September 11, 1917 (Afternoon)

 

The clearness of vision which comes to all here and obliges each to see and examine his own past life in the light of truth, brings a vision truly appalling to most mortals. Such is the force of this penetrating light that no subterfuge or self-indulgent excuse can hide from view the truth. We see ourselves in our first innocent ignorance, then are forced to follow every step of our lives and weigh each advantage given by circumstance and education. We are obliged to face the selfishness and unworthiness of each sinful act—for there can be no sin except there be selfishness.

 

When the whole awful picture is complete, we are given glimpses of the part we are intended to take in the universe, and suddenly seize the meaning of the law of cause and effect and the utter impossibility of escaping the consequences of our past. We see, then, that each thought and act of our earth life has put into motion waves which go on for ever—that there is no escaping from the absolute necessity of overcoming the discordant waves by our own personal efforts. The whole meaning is not made clear until we are strong enough to understand it. The strength is absorbed from the love all about, though the knowledge of that love is still withheld.

 

Each act of our earth life is faced and judged according to its innermost reasons, its circumstances and its consequences. Then each soul is forced to be its own judge. It is made clear that no one can undo the harm except one's own self. It is a terrible moment fraught with tremendous consequences, but, apparently, each stands absolutely alone. Many faint and must remain unconscious until strengthened by the marvellous life-giving love of God which is all about them, but of which they remain ignorant until, by an act of free will, they desire to go forward. Those who are strong enough to make this decision realize fully the tremendous task before them and its unavoidableness. If they will to undo the harm at no matter what cost, and ask for help, they are immediately granted a vision of transcendent loveliness in which they see the glorious spirits all about them amid scenes of exquisite beauty and splendour.

 

Then immediately they are conscious of an angel guide, who takes them by the hand and tells them to have no fear, and, in some quite unexplainable manner, they are conscious that the glory all about them, the hope and the joy, is a manifestation of the love of God. Then indeed are they overcome by the consciousness of their unworthiness and a great desire to know more of this marvellous love.

 

Then their education begins, and the strength they receive carries them forward as far as they are capable of going, and enables them to will to return to the darkness where they may be given an opportunity to do work of atonement.

 

September 12, 1917.

 

Remember we are always the same individuals we were on earth. Remember that soul is intelligence. Remember that intelligence is a ray of the divine infinite intelligence of God. Remember that in order to come into harmony with God it must be freed from everything that interferes with its clear growth. How difficult, then, is the task of education and development!

 

There can be but one truth, therefore all which obscures the vision of truth must be removed, whether it be form, prejudice or ignorance. Each soul finds an angel guide who takes charge of him. It is easy to understand how the trained thinker, who has learned what earth could teach, begins far in advance of his ignorant neighbour. Here no progress can be made, however, by intellect alone. Intellect, in our sphere, begins its experience, fortified by the absolute certainty of immortality and certainty that God exists, that it is His infinite love which sustains the life His intelligence bestows. This knowledge comes to all, but is understood according to the mental capacity of the individual.

 

The little ones and the ignorant, who are simple and loving, are tenderly helped and sustained, and if their earth life has been free from sin, are able to go on without suffering, for their purity and innocence make them capable of absorbing freely the splendid life-giving love, but their education is long and difficult. Certainly love gives them strength and beauty, but soul is intelligence and must be trained to understand the meaning of life. No life can be complete which accepts love and joy without reasoning. Perfection is reached only when the individual becomes not only strong and beautiful by reflecting the love of God, but fully conscious of entire comprehension of the infinite God Himself, capable of sustaining the dignity of his divinely bestowed individuality, freed from all sin and ignorance, experiencing in absolute perfection and intelligence the splendour, the majesty, the glory, the perfect happiness of its divinely bestowed soul.

 

September 12, 1917.

 

When I said that no progress could be made by intellect alone, I meant intellect as the word is understood on earth, which, although that of a deep and sincere student, may be quite wrong in its premises. Here there can be no error of premises since each is fully convinced by the unquestionable evidence presented to us in ways unknown to earth that immortality is the great fact of our existence. With such an assurance it becomes the duty of each intelligence to understand as much as possible of the meaning and reason of this. The absolute knowledge which comes to all that God is the creator and sustainer of every thing gives immediate desire to know more of God.

