WHAT CONSTITUTES THE SPIRIT.
The idea which has sometimes prevailed, that when the spirit enters
the Spirit-world it becomes divested of certain states of affection,
certain loves or delights, and that it becomes so changed in its
character or station as to seek its delight in some other direction,
is very general among Spiritualists. They believe that all our evil
passions and affections pertain to this body, and that when the spirit
leaves it, his disposition to do evil or to enjoy the fruits of his
evil desires ceases. Now, I wish to investigate this subject thoroughly
upon principles which commend themselves to every individual’s
consciousness.
That which constitutes me a conscious being does not differ from that
which constitutes you conscious beings. So far as the element of
consciousness itself is concerned—so far as it enters into the mind—it
is the same in every individual. Your individuality or mine does not
consist in the fact that we are conscious, and possess in ourselves a
consciousness, but it consists in that of which we are conscious. That
which causes me to differ from you is that which comes into a certain
relation to that consciousness.
This conscious principle within the spirit, whether in the body or
out of it, is the Divine principle. It is to this spirit what the sun
is to the natural universe. It is the light and the heat of the Divine
sun shining within the individual, revealing him to himself; so that if
we become familiar with this first proposition, so that we understand
one another, our deductions will flow naturally, and we can understand
perfectly whether we are on the side of truth or not. Understand,
then, that it is not the fact that you possess a consciousness within
you, which causes you to differ from me and every other being. We
are all alike in that respect. But when that consciousness begins to
shine out into your individuality, and look after your thoughts and
affections which have arisen out of your individual development, and
which have grown out of individual relations peculiar to yourself, then
this conscious light and conscious heat, this conscious understanding
and affection within you, begins to reveal to you your individual
selfhood—that which constitutes you an individual being separate from
all other individual beings. That which pertains to my character
pertains to my character as an individual being.
This individual affection which distinguishes me from you belongs to my
exterior or outer consciousness. So then, when I speak of character,
I speak not of this inmost principle which has never changed, and
never can change, but will live on unchanged, because self-existent
and self-sufficient—not of the God within—the Divine breath living
in the soul—but of that which is exterior of that which derives its
life, understanding, and perception from the light which this absolute
consciousness throws out. That which pertains to my character enters
into my individual and finite selfhood; and it is by what is found
there that I am to judge myself, and the world is to judge me. If
you were to come to my inmost character, you would then come at the
absolute and infinite which exists in me and in every other individual,
without which man could not be a conscious being at all. Separate
man from this conscious consciousness, and he would cease to exist.
It is by the harmonizing of his finite perception with the infinite
perception that he lives in God and God in him. All there is of life,
of conscious being, is but a reflection of this absolute consciousness;
just as the light of the moon is but the reflection of the light of
the sun. Extinguish your sun, and your moon could give you no light.
Separate man from this absolute consciousness, and he would have no
finite consciousness. Then that which constitutes you and me conscious
beings here and hereafter is not this absolute conscious principle
within, but that which comes into unceasing relation to it, by which we
are made conscious of that which is.
I have thought, feeling, and affection, which pertain to me as a
finite physical being; and I am made aware of that thought, that
feeling, and that affection by the presence of this absolute principle
within me; but at the same time they do not take their character
from this absolute consciousness. Hence we hear persons talk about
forming characters. But character is to be considered in a double
sense. All possess this inmost character, and hence it is said that
every individual in his inmost is divine. But that Divinity, that God
within him by which he lives, and without which he could not live,
constitutes no part of his individual selfhood. It is the Jehovah in
the soul, by which he is revealed to himself. That character in man, I
grant, never changes.
It is the external individual character to which I wish to call
attention in a special manner. Now that character which makes me an
individual being, and by which I become wise or foolish, good or bad,
true or false, is constantly undergoing changes, and is developed under
laws growing out of relations which I sustain to material and spiritual
things and influences which operate upon me from both the natural and
spiritual plane. This finite character is the one by which I am to be
judged.
I wish to examine man in his relations to the present and the future,
and ascertain, if possible, how much of this finite character will
continue with him after he enters the Spirit-world, because upon this
point there is a great diversity of opinion. It is really one of the
vital points of Spiritualism. How, then, is this external individual
character unfolded? It depends upon the ruling love in the individual,
as well as upon his intelligence or perception. We know that the
individual dwelling in selfish lust unfolds his selfish character
by doing that which he thinks will furnish him self-gratification,
and we determine his character by the character of the impulse which
governs him. The individual who has known no higher impulse than this
desire for self-gratification, finds it impossible to conceive that
a person can act from a higher impulse; but one who has experienced
in himself a higher and purer impulse than that which looks after
self-gratification, can easily understand how it is that men and
women can act from higher impulses; but still he may not be able to
understand how they can act from an incorruptible Divine love—love
in its infinity, in its spontaneity, going forth of its own Divine
fullness, and bestowing blessings upon all who come within its sphere.
