CHAPTER VII Time and the Future

You have often asked me how we keep appointments with you or with one another, since out perception of time is so different from yours. It is not correct to say that we have no means of measuring time. What we mean when we say that we have no “ time” here is that we do not count years, months, weeks or days as you do. The sun does not rise and set, and we have no extremes of heat or cold, but we have a measurement that is different from yours, and this makes your time very puzzling to us. With you, it is merely a convenient measure recording the number of times the sun has risen or set, but for us this is unnecessary. I do not know how old I am unless I calculate your years, but since we never grow old, it is of little interest to keep a record of how many times your sun has risen and set since we arrived here, but if we wish to calculate your years or days, we have to do a sum just as you do when you wish to convert Centigrade to Fahrenheit.

We do not need dates because, when we make an appointment, it is automatically registered in our minds, and as the personality develops, so the power of automatically registering facts we wish to recall increases. It is not easy to explain, but when we arrange to meet on a certain day, when the time comes, the other fellow flashes a signal and summons us. I see your flash if I am otherwise occupied, but for a regular appointment I come without any summons, and often I am ready waiting for you when you are late in spite of your many clocks. A man on this side is not limited by a lifetime of a given number of years, and that is perhaps whey you have got the nothing that time is of no importance here. But we are punctual always. The only way we may miss an appointment is if we are suddenly called away for something important on your side, but as our ties with the earth become looser, such a summons become rarer.

Every earthly object has its spiritual counterpart, and I have counterparts of all your antiques, though naturally, I have no counterpart of your umbrella or mackintosh. Experts over here produce mechanisms that are far more wonderful than yours, but they work on different lines and with different materials. I have a much better watch than yours, but it indicates our time. As your paying for it, we have our own method of exchange; we do not pay in hard cash or coin of the realm, but we exchange service of some kind, or something that we can spare that is useful to the other person.

We have our times of rest, and during sleep we learn to know something of the life in the sphere beyond the one in which we live, although on waking, we forget much of this information, just as you do.

As you know, we often get a glimpse of the future, but this is not as important to us as it is to you. At the moment I foresee a world catastrophe, not universal war, but something that will bring great danger to civilization. The modern way of waging war is coming near to the extermination of the race, a kind of Kil-kenny cat business, where everybody bombs everybody else, until the last planes crash in flames and the human race perishes. That, of course, is an exaggeration, but there is a sinister possibility of the great cities being wiped out and all the elaborate system of civilization destroyed. In some ways it would be an advantage to the race, as man would have to start afresh, leading the simple life once more. This is a possibility I see in the futures: man’s inhumanity to man brought to such perfection that whole countries will be devastated with bombs and gases and death-rays.

Recorder’s note: the above was written in September, 1937.

It is a very difficult subject, this matter of foreseeing the future. I gave you the analogy of the cine film because that was the only was to make you understand, but the cine roll can be changed, and that is why I always qualify my forecasts by saying “ as things are at present,” or “ as far as I can judge.” Coming events cast their shadows certainly, but human free-will is always apt to spring a surprise. Concerning a way, for instance, all the indications may be that a war will break out, but there is always the possibility that other influences may succeed in averting it. Your friend’s analogy was very apt when she said that the incorrect forecasts about this war were partly due to the pictures we saw of an undamaged England and France and Germany. But I feared that peace would not be preserved, and that was why I warned you that war was in the air, but might be averted.

Recorder’s note: On the ^3rd of October, 1938, the following message was received: “ it would be fruitless to make an honourable but inconclusive peace. I am coming to the conclusion that Hitler does up not truly desire the peace of Europe, and we must make every effort to make England safe. The truth is not always to our liking, but there it is.” We inquired whether he meant that war would break out at once. He replied: “ That si unlikely, as he has what he wants for the moment, but I distrust his offers of general appeasement.” Three weeks later, we received the following message: “ The time approaches when the price will have to be paid in men, money and comfort, but eventually I see a strong England again, holding her own in world affairs. It is so easy to be in that state where one cannot see the forest for the trees. The situation should be viewed, not as a close-up, but in proper perspective. Excessive expenditure on armaments will keep you poor, but it is inevitable. You will see many developments in the next twelve months that will give you plenty of outlets for your energy and service.”