Each step gives proofs of the perfections and marvellous qualities of God as manifested in the glory and beauty of which one catches glimpses and the love of which one is for ever conscious, even in the darkest moment of suffering. We are as fully conscious of this love as you are of the air you breathe, and we know that it depends upon ourselves to experience more and more of the happiness this love bestows. But remember that love, truth, and infinite life are inseparable. Each moment of fuller and more complete life gives us a further degree of joy, but also a clearer vision of the truth, and it is this which, after our transcendent periods of pure joy and progress, forces us to seek the dark shades where we may by helping others purify ourselves of the materialism which clings to us.

 

We never lose the vision of our past which came as our judgment. We must search deeply to understand the theory of expiation.

 

We know that God is spirit or intelligence—omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent. He is the perfection of all the qualities we know and admire and love on earth, and an infinity of others beyond our earth conception. He is love, and His compassion is without limit, but the intelligence He has given each one of us shows us that only perfection is capable of approaching and understanding. We know that ultimately each one will reach this perfection, therefore it becomes our duty to find out how it can be done.

 

God is perfection, therefore anything other than perfection must be discordant with Him. Continuing our simile of harmony, we understand that each thought and act of our life has put into motion waves. If such thoughts and acts were prompted by pure love, the waves so put into motion are harmonious, but if by any other motive whatever they are discordant: the intensity of the vibrations depending upon the degree of their unworthiness. As all waves starting from us form for ever part of our individuality it is easy to understand that a being of discord can never approach God.

 

September 13, 1917.

 

The intensity of the wave vibrations depending upon the thought or act which produced it, this wave is more or less difficult to put in tune with the great central key-note. It is love in its purity, the great selfless love which is the reflection of God, which puts in motion waves of the greatest intensity. For this reason Christ said that a cup of cold water given in His name was of infinite value, while the greatest act one could perform, if dictated by unworthy motives, would put in motion discordant waves. The act itself might do good and bring happiness to many. It would still be discordant, although the intensity of the wave of discord would be diminished by the good effect of the act, and therefore would be less difficult to put into harmony.

 

Before reaching perfection, peace and happiness, the sum of all the discordant waves must be equalled by the harmonious waves, both in intensity and number. These waves may more correctly be compared with colour than with sound. The intense vibrations put in motion by a selfish act, when coming into contact with the wave caused by an act of pure, unselfish love, change colour. The colour may be only slightly changed, but when, finally, enough waves of good have been met to purify the wave of all discord, a pure, radiant wave of luminous white is reached whose vibrations are in perfect accord with the centre of harmony—God Himself.

 

September 14, 1917.

 

God is love—a pure and perfect love, which goes out from the divine centre endlessly, infinitely, sustaining, vivifying, comforting, glorifying. To reflect this love we must be purified of self. We must learn to give of our inner selves, not for our own good, not even for our eternal salvation, but as a pure and selfless reflection of God. This is indeed difficult to attain. Think of your own lives. Can you recall any one act absolutely devoid of self? Even here it is almost impossible of attainment.

 

When first we learn the theory of good and bad waves, of harmony and discord, of light and dark, we are filled with desire to begin our work of atonement. We search opportunities and embrace them gladly, thinking to do well and quickly the good We can, but soon our enlarged, enlightened intelligence shows us that at the bottom of this willingness to suffer is not love of God and desire to give, but love of self.

 

We see our own glorious destiny and wish to achieve it quickly. Pride and selfishness are not yet destroyed. To approach God much remains to be done.

 

September 15, 1917.

 

Complete unselfishness can be reached only through love. To understand the love of God we must begin by understanding human love. Fortunately for humanity each one is given a glimpse of pure love in infancy. Almost without exception a mother loves her child, and this pure expression of love is the most unselfish earth can know. It is accepted as a matter of course by the child, but is understood to some extent later in life, and is the saving grace of many in a moment of darkness in after life. I say this is one instance of love as we know it, but I do not say it is quite devoid of self. It has moments of pure unselfishness, for every mother recognizes from the first that the baby she has borne is a separate, independent being from the moment of its birth, but the love which urges her devotion to the child because it is hers is a form of selfishness. She is, by natural law, the guide and comforter of her child, but her moments of pure love are the rare experiences when she is able to immolate self completely.

