The Fringe of Immortality

THE FR INGE OF IMM ORTALITY

M RY A E.

I n the sight of the unwise they seemed to die and t eir de art re is taken for miser and t eir oin h p u y, h g g fro us to be tter destr ction ' but t e are in m u u h y peace . For t o t e be nis ed in the si t of men h ugh h y pu h gh , yet ll f lit ” is their hepe fu o immorta y. T W n he isdom of Solomo .

NEW YORK DUTTON AND C OMP ANY E . P .

P R E F AC E

T s book is m s all a few m co po ed, princip y, of of the many experiences which have helped to convince the writer of the power of thought d hi r an , on t s basis , of the power of the spi it r independent of matte . Gratitude is due to the people concerned in the various cases who have most generously a l ca l owed the publi tion of incidents which , by a r a and a re ma re son of their p iv te personal n tu , y inﬂuence the hopeless outlook of those who stand ’ twixt faith and knowledge . The names and initials used are ﬁctitious

without exception . u a has a Altho gh c re been taken to ensure priv cy, and certain detail s have been omitted in deference to the wishes of the family when they have been ll a too sacred or too private to give in fu , in no c se has a fi e a a n the ddition of ction b en dded to repl ce s has advis these omi sions . It been considered CD ' able to state only the facts sufi cient to make the 9 a necess ry point and, in consequence, the evidence X for survival is less than would have been the case — r l had ui a fi s eq v lent, but ctitiou , matter been intro f d c 'duce . x P REFAC E

ll ﬁ was Fu con dence however, permitted for the late editor of The Nineteenth Century and ” a u l xam i After , who c ref l y e ined the ent re docu mentary evidence before he accepted the articles ” l as entitled Automatic Writing, Te epathy a Natural Means of Communication and The r Survival of Memo y After Death . Adequate testimony is necessary in the interests o i al a f psych c rese rch . A great deal of evidence is lost because of the haphazard nature of psychic

a . a a a revel tion A cl ir udient communic tion, for a ce ma u a w and an inst n , y occ r ny here at y time there is nothing to show for it except the know ledge of details referring either to the identity of an unknown communicator or to a prediction which may be confirmed only by subsequent ail are fi events . When such det s con ded, without delay, to responsible and disinterested persons , allowing nothing to depend on the word of a di a ma single in vidu l, the matter y then be brought as v a to of a e identi l the notice the gener l public . As i e on r t me go s and expe ience increases , n on are a t ifi opinio s all subjects p to be mod ed,

ﬁ es a . intensi ed and, sometim , completely ch nged Prejudice is swept away by the tide of incoming invention impossibilities of old become every

e a r al . day occurrenc s specul tive thought , e ity Theori es on abstract truths are more influenced le r c a by tangib discove ies than redit is llowed . In the middle of the last century as the prestige P REFAC E xi of a m r s a a m D rwinis inc ea ed, rem rks odern writer, ' it was almost as if the desert and the jungle had b un l a eg to voice themse ves in hum n thought . Current literature shows that evolution has had a m n on a all and arked i fluence ne rly subjects, especially is this noticeable in the modern writings on a of ai a m tters F th , when we re d the progressive views on the immediate life hereafter which was once held to be a static sleep . s An old scienti t , somewhat opposed to specula a me a and tive thought , once s id to , Study f cts you will find each one a rung in the ladder you clim and as a i a so b, e ch step w ll t ke you higher, will all fall into a true perspective when seen from the higher point of view . The advice was so all l and so a und but wil agree , none re dily as ci the s entist , that the impetus to discovery, the is a a working hypothesis , lways an ide l before it is proved a reality. The hypothesis of survival is necessary for the investigation of much that is a a ul a n tur l , though little understood fac ty of

uma in . u al i a is h n be gs S rviv itself, when ndic ted, but the lowest rung in a ladder which out dis tances our greatest hope— the rung that touches

a h a F cts , owever, do not ch nge , but their s la i po ition , when observed in re t on to others , gives a key which progressively unlocks the doors ca of our understanding. Be use of this pro ression the a a g , theories dv nced in these pages xii P REFAC E are l so far as x e has led and in on y e peri nce , the attention is desired of the worthies t sorte of people that gently can reade can judge . MAR Y E. Monmrm . I NTR O DU C TI ON

D Mr s n r EAR s Mo m m ,

I am glad that you are going to make public some of your valuable experiences which I have followed with great interest and some amount of discriminating attention for the past eight years . I can testify to having carefully noted the facts as a presented to me from time to time, h ve examined the documents and the evidence pro duoed as conﬁrming your statements and con

ou l e While y have been ob iged, for evid nt as a of re ons, to conce l the identity of most the i al I v ndividu s concerned, have been pri ileged to a a and become cqu inted with some of these , have questioned them regarding the facts and the history and precise sequence of the phenomena . I therefore willingly bear testimony to the truth of your statements based on the facts presented . The Fringe of Immortality will prove a most valuable contribution to the literature of psychic and metaphysic phenomena and I l use xa and not congratu ate you on the of e ct , INTRODUCTION

l c a l u s i e to infrequent y, of poeti phr seo ogy s gge t v me at h s of ri i s m old ri nd , t e , the w t ng of y f e ,

