PSYCHO-SCIENTIFIC FRONTIERS Selected publications from a variety of subjects of psycho-scientific research. Editor: Rolf Linnemann (Certificated Engineer) * Steinweg 3b * 32108 Bad Salzuflen * Tel. (05222) 6558 Internet: https://www.psygrenz.com Translator’s email : evak30@optusnet.com.au E-Mail: RoLi@psygrenz.de Pastor Johannes Greber Communicating with God’s World of Spirit – its laws and its purpose Personal experiences of a Catholic priest Index 2. 2 The Mediums (Transmission from the SPHERS of LIGHT) ...................................................................... 2 2. .2. 1 Table mediums ....................................................................................................................................... 4 2. 2. 2 Writing mediums ..................................................................................................................................... 5 2. 2. 3 Planchette mediums .............................................................................................................................. 6 2. 2. 4 Voice mediums ........................................................................................................................................ 8 2. 2. 5 Apport mediums ..................................................................................................................................... 9 2. 2. 6 Materialisation mediums ..................................................................................................................... 11 2. 2. 7 Physical mediums ................................................................................................................................ 12 2. 2. 8 The gift of clairvoyance and clairaudience .................................................................................... 13 2. 3 The training of mediums (Transmission from the SPHERES of LIGHT) ............................................. 17 2. 4 The procedures of a spiritistic meeting (Transmission from the SPHERES of LIGHT) .................. 21 2. 5 Biblical accounts of mediums and schools for mediums. ................................................................. 32 2. 6 Questioning God according to reports in the Holy Scriptures ......................................................... 45 2. 7 Questioning the “dead” according to the Bible (Transmission from the SPHERES of LIGHT) .... 50
- 2 - 2. 2 The Mediums (Transmission from the SPHERS of LIGHT) Many were the occasions and fashions in which God used to speak to our fathers through the prophets. (Hebrews 1: 1) In the days when men sought God from their inmost hearts, their communication with God’s spirit world was a direct one. Most individuals possessed the natural qualifications needed for such spirit communication. Their own spirit, attuned to what was lofty and divine, was capable of receiving messages from the spirit world through spiritual sight, hearing and feeling. This was the same as what you call ‘clairvoyance’, ‘clairaudience’, and ‘clairsentience’ today. No intermediaries were needed to transmit the messages from the Beyond. - • These gifts disappeared as mankind turned away from God and devoted all its thoughts and care to worldly things. In their excessive pursuit of money and other worldly goods, people forgot God. This not only severed the communication with the good spirit world, but caused those gifts that had made spirit communication possible theretofore to fade away. Today the majority of mankind has come so far that it no longer even thinks about or believes in the possibility of such communication. There are relatively few people today who possess the gifts in question and who are in touch with the world of good spirits the way the God-fearing folks of old were. • But the time is coming when things will again be as they formerly were in this respect, that is to say, when each individual can communicate with the Beyond via spiritual seeing and hearing. Until that time, however, those who still believe in God may communicate with spirits through another channel, and many who do not believe in God may witness the workings of the spirit world with their corporeal senses, and thereby be roused in their hearts to return to a belief in God, in the Beyond, and in the continuation of life after the death of the body. For this purpose, God gave mankind of today so-called ‘mediums’. The meaning of this term has already been made clear to you, but since a correct understanding of the nature of ‘mediums’ is among the most important points in the domain of spirit communication, I do not want to neglect to instruct you thoroughly in this particular. I shall confine myself to discussing human mediums, omitting those cases in which animals may serve as mediums. • ‘Mediums’ are intermediaries, or human instruments, employed by the spirit world to communicate with mankind. Inasmuch as the spirit beings require odic power for this purpose, ‘mediums’ are human beings who serve the spirit world as sources of odic force. It is chiefly their own od that mediums surrender to the spirits manifesting themselves. The mediums are, however, at the same time collectors of the od contributed by the non-mediums in attendance at so-called spiritistic séances. Just as sometimes happens in building an aqueduct, when the water from the main spring is supplemented by that of many smaller springs in order to increase the output, so the medium’s capacity to supply od is increased by adding in the weaker odic power of the other persons present.
- 3 - While all people possess odic power, in most cases it is too closely bound to the body to be surrendered readily. Hence it is not available to the spirit world in adequate strength. People suitable to function as mediums are highly ‘sensitive’. This means that because of the ease with which their od can be dissolved, the impressions made upon them are much deeper than in the case of other people. This is not a sickly state, as your scientists think, and has no relation to nervousness, hysteria or lack of will power; on the contrary! • Good spirits cannot use nervous, irresolute or sick persons as mediums. A good medium has more will power, stronger nerves and better physical health than other people. Mediums are divided into different types according to the purpose for which their odic power is employed by the spirit world.