 

Pure love also is sometimes seen in the devotion of children towards parents. Patriotism inspires some of the purest expressions of love, as it calls for entire immolation of self to a great idea. Greater love no man can show than he who lays down his life for his brother, except him who lays down his life for God. The brother is one ray of light. God is the luminous centre from which that ray proceeds.

 

We must learn to love God above all things because He is the splendour of the morning, the glory of noon, the majesty of night; because He is eternally giving, never receiving; because His unfailing tender love is for ever sustaining the life His divine intelligence bestowed; because, though His justice makes it inevitable that each expiate his sins, his mercy and love give us strength and courage to wish to attain the glorious perfection wherein we will be capable of understanding Him, communing with Him, freed from all imperfections, conscious of our own magnificent, splendid life, giving fully and freely in our turn of the gifts so generously bestowed, reflecting fully the glory of the love of God.

 

September 16, 1917.

 

How shall we learn to love God above all things? How shall we learn to know Him? Knowing God, we would necessarily love Him above all things. We would understand that knowing God means understanding that we are emanations of the Divinity, we are expressions of divine intelligence; we are manifestations of eternal spirit; we are reflections of beneficent, vivifying love. Let us therefore try to know God.

 

Remember God is not person, nor power, nor intelligence, nor love, nor life alone. He is spirit, and spirit includes all these. We must try to grasp spiritually the idea of God as infinite spirit. This cannot be done with our human mentality. It may be discerned by our soul, manifested on earth in our immortal spiritual instinct, which, in spite of our material education or lack of education, persists always in our longing to understand something of ourselves—of our beginning and our possible end.

 

Education, which means training of the mind, helps by enabling us to grasp and follow abstract ideas, but always, beyond the realm of ideas, is the spiritual truth which is present and manifested either in instinct in the savage, or idealism in the cultivated man. This instinct of immortality is truth.

 

September 17, 1917.

 

How shall we then learn to recognize in ourselves this instinct which is truth, as apart from all the other instincts of man?

 

By listening. Each day some time must be found for listening. But we must also learn how to listen. First, it is essential to be alone and quiet. Even then most will find that, though the body is still, and the eyes closed to keep out outside impressions, the mind is a teeming chaos of impulses and impressions of all our past, flitting back and forth in mad confusion. Then the trained thinker tries to classify these thoughts, and by concentrating on one to still the others. This helps to think, but is far from the silence necessary to reach before we can hear the voice of truth which is our consciousness of immortality.

 

We must learn to put out of our consciousness all thought—to sink into complete silence, deeper than sleep, but still fully awake. I shall go more fully into the various states of consciousness later.

 

At first learn to take a few moments each day, preferably immediately after waking, for quiet meditation and thought, glorifying God and asking Him simply and sincerely that we may know Him better. Then try every day to do some little thing as truly unselfish as we can, to reflect the love of God by making some one a little happier. These simple exercises will help to quiet the turmoil of our senses, and strengthen us for the ever greater tasks before us.

 

September 18, 1917.

In the depths of the silence reached, if you will faithfully practise these exercises you will reach peace, and therein will learn to know the truth. I am telling you many of the truths I have learned since coming here. You hear them, perhaps you even believe them, but this is not enough. You must learn to know them for yourselves, and knowledge can never come from the teaching or experience of another. You can be guided and shown the way, but you must do the work yourselves.

 

Try, then, to begin by faithfully putting into practice these simple rules. Let your first waking thought be desire to know truth. Glorify God for all the marvellous perfections in which you are capable of investing your highest idea of Him. Then thank Him for your life and ask sincerely and humbly to know Him better. Knowledge of God includes all wisdom and all love. This daily practice will lead to meditation and to contemplation.

 

You must not expect to find miracles. The growth from materialism to spirituality is slow. The transition from the confusion of many ideas and impressions to the peace and unity of truth is slow, but every step leads you to a fuller knowledge of that truth which includes all knowledge and all love, and is the real you—the image, the essence, the child of God, conscious of your real self, with its glorious freedom and possibilities of perfection, and conscious also of the duty this brings to do all our part in aiding this growth.

