VARIOUS MESSAGES

 

The selections which are given here are taken from our records to show the various viewpoints of the many communicators who have talked with us. These are only a fraction of the messages we have received, or the conversations we have had from different ones, but they afford the reader glimpses of character, life and thought in the spirit world that may not have been brought out in other places.

The first one indicates something of the interest that is aroused on the spirit side concerning the work of communication between the two worlds. Incidentally the sceptic will have some difficulty, I think, in explaining how or why it originated in the subconscious mind of the psychic, which, of course, is where such critics are inclined to place such writings.

Without any preliminary introduction the following was written:—

"Will you listen to one who wishes to know the sensation of talking to some one on earth again, for he has never communicated since he has been here, and that has been long. He wishes to know if you believe that fear of death can be conquered by means of communication?"

'We feel and believe that many would lose such fear if communication is absolutely proven. Would you not think so?'

"He hears through Mary and answers through her. He does not hear earth sounds yet, for he has had no experience. He is interested now for the first time. I have repeated to him what you said. He says that such conversations must take away the fear of death, because in themselves they are a proof that there is no death.

"He asks what you consider the moral value of such work?"

'We fear that much that comes across does harm: but we believe what is true does enough good to counterbalance. What do you think is the moral value, Mary?'

"First of all, to energize the spirit life on earth: second, to teach that life there is preparing the life here. In short, to vitalize all earth life with spiritual thought and perception." 'Does the visitor hear this?'

"He listens and thinks we may be right; but he is slow to receive new thought."

'Why has he not known of the work of communication?'

"Heaven is immeasurable in space and infinite in its occupations and variety of interests. Not all care to commune with earth; many have never tried, even in all the centuries they may have been here.

"He will ask one more question. Can sinners be saved and sin overcome by the union of the heavenly and earthly influence?"

'We think so; but, Mary, will you not answer that question also?'

"Yes, and always yes, Mary says. But not under the present conditions of mediumship in general. There is too much self in both receiver and sender; there is too much desire for earthly benefits. All this must disappear and the true longing for the heavenly life must appear in both sender and receiver. Then a power could be established which would turn souls away from selfishness and draw the world into the brotherly love we hear so much about."

Along somewhat different lines are several stories that follow. The first came from one who claimed to have known Sis many years ago.

"He is not a teacher, and has not developed all the spirit powers of which he is capable; but he will express to you his own thought as far as he is able."

"I am here, greatly to my surprise. I did not think of death, nor of heaven, nor of the future life, except perhaps in some flash of emotion that passed almost as quickly as it came. And so I am not well prepared to analyze or describe the visions and wonders of this life. But it is a delight to know that the old earth is not entirely lost to us, and that echoes of old familiar voices can be heard across the silence.

"I have not been here very long, and perhaps that is the reason I look a little longingly back to the old home place on earth. Everything here is so far above me, so far advanced, that I feel sometimes that I do not belong here, that I am in a great and wonderful world without proper equipment; in a society of wonderful people, yet feeling myself hopelessly ignorant. Can you guess how that is?"

"I have been slow to adapt myself because I had no fitness to begin with. I was not blessed with either a psychic or a poetic or a spiritual nature, just an ordinary man, working along material lines, and never dreaming that I needed any other outfit for this plane except an honest endeavor to live a decent and upright life. And here I am; glad to be accepted, but feeling my ignorance and unworthiness painfully."

Mary added:—

"We have brought this friend to you because we wish you to know what happens to the souls who have never thought of or aspired to anything better; for these are the ones we wish to influence there."

Another communicator expressed his ideas as follows:—

"I am not of any particular name, age, or dramatic experience; yet I feet that all experience here is dramatic and wonderful beyond expression. Mary has tried repeatedly to give you some comprehensive idea of this life, but considers all descriptions thus far as failures so far as definite descriptions go, and she allows me to speak now, wondering if another influence may possibly give another viewpoint.

"Life! What is it? Eternity! Why and how?

"Could you put answers to these questions in words? We fail! Could you succeed? We are out in what is to you the Great Unknown. How shall we put that unknown into words? Time by human reckoning is no more! The present, fair, joyous beyond description. The future, a happy anticipation!

"Terms of feeling, you say? Yes, that is true. For the concrete, the occupations, the activities, we scarcely have language to describe. Remember, when you are asking of our occupations, that you are asking for descriptions of activities, of materials, of joys, unknown to earth.