- 4 - 2. .2. 1 Table mediums If Od power is used to raise or lower a table or to cause it to emit raps, the medium employed in this connection is called a ‘table medium’. The raising and lowering or the rapping of the table are used as a sign language for obtaining messages from the spirit world. This is the lowest form of spirit communication. For the spirits that appear at table tipping séances are almost without exception those of a low order. • The high spirit world does not choose this manner of communication. Thus, it happens that at such gatherings the low spirits that appear often carry on much mischief, occasionally assisted by the tricks of the participants. Unfortunately, table tipping with its partly laughable, partly untruthful manifestations does much to discredit also the higher forms of spirit communication. Those who seek God and friends of the truth will therefore shun communication of this kind and choose only methods worthy of high goals.
- 5 - 2. 2. 2 Writing mediums When messages from the spirit world are conveyed through the writing of a human being, that person is called a ‘writing medium’. The manner in which the writing is accomplished differs widely among the writing mediums. • In one case, the thoughts are inspired into the fully conscious medium and written down by him (or her); he is therefore also known as an ‘inspirational medium’. • Another medium’s hand may be guided at the same time as the words he writes are inspired into his spirit. All the while he is fully conscious of his actions. (Semi-automatic writing mediums) Simultaneous inspiration is necessary in those cases where the medium offers too much resistance to the guidance of his hand. • Others know only that they are writing, but are quite unaware of the content of their writing. (Fully automatic writing mediums) • Still others write in a state of complete unconsciousness; they know neither that they are writing nor what they are writing. (Writing trance mediums) Moreover, it frequently happens that one and the same ‘writing medium’ will write in several of these ways. So-called ‛direct writing’ is substantially different from the above type of mediumistic writing, being produced by the spirit itself, which makes use only of the odic force of the medium and not of the latter’s hand. By means of the od it takes from the medium the spirit materializes its own hand, and with it writes upon a surface that is not in contact with the medium, like a slate, a sheet of paper, or something similar. The amount of od required for this method is significantly greater than when the medium’s hand is used in writing. You are familiar with two examples of ‘direct writing’ from the Bible. The tablets bearing the Commandments were written on Mount Sinai by the hand of God, as related in the books of Moses: Exodus 32: 16: ‘The tablets were the work of God Himself, and the writing inscribed on the tablets was God’s own writing.’ When King Belshazzar celebrated a great feast with his lords and drank out of the sacred vessels that his father had stolen from the temple in Jerusalem, while singing songs of praise to his idols. Daniel 5: 5: ‘The fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the whitewashed wall of the royal hall across from the chandelier, so that the king saw the back of the hand as it wrote.’ The medium’s hand may also be used for drawing or for painting instead of for writing. In this case the mediums are called ‘drawing or painting mediums’, the general process being the same as with the writing.
- 6 - 2. 2. 3 Planchette mediums Another type of writing medium are the so-called ‘planchette mediums’. A ‘planchette’ is a slab of wood, metal or other material upon which are marked the letters of the alphabet, numbers and other symbols. The surface of the planchette is smooth, so that an object may readily be slid about upon it. The medium, who retains full consciousness, lays his hand on some easily movable object resting on the slab that has a point or pointer. He then waits until the object is moved towards the letters. The pointer indicates, one after another, the individual letters that will when put together spell out words and sentences. The planchette medium sits with his eyes closed or, better still, blindfolded, so that he cannot see the letters himself, since otherwise there is a danger that he might help along the motion of his hand and thus reproduce his own thoughts. • The most famous of all planchettes was the ‘breastplate’ on the ephod (outer garment) of the high priest, who was himself the medium. In your modern translation of the Bible this ‘breastplate’ is referred to as the ‘oracle plate’ because it was used by the Israelites when they ‘asked of God’. It was in the shape of a square and consisted of four rows of precious stones, the first row being composed of a sardius, a topaz and a carbuncle; the second of an emerald, a sapphire and a diamond; the third of a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; and the fourth of a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. (Exodus 39: 9-13) On each stone was engraved a character, corresponding to the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; they thus formed a kind of alphabet. Precious stones were used because they possess strong odic force and thus strengthened the high priest’s mediumistic power. Between the stones was a wide, smooth, groove of gold without corners or edges. A part of the equipment was the socalled ‘forehead plate’, a holy diadem of gold engraved with the words: ‘Dedicated to the Lord’.. This was fastened to the headband with a cord of purple, and was the most important of the objects used in consulting the Lord. Hence it bore the inscription ‘Dedicated to the Lord’ with good reason. (Exodus 39: 30-31) Whenever he ‘asked of God’, the high priest untied the lower edge of the breastplate from the ephod and brought the breastplate into a horizontal position. He then removed the engraved plate of gold, or ‘diadem’, from the headband and laid it into one of the grooves between the precious stones. Then he held his hand over the breastplate, without touching either it or the ‘diadem’ that rested upon it. The very strong odic force of the high priest was used by God’s spirit world to set the golden diadem in motion. It glided along the grooves, touching in sequence, with a small eyelet by means of which it was fastened to the headband, those stones whose characters were to be joined into a word. When a word had thus been spelled out, the diadem glided to the right edge of the breastplate, where it struck a small bell to indicate that the word was complete. When the words had been put together to form a complete sentence, the diadem slid both to the right and then to the left side of the breastplate, striking the bells on both sides in succession. This double signal indicated the conclusion of a sentence. In this way all possibility of error was eliminated, since no character belonging to one word could be moved to the preceding word, and no word from a preceding sentence could be moved to a following one. Inasmuch as this method excluded any possibility of misunderstanding God’s answer, the diadem and the bells were known collectively as the ‘sacred lots’, symbols of truthfulness and clarity. In the Hebrew text they are called ‘the Urim and Thummim’, words that also mean truth and clarity.
