The influence of grief on the deceased

- 19 - Therefore, never forget that your spirit is akin to a pantry that preserves all events for your otherworldly life. Everything that befalls you in your life after your demise is a direct consequence of the degree you learned to control your thoughts and your base physical instincts. To allow spirit and soul to have control over body and matter is a necessity when it comes to your future happiness. Whether this is possible is up to you to decide. Continue in your accustomed fashion here, if you are prepared to pay the account of your actions in the hereafter. Be make sure that you do not incur any more credit here. You must pay! But if you think half as practical as every one of you thinks that they are, you will follow my advice and you will allow your mental, spiritual life to control your physical side. It will guide you safely and gladly, even if you might hold the opinion that it must lead you towards religious asceticism. This perception is wrong! The unfoldment of your mental and spiritual life opens up a life of delicious joy for you here on Earth, but it keeps you under control and it has the capacity to slow you down when your carnal desires impel you to act in ways that you have to bitterly account for in the hereafter.” 15. Grief as a Fetter in the Hereafter The Englishman James Less (1849 – 1931), he worked for decades as a voice and materialisation medium , reports a conversation between two deceased in his book “Through the Mist”. One of them reports about conditions after death (5, Volume 1, P. 49): “A lot are held in mental fetters for instance, namely by their loved ones who mourn them here on Earth, long after the influences of the physical body have been conquered.” “How is this possible?” “I have already told you that love is the greatest power that we know. The soul is subjected to its influence the moment it leaves its body. The grief of those that are left behind is therefore a strong influence on the soul that has left the body behind, it is like an anchor that fetters their spirit to the Earth. We sometimes encounter great difficulties in regards to counteracting these damaging influences. Those that are left behind would certainly surrender less unrestrained to their pain, if they could witness the effect on the departed just the once.” 16. The Suffering of those left behind pulls a Deceased back It is sometimes also the severe suffering of the relatives that are left behind that impels the deceased to return back to Earth in order to announce themselves psychically and to ask for help for their relatives. Such an event happened in the circle of the already mentioned Maria Silbert from Graz. The engineer Rudolf Sekanek writes in his book (16, P. 84): “Dr. Gangl and Mrs. Felser-Schuller tell us about the following incident: During the meeting on the 15 th of May 1917, the spirit of a fallen soldier announced himself and asked for help. Lieutenant Rittmann (Dr. Professor Rudolf Rittmann who died on the 12 th of July 1950 in Innsbruck) questioned the spirit and at the end of the interview, had noted down the following: Johann Haas from Rottenmann - Soldier – killed in action in Russia – begs for help for his wife and his eight children he left behind - they were in dire need of help, close to starvation. Rittmann investigated and the municipal council in Rottenmann, in the district of Murau, confirmed the correctness of his statements. He wrote the family a letter on the 19 th of June and he received the following answer from the widow: ‘Hedwig Haas, Rottenmann District Murau, Upper Styria Rottenmann, the 25 th of June 1917