| Year 15 | Number 87 | 2007 | September 15th, 2007 |
| "Unshakable
faith is only that which can face reason face to
face in every Humankind epoch." Allan Kardec |
| |
"Academics and scientists matriculate in an environment... or paradigm, if you will... that ridicules the concept of an afterlife. So it is psychologically difficult for them to take seriously the idea that there could be hard evidence for something they have been ridiculing all their professional lives. Using myself as an example, in the 25 years or so that I've been looking into these matters, not once has a colleague ever asked me why I am interested in it and take it seriously. On the contrary, they take my interest in these matters as evidence that I've 'lost it' or 'gone off the deep end.' However, I think there is another factor, perhaps even more significant than the usual resistance to ideas that don't fit into the materialists cherished belief system. Ken Ring says in his latest book that the near-death experience is in a way subversive to the 'American Dream.' I think Ken is right. NDEers come back from their experience claiming to know what purpose of life is. That purpose is to seek knowledge, and, most importantly, to grow in our ability to give and receive love. Now academics and scientists are pursuing the American Dream just like everyone else... they want as much fame, reputation, respect as they can get, and competition for these 'goods' can be quite fierce. So an academic who has been relentlessly pursuing his own career, seeking approval from those in authority over him, publishing the 'right' journals on 'approved' topics (parapsychology is definitely not on the list of approved topics!)... such a person does not want to hear that he has been pursuing false gods, and that the important thing is love, not career or reputation. The purpose of life, according to NDE research, and strongly corroborated by mediumship studies, is not publishing, winning arguments, being thought clever by colleagues, etc... but rather, extending to others as much love as possible. We live in a very competitive society, in which people are taught that their value, their self-worth, depends upon being better than others. So academics, like everyone else who has bought into the 'American Dream,' will resist the message of universal love; hence they kill the messenger... that is, they ignore, resist, and ridicule the evidence." [Extract from the interview by Michael E. Tymn with the Philosophy Professor Dr. Neal Grossman, in The Searchlight [Volume 16, N° 2, June 2007] the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies' newsletter. Professor Neal Grossman earned his bachelor's from MIT, his master's and Ph.D. in history and philosophy of science from Indiana University. He has been teaching at the University of Illinois at Chicago for the past 36 years.] |
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| °EDITORIAL
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| BLIND FAITH OR FAITH THROUGH
REASONING |
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| ° THE CODIFICATION
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| THE GOSPEL
ACCORDING
TO SPIRITISM |
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| CHRISTIANITY AND SPIRITUALISM by Leon Denis | |||
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| PRIDE
AND HUMILITY |
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INTRIGUING EVIDENCE FROM
THE PAST - The Mystery of
Patience Worh
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NEW PUBLISHED SPIRITIST BOOK
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| ° EDITORIAL |
A person who was raised to believe that Christ died for their sins, and accepting Him as their personal Savior will save them and guarantee they go to heaven after they die, asked me why Spiritism is any easier to believe in than their belief system. They said one could be just as good as the other.
My answer to their question was this: Spiritism is more open to be analyzed, researched, and subject to experimentation. Through study and the use of one's reason, enough information could be acquired for a person to come to a conclusion as to whether sufficient proof had been given that could convince a person that the basic concepts of Spiritism are at least either very possible, very probable, or totally believable.
Whereas, Christianity depends totally on blind belief in the Bible as the Word of God and official church explanations which demand the person to accept things without being able to investigate anything. I have found that many people who allege they are Christian do not usually believe the Bible literally. To me this is an indication of much doubt. They pick and choose what they want to believe in. Is the Bible the true and Holy Word of God, or not? If it is, how can one honestly pick and choose and be faithful to one's belief? Many Christian still do not find comfort in their belief when tragedy strikes. One would think that a religion should provide answers to Life's inequities, and provide security and comfort to those in suffering, with strong faith in the Supreme Justice of God.
On the other hand, Spiritism allows for constant investigation. If a person is honest and sincere in their search to discover what it is all about, through reading, study, and attending a good Spiritist Center, I believe, that the majority of these people will eventually come away with information which will have themselves saying that the concepts are reasonable, and also, that they will eventually receive certain proofs, which at the very least, will make them strongly question their previous belief system, if not provide sufficient evidence that Spiritism is indeed very credible. But the person must be willing to truly and sincerely take the time to do this investigation with an open mind. Jesus said, "Seek and ye shall find." That is good advice. Spiritists also tell those who are studying the science and religious philosophy of Spiritism, to only accept what you find is reasonable and reject what you don't.
Mankind should seek to find the answers to the purpose of their lives, and why and how they are to conduct themselves, and to know the purpose of suffering. Why? So that one can feel secure and comforted with knowledge of the Divine Justice of God, amidst all the trials and tribulations of this earthly life. There is much superstitious belief in the world and reason will eventually prevail. The supernatural does not exist, they are only natural laws not yet fully understood. Spiritists believe God gave us our reason to find out knowledge of these natural laws, and the more mankind evolves, the more it will discover, learn, and comprehend them.
Yvonne Limoges
Editor GEAE and Director of The Spiritist Society of Florida
Back to Content
| ° THE CODIFICATION |
THE
GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SPIRITISM
CHAPTER VII
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ."
"At that time Jesus said: 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.'"
[MATTHEW 5: 3 & 11, 25]
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE WORDS 'POOR IN SPIRIT'
CHAPTER VII
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ."
"At that time Jesus said: 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.'"
[MATTHEW 5: 3 & 11, 25]
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE WORDS 'POOR IN SPIRIT'
2. Skeptics have mocked this maxim, as they have
mocked many other things they do not understand. By the words 'the poor in spirit' Jesus did not
mean those devoid of intelligence, but those who are humble, in as much
as He said that the kingdom of heaven would be for them and not for the
prideful.
Men of knowledge and imagination, so called by public conviction, generally hold such high opinions of themselves and their superiority that they consider everything divine as being under serving of their consideration. By concentrating all their attention upon themselves, they are then unable to lift up their eyes to God. This tendency to believe they are superior to everything else very frequently leads them to deny anything that might be above them, even Divinity itself, for fear it might belittle them. Or if they condescend to admit its existence, they then contest one of its most beautiful attributes, which is providential action over things of this world, because they think they alone are sufficient to govern. Taking the intelligence they possess as a measure for universal intelligence, and judging themselves able to understand everything, they are unable to believe in the viability of that which they do not know. They consider their judgment to be law.
If they do not admit the existence of the invisible world and of a superhuman power, it is not because it is beyond their capability, but because their pride makes them revolt against the idea of something above which they are unable to place themselves and which would bring them down from the pedestal upon which they like to contemplate. Hence they only have scorn for everything that does not belong to the visible and tangible world. They attribute to themselves such imagination and learning that they cannot believe in things which, according to their way of thinking, are only good for simple people, taking for poor in spirit all who take such matters seriously.
However, say what they like, they will inevitably be drawn into this invisible world they scoff at, together with everyone else. It is there that their eyes will be opened, so making them realize their errors. Nevertheless, God being just, he cannot receive those who have denied His majesty in the same manner as those who submit to His laws with humility, nor can He give them equal share.
By saying that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit, Jesus teaches that no one will be admitted without simplicity of heart and humility of spirit; that the ignorant person who possesses these qualities will be preferred to the wise person who believes more in himself than in God. In all circumstances Jesus put humility into the category of virtues that bring Man near to God and pride into the category of vices that keep Man away from God. The reason for this is clear, for to be humble is an act of submission to God, whereas pride is a revolt against Him. For Man then, there is far greater value for his future happiness, by being poor in spirit, as the world would understand it, and rich in moral qualities.
Men of knowledge and imagination, so called by public conviction, generally hold such high opinions of themselves and their superiority that they consider everything divine as being under serving of their consideration. By concentrating all their attention upon themselves, they are then unable to lift up their eyes to God. This tendency to believe they are superior to everything else very frequently leads them to deny anything that might be above them, even Divinity itself, for fear it might belittle them. Or if they condescend to admit its existence, they then contest one of its most beautiful attributes, which is providential action over things of this world, because they think they alone are sufficient to govern. Taking the intelligence they possess as a measure for universal intelligence, and judging themselves able to understand everything, they are unable to believe in the viability of that which they do not know. They consider their judgment to be law.
If they do not admit the existence of the invisible world and of a superhuman power, it is not because it is beyond their capability, but because their pride makes them revolt against the idea of something above which they are unable to place themselves and which would bring them down from the pedestal upon which they like to contemplate. Hence they only have scorn for everything that does not belong to the visible and tangible world. They attribute to themselves such imagination and learning that they cannot believe in things which, according to their way of thinking, are only good for simple people, taking for poor in spirit all who take such matters seriously.
However, say what they like, they will inevitably be drawn into this invisible world they scoff at, together with everyone else. It is there that their eyes will be opened, so making them realize their errors. Nevertheless, God being just, he cannot receive those who have denied His majesty in the same manner as those who submit to His laws with humility, nor can He give them equal share.