- 7 - “In the days of the kings of Israel the ‘breastplate of judgment’ was often used when people ‘asked of God’, the priests acting as mediums. David in particular thus appealed to God in almost all important matters through the priest Abiathar, making use of the ‘breastplate’, and by means of it receiving God’s answer.
- 8 - 2. 2. 4 Voice mediums The most important of the mediums for communicating the truth are the ‘speaking mediums’ as soon as they have been trained to be ‘deep-trance mediums’. • A medium is said to be in a ‘deep trance’ when his own spirit has completely left his body. In this state the medium is like a corpse, the only difference being that its spirit, which has left the body, is still connected to its body by a band of od, whereas with a corpse the connecting band of od is missing. Through this band of od the medium’s body receives enough life force from the outof-body spirit to keep its organs functioning. It is along this band of od also that the spirit of the medium makes its way back into its body. • In the place of its out-of-body spirit, another spirit being enters the body of the speaking medium and delivers its message by using the medium’s organs of speech. In doing so it makes use of the odic energies remaining in the medium’s body after his spirit has left it. Of course, a deep-trance medium knows nothing of what the foreign spirit has said. When the medium’s own spirit re-enters the body, consciousness returns and he feels as though he has been asleep. Hence you speak of the ‘psychic sleep’ of deep-trance mediums. It is of the greatest importance to those to whom a foreign spirit is speaking through a medium to know what kind of spirit has taken possession of the medium’s body – whether it is a high or a low, a good or an evil spirit. For this reason, I advise everyone to test the spirits in order to learn whether they were truly sent by God, or whether they are evil. This can be done by making them swear in the name of God as to their identity and to where they are from. A good spirit will take this oath, an evil one will not. • If you are dealing with a good spirit, it will inform, admonish, instruct and advise you for your good. • If, however, the spirit is an evil one, send it away at once, but first admonish it to turn to God and to pray to Him. If spirits enter a speaking medium that are of a low, severely suffering type, but are of good will, it is your duty to teach them about their condition, to direct them toward God and to pray with them. In this way you will be doing a great kindness to many of these ‘poor souls’, as you call them, and they will be grateful to you for it ever after. • The duty of testing the spirits was emphasized by the Apostles when they preached to the early Christians. Every Christian community was carefully instructed in the matter; equally well informed in this domain were the people of the Old Testament.
- 9 - 2. 2. 5 Apport mediums ‘Apport mediums’ are generally also deep-trance mediums. • Their odic force is used by the spirit world to transfer material objects into enclosed spaces from outside them, or from within such spaces to the outside. The deep-trance state is necessary in most cases, since the spirits require all of the medium’s physical od in order to make these ‘apports’ possible, as the objects apported must be dissolved into od in the one place, and recondensed into substance in the other. There are, it is true, mediums who are able to release enough od to effect ‘apports’ without going into a ‘deep trance’, especially if several powerful mediums are used simultaneously as sources of od. Although you cannot physically perceive the extremely high heat that is developed by the odic currents for the purpose of dematerializing matter, you can feel some of the heat that remains after the objects have been recondensed. An example may make this clear to you: There are so-called ‘spook spirits’, which occasionally ‘apport’ stones, sand and the like from the street into the closed rooms of a house. They can do this only when they have enough odic force at their disposal to produce hot, high-voltage currents. • With these they dissolve the matter of the objects and carry the dissolved od into the rooms, where they recondense it into solid matter. It now feels hot to the touch, for although it has been recondensed by cold power currents, it retains part of the very great heat used in its dissolving, just as glowing steel, after being cooled in water, will remain hot for a considerable time. At times the medium’s body itself is transported from one place to another, occasionally over great distances. This is also done by dematerializing the medium’s body at one spot and rematerializing it into substance at the other. When, as related in the Old Testament, the prophet Habakkuk, together with the food he carried with him, was to be transported by an angel of the Lord to Daniel in the lions’ den, the angel did not carry Habakkuk through the air as people seem to believe, but dematerialized him and all that he was carrying with him and rematerialized him at the lion’s den. The same happened in the case of Philip, as related in the Acts of the Apostles: when he had enlightened and baptized the treasurer of Queen Candace of Ethiopia, ‘the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip off to Azotus.’ The spirit dematerialized Philip’s body, causing it to suddenly disappear before the treasurer’s eyes, and rematerialized it in the city of Azotus. (Acts 8: 39-40) Such happenings are beyond the comprehension of human beings because they cannot see the forces at work. The fact that matter and even bodies of living people can be dematerialized at one place and rematerialized elsewhere can no longer be denied, since well-authenticated instances of this
- 10 - phenomenon are too numerous to admit of such denial. The natural laws according to which these things happen should be abundantly clear to you after the explanation I have given.