If we look out into society, we see individuals living down in the
lower departments of their nature. We wish to reform them and mankind,
and talk about Spiritualism doing wonderful things for the world, by
way of breaking off the chains of superstition which have bound people
down in ignorance; we talk about its removing that superstitious
bigotry which causes one man to persecute another for not thinking as
he does. We expect it is going to diffuse a liberalizing influence,
and thus _re_form the world. What do you mean when you speak of
Spiritualism reforming the world? You mean that it is going to change
the characters of those living in it. You thus virtually affirm that
this external character that pertains to you, and me, and all others,
is the subject of change. We understand, then, that your hope for
the reformation of the world is based upon the expectation that the
individual character shall be changed. And how are you to change that
character? You hope to change the character of the unfortunate female,
and place her upon a higher and purer platform, by changing her ruling
love, correcting her false opinions and false understandings—by having
a purer affection to govern her, and a higher understanding to direct
her. You hope to cause her to walk more in harmony with her highest
destiny. To persuade the inebriate to give up his cups, you desire to
create in him a love and respect for the welfare of mankind—to implant
in him a ruling influence which shall elevate his character.
When you look at yourselves even, you see that your character is
undergoing a change. When a boy, there were certain kinds of amusements
in which I took delight. Moral and religious exercises were nothing
compared with my hoop, top, etc.; but when I became a man, and began
to be manly in my aspirations, my character had changed. So it has
been with us all. That within us which we call character, we suppose
must be forever subject to change. Each of us as we progress, hopes
to change, to become wiser, better, purer. He who boasts that he has
never changed his opinion, virtually says that he has not progressed.
He who claims that he feels as he did twenty years ago, boasts of his
own shame. Our hope to progress implies our expectation of change from
that which is false to that which is more true—implies a change of this
external changing principle within us, which constitutes our individual
character—our finite selfhood.
The question arises whether we shall take this distinguishing character
with us into the Spiritual world. We need not be left to conjecture
here, if we will only enter into a philosophical examination of what
will constitute our character. You see clearly, that what constitutes
you an individual being here, is that which is external to the
absolute consciousness within, and that when you lose this, you lose
your individuality—that if it should be absorbed, your individuality
would be gone, and you would be taken up by the principle of general
absorption, and would cease to be as an individual being. But when
you understand that that which constitutes you a spiritual selfhood
pertains to your thoughts, your understandings, and affections, and
that nothing outside of your understanding enters into that selfhood,
in which you live, and by which you know yourself, you will perceive
that if you do not take that with you to the Spiritual world, you will
take nothing with you that is yours. If you leave that behind you, or
so change it as to make it represent another and not yourself, as a
matter of course, when you go to the Spiritual world, _you do not_ go
there.
The idea has obtained to a considerable extent, that this material
body is the cause of our lusts, passions, and appetites, and that
these will die with it. It is my opinion, however, that the body, so
far as the matter itself is concerned, does no more to degrade us or
injure us in any wise, morally, than does the matter composing any
other material substance. It has only become an instrument receptive
of certain conditions, as the horse-shoe magnet has become receptive
of certain magnetic conditions. We talk about the attraction of the
magnet as though the attraction were in the iron. But the attraction
is between the positive and negative conditions, which are present
in the iron; and when your bring the different parts of the iron
together, you bring the conditions which they contain into proximity,
between which the attraction exists. So it is with this material body;
it is made receptive of conditions. The matter entering into this
body needs to go through a certain process, after it is taken from
the rock, before it is fit to enter into the human system, because
the matter which enters into the mineral kingdom undergoes a certain
change by which it is fitted for the vegetable structure; and is
then brought into a certain relation by another principle by which
it becomes receptive of another condition, which other condition is
essential to it if it would enter into or become receptive of the
essential condition. So that the particle of matter passing through
the vegetable kingdom passes through it for the purpose of being made
receptive of a higher condition; and when it passes into the animal
it has come into relation to another power, called the nerve-power,
with which it was not in relation when in the vegetable kingdom. It is
brought under the influence of this nerve-power, and made receptive of
another principle. And thus one particle of matter, in passing from
the mineral up to the animal kingdom, goes through that elaborating
process, simply because by being brought into relation with certain
media it becomes receptive of certain higher conditions of which it
was not before receptive. The conditions do not change the character
of the matter at all. They pertain rather to the spiritual than the
material department of this being; so that when my body is brought to
a certain condition of development, it becomes receptive by a sort
of induction of new conditions. Certain relations are established
between my body and spirit. My body depends upon certain things for
nourishment, and my spirit depends upon my body for certain assistance.