By saying that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit, Jesus teaches that no one will be admitted without simplicity of heart and humility of spirit; that the ignorant person who possesses these qualities will be preferred to the wise person who believes more in himself than in God. In all circumstances Jesus put humility into the category of virtues that bring Man near to God and pride into the category of vices that keep Man away from God. The reason for this is clear, for to be humble is an act of submission to God, whereas pride is a revolt against Him. For Man then, there is far greater value for his future happiness, by being poor in spirit, as the world would understand it, and rich in moral qualities.
| ° ELECTRONIC BOOKS |
CHRISTIANITY AND SPIRITUALISM
The History of the Gospels
The Secret Doctrine of Christianity
Intercourse with the Spirits of the Dead
The New Revelation
Vitam Impendere Vero
By
LÉON DENIS
Author of
"Après La Mort, "Dans L'Invisible," ETC.
Translated from the French by
HELEN DRAPER SPEAKMAN
LONDON
PHILIP WELLBY
6 Henrietta Street Covent Garden
1904
This book is out of print indefinitely
1st Electronic Edition by
the
Advanced
Study Group of Spiritism
(GEAE)
2006
THE NEW REVELATION - SPIRITUALISM AND SCIENCE
= Third Part =
Much more common are the
phenomena of mediumistic writing. The subject, under occult control,
writes on paper communications and messages in which his thought or
will have very little or no part. This faculty presents itself under
many aspects. It is purely mechanical with certain mediums, who are
utterly unconscious, at the moment of writing, of the nature or the
meaning of the messages obtained. Indeed many can keep up an animated
conversation all the time, or divert their attention and do work in the
dark. More frequently it is semi-mechanical, in which case the brain as
well as the arm is influenced, and the medium's thought perceives the
words as the pencil traces them. Again it may be purely intuitive, and
consequently less convincing and more difficult to prove.
The messages obtained by these means offer a great variety of styles and are of very unequal value. The greater number consist of platitudes, but there are many remarkable for their beauty of form and purity of thought, also for the fact that they contain information entirely unknown to the medium, or are written in a language of which he is ignorant, or catian prophecies afterwards realized. Often also, the thoughts expressed are directly opposed to the wishes of the writer.13
Perhaps the best case of automatic writing is that in which the book of Charles Dickens, "The mystery of Edwin Drood," wich was interrupted by the death of the novelist, was finished, under his direction, by an uneducated American medium, and in such a manner that it is impossible to decide, on reading the completed work, at what point the living author laid down his pen and the work of the medium began.
The world of spirits being largely composed of souls who have inhabited this earth, and great intelligence being rare in both places, we can readily understand that the greater number of communications from the beyond should be wanting in grandeur and originality. But almost all have an undoubtedly moral tendency and show good intentions. How many grief-stricken ones have thus been enabled to receive consolation and encouragement from those they have loved and believed they had lost! How many hesitating in the difficult path of duty, have been restored, dissuaded from suicide, armed against their passions, by exhortations from the beyond!
Above these manifestations, whose usefulness is so evident, and whose moral effect is so great, we must yet place certain extraordinary messages, signed in simple fashion or in allegorical terms, but animated by a powerful and living breath, and bearing in their form and teaching, the mark of really superior spirits. It is by means of such documents that the doctrine of spiritualism has been constituted. Allan Kardec received many such. Since his time these sources of superhuman thought have nor turn dry; they continue to well forth for the benefit of mankind.
The phenomena of direct and of automatic writing are completed and confirmed by those of materialisation. Here, the spirits do not stop at writing themselves, or at causing writing to be produced, they speak! They speak by the means of the organs of the medium, who, plunged in a magnetic sleep, gives up his material envelope to invisible personalities, who take possession of it to converse with those present. By this means, suggestive conversations take place between the inhabitants of space and the friends and relations they have left on earth.
Even in the manifestations of mechanical writing, the identity of the spirits is established by the form of the handwriting, by the analogy of the signatures, the familiar forms of expression and even the faults of spelling habitually made in bygone times by these spirits and found once more in their messages, all these peculiarities being of course unknown to the mediums. In the cases of materialization this identity is still more evident. By its attitude, gestures, and remarks, the spirit reveals itself to be the same as in earth life. Those who have known the man in his last incarnation recognize him promptly, his individuality reappears in characteristic forms of speech and in sayings and expressions which he was in the habit of using; indeed, in a thousand psychological details which cannot be analyzed and can only be appreciated by those who have made a close study of these phenomena.
What is more touching than to see a mother come back to exhort and encourage the children she left behind her? What more curious than to see spirits of the most varied sorts animate successively the envelope of a medium, and manifest themselves to those present by word and gesture? For each one, the whole countenance of the medium is transformed, the voice changes, the expression of the features is modified. By its language and its attitude, the personality of the spirit reveals itself, before it has even given its name.
In a circle of experimenters over which we presided, we long possessed two materializing mediums. One of them was used by the guardian spirits of our group. When animated by one of these the features took an angelic expression, the voice became soft and melodious. The language became pure, poetical and elevated, far beyond the personal faculties of the subject. The sight seemed to penetrate into the hearts of those present. The spirit read their thoughts, she spoke successively to each of them, giving advice and warnings touching their moral state and their private life, which showed, even at first interview, a perfect knowledge of their character and the state of their conscience. She spoke to them of intimate things, known only to themselves. She awed them all by her air of majesty, as well as by the wisdom and gentleness of her speech. The impression produced was deep. Everything seemed to vibrate and become illuminated around this spirit. After its departure we felt as if something great had passed from our midst.
Almost always, a second spirit, of a certain elevation, but of quite a different character, took immediate possession of the medium. The second spirit's speech was short and strong, his gestures energetic and dominating. His knowledge was vast. He undertook the direction of the philosophical and moral studies of the group and was able to resolve the most difficult problems. We had a great veneration for him and loved to obey him. But, for a new comer, it was a curious spectacle to see, in the frail envelope of a lady of timid manners and modest acquirements, the successive incarnation of two spirits of such elevated though dissimilar characters.
Our second medium was no less interesting. She was a lady of high education and great elegance, the wife of an officer of high rank, and seemed, according to all appearances, to unite all the requisites for phenomena of the highest kinds. It was just the contrary that happened. This lady was generally used by backward spirits, who had occupied on earth very various positions. It was amusing, for instance, to hear an ex-vegetable-seller of Amiens express herself in the Picardy patois, through the lips of a person of refined and distinguished manners, who had never been in Picardy. The language of the medium, always so correct and choice, became confused, thick, full of faults and lapses and local expressions, during her magnetic sleep, when the spirit of "Sophy" came to us. When the vegetable-woman left, other spirits would take her place, filing so to speak one after the other, through the envelope of the medium and showing us a succession of the most varied types; an ex-sacristan, with an unctuous and slow manner, and speaking low, as if in a church; an ex-public-prosecutor, with his imperious gesture, his mocking tone, his hard and cutting speech, etc.
Often most touching scenes took place, which brought tears from the spectators. Friends from beyond the tomb came and recalled to them recollections of childhood, services rendered, faults committed; told of their manner of life in space, spoke of the joys and sufferings felt after death, according to their way of life on earth. We listened to deep conversations between spirits, to dissertations full of logic and grandeur on the mysteries of life and death, on all the great problems of the universe, and each time, our souls were moved and strengthened. This intimate communion with the invisible world opened to us infinite perspectives of thought and influenced our actions; it shed for us a bright light on the dark and tortuous road of life. A day will come when men will understand the value of such teachings and seek after them. On that day, our outlook will indeed be changed.
After passing rapidly in review the principal phenomena which serve as a basis to modern spiritualism, our résumé would be incomplete if we did not mention the objections presented and the opposing theories, by the help of which it has been sought to explain them.
Firstly, there is absolute negation. Spiritualism, it is said, is but a mass of fraud and tricks. All the extraordinary facts on which it is based are simulated.
It is true that impostors have tried to imitate these phenomena, but their tricks have been easily discovered. A few years ago, an American medium was caught red handed in Paris, and it was the spiritualists themselves who unmasked him. Frauds of this sort are revealed by much less rigorous and minute tests than those to which the real phenomena are subjected. In nearly all the cases quoted above - levitations, apparitions, materializations of spirits - the mediums were bound, and attached to their chairs, frequently also their hands and feet were held by the experimenters. Sometimes the mediums were even placed in specially constructed cages, which were locked, and the key placed in the hands of the operators, who stood around the subject. Sometimes in an excess of precaution, the key was hung from the ceiling. It was under such conditions that numerous cases of materialization took place. After all, the impostures have been of small number, and many of the phenomena have never been imitated, because they are beyond imitation.
The phenomena of spiritualism have been observed, verified and testified to, by the most skeptical men of science, who have passed though all the degrees of incredulity, and who have become convinced little by little, under the continued pressure of facts. The scientists were men of the laboratory, well-known physicists and chemists, doctors and magistrates. They possessed all the requisite qualifications, and were eminently capable of unmasking the cleverest frauds, of detecting the sharpest tricks. The facts of spiritualism have been attested by men occupying the highest positions in the sciences, and whose names are among those honored and respected by mankind at large. After these illustrious men, all those who have studied these phenomena patiently, conscientiously and perseveringly, affirm their reality, while criticism and denial emanate almost entirely from people who have judged superficially given little time or trouble to researches and experiments, and possessing very insufficient knowledge of them.