- 11 - 2. 2. 6 Materialisation mediums In the case of ‘materialization mediums’, the medium’s whole physical odic force is used to enable one or more spirits to make themselves visible to human eyes. Since all of the medium’s od is needed, the medium’s own spirit must be removed from its body. Depending on the amount of od available, the foreign spirit uses it to envelop either its entire figure, that is to say, its whole body and all of its limbs, or only certain parts, like, for instance, its eyes, face or hands. If the materialization is to be complete enough to allow the materializing spirit to look like a terrestrial being, the medium’s od alone is not sufficient, and matter must be taken from his body and used in the odic state for the materialization of the spirit. • On such occasions a medium loses as much body weight as it has surrendered in od and matter to the foreign spirit. Cases are known in which a materialization medium lost as much as eighty pounds within a few minutes. Your scientists have determined this loss of weight by means of automatic scales, on which they had placed the medium at the beginning of the investigation. However, the surrendered od and matter remain connected with the medium by means of the abovementioned band of od and flow back into the body of the medium when the spirit is dematerialized again. That is why you see the materialization always take place near the medium. You may often notice, also, that the motions of a materialized spirit are accompanied by similar motions on the part of the medium, for the connection between the medium and the materialized spirit is a very close one. If your hands and arms were bound together with those of someone else by means of tightly drawn cords, and if you were to gesticulate with your own limbs, you would cause the other person to make similar gestures with his. The materialized spirit and the medium are bound together in analogous manner by spiritual odic bands. This intimate connection between the medium and the materialized spirit explains another phenomenon which your scientists also find incomprehensible, namely, the different odours often diffused by mediums during materialization. At times these odours are pleasant, at other times they are a stench or the smell given off by a decomposing corpse. • These odours depend on the nature of the spirits materialized by means of the medium’s od. When I spoke to you about Od, I explained that it assumes an odour in keeping with the qualities of the spirit it surrounds. The od taken from a medium and used by a spirit for its materialization therefore assumes an odour corresponding to the nature of that spirit, and since the materialized od of the spirit remains closely connected with the medium, the spirit’s odic scent is transmitted to the medium as well. This gives the impression that the medium himself is the cause of the pleasant or unpleasant smell, whereas the smells really come from the spirits that materialize themselves with the medium’s od.
- 12 - 2. 2. 7 Physical mediums There is yet another type of medium; these mediums are not good for mankind, as they are used chiefly by evil spirits. They are the so-called ‘physical mediums’. • The spirits use the odic power of such mediums to move objects that are near the medium. Tables, chairs, utensils of all kinds rise and float from one spot to another; instruments begin to play; a trumpet rises into the air and blares; a nearby drum sounds beats; bells fly across the room and ring, and countless similar things happen. It goes without saying that good spirits do not behave in this way. For it is not the task of the good spirit world to produce phenomena intended only to satisfy man’s obsession with extraordinary experiences. Mind you, this is true of some manifestations that occur with other mediums also, but it is not the case as often with them as with the ‘physical mediums’. You ask to what purpose the low spirits hold such a ‘carnival’ at modern ‘spiritistic séances’, or why indeed they are allowed to do so. To this I can only reply that low spirits have the same free will as low and wicked people. Just as the latter are left free to act as they please, so no restrictions are placed upon the liberties of the former, at least not up to a certain point. True enough, they do not have complete freedom, for if they did, they would do mankind even more harm than they do now. • For man’s goal is to reach God, and, considering this goal, God has set bounds to the activities of evildoers. But even the ‘carnival’ of evil, as you have called it, that goes on at today’s spiritistic meetings frequently has a good effect in spite of everything. For today, when there are so many people who do not believe in God, the Beyond, the spirit world and survival after death, it does some good that they should witness such things, if only because it makes them think about these matters, to become insecure in their disbelief and to begin to search for the truth. This statement applies to everything that happens at the spiritistic meetings of today, from levitation and table rapping to the physical phenomena and spirit materialization. Even if for most people their interest in these things springs only from a craving for experiencing something sensational, it often happens that they do retain the impression that supernatural forces must exist. Even if this result leaves much to be desired, it is at least better than if those individuals had never been reminded about the Beyond. • What mankind does need, and needs badly, is a thorough explanation of the nature of spirit communication and of the manner in which communication can be established with the good spirit world. This is to be your life work. You are receiving all of these teachings for this reason. They are not meant for you alone, but for your fellow human beings as well. They are your brothers and sisters, and it is your duty to teach them these facts. When people have been taught how to seek communication with the good spirit world, every spiritistic gathering will become an inspiring Divine service.