"Activities? Can you conceive of spirit movement faster than light? Materials? The use of substance which in your language is not material, but in ours more solid and enduring than the earth itself? So how can we bring our activities to your conception? Science on earth is peering into the unseen: into electron, atom, ether, energy; yet has scarcely learned the first letter of the alphabet, has scarcely touched the outer rim of our world."

 

Out of the dozens and even hundreds of experiences contained in our voluminous records I am selecting several more that will be given without further comment, except to say that they came through Sis's pencil; and if after reading them the critic still insists that they are all from her subconscious mind, he must begin to realize that the burden is assuming enormous proportions.

 

"My name is Julius. We would not be known to you. Many souls are wandering through the heavenly places, and many look back longingly to their old home on earth; for some of us have left there those we loved, and we wish to tell them that all is well. We are of those who wish to send good news to earth and tell those we love that Heaven is Heaven after all, for we were of a company who scarcely believed in any life beyond the grave, nor did we realize any God in the universe.

 

"We were 'fed up' on realism and atheistic literature, and our lives were spent without hope of any existence beyond the earthly one. And so we have remained in the unconscious state for a long time,—years, I think, though one does not measure time here in that way. Now that we have come into the consciousness of life, real and unending life, we wish to send the wonderful news to those who like ourselves were groping in darkness.

 

"Mary is not here, but I do not think she would object to our writing. I am writing for several, I mean I am trying to express the thought of several. I have not been conscious long, but I begin to see the marvels here and the possibilities for the soul."

 

Here the writing changed and became more emphatic. "What a mystery! What a wonder!, What a joy it all is!

 

We are here trying to express the inexpressible! Can you understand?

"I am another of this group. I am not Julius. I am one who never thought or cared for the future, the future beyond the mortal life; just interested in the occupations and pleasures of the present. What shall I say to help souls there to begin to think, really think, along the borders of the Unseen. Mortal mind cannot comprehend fully this life, the human brain is not capable; and probably a wise ruler intended that we should live one world at a time. But there is no reason why the human brain should not accept one thought and make it the center of influence in the mortal life. If I could give the thought, it would be something like this:—

'I am living in a mortal world which is the first stage of the human existence. During this stage I am preparing for another one, and that other and farther existence is dependent upon the unseen qualities of my soul, and the education I give to these qualities.'

"This is very crudely expressed, but if only the one thought could sift into the human brain, of the…

The writing stopped; but soon began again:—

"Mary is here and has met the souls who have been trying to send news to earth. It is well. For they are trying to tell their old friends of the reality of this life, that they may come to them without the years of ignorance and delay."

"We wish to give a few words from a stranger who has just called. You know little of the spirits wandering through space. Some of the spirit forms are always near. We are not limited to any sphere; that is, any for which our advancement is sufficient. And all can come to earth; do not forget that. This one was wandering about, and he is one who still loves those who are there, and wishes he might get word to them. Can you take his words?"

'I will try, certainly.'

"Well, here I am then. Here I am, trying to get back to the old earth, when I was so disgusted with it in life that I was ready to leave. I was a business man, and one of those despised creatures sometimes called politicians. We were a queer lot, and I often cringed inwardly at the selfishness and deceit we all practiced. But one selfish idea led to another, and I guess we were too deep in the mire to pull ourselves out onto firm land, to a firm basis of honesty and unselfishness. I had to come here to realize the depths of trouble and wrong-doing with which we were connected. And yet we passed for pretty respectable men there, and were looked up to as promoters of industry and big business.

"Well, I see clearly now. It is not easy to see clearly there, when manifold interests and many people are concerned in the success of a certain something."

'Is there any special message you wish to send?'

"I wish I could say it! I wish I had the power to make my words sink deep, deep into the consciousness of every leader of men, of every one connected with the money-making business of life! It does not need to be big business either, for the dishonest methods are insidious, and start far down the scale, with pennies and dollars as well as with millions of money.

"Ah, well! The old world will go on, I suppose, sending all sorts to this side. But there is an awakening here, and a poignant sorrow for wasted opportunities.

"That is all. I'll go now. Stranger."

Then Mary added:—

"He did not get his whole message through because words failed him, failed to express his deep feeling and his desire to send a bombshell of truth into the midst of his old political associates. But perhaps you can get his feeling, his unrest, and his desire to do something to make things different."

"We wish you to look back and see who could come to you out of the past. It is a man who lived to be old on earth, but who has renewed his youth here."