There has happened to them what so often happens to inconstant observers. They have obtained but feeble results, sometimes none at all, and they have become more skeptical than ever. They forget the essential point, that spiritualistic phenomena are subject to certain laws and conditions which must be observed and known. Their patience gave out too soon. The proofs they require are not obtained in a few days. Sir W. Crookes, Prof. Russel Wallace, Zollner, Aksakof, Dale Owen, Robert Hare and numerous other scientists studied the question for many years. They did not rest content with attending a few more or less well-conducted séances, with more or less good mediums. They took the trouble to hunt up the facts, to group them, to analyze them; they went to the bottom of the questions. Therefore, their perseverance was crowned with success and their methods of investigating may be recommended to all earnest seekers.
Among the theories most often brought forward to explain away the spiritualistic phenomena, that of hallucination holds the foremost place. But this has ceased to have any foundation, in face of the photographs of spirits obtained by Aksakof, Crookes, Volpi, and so many others. A hallucination cannot be photographed.
The Invisibles do not only impress the photographic plate, but also instruments of precision, such as the Marey registering machines, used by English scientists in their experiments. They lift up material objects, they decompose them, and recompose them, they leave the impression of their hands, feet, or faces in hot paraffin wax.
All these are so many proofs against the theory of either individual or collective hallucination.
Certain people accuse the phenomena of vulgarity, of coarseness, of triviality; they consider them ridiculous. These opinions prove their incompetence. The manifestations cannot differ from what they would have been, coming from the same spirit, had he been living on this earth. Death does not change us, and we are only, in the life beyond, what we have made ourselves in this life. This explains the inferiority of so many discarnate spirits.
On the other hand, these trivial or vulgar manifestations have their use, for they more easily attract attention and best reveal the identity of the spirit. They have convinced numbers of experimenters of the reality of spirit-survival, and have brought them, little by little, to the study of the more elevated phenomena. For, as we have said, the phenomena are like the links of a chain and follow a graduated order, by virtue of a plan which seems to indicate the action of a power, a higher will, which seeks to draw mankind from its indifference and lead it to the study and discovery of its own destiny.
The physical facts, the talking-tables, the haunted houses, were all needed to attract the attention of men, but they are only a preliminary means, a pathway opened to higher realms of knowledge.
For long spiritualism was considered a ridiculous thing, for long spiritualists were laughed at, mocked and accused of madness. But have not all those who have brought forward a new idea, or a new truth, been called madmen? "A madman" was said of Galileo. "Mad," were called Giordano Bruno, Galvani, Watt, Palissy, Salomon de Caus!
The road of progress is often a rough one to its earliest travelers. It is watered by many tears and much blood. Those we have mentioned fought their way through interests banded together against them. They were despised by some, hated and persecuted by others. They fought and suffered, and compared to them, those who are only mocked at today may consider their lot an easy one. Spiritualists of today may console themselves under the sarcasms levelled at them, by the knowledge that they too bring a benefit, a force, a light to mankind.
In each century history corrects her judgments. That which seemed great becomes small, that which appeared small becomes great. Even today people are beginning to understand that the growth of spiritualism is one of the most important events of modern times, in the evolution of thought, and contains the germ of one of the greatest moral revolutions the world has ever seen.
Whatever mockery it has been the object of, it mus be acknowledged that to spiritualism is due the new psychic science of the day; for without it, and the impetus given by it, all the discoveries due to this science would be still in the future.
As regards the study of spirit-manifestations, spiritualists find themselves in good company.
The illustrious names of Russel Wallace, W. Crookes, Robert Hare, Mapes, Zollner, Aksakof, Boutlerof, Wagner, and Flammarion, have often been quoted. We see also scientists like M. Myers, of Cambridge, Prof. William James of Harvard University, Prof. Lodge of Liverpool, Prof. Richet, Col. de Rochas, who do not consider this study unworthy of them. What must we think then of such accusations of ridicule, of madness? What do they prove, but the sad fact that the reign of blind routine is still powerful in certain quarters. Man is too much inclined to judge things by the narrow horizon of his prejudices and his knowledge. He must raise himself higher, carry his view further and measure his feebleness in the face of the universe. He will thus learn to be modest, and neither to reject nor condemn without examination.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The attempt has been made to explain all the phenomena of spiritualism by suggestion and double personality. In the experiments, we are told, the medium suggests to himself or obeys the influence of those presente.
Mental suggestion, which is only thought-transference, can, in spite of the difficulties it presents, be understood, and can be established between two organized brains, as, for instance, between the magnetizer and his subject. But can we believe that suggestion can act on a table? Can we admit that inanimate objects should receive and reproduce the impressions of the spectators?
How could we explain on this theory the cases of identity, of revelation of facts, of dates, unknown to the medium and the spectators, such as often occur in these experiments, as well as manifestations contrary to the will of all present.
Often, things yet to happen, as well as facts and details absolutely unknown to every living soul on earth, have been revealed by mediums, and afterwards verified and found to be true. There are some remarkable instances mentioned in Aksakof's book "Animism and Spiritism," and in the work, "Modern Spiritualism," by Prof. Russel Wallace, as also cases of mediumship of very young children, which cannot, any more than the preceding, be explained by suggestion.14
According to Messrs. Janet and Ferré,15 the writing medium is to be compared to a hypnotic subject, who has a personality suggested to him during sleep, and on waking has lost all recollection of this suggestion. The subject unconsciously writes a letter, or tale, referring to this imaginary person. That is, they tell us, the origin of all spirit-messages. This is one of the most cherished theories of our adversaries.
All those who have any experience in this matter know that this explanation is an impossible one. The mediums, writing authomaticaly, are not in a hypnotic sleep. They are wide awake and in possession of all their faculties and their own personality, and it is thus that they write under the control of the spirit. In the experiments of M. Janet, there is always a hypnotizer connected by a magnetic tie to the subject. It is quite different in the spiritualistic séances; none of the spectators act on the medium, and all present are absolutely ignorant as to what will be the kind of spirit who will communicate. Very often, questions are put to the spirits by the incredulous, who are much more disposed to combat the manifestations than to facilitate them.
The phenomena do not only consist in the automatic character of the writing, but especially in the intelligent proofs of the identities supplied. M.Janet's experiments give nothing of the kind. The communications suggested to the subject are always utter platitudes, whereas the messages brought us by the spirits give us indications and revelations as to the present and past life of those we have known on earth, our nearest and dearest, all details being quite unknown to the medium and full of distinct characteristics which distinguish them absolutely from the experiences of hypnotism.
It would be impossible, by suggestion, to cause illiterate persons to write or to obtain by means of a table, such poems as those collected by Mr. Jaubert, President of the Court of Carcassonne; or to cause the apparition of hands and of human forms, or the phenomena of the slates which, sealed together, become covered with writing while held in the hands of those who brought them with them, and never, for one moment laid them down.
13 See "Spirit-teachings," by Rev. Stainton Moses.
14 See note 13.
15 "Automatisme psychologique," by P. Janet.
The messages obtained by these means offer a great variety of styles and are of very unequal value. The greater number consist of platitudes, but there are many remarkable for their beauty of form and purity of thought, also for the fact that they contain information entirely unknown to the medium, or are written in a language of which he is ignorant, or catian prophecies afterwards realized. Often also, the thoughts expressed are directly opposed to the wishes of the writer.13
Perhaps the best case of automatic writing is that in which the book of Charles Dickens, "The mystery of Edwin Drood," wich was interrupted by the death of the novelist, was finished, under his direction, by an uneducated American medium, and in such a manner that it is impossible to decide, on reading the completed work, at what point the living author laid down his pen and the work of the medium began.
The world of spirits being largely composed of souls who have inhabited this earth, and great intelligence being rare in both places, we can readily understand that the greater number of communications from the beyond should be wanting in grandeur and originality. But almost all have an undoubtedly moral tendency and show good intentions. How many grief-stricken ones have thus been enabled to receive consolation and encouragement from those they have loved and believed they had lost! How many hesitating in the difficult path of duty, have been restored, dissuaded from suicide, armed against their passions, by exhortations from the beyond!
Above these manifestations, whose usefulness is so evident, and whose moral effect is so great, we must yet place certain extraordinary messages, signed in simple fashion or in allegorical terms, but animated by a powerful and living breath, and bearing in their form and teaching, the mark of really superior spirits. It is by means of such documents that the doctrine of spiritualism has been constituted. Allan Kardec received many such. Since his time these sources of superhuman thought have nor turn dry; they continue to well forth for the benefit of mankind.
The phenomena of direct and of automatic writing are completed and confirmed by those of materialisation. Here, the spirits do not stop at writing themselves, or at causing writing to be produced, they speak! They speak by the means of the organs of the medium, who, plunged in a magnetic sleep, gives up his material envelope to invisible personalities, who take possession of it to converse with those present. By this means, suggestive conversations take place between the inhabitants of space and the friends and relations they have left on earth.