I am,

urs a t ull Yo very f i hf y, D 'R AM LLAC E M . A AH WA , (Member of the Society for Psychical Research)

a l H r ey Street , London, W

Ma 1 20 . y, 9 C ONTE NTS

C H AP TER

P REFAC E

INTRODUC TION

I IC I G . AUTOMAT WRIT N

S C C D E N II . P Y HI EV LOPME T

I AS N RAL O II . TELEPATHY A ATU MEANS F C OMMUNIC ATION 57

I r Y D 81 v. TEE SURVIVAL o MEMOR AFTER EATH

THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

IN EDI V L I ES i . M E A T M R TH E S C ii . F OM P Y HOLOGIC AL STANDPOINT -DA iii . TO Y

C DE TH E C VI . A WEL OME GREE OF AR H 'ISHOP OF C ANTER'URY

VII . RELIGION

The chapters entitled Automatic W riting Tele at as a Nat r l Means of C omm nication A p hy u a u , and W elcome Decree of the Arc is o of C anter r ’ are hb h p bu y, eprinted by courtesy of The Nman na' C entury and zte f r .

AUTOMATIC WRITING

TH E FRINGE O F I MMO RTA L I TY

AUTOMATIC WRITING

IT is considered that Automatic Writing has played a large part in converting people to belief a - and a in an fter life , , natur lly, it runs the gauntlet Of of severe criticism from the sceptics , some whom do not hesitate to denounce its practice as being hysterical and morbid owing to the fact that a similar form Of writing is demonstrated in hysterical cases in the great nerve hospital s Of

Europe .

There are two sides to every question . A distinguished French investigator classes such writing under the heading Of intellectual en o its an i e ph omena in b th m ifestations , . . , the a a a is strictly autom tic, where the h nd or fore rm al and of an temporarily par ysed devoid y feeling, while the power of writing is retained and the a or inspiration l intuitional, when the automatist becomes mentally aware of the substance of the n a a all commu ic tion before the h nd moves at . 4 AUTOMATIC WRITING

Automatic writing is certainly a faculty to be and a l a r a exploited, m ny wi l g ee th t further investigation is necessary before it can be confined entirely to hospital cases or relegated uncon ditionally to the rubbish heap . a a In my c se, the writing comes to me when in a am strictly norm l condition, and unless I in good health it does not assert itself . I have never felt that the movements Of my hand were Ofi n cut entirely from my conscious intellige ce , but the sensation is that Of another hand over ui a l mine , g ding it (as chi d is taught to write) , varied by a mental perception which appears in some inexplicable way to control the physical action . A common criticism of this automatic writing a Of is is , th t , considering so much it supposed to a c a come through the gen y of dep rted spirits , information concerning the conditions of a future is a u and existence v g e, the evidence Often con - a flicting . Whether second h nd experiences Of a all a in ma a state that, logic y spe k g, y v ry individu as one as a a r ally much in life nother, ap rt f om the a l fact th t it applies only to the future , wou d fi u s an r our s bene t to y extent du ing pre ent life , a a is a debatable question . We must lso t ke into consideration the fact that there is still a great deal of honest doubt as to the survival of per sonality and the conscious existence of the a individual after bodily de th . A HUMAN CAUSE 5

Automatic writing is not always supernormal — sa r i that is to y, does not always o ig nate from a a has exc rn te individuals . It been proved that sensible and accurate messages have been received through the means of automatic writing from the a e and living, irrespective of sp c , this system of human telegraphy may be carried to a very ﬁne point when it is prearranged by two suitable are a a h has people who ment lly ttuned . T is the advantage Of testimony by word Of mouth from r the expe imenters on both sides , without the disadvantage Of disbelief on the part of the c as one or the s eptics to the existence of , possi bility of a striking proof Of identity placed to the ’ cr of n l edit another s subco scious se f . But the opening up Of the resources of the mental powers aim all as al ai cl s inquiry, especi y most d ly events far a Show they are from being exh usted, and automatic writing should be judged by its results x its o (e clusive of rigin) , whether it be ghostly or h a a . i as a hum n Anyth ng proven a cert in v lue , and if mental anguish be relieved in the smallest d al ff egree in these times of almost univers su ering, the media through which this has been achieved are f worthy O consideration . It is some years ago since I became interested in and was the subject , my interest aroused entirely by imperative messag es given for me one a had by who had p ssed over, and whom I known during his lifetime . These messages were 6 AUTOMATIC WRITING