- 13 - 2. 2. 8 The gift of clairvoyance and clairaudience Your scholars include among the mediums those individuals who have the gifts of ‘clairvoyance’ and ‘clairaudience’. This is not correct. It is true that clairvoyants, clairaudients and clairsentients have mediumistic powers, but they are not true mediums. With them, it is their own spirit that is active, that sees and hears, whereas in real ‘mediums’ it is a foreign spirit that acts while the medium’s spirit is temporarily dispossessed. Although the gifts of ‘clairvoyance’ and ‘clairaudience’ do indeed enable the spirit of a human being to see and hear the spirits about him, a clairvoyant is not an instrument of these spirits and is therefore not a ‘medium’. The spirit of a person endowed with clairvoyance, clairaudience and with supernatural powers of smelling, tasting and feeling owes these abilities exclusively to the fact that it can detach itself from the body to a greater or lesser degree. A spirit so detached and partly withdrawn from the body becomes independent of the body’s physical senses and assumes the faculties and properties of a discarnate spirit, seeing, hearing and feeling in the manner of spirits of the Beyond, according to the extent to which it is detached from its body and according to the purity of the od surrounding the spirit. • This purity of od is of particular importance to ‘clairvoyants’, for one cannot see clearly through impure glass. By the same token, the spiritual powers of spirits of the Beyond vary greatly according to the composition of their odic body. Some of these spirits can see, hear and feel things that other spirits are unable to detect. The same is true of human beings gifted with clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience. Also, they possess these faculties in countless degrees of keenness, from the most rudimentary to the highest. • Some merely sense the proximity of the spirits about them and vaguely feel their impression on them, but they do not see and hear the spirits. • Others are able to see the spirits, but not to hear them. • Still others see them plainly, hear their words and can tell the different spirits apart by their nature. The many mistakes made by your clairvoyants in their statements are due to the fact that with most of them the faculty is present in a very imperfect state. “You will find many references to clairvoyance in both the Old and the New Testament. Of the patriarch Jacob we are told: Genesis 32: 2-3: ‘As Jacob went his way, he encountered “angels of God”. On seeing them, Jacob said: “This is God’s camp.”’ During the reign of King David, when the angel of the Lord smote the people of Israel with the pestilence as a punishment, David actually saw the angel. 2 Samuel 24: 16-17: ‘The angel of the Lord had, however, just arrived at the threshing floor of the Jebusite Arawna. When David saw the angel that had caused the dying among
- 14 - the people, he shouted to the Lord in prayer: “Lo, I have sinned and been wicked, but these sheep, what have they done? The prophet Elisha had the gift of clairvoyance. It is related of him in the Book of Kings that he clairvoyantly saw his servant Gehazi follow the cured captain Naaman and extort presents from him for Elisha on false pretexts. When Gehazi had hidden these presents in the house for his own use, and was standing before his master, Elisha asked him: 2 Kings 5: 25-26: ‘Where have you been Gehazi?’ He answered: ‘I haven’t been anywhere.’ Then Elisha said to him: ‘Was I not with you in spirit, when someone turned back to you from his chariot? Is this a time to receive money and garments and to acquire gardens and vineyards, small animals and cattle, manservants and maidservants with it?’ Elisha also foresaw Hazael’s destiny by clairvoyance, as is recorded in the same book of the Bible: 2 Kings 8: 12-13: ‘Elisha stared fixedly into space, horrified, and then burst into tears. When Hazael asked him: “Why does my lord weep?” he answered: “Because I know the disasters you will inflict upon the Israelites. You will set their fortified cities ablaze, killing their young men with the sword, dashing their children to pieces and slitting open the bodies of their pregnant women! The Lord God has let me see you reigning as king over Syria.’ It was by clairvoyance also that the great prophets saw the spirits sent to them, as well as the fate in store for humanity, for nations and for individuals. This fate was generally revealed to them by the spirit world in symbols. In addition to the gift of ‘clairvoyance’, the prophets were also endowed with ‘clairaudience’.. You will find an example of this if you will read over again the Book of Daniel, especially those passages relating the appearance of the archangel Gabriel: Daniel 9: 21- 23: ‘While I was uttering my prayer, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the first vision, came swiftly towards me in the shape of a man about the hour of the evening offering. He wanted to enlighten me and said: “Daniel, I have come now to help you reach the proper understanding. When you began to pray, God spoke, and I have come to impart His words to you, for you are a man especially loved [by God]; ponder these words and understand the revelation.’ Daniel 10: 4 – 10: ‘On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was on the banks of the Tigris, and as I raised my eyes and looked around, I saw a man standing there dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Ophir around his hips, his body like chrysolite, his face gleaming like lightning, and his eyes burning like torches of fire; his arms and legs glistened like burnished bronze; and when he spoke, his voice sounded like the roar of a crowd. I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision. The men beside me did not see it, yet such a fright had seized them that they ran and hid. So, I was left alone to see the great vision. No strength was left in me; my face was drained of all colour, which made me unrecognizable; I became completely powerless. When he began to speak in a loud voice, and I heard the sound of his words, I fell down into a dead faint, my face upon the ground. Then a hand touched me, and set me on my knees and hands, all shaking.’