Even in the manifestations of mechanical writing, the identity of the spirits is established by the form of the handwriting, by the analogy of the signatures, the familiar forms of expression and even the faults of spelling habitually made in bygone times by these spirits and found once more in their messages, all these peculiarities being of course unknown to the mediums. In the cases of materialization this identity is still more evident. By its attitude, gestures, and remarks, the spirit reveals itself to be the same as in earth life. Those who have known the man in his last incarnation recognize him promptly, his individuality reappears in characteristic forms of speech and in sayings and expressions which he was in the habit of using; indeed, in a thousand psychological details which cannot be analyzed and can only be appreciated by those who have made a close study of these phenomena.
What is more touching than to see a mother come back to exhort and encourage the children she left behind her? What more curious than to see spirits of the most varied sorts animate successively the envelope of a medium, and manifest themselves to those present by word and gesture? For each one, the whole countenance of the medium is transformed, the voice changes, the expression of the features is modified. By its language and its attitude, the personality of the spirit reveals itself, before it has even given its name.
In a circle of experimenters over which we presided, we long possessed two materializing mediums. One of them was used by the guardian spirits of our group. When animated by one of these the features took an angelic expression, the voice became soft and melodious. The language became pure, poetical and elevated, far beyond the personal faculties of the subject. The sight seemed to penetrate into the hearts of those present. The spirit read their thoughts, she spoke successively to each of them, giving advice and warnings touching their moral state and their private life, which showed, even at first interview, a perfect knowledge of their character and the state of their conscience. She spoke to them of intimate things, known only to themselves. She awed them all by her air of majesty, as well as by the wisdom and gentleness of her speech. The impression produced was deep. Everything seemed to vibrate and become illuminated around this spirit. After its departure we felt as if something great had passed from our midst.
Almost always, a second spirit, of a certain elevation, but of quite a different character, took immediate possession of the medium. The second spirit's speech was short and strong, his gestures energetic and dominating. His knowledge was vast. He undertook the direction of the philosophical and moral studies of the group and was able to resolve the most difficult problems. We had a great veneration for him and loved to obey him. But, for a new comer, it was a curious spectacle to see, in the frail envelope of a lady of timid manners and modest acquirements, the successive incarnation of two spirits of such elevated though dissimilar characters.
Our second medium was no less interesting. She was a lady of high education and great elegance, the wife of an officer of high rank, and seemed, according to all appearances, to unite all the requisites for phenomena of the highest kinds. It was just the contrary that happened. This lady was generally used by backward spirits, who had occupied on earth very various positions. It was amusing, for instance, to hear an ex-vegetable-seller of Amiens express herself in the Picardy patois, through the lips of a person of refined and distinguished manners, who had never been in Picardy. The language of the medium, always so correct and choice, became confused, thick, full of faults and lapses and local expressions, during her magnetic sleep, when the spirit of "Sophy" came to us. When the vegetable-woman left, other spirits would take her place, filing so to speak one after the other, through the envelope of the medium and showing us a succession of the most varied types; an ex-sacristan, with an unctuous and slow manner, and speaking low, as if in a church; an ex-public-prosecutor, with his imperious gesture, his mocking tone, his hard and cutting speech, etc.
Often most touching scenes took place, which brought tears from the spectators. Friends from beyond the tomb came and recalled to them recollections of childhood, services rendered, faults committed; told of their manner of life in space, spoke of the joys and sufferings felt after death, according to their way of life on earth. We listened to deep conversations between spirits, to dissertations full of logic and grandeur on the mysteries of life and death, on all the great problems of the universe, and each time, our souls were moved and strengthened. This intimate communion with the invisible world opened to us infinite perspectives of thought and influenced our actions; it shed for us a bright light on the dark and tortuous road of life. A day will come when men will understand the value of such teachings and seek after them. On that day, our outlook will indeed be changed.
After passing rapidly in review the principal phenomena which serve as a basis to modern spiritualism, our résumé would be incomplete if we did not mention the objections presented and the opposing theories, by the help of which it has been sought to explain them.
Firstly, there is absolute negation. Spiritualism, it is said, is but a mass of fraud and tricks. All the extraordinary facts on which it is based are simulated.
It is true that impostors have tried to imitate these phenomena, but their tricks have been easily discovered. A few years ago, an American medium was caught red handed in Paris, and it was the spiritualists themselves who unmasked him. Frauds of this sort are revealed by much less rigorous and minute tests than those to which the real phenomena are subjected. In nearly all the cases quoted above - levitations, apparitions, materializations of spirits - the mediums were bound, and attached to their chairs, frequently also their hands and feet were held by the experimenters. Sometimes the mediums were even placed in specially constructed cages, which were locked, and the key placed in the hands of the operators, who stood around the subject. Sometimes in an excess of precaution, the key was hung from the ceiling. It was under such conditions that numerous cases of materialization took place. After all, the impostures have been of small number, and many of the phenomena have never been imitated, because they are beyond imitation.
The phenomena of spiritualism have been observed, verified and testified to, by the most skeptical men of science, who have passed though all the degrees of incredulity, and who have become convinced little by little, under the continued pressure of facts. The scientists were men of the laboratory, well-known physicists and chemists, doctors and magistrates. They possessed all the requisite qualifications, and were eminently capable of unmasking the cleverest frauds, of detecting the sharpest tricks. The facts of spiritualism have been attested by men occupying the highest positions in the sciences, and whose names are among those honored and respected by mankind at large. After these illustrious men, all those who have studied these phenomena patiently, conscientiously and perseveringly, affirm their reality, while criticism and denial emanate almost entirely from people who have judged superficially given little time or trouble to researches and experiments, and possessing very insufficient knowledge of them.
There has happened to them what so often happens to inconstant observers. They have obtained but feeble results, sometimes none at all, and they have become more skeptical than ever. They forget the essential point, that spiritualistic phenomena are subject to certain laws and conditions which must be observed and known. Their patience gave out too soon. The proofs they require are not obtained in a few days. Sir W. Crookes, Prof. Russel Wallace, Zollner, Aksakof, Dale Owen, Robert Hare and numerous other scientists studied the question for many years. They did not rest content with attending a few more or less well-conducted séances, with more or less good mediums. They took the trouble to hunt up the facts, to group them, to analyze them; they went to the bottom of the questions. Therefore, their perseverance was crowned with success and their methods of investigating may be recommended to all earnest seekers.
Among the theories most often brought forward to explain away the spiritualistic phenomena, that of hallucination holds the foremost place. But this has ceased to have any foundation, in face of the photographs of spirits obtained by Aksakof, Crookes, Volpi, and so many others. A hallucination cannot be photographed.
The Invisibles do not only impress the photographic plate, but also instruments of precision, such as the Marey registering machines, used by English scientists in their experiments. They lift up material objects, they decompose them, and recompose them, they leave the impression of their hands, feet, or faces in hot paraffin wax.
All these are so many proofs against the theory of either individual or collective hallucination.
Certain people accuse the phenomena of vulgarity, of coarseness, of triviality; they consider them ridiculous. These opinions prove their incompetence. The manifestations cannot differ from what they would have been, coming from the same spirit, had he been living on this earth. Death does not change us, and we are only, in the life beyond, what we have made ourselves in this life. This explains the inferiority of so many discarnate spirits.
On the other hand, these trivial or vulgar manifestations have their use, for they more easily attract attention and best reveal the identity of the spirit. They have convinced numbers of experimenters of the reality of spirit-survival, and have brought them, little by little, to the study of the more elevated phenomena. For, as we have said, the phenomena are like the links of a chain and follow a graduated order, by virtue of a plan which seems to indicate the action of a power, a higher will, which seeks to draw mankind from its indifference and lead it to the study and discovery of its own destiny.
The physical facts, the talking-tables, the haunted houses, were all needed to attract the attention of men, but they are only a preliminary means, a pathway opened to higher realms of knowledge.
For long spiritualism was considered a ridiculous thing, for long spiritualists were laughed at, mocked and accused of madness. But have not all those who have brought forward a new idea, or a new truth, been called madmen? "A madman" was said of Galileo. "Mad," were called Giordano Bruno, Galvani, Watt, Palissy, Salomon de Caus!
The road of progress is often a rough one to its earliest travelers. It is watered by many tears and much blood. Those we have mentioned fought their way through interests banded together against them. They were despised by some, hated and persecuted by others. They fought and suffered, and compared to them, those who are only mocked at today may consider their lot an easy one. Spiritualists of today may console themselves under the sarcasms levelled at them, by the knowledge that they too bring a benefit, a force, a light to mankind.
In each century history corrects her judgments. That which seemed great becomes small, that which appeared small becomes great. Even today people are beginning to understand that the growth of spiritualism is one of the most important events of modern times, in the evolution of thought, and contains the germ of one of the greatest moral revolutions the world has ever seen.
Whatever mockery it has been the object of, it mus be acknowledged that to spiritualism is due the new psychic science of the day; for without it, and the impetus given by it, all the discoveries due to this science would be still in the future.
As regards the study of spirit-manifestations, spiritualists find themselves in good company.