After some efforts he was recognized. "I did not think you would remember!" Sis replied:—

'No wonder you wanted to come and talk. You did not believe in anything like religion when on earth!' "No. I had a life without the vision of any hereafter. I was antagonistic to religion and to what I had heard of God. We think strange thoughts over there, with only the human mind and human experience to help. I was moderately happy with my books and my solitude; but by and by sickness came. I went to a hospital and never came out of it into the earth life again. Will you imagine me in a hospital cot, bating the world, the future and the past, and wholly disbelieving in any kind Power above who would or could mitigate my disappointments and trials.

 

"Everything was dark;—and then came total darkness!

 

"That was years ago, I think. How I passed over, how I came into smothered consciousness, only to lose myself in sleep and unconsciousness again, you may guess. After a long time, years I guess, a partial sense of freedom came. I could move, could see dimly. I became conscious that I lived! But where? That I could not tell. Through it all, unknown to me, loving guides were telegraphing to my consciousness the lessons which would lead me into the quiet and take away the antagonism.

 

"It was a long time. But at last I realized that I had left the earth, left my body, lost the old antagonism, and was ready to learn.

 

"I will skip the rest, and tell you that my spirit powers are developing, and I look forward with increased interest and wonder at the life here. Wonderful! Wonderful!"

 

A teacher who comes to us frequently had been writing for us one evening and I commented on the character of the writing, saying I suspected its backhand style was much like what she used on earth. She replied:—

 

"I wrote back-handed, I know, but I do not believe I wrote well. I don't remember that I did anything well; just an attempt to keep soul and body together,—and I did not know I had a soul either."

 

'Do you know how long you have been there?'

 

"No, we lose out so on time, and I have not thought much about it. I did not count time much in life , it was just many weeks that came and went, and one hard task after another. Oh, the change! Can you wonder that in the bliss of this life, with all that it means to me in every happy moment, that I forget those weary distracting days?"

'Are your parents on that side?'

"Yes, but I do not see them. 'Each to his own place,' as the bible says. I know that there was no congeniality between us. We tried to do our duty and that was all."

'How old were you?'

"Something over thirty. But the years have all dropped away from me now, and when in some instant of remembrance I see that wrinkled, careworn, ignorant and unhappy woman, I can scarcely believe or realize that it was I. But we must have a happy thought to part with. This is an awful picture that I have looked back upon. What picture shall I present? What but joy! Joy! Fullness of joy and love unspeakable!"

 

One day when I was away from home, Sis received the following through the pencil:—

 

"We have something for you, for there is one here who knew you long ago, a former companion, we think; she went to school with you."

 

The name of Grace Gordon came to her mind, a schoolmate who had passed over when scarcely more than a child.

 

"We think it is she."

'Did she not tell you her name?

"Names do not always count here; any one can assume any name for the time being. We recognize more by the spirit impression. We feel the truth of the recognition much as you describe your sensation:—as an electric thrill which assures you of the truth of the communication, or of the person."

'And so, Grace Gordon, you are really here?'

"Yes, I am here, and it is many years since I came over. We were playmates, though I lived rather far away, and I came over here so soon."

'I remember how puzzled we were over your illness.'

"I was frightened when I began to believe I had to die; for who would not be frightened, brought up in the orthodox beliefs as we were? I grew so weak finally that even fear grew feeble,—and then unconsciousness. Then an awakening, surrounded apparently by pure white light, with the feeling of wonderful life and strength such as I had not known on earth. Then the experience of a tender surrounding care and loving friendliness. Was it not a joy for a poor frightened child to come into such environment?"

'What have you been doing all these years?'

"Oh, at first just study and recreation, just getting acquainted. Then more study, an acquiring of knowledge with such ease that study became a delight. And so the years have passed; pleasure, study, work for others, and through it all an ever increasing pleasure. This is life as we know it here."

 

During a message that was given through my pencil, Sis had expressed some doubts. When she took the pencil, it wrote:—

 

"There is one here who would like to talk with you. He says:—

"You are right to doubt all things unless they are proved true, but has not this life been proved true to you many times? We know your desire for tests and yet more tests. I will give you one. I am an old acquaintance of yours. Who am I?"

'I do not know. Why is that a test?'

"It will be if you can take my name either by pencil or impression. Stop now and think. You are thinking 'Willis,' but Willis who?"

Sis guessed several names but none seemed to apply. "You do not get it. We will try later."

I then wrote again for a time, but Sis finally took the pencil and asked:—

'I am wondering if the 'Willis' is not Willis Coleman?'

"Yes."

'Can he talk with me now?' "Yes."

'Have you been there long?'

"No, I have not been here long, but I found you were writing,

and I have always remembered your name."

'Well, I imagine you would be one who would appreciate the beauties there to the full extent?'

"You are right. My highest hopes, my deepest reverence, my desire for happiness, could not have brought me into more perfect conditions."