- 15 - I have quoted these two passages from the Book of Daniel at length, because they are especially instructive for you and because they confirm much of what I have told you so far. In the first place you have here a most distinct example of clairvoyance and clairaudience. Daniel sees the spirit figure, whereas his companions do not. But since they also were ‘mediumistic’, they felt the nearness of the spirit and its mighty odic power, and fled in fright. This supports my statement that some people, while they may not be able to see or to hear the spirits, can feel their presence.. • Furthermore, these passages of the Bible, like so many others, confirm the fact that spirits have a figure and spiritual limbs similar to those of mortals. Finally, Daniel felt a hand that touched him and raised him up. It was the hand of Gabriel, who had materialized it with the aid of Daniel’s odic force. For only with a materialized hand could Gabriel raise a human being. The loud speech of the spirit and the materialization of its hand required so much odic force that Daniel sank to the ground, powerless, and had to be strengthened by Gabriel with his own spiritual odic energy. Daniel 10: 18: ‘Then the one with the appearance of a man came again and touched me and gave me new strength.’ From the New Testament, I shall mention only the ‘clairvoyance’ of the Apostle Paul. In Troas, in the night, Paul suddenly saw a man from Macedonia standing before him, who besought Paul: Acts 16: 9: ‘Come over into Macedonia, and help us.’ On another night, the LORD stood beside Paul and said: Acts 23: 11: ‘Take courage! As you have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, so you shall bear witness for me in Rome.’ On a voyage to Italy, Paul said to the crew of the ship: Acts 27: 10-11: ‘Men, I foresee that this voyage is going to be attended with danger and serious damage not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our own lives.’ I have already told you that the great events of the future can be foreseen only if they are revealed to the clairvoyant by the spirit world in a picture. That is also confirmed in this case, for when the crew failed to heed Paul’s warning and ventured upon the voyage despite it, they encountered a storm which obliged them to throw overboard part of their cargo and also the ship’s gear, and had already abandoned all hope of being saved, when stood up among them and said: Acts 27: 21 - 26: ‘Men, you should have listened to me and not set sail from Crete; we could have spared ourselves this hardship and loss. However, as things are now, I bid you to cheer up! There will be no loss of life, only of the ship. Last night an “angel of the Lord” I belong to and serve stood before me and said: Have no fear, Paul! You shall stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you the lives of all your fellow travers.” So, cheer up, men! I trust in God and believe that it will turn out just as I have been told. However, we are to be stranded on an island.’
- 16 - To the Corinthians Paul writes: I Corinthians 5: 3: ‘Though absent in body, I am with you in spirit, and I have already passed judgment on this person who has offended so greatly as though I were there with you.’ Similarly, he writes to the Colossians: Colossians 2: 5: ‘Though I am far away in body, my spirit is with you, and it is with joy that I see your steadfastness in battle and the solid bastion of your faith.’ From these last two passages we see that Paul’s spirit could leave his body and be present at events that occurred in distant places.
- 17 - 2. 3 The training of mediums (Transmission from the SPHERES of LIGHT) I will pour water on the thirsty land and floods of rain on the dry ground; I will pour my spirit on your people and my blessings on your offspring. (Isaiah 44: 3) Whatever is intended to serve a particular purpose must first be suitably set out, prepared and adapted, as your machinery and tools are constructed to meet the ends for which they were designed. Mediums are the instruments of the spirit world. Their purpose is to make communication between the spirits and material creation possible. Hence these mediums must be made capable of doing whatever may be necessary for achieving that purpose. This is accomplished by the development of their mediumistic powers. Mediums are primarily sources of energy from which the spirit beings draw the fuel for their work. It is they who furnish the odic force. To make the steps in the development of mediums as understandable as possible for you, I shall again make use of a comparison. To run your automobiles, you use a substance obtained from oil deposits. When tapping these, the first step is to drill deeply enough to obtain a sufficient amount of oil to make its extraction profitable. But the crude oil as it flows from the wells cannot be used as such. It must first be refined and undergo various forms of filtering to make it suitable for the many uses to which it is to be put. In the same way the spirit world’s first concern is to provide for as great an amount of od as possible from the mediums. • This od is, however, bound to the medium’s body, and it must be treated so that it can be easily released and made available to the spirit world in the quantity required. You also speak of solubility, for example, in reference to the components of your artificial fertilizers. You differentiate between total phosphorous, potassium, nitrogen and calcium content and the soluble percentage of these elements. Only the latter portion is of value to you, and only the soluble percentage is paid for. “Similarly, only that od is of value to the spirits which can be made available by reason of its ability to release from a terrestrial body. • The more soluble a medium’s od, the greater the amount that can be made available, and the more striking and comprehensive the phenomena the spirit beings can produce. In speaking of the od made available by the development of the mediums and used as fuel by the communicating spirits, I must point out something very important. • If a spirit is carrying out a special command of God’s, that spirit will have at its disposal more od than is possessed by all creatures on earth put together. In this case the spirit stands in a special bond with the source of all odic force, God Himself, and can draw from this source whatever amount is required for carrying out the Divine command. If, for instance, God commands a spirit to impart instruction to mankind, the requisite amount of od is supplied to that spirit. The spirit will, however, make use of your od also, for the spirit world employs this precious resource as sparingly as you mortals do your most valuable worldly resources. In this case you reinforce the od at the spirit’s disposal with your own, and enable the spirit to