and had n unsolicited, , if he not Sponta eously given Of his l Of very decided proofs persona ity, some hi to w ch were unknown me then, but since proved ul a to be correct , I doubt if I sho d have c rried out his wish to be allowed to develop my latent faculty in order to enable him to write directly , an a n of through my h d . My person l k owledge ' hi r ml and psyc c expe iments was then , those I had heard Of were limited to a few primitive and extremely silly attempts to ﬁnd out future events no r and as Of importance . The w iting developed ” a e al it bec me coherent I found this p rson ity, was a ar t a a Dr . Neil, very p rticul h t I should t ke a critical attitude and be careful to sift all matter a r given to me , as well as to substanti te eve ything , SO a a ul far as possible , looking for pr ctic l res ts to justify his Object . w as a a Before very long I able to verify mess ge . a Of a The story is trivial, but the f ct my inform tion being correct enabled me to give practical e v a and help in a very d ser ing c se , decided me once for all to continue the study of a subject which has led me on to other and more interesting u a a developments , nder the s me guid nce . The ﬁrst part Of the message w as wri tten r of s and th ough the hand a friend, who e sister I at a as as were present the time . The mess ge w r are s follows The e people in distre s at 3 , Smith M and see Street in this town . Tell iss M . to go ” what she can do for them . We could get no

8 AUTOMATIC WRITING

v u a d e a u a ob io sly not the class to beg, n th ir n t r l reticence had brou ght them to a very low pass as a matter of fact I know now that a great deal of ill- a t as Of the he l h w due to lack sufficient food . There was no difi cu lty in helping them ; now c u a a are a irc mst nces are ch nged, they well , h ppy d a and prosperous . In ad ition to letter from one i of the persons l ving at 3 , Smith Street , the evidence includes letters from the friend who wrote the first part Of the message and her sister ho w testifies as witness . Concentration necessary for the practice of automatic writing will sometimes lead to the development Of a keener sense Of the intuitive Of a ri faculty . In the course time the ctual w ting becomes unnecessary in order to convey informa the ca tion unknown to sensitive , which n be irn ressed is distinctly p on the mind . But it wise not to reject such a sirnple method as the use a t is ' a of pencil, for wri ing visible evidence lso, when a prophecy so given takes time to work e a wil find it out completely, the inv stig tor l more satisfactory to turn to a page where the details are inscribed than to trust entirely to e m mory. The following prediction is one which was fulfilled so many years after it was first give n ri i was e that the original w t ng d stroyed in mistake , l a e much to my regret . Happi y I had t k n the precaution of confiding its purport to several PREDICTIONS 9

o i s o righteous s uls, mak ng ure f adequate t i of est mony in the event a correct prediction . a Dr. Neil t kes a great interest in my C ircle Of r a to a f iends , and sked me m ke a point Of knowing r i s u . w a certain M . B rton He shed me specially to interest her in the subject Of Spirit communica tion and to give her the benefit of all I had been a Of ble to prove, a course action which was then contrary to my rule Of keeping these matters strictly to myself . We had interests in common and I came to know her and her husband, Major Burton , very n di well , and ma y were the scussions we had on all was a branches Of psychology . It an dvantage to fi me , for Mrs . Burton had mixed in scienti c society and had the subject at her finger-tips o She a more ver, was profoundly sceptical reg rding all a a psychic m tters , critical to degree , and openly acknowledged that onl y proofs Of memory surviving death from a personal friend could convince her of any sort Of existence beyond the a SO far gr ve . , she had never come across anybody i she with practical experiences Of th s kind, and became much interested in the various messages

I received , for like many other sceptical souls ﬁ a f she dreaded the apparent n lity O death . a L ter, I received further messages by the i m r . edium Of automatic w ting from Dr Neil , Showing the need for convincing her of a happier i was a bel ef . It an emphatic statement th t I O AUTOMATIC WRITING

Major Burton would die suddenly abroad in a

al C at di a . hot , unhe thy limate no very stant d te w as a He st rting for India almost immediately, and r n I begged for pe mission to tell them , hopi g it might prevent him from taking a possible appointment in an unhealthy district and so

a . h w as void the danger T is refused, on the grounds that nothing could alter his fate . When the war with Germany broke out Major u ﬁ B rton was again in India, and at rst it seemed unl as his ikely that he would be involved in it , regiment was not amongst those sent to Flanders for m a but later he received orders Mesopota i , where he w as hit by a bullet in a vital part and a a killed inst nt neously . The sequel to this will be best explained in a r letter I have just received from M s. Burton in answer to one I wrote asking for her approval and corroboration Of the above

E M —I a a a D AR . h ve re d your ccount ou not One important point y do mention, the fact that Jack gave such good proofs of his so s a so l identity oon after his de th , quick y ’ putting an end to one s misery and uncertainty — so so proofs convincing and many, they t o would take o long to enumerate . Some of C x ai l them perhaps could be pl ned by te epathy, but it is unlikely that you could have told me things long forgotten by myself and persisted in FULFILMENT OF PREDICTION 11

a even in spite of my ﬂat contr dictions . With ar to was im os reg d the silver cup, telepathy p ’ sible in that case don t you remember it dis ’ appeared when Jack s things were sent home

We were sure it had been stolen, it seemed ’ o lan the only p ssible exp ation , but Jack s messag e (which we wrote down at the time) w as that he knew it w as safe and would ’ r has a rive . Now after sixteen months it done so without a word of explanation and

no C lue as to who sent it . In case you would like to publish this I will

sign it . E NO U ON EL A R B RT .

