finer (qualities whidi are \na part of God. \n\nMan has learned something through experience of \nthe lower expression of life, so now we will touch \nupon the second or intermediate part of that trinity, \nthe astral or star body which is so closely fdlied to \nhis flesh body during the physical expression that \nit has every appearance of his first body save that \nit is of an entirely different composition. \n\nUnder certain conditions it is possible to see the \nastral body separating itself from the physical at \ndeath when vapory fragments will be seen to rise \nabove the body. The solar plexus holds to the very \nlast portions of the astral body until a very fine line \nor thread of light which binds the two bodies at the \ncenter of the physical body (the solar plexus) is \nsuddenly snapped and ''the silver cord is broken/* \nThe reason it is more possible to see the astral body \nat this time than under ordinary conditions is the \nresistance of the physical which causes the astral \nto reduce in vibration for a short time during the \nprocess of transition. The astral body tears itself \n\n\n\nTHB ASTRAL BODY 65 \n\naway and finally it is closed upon that center of \nnerves/ That is the last grip which that physical \nbody has npon its astral shell. \n\nPJbysical sensations and memories are retained by \nthe astral body for some time after death\u2014 the \nlength of time being governed by the individual. If \na person *s predominating qualities are physical and \nhabits were formed to satisfy the physical appetites, \nthen the physical memories are more pronounced \nand tile soul finds more diflSculty in becoming ac- \nquainted with its new environments, etc. \n\nUnless a person is very highly developed spirit- \nually, it is very likely that the soul will stay near \nthe physical body for a few days after transition, \ntherefore it is not advisable to destroy the clay or \nphysical body until over three days have elapsed and \nthen cremation is the proper way to dispose of the \nflesh body. Especially if the soul had any pro- \nnoimced habits, such as drug or intoxicants, etc., \nbecause after the flesh body has returned to dust \nor ashes the physical sensations or desires no longer \nreflect upon the astral body, and the higher spiritual \nqualities begin to develop and manifest. \n\nIn some instances, (when the life has been void \nof spiritual thoughts and all the thoughts and de- \nsires have been very earthy and physical) the \nphysical memories are very pronounced, until the \nflesh body has lost its form completely and passed \nto earth. \n\nWhen man finds that he can stand beside that \nflesh body and see it and know that it is his, his \nfirst thought is fear. The first sensation that man \nhas when coming into that new life is fear\u2014 and the \n\n\n\n66 THB DBSOBNDING LIGHT \n\nvery first sensation the child has when bom into \nthe flesh is fear. The very first thought in the flesh, \nand the very last, is fear. \n\nSome have builded such a strong thought force \nabout them intermingling with fear that the astral \nbody reflects very little else for a time; until that \ncoarser force or thought sheds away from the astral \nbody then it holds the finer qualities. The little child \nfinds great difficulty in learning how to use hands \nand feet ; they move awkwardly at first because that \npart of the mind has not become acquainted with \nits duties ; and so it is with the man as he first steps \ninto his astral body. So if the astral body be heavy ; \nbe weighty, be more seemingly material, it is because \nthat man's life has been such, and he needs more \nexperience to reveal the God spark within him, and \nso that astral body carries the individual into that \nnew life. He learns after a time how to manipulate \nthat new body, he becomes acquayited with it as he \nhas his flesh body, its uses and its needs. \n\nThe astral body also needs food as your flesh \nbody does, but it gathers it from that force, elec- \ntricity; (I will use that term because you are ac- \nquainted with the interpretation) those in the astral \nbody draw that for themselves, they learn to feed \nthat body as they have learned to feed the physical \nbody, but they do not satisfy their astral bodies \nthrough the mouth as in the physical; they must \nlearn how to gather to themselves their needs and \ndesires. \n\nThey must learn how to keep and use that body \nand then they begin to develop understanding \nthrough various experiences. They are drawn into \n\n\n\nTHE ABTRAIi BODY 67 \n\ndifferent realms by the law of attraction. They have \ntheir own experiences; some are forced to come in \ndirect contact with man in the flesh body \u2014 some to \nlearn and some to guide and some to help physical \nbodies \u2014 ^by varions ways comes the experience \nthrough which they must pass. And in those ex- \nperiences they grow more and more enlightened, \nand finally they grow lighter and closer to spirit \nmitil in time they have another body. It is a glad \nday when they can cast aside all memories of earth \nand ascend into pure spirit. They still hold their \nindividuality\u2014that is the thing which never dies \nbecause it has been gathered through all the differ- \nent schools of experiences. \n\nMan must have some experiences close to the earth \nplane after death by coming in contact with other \nsouls manifesting in the flesh, se.eing their lives \nthrough the spiritual vision (understanding) thus \nlearning the effect of different experiences, and \nfeeling the sorrow and joys of or with others, \nand learning in that way the real meaning of the \ntrials of life which enables them to work out their \nlives in harmony with the inviolable law of com- \npensation. They must know all the flesh experiences \nbefore they can pass entirely into spirit. \n\nTherefore, the astral body is that vehicle of the \nsoul or the spirit which helps man to manifest close \nto his particular plane upon which he has spent his \nearth expression. When the astral body has gone, \nthe spirit returns to the earth plane only in bor- \nrowed vehicles, borrowing the astral bodies from \nthose who are as mediums or manifesters between \nthe higher life in the spirit and the astral plane. \n\n\n\n68 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nThere are mediums, as you term it, manifesting on \nthe astral plane who are bringing to those spirits \nwho are manifesting in the lower expression, and \nyet still upon the astral plane, bringing to them the \nhigher, purer thought of spirit. \n\nSouls have risen while still in the flesh ; they have \nsoared out of the earthly conditions into the uni- \nversal light and still hold their flesh bodies, but that \nflesh body grows weaker and finer, less coarse, the \nvibrations are higher, and soon it will fall away and \nthat soul in its ascension will know more of that \nnew plan of life and he may pass directly into a \nschool which will prepare him to return and to teach \nand help others. \n\nYou all know it is well to understand the care of \nthe physical body and its relquirements ; that under- \nstanding it enables you to keep it in better condition, \nand so since it will be but a limited time until you \nwill occupy your other body, the astral, it surely \nbehooves you to know something of the new body, \nfor surely it is yours, and it will be just as much \nyours as is your physical body today yours. So it \nis well that you know something of what it is to \nexpress yourself in the astral body. \n\nAs the astral body has reflected upon it the knowl- \nedge of existence, reflected upon it and through it \nby the physical expression, if that thought or that \nknowledge of such a body existed within man, why, \nsurely it would reflect itself upon the new body and \nhe would readily become acquainted with the future \nstate. Then it would be very much easier for one to \nadapt himself to his new mode of life than if he \ngoes over with the thought that he will immediately \n\n\n\nTHE ASTRAL BODY 69 \n\nplunge into a heavenly home of peace and harmony, \nforgetting all the little sorrows he has caused, for- \ngetting all the griefs he has brought into the hearts \nof his fellow-men. Do you think you ccm do these \nthmgs and escape retributionf \n\nThere is one great law\u2014harmonious attunement\u2014 \nnot atonement, but attunement. Tou are all striving \nto rise into this, and you will, but you cannot hide \none thought, one desire\u2014 it is revealed to the un- \nfolded spirit. So it is well for you to know some- \nthing of this new body which will be yours in that \nnot far-distant future, perhaps tomorrow, when you \nwill be molded through the inevitable laws of nature \n\u2014evolution\u2014 you will come in direct touch with the \nearth plane and then you must do your work. \n\nAfter the spirit has discarded or outgrown or \nconsumed its astral body, finished its work, in that \nparticular expression, it can pass at once into, about \nor above all the different planets for there is no \nmagnetic force to draw it down or back to that plane \nupon which it expressed itself in the physical. \n\nThe aura is the soul body which surrounds and \nencloses the mortal body. It is as a light which \nseemingly radiates from the mortal man. These \nlights are colored with his thoughts, which have \ntheir own particular colors, with his acts, and every \nact and every thought that man sends out into the \nuniverse shows upon this aura about him, and this \nattracts kindred spirits to him. \n\nThe soul holds a record of everything; every ex- \nperience through which you pass in your physical \nexpression is imprinted upon the soul of you; and \neven as the spirit leaves the body the soul of you \n\n\n\n70 THB DUOlNDIHa lAQHT \n\nleaves the flesh and enters into that astral body \nwhich is being prepared during yonr physical ex- \npression. \n\nThe spirit is that Oodspark within each and every \nindividual; it is that part of you which makes you \nto the image and likeness of God ; it is the ray, the \nspark, we will say, of the Great Over Soul, the \nSpirit of spirits, the CAUSE of all things. There- \nfore the soul is that part of man which individualizes \nthe spirit, and makes that portion of the Great \nSpirit you. \n\nNow the soul of man records individually, all his \nexperiences, his thoughts, his beliefs, yes, and all \nconditions mentally and physically through which he \npasses\u2014 they all tend to the building of his soul. \nTherefore, the soul has as its duty the bringing out \nor rather the spiritual enlightenment or illumination \nof the consciousness which makes him realize what \npart he has to play in the world. \n\nIt is thru the mind the records are produced, \nas the human mind is constantly generating and dis- \ncharging and every thought discharged from the \nmind of the individual leaves its imprint upon the \nastral body. Now it is the improper use of the mind \nwhich causes much of the physical ills of today. \nThe records or impressions made upon the astral \nbody sometimes reflect so positively upon the \nphysical as to cause a chemical change to take place \ncausing sickness or health, according to the con- \nstructive or destructive quality of the thoughts. \nEither consciously or unconsciously man is con- \nstantly building or destroying. \n\nCJonstructive thinking builds and perfects, and \n\n\n\nTHB ASTRAL BODY 71 \n\ndestructive thinking destroys and breaks down be- \ncause the impressions on IJie astral body made by \nthese thoughts reflecting upon the physical body \nproduce results according to their quality. \n\nSo you see the necessity of proper thinking. One \nshould strive to perfect every idea before discharg- \ning it, for wonderful results can be produced by \ngoody wholesome, healthy, perfect thoughts, not \nonly in the physical body but in every condition \npertaining to the individual. \n\nThere are those whose consciousness has not \nseemingly been illuminated during the physical ex- \npression \u2014 ^but there are no lost souls; for every \nsoul hath within it a spirit, and spirit is of eternity, \nspirit is of God, spirit is eternal and continues to \nlive. And so long as it needs these various ex- \nperiences (the spirit does not need them but the \nindividual does) in bringing out the spirit, his \nparticular spark to perfection, the school of ex- \nperience is before him and about him and he must \ngo thru it. \n\n\n\nThe mental sensations of individuals leaving the \nflesh body depend very largely upon the life they \nhave lived and upon their thoughts, their expec- \ntations, and* their feelings, whether of fear or \neagerness to leave the body. Invariably the very \nlast thought that man holds as he leaves the flesh \nis that of fear, as is the first physical thought that \nman holds. \n\nFear is an earth thought. \n\nWhen man leaves the physical body after an ill- \nness, his loved ones in spirit have made prep- \n\n\n\n72 THE DESGENDING LIGHT \n\narations to receive him and they assemble about \nhim preparing to take him to his home, which is of \nhis own building closely associated to the earth, \nand memories of those who have been with him. \nAnd sometimes if one is taken out of the physical \nbody suddenly then he is carried to what you would \ncall a hospital in your expression of life. It is not \na place but a condition in which there are many in- \ntelligences trained to do this work of bringing them \nback to consciousness and into a clear realization \nof the new life. In this condition things are made \nclear to them in such a way that they may know \nand that they may realize the composition of the \nnew body, how to use it, how to nourish it and all \nof this. \n\nMan builds about him conditions which make for \nhim that which is good and make for him that \nwhich is not helpful. The physical body is bom of \nphysical bodies, is brought into physical existence \nthru the physical expression, and into which is \nplaced and imbued and grown in him, his soul, his \nindividuality, and then comes a time when mother \nearth takes back into her bosom that which is hers, \nthe flesh body. \n\nDeath comes sometimes when man's physical \nbody is perfect; when there is no preparation, sp \nto speak, for the severance of one part of that \nbeing from the other. When the time for sepa- \nration has not come thru a natural process the \nastral body is weak and not prepared for its tenant, \nit is not entirely formed, and does not hold the \npowers which are required of it to carry and bear \ninto another life that man, that individuality. \n\n\n\nTHE ASTBAL BODY 73 \n\nWhen the physical body is^ perfect, when the de- \nsires for the physical expression are fnll and \nvigorous and ambitious, when the whole thought is \nbuilding upon the physical plane of expression, \nwhen he has not a thought of spiritual things, \nshould that soul be suddenly plunged by accident \nfrom that expression into a strange one, into a \nweaker body, prematurely bom into a new life, \nthen it is true that thru the law of gravity he is \ndrawn by attraction down dose to the earth plane. \n\nAnd by that law of attraction it is possible for \nhim to develop and grow to that stage of perfection \nwhere it will be possible for him to rise into higher \nthought realms. But at first he is drawn close to \nthose in the physical and there he grows and \ngathers strength and power for the real necessities \nof that astral body. Still during this time that \nspirit is unfolding, the individuality is growing \npurer, more illuminated ; he is beginning to see and \nto know\u2014 not to see thru the physical eye, but to \nsee thru the great law of life. Then when the time \ncomes that the astral body has developed to its \nfullest degree, has become perfect, has become all \nthat it should have been, had death delayed for a \ntime until that individual's physical body had cast \nit off thru a natural process, then begins its growth \ninto another realm of thought where he not only \nhelps man to build conditions, but builds and aids \nhis fellowtnan in the flesh; and he rises into a \nhigher conception of the things which are of God. \nBut during this time that astral body carries that \nsoul to all parts just as you would send a- thought. \n\nNow we will tell you something of one who passes \n\n\n\n74 THE DE80BNDIN0 LIGHT \n\nout from the body during disease \u2014 ^long illness. \nUnconsciously there is coming into his conscious- \nness, without his realizing it, I would say, that \nlittle thought that the physical body is not going to \nstay long. That little thought gathers to itself \nmore and more of the things of spirit. He may not \nexpress to you that he is rising out of the flesh, but \nthe spirit forces who are assembled about him \nknow and realize positively that that body is going \nback to earth and they hasten to aid in building and \nstrengthening and perfecting that astral body so \nthat it comes into that condition which is perfect \nmore rapidly because all this time during the \nphysical weakness they have been treating upon his \nspirituality, his individuality, his soul qualities; and \nin these instances they pass into the astral body \nwith a clearer realization of how to use it, how to \nmanipulate it, how to live with it, and they may \nmore rapidly return to man. \n\nWhen death comes by man's own thought, by \nman's own desire, when man in his mistaken \nthought of things crushes, destroys his temple of \nflesh, the mind holding that destructive thought,' \nholding that desire within itself until it becomes \nan act, does not only crush the flesh body but re- \ntards the growth of the astral body. But if it is \nbecause of a diseased organ within that physical \nbody, because of a deranged mental condition then \nthe thought is entirely different; 'tis much the \nsame as those who pass away thru illness; tho it \nscatters to a certain extent those forces who are \nassembled at all times about that individual. It \nbreaks down that law which helps to build and \n\n\n\nTHB ABTRAI. BODY 75 \n\nmake tiie CQjiditionB right for the passing of the \nsoul from the physical body. \n\nNow when men live on in their physical bodies \nuntil their bodies are bent and wrinkled > with age \u2014 \n'tis a beautiful sight to behold from the spirit side, \nso why should you grieve for those who grow old? \nIt is but showing that the astral body of that in- \ndividual has taken hold, the soul has taken hold of \nthe astral body, it is working upon that, it is grow- \ning and perfecting that, and the flesh body is grad- \nually going thru a natural process, passing back to \neartii. 'Tis just the natural process of death; 'tis \njust mother earth closing her arms about that \nwhich is hers \u2014 'tis because the outer body, the \nastral, is strong, is growing more perfect to receive \nthat soul. \n\nAnd that is the lesson men are beginning to \ngather in their desire to build their physical bodies \nthru their mentality; thru the spiritual expression. \nThey are touching upon that law which makes it \npossible for the physical body to remain perfect \nuntil that astral body is ready for that soul to step \ninto it, expressing itself full and perfect. \n\n\n\nHow TO See the Asteal Body Leaving the \n\nPhysical. \n\n\n\nI will speak to you of the passing away of one \nwhose body has grown weak gradually and the \nastral body has grown stronger because of this. \nIf one places himself between the sun's rays and \nthat soul and a soft gray light from one side and a \n\n\n\n76 THE DESGENDING LIGHT \n\nsoft green light from the other, if he puts himself \nin just as high a rate of vibration thru spiritual \nthought, he can see this astrsd body. What you \nspeak of as the death rattle is the drawing of tiiat \nastral body to a focus which is as a vapor lifting \nfrom the body, and seems like steam or white \nsmoke and comes to the center of the physical body \nand then it will lift itself and sometimes sink back \nhurriedly, then lift and sink back again, and then \nlift until you will see it pass thru the walls. \n\nThen there are those whose astral body gathers \nitself together and for days they lie there because \nthe mind within is filled with fear, it cannot leave, \nand it is conscious of the fact that it is leaving. It \nis much better for one to pass away in an uncon- \nscious state for all the loved ones in spirit who are \nassembled about bear it away where it is given the \nproper care, proper nourishment, thought force, \nand all the needs it will require until it comes into \nconsciousness. But there are those who pass away \nin absolute consciousness and filled with fear \u2014 \nthey are to be pitied. The astral body will lift and \nfall, and cling close to that physical body. This is \nwhy we urge you not to touch that body until so \nmany hours after a person has passed away. \n\nThe question is asked, **How long, after the soul \nleaves the flesh body, does it take to get the con- \ndition to send forth a message?\" As there are \nmany different individualities it all depends upon \nthe individual. Some even expect to return inune- \ndiately and find they cannot because their con- \nception of this has been so dim, so imperfect, thlat \nthey expect to step back just as they are in the \n\n\n\nTHE ASTRAL BODY 77 \n\nfleshy and so the physical thought prevents the \nmanifestation. But one who lives spiritually and \ncomes back over the love thought can sometimes \nspeak within five minutes, it depends upon the in- \ndividual. They can appear instantly, immediately, \nas the soul slips from the shell body and bursts \nforth, if those who are about them are in that same \nvibration \u2014 ^it is all vibration \u2014 ^if you can build your \nthoughts and raise your vibration into spiritual \nexpression then you can see your loved ones slip \naway ; but you are filled with grief and emotion \u2014 if \nyou were physically possessed and thinking of \nspiritual things as tibat soul left the body and you \nwere holding a clearer conception of spiritual \nthings, you could follow that spirit in thought, you \ncould see that soul take its flight, as it slips from \nthat clay body. \n\n\n\nCHAPTEE n. \nLIFE ON THE ASTEAL PLANE. \n\nLi all the search that man has made and is mak- \ning, comes the cry for more and more knowledge of \nthe life beyond the grave \u2014 ^they are asking for more \ntidings of their loved ones over there. \n\nBnt the souls returning scarcely know how to \nreach you, they hardly know how to tell you how \nthey live; or how to make you believe that it is \nthey who are speaking to you \u2014 ^and yet man in his \neagerness to know, asks questions far beyond the \nspirit who manifests for he has been out of the \nflesh for a short time and knows very little of the \nlife over there. Many of the things you read, \nmany of the things you hear are parts of thoughts \nbrought to you from souls who have been in that \nworld of spirit but a very short time. \n\nWere you to be suddenly taken to a sttange \ncountry where the method of living was entirely \ndifferent from what you had been used to, and \nwithin a few hours after your arrival you attempt \nto send home word to those you left, do you think \nthat you could tell much of the method of living \nthere? Could you explain to them fully the things \nwhich you went to see? No. \n\nThe mind of man upon leaving the flesh body \nstarts just where he leaves the earthly expression, \nstarts mentally right there, and he can see only \n\n\n\nUTS OF THB ABTRAIi TUklfZ 79 \n\nwith that limited vision for a time mitil he has \nlearned thru spiritual nnfoldment how to cultivate \nthe spiritual vision. Men ask whether or not the \nspirit sees as they see because in their limited ex- \nperience upon the earth plane of expression their \nvision is limited to the physical sense. The soul, \nthe spirit of man does not see as you see with your \nphysical eyes, but they see thru the spirit of con- \nsciousness within. They see thru the eyes of un- \nderstanding. Now, by this I do not mean to say \nthe spirit immediately after leaving the flesh body \nsees thru the eye of understanding. The soul \nmanifests more pronounced than does the spirit \nuntil they have worked and gone thru the process \nof refinement, which is a tearing down of imperfect \nconditions builded during the physical expression. \n\nSo there are various stories told of the life over \nhere \u2014 ^many things told to you that when put to- \ngether seem to conflict. There are many minds in \nthe flesh today who may all tell a story of the same \nincident and yet no two of them will be alike be- \ncause each one sees thru his own individuality ; each \nindividual sees thru his own light of understand- \ning and one gives his vision of the incident and \nanother his, and so on, and so it is with those who \n. have recently passed over, so to speak. \n\nYou harm those who have recently left the flesh \nbody when you ask them to answer questions which \nthey cannot truthfully ^nd broadly give you. They \ncan. give you only that which they have gathered \nin their own consciousness, and that thru the light \nthey gathered whilst in the flesh \u2014 but after a time, \nby repeated communication with the same individual \n\n\n\n80 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nspirit or entity, you will find a wonderful growth, a \nchange in his thoughts. It is the broadening of his \nvision, it is the growth and cultivation of the inner \nspiritual vision for him. \n\nNow, it has been said by many who return that \nthey eat and drink and they live much the same as \nman does in the flesh. So they do for a time, in \ntheir thought \u2014 in their thought\u2014 as one in a dream \nsometimes will eat, or thinks he eats. Many times \nthere are those who have awakened after having \npartaken of a fine repast in their dreams and feel \nas satisfied almost as if they had really taken a \nmeal in the flesh. So in this way as in your imagi- \nnation those who are very recently out of the flesh \nthink they eat and drink. If they have given great \nthought to their meals while in liie flesh they cairy \nthat strong inclination to satisfy the appetite of \nthe physical body with them, and they can have the \nthought that they are eating and drinking \u2014 ^they \nare close to the earth \u2014 ^not because they are evil, \nno, but because their thought has not grown very \nfar from the earth plane, and for a time they will \nstay very close to the earth, for these physical \nmemories remain for a time. \n\nFrequently the first few times that some souls \nreturn to manifest after death, they reflect their \nlast physical sensations upon the medium or in- \nstrument thru whom they manifest. But this rarely \nhappens if the flesh body has been cremated. \n\nWhen the last physical sensations of a. soul are \nreflected upon the medium, it indicates that the soul \nin coming in contact with physical vibrations re- \n\n\n\nLEFS OF THB A8TBAL PLMSTB 81 \n\ncalls the last physical sensations. This, hoi^^ver, \nis often a means of identification. \n\nNow, as man leaves the flesh body he merely \ncasts off, so to speak, that instrmnent thru whidi \nthe spirit and soul manifested during that stage of \nphysical expression. After he has cast off this \nflesh body the same individuality exists. All his \nthoughts, his desires, his feelings of likes and dis- \nlikes, feelings of hatred, avarice, selfishness, and \nall those qualities sfre a part of him if he has culti- \nvated them and allowed them to so much become a \npart of his in&ividuality that he will cause another \nto recognize him by his characteristics. Can he \nshake them off with the physical bodyf Oh, no, he \ncannot put them in the grave, they live and are a \npart of his soul; they continue to live with him \nthere until he comes into a clear realization of \nspiritual things. When he begins to realize that he \nis an eternal entity, that he must continue to live, \nthat he must have more experiences, that he must \ngo thru that same school of experience perhaps in \nanother expression of life, then he begins to work \nto overcome those things which are detrimental to \nthe spiritual growth^ of man. He must undo all \nthat he has wrongfully done \u2014 tiiere is no great \nmind going to say, ** Your sins are all forgiven; \nthey are all wiped away/' No, but tiie Gr^at God, \nthe Great Source of all good makes every possible \nway for man to do this; great fields open up be- \nfore him, avenues broad and wide lie before him; \nbut he -must work himself thru them. No soul will \ncarry him thru \u2014 each individual must do it for \nhimself^ \n\n\n\n82 THS DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nAnd 80 how can you expect him who has just \npassed from the flesh body, whose mind is full of \nall thoughts of the earth, to tell you how they eat \nand drink and walk, and what they do and how \nthey live. He can tell you how they live close to the \nearth plane as he has all the physical memories, \ndesires and appetites, but to tell you what heaven \nis like, what the life over here is \u2014 ^it must be one \nwho has shaken away all those pl^ysical memories. \nSome will overcome these immediately and they \nrealize they are in a new life and at once they rise \ninto the light of spirit. They find that the meUiods \nof keeping that new body, the astral body, are not \nby eating and drinking as man does in the flesh. \nBut this new body must be nourished, and it is \ndone, we will say, by drawing, absorbing from the \natmosphere that force that you call electricity, only \nit is of a finer nature than what you know as elec- \ntricity. You have no conception of the difficulty \none finds in bringing down into an object lesson, a \nclear picture of one life to him who expresses him- \nself in another \u2014 to bring out of tiie spirit world a \nvivid picture of their life to you is a more difficult \ntask than you can imagine. \n\nOf all the many souls who return to tell you of \nthe life over here, each has its own particulair con- \nception of it. Each can give forth to you his per- \nsonal experience and sensation, but as there are \nmany individuals so each and every one senses the \nexperiences thru which they pass perhaps a little \ndifferently; tho death is the severance of man's \nspirit from that clay body which has been the \nvehicle or the organ thru which he manifested just \n\n\n\nLIFE OF THE ASTRAL PLANE 83 \n\nduring one of the various expressions or experi-* \nences thru which each individual must pass; one \ngrade, we will say, of that school of experience \nthru which every soul in its growth passes, and \nthru that undeniable law of evolution man grows, \nrefines and develops, unfolds, and steps eventually \ninto anotiher expression. \n\nWhen man awakens to the knowledge that he has \nanother body so different from the one in which he \nwas accustomed to manifest, he finds as he lifts his \nhand that it is so light \u2014 oh, the sensation is so hard \nto impart to you who have the weight of the \nphysical \u2014 ^but it is strange to feel that lightness, to \nfeel that nothing draws you down close to the earth, \nyou can rise or fall, walk or glide, you can be \nwhere you desire to be instantly as quickly as the \nthought comes. It is not at first a beautiful sen- \nsation because that old memory, that thing which \nplunges you to earth, which dwells for many years \nperhaps in the consciousness of the soul after leav- \ning the body, is fear. Fear never was bom of the \nspirit; fear is the thing of earth gathered into the \nconsciousness of man, and men, who have recently \nleft their bodies, have that one thought, fear; and \nof what are they afraid? \n\nThey cannot see as they have seen in the flesh \nbody; tiiey come into that realization that they \nknow their friends and they know how they look, \nand can touch a tiling without laying a hand on it. \n\"They see their thoughts, but they see without see- \ning as you do ; they do not see the form of solidity, \nbut they know it and that it is tiiere. \n\n^Harmony is of the spirit and until man outgrows \n\n\n\n84 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nor works away, we will say, out of these old \nvibrations, out of these old physical memories, he \nis bound in a sense to the earth plane \u2014 ^now I do \nnot mean to say that he is an earth-bound spirit, \nbut he is bound by those ties or memories close to \nthe earth; then not staying constantly, we might \nsay, close to the home, close to those whom he loved, \nhe realizes the wondrous opportunities which lie \nbefore him. He must learn to live out of the flesh, \nhe must learn to express himself thru that new \nbody. \n\nStrange it seems to him that he feels so light \nand everything seems so plain to him. Things \nwhich always have seemed so deep or so mysterious \nare all now so dear to him. He can see into things \nand can understand them much better than when in \nthe flesh body; then there comes to him the vivid \nand real visualization of all his earth expression, \nthat quality of the soul, memory, awakens in him \nand brings before him vividly everytiiing thru \nwhich he has passed in his earth expression. Then \nthe question comes to him, ** Where is my Master t \nWhere is He who shall judge met Where shall I \nfind Him who is to pronounce the sentence which I \nthru my earth expression have brought upon my- \nself?*' \n\nSome souls for years after leaving the body are \nsearching and believing they are waiting for Him \nwho shall appear to them as a man of the flesh, \nand bearing the same quality of body which they \npossess at the time, because they conceive, for a \ntime, of no different vehicle than that thru which \nthey express themselves. Souls who have believed \n\n\n\n\\ UFB OF THE A8TBAL PIANB 85 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n80 strongly the old-time teachings, meaning that \nsouls can be lost, and that their Master would come \nforth and judge them and cast them either into \neternal punishment, or reward, have this thought \nso deeply impressed upon them that they live for \nyears and years in that new life believing that such \nwould come to pass, and they wait for an appear- \nance of that God or Master who will judge them. \nBecause of the old teachings, there are millions of \nsouls today walking the earth who thmk they are \nwaiting the day when they shall be cast into tor- \nment, and they cannot get away from tiiat thought \nuntil they receive the Holy Ghost. \n\nNow what is receiving the Holy Ghost? It is \nthat reception of spiritual light \u2014 ^when you receive \nthe holy spirit light which gives you the clear \nrealization of the things of spirit. It is the spiritual \nawakening ; receiving the Holy Ghost is when the \nholy spirit descends into your consciousness and \ncomes forth with it an illuminated spirit; it is the \nknowledge which only the spirit can have and give \nand hold. To go back to the old-time way \u2014 a con- \nveying to man the things of spirit. But men have \nin their material conception of things so worked \nover and made over and reshaped and re-formed \nthose truths until you would not recognize them \nwere you to see them today and yesterday of the \ndark days. So you see what it means to imbue into \nthe consciousness of the little child things which \nare before them, and tell them of the torment and \nsuch after death if they do not do just what you \nbelieve is right. \n\nSometimes it takes many days, and sometimes \n\n\n\n86 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nweeks and sometimes months ; and it has been many \nmany years before some souls awaken to the fact \nthat the flesh body is gone, and yet they live and \nrecognize those about them, those who are drawn \nto them thru love. \n\n\n\nSo is it not time that man knows something, do \nyou not think, of the experience thru which he must \npass? How can these experiences be made dearer! \nHow can we create for ourselves the condition \nwhich will prevent these conditions such a& I have \nspoken to yout Now, I do not wish to convey to \nyou that man should live entirely out of the \nphysical expression in thought, but you can grow \nyour souls and illuminate them with spiritual \nthought, aspiration, service, love; with all the \nthings which reflect the God-head; and then when \nyou step out of the physical into the spiritual you \nhave builded a condition into which you will step \nand you have opened the way to your spiritual \nfriends and others who have gone before that they \nmay come more directly in touch with you. And \nthe soul of him who lives spiritually during the \nphysical expression, when he leaves the body he \nimmediately rises and recognizes those about him \nas he sees them. \n\nIf the flesh life has been spiritual and he has \nlived in holy memories of those who have gone be- \nfore, if they have communed, not in words, but in \nsoul thought by spiritual meditation with those who \nhave gone before in love, it is the perfecting or up- \nlifting and making more nearly perfect the souls of \nthose with whom he comes in contact. He is mak- \n\n\n\nLIFE OF THE ASTBAL PLANE 87 \n\ning a way, building a stairway of truth down which \nhis loved ones can come to help him out of the body \nup into the light; and then it will seem so simple, \nthis stepping from the physical into the new life. \n\n\n\n(Taken from trance lecture.) \nSo many things have been said, so many things \nhave been written in response to the questions \nasked which have made men ask in a stronger tone, \n'*Do spirits really wear clothes f \n\nThis question is asked in a laughing way; it is \nasked in a serious way, and it is asked by those \nwho really want to know. Now that spirit return \nhas been proven beyond all doubt, men are anxious \nto know of the pleasures they have over there, of \nthe garments they wear, and of their manner of \nliving, and so on. So I thought perhaps you would \nlike to hear something of this. \n\nAs we have explained in previous lessons, upon \nleaving the world of flesh man begins just where he \nleaves this world \u2014 in thought. In thought he takes \nwith him the knowledge he has acquired whilst here, \nall that he has gathered within his mentality is \nrecorded upon the tablets of his memory; all the \nthings which tend to make for him a soul, for the \nsoul, as we have said before, holds all of all the \nexperiences thru which man has passed. Every \nmemory and all the thoughts are recorded and tend \nto the building and making of the soul of man. \n\n,The soul and spirit are one and yet they are not \nthe same because the spirit is that part of the \nInJBnite which is you and the soul is that part of \nyou which is composed of your personal experiences \n\n\n\n88 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nand thoughts which individualizes the spirit \u2014 the \nspark spirit \u2014 and makes that particular spark you. \n\nNow man has grown from his very first ex- \npression in the physical to live and always clothe \nthe physical body. In all nations, all peopleSi all \nclasses, they have their individual method of cloth- \ning the body \u2014 ^and they have learned, too, to clotiie \nthe spiritual self, to cover it. \n\nThose who live entirely material lives, wbose \nevery thought is builded upon the conditions \naround them during the earth expression, whose \nevery thought is builded upon the betterment of \ntheir physical expression, not spiritual but material, \nwhose every thought is amusement and beautiful \nclothes \u2014 ^now, do you think that upon stepping into \nthe new life all those thoughts will be obliterated? \nDecidedly not; for all the individual desires, and \nhopes and aspirations go with them and are a part \nof them. The astral world is close to the earth \nplane and so they are close to the earth. Whilst \nthey wronged no man, did no wrong, yet they sent \nvery little by their thought that would suggest \nspiritual things, they had no thought beyond the \ncomfort and adornment of the flesh body. All their \nambitions were composed of material things, and \nwhen these souls step into that other life, do you \nnot think they would have solid memories to take \nwith them of clothing and material pleasures? Yes, \nthey carry them along when leaving the flesh body; \ntheir memories are so vivid that they clothe them- \nselves in memory's garments; they see and feel \nwith the sense of memory; they remember the sen- \nsations of the physical body; they appear to one \n\n\n\nLIFE OF THB A8TBAL PLANE 89 \n\nanother to be much the same as they were in the \nphysical; they hold so strongly this memory and \nthey think they are much the same after death as \nthey were in the flesh body. \n\nThese are the souls who can and do so readily \nmanifest; and you will see in all the writings, in \nall of the messages conveyed to the investigating \nmind of man, which tell of smoking and of dancing \nand of the amusements over here which are just the \nsame as in the material world \u2014 ^it is from souls \nwho have very recently left the physical body, not \nthose who have learned to live the life in the \nspiritual world, the spiritual life, not those who \nhave. shaken away the physical memories and taken \non the new expression in its fullness. It is from \nthose who are still living in the solid memory of \ntheir physical expression whose whole thought \nworld was composed of fine clothing and the things \nwhich amused them \u2014 and into that they step. \n\nBut after a time there is silence, so far as com- \nmunication from that soul is concerned \u2014 ^not that \nthey are lost from their loved ones, but that they \nare penetrating the wall between the earthy ex- \npression of memories and the spiritual, and a new \nexpression of life opens up to them. They see the \nwondrous beauty of the spiritual life and they rise \nout of the solid expression into a finer, more real \nlife where they can see and know. Where they can \nfeel the call of the soul to service; where they can \nki<ow the meaning of the wrong and the good which \nthey have done; where they can hear the call to \nservice either there or back to earth to teach man \nthat he is eternal, that the eternal part of him is \n\n\n\n90 THB DESCENDING UOHT \n\nnot the physical, to teach him how to clothe the \nspiritual part of himself. \n\nThen as that soul returns and comes closer to the \nearth plane vibration there comes upon him the \nrealization that man could not clasp hands or speak \nto man unclothed, until minds have risen out of the \nphysical thoughts which call for the covering of the \nphysical body, adornment or protection, and as he \ncomes close to the vibration of those who are \npsychic ethereally there is brought to them what \nwould appear to the physical eye as a vapor like \nsubstance. The souls who have progressed out of \nthe solid memory of the physical into a finer light \nof spirit, as they reduce to take on your thoughts \nin the coarser vibration of the physical and to \nappear in all spirituality, they are clothed in a \nvapor which is gathered from the atmosphere \u2014 \nethereal. \n\nThe souls who have returned and spoken to you \nor have written to you telling of the great amuse- \nments and the smoking and eating the same as upon \nthe earth plane, and of the garments they wear, \nare those who have recently left the physical body \nand have not penetrated the walls beyond. They \nhave only learned that it is possible to reach you \nand that it is possible for them to walk and to talk \nand they live in the memory of their eating, etc. \n\nA habit acquired in the flesh is hard to over- \ncome because memory and all your characteristics \nare with you; and this accounts for many souls re- \nturning to you and saying, \"Why, yes, we smoke \nover here. ' ' They do not smoke literally speaking, \nbut they have their old tendencies to these things \n\n\n\nLIFE OF THE ASTRAL PLANE 91 \n\nand live so entirely in the memory of their life in \nthe physical; they have all the sensations of the \nflesh for a time, until they become illnminated \nspiritually and begin to see the broad, vast possi- \nbilities before them in the field of thought. The \nGreat Over-Soul reflects into their souls and they \ncome into a realization of how limited are the \nthings of earth. \n\nSouls have returned and said, '^Yes, we drink \nwine over here/* That is a part of their thought \nworld, the home of tiheir soul, it is merely memory. \nAnd it is memory, the great subconscious mind, that \nreveals to you after death every deed and every \nthought thru which you passed \u2014 not one of them \ncan you close your eyes upon \u2014 ^then you behold the \nfruits of this, and of that, and 'tis that that haunts \nyou; it is with you everywhere, it is a part of the \nhome of your soul, and you live thru it with the \nunderstanding of what it really means. \n\nIn your dreams you may pass thru a whole \nweek's experience; you will have experiences in \nyour mind and you will talk and when you waken \nyou find you have been sleeping for only ten \nminutes. Now all these things in your subcon- \nscious mind are just as real to you and pass as \nquickly as those in your dreams; but it is a reali- \nzation of everything. It brings to you their posi- \ntive proof that your life has amounted to sometiiing \nwheliier it is a help to you or whether it is a cause \nof sorrow, it remains to meet you when you step \ninto thaf'soul's home. \n\nSo when they tell you they drink and they smoke, \nknow that they are coming from a lower realm of \n\n\n\n92 THB DE8CEKDINQ LIGHT \n\nexpression than yon wonid desire to reach. Instead \nof delving into that realm, aspire to reach that soul \nand lead him into the light of spirit, for even \nthough he has sinned there are good qualities \nwithin that soul and which are a part of his home \nover there, so strive to reach him tiiru that until \neventually he has risen out of the old appetites \nwhich are so limited. \n\nThere are those who return and say, **I always \nwanted to travel, and I do/* There acre times out \nof the home of the soul when you will take a flight, \nnot as you would in the material walk from your \nhome, but you will visit other homes and see what \nhas become of their lives and this inspires you with \na desire to do, and the way to overcome and re- \nbuild the soul's home which is builded of wrong \ndoing is to return to the earth plane and serve your \nfellow-man. \n\nThough you in the physical have the power to \nthink and send forth the power behind the thought, \nyou cannot know the solidity of some thoughts as \nthey leave your consciousness. Thoughts are in-, \ndeed things, indiscernible to the i)hysical, for dur- \ning the physical expression man is in a preparatory \nstate, so to speak, preparing and growing into that \nvibration where it is possible for him to discern \nthru the sense of thought. \n\nAnd so they do for a time take into tiieir con- \nsciousness, into themselves, food. Have you not \n(some of you have, some of you have not) lived \nthni an experience in your imagination? The \nimagination is a reflection of the language of the \nsovl; and if your vivid imaginations of which you \n\n\n\nLIFE OF THE ASTRAL PLANE ' 93 \n\nspeak are so pronounced, in some of yon it is be- \ncause the sonl responds to the nnseen world and the \nmany vibrations about you are recorded in your \nconsciousness, tho you cannot comprehend it. And \nso those who have never builded a thought home \nin that expression beyond the physical, all their \nthought world is in close alliance to the physical, \nthey have builded it entirely of the solid material \nthought and into this they step upon leaving the \nflesh body. \n\nWhy does the soldier return in his uniform, or \nothers in the garments which you remember having \nseen them while in the physical? Because in past \nyears as the world beyond the physical in their \nendeavor to penetrate the wall between and con- \nvince man in the flesh of the reality of life and the \ntruth of spirit return would present those whom \nyou have called departed and they must clothe \nthemselves in memory *s garments; and that they \nmay be recognized by you they appear to the in- \nstrument thru which they manifest in the garments \nin which you very clearly remember having seen \nthem. \n\nDuring their expression over there for a time \nafter leaving the flesh they are clothed in memory's \ngarments, but upon the penetrating of the finer \ncurtain between the spiritual and strong reflections \nof the physical, they find a clearer vision of things ; \nthey know that it is not the adornment of the \nphysical, it is not the adornment of the outer ex- \npression, but it is the glimpse within, bringing \nforth into expression the beauties of the soul. And \n\n\n\n94 THE DESCENDING UQHT \n\nthen as they return to you, you will find their \nmessages all contain love and service. \n\nWhen a soul returns and says, **I have a beauti- \nful dress,*' it has the physical memory and it is \nclothed with it, the little world that soul builded \nin thought. When you read books which tell you \nof their homes and tiie experiences like those in the \nphysical, know that it is true-r-but would you de- \nsire this? Or would you not desire to have a home \nof the real spiritual quality into which you can \nstep upon discarding the physical body? \n\nMan is eternal \u2014 there is no end \u2014 and all things \nphysical, all things imperfect thru physical thought \nor mental thought destructive, ends; will fall away \nand then the eternal spiritual man will ascend thru \nencircling darkness into the light. \n\nYes, spirits wear clothes of their own thoughts, \nof their own thought world, clothes to adorn the \nphysical, and then to return to you physically, they \nadorn the outer body, the. astral body, for the \npleasure or satisfaction of minds in the physical, \nbut in spirit they clothe the soul with beauty, with \nservice, with love. \n\nSo let us see, as we see in our ascension the \nmanifestation of the spirit, and we will know them \nnot by their physical a,ppearauce but by -their souls, \ntheir thoughts and their deeds. May you find the \nway which leads you thru the density of that life \nimmediately across the plane where you will take \nall your physical memories. Go thru them for your \nphysical experience in the physical body but build \na highway thru those memories into a spiritual \nlight, for there you will find yourself upon leaving \n\n\n\nUFS OF TflS ASTRAL PLANE 95 \n\nthe flesh body, in the thought world which you in \nyour life have created. \n\nSpirits wear clothes \u2014 the spirits of you wear \nclothes; clothed in the thoughts of you. If they are \nspiritual and pure, or if they are earthly and un- \nclean, they are woven by your own individuality. \nMay you live and learn and walk and grow and \nascend into the eternal light of spirit. \n\n\n\nThe law of life draws the souls to the realms to \nwhich they belong. They are assembled in gproups, \nthey can visit any realm they desire. They can go \ninto another realm as missionaries where they sow \nthe seeds of light and truth; and they help some \nsouls to waken spiritually, but they cannot live \nthere for any length of time, they can stay only for \na short time \u2014 this is the great law of life; all are \nassembled in the place where they belong. \n\n\n\nKnow that if you have cramped within you the \nGodspark so that it is dreary, cloudy, and there is \nnothing bat smoke which seems to come forth, it is \nbecause you have made it -so. But there is no \nindividual whose qualities are such but that that \ninner spark, that Godspark, can be touched and \nilluminated and be brought forth. It can be stirred ; \nit can be touched upon tiiru the mind. And it some- \ntimes lies at rest until the individual himself finds \nit, and when he has found his Godspark he grows \nmore rapidly and touches and illuminates all lives \nwith whom he comes in contact. \n\nThere are lives filled with dark shadows whose \nreal individuality has been marred by their strong \n\n\n\n96 THE DESOENDING LIGHT \n\nsuggestive thought \u2014 these are the souls who find \ngreat difficulty when leaving the flesh body. . Now \nI do not say that their loved ones do not meet them, \nbut if they are not in the same vibration, then they \nwill stand alone. You can stand alone even though \nyou are among a large gathering of people, because \nyour thoughts are in a different channel; they are \nnot in the same thought realm that you are. \n\nAnd so the individual soul as it passes from the \nbody in such a state will not be alone practically \nspeaking, but when the realization comes, they \npractically stand alone until they have builded their \nown individuality to such a degree that they can \nascend into spirit, and there they find every opjyor- \ntunity to unfold and bring forth that spirit, tiie \nGodspark within. \n\n\n\nIt has been said that those who return and mani- \nfest in their astral bodies are not good. I grieve \nfor those who have that thought; because I know \nthat they do not know the truth. There are pure \nsouls in the flesh, yes, and when they step into the \nastral, do you think they would pass thru that stage \nwithout manifesting? No, because the law of evo- \nlution is everlasting and inevitable ; therefore, it is \na stage of expression, it is a stage of evolution; it \nis a part of man's expression, a part of the making \nof him to His image and likeness; he must pass \nthru all these difiFerent stages of evolution, of \ngrowth and expression until that day comes which \ncannot be counted by the physical, nor can it be \nknpwn by them, but into that day he eventually \ncomes. \n\n\n\nLIFE OF THE ASTBAL PliANB 97 \n\nDo you not realize that you must learn to use a \nnew body? You must learn to nourish that body \nand not by the same process or manner in which \nand thru which you take care of the physical. One \ncannot plunge into it and manifest perfectly and \nbe in every sense of the word, at home. You must \nlearn, jou must pass thru every stage of it. \n\nWhen man is taken suddenly from the physical \nexpression of life into spirit expression then you \nhave the earth-bound soul, thru that law of gravity \nwhich draws close to it that which does belong to \nit and which belongs to this planet until that soul \nhas ripened to that degree where it can rise into a \nhigher thought realm. All souls are not ripe when \nthey pass away, neither are they thru with the \nphysical expression, but if the physical body be- \ncomes too weak to hold it, just as nature brings \nforth everything as it should be at its proper time, \nthat astral body is just strong enough to gather to- \ngether and it can manifest close enough to the earth \nplane to take it and gather the earth experience \nthru which it must pass. This body, the astral, \ncarries the physical memories and desires and \nappetites and thoughts. A man who is weak, filled \nwith that undesirable appetite for intoxicants, \ncraves it and in his last moments begs for it and \nyou give it to him ; he passes from that body and he \nstill lives. Was it that piece of clay that wanted \nitf No, the clay body did not want it, it was he \nwho wanted it; it became a part of his mind and \nhe craved it and continues to crave it. This is why \nmany poor, weak minded people are drawn linto \nthat realm of thought thru environments and such \n\n\n\n98 THS DE80BNDIKQ LIGHT \n\nbecause these hungiy souls crave it within their \nastral bodies ancT ask for it ; seek for one who will \ndrink for them. This is an absolute truth; and not \nonly with drink, but with other weaknesses. 