- 18 - prolong its communication beyond the time originally planned. It is thus, to make use of an earthly illustration, like adding fresh water to the cooling water of a cooling tower in order to increase the effect and the duration of the operation. If, however, the good spirits are acting, not at God’s command but upon their own responsibility, albeit with His sanction, the work they can accomplish depends on the amount of od available from terrestrial sources, that is to say, from the mediums. The amount of od that can be liberated differs with each medium. With one, it barely suffices for the simplest tasks of the spirit world; with a second, it permits activity of a much greater scope, while with a third it may be plentiful enough for the most difficult undertakings in this field. Among these is the corporealization of a spirit by means of a condensation of od so strong that the spirit stands before you in a complete body, differing in no respect from a real human being. It was in such a corporealized state that three of God’s messengers appeared to Abraham, that the Archangel Raphael accompanied young Tobias, and that Christ stood before his disciples after his resurrection. • It is primarily the responsibility of the medium to make his physical od as easily releasable as possible. This is accomplished by steadfast inner composure, or what you call ‘concentration’.. Only such individuals can therefore become good mediums who are able to spiritually compose themselves and divert their thoughts from all worldly matters. That is why your most powerful mediums are found among peoples for whom spiritual composure plays a great role as a religious exercise. • The greatest number of mediums is found among the people of India because their religion calls for daily spiritual composure from childhood on. They call it ‘spiritual submersion’, and many of them attain great perfection in this practice. Since the human spirit employs only its own od during such periods of spiritual composure, the physical od is allowed to rest in the meantime. No strain is put upon it, and it can therefore be liberated all the more readily for use by the spirit world. • The more often a person devotes himself to such spiritual composure, the easier it is for him to release his quiescent corporeal odic force and to make it available by emission. It is as with a magnet. The first time a magnet is used, its power is very slight, not enough to attract even the smallest particle of iron, but the more it is used, the stronger it gets, and in the end it becomes capable of holding onto relatively heavy iron objects. It is the same with the odic force: in the early stages of a medium’s the development it is feeble, but the more often he practices inner composure, the more powerful the odic radiation suitable for spirit communication becomes. The primary goal of the development of mediums is therefore to develop their ability to release as much Od as possible by spiritual concentration. The amount or the strength of this terrestrial od is of equal importance to all spirits, good or evil. A second task in the development of mediums is the adaptation of the medium’s od to that of the spirit working through him. Accomplishing this is the responsibility of the spirit world. The adaptation of the od varies greatly, according to whether it is to be used by high or low spirits.
- 19 - • A high spirit must purify and refine the medium’s od, to filter it, so to speak, whereas a low spirit can forego this, as its own od is impure and readily accommodates itself to the impurified terrestrial od. With some mediums there is still a third purpose to be achieved by development. If, namely, a medium’s entire physical od is to be used by the spirits in their work, this is possible only provided the medium’s spirit is removed from his body; hence, provision must be made for his spirit to leave his body. This is not easy to accomplish. It requires much effort and time-consuming labour on the part of the spirit world. The medium thereby goes through a process not unlike that of dying. As you know, when a person dies, death also ensues from the separation of the spirit from the body. I have already explained to you the difference between the body of a medium whose spirit has left it and a corpse. You will remember that when the spirit of a ‘deep-trance medium’ leaves his body, it still maintains connection with the body by means of a band of od, whereas in the case of a corpse, death has been caused by the severance of this band. From what I have said you will have gained a clear idea of the purpose of the development of the mediums. • Its goal is the liberation of the greatest possible amount of od, the purification of the od for the tasks undertaken by the high spirit world, and, finally, the release of the spirits of ‘deep-trance mediums’ from their bodies. The development of the faculties of ‘clairvoyance’ and ‘clairaudience’ likewise requires training. There, too, the spirit is partly released from the clairvoyant’s body, and the od that surrounds his spirit must undergo appropriate purification. The partial separation of the spirit in the case of clairvoyants differs radically, however, from the separation of the spirit of a ‘deep-trance medium’. It is true that the clairvoyant’s spirit leaves the body, but it remains bound to the body with its entire physical od and all its parts. The od merely expands, to use an earthly concept, and its expansion allows the partial leaving of the spirit. With a clairvoyant, a separation of the physical od from the spirit does not take place. • With a ‘deep-trance medium’ the entire od, except for an odic band, is separated from the spirit, which is thereby set free, being enabled to leave the body and to travel for great distances from it, thanks to the high elasticity of that band. When the medium’s spirit has left his body, its place is taken by a foreign spirit, which proceeds to deliver its messages. • This is not possible with a clairvoyant, for in his case no foreign spirit can enter, as his own spirit is still bound to the whole physical od of his body and, in consequence, no space is left available for occupation by another spirit. In the case of the clairvoyant, therefore, a very close union is maintained between his own spirit and the od of his body, and in that of a ‘deep-trance medium’ there is an almost complete liberation of the spirit from the physical od. With the clairvoyant, it is his own spirit wanting to see and hear; with the deep-trance medium, the medium’s spirit surrenders its place to another spirit, allowing that spirit to manifest itself through the medium’s body by using the physical od, which has remained behind.
