Chapter XIII: 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.