'Diese \nweaknesses are so imbued into that astral body \nthat just for a time that astral body is drawn close \nto the earth plane because the individual who mani^ \nfests thru it is desirous of coming in touch with \nsome one who is weak as he was, so that he can \ngather the taste, for the taste is still there, all \nsenses are so pronounced for a time, but only for \na time. But as the spirit grows and the things of \nspirit become clearer and the things of God become \nvisible to them, the earthy lower desires drop away. \nThat soul is still in the astral body but manifests \nfrom a higher realm into a higher service. \n\nBut where they come to serve and aid, (and in- \nvariably these are the ones who will come to help \nand to lift their fallen brothers who were like \nthem) they will serve those whom they know are \nundeveloped and weak as they were. We are still \nspeaking of the astral body when we speak of those \nwho manifest, since it is the astral body which \nholds the strong reflections of those appetites and \ndesires. \n\nTherefore, it would be well to begin to build up a \nperfect astral body \u2014 I do not urge you to think of \nthe astral body and no higher, but make your de- \nsires pure, your thoughts pure, and serve humanity. \nWhen all the thoughts are of spirit, will not this \nbecome imbued into the astral body and will it not \nreturn to do these things? Yes, just as thru those \n\n\n\nUFB OF THB ASTBAL FLANB 99 \n\ndesires which are not good, this is true largely of \nthose desires which are good. \n\nWhen man discovers that he has a new body, \nanother body which is very easy to handle or thru \nwhich to manifest, then there comes before his con- \nsciousness the yesterdays, the memories \u2014 for three \nthings will meet man upon that day \u2014 the yesterday, \nthe today and the tomorrow. Yesterday, with its \nlost opportunities and mistakes; its cold material \nthoughts interwoven with selfishness and thought- \nlessness \u2014 today, with its fear and apprehension, its \ndoubt and hesitancy \u2014 tomorrow, into which he can \nsee and look and visualize. And then he sees so \nfar into that tomorrow that he cannot conceive of \nthe things therein for him; but in his spiritual \ngrowth and aspiration he delves into it \u2014 and grows \nspiritually into the tomorrow. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER m. \n\nPERSONAL EXPERIENCES ON THE ASTRAL \n\nPLANE. \n\n(We trust our readers will find this chapter both interest- \ning and instructive; and that it will be accepted as absolute \nproof and truth coming from the souls who h^ve passed into a \nrealization of spirit, who are in touch with the great Over- \nSoul, who would not stoop to deceive their fellow-men in the \nflesh. \n\nThese personal messages were given to different classes of \n\"Circles of Light\" during the course of lessons which are per- \nsonally conducted by the higher intelligences (great minds who \nhave passed out of the flesh but still working for the uplift- \nment of humanity) and were given in a dear and loud voice \nso that the stenographer in an adjoining room was able to \nmake a complete and accurate verbatim report of the different \nlessons. The spirit teachers permitted these individual souls to \nmanifest as object lessons.) \n\n\n\n(1) \n\n(A former evangelist, Rev. J R .) \n\nI was informed tonight that this was to be a \nmissionary meeting, so I have come here to speak \nto you. I appreciate the invitation and I hope that \nat some time in the future I may be able to assist \nyou in your work. I am no orator, never was a \nfluent speaker, but I have with me a message I \nwould like to impart to you. I would like to tell \nyou just exactly the condition I found mysalf in \nwhen I left the body because I know that all man- \n\n\n\nPBB80NAL BXPBBIENOBS ON THB ASTRAL PLANB 101 \n\nkind hungers for this knowledge. I know that the \nvery first question that man asks about the other \nlife is, **I wonder how it seems to die. I wonder \nhow it will seem when I die and leave this body.'* \nAnd so I believe that the first message that I shall \ngive you tonight will be my experience beginning at \nmy death. \n\nWhile this may not be as scientific or as deep as \nI heard the gentleman preceding me say, yet I feel \nthat it will be interesting to you and that it will \ngive you some knowledge of the conditions which \nexist in every moment and every second of the day \nand night. Constantly there are souls leaving the \nbody, and always are they having their own indi- \nvidual experiences; but, first, I think it will be \nnecessary for me to tell you something of my belief, \nsomething of my thoughts, something of my life \nand of my environment when in the material body. \n\nI Was bom of poor parents ; I was the only son, \nand my parents were old in years when I came \ninto their life, and so I had very few opportunities \n\u2014 ^and at a very tender age I was cast out into the \nworld to find my own way. And this, I think, is a \nvery good thing for boys and girls, for it brings to \nthem strength of character and independence. \nHowever, I went out into the world ignorant of her \nways. I educated myself a little, so that I was able \nto mingle with my fellow-men; and I was attracted \nto just such a place as you have in your city today, \nthe evangelistic services.* I was converted, and I \ntaught the people that expression of light, and I \n\ns i \n\n*This message came thru daring the Billy Simday meetings \nat Buffalo. \n\n\n\n102 THB DB80BNDINO LIGHT \n\nlived in it and walked in it, .in so far as I could see^ \nor feel or know. I prepared myself for the ministry \nand at the age of 35 I had a congregation, and \nthere I led my little flock with what I thought to be \nthe truth, and they bore the banner of **Fear the \nLord'* \u2014 these were my words and these were the \nwords I meant and believed to be the proper staff \nfor man. But as the years went by I began \nto feel a presence about me; I could not ex- \nplain it ; I believed that I was having some peculiar \nnervous affection. I believed that sometimes I was \nout of my mind \u2014 ^I could not conceive of why I \nshould have such peculiar thoughts, which seemed \nto come to me in conference as I sat in my study to \nprepare my sermons, and distinctly I remember \none afternoon, as I was working over my books and \nthe Bible, of which I was a great student by this \ntime, I felt a hand softly placed upon my shoulder \nand I was filled with genuine fear. Friends, I can- \nnot explain to you the fear that possessed me, as I \nheard these words spoken to me, **We are coming \nto take you away.\" I knew no more until I found \nmyself in bed, a sick man \u2014 and as those words did \ncome directly, to my memory it seemed that at \nsome time and somewhere I had heard that voice \nbefore. I could not connect it with my mother's, I \ncould connect it with no one, and yet it was a \nfamiliar voice. \n\nFriends, my mortal body never rose from that \nbed \u2014 and they told me that I must die. Oh, that I \nmight lift from the souls of mankind that terrible \nfear of death \u2014 friends, I think there is nothing \nequal to this fear. Staring me in the face was the \n\n\n\nFBBSONAIi 8XFSBIEKGB8 ON THE ASTRAL FLAKE 103 \n\npositive and fhe actual fact that I most die ; I must \nmeet this Gk>d of Wrath, in whom I taught and led \nmen to believe. Now I mnst meet Him and I felt \nsure that he would cast me down into the depths of \nhell because I had not done more for mankind \u2014 1 \nhad become so involved in this f ear, and I knew not \nwhy. Then there came upon me one morning, as \nmy family were assembled about my bed, a strange \npresence. Again I felt that hand, this time upon \nmy brow, and these were the words I heard, **Fear \nnot, fear not; we have come to take you home.'* \nAnd then as I tried to speak to my family, I found \nthat my tongue did not move, my lips did not move, \nI could not speak ; I could see them as they seemed \nte speak to me, but I could not hear them, and still \nI could hear away in the distance the sound of song \nand music ; and then I seemed to be lifted from the \nbed ; and I was filled with renewed strength ; I tried \nto say I was well, but they seemed not to hear me, \nbut they sank upon their knees and wept \u2014 and \nthere, behold I upon the bed lay my body \u2014 ^then I \nknew that I was dead, and again that terrible fear \ncame upon me. I wanted to go back \u2014 ^I couldn't go % \naway \u2014 **0h. Lord, spare me that I may do more \nthan I have done for my fellow-men. ' ' I prayed, I \nwept, but there came upon my ears nothing but \nsilence \u2014 then I slept and upon awakening, I found \nmyself in darkened space \u2014 fear was gone but I felt \na weakness. Again I heard a voice \u2014 it was that \nfamiliar voice saying, **Thou art not alone,\" and \nbehold I before me stood that form and that face I \nhad seen in my dreams so many times, but whose \nname I never knew. She placed her hand upon my \n\n\n\n104 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nshoulder and received me in open arms \u2014 I met my \nmother ; I felt her kiss, her hand, and I knew it was \nmy mother's. I now recognized loving and familiar \nfaces; and then there came into my arms my babe \nwhom I loved and of whom I was the father \u2014 and \nthen I knew that I had passed into the heaven of \ntrath. \n\nOnce again came upon me that fear. **0h, \nmother,'* I said, **When am I to appear before \nGodr' She said, **Son, fear not, your God will \nspeak to your soul. He is within you now:'* Then \nI passed into what seemed to be a gray dawn, it \nwasn't blackness, it wasn't light, but it was like a \ngray dawn. I felt a presence, and all about me \nseemed to be emptiness until there came upon me \none grand and glorious light, and the dawn seemed \nto bring to me a something which I cannot explain \nto you now. It seemed to open and J saw a perfect \nlandscape; every blade of grass was perfect, and \neach flower was of a i)erfection \u2014 ^indescribable to \nthe mortal mind. I heard a voice which said, \n'*Walk along this pathway, brother; you must. im- \npart to the consciousness of man, light not fear; \nand until you have told the truth, until you have \nfelt the truth, and know that God is the Spirit of \nLove and Perfect Light, you will find much for \nyou to do.\" \n\nThen I seemed to pass into silence, and I slept; \nand in the next chapter I found myself in my read- \ning room, in the pulpit, and there I tried to speak \nto my people ; but alas I they heard me not. THiere \nstood one who had taken my place, and he, too, was \ntelling them of the wrath of God^ and who would \n\n\n\nPEB80KAL EXPBBIENCES ON THE ASTRAL PLANE 105 \n\nmeet them and cast them into punishment. Oh! I \ncannot tell you how hard I tried to tell him what a \nterrible mistake he was making. He did not hear \nme and did not know that I was there, but I waited \nand watched and longed, hoping that some time I \nwould be able to tell him. So, Sunday after Sun- \nday, I stood upon the platform with him; and one \nday one of my little Sunday school girls was called \nupon to speak her experience, and thru her I spoke \nto them, and told them that / was not dead; that I \nstill lived and that God is Love, \n\nOh, how I thank you for this chance to speak to \nyou. God bless you, my friends. Good night. \n\n\n\n(2) \nGood evening, friends : I met with some diBSculty \ncoming in here tonight. I feel that perhaps you \nhad better help the soul here who tried to hinder \nmy entrance \u2014 a gentleman who thinks he is doing \nright, for he always felt that it is not right for the \nlaymen to investigate along these lines. He was a \npriest in the material expression of life, and he \npassed away only a short time ago, and as he thinks \nit is wrong for the laymen to investigate spirit re- \nturn, he endeavored to hinder my entrance into \nyour circle. I will ask you to pray for his soul, \nand I shall pray with you. \n(Class prays for the enlightenment of this soul.) \nThank you, friends, thank you. Now, it is not \nthat I thought that the gentleman was not as pure \nand good as any soul who ever walked in the flesh \nor out of it, but it was that he receive a clearer \nvision and a clearer light. \n\n\n\n106 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\n(Class in nnison, **God bless yon.'*) \nI have been trying to manifest for some time and \nbecause of his vibration and inine being very much \nthe same, he hindered my entrance \u2014 ^however, only \nby his thinking that he was doing good. He felt \nthat it was his duty to prevent spirit manifestation. \nHowever, he will become enlightened. \n\nI had investigated spiritual communication and \nspirit return for a great many years before I left \nthe flesh body; I made a study of that for almost \n20 years previous to my transition, and so I feel \nright at home when I come into your midst. \n(Class in unison, **You are welcome, friend.*') \nThank you, that is a feeling of encouragement ; I \nfeel your welcome \u2014 ^I felt the unspoken welcome \nupon my entrance, but you have a work to perform, \nrather a duty, in helping those who are passing out \nof the flesh with that thought. They have believed \nthat it was wrong for spirits to return to men and \nwomen who were not of the clergy. Therefore, \nthey are returning and endeavoring by every pos- \nsible means and methods to prevent the spirit \nmanifestations, because they believe that it is not \nright. \n\nNow, the thing for you to do is to send a prayer \nfor them ; for their enlightenment ; that justice and \nthat right will come into its own and that nothing \nbut that which is right shall come about. And I \ntell you this, brothers and sisters, (I am going to \ncall you that) you will find that spirit return^ will \ngrow stronger and stronger thru all the years to \ncome. It has been said that the things of God will \nlive and that the things which were not of (Jod \n\n\n\nPBB80NAL BXPBBISNOBS ON THB ASTRAL PLANB 107 \n\nshall not live. Now, spirit return has heen thru all \nthe ages \u2014 since man has had intelligence, since man \nhas grown spiritually, and therefore it is of God, \nor it would have long since passed into oblivion. \nIs this not correct? It is very plain today that it \nis a thing of God, and it is rising out of all the \nprejudice and ignorance and manifesting every- \nwhere. \n\nThru all the stages of man's growth spiritually \nand thru all the stages of man's unfoldment, it has \nbeen evident in the histories which man reads and \nyet cannot find the real meaning therein, there has \nbeen the proof of manifestations of spirit return. \nThe voices coming from the unknown have guided \nsouls in all walks of life, and in your books upon \nyour shelves you will find records of this. But, to- \nday, a universal knowledge of this is being gathered \ninto the consciousness of man. He has reached that \nstage of spiritual growth where he knows this is so. \n\nNow, this gentleman who came here tonight, in \nall the goodness of his soul, prayed that I would be \nprevented from entering your room tonight. He \nsays it. is a thing of God, not to be touched upon \nby the laymen \u2014 that laymen must always be led by \nthe ecclesiast. But you must send your thought to \nthis soul because in his misunderstanding and mis- \nconception of the Great God, and the idea within \nhis consciousness that it is wrong, he is making \nefforts to prevent manifestation in various fields \nand thru various avenues. \n\nHe will not succeed, however, because anything \nof God is bound to come into manifestation before \nall else, no matter how strong a detriment and a \n\n\n\n108 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nprevention one may be, and with your clear con- \nception of Truth there is bound to be a more rapid \ngrowth of the wonderful cause to which I dedicated \nmy thought before I passed \u2014 and continue to give \nit today. \n\nI attach myself to no one in particular, but I \ncome to all conscientious searchers who walk along \nthe roadway of spirit return and spirit communion. \n1 leave you now, God bless you. \n\n\n\n(3) \n\nGood evening, friends: Repeatedly I have been \nwith you, but very often I find that it is impossible \nto speak. Wlien I was here about a week ago, I \ncouldn't make a sound. Perhaps the medium was ^ \nnot present at that time. But I have come to greet \nyou once again as I promised I would call \noccasionally since I left the physical; also I have \nvisited countless places open for spirit communion \nsince I last visited you. \n\nThe desire always has been, and it is all the \nstronger today, to prove to humanity that spirit re- \nturn is a fact. I realize that you are unable to see \nme, and, therefore, it is required of me to give you \n\nmy name. It was W S . However, after \n\nawhile here the names that we carried , or rather \nget there, amount to very little here. We are \nknown here by our vibration^ by our influence, by \nour thought. Therefore, it is by our appearance \nthat we are known, for the appearance to the soul \nor to the spirit is not as the appearance of the \nphysical body to the physical eye. It is very much \nas your conception is as you become acquainted \n\n\n\nPEBSOKAIi EXPEBmNCBS ON THB ASTRAL PIANB 109 \n\nwith fhem. Your thought of them is in their per- \nson or physical appearance, and it is the per- \nsonality, the characteristics, which impress you, \nwhich you hold in your consciousness as your \nknowledge of them, and so it is here. We know \neach other because we can sense their real selves, \nthe real meaning, the real person, and in that way \nthe name slides away from us. \n\nThat is why a great many spirits who have been \naway from tie earth plane for a great length of \ntime are not giving their names. This causes in- \nvestigators whose minds are still very limited be- \ncause of not having gathered a great deal of knowl- \nedge from the spirit world, to doubt the message, \nand because of the spirit being unable to give his \nearth name the mind in the physical expression \nthinks that it is not good. \n\nNow the lesson that I propose to give you tonight \nis along these particular lines. It is very wise, in- \ndeed, when the message is conveyed to you directly \nor personally, to demand to know from whom it \ncomes. But when a message is conveyed to man- \nkind in general, holds a universal thought, a uni- \nversal message, it is needless to know the name of \nthe intelligence behind that message because a name \nis given for the very shortest period of man's ex- \npression in life \u2014 ^that is the physical expression. \nThis explains very clearly why how very frequently \na spirit returns as a guide and guardian or helper, \nand gives a name which is a symbol, or as a \nthought, and it holds within it, for instance, hope, \nfaith, love, and such words which are used by the \nspirit very frequently, when man demands to know \n\n\n\n110 THS DE80BNDINQ LIGHT \n\nwho is the spirit or intelligence behind the message. \nNow this does not in any way cover the personal \nmessages conveyed to yon directly from yonr \nfriends, because it is the very beginning of the in- \nvestigative field of thought, that man knows from \nwhom he receives the message, and to whom he is \nspeaking. But very frequently a spirit, long since \ndisembodied returns to the earth plane with a mii- \nversal message, with a far reaching message to all \nhumanity; and he has so far grown away from the \nname, or the memory of it, that it is some time \nafter they have come into your vibration that they \nare able to recall even the memory of a name. So \nvery often they are mistaken for masquerading \nspirits when they are not. \n\nThere are, I am sorry to say, many spirits on the \nlower realms desirous of manifesting, and if man \nhas not been first prepared by knowing the laws \nand protective forces, which I understand you have \nbeen taught, and along which lines I know that you \nhave been very much enlightened, it would be dan- \ngerous for one to enter the field of investigation \nfor the purpose of spirit communion. \n\nDuring my investigation along this line in the \nphysical I found very much difficulty in proving the \nidentity of those from whom I received messages, \nand I determined a short time after I left the body \nto investigate along these lines, and find out why \nit was so many times very hard to find out the name \nor hear it or to bring it forth. The more rapidly \nman progresses away from the physical expression \nafter passing from the body, the more rapidly he will \noutgrow the memory of that earth name. It is ber \n\n\n\nPBBSONAL EXPEBIENCSS ON THE ASTRAL. PLAKB 111 \n\ncause a very small fraction of man's existence has \nbeen spent in that limited thought upon the earth \nplane^ (he very tiniest part of his life is in the \nphysical where he has been given that name. \n\nBut for a direct personal message, always de- \nmand the name. If it is a universal thought which \nholds in it the thought of the upliftment and help- \ning of all mankind, then it may be the blending to- \ngether of various minds, and that message may not \nbe conveyed from one mind, but from a group, a \ngreat ^oup, while working in that realm endeavor- \ning to bring down to the physical mind of man, or \nto the mortal world of man, so to speak, that mes- \nsage. \n\nNow I hope this is a little help along the line of \ninvestigation. I have learned also that it is pos- \nsible for man to manifest in a seance room when his \nbody and he are still together, but they can only \nmanifest thru the organism of a medium. Very \noften a message is conveyed independently by the \nspirit of one who is still with them, or who is still \nin direct line with their body, but thru a mind in \ndirect line with them and the instrument. These \nmanifestations cause a very confusing condition; \ntherefore, it behooves man in his investigation to \nlearn much of the laws of psychology, studying the \npower of the mind incarnate that you may be able \nto discern the message conveyed to you from t^e dis- \nembodied intelligence and that conveyed to you from \nthe mind camate. There are some of you who, are \ngiving great thought to the building and rebuilding \nof the physical body. I am sorry to say that I must \nleave for want of more voice sound. Good night. \n\n\n\n112 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\n(4) \n\nThe following is a message from the spirit of Damon, an \nEgyptian slave. The question might arise how did this soul so \nlong out of the flesh know the English language, so we asked \nthe spirit teacher to explain, and his explanation follows: \n\n\"A soul long out of the flesh whose greater and clearer ex- \nperiences have been in the other life, upon returning to mani- \nfest can draw the language (thru which to convey the \nmessage) from the minds of the students in the flesh. \n\n''Many souls years and years out of the flesh would find no \nmore difficulty in speaking a modem tongue than their own. It \nis the thought which they give through any language familiar \nto the students gathered.\" \n\nGood evening, my friends : May I have the privi- \nlege of telling you some of the things I have learned ? \nI dare say it would be of little benefit to tell you \nthe name I bore whilst there; but Damon was my \nname when I dwelt on the earth plane, many, many \nmiles away from here. I was a poor slave during \nmy material life, and I had no opportunity to learn \nor to inquire into the things my soul so craved to \nknow. \n\nMy greatest desire was to learn, to know some- \nthing beyond the humdrum life I lived. I wished to \ntravel and see and learn and know, and since I have \nleft that material life I have learned, I have trav- \neled, and I know more, but I feel that there is still \nmuch to learn ; and ever and ever we will find that \nwe have yet more to learn. On the material plane, \nwhen opportunity permitted me, I would sit and \ndream and wonder if the beautiful stars seemingly \nin the heavens then above me were inhabited. I \nused to think ihat perhaps I might be able to reach \nthese wondrous lights and know whether they were \n\n\n\nPERSONAL EXPESIENGES ON THE ASTRAL PLANE 113 \n\nmerely lights or worlds. I used to think, but I know \nnot why I thought, that death would some time re- \nlease me ; then-I could soar to these stars and know. \n\nNow, since I left the material plane, never until \nthe last few years, have I had the slightest desire \nto return ; but now I find, and I sense the vibration \ncoming from the enlightened minds of men asking \nfor this knowledge my own soul so desired. I find \nthose here who spend hours in a closed room asking \nenlightment. So I come by the kind invitation of \nyour teachers to tell you something I have learned. \n\nThe death of my natural body and the beginning \nof my spiritual life was brought about by the cruel \nhand of the imenlightened master. He, in his im- \ndeveloped mind, felt it was necessary to keep under \nhis control the slaves and thus thru his ignorance \nhis hand smote me unto death. But out of the dark- \nness came a light and to me this was a grand awak- \nening ; to know that I bore no man 's burden but my \nown \u2014 and I found that every burden meekly borne \nis a mountain of strength. I found that man was or \nis his own master, and that man is free to learn and \nseek, and help others. \n\nAft^r leaving my body there was a time which to \nme was and is a blank, but upon waking out of this \ncomatose condition I felt a freedom \u2014 and friends, \nwould you believe it ? it filled me with fear for I had \nnever experienced the sensation of being free and \nmy own master. However, this sensation was short, \nthen there came a realization that freedom was \nmine, and I recalled that desire to travel. I at- \ntempted to travel and it was not a pleasure to me \nbecause I had first to be educated or to progress \n\n\n\n114 THB DE80BNDIKQ UOHT \n\nto a stage of unfoldment where I could understand \nthe laws. It did not mean only going from one place \nto another, but it meant learning the lives and the \nconditions of the people of those parts. Slowly I \nbegan to realize and to gain knowledge. My great \ndesire to know brought me thought force and I \nvisited all parts of your planet, yet there was that \nstrong desire to know the others as well. \n\nBut I found that before I could reach Mars, I \nmust reach a certain stage of progression. I will \nexplain to you friends, as clear as- it is possible for \nme to do so, that surrounding your planet, or our \nplanet, (for I was one of you) are the disembodied \nsouls whose lives have been spent upon your planet \n\u2014 and so it is \u2014 as spiritual light is acquired we \nprogress, and it becomes possible to travel farther \naway from the earth plane. Then we find visiting \nus all the seekers of light from other planes. Now \nI will tell you the little I have learned of Mars. \n\nSo far, friends, I have learned that this planet is \nlarger* and older than ours, and, therefore, has \nreached a higher state of development \u2014 they have \nprogressed far beyond the earth people. I find that \nit is peopled with those who have passed thru a \nwonderful spiritual progression. During their de- \nvelopment they have passed thru much the same \nconditions as the inhabitants of your planet. They, \ntoo, have had warring coimtries; they, too, have \npassed thru the age where there were hundreds of \ndoctrines and many conceptions of God, wheife their \nminds were confused and they knew not what to \nbelieve. \n\n\u2666Greater \u2014 in view of its development. \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\nPEBSONAL EXPEKIEN0E8 ON THE ABTBAL PLANS 115 \n\nThey have passed thru all these conditions and \nhave risen above them. They were animal eaters \u2014 \nwhidi is wrong\u2014 they have passed that stage. \nWhen man has ceased to eat flesh it is more possible \nto bring out his spiritual development. They live \nentirely upon fruits and vegetables. There are very \nfew animals upon that planet and they are domes- \nticated \u2014 there are no wild animals, but there have \nbeen. The land belongs to all men; each has his \nown little part which he desires, no more. Children \nare bom only thru harmony and desire. Their \nteachers are all disembodied spirits; their schools \nare circles like yours; they receive their teachings \nthru independent voice and independent writings. \n\nI am one of the silent listeners as you have been, \nseeking knowledge to carry it to others \u2014 ^I am learn- \ning. May I come again? I have much more to tell \nyou but your material strength seems to come to \nme less freely; but I did not realize that I was \ndrawing so much of your material strength. I am \nsorry to have tired you. Good night. \n\n\n\n(5) \nGood evening, friends : May I ask you to sing for \nme? (Cla\u00abs sings). I thank you. Upon entering \nyour room tonight I was informed that it was mis- \nsionary night, or in other words, that I might be \nadmitted to speak to you. For this privilege I thank \nyou. I suppose you all recognize me upon hearing \nme speak. I have visited you upon previous oc- \ncasions and the last time I was witii you I promised \nyou I would return and bring you some of the light \nI had acquired, tho perhaps very little. \n\n\n\n116 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nThe first time I visited you (I think it was your \nlittle group or if it was not this group it was a \nsimilar one) I was so overwhelmed with the realiza-. \ntion that it was possible for me to speak, to direct- \nly present to you an audible message, that my words \nwere very much disconnected. Tonight I come to \nyou as one of you. I, too, am a student of light, \nand I have been very close to you and to those dis- \nembodied members of your circle until I quite feel \nthat I can clasp your hands and say, brothers and \nsisters. \n\nUpon one occasion I visited you and spoke, and \nyou promised me and I promised you that we would \njoin hands and do that work which would tend to \nthe upliftment of mankind. I come to you now, \nurging you to help me to rectify some of the state- \nments I made while. in the body. True, many of \nmy thoughts, many of the words I sent out into the \nuniverse, were thoughts bom in my consciousness \nfrom minds out of the body \u2014 ^tho I knew it not. \nBut intermingled with those thoughts were the \nthoughts which I had acquired in my study as I \nprepared for the ministry. \n\nThat I can speak to you I know will be very much \ncriticized and very bitterly denied by many great \nminds today, perhaps by those who personally knew \nme whilst in the body, and for their benefit I will \nsay this : I shall speak personally to many who will \nbitterly criticise the statements I am about to make. \nThat the spirits return, I am here to prove; that \nman holds his individuality, I am here to prove; \nthat the new day will bring direct communication \nfrom one world to the other, I am here to prove ; that \n\n\n\nPBB60NAL EXPBBIENCES ON THE ASTBAL PLiANB 117 \n\nmy work is unfinished and I have yet much to do, I \n\nam here to prove that P B lives, I am here \n\nto say, forever and for all eternity. \n\n\n\n(6) \n\nGood evening : I have not long to stay, but I have \ncome tonight to thank you for your help. I promised \nto return to you and tonight I have that privilege. \nI am continuing the study of the miad and environ- \nment, but it is diflScult to find just the proper chan- \nnel thru which to carry back to the earth plane the \nknowledge as I acquire it here,^ but if you will bear \nwith me, I hope that I may be able to carry thru \nyour channel some light, some knowledge, some \nfacts, as I acquire and gather them here. \n\nSince my last ^isit to you I have visited many \nchannels thru which it was possible for me to come \nin touch with the mortal plane. And here I will say \nthat in various parts of your planet today there are \ncoming into existence and being developed many \ndoorways thru which it will be possible for us to \npenetrate and in the audible voice, but they are far \napart in every instance. \n\n\n\n(6a) \nFriends, I have passed thru the pangs of death \nand know what it is to fear. I lived in mortal terror \nof death ; but, behold, the portals swung wide and I \nhad no need to fear. I beheld my mother standing \nthere, I knew her, and knew that I was safe and that \nI would live again. I found no Gtod of wrath wait- \ning to send me into eternal torment \u2014 ^I deny the ex- \nistence of any such being. \n\n\n\n118 TH8 DB80SNDIKO LIGHT \n\nGod is love, God is spirit, God is harmony, Qod is \nin everything that lives. \n\nOne is here whose name is Ghristopher. These \nare the words he sends. * ' Here there are no nations \n\u2014 there is no line that divides. There are no enemies \nto him who seeks thru the light of Gtod^ the spiritual \nlight in God. We live in God; we die in Gk)d; we \nserve; and across the river we will join hands. \nThere are no enemies. \n\n\n\n(6b) \nGood evening, friends, my name is W- \n\n\n\nI have been away from the earth plane for a long \nwhile and have been studying for the work for some \ntime. I have been in what we call the school of pro- \ngression preparing for work of this kind, but I am \nnot yet fitted to take charge, but, however, I will in \ntime. \n\n\n\n(7) \nObject Lesson on Cbemation. \n\n(Spirit Voice) : You are having some kind of a \nmeeting here \u2014 what kind of a meeting is it? \n\n(Class) : This is a spiritual research- class \u2014 ^we \nare searching into the spiritual realms for informa- \nmation. \n\n(Spirit): Do you want me to- tell you some- \nthing? I had*a son ; and when he was a baby he had \na fall which injured his spine. It did not affect him \nin appearance, but it did affect his body. He came \nover here before I did, but lie told me all about it. \nWhen he came over here, every time he thought of \n\n\n\nPERSONAL EXPSBIBNOES ON THE ASTRAL PLANE 119 \n\nhis old body, his astral body would feel stiff the \nsame as that body of his on the earth plane did, and \nhe had that feeling nntil that body on the earth was \nentirely gone. Now, if yon can explain that, do so, \nand I will tell yon what I found out about it. \n\n(Class gives individual opinions). \n\n(Spirit) : Yes, just as long as that earth body \nhas form it reflects on our body here. It reflects on \nour astral body \u2014 call it that \u2014 they got names over \nhere I never heard before. \n\n(Member of claisfs asks if it would not be better to \ndispose of bodies by cremation). \n\n(Spirit) : There you are \u2014 it would have been a \ngreat deal better if that old body of mine had been \nburned. I canH help but take a look at it once in \nawhile. I don't think of it, but I have to take a look \na{ it occasionally because I am interested in it and \nI can't help having a feeling for it. I suffered a \ngood deal from cancer \u2014 oh, how I did suffer, and \nevery time I see or sense that body I feel that can- \ncer, yels I do. Now, I won't have any trouble like \nthat after that body has gone back to earth, not at \nall \u2014 that is what they tell me over here. \n\n(Class tells him to stay away from that old body, \n\nnot to think of it). \n\n(Spirit) : Oh, I just as soon watch the old \nthing \u2014 ^it can't last forever, you know, and I can, \nso I might as well have it as long as it lasts, and \nmay be I can teach somebody something. You \nknow it is not always the one that talks the best \nor has the best flow of English who can give you \nthe best lesson \u2014 ^you know that. \n\n\n\n120 THE DESCENDING LIOHT \n\n(Class offers to send him their good thoughts). \n\n(Spirit) : Oh, don^t bother about that; however, \nI would appreciate them. \n\n(Class explains the power of thought), \n\n(Spirit) : I would like that all right\u2014 you know \nthat there is something in thought. I used to have \nmore fun with my daughter \u2014 she was always tell- \ning me to have a good thought and things would \nbe all right. I used to get sick and tired of it, but \nI have found out that there is a great deal in it. \nBut I used to get sick and tired of this \" thought'* \nbusiness, \"just think you are all right'' \u2014 ^when I \nhad a pain in my stomach something terrible. But I \nfind that thoughts are things, and there is a great \ndeal in the thinker. Now I will tell you something \nabout this \u2014 people can have their Sunday thoughts \nand their Monday thoughts and their everyday \nthoughts, but it is the people who have their good \nthoughts every day who get in tune with the best. \nYou know life is a big thing; it is a big problem and \nthe best thinker is the man who plays the best tune. \nWell, I must be going now, good bye. \n\n\n\n(8) \nGood evening, friends : I wonder if I may come \nin and talk to you. Perhaps I can tell you some- \nthing. (Class welcomes him). I don't know any \nof you people here but I am just a common man. \nPerhaps if I should tell you that my name is George \nWashington I would be more than welcome, but I \nam not; I am only just a common everyday man. \nI have been wanting to come back for a long time \nbecause I wanted to tell you, or somebody, about \n\n\n\nPEltSONAIi EXPEBIENGES ON THE ASTBAL PIANE 121 \n\nwhat it is to die. You know I had a terrible fear \nof death. I thought when I died I was going \nstraight to hell, because I never went to church very \nmuch, and so when I came to die I did not feel very \ncomfortable, but I died and I have come back to \ntell you something about it. \n\nYou know when they used to tell me about hell, \nI thought it was a great place where they kept \ntumbling us_all in and we kept on burning \u2014 ^but I \nfound there is a hell all right, only it is not a place \nthat you tumble into. I have found out, too, that \nyou can build a heaven without going to church. \nNow I want to tell you something else. When I \ndied I didn't know it \u2014 ^I was on the bed and all at \nonce I found myself standing beside the bed and I \nwas wondering what my wife and famUy were cry- \ning for \u2014 ^now, this is gospel truth \u2014 ^when I found \nout what had happened to me I was scared; then \nI saw somebody I never saw before. I saw a \nwoman; then I went to a place (I call it a place \nbecause it seemed like a place to me) and I was \nthere for a long time. Sometimes I remembered \nthat I had died and then again it seemed only a \ndream. I saw a lot of familiar people when I \nwakened and they instructed me. They explained \nto me that I was in another life now and it was \ntime for me to get to work. Work I well, I thought \nthat I was all thru working, but I found there was \nstill lots of work for me to do. \n\n\n\n(9) \nFriends: If I can be of assistance to you, I \nshall be ^lad. I am also going to ask your help. \n\n\n\n122 THE DESGENDINO UGHT \n\nI have a great work before me which I find very- \ndifficult. A very short time after my death, I came \nto some people and I promised that I would help. \nMy thoughts those days were to return and take \ncontrol of the organism of our ministry, our priest- \nhood, but I find that my work here prevented that. \nI found all about me were souls who knew nothing \nof death ; knew nothing of the condition into which \nthey were passing or had passed. I found souls \nso full of the thoughts imbued into them by us in \nour efforts to teach that they were unwilling to \nwork ; were unwilling to communicate ; unwilling to \nserve, and believed that they were to wait for a \ntime until the prayers of earth helped them to \nprogress \u2014 ^very different from the way they must \nwork to progress. They were bitterly opposed to \nmy returning to communicate. I found difficulty in \nthis, and there were some of them who came to re- \ntard manifestation \u2014 ^invariably preventing spirits \nfrom communicating. \n\nI work in this sphere and I feel that there is a \nstrong tie between you and me because of our one \nfamiliar place \u2014 ^Buffalo. It is hard for me to \ncommunicate without first greeting you in my old \nfamiliar way. All teachings are good in that they \nhelp man to be better, but when they make the work \nharder \u2014 ^retard spirit communion, or in any way \nprevent it, it is a terrible mistake, because it is \ntime that men become enlightened; thus learning \nthe effects of wrong doing; learning the truth of \nspirit return; learning the positive conditions be- \nyond death. Therefore, I stand with you and for \n\n\n\nPBB80NAL BZPBBIBNCB8 OK THB ASTBAL PLAKS 123 \n\nyou and by you. I ask your assistance and most \nassuredly I shall be of assistance to you. \n\n. My name was C when I was there \u2014 ^which \n\nname I think is familiar to you. I leave with you \nmy blessing \u2014 in the name of the Father (Infinite \nLove), the Son (Universal Harmony) and the Holy \nGhost (Absolute Wisdom). May God bless you. \nGood night. \n\n\n\n(10) \n\nI am no learned man, but I have had some ex- \nperiences that you have not had \u2014 one of them is \ndeath. But I am still alive. (Am I supposed to \nkeep time to that music, or just talk?) \n\n(Class: Oh, just talk \u2014 that music (electric Vic- \ntrola) helps the vibration). \n. Oh, I see ; before I got very near you I saw a \npurple light and when I came closer I saw that there \nare a great many different shades of colors, al- \ntogether making one beautiful shade of purple. It \nis pleasing to me \u2014 ^it gives me a calm feeling. I \nwill tell you what that is; it is restful to me. It \nbrings to my memory \u2014 ^well, I don't know just how \nmuch you people know about life over here or any- \nthing like that, but we are schooled here, not in \nbuildings, but thru some sympathetic law. There \nare people here who have passed thru the same ex- \nperience that we have and then they passed thru \nmore experiences and they are our masters or our \nteaehers as you would say \u2014 ^and we receive instruc- \ntion from them. \n\nNow, they do not speak to us like I am speaking \nto you \u2014 ^it is funny how you hear my words when \n\n\n\n124 THS DE80BNDINQ LIGHT \n\nI have no physical organs \u2014 ^it is vibration. Well, \nthat is how it is conveyed to us only we don't hear \nit, we know it. Now that is a hard thing for me, a \nman not capable of teaching, to explain to you. We \nget it thru what you might call telepathy, altho in a \ndifferent condition, and that is the way we receive \nour lessons. \n\nWell, the thing I am trying to get to is this: \nThe other day in our lessons, we learned that pur- \nple is a restful color. If we were in the physical \nbody and in a room where all the color was pur- \nple, we would become extremely nervous, but when \naway from the physical body the most restful color \nwe can ever see is purple. That explains to you, \nI hope, why I feel so much at home, so perfectly at \nease here tonight. And if you could see physically \nthe color around you as I see it, possibly you would \nbe nervous because it would effect the nerves, but \nin not seeing it, merely feeling it thru the psychic \npower you feel that restful condition. \n\nThere is a little child here \u2014 ^I wonder who it be- \nlongs to, he is trying to reach some one. Come on, \ndear, step right in, I will wait for you. Bless that \nchild \u2014 I love children. \n\n(The little soul manifested to its mother, a stu- \ndent in the circle \u2014 message, personal, not rec- \norded). \n\n\n\n(11) \n\nGood evening, friends : For about 22 or 23 years \nI have been trying to get back to the earth plane \nwith a message. No one killed me, / killed myself. \nI spoke right there when they sentenced that man. \n\n\n\nPEBSONAIi EXPEBIEKCE8 ON THE ASTBAL PIANE 125 \n\nbut nobody heard me. Do you know why? I know \nwhy now. Because the man that heard me would \nnot tell; he said he thought he imagined it \u2014 ^he did \nnot believe it, but why didn't he tell what he \nlearned? \n\nSay, donH you think that I have been in hell? To \nknow that that man never laid a straw in my way \u2014 \nwe had a few words that evening, but nothing seri- \nous. I was discouraged; I took my life, killed my \nbody, that is all. And to see them take that man \nand weave a net to prove that he took my life, and \nme standing right there and with a great effort I \nfinally spoke to a man who heard me, but who said \nit was imagination. He allbwed public opinion to \nhold him back \u2014 and he is over here tonight. \n\nI am not coming to prove to you spirit return, \nbut I am here to tell you what hell is. It is not a \nplace, for a place you might get out of some time ; \nbut it is a condition that you can get out of only \nby your own efforts. \n\nI don't know how far I can go with you \u2014 ^how \nmany of you people think because I did that I am \ncondemned? (None) Then what am I? A gentle- \nman out here tells me that I am a sick soul. May \nI ask ^ a question? Are you people here to help \nsouls or are you here for curiosity? (Class as- \nsured him of their help.) Then, in the name of \nyour God, take away the law which permits them \nto take a man's life thru circumstantial evidence! \nIf there is anything in your life that is worth any- \nthing at all, you would try to overcome this. In \nthe name of your God, overcome it! Will you \ndo it? \n\n\n\n126 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nHow do you suppose a spirit who holds its in- \ndividuality, holds its intelligence, feels to look down \ninto the minds of men when they are all accusing \nhim of a crime he never committed; mourning him \nas gone; mourning him as lost forever, as burning \nup in hellf (Class asks what is the condition of \nsuch a spirit.) \n\nWhen he has outgrown all these conditions, when \nhe sees why it is so, when he sees the minds of men \nsoftening, when he knows that there are armies \nof spirits returning to tear down the conditions \nthat brought that about, when he knows that \nthe door into the spirit world is opening wide, \nwhen he knows that he will meet those people, \nif not in your life, then in this life, he will rise. \nHe will not need to return to the eartiiplane to tear \ndown the conditions he builded there, for has he not \npaid the price for all that he might have done! I \nam only one of countless souls who are working \nto tear down these barbarous conditions. But now \nthe minds of men are full of something else \u2014 ^it \nmakes no difference what the condition might be, \nwe work always to tear down that which is wrong; \nwe never waver and we never change. \n\nI cannot tell you what I suffered during that \nman's trial; and what I suffered when that spirit \nleft the body. I met that spirit and I spoke the \nwords, **I know you are innocent.** Oould I bring \npeace to his soulf No. \n\nIt must be for 23 years that I have been trying \nto do just what I am doing tonight. I wonder if \nthis is as a dream to you, or do you really know \nthat I am speaking to you. Where do I get this \n\n\n\nPEBSONAL BZPEBIENCB8 OK THB ASTRAL PLANB 127 \n\nvoice! I hear it, but it does not sound like my voice \nas I recall it. I know I am speaking \u2014 ^but, oh, how \nlittle I know. Can I tell you something without \nyou thinking that I think I know more than any- \nbody elsef Do you know there is one thing I have \nlearned since I came here \u2014 I have learned that the \nspirit, until it rises entirely away from the earth- \nplane, is a monothoughtist. They carry one thought \nand they pound upon it until they have builded the \nthing they are working for. That is what I have \nbeen doing. \n\nYou hear the words I speak \u2014 do they come to \nyou as dots and dashes, or do they come as waves, \nor do you hear the words as spoken words f (Class \nanswers that the spoken words are heard as in any \naudible voice.) Then I have reached that some- \nthing which makes it possible for me to speak. A \nman without a body brought me in here, a man \nwhose heart and soul represents that living foun- \ntain of love \u2014 ^his name is W P . Good \n\nnight. \n\n\n\n(12) \n\nWhen I awakened the desire to investigate, to \nexplore, came upon me, this being a very part of \nmy personality, and with my guide I passed thru \nvarious stages of experiences. Now as I relate \nthem to you as they appeared to me^\u2014 perhaps you \nmay be led thru the same and it may have a very \ndifferent appearance to you \u2014 ^however, I am giv- \ning to you MY personal experiences and the inter- \npretations of them. \n\nThe first field into which he took me was one\u2014 \n\n\n\n128 THB DE8CEKDIKG LIGHT \n\nnow let me compare the sensation I had in this \nbody to some sensation that might be felt in the \nflesh, that you may clearly comprehend thru your \nmemory the sensation as we go along. Understand \nit was not physical sense \u2014 ^but I can compare it to \nintense cold, as the physical body will sense it, a \nshock, and then I saw forms; some were parts of \nbodies, and some were complete bodies. I could \nnot understand why this appeared thus to me.' I \nsaw forms of children, and forms of men and \nwomen, and there seemed to be no consciousness \nwhich responded as we came to them. \n\nNow he, whose hand I held, who guided me thru, \nmade clear to me that which may not be clear to \nyou, because you seeing thru your individuality \nand I seeing thru mine may create a vast difference \nbetween the two. He explained to me very clearly \nthat these were souls whose astral bodies were just \nassembling, we will say, or parts of this body gath- \nering when the soul had just left the flesh body \nsuddenly, without having completed the physical \nexpression. The body was there complete, but I \ncould not see it because it was not all in the same \nrate of vibration. \n\nHe made it clear to me that I could receive a \ncleareir light upon that lesson if I returned again \nto the same \u2014 shall I say condition or place! He \nsaid I would then discern a perfect body, animated \nby the soul, the spirit of the individual, whose \nastral body alone I knew at this time. \n\nI did return, and under his guidance and thru \nhis insearch learned that they were there for a \ntime after leaving their bodies suddenly as by ac- \n\n\n\nPBB80NAL EXPEBIENCES ON THE ASTRAL PLAKE 129 \n\ncident or such; an4 as your flesh bodies are often \nimperfect, and as there are those in the flesh who \nmake a particular study that they may build and \naid men to build their bodies, so there are those \nwho are given to that work to aid the soul in \nbringing into expression its astral body perfectly \nformed, altho tteir physical expression had been \nbroken off before it was complete. \n\nNow these souls whose spiritual bodies I beheld \nand which appeared to me to be incomplete, not \nmanifesting at that time, were in a state of coma, \nan unconscious condition. Perhaps in your re- \nsearch souls have not returned as soon as you be- \nlieved they would after death, and perhaps some \ndo return and tell you that the ones after whom \nyou inquire, who have not returned, are sleeping \u2014 \nand this is the condition they are in. \n\n\n\n/ \n\n\n\n(13) \n\nGood evening, friends, what is this gathering, \nsome society or whatf (Class answers that it is a \nresearch class, endeavoring to 'investigate along \nthe line of spirit return and the continuity of life \nafter death.) \n\nI thank you, but I know little of the laws, very \nlittle, but perhaps I will be able to help you \u2014 ^per- \nhaps not. \n\nI passed out during an earthquake very sudden- \nly. I was the victim of an earthquake on the coast \nof San Francisco \u2014 if that will be of any value to \nyou. I am no authority on this subject, but I am \ninterested. All the days of my manhood I devoted \nin the service of the teaching of Christ. Now, as \n\n\n\ns \n\n\n\n130 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nI return - 1 hope that I may be of some benefit to \nyou. \n\nOf my early death, a mere experience, I can tell \nyon very little. I can only say that I was sitting in \nmy study, preparing my sermon. Sometime after \nI awakened to the fact that I was out of my. body. \nI knew that I was in the presence of many who had \nexperienced the change called death long before \nI had. My brother, who had left our home some \ntwenty years previous to that time, was the very \nfirst one I recognized. But personal experiences \ncan be of little value to you in your search for \nknowledge of life after death, so I will not bore you \nwith any of that, but I will tell you of some of the \nthings I have learned, if that will be of value to \nyou I shall be happy, and if not, I shall be sorry. \n\nThis is a very strange experience to me, altho I \nhave manifested many times. My very first at- \ntempt to manifest was thru one of my fellow-stu- \ndents, in giving his morning sermon. I stood very \nclose to him and because I so determined to make \nhim understand that things were not just as rep- \nresented, or as he was presenting them, I inspired \nhim to speak words which he had never spoken be- \nfore and words he had never believed. I caused \nhim to forget that he had studied, to forget that he \nhad prepared a sermon \u2014 and that you might better \nunderstand, we will not call it a personal experi- \nence, but we will feel that it is a lesson. \n\nUpon awakening to the fact that I had died and \nthat death was not what I had expected it to be, \nand that the dead were not what I expected them \nto be, that my ideas were far from facts, but that \n\n\n\nPERSONAL EXPEBIBKCE8 ON THE ASTRAL PLANE 131 \n\naftef death we met with cold positive facts, I felt \ncompassion for my fellow-men who were in the \nsame thought I was in and who believed as I had \nbelieved and taught as I had taught. And so I \nmade haste to return \u2014 and here I will pause to tell \nyou of the great difficulty I met in my efforts to \nbring to my friends and my fellow-students the \nfacts I had gathered after death. \n\nI found that I might stand by them and speak, \nbut they were deaf to my words \u2014 ^I might stand \nbefore their eyes, but they were blind ; I might em- \nbrace them and they knew it not. I found that I \nmust learn more of the laws; I must learn more \nof the psychic laws upon the mental plane ; and this \nT made haste to do. Here I will pause to tell you \nthat I found that it was one year from the time of \nthe shock which severed my soul from the body be- \nfore I awakened to the fact that I was no longer \nupon the earth plane \u2014 one year a blank \u2014 one year \nfor which I will never be able to account \u2014 one year \nlost \u2014 of this I have no recollection, whatever. \n\nIn my endeavor to learn of the psychic laws of \nlife, I found that it was possible for me to convey \nmy thoughts to other minds by other means than \nhypnotism. This was by placing myself in direct \nharmony with one who was in the act of conveying \na lesson, who was in the act of sending forth a \nthought, who had gathered ininds close to him and \nhad them all in harmony with him. In that act \nI placed myself in harmony with that mind and I \ncaused him to speak the words that I thought and \nwhich he had never known before. It was not only \nby his consciousness ; it was not only the impression \n\n\n\n132 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nupon his mind, but it was the impressing npon the \nminds of all who were assembled who were in per- \nfect harmony with the thoughts that he was con- \nveying to them \u2014 for it is made more possible for \nan inspirator to accomplish the things he is en- \ndeavoring to do when there are minds assembled \nwho are in harmony and who are reaching out to the \nmind of the speaker. \n\nAll thoughts reflected from the physical minds are \nknown to the spirit. The vibrations are coming \nfrom every conscious mind there and they assist \nthe inspirator to send forth his thought\u2014 but he \ncannot deliver the full thoughts in a room where \nthere is no other mind in harmony with the speaker. \nNo inspired mind can speak inspired words to \nempty seats. The speaker must reach the minds of \nthe auditors and then the inspirator can accom- \nplish the things he desires. \n\nYour instructor tells me that I must let you rest. \nSome time I shall be permitted to speak again and \nthen we shall continue along this line. Good night. \n\n\n\n(14) \nGood evening, friends: I feel that the thing I \nam about to ask of you will, perhaps, meet with dis- \napproval, but I find that I have a message for you, \nbrothers and sisters \u2014 ^I feel that I may call you \nsuch, tho when I was living in your midst there \ndwelled in the heart of each of you a feeling of \nprejudice toward me and my followers. I was \nthen an inhabitant of your city, and it is not long \nsince I laid aside my mortal body. And I will say \n\n\n\nPEBSONAIi EXPBBIBNGBS ON THE ABTBAL. PIAKB 133 \n\nthis : That there dwelled within my soul no preju- \ndice or bigotry against any man or creed. \n\nWill you recite the Lord^s Prayer! \n\nI am not thru with my work,' but I find that it \nwill be necessary for me to take up another method. \nI find that the doctrine upon which I grounded all \nmy teachings is far wrought \u2014 the doctrine of the \nforgiveness of sms. It is not true, and why should \nso many souls become so inconvenienced by this \npositive wrong! Why are you prejudiced against \nany church! Why do you allow it to affect the poor \nindividual! Oh, friends, it is wrong. Each one of \nthem in their own innocence is gathered into the \nfold and instructed in one particular faith and not \nallowed to read or study any other faith \u2014 and be- \ncause of this they know no other way. I will say \npositively that I taught what I sincerely believed \nto be true, else I never would have taught it. \n\nI surely wish to reach my beloved successor ; and \nI sincerely hope that my soul prayer will be an- \nswered by the great spiritual friends, messengers \nof God, when it will be possible for me to speak to \nhim, and tell him wherein are these terrible mis- \ntakes. \n\nHow sincerely did I believe in prayer for for- \ngiveness of sins, and what a terrible realization it \nwas to me, to know that the things I believed in \nwere not, and that I was a messenger carrying to \nmankind this false message ; so it grieves me deep- \nly. I wish to reach all churches. \n\nHow many souls I have met in my travels since \nI left the earth plane. I will tell you something \nof my experience of passing out \u2014 and when I give \n\n\n\n134 THB DE8GBNDIKO UGHT \n\nyou this, I will ask you to consider this favor ; take \nout all prejudice; rather live up to the words I \nheard one of your members speak tonight, **We \nrecognize the universal brotherhood of man.