The silver cup alluded to by Mrs. Burton was one which Major Burton had deposited in a

a a . i s fe pl ce before he went into action Th s fact , a a which he purported to st te most emphatic lly, was unknown to anyone in England at the time the communication w as received . A few lines from another correspondent will ur complete the evidence , which consists f ther of ll other correspondence conﬁrming fu er details .

’ As regards the predictio n of Major Burton s ou Of as a as 1 11 all death , y told me it far b ck 9 , ll Of which came true to the sma est detail . M has Of rs. Burton been a friend mine for a s and Of urs too some ye r , co e I knew him , and 12 AUTOMATIC WRITING

can realise how much all this means to them — M both .

d and Another pre iction, brief very much to the not its point , was only true but successful in to a primary Object , namely, relieve unnecess ry

Mrs. ff . for su ering It was given to me a Wood, l ai and was wonderfully helpfu , owing to her f th ’ eil s a Of a in Dr . N messages fter years person l e inv stigation . People connected with the Royal Navy will remember how the declaration Of war was instantly followed by the news that our Fleet had a a ri n s iled, destin tion unknown , b ngi g home to them the realisation Of what war might mean before others could take in the stupendous at possibilities . A false report the end Of August Of a naval engagement with loss Of certain dl ’ a . . o ships , c used many nee ess fears Mrs Wo d s for son an fﬁ apprehension the safety of her , O cer ’ ’

one est s a . in Of His Maj y ships , roused Dr Neil s interest and sympathy for her evident distress and its undoubtedly harmful effect on her al he th . anx Tell her from me , he wrote , to put iety bo r out of her mind . The y will be in very g eat w l out and danger , but he i l come Of it all right di with stinction . If she is calm it is better for

. him He may be wounded , but there need be no — anxiety he will be all right . Subsequently ANOTHER PREDICTION 13 he told me to make her realise that there was something to face in the near future (it w as better for a woman of her temperament to be ar ai and e prep ed, he s d) to remind her wh n the time came that there need be no anxiety— pro u o a motion being the o tc me of the eng gement . ’ af hi hi was . Shortly ter t s , the boy s s p in action w as a l l n I naturally itt e a xious , but Dr . Neil a ain a was a g assured me th t Frank Wood s fe , and that a telegram was on its way to his a ri a a mother . It r ved bout three hours fter I t a a a received his mess ge , and st ted brieﬂy th t he w as wounded . h in Mrs. O a . Wood wrote to me, p g th t Dr Neil l ul all wou d g ive her more partic ars , but he as a e is no would say w the d nger is over . Ther ff i - o l and she su er ng n limbs ost , I believe l ai settled down quiet y to w t for further news . af a l a It came, ter litt e del y, from the doctor who as di a and was a w atten ng the c se , s tisfactory in a corroborating our mess ge . When we hear d the des cription of the terrible ’ ﬂi on injuries in cted those at the boy s side , we realised that the great danger predicted was not a on do arlor r a mere f p p , apa t from the fact that the wound he received so narrowly missed a va a vital spot . Con lescence took m ny tedious ai w as r months , but the distinction g ned g eat , and the experience was not harmful in its after ff e ects . 14 AUTOMATIC WRITING

A second message regarding this young Oﬁ cer was in m a l an given, say g he would e erge s fe y d unwounded from his next and inevitable naval

en a . a i t g gement Nothing to fe r th s ime , wrote Dr . Neil . Mrs was Of a . Wood out town when nother us w as o and br h with the enemy rep rted, my only i ma w as the w a e nfor tion from ne sp p r reports, ’ which gave no news of her son s ship having been a m di in ction . I me ately I received the following M — J a rs. bo is n u mess ge for Wood The y u h rt , to his and ll was write mother te her. It quite e ad corr ct . The ship h been struck in the thick ﬁ t and a a of the gh ing , lthough there were m ny a ua s on a w as c s ltie bo rd , he not wounded . Mrs had When I wrote to . Wood She had no word son w as a of her , but my letter supplemented by l m mhi in All . ine fro the same day, say g well a I submitted this ccount to Mrs. Wood and have received the following answer '

’ Having read the manuscript of my son s

case carefully I can corroborate all . The whole subject is of great interest to me as I have had the advantage of seeing so much Of a and the autom tic writing, watching the wonderfully accurate developments for so a and has a a me many ye rs , it been h ppiness to to help you in diﬁ cult cases Of need which

were brought to our knowledge in this way.