The illustrious names of Russel Wallace, W. Crookes, Robert Hare, Mapes, Zollner, Aksakof, Boutlerof, Wagner, and Flammarion, have often been quoted. We see also scientists like M. Myers, of Cambridge, Prof. William James of Harvard University, Prof. Lodge of Liverpool, Prof. Richet, Col. de Rochas, who do not consider this study unworthy of them. What must we think then of such accusations of ridicule, of madness? What do they prove, but the sad fact that the reign of blind routine is still powerful in certain quarters. Man is too much inclined to judge things by the narrow horizon of his prejudices and his knowledge. He must raise himself higher, carry his view further and measure his feebleness in the face of the universe. He will thus learn to be modest, and neither to reject nor condemn without examination.
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The attempt has been made to explain all the phenomena of spiritualism by suggestion and double personality. In the experiments, we are told, the medium suggests to himself or obeys the influence of those presente.
Mental suggestion, which is only thought-transference, can, in spite of the difficulties it presents, be understood, and can be established between two organized brains, as, for instance, between the magnetizer and his subject. But can we believe that suggestion can act on a table? Can we admit that inanimate objects should receive and reproduce the impressions of the spectators?
How could we explain on this theory the cases of identity, of revelation of facts, of dates, unknown to the medium and the spectators, such as often occur in these experiments, as well as manifestations contrary to the will of all present.
Often, things yet to happen, as well as facts and details absolutely unknown to every living soul on earth, have been revealed by mediums, and afterwards verified and found to be true. There are some remarkable instances mentioned in Aksakof's book "Animism and Spiritism," and in the work, "Modern Spiritualism," by Prof. Russel Wallace, as also cases of mediumship of very young children, which cannot, any more than the preceding, be explained by suggestion.14
According to Messrs. Janet and Ferré,15 the writing medium is to be compared to a hypnotic subject, who has a personality suggested to him during sleep, and on waking has lost all recollection of this suggestion. The subject unconsciously writes a letter, or tale, referring to this imaginary person. That is, they tell us, the origin of all spirit-messages. This is one of the most cherished theories of our adversaries.
All those who have any experience in this matter know that this explanation is an impossible one. The mediums, writing authomaticaly, are not in a hypnotic sleep. They are wide awake and in possession of all their faculties and their own personality, and it is thus that they write under the control of the spirit. In the experiments of M. Janet, there is always a hypnotizer connected by a magnetic tie to the subject. It is quite different in the spiritualistic séances; none of the spectators act on the medium, and all present are absolutely ignorant as to what will be the kind of spirit who will communicate. Very often, questions are put to the spirits by the incredulous, who are much more disposed to combat the manifestations than to facilitate them.
The phenomena do not only consist in the automatic character of the writing, but especially in the intelligent proofs of the identities supplied. M.Janet's experiments give nothing of the kind. The communications suggested to the subject are always utter platitudes, whereas the messages brought us by the spirits give us indications and revelations as to the present and past life of those we have known on earth, our nearest and dearest, all details being quite unknown to the medium and full of distinct characteristics which distinguish them absolutely from the experiences of hypnotism.
It would be impossible, by suggestion, to cause illiterate persons to write or to obtain by means of a table, such poems as those collected by Mr. Jaubert, President of the Court of Carcassonne; or to cause the apparition of hands and of human forms, or the phenomena of the slates which, sealed together, become covered with writing while held in the hands of those who brought them with them, and never, for one moment laid them down.
13 See "Spirit-teachings," by Rev. Stainton Moses.
14 See note 13.
15 "Automatisme psychologique," by P. Janet.
Next: CHAPTER IX - THE NEW REVELATION -
SPIRITUALISM AND SCIENCE [Fourth Part]
| ° SPIRIT
MESSAGES |
INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE SPIRITS
PRIDE AND HUMILITY
[The Gospel According to Spiritism - Chapter 7]
11. My dear friends, may the peace of the Lord be with you! I am come
in order to encourage you to follow the good pathway.[The Gospel According to Spiritism - Chapter 7]
The humble Spirits, who in other times inhabited the Earth, have been commissioned by God to enlighten you. Blessed be the Lord for the grace that He has granted us of being able to help you improve. May the Holy Spirit illuminate me, so helping to make my words understandable and grant me the favor of being able to put them within reach of all! You who are incarnate, who undergo trials and are searching for the light, I pray that the will of God comes to my aid so that I may make His teachings shine before your eyes!
Humility is a virtue much forgotten amongst you. Of the many examples given very few have been followed. However, is it possible to be charitable to your neighbor without being humble? Of course not, because this sentiment reduces mankind to the same level by telling them they are brothers and sisters who should help one another mutually, which leads them to a state of goodness. Without humility you are merely adorning yourself with virtues you do not possess, as if you used clothes especially for the purpose of hiding some physical deformity. Remember He who saved us; remember His humility, which was so great as to put Him above all the prophets!
Pride is the terrible adversary of humility. If Christ promised the kingdom of heaven to the very poor, it was because the great ones of this Earth imagine their titles and riches to be recompenses, conferred upon them due to merit. So they consider themselves to be of an essence much purer than that of the poor. They judge that the titles and riches are due to them, in view of which, when God takes them away, they accuse Him of injustice. Oh! What a mockery of God's justice, what blindness! Does God then distinguish by means of the body? Is not the physical covering of the poor person just the same as that of the rich person? Has the Creator made two kinds of humanity? Everything made by God is wise and great. Therefore never attribute to Him those ideas created by your own prideful minds.
Oh, you who are rich! While sleeping beneath your golden ceilings safe from the cold, are you unaware that thousands of your brothers and sisters, who in God's eyes are worth just as much as you, sleep upon straw? Are not those who go hungry your equals? I know full well that your pride revolts at my words. You agree to give alms, but you will never shake their hands! "Why so!" you will say, "I, who am of the noblest blood, one of the great of this Earth, equal to those miserable wretches covered in rags! This is a vain Utopia of pseudo-philosophers! If we are equal, why would God have placed them so low and me so high?" It is quite true that your vestments are not alike, but if you undressed yourselves what difference would there be between you and them? Nevertheless, those of noble blood would say there is a chemical difference. But till today no such difference has even been discovered between the blood of a lord and that of a common person, or that of a master and that of a slave. Who can guarantee that in the past you too have not been as wretched and unfortunate as he? That you too have not begged for alms? Who can say that one-day in the future you will not beg alms of one you despise today? Are riches eternal? When the body extinguishes itself do they not disappear? After all, the body is nothing more than the perishable covering of the Spirit! Ah! Cover yourselves with a little humility! Cast your eyes finally on the reality of the things of this world, on what leads to greatness on the one hand and humility on the other. Remember you will not be spared from death, for no one is; nor can your titles be preserved from its blow, which may strike today, tomorrow or at any hour. If you bury yourself in your pride, then I feel sorry for you because you will be deserving of pity!
You who are so full of pride, what were you before you became noble and powerful? Probably you were beneath the lowest of your servants. Therefore, bow down your haughty brows, for God can cause you to fall at the exact moment when you most exalt yourselves. All men are equal on the divine scale of justice; only virtue marks the distinction in the eyes of God. All Spirits come from the same essence and all bodies are formed from the same matter. Your titles and names modify nothing. They remain in the tomb and in no way contribute to the possibility of enjoying the fortunes of the chosen. Their titles of nobleness are based solely on acts of charity and humility.
Poor creature! You are a mother! Your children suffer!They are cold and hungry while you, bent under the burden of your cross, go out to humiliate yourself in order to bring them bread! Oh! I bow down before you! How saintly and noble you are, how great in my eyes! Pray and wait, because happiness still is not of this world. But God will grant the kingdom of heaven to the poor and oppressed who have confidence in Him.
And you, sweet maiden, who are still but a child, thrust into work and privations. Why do you have such thoughts? Why do you cry? Lift up your eyes to God, who is serene and full of pity. He will not abandon you. The sound of parties and the joys of this world make your heart beat faster. You wish to adorn yourself and join in together with the fortunate of this sphere. You say to yourself that, like the women you see passing by, free of cares and full of laughter, you too could be rich. Oh! Dear child, do not say such things! If you only knew how many tears and what unspeakable pain are hidden beneath those embroidered dresses, how many sobs are muffled by the sound of that noisy orchestra, you would prefer your humble position and pauperism. Maintain yourself pure in the eyes of God if you do not want your Guardian Angel to turn from you, covering his face with his white wings, leaving you to your remorse on this planet, without a guide, without support, where you will be lost and where you will be forced to await punishment in the next world.
All you who suffer injustice from your fellow men, be indulgent with the faults of your brothers and sisters pondering that you are not exempt from guilt. This is charity and also humility. If you suffer from slander, then bow down your head before this trial. What importance does the slander of this world have for you? If your conduct is pure, cannot God recompense you? Support courageously the humiliations put upon you by Man; be humble and recognize that only God is great and powerful.
Oh dear God! Will it be necessary for Christ to return to Earth a second time in order to teach His Laws because Man has forgotten them? Will He once again have to expel the merchants from the temple for defiling His house, which should have been kept exclusively for prayer? Ah, who knows? Oh mankind, if God granted this grace once more would you not reject Him yet again? Would you not accuse Him of blasphemy because He would humble the pride of modern Pharisees? Perhaps it is even possible that you would make Him follow the road of Golgotha again.