\" Do \nnot allow to live within you any prejudice toward \nman, your brother. \n\nI will tell you something of my experience. I was \nnot feeling physically well for some time previous, \nand mcmy times when I sat in my study I seemed to \nfeel a presence, and I always thought it was my \nguardian angel that I always believed every in- \ndividual had. And I seemed one day to hear the \nwords, * * You are coming home soon, ^ ' but I thought \nit was because I was nervous, and I simply rose \nfrom the chair and tried to gather myself together \nand to make myself think that I was mistaken. \nThis happened on three different .occasions be- \nfore I came away. The day that I became so seri- \nously ill, I heard again, **You are coming home \nsoon,\" but I did not even then realize the end was \nso near. I passed on where I met many experiences \nwhich were personal and which I will not mention \nhere ; they would little interest you since they are \npersonal. \n\nBut I asked in all the sincerity of my soul, \n** Where is Godf Where is my judge!\" I found \nmyself sitting alone meditating, as I had many \ntimes in my study, upon the wonderful truth of life, \nand while sitting there, I became aware of the same \npresence I had felt on those three occasions of \nwhich I have previously spoken. This time I found \nthat it was possible to see the one who stood beside \nme, and he said to me these words, **You have come \n\n\n\n' FBBSONAL EZPERIHEif GE8 ON THE ASTRAL PLANE 135 \n\nhome; yonr judge is within you; he lurks within \nyour soul; he has always been there and yet you \nfound him not; come with me.^' And I went; I \nfollowed him to a brink where I found numerous old \nacquaintances gathered together^ and they all \nseemed to be praying, praying, repeating the old- \ntime word prayers. I asked them, **Why is this! ^' \nAnd they said, **0h, Father, we are waiting to be \njudged/' Then there came into my soul a terrible \nrealization \u2014 the judge lives in my soul, why is he \nnot in all! As I went forward they said, **We have \nsinned, we are in purgatory waiting the judgment. ' ' \nI remained but a short time for I seemed to be \ndrawn away \u2014 and I went on. I cannot begin to \nexpress the wonderful sights; and I passed an \neternity which seemed to me but a moment; and \nthen I came to a drifting shadow\u2014 it seemed to be \na dark place where many, were working. \n\nA woman whom I had known recognized me \u2014 \nthey seemed to be working industriously at some \nunfamiliar set purpose, and I said, **Why so much \nwork; why so much effort; how comes itT' Then \nI recognized a face familiar long since of a woman \nstepping before me with head bowed and she said, \n\n* * Father , you were the first one to speak a kind \n\nword to me, and I will tell you something that will \nperhaps pay for your kindness. I did not go to \nyour church, I did not believe in your teaching, I \nknew nothing much of that, but in your world I \nwas a fallen woman, and yet when my heart was \nheavy and my head was bowed in sorrow; when I \ntried to rise above those conditions, every one \nwould pass me by; every one would hold me do \n\n\n\n136 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nthat I could not raise myself above it ; but you said \nto me, *Go forward; there is hope for you; God \nloves you/ You left those kind words as a light \nfor me, and now perhaps they can be a light for \nyou/' \n\nI passed around with this soul where I saw many \nsouls which seemed to be passing thru a course of \npurification; and she led me to the edge of this \ndark shadow, and there I seemed to lose her pres- \nence. As I passed on fear crept into my soul and \nI sank upon my knees and prayed that I might see \nthe real light. \n\nAgain I felt that presence of which I spoke, say- \ning, * * Go forward, undo all that you have done that \nyou think is wrong, all that weighs on your spirit, \nthen your greatest desire shall be realized.'* And \nnow I will say, friends, that my greatest desire al- \nways is that God will reach the soul of every man, \nand this is my lesson. I shall first reach my own \nchurch and then I shall reach all the other churches \nthru the organism of our clergy and tell them that \nit is not forgiveness but atonement. I now* leave \nyou in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy \nGhost. Good night. \n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV. \n\nHEAVEN IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT. \n\nOn the plane of spirit manifestation, next door \nto you, homes are not bnilded of material but of a \nfiner ethereal quality \u2014 ^these homes are bnilded by \nyour deeds, your thoughts, your acts. \n\nHeaven and earth are one \u2014 God's plan \u2014 God is \nall, perfect good, perfect justice, perfect love, a \nperfect pattern, and all that each of these things \nhold. This is God; no wrath, no destruction, no \npartiality \u2014 every soul is an eternal light \n\nMan will say, **If the dead live, where are theyr' \nIn the mortal expression they are in space, but in \nthe spiritual expression they are in that realm of \nthought in which they have placed themselves by \ntheir lives in the body. If a man is desirous of \nbeing good, of helping to uplift his fellow-man, he \nfinds himself in the realm of that thought where \nit is possible for him to do this. He finds his \nmeniory, his ambition reaching out to those sen- \nsitive minds of others who are in the same realm \nof thought that he is. If a man lives a life of sin, \nlives only' for himself, he finds himself shorn of all \nthose things for which he aspired, when he steps \ninto the next expression; for the tilings which are \nof mortal mind cannot live in the spirit World, \nthey fall away. \n\nSo if yon want to start your Tciea'v^Ti X.oSl'k^ ^ ^^'^ \n\n\n\n138 THE DESCENDING UGHT \n\nhave everything with which to do it ; but if yon want \nto lean upon the old-time thought and when you \nget over there come back and try thru all the dif- \nferent avenues possible to setve and to build your \nheaven, why, it is your privilege; for every soul \nhas an eternal chance to live, to rise and to build \nhis heaven. \n\nYou say your loved ones are in heaven \u2014 of course \nthey are ; they are in their own heaven. The world \nof spirit is in what you call space, that which you \ncannot see thru the eyes of matter because it is in \na higher rate of vibration. Our bodies are ethereal \nbodies and are emersed in ether, as well as yours, \nyet we are in a higher rate of vibration, and can \nX rise and go just as rapidly as your thought will \ntravel, but we are close to you. \n\nHeaven is within you \u2014 search within your souls \nand there you will find the kingdom of heaven; \nthere you will find God's spirit. You are building \nyour souPs home every day of your lives. The \nspirit of God is within you, is without you, every- \nwhere is God. Your loved ones in spirit are close \nto you; live in the thought of a clear conscience \u2014 \ninvite them into your heaven and you can reach \ninto their heaven in spiritual aspiration. \n\nWhat is a clear conscience! \n\nA clear conscience is \u2014 ^I have done something \ngood; I have tried to help some one; I am doing \nall I can to be good and I want to be better. You \ncreate a clear conscience by living * right, doing \nright, loving one another, looking not for defects, \nlooking not for little hurts from your neighbor, but \ntaking the lesson, not looking for anything but good. \n\n\n\nxi^ \n\n\n\nHXAVBK 18 WHAT TOU MAKB IT 139 \n\nThe conscience which makes man unselfish, speaks \nto him all good. The conscience which is so sen- \nsitized thru spiritual light cannot go wrong; can- \nnot deceive, for it makes you true to yourselves and \ntrue to your fellow-men, and you are creating a \nheaven all about you \u2014 ^and there you will find your \nloved ones. \n\nYou create a clear conscience by living right, \ndoing right, and when souls return with a great \nlesson, be looking for the good, and aspiring ever \nand ever to good. Now you say that you cannot \nlive this way while in the physical \u2014 ^you are very \nmuch mistaken; you can apply truth to all things; \nyou can be true, and tho you have a struggle at \nfirst, truth will rise and truth will make you free. \nAnd so in the heaven of a good clear conscience, in \nthis little home, learn truth in your everyday life. \n\nSo let us strive to build a heaven of perfect bliss, \nfor God lives within the conscience of every soul of \nman ; God manifests there, and your loved ones are \nin their own conscience and in their own heaven. \nYes, and you can speak to them, you can touch them \nand know that they are with you. \n\nGod has revealed to man today that death does \nnot end all ; that He lives and that He has not taken \nhis loved ones from him. God has revealed today \nthat tho the great battles of man's so-called ene- \nmies took their loved ones from them, God gave \nthem back and they are here and they are speaking. \nSo forgive your enemies, love all mankind, build a \nheaven of a clear conscience. For when you step \nout of your physical body, with a clear memory \nyou will find yourselves looking back into the past \n\n\n\n140 THB DB80BNDING LIGHT \n\npages of your lives and you will know that all \nthings which come to you are of your own creation. \n\nYears ago man could not reach out so far intel- \nlectually or spiritually; he was stronger physically \nand weaker mentally. The highest he could reach \nwas to picture heaven as a place of rest, a place of \nbeauty, a place of music which would be pleasing to \nthe ear. He knew only the senses of the physical \nbody \u2014 and these were to be pleased in heaven. \n\nBut as man rises mentally and spiritually he sees \nwith the spirit, he hears with the spirit, he knows \nwith the spirit things which are spiritual, things \nwhich are not tangible, things which the material \neye cannot see and the material ear cannot hear \u2014 \npure spirit. Heaven, to a man who has come into \nthat light, is beyond the expression of mortal mind. \nHe only knows that it is purity, perfection, rest, \npeace and love. This premonition comes while he \nis still embodied in the mortal. And as he steps \ninto the diamber of silence and speaks with the \nspirit, out of the silent chamber of thought there \ncomes the sweet message that he is a part of God's \nplan, that he is not all mortal; that the body he is \nfeeding so earnestly is only for a short time, but \nthe soul never dies. \n\nMan as he steps from his mortal body, if his life \nhas been wholly earthy, if his desires have all been \nfor self and he has forgotten that he has a soul, will \nfind himself in a very strange place. But even then \nthere will meet him at his bedside or at the place \nwhere his soul rises from the body, those he has \nloved. They will be there to meet him and they will \nguide him along the way, even tho he is heavily \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\nitoAVBN IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT 141 \n\n* \n\nladen with sin and wrong doing \u2014 ^bnt fhey will not \nstay with him. He can see them and yet he cannot \nreach them, until he has bnilded a bridge of light \nin truth and purity and love, until he has done this \nhe camiot come into the realm in which they dwell. \n\nAnd when a man passes from the body in such a \ncondition, can he expect in two hours or a day to \nbuild a perfect bridge over which he can pass? No, \nhe cannot. For living things are the thoughts he \nhas sent out, living things are the wrongs he has \ncreated, and he cannot kill them until he has, thru \nhis own effort, his own desire, torn them away. \n\nIf you live the truth, you cannot help but speak \nit ; if you speak it you cannot help but think it ; \nand if you think it you cannot help but live it. The \nspoken word is just an outer manifestation of the \ninner, but the example you show in your everyday \nlife is a reflection of the soul within you. \n\nThe sacrifices \u2014 ^not that you cast out that man \nmay know what you have done, but the little things \nyou do, which only those who are benefited know \n\u2014 ^these are the lights along the way. It is by let- \nting your light shine by the spirit within which \ngoes forth and touches the consciousness of many \nother souls ; by letting your light shine and making \nthe illumination of the soul, by the spirit within, \nyou are burning out conditions which Were created \nby living in sinful thought, which if you do not undo \nwhile still in the flesh body, you will have to bum \nout after death. \n\nTHANK GOD for every trial thru which you \npass,- for it is a step toward heaven ; it is a washing \nout of some condition within the soul of you with \n\n\n\n142 THB DESOBNDINO UQHT \n\nwhich the clear vision of spirit could not dwell in \nhappiness. It is a burning out of some of the ex- \nperience which you will never have again; it is the \novercoming of many things in your past life which \nyou have builded perhaps thru ignorance. \n\nEvery trial, every sorrow, every hard experience \nthru which you pass is a blessing of God in your \nlife \u2014 a blessing and not a shadow; it is a great \nlight, it is a fire to bum out the little hell which \nyou have created. And when you have passed thru \nit, you have passed thru the fire of purification ; and \nsome of the conditions which you have builded, and \nwhich have become a part of you (your soul) are \ngone, and a finer, purer, whiter light is there in \nplace of the other. There is a purity and truth \nthru which the spirit illuminated can manifest \nspiritually perfect in the soul in its ascension at \ndeath. \n\nWhen your new body into which and thru which \nyou must manifest receives you, you find yourself \nnot weighted down with the flesh, you find yourself \nfree, your memory clear, all your past is before \nyou, save that which has been burned out by bitter \ntrial and sorrow; yet, bravely and truthfully you \nfind all before you that is yours. If you have sinned \nagainst your fellow-man and caused many to fol- \nlow you \u2014 what can be the pangs of the soul upon \nseeing and realizing, not as a picture, but as a great \nexperience, all the wrong you have done, if it is \nstill a part of you, if it has not been burned out by \nservice while in the flesh t On the other hand, all \nthe good you have done is still a part of you. \n\nIs the home of the soul of you illuminated with \n\n\n\nX \n\n\n\n. BSAVBK IS WHAT TOU MAXM IT 143 \n\nly with goodness, with love and self-sacFi- \nfice, or is it filled with bitterness and hatet \n\nIn your soul's ascension you will find that life is \neternal. In your soul *s ascension you will find with- \nin your consciousness a realization that it is well to \nbuUd your heaven whilst still in the flesh as well \nas out of it. \n\nHe who will say^ and do just for the glory of it, \nhe who will serve that all mankind may know that \nhe is a good man, then when he finds himself \"out \nof the body, what awaits him t The glory which was \nnot genuine is gone and only the true motive be- \nhind the act exists \u2014 then what? He is shorn of all \nmaterial things; only spiritual things can adorn \nthe home of the soul so he must start to build his \nheaven by first tearing down, burning out the false \nconditions which he has created. \n\nSo be true, be true to yourselves and to your \nfellow-man. Let TRUTH be your watchword in \neverything you do; and when you delve into the \ngreat law of spirit communion, you will receive the \nspiritual things, and the souls who are akin to you \nwill come close to you. \n\nSo let us unite in the great thought that today \nwe are making and building the soul 's home ; we are \ntoday souls, and so let us ascend thru the glorious \nlight of spirit \u2014 ^because when you have no flesh \nbody you will be away from all material things, \nand what will you have if your home life in the \nphysical has been all material, all selfishness? \nTherefore, we say deal with material things ma- \nterially and spiritual things spiritually. . \n\nLet us unite in the great thought that we will \n\n\n\n144 THE DB8CENDING LIGHT \n\npasB thru trials, and we will praise God for them \nand bless all about us for the great opportunity; to \nbuild a heaven and ascend higher into the spiritual \nlight. And when the great day comes when you \nwill no longer have that physical body then you \nshall see the work you have done. \n\nWhy not begin today to live a pure, unselfish \nlife, to rise and reach out to the glorious and grand \nrealities which are yours t Let us help you; let us \nshow you the way. We have learned by bitter ex- \nperience those things which we would teach you; \nbecause when we dwelt upon the earth plane, man \nin his ignorance and prejudice closed the door to \nthe higher realms. But today you are privileged \nto open the doors wide and listen to the soft voice \nof the spirit. \n\n\n\n(The foUowing is the testimony of a spirit given \nat one of the Circles of Light.) \n\nFriends: I was attracted here tonight by the \nsinging of that old familiar hymn, ** While the \nYears of Eternity EoU.** Did you ever stop to \nthink that you are in eternity now? I find myself \nlookingNback to the time when those words were \nmost precious to me, when my poor weak mind \ncould only gather the thought that I must live well \nto reach eternity; that I must die to behold all the \nbeauties in my imagination ; that I must not stop to \nappreciate the world in which I was living then. \nFriends, I did not realize that I was in eternity \nthen; that I could feel and see all the beauties of \nheaven then if I but made them about me. With all \nmy heart I used to sing those old hymns in which \n\n\n\nHEAVEN IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT 145 \n\nI thought I would have to go far away from my \nloved ones where I might sing praises all day long; \nwhere the streets were paved with gold and where \nhynms were sung all day. Beyond this I had no \nhopes. \n\nNow, children, this is all out of reason. Gtolden \nstreefs, I found them not; I did find that all the \nmt^ic I heard wus in my own soul made by the good \nI did while on earth. It has always been man *s way \nto imagine heaven the most beautiful and perfect \nplace. Do you realize that heaven and hell are on \nyour own planet? Do you realize that you are in \neternity now? It is so. We are all spiritual beings, \nonly you have not passed thru the change called \ndeath. \n\nIt is many years since I left your plane. I ex- \npected to find God over here with a big stick wait- \ning to judge me. I was so scared of death that I \nthink I was scared to death. I tell you friends, I \nwould have given a good deal to know as much as \nyou do about death. One time about ten or fifteen \nyears before I left the body I was sitting under a \ntree and I saw a spirit. I know now that I did see \nit, but for about a half hour I imagined that I saw \nit I was thinking deeply, **Now if there is some- \nthing after death, what is itt\" \u2014 when I heard my \nfather speak to me and he said, **My boy, I am \njust the same as I always was, but I am trying to \nbe better.'' Being an Irishman, I was scared and \nI didn't stop to .argue with him either, but I never \nsat under that tree again. \n\nThis knowledge has always been possible to man, \nbut in his ignorance he has ignored it. Man has \n\n\n\n146 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nbut to reach out for the knowledge and realize the \npossibility of getting knowledge from the spirit \nside of life, but prejudice, domination and ignoi \nranee walked hand in hand into his mind before he \never got a chance *to know anything else. \n\nAs ages come and go God has always been above \nman's conception. Never as long as man lives in \nthe material body, and for a long time thereafter \nwill man know what GOD IS \u2014 God is not a man \u2014 \nnot an object\u2014 but CrOD 18. It is beyond my con- \nception and yours. Good night. \n\n\n\nMany things are written of the life over here, \nand how much of this is proven, save the messages \nreceived from the intelligences who have proved \ntheir identity to mant There may be dream \nthoughts of the world over there; there may be vol- \numes presented to you as visions of the otiier side, \nbut as to absolute proof of the conditions of the \nhomes over here, this can only, be given to you from \nthe souls who return who have experienced death \nand in their return prove to you their identity. \n\nSo we will tell you something of the things \nwhich have been brought thru from that World be- \nyond the grave, from those who have positively \nproven their identity and then conveyed the knowl- \nedge, giving to man in the flesh more than a vision \nof the home over here, and presenting to you the \nviews which they have found in their experiences \nafter death. \n\nWhat is more convincing than to hear from those \nwhom you love and whom you know to be absolute- \nly truthful, presenting to you their experiences t \n\n\n\n'^ HEAVEN IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT 147 \n\nId this not a stronger proof than something which \nhas been passed down thrn many, many ages and \nchanged as mnch and as often as the minds of men \nhave changed? \n\nSo we will spealc of the things which have been \nwritten of commnnication received from the world \nbeyond and from which people have turned away in \ndisgust because the description of the world over \nthere and the lives and the homes were so similar \nto that upon the earth plane that they could not im- \nagme it to be so. \n\nLet me tell you that every day of your lives in \nthe flesh you are building the home of your soul; \nevery day you walk in the flesh, you think in the \nflesli, and every moment of your flesh existence you^ \nare constructing and building the home of your \nsoul into which you must go, and in which you must \nlive. How many of you stop to think of this as you \nwrong your fellow-man t How many of you have \nconsidered this when you hate your neighbor ; when \nin a spirit of selfishness you have drawn to your- \nself the things belonging to your brother? \n\nNow all these things are a part of the home in \nwhich you will live ; these conditions are in the home \nof the soul. No other man can build for you this \nhome^ for you will step into your own environ- \nments. Your environment, your heaven, or your \nhell, is about you every moment of your lives \u2014 \nyou are building it, making it in your everyday life. \n\nNow, if you build your hell about you thru sel- \nfishness, hate, jealousies and destructive thoughts, \nyou will have it and you will live in it; you may \nlive and sing and dance in that false happiness \n\n\n\n148 THS DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nbut, why, the bliss of heaven is peace of mind. It \nis oontentment \u2014 and in the feelings built about you \nthru false thoughts, thru jealousies and hate, how \ncan you feel other than a false happiness? \n\nSo when man comes to the realization that he \ncannot sin; he cannot hate; cannot throw out and \nconstantly force into expression destructive \nthought without finding awaiting him all these con- \nditions in that home over there, do you not think \nhe will strive to build a home of happiness and \npeace of mind to live in oVer there? \n\nThose who are bitterly attacking the great law of \nspirit communion, forbidding investigation and \nsuch, have said that all souls who return say they \nare happy \u2014 ^but he who makes this statement must \nseek further, for all souls who return do not say \nthey are happy. There are souls who say, **I am \nlearning the bitter lessons of life; I am seeing the \nreturns of my wrong doing; my soul is bathed in \nremorse; I am rising by great effort into a clear \nconception of things.** \n\nThen there are souls who return and say, **I am \nintensely happy,** or, **I am, oh, so happy** \u2014 but, \nlook back into their lives and you will see why they \nare so happy. Certainly, they are happy, for was \nnot their homes built during the flesh expression \nby unselfishness and love and service t Did they \nhate their neighbor? Did they rob their neighbor? \nnot of material things \u2014 ^but there are many things of \nwhich you may rob your neighbor other than ma- \nterial things. Many times you will rob him of \nhappiness. If you know of something that will make \nyour neighbor unhappy, does it make you happier \n\n\n\nHEAVEN IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT 149 \n\nto tell him and spoil his happiness? You rob him \nof his happiness \u2014 ^and all the little things which \nman in his selfishness forgets; all these things are \nstored up and they are yonrs; no other man wants \n\u2022them ; no other man can take them, they are yours. \n\nSo as man searches he will find; as he investi- \ngates he will learn; as he learns he will begin to \nknow, and His knowing which gives to man that \npeace. For when man knows the price he must pay \nfor all his thoughts and his deeds there will not be \nso much selfishness and domination; there will be \nmore peace and harmony. \n\nStop and think of eternity \u2014 endless \u2014 endless \neternity. You camiot reach it in thought, it is end- \nless, for ever and ever and ever. Then what is the \nlittle timie of the physical expression when com- \npared to that? \u2014 every living one of you are in \neternity today, and the little time of the flesh is the \nvery smallest part of your life, but it makes the \nhome of the soul until during your spiritual ex- \npression you have perfected that home. \n\nDo you think that the Great God, the Great \nSource of ALL things good, the Creator, that which \nhas brought into expression everything, would pick \nout of your little time of the flesh some few parti- \ncular souls who will attain immortality? Oh, \nfriends, live with this thought: that God is GOOD, \nGod is holy, God is mercy, God is justice, God is \nALL GOOD, and never created a thing which was \nevil. The spirit of God is within you, without you, \neverywhere is God. Then why work here with the \nselfish thought that because another has not the \nsame interpretation of God's word he is doomed to \n\n\n\n150 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\neternal punishment t The Great God of the universe \nknows all things ; why you are as you are ; why you \nare tempted as you are to do tlie things you do; \nknows why your little hell is growing about you; \nknows why you must have that lesson, and that be- \ncause you built your little hell you must bum thru \nthe flame of remorse \u2014 but He would not cast you \ninto that for all eternity. \n\nBlind man, open the eyes of spirit and look into \nthe great f quntain of life and then you will see that \nGod would not cast any man into eterncA punish- \nment \u2014 NO I \n\nBut the minds of men in their limited state before \nthey have broken away from the bounds of other \nminds have been made blind to the wondrous, glori- \nous power of the Godhead. The little hell you build \nabout you will cause you the torment mentally until \nit bums out all the impurities within the soul of you \n\u2014 ^bums them out by service to your fellow-man. \n\nIf you have caused some one to sin, if you have \ncaused discontent, if you have caused one man to \ntake another life, if you have caused all the de- \nstructive thoughts it is possible for one mind to do, \nthen do you believe that you can upon the very last \nhour in the flesh attain happiness, because you are \nsorry, you are intensely contrite because you know \nthat you have done wrong? Oh, look behind you \nand see what you have done. Now, do you think \nthat you can attain happiness and create with that \none little thought a perfect home of the soult Oh, \nno, the law of compensation is a part of life and a \npart from which you can never sway. It is a part \nof you, lives with you, a part of the great law of \n\n\n\nHEAVEN IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT 151 \n\nlife; and not a wrong yon have done but that you \nwill pay the penalty for it \u2014 and not a good you have \ndone but that you will feel the reflection of the hap- \nniness it sends. \n\nTherefore, the home of the soul is of your own \nconstruction. \n\nAnd so your little home Js builded by yourself. \nThe home of the mother who is devoted, has sacri- \nficed and loved, will show all the beautiful things; \nshe will find returns of love everywhere. Thru the \ngreat source of love, unselfish^ untainted love \u2014 'not \nlust, hut love \u2014 the tenderest quality within a man, a \nreflection of the great Godhead, when thru that line \nthe door is opened to communion, the spirit world \nreturns full of it, and positive proof of the home \nof the soul is brought by those who return to tell \nyou. \n\nOh, friends, let us unite in service, and let us clean \nhouse; let us clean our souPs home of all the dis- \norders and all the conditions which we would not \nlike to have there, because there is nothing hidden \nfrom the spirit Therefore, begin today to clean \nhouse and make your souPs home an abode into \nwhich you will step gladly, and then you can return \nand truthfully say, * * I am happy ; my home is beau- \ntiful.^^ \n\n\n\nEvery thought you send out is a living thing, is \na reality. And some time you will come into a real- \nization and will know in what realm your thoughts \nlive. And you will realize the effects of the con- \nditions you have builded thru the wondrous power \nof thought which was and is yours. \n\n\n\n^ \ni \n\n\n\n152 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nThe old thought that man could live as he pleased \nand in the closing day of his mortal life, by giving \nforth a prayer to some imaginary selfish and re- \nvengeful God he could glide between the golden \ngates of happiness \u2014 how many thinking men and \nwomen believe this today? How many are here \ntonight who realize they must and shall and will \nbring into expression their very best selves. Every \none of you know that you must build your own \nheaven \u2014 and this heaven can be builded only thru \nthe.spiritual thought force of man. If you choose to \nbuild physical, material conditions about you, what \nsori; of heaven will you have when you leave the \nphysical and material life? Some time you will \nhave to leave the material things and ascend into \u2014 \nwhat? Into the home that you have builded thru \nyour spiritual thought force. \n\nAre you building that home today? Or are you \nwaiting until the eleventh hour? \n\nIs your life building about you a spiritual home ? \nIs it building about you a soul which will live al- \nways in the light, and illuminate the pathway of all \nmen with whom it comes in contact? Is your life a \nstrong reflection of the God Spirit which lives with- \nin you? Or is it a dismal light, a dark, dismal home \nthat you are building about you? \n\nThere is in man's lifetime here, even as the spirit \nwalks in the flesh body, the law of progression. It \nis a part of your soul 's life, and you will meet over \nand over only those things which your mortal life \nhas placed in the way of its progression. Then let \nus strive to do always those things which are good, \nthose things which are true. Now is the time, not \n\n\n\nHEAVEN IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT 153 \n\ntomorrow. Why not prepare for this wonderful \nhome over there by servmg mankind now? Why \nwait nntil yon reach that home over there? So \nmany hold this wrong impression. They delay, \nthey wait in idleness. \n\nNow as man becomes spiritually enlightened and \nbegins to unfold, to bring outward and spread forth \nthe God part of himself, the spirit and then his \nsoul, he is building the spiritual things for himself \nand making conditions which will bring good re- \nturns ; for every thought and evjery deed and every- \nthing you send out into the world builds its own \ncondition and returns to those who sent it forth; \nreturns multiplied to the mind which first sent it \ninto expression. As man sends forth all his \nthoughts and all his deeds \u2014 everything he sends \nforth \u2014 ^were he deceiving or were he loving, were \nhe hating or were he serving, all these must re- \nturn to him. They do not return so that he recog- \nnizes them, but he meets obstacles w'hich are of \ntheir building. He meets with conditions \u2014 if it \nwere deception that he practiced, he will find that. \nAs you live, you will come to something you en- \ndeavor to build and behold, it is not what it seemed \nto be \u2014 ^you are deceived. \n\nThe memory of thoughts and deeds, reflections of \neverything you did return to you. \n\nMan ever and ever builds the conditions into \nwhich he steps. If he builds conditions which ex- \npress truth, he will get that, and if he builds upon \nfalsehood \u2014 the more he has deceived, betrayed, \nstolen, wronged, the more he will have to meet and \novercome. But if he begins to tear dowti in the \n\n\n\n154 THE DE80EKDIKQ LIGHT \n\nphysical, the less he will have to surmount over \nthere. The man that builds and tears away as he \nbuilds when he sees the wrong, is building for him- \nself a home which will stand. Within his consdous- \nn\u20acss, silently working is the hand of destiny. \n\nWe have learned, and we hope all men will know \nere long that to live a life of selfishness, avarice, \nearthly thoughts, entirely physical thoughts ?ind all \nof the lower vibration is to create an unhappy state \nfor the soul in the next expression. You will know \nthat the souls of such individuals are not as happy \nas the souls who have sacrificed themselves in serv-. \nice to their fellow-men. \n\nMan is coming into the realization of what death \nreally is. It is merely a change in expression. \nSome will say it is a passing to the higher life, but \nit is not the higher life unless the home they have \nbuilded is spiritual. They pass into the realm of \nspirit to which they rightfully belong. If they \nhave been criminals wilfully, if they have sinned, \nif they have wronged their fellow-men, if they have \nbuilded conditions entirely earthy, they cannot pass \ninto a spiritual realm because their home is pre- \npared, builded by them, by their daily lives, by \ntheir thoughts and by their deeds. \n\nThose who grow their souls in entirely physical \nthoughts, whose lives have been entirely material, \nwhat home will they find over there? What con- \ndition will they carry with them? Will they carry \nthose temptations, those appetiteis, those desires \nwith them? Most assuredly they will. Their char- \nacteristics stay with them until they have outgrown \nthem thru service, until the consciousness has be- \n\n\n\nHEAVEN IS WHAT TOU MAKE IT 155 \n\ncome illuminated, that they may burn out the im- \npurities. \n\nWe do not wish to bring grief to those who have \nloved ones over there who have lived this kind of \na life in the physical, but the sinner continues to \nlive, he is in spiritual darkness until such time as \nhe unfolds and develops his spiritual qualities \nwhich illuminate his consciousness and bum out \nthe imi>urities \u2014 and this must be accomplished \nthru service. \n\nBut there are no lost souls. Now, some will say \nthat Spiritualists do not believe in a hell. They do; \nthose who understand the laws, believe in hell. \nThere are men in the flesh who are in hell today \u2014 \nkindled by their own thoughts ; by their own deeds. \nRemorse is burning them, burning them \u2014 they are \nin hell. But he who loves, serves, sacrifices for his \nfellow-men kindles the glorious light of heaven \nwithin. Has it not been said, '* Heaven is within \nyout** \n\nThe teachings of Jesus were lost, but today the \nspiritual Jesus manifests all over the world, not \nin the flesh but thru the minds of men. They are \nall reaching out for something mo.re than the \nthings along the religious line which have been \ngiven to them. They are searching for something \ndeeper, more perfect to them, proved scientifically ; \nsomething which can be given to them which will \ncause them to think; to make each individual soul \nand its efforts mean something and accomplish \nsomething. \n\nDeath is not such a terrible' thing \u2014 ^it is one of \nGod^s beautiful laws, but men have been led to be- \n\n\n\n156 THE DE80BNDINQ LIGHT \n\nlieve the doctrines and to lean upon the hope or the \nfaith that believing would save them. Dear broth- \ners and sisters, 'tis your life that saves yon. \n\nWas not this the message of Jesus as he walked in \nthe flesh, ' ' Forgive your enemies ; love one another ; \ndo unto others as you would have them do unto \nyou. ' ' Did he tell them to sin all week and fall upon \ntheir knees and offer prayer one day a weekT Did \nhe tell them to falsify about their neighbors or to \nrob their fellow-men and at night fall upon their \nknees and be forgiven? Did he say merely to ask \nforgiveness! NO! He brought the message to \nthem how to live, how to serve, how to reach and \nbring into expression the heaven within\u2014 ffee \nheaven within. Why, you build your own heaven. \nThe sinner must atone. Every man must save his \nsoul from destructive thought. He must toil and \nserve to right every wrong that he has done. Some- \ntimes it is thru ignorance that man sins, and yet \nthru the great natural law of compensation, their \nconditions come upon him just the same. He must \npay his debts. \n\nIf the mere believing of the things that some one \ntells you will take you to heaven, while some poor \nman who cannot see as you see, (cannot believe \nthat the sacrificing of a flesh body would save any \nsoul, yet all the time in every day of his life he is \napplying the message that Jesus brought to the \nearth), is doomed to eternal punishment \u2014 ^why did \nJesus comef Now think \u2014 ^use the power to think \nwhich God gave you \u2014 do you think that the great \nGod who is perfect understanding, perfect love, \nperfect justice, a perfect father, perfect^ not a flaw, \n\n\n\nHEAVBK IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT 157 \n\nnot a break, not^ a doubt, perfect, would send a \nsoul to the earth that some of his children would \nkill the body of that soul, take it away, to save the \nones who tiiousands of years after that believed \nthat the blood of that body would save their souls, \nand that after death they would go to heaven T Do \nyou believe that! Or do you believe that a just \nGod, a perfect love, a perfect father would work \nhis plan thru a course of refinement and that every \nsoul would have his particular part to playT \n\nWhat is the sacrificing of a body, when you stop \nto think of the millions of bodies that are constantly \ngoing back to mother earth \u2014 they are thru with \nthem. But if they have not finished with them, \nwhy, that flesh life is incomplete, and so they are \nclose to the earth, and so they walk with you and \nthey talk with you \u2014 and would you have them see \nthat you are not what you seem to bef \n\nDuring the terrible conflict millions of souls were \nforced from their physical bodies ; souls crying out \nfor that unfinished life were close to the earth \u2014 walls \nfell \u2014 and man in the flesh was startled with the \nknowledge of life after death. Souls of D(ien whose \nflesh bodies were gone returned and overwhelmed \nthe men of the earth with, '* We are not dead ' * \u2014 **It \npays to live right \u2014 ^pays to do right/' *'0h, it is \nthe message of Jesus that counts ; it is the applica- \ntion of the things which Jesus taught you to do that \ncounts ; it is not the sacriflcing of His body. ' ' And \nso **over there *' the souls are continually saying, \n''Help me to get back; help me to tell my mother; \nshe thinks she must only believe; she dare not open \nthe door to me for she would think she was talking \n\n\n\n158 THE DBSGENDINQ LIGHT \n\nto a demon. Help me to tell her it matters not what \nchurch you attend, nor what you believe; but it is \nwhat you do that counts. ' ' \n\nFriends, your heaven is just what you make it. \n\nYou are building, your future home \u2014 do you not \nwish to have it free from all debt when you reach \nthe other shore! For there is no way to escape \npaying your honest debts there \u2014 you cannot go into \nbankruptcy \u2014 every account against you must be set- \ntled in full, with interest. \n\nYou are just as much in eternity today as you \nwill be there ; you are in eternity now ; you are just \nas much a spirit now as you ever will hey you are a \nspirit Why not feed and cultivate the spirit f That \nis the everlasting part of you. Why spend all your \ntime feeding the material, the part which you must \ncast aside! Why not prepare for that future life? \nWhy not make your heaven right about you today? \nYou can create a little heaven all your own, for your \nheaven is builded of just what you s^nd out. \n\nHas it not been said that the kingdom of heaven is \nwithin you? \u2014 within you \u2014 ^perhaps it is all covered \nup by worldly things, material cares and worry, but \nit is there, and it is yours ; so find it \u2014 ^brush aside the \ndust and cobwebs, clear the darkened windows of \nyour soul, open wide the door of your heart and let \nGod's sunlight of truth in. \n\nLet the searchlight of truth illuminate the dark \nplaces of doubt and superstition; give the spirit \nwithin you a chance to grow and develop and unfold. \nHow? By filling your heart with love for all man- \nkind, and by service to others. \n\nHeaven is your souPs home \u2014 ^you are building it \n\n\n\nHBAVBN IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT 159 \n\nnow; and when you step out of the physical body \ninto the new astral body, the soul continues to live. \nWhat will your heaven be like T You are building it \n\u2014 so be careful what material you put into it. \n\nLay the foundation with love, service, harmony, \ntruth. Let your home be filled with windows studded \nwith diamonds and precious jewels (kind deeds) \nwhich shine out in all their brilliancy as the sunlight \nof God's love rests upon them. \n\nWhen you have finished the physical expression, \nwill you go hence feeling that you have lived this life \nto the fidl, that you have run the race set before \nyou, that you have kept the faith f \n\nAs you slip out of the old worn out shell, may \nGod's pure and holy angels, whom He hath given \ncharge over you, bear you gently and tenderly away \ninto that heaven which you have builded. May you \nnot be bound to the earth plane because of the work \nleft unfinished, but bound only by the tie of love. \nMay you feel free to rise into the higher realms of \nspirit where dwell the pure and holy ; and come back \nto the earth plane only because you want to serve \nand help others to see the light and to show them \nthe way along God's great and glorious highway of \ntruth. \n\n\n\nCHAPTER V. \n\nWHO TAKES CARE OF OUR CHILDEEN \n\nGONE BEFORE T \n\n\n\nThis chapter is written for the cotintless mothers whose \nlittle ones have slipped away into the land of silence. It is an \nanswer to the many many cries that have hrdcen from torn \nand bleeding hearts \u2014 ^\"Oh! where is my baby? What has be- \ncome of the little soul that staid with ns for aa short a time? \nSo helpless and dependent upon me for every little thing; who \nis taking care of my baby now? Oh! if I conld only know I'' \n\nSome went out before they had learned to lisp the name of \n\"mother''; others staid a little longer, and still others lingered \nu|itil even the neighbors had learned to loved them, so sweet \nand endearing were they in all their little ways. \n\nOh\u00bb mothers, HOW much suffering you oould escape if you \nonly knew or had the assurance that pure and holy angels are \ncaring for your babies, and that they are growing up in spirit \nland, and some time, somewhere, in God's own good time, you \nwill meet them again \u2014 ^you will know, and you will be known \nby your little children gone before. \n\n\n\n(A trance lecture delivered thru Mrs. Brace in May, \n\n1920.) \n\n\n\nHow many times the lonely and aching heart of \nthe mother asks, **!& my baby lonesome! v Does my \nlittle one want meT*' And so it is to bring balm to \nthe heart of that mother that we speak to you here \nof the babes and the little children gone before. \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES OABE OF OTJB OHILDBEK GONE BEFOBE 161 \n\nThe little ones who knew no wrong; who loved \ntheir very own and no other; who knew their own \nhome environments and none other; suddenly are \nsnatched -from their home into a new expression \u2014 \nwhat of them f How many times the sorrowing souls \nof those whose weary bodies lying at night upon \ntheir pillows have wondered what of their little ones \nwho have gone \u2014 so let us talk now of this. It is not \na deep thought, but oh, it is a beautiful one. \n\nWhen the soul of the babe has been drawn away \nfrom the little shell, that little temple of the physical \nexpression, and to your vision there remains noth- \ning but that little piece of clay; you love it as you \nwould love the garments worn by your loved ones \u2014 \nwhere is that something you loved with a deeper un- \ndying lovef It is gone only so far as the physical \nsenses are concerned. The little soul is still close \nto those who love it, close to those whom it loves; \nfor the little babe does not leave- the home so readily \nor so quickly as does the older souls after having a \nlonger expression on the physical plane. And there- \nfore not having builded clearly a condition into which \nby a natural process they pass, the babe clings close \nto that mother and father and the ones it loves \u2014 ^no \none can deny this. \n\nThe old-time teaching which made the mother be- \nlieve that her little one was carried into a holy land \nwhere it was impossible for her to go, was a cruel \nthought to imbue into a mother's soul; but today \nmankind has reached a higher stage of unf oldment, \nand is being tuned to a higher rate of vibration \nwhere he can reach away from the earth plane, and \n\n\n\n162 THE DESCSNDIKQ LIGHT \n\nhas found that those who have left their physical \nbodies can and do come back. \n\nThe babe will come and speak 'more readily to \nthose whom it loved in this life right in its own home, \nright in the home environments. So is this not an \ninspiration to live a pure spiritual life! For the \nunderstanding of the little ones will rapidly unfold \nand develop; their spiritual powers quickly awaken \nand they see thru the eyes of understanding, and \nthey will know you as you are. \n\nWhen the angel of death enters your home and \ntakes the little one out from your family circle, phys- \nically, does it not inspire you to a better life, to ex- \npress yourself truthfully and spiritually! Does it \nnot inspire within your consciousness sympathy and \nlove f If not, it is because the blindness of the physi- \ncal has so enveloped you that the spirit within you \ncannot penetrate this other life, telling you that the \nlittle child has not gone from your home. \n\nThe question is often asked, ** What of the little \nones who are bom into the flesh and live but a very \nshort time, perhaps a moment or two, without having \nhad any experience in the flesh; do they live in \nspirit!'' They do live, close to that mother and \ngather all the conditions about her into themselves. \nThere must be some experience upon the earth plane \nif they are once bom into the flesh expression. And \nso until there has been gathered into their conscious- \nness some of the experiences upon the earth plane by \nthat mother and that father and those of that family \nwho are closely allied by the tie of love, they live \nthere for a time \u2014 but do not think that they are \nlonely. \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES CABB OF OUB OHILDBSN GONE BEFOBS 163 \n\nPreceding the passing away of one of your little \nones, those who are closest to you in love in the \nspirit world are drawn to you by the love tie and ex-, \npress it by way of sympathy in your great distress ; \nthe feeling within your consciousness of sorrow \nbrings them close to you, and those who loved you \nlove your little ones ; they clasp them close to their \nbosom and give them their loving care. \n\nNow let me tell you something of the messages \ncoming back from the little ones who have passed \naway. One comes back to speak and the mother asks. \n^* Where are you, dear, and who has you; are they \nkind to you there!'* And the little soul answers \nback, **I am with such a pretty lady; she does so \nmuch for me ; she loves me and she teaches me how \nto love ; she shows me what a pretty mamma I have ; \nand she shows me how much you love and brings me \nso near to you that, mamma, I know your soul, and \nI know how you love me. ' ' \n\nAnother little one returns and says, * ' Oh, mamma, \nI am not dead. I just had to come here so that you \ncould find God.** Still another returns and says, \n* * Mamma, tell papa I want him to know that I did \nnot die ; and I am so happy \u2014 ^we play, we sing and \nwe dance over here.