These relations make my body subject to a law of consciousness; but
that law of consciousness does not pertain to my body. My body is
but the instrument by which that consciousness is acted upon from the
external world. When I experience pain in my finger from placing it in
the fire, it is not my finger that smarts, but there is a consciousness
in my mind which experiences the pain, from the report of nerves which
come to the surface in my finger. Separate these nerves, and I may hold
my hand in the fire without feeling the least pain; yet if the finger
were pained, it should feel as much after the nerves were separated as
before. Though the sensation appears to be at that point, it is after
all in the mind. The body is but an instrument by which sensations of a
peculiar character reach the mind. Those who have had arms amputated,
have experienced pain seemingly in the fingers at times in consequence
of the exposure and irritation of the nerves which go to the hand. It
is sometimes conjectured that they have spiritual fingers, but it is
not so. There are instances of persons experiencing pain seemingly in
the toes, after the leg has been amputated. This is in consequence
of the exposure and irritation of the nerves which go to the foot.
Furthermore, the individual who has been mesmerized—who has had his
mind separated from the sensuous influences of his body—may have his
body dissected to pieces without experiencing any pain, notwithstanding
the least injury done to the person who is in _rapport_ with him will
be instantaneously felt, as though the sensation were in himself. He
can not be reached through his nerve-system, but you can reach him
through the nerve-system of the operator, whose mental condition is
impressed upon him. The sensation, however, is in his mind, not in
his body, notwithstanding he locates it as though it were in his body.
Numerous other proofs might be adduced to prove that though the body is
the means through which the mind is reached, yet the sensation is all
in the mind. Man makes use of his body for the gratification of all his
sensuous desires; all of which originate in the mind. I do not deny,
however, that a sense of lack, not pain and disease, may be induced in
the body by certain courses of action—by disturbing the nervous system.
But that is a thing entirely of itself. But there are other influences
originating in the mind, leading the individual to seek gratification
in horse-racing, gaming, sexual indulgences, etc. In ten thousand
instances the stimulating influences to various acts arise in the mind,
and form a part of the mind. In the majority of instances the body is
simply made the instrument for the gratification of lustful desires.
Did the usual habits of thought permit, it might be demonstrated, in
various ways, that lustful desires originate in the impure condition of
the spirit.
There are certain impulses pertaining to the body _in its relation_
to the body. An instance of such is the sensation of hunger. I do not
mean to say that the body has the sensation of hunger, but that it is
awakened in the spirit by a demand which the body makes upon the spirit
for material to supply its need. There are the sensations of thirst,
heat and cold—diverse sensations of this kind which come to the spirit
through the body. But that impulse which leads the individual to seek
gratification at the horse-race, the brothel, etc., has its spiritual
original, and flows out of the depraved condition of the spirit; and
the body is not responsible for it, though the body may be destroyed by
such impulse.
When we enter the Spiritual world, if we recognize ourselves at all,
we must recognize ourselves by that which the absolute consciousness
reveals to us. I do not recognize myself by the principle of absolute
consciousness within me, but by that which it reveals to me. When I
go to the Spirit-world, I must take that with me of which I must be
conscious, else I shall not take my individuality with me—else I become
annihilated. Just to the extent I leave my affections behind me, shall
I be annihilated as a spiritual being. When I go to the Spiritual
world, I must take my character with me—that which is made an integral
part of my spiritual character by its development in me. Of course,
then, wherever I go that must go. The love which rules within me must
go with me until that ruling love is changed, or until some holier love
shall call me to a higher plane of action. I am prepared to maintain
that when we go to the Spiritual world, we shall take with us all the
love, affections, thoughts, feelings, and sentiments which characterize
us as individual beings. Every thing which causes me to differ from
you here will cause me to differ from you when we enter the Spiritual
world. I will retain my spiritual selfhood by the same laws by which
we maintain our selfhood here. I believe the testimony of all Spirits
who have spoken to us concerning it, is that the difference between
the sensations here and there is so slight that it is difficult to
tell when one has entered the Spiritual world. Many times have Spirits
testified that they had to make many examinations after entering the
Spiritual world, to satisfy themselves that they had left the body.
That is, their sensations, thoughts, feelings, loves, and affections
underwent so slight a change, they did not recognize any change in
passing to the Spiritual sphere.