 

But would not this bring about such a state of introspection that we would become extremely egotistical? No, for the sincere desire to know God, who is truth and love as well as life, brings a sure reward. If we truly ask this we shall receive it. We will learn to know ourselves, and that knowledge will bring with it an immense respect for the immortal being within us. It will make us anxious to turn from all that is unworthy of our real selves. It will make us ready and willing and anxious to help others—regardless of their appearance or condition— to know their own real selves.

 

It is absolutely impossible for real knowledge, or even real desire for knowledge, to be selfish, for knowledge is truth, and, while truth shows each his high destiny, it also shows the equally high destiny of all God's creation and their unity with their Creator, and it shows the immense task before each of overcoming self; and each step makes one more conscious of love, and the duty of reflecting that love in care and thought and love towards all.

 

Do you begin to understand how God, Who is eternal wisdom, includes all? Do you begin to perceive how that infinite wisdom absolutely repels all that is not truth? Can we by searching find out God? Yes, we can, and we must.

 

September 19, 1917.

 

Eternity is without beginning and without end. That eternity was for ever and will be for ever filled by the infinite spirit—God. He is intelligence; He is life; He is love. All the vast universe is an expression of some thought of that divine intelligence, each particle carrying within itself something which, being an outpouring of the divine nature, is immortal, and will, one day, after reaching its full development, find its place in the divinely planned whole.

 

September 27, 1917.

 

Tell R. that this communication is done by means of a subtle etheric fluid which envelops our sphere as well as yours. Those among us who are interested in communicating with earth have investigated the subject, and find that the waves of this etheric fluid may be perceptible to extremely delicate organisms here as well as similar ones on earth.

 

The science of wave communication is understood more easily on this sphere than on earth, and we are always trying to find earth dwellers capable of perceiving these waves and transmitting the messages. We hope to be able to explain to you the scientific reasons, and enable you on earth to classify and recognize those among you who are sensitive to these vibrations.

 

Tell R. that each individual here retains his natural tastes. The tendency of mind, which leads him to one subject of thought rather than another, is here given broader scope. It is like comparing the mind of a great scientist on earth to that of a little child. Here not only are we more capable of grasping more of the great all­intelligence, truth itself, but we find every facility for investigation.

 

The few on earth who possess the sensitiveness necessary for this inter-communication do their work automatically and without understanding the reason for it, or the conditions necessary for its development. This also we are trying to remedy.

 

The first necessity for the earth medium is a sensitive, truth-loving, idealistic nature, shown in natural tendency to listen to the inner promptings of the imagination and sensitive to natural beauty. This does not always indicate a possible medium, but without these a medium could not be developed. Then, to develop it is necessary to have peace, both mentally and physically. This means, of course, detachment from the things of the world. It is necessary to have all these conditions, but they must be united in a person who has a sound body and good mental balance. We could do nothing with a person who was inclined towards blind, enthusiastic acceptance of every fantastic statement. We need the calm, reasoning mind of a well-balanced mortal in a sound body.

 

It is frequently necessary to make combinations. All the qualities necessary to establish communication are seldom found in one individual. Mother's strength, integrity, desire for knowledge, and immense capacity for love, are all powerful aids, and when combined with the extreme sensitiveness and sincerity of Mary's nature form a combination whose force is great enough to enable us to impress upon them continuous waves of communication.

September 28, 1917.

 We will prove to you and all honest thinkers the truth.

 

Judgment of our past is passed not by the person we imagine God to be, neither by the person of Christ, neither by the spirit we call the Holy Ghost, but by the spark of the divine in each individual when that individual has developed sufficiently to recognize and understand the meaning of life, and is brought face to face with the inevitable effects of the working of the fundamental law of cause and effect. To reach this clearness of vision requires greater or less effort according to the previous intellectual development of the individual. I do not say it requires a greater or less length of time, for time, as earth knows it, has ceased to exist. Progress is measured by the degree of intelligence reached. It is impossible to apply to this rules of earth. Even if we could imagine the development of some one intelligence as requiring one year, another might require an aeon. Try to put out of your minds limitations of time.