** Yes, they dance with the \ngraceful happiness of a child ; they express harmony \nand love and happiness in their own childish Way; \nand they play with all the simple purity of a little \nchild *s soul. \n\nYou will oft times hear a little child in its play \ntalk to what you call an imaginary companion \u2014 oh, \nif you could only see the little souls that are in a \nhigher rate of vibration, you would know that it was \n\n\n\n/ \n\n\n\n164 THE DESCBNDINQ LIQHT \n\nnot imagination on the part of that child, but it was \nthe little soul who in the play was attracted to them, \nfor they can play without the physical body. What \nhas the body to do with the play of the little child! \nTis merely the instrument \u2014 and the eyes of the \nchild can see things which the eyes of man cannot \nsee. After you have passed thru childhood you are \nconcerned more with material things and you worry \nas to whether you will have the next month's rent \nready or something to eat for them,, and so you have \nbuilded about you the condition which the spirit finds \ndiflSculti to penetrate; but the little child knows \nnaught of this and the little minds are more recep- \ntive to spiritual things. When the little child is talk- \ning to an * * imaginary playmate * ' and you say to the \nchild, '^ You do not see any one ; there is no one play- \ning with you, * ' you are wronging that, child because \nyou are suggesting to it that which is untrue, and \nyou are giving the child the inspiration to speak un- \ntruth \u2014 tho you little know this. \n\nNow we will speak of the little child whose physi- \ncal body was so deficient because of unnatural birth \nit could not manifest as other children, unable to \nspeak, to walk or play as other children in the flesh. \nIt is the spirit which is manifesting; that body was \nonly the instrument ; and all the experiences are re- \ncorded within the consciousness of that individual \nsoul just as perfectly as it is upon the soul of those \nbodies who are physically perfect; it is just as \nclearly there as are the experiences upon the souls \nof those whose bodies are perfect, but they cannot \nbring it forth to express it because of the imperfect ^ \ninstrument, yet it is there ; and all the kind thoughts \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES GABE OF OUB CHILDBEK GONE BEFORE 165 \n\nyou have sent to that child, all the things you have \ndone for it; all the kindness and otherwise that has \nbeen given to that child, it has recorded upon the \nconsciousness of it just as vividly and just as' \nclearly ; and thfe spirit of undei*standing, the spirit \nwithin, that which we call the GTodspark is just as \nperfect within that imperfect instrument as it is \nwithin any one whose body is perfect. But the diffi- \nculty in returning to manifest is this : They never \nhave spoken in the flesh, but they can send a clear \nmessage from their consciousness, clearly and per- \nfectly formed, into the consciousness of an instru- \nment and convey it to the parents thru a clairvoyant \nor trance medium. But to speak independently of \nany physical instrument, to speak as many of you \nhave heard the independent voice builded upon the \nsound waves, the message coming from that little \nmind would not be conveyed to you so clearly, but \nyou would find each word formed perfectly, as if it \nwere formulating the words, following the direction \nof a tutor or one who is aiding in the placing of the \nthought in that form. \n\nAfter the incompleteness of the physical body is \ngone back to earth and the soul of the child who has \nbeen so handicapped by all those physical conditions \nis free it is more rapidly unfolded and developed be- \ncause pent up and unable to respond were the won- \ndrous experiences gathering into themselves all the \ntime, but because of the imperfect instrument there \nwas no physical action to send them out, but soul- \nfuUy and spiritually they do manifest. It may be a \ncomfort -to some of you to know this; that the soul \nof the child whose body is imperfect is perfectly free \n\n\n\n166 THE DE80SNDINQ LIGHT \n\nand develops and gpraws and unfolds and expresses \nintelligence upon its return to the earth plane. \n\nI will answer another question here. **Do those \nlittle ones who pass away before having ever spoken \nin the flesh ever learn to speak T*^ As there is no \nspoken language of the soul, why must they learn to \nspeak f There is no reason why they must learn to \nspeak, but if they have a desire to return to their \nloved ones who receive and give their message thru \nspeaking and hearing, they will learn, and as they \ncome close to you and get in touch with your every- \nday life they will learn to speak and express their \nthoughts as you do, that they may return and speak \nto you. But you will notice that the child out of the \nflesh who returns thus to speak will speak perfect \nEnglish, or the language thru which they express \nthemselves will be perfectly spoken ; there will be no \nflaw in their speech as there is in the little ones who \nhave learned to talk in the flesh and come back to you \nand speak to you in their own, what you call, baby \ntalk ; but this is only for a short time ; they hold their \nindividuality and they stay near you until they have \ngrown to a more independent state of unfoldment, \nthen they are taken to those who have studied child- \nhood and have ability to impart their knowledge to \nthe child ; they are taken into different fields of learn- \ning. ^ -^ \n\nNow, some will say, * * This is a great fairy tale, ' ' \nbut let me tell you after you have come in touch with \nthe world of spirit spending two-thirds of your life \nwitK souls of men whose bodies are gone back to \nearth, you will know something of this ; you will not \nhave to impart to your loved ones just imaginary \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES GABE OF OUB OHILDBEN GONE BEFOBB 167 \n\ndreams, yon will tell them some facts wliich you have \ngathered, and this I am telling yon. \n\nLittle ones come back and in their endeavor to \nsoothe you in your great grief will make a great ef- \nfort to speak. And every little thought you send out \nto them is received by them \u2014 and oh, if you did but \nknow what it really means to you to have the soul \nof one in the other world whom you have loved, and \nthru whom they have been brought into a physical \nexpression \u2014 that you were the instrument thru \nwhich the soul was brought into expression that it \nmight manifest upon the earth plane \u2014 how much \nmore would you regard parentage as a beautiful and \nholy thing. \n\n\u2022When the little ones were gone some mothers tried \nto forget, gave them up entirely, tried to forget the \nlove they had for them, but the little one was still \nthere, and tho the mother could not hear, that little \nsoul was saying, ** Mother, I am not dead; I love you \nstill.'* And there was something within that moth- \ner's heart which awakened and reached out to some- \n\u00bb where she knew not what, for she felt that there was \nsomething more than just that little flesh body that \nhad gone back to earthl \n\nBInowledge awakens, but wisdom reveals \u2014 ^knowl- \nedge is acquired, gathered from the surface thru ex- \nperiences and lessons applied by other minds, but \nwisdom is a manifestation of the spirit within. That \nis why the child, when it is free from the physical \nbody after having a very short experience upon the \nearth plane, will develop rapidly and the wisdom \nwithin reveals and grows until thru the eyes of un- \nderstanding that child is wiser than the older ones \n\n\n\n168 THE DE8CENDIN0 LIQHT \n\nfor, ^^The little child shall lead them^' because it is \nreceptive to spiritual things and unencumbered by \nphysical and material thoughts. \n\nIf you have builded love all about your little ones, \nthey will pass into a field of love. But what of the \nlittle orphans whom some of you forget that they, \ntoo, are souls, and do abuse. Let me tell you some- \nthing which in my experience I have learned and \nthru investigation I know to be true. \n\nA woman, never having been a mother, joined an \norder which prevented her becoming a mother, be- \ncame the superintendent (it was not the name she \nwas called, but we will call it that) of an orphan asy- \nlum where great numbers of little children were \nunder her care. She wore the garments of a highly \ndeveloped soul while in the physical \u2014 she is in the \nspiritual expression now and desires to have this \nconfession come thru that some may know she is \nvery, very sorry for what she did whUe in charge of \nthose little children. She abused the physical body \nof the little ones in her care when they did not learn \nthe things she wanted them to learn pertaining to the \none particular doctrine \u2014 if they did not memorize \nevery word of that copy, they received bodily torture \nfrom the hands of that woman, who in the ignorance \nof the laws of life forgot that God governs all things \nthru love. She abused the motherless children and \nthen prayed and prayed for forgiveness in other \nthings \u2014 ^not even thinMng that this was a sin. \n\nNow three of those children have passed into the \nother life, that is three with whom I have come in \ncontact, and they are very close to her and helping \nher to rise out of the terrible condition she has \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES OABE OF OUB CHILDBEK GONE BEFOBE 169 \n\nbuild^a about her. Is she entirely to blame for this, \nor are the minds who dominated back of it also to \nblame, and will they not suffer for their share in itf \nTrue, she receives the returns of what she sent out \ninto the world of expression \u2014 all that she did is hers ; \nbut it was the expression of a life expressing itself \nentirely the opposite from the real desire within a \nsoul. , \n\nThe reason I bring this lesson to you is that you \nmay know that it is not well to abuse any other man 's \nchildren more than you would your own. A spirit of \nselfishness causes man to look for the imperfections \nin the child of his fellow-man, and he forgets to \nsearch within his own to find some of his own quality \nmanifesting there. This causes many children after \nleaving the flesh to return and tell their parents of \nweaknesses within them. A little soul returns and \nsays, ** Mamma, don't be cross with brother, or don't \nbe cross with (speaking the name) ; be kind, or, don't \nbe angry with papa.\" The reason that child picks \nout that particular tiling to say is because there is a \nreflection of that upon the soul so strongly that there \nis a tendency in that child to do evil tho the flesh \nbody is gone. \n\nSo until man learns more of the laws of life, little \nones will remain close to the earth, close to men in \ntheir everyday life ; and all your characteristics re- \nflect themselves upon all who are about you, and es- \npecially upon your child whom you love and who \nloves you. The little ones manifesting close to the \nearth plane are drawn there by love. \n\nThe souls of those who abuse the physical body of \nthe little ones cause them to hate, when perhaps the \n\n\n\n170 THE DE8GBNDINQ LIQHT \n\nhate thought would never be there, and causes them \nto feel that some time they will abuse something. \nThe lesson we desire to convey is this: Bring the \ngood out of the children and cultivate the tendency \nwithin them to good. If the soul of a child is in- \nspired to do one thing, study that child and the tend- \nency within and let the little children express them- \nselves purely and spiritually; but do not fill their \nminds up with some particular creed or doctrine \nwhich presents for you a pet thought and which has \nbeen handed down thru generations. The child is \nreceptive to it and later in life finds many obstacles \nwhich have been brought from the outside rather \nthan from within. \n\nEducate the children that they may develop spir- \nitually, that they may develop all the finer qualities \nwithin them ; and you may find within the conscious- \nness of some of your children a wonderful school ; \nyou may find within your own child a messenger \nfrom the great universe, bringing to you great possi- \nbilities. \n\nChildren of the coming generation are going to \nhave very strong intuitive powers, many are going \nto be of higher and finer character, higher vibration, \nmore in touch with the unseen. You may say they \nare imaginative \u2014 they may weave wonderful stories, \nbut study their stories, and thru the child learn; for \nindeed, **The little child shall lead them.'* \n\nWhen the angel of death comes into your home and \ntakes from you one of your little ones ; oh, brothers \nand sisters, how many times it is the opening of the \ngates to the higher life? How many of you have \npassed out of the material into the beautiful and \n\n\n\nWHO TAKfift CAE\u00a3 OF OUR OHILDRBN GONB BBFOBB 171 \n\nspiritual because a little child has opened the door \nto the spiritual woridf And when you find your \nbaby, what happineBS to know that there is some- \nthing greater beyond, so you rise out of the narrow \nmaterial life and live and be more spiritual. \n\nSo those of you who have little ones over there, \nknow that the eyes of understanding within reveal to \nthem all your tendencies, and they see you and know \nyou as you are and they will return and guide you\u2014 \nbut do not think that because thai child has passed \nthru death that it can return to you in the material \nand tell you how to buy or sell property. Their little \nsouls are gathering to themselves spiritual things; \nthey are still in the great school of experience but \ntheir experiences are very different from yours ex- \ncept in the reflection of your lives upon them. \n\nSo never abuse a child's physical body 43ecause \nthat child cannot see as you do ; the child may be in \nan entirely different vibration f roni you, for there \nis a flesh kinship and there is still a greater which \nis spiritual kinship. The soul of your child tho, thru \nthe law of love will be with you, but it may not be \nof the same quality as you, and there may be quali- \nties within the soul of that child which will find \ncompanionship in some one who is entirely different \nfrom you. So bring out the individuality of the \nchildren \u2014 if they show tendencies one way or an- \nother, cultivate them along that line for good. If \nthey are strong-willed, do not try to bind them too \ntightly but direct that strong will into a channel \nwhich will accomplish good. I^ they show a tendency \nto any particular kind of work, guide them into that \n\n\n\n172 THS DB80BNDINQ UOHT \n\nproperly and do not force them into something for \nwhich they are not fitted. \n\nEducate the children; begin with the infant to \nteach them the secrets you have hidden from their \nyouth \u2014 tell them the truth. Purify their lives on the \nmortal plane and thru the spirit all mankind in all \nwalks of life shall find the things for which he hun- \ngers \u2014 the health for which a soul cries. \n\nIn all their development and unf oldment up to the \npresent time the greater number have had no oppor- \ntunity to bring out an expression of their own indi- \nviduality. They have been guided by dominating \nminds, and so far as religion or spiritual things were \nconcerned, they were to go according to the minds of \nthose who ruled them. \n\nYour little ones when passing on into the next ex- \npression are taken in the arms of some one who loves \nthem and loves you ; and when they have found out \nhow to use their little new body they are with you \nand they love you and they will guide you. They \nare ever and ever near you, not away off in some \nplace grieving for you, or forgetting you, for the \nlove kindled here lives on and on ; so let us love the \nlittle children in the flesh \u2014 and those of you who \nhave no children of your own, do you know that \nthere are children who have no home and who are \nbeing abused f Take them into your home and bring \nout the good within them \u2014 for the little soul who \nhas been aided in its expression on earth kindles the \nlove that never dies. \n\nSo let us unite in the great thought (not in the \nbelief, but in the knowledge) that our little ones live \nin love and come to see us. They sing and they dance \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES CAllE OF OUB OHILDBBN QONE BEFOBE 173 \n\nand they play and are happy and express themselves \nin all their own little childish ways ; and there is no \nindividual mind going to bend or spoil their individu- \nality. The little children are studying and growing, \nand building their soul *s home * * over there. * * \n\nLet us unite in the great thought of love, for we \nare all brothers and sisters ; and all the different ex- \npressions of religion, the individuals in the ranks \nare trying to reach the same God. Justice is under- \nstanding; it reveals to men why things are as they \nare ; why the individual is as he is ; reveals to him the \nhidden law; reveals to him that it is the same God \nof justice, the same God of love, the same God of \ngood, the same God of power which manifests over \nthem all \u2014 oh, it is the same God we are all seeking \nand reaching out to find, so let us unite in our search \n\u2014 aye, the little child shall lead them. \n\nThe little children grow over there but they do not \ngrow as the things before your physical eye, do not \ngrow big as in the material, but they grow big of \nmind and big of soul, and closer to the perfect ex- \npression they develop, and all they learn is spiritual \nand good \u2014 the lessons they learn are perfect. Lit- \ntle ones who have never spoken in the flesh will re- \nturn to speak and you will note in their messages \nthat the language they use is perfect, not a flaw. But \nthe little childreu who pass away after they have \npartly learned fo talk will for a time hold a strong \nmemory of the earth expression and when they re- \nturn will speak in the baby terms as was known to \nthem. At- first they will use their own simple way \nof speaking but gradually they will learn more and \nmore, and you will note upon repeated manifestation \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\n174 THB OE80BNOINO tlOHT \n\nthere is a gradual improvement in their language \nand the method of conveying to you their thoughts. \nYou will note the very rapid progress or unfoldment \nof the little child who is growing up in spirit land. \n\nYou will also note that every message brought to \nman in the flesh by the child spirit will told more of \na lesson in its simple way than the lessons brought \nby older minds, or minds developed upon the earth \nin the physical expression. \n\nSouls bom into the flesh sometimes have but a \nshort time to finish their experience in the flesh, they \nmust have just a little more experience and then they \npass into the new life thru which they can freely ex- \npress themselves. They return for a very short time \nin the flesh that they might pass thru the experience \nof being bom into the flesh, and then pass to the spir- \nitual there to express themselves as guides and \nguardian angels, and light the little spark of truth \n\u2014 ^with little whispers of love they come into your \nconsciousness when you are tempted sorely to do \nwrong. How many of you have not felt sometimes \nwhen temptations come, when you had been tempted \nto do a certain thing, when suddenly there speaks \nwithin you something which tells you not to do it? \n\nThe little souls return very shortly and work into \nyour vibration and speak to you \u2014 ^not in words con- \nveyed to your consciousness thru the physical sense, \nbut thm the spiritual sense, you know it. \n\nThe little body bom into the physical sometimes \nbecause of its imperfect condition is quickly drawn \nback to earth ; then that little soul has had no physi- \ncal expression and its home is within the love \nthought; the little babe lives close to its parents \u2014 \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES CABE OF OUB OHILDBEK OONE BBFOBB 175 \n\nSO does not this inspire you to do good f Would you \nlet your little one see you sin? Would you let your \nlittle ones learn the effect of wrong thoughts! \n\n\n\nThe following messages, coming from the little ones them- \nselves, will bear out the truth of the statements made by the \nspirit teacher as given in this chapter. Many people have heard \nthese little souls give their sweet messages from time to time \nand will acknowledge the accuracy of this report. - \n\n\n\nA baby boy, Francis, nearly two years old, was \ntaken from a home of tenderest love and care; his \ntwo grandmothers thought there never was another \nsuch child \u2014 the home was in darkness and gloom be- \ncause the little voice was still, and there was no more \npattering of little feet \u2014 oh, what an aching silence. \nCan you imagine the feelings of those sorrowful \nh^rts when they heard again the baby voice at the \nmessage circle f The little one kept saying, **Baby \nhere \u2014 ^baby here \u2014 ^baby here.** Some one asked, \n** Whose baby are you, dearf** And the answer \ncame, **Papa baby, mamma baby, gagga baby, \ngammy baby.\" This was repeated several times. \nThat was the way he had to distinguish his two \ngrandmothers; one was gagga and the other was \ngammy. Of course, he was recognized at once ; and \na great comfort comes to more than liis immediate \nfamily, for all who hear the sweet messages of this \nangel baby are filled with love and tenderness. In \neach message he seems to have learned new words. \n\nOne time he said, ** Mamma bwake (broke) Teddy \neye \u2014 poor Teddy, mamma fix.'* That day while \ndusting, the mother had knocked his Teddy Bear \nfrom his little high chair and one of the eyes came \n\n\n\n176 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nout, and the baby in spirit saw her put it back in \nplace again. \n\nAt another circle a part of his message was, \n* * Papa go fast \u2014 ^gammy scare \u2014 ^baby no scare. ' * His \npapa had been out in the country and had driven so \nfast that the grandmother was frightened. **Papa \nrun fast \u2014 can^t catch bunny.\" This same day the \nfather had gone hunting with a friend and had tried \nto catch a rabbit. \n\nThese are just parts of a few of the baby mes- \nsages and are given to show that the little ones do \nstay close to their parents and those who were in \ntheir little home life ; that they see and know what \nthe loved ones are doing, and enter into the home \nlife of the physical expression. \n\n\n\nOne evening a little child came into the circle and \ncalled, ** Mother.\" Some one asked, **Who are you, \ndear f * * and the answer came, * * I am Doris. * ' While \nwondering who Doris might be, her own little girl in \nspirit spoke and said, **0h, mamma, I want you to \nbe little Doris' mother, too. She is a little girl I \nfound over here, and she didn't have any earth \nmother to love her, so I told her that you would be \nher mother and love her just like you love me.\" \nThen in her own childish way she told how happy \nshe was with this little girl for a playmate, and how \nshe was around her daddy and mamma, and kissed \nher little brother \u2014 pleaded with her mother not to \ncry as she wasn 't sick any more. \n\nThe mother wondered afterwards who little Doris \nwas, and so when she went to another circle and her \nlittle girl came, she asked her why she wanted her to \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES CARE OF OUR CHILDREN OONE BEFORE 177 \n\nbe a mother to Doris, and why did this strange child \ncome to her, so the little child explained. **I love \nher so much, mamma, she led me all the way, and \nshe brought me across, and leads me everywhere and \nhelps me and shows me what to do \u2014 she did all the \ntime I was there on earth, too ; she was my guardian \nangel, and I want you to be her mamma, too, because \nyou love so much and I want you to love her like you \nlove me because she never had a chance to live on \nearth, she came over here when she was so tiny, and \nnobody cared so she stayed at our house when I was \nthere with you and she loves you just like I do/* \nAnd the mother said, * * Oh, I will love the dear little \nsoul. Do you think you will be a guardian angel, \ndear?'* **Not yet, mamma, I want to be near you \nbecause I love you and my daddy and brother \u2014 ^kiss \ndaddy and brother for me. Good bye. ' * \n\n\n\nA little girl of twelve years had diphtheria and. \npassed out. Her messages given at the children's \ncircles held many wonderful lessons and helped her \ncousins and the others who attended to be more kind \nand thoughtful of others. She told them that there \nwas only a thin veil between them and her, and she \nthought in time that the veil would be lifted. **Do \nyou know why the veil is there f she asked one of \nher little cousins. **It is because of bad thoughts.'' \nAnd before she left she said, **Now let's all try real \nhard and see if we can't lift that veil by thinking only \ngood thoughts.\" \n\nAnother message held this wonderful lesson. '*I \ngo to school, too; we don't have books like you do, \nbut we learn all about colors. Every thought has a \n\n\n\n178 THS DSSOBNDINQ LIGHT \n\ncertain kind of color and we learn to read thoughts \nby their color. We can go any place we want to, only \nif we want to go some place where it is not best for \nns an angel is always there to tnm ns bacf A \nlittle time before this circle was held the little cous- \nins had been having one of their childish quarrels, \nand during her conversation she pleaded with them \nto be kind to each other, ** because,'* she said, **when \nyou quarrel it is just like throwing stones at me. \nYou wouldn 't throw stones at me, would you! ' ' The \nlittle cousins were very much disturbed at this and \npromised not to quarrel any more. \n\n\n\nAnother dear little soul which has shed sunshine \nand gladness upon so many hearts at the message \ncircle, is that of a little girl who was called Joyce. \nShe was an only child and when about eight years \nold was run over by an automobile and instantly \nkilled. Soon after she came to the children 's circles, \nas some who attended had been her playmates, and \nshe would send some special word to her grief- \nstricken parents, and which were faithfully delivered \nby the children who were neighbors. One day she \nsaid to them, *'Just think, my mamma is going to \nfind God pretty soon now.'' The children thought \nshe meant that her mother Was going to die and so \ndid not dare tell her that part of the message. But \nit came out later that she meant her mother was \ncoming to the circle and would find that her little girl \nhad not gone away, and thru communication with \nher little child would find the ever-living presence \nof the true and loving Father. \n\nHer messages always hold some beautiful thought \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES CARE OF OUB OHILDBEN GONE'BEFOBE 179 \n\nAvhich causes older minds to seek the true light. On \none occasion she was quite late coming to the circle \nand when her mother asked her why she was so long \nin coming, she answered, *'Why, I was over honie \nwith papa, trying to make him feel better. He is \nsleeping now, so I hurried right over to talk to you.\" \nAnother time she described how she felt when she \ncame into the circle. *'When I first come in here, \nmama, I feel just like I was all bundled up in a big \novercoat ; I feel so weighted down, but after I stay a \nlittle while I begin to feel lighter and lighter until I \njust have to rise, I can't stay any longer.\" Another \nof her messages held this thought : \"Why, manmaa, \nwhat is that funny light around you! \u2014 oh, I know, \nthat is the worry color \u2014 ^now, manuna, dear, you \nmust not worry \u2014 worrying won 't do any good. You \nknow bad things just sink down into the earth, and \nthe good things keep going up and up and never \nend.\" \n\nDuring one conversation her mother asked her \nwhat she would like to have done with her little ashes \n(they had cremated her body) and she said, **0h, \nput it around a nice red rose bush, mamma.\" The \nfather could not consent to this, so she said, **Why, \npapa, when you come over here, some one might \nthrow them out in an old cabbage patch and that \nwould be worse than putting them around a nice \nrose bush.\" Anothet time when her mother was \ntalking with her about a trip they had on a street \ncar, she said, **Yes, I went right along, too, and I \ndidn't have to pay any carfare either.\" \n\nIt seems strange to think that one can come to \nknow and feel acquainted with an individual who \n\n\n\n180 THS DB80ENDINQ LIGHT \n\nhas passed from the physical expression, but such \nis the case with little Joyce, for many have come to \nknow this pure little soul whom they have never \nseen, and her bright and cheery little messages of \nlove will long be remembered by all who have heard \nher speak words of joy and comfort to her parents. \nSometimes, just to be sociable, she says, \"Hello \neverybody. ' ' \n\n\n\nThe following is a message from a little girl who \nlived in Rochester, New York, with her parents who \nwere firm believers in spirit return, and is another \nproof that even tho a little soul has had no physical \nexpression it still lives and is brought into under- \nstanding in the unseen world which is close to and \nall around us. \n\nThis little girl was stricken suddenly while at \nplay ; several physicians were called but before they \ncould come to an agreement in the diagnosis of the \ncase, her little spirit passed out into the great un- \nknown. Just one week after her little soul took i^ts \nflight the grandmother who was devoted to the child \nattended a seance conducted by Mrs. Brace, and \nduring the course of the evening a sweet little voice \ncalled, *' Grandma, don't cry, I'm all right; I don't \nfeel one bit bad now, only sorry \u2014 sorry for you and \nmamma and daddy. Tell mamma to put my things \naway and not cry for me, for I love you all^ just the \nsame \u2014 ^and say, grandma, I found something over \nhere, guess what it is.\" Grandma could not guess. \n**Why, it's a baby sister. I didn't know I ever had \na sister ; did you, grandma! Just think of it, a baby \nsister all my very own.\" \n\n\n\nWHO TAKES CARE OF OUR CHILDREN GONE BEI'ORE 181 \n\n, Just about a year before this little cliild passed \nout, the mother gave birth to another, still bom, \nwhich was unknown to the little child ; and it was a \ngreat surprise to her when she found the baby sister \nin spirit land. \n\n\n\nThe fact that babies grow up in spirit land is am- \nply proven by the messages received directly from \nthe little ones who have passed out before they were \nable to talk. The following was received from a \nlittle one who had left the physical body at the age \nof two years when his vocabulary consisted of a very \nfew words, such as papa, mamma, yes, no, and other \nlittle baby expressions. Were he still living in the \nflesh he would now be 18 years old. \n\nWhen he first came to the message circle he was \nbrought by an older brother who had been drowned, \nand in giving his first little message he said, *'I want \nto speak with my earth mother. ' ' This demonstrates \nclearly that our babies have angel mothers to take \ncare of them in spirit land. On one occasion his \nmessage held this sweet thought: **I am with you \nwhen you pray, mother. Do you know whyf It is \nbecause there is such a bright light around you.** \nAnother time when he was asked if he had grown \nup, he said, **I am big in my soul, big in my thoughts, \nbut when I come back to talk to you I am still in my \nbaby astral body. ' ' The last time he came to speak \nto his mother he called, * * Mamma, mamma. * * When \nasked why he did that he replied, ''Well, I wanted \nto come in by myself this time, so I said mamma. * ' \nDuring his conversation he asked his mother if she \nhad heard the celestial music. His mother asked \n\n\n\n182 THB DB8CBNDINQ UOHT \n\nhim if he meant in her dreams, and he said, ^^Yes, I \nwas so in hopes you would carry back a memory of \nthat celestial music because I was a part of if \nLater on the elder brother in spirit land explained \nthat ''our baby'* is now on the plane of music and \nhe was so anxious to have his mother hear him. \n\n\n\n,We will close the chapter with a message received \nfrom a little child who was unknown to any of the \nchildren in the circle, and who came in out of curi- \nosity. When asked if she knew any one there, she \nsaid, ''Why, do I have to know somebody! I just \nthought I would look in to see what you are doing. ' ' \nHere she chuckled to herself and said, '*It's a funny \nthing, but you know I went to my own funeral. They \nthought they put me in the grave, but I didn't stay \nthere ; I went right back home with mamma. Poor \nmamma, she cries so much she can 't see me. I wish \nyou would tell her not to cry, I am right at home with \nher.\" \n\n\n\nOh, if all sorrowing mothers could only realize \nthat God does not take away their children \u2014 that \nthey are still with them! \n\nWhen this great \"Descending Light\" breaks in \nupon all souls there will be no such word as ' ' dead ' ' \nfor all will realize that life is continuous, and there \nis no death. \n\n\n\n/ \n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI. \n\n\n\nPBOTECTIVE FORCES. \nGleanings fbom Tbancb Lectttbes. \n\n\n\nSpirit Communion is growing, and right in its \ngrowth, as are all things of the spirit, but let me tell \nyou this : Hold yourselves within the great protec- \ntive cloak of TRUTH because the great worid upon \nwhich you live and are expressing is swarming with \nsouls whose bodies are gone, cast away by the hai^d \nof man; prematurely bom into that new life as a \nbabe is bom prematurely into the flesh. These souls \nare not ready to express themselves on the astral \nplane, so they return and you nqiust aid them to a \nknowledge of spirit ; for they have gone into a new \nlife before their time \u2014 the vehicle in which they \nmanifested has been destroyed by man, and they \nmust learn how to use the new body. \n\nIt is well that man learns more and more of the \nlaws of spirit return, not only the fact, but investi- \ngate the laws and learn them ; make them a part of \nhimself thus preventing much insanity and obses- \nsion. Know that the world will be overwhelmed with \nspirits returning, perhaps with vengeance, perhaps \nwith hate, perhaps so homesick, perhaps with a \ncraving for another man's blood \u2014 for they carry \nhack the last thought they took with them. They \nwill return desiring to have a flesh body thru which \n\n\n\n184 THS DE8CENDIK0 LIGHT \n\nto manifest ; so beware of this, send them ever and \never that thought which will make the spiritual con- \ndition which is necessary for them to have to prop-, \nerly pass along into their spiritual growth. \n\nDo not go into spirit communion until you pre- \npare yourself mentally and spiritually for it because \nit is more than a dangerous thing to do, for if the \ngood return, so can the evil; the same rain falls upon \nthe murderer and upon the good Samaritan; the \nsame sun shines upon all and the same law governs \nall alike. Therefore, make the conditions which \nwill invite to you the enlightened spirit, and thru \nthat you will bring your loved ones to you in the pro- \ntective light of spirit ; for when you search for spirit \nmanifestation in truth and spiritual thought, you \nliave found the key which unlocks the door between, \nand there you will find your loved ones. \n\nThese are the things which we desire to imbue into \nyour consciousness that they may become a part of \nyou. Spirit return is a fact, but do not reach into \nthat lower realm and ask aid, but reach out into the \nhigher light and they will aid you to grow in spirit- \nual things, and then you will be able to help your \nlov^d ones to progress. Commune thru your con- \nsciousness ; it is not necessary to go to a public me- \ndium. It is true that perhaps a public medium may \nbreak the way for you because you are lost in the \ndesert and cannot find your loved ones ; but in your \nconsciousness, in the spiritual light of your own soul, \nin the silent thought of spirit when you resolve to \ninjure no man, to live as nearly a perfect life as you \ncan, to send out only that which is good, then call \nyour loved ones and in the sacred silence of your \n\n\n\nPBOTECTIVE FOBCES 185 \n\nsoul's home you will hear from them \u2014 it may not be \nthe spoken word nor the touch that your flesh can \nfeel, but in your soul you will know that they are \npresent, and in time if you continue to lift your \nthought, you will find that you can reach them. \n\n\n\nDo not sit for development unless you are positive \nthat you understand how to hold your protective \nthought. It is not the spoken word, but it is the \nthought in its fullness which the words express. Let \ntruth be your \\uatchtivord, harmony your key, love \nand charity your stepping stones. Harmony means \nat peace with all. .Now, with your watchword turn \ninto the investigative field and step into the light of \nspiritual development upon the steps of love and \ncharity, and then lean upon your staff, your stand- \nard of morality, your standard of all good^ but re- \nmember to hold these thoughts about you. \n\nYou never can rise by searching in the lower \nrealms of spirit manifestation. You cannot ;find the \ntruth \u2014 it is not there. Because while the spirits \nwho infest the lower plane of thought can be helped \nby the spirits of those in the body, they cannot help \nyou. \n\nIf your life is sinful, that is the realm from which \nyou will draw. 'Tis the old, old story, repeated so \nmany times that it has grown old, yet, we will use \nit again\u2014 Ziic attracts like, and those who are drawn \nto you from that other expression of life will be just \nas nearly like you as it is possible for two beings to \nbe. They may not use the same expressions, but the \nquality will be much like yourself because they come \nfrom the same realm in which you spiritually dwell. \n\n\n\n186 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nHow TO Build \u25b2 Piiotbotivb Fobob. \n\nMan in' his seardi for the things of mystery finds \nthat he has the power to bring communications \nfrom the other world \u2014 the light has come that he \neven might act as an instroment between the two \nworlds ; and in his anxious way sometimes he goes \nblindly, not knowing that first it is well that he pre- \npare himself to work in the fields of the unseen. He \nought not go into the unknown fields without first \nguarding himself with a protective force, and it is \nthis we wish to impress deeply upon your conscious- \nness \u2014 disembodied spirits are striving every mo- \nment to reach you to say, **We are not dead\" \u2014 and \nit is to tell you to build that protective force that we \ncome to you. \n\nAll over your nation today is coming into existence \nthe mediumship known as automatic writing. It is \nbecause mankind has developed a very high sense of \nclairvoyancy ; but in their effort to prove spirit re- \nturn thru these wonderful gifts, they have confused \nmind reading and psychology with spirit return. It \nis thru no fault of theirs, but because they find they \npossess a wondrous jyower which they cannot under- \nstand, and this power has been very much abused \nthru ignorance. \n\nBut when the spirit world, or the intelligence out- \nside of the body controls the hand of man without in \nthe least touching his mind, what can they say of \nthis? Spirits outside of the body in their great ef- \nfort to touch the consciousness of man in the body \nfound that while working thru the minds of men they \nvery often convey messages holding a large per- \n\n\n\nPBOTBOnVB FOBCBS 187 \n\ncentage of the mind of the instrument And so they \nstrove to find another avenue thru which to give to \nyou those thoughts which they could not give thru \nother phases of mediumship, and the spirit will often \nuse the astral body of the sitter. In doing this they \ncan, without in the least affecting the mind of that \nmedium, control just the hand or just the arm. Man \ncan use his mental powers to control any part of his \nbody. \n\nTo obtain automatic writing, it is best to have a \npencil which is your own, and which no other has \nused. Hold it closely within your hands as you pass \nmentally into that spiritual field of thought where \nyou gather about you those forces who will protect \nyou against undesirable visitors from the lower \nrealms of thought. Take that pencil in your hand, \nholding the holy thought of spirit, then relax your \narm. Perhaps you may not be able to do this at \nfirst ; but if you cannot at first use this method with- \nout thinking of it, cover your hand or hide your \nface ; sing, speak or do something that will take your \nmind entirely away from your hand. There are very \nfew who when they seek in this way cannot within \na short time receive some little proof from the \nworld beyond the grave. \n\nReach out to the holy trinity of thought. Infinite \nLove, Universal Harmony, Absolute Wisdom, and \nreaching to that gre^t, unperceivable trinity of \nthought, you cannot go wrong. If you hive never \nbeen convinced that the spirit can commune with \nyou, try it. It will not harm you \u2014 ^but remember, it \nis necessary that you clothe yourself in truth. \n\nDo not sit for amusement. Let me impress this \n\n\n\n188 . THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\ndeeply ; before you try to lend your hand, learn how \nto build your thought about you, learn how to clothe \nyourself before you send into the realm of light a \ndesire to lend a portion of your body to that world \nthat they may reach mankind. \n\nSometimes that hand is moved only thru vibration, \nthought vibration. Many times that hand is moved \nso that the message is conveyed to you as the thought \nis. sent from that consciousness beyond the grave; \nand many times the hand will move again and again, \nmaking nothing but little marks. But do not become \ndiscouraged, because this is only the beginning. \nWhen a baby first attempts to stand, it falls, but it \nrises again and makes another attempt, and so it is \nwith the development of those powers. \n\nDo not use those powers for material purposes \nuntil you know that they are entirely outside of \nyour own mind. Do not allow the spirit to convey \nto your world messages which interest only material \nminds. Do not allow the spirit forces to use your \nhand to tell you that another is wronging you, or \nanything of that sort, because in doing this you are \nsending out just that destructive thought. This \nis something I wish to let sink deep into your \nconsciousness \u2014 ^if you, thru curiosity, attempt to \nread a message before it is completed, many times \nthe message will change its course, will be much \nof yourself. Wait patiently, hold strongly the \nthought for a limited space of time, because those \nwho are trying to manipulate that instrument are \nsometimes in ignorance of the laws. Sometimes \nthey have been away from that physical body so \nlong that they have progressed away from the \n\n\n\nPBOTEOTIVE FOBCES 189 \n\nphysical needs, and they would hold a portion of \nyour body longer than it would be well for it physic- \nally. And so lend your body only for a limited time \n\u2014 they will not overreach their privilege. \n\nIndependent writings are developed to a very \ngreat extent today thru concentration. The same \nlaw governs all phases of mediumship ; and we are \npresenting the lessons which will help you to reach \nout to the other world. Automatic writings are \nmore universal than any other phase of medium- \nship today. Independent writings are not so com- \nmon. It takes a longer time to put your mind in \ntiiat state where you can obtain them \u2014 and it is \nwell to have a pencil which holds just your own \nmagnetic force, because in lending it to others it \ntakes a part of their vibration witii it. So hold it \nsacred to your own use ; and when you sit for this \npurpose, do not hold that pencil and endeavor to \nobtain automatic writing, because if the spirit \nworld find they can reach you thru that method, \nthey will not put forth so great an effort as is re- \nquired for the independent writing. All cannot \ndevelop this power, but a great many can. \n\nYou cannot say, '*I want to be an independent \nwriter '' or **I want to be a clairvoyant\", but if it \nis within you and you can bring it forth, tiien sit in \nspiritual meditation for a limited space of time each \nday. But meet your helpers in spirit regularly \u2014 \nbe not anxious that the pencil move, but just sit in \nspiritual meditation with yourself, in the silence of \nyour own soul commune with yourself, and find the \nweaknesses within you and attempt to overcome \nthem, make yourself spiritual ; and have within yoii \n\n\n\n190 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nthat thought, if they can reach you, they will. It \nmay take a long time, and it may be that the power \nis not within you, but it is well to try to develop it. \n\nYou must learn that a spirit because it has left \nthe body is not necessarily an illuminated spirit. \nThey are in the realm of thought in which they \nlived \u2014 and it is easier for those on the lower plane \nof thought to manifest than it is for those who have \nlong since left their temples of clay. Their physical \nmemory is fresh within their consciousness, and \nthey remember better how to reach you than those \nwho have progressed farther into spirit and who \nreturn to you with things of the soul ; therefore, put \nforth great effort (it is a hard lesson for you to \nlearn) to reach the purer, more enlightened souls \nby building a spiritual channel thru which they can \nreduce thru all the different octaves of vibration \nuntil they can reach you in the flesh body. \n\nThese are the lessons we would impress upon your \nconsciousness : First, the protective force of spirit- \nual expression; second, the development of the \npowers within you ; third^ the satisfied souls greeting \nyou who say, **You have shown me the way.'' \n\nIs there any thing which can make the souls of \nmen rise into spiritual light more than an appreci- \native brother who speaks of the satisfaction he has \nreceived thru your spiritual thought! These lessons \nwe leave with you, take them home with you, think \non them. May you reach into the very highest \nrealms of spiritual thought possible and tiiere find \nthe things of the spirit, and then bring them to your \nbrother. \n\n\n\nPBOTBCTIVB FOBCBS 191 \n\nSpirit communication is today but in its infancy. \nCan you expect to receive perfect thoughts, perfect \nlessons, pure spirit lights, thru channels which are \nfilled with mortal thought, filled with avarice, filled \nwith hate, filled with jealousy and filled with selfish- \nness f Do you think that the tidings of eternal love \ncan reach you thru these channels f No ! But thru \nit all as man reaches for light and truth, takes away \nthe things which are earthy, takes away the things \nwhich are not pure, he finds the glorious truth, pure \nunadulterated spirit. The only way you can receive \nthese thoughts, these pure messages of light is by \nliving the truth, by building about yourself only \nthose conditions which will attract pure spirits. \n\nMany times upon investigation man finds things \nwhich are false, things which are impure \u2014 ^whyf \nBecause they are attracted to him \u2014 ^like attracts like \n\u2014 then why not build about yourself that strong \nprotective force which will not pennit all these to \ncome to you. Live in the glorious light of truth, and \ngo into the golden silence, conmiune with pure \nspirits, open the way to a higher and pure realm of \nthought, reach out for those things beyond the grasp \nof mortal mind, for the light which will illuminate \nyour consciousness and bring to your soul the real- \nization of what little benefit is derived from ma- \nterial things, and the wondrous help of the glorious \nuplifting influence of spiritual desires. \n\nNow, it is very difficult for us to manifest to you \nwhen the atmosphere is disturbed, but when things \nare peaceful, when things are bright, when One can \nsee the glorious harmony in nature, then is it easier \n\n\n\n192 THE DESCENDING UGHT \n\nfor the spirit to descend thru the vibrations and \nspeak and manifest to yon. \n\nThen is it not well to build the thought which is \npure, to live a life that all pure minds disembodied \ncan be attracted to you because they are in tune with \nyour thoughts \u2014 so that only those who are spiritual \nand good, only those who will uplift you will be at- \ntracted to you. \n\nAs you put forth effort to serve your fellow-man, \nas you seek for more and more of the things of \nspirit, there will be cast around you the light which \nwill show you the way that you may be well ma- \nterially and well spiritually. If you build about \nyourself only those things which are good, you will \nbring to yourself only good conditions. To receive \ngood, send out good ; to receive evil, send out evil. \n\nWhat man desires to receive things which are not \ngoodf But if he sows the seed, that shall his har- \nvest be. \n\n\n\nThey say, ''Thru all the ages spirits have re- \nturned, and spirits have caused minds to wander \u2014 \nthey have even destroyed bodies.