If that individual Spirit changes his character there, it must
evidently be by some law operating upon character. We know perfectly
well that if you were to bring an individual into New York who has
been given to a certain kind of pleasure, unless he can find the same
channel of pleasure here, he would feel miserable. Let any one of you
get in the habit of going night after night to the theater, and you
will by-and-by acquire such a habit that you will be perfectly wretched
unless you can go there. You make resolutions to break up the habit;
but often break your resolutions, and will feel miserable until some
other love takes the place of your love for theatrical amusements. The
poor drunkard often, in the midst of his dissipation, resolves to put
away his cup; but when again he comes in the presence of the bottles
and decanters, his mouth begins to feel thus and so, and he can not
help drinking. The habit is so fixed upon him that he can not break it
up, unless something can implant a stronger love within him.
As is our condition in this world, so is our state in the Spiritual
world. How often does an individual feel that there would be no source
of enjoyment for him in the Spiritual world if he could not find
certain pleasures there. The beef-eater will continue to have a desire
for beef, unless some other gratification can come in to supply its
place. So it is in reference to every means of gratification. Upon the
same law that the good desire the good and true, would the individual
who has been a pleasure-seeker in this life seek in the Spiritual world
for his accustomed gratification.
In the Spiritual world the Spirits have the means of gratifying their
desires. Beef-eaters have the means of gratifying their desires. Not
that they have any Spiritual beef. They have a mode of getting beef
there different from ours—namely, by representing it and growing it on
their own plantations. Spirits also enter into their former pleasures
by coming into _rapport_ with those here who have tastes like their
own. If all their passions and lusts are to be dropped, how are those
to know themselves in the Spiritual world who, during a whole life
here, have been dead to every feeling and sentiment? Will they know
themselves by their truth and justice? They never had any. How are they
to know themselves, except by that for which they were known here?
It is evident that they must carry their animal impulses with them.
Gratification for these impulses are procured by the law of mental
sympathy—the Spirits getting into _rapport_ with those on the earth who
have desires similar to their own, and taking thus the gratifications
in which they delighted while in the body. It is for this reason that
so many dark, benighted Spirits are found revealing themselves to
the world. I am aware that, in these latter days, the idea has been
advanced that Spirits, when they leave this body, get rid of all this
filth. The truth is, the body was the cleanest part of them here.
The idea that when a Spirit leaves the body he gets rid of all his
impurity, has caused many to greatly venerate Spiritual communications,
and attach to them much authority. I remember that it was with much
deference that I listened to the first communications which came
from the Spirit-world; but I very soon learned that a Spirit was not
necessarily wiser because of his separation from the body, and that
he required quite as much watching as one in the body. Not that they
are below the world; for when you have taken an average of the justice
and wisdom of the world, you will find that the standard it could set
up would not be very high. When you look over the earth and witness
the very low state of character of the human race here, why should you
wonder that Spirits of a very low character should hover around us and
manifest themselves to the world.
There was some philosophy in Dr. Beecher’s conclusion, that the
manifestations were Spiritual, but devilish; for the majority of these
manifestations come from the very lowest Spirits. There is no use in
denying it. But the fault is all our own if a Spirit of an undeveloped
character comes in communication with us and controls us; for I have
power, which is superior to all their finite power, to prevent their
controlling me. If I will live the life I should, I can be protected
from all such influences. If a Spirit of a low character comes into
_rapport_ with you to control you, it is your fault. It is because
you are not in that true condition of soul by which you come into
_rapport_ with Spirits of a pure and wise character. It is nevertheless
unphilosophical for any individual to say that, because there are low
Spirits, he will have nothing to do with Spiritual communications.
It would be equally unphilosophical to say, because there are good
Spirits, that all Spiritual communications should be received.
In respect of developing mediums, I wish to say, that if they are to
be developed for curiosity’s sake, they had better remain undeveloped.
But if it is desired to bring them into conditions to redeem them, it
is all very well. But no person should permit himself to become passive
in his feelings and affections while waiting for Spirits to come and
develop him as a medium; for in that condition he will be liable to be
influenced by bad Spirits. He may become the instrument of one of the
lowest and most debasing influences, and may be influenced to commit
the most filthy and disgusting deeds. While the body should be passive,
the affections should be ardent, the soul must send forth its most
earnest aspirations.
You need not read from the Bible or the Koran. What is needed is to
keep your hearts right. Let the aid for which you seek have strict
reference to keeping the affections right. We need to guard against
being influenced by those low Spirits who are waiting round us to seek
self-gratification. If you wish to commune with Spirits, you yourself
must determine what shall be the class of Spirits with whom you will
commune. If you would commune with Jesus, you must come upon his plane.
If you would commune with the Divine Father, you must become like him.
You must assume the character of the class of Spirits with which you
wish to commune. By observing this law we need not have so much of
this low manifestation. We need a higher class of communications to
convince the world. The objections to Spiritualism is not that there
are not enough facts, but that their character is such that the world
is not willing to accept them.