 

We are conscious of eternity, and as each individual emerges from the mist or sleep following death—or even to those who come consciously through the transition— there comes the wonder of the awakening in strange surroundings. Then follows a period of rest where, in a state of semi-consciousness, they are strengthened by absorbing the love of God reflected from the ministering angels. They are led gently through misty paths or resplendent heights, guarded, guided, and strengthened by angels who, to their earth-bound senses, seem to them beautiful human beings clothed in radiant, semi­diaphanous garments.

 

Gradually they become strong enough to ask questions and seek to understand, instead of blindly accepting a state of semi-consciousness. Then their instruction begins, for always remember that free will is theirs, and the conscious desire for knowledge brings with it enlightenment, absorbed in a marvellous manner automatically, as inevitable cause and effect.

 

Sooner or later each individual is strong enough to ask the question "What does it all mean?" Then he is brought face to face with that tremendous revelation of truth which reveals to him his soul as a part of the essence of God, and the absolute necessity of the development of that soul, to permit it to take its place in the divine whole.

 

Then his intelligence grasps some of the meaning of life. His past is revealed in detail. He knows that he himself is obliged to do what is necessary to permit him to progress. Certainly the revelation is appalling to most mortals, but remember that what to mortals would mean almost annihilation can be borne here, for we are sustained by our certainty of immortality, by our quickly gained knowledge that desire means fulfilment, and above all by our consciousness that God is—that the glory we dimly perceive, the happiness we sometimes experience, the beauty we catch glimpses of, the reality of the love which sustains us, the unbounded horizons opened to us by our desire for knowledge, is all a manifestation of the infinite, ever-present, all-sustaining, ineffable God.

 

September 29, 1917.

 

As our intelligence grasps the truth and understands the necessity of putting into harmony the discordant waves emanating from us, we see clearly the enormity of the task before us; but, no matter what stage of development we have reached, there are always others of less degree who need our help. Is it possible for us to ignore them and refuse to help them? No, for awakened intelligence brings with it absolute sincerity, and the truth we perceive enables us to understand what to do to fulfil our part in reflecting the love of God, of which we are increasingly conscious in exact ratio with the awakening of our intelligence.

 

This love is a marvellous reality. God, the all-creative spirit of life, the omniscient intelligence, is infinite, comprehending, sustaining, never-failing love itself: a love that knows all our most secret thoughts, understands all our weaknesses, appreciates all our honest efforts, gives us courage to face any trial, makes us willing to do anything to understand it more and reflect it more, for we see that each honest effort to do good to others carries us further into the realm of intelligence pure and unbounded, where we prostrate ourselves in adoration and thanksgiving before the splendour of the transcendent genius of the limitless intelligence and the boundless outpouring love.

 

Oh! that mortals might know something of this sustaining, vivifying, comprehending love! They would see that they are never alone, that each thought is a real, causative, creative force, fully understood by the divine, ever-present mind of God. They would realize that thought is even a greater force than action, and that sincerity and honesty of purpose are the most important things in life.

 

October 1, 1917.

 

All that God created is good. He is not the creator of evil. The soul of man is an emanation of the infinite spirit or soul of God, and as such is pure and perfect in its essence, and its destiny is to be a perfect part of the infinite whole.

 

One of the attributes of God is liberty. The soul of man, which is truly an image of God, is capable of limitless development, always carrying to further perfection the gifts inherent in its divine nature, but never losing liberty or free will.

 

This free will, if united to omniscient intelligence, would carry man at once, and without difficulties, to the summit of its development—free and perfect intercourse and understanding of the infinite God Himself; but human intelligence is very limited, and its growth is slow. During the progress of development that limited intelligence makes many mistakes, and, since liberty is an inalienable right of every individual, these mistakes cause what is called evil, which, in turn, is the reason of all the suffering of man.

 

Before reaching happiness, harmony, light, peace, fulfilment, all evil, which is the effect of mistakes caused by limited intelligence, must be overcome, and every step which leads to clearer vision helps to show the way. Love, with its joy and strength and power, is the never-failing reward, but intelligence must light the way.