^' Yes, 'tis true, \nspirits have done these things \u2014 spirits in the flesh \nhave done this, too; (man is as much a spirit while \nin the flesh body as he is after death) ; spirits in the \nflesh have sinned and are sinning against their fel- \nlow-men; and spirits out of the flesh are doing the \nsame things. \n\nWhat man of you can say that every friend of \nyours, every one who calls himself your friend, has \nalways spoken the truth, has never violated, but has \nalways spoken the truth f Not one of you can stand \n\n\n\nPHOTECTIVB FOBCBS 193 \n\nupon your feet and say tonight that every man in \nthis world of flesh who calls himself your friend has \nalways spoken the truth. And the world of spirit \nwhich is just beyond the grave is filled with men \nwho have been in the flesh \u2014 they passed into that \nworld just as they were in this life; the mere ex- \nperience called death does not change their individ- \nuality ; does not remove from them all their charac- \nteristics, they carry them with them. And so ^ey \nreturn, they come as they are, and if they deceived \nin the flesh, why, they will deceive out of it, imtil \nthey have grown out of all the physical memories \nand habits. \n\nThere are those of you who have learned the price \nof untruth, have found the value of truth, the mean- \ning of truth, and would not falsify ; and so it is with \nthose out of the flesh. Those who are progressing, \nwhen they: become illuminated and progress from \nthe undeveloped thoughts of the physical, they learn \nthe price of falsehood, and they learn the value of \ntruth. \n\nSo in your search, know that there are times when \nyou will meet those who may desire to harm you, \nand will unless you know how to protect yourself in \nyour investigation. But when you have learned to \nclothe yourself, prepare yourself for the journey \ninto the unseen world, protect yourself, you will not \npermit the undeveloped to come to you. \n\nIn your investigation search not for deception, \nsearch not for untruth, but search for the things \nwhich the unfolding soul needs; and that is truth \nand helpful thoughts which will make of you a bet- \n\n\n\n194 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nter man or a better woman, and ope!n the way for a \nclearer vision of the things of Qtod. \n\nBut men in their desire to know of spirit retain, \nto know whether or not this is true, (this thing that \nall the orthodox churches are opposing; and yet are \ndrawing into their ranks, preparing to give it to \nthe people imder the cloak of their particular doc- \ntrine) must know first before they penetrate the \nwall between that in spirit there are ranks and \nclasses, and all kinds of souls just as there are in \nthe flesh. \n\nSo in your investigation know this: When you \ncome to the brink of the great chasm between your \nworld of expression and that world which is just \nacross this mysterious chasm, that world of which \nyou know so little, there are various methods of \nreaching it and there are dangerous pathways thru \nwhich you must go. \n\nYou must not lend your bodies for the control of \nany one who is intellectually your inferior. Do not \nallow any spirit to control your mind or your body \nunless they are superior to you intellectually, so \nthat when this is done they may leave you some \nhelpful thought or something that is good. This is \nthe terrible mistake that m\u00abui in his foolish investi- \ngation makes \u2014 ^he goes blindly into the chasm of \ndarkness searching for the truth of spirit return; \nand in doing this he invites destructive forces to \nhim. \n\nSome say there is no truth in the old thought, \n* ' Like attracts like ' \\ but, it is true, and you will see \nit as you study the methods and mediums ip all the \ndifferent walks of life. You will find that those who \n\n\n\nPBOTEOTIVB F0B0S8 196 \n\nwork with them as gnides and helpers are of the \nstole quality spiritually; they draw them from the \nsame realm of thought to which they have grown. \n\nWe are very bitterly criticised for making these \nstatements; but it is our duty to warn you of this \nbecause if you allow those of inferior minds to con- \ntrol you they become so accustomed to coming to \nyou, and your own thought becomes weakened, for \nit is only a destructive force which will dare to enter \nyour body and bring manifestation to man which is \nuntrue or impure. There are those out of the body \nwho are still in their sex memories, who still have \nlatent the physical sensations and appetites because \ntheir physical bodies are still in form. (We have \nexplained to you in previous lessons the good of \nhaving the flesh body cremated after the soul has left \nit, so we will not dwell upon that here.) But we will \ntell you once again that there are those in spirit \nwho have very pronounced within them the physical \nmemories because their whole individuality reflects \nthat; they have lived entirely for the satisfying of \ntheir physical desires and appetites. \n\nBut .know this : No matter how low they have fal-. \nlen, some time somewhere, they will-begin to unfold \nthe spirit within, and that which reflects all good \nwill be illuminated by the higher law of unfoldment, \nand they will develop the finer quality which is not \nlust but love, which is not avarice but service which \nis not hate but universal love \u2014 the love of one man \nfor all men in every class in every walk of life. \n\nThen again, there is the danger of insanity. Those \nwho speak against a man becoming enlightened along \nthe line of spirit return, speak truly when they say \n\n\n\n196 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nmany have gone insane. But it is for you who know \nhow to commune with the spirit world to educate \nman and direct his thinking powers along the line of \nspiritual thought, because it is tfue that those who \ncome rushing in to manifest are those who are close \nto the physical and less spiritual. \n\nWe have gathered about you that protective In- \ndian force; because Indians in their peculiar way \nclear the atmosphere for our vibration \u2014 and they \nshall stay in touch with you until you are entirely \nprotected: In the development of your mediumship \nyou are being protected and spiritually educated for \nthe great work, and the mission of a medium. The \ntime will come when you will feel in your souls a \nrealization of our efforts to protect you and to keep \nopen the way for spirits of the higher realms to \nmanifest. And then you will know the necessity of \npreparation and education in the proper develop- \nment of mediumship. \n\nThe time is not far distant when thru our great \neffort, and by your assistance, we shall overcome \nthis terrible demoralization which is being perpe- \ntrated upon you today by undeveloped mediums \nseeking spirit communion with the forces who are \nalso undeveloped and ignorant thereby creating \nlower spirit conditions. We will protect you, and we \nask you to aid us. \n\nSpirits who are in the lower spheres are placed \nthere because their thoughts were and are not only \nmaterial but earthy, low, and their appetites have \nbeen their masters. \n\nWhy are they there? To meet their masters ; and \nif it should be appetite for wrong doing, they meet \n\n\n\nPROTECTIVE FORCES 197 \n\nthat master^ and they must overpower that master. \nHow? By doing good. \n\nMany are in the lower realms of spirit before \nthey are even aware that there is a higher life, be- \nfore they even dare to think of anything higher, and \nso they are close to the lower thoughts of man, and \nif man reaches into that realm he will get just what \nis in that realm. \n\nDeath severs the soul from the body, but it does \nnot make that man good until he has risen and \nshaken away all the mistakes of his flesh life, the \nthoughts, the appetites, the habits remain with him \nfor a time. \n\nSome of you know this, some of you are hunting \nand searching, and some have been merely touched \nby the light, but search farther; do not go into spirit \ncommunion until yx>u prepare yourselves mentally \nand spiritually, for it is more than a dangerous \nthing to do. Therefore, make conditions which will \ninvite to you the enlightened spirits and thru that \nprotective line of spirit your loved ones will come. \nWhen spiritualists (so-called) learn to lift spirit \ncommunion up to the high standard to which it be- \nlongs they will have found the key which unlocks \nthe door between them and their loved ones ; and all \nthis time they are growing in spirit and making a \nbeautiful pathway into their tomorrow. Study the \nlaws of truth and harmony and morality, and the \nlight is hound to come. \n\nIf you will cultivate the inner powers, if you will \nilluminate the heaven within you, if you find the \nGodspark within you and bring forth its illumin- \nation, you will protect yourselves. \n\n\n\n198 THB DBBOBNDINO LIGHT \n\nThe spirit within, the spark of the Infinite, is wis- \ndom. That which man gathers from the snrface and \nthm experience is knowledge. Knowledge wakens, \naye, hut wisdom reveals. So take thm knowledge \nall that yon can gather from the world beyond, hold \nit as knowledge, and then in deep, solemn, prayerfnl, \nspiritual meditation illmninate it with the spirit \nwithin, and behold, thru wisdom yon will know that \nit is not the man who searches materially that finds \nthe light. He may find that which satisfies him for \na time, bnt he does not gather the great good that \nman gathers thm searching spiritually. \n\n\n\nCHAPTER Vn. \n\n\n\nINVISIBLE HELPERS. \n\nEvery soul bom into the flesh has its guides ; some \ncall them guardian angels, but it does not matter \nwhat you call these invisible helpers. They lead you \nand guide you, but they cannot rule you ; only your \nindividuality, the inner part of you can make for \nyourself your future conditions, for God, the great \nspirit, the great soul, the great fountain of life, of \nAIjL, is constantly imbuing you with light, life, un- \nderstanding, which you can illuminate, and the mo- \nment it is illuminated, it is for you to continue \nilluminating it, enlarging it in your search and in \nyour effort, and in your service. \n\nIf you are reaching out for knowledge of spiritual \nthings, the greater intelligences will come to you \nrepeatedly when the door is open that they might, \nand in every instance they will instruct you. \n\nIf you are seeking more for development, only for \nmanifestation, you will draw more of the earth force, \nand yet just as good as you are good, but of a lower \nnature, a more simple nature. \n\nBut we feel that you will reach out into the higher \nrealms to draw helpers to you that you might learn \nmore and more of the lessons of TRUTH. \n\n\n\n200 THE DE80ENDING LIGHT \n\nMan searches always upon the surface. To gather \nthe things of the sotd he strives to bring it into his \nconsciousness thru the physical senses; and so the \nspirits return, have returned, and still continue to \nreturn to tell him more and more of how to mani- \nfest that he might gather truth into the soul thru \nthe physical senses. The invisible helpers reach, \ndown tiiru the dense physical vibration to man that \nhe might awaken the spiritual part of himself, that \nhe might reach out into the school of spiritual ex- \npression and learn thru it the unseen, unfelt, yet \never present forces who will touch him in the silence. \n\nTherefore, as the spirit returns to present to you \nthe lessons of the soul, he meets witii great obstacles. \nMan will take just so much as his physica.r needs to \nsatisfy his own selfish thought and desires, and he \ndoes not care to accept that part which crowds away \nsome of the selfish part of his own spirit. I dare say, \nhe will claim that that teacher gives him only his \npersonal opinion. This is a great mistake. \n\nThe teacher who returns to instruct man in the \nflesh returns from the school of spiritual expression \nand presents to him not one word but that which \nhe has gathered from that higher realm of thought. \nHe does not give the things which have only ap- \npeared to his own individual self, but he gives the \nuniversal thought which has been gathered from the \nvast field of spiritual expression; and it is thru \ngreat study and great effort that he returns to in- \nstruct. \n\nThe soul language has no spoken words, and the \nsoul that returns to present to man a lesson borrows \nof his own vocabulary for the purpose of teaching \n\n\n\nINVISIBLE HELPERS 201 \n\nthat individual the things of the soul, and to lift \nhim and present to him the lesson which he never \ncould have possessed until the physical vibration \nhas been penetrated with spiritual instruction. \n\nWhen you are putting forth your effort to pene- \ntrate^into the world beyond, do not think that the \neffort is all on your part. Do not think that when \nyou are putting forth your energy to look into the \nunseen that you are all that is working ; for in the \nunseen realms there are hundreds and thousands \nand millions who are daring to return thru all the \ndensity of the discordant vibration of hate, murder, \nand the bloody vibration which is surrounding your \nplanet today. They come in the sacred light of God, \ndescendant spirits, invisible helpers, pure and holy \nspirits whose lives are consecrated to the service of. \nman upon the mortal plane. They descend, and it is \nwith great effort they come down, down, down thru \nthe black, the red, the gray, the brown vibrations \ndown to the consciousness of man in the physical. \n\nThe hands of dead men are not idle. They are \nbusy hands all leading you, loving hands guiding \nyou, trying to show you the way. \n\nMaster minds descending upon the earth, borrow- \ning astral bodies to manifest, are sending forth into \nthe consciousness of those who are receptive the \nthings of spirit -which will ever and ever live, and \nmake for better all mankind. Masters are manifest- \ning thru the flesh all about you ; but they are lifting, \nthey are not crushing; they are guiding man into \nsomething which they cannot explain. They wonder \nwhy their visions have changed or softened, they \nwonder why they must put themselves in tune with \n\n\n\n202 THB DE80BNDINO UOHT \n\nthe destructive thought (the great war) which en- \nvelops your earth plane today ; but something seems \nto be lifting them out, they are changing their \nthoughts and they wonder why. It is because they \nhave made themselves receptive to the things of \nspirit, and the greater minds are sending forth that \nlight which is illuminating and making them see \nthru the spirit; and they will rise so far that they \ncannot be a part of that which is destructive. \nSomething invisible, something stronger is pulling \nyou higher and higher away from all the lower \nqualities and is making you more spiritual. \n\nKnow that master minds in the flesh can touch \nyour consciousness too; because they know how to \nleave their flesh body, and many times they gather \nknowledge from the higher realms. They are taken \ninto the schools and taught how to leave their body \nthat they may lift and serve mankind. They know \nnot where they are or why it is so, but they are \ndrawn into the school where what seems to them as \nan experience ; and that mind is being used by some \ngreater mind to touch the minds of men in the flesh. \n\n\n\nIn different parts of the globe there are witnesses \nof the dawn of a new expression of spiritual thought, \nand the spirits who are acting as ministering angels \nto the earth plane at the present time- (and have for \nthe past, I might say, 500 years) are witnessing the \nsame change on their plane of thought that you are \non your plane. They are passing into a higher ex- \npression which will carry them farther away from \nthe earth plane, and which will make it more difficult \nfor them to manifest to you, but in their places will \n\n\n\n/ \n\nINVISIBUB HELPBB8 203 \n\nstep more students, more helpers, more teachers who \nhave been prepared for the great work of helping \nhumanity. Soon there will be bom npk)n the earth \nanother great teacher, another spiritual leader who \nwill lead men into spirituality, in so far as their \nmentality can grasp it at the present time. Each \nera or age shall bring into existence that teaching \nfrom the realm of light which will bring man to a \nhigher stage of unfoldment. \n\nAnd so as man develops mentally he reaches \nhigher spiritually, and thus brings to his planet \nthose teachers from the realms of light to which \nhis thoughts reach. And as there preceded the \nformer spiritual leader of nearly 2,000 years ago \nmessengers who prepared the way, so it is now as \nwe come here to prepare the way for the teachers \nwho are to come and who will show you and teach \nyou and eventually make the doorway more clear \nto you, and thru which you will receive that light for \nwhich mankind hungers today. \n\nYou (students of the Circles of Light) are the \nmortal witnessess of the birth of this new spiritual \nlight \u2014 ^make yourselves ready \u2014 ^make yourselves as \na solid foundation of rock upon which it may rest, \nfor it shall be asked of you ; for your opportunities \nare greater than many. We beg of you to practice \nin your everyday life, your promise to do unto others \n/ as you wish to have them do unto you. Practice \nharmony in your everyday life, in your home and \nout of it. \n\n\n\nIn sitting for development and becoming ac- \nquainted with some influence which is attracted to \n\n\n\n204 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nhim, man as soon as he finds that he can commimi- \ncate with the spirit, he immediately heeds the teach- \ning of that spirit before he knows from what reahn \nthat spirit comes. First, test the spirits that; yon \nmay know whether or not they have been drawn to \nyou from spiritual thought or from the physical and \nmaterial thought. It is not always the spirit who \nmanifests most readily to you that is the most help- \nful to you. \n\nSometimes the spirit which you never hear speak \nto you in the silence, or never feel the presence, per- \nhaps mentally is helping you more than all you have \nheard speaking to you; \n\nMany of your silent heli)ers are lifting you higher \nand higher out of the lower vibration; and some \ntime, if you put forth the necessary effort, you will \nbecome acquainted personally with the guides and \nhelpers about you. \n\nNow, as man becomes acquainted with the laws \nwhich govern spirit return, and sits in spiritual \nmeditation that he may unfold and bring into ex- \npression his inner self, he draws nearer to him those \nouter intelligences, or spirits disembodied, who are \nattracted to him. He draws so near that he becomes \nacquainted with them and so he finds that they are \nindividuals and not merely vibrations. Many times \nbefore he has known positively that it is an individ- \nual whose mind is close to him, he has felt that it \nwas something urging him or helping him to higher \nthoughts. \n\nA guide or helper is one who is drawn to you thru \nthe spiritual line of thought, and when you sit for \nspiritual unf oldment you open the way for the mani- \n\n\n\nINYISIBIiE HELPERS 205 \n\nfestation of that individual. Now it is for you to \nhelp that guide as well as for him to help you. You \ncan help him thru your own spiritual expression and \nhe can help you by the mental, and will guide and \nhelp you in many instances where it is best for you. \n\nIf you are truthful, reliable, trustworthy, Imow \nthat the entities who are attracted to you will be \nlikewise \u2014 and if you are not, you can expect only \nthose which are of the same quality as you are. \n\nThen, too,-I will say that as you unfold spiritually \nyou attract more and more of the enlightened minds \nto you, those who have passed thru different realms \nof thought and have gathered much from the higher \nrealms, and you will rise with them. \n\nAll men and women living in the flesh have some \nintelligences who are directly in line with them be- \ncause they move spiritually in the line of spirit tho \nthey walk in the flesh, and so you spiritually have ac- \nquired a spiritual friendship ; but your mind in the \nflesh does not always give to you as a memory the \nexperiences it has upon the spiritual plane of \nthought, only as you hold a higher thought. But \nyou can help them and they can help you if they \nhave come to you from that realm of thought which \nis of pure spirit. \n\n(Invisible helpers talk in the audible voice to \nmembers of the Circles of Light. The following is \na personal message to one of the members) . \n\n**I came into your home \u2014 ^I was not acquainted \nwith your name, but I was in your home when your \nfamily were sick. It was at a time when you were \nprayings that you might know what to do, and I \nstood right by your side, but you had no sense of \n\n\n\n206 THJB DEBOENDINQ UQHT \n\nfeeling my presence. There is no stronger invita- \ntion given to ns than that which comes thru prayer- \nful thought ; and as my great desire has been to bear \nsome spiritual message to mankind, I am very \nstrongly drawn to you by your prayer in thought \n\n**You have asked to be shown the proper step to \ntake, and I am here to guide you ; and I shall stand \nby your side, and I shall be of some assistance to \nyou \u2014 and I am glad of the opportunity. \n\n**You do not know me by name, but if you will \nsend your thoughts to your Gk>dhead, I will come \nupon the rays of that light to minister unto you. \nMy life upon the earth plane was that of a monk, \nthough here I have come to serve in GFod's holy name \nand light. \n\n**A great future lies before you, my sister, and I \nwill help you as you bring those little ones into \nwomanhood. You have done for His sake a great \ndeal, and your life will be a spiritual help to those \nyou have drawn to you. God bless you.'* \n\n\n\n** Friends, I have come to speak only for a moment \nor two, tho I am out of the flesh and you are in it \u2014 \nthat is why I speak to you ; as I am (Standing here I \nam sending you these thoughts. \n\n**You are holding in your hands tonight, sym-. \nbolically speaking, the key which can make harmony \nfor you, that will make happiness for you, or that \nwhidi will create all unhappiness. Little do men \nrealize as they walk in the flesh that they are hold- \ning an opportunity far greater than any opportunity \nto make or build material things; but to you who \nhave found that key which will open the doors be- \n\n\n\nINYISIBLB HBLPBB8 207 \n\ntween the two worlds (there are keys and keys) let \nme tell you, lest you forget, that in all your search \nattend to this thought: Hold to the things of Gk>d \nwhilst in that garden in which you walk today ; for \nit holds the fruits of the hidden things of God. \n\n**What is God? God is a spiritual unseen, ever- \nliving, never dying fountain of wisdom of which \nyou are a part. Therefore, I say this to you: lest \nyou wish to walk in the garden in light, stay out of \nit \u2014 stay out 'of it If you walk in unselfishness in \nsearch of God and spirit, in search of the hidden \nthings for good, then come with us and let us show \nyou the way to tiie hidden things of God. The sacred \nchannels upon which you are daring to place your \nfeet hold the things that no man in sin shall dare to \ntouch. \n\n**Do you dare to reach but for the things of the \nsoul, and sin and recklessly gatiber them in? No, it \nis a dangerous thing to do. Clothe yourselves in \npurity and truth, and if it is for truth you are \nsearching, come forth and you shall find it. Happi- \nness will be your reward ; but if you are searching \nfor satisfaction of selfish desires, turn away my \ngood brethren ; seek ye another channel. \n\n'*In the light of peace and purity and love shall be \nbom a new race. Some of ybu shall be parents of a \nnew generation bom to lift and to serve mankind. \n\n**I speak to you in the name of that unseen po^er \nof God which no man can wholly conceive of whilst \nin the flesh. I serve in this field of material life be- \ncause I have spent but twenty years in the fiesh. \nMy friends, I stand before you a creature not in the \n\n\n\n208 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nflesh in order that I might lift man into a little \nhigher spiritual tl^ought \n\n**You are searching for TRUTH, so beware that \nyou step not into the garden in the spirit of selfish- \nness. Good night/* ^ \n\n\n\n(Another invisible helper speaks.) \n\n''Now frieAds, I am no speaker, but I can help \nyou in different ways. I was a man who thought of \nnothing but the accumulation of material goods ; I \nwas a man who thought of nothing but the building \nof a ^e home, with fine furnishings and everything \nthat appealed to the material eye of man; I never \nthought I had a soul ; but, oh, brothers and sisters, \none day there came upon me a sickness and I found \nmyself unable to obtain medical iEud sufficient to \novercome it ; and there came into my mind the real- \nization that I must die. Oh, God, I cannot tell you \nthe feeling that came upon me. The memories of \nthis are hard to bear, but it is necessary that I do \nbear it because it is of my own creation, they tell me. \nAnd then there came tibie day when I must leave that \nbody ; I was conscious, until my soul was gone from \nmy body I had every sense ; it seemed to me that I \nnever could leave that body; it seemed that I must \ncling closer to that body for it was all that I had; \nand then I found myself en|;irely free from that body, \nand when I tried to pick up articles in my room I \ncou|d not move them. I tried to put my hand upon \nthe shoulder of my wife, to tell her that I was still \nthere, that I was not gone, but she did not hear me ; \nshe did not know that I was there. \n\n\n\nINVISIBLE HELPEBS 209 \n\n''I attended the funeral of my body, I attended \nthe services and heard the minister say, ^ He is in \nheaven.' I stood by his side craving that I might \nreturn to that body because I had no thought of any- \nthing beyond the body. My thoughts were all ma- \nterial, and now it seemed that all was gone \u2014 ^no per- \nson saw me- I was carried away into a deep sleep ; \nand when I wakened I saw my mother standing be- \nside me, and she said, *Davy, my boy, forget the \nearth, forget tibe things you served for, and know \nthat you are only now beginning to live; that you \nmust rise and rise and reach out for God. You for- \ngot Him, you forgot your soul.' There was not \nwithin me the power to talk ; I could not speak to her \nbut I could hear her as she spoke to me. Finally I \nsaid, * Mother, am I dreaming? I have worked all \nthese years ; I have saved my money, and now is it \nall gone!' She said, *God bless you, my boy, David, \nrelease yourself from the earth, loosen yourself \nfrom these thoughts of that life. ' \n\n**Then there came upon me a fear \u2014 ^I cannot ex- \npress it to you because you cannot feel it, for your \nsouls are not so sensitive. I could not release my- \nself from the desire to return to those things whidi \nI had builded around me. \n\n* ' After a time I was filled with a great desire for \nsomething else, for something that they could not \ntake from me ; and then tliere came into my mind, \ninto my soul, the glorious feeling of unfoldment, \nand I felt that I could go on, but oh, I wanted to \ncome back and tell those who are hoarding and \nsaving only with material thoughts not to do it. \nPlease don't do it; try to develop spiritually ^c^ \n\n\n\n210 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nthat when you come into the spirit life yon will \nfind something here for you; something you can \ntouch; sometibing you can know, and then you will \nrealize that you have saved something besides \nmaterial things. \n\n''What I want to do, brothers and sisters, is to \nwalk with you and show you, and show men and \nwomen that the soul is more important than all the \nearthly wealth they may possess. May God bless \nyou and show you the reality of the soul.'* \n\n\n\n(Spirit teacher explains how they reduce to the \n\nphysical vibration.) \n\n, We hold within our consciousness a strong de- \nsire to carry to you words spoken in your familiar \ntongue which will give to you the thoughts that we \nhave gathered here. We pass into a higher \nvibration where all is light, all is motion, all is per- \nfection; then we reduce into a heavier vibration \nwhere it is almost, as it would seem to you, un- \nbreathable. We feel out of place, and we have to \nput forth great eflfort, but we know that we are \nserving you. We feel as you would feel if you \nwere to go down into a mine to rescue your fellow- \nman; then we pass into a lower and heavier \nvibration, and so on until we pass thru all the \ndensity which surrounds you. Then we send out \nstrongly from our consciousness the words we \nspeak; we hold it in our will; we borrow your \nphysical strength; we send to you from our con- \nsciousness the words we would speak. We come as \nyou would creep into a mine to rescue your brother ; \n\n\n\nINVISIBLE HELPEBS 211 \n\nthen would any man in his ignorance dare to drag \nthe spirit down to the material; drag, the spirit \nalong the highway of dust and say, * * Tell me some- \nthing which will make me rich ; tell me how to get \nthe best of my brother. ' ' \n\nThese are tibie crimes the ignorant inquirers dare \nto commit; these are the sins they perpetrate \nagainst the spirit who reduces thru all the glorious \nvibration down to the density of the earth. He \ncomes to save a soul; he comes to help you to live \na better life \u2014 and then there are those who attend \na spiritualist meeting just because they want to \nfind something which they have lost. \n\nIn the indej)endent voice, a spirit puts forth \nwonderful effort to reach you. He does not borrow \nthe speaking organs of any one, he does not borrow \nyour mind; he merely builds upon the vibrations \nyou lend him, and he speaks to you upon it. \n\nIf the little things we tell you pertaining to your \nmaterial life are for the purpose of making you \nbetter, and lifting you spiritually, we are glad to \ndo it. \n\nThe spiritual world has many inhabitants who \nlove humanity and they return to the mortal planiB \nwith the desire to touch the consciousness of man \nand teU him the secret of life, the secret of content- \nment, the secret of knowing. The spirit returns \nand speaks into your soul those things which make \nyou better, those things which illuminate your soul \nand fill you with a desire to rise and be better. \nThese are the things for which the spirit returns \nto the mortal plane -^ the things which have \nbrought the spirit world close to you. It is not \n\n\n\n212 THE DESCENDING UOHT \n\nto tell yon whether or not yonr wife is true, it is \nnot to tell yon where yon lost yonr watch \u2014 ^bnt it is \nto waken man's sonl to the reality of things, and \nto lead him on in his search. \n\nHarmony is bom of spirit. Love is bom of \nspirit and is the mother of charity and under- \nstanding. The why of all things can only be dis- \ncerned and solved by spirit, for spiritual things can \nonly be discerned by spirit^^ \n\nAlas, many souls who have awakened to the truth \nof spirit return only stand at the doorway of the \nearth side of the door and as they come just greet \nthem with **how do you do,'' and '^Kind friend, \nhave yon a message for me!\" And they pass on; \nand another comes and it is the same greeting he \nhears, and so on and on, and the spirits leave no \ndeeper impression upon him as they enter the door- \nway at which he stands in his investigation because \nhe does not step to the other side of the door and \nlearn more of the expressioi^ of life over there ; he \ndoes not learn more of how to live and how to do \nand how to make and prepare that building in \nwhich he will live over there. He does not try to \nlearn from those who are coming from the finer \nand higher places \u2014 ^poor man. \n\nThere are souls and souls who are still in the \nflesh who have never sat in a seance room, never \nsaw a public medium, yet they know their loved \nones are with them because they have touched \nthem spiritually thru the spiritual sense of their \npresence. \n\nAnd those who have stepped inside the door have \nasked that they may be of some service to the \n\n\n\nf. \n\n\n\nINVISIBLE HELPERS x 213 \n\nangel world in bringing the light. The guardian \nangels or helpers bring to them souls from all \nwalks of life in the different stages in which they \npassed away and let the soul talk to them and \nshow them what it means to die in that thought, in \nall the conditions thru which the soul passes. He \nwill willingly give himself to the spirit world for \nthe service of humanity. He becomes acquainted \nwith those who brought him. \n\nAll these poor souls are seeking an avenue thru \nwhich to serve ; for death does not perfect the soul ; \noh, no, it is unfoldment, it is progress, it is refine- \nment, and it is atonement \u2014 ^at-one-ment. It is all a \nprocess of growth. * \n\nThe souls who are taken from that other life \nwith all their material and physical environments \nwhose thoughts were aill of that nature cannot be \nplaced immediately at-one-ment with perfection. \nThey must pass thru all of this, and they begin just \nwhere they leave off. If they leave the flesh world \nthru the door of hate, they cannot turn around and \ncome back thru the door of love \u2014 ^if they return, \nthey return as they left until they grow little by \nlittle out of it J until they come into the realization \nof spiritual light, progression and laws of life; \nthen they step into the higher ranks of service, to \nserve the souls in the flesh and the souls in spirit \nwho are unenlightened. \n\nThese souls are brought by their guides and \nhelpers to show man the way. And these who are \nfirst brought to you by your loved ones to protect \nyou are your guardian angels. \n\nNow, I will stop here to answer a question: \n\n\n\n214 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nOne has asked why so many Indians are iattracted \nto those who develop as mediums. It is because \nthey have always lived close to nature; they have \nalways lived a plain and simple life. True, they \nwere stirred to anger and many different con- \nditions by outer minds, but when they were to- \ngether they were grouped always in harmony, their \nlives were always simple, always true. They had \nno false doctrines placed in ttieir consciousness ; \nthey grew in a natural spiritual growih to a belief \nand a realization of a Great Spirit. Their highest \nconception of happiness was just plenty; but they \ndid not reach far beyond the physical because they \nhad no opportunity. They lived close to nature's \nsimple way; that was their physical expression, so \nthey could not plunge into a higher or finer \nvibration until they had more experience on the \nearth plane; and tiiey return to work with other \ninstruments in harmony with souls who are in- \ncarnate and they break the way for a higher and \nfiner vibration. \n\nThe law of spirit communion \u2014 oh, the sacred law \nof God, so misinterpreted, so little understood, so \nmuch abused ; and yet so holy, so true, so beautiful, \nopens ihe way thru which the souls of men can re- \nturn to undo many things they did whilst in the \nflesh (which helps ihe soul in its ascension) to help \nothers thru their service; and thru their love and \nupliftment of others they are tearing down many \nfalse conditions builded by them. Thru the many \nexperiences thru which they passed they created \nobstacles in their way, and they are able to remove \nthem by helping others. \n\n\n\nINVISIBLE HELPERS 215 \n\nLet them serve you \u2014 they are trying to build \ntheir heaven because they forgot to build while on \nthe eartib plane^ and they have their heaven to \nbuild here. \n\nThe spirit returns to teach you things of the soul, \nto teach you how to build your heaven while still \nin the flesh, so open the door of your soul's home \nand listen to the voice of the spirit \u2014 invisible \nhelpers guiding you into the glorious light of truth. \n\n\n\nCHAPTEE Vni. \n\n\n\nHOW TO HELP THOSE GONE BEFORE. \n\n\n\nThought forbe is something whidb would require \na whole book to explain ; but this much we will give \nyou at this time. The greatest force, the greatest \npower existing upon the earth plane today is man's \npower to think \u2014 ^then use it for spiritual purposes \nto lift poor unenlightened souls into a higher realm \nof thought. \n\nThought force is as necessary to the soul of man, \nto the thinking power of man, or to the conscious- \nness of man as air is to the physical body. This \nis the clearest description I can give you of thought \nforce. You must reach into it step by step ever \nand ever ascending; therefore we will say the great \nforce from which thought is formed is flowing \nthru the consciousness of man. Oh, how this great \nwondrous thought force is wasted by mortal man. \n\nThru the great thought power in man he brings \ninto expression the wondrous conditions surround- \ning him \u2014 and man is responsible for the conditions \nwhich are presenting themselves on your earth \nplane today. \u00bb \n\n\n\nHOW TO HELP THOSE GONE BEFOBE 217 \n\nHow OuB Thoughts Effect Those Who Abe ik \n\nSpibit. \n\n(A spirit entered one of the classes and in audible \nvoice presented the following lesson.) \n\nWhen I passed from that life on the earth, I was \naccused of having taken my own life \u2014 ^but I did not. \nI want you to know the effect of the thought that \nthose people sent out \u2014 the thought that I had taken \nmy own life. \n\nI will not bore you by taking you thru all the \nmental strain under which I was the last day I \nspent upon your plane of expression, nor will I tell \nyou all the details of the accident, nor attempt to \ntell you of the sensation I experienced when leav- \ning the body. I realized that our boat was capsized, \nrealized that I was imable to swim. The thoughts \npassed thru my consciousness more rapidly than it \nwere ever possible fpr me to have gathered \nthoughts before. I thought of every single thing I \nhad ever done within less than a moment, for I \nknew the end must come; I was helpless. I was \nnot only unable to swim, but I was paralyzed early \nin life. \n\nI was always of a very despondent nature be- \ncause of this and it bore upon me mentally to a \nvery pronounced degree. Therefore, a report was \nimmediately sent out by my acquaintances and \nthose who were my brothers, saying I had taken \nmy own life \u2014 ^which I did not. \n\nTheir thoughts were being ever and ever sent \nout to me, placing me in their mental world a \nsuicide \u2014 ^being of an orthodox nature of thought. \n\n\n\n218 ^ THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nbelieving in heaven and hell, they naturally be- \nlieved that I was in hell, having taken my own \nlife, as they thought. Therefore, all the mental \npictures they sent out into the universe to me or \nregarding me was that I was in hell, that I was a \nsuicide. \n\nThe thing that I want to impress upon you is the \neffect of man's thought upon the soul which is \nsevered from the body. Having passed from the \nbody, I passed into a thought world, and it was of \na despondent nature ; it was all that I had sent out \ninto this world. Here things are colored by my \nthought; and my thoughts were always of a dis- \ncouraging nature; I saw everything thru the same \ncolor which seemed to. envelop me upon all \noccasions \u2014 ^that I was unequal to my fellow-m\u20acui \nphysically. When with a group of men or people I \nwould always picture myself as not being so good \nas they, because of my physical condition, there- \nfore when I passed into/a world of thought I held \nthat same thought. No matter whom I met I \nwould still carry that same thought. \n\nIt was then that I learned that thoughts are \nthings\u2014 1 had never known of the wondrous power \nof thought. \n\nI began to meet strange conditions which always \ncarried me back to that same thought \u2014 ^I was not \nso good as those around me. I wondered why it \nwas that as I passed along the highway I came \nand ever came to the dark gray place, the dark \ngray light which seemed to envelop me and carry \nme down (I do not mean downward as you would \nsay, but downward as in solemn thought.) Then I \n\n\n\nHOW TO HELP THOSE GONE BEFOBE 219 \n\ndiscovered that the thoughts were coming direct \nto me from the earth plane \u2014 that I had taken my \nown life. \n\nI endeavored by great effort to find some method \nor some means by which it was possible for me to \nreturn, and this I accomplished by coming in direct \nHue with one whom I was associated with in early \nlife. I returned to tell that I had not taken my \nlife; but I found that they were deaf, they were \nblind. \n\nFinally, one night (a little child bom to my sister \nwas sick unto death and as she lay upon the bed \ngathering together her forces into the astral body, \nunto the little soul I sent forth my picture as I \nwould have been were I a perfect man, and she \nsaw it and cried, ** Uncle Gerald is alive, mother, \nhe is not dead, he did not kill himself. ^^ And the \nlittle soul passed from the body into my arms and \nI bore her away into that field of light where \nchildren grow and develop spiritually. \n\nNow I want to impress upon you \u2014 even tho you \nknow a soul passed from the body by his own hand, \ndo not hold that thought, but rather think of him \nas one poor, unenlightened soul \u2014 for no man will \ndo this thing whose mentality is as it should be. \nYou do not know me, but I have come to one whose \nvibration I have known for some time. Good night. \n\n\n\n(Spirit teacher.) \nWe have brought with us a great number of dis- \nembodied spirits tonight who have come in direct \ntouch with you for assistance, therefore, we will \nask that you go into the silent thought for a time \n\n\n\n220 THB DESGENDINQ LIQHT \n\nand send a resurrection thought; send a thought \nwhich will lift these souls from the thought of their \nphysical moments; lift them out of that into a \nspiritual thought for a time. \n\nThere are many souls who have been disembod- \nied but a short time and have not come into the re- \nalization that they no longer manifest in the \nphysical body. Kindly go into the silent thought, \nfor these souls need your help and you must reach \nout in spiritual thought and help them to find them- \nselves. \n\n(Glass concentrates.) \n\nThe great war is taking many spirits from the \nearth expression. Disembodied souls are close to \nthe earth plane. These souls were plunged into the \nspiritual expression unprepared-^how can they \nknow how to use any force other than the physical! \nNow you should reach out to them in spiritual up- \nlifting thought. Clothe yourselves in absolute truth, \nthat great protective force, and aid these disem- \nbodied spirits. \n\nNow I do not say that all those who have passed \nout on the battlefields are undeveloped souls ; but I \nsay that those who are in the physical expression \nand spiritually enlightened can aid them to get \naway from the flesh memories. Pray for them with \nthat prayer which is not spoken \u2014 ^pray in your con- \nsciousness, touch that great and perfect light so \nnearly as you can. Eeach out of the flesh memories \nfor the good and speak in the silence of your soul \nto that perfect thought, and in that gather some- \nthing for those souls whose bodies are gone and \n\n\n\nHOW TO HELP THOSE GONE BEFOBE 221 \n\nthey know it not. They believe that they are \ndreaming, they cannot realize that they are dead, \nas you would call it. So aid them in your thoughts, \nthey need your spiritual thoughts. \n\n\n\nNow I am going to tell you some simple little \nthings that will, help those souls to get away from \ntheir physical memories or sensations more quickly. \nIf the individual has been always fond of the \nphysical expression, given much care to the feeding \nand clotiiing of the physical body and has created \nan appetite for this and that, he will naturally \nhold strong memories of all the physical sensations, \ndesires and appetites \u2014 ^just so long as that physical \nbody holds its form it is reflecting upon the con- \nsciousness, every organ, of him who has left it. \nAnd so long as these orgrfas reflect themselves on \nthat astral body that soul of him will hold a strong \nmemory of the sensations, desires and appetites of \nthe flesh. \n\nIf his tendency was that way and not inclined to \nbe spiritual, his whole thought will be of the condi- \ntions surrounding him during his physical expres- \nsion. He will be drawn to those whom he knew in \nthe flesh, he will come in the light of love, for he \nstill loves them. I am not saying he was evil, no; \nbut this law which governs all this holds his mem- \npries ; but just so soon as that flesh body crumbles \nand goes back to dust, and all has gone, no longer \ndoes his physical sensations record themselves \nupon his astral body. \n\nSo you are lending a helping hand by cremating \nthe flesh body, putting it back to dust. You are ex- \n\n\n\n222 THE DESGENDINQ LIGHT \n\ntending a helping hand to help that soul thru a \nhardy hard lesson. Don't try to preserve that body \n\u2014 donH do it \u2014 for just so long as that cast off body \nholds its form the soul will be held to the physical \nmemories and desires. \n\nIn the building of your monuments, your head- \nstones, your tombstones and the like, you build \nthem of material things ; but the soul of your loved \none has passed out of material things ; he can only \nsee it and know it is there as he gathers your \nthought and reduces it to a lower vibration. He \ncan see it and know it is there because you have \nsent that thought to him. You will please him \nmore by building a spiritual monument to his \nmemory \u2014 a monument builded of kind deeds ; some- \nthing that will help humanity and bring blessings \non souls thru the things you send out into the uni- \nverse. \n\nBuild your monuments of pure and good \nthoughts, the spiritual monuments which go up \nand Up and your loved ones in spirit see and know \nand rejoice in their souls to know that some one is \nbuilding something lasting for them: The material \nmonuments will crumble back to earth without be- \ning of any help, but the spiritual monuments live \nthru all eternity. \n\nSouls returning say, **Do not spend the money \nthat will clothe little bare feet for the sake of \nbuilding perishable monuments. ' ' To those who \nare intending to do this, they say, **Do not place a \nstone monument to my memory \u2014 do a kind deed.*' \n\nWithout a penny you can build spiritual monu- \nments for your loved ones. \n\n\n\nHOW TO HELP THOSE GONE BEFOBE 223 \n\nVery often you have heard a returning spirit \nsay, **I am near you in your prayers,*' or **I hear \nyour prayers. ' * \n\nWhat does this mean! In your prayers you cre- \nate a channel of holiness and spirituality and into \nthat and thru it they can come to you with the \nholiest of holy thoughts \u2014 a help to them and a help \nto you. \n\nThere are souls all over the earth plane trying \nto come back, even searching for their people \u2014 \nsearching for their flesh bodies. There are thou- \nsands who have passed from their physical bodies \nand know it not, they believe they are dreaming; \nthey cannot realize they are dead (as you would \ncall it), so aid them in your thoughts. In your \nspiritual thought, not with the thought, **I want to \ngo to a seance ; I want to know what to do about \nthis; I want to know what is best for me.** Don*t \ndo this. Those souls need your spiritual thought so \ndon*t be selfish and drag them down to your mate- \nrial thoughts, for it is hard enough for them to get \naway from the thoughts clinging to them. Lift \nthem into the spiritual thought by your prayers \nand soulful aspirations. Know that you can help \nthem\u2014 do not demand of them more than they can \ngive you \u2014 ^help them. \n\nSometimes those spirits whose lives were so be-, \ndimmed by materialism, by envy, by hate, selfish- \nness, jealousy, find themselves dragged down to the \nearth plane; and how man wrongs the spirits of \nthose poor unfortunate souls when he will go into \na seance room with a thought of gain, with a \nthought of envy, with a thought of nothing else but \n\n\n\n224 THE DESGENDINQ LIQHT \n\na material life. He opens the door to those spirits \nwho have left the body in that line of thought and \nit holds them down and does not help them to rise \ninto the light of spirit. \n\nSpiritually draw from the higher realms that \nthru your consciousness you may aid some poor \nsouls to reach out of their fleshy thoughts; help \nthem to rise and live in spirit. They are close to \nthe earth plane because they were sent out of the \nflesh before they had completed that physical ex- \npression and they need that expression upon the \nearth. \n\n\n\n(An object lesson presented to one of the classes.) \n(Spirit teacher:) Now tonight we are going to \nbring you one soul who needs your help. You must \nilluminate your consciousness by your effort to \nhelp. We will bring him to you; now let us see \nhow you have benefited by what you have learned. \nLet us hear you express it\u2014 serve your fellow-man. \n(Spirit voice:) **No, you doiiH. You can't bring \nme back to that.^' (Class asks who is speaking.) \n*'I don't care anything about you. You gave him \nthe privilege of sending me to death. You gave \nthat man the right to kill me.'* (Class tells him \nthey are his friends.) ** Friends, nothing; there \nam't no such things as friends. Don't talk friends \nto me ; I know better than that. Come off with that \nstuff; I know where I am. Are you people \nlooneyf \" (Class tells him they are trying to help \nhis soul.) **Soul nothing\u2014 don't talk that brother \nstuff to me.\" (Class tried to help him spiritually \nbut no apparent progress was made; however, \n\n\n\nHOW TO HELP THOSE GONE BBPOBB 225 \n\nwhen he left he expressed a desire to come back.) \n(Spirit teacher explains the condition of the soul \nwho had just spoken.) >^ \n\nNow, my dear friends, we brought into your \nmidst tonight the spirit of a man who passed from \nthe body by the hands of another after he had com- \nmitted murder \u2014 ^willful murder. This man was \nkind and good previous to that which caused all \nthis. In his unenlightened state he was kind to \nall with whom he came in contact, until there came \ninto his life the realization that the one whom he \ntrusted most, the one h6 loved best, was false. \nThis realization killed all the good there was in his \nheart, killed it as much as it is possible to kill any- \nthing that is good. It was such a shock to his soul \nas to benumb all spiritual expression, and all his \nlove turned to hate. His nature was hardened and \njchanged. But over and over in all of life you will \nsee the resurrection of the spirit in coming into the \nlight. \n\nThe hate which wais bom of those experiences of \nwhich we have spoken to you, is only for a time. \nAll those evil expressions which came into his mind \nand became a part of him thru his terrible expe- \nrience, and caused him to do this awful deed, will \nnot in this case retard his progression as much as \nthe cause of that effect will retard the progression \nof her who caused it. \n\nHe passed out full of revenge and hate, full of \njealousy, full of all that is poison to the soul. \nWhen the soul finds itself feeding upon only these \nthoughts, living only on these things, what can you \nexpect! But coming right before him are some of \n\n\n\n226 THE DESOENDINQ UOHT \n\nthe things which were a part of the life which he \nonce livedo and thru that light we can guide his \nway and lead him on. He will lose his bitterness \nand hate and come into a realization of the living \nlove of which he is a part. \n\nHis soul is freeing itself from the poisonous vi- \nbrations in which he was while he was in the body. \nNow, help this soul by your thoughts, he needs it; \nand some time he will return to you and pay you. \nHe would not let you know that you had touched \nhim, because he had been fooled before by this \nwoman whom he trusted. This is only another les- \nson to you. \n\n\n\nWhen you call your loved ones in spirit to you, \nthat you may hear them and hold them close to you \nin love and in spiritual thought, it is a great help \nto them and to you. It opens the channel thru \nwhich they in their spiritual growth can cast the \nlight of spirit upon the physical mentality of man \nand illuminate the consci&usness to spiritual things. \n\nBut after reaching them you should not speak to \nthem of the past, you should not take them down \nthru the density of the memory to the old flesh ex- \nperiences ; down thru the dark avenue back to some \nparticular experience which you remember; but \nrather you should help them to get away from the \nphysical memories that they may progress more \nreadily into the spiritual life. \n\nSo in your investigation when once they have \nproven their identity to you do not remind them of \ntheir earthy experience, because it is not a pleas- \ning experience to the enlightened soul who is fast \n\n\n\nHOW TO HELP THOSE QONE BEFOBE 227 \n\ngrowing out of it by overcoming and serving to \nobliterate wrong doings in the flesh, serving in the \nworld of spirit that they may wash away all the \nwrongs done. \n\nTransition, that which you feel brings sorrow to \nyour hearts when you see your loved one^s body \npass back to earth, is an upward journey and you \ncan help that soul in its upward flight by your per- \nfect thought, your perfect desires, by^your univer- \nsal love thought. Do not grieve for your loved \nones who have gone on before \u2014 ^it is a selfish \nthought \u2014 ^but bid them godspeed in their souPs as- \ncension. \n\nI want to leave this lesson also. Of all things, \nnever raise the thought of material things soon \nafter a soul has passed from the body for it affects \nthat soul and it is destructive. Although there is \na grief which cannot be overcome for many days \nor months, drive out the spirit of selfishness. And \nif one who is near to you should leave the body \nwithout leaving a written paper disposing of ma- \nterial things which were in his possession, let that \nsoul rest, and do not disturb it with the thoughts \nof material things. \n\n**Do unto others as you would have others do \nunto you,*' lift and serve them; show them the way \nto grow thru that world of solidity after leaving \nthe flesh, where they cannot know the physical \nmemories, but realize the spiritual things, the re- \nfreshing light of their spiritual deeds and thoughts. \n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX. \n\n\n\nEABTHBOUND SPIEITS. \n\n\n\nEarthbound spirits are souls close to the earth because of \nlimited thoughts having controlled their lives \u2014 ^limited entirely \nto the earth or physical expression \u2014 ^victims, alas! very fre- \nquently of prejudice and ignorance. They are souls whose \nspark of the God within has yet to be awakened. i \n\nWhen a soul has not built up any spiritual conditions dur- \ning the physical life and all thoughts and desires have been of \na material nature, that soul naturally stays close to the earth, \nbut is not necessarily an evil or undeveloped soul, but is satis- \nfied to remain in all the material memories, until the spiritual \nawakening comes which causes that individual to look about \nfor ways and means to rise. \n\n(Thru the united efforts of chemists and teachers on the \nother side a way has been found by which the thought \nvibration can be reduced sufficiently to be discerned thru the \nphysical sense of hearing. This group of workers having been \nattracted to the mediumistic powers of Mrs. Brace have ac- \ncomplished wonders in their earnest endeavor to reach mortal \nminds that they might instruct them pertaining to the laws of \nlife. \n\nThey have brought many souls to the Circles of Light that \nthey may be helped by coming in contact with spiritual minds \nwho are , still in the flesh ; and for this chapter we have \nselected a few of the many object lessons that have been \nbrought from time to time to the different Circles of Light in \norder to show man in the physical how the thoughts and be- \nliefs held while in the flesh still remain after the body has \nbeen discarded; also to show the effects of the physical life \nupon the soul and to corroborate the statement, ''As ye sow, \nso shall ye reap.**) \n\n\n\nXABTHBOUND SPIRITS 229 \n\n(1.) \n\n(The fruits of deceitfulness.) \n\n* * No matter where I go, things are not what they \nseem. Everywhere I go I find things are not what \nI thought they were. I clasp the hand of one whom \nI think I might trust, and I find he is not to be \ntrusted. Where shall I find the way! \n\n]^ow, there comes a voice to me which sjyeaks and \nsays, **Thou art false \u2014 ^thou art false, and I see \nall about you deceptioiu'* Is it b\u00a7cause I have de- \nceived! Is there any one who will lead me and \nshow me? There comes that voice again which \nsays, * * You have deceived, and so you are deceived. \nAs you have planted the seeds, so shall you reap. ^ ' \n\nFriends, I deceived my fellow-men. I was not \nwhat I seemed to be. Now I find myself face to \nface with one that I thought was a friend, and I \nreached out my hand to clasp his. Behold, I find \nhe is not what he seemed. Is this the reaping of \nthe seed I have sown? Is this all that I am to re- \nceive! Can I not rise above it! Will you help me \n\u2014 will you h-e-l-p me? I have asked this every- \nwhere I went, and now I have returned to the \nearth plane where I was so deceitful \u2014 ^I find that I \nmust return to the mortal body and ask help from \nyou. \n\nI believed that man lived one life and I believed \nnot in the life beyond the grave, and yet I taught \nmankind that hell and heaven awaited them and \nthat they would meet judgment after death. I told \nthem these things which I believed were not true, \nso false was I \u2014 and for this falseness I am now \n\n\n\n230 THE DESCSNDINO LIOHT \n\npaying. Is there no place where I can meet one \nthat will tell me how I can find the light? \n\nOhy brothers and sisters, if you will only help me. \nLet me tell you to be true \u2014 be true \u2014 do not deceive, \nfor you will some time find you are deceived, when \nyou will find yourself helpless. These words I \nspeak to you, friends, are true. Will this bring me \nlight! For this I pray \u2014 oh, Gk)d, open the way. \n\n(Class concentrates for him.) \n\nNow, there is light; I see there is hope. It is \ntrue, then, that I had to return to the earth to \nspeak the truth. Oh, that I might be able to speak \nthe truth to mankind, that which I want, that which \nI feel and that which I think to be the truth. \n\nI tell you this evening, I will not deceive. Oh, do \nhelp this soul. Do you know how! Do not deceive, \nspeak the truth and I think that perhaps in that \nway you may help me. I have opened the way by \ngiving to mortal man the truth. Behold! I see, I \nsee the way \u2014 you have helped me. ' ' \n\n\n\n(2.) \n(A misused gift.) \n\n**My friends, I have come to you to ask a favor. \nI made a terrible mistake, and I know that there \nis no other way of overcoming the conditions \nbrought about by that mistake than coming back \nto the earth plane and helping those who are at- \ntempting to do as I have done. I made a terrible \nmistake, my life was unfinished. I understood \nfairly well the laws which govern communication \n\n\n\nEABTHBOUND SPIBIT8 231 \n\nbetween the Bpiritual and mortal world; however, \nI never tried to enlighten myself in regard to the \nspiritual part t)f it. I looked at it wholly npon the \nmaterial plane of thought with absolutely no \nthought of the spiritual side ; but now I realize that \nthat is the most important part; and that spirit \nreturn is for the purpose of enlightening man to \nthe fact that there is more than the material things \nto be considered, and to show him the spiritual part \nof spiritualism. \n\nBut I made a terrible mistake; I demonstrated \nspirit return ; demonstrated the fact that the spirit \ncan return, and yet I never thought of the spiritual \npart of it. I never considered for one moment \nthat it is necessary for men to rise spiritually; I \nconsidered merely the fact that spirits could return \nand help man on the earth plane. I w^s wholly \nmaterial and yet understood to a certain extent the \nlaws which govern spirit communication^ \n\nI am that man \u2014 ^I am that despicable character; \nbut I ask for your assistance, and expect to receive \nit \u2014 shall It I explained spirit return to men and \nwomen and never showed them that it is necessary \nfor them to be spiritual. Confession t Why, it is \nmore than that \u2014 ^it is a humiliation to come to you \nthis way, and yet I thank the higher powers that \nI found the open door that allows me to come. \n\nWhy do I comet Because I do not wish to al- \nways remain an earthbound spirit, and I cannot \nrise unless I do some good, unless I help my fellow- \nmen in some way. \n\nMy God ! to think that I had a wonderful gift and \nwasted it upon material minds and material things \n\n\n\n232 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nand for material purposes. Oh! that I cotdd live \nthose last twenty years of my life over again \u2014 oh I \nthat I could. But seeing that I cannot, I ask that \nI may borrow your force, that I may borrow some \nof yonr time. Oh ! I pray that I may learn to rise \nand serve my fellow-men; that I may teach me- \ndiums to aid in the npliftment of mankind. \n\nMy soul is crushed with grief \u2014 Infinite Love re- \nquires service of me, and I am here to serve. It is \nbecause I come in the Light of Love that I can ask \nthat I might serve. Infinite Love can touch me \nonly by service \u2014 and I cannot expect to live and \nbai^ in the sunlight of pure Infinite Love until I \nhave made myself worthy of this. \n\nSo I have come in touch with the earth plane \nagain \u2014 and it is in response to my desires that this \nhas happened. Some time I will tell you more of \nmy life and show you the outcome of wrong doing, \nwrong living, the outcome of wasted gifts and tal- \nents, and then I know that I shall have done some \ngood. ' ' \n\n\n\n(3.) \n(Object lesson on self -righteousness.) \n\n**Good evening, friends; I have come to save \nyou; I have come to lift you out of the terrible \ngrasp of Spiritualism. I have come to save you \nsinners \u2014 ^you are sinners because you have not \nfaith in tiie Lord. \n\n**I am waiting for the great day of resurrection, \nwhen the trumpet shall sound and I shall see my \nFather in heaven \u2014 I am waiting for the great day \n\n\n\nEABTHBOUKD SPIBITS 233 \n\nwhen I shall be called. I have come back from the \ndead to tell you that yon must rise. I have faith; \nI have prayed and prayed, and I knew that Jesus \nwould meet me when I died/' (A member of the \nclass asked if he had met Him.) **Not yet, but I \nam waiting \u2014 ^I am waiting. All men must pray for \ntheir own souls; all men must ask for forgiveness. \nI was a righteous man; I never wronged any \none \u2014 ^I am waiting for the great day when I shall \nrise and come into my own. God shall be my \njudge ! I am a servant of the Lord. ' ' \n\n(Here he was asked if he had not learned some- \nthing about the laws of life **over there.