When Moses climbed Mount Sinai to receive God's commandments, the people of Israel then left to themselves abandoned the true God. Men and women gave whatever gold they possessed in order that an idol could be made for them to worship. Civilized Man still imitates them. Christ bequeathed His doctrine to you, giving examples of all the virtues, but you have abandoned these examples and precepts. Each one of you, charged with passions, has made a god in accordance with your desires; for some, bloody and terrible, for others, indifferent to the interests of the world. Nevertheless, the god you have fabricated is still the golden calf which each adapts to his own tastes and ideas.
My friends, my brothers and sisters, awaken! Let the voices of the Spirits echo in your hearts. Be generous and charitable without ostentation, that is to say, do good with humility. Let each one, little by little, begin to demolish the altars erected by everyone to their pride. In a word, if you are a true Christian you will possess the kingdom of truth. Do not continue to doubt the goodness of God when He is giving so many proofs of this fact. We have come to prepare the way so that the prophecies may be fulfilled. At some possible future time, when the Lord gives you a more resounding demonstration of His clemency, may His celestial messenger find you gathered together in a great family. It is hoped that by then, your hearts being gentle and mild, you will be worthy to hear the divine words he would offer. May the Chosen One encounter only laurels in His path, which have been laid there by your having returned to goodness, charity and fraternity amongst men. Then will your world become an earthly Paradise. However, if you remain insensible to the voices of the Spirits who have been sent to purify and renew your civilized society, which although rich in science, is so poor in noble sentiments, than sadly there will be nothing left for you but tears and groans of unhappiness. But that will not happen! You will return to God the Father, and all of us who have contributed to the fulfilling of His wishes will join together in singing a hymn of thanksgiving for His unbounded goodness, so as to glorify Him throughout all the coming ages. So be it. - LACORDAIRE (Constantine, 1863).
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The mediumship of Pearl Curran, a St. Louis, Missouri housewife, differs considerably from that of other mediums subject to research. While numerous purported spirits communicated through mediums such as Leonora Piper, Gladys Osborne Leonard, and Eileen Garrett, Curran is remembered for just one entity, a spirit calling herself Patience Worth and saying that she was a 17th Century English woman who migrated to the United States and was killed by Indians at age 44 or 45.
Although incomplete census records revealed several women named Patience Worth living in New England during the 17th Century, there was no way to confirm this Patience Worth was one of them, or to otherwise provide veridical information supporting spirit communication. The evidence relating to Curran had to do with the observation that the information coming from Patience Worth clearly exceeded Curran’s intellect, education, and experience.
Patience Worth began communicating on the Ouija board operated by Curran and Emily Hutchings in 1913. It soon became clear that Patience Worth did not want to talk about herself. Rather, she wanted to provide wisdom. Over the next 24 years, Patience Worth dictated approximately four million words, including seven books, some short stories, several plays, thousands of poems, and countless epigrams and aphorisms. She would be acclaimed a literary genius – her works compared with Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Spenser. She was called a wit, a poet, a dramatist, and a philosopher. “The unusual distinction about this Patience Worth is her exceptional and consistent intelligence,” a New York Evening Sun review read. “She shows in all her messages every sign of a vigorous, keen mentality.”
Of her book, Hope Trueblood, a reviewer for Lady’s Pictorial of London offered: “[This book] will stand as a landmark of fiction by a new writer, who will take a prominent place among great writers.”
From the Chicago Mail: “You will wonder at the sheer beauty of the story’s thought and diction. You will be convinced that here is a tale from the pen of a master word builder.”
A New York Tribune review of Hope Trueblood read: “The psychological analysis and invention of the occult, the dramatic power displayed in the narrative are extraordinary, and stamp it as a work approximating absolute genius.”
William Marion Reedy, the editor of Reedy’s Mirror, a highly-regarded literary journal with an international circulation, studied the works of Patience Worth. While Reedy conceded that her poems were “extraordinary” and “near great,” he at first concluded that someone with a special literary interest in older English poetry was guilty of a hoax. When Reedy was invited to attend one of Curran’s sessions, he accepted and was immediately intrigued. He would sit with Curran through a number of sessions and carry on a dialogue with Patience Worth.
In the Mirror of October 1, 1915, Reedy told the world of his “flirtation” with Patience Worth. He explained that he had ruled out “fakery” and stated that he had absolutely no question as to the integrity of the parties involved. He further noted that Curran did not always understand his questions or the responses by Patience Worth. He called the spiritual content of Patience’s poetry “an archaic Wordsworthianism, with a somewhat of Emersonism.” He described Patience as piquant in the extreme, witty and aphoristic in a homely way, and saucy but never rude. “She will not answer personal questions about herself or tell you the usual stock things of so many spirit communications,” he wrote, “about lost jack-knives in the distant past, or when your wealthy grandmother is going to die… None of that stuff goes with Patience…She is ready with repartee and she says things that probe the character of her questioners.”
But Reedy rejected the idea that Patience Worth was a spirit, stating that he simply could not believe it possible for the dead to talk to the living. He considered the secondary personality theory, and even asked Patience if she and Mrs. Curran were the same entity. This theory, Reedy concluded, would be no less mysterious than the spirits theory. Patience immediately lashed out at the suggestion that she was a secondary personality of Pearl Curran. “She be but she and I be me,” Patience ended her discourse on the subject.
Called by Patience Worth her “harp,” Pearl Curran was, at the time Patience started communicating, a 30-year-old housewife who had, following a nervous breakdown, dropped out of school at age 13. Inspired by her mother’s love of music, she became a piano and voice teacher until, at age 24, she married John Curran, a businessman 12 years her senior. Curran’s limited education and travel were totally inconsistent with theories of conscious fraud or subconscious memories. English scholars struggled with some of the archaic Anglo-Saxon language. In one of her novels, Patience dictated, “I wot he fetcheth in daub-smeared smock.” Even in the early 1900s, the word “fetch” was rarely used, but when used it meant to “go and get” someone or something. Patience used it as synonymous with “came” or “cometh,” which philologists confirmed as the word’s original meaning.
W. T. Allison, professor of English literature at the University of Manitoba, observed that Patience Worth dictated words found only in Melton’s time and some of them had no meaning until researched in dialectic dictionaries and old books. Allison, who closely observed Curran, reported that in one evening 15 poems were produced in an hour and 15 minutes, an average of five minutes for each poem. “All were poured out with a speed that Tennyson or Browning could never have hoped to equal, and some of the 15 lyrics are so good that either of those great poets might be proud to have written them,” Allison offered. He went on to say that Patience Worth “must be regarded as the outstanding phenomenon of our age, and I cannot help thinking of all time.”
When a philologist asked Patience how and why she used the language of so many different periods, she responded: “I do plod a twist of a path and it hath run from then till now.” When asked to explain how she could dictate responses without a pause, she replied: “Ye see, man setteth up his cup and fillet it, but I be as the stream.”
Patience’s most celebrated work, The Sorry Tale, a 644-page, 325,000 word novel about the last days of Jesus, was released in June 1917. As journalist Casper Yost, who was present when much of the book was dictated, explained, the story was begun without any previous knowledge on the part of Pearl Curran of the time and conditions of Palestine beyond what is revealed in the New Testament. Yet, the story goes far beyond what might be gleaned from the New Testament. “In one evening, 5,000 words were dictated, covering the account of the crucifixion,” Yost reported.
In its review of the book, The National wondered how the mysterious story-teller became familiar with the scent and sound and color and innumerable properties of Oriental market places and wildernesses, of Roman palaces, and halls of justice. The New York Globe stated that it exceeded Ben Hur and Quo Vadis as “a quaint realistic narrative.” The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch opined that no other book gives one so clear a view of customs, manners, and character of the peoples of the time and place.
Professor Roland Greene User, dean of history at Washington University, called The Sorry Tale “the greatest story of Christ penned since the Gospels were finished.” He pointed out that the book was written in seventeenth-century English with no anachronisms.
Patience Worth continued to dictate until Thanksgiving Day, 1937, when Pearl Curran caught a cold. Pneumonia developed and she died nine days later. During nearly a quarter of a century of dictation, Patience Worth was investigated by numerous scholars and scientists. Many of them leaned toward the subconscious theory, but Dr. Walter Franklin Prince, who investigated for the American Society for Psychical Research, summed it up this way: “Either our concept of what we call the subconscious must be radically altered, so as to include potencies of which we hitherto have had no knowledge, or else some cause operating through but not originating in the subconsciousness of Mrs. Curran must be acknowledged.”
Note from the Editor: The aforementioned book, The Sorry Tale, was translated into Portuguese by the spiritist author Hermínio C. Miranda and its publication by Publicações Lachâtre is being awaited for the end of this year.
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We are all spirits. A spirit, whether in the spirit world or in the material world and attached to a physical body, has certain qualities and abilities.
Most people have had moments of intuition, experienced inspiration, have had ideas that have sort of “popped” into their heads seemingly from nowhere, seem to occasionally hear inside themselves a quiet voice (what some people call our conscience), or have had a “gut feeling” something good or bad was going to happen, had premonitions, and/or experienced déjà vu. Many people have lucid dreams and some prophetic dreams. These are some of the abilities and qualities our spirit has.
