SURROUNDINGS AND CONDITIONS OF SPIRITS.
Mortals sometimes wonder if there is cold and frost, snow and ice, in
the spirit world; and spirits, in making their statements concerning the
surroundings and conditions in that land, do so according to their own
experience, which is sometimes greatly varied and diversified. Speaking
for myself, I have never witnessed any severe storm, nor been affected
by either extreme of cold or heat, since passing to the “other life.”
The atmosphere in which I dwell is mild and genial, rather of an
exhilarating than of a depressing nature, because of the preponderance
of the electrical current. While inhaling the air of my spirit home I
always feel strong and full of vitality. Work is there like play, so
easily is it taken up and pursued, and the mere act of breathing is an
exquisite pleasure. Life is full of gladness, because no external
condition presses heavily upon the bodily frame. Our clothing is adapted
to the wants and purposes of the body; our food assimilates with the
system, and provides nutriment for every part. And so, being blest with
good health, pleasant surroundings, and an abundance of labor, we cannot
be otherwise than cheerful and happy. Where I reside, we are never
visited by storm and tempest; the face of nature is daily bathed in a
soft, delicious mist that descends from the snowy clouds above,
moistening the trees and flowers and wrapping everything in a
semi-transparent veil through which the rosy light of day glows with a
bewitching hue. This mist only remains long enough to give the world
around a plenteous bath, and then disappears before the presence of the
ever-genial yet to us never too-fervid sun.
REASONS FOR DIFFERENT VIEWS OF SPIRIT SURROUNDINGS.
I have visited other localities of the spirit world, whose inhabitants
have complained of intense cold; and though I was not affected by any
uncomfortable sensation, yet I have seen them shiver and shake as though
smitten by an ague fit. The landscape to these unhappy ones appeared to
be cold, lifeless, and barren, as though the dreariness of December days
had settled upon it; but to me the scene was more promising and
life-like, for I was not surrounded by the same conditions of mind and
body as were those who dwelt in these haunts of woe.
I have known certain spirits to manifest themselves to mortals with the
declaration that their homes in the spirit world had been visited by
terrible storms and whirlwinds, and that the shock of those tempests had
been almost too much for them to endure. This was very true; but those
spirits did not realize or know that they had never entered the
spiritual world, but that, through the earthly nature of their own
magnetic attraction, they had gravitated to some condition of earthly
life,—had attached themselves to crude-minded spirits yet in the flesh,
and had encountered earthly storms and whirlwinds that had swept wildly
over the terrestrial world.
Other spirits have testified to mortals that their homes are dark,
dreary, rugged, and bleak. Such beings dwell very near the physical
life. They have never explored the realms of spirit; their desires are
all of a carnal character; the very persons who attract them to their
earthly haunts are of a rough, uncouth, and undeveloped nature.
Therefore, they come in contact with no refinement, no culture, and no
beauty; their lives are barren indeed, and not until they desire to
receive, understand, and acknowledge the truths that missionary spirits
are ready to reveal to their comprehension will they emerge from their
unhappy condition. “None are so blind as those who will not see;” and
the arrogant, self-sufficient, and self-opinionated spirit prefers to
wander in darkness, and to stumble on over a rough and thorny road,
rather than to acknowledge his short-sightedness and admit a desire to
be guided aright. Only suffering, keen and severe, will bring to such
the experience required to produce a better and sweeter nature.
Beautiful homes, lovely associations, and the fondest and most endearing
of ties, all of which will be found to be real, tangible, and enduring,
await every spirit in the supernal world; yet those who are not
aspirational in character, who are not ready to spurn the selfish
propensities that belong to the animal nature, to lay aside all
considerations of personal grandeur, glory, and aggrandizement, will not
be able to perceive, appreciate, or enjoy those “homes not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Oh, how earnestly we should all strive to cultivate a pure, noble, and
unselfish character! How we should endeavor to uplift, guide, and
instruct the poor, benighted spirits who know not the true meaning of
existence! Those of you, O mortals, who have opened your hearts and
homes to the presence of spirits, who devote a part of your time to the
good work of receiving the poor, ignorant, and uncultured who come to
you through mediumistic sources, are performing a grand mission in life;
you are co-operating with exalted intelligences in accomplishing a noble
work.
Speak not harshly to the erring, either of mortal or spirit life. Let
your words be full of kindness, admonition, and instruction, and let
your lives be living examples of the love and truth you expound. Thus
you will accomplish a great and lasting good for the benefit of others
and the glory of the angel world.