*') \n** Learnt I have nothing to learn; I know it all; \nand I am only waiting for my God to judge me \nand take me to my heavenly home that I have \nearned by prayer and faith. Oh, sinful men, come \nout of the iniquity of your sins \u2014 ^is there no chance \nfor me to save your souls t I have earned my heav- \nenly home and I am waiting for the great day when \nI shall ascend and take my place in heaven \u2014 ^you \nare in the depths of darkness.\" \n\n(**Is your motiier over there t\") **My mother \nwaits with me for the great day. Do you know that \nyou sin when you speak to met Now, I am not \njudging you, I am here to help you. Unless you be- \nlieve, you cannot be saved \u2014 there is no salvation \nfor any one who does not believe in Jesus ; no sal- \nvation for any man who does not wash in the blood \nof Jesus,'' \n\n(**Why do you not seek a knowledge of the \ntruth, why wait around for the judgment dayt\") \n*'0h, hopeless sinner, you blaspheme when you \n\n\n\n234 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nspeak thus. Oh, man of iniquity, arise and have \nfaith; wash in the blood of the lamb.\" \n\n(** Where is your family t\") **I left my wife and \nfamily because they objected to my praying; I left \nthem because they were sinners. I could not \nsave them \u2014 they were sinful because they had not \nfaith. Hopeless sinners, may God save you. Rise \nbrothers, come out of your iniquity \u2014 how can you \nspeak to a righteous man f Oh ! they fear not even \nthe dead.'' \n\n\n\n(Explanation by the spirit teacher.) \n\nThis manifestation or message demonstrated to \nyou very clearly the effect of the individual thought \nupon the spirit or soul after death. It is very dif- \nficult for the beginner to comprehend the benefits \nto be derived thru manifestation of the spirits upon \nthese planes of thought, but I can tell you some- \nthing of what it means to the spirit who manifests \nthus. \n\nThere are spirits (I will call them individuals) \nwhose thoughts are so wholly imbedded with \nearthly vibrations that the spiritual part, after the \ncorporeal body has gone, does not seem to illumi- \nnate because of the heavy earthy conditions sur- \nrounding it. These memories are vibrations, con- \nditions they have builded by their thought, by their \ndeeds and by their ambitions. \n\nAnd so a spirit who has reached a stage where it \nis possible for him to receive spiritual light, and \nyet who is so surrounded by the discord of earthly \nvibrations, can be more clearly illuminated by the \n\n\n\nBABTHBOUND SPIRITS 235 \n\nspirits of men who are still inhabiting the mortal \nbody. By coming in touch with spiritual minds in \nmaterial bodies, the spiritual part of the disembod- \nied individual becomes illuminated more quickly \nand can soar into a higher realm of thought, and \nleave on the earth plane the conditions which have \nhindered its progress. \n\nThose who have lived a life of dependency, lean- \ning upon the idea that by the sacrifice of a mortal \nbody their souls are saved, are in the most difficult \nposition after leaving the body. More than those \nwhose thoughts are wholly material, because there \nis a more independent soul in the minds who be- \nlieve that there is nothing after death. But he who \ndepends upon a Savior finds himself in a harder \nposition than do the broader minds, because they \nthink if they pray, if they lean, that they shall rise. \nThey do not attempt to bring forth the real self or \nto develop and remove the conditions they have \nbuilded about themselves. \n\nIt is what they gather from your intelligence \nthat helps them in their progression \u2014 the spoken \nwords you give them are as naught to them. It is \nby coming in contact with mortal minds who are \nreaching out for more truth that they gather the \nlight that will enable them to shake off the narrow \nthoughts and overcome the obstacles they have \nbuilded around them. \n\n\n\n(4.) \n\nr \n\n(This manifestation proves that the saying, \n'* Confession is good for .the soul,\" is true.) \n\n\n\n236 THB DfiSCENDINQ LIGHT \n\n^^Gk)od day \u2014 this is some kind of a Hindoo meet- \ning, isn't itf I am a dead man. I came from the \nUnited States, and I lived in Findley, Ohio, bnt I \nhave not been there since I was seven years old. I \nfroze to death in Colorado \u2014 ^I fell in the snow when \ndriving the dogs (we had to take dogs with ns) ; I \nconld not go any farther. I was looking around \nand hmiting \u2014 ^I was not hunting for game, I was \nhmiting for gold. \n\n**I want to tell you I have never been satisfied \nsince I died. I did something. (What did you do f) \nYou are brave now, but when I tell you what I did, \nyou will not be brave. I never cared for church, I \nnever cared for religion. I want to tell you that I \nkilled a priest. I am not going to tell why I did \nit, and I am not going to say anything about him \u2014 \nhe must tell that. \n\n**This is the first time I ever told of it \u2014 ^and oh, \nLord, what a relief! It feels so good to tell you. \nThat is the reason I came to go away. If you peo- \nple prove up and do the square thing, I will tell you \nsomething; I will tell you where to find something. \n\n**Lord! it makes me feel good to tell you that \u2014 \nI will come again. They might find that man's \nbones some time. Yes, I have met him over here. \nThe thing that is bothering me is that I can't kill \nthat feeling of hate. I learned over here that if \nI could help some people on the earth plane not to \nhate that everything will be all right with me. Will \nyou help me gain the victory \u2014 ^will you prove upt \nI am not here to tell you what you need. Good \nbye.\" \n\n\n\nBABTHBOUND SPIBITS 237 \n\n(5.) \n(The result of leaning on Faith alone.) \n\n**Good evening, friends: Is there anything that \nyon people can do for met Why am I heret What \nis the ideaf I am looking for God. I expected to \nmeet Him when I died \u2014 ^what has happened to \nmet\" (Yon have passed ont of the body.) **If I \nhave passed ont of the body, ^here is Godt That^s \nwhat I want to know. Where 's Jesns that I was to \nmeet when I diedt Something is wrong; there is \na liar somewhere. Where's Godt Where's Jesns t \n\n^'Am I to understand that I am a dead man and \nyon are all living t Then what am I here fort I \ndon't know how I came here\u2014 what are yon doing \nheret\" (This is a Spiritualist gathering.) **A \nSpiritualist meeting ! My God ! forgive me for this. \nI thought I would meet Jesus and He would take \nme right to heaven. \n\n**I think I must be having a nightmare. I \ndreamed that I saw them bury my body\u2014 I \ndreamed I saw my family around my body, and I \nheard them crying whBU my body was buried. \n\n**I have always served my fellow-man \u2014 ^I was al- \nways a charitable man. I gave for charity once a \nmonth at least; I was a good man and a church \nmember. I think the whole truth is I'm crazy \u2014 ^I \nsee it now, we 're all crazy. When I get well I will \npray for you.\" \n\n\n\n(Spirit teacher explains.) \n\n''Now friends, the visitor who just spoke to you \nwas the spirit of one who passed away believing \n\n\n\n238 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nthat his soul would be saved because he had faith \nand believed the false doctrine or teachings which \nman has received for many years; the teadbing \nwhich taught him to lean upon a Savior, and that \nby the blood of Jesus he would be saved. \n\n**The spirit of that man passed from the body \nbelieving that he would meet his Savior, believing \nthat thru his faith all his past mistakes and so- \ncalled sins would be obliterated; but when he \npassed from the body he found that he has builded \nthe conditions into which he passed, but until he \nawakens to this he is iff a bewildered condition. \nHe is spiritually in darkness as you are now phys- \nically in this darkened room, and it is with great \ndifficulty that the spirit teachers about him bring to \nhis consciousness the fact that his debts are not \nwiped out, but that he has them yet to pay \u2014 that is \nthe condition of the spirit who visited you just \nnpw.'* \n\n\n\n(6.) \n\n(From a disembodied soul who spent his time in \nthe physical expression making up jokes.) \n\n**Well, will we ever get done living t I never \nstarted anything that I couldn't finish, but I \nstarted to live and I find I will- never get done liv- \ning. Excuse me, friends, but everything is a joke \nif you look at it that way. That is the way I made \nmy living; I amused people; I put my ability to \nsee fun in everything to make money \u2014 ^I shot the \nfun to the other fellow, you see. But I tell you this \ndying and finding yourself more alive than ever is \n\n\n\nEABTHBOUND SPIRITS 239 \n\nno joke. It is no joke to find a wasted life behind \nyou \u2014 ^I realize now I*m just about starting\u2014 well, \nit^s like riding on a merry-go-round and getting off \nat the starting place; it's like that when you die. \nIf you did nothing while you lived on earth, you \nare getting off right at the starting place, and \nstarting all over again \u2014 ^that's right \n\n^*Now, I am here and there is nothing I would like \nto do more than joke with you, but Vve got to get \ndown to good common sense now. They say if you \ndie you don't have to make your living. You've \ngot to live all right; but you've got to make your \nway \u2014 I tell you that. (Pause.) \n\n**I never thought I would come to this \u2014 ^being a \nspook in a spook meeting. But it is hard telling \nwhat a fellow will come to\u2014 being a spook in a \nspook meeting is no joke, I'll tell you that. \" (A stu- \ndent asked him if he had been in a spook meeting.) \n^*Well, I call this one\u2014 what's a dead man but a \nspook?\" (Student answered that there was no such \nthing as a spook; that he was a spirit and not a \nspook.) \n\n* * A thing is what it is, ain 't it, no difference what \nyou call it. A dbair is a chair whether a Dutchman \ncalls it a stool or something else, isn't itt Well, \nlaying all jokes aside, this is a new experience for \nme; and I am ashamed of myself to think I got in \nhere \u2014 to know that you people are sitting here for \nsomething worth while, and I ain't got it. \n\n* * But I will tell you one thing that is true ; I have \nno spiritual life; haven't any decent home over \nhere because I never built anything but a material \nand worldly home. I can 't get away from the earth \n\n\n\n240 THS DESCENDING LiGHT \n\nplane (so they tell me) until I have built my home \nand that is by doing something worth while. \n\n'^You know the first start I had to joking and \nfooling my time away was when I was a youngster ; \nI got mixed up with a medicine show \u2014 ^but my story \ndoesn't amount to anything; only I want you to \nknow how I started off \u2014 ^I spent all my time trying \nto make people laugh. Then when they had that \nnew disease, ^^flu\" trouble, I had it and passed over \nhere \u2014 I don't know where I am, but I am not sat- \nisfied or contented. \n\n* * Now, if you will tell me why they brought me in \nhere, I shall be glad. I was awfully discouraged, \nyou know. I tell you you can't believe that the \nworst thing that ever happened to you is when you \nfeel that you never die. I feel just like I was dead ; \nbut, you never get done living. I met that man and \nhe brought me in here, but I can't tell you why I \nam here. Well, I guess I better move on. \n\n(Student tells him that the class will help him \nout of his condition by sending him good thoughts, \nthat they are sitting for that very purpose.) \n\n* * Oh, I see now. ' ' \n\n(Tell us your name and we will think of you and \nask that you progress spiritually; your coming in \nhere shows us how we can help you.) \n\n**My name is or was L\u2014 . Now, if I \n\nhear you call my name, I will come here. Is that \nitt\" \n\n(You will get our thoughts. We meet here only \nonce a week, but when we are at home we will think \nof you during the day and evening \u2014 ^the same as \nyou would say we pray \u2014 we think of your name \n\n\n\nEABTHBOUND SPIBITS 241 \n\nand then ask for your spiritual progression, and \nthink that yon are not bad; that will help yon to \nrise. You will find a beautiful home over there if \nyou get to work and build it.) \n\n^'That is what I want; guess I better move on \nthen. Good bye.'* \n\n\n\n(7.) \n(The testimony of one who lived a selfish life,) \n\n**How do you do/' \n\n(How do you do. God bless you. Have you \ncome to talk to us, friend f) \n\n**Yes, but if you knew what it was to me to hear \nmy voice the first time I said, *How do you do', \nyou'd be surprised; because I haven't heard my \nvoice since \u2014 ^well, since I was the same as you \n\n\n\nare.\" \n\n\n\n(How long is that, friend t) \n\n**0h, a couple of weeks ago \u2014 Christmas Eve I \npassed away.\" \n\n(It is longer than two weeks. This is the 26th of \nMay; but time doesn't seem as long to you as it \ndoes to us.) \n\n'*Time \u2014 oh, I don't know \u2014 it's the fuimiest thing \nto me. Every day is the same. Do you understand \nthat? Every day is just the same. I cannot say \nthat I am happy; but I don't know why I am not \nhappy; I'm all right; there is lots to do. There are \nlots of friends, but they always seem to be inter- \nested in somebody else besides me. I suppose that \nis because I never was interested in anybody else \nbut myself, so now nobody is interested in me. \n\n\n\n242 THB DB8CENDING LIGHT \n\n''Weill it is all of my own making. I guess I \nhaven't much right to object to it, but it seems \nkind of nice to come in here and see good people \nand have them welcome me. I was not much of a \nhand to welcome any one \u2014 I was a selfish man, but \nI did not know it \u2014 ^I was hypnotized by myself. Do \nyou see what I meanf / was first in everything as \nfar as I was concerned, and I am only beginning to \nfind that out, it seems. All my friends rush over \nto me, they all speak to me in a casual way, then \ngo right on their way \u2014 they all have other inter- \nests. \n\n''Just a little while before I came in here, I went \nsome place, I don't know where, but I was talking \nto a man who said to me, 'Did it ever occur to you \nthat you never were interested in anybody but \nyourself?' I said that I never thought that way. \n'Well,' he said, 'look back over your life and think \nwho came first with you.' Well, I began to think \nabout it and found that it was myself. So here I \nam, everybody is busy and interested in somebody, \nbut no one is interested in me.\" \n\n(Well, we are interested in you and want to \nhelp you.) . \n\n\"Yes, that is a funny thing, too. When I came \nin here and heard your voice sounding natural like \nI had been used to hearing just before Christmas, a \nfeeling came over me that if I can help some other \nperson to get away from this horrible selfish feel- \ning, I will try to do it. Now, don't think I am a \nterrible thing \u2014 ^I never stole anything or anything \nlike that, but I was .just selfish. The hardest thing \nI had to do was to acknowledge that I did some- \n\n\n\nEABTHBOUND SPIBITS 243 \n\nthing that was not just right ; I tell yon right now \nthat was a hard thing for me to do; but I don't \nwant you to feel sorry for me ; just give me a \nchance. Now, what can I do for yout Why did \nthat man say, *Go in there and you will find a way \nto do something'! He said, *Go in and talk to \nthose people if you want to do something for some- \nbody else.' So here I am\u2014 what can I do for \nyouf \n\n(We are all selfish, more or less; we are the \nsame as you were.) \n\n''Well, now look here \u2014 ^I have watched several \npeople pass away since I died and their friends \ngreet them and they go fiying away with their \nfriends who make everything pleasant for them. I \ndid not get that \u2014 ^I see what it is now \u2014 those peo- \nple were always thinking about others, not them- \nselves, and so it has turned around the other way. \n\n''Well, they said that I could do something; but \nI don't know any more about this coming back to \nearth and doing something than you know about \ncoming over here and doing something. Now you \nhave something on your hands \u2014 ^you have me. What \nam I going to dot \n\n(What is your name, friend t) . \n\n\"Well, I was no great man. Isn't it customary \nwhen you come back to meetings like this to say \nyou are some great person t \n\n(No, we just want your name so we can send you \na thought.) \n\n\"I am here in truth, that's all. My name was \nW. B. H., a plain everyday man who thought only \n\n\n\n244 THE DESOBKDING LIGHT \n\nabout himselfi but I wish to heavens I had thought \nabout somebody else. \n\n*'Now^ if I can do anything for you, or you can \ndo anything for me \u2014 ^now, what do you think of \nthatt Here I wanted you to do something for me \nagain, do you seet Friends, I guess I will have to \nlearn how to come back to help somebody \u2014 ^just to \nhelp. \n\n(You are helping us \u2014 ^you have given us a won- \nderful lesson tonight \u2014 a lesson to every one of us.) \n\n**Well, in the name of God, every one of you, if \nthat will help you, take it home. For I surely did \nnot do that to help myself\u2014 I did that to help you. \n\n**Now, I am going to tell you something else. Is \nthere any allotted timet Well, just let me know if \nI overstay my time. I had a very i)eculiar expe- \nrience right after death. I lost a little girl ; that is, \nshe passed away about six years before I did ; and \nI rebelled against God and everything good be- \ncause that child was taken away. The fact of the \nmatter was I gave up all hope and thought that \nthere was no God. \n\n**When I passed away (you can believe me or \nnot \u2014 ^I am telling the truth) that child met me and \nI went thru a peculiar passage way. It seemed like \na dark, heavy condition; I was conscious to the \nvery end \u2014 ^I never lost consciousness. (If any of \nyou have ever had a high fever and became a little \nunbalanced, you will know how I felt.) I thought \nthat I was in that co'ndition when I saw the child \nand she took me by the hand. Literally speaking, \nshe took me by the hand and led me thru a dark \npassage where I seemed smothered. It seemed to \n\n\n\nBARTHBOUND SPIRITS 245 \n\nme that I oouldn 't breath ; the room was so stuffy ; \nit was a peculiar experience. Finally I came to \nwhere I breathed freely and everything seemed \nlight, then my little daughter said, *Papa, I will \nhave to leave you now, for a little time, but you \nare safe on another shore, and this is Louisa. ' \n\n* * Well, I knew it was Louisa, but I thought I was \ndelirious; then I saw myself apparently in a mir- \nror, and I have been in that peculiar state ever \nsince. Good night.*' \n\n\n\n(8.) \n\n(Another object lesson on selfishness brought by \nthe teachers to one of the classes.) \n\n(Teacher) Now, my friends, be not alarmed \nfor we are about to bring into your midst one \nwhose every thought is of himself. So please send \nto*him the thought of compassion and love; send \nto him the strong support that he shall rise and \nserve ; that he shall bear no malice towards any of \nhis brothers. He has passed from the body so re- \ncently that he hardly realizes that he has gone from \nthe earth plane. Do not be alarmed, but know that \njou are all protected. He is being brought to you \nas an object lesson to show you the condition one is \nin when holding all selfish thoughts. He needs \nyour help and perhaps he will return to you some \ntime an enlightened soul.) \n\n\n\n\"No, I am not a murderer; I had a right to kill \nhim if I wanted to. Self-preservation is the first \nlaw of nature, isnH itt I'm not afraid of anybody. \n\n\n\n246 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\n(Class tries to assure him of their good \nthoughts.) \n\n**I do not want anything from you \u2014 ^you do not \nhave to send me anything; I'm all righi What are \nyou all doing here anyway f \n\n(This is a research class, and we are holding \nthese meetings to help you\u2014 tell us your experi- \nence, friend.) \n\n''I am not here to entertain you.*' \n\n(Don't you realize that you are in the spirit \nworld 1) \n\n**I am not in the spirit world \u2014 ^I am satisfied and \nglad of it. Why, that man was in my way, and I \nkilled him; I was perfectly justified in doing it. \nWhy, didn't I tell you that self-preservation is the \nfirst law of nature t And I preserved myself \nagainst him. I don't care.\" \n\n(Why, you should care, friend \u2014 don't you want \nto progress spiritually and be happy!) \n\n''Happy! Why, there is no such word as \n'happy.' That makes me sick \u2014 ^the old woman \nused to go around saying 'happy\u2014 ^happy, happy.' \n\n(There is such a thing if you seek for it.) \n\n\"Ah, look out for yourselves.\" \n\n(Tell us your name, friend.) \n\n\"I didn't want to come in here. How did I get \nin here! Say, look here \u2014 ^I'm having a little \ntrouble \u2014 ^now the trouble is with my head; but I \ndon't want any one to help me \u2014 ^no one ever helped \nme but what I had to help them. Well, this trouble \nI got with my head \u2014 oh, I see what you are here \nfor \u2014 this is a medical staff \u2014 ^what are you going to \ndo with me!\" \n\n\n\nBAETHBOUND SPIMTS 247 \n\n(We all have kind thoughts for you, friend.) \n\n''I want to tell you something \u2014 ^my body is all \nnumb. Why, say, look here \u2014 ^now, wait a minute \u2014 \nwait a minute. Where are you people!'' \n\n(We are in Buffalo, New York.) \n\n**Well, how did I get here! I see, they decided \nnot to bury my body. Now, the last thing I re- \nmember they talked about doing away with me be- \ncause they said, 'the fellow was dead'; but I do not \nknow how I got in here. I want you to tell me \nwhat to do for my head; I must have been uncon- \nscious \u2014 ^but they were talking about burying my \nbody. Where is Maryf Mary! where are you I \n\n* * Oh, I see now ; they got me in an insane asylum ; \nI don't know how they got me here, but I was not \nthat bad off. Save me! Save me! For God's sak^, \ndon't tell Mary that I killed Jim! \n\n'-'Hold on, you crazy people; let me tell you \nsomething \u2014 ^look out for yourselves.\" \n\n(Friend, would you like to hear our motto!) \n\n\"Oh, you're crazy \u2014 ^man has no motto. Where is \nthe doctor that belongs to this place! There is \nnumbness in my body \u2014 that's what's the matter. \nOh, Lord, deliver me from this insane asylum.\" \n\n(Listen, friend, we are sitting here to hear from \nthose who have gone before \u2014 this is not an insane \nasylum; we are trying to help you. You have \npassed out of your physical body \u2014 ^where did you \nexpect to go when you died!) \n\n\"When I died I expected to be dead, that's all.\" \n\n(That is the reason you feel as you do. When \ndid you have this trouble with this Jim that you \ntalk about!) \n\n\n\n248 THE DESOENDINO LIGHT \n\n**How long? Why, say, that is as fresh in my \nmind as if it happened yesterday. Lord, man, that \nwas before I married Mary. My God! There he \nis \u2014 there he t\u00bb.\" \n\n\n\n(Teacher) Now, my friends, this lesson will \nleave a deep and strong impression npon yon. This \nis the sonl of one whose every thought was of him- \nself and his comfort; one who has measured all \nthings by the good he would realize from it; one \nwho in the earlier years of his life had even gone \nso far as to remove from that plane of expression \none who was a hindrance to him in his selfish ambi- \ntions. But you have helped him to realize some- \nthing of this \u2014 not by your spoken words, but by \nyour spiritual thoughts, and by reaching out to \nhelp him you had no selfish thoughts. \n\nNow I will explain to you very briefly the good \nthat comes from bringing a soul so recently out of \nthe physical body into your- midst. The lesson \nhelps you to get more clearly the effect upon some \nsouls whose entire physical and material thoughts \nare of themselves, those who have been sleeping, \nbecause their thoughts have been limited and \nwithin themselves; therefore to lift them out of \nthe physical vibration it is well that they come into \na circle of thought, where the consciousness of \neach is lifted up to the spiritual plane of thought; \nand in bringing this soul in touch with your physi- \ncal body he can ascend on your spiritual thought \nvibration as they are right out of the physical \nrealms. This is the good that has come to him and \nthe object lesson is a wonderful help to you. \n\n\n\nEABTHBOUND SPIBITS 249 \n\nHowever, it is not well for those of you sitting \nalone in small groups to draw those to you or at- \ntempt to do missionary work, because it requires a \nstrong thought force to protect you. Much more \nis to be gathered from this lesson \u2014 ^it is a part of \nthe foundation of the great work which it is our \npleasure and duty to bring before you. \n\nNow, we will take the second stanza of your rules \n\u2014 '^To practice in my daily life forgiveness and \nforbearance, and upon every provocation to repeat \nmentally the Golden Eule.** So practice in your \ndaily life, forgiveness and forbearance. \n\n\n\n(9.) \n(The harvest of misapplied mediumship.) \n\n**Dear friends, it is in the name of God, truth \nand love, I come, yea, tho I walk in the valley of \nthe shadow of death, I penetrate the veil which \nobstructs the narrow pathway twixt^your world \nand mine. \n\n* * I have come, friends, by permission of your won- \nderful teachers to tell you of the blessings or the \ncurses of mediumship. During my material life \nI was what you in the present day call a medium, \naltho I knew it not; I had great and wonderful \nexperiences. \n\n* ^ Mediumship, friends, is either constructive or \ndestructive, and it is almost, I dare say, as you \nwill it. If you allow your mediumship to cause \nyou to be used by evil forces, is it not true it will \nbe and is destructive? It is a sacred thing \u2014 a most \ndangerous, mission\u2014 and at the same time it might \n\n\n\n250 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nbe a very helpful condition for you and all those \nwho are attracted to you by it. \n\n' ' Ah ! have I not learned much thru sad experi- \nences since coming into this world t I found my- \nself alone, in darkness, because those forces with \nwhom I had worked now needed me not; they cast \nme aside for another victim. I will tell you of \nsome of my experiences while in your life; hoping \nthey will be an object lesson to you and others who \nare attempting to develop mediumistio powers. \n\n''When I was a child some ten years of age I \nrealized that I had some magnetic power to draw \nto myself some one I wished by concentrating my \nthought on them. I often saw visions which others \npresent saw not, and I related to them what I saw. \nPeople became very much interested in me and \nthey would say, *'What do you see now, boyf \nAnd I would tell them; but many tinies when tiiey \nasked me what I saw I became enthusiastic and \nwould tell them I saw things which I did not. \nFriends, there grew upon me an ability to tell \nfalsehoods more easily than to tell the truth \u2014 =but \nI did not realize that I was drawing unto me like \nforces. \n\n' ' My soul and conscience told me I was sinning, \nyet I heeded them not. Then I would sit and at- \ntract this one and that one to me by concentration. \nI also used my mediumship for immoral purposes, \nfor thievery and even murder. / used one of the \nmost sacred gifts for the building of Hades or heU. \nI could tell you of many wrongs I committed thru \nmy mediumship \u2014 and the tearing down of a beauti- \nful soul which nature had given me. \n\n\n\nEABTHBOUND SPIBITS 251 \n\n''When late in life I stepped into the beyond, \nwhence came darkness, whence came sin which I \nhad nourished up in my soul; there I found all \nthose who had helped me in crime had deserted me. \n41one I stood in darkness \u2014 ^but I had to move on; \nI could not stand it \u2014 and after years and years \nand years thru the mercy of Nature I am per- \nmitted to come into your midst. Will you let me \nhelp you influence others 1 \n\n' * Tho I now walk in the valley of light, many many \nyears have I walked in the shadow of death. I \nplead with you to save the little children who show \nthey have in them magnetic power, mediumship. \nFriends, hear this soul crying from another life \u2014 \nbe true, be moral, be righteous, that you may not \nfind the shadow of death, but the light of death. \n\n''Brothers and sisters, I call you this because I \nam your brother, I want to say, let us work to- \ngether. Let me tell you just one more word \u2014 \nthere is work for you to do. Help to teach the \nmultitude how to close the door to the lower \nrealms; help to close that door, and reach out and \nhelp to hold open the door to the higher realms. \n\n\"There is no end to the teaching of truth; there \nis no end to perfection. Investigate the truth, and \nthe more you walk in the path of light and gather \nthe fragments of truth the larger grows the path \nand\" the brighter the field \u2014 and this is yours, all of \nit yours \u2014 are you going to leave this field untrod- \nden until you have discarded your bodies? Do not \nthink that you must live today to prepare for a \nfuture day only, but live to make the today a \nglorious one. Scatter seeds of kindness and watch \n\n\n\n252 THE DESGENDINO LIGHT \n\nthem grow; do a kind deed and stand and watch \nthe glorious effect of it. Send out a kind thought, \nand listen, and you will hear its return. Is this \nnot heaven f To the spirit this is heaven; but the \nsins of the individual, and all the malice that comes \nfrom his bitterness, to the sensitive soul this is hell. \n\n* * Injure your fellow-man and feel coming back to \nyou the vibration from that injury. Hellf Aye, \nworse than man's material conception of hell. \nEjiow that it is worth your while to build a heaven ; \nand to tear down that much of hell which you have \nalready builded. \n\n'*May you know the glories of heaven, and may \nyou never feel the pangs of hell. ' ^ \n\n\n\n(10.) \n\n(A conversation with one who did not know that he \nhad passed from the physical body.) / \n\n*'Do you know that hymn, *It is well with my \nsoul,' and will you sing it for me, please f (After \nthe hymn was sung, the voice continued.) *'I al- \nways liked that hymn.'* (A long pause.) **That \nwas the funniest thing \u2014 I was walking along here, \nand \u2014 I don't know just how it happened \u2014 I slipped \nand fell on my gun. I haven't been quite right \never since. Part of the time I am home with the \nfolks, and the other part of the time I am dream- \ning. As I came in here a man out there told me \nsomething. He said that I am not dreaming at all, \nbut that the time the gun went off it didn't make \nme crazy; I died and they buried my body. Now^ \nI don't know whether his words are true or not \u2014 \n\n\n\nEABTflBOUND SPIBITS 253 \n\nwhat do you people think about it? Oh, I see, I'm \njust having one of those dreams again/' \n\n(A student told him that he was not dreaming, \nand that he was coming into a realization that he \nhad passed out of the body.) ^^You mean that I \ndied! Well, that accounts for the conversation 1 \nhad with my mother \u2014 ^I remember that dream \u2014 \nwhy! there's mother now. Are you people \u2014 ^well, \nthere's mother again; now she's gone. Oh, I must \nbe dreaming again; I've been at that ever since I \nfell on that gun.\" \n\n(A student asked if the folks at home saw him \nwhen he was there.) **0f course, I know when I'm \nhome they never see me; I know why that is \u2014 ^but \nI am happy at home. I know I will be all right \nsome time. I was out there one night and I saw \nmy sister \u2014 she died when I was a little tot \u2014 in my \ndreams she had grown up \u2014 she tells me I am in \nanother world ; but, you know there is no place like \nhome to me. I always feel happy when I am hav- \ning those dreams. She told me tiiey were going to \ntake me some place where they were going to make \neverything clear to me. It's a funny thing \u2014 ^I'm \nalways dreaming about dead folks \u2014 a funny thing. \nThey seem natural when they talk to me, but when \nI come to and am back home again, I know I am \nout of my mind; that is why they don't pay any \nattention to me at home. \n\n**Say, what are you people doing here!\" \n\n(A student answered that they were there to \nhelp him come into a realization that he had passed \nthru the experience called death.) \n\n**Now, I am here to settle that question \u2014 ^when I \n\n\n\n254 THE DESOEKDINO LIGHT \n\nam at home the folks are natural but they don't \npay any attention to me, but I understand that \npart ; they think I tried to kill myself. ' ' \n\n(Another student told him that they could not \nsee him, and that was why they did not pay^any \nattention to him.) \n\n**They never let on they see me. I met a good \nman out here and he told me that I died. Well, \nnow I see you are all standing around in rings \u2014 \nyou know that convinces me that I am dreaming. \nI had to talk in a ring and then in another ring and \nthen another; that surely is a dream, there is no \nsense to thaf \n\n(Here he was asked if he ever ate anything now.) \n\n'*No, \u2014 say, that is right, I haven't eaten any- \nthing for a long time.'* \n\n(Do you feel the need of it!) \n\n* * Say, I never thought about that ; I haven 't been \neating or wanting to eat for a long time. * * \n\n(When you are around the home do you not real-, \nize that the people don't know that you are there!) \n\n**0h, they never pay any attention to me, but I \nknow why.'* \n\n(They don't see you, that is why.) \n\n**They don't see me? Well, hold on now, this \neating business strikes me as rather a funny thing. \nI never tiiought about eating; might be something \nto that business \u2014 ^maybe I am dead.^' \n\n(Yes, you are living in another expression now.) \n\n'*Are you trjdng to tell me that the dream part \nof my life is the right one ; and the other is just \nwhen I get twisted in the dates ? \" \n\n(The dream part is the real part and when you \n\n\n\nSABTHBOUND SPIEIT8 255 \n\nget home you are attracted there because of your \nphysical memories.) \n\n' ^ The dream part is the right one and the other \npart ain't \u2014 is that right f \n\n(Yes, you can take it that way \u2014 ^you are in an- \nother expression of life now.) \n\n** Well, it is hard to tell who is your friend, but \nI'll tell you folks something. When anything both- \nered me and didn't please me, I was always threat- \nening to kill myself \u2014 ^just when things didn't go my \nway. I used to hunt a good deal \u2014 I did fall on that \ngun; I didn't kill myself, but they made out that \nI tried to kill myself \u2014 they thought I tried to do it \nbecause I was out of my mind. A part of the time \nI feel that I am at home ; I feel better there than \nanywhere else; I am all right when I am home. \nThere goes mother now\u2014 do you see herf Once in \nawhile I get talking with her and during that time \nI am perfectly natural. But I always had a dread \nof being crazy, and I always used to think that \nsome time I surely would go crazy; and I thought \nthat had just happened since I fell on my gun. \n(Pause.) Now, I did die that time all right, is \nthat itt\" \n\n(Yes, that is right. And so the fact that you al- \nways thought you would go insane has left a strong \nreflection on your mind, for every thought you send \nout into the universe lives and those thoughts you \nsent out are now returning to you.) \n\n'*I always had that thought \u2014 ^my grandfather \nlost his mind. I used to hear mother say, ^Them \nthings skip a generation ; I believe some one in my \nfamily will go crazy.' (Pause.) Makes me think I \n\n\n\n256 THB DE8CBNDIN0 UOHT \n\ndid talk to that old man. Are you in the dream \npart, or where am If \n\n(We are in the flesh body and are talking to you \nin the spirit body. The reason you have talked \nthru those circles, rings as you expressed it, is be- \ncause we could not hear you without those circles \n\u2014 they make the condition in which you can talk to \nus so that we can hear you. You have passed out \nof your flesh body Mid whenever you see your \nmother you see her in the next expression and that \nis in the same that you are. Get in touch with her \nand she will explain everything to you.) \n\n**I suppose that is the reason I feel the way I do \nhere. Say, did you ever see people or fat meat \nfloat? I can't keep right here because I keep rising \nup all the time \u2014 another one of my crazy ideas^ I \nsuppose.'' \n\n(You are not crazy. You know we can't see you.) \n\n* * You don 't see me. Is this a blind institution or \nsomething like that?\" \n\n(No, friend, we can see in the physical sense, but \nwe cannot see those who are in spirit. The reason \nthat we can hear your voice is because of the par- \nticular powers of our medium, and those outer cir- \ncles of spirits help, too.) \n\n'*You mean circles of vibration! Is this a wire- \nless field or something!\" \n\n(It is on that principle, but not exactly that.) \n\n'^Well, I have a feeling that you are wrong and \nthat I am right \u2014 it may be I am not \u2014 ^my name is \n\nJ F and I live in Clare County, Pa. If \n\nyou are right and I am wrong, I will come back; \nbut if I am crazy, you will never hear from me.\" \n\n\n\nEABTHBOXJND SPIBIT8 257 \n\n(God bless you \u2014 ^you will come back \u2014 we will \nsend you our good thoughts.) \n'* Thank you \u2014 thank you \u2014 ^good bye.'' \n\n\n\n(11.) \n\n(A soul waiting to be judged.) \n\n' ^ Good evening. I just thought I would come in \nfor a meeting. You are sitting to talk to the dead? \nWelly I'm one of them. I am a dead man, but I \nguess you are not aware of this.\" \n\n(We know that you are not dead because there \nare no dead. Your body is dead, but you are not I \nHow are you getting along over there, friend?) \n\n''Over there? You know I am dead? I have \nbeen waiting for a time.\" \n\n(For what have you been waiting?) \n\n*'I don't know myself; it is not quite clear to \nme as yet\" \n\n(How long have you been over there?) \n\n''Over there? You mean over here. I am dead, \nbut I am here.\" \n\n(Well, how long is it since you died?) \n\n''About half an hour.\" \n\n(Where did you live?) \n\n\"Up in Duluth.\" \n\n(Do you know where you are now?) \n\n\"Yes, I'm dead.\" \n\n(Do you know the name of this town?) \n\n\"I'm not in town, I'm in the graveyard. You \ncome down here every night to talk to the dead \u2014 ^I \nknow. ' ' \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\n258 THE DE8CENDIKQ UQHT \n\n(Have you ever heard of spirit communion be- \nfore? This is a Spiritualist meeting.) \n\n<<I'm not at any Spiritualist meeting, I am in \nthe graveyard, and you sit out here every night to \ntalk to the dead.\" \n\nj(No, friend, you are here in the house with us; \njust look around and see the things in this room \u2014 \nthis is not a graveyard. Don't you hear the mu- \nsic! (Victrola was playing.) \n\n''Yes, I hear music. St. Cecilia often plays for \nus. You are sitting here to talk to the dead peo- \nple in the graveyard.'* \n\n(Say, friend, just get away from that grave. . . .) \n\n'*0h, no, I won't. It is my own grave \u2014 six feet \n\u2014 it is paid for \u2014 and my own \u2014 all I got left, and \nI'll stay right here.\" \n\n(Friend, can't you realize the fact that you are \nnot in a graveyard, but right in this room; in the \ncity of Buffalo?) \n\n*' Don't lie to me \u2014 I am on my own grave; I am \nnot bothering anybody.\" \n\n(We are not lying to you, friend. You came \nhere that we might help you come into a realization \nof the truth. We are here to study the laws of life \nafter death. You have had the change called \ndeath; and your spirit is here in this room. Look \naround you and you will see that we are sitting in \na circle in the dark. Can you see this white tablet) \n\n*'Yes, that white thing you call a table is a tomb- \nstone. ' ' \n\n(Friend, do you think that we are dead!) \n\n'* No, I know you are not. \" \n\n\n\nEABTHBOTJNB SPIBIT8 259 \n\n(Do yon know that the living can speak to the \n80-called deadt) \n\n**Ye8/^ \n\n(How did yon happen to find that ontf ) \n\n''Becanse I have been talking to yon people; I \nhave been talking to people since I died. I am a \ngood sonl ; I am only waiting here for some one to \ncome and take me to be judged ; I don 't want to \nmake any trouble.\" \n\n(The class tried in various ways to convince this \nsoul that he was not in a graveyard, but failed to \nmake any impression. Finally he was asked to give \nhis name that they might send him a good thought \nand say a prayer for him.) \n\n**0h, I don't need your prayers; St. Bartholo- \nmew will come for me, so I will wait here \u2014 ^this is \nconsecrated ground. Oh, I will be all right ; I left \nmoney for masses, I am not worrying about that. I \nwill tell you the name I used to have, but don't \nsay any Protestant prayers for me. My name was \nP M .'' \n\n\n\n(The last lesson is explained by a spirit teacher.) \n\n**This man had practically no education but a \nreligious one. He realized he was passing away; \nhe knew when death approached and so had all the \nrites of his Church performed. All those in spirit \nwhom he knew and loved came to meet him but he \ndid not see them. \n\nNow we will present it to you thus: Were you \never searching for one person, going into a great \ncrowd of people where many were familiar to you, \n\n\n\n260 THE DB80ENDIN0 LIGHT \n\nyet you saw none of th^n until you saw that famil- \niar face for which you were searching t This is the \ncondition he was in \u2014 ^not having seen the man \nwhom he calls a guiding angel, or patron saint, and \nthe one to whom he prayed to intercede for him \nwith God (he calls him St. Bartholomew) he is still \nwaiting for him to appear. The last place that he \nfelt his loved ones came with him was to the cem- \netery. The bodies he saw were there; and all the \nbodies he has seen since are not physical, they are \nastral bodies. There are many of them in the cem- \neteries and about the graves, and he sees them; \nfor many are waiting as he is. \n\nHe having that strong mental condition im- \npressed upon his brain, believes that you were cir- \ncled about him in the cemetery. He saw only youx \nastral bodies ; he saw no material objects ; he could \nnot have seen your physical bodies. \n\nHe is a good man but not in tiie true light of \nlife after death. He is waiting until a particular \nsaint comes to him to bear him away to his judg- \nment; that which he calls his particular judgment \nis when he individually will meet his Gtod and be \njudged. He believes that later there will be a gen- \neral judgment when all mankind will be judged; \nand so continues in that thought because he has \nlived up, in so far as he knew, to his religious teach- \nings. He firmly believes that he will be taken away \nby that particular saint, and so he is waiting. \n\nWe brought him to you tho he was not conscious \nof ever having left that place; at no time has he \nleft that grave in his tiiought, tho he has been \nborne away to different places, they do not record \n\n\n\nBABTHBOUND SPIBITS 261 \n\nupon his mind while he is holding that positive \nthought. That one particular thing for which he \nwaits occupies his mind, and many times he con- \nverses with other souls about him, but they are all \npretty much in the same realm of thought. Mis- \nsionaries who go there have passed by him for a \ntime, for his experience will enable bim to help \nothers who are on their graves arid experiencing \nthe same earthy conditions. \n\nTherefore, he will wait and wait for a time, but \neventually there will come to him an illumination \nwithin his consciousness. He is not compelled to \nbe there, he desires to be there and he is contented, \nvery contentedly waiting. He is a man who be- \nlieved that mere belief and faith would save him, \nno matter what he did or how he lived. \n\nThe lessons that we are desirous of conveying, \nand make clear to you, are that your lives, your \ndeeds, and the way you live have to do with your \nfuture life. Your own consciousness is your guide, \nyour own consciousness is your judge, and will re- \nveal to you the way to go. The object lessons are \nbrought to you from the various conditions in \nwhich we find souls over here that the relation of \ntheir stories will reveal to you clearly a lesson, \nwhich can be more closely conceived by man in the \nflesh than the words we might speak to you. \n\nIt is not to show you any particular faith or be- \nlief, but to show you the narrow teachings of relig- \nion which confine the mind of man to that particu- \nlar doctrine and give the soul no individual free- \ndom to search for himself and find his own environ- \nments spiritually. We desire to show you by the \n\n\n\n262 THB DB80BNDIN0 LIGHT \n\nsouls who have experienced death the effects of \nwrong doingy wrong living and the effect of de- \npending upon another's thought; the effect of lean- \ning upon belief and faith. \n\nWe urge you to live right, and to do right, and to \nguard your thoughts, for your mind is a reflector \nbetween the great source of ALL GOOD and you. \nCultivate the spirit within you, and all the finer \nqualities builded thru unselfishness will noiake for \nyou a better soul's home. In your time of concen- \ntration send forth a silent prayer for the speedy \nillumination of these earthbound souls. \n\nThe condition one finds over here does not de- \npend upon his faith or belief, but upon his life and \nthe wonderful power within him to think.\" \n\n\n\nCHAPTER X. \nWHITHER ARE YOU GOINGt \n\nWhen man has gained the knowledge of spirit re- \nturn, it is well that he kaows that there are ij^ithin \n]him two distinct forces, constructive and destruc- \ntive, and that he cultivates the constructive and \nuses the knowledge for good, because he is going \nto meet those conditions some time, somewhere\u2014 \nand when be goes on and on to that dark day of \nhis physical expression, when the physical body is \nthru and the spirit is about to cast it aside, where \nis he going? Where are you going f \n\nEvery one of you are going to meet this experi- \nence, this is the one thing you cannot avoid \u2014 some \ntime your physical body is going back to earth \u2014 \nhut where are you going? \n\nYou are going into your own little heaven, or \ninto your own hell, that which you have builded, \nand if it is true and all that it seems to be, it will \nbe lovely, but if it is not what it seems to be, where \nare you going? You have to meet the conditions \nwhich have been builded by you; you cannot get \naway from them; nothing will lift you out until \nyou have worked thru all the conditions you have \nbuilded. \n\nIf you build a hell you are going there just as \ntruly as you are living in the flesh \u2014 ^it is not a \n\n\n\n264 THB DESOBNDINQ UQHT \n\nplace, a man can live in hell in fhe flesh; men are \ndoing it every day; whose consciences are burning \nfheir very lives out; they live in a hell so big it \nreaches them before they leave the body. \n\nThru it all they have got to go and serve and \nbuild and purify and make for themselves that \nwhich it is possible for them to do here; and if \nthey build a heaven only, they will never cease to \nbuild more and more of it ; they will see and know \nlove. \n\nThe thought force thru which you manifest is \nthe greatest builder ever manifested upon the \nearth, or anywhere else. All things are horn of \nthought. Nothing manifests itself to man without \nfirst being thought because it always first expresses \nitself as thought. \n\nAnd so when you stand upon the brink of the \n'* goodbye '* of today, when you turn to say good- \nbye to all the memories of tiie flesh, when you lay \naside that, where are you going? \n\nThe spirit returns to urge you to stop building \nhells \u2014 stop it \u2014 ^it is time that you cultivate the con- \nstructive and spiritual self. Even when you build \na hell and no man knows it, and you may think \nthat another's hand is doing it, 'tis you are the \none who is building it, and it is yours and you will \nbe cast into it. \n\nOh, friends, let us build heavens, let us make \nheaven all about us, then those who return and \nmanifest will be in heaven, will come thru the pow- \nerful light of purity and spiritual thought to re- \nceive those who are good. \n\nYour mother loves you \u2014 are you going to ask \n\n\n\nWHITHEB ABE YOU GOING t 265 \n\nher to return from that other life, to walk thru \nhell to come to you? Men are doing it every day, \nand some of them call themselves spiritual, but \nthey are asking their loved ones to come thru hell \nbecause that is all they have builded about them. \n\nWhen you tell an untruth (you might have said \nit out of the lightness of your heart with no \nthought of what might come of it) and some one \nrepeats it and colors it a little, and then another \nrepeats it with another little color added \u2014 and \nwhen you step out of your flesh body and see the \ngreat rope of it \u2014 a cable \u2014 and where it has reached \nand what it has done, is not that a judgment? \nAnd when you do another an injury, perhaps coax \none into some undesirable place \u2014 you say, '*Just \nthis once will not matter,** and you urge and you \nfinally win, and that friend goes with you. Per- \nhaps you do not go again, but that friend goes re- \npeatedly and gets others to go with him \u2014 and when \nyou are lifted out of the physical expression, you \nsee it, you pay the price. \n\nTherefore, never ask one to do anything that \nyour inner conscience would say was not best to \ndo. If for no other, reason \u2014 ^you should not do it \nfor flie reason that it is wrong; if that is not rea- \nson enough, then for' this reason \u2014 ^that some time \nyou will rise into spirit and you will see and know \nwhat hAs come of it. \n\nThen there are the efforts to do good which pass \nthru the same law \u2014 they will grow and multiply \nand you will meet them, too, but they are cheering \nand helpful. But with those things which are not \ngood, it is not eo much your individual sin, as it \n\n\n\n266 THB DB80BNDIN0 JAQBT \n\nis what you have cdused others to do. He who \nGommits a sin against himself can overcome this \nhimself. He will have his straggles \u2014 ^if it is an \nappetite for strong drink, his suffering will be in- \ndescribable; he will be drawn to people in the flesh \nwho drink intoxicants; he will have no thought for \nanything else for a time, until the stronger spir- \nitual part of him is awakened and he is touched \nby the Holy Ghost, then he can overcome it. \n\nAny habit that a man might have, if the sin is \nagainst himself, he finds that it creeps along with \nhim, the physical memories will be so strongly \nabout him, they will hold him for a time. And if \nthat sin has touched others, has influenced others, \nhe will see and he will conceive of it \u2014 ^he will know \nthat judgment is ever and ever within and about \nhim. He need not wait for judgment, he is going \nto take it right along with him and thru his con- \nsciousness, thru the clear vision of spirit, he is \ngoing to be judged and he is going to know it be- \ncause he will see truth and justice, for they are \nthe qualities of God, and only thru those qualities \nwill he see. \n\nHe will be compelled thru the law of nature to \njudge himself thru Justice and Truth \u2014 and he can- \nnot know himself or his life otherwise. \n\nYes, indeed, you have a judgment and you have \na trial, and none so well as you shall know \u2014 and \nthe good things which have come from you wiU re- \nflect upon you and aid you in your soul's growth. \nAnd anything which has come from you that has \ncast a shadow will continue with you until you \n\n\n\nWHITHEB ABE YOU QOINOt 267 \n\n/' \n\nhave made that shadow an illumination for the \nsouls around you. \n\nSouls are drawn by that natural law to their \nown thought realm \u2014 ^what you make, you step into \nit \u2014 and no man can judge you at that time but you \nthru the- great eye of spirit \u2014 ^thru Truth and Jus- \ntice you shall indeed be judged, by your-own con- \nscience. \n\nYou are building your future home now \u2014 ^make \nyour life such that when you visualize thru Truth \nand Justice, you will not be filled with horror, but \nhappiness. \n\nDo you know that you can pay your debts while \nin the physical expression! Today is the time to \ntear down the things which will make for you a \nhell, and build the glorious heaven of which you \noften dream. \n\nMan is beginning to realize that many things are \ncoming into the light now, that a new day is com- \ning and the one question he asks is, *'Is there re- \nally a hellt Is there a place, of torment f Hell \nis not a place as man in the mortal expression \nwould believe it to be. But tell me, is there or can \nthere be more of a hell than a man's remorse \u2014 \nthan the conscience of a man who has sinned \u2014 \nwhen his conscience awakes to the terrible realiza- \ntion of the wrong he has done! \n\nWhen man has left his mortal body his con- \nscience is keener, his sense of right and wrong is \nstronger \u2014 ^hia conscience is all that he has, and he \nmeets the burning memories of all the wrongs he \nhas done. Can there be more of a hell than this? \nAnd this, ah, this is what they will surely find \u2014 \n\n\n\n268 THB DESCBNDINQ LIGHT ^ \n\nfor SO surely as ihey sin, that debt wUl have to he \npaid. \n\nTo every man and woman will come the day \nwhen they will find their physical body gone^ and \nall that they have before them will be the things of \nthe soul. Andy oh, how one suffers when he sees \nthe good spirits reaching out to him to help him, \nbut they cannot reach him because the things about \nhim hkve been of himself, the things he has builded \nin selfishness. These things all return to him \u2014 it \nis the law of compensaiion. \n\n(The following is the testimony of a soul who \ncame to one of the Circles of Light.) \n\n'* Listen to me \u2014 ^I have experienced death; I \nhave experienced the pangs and sufferings of a \nman who existed in selfishi&ess. I know why I \nstand here before you tonight trying to serve you. \nI want to tell you that now is the time to serve \nyour fellow-man; or else the time will come when \nyou will find a great diiBSculty in returning to the \nearth plane to undo the things you did there, or to \ndo the things which you left undone. \n\n''Oh! that I might impress upon you the effects, \nthe fruits of a sinful life I I implore you to scat- \nter seeds of kindness everywhere.s' ' \n\n\n\nAs man begins to realize mentally, he unfolds \nspiritually and closely allied with his life upon the \nmortal plane are things which he can only, discern \nthru spirit, things which he can only feel thru \nspirit. \n\nTouching your earth plane today there is a large \nflood of spiritual light; but man knows not what \n\n\n\nWHITHBB ABE YOU GOING? 