16 AUTOMATIC WRITING

x a l a l v e h usting the possibi ity Of i ing source . t The author, whe her living or dead, can occasion ﬁ a r ally be identi ed by the h ndw iting . The style Of a letter in either case will al so help to give a C to his ar a lue identity ; but , ap t from th t , e a judging by practical experienc s , I think C ri tical medium can distinguish between messag es from the living and a disembodied spirit de liberately using the brain or hand necessary to convey the information ' it desires to give in

. a readable form In the former case , lthough it is extraordinary how strongly the hand can be controlled by the power Of thought at any dis e a ri tance (materially sp aking) , gener lly the w ting is feeble and not very convincing while in the ’ latter I find there is a consciousness Of another s personality over and above my own— some one else using my hand with a considerable amount di b of force, whilst I am stan ng y and Observing, Of ar an with keen interest , points ch acter, d experiencing sensations Of physical ailments or ff l at the su ering, especial y those manifested time mm ni of death by the co u cator . Theosophists tell us the appearance Of the spirit Of the individual in what is called the Astral Body is by no means confined to the r - dead . The e are well authenticated stories Of apparently substantial ghosts appearing and being mistaken by several independent witnesses for e the real person , the real p rson being alive A SLEEPING COMMUNICATOR I 7 at m m a a a a the ti e so e dist nce way, w ke , in good h al of an ex eri e th , and innocent y attempt at p ments Of such a nature . But I have only on two occasions distinguished a living personality at my side in the w ay I have , just described— one being in the middle of the w as of an night , when I awakened by a sense Old lady Of my acquaintance (whose regular habits w ould imply that at that time she w as sound asleep) calling me to get up and write . I found a pencil and paper and received a letter wri tten l in to rapid y her handwriting, needless say with m a ai y h nd . She had been lost , she s d , and brought to me by a friend she had met unex ectedl p y. This friend was dead, she knew, and she had come to the conclusion that she must be too to - dead . She wanted say good bye , and me all f a e told her a f irs were in ord r, with the ex ception Of a slight matter to which I promised r o to attend . She mentioned one o tw Of her a ur fin d l tre s es , and ishe by te ling me she had left a certain prot'g'e a legacy ensuring her £45 a year . AS she was very reserved and had a great dis a an n like to nything Of u canny nature, I was u a to n ble, when we next met , broach the subject to her beyond leading her on to talk Of her curios ; but I found she did possess some she had and described to me that night , others ,

a she . str ngely enough, bought subsequently C I 8 AUTOMATIC WRITING

l ar a s e d w a dis v e Severa ye s l ter h ied . It s co er d that she had left the person mentioned an al O annu income f £54 (not a. fact I have reason to believe was only know n to her and her

solicitor. This nocturnal experience of the Old lady who thought she was dead was fully described in a letter I wrote to a friend abroad on the following

fi . day, before the death could be con rmed This friend was an interested listener to the conversa tion the Old lady and I had years later, when she spoke Of certain curios normally unknown to us . The other case was the appear ance Of an u n known personality whose influence was strong enough for me to feel and describe details Of past - ff ri Of ill health , physical su e ngs , and the taste a ru to i d g it had been necessary g ve her, the lady in question being ou t Of her mind and in an asylum . It is significant that I was not sensible Of anything applicable to her present physical or a mental condition . Although there are m rked characteristics that have developed since it ca be me necessary to place her under control , I have only been able to describe those previous to She her mental derangement . Both and her D w husband (Mr . and Mrs . ere complete l of strangers to me . I practical y knew nothing them apart from the fact that they existed and were connections Of a lady Of my acquaintance ’ D - e who gave me Mr . s address and advis d I AM NOT IN TH E BODY 19 me to send the information direct to him as t e ar quested . The following e quotations from the t D letter I sent o Mr . together with a messag e referring to some private affairs that a were causing her nxiety .

ou to I want y write , I am alive . My

ri ou - f end has spoken to y Of me . Her name is not a A I am in the body that w s mine .

It is only at times I am able to use it . If ’ you could settle my husband s mind about me to I should be grateful . It is misery him to out think that I am Of my mind . My mind is u n q ite clear and strong , but I ca not use that

body any more . It hurts me that I cannot to him not and speak and tell him I am there , ” f r i I want to care o my l ttle child .

I refused to send the message without some proof Of identity, and received the following communication from Dr . Neil , referring to Mrs . D I want you to do all you can to enable o not un her t give full information . It is an a to common c se , but it is seldom possible give si r the po tion from the spi it side . We are helping ” to prove her identity . A few days later she ﬁ gave me nine proofs . The rst was memory Of some article she possessed in the shape Of a rose

e r n ’ the others , d sc iptions Of a foreign cou try one of where they stayed, her favourite colour, ses SO on nl her dres , and , personal details o y Of 20 AUTOMATIC WRITING individual interest ; and lastly she showed me herself sitting gazing into the distance and nervously biting at her little ﬁnger . With this

I received more automatic writing from Dr . Neil ' She is very impatient Of her husband thinking the person is herself— cannot under stand how it is he is not able to see it is some one d ff to entirely i erent . This must be sent Mr . D at o once . We must g step by step . D ﬁ d . an l First , Mrs must be paci ed, the on y way is to convince him she is not in that body to make her feel sure he has got her message e and to and beli ves it is really from her, make her h ” sure she can send him more w en necessary . Mr I sent all this to . D and received the following reply

E ISS ON EI H - I a D AR M M T T , h ve received a your letter and the enclosure, which I h ve a re d with much interest . I have long been Of ’ the Opinion that my wife s real self w as absent or a from her body, th t some part Of her was for n absent , , though somethi g alive remains

which retains some Of the characteristics , it l is very un ike her real self . As to the proofs n x Of identity given , I recog ise all e cept the ’ f ninth . I don t remember her habit o biting ﬁ her nger. Yours sincerely