Some people are even more sensitive. They can instantly “feel” the good or bad nature of an individual they first meet every time. Some seem to sort of “read” what other people are feeling or have been thinking about. Some people have visions and some have even seen a spirit or two. These are also abilities our soul has.
These events can happen occasionally or frequently. If we pay more attention we may realize these things happen more often than what we thought. Most people I have met have experienced something they thought was out of the ordinary or unusual, but they don’t normally will speak of it unless you bring up something you have similarly experienced.
Nevertheless, this does NOT necessarily mean that a person will become a full fledged “medium” – this meaning a person that has more direct and continuous communication with spirits in the spirit world (ex. through writing, being able to hear and/or see them, or being able to allow spirits to communicate through them (at times called “trance mediumship”).
Many people I have met have expressed, at times, concern because they may be able to do some or all of the above things. They worry that they may be becoming mediums. Not to fret. These are just the natural abilities of us being a spirit!
Yet, some people that may have these abilities may be in the process of becoming mediums-in-development. When they make an effort to try and enhance them, then they may become mediums. Yet, if it is not meant to be for this existence, it will not happen no matter how hard they try.
If one is truly to become a medium there usually will be a progression wherein these abilities will increase and enhance. The mediumship faculty will generally manifest naturally, either slowly or swiftly, and you normally will see a definite difference. The spirit world will make itself more strongly felt to you. Also, you will generally find yourself (and/or seemingly guided) to certain circumstances and/or people that can assist you.
Training as a Spiritist medium takes much sincere dedication, study, and effort. It is considered a sacred duty. Many people are not up to taking the time to devote their life to the correct and proper use of the mediumship faculty at a Spiritist Center.
In conclusion, the thing is not to panic if some of the above things discussed in this article happen to you that some call “supernatural” - for they are not. It is only your spirit manifesting its natural abilities and qualities.
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For more information: Phone: 410-382-5328 - e-mail: ssb@ssbaltimore.org - site: www.ssbaltimore.org
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| ° ARTICLES |
The mediumship of Pearl Curran, a St. Louis, Missouri housewife, differs considerably from that of other mediums subject to research. While numerous purported spirits communicated through mediums such as Leonora Piper, Gladys Osborne Leonard, and Eileen Garrett, Curran is remembered for just one entity, a spirit calling herself Patience Worth and saying that she was a 17th Century English woman who migrated to the United States and was killed by Indians at age 44 or 45.
Although incomplete census records revealed several women named Patience Worth living in New England during the 17th Century, there was no way to confirm this Patience Worth was one of them, or to otherwise provide veridical information supporting spirit communication. The evidence relating to Curran had to do with the observation that the information coming from Patience Worth clearly exceeded Curran’s intellect, education, and experience.
Patience Worth began communicating on the Ouija board operated by Curran and Emily Hutchings in 1913. It soon became clear that Patience Worth did not want to talk about herself. Rather, she wanted to provide wisdom. Over the next 24 years, Patience Worth dictated approximately four million words, including seven books, some short stories, several plays, thousands of poems, and countless epigrams and aphorisms. She would be acclaimed a literary genius – her works compared with Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Spenser. She was called a wit, a poet, a dramatist, and a philosopher. “The unusual distinction about this Patience Worth is her exceptional and consistent intelligence,” a New York Evening Sun review read. “She shows in all her messages every sign of a vigorous, keen mentality.”
Of her book, Hope Trueblood, a reviewer for Lady’s Pictorial of London offered: “[This book] will stand as a landmark of fiction by a new writer, who will take a prominent place among great writers.”
From the Chicago Mail: “You will wonder at the sheer beauty of the story’s thought and diction. You will be convinced that here is a tale from the pen of a master word builder.”
A New York Tribune review of Hope Trueblood read: “The psychological analysis and invention of the occult, the dramatic power displayed in the narrative are extraordinary, and stamp it as a work approximating absolute genius.”
William Marion Reedy, the editor of Reedy’s Mirror, a highly-regarded literary journal with an international circulation, studied the works of Patience Worth. While Reedy conceded that her poems were “extraordinary” and “near great,” he at first concluded that someone with a special literary interest in older English poetry was guilty of a hoax. When Reedy was invited to attend one of Curran’s sessions, he accepted and was immediately intrigued. He would sit with Curran through a number of sessions and carry on a dialogue with Patience Worth.
In the Mirror of October 1, 1915, Reedy told the world of his “flirtation” with Patience Worth. He explained that he had ruled out “fakery” and stated that he had absolutely no question as to the integrity of the parties involved. He further noted that Curran did not always understand his questions or the responses by Patience Worth. He called the spiritual content of Patience’s poetry “an archaic Wordsworthianism, with a somewhat of Emersonism.” He described Patience as piquant in the extreme, witty and aphoristic in a homely way, and saucy but never rude. “She will not answer personal questions about herself or tell you the usual stock things of so many spirit communications,” he wrote, “about lost jack-knives in the distant past, or when your wealthy grandmother is going to die… None of that stuff goes with Patience…She is ready with repartee and she says things that probe the character of her questioners.”
But Reedy rejected the idea that Patience Worth was a spirit, stating that he simply could not believe it possible for the dead to talk to the living. He considered the secondary personality theory, and even asked Patience if she and Mrs. Curran were the same entity. This theory, Reedy concluded, would be no less mysterious than the spirits theory. Patience immediately lashed out at the suggestion that she was a secondary personality of Pearl Curran. “She be but she and I be me,” Patience ended her discourse on the subject.
Called by Patience Worth her “harp,” Pearl Curran was, at the time Patience started communicating, a 30-year-old housewife who had, following a nervous breakdown, dropped out of school at age 13. Inspired by her mother’s love of music, she became a piano and voice teacher until, at age 24, she married John Curran, a businessman 12 years her senior. Curran’s limited education and travel were totally inconsistent with theories of conscious fraud or subconscious memories. English scholars struggled with some of the archaic Anglo-Saxon language. In one of her novels, Patience dictated, “I wot he fetcheth in daub-smeared smock.” Even in the early 1900s, the word “fetch” was rarely used, but when used it meant to “go and get” someone or something. Patience used it as synonymous with “came” or “cometh,” which philologists confirmed as the word’s original meaning.
W. T. Allison, professor of English literature at the University of Manitoba, observed that Patience Worth dictated words found only in Melton’s time and some of them had no meaning until researched in dialectic dictionaries and old books. Allison, who closely observed Curran, reported that in one evening 15 poems were produced in an hour and 15 minutes, an average of five minutes for each poem. “All were poured out with a speed that Tennyson or Browning could never have hoped to equal, and some of the 15 lyrics are so good that either of those great poets might be proud to have written them,” Allison offered. He went on to say that Patience Worth “must be regarded as the outstanding phenomenon of our age, and I cannot help thinking of all time.”
When a philologist asked Patience how and why she used the language of so many different periods, she responded: “I do plod a twist of a path and it hath run from then till now.” When asked to explain how she could dictate responses without a pause, she replied: “Ye see, man setteth up his cup and fillet it, but I be as the stream.”
Patience’s most celebrated work, The Sorry Tale, a 644-page, 325,000 word novel about the last days of Jesus, was released in June 1917. As journalist Casper Yost, who was present when much of the book was dictated, explained, the story was begun without any previous knowledge on the part of Pearl Curran of the time and conditions of Palestine beyond what is revealed in the New Testament. Yet, the story goes far beyond what might be gleaned from the New Testament. “In one evening, 5,000 words were dictated, covering the account of the crucifixion,” Yost reported.
In its review of the book, The National wondered how the mysterious story-teller became familiar with the scent and sound and color and innumerable properties of Oriental market places and wildernesses, of Roman palaces, and halls of justice. The New York Globe stated that it exceeded Ben Hur and Quo Vadis as “a quaint realistic narrative.” The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch opined that no other book gives one so clear a view of customs, manners, and character of the peoples of the time and place.
Professor Roland Greene User, dean of history at Washington University, called The Sorry Tale “the greatest story of Christ penned since the Gospels were finished.” He pointed out that the book was written in seventeenth-century English with no anachronisms.
Patience Worth continued to dictate until Thanksgiving Day, 1937, when Pearl Curran caught a cold. Pneumonia developed and she died nine days later. During nearly a quarter of a century of dictation, Patience Worth was investigated by numerous scholars and scientists. Many of them leaned toward the subconscious theory, but Dr. Walter Franklin Prince, who investigated for the American Society for Psychical Research, summed it up this way: “Either our concept of what we call the subconscious must be radically altered, so as to include potencies of which we hitherto have had no knowledge, or else some cause operating through but not originating in the subconsciousness of Mrs. Curran must be acknowledged.”
Michael
E. Tymn
From the the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies' newsletter, The Search Light [Volume 15, N° 4, December 2006]
From the the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies' newsletter, The Search Light [Volume 15, N° 4, December 2006]
Note from the Editor: The aforementioned book, The Sorry Tale, was translated into Portuguese by the spiritist author Hermínio C. Miranda and its publication by Publicações Lachâtre is being awaited for the end of this year.
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We are all spirits. A spirit, whether in the spirit world or in the material world and attached to a physical body, has certain qualities and abilities.