A word of kindness, a gentle clasp of the hand, the gift of a single
flower tendered to an erring spirit, accompanied by a little
instructive, loving advice, may be the means of setting a benighted soul
forward upon the upward road which leadeth to light and joy, and peace
everlasting. This is a work that all may do; let us, spirits and
mortals, co-operate to the grand end of elevating the lowly.
EARTHLY CONDITIONS THAT RETARD SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.
I have seen spirits whose earthly condition was one of prosperity and
grandeur,—those in whom a sense of worldly ambition and aggrandizement
overcame every other consideration in their minds; whose hearts became
haughty and arrogant; whose lives grew morbidly selfish beneath the
desire for personal gratification and the greed of gain. Primarily,
their motives for action were laudable; but as they grew in worldly
influence, power, and grandeur, the stifling atmosphere of this
condition effectually pressed out all emotions and aspirations higher
than those for earthly affluence, authority, and ambition.
I find the conditions of such spirits to be most unattractive yet
pitiable. Deprived of their power and influence, unable to wield that
authority which once belonged to them, powerless to attract the homage
and laudation of the world in which they formerly lived and moved,
longing for the things of material life which they cannot grasp with
satisfaction, unfamiliar with things, conditions, and customs of
spiritual life, they are restless and unhappy indeed.
The things for which these beings crave belong to the material plane
alone, and they are constantly attracted back to this sphere of life.
But they have not the authority and power they once possessed. Coming in
contact with the very individuals who once fawned upon and bowed down to
them, these spirits are yet unable to make any impression upon their
minds. The invisible ones speak what they believe to be loud words of
authority and dignity; but they are unheeded, even unheard, by the
mortal to whom they are addressed. Even should the spirits succeed in
expressing their identity and in giving utterance to their thoughts
through the lips of a trance medium, they will remain as unnoticed by
those for whom they are intended as is the faint flutterings of a
leaflet blown hither and thither by the autumn wind, even if they are
not scoffed at or scorned by those individuals who once were wont to bow
down in servile awe before a scrap of paper bearing the name that is
given by the returning spirit. Imagine the unhappy, restless condition
of such a spirit, and you will understand something of that peculiar,
self-tormenting state which in former times was typified to mankind as a
lake of fire and brimstone.
WORLDLY SUCCESS OFTEN A MISFORTUNE.
Picture to yourselves a man who has been full of energy and power,
successful in every undertaking, prosperous in business, influential in
his walks of life,—one recognized for great executive ability and
dispatch, bowed down and even toadied to by a multitude; one having a
large class of human beings in his employ and under his dominion, to
whom he is the autocrat upon all questions pertaining to their comfort,
even existence itself. The note of this individual is recognized and
accepted on all sides; his lightest word is law, and he has only to
speak to be immediately obeyed.
A man wielding such authority, and delighting in it, is always ambitious
and arrogant; he is held in fear by those under his charge, who endeavor
to cajole him into some degree of mercy even while secretly despising
him. This power, grandeur, prosperity, and worldly influence has been
gained by the potency of a domineering, masterful will; but at the
expense of the interior nature, which is stripped of all adornments and
barren of those fruitful conditions necessary to the happiness and peace
of spirits.
Such a man passes from the body. With the temple of clay he is shorn of
all his power, grandeur, influence, and wealth; for such as he had were
of the earth, temporal in their character and perishable. But the
qualities of his mind are still his; the energy of his nature has not
departed, the positive will-force does not desert him; he remains
ambitious still. He does not become an imbecile or an idiot, therefore
he is capable of realizing all that he has lost; but he has not yet
learned that those things were unworthy an immortal soul, and that there
is something of inestimable value to the spirit that may yet be
acquired. He is in the condition that a strong, passionate man on earth
would be in who had lost all that was dearest to him. At times, he is
violent in the expression of his emotions, again he sinks into the
apathy of despair; frequently he returns to earth, seeking to command
attention, and to force obedience to his behests, and occasionally he
endeavors to burst asunder the conditions that surround him.
Ask such a spirit as this of the beauties of the immortal life, and he
will declare there are none,—that nature there is sterile and barren,
that only damp clouds and fogs are to be seen, that rugged rocks and
stones compose the roads, that the dwellings are uncomfortable and
confining, and that the inhabitants are uncongenial and inhospitable.