W. D . PROOFS OF IDENTITY 2 1

And another letter followed shortly '

I told you in my last letter that I did not remember my wife having a habit Of biting s of her ﬁnger . A ister mine tells me that she r a remembers the habit pe fectly, lso the ’ way my wife 5 eyes would light up when she i sm led . D When I met him , Mr . gave me particulars ’ his l a a of wife s il ness , fter which she gr dually got more delicate ul timately sinking into a cata le tic r stiﬁ p state, lying pe fectly with her eyes

C losed for several days . After this it w as

necessary to place her in an asylum . He Showed an l e the rose . It is ingenious si ver orna h on i w a ment w ich, be ng unscre ed, ch nges into Of a ll - w s the form fu blo n ro e , a unique possession .

These letters that Mr . D kindly allowed f are O C . me to publish , ourse , in existence The reason that irnpelled the communication was extreme anxiety for the C hild and a desire to a explain a gre t deal that , although interesting, a Of l c nnot , owing to the present lack know edge ﬁ of . Of certain forms insanity, be veri ed Telepathy that takes the form of automatic writing is remarkably interesting and accurate u when prearranged by two s itable experimenters . The sense Of the communication is received with d fﬁ a ul a is out much i culty, but the voc b ry that a a a l Of the medium r ther th n th t of the contro , 22 AUTOMATIC WRITING unless the control be an cxceptionally strong personality and the medium exceedingly sub so - servient . There are many well known ex Of amples this that I propose to give one only, for the reason that the development was entirely ff and di erent from what we intended , the man, who on Mr . Innes , was at the time somewhere ” a al on ctive service , was tot ly ignorant the of a subject psychical research , ap rt from what r I wrote to him . The experiment was pu ely ’ precautionary, suggested to relieve his sister s m ind, if possible , in the event Of his being taken him li not prisoner . I knew very ttle , and was Of all in the habit writing to him at , until I sent a letter explaining how to communicate with me shoul d he at any time be unable to write to his

people , and I arranged that if he were reported missing I would look for a message every evening ’ ni Y u wi at ne O clock . Dr . Neil wrote o ll have no difﬁculty in establishing a line Of communica ” ou tion between y . NO letters passed between us a hi no to a fter t s, and attempt convey inform as ﬁve tion w made until nearly months later, on th of a m when, the 4 May, at , the follow ing came throug My senses seem to be leaving me— there is only time to send you word I was ” wounded and was taken by the enemy. It seemed to me too feeble to be at all con vincin and on m ' mind g , as I had him very much y l a a I fe t the mess ge might be imagin tion, due to

24 AUTOMATIC WRITING to send you word I was wounded and w as taken ” the All by enemy, he did not consciously send . he could manage in the noise and confusion was to e an O a cry me , and he s nt it between d I i that very morn ng, and what he took to be the answer— his uplifted state o f mind and cal med — nerves came about ten . He gave me an account of some incidents of a ma li few days before , which y throw a ttle light s on the subconscious mes age that reached me . On the rst Of May they had orders to hold a fort for at any cost , no supports could be sent had a a they f iled, the whole comp ny must have been

o r . killed taken prisoners They held it . On the zu d hi w as there was a heavy bombardment , w ch so deadly in its effects that it caused great con fusion and drove the men inside the fort for a safety . One big shell cr shed through the

. t t concrete apron, and Mr Innes , wi h o hers, ai and f nted from the shock concussion . In a letter that I received from him he wrote Before losing consciousness my last irnpression from the shouts and confusion was that we had been cut ” Off and surrounded. are ui w e and We still contin ng our irel ss , he is successful in sending me information which, ri although b ef, is accurate . One more point that I think worth recording es ai n is this when Mr . Inn reg ned his nerve o the th and a has 4 Of May, in times Of d nger since, he CORROBORATION 2 5

na a been conscious Of a strong perso lity ne r, d him him thi s gui ing here and there , making do ng u as e r on the j mp , he expr ssed it in the cou se a Of conversation at a future time , when he g ve r i ur s of . me a fairly acc ate de c iption Dr Ne l , adding that the impression he received w as that Of of an athlete . Now, Mr . Innes knew nothing l and his C O- Dr . Nei Operation with me he had no idea Of our theory that much can be done by e on alla or p ople the other side to y pain fear, nor Of his eﬁ orts to help in nervous cases where a stronger mind may control the patient with ﬁ a a of hi h a bene ci l result , m ny w c results can be as cl sed under the name Of coincidences, incidents coinciding with written promises and the description of an athlete w as not applicable to

the doctor as I knew him in life , but I remem bered later I had heard from one of his Old friends that in early days he had achieved great dis tinction and played a leading part in various forms f O Sport . n In regard to the telepathy between Mr . I nes and l r and a myse f , besides his lette s to me m ny al writterf a automatic ly telep thic messages , too v a to are C Of his e s tri i l repeat , there opies lett r ri w as home , a diary cove ng the time when he