- 20 - There are, however, clairvoyants who are also ‘trance mediums’, be it of the ‘partial trance’ or the ‘deep trance’ type. You will readily understand that the spirit world has varied and difficult work to perform in developing and preparing the mediums. You can, of course, form no conception of how costly – to use a worldly expression – the development of mediums is for the spirit world. How much spiritual power must be expended, how many precious remedies and other substances are consumed in the process! Spiritual operations, often much larger and more difficult than those undertaken by your surgeons upon terrestrial human bodies, are necessary. • Some mediums have inner defects that must first be cured before their development as a medium can begin. Just as your surgeons have a great variety of instruments and medicines for the operations they perform, so do we, for we have a spiritual counterpart for everything that you possess in material form. Of course, we spirits are never ill and never require operations or treatment. • We use our substantial knowledge and resources only on behalf of material creation, to cure men and beasts and to develop mediums for the purpose of communication with the spirit world. We have our specialists in all departments, including the development of mediums. We have our chief physicians and assistants, and most diverse trained help. We have a great assortment of spiritual instruments, anaesthetics, tonics and medicines. All of which are used in the development of the mediums. Consequently, a great many spirits are involved in the development of a medium to serve the good. Just as each assistant at an operation conducted by human beings has a specific task, so, while a medium is being developed, each spirit connected with the process has its special work to do. Everything is beautifully organized. • Your mediums in development are therefore in good hands, provided that they place themselves at the disposal of the good spirits, that they shun all evil and do everything with God. No one need therefore be alarmed at witnessing what goes on during the development of a medium, especially a deep-trance medium. Everything follows fixed laws. The good spirits are the best friends you have, and you have nothing whatever to fear from them. • The development of mediums is accomplished most speedily at the so-called ‘spiritistic gatherings’ [séances]. On this account and in view of the great importance of such development I shall go into greater detail as to how these séances should be held. At the same time, I shall give you the reasons for the particulars that must be observed on such occasions. I shall also explain to you the things that happen at these séances in the course of a medium’s development.
- 21 - 2. 4 The procedures of a spiritistic meeting (Transmission from the SPHERES of LIGHT) When a group of seekers after God and the Truth have decided to unite in an effort to enter into communication with the good spirit world, the first thing to be determined upon is the place at which their meetings are to be regularly held. This place should be chosen so as to ensure that they are not disturbed. You, too, when conducting important worldly affairs, are careful to provide against intrusion. This is all the more essential when you are trying to establish a purely spiritual bond, which would be much more susceptible to disturbing influences than would any worldly undertaking. • The best time for such meetings is in the evening after eight o’clock. This is when the day’s work with its worldly cares and thoughts is over, and people can devote themselves calmly to inner composure. • Generally speaking, séances should not be held more often than twice a week. • Before the meeting, the room should be thoroughly aired to rid it of all vapor, tobacco smoke and stale air, For the odic force of the participants is greatly reduced by impure air, and the odic radiation so essential to the spirit world is obstructed. • To keep the air pure a large bowl of fresh water should be placed in the room; this absorbs a part of the air which becomes stale in the course of the séance. • On the table at which the participants are to be seated place a few sheets of paper and a soft pencil for each of them. • Immediately before the opening of the séance, those present must no longer talk about material matters, but must concentrate their thoughts and dismiss all purely worldly matters from their minds. Remember, it is for a Divine service that they have assembled! • The seat each participant chooses at the first meeting should be regularly occupied by him thereafter, because the odic radiation, which varies with each individual, must gradually be brought into a certain equilibrium. • For this reason, those present should seat themselves alternately according to gender, for the od of the male is predominantly positive, while that of the female is negative, and offsetting the one with the other is the best way of establishing a balance. However, this alternate seating arrangement is not imperative; it merely facilitates the balancing of the od for producing an effective odic current. A change in the originally adopted order of seating should be made only if the spirit world gives such an instruction through a trained medium or a medium undergoing development. • If there is a musical instrument like a piano or an organ in the assembly room, it is best to begin the meeting with a religious hymn, sung to accompaniment by the instrument.
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