269 \n\nit is. Light i6 coming upon his brain with such \nwondrous force that he cannot comprehend it be- \ncause he has not reached a plane of thought \nwherein it is possible for him to grasp it. He has \nnot developed spiritually enough to see the light. \nThose rays are too bright. \n\nIt is a psychological change which is taking place \non the mortal plane and man must pass thru it, \nand man will be its master ; and then he will come \ninto a realization of all those things that are to be \nborne into expression upon the mortal plane of \nwhich man's mind has not yet conceived \u2014 ^because \nall things which come into expression on the earth \nplane are first formed in the spirit world and then \nexpressed in the mortal. And as the law perfects \nitself and man becomes more and more fitted for \nthose things which are for him, he will see clearly \nwherein he is deficient \n\nAll life is first born into spirit \u2014 eternity, with no \nend; things that live shall always be, and so things \nhave always been that live. As the circle has no \nend, life has no end \u2014 ^there is or was no beginning \n\u2014 it is a perfect circle, and as man in his growth \ncontinues to build, his circle continues to grow and \nto reach into higher light. Over and over, time \nand time and time, that man can never reckon, soul \nsubstance has been; soul substance has been eter- \nnally. There is no limit to the soul of man, for it \nis a part of the CAUSE \u2014 an emanation of the un- \ncaused CAUSE \u2014 ^beyond the grasp of mortal \nman's mentality because as yet he is clothed in \nmortal thoughts. \n\nSoul matter existed, does exist and shall exist \n\n\n\n270 THB DE80ENDIN0 LIQHT \n\nalways. It is (to bring a clearer conception of this \nto yon) a reflection of the spirit \u2014 ^it is a qnality of \nthe spirit, and when the flesh body, in the embry- \nonic state, reaches that stage of development which \nman calls the ' ^ qnickening/ ' it is then that sonl \nmatter is nnited and bronght in direct tonch with \nthe physical temple in the preparation \u2014 'tis then \nthe spirit, the spark of life, enters into and abont \nthat body in preparation. \n\nSonl matter exists in the atmosphere aronnd yon \n\u2014 it is a vibration of light \u2014 ^it is the effect of inter- \nmingled thought vibrations \u2014 ^jt is the emanation of \nthe overruling power of God's spirit. \n\nBefore the individualization of that portion of \nspirit which becomes the individual, it is all \nthought, all cause, all power, all element; yet it is \nhigher than mortal mind. At the time of \"quick- \nening'' (not conception) a particular portion of the \nspirit force is individualized; and as the portion \nof spirit power or matter becomes individualized, \nit is intermingled with material vibrations and \nmortal thought vibrations of the father and \nmother. \n\nThus many spirits in their progression are hin- \ndered while in the mortal body because of many \ndeficiencies and hindrances which were given to \nthem prenatally, and which are caused by the im- \nperfections of the spirit or soul of the father and \nmother. But these will be overcome as man pro- \ngresses and develops spiritually; and as man be- \ncomes more and more enlightened there will be \ngreater possibilities for the coming generations, \nfor the parents will know and will practice pure \n\n\n\nWHITHEB ABE YOU QOINOt 271 \n\nthoughts, pure living, so that a little soul coming \ninto the physical expression thru, them will not be \nburdened by their imperfections. \u2022 \n\nThe nearest I can express to you the condition \nor appearance of soul matter before its individual- \nization is by comparing it with the sun^s rays as \nthey would appear to your mortal vision \u2014 ^but they \nare vibration rays which cannot be discerned by \nthe mortal eye. \n\nNow, the laws of Nature may seem to grow very \ndim, but 'tis not so, and if man would obey the \ndemands and commands of Nature, there would be \nmore perfect harmony and an opportunity of hav- \ning more perfect souls \u2014 but man has not grown to \nthis, except some very few who are striving to \nreach into the beyond. \n\nIt is not for the individual to take into his or \nher hands Nature's plan -and try to change it; it is \nnot for mortal man to try to change Mother Na- \nture's plan \u2014 ^it cannot be. All things which Na- \nture begins shall continue to be; all things which \nare brought into existence shall continue to be thru \nthe unending cycles of eternity. Therefore, when \nthe individualization of the spirit has been started \nthru the plan of Mother Nature, it shall not cease \nto he; that individual shall continue to live. And \nwhen man or woman in the mortal flesh attempts \nto stay the light which has been put into expres-. \nsion they are attempting something which is im- \npossible. \n\nIf man attempts to break man-made laws, does \nhe not suffer the consequences? Then the laws of \n\n\n\n272 THB DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nNature, more binding, stronger, more lasting, eter- \nnal, shall not be broken by individuals. \n\nIf man disobeys the laws of Nattire, and takes it \ninto his unenlightened hands to destroy those \nthings which Nature has planted, as I stand here \nbefore you, the debt mttst be paid. The law of \ncompensation is a part of Nature's plan; not a \nthing, not an atom, not a thought is sent out into \nthe universe but that it is of use, but that it is for \na purpose. Nothing is wasted of all things that \nexist, not even a thought, not even a partial \nthought. All things are for a purpose. \n\nAnd so I propose to tell you tonight, so far as \nI am able to make it clear to your minds, the con- \ndition or the place as you term it, into which the \nsoul of one who passes who has broken those laws \nand thought to stop the progress of the individ- \nualization of spirit. \n\nNow, there are soul matter spheres, and concep- \ntion is a part of the individualization and opera- \ntion of soul matter; and in this thought realm or \nthis sphere are minds or intelligences busily work- \ning, engaged in assisting Mother Nature in this \nwondrous plan unknown to mankind. The soul of \nhim or her who passes into the spiritual expression \nof life before they have paid the debt to Mother \nNature that they have incurred by seemingly stop- \nping the development of an individual, after it has \ngone into the world of spirit, finds itself in this \nprenatal field, until that soul is hungry for an op- \nportunity to help in the care of little ones; until \nthe debt is paid; until that little soul begins to \ncome into the light of intellect, begins to reason. \n\n\n\nWHITHBB ABE YOU GOING t 273 \n\nbegins to progress. Now, the souls .who cause \nthese things are filled with remorse, because they \nfeel that if they were only able to return to the \nmortal expression again they could pay that debt. \n\nNow we will speak of the little child, who thru \nthe ignorance of the parent was denied the physi- \ncal body for expression. How many of you know \nthat the little child whose physical expression was \ndenied by those who were to have been its parents \nis a living soul today? \u2014 living and knowing these \nthings. How many knowing this would then do \nit! \n\nThese little souls have no physical experience \nsave what they gather by being closely associated \nwith the mother and father of them. They cling \nclose to their parents until they have had sufficient \nexpression upon the physical plane \u2014 ^because the \nminds who were to guide and lead them in the \nearly years of expression have that still to do. \n\nAnd so in the spiritual expression of life, every \nthought and every train of thought has its workers \nwho are paying the debt they owe to Mother Na- \nture. In teaching and assisting and putting before \nyou (their students) examples of all those things \nwhich you will find your teachers impressing upon \nyour intelligence; gathered about them are those \nwho are paying the debt for the sin begun on the \nearth plane. \n\nOh, that I could express to you in words that \nyou in the mortal expression of life could gather \nand comprehend the wondrous things that are \nyours, the wondrous powers that are yours. \n\nWe are trying to show you the powers of the \n\n\n\n274 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nhuman mind \u2014 that yon are a part of that G-BEAT \nMIND \u2014 that you are HIS expression \u2014 that you \nmay better know yourselves \u2014 that you may better \nknow how to reach out to the grand and glorious \nspirit of which your mortal minds have no concep- \ntion. You cannot even begin to reach high enough \nto think what God is. \n\nThere is not a man or woman walking upon the \nmortal plane today who has not at some time \nheard that voice speak to him, calling to his soul \n\u2014 ^it is forbidden \u2014 that still, small voice which bids \nyou not to do \u2014 how often man disregards it. \n\nWhen man meets the fruits of his wrong doing, \nand finds himself physically ill; mfeeting all sorts, \nof misfortunes, then he wonders why his fruits are \nso impure, so imperfect. JEow many times does he \nstop to consider the seed he has sown? How many \ntimes does he stop to look back over the pages of \nhis own life to see when these seeds were sown \nfrom which this fruit is coming ; to see when he \ndisobeyed the still, small voice which spoke to him? \nAnd now he meets, when he least desires to meet \nit, the harvest. \n\nThere is no removing this from his pathway by \nany man but himself. He alone must remove the \nobstacles which he has placed in his way. How \ncan he do this? By building a condition of purity \nand truth and spirituality about his soul so strong \nthat all things seem spiritual; by building about \nhim the glorious spirit forces which will consume \nthe things which are not of spirit and which are of \nhis own creation. \n\nThese are the things that man must learn to \n\n\n\nWHITHER ARE YOU GOING? 275 \n\novercome that he may come up from the depths; \nthese are the things which the master mind that \ndwells within him must learn to overcome. And \nwhen he has learned to obey this still, small voice \nwithin his consciousness which comes from the true \nspirit of light; when he learns to listen to that, \nwhen he learns to obey it, he will become so much \nmore sensitive, so much more responsive to the \nspiritual light of God that he will not be inclined \nto do anything which is evil. \n\nIf he does not learn this lesson while in the \nphysical expression, then, some time, -^ somehow, \nsomewhere he will have it to learn after that phys- \nical body has gone back to Mother Earth. \n\nThere are many souls disembodied today who \n^are crying out in remorse that they did not receive \nthe light in the mortal body. Many souls are reap- \ning the harvest of what was sown while in the \nflesh. But eventually they will rise from the \ndepths into the light of truth and gather the knowl- \nedge that their condition is not of God^s creation \nfor God is that which hath no hate, no revenge, no \njealousy. God is infinite love and truth, infinite \nintelligence and perfection \u2014 God is ALIj. \n\nSome one has asked, ''Does sin leave a scar \nupon the soul after one has passed into spirit life \nand progressed into spiritual realms?\" Now, there \nare various interpretations of sin. So we will in- \nfer that the reference to sin is the transgression \nof an individual against the dictates of his own \nconscience. The acts and thoughts of an individ- \nual imprint upon the soul of that particular per- \nson its peculiar color vibration, which remain and \n\n\n\n276 THE DESCENDING LIOHT \n\nare a part of the soul or the individual. And man \nin his spiritual progression in the body or out of \nit so builds about him the spiritual lights of gold \nand purple and pure white so that as he progresses \nthese colors consume and eventually obliterate the \ncolors of those things which are not of the higher \nlife. After man has progressed, is there a scarf \nThere is no end to man's progression, but some \ntime man will progress and rise above all the \nthings which are imperfect, all things which are \nnot of perfection \u2014 and a scar upon the soul of \nman, is it not imperfect? \n\nTherefore, man's progress in spiritual thoughts, \nthe resurrection of his soul, removes all indica- \ntions of anything which is imperfect. The soul \nwhich has risen above the things of earth has no \nscar, no memory of sin, as you term it. Its pro- \ngression cannot be considered complete until all \nmemory of sin has been wiped away. \n\nOn the pure soul of mem there is no scar. \n\nThe souls of men who walk in the lowest depths \nof sin will some time rise, will some time be \ntouched by the higher light and there will come a \ndesire for spiritual light, a desire to do better. \nIt may be ages seemingly to you after that body \nis buried that that spirit becomes enkindled and \nrises, but, as I stand before you, some time that \nsoul will rise, and some time it will come into its \nown. \n\nEverything that is of God (and all spirit is of \nGod) cannot die. It has always lived and always \nshall live; eternally rising and rising, reaching out \nto the great and wondrous spirit. \n\n\n\nWHITHEB ABE YOU GOING? 277 \n\n4 \n\nThose things which are true, those things which \nare right, those things which are of God shall rise \nand live, and those things which are false and sin- \nful, those things which are wholly material will \ndie, inasmuch as they lose their inspiration and go \nhack to the earth, but the spirit, never \u2014 the spirit \nlives \u2014 there is not a soul manifested in the body of \nman or woman that will not some time rise and \ncome into the true light of spirit. \n\n\n\n(Brothers and sisters, we have brought into \nyour midst tonight one who lived on the earth \nplane many thousands of years before your time. \nHe existed where the city of Babylon stood long \nbefore its fall. He has served many years of trials \nand ungratified desires of life; now he comes \nforth a wonderful teacher, and we will have the \npleafeure of hearing him, as well as you.) \n\n\n\n*^ Brethren, I come into the earth vibration a re- \npentant sinner. I have been for many years \n(years and years) trying to tear down ttat which \nI built up. I was an emperor, a master, and a \ncruel one. I was the cause of many lives being \ntaken and for each I suffered, and as you may see, \nI still cling to earth atoning for my selfishness, \ncrimes and sin. As I look back at my dreams of \nearth life \u2014 what a nightmare it was; long before \nBabylon fell I was a criminal; and my seventy-five \nshort years there have brought to me all these \nyears of atonement. It is a mesmeric power self \nhas on the body, the soul becomes^tired and weary \n\n\n\n278 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nover the deeds it hath performed \u2014 ^the wicked can- \nnot rest. \n\nThe material body is an instrument, as in the \nhands of a workman a hammer is nsed by a car- \npenter so is the body used by the soul which it in- \nhabits, so to speak, and friends, if you used your \nbody according to the laws of nature it would re- \nmain in g^od condition longer than it does. If \nman could remain with his physical body longer \nthen the spiritual body would be in a better condi- \ntion to help the soul to advance. See that you \nkeep your instruments in good repair, there is \nmuch for you to do in life. \n\nIn my existence on the earth plane I was wholly \nmaterial; I was avaricious. Avarice is one of the \ngreatest wrongs, avarice is not only poison to self, \nbut all with which it comes in contact. Avarice, \ninstead of suiciding in its infancy, lives xmtil it \nhas murdered spirituality and then suicides. Yes, \nfriends, avarice was my sin. \n\nDo you want me to tell you the condition in \nwhich I found myself when I first came over heref \nI found only self ; I seemed to be penned in a room \nalone, all I seemed to see was self; I saw, I knew \nnothing but self. It seemed for eternity I lived \nwith myself \u2014 it was but the reflection of my sin; \nof what I thought, what I knew, what I lived; I \nhad nothing but that miserable, horrible, abomi- \njiable self. \n\nThen one day there came to me an answer to a \ngreat desire for something besides myself \u2014 a door \nopened; I listened, I looked eagerly; I looked and \nsaw a man that I had murdered \u2014 only him and \n\n\n\nWHITHBB ARE YOU GOING f 279 \n\nself \u2014 agony oLbody cannot be compared with this. \nHere was the soul sent out before time by me who \ncame in answer to my cry for something beyond \nself \u2014 all I knew was crime and self. Again I cried \nfor something besides self, only to be awarded as \nbefore. \n\nBut I know something beyond self now; and 1 \ncome to help others by telling them of the fruits \nof wrong doing. I do not dare to disclose all to \nyou tonight, darkening your thoughts with pictures \nof my life, but little by little I will tell you of my \nexistence on the earth plane and how I have paid \nthe debt here. Oh, I thank you for this opportu- \nnity, and hope that you will benefit by my mis- \ntakes. \n\n\n\n(The following is from one who taught his follow- \ners the fear thought and to believe in a place \n\ncalled Hell.) \n\n'* Friends, I have returned to say that I knew \nnot what I did when I sowed the seeds of fear in \nmy fellow-man's soul; and to say that I need your \nassistance in tearing down and removing the con- \nditions I builded while in the flesh expression. \n\nI found upon leaving my body there that life \ncontinued here, beginning just where I closed the \nbook there. I have still to teach, I still have work \nto do \u2014 and face to face I meet the souls of men \nwithin whom I have kindled fear, and they speafc \nto me and say, ^Father, father, we are waiting to \nbe cast into the eternal hell of which you told us.' \n\nThese souls, waiting for the hell which they ex- \n\n\n\n280 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\npected to be cast into when they came over here \u2014 \nwas this not hell enough for me to know that \nthrough my teachings these souls were in sudi a \ndarkened state of mind that they cried out to me in \nfearf \n\nOh, brothers and sisters, help me to tear down \nthese false teachings. It is true \u2014 as man liveth, \nso shall he die \u2014 and as I taught my fellow-man, so \nI met that here; not the burning of the body, but \nthe consciousness of remorse that I spoke the \nthings to my people which I could not believe in \nmy soul was true; and yet I strongly impressed it \nupon their minds that they would be cast into hell \nif they did not believe that which I spoke. \n\nThere is a staff upon which to lean, and that is \nknowledge; lean upon facts, lean upon the light, \nrise and find that it is not necessary to lean upon \nanyone else, for man is strong enough in himself, \nbeing a part of his Creator, being a part of the \nGreat Cause he is one of God's expressions, then \nwhy should he lean on any man's interpretation? \nMan never was intended to be a follower, but to \nbe a unit of light and truth \u2014 ^he must gather in \nhis own interpretation and express it in his own \nway ; for such it is to him and by it shall he walk ; \nfor he shall meet face to face upon stepping into \nthe other plane, himself, his conscience, his life \nwill meet him there and then he shall kaow him- \nself; then he shall know that for which he has \nworked, and then shall he see the falsity of those \nthings in which he believed, and which were not * \ntrue. \n\nWill you help me remove those conditions f \n\n\n\nWHITHBB ABE YOU GOING t 281 \n\ni \n\nSave the will power of the man; start him on the \nhighway of progression that he may meet here \nhimself, for such he will find; and when yon know \nthat his teachings are false, tell him so and ask \nhim not to do it \u2014 in the name of truth do this; for \nI am in hell, so to speak, because of the false \nteachings I gave. I am ever meeting the cry of \nmy brother, *I'm waiting to go to hell.* \n\nHelp me, brothers and sisters, and some time I \nshall return and ask if I might help you.'* \n\n\n\n(Teacher.) You will find yourself waiting to \nreceive the illumination which you expect to re- \nceive immediately upon coming into the spiritual \nlife; and you will find that you are not a lighted \nlamp, but that you must illuminate your own path- \nway which you dimly darkened by your earth ex- \npression. \n\nYou have no spiritual condition waiting for you \nover here, you have to build it; it matters not \nwhether you understand spirit return or not, you \nfioad yourselves waiting for that which you shall \nnot receive until you have lighted your lamp. \n\n\n\nWhat treasures have you in your storehouse, \nlaid away for the day in which you will find your- \nself in a strange land ; in a new expression, a new \nlife, alone t What treasures have you stored awny \nfor that day? Stop and think in your mad rush \nfor the things of the flesh \u2014 stop and think of that \nday when you will find yourself shorn of all that \nis flesh, when you will find all your earthly treas- \nures are gone, and all that you have left are those \n\n\n\n282 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nthings which you stored in that storehouse for a \nfuture day. That day is coining to you some time \n\u2014 this you know \u2014 and yet even now you forget to \nstore away those things which you will most need \nin that day when you leave all material things be- \nhind. \n\nIs your storehouse illuminated with love of hu- \nmanity, with the kind thoughts you have sent out \ninto the universe, with the kind deeds of lovet \u2014 \nthe most glorious light of spiritual truth. Is there \nany light of truth shining out of your window! Or \nhave you stored away hate, jealousy, malice, things \nwhich create darkness? Are these the things you \nhave stored awayf Then face to faice you wHl \nmeet them. \n\nEvery thought, every word, every deed of which \nyou are the creator and which you have sent out \ninto the universe lives and fills its little niche in \nyour storehouse. They wait for you and some \ntime you will find yourself there facing only those \nthings which you have saved for that day \u2014 you \nccmnot get away from them for they live with \nyou. \n\nWhat of the fellow you have wronged previous \nto your repentance? Or what of that man you \nhave caused to go on the downward path of sin \nand continues on his pathway of sin? Can you re- \npent and be saved under those conditions? Would \nthis be a law of justice? Would even your mortal \nminds imagine this to be a just law? \n\nMan always finds himself when he steps into the \nsilence traveling along some particular train of \nthought. Now, these thoughts are living with you, \n\n\n\nWHITHER ARE YOU GOING? 283 \n\nthese thoughts are stored away in your storehouse \nfor that future day when you step into the new \nworld alone, a stranger; all those earthly treas- \nures gone, and you meet face to face the deeds, \nthe thoughts, the wishes that you have sent out \ninto the universe. \n\nThen again, when you find yourself sitting alone \nand all your thoughts are for universal good, for \nthe upliftment of mankind, of brotherly love, and \ndesire for the unity of man \u2014 all these created by \nyour influence \u2014 ^you will find there a beautiful \nhome and a storehouse of which you will not be \nashamed.. \n\nSo clean your storehouse and fill it with the \ngreat truths and you will find the reflection of \nthose thoughts which you sent out. But if your \nthoughts be selfish, wordly ones, thinking about \nhaving your fellow-man 's goods ; thinking how you \nmight gain some earthly treasure; thinking how \nyou hate some poor creature who hasn't half the \nchance you have-\u2014 what a monster you will find \nwaiting **over there'' for you \u2014 and you cannot kill \nhim. \n\nRepentance is good because it casts that light \nupon you \u2014 but it does not wipe out your debts \u2014 \none by one they must be surmounted, and by your \noum efforts. \n\nIn this lesson we cannot help but stop to speak \nto you of a law which is over your nation \u2014 ^that \none man or a do^en may mete out pimishment to \nanother in taking from that soul his physical body \nbecause he has taken the physical life of some \nother individual. Are you more capable of judg- \n\n\n\n284 THE DBSOBNDINO LIGHT \n\ning him or metiDg out to him his punishment than \nis the great Over Soulf If it was right for his j \nphysical vehicle to be removed from his soul be- \ncause he in his weakness sinned, why, the great \nlaw of life would do it \u2014 instantly as he took a life \nhis would be taken ; but since it is not, it is the law \nof life that he live to finish his earth expression. \n\nWhen you do this you rob him of that part of \nhis expression which makes it possible for him to \nexpress himself naturally upon your plane of ex- \npression. Ton send out upon tlie astral plane a \nman with a very little opportunity because you \nhave severed him from the vehicle thru which \nnature intended him to manifest for a time where \nhe would have some experiences which that soul \nneeded in its growth; and you have ruthlessly \ntaken from him that vehicle \u2014 by what right? \n\nYou are not punishing that soul nearly so much \nas you are punishing all the other souls with whom \nhe comes in touch, as he is naturally brought back \nto earth to finish that expression, and is drawn \nclose to those who are in his thought realm. That \nsoul is ten times more dangerous to humanity after \nyou have forced him from his physical body \u2014 this \nis the cause of so many suicides. \u2014 This is the fruit \nof capital punishment. \n\nNow we will speak of him who takes his own \nlife. Perhaps there is a diseased organ, perhaps \nthere is a deficiency in the brain cells ; perhaps one \nof those souls who have been cast into the other \nlife either by his own hand or that of another, re- \nturns and touches the consciousness of that indi- \nvidual, perhaps comes upon that individual spirit \n\n\n\nWHITHBB ARE YOU GOING t 285 \n\nat the very moment when h^ might give the sug- \ngestion of desfmction, or that ^e might destroy \nJiis own physical body. Men in this condition nat- \nurally meet with no suffering except the realiza- \ntion of what they have done. \n. A man who believes there is nothing beyond and \ntakes from himself the vehicle of physical expres- \nsion and casts it back to earth believing that he is \ntaking himself away from the gathering in of the \nharvest of what he has sown in another condition \n\u2014 ^what shall he meet! So surely as he has sown, \nso surely will he gather in his harvest, and so \nsurely will he know it. When he has been discov- \nered in his sin, he will grieve to be looked upon \nwith scorn. He will have this to meet and he will \nknow what it means because he will no longer see \nthru his physical senses, but he will see thru the \nall-seeing eye of spirit, and will discern therein the \n^reaping of the harvest. This is the great law of \nlife and he will find that his judgment is the reali- \nzation of the things for which he has to pay \u2014 it is \nthe realization of the fruits of his sins. \n\nSome time you, too, will pass into that new life \n\u2014 ^then what f You must live ; you cannot die, even \nif you want to \u2014 the spirit is of God \u2014 Gtod hath no \ndeath \u2014 ^no end. \n\nYou cannot get away from the things which you \nhave brought into existence in the way of your \nthoughts and your acts. Do you believe that you \nmerely ask for forgiveness and then pass into a \nrealm of happiness? If you do, brothers and sis- \nters, think \u2014 use that wondrous God-given power of \nthought and think. \n\n\n\nN \n\n\n\n286 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nHave you sent out many thoughts of selfish de- \njsiref I am speaking of your inmost thoughts, not \nyour spoken thoughts. These will all return to \nyou. Do you think that the moment you turn away \nfrom evil that the thoughts on the previous pages \nof the book are dead? They are not. When the \nflesh body sinks back to Mother Earth, those \nthoughts are not there, they are living and you will \npartake of their fruits. \n\nClosely in touch with your earth planet today \nare many risen souls who return to undo the con- \nditions which they built whilst they were in the \nflesh \u2014 and they are anxious to show you the way \nto kill the bitterness in your nature and cultivate \nwithin you the spiritual part of yourselves. \n\nYou are building the instrument upon which you \nmust play the harmonies of life \u2014 are you building \nthe conditions about you that will bring forth dis- \ncordant vibrations that will tear down the glorious \nharmony of life and grate on the highly attuned \nspirit of manf Or are you building that which \nbrings forth harmony, love, happiness, peace t \n\nTonight, we extend to you from the world of \nspirit the hand of good fellowship; even as dead \nmen live, so can they speak to you. Some may \nsay that outside of the physical life there is noth- \ning; but some time the spirit of them will be \ntouched by the higher light and then they will not \nonly believe, but they will know; and in the know- \ning they will find ; and out of all this will come the \nhigher and the real universal knowledge of what \nis, and why. \n\nWhere are you going? Why are you here? For \n\n\n\nWHITHER ARE YOU GOING? 287 \n\nwhat purpose are you endowed with the power of \nthought! To spend it for physical comforts, or \nfor the eternal YOUt The tibinking part of your- \nself will never die, the real you will never pass into \noblivion \u2014 ^but the physical part of you will pass \nback to earth from which it came. Then why spend \nall your thinking powers upon the comforts of the \nmortal bodyf Why do you waste all the wondrous \npower of the God Spirit within yout \n\nOh, brothers and sisters, if you only knew the \npower tiiat lies within each and every individual \none of you; if you only knew the things lying be- \nfore you to do \u2014 if you do not do tiiem now, some \ntime you will find that they await your doing, and \nyou will without your physical body be forced to \naccomplish the things which you have put off for \nso long. \n\nI wish to leave with you this little thought: The \nlife you are living, not the life that your fellow- \nman can see, but the life which you are really liv- \ning, is making that place where you are going. \n\nWould you wish to meet there the sorrowing \nfaces of those whose hearts you have crushed, or \nwould you wish to meet there the smiling faces of \nthose whose hearts you have lightened? \n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI. \nUNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD. \n\nGod is spirity God is not an individual spirit, \nbut God is spirit, is light, is ALL \u2014 ^and ^'man is \nmade to His own image and likeness.\" Not the \nphysical form is made to His image, but it is the \nspirit that is to His image and likeness ; the physi- \ncal is merely the instrument thru which the spirit \nmanifests whilst in the flesh expression. \n\nEvery living thing expresses itself from the \nlower realms of expression into the higher and still \nhigher, and still higher, until it reaches the form \nof man, when the mind of man, the spirit, the soul, \ncan imfold and grow and express itself; then thru \nthe individuality of man the Christ spirit, the God \nspirit following this, will express itself because \nman is made to His own image and likeness. Man, \nmade to the image and likeness of God, expresses \nlife because he has within him that part of God's \nexpression which brings forth memory. This qual- \nity begins to express itself in the animals; they \nbegin to show powers of memory \u2014 ^they hold mem- \nories of wrongs or kindnesses which have been \nshown to them, but there is still need of a finer \nexpression, a finer vehicle, a finer temple thru \nwhich might manifest the God spirit; so it passes \nfrom that and agaip returns, and again after it \n\n\n\nUNIVEBSAL BBOTHEBHOOD 289 \n\n(the memory quality) has inhabited many bodies \u2014 \nthe fish, the bird, the animal \u2014 it will come forth \nhighly developed in the body of man. \n\nThis, thru that great law of life \u2014 evolution \u2014 ex- \npresses more clearly to you than any other word I \nmight use why it is man is made to the image and \nlikeness of God, because he expresses himself as a \nman once in the flesh, and then more spiritual, and \nstill more spiritual; building and living upon that \nmaterial plane of expression, and then the as- \ntral, and then the finer spiritual qualities, even \nhigher than those which manifest upon the astral; \ncasting aside the bodies thru which he has risen \u2014 \nit is the ascension of the soul; it is the evolution \nof man as he grows thru' all the coarser stages of \nexpression into manhood and womanhood in the \ntemple of the human form, where thru the wonder- \nful powers of the human mind he can manifest un- \ntold truth, untold possibilities. But in his growth \nman is borne into many stages of expression be- \ncause environments and associations make a great \ndifference in the unfoldment of the spirit qualities \nwithin him. \n\nTherefore, I say, bar no denomination, no sect, \nno group, no class of men and women who have \ngathered for the unfolding of the God spirit, for \nman is bom to His image and likeness. Then \nwhy should a group, or why should one class \nseparate themselves from the other with words of \nbitterness, or prejudice? Why should they say \nbecause thip one group teaches one expression of \nspiritual things, they are wrong? My friends, all \n\n\n\n290 THS DE80BKDINO UOHT \n\nthings which bring forth the good within man are \ngood. \n\nIf you attempt to gather the lig^t from one \ngroup or denomination and find that you cannot \ngrow spiritually within that group, then it would \nnot be wrong for you to seardh within another \ngroup for that food which the spirit within you \nis craving. \n\nEnow that spiritual things can only be dis- \ncerned thru spiritual vision; and so it is the GK>d \nspirit, the spirit of man, the good, which ex- \npresses itself thru the physical body, expresses \nGod. \n\nAs man grows thru all these different stages of \nexpression into that perfect thought out of the \nflesh, it is possible for him to rise from one \nthought realm into a higher, and still a higher \nuntil he can consciously see the why of all little \nweak thoughts; when he can see and look with \ncompassion upon those who manifest in the flesh \nwhere they are opposing one another, placing \nobstacles in their way and making life hard for \neach other. \n\nWhy, just think, you can go into a spiritual \nthought for even your enemies \u2014 try it just for a \nmoment and feel that peace which comes with it, \nwhen you can see within yourself in all sincerity \nand know that poor man does these things because \nhe has just unfolded to that degree or stage where \nhe feels that it is right for him to crush his fel- \nlow-man for the wrongs he has done. \n\nKnow that justice is in spirit; that justice is not \nthat which you can visualize thru your physical \n\n\n\nUNIVEBSAL BBOTHEBHOOD 291 \n\ndesires or thoughts, but justice is laid down by \nthe great overruling mind and every man must \npay his debts \u2014 the great law of compensation is \never and ever expressing itself \u2014 ^but it is not for \none man to take the life of another even because \nhe kills another, or crushes that body until the soul \nleaves it; it is not for you to say that he shall die. \nLet him live that he may finish that flesh ex- \npression. \n\nWhy not rise spiritually into another life and \nlook thru spiritual eyes over the world, see them \nstruggle, see them quarrel, see them kill, see them \ntake and force those who do not belong to that \ngroup into this one, see them dominate \u2014 see all \nthese things, and then see that to which they are \ncoming eventually. \n\nBe not a part of that which expresses the lower \ndesires of the flesh, but be a part of that which \nexpresses the Gofl spirit; for it is only as man \nrises spiritually and grows out of all things which \nare low, such as are the things of which I have \nspoken, he shakes them off in his growth in order \nto grow faster, rising and lifting with him his \nfellow-man into a higher and purer expression of \nlife when they will see that it is not the body of \nman that is made to the image and likeness of \nGod, but the spirit. \n\nTherefore, seek God; seek Him in whose like- \nness you are created; seek and search out, not by \ngroping in the darkness of the flesh, by groping in \nthe darkness of material things, in the lower , \n-realms of thought, but by lifting yourself spirit- \nually, living the humble life of the Nazerene, going \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\n292 THS DE8CBNDIN0 UOHT \n\nforth to teach and to bring forth, not by words so \nmuch, no, but by ascension, illuminating yonr sur- \nroundings with your light, showing indeed that \nman is made to His image and likeness, and that \nGod expresses Himself thru you, and thru the \nminds of men as they express good. Enow that \nman is indeed created to the image and likeness of \nGod, but it is not his flesh body as has been in-, \nterpreted by so many minds. \n\nIn the silence, in the TRUTH, in the light of \nspirit can any man sit alone with his conscience, \nalone with his spirit and hate and feel that he \nwould crush any man? NO! because that thing is \nnot of the spirit. Oh, that you all might strive \nto be a part of the great spiritual uplift, the light \nof which is descending upon your earth plane thru \nall the discordant vibration of today, thru it all, \nout above it all, we can see descending upon you \nthe great white light, that light conveyed from the \nMaster Mind, illuminating some few who rise and \nstand strong in the TRXJTH. \n\nDo not have an antagonistic thought towards \nany man, even tho you see that he is wrong, do not \nantagonize him; do not say, **You are wrong,** but \nsend forth that clear spiritual thought which will \nilluminate so much about his life that he will see \nand clearly conceive thru spirit. \n\nBrothers and sisters, friends, go into the world \nto lift and to serve. It matters not how bitterly \nthey may criticise you, know that there was a great \nmaster \u2014 Jesus \u2014 ^who walked in the flesh as a \nmaster mind, but he was crushed because His \nviews were not of the men of His day, because He \n\n\n\nUNIVERSAL BEOTHBBHOOD 293 \n\nattempted to live the -pure, good and true life. \n\nUnfold that you can start along your journey \nin a high spiritual light and continue to serve. \nSend forth that great thought which will help and \nnot crush, do it for the good it does, think not of \nyourselves but of those who are less fortunate. \n'Tis not how much man has learned of the laws \nof life^ but how well he applies that knowledge for \nthe betterment of himself and his fellow-men; *tis \nnot the man who tells his fellow-men what they \nshould do, but it is the man who illuminates that \nman^s life by the example he shows. \n\nWhen man learns to express and give to the \nworld his true self, how mudi nicer it will be, how \nmuch better it will be for all mankind when all \nthings that are so far from spirit shall be put \naway ; they will be looMng for the good and will \nsee it manifested everywhere, because man's real \ntrue self, if he gives it to the world as it is, will \nalways be what he would wish to have man know, \nto know him as he is. \n\nUnity of thought, unity of desire, unity of man- \nkind, that is the weapon which tears down the \nwalls of prejudice and ignorance and permits man \nto use the intellectual powers God has given him \nthat he might better help his brother and walk the \nearth plane in christian fellowship. The soul or \nthe spiritual thought force within man is in the \nascendant; it is descending to rise with man in the \nbody; and man is thinking how to better the con- \nditions of all mankind. As man reaches out into \nthe spiritual realm of thought he will find uni- \nversal thought powers spreadiag all about him \u2014 \n\n\n\n294 TH\u00a3 DE8CBNDIN0 LIGHT \n\nlove, peace, harmony \u2014 that of which man in the \nmortal expression of life knows naught. \n\nAre you searching for the means to crush your \nbrother, for the way to gather to yourself all the \nthings which you want for the comfort of your \nphysical body, or are you searching in the reahn \nof thought for something which will create among \nyour fellow-men a real understanding? He who \nsends out a thought which he hopes will bring \nhappiness to some particular one, is he not serving \nmankind ? \n\nThe spirit returns to preach the gospel of love, \n1-o-v-e LOVE, unselfishness, unselfishness is love. \nOh, if you could but know how difficult it is to \novercome that very common fault in man today \nwhich is selfishness. We see it manifested in the \nseance room in the spirits who return from be- \nyond where they can see thru the vision of spirit, \nby the eagerness of those to reach their loved ones \n\u2014 you will see that even there selfishness is not \ngone; they are still working thru it \u2014 and 'tis a \nbitter enemy. \n\nWhen you overcome that enemy, selfishness (and \nit lies within the greater number of men in the \nflesh today) you will find the spirit within who is \nmaking great effort to ascend the spiritual Alps, \nthat stage of mastership where he can master his \nown soul and be anxious for others. \n\nJust take this week and note how many selfish \nthoughts you have; selfish perhaps for just your \nfamily, or just your class, or just your group; \nnote how many selfish thoughts you have and tear \nthem out, cast them from you into the universe to \n\n\n\nUNIVERSAL BEOTHEEHOOD 295 \n\nbe picked up and put thru a finer experience \u2014 \n\n\n\nthat universal love \u2014 oh, the peace of it; oh, the \nglory of it, to love and pity your enemies. Pity \nthem\u2014 pity is akin to love, for you cannot pity \nvery long without having a tender feeling for \nthem; and as that ripens and grows into full \nbloom, behold! it is love. So cultivate all of this \n\u2014 turn your minds into the proper channels \u2014 the \nmind is the reflector \u2014 turn the reflector toward the \ngreat light of universal love and God. \n\nIf you do this, there will be no wars, no strug- \ngling one against the other, for you will love them \nall. \n\nWhat matters if you have more for your labor, \nor if you give more for your labor I What matters \nit? What more does man want than just plenty? \nWhen man begins to have a surplus then his mind \nturns from spiritual things. Just ask for plenty \nand you will have it. And when you have just \nenough, and within your bosom is that universal \nlove for all men, that self-sacrificing spirit, when \nyou have overcome the spirit of selfishness, oh ! \nthe peace and the happiness \u2014 and you can reach \nthat without a cdnt, without a penny, by just your \nown effort. \n\nAll things are yours (I do not mean your \nbrother's things that he has struggled to acquire, \nbut all things) because if you love, love is always \nbringing to you more and more of the great good, \nthat which satisfies the soul of man and invites \nand brings forth in its unfoldment the spirit \nwithin. \n\nCast out the selfishness within and place there a \n\n\n\n296 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nmonument of love, walk in christian fellowi^p \nand brotherly love and see how radiant will be \nyour faces, how your souls will be illuminated. \n\nThe expression of selfishness exists all over the \nworld today \u2014 ^it is in all classes \u2014 classes will in- \ndividualize, people will individualize by their \nthoughts and by their deeds, but thought force \nfrom the Infinite, love, good, justice, is universal, \nand all men have the privilege of drawing from \nthat source of ALL (K)OD, but how little they \nknow of the power within themselves. \n\nWithin the consciousness of every man dwells, \never and ever striving to come forth in the purity \nof perfection, the spirit. Your individuality either \nretards or aids in the unfoldment of the spirit \nwithin you, so cultivate the finer quality \u2014 ^not \nmerely loving this one or that one, but loving all \nmankind \u2014 ^universal love \u2014 can you conceive of it? \nOh, the wonderful peace and happiness in being \nable to send out this thought, **I am in the uni- \nverse and the universe is within me.'' ALL \nGOOD \u2014 ^you are a part of it, and it is a part of \nyou. \n\nYour thought should not.be for this country or \nthat country, for this class or for that class, for \nthis group or that group, for this denomination or \nthat denomination, but it should be for all man- \nkind, God's people. \n\nEver and ever thru all the ages the message \nbrought by the great masters is unselfishness \u2014 \neach and every time their message holds that \nthought, **Be self-sacrificing; help one another; \n\n\n\nUKIVBESAL BEOTHBBHOOD 297 \n\nwork in unity for all good; do not injure your \nneighbor; do not hate your neighbor/* \n\nWhen man begins to develop the spiritual part \nof himself he will so illuminate the pathway of his \nbrother that he will be drawn to him and he wiU \nfind himself. When man has done this little thing \nhe will have accomplished a great big thing for \nthe world \u2014 ^he is tearing down the earth thought \nwhich is impossible to do with hate, criticism, \ncarnal thought, which are the creeping things of \nthe earth \u2014 man will know how to help his fellow- \nman properly; he will not want the things which \nbelong to another. \n\nThe world is sinking in sorrow \u2014 ^love it, bury \nhate beneath the sod, let selfishness, hate, avarice, \njealousy rot in the earth and rise above it, culti- \nvate the good which lives within you \u2014 the world \nneeds every atom of good within all men. \n\nCultivate the spiritual powers within you which \nwill enable you to see how to study the qualities \nand deficiencies of your brother and know how to \nhelp him. Hold within yourself and send to him \nthe great thought of love, of sympathy, of spiritual \nlight; not saying even in your thought that you \nare better than he. \n\nAs you step out of the physical thought into the \nspiritual you will come into that universal thought, \nbecause as man unfolds spiritually he cannot help \nbut know that he is a part of the universe, that \nall mankind are his brothers; that the same force \nthat brought him into the physical expression of \nlif6 also brought his brother into that same ex-, \npression. \n\n\n\n298 THE DESCENDING LIOHT \n\nWhen you have found the wondrous power \nwithin you, you will find it is not how mudi you \ncan dominate over your brother, not how much \nyou can impress your brother, but it is how much \nyou can illuminate the world with your spiritual \nthought. \n\nBrdtherly love and the golden rule are most \nbeautiful teachings \u2014 why should they be shaded \nby falsehoods of the ** grave being the endf The \ngrave is not the end of man \u2014 ^why fear death? \nFather God and Mother Nature have borne you \ninto this life, so they will bear you into the life \nbeyond. \n\nI have been present whilst teachers in modem \ntimes were saying, **We care not for the life here- \nafter, it is this life.\" I shudder for the false \nhome they are building, smothering the beautiful \nplant of truth. They are sowing seeds of \npoisonous weeds in the souls of their auditors, and \nthey will grow, as they have grown with them, and \nbe detrimental to their progression. \n\nMany forget that all about them and within \nevery physical temple of clay lives God. Yes, \nforget, and would destroy that temple, casting out \nwhom? Why should man take it upon himself to \nsend into a new expression of life the soul of any \nman? If man causes a premature birth in the \nphysical body, you call him a criminal; but if he \ncauses the premature birth into spirit of a soul,, \nbom into that new life before it is time, what is \nhe? A poor unenlightened soul. We grieve for \nthose who are unconsciously placing into spirit life \na premature soul. If it is criminal to abort or \n\n\n\nUNIVERSAL BBOTHEEHOOD 299 \n\ncause a premature birth in the physical, then you \nmight say it of one who causes the soul to be \nprematurely bom into a new expression. That is \nit \u2014 take the lesson home with you. Think of \neternal life\u2014 what is it worth to a man to gain the- \nwhole world if for a time he loses his own soul \u2014 \nfor in search of that consciousness, he may spend \na great portion of a great eternity in finding it. \n\nOh, let us help those who know not to find some \nway to unfold the spirit within; but do not force \nyour thought upon them\u2014 rthey may have another \nexpression by which or thru which they will reach \nGod. Just as some are black in the flesh and \nsome are white, just as every expression of life is \none of God's reflections, so let each man find his \nown spiritual expression, then teach him how to \nlive \u2014 ^and the greatest power to teach you have \nwithin, it is to live the life \u2014 example is the \ngreatest inspirer to good. \n\nHow many of you really know love, pure, \nspiritual love? That which can see the why of all \nthings weak, and that which can explain all the \nlittle things which seem so dark and wrong in man, \nand that which can overlook the whole universe \nin this thought and say, **I love every man, woman \nand child, I love you.