Communicating with God’s World of Spirit – its laws and its purpose | Pastor Johannes Greber

- 114 - The most difficult period of a deep-trance medium’s development is the stage of what is known as ‘semi trance’ or ‘partial trance’. His own spirit has not yet been completely released and left his body, while a foreign spirit is already using the body of the medium for its manifestations. The medium’s spirit, still present, hears the words spoken through the medium by the foreign spirit, and this can easily lead the medium to believe that the words and thoughts uttered are his own. He is thus in danger of misunderstanding the entire proceeding and of regarding the manifestations as so much self-deception. In this stage of development, it may easily happen that the medium’s own spirit butts into the communications being delivered by the foreign spirit, which raises legitimate doubts among the others present. It might seem at first glance that the foreign spirit would do better to hold off with its messages until the medium’s development is complete, thereby avoiding inconveniences like those described. • But the reasons that impel the foreign spirit to communicate through a medium who has reached only the ‘partial-trance’ stage are so important, that it will sooner accept the described inconveniences than postpone its communications until the medium has completed his development. For it is precisely during the early stages, when no fully trained medium is available to the participants, that they require instruction and explanation on so many points that this instruction cannot well be postponed until later. So much of inner benefit to the participants depends on this instruction, especially at the beginning, that the imperfect manner in which the messages are transmitted must be regarded as a much smaller evil than a total neglect of such instruction would be. • The transition from the ‘partial-trance’ to the ‘deep-trance’ stage is generally of relatively short duration provided that the medium takes pains to progress inwardly and to reduce his human failings.. As soon as he has reached the ‘full-trance’ stage, the medium is entirely unaware of what the foreign spirit is saying or doing. The most serious obstacles and difficulties are put by the evil spirit world in the way of all those who seek to communicate with the Beyond in the good sense, for in this case, as in all others, Evil wants to prevent the accomplishment of Good. • Evil neglects no means of trying to divert the seekers from their purpose. Beginning by instilling into them – and especially into the developing medium – the idea that it is all self-deception, auto-suggestion or hypnosis, and doing its best to dissuade them from engaging in such matters, which will expose them to ridicule. • The evil ones will have accomplished much if they succeed in arousing serious doubts in one person or another as to the truth, genuineness and worth of the matter. For this purpose, they also often exploit the most superficial pretexts, especially minor errors and shortcomings, which are bound to happen as long as human frailty is involved. The evil spirit world likewise tries to frighten those being developed as clairvoyants, by showing them the most abhorrent monstrosities, grotesque devil’s faces and similar images, in order to induce them thereby to discontinue their development and to abandon the cause.

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