Most people have had moments of intuition, experienced inspiration, have had ideas that have sort of “popped” into their heads seemingly from nowhere, seem to occasionally hear inside themselves a quiet voice (what some people call our conscience), or have had a “gut feeling” something good or bad was going to happen, had premonitions, and/or experienced déjà vu. Many people have lucid dreams and some prophetic dreams. These are some of the abilities and qualities our spirit has.
Some people are even more sensitive. They can instantly “feel” the good or bad nature of an individual they first meet every time. Some seem to sort of “read” what other people are feeling or have been thinking about. Some people have visions and some have even seen a spirit or two. These are also abilities our soul has.
These events can happen occasionally or frequently. If we pay more attention we may realize these things happen more often than what we thought. Most people I have met have experienced something they thought was out of the ordinary or unusual, but they don’t normally will speak of it unless you bring up something you have similarly experienced.
Nevertheless, this does NOT necessarily mean that a person will become a full fledged “medium” – this meaning a person that has more direct and continuous communication with spirits in the spirit world (ex. through writing, being able to hear and/or see them, or being able to allow spirits to communicate through them (at times called “trance mediumship”).
Many people I have met have expressed, at times, concern because they may be able to do some or all of the above things. They worry that they may be becoming mediums. Not to fret. These are just the natural abilities of us being a spirit!
Yet, some people that may have these abilities may be in the process of becoming mediums-in-development. When they make an effort to try and enhance them, then they may become mediums. Yet, if it is not meant to be for this existence, it will not happen no matter how hard they try.
If one is truly to become a medium there usually will be a progression wherein these abilities will increase and enhance. The mediumship faculty will generally manifest naturally, either slowly or swiftly, and you normally will see a definite difference. The spirit world will make itself more strongly felt to you. Also, you will generally find yourself (and/or seemingly guided) to certain circumstances and/or people that can assist you.
Training as a Spiritist medium takes much sincere dedication, study, and effort. It is considered a sacred duty. Many people are not up to taking the time to devote their life to the correct and proper use of the mediumship faculty at a Spiritist Center.
In conclusion, the thing is not to panic if some of the above things discussed in this article happen to you that some call “supernatural” - for they are not. It is only your spirit manifesting its natural abilities and qualities.
| ° NEWS,
EVENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS |
The Spiritist Society of Florida is pleased to present the
first English edition of the famous Spiritist Classic from Spain
written by Miguel Vives, a spiritual medium and healer, who was known
as “the Apostle of Goodness.” His book was translated by our Society’s
Founder Edgar Crespo and is entitled:
This concise book is for serious Spiritists that want to fully understand what their responsibilities are before the Creator, Jesus of Nazareth, with themselves, their family, with Humanity, other Spiritists, and within Spiritist Centers. In addition, Vives explains what to do to fortify ourselves against the temptations of material life and how to sustain our trials and tribulations on this Earth.
Vives (Director of a Spiritist Center for 30 years) established a Spiritist Federation in Spain, published a Spiritist journal, and was one of the organizers and a primary participant of the World’s First Spiritualist Congress in Barcelona, Spain in 1888. Vives, himself, suffered much during his lifetime. His mother died when he was two and his father died when he was eleven. His first wife died on their honeymoon. Later on, in a second marriage, a son died at age nine. Upon his death, over five thousand people attended the funeral of this very humble man and great medium.
Excerpt from
the book's back cover:
Having faced adversity and tragedy in his early life, Miguel Vives found salvation in Spiritism and renown and success as a healing and spiritual medium. Yet while Vives made his mark as a nineteenth-century Spiritist, for anyone who is determined to achieve moral and spiritual advancement in this lifetime and beyond, his teachings shine as a twenty-first century beacon of inspiration and affirmation.
In this concise guidebook, translated from Spanish by Edgard Crespo, Vives draws a precise roadmap that shows how we can reach a new level of spiritual fulfillment and a profound sense of peace and communion with humanity. Based on his understanding of the natural and spiritual law of reincarnation, Vives provides guidelines for our obligations to our Creator and to Jesus - based on a universal moral code that goes beyond any creed or religion.
Vives also shows how we are to behave with love and charity with our families, with ourselves, and with all other persons, even those who bring heartache and pain. Steered by an abiding devotion to moral and ethical conduct, Vives spells out how we can obtain the moral courage to triumph over the challenges of life.
Edgar Crespo is a fourth-generation Spiritist and was the director of a Spiritist center for many years.
He attended the University of Hawaii and had a career in civilian government. Crespo and his wife,
Yolanda, have been married for more than thirty years and live in Florida. He is also the
translator of Ms. Soler's classic Memoirs of Father Germain, published in 2006.
This is a must have book for those Spiritists who want specific guidelines in a forthright manner and are determined in making a conscientious effort towards their moral and spiritual advancement in this lifetime. However, whether a Spiritist or not, those who want to live with right ethical conduct in all areas of their life, regardless of one’s religion or creed, and who want to learn how to obtain the moral courage to sustain the tribulations of life, we believe, will also find this book very valuable.
This wonderful book can now be ordered on-line at www.amazon.com for $10.95. For those without computers, it can be ordered through Barnes & Nobles Books stores.
Back to Content
A
Practical Guide for the Spiritist
Handbook on Personal Conduct
Handbook on Personal Conduct
This concise book is for serious Spiritists that want to fully understand what their responsibilities are before the Creator, Jesus of Nazareth, with themselves, their family, with Humanity, other Spiritists, and within Spiritist Centers. In addition, Vives explains what to do to fortify ourselves against the temptations of material life and how to sustain our trials and tribulations on this Earth.
Vives (Director of a Spiritist Center for 30 years) established a Spiritist Federation in Spain, published a Spiritist journal, and was one of the organizers and a primary participant of the World’s First Spiritualist Congress in Barcelona, Spain in 1888. Vives, himself, suffered much during his lifetime. His mother died when he was two and his father died when he was eleven. His first wife died on their honeymoon. Later on, in a second marriage, a son died at age nine. Upon his death, over five thousand people attended the funeral of this very humble man and great medium.
Having faced adversity and tragedy in his early life, Miguel Vives found salvation in Spiritism and renown and success as a healing and spiritual medium. Yet while Vives made his mark as a nineteenth-century Spiritist, for anyone who is determined to achieve moral and spiritual advancement in this lifetime and beyond, his teachings shine as a twenty-first century beacon of inspiration and affirmation.
In this concise guidebook, translated from Spanish by Edgard Crespo, Vives draws a precise roadmap that shows how we can reach a new level of spiritual fulfillment and a profound sense of peace and communion with humanity. Based on his understanding of the natural and spiritual law of reincarnation, Vives provides guidelines for our obligations to our Creator and to Jesus - based on a universal moral code that goes beyond any creed or religion.
Vives also shows how we are to behave with love and charity with our families, with ourselves, and with all other persons, even those who bring heartache and pain. Steered by an abiding devotion to moral and ethical conduct, Vives spells out how we can obtain the moral courage to triumph over the challenges of life.
Edgar Crespo is a fourth-generation Spiritist and was the director of a Spiritist center for many years.
He attended the University of Hawaii and had a career in civilian government. Crespo and his wife,
Yolanda, have been married for more than thirty years and live in Florida. He is also the
translator of Ms. Soler's classic Memoirs of Father Germain, published in 2006.
This is a must have book for those Spiritists who want specific guidelines in a forthright manner and are determined in making a conscientious effort towards their moral and spiritual advancement in this lifetime. However, whether a Spiritist or not, those who want to live with right ethical conduct in all areas of their life, regardless of one’s religion or creed, and who want to learn how to obtain the moral courage to sustain the tribulations of life, we believe, will also find this book very valuable.
This wonderful book can now be ordered on-line at www.amazon.com for $10.95. For those without computers, it can be ordered through Barnes & Nobles Books stores.
Back to Content
Richard
Simonetti is one of the best-selling Spiritist writers in Brazil.
He has many published titles selling out repeated editions.
He has brought Spiritism to the general public in a clear
and straightforward language filled with picturesque
facts and anecdotes.
He has many published titles selling out repeated editions.
He has brought Spiritism to the general public in a clear
and straightforward language filled with picturesque
facts and anecdotes.
Who is afraid of
death?
offers good-humored insight on death. Richard Simonetti shows that far from being that horrible skull with its sinister scythe tearing our hopes apart, death is only a door that leads us into the spiritual world, where we have come from, where our true nation lies.
offers good-humored insight on death. Richard Simonetti shows that far from being that horrible skull with its sinister scythe tearing our hopes apart, death is only a door that leads us into the spiritual world, where we have come from, where our true nation lies.
Thursday, September
27, 2007
7:30pm-9:30pm
Location:
SpiritWorks Resource Center
1300 York Rd - Building C -300
Lutherville, MD 21093
This
event is sponsored by Spiritist
Society of Baltimore, Inc. 7:30pm-9:30pm
Location:
SpiritWorks Resource Center
1300 York Rd - Building C -300
Lutherville, MD 21093
For more information: Phone: 410-382-5328 - e-mail: ssb@ssbaltimore.org - site: www.ssbaltimore.org
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ADVANCED STUDY GROUP OF SPIRITISM
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report: "The Spiritist Messenger"
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