 

October 2, 1917.

 

Spirit is intelligence. The great all-inclusive, all­causative spirit or intelligence is God. Every emanation of that spirit, every idea of that intelligence, takes form somewhere in the universe. We are now limiting our studies to man inhabiting the earth. Each divine ray of light from the central, life-giving light, each emanation of the infinite spirit, each idea of the infinite mind, when expressed, forms the soul of a man. That soul is immortal and partakes of the qualities of its Creator, God. These qualities are all contained in the soul, as the flowers and the fruit are contained in the seed.

 

The liberty bestowed with the individuality never forsakes that soul, and the blossoming of the divine qualities keeps parallel with the growth of its intelligence or spirituality.

 

Remember we are thinking without limitation of time or space. There is room in the universe for full and perfect development of all.

 

October 3, 1917.

 

The practice of taking a few moments immediately upon awakening each morning to quietly praise God, to thank Him, and to ask Him to increase our knowledge, will help us more than any other practice we can form. It need not take long—thought is quicker than lightning; and at first it is preferable not to give too much time to this exercise, for distractions are difficult to avoid, and to receive the benefit of this aspiration for knowledge of God it must be absolutely sincere and be our only desire.

 

Let us try to understand the process and its results. The formulating of the aspiration "Glory to God!" lifts us immediately out of our self-preoccupation and brings a glimpse of comprehension of an omnipotent Creator, Who, we think, or hope, may be able by His superhuman intelligence, to hear our thought.

 

We thank that divine Creator for having given us life, and we ask that we may know Him better. The aspiration carries with it hope that this instinct calling upon God may be the truth. The gratitude for life carries with it a question: What is life? and this leads us to a spiritual perception of the truth—that each life, our own particular life, is indissolubly connected with its source, and opens the way for a further comprehension of the fact that our real self, our immortal soul, is not a vague spirit from which our present life is disassociated, but a real power, the centre and reason of our being, and that it is possible for us to become so familiar with its workings that we may consciously investigate the cause and effect of each act and feeling of our lives.

 

We learn that this immortal part of us is the reality, and that, if we regulate ourselves in harmony with it, we shall know peace and happiness, and go on untrammelled with our earth development.

 

The sincere desire to know God better, expressed in the most fleeting aspiration, if it be real and true, brings with it steady progress in the knowledge which includes all knowledge and leads to wisdom. It brings an ever­increasing faculty of perceiving the truth, and an ever­fuller experience of the real, ever-present, all-fulfilling love which is all about us and as necessary to our continued life as the air we breathe.

Let us then never fail to raise our minds and hearts to God on awakening. No matter what the form may be. It is the sincerity of the thought and desire which count, for God is. He really exists. In each one is a ray of His divine life, a seed of His divine wisdom. His omniscient intelligence and His omnipresent love fill all the universe. Nothing is ignored or neglected, but from the moment of the expression of the divine idea which gave us life, we are permitted, Day, even forced, to follow our individual development. We have always within us the instinct of our immortality, and if we truly and sincerely ask to know more and more, we shall be led aright.

 

God gives so much and asks so little. Never forget that in giving us life He has given one of His noblest gifts, which is liberty. Never again can we be anything but ourselves. Each carries within himself the divine germ, but each must be permitted to develop it according to his own individuality.

 

Try to realize then the importance of under standing something of the soul. Believe me when I say that this simple exercise will help you to strengthen the mind and body, and to become conscious of the soul. When you have reached this, you will be at peace, and although while earth experience continues there must be trials, you will know how to bear them, and will try to help others.

 

Be simple. Be true. God knows all. His love will never fail.

 

Meslom.

 

The present work of L. is finished. He is now about to rest, and then take up his study under my guidance. He is making tremendous progress and owes you a deep debt of gratitude. He would certainly have awakened without any help, and his splendid mind would have led him to ask questions and to learn, but undoubtedly the love of his mother has helped him tremendously. Remember you can help us, as we can help you.

 

L. has periods of happiness far beyond the power of mortals to understand or imagine. Certainly he sees clearly his past errors, and is gladly undertaking all to overcome their discordant effects. This causes suffering, but the suffering is ever lessening and the joy ever increasing.