This diary w as published in form of a letter w ritten ’ to a r on l ri d w i a ke c Of Mr I nnes s revio s pe s a f en th s t h . p u r n n o ca eer as interesti g impressio s of a m dern battl e. no ovi ’ t those Of a n ce . 26 AUTOMATIC WRITING

and a a wounded t ken by the enemy, photograph of and a the fort , the post card signed by nick name through which I recognised my automatic scribble . To give an idea of the experience I will quote from a letter written to his people

We have just come down for a breather after

of l . wa four days he l Yesterday s the limit . They bombarded u s for ten hours without let w as up . My company in a little fort , and those devils bounced 15- inch shells on it at the rate Of one not a minute for ten hours, counting the ff O l . O f ittle ones They chewed corners it , but the Old box held together— o f course every look-ou t was wounded about half an hour after t ” we went ou .

d n A letter to me , date a fortnight later in a swer to mine referring to the message I had received telepathically My senses seem to be leaving me — C ontains the following

I got your letter last night but I got your a m mess ge in return of ine the same day. That very day we went through a ﬁery hell Of ﬁr an d as ea barra e Shell e what is known [ do g . You will believe me and know I am speaking the truth when I tell you I enjoyed that wild th i rush on the 4 Of May . It s strange that just STATEMENTS CONFIRMED 27

the few shells at the beginning which really did no harm should affect me more than the rain of hr a ai shells and S apnel afterw rds . When I s d ’ I got your reply to my message I didn t mean an u I got y message , but just a reass red feeling .

d an a n s . signed most decorously, Don ld In e

Mr . Innes summarised the whole episode before a a a its public tion when we met ag in in Janu ry, 1918 ' I am giving you this letter in case you to fi u Should require it con rm yo r statement . I received your letter (the first you ever wrote 1 1 how me) in October, 95 , telling me to send a telepathic letter to you should I be taken fi prisoner . My rst attempt to send you a m w as th 1 16 essage on the 4 Of May, 9 , between 10 a m and , just before we attacked D I was somewhat shaken up by the bombardment in one Of the forts at two r days before . The fo t was shelled constantly ur for ten ho s , and several men , amongst them I , fainted from the concussion just before the a att ck broke loose . Before losing conscious ness my last impression from the shouts and confusion was that we had been cut Off and

surrounde d . This message on the 4th Of May I sent hurriedly to you for moral support to steady for a my nerves the attack, Soon fter I was 28 AUTOMATIC WRITING

keenly aware of a moral stiffening and during the attack felt the constant companionship Of n out some one unseen urgi g me on, pointing the r most dangerous spots . I desc ibed this per sonality to you as best I could when we met a hi later . I h ve only been aware Of t s inﬂuence ” Of in times extreme danger . PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

32 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT have any practical bearing on our life in this s for world and were , in consequence , u eless the average human being . The conditions under ri ou t which psychic experiments were car ed , ' a of di hi S ances and the tr nce state me ums p, struck me as better left in the hands Of the scientists or others equally competent to judge ni not the results . On that point my opi on has C a one hic h nged , but it is , I acknowledge , in w h no a al I have practic l interest , but I so feel , very h u strongly, t at the advantage Of competent g id ance is very necessary to the ordinary woman who is face to face with personal manifestations of a psychic nature . The possibility of a natural form Of communica tion from the dead under normal circumstances was borne upon me in a conversation I had during an afternoon call on an acquaintance who in formed me that she had an important message to deliver from a man who wished to take

this opportunity of communicating a desire . Taking it for granted that I understood what ’ she w o s meant , ithout a m ment s he itation she proceeded to give a detailed description his Of appearance , age , Christian name , pro fession , country, month and approximately the a all Of m ye r Of his decease , which I i mediately

recognised . Before I had time to express my astonishment a e o she at m ssage fr m a deceased man, went on , EVIDENCE OF MEMORY 33 as if repeating the words of a third person in the akin al to e room , m g lusions incidents in his care r, the subject of a particular book he had once given me his name is not written in that book ” is in she a z but it another, s id, describing the si e and character of the other volume and added a word that is something which you will under stand . That word arrested my attention . It ' was a sob nqu et by which I was known to the communicating personality and a family Of mutual friends , connected with incidents Of not u the past that I had , consciously, tho ght

Of for years . Old memories were awakened one by one with on a of no hesitation the p rt the speaker and, at w as last , the message delivered, telling me that this doctor wished me to make quite sure Of hi s identity and to allow him to communicate t direc ly in writing and that he would, through Of el the means writing, tell me hims f why he o desired t get into personal touch . It w as some months before I was able to take in the import Of the message— that a means Of communication could be established between us -for writing from the dead was an unheard- Of an ndi possibility . There had never been y i ca tions Of a psychic faculty unless one may count sudden and helpful inspirations bearing on private affairs— I regarded them as answers to prayer and an indescribable feeling of the presence of D 34 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