\" It is possible to do this; \nand in your new day upon the brink of which you \nstand today, souls will walk in your midst, and \nyou will touch them and you will know love be- \ncause love is the reflection of the Godhead; it is \nthe law which draws man close to liberty; that \nwhich clears away the dark things of life and \nmakes men see and know his fellow-man. \n\n\n\n300 THB DE80BNDINO LIOHT \n\nBise, search, turn your torch that the wind of \nvengeance, of hate, of avarice, of selfishness and \nall such things will not blow it out \u2014 turn it, pro- \ntect it by spiritual thought of ascension; hold that \nwithin tiiie consciousness; know that it is within \neach individual soul to illuminate and bring into \nexpression the inner God part. Stop for a \nmoment in your mad race and think \u2014 ^you may be \ncrushed, you may be starved, you may be brought \nwhere you will be criticised and censured for \nthings which are the soul's good, but rise and \nknow that GOD'S law of service is universal love, \nuniversal brotherhood. So love, serve, lift, illumi- \nnate and do not kill or crush even hate; but gather \nit up and put it in the flame of the lower lighi that \nthru that it, too, may be illuminated and become \na light. We need the lower lights today (illumi- \nnated spirits in the flesh), they are coming into \nexpression everywhere. \n\nThe dead have never died; they are reaching \nhands out to you in love and service. Unite, clasp \nhands, beautify your lives, spread afar the light \nof truth against which even the winds of hate are \nblowing and doing all possible to extinguish, keep \nit burning. Peace shall come only thru the burn- \ning of the lower lights; peace shall come only by \nspiritual thoughts; peace can only come to man as \nhe rises out of the destructive thought \u2014 so let the \nlower lights bum and illuminate the pathway of \nmany poor down-trodden souls. \n\nKnow that the day is dawning upon this the so- \ncalled new country where shall be brought into \nexistence the dove of peace; when man no longer \n\n\n\nUNIVBBSAL BBOTHBBHOOD 301 \n\nwill sit in the privacy of his own home and keep \nthere that which he owes to his brother man. \n\nThe thinking man on the avenue of materialism \nis searching out the why of all beliefs and creeds, \nwhy they ever came into existence. The man on \nthe avenue of New Thought is thinking of all the \ngood that can be accomplished by the thought \npower of man ; the brother on the avenue of \nSocialism is wondering why he is a slave, and is \nsearching for the reason of all this and is fighting \nto rise out of it \u2014 ^but he holds the thought within \nhim that he must force the conditions to come to a \nhead, but it is only thru spiritual unfpldment that \nall good things can come about. And on the ave- \nnue of Theosophy man is developing his soul \npowers, that his soul may rise into the glorious \nlight of spirit ; and he who walks along the avenue \nof Christian Science is drawing from the great \nfountain of life the force to perfect the temple of \nthe spirit, the body; the desire for perfect bodies \ndraws them into that avenue. \n\nThere are minds that are lifting but there is \nabout them a little cloud \u2014 the cloud of prejudice \u2014 \nand until they overcome that great enemy which \nclings after fear has been uprooted there can be \nno universal love thought. Universal love is God's \nreflection \u2014 can you not discard your little thought \nof prejudice and find the good part and help to \nbring it forth? Why not broaden out? The more \nyou broaden, the more you search for good, the \nmore you overcome all deception that lurks within \nyou, the more sympathy and compassion and love \nyou will hold for your brothers and sisters who \n\n\n\n302 THE PBSCBNDINQ LIGHT \n\nare not so much enlightened as you are along \nspiritual lines. \n\nSearch for the wondrous fountain of eternal life \n\u2014 truth and harmony \u2014 ^and nourish and refresh \nyour souls. Think those thoughts which are pure; \nthose things which reflect His likeness, and then \nwUl come about the universal brotherhood of man. \n\nWe suggest that in every home there be a sanctu- \nary of light wherein you shall drink of the fountain \nof truth, wherein you shall go into the silence and \nthere receive the message of light which is now \nready to be bom upon your earth plane. Give it out, \ntell your fellow-man that he may better know ; that \nhis eyes may be opened to the light which it has been \nyour privilege to know. \n\nAs the door to the spiritual world swings open to \nyou, do all you can, all that is in your power to open \nthe door to your fellow-man that he may realize the \ntruth. Lend your material assistance, give him your \nbroad shoulder, give him your kind thoughts. Every \nsoul that is awakened to the light of spirit and every \nsoul that comes to the realization of truth, and every \nsoul that is bettered spiritually by your effort di- \nrectly or indirectly will meet you **over there'* a \nshining light. \n\nUnity of thought, unity of desire, unity of man- \nkind, that is the weapon which tears down the walls \nof prejudice and ignorance and permits man to use \nthe intellectual powers God has given him that he \nmight better help his brother and walk the earth \nplane in christan fellowship. \n\nI thought when I lived in the mortal body that the \ngreat man was the man who became the leader, who \n\n\n\nUNIVERSAL BBOTHEBHOOD 303 \n\nbrought about victory in wars. What a realization I \nwhat a change of thought! what a terrible awaken- \ning came to me when I knew that the man who led \nhis fellow-man into peace, who taught man the les- \nson of unity, who awakened in the souls of humanity \nthat spiritual spark of light, that he was the truly \ngreat man. \n\nPass the love thought to all \u2014 love all humanity; \nforgive their deficiencies for then you are fixing your \nsails to pass over the high waters into the harbor \nthru lover \n\nThe great symbol which presents itself to me as I \nstand here, the vast water, meaning life, and I see \nthe dark shadows of strife; I see men struggling \nover little things in life; over privileges and over \nrights and over wrongs. I see men assembled to \ntake land of which they will never have a part I see \nmen walking ways for others and that way they will \nnever tread. I see those vast waters as the men in \nthe boats are sailing \u2014 ^I see them taking various \nways, going in all directions, and there comes to my \nsoul this thought \u2014 ^where are they going? I see \nnothing there but a great light, and now I see they \nare finding a way to communicate one with the other \n\u2014 ^by what means? By the unfolding of the mental \nqualities within. \n\nThey are tuning today upon the earth plane in- \nstruments, chemically arranged, that they can \ngather thoughts from other lands ; and as I see these \nboats go by something brings me to know that they \nare all going to one great harbor. And now as I look \nback upon the strife, I see great struggles, hate, per- \nsecutions, -hunger, deprivations, unhappiness in the \n\n\n\n304 THB DB80ENDIN0 UOHT \n\npassing of infants out of the flesh ; it is an appalling \nsight to the men who are left. \n/ And now I see a great light descending upon them \nand, behold, a cleaner earth is revealed \u2014 ^bnt we find \nthat not one of the things for which they fought is \nas they thought it would be. It comes as a great \nrealization that the young men who have been \ncrushed, lads gone, wives and mothers and babes \ntortured and crushed, the debt is not paid; death has \nnot finished the great work it started. But the walls \nare broken down and they know that death reveals \nto them life cmd Qod. \n\nThe man and his brother who hates him lie in the \nsame grave, and they clasp hands as they pass into \nthe boats. Behold, the wall has broken down, and \nthey realize they love each other ; there is one great \nthought of eternal light \u2014 and it has no name. \n\n(This symbolical vision was given thru a trance lecture \nsoon after we had entered the great world war. 'The passing \nof infants\" thru starvation and disease surely is an appalling \nsight to man today. Is it not true, \u2014 ''that not one of the \nthings for which they fought is as they thought it would \nbe?\") \n\nMan knows not yet the name of the great religious \nthought which will permeate the consciousness of \nevery individual in the ranks of the denominations \nover all the nations of the world. It has no name; it \nis nameless ; it is of God^ Every man in every walk \nof life has some great thought of a higher power, but \nwhat man yet knows God? But he can feel the pres- \nence, and can have the great desire to do good, to \nserve, to love. \n\nAs you hear the call of the loved ones gone before, \nwho are not dead, and whom all men know still live, \n\n\n\nUNIVBBSAIi BBOTHEBHOOD , 305 \n\nas you hear the voices, can you not feel that they will \nlead you aright, so cultivate within you love, love for \nall mankind. \n\nThese are the things the spirit world desires to \ngive to man; it is not to tell them how to crush their \nbrothers ; it is not to tell them how to deceive their \nbrother, nor is it to tell them how to destroy the \ntemple of flesb. \n\nWhen man cultivates the universal love power \nwithin him, forgetting self and thinking of the \n**dead'*, his dead, he will find a broad and beautiful \navenue which leads to eternal light. \n\nThe greatest problem man has today is the under- \nstanding and comprehension of his own soul. Until \nhe understands himself, how can he understand the \nambitions and desires of others? He must first \nlearn the problems of his own soul \u2014 ^he has much to \nmaster \u2014 then will it be time to tell others what to do. \n\nLive not for yourself or by yourself or in your- \nself, but live continually a little better than yourself ; \nlet your desires be always a little beyond yourself ; \nlet hope be a little above yourself, \u2014 and when you \nhave mastered your own soul, then is it time to take \nyour brother in hand and show him how to live. \n\nNature's man is mortal, the mortal body is imper- \nfect because from time to time error (sin) has been \nbrought into the mortal body. The God body, the \nspiritual body, that nature gave you is and should \nalways be perfect by nature. All imperfections you \nhave made yourself \u2014 ^understand yourself, and you \nwill understand nature. \n\nYou are living in the dawn of that new day when \nthe light of spirit shall show itself thru the souls of \nall men ; when man shall serve his brother, shall help \n\n\n\n306 TUK DBSOKNDINO LJOHT \n\nhis brother and will not wrong him, will not think of \ntaking his brother's life. \n\nJudge not your fellow-man \u2014 ^if as you see his life, \nit seems to you a dark shadow, perhaps beneath the \nshadow the light is kindling there which will illumi- \nnate that soul more quickly than your own. Forget \nthe things which are wholly material, forget hate, \nenvy, jealousy \u2014 forget all things which you know \nwere never bom of the spirit, and think of the holy \npresence of pure spirit. Play your part well, and be \nnot ashamed of your brother nor ashamed to have \nhim know you as you are. Beach higher and higher \nfor spiritual light and ask from the spirit world only \nthose things which will be for the upliftment of man- \nkind. Let us leave malice, envy, jealousy, selfish- \nness and all those things which are bom of mortal \nmind behind us. Let us cultivate love for all, char- \nity, truth \u2014 these are the things which are of God. \n\nCharity is not the giving of a portion of what you \nhave without making yourself uncomfortable; it is \nnot charity to love others just so far as it makes \nyou happy \u2014 that is not charity. Charity is the giv- \ning all you can, even to your own discomfort, to \nmake others happy. How this word has been mis- \ninterpreted, and yet it was one of Jesus' favorite \nthoughts \u2014 charity and faith. But the minds of men \nas they came down thru the different generations \napplied it to themselves, each holding just as much \nof it as pleased him, and finally it became a law that \nmen adhere to their conception of the teachings of \nChrist. \n\nJesus, the Nazerene, grown into and out of and \nthru many stages of spiritual unfoldment, reduced \nand returned to the physical expression to teach his \n\n\n\nUNIVBBSAL BBOXHEBHOOD 307 \n\n\u2022 \n\nfellow-men to love one another; how to serve each \nother ; came tb tear down the conditions which were \nhindrances to the growth of spirit. He was one of \nthe greatest^ teachers of universal brotherhood, of \nbrotherly love, the Golden Eule. It means to do \nnnto others as you would have others do unto you ; \nit means to love your fellow-men; it means to love \nyour enemies; have compassion upon the sinner \u2014 \nnot with the spirit of * * I am greater than thou, ' * but \nwith the spirit of mercy and brotherly love. \n\nLift, love, serve, enlighten, illuminate, cultivate \nthe power to think. Man, know thyself, and by \nknowing thyself, thou wilt ftad God. Strive for that \nstage of unf oldment where you can see thru the eyes \nof spirit (clear understanding) and discern the \nthings of God, \n\nBrothers and sisters, can you not spare a few \nmoments each day for spiritual thought that you \nmay reach out into the grand and glorious universe \nin search of God \u2014 ^not selfishly, but reverently, in \nhope, in love, in faith, in truth ; feeling within your- \nselves the reflection of HIM whose face you cannot \nconceive of, but whose presence you can feel when in \nthe vibration of spiritual thought. \n\nYou are His reflector, you are a part of HIM be- \ncause you are HIS thought. Man's nrind, the think- \ning part, is the nearest part of him to God, and \nman's whole personality is centered in his mind. \nThere is nothing you see or feel but has some time \nbeen a thought. \n\nWhen man has put himself into the proper vibra- \ntion he will feel naught but that which is good, and \nwill know that he has come into his own. When man \nknows this and feels it, there will not be within him \n\n\n\n308 THE DESCENDING LIGHT \n\nany desire to wrong his fellow-man, but there wil \na desire to help mankind. Thus he will sow \nseeds whose fruits he will be proud to gather. T. \nwill come about UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOl \nthe dream of Christ. \n\n\n\nCHAPTER Xn. \nTHE NEW DAY. \n\nWe will talk to you for a time of the present day \nconditions and your part in it. We have frequently \nmade it clear to you that your planet together with \none very close to it are passing thru a very pro- \nnounced change. Not only the change of position, \nbut many changes are taking place upon the planets. \nWe will speak to you now particularly of that planet \nupon which you are manifesting. \n\nThere is not only the change taking place in the \nminds of men ; not only the kingdom of manhood, we \nwill say, but all the different products of this planet \nare passing thru a great change. The changes tak- \ning place are not in all instances known by men, but \nvery pronounced in many cases. \n\nThere will be many changes in the animal king- \ndom, inasmuch as some will become very rapidly ex- \ntinct, and many new forms of animals will come into \nexistence. Thru the minds of men, things shall be \naccomplished, of which man has never thought until \nrecent date. There is a pronounced change taking \nplace in the minds and brains of men because of the \ncultivation of the higher thought ; and thru the culti- \nvation of higher thought, a higher standard is at- \ntained. \n\nToday man has progressed not only spiritually \nand mentally, but physically to that stage where he \n\n\n\n310 THB DS80SNDIKQ UQHT \n\ncan grasp more of the inner laws of life, and in doing \nthis he has come in contact with the elements and \nthe power within them. Thru the cultivation of the \nmind of man he finds that all the powers in the ele- \nments are not destructive, but that there are many \nconstructive elements. 'Tis not that it has not ex- \nisted before, but man had not attained that stage of \ndevelopment whereby he could grasp it. Man is \ndiscovering many things which tend to make com- \nforts for himself, and these enable him to delve into \nthe spiritual laws ; and thru them is coming close to \nthe earth plane a great army of intelligences which \nwill aid man in his investigation. \n\nIn spirit there are many students of the laws of \ncommunion who are searching for different avenues \nof manifestation ; some in the mechanical, some en- \ntirely thru vibration, and some thru the very sensi- \ntive instrument of the body. \n\nAnd therefore, we say to him who has received \nlight in coming in direct touch with the human mind \nof those discamate, it is well that he uses every \nfragment of knowledge acquired in the cultivation of \nthe inner finer qualities, that he may reach into the \nhigher realms of expression, where is understand-, \ning. \n\nTherefore, during this great change, there will be \na great struggle, physically, materially and spirit- \nually ; but it is the breaking down and preparing the \nway for the condition predicted by minds who knew \nnot what they said ; who saw the great day of peace \nand harmony, but could not interpret it. Spiritual \nvision is understanding, therefore, it is true that \njust so clearly as you can understand the hidden \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 311 \n\nlaws of God you can just so clearly discern their \nmeaning. \n\nWe urge you to armor yourselves ever and ever \nwith TEUTH and with love; but know this: The \nhigher realms are to be kept open to man upon the \nearth plane. It is the duty of him who understands \nthe laws to make his life, in his thoughts, words and \ndeeds, that he can hold open the doors of the higher \nrealms of expression. It is true that the lower \nrealms will more easily open because there are more \nminds in the physical realm of thought. More selfish \npeople in the world today than there are unselfish ; \nthere are more inclined to selfish and material \nthought than there are inclined to the universal love \nthought \u2014 ^but we shall hold the thought for good for \nall ihankind. \n\nBe spiritual, be true and reach out that you may \naid mankind ; not only to learn of manifestation, but \nto learn of the great philosophy brought to you thru \nthe realm of spirit from disem'bodied spirits. \n\nYou are touching upon that new day; you cannot \nconceive of it yet, but as your planet changes and \nyour world evolves from one stage to another, you \nall do also. There are some minds going forth more \nrapidly in progression and unfoldment, coming to \nthe hidden things of life. Some try so hard yet they \ncannot see ; they cannot know, but they are revealed \nupon that same highway of life's progression \u2014 one \nmust pass thru the different stages lest he plunge \ninto the midst of something positively incompre- \nhensible to his mind. Minds, reflections of the God- \nhead, are becoming illuminated, as are yours, and \nmen are coming into the light \u2014 ^it is the preparing \u2014 \nit is the advent of' the new plan \u2014 it is not bom yet \u2014 \n\n\n\ny^ \n\n\n\n312 THB DS80BNDIKO UQHT \n\noh, it is beyond you, you could never understand it \nin the flesh body, lest you had prepared for it. \n\nWhen man comes into the light more clearly, this \ngreat fact upon which he is only touching the edge \ntoday, he will be able to attune himself to that per- \nfect condition. Some of your mortal teachers be- \ntween that world and this are lifting but they are \nmet with criticism and scorn and with hate ; and, yes, \nsometimes with love \u2014 and thru that tiny love \nthought they reach to leach and to lift. \n\nSensitive minds are being bom today, more sensi- \ntive than ever before. The generation which is being \nbrought into life today is that which will show you a \nclear light; it is that which will look upon war and \ndestructive thought as a thing of the undeveloped \nminds; it is the advent of the new bom plan \u2014 you \ncannot see it, but you feel it, and you know a great \nchange is coming about because you feel something \ncoming over you, sometiiing strange, something \nweird. \n\nThis great war which is shedding the blood of in- \nnocent men is but the birth pangs of that new day or \nplan \u2014 ^you are a part of it \u2014 do not go forth pointing \nthe finger of scorn at any man. Kjiow that all these \nthings must come to pass to touch man's vision, to \ncrush the mercenary dealings which rule the plane \nof earth, to crush the enemy \u2014 not with the foot of \nhate, but 'neath the hand of love, crushing it back to \nearth because the earth is its mother; it is bom of \nthe earth and not of heaven. \n\nYou are helping in every thought, if it is good \u2014 \nyou are helping when you say, * * I love even my ene- \nmies.'' There are no enemies^ we are all God's \nchildren \u2014 one God, one heaven, one thought, All, \u2014 \n\n\n\nTHE NEW- DAY 313 \n\nand into the mind of every man shall be bom that \nthonght. Why do God's children divide against \nthemselves? Because they know not what they do. \n\nWhen man begins to ask himself if there is such a \nthing as a world beyond the grave, and what becomes \nof our loved ones when they die, he is beginning to \nsee the soft ray of dawn as it rises in the east. ' \n\nIn the new day man shall know how to build his \nbody without gathering from the earth; how to, pro- \ntect his brother without resorting to the weapon, for \nwith his mind he can draw from that great f ountam \nof truth and imbue it into the souls, minds and \nbodies of those he loves. \n\nCan you imagine the day when man will feel no \nhate thought? It is dawning \u2014 ^you are privileged to \nbe in the flesh and see and be a part of that great \nday. This wonderful day precedes the great tomor- \nrow. \n\nNations shall not only fall, but they shall sink back \nbehind their desires into one universal thought. He \nwho dares to take it upon himself to rule the minds \nof all men is stepping into that discordant thought, \nuntil out of the flame of universal love he shall be \ncleanged and purified and lifted into that realm of \nspirit where it is best for him to see and know. It is \nthe dark demon of ignorance and prejudice which \ncloses in upon poor man and obstructs from his \nvision his wonderful power for good. \n\nMan stands today upon the very brink of the new \nexpression of life. When he uses the mind power to \nhelp and to lift, he will bring the conditions which \nmake for good. He is getting out of the realm of \nthought or stage of unf oldment where he can use the \nmind for destructive purposes. When man is en- \n\n\n\n314 THB DESOBNDINQ UOHT \n\nlightened he will not nse the greatest gift Gk>d has \nbestowed upon him \u2014 ^his mind \u2014 ^for destructive pur- \nposes. He will not destroy anything \u2014 ^that age is \nfast falling into oblivion. Today he begins to realize \nthat he can do good with that mind and he can rise \ninto a higher expression. \n\nSome develop and unfold whilst in the flesh body, \nsome must first experience death \u2014 ^that is a part of \ntheir unfoldm^nt. Therefore, brothers and sisters, \never strive to rise into the spiritual life where you \ncan see clearer and conceive of the hidden things of \nlife and of God \u2014 a glimpse of the new bom plan. \n\nMan begins to prepare his body thru his mind, \nmaking for that new day perfect bodies. Man be- \ngins to realize that there is something more than \njust the life he sees ; begins to cultivate more of a \nsympathetic vibration about him ; putting himself in \ntune with something beyond him, and which he does \nnot yet know. He is daring to reach into the hidden \nthings of life. When men will place their minds in \ntune with the Infinite Spirit of Perfection, the world \nwill he governed thru God; life will be governed \nthru man 's communication with the higher spirits. \nThey are the messengers of light, ministering angels \nof God conveying your love thought; your hope; \nyour thought from you to a higher realm until they \nhave passed into the universal truth \u2014 ^love. And \nman is coming into that new day when he wUl be \nthru spirit communion purified. He will reach thru \nthe spirit world and the ministering angels into that \nuniversal Godhead of light \u2014 and nations will be gov- \nerned thru this. It will not be thru the undeveloped \nmind of man, but thru minds who have passed out of \n\n\n\n. THB NEW DAY 315 \n\nthe flesh into that higher conception of the things of \nGod. \n\nSo as yon look thm the^yes of spiritual thought \ninto the great ALL, all the universe, you will see *tis \nall good. But only as man develops the spiritual \npowers within does he enable himself to find that \ngood. \n\nOut of this great flame of discord will come \nforth souls illuminated by spirit; souls who ne*er \nbefore had thought of God; souls or minds which \nnever before had risen away from the earth thought \nfind their wondrous latent powers within them which \nlay dormant until this terrible discordant condition \narose, and then the spark of light touched them and \nthey began to rise out of it into that realization that \nthey were more tiian a piece of clay, that they were \nmore than that which just their physical vision dis- \nclosed to them, that they were something which re- \nsponded to the call into eternity and that they lived ; \nand they began to realize that tho they crushed their \nflesh bodies they still lived. \n\nAfter this great awakening which is coming upon \nthe earth plane today, when man in all climes, all \ndenominations, in all parts of the earth will realize \nthat man lives after death, can a man slay his \nbrother, knowing this? No, because that part of \nman's development or unfoldment or soul growth \nwill stop here and get out of the bloody day into the \nspiritual day. \n\nThe morning is here \u2014 the morning is just dawn- \ning. \n\nAnd in the great day which you can see coming \nupon you, in the morning there will be no such shed- \n\n\n\n'v \n\n\n\n316 THB DS8GSKDIN0 UOHT \n\nding of blood bccauso that great realization that \nman not only lives in a far off tomorrow somewhere \nafter deaths but he live& in the here, in the now \u2014 \nthis realization is becoming universal thru this great \ndiscord \u2014 and then who can say that out of evil can \ncome no good T \n\nOh, the bright day, when men shall know their fel- \nlow-men and they shall know themselves ; when men \nshall ne'er draw the blood of his fellow-man; that \nday when harmony unlocks the casket and reveals to \nhim the hidden things of life. One is all, you are him \nand he is you \u2014 ALL ; one nation, one race, it matters \nnot their color, their creed, their language, only \ntheir thought which is bound to come into the per- \nfect expression, even in the flesh and out of it, in that \nday when men shall not govern their groups by lim- \nited thought, but thru that great light of universal \nlove. \n\nAnd this day is coming upon you. All over your \nworld minds are coming into a realization of the \ncontinuity of life and of spirit return. That great \nlaw has been terribly abused by illiterate minds \u2014 \n'tis just the undeveloped good. From the higher \nrealms of spirit penetrating thru all that coarser \nvibration are coming the minds which bear to your \nworld fragments of that harmonious ALL and they \nshall teach man how to live, how to love, how to do ; \nand that day is upon you. \n\nThe today which is passing now is but the night of \nthe old days, the old .age or time of expression, and \nthru the Christian age, we will call it, (with this in- \nterpretation of the Christian age), the falling of the \nteaching pertaining to the blood atonement, when \nman could lean upon another, and when man could \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 317 \n\nsin and create conditions destructive and then thru \nfeeling sorry that he had done so, wipe it all away. \nPoor man thought so, he was taught so, because in \nthat day that was the ecclesiastic vision they had on \nsaving a soul from sin and darkness. \n\nAnd souls are coming forth who see your world at \nthe close of the night. You will have great numbers \nof wonderful seers, prophets and teachers; those \nwho in thought have risen out of all this discord into \nthat pure, spiritual realm of thought and gathered \nthere thoughts never expressed before, visions never \nseen before, words never spoken before by mortal \nman. Man will be so tired of this old condition \nbuilded about him that the great teachers will be \nthose who have touched the spirit. \n\nIn the new day which is coming, the minds of the \ncoming generation are going to be of more enlight- \nened quality, the children to be bom will have a \nhighOT spiritual conception of things and they will \ncome forth in spiritual thought more than man ever \nhas before. Some of you will be the parents of some \nof these children, but most of you here will live to \nsee the great seers of the coming day. They wiQ see \nthru the eyes of understanding how to bring forth \nharmony and love, and the great day of Theocracy \nis bound to come when all things will be ^vemed by \nyour God. The highest conception of gbod, and all \nthe good within you will come forth to aid in the \ngovernment of this nation and all nations. \n\nGleams of the coming day penetrate the curtain \nbetween and to those who reach spiritually thru \nthe vision of the soul and spirit there comes that \nrealization. The souls of man in the flesh today are \nawakening to this because the night of yesterday \n\n\n\n318 THS DE80EKDING UQHT \n\nand the gleaming of the morning of the new day and \nthe signs of the tomorrow so strongly impress the \nsouls of men who are investigating today that they \nknow a great change is abont to come, and those who \nare not blinded by all materialistic thought see be- \nyond and thru the things which seem to be dis- \nturbances and troubles, wars and such. The souls \nwho are illuminated by the spiritual light penetrate \nthese and see beyond into the bright tomorrow. \nThose of you today who are manifesting in the flesh \ncan feel the change coming over ihe earth plane; \nsome of you ask what it is, and some of you know it \nis the spiritual awakening ; it is a breaking through, \nwe will say, from one reaM to another when men in \nthe flesh will manifest in a higher and more spiritual \nrealm of thought than they ever have. \n\nThe new day is upon us when we will see the world \nof spirit and the world of flesh walk hand in hand. \nMan has broken down the wall between the two \nworlds ; the wall was composed of fear, ignorance, \nprejudice and superstition. TODAY the wall is \ncrushed and the unseen world of yesterday is seen \nand it touches the mind of almost every man in some \nway. Perhaps it came into your life only when the \nangel of dearth entered and lifted out one you loved \nand carried it into the tomorrow; and perhaps\" the \nvoice of that one returned to speak, but in some way \nsomething has brought in close touch with you the \nunseen world, the consciousness of life after death. \nThe wall has been overthrown and men in the flesh \nwalk hand in hand with men whose flesh bodies are \ngone. \n\nMan who has reached the spiritual vision, who has \nturned the reflector, his mind, into the channel of \n\n\n\n- THE NEW DAY 319 \n\nspiritual things, penetrates the curtain and sees the \ntomorrow, yes, the glorious tomorrow which gleams \nthru the curtain. They are small lights as yet, but \nthey mean perfect bodies free from disease. I see \nthe light of spiritual healing coming into the con- \nsciousness of men all over the nations, and this small \nlight is growing broader, as some souls are reach- \ning out, following the light \u2014 ^instruments of flesh \nthru which the soul of man can manifest spiritually \n\u2014 ^it means equality of man, it means opportunity \nfor all. \n\nIn all your factories, in all your mines, in all \nplaces of labor there %\\dll be those who understand \npsychological laws which will place each individual \nman in his proper place where his work will be a joy \nand a pleasure to him, and where the fruits of his \nlabor will be enjoyed by him and he will love and be \nloved ; he will be a reflector of the reflection of love. \nGleams of that bright tomorrow are coming thru the \ncurtain between this world and yours. \n\nNo work, no job, no labor will be for men who are \nnot fitted just for that particular work, and they will \ncommune with the spirit ; there will be no fraud be- \ncause the coming generation will have within them \nso strongly developed at birth that sense of intuition \nthat one cannot deceive his fellow-man without being \ndetected. \n\nBehold, the gates of heaven will be revealed to \nmen and their hearts shall be glad. These are all \ngleams, foregleams of the bright tomorrow, but take \ngood care of the today. You have the today, tomor- \nis a promise; yesterday is a realization. Today is \nyour opportunity, take it, apply it, live in the light \nof universal love. \n\n\n\n320 THE DB80BNDINQ UOHT \n\nOhy yesterday was dark; yesterday was a bloody \nage; yesterday called for sacrifices of flesh bodies \nback to earth ; it was an age of blood ; but you can \nfeel its close and you can see the dawn of a new day. \nYesterday leaves upon the book of history a bloody \nmark; the earth plane is stained witii blood \u2014 ^poor \nman, little did he realize that he covld not kill the \nsoul of his fellow-man. \n\nAnd the today\u2014 oh, what a housecleaning \u2014 when \nthe sunshine comes it shows to you all the unclean \nparts of the house, and it shows all the unclean parts \nof the world. Today is the sunny day, it is that \nsunny day which reveals the filth ; tiie day which re-, \nveals the unkempt, the neglected, the many duties \nleft undone. And then in man^s eagerness to know \nhow to overcome all this they form into groups here \nand into groups there and they talk and talk and ar- \ngue and plan and quarrel, and then argue more \u2014 ^and \nwhile they are doing this there is brewing all over \nthe world the germ, we will say, of destruction ; the \nlittle seed left over from the yesterday, and the sun \nis bringing it forth into such a monster that they \ncannot help but see it, cannot help but feel it ; but all \nof this time they have been blinded to the little hid- \nden corners of the earth, they have lived in their \nown little thought of selfishness, but now they see the \nmonster coming up about them \u2014 and now comes the \nstruggle. \n\nThat which you have called war, that which has \nbeen so destructive, and which called for the shed- \nding of blood is not dead yet ; the monster still lives ; \nit is not going to bring forth war, no, but hunger, \ndeprivation ^nd great discomfort to the physical, but \ndo not prepare the weapons which destroy physical \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 321 \n\nbodies for you cannot kill the soul. You cannot de- \nstroy that which is created for the purpose of at- \ntaining perfection. \n\nMan will find that the greatest weapon is love ; and \nthru all the bitterness of today, thru all the different \navenues, man is coming into the realization that all \nmankind are God's children; that the sons of God \nwalk with you and talk with you, and the sons of God \nare you and you and you; so why divide God's chil- \ndren into classes, into denominations, into sects, into \nnations t \n\nThey are ail God's children and heirs to the king- \ndom. \n\nIn that new day (whose very dawn you can see) \nbabes bom into the flesh will have a greater concep- \ntion of things \u2014 they will know love. Man is just be- \nginning to rise out of that mercenary thought which \nis rampant upon your earth today; it is the resurrec- \ntion of man ; he begins to see that there is something \nelse; he has reached that stage of mental progres- \nsion where his spiritual vision reveals to him the \nthings which are to come. Then he will know that it \nis not the things which he can hold only for a time \nthat are worth striving for, but the things which he \ncan hold for all time \u2014 the things of the soul, truth, \nsympathy, love. \n\nNow, man has lived so much in that physical realm \nof thought that he has created a great power, the \ngreat master which holds him; he wants to grasp \nmore and more material wealth ; but all things which \nare not of God go on and on circling and circling \nuntil they destroy themselves ; and that part of them \nwhich is of God rises into the higher realm of spirit. \n\nBeach out to that new day, and know that Truth \n\n\n\n322 THB DB8CBNDINQ LIGHT \n\nis non-sectarian, undenominational. No church, no \nbody of people, no groups of people can gather in all \nof the Truth and name it and have it No difference \nwhere it may be expressed, under what name it may \nbe, the Truth will bring to man the realization of the \npresence of spirit. The great destructive force \nwhich is passing over and all about your planet to- \nday is the creation of man's mortal or physical mind. \nIt is not of spirit \u2014 ^and it is not Ood's will but it is a \npart of that immutable law, evolution. \n\nMan is struggling to rise out of that physical \nrealm of thought. Man^ rising upon that field be- \nsmirched in blood has a thought 6t something be- \nyond ; he feels the presence ; and all over the battle \nfields are those whose bodies have sunk back to \nearth, but their souls are living and they are return- \ning \u2014 some in sympathy, some in hate, because they \ncarry with them their last thoughts and they bear \nthem along for a time ; and when they discover that \nthey can return (many know this before they leave, \nso they carry that thought with them that they will \nreturn, and they do) if they are full of vengeance \nand hate, they return that way. \n\nEvery soul sent out of your plane of expression \nprematurely has a natural tendency and must return \nto the physical plane of expression and gather into \nitself more of the memories, more of the thoughts of \nthe physical. And this is the price of the new day; \nthis is the price of that new light which man begins \nto feel and see. \n\nAnd now as man closes into that new day, he will \ngrow into a wondrous universal thought, a wondrous \nequality, a universal plan which will manifest thru \nspirit, and man in the flesh will have a more spiritual \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 323 \n\nvision of things. He will carry his sorrows to the \nloved ones in the new life, he wSl carry his cares to \nthem, not for selfish purposes, not for material gain, \nbut where he will find pure love and sjnnpathy \u2014 and \nhe is bound to grow into a purer and clearer light. \n\nIn the new day the sixth sense, intuition, will be \nhighly developed \u2014 not much chance for deception \nfor man will be able to discern the truth. And when \nthe close of this age comes all the lower thoughts \nthat have accumulated thru that day will end in a \ngreat night \u2014 ^but it will not be a bloody night. There \nwill not be the mercenary spirit which exists today, \nit is closing today ; you cannot see it, but it is the be- \nginning of that closing when man cannot buy things \nwith his money \u2014 ^it is coming \u2014 ^you think you are \nsuffering now, but you are not. You are going to be \nhungry and suffer physically, and you are going to \nknow that it is not money that will bring physical \ncomforts\u2014 only thru the concentration of spirit can \nyou receive the comforts of the physical. \n\nMind can overcome Ihe condition of matter; and \nmen will reach out; they will find that there is no \nway to comfort that physical body, then what shall \nthey dot They will reach out into spiritual things \nand they will find the powers of the mind ; and thru \nthe naind and spiritual thought they will be able to \nsatisfy that body as much as it is required, w^d \nman will find that he will live without suffering; and \nthe little portions of food that will be given to him \nwill be plenty. You donH need to eat the ninetieth \npart of what you do consume. You are going to \nlearn to quit eating -flesh. Think of a man or woman, \nendowed with the spirit which reflects the great God, \nkilling animals and consuming flesh, blood ! But the \n\n\n\n324 THE DB8GENDINQ LIGHT \n\nblood day is passing away^ and then the animals will \ngrow fewer in number because your plane is passing \ninto a higher expression^ and it will not be many \nyears \u2014 I can see the day just beyond when a little \nanimal will be a friend, that which will carry a mem- \nory of long ago in the blood day. \n\nThese things are being revealed to you who are \ninvestigating and you are beginning to know why; \nand you shall go forth and teach men how to satisfy \ntheir bodies thru the minds. That day is not so far \nbut that a calendar could be printed which would \nshow you the date. Sounds terrible, doesn't itt But \nit is not, because man must learn how to satisfy his \nflesh body without thinking that he must crush any \nliving creature to do it. \n\nThe price of mortal and physical thought is being \nand shall be paid, and those who are not giving their \nlife blood shall suffer physically otherwise. It is the \nnight of that day, and the morning is coming when \nthey who are spiritual teachers shall walk in your \nmidst. \n\nWhen the waves of the souls of the physical lives \nwhich have been cut away shall be walking about \nyou, you must learn to help those souls who were \nsent from the earth before their time, and who are \nreturning to finish their physical expression. Man \nhas just so many experiences thru which he nlust \npass in the physical, and if man takes it upon himself \nto send a soul into that new life before it is time, he \nhorS got to pay his debts. They are his, and every \ndrop of blood that falls upon any man be on his \nown head. \n\nAs man becomes more enlightened along the great \nseemingly hidden laws of life, there will be less \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 325 \n\nabortion ; there will be no murders ; there will be no \nsuicides ; there will be less insanity, and soon there \nwill be none. There will be great changes in the \nbodies of human beings, because as the mind, the \nspiritual inner powers of the mind, will become more \nunfolded during the physical expression, the bodies \nwill change \u2014 why, even today they aye finding parts \nof the human body which they claim has no more use \nand as it becomes diseased they take it out ; and they \nsay, perhaps it will become imperfect, so they re-r \nmove it any way. \n\nNot so very far oflf in the future, children will be \nbom with many organs missing, those that are being \nremoved by physicians today. 'Tis true they re- \nmove them because they are diseased, but it is an- \nother expression of the unfoldment of man that they \ndo these things ; and minds are inspired to do these \nthings because they are playing their part in the \ngreat law of evolution. They cannot see this; it \nwould not be well perhaps for some of them to see it, \nbut they are instruments in the hands of the Infinite, \nthey are playing their part in the great law of evo- \nlution, the great change is coming upon you. \n\nOh, you are standing upon the threshold of one of \nthe greatest changes of the universe ; there are com- \ning very pronounced changes. The sixth sense will \nbe highly developed ; even today you will notice this \nin the little ones who are coming into the physical \nexpression. If you look back over the pages of his- \ntory, you will see that only a few had this sense or \nquality \u2014 and they were burned \u2014 crucified \u2014 ^killed \u2014 \ntheir bodies were killed. Whyt Because men were \nspiritually blind, they had not a clear understand- \ning. Even today in your own state some of you are \n\n\n\n326 THE DSBOBNDIKG LIOHT \n\nspiritually blind \u2014 for so long as man will take the \nlife, the physical life of another man, no difference \nwhat his crime is, he is getting behind in the great \nlaw of evolution. Ton are dropping out and not \nkeeping up with the onward march of God's justice \nwhen you take into your own hands the robbing of a \nsoul of the instrument for expression upon the earth \nplane^ because he wiU stiU manifest. He will still \nfinish that expression \u2014 he mvst \u2014 and he will attach \nhimself to some poor weak minded person who dares \nto reach into the field of investigation \u2014 ^not looking \nfor knowledge, but simply for manifestation. \n\nYou are living, in the dawn of the new day when \nthe light of spirit shall show itself thru the souls of \nall men ; when man will learn to listen to the still \nsmall voice within, when man will know his spirit \nwithin. This great white light is descending upon \nyou. \n\nMen's souls are crying out for more knowledge of \nthe things of God, more light, more soul food. Do \nyou know why your souls are starving! You have \nfed your physical bodies and have forgotten your \nsouls \u2014 take a little while each day to feed your souls, \nyour hungry souls, to think of those things which \nare of the greatest importance. Those things which \nperhaps you cannot touch, cannot see, cannot hear, \nbut the things that you feel within your soul are the \nimportant things. \n\nThere is no end to the possibilities of man's mind; \nthere is no secret which man cannot fathom were he \nto go into the silence and search for it in God's holy \nlight \u2014 ^but man looks to the material things \u2014 ^what a \nwrong it is to hold the spirit down to the material. \n\nThe great light from over the way is touching the \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 327 \n\nconsciousness of man in the flesh, and many sonls \nwho never thought of spirit communion feel the \nspiritual light descending upon them and they see it \nthru the color of their own spiritual light. \n\nThe spiritual man never ceases to progress, and \ntoday in the physical body are walking the greatest \nnumber of great thinkers and great minds that ever \nmanifested on the earth plane at any one time. The \nwondrous power of thought manifesting thru man- \nkind today is bringing into manifestation the dream \nof Christ, \u2014 the Christ who labored to bring man out \nof slavery into equality and make them what they \nare, manifesting spirits, portions of the great God- \nhead. \n\nThe day is coming in your world when no man \nshall live in luxury thru the sweat of another man *s \nbrow. They are killing men today only to bring bach \nthe souls of those men to fight a stronger fight for \nthe great cause. That day is coming, and a great \nnumber of you are going to live in it. Is it not worth \nthe struggle! Is it not worth a few days of hunger \nand deprivation to see everywhere peace and happi- \nness? When you will be able to send forth freely, \nwithout bitter criticism, your soul's thought t Oh, \nthe great new day when all men shall speak freely \ntheir souPs thought; when God will manifest truly \nthru his son, mankind; when all men will serve hu- \nmanity, lift, build, and grow the things of spirit. \nThe life of Christ was to uplift the crushed and fal- \nlen that they might come forth and express their \nthoughts \u2014 and the dreams of Christ are coming \nabout. \n\nSome are looking for the end of the world. Is it \nthe destruction of the clay upon which you walk, or \n\n\n\n328 THE DESCENDING UOHT \n\nis it the destruction of the materialistic world in \nwhich yon livet Is it not the spiritual resurrection \nwithin man's consciousness t \n\nMan is coming into this wondrous realization, he \nis waking from his deep sleep and sees the dawn of \nthe bright new day, and things which are of spirit, \nthings which are beyond the mortal mind of man, \ncome upon him with so much force that he cannot \ncomprehend theuL \n\nWhen we say that it is possible for one to make \nhimself perfect, man thinks of his mortal body, be- \ncause all mind about him is deeply saturated with \nmortal thought, but man shall know himself and \nserve his brother; he shall reach out, not to a God \nupon a throne who would cast him into torment, but \nto a God of pure spirit, a God of perfection, a God \nwhich no man can comprehend with mortal mind. \nLift your souls in spiritual prayer and let the spirit \nspeak to you. \n\nMortal thought is going to be a thing of the past, \nbecause the new generation will have developed the \nsixth sense \u2014 intuition. Mother nature is sending \nout into the universe more and more of the desires \nof the minds attuned to spirit. There will be no \ncreeds, therie will be no power to command you, be- \ncause the spirit of God will reign. \n\nWhat is the spirit of Godt It is the greatest \npower you have within you today \u2014 and this shall be \nmanifested everywhere. The great Theocracy shall \nreign, when man shall see thru the divine light of \nlove and knowledge. There will be no hate because \nman will see by intuition why it is so ; and sympathy, \ncompassion and love you will hold for your brothers \nwho are not so much enlightened as you. \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 329 \n\nIn that great new day there shall he no dominating \nminds manifesting for all men will seek spiritual nn- \nfoldment, and this will bring about the universal \nbrotherhood of man. There will be no resting upon \nthe hope of redemption thru the sacrifice of the body \nof Jesus ; that grand and glorious spirit manifested \nin the body to bring men up from the downtrodden \npaths of sin in which they walked. His body, \nas many others, was sacrified to the great cause of \nthe upliftment of mankind \u2014 ^but you cannot be saved \nby that. You create all the conditions in which you \nlive ; and if you place an obstacle in the way of your \nfellow-man, multiplied will be the obstacles in the \nway of your progression. \n\nBut all about you on the physical plane of expres- \nsion shall be peace. Can you believe itt It seems \nimpossible to you that all minds will dwell in one \nharmonious thought, bringing forth harmonious \nnotes of truth. It is impossible to describe, the great \nday whose dawn you are witnessing, in the language \nof today, for the soul has no language, and it will be \nthe day of the souPs unfoldment. It is the day when \nman shall think naught of walking by the side of \nthose departed, ibe day when all men shall feel the \ndivine presence of the risen spirit of Christ; the \nday when public mediums shall not exist \u2014 ^what are \nmediums? They are only minds that are reaching \ninto another realm of expression. There will be no \nmore need of them because you, as you unfold \nyourselves, can reach out even ovel* the casket and \ntouch the spiritual soul and feel and know it is \nthere. There will be no possibility of being de- \nceived because the great day comes to you thru \nthe great spirit which freshens the minds of all \n\n\n\n330 THE DS80BNDIKG LIGHT \n\nmen, fertilizing their thought powers and bringing \ninto existence the wonderful things which live \nwithin the temple of knowledge. \n\nThere will be no kings or queens, there will be no \nman who will dare to tread upon you. Even as your \nplanet is seemingly in such a discordant condition, it \nis only this : It is the birth pang of a newer dispen- \nsation that is being bom into your world, the new \nlight when man shall know himself, when man shall \ngreet his brother with love and outstretched arms; \nwhen deceit shall not reign, but truth shall reign and \nmen shall be guided by the invisible light, and all \nthat is mortal, all that is earthy, shall pass away. \n\nFrom the higher realms of spirit penetratjuig thru \nall that coarser vibration are coming the minds \nwhich bear to your world fragments of that harmo- \nnious ALL, and they ehall teach man how to live, \nhow to do, for the day is rapidly advancing when all \nthings from the world of spirit shall be of benefit to \nyou and to all mankind. Thru the touch of the spir- \nitual world peace wUl come. \n\nThe time is not far distant when the word **dead'' \nwill be obsolete, when it will have no meaning, when \nall things will be known as living; when transition \ntakes place there will be rejoicing to know that your \nbrothers and sisters have shed the burden of the cor- \nporeal body. \n\nMan in his unfoldment is coming into a realm of \nthought which is so far beyond his conception as yet \nthat he can hardly realize what has come to\"^ pass. \nHe is beginning to awaken to the fact that his mind \ncan govern his flesh body to such a degree that he \ncan build and improve any organ, and tiiat day is not \nvery far distant. Why, you smile, but the day is \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 331 \n\ncoming when man's mind can create or destroy any \norgan within the body. By properly manipulating \nthe mind upon these organs and thru that touching \nupon different organs of the flesh body man can and \nwill build and rebuild his flesh body that he may \nhold it just as long as he desires, until he shall have \nrisen out of all the desires of the flesh, when he shall \nhave outgrown all the things of this plane then he \nshall lay aside his flesh body and pass into that \nhigher expression. Man's soul will grow and grow \nuntil his body is old, wrinkled, bent and gray, bent \ndown to mother earth ; and it will be a stronger as- \ntral body that he will step into \u2014 ^man is touching \nupon the very edge of this today. \n\nMan has discovered some of the wonderful powers \nin the universe, but he is going to make more won- \nderful discoveries in the next ten years which will \nmake your place today in electricity, or the accom- \nplishments thru it, seem crude. You now have men \nwho are able to reach the vibration of the astral \nplane. \n\nMan is rising out of the things which have said to \nhim that by placing his enemy out of the physical \nexpression he is putting an end to all combativeness. \nMan is rising out of that realm wherein he feels that \nstrength is greatness ; he is rising out of that realm \nwhich bespeaks commercialism, which speaks of \navarice and hate and selfishness \u2014 rising out of it, \nand ascendant from the realms of it all will come \nman, real man, God's created creature. It is the \npassing of the dead day, that day of hate, of com- \nmercialism; that day when man would bind a por- \ntion of the land and call it his ; that day that man \nwould wish to crush any living creature, let alone \n\n\n\n332 THB DB8CBNDIN0 LIGHT \n\nman. That day is passing thru the death pangs and \nfrom that death it shall never return. In the cen- \nturies to come, men of the new day will read in hor- \nror of the things promoted and helped by some of \nyou here. \n\nThe old-time conception of God is this: The \nstrong man was the most godly man, and then it \ncame to be the richest man held tiie greatest honor \u2014 \nnow comes the death of that day and the spiritual \nthought of man survives. Man's soul is rising out \nof it ; his body may have gone back to earth, crushed \nby his brother, yet his soul lives to return, to lift and \nto show man in this new day the error of it all. \n\nThe dawn of the new day is descending upon you \nand lighting the old day struggling in the pangs of \ndeath. The old day will die never to rise, for it is \ndeath to things which are mortal, and things which \nare mortal are not of the spirit; things which are \nmortal are not of God. Yes, things which are of \nhate, avarice, murder, which are not of the universal \nthought, pass back to earth, a dead memory. \n\nMan shall live and walk in the holy light of spirit ; \nhe shall not even crush an animal that he might eat ; \nhe will then pluck the luscious fruit from the trees \nwhen nature sends him forth for food ; he will gather \nfrom the gardens things which are meant to sustain \nhis body, and the food for his soul from the great \ntree of spiritual light \u2014 he will reach for the sacred \nthings of spirit. He will not gather to himself earth- \nly treasures, for the more of the things he can gather \nfrom the great universal thought, from that great \ntree which is satisfaction to the hungry soul, then he \nwill taste of God 's day, then will he know that he is \nthe son of God. \n\n\n\nTHE NEW DAY 333 \n\nWhen men will place their minds in tune with \nthe Infinite spirit of perfection, the world will be \ngoverned thru God \u2014 God's wUl be done on earth as \nit is in heaven \u2014 Theocracy, the great new plan \u2014 ^na- \nture gives birth to it and you are a part of it. Oh, \nTheocracy! when you join hands with democracy, \nman shall know that God lives within him; when \nTheocracy clasps the hands of its sister, democracy, \nman shall know, man shall think, and there will be no \nspiritual blindness about the earth plane. The great \nwhite light is descending and closely behind democ- \nracy is Theocracy \u2014 ^but it is beyond the comprehen- \nsion of man today. \n\nThe great day of Theocracy is bound to come \nwhen all things shall be governed by God, the highest \nconception of ALL GOOD \u2014 ^and all the good within \nyou will come forth to aid in the government of this \nnation and all nations. \n\nEise, brothers and sisters, study yourselves, reach \nhigher and higher for spiritual light, and ask from \nthe spirit world only those things which will be for \nthe upliftment of mankind*; ask for those things \nwhich are good and which will illuminate your soul's \nhome. Step into ihat field of light whidi is yours, \nfind the little things you can do to help to build for \nthat perfect plan which shall manifest upon the \nearth plane. Theocracy, the great new plan, un- \nborn, but behold I nature gives birth to it, and some \nof you wUl live in the flesh to see, to know, to feel \u2014 \nand some of you shall vision it from the summer \nland ; yes, you shall see it. \n\nBisCj brothers' and sisters, be a part of the dawn ; \na part of the soft sun 's rays as it rises to illuminate \nthe new day for man. Be ministering angels of God \n\n\n\n334 THB D880BKDIKQ LIGHT \n\nand not among the thinkers whose thoughts are a \npart of the dead day. \n\n\n\n(This book was ready for publication over two \nyears ago. Note the prophecies, same of which are \nnow being fulfilled.) \n\n\n\nr \n\n\n\n1 \n\n\n\ni \n\n\n\n1","title":"The descending light; a series of lessons from higher intelligences on the philosophy of life","tradition":"Spiritualism & Psychical Research","translated_text":null,"word_count":96686}