'Were you unconscious long after arriving there?'

"Not very long, they tell me. I was ill for a time and left the old earth in an unconscious state. It seemed to me I was drifting, drifting slowly into the dark, but not a terrible dark; a time of rest in which I was content. Then into the darkness came a faint light, and the light grew stronger and brighter, and through all my being there ran a thrill of life, life in abundance. Then I awoke to a vision such as I had never dreamed. Beauty, love, all seemed blending in one beneficent power about me, and I felt enveloped and translated into a bliss I had never imagined. Such is heaven."

'You had no sorrow for those left behind?'

"Not then. The glory came first. Then remembrance came, and I wished to look back to the life I had left. They told me of you, and here I am."

'Well, I hope I can talk with you again?'

"I am coming again; Mary says I can. Mary and Dee—your Dee—have charge of this circle. I would like to tell you of their beautiful spirits, but they place a silence on my lips."

 

Another old friend was brought to Sis at another time. She asked:—

 

'Is this truly William Andrews?'

"Yes, I am here. I did not know you were writing until a short time ago, and since then I have been waiting to get my chance to say a word. How strange! How very strange it is, because so infinitely different from what we were taught, and in our half­hearted way tried to believe when on earth."

'You find it so different then?'

"Yes, although this is not the highest heaven; we might just say the border of the infinite kingdom. But all is so natural, all so beautiful, and so like our highest dreams, if we had such dreams and desires."

'Yes, I feel myself fortunate to have had even glimpses.'

"You may well be. I had only the old orthodox conceptions, a dim cloudy vision of harps and choirs and a sort of eternal Sunday. Ali! How I wish I could describe it to you! But I think I can only give you the idea of a natural life on earth, but with all pain and sorrow removed, all bickerings, all quarrels, wars, or epidemics or disease,—in fact all evil, all discomfort, removed, and only happiness and joyous health, and beauty of surroundings, and then friendships and occupations such as one's heart desires. I feared to come, and regarded the approaching end as a fearful calamity, never knowing that it was the open door to a country so fair that I could have no regret."

'Will you know me when I come?'

"Why not? We cannot fail to recognize our former friends. That is one of the things that belong to spirit perception. It never fails. Well, the old world wraps people up in strange beliefs, and they little know the consequences of their mistaken conclusions."

'Are they always to blame? They reason from certain facts that come before them?'

"Not entirely, but there is a simple law of cause and effect, and it is the working out of that law which may make or break the happiness of a life for a long time. You see such results on earth, do you not?"

'Yes, but I hoped that in heaven such mistakes were overcome?' "Not all. Mistakes can warp character and life interests and cast their shadow over this fair land."

'This doesn't sound like Mary?'

"No, I am not Mary. Just a stranger who wandered in. I know what mistaken thought and belief can do, for I had worked out a very different theory of the final outcome of the earth life from that which I find here, and I too had to suffer the effect of mistaken judgment. It is all right though, —I mean the law of individual responsibility. And out of our very mistakes and failures we often reap a veritable blessing. You see, human life is one of experiment and growth, failure and success, pain and pleasure, privation and privilege. But all of these qualities are weaving themselves into a strand of experience and wisdom. Don't you see? Character forming even through our mistakes and blundering. Never dwell on the darkened past except to let it lead you into brighter paths."

 

"I am not Mary; I have just drifted in. I am interested in getting information over to earth people, but have not had much practice. I haven't much to say now, just a greeting from here.

 

"Can you think what a jolt it would be to some on that side if they really felt this was possible? But they do not believe it. That is the trouble; and they will not advance as long as they continue the narrow lives which at present bind them. Too bad, isn't it? Many of them are doing good, but how much more good they could do if they would only understand! Some do not make very good use of their knowledge, but with most it should startle them into higher thought and wiser action. Most of those who believe that life persists have such a shadowy belief, fanciful instead of practical."

 

"We are bringing one to you who wishes to talk across the silence. He has not been here long and has not talked with earth people before."

 

Then this newcomer wrote:—

 

"Wonder of wonders! Heaven and earth brought together by a power more subtle and more compelling than words! I am the father of a family, but the first to cross to the unseen side. I suppose most people ask first for their families. But I am so sure that all is well with them that I wish first to ask—Well, I guess it is the riddle of the universe; for—Why is life? Why the earthly before the heavenly? Why the ignorance over there? Why, oh why, when spirit from this side can influence souls on that, why the indifference and ignorance there of the one great truth, the continuance of life in the spirit, the continuance of life under new conditions for which we should have prepared over there?"