certain friends I had lost through death which fi to a was rmly attributed my imagin tion . My very first psychic experience occurred when I was looking up a crest in the jeweller’ s crest to of book soon after this episode , verify one the s messages . The me sage was that the doctor, w ho w as a to apparently visu lised , pointed a seal ring which he wore on a certain finger of his and s Of left hand , gave a de cription what we took to nfi be the crest which he desired me to co rm . I w as running my finger down the page to find his name when my hand stopped with a feeling of e of weight upon it , se mingly independent my f l . fi at di wi l The nger was pointing a ferent name , or ff rather a di erent Spelling Of the same name, ne ffe w as o letter di rent . The crest I found not a r exactly that as described , but , as I sce tained one a n subsequently, the engraved on the se l ri g , ' and used by the doctor s family. Strictly speak a — to ing, it was test that failed that is say, if it was an attempt to describe the crest on his ring o and, as subsequent communicati ns have proved, the only test I have ever known to be incorrect i from this source . But the symbol cal meaning Of the crest had a direct personal interpretation and was significant in its bearing on the other e and also later m ssages . The doctor is in the habit Of giving me information in such a way as to obviate all possibility of telepathy from a u or the s h man source , ubconscious activity of IDENTITY 35

i s Old recollections , as m ght have been the ca e had the crest been that engraved on the ring he was of des in the habit wearing, but this must be cribed as a coincidence . Circumstances brought about one more meeting with the psychic acquaintance who w as good enough to give me an explanation Of what ri n w ti g meant , and rendered more help in establishing the identity Of my would-be com a r mu nic to . The proofs were mostly known to x me , but there were e ceptions , one being the ’ description Of an incident bearing on this doctor s profession and accompanied by details that neither Of ‘ us could recognise until they were explained by a medical man as familiar enough to not any in that profession but generally known . A former statement satisfactorily veriﬁed was the ’ e se month Of the doctor s dec a , and that was all the more convincing because it was the previous month to that which I had always been given to

understand . There were many other personal statements outside our knowledge which I w as to ri . e able ve fy Some w re given, at a later date, r own l th ough my hand . Natura ly, those I could ni e recog s at the time were the most convincing, for telepathy w as then an unknown explanation e to me , but th re was always the injunction to

verify information which I felt was important , and this I now understand to be an absolute

necessity. 36 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

There w as no doubt in my mind as to the ni nor C identity Of the commu cator, ould I question his wisdom and integrity on the supposition that he w as unchanged by the transition from one

to . state another I knew, also, that such a char acter would have some strong purpose for

desiring to get into personal touch , and thus to gain an Opportunity of explaining himself without

the intervention of a third person . Work fi s and C O scienti cally were the word , by i operation we may help to establish a d scovery . fi which will bene t mankind . The whole idea was characteristic Of a man who had a passion for scientifi c discovery and a practical sympathy for su flering humanity which engrossed his whole so of o life . And , although the method p ssible communication by writing was put aside as an m r i possibility without a t ial , I decided to give , as for e suggested , ten minutes each day qui t meditation, out of which , I was told, would come a development of a psychic gift which would for enable me to judge all myself . I can only suppose that anything psychic in my natur e lay dormant only awaiting a definite cause to ar ouse such a faculty in the course of a few days I became aware of clear impressions to fi that could, some extent , be con rmed . A for a ai to be little bit of information , ex mple , s d an in a certain book , came constantly ; answer would be given to something that was puzzling PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS me— an n of expla ation a strange word, for instance scraps of knowledge would enter my mind al ri w as with addition c ticism that , I felt , all al beyond my powers ; purely ment , but none rifi the less real at the moment and ve able . Some times I could distinguish the timbre Of a familiar and ai saw fi u voice now ag n, I a g re walk into r a the oom about a foot from the ground . It w s a all over in flash , convincing at the time , but afterwards sense of unreality made me doubt . to for and w as no one I had nothing Show it there , e d ither, with whom I cared to iscuss such a fantasy until one day a friend broached the subject of automatic writing and told me that a personal demonstration had occurred without n how warni g , and , from the substance Of the wri ting , she had reason to believe that the source w as r a She a pe son lity whom could trust , and that the writing was quite genuine . Through this to friend I was enabled get more information , and tests which I volunteered in the form Of questions were answered correctly . ’ Where did we last meet At Mrs . E s w as on the swift reply , and my demurring that

Mrs. . our hostess was a Mrs . M . and E did not ’ exist , at Mrs . E s was repeated until we l stopped the writing impatient y . But , some time a r a ds on fte w r , it dawned me that E was the initial of the one who had conveyed the original ’

a at Mrs . mess ges and the last meeting was E s, 38 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

whose name w as then unknown to the writer . la These are , however, trivial details that p yed their part in teaching us patience . About three months later I began to write un to i expectedly . A sudden impulse get a penc l and see what would happen resulted in a few words lightly scribbled but quite legible . Of

e a ch n . cours , my ttitude was a ged I did believe , hi by t s time , that there was something in it and a ri ll soon the handwriting bec me characte stic , tota y ow n fi unlike my and, after the rst few attempts , when letter by letter was slowly produced , the rapidity with which a long communication was thus written disposed Of the idea that it was my s