The truth is, this person is so enwrapped in the murky atmosphere of his
own being, so chilled by the restless, combatant elements of his own
mind, so torn by conflicting emotions, that he cannot see beyond the
shadowy outline of his own selfish nature; and whatever object or person
comes into the line of his vision becomes colored or darkened by the
greyness of his own life, and presents an appearance corresponding to
the conditions by which he is confined.
EARTHLY CONDITIONS CONTINUED IN SPIRIT LIFE.
There are many such beings in that immortal life—men and women—who have
not yet outgrown the conditions belonging to the physical existence. The
intensity of the will-force with these persons is so powerful when
applied in any direction that it is difficult to detach it from the
object in view, and to direct it to and through other channels of
expression. Hence the positive, ambitious, energetic man of the world,
who pursues his own business and pleasure, regardless of the rights and
privileges of others, remains the same grasping, exacting individual
after passing out of the body. Men and women, once of fashion and
wealth, autocratic and haughty in their demeanor,—some of them rulers
and sovereigns over multitudes,—have remained in a sphere of unhappiness
for many years. Wrapping the pride of their selfishness around them,
they have dwelt in a condition of cold and darkness, the chill and
shadows of which were but emanations from their own lives, until at last
they have grown weary and have stretched their hands upward in search of
light and warmth.
Finally, when such individuals do feel the necessity of turning from the
old life,—which necessity comes to them after a long siege of battling
against opposing forces, vainly striving to be recognized and obeyed,
making futile attempts to gain power and dominion over others, and _at
last_ obliged to recognize their own impotency and utter
littleness,—they begin to perceive the grandeur of spiritual labor, and
to acknowledge and respond to the efforts made by ministering,
industrious spirits to teach and bless them. Thoughts of the old life on
earth fade before the presentation of ideas concerning the future life
to be attained by the spirit. Selfish propensities and desires gradually
pale before the new light of soul endeavor that dawns upon the suffering
spirits; and sometimes aided by sympathetic mortals, to whom they are
attracted, and always benefited by the assistance of wise, loving, and
truthful spirits, these erring ones gradually emerge from their unhappy
state into a condition of peace and joy. Ask them _then_ of the life in
the spirit world, and they will pronounce it beautiful, illuminated with
a glorious light that never becomes wholly quenched; the land they
inhabit they will tell you is real and natural, its roads paved with
shining blocks, smooth and even to the feet, and fringed with blooming
flowers; its homes comfortable, elegant, and commodious, and its
inhabitants harmonious, gentle, hospitable, and friendly. They now see
with the clear vision of the soul; no mists obscure their sight, no
preconceived opinions and prejudices bias their statements. They dwell
in the spirit world, and not amid the murky confines of sensual life.
AN ILLUSTRATION.
I will briefly relate a little episode recently coming under my
observation, which will illustrate my subject more clearly to you. My
beloved father was recently in the presence of a spiritual medium,—a
lovely, saint-like, elderly woman, whose life and aspirations cannot
fail to attract beneficent workers of both lives to her sphere. This
medium was entranced by a spirit who appeared very much distressed, and
who said that there was a gulf between him and a condition of happy
peace that he could not bridge. After bemoaning his unpleasant position,
he expressed an earnest desire to free himself from it. My father felt
his entire soul going out in sympathy to this suffering fellow-being,
and with words of encouragement, hope, and cheer, which were also
replete with instruction, he addressed the spirit, who, in a little
while, raised his head, and with an expression of gladness and triumph,
exclaimed: “I see the bridge; I may now pass over safely.”
After this spirit had departed, my father was addressed by one of our
beneficent, working spirits, who explained that the unhappy being was
none other than he who had been known to the world as Baron
Rothschild,—that in early life he had concentrated his energy and power
to the work of accumulating great wealth for a laudable purpose, that of
expending it in restoring Jerusalem—the home of his race—to its pristine
glory and splendor for the benefit of his unhappy people; but as wealth
and power and glory rolled in upon him, ambition grew within his soul.
Finding himself exalted because of his influence, bowed down to and
fawned upon by the Gentiles who had despised his race, the desire grew
upon him to wield an influence among mankind that no power could break;
and the primal intention to bless his people by restoring them to their
rightful home, if he should be successful in life, faded away before the
growing determination to bring the haughty Gentile to his feet in
supplication for his assistance in the control of the monetary interests
of the world.
Thus this man lived, flourished, and died; but in passing to the spirit
world he could take none of his grandeur, power, wealth, or influence
with him. These were not of the spiritual, but belonged to the material
life. Unhappy and restless, expending his energy in striving to regain
his former prestige, he lived, until, growing weary of vain contention
and striving, he turned from the earthly side to ascertain the prospect
toward the spiritual. He could perceive the light and the homes of happy
spirits, but knew not how to reach them. In this condition he was
brought by wise spirits to my father, whose tender sympathy, perceived
and felt by the unfortunate one, awakened a new condition of mind,
aroused a new train of thought and aspiration in his soul, which bridged
over the chasm and gave him power to reach the happier state where
contented, useful beings dwell.
Oh, the power of sympathy! Mortals, you understand it not! When truly
felt and expressed, it flows toward the soul of its recipient in waves
of light, which become tangible to the suffering one, and form a bridge
over which he may pass to a condition of happiness and peace.
EXTERNAL SURROUNDINGS PRODUCED BY MENTAL CONDITIONS.
To those minds who are materialistic in their tendency, whose thought is
concerned with the affairs of the mundane sphere, and who do not
recognize any other force in existence so potent, powerful, and vigorous
in its operations as mere organic law which depends upon matter alone
for its power, the idea that the mental condition of an individual can
become so active as to influence his external surroundings and determine
the shape, form, appearance, and character of the objective life in
which he dwells, will be presented as only the wild dream of some
visionist, or the vapid speculation of an enthusiast. But I do not bring
my statements of spirit life and its conditions to the notice of such
material minds; for I know that they who can find nothing above and
beyond matter to study and investigate, who understand nothing of that
subtle power permeating all material life which is _pure_ spirit, who
cannot comprehend the higher laws of the universe whenever they
transcend in any degree the operations of those laws that are concerned
alone with the external, visible, mundane world, will not be able to
grasp the vital truth that is recognized and accepted by all deeply
studious and spiritualized beings,—that spirit alone is the real power,
the substantial part of man, the abiding life that projects its image
outward upon the exterior form, affects the condition of the individual,
beautifies or mars his surroundings, and controls his state of mind;
while matter is but the external expression, the outer covering, form,
or projection of this potent, governing force.
MATERIALISTIC SCIENTISTS IN SPIRIT LIFE.
I have seen spirits whose earthly condition was one of grandeur, whose
mortal life was one of study, experimentalism, achievement, and
triumph,—scientists who gave their entire thought, time, and attention
to the investigation of certain laws, elements, and forces of the
physical world, and who made grand and important discoveries in the
domain of Nature. Their demonstrations of scientific law have been of
value to mankind; their achievements and the practical results of their
discoveries and studies have benefited humanity. But certain ones of
this learned body did not believe in the existence of any force or power
outside of organic law,—would not accept the thought that any
manifestation of human or divine intelligence, skill and wisdom, could
possibly be made aside from matter, and declined to investigate any
department of life outside of that particular field of scientific
inquiry that chained their attention. Anything savoring of occult law,
or denoting the existence of subtle forces in the universe, that
physical science could not explain, they scoffed at as unworthy their
thought and investigation.
The condition of such spirits as these in the spiritual world is not an
envious one. For a time they are unaware that they have left the
material body. Dependent upon gross matter for their thought, study,
labor, and research, they do not gravitate above the earth, and for
awhile they continue their investigations and experiments in the
laboratories of their former earthly associates.
But the laws they pursue fail to explain to them the causes of
existence, or of the variation and mutability of form, the origin of
mind, or the source of power. The facts presented before them from time
to time cannot be reconciled with the theories they have entertained.
Important links in the chain of scientific evidence concerning the
nature of things they fain would forge, as they are wanting here and
there. These learned (?) spirits, with all their splendid endowments of
mental ability, erudition, and conservative thought, become restless,
dissatisfied, and unhappy. When they discover that they are not
dependent upon a mortal body for their existence, they are amazed, and
even annoyed, to find their preconceived opinions and conclusions
concerning earthly matter refuted by the one great fact of continued
conscious life after the dissolution of the physical form; and they do
not feel prepared to accept the spiritual life that opens before them.
Ask such a being of the beauty and peace of the higher life, and he
would declare to you his inability to find such conditions,—that to him
all appeared confusion, disorder, fleeting, and unsubstantial. The
reason of this is clear to a thinking mind. The spirit who has hitherto
held the utmost confidence in his own mental powers and ready
discernment; who has believed his own position on any subject
incontrovertible; who has thought his opinions and conclusions to be
unquestionable, and who has been accustomed to lay down his propositions
and theories with the secret feeling that they must demand attention and
an early acceptance from all others, suddenly becomes aware that he has
been treading on dangerous ground, that those things, ideas, and
conclusions that he thought so weighty and undeniable are but
fabrications of his own mind; that he has followed false lights, because
he has recognized but a small portion of the universe and believed it to
be the whole, and has understood the operations of but a few of its
laws, and thought they were the great network of all force and power.
No wonder that this being cannot see clearly before him; that his
surroundings appear chaotic and disorderly, and that the ground seems
slipping from beneath his feet. His _mental_ condition determines the
character of his external state, and he perceives naught but the
reflection of the conflicting emotions that surge through his being.
THE DAWNING OF SPIRITUAL LIGHT.
After a time the mists will cease to obscure his vision; possessing an
intelligent mind, he will begin to reason and reflect upon this state of
things, and desire to reach the truth concerning them. Then he will
perceive that, though much of the work he thought he had performed must
be taken up and remodeled, that many of the opinions he held were
unsound, and the platform of theory he occupied untenable; yet he has
obtained a sufficiency of solid fact; has discovered truth, derived
knowledge, and accomplished labor enough to form a new foundation upon
which to build a structure that will remain enduring for all time.
Then the shadows will clear away; the spirit will gaze around him and
behold smiling order and harmonious design. The new life will present an
appearance of peace, plenty, and thrift to his sight. He will then
inform you that the higher life is one of beauty, happiness, and power,
filled with pleasant homes, contented people, and active employments.
The conditions belonging to the crude, undeveloped state of his being
have been overcome by the spiritual part, and he is now enabled to
behold the spirit world in its true likeness and imagery.
Before this change can take place in the surroundings and interior life
of the spirit, he must outgrow the arrogant pride in his own powers that
has hitherto possessed him; he must be ready to doff the teacher’s gown,
and to don the pupil’s cap,—be eager to become the patient scholar, and
to forego the pleasure of propounding his personal opinions to other
minds; must, in brief, become a child of humility, recognize his
shortcomings, his mistakes and failures, and be willing to repair them.
There is no necessity for him to lose sight of his former achievements,
or of the good work he has wrought out for mankind; the memory of his
labors may be retained to inspire him on to greater exertions for the
future, but not allowed to magnify itself to such proportions as to
influence the mind with pride and vain-glory.
THE LIBERAL-MINDED SCIENTIST.
I have also witnessed the spiritual condition, which, in my experience,
always determines the surroundings of the individual in the spirit
world, of the man of science, or of general learning, who, when in the
body, was willing to consider other opinions than his own, was tolerant
of other people, and ready to adopt any practical suggestion emanating
from the mind of another, whose attitude toward spiritual things was
respectful, even if it were not reverential. Such a personage may find
himself astonished at the revelations of immortal life, but they do not
annoy him; they rather gladden his soul, for they open before him
opportunities for study, investigation, and spiritual growth that he has
felt the need of, but could not hitherto grasp their supply. He is eager
to at once begin a new line of scholarship, and to ask the assistance of
those masters of science and philosophy who for ages have been acquiring
knowledge and wisdom in the schools of the higher life. Such a spirit is
willing to sit at the feet of his teachers, and to follow their
instructions. He listens humbly to the suggestions that are made to him,
follows the line of argument presented, and pays attention to the
explanations, experiments, and researches his instructors open before
him. Thus he comes into sympathy with the wise ones around him, and can
readily comprehend their labor and its vast results.
In a little time such a spirit becomes qualified to follow his labor and
pursue his studies unaided; he grasps a comprehension of the laws that
govern them, and can experiment in any particular department of
scientific inquiry he desires, certain that his researches cannot fail
to yield him a good return. By-and-bye he will be competent to return to
earth and seek out some organism, some mind similar in construction to
his own, through whom he can transmit his ideas and a knowledge of his
discoveries and inventions for the benefit of struggling mortals. It may
be that his instrument will be unaware of the presence of a spirit
moving and directing him, would even scout such a thought were it
presented before him; but such non-recognition does not lessen the
efforts of the earnest spirit. He is bent upon expressing the results of
his labors, or manifesting some spiritual truth to ignorant humanity,
and he will not falter nor be turned aside from his mission.
Or, this intelligence may come in contact with some mortal who has great
mental ability as yet undeveloped, with an embryotic genius whose gifts
need stimulating, whose constructive powers are grand, but have not
become aroused to vigorous action. The spirit will exert his influence,
will concentrate his magnetic force upon such an individual; will visit
him in moments of quiet or in hours of bodily repose, and impress him
what works to read, what line of study to pursue, what form of
employment to practice, what habits to cultivate, and what method of
life to follow; all of which will be calculated to stimulate, unfold,
and invigorate the innate powers of his mind.
Gradually, the invisible, yet powerful, guide will perceive the
development of those wonderful abilities that he knows belong to his
charge; he will see them throw out little tendrils and grow stronger and
stronger; his magnetic and energizing influence operating upon that mind
is doing for its powers what the genial sunshine and refreshing showers
do for the blossoms of the plant upon which they fall, drawing them out
to a beautiful, healthful, and vigorous unfoldment; and by-and-bye the
world will become aware that it has a man of genius or a woman of
transcendent power in its midst.
At that supreme moment of achievement or triumph the delight of the
mortal whose abilities are thus given outward expression in some
enduring form will be nothing to the satisfaction of the intelligent
spirit who has aided the work of development, and by his superior power
stimulated the mental growth of his charge. Can you not comprehend what
a grand, unselfish labor his has been, and appreciate in some degree the
difficulties he has encountered and overcome, the blessed results he has
achieved?
CONTRASTED CAUSES AND EFFECTS.
The difference between a spirit of this class and the one mentioned
previously is simply in the condition of mind. Both were equally
learned, scholarly, cultivated, brilliant, and useful when in the body;
but where one was dogmatic in assumption, intolerant in opinion,
autocratic in assertion, and materialistic in belief, the other was
considerate of others, paid deference to the honest opinion of his
fellows, was respectful in his attitude toward all mankind, and sought
earnestly for the greatest measure of light to be obtained, even though
it should lead him away from his own position and toward that of others.
Consequently, the one was many years in reaching the condition and
elevated spiritual position which the other readily found upon entering
spirit life; and while the first was obliged to pass through painful
experiences before he could throw aside his lordly manner, air of
assumption, and offensive arrogance, the latter, having none of these
burdens clinging to his garments, was enabled immediately to take up the
studies of life, and pursue them to their grand revealment. Ask this
last intelligence as to his surroundings in heaven, and he would define
them as beautiful, congenial, and productive of great happiness to the
spirit. His associates he would describe as happy, harmonious, and
agreeable; his home as filled with luxurious adornments and beautiful
forms; the landscape as fair, sweet, and charming, and life itself grand
and glorious.
THE SIMPLY INTELLECTUAL.
I have seen the condition of spirits who, when inhabitants of the earth,
were very erudite and intellectual, but who were so closely engaged in
the pursuit of material knowledge that they paid no attention to the
cultivation of their spiritual powers.
These individuals possessed splendid powers of mind, for their mental
abilities were finely unfolded. Their powers of imagery were great, and
many were the word-pictures of beauty they were instrumental in placing
before the public eye. But as they did not recognize the existence of
spiritual powers, did not seek to unfold within themselves the
attributes that belong to spirit, nor endeavor to learn of their inner
natures, they were not prepared to perceive and enjoy the true glories
of the spiritual world. The condition of such beings for some time after
they have passed from the earthly form is one of dissatisfaction; for to
them the immortal life presents but cold and barren forms, destitute of
the glow and vigor of life-like activity. Splendid statues and fine
pictures may adorn their homes, for such forms are the expression of the
intellectual and artistic taste of their possessors; but these objects
lack the expression and softened effects of fine coloring and appearance
of life that alone can make them the productions of really great minds.
Only mere mechanical work has created them; they are but the objective
forms of ideas, destitute of the spirit that should have been breathed
into them, to make of each a model of beauty and of expressive force.
The homes of these learned individuals, though furnished and adorned
with luxurious belongings, present a cold, inhospitable appearance to
the truly spiritual being; for their inmates are haughty, proud,
dissatisfied with life, and forever longing for something more in the
line of personal grandeur than what is theirs; and their mental
condition reflects itself so strongly upon their exterior surroundings
as to cause it to strike a chill to the heart of any aspirational or
devotional being who might approach them.
CHEERLESSNESS OF A WANT OF SPIRITUALITY.
Imagine yourselves in a vast hall, from which all rays of sunlight or
warmth are excluded. Imagine this apartment lined with gorgeous pictures
of material life that are remarkable only for their excess of brilliant
color, and the magnitude and variety of the forms they represent; each
nook and recess filled with statues of men, women, and animals,—white,
cold, stiff, stern, and lifeless in appearance; the entire building
cheerless and chilly, with no appearance of life, activity, or warmth.
Think what it would be to your spirit to be condemned to continuously
wander over this vast hall, gazing upon the unattractive paintings, and
moving in and out among the lifeless statues, cold and unpleasant to the
touch.
Such a life as you would thus lead corresponds to the existence of those
spirits of whom I write. On earth they were only intellectual, æsthetic
animals, for their love of the beautiful was developed only on the
material side, and the spiritual part of life was neglected. Here, they
are surrounded by the embodiments of their mental and artistic tastes;
but as these are mere forms, and are not imbued with one spiritual idea,
they appear cold, unconscious, and dead to the beholder. Continuously
wandering amid the senseless, barren forms of their own mind creations,
unable to behold anything lovely and meritorious in the productions of
others who are more spiritual than themselves, these individuals are
like those who live in the frozen regions of the North, stunted in
appearance and unable to understand and appreciate the life apart from
and beyond their own narrow circle.
True, the awakening period will come to all such when they shall become
aware of their false position in the spirit world, and learn that there
is active duty and noble endeavor beyond them, through which they will
gain happiness and a sense of genial, vigorous life; and they will
eventually turn to the more exalted realms of immortal life, in order to
gain a spiritual education that will unfold their soul powers, and
cultivate the true sense of beauty and the highest intellectual
abilities their spirits are capable of expressing. Then their condition
will be one of warmth, vigor, and activity; their surroundings, while
beautiful in form and expression, will partake of glorified life, and
their homes appear bright, attractive, and hospitable to those who enter
within their walls.
BLENDING OF THE SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL.
I have seen spirits who were intellectual and lovers of beauty on earth,
who were also spiritual in their aspirations, proclivities, and
tendencies,—whose tastes were delicate, and whose habits were very
refined. The productions of such minds, whether of a literary or
artistic nature, appealed ever to the sense of the beautiful, the love
of the good, and to the highest conception of purity in the hearts of
those for whom they were created. The conditions in the higher life of
such souls are glorious. In spirit they are active, ever working for the
general good of humanity, seeking to perfect their own powers of mind in
order to give them a more beautiful and complete expression for the
delight or elevation of others. Ready to receive instruction from the
more advanced minds around them, they are constantly gaining a richer
experience and a greater unfoldment of their powers. Aspirational in
nature and loving in spirit, these beings send forth a congenial,
helpful influence that attracts the good and wise to their side. Their
homes are bright, cheerful, and attractive; a delicious warmth pervades
their households, for they are made radiant by the divine light of love
which never grows dim. The surroundings of such celestials are like a
beautiful and immense garden, where the choicest and sweetest of flowers
bloom, the clearest of waters flow, the most beautiful of birds warble
melodious songs of praise, the whitest and daintiest sculptured forms
are to be seen, where the stateliest of trees uprear their plumy heads,
the balmiest of zephyrs blow, the richest and most delicious fruits are
to be found, and where all things continuously allure one to the
enjoyment of the finest, most glorious forms of sentient, active, genial
life. Who would not rather roam through such a fairy-land of sweets than
be compelled to wander in that gloomy, cheerless hall of senseless stone
and vapid, unsatisfactory paintings mentioned above.
The difference between the two classes of intellectual and æsthetic
spirits is this: the one has developed a taste for beautiful forms and
intellectual pursuits merely to satisfy its own material nature and for
its own personal glorification and aggrandizement, and while catering to
the external has ignored the vital or spiritual part of its being. The
other class has cultivated its sense of beauty and educated its
intellect in order to instruct and elevate others; has produced literary
and artistic work for the purpose of appealing to the inner and higher
natures of humanity; has sought and found the love-element within its
own being, and has thrown it out as a quickening power to others; has
endeavored to cultivate the spiritual attributes of its being, and to
bring them into conscious harmony with the outward forces of nature.
Therefore, while the condition of one class in spirit life is
inharmonious and unsatisfactory to itself and others, that of the other
is beautiful, blissful, and congenial to all.
HAPPINESS DERIVABLE ONLY FROM WITHIN.
Observation and experience have taught me that in the spirit world, as
in earthly life, individuals vary in disposition, constitution, and
characteristics. What is of the greatest interest to one person
possesses no charm whatever for another; and that particular employment
one being is adapted to pursue may be totally unsuited for another.
Happiness among spirits is not drawn from external sources, but finds
its central power within the soul, from whence it radiates outward, and
clothes every objective form with beauty and every external pleasure
with a splendor peculiar to itself, which in turn becomes reflected back
upon the heart, and increases the enjoyment of the individual. Never was
there a truer declaration than that attributed to the gentle Nazarene:
“The kingdom of heaven is within you;” and it is as true today as it
could possibly have been eighteen or twenty centuries ago. Unless the
soul is at peace with itself and all others,—is not envious of the good
another may possess, lives in a sphere of purity and kindly feeling, and
desires only to do right,—he or she cannot experience true happiness,
which essentially in itself constitutes heaven. But when an individual
has attained that superior condition of mind consequent upon the
possession of such lovely attributes, he or she has indeed arrived at
the heavenly state of existence, and cannot be otherwise than happy.
THE HUMAN NATURE OF SPIRITS.
Humanity appears to be the same everywhere, and in every grade of
unfoldment. Many mortals seem to think that spirits—those who have
passed through the material transition called death—must be somewhat
different from themselves. This, however, is not absolutely the case.
Spirits are human beings, nothing more, many of them very imperfect at
that, though many others are pure-minded, progressive, and exalted
individuals, yet essentially human in every attribute and tendency. And
why not? What is more beautiful, more intelligent, more powerful, and
more noble than humanity? Nothing but divinity itself.
Perverted human nature is deplorable, and to be pitied while condemned;
but unfolding, advancing human nature is to be admired and emulated, for
it is steadily arising toward divinity. Mankind ever has been, and at
present is, subjected to various grades of development; we find man low
down in advancement, almost brutal in the exhibition of his nature, but
by degrees ascending from the immoral and degraded to the good and the
better, we come to man purified, unfolded in spiritual refinements,
exalted even to the heights of angelhood, but a human being still.
These varying conditions, incident to the life and experience of
humanity, are just as vivid and operative in the spirit world as on
earth; hence we have on that plane of existence the pure and the lowly,
the exalted and the humble, the wise and the ignorant, the happy as well
as the miserable.
The conditions of peace, satisfaction, and enjoyment in the spirit world
do not depend upon the possession of outward grandeur, external power,
and wealth, or a love of display, as they too often do on earth, though
those who are happiest and most free from care in the higher life are
the richest in spiritual possessions, and their surroundings show a
refined and cultivated taste, accompanied by the means and ability for
gratifying this love of the beautiful. There is no inconsistency in this
statement, because, as I have before explained, the external conditions
and surrounding of spirits are but the expression and reflection of the
mental or soul condition within the being, and must appear beautiful,
sweet, and delicate, or the reverse, according to the mental and moral
status of the individual.
RIGHT AND WRONG STATES OF CONTENTMENT.
Progressive spirits are contented with their existence and its
surroundings sufficiently to enjoy and appreciate all the good and
lovely things that are theirs, but _not_ enough to prevent them from
reaching upward for more light, instruction, and soul-exaltation. They
are deeply grateful for life and its powers of unfoldment, but they ever
desire to move steadily on in the acquirement of wisdom and the
accomplishment of good works.
Undeveloped spirits are prone to exhibit an indifference to their
condition which may be mistaken for contentment, and which discloses a
kind of inertia which prevents its possessor from attempting to rise
into a healthier and happier state of being. This is, unfortunately, too
often the trouble with those who need assistance, and is the chief
obstacle good spirits have to contend with in their efforts to benefit
those unhappy souls. Not until these miserable beings manifest a desire
to better their own condition can the ministering spirits who endeavor
to assist them be of any service; but when this wish to rise exerts
itself in an attempt to reach upward, the degraded being is encircled by
the magnetic influence of that human yet divine love which emanates from
the wise and beneficent ones around him, upon which, through the
impelling force of his inner desire and exertion, he rises to superior
heights and more pleasing conditions.
From degree to degree of unfoldment, from grade to grade of promotion in
the great school of life, humanity is ever passing. Pressing on toward
the goal where all lovely attributes blend, and approaching the sphere
of Perfected Being, each one will, in God’s own time, through experience
and discipline, outgrow all imperfect traits, all unholy tendencies, and
become, through the operations of nature’s grandest law, progress, what
all are intended to be,—noble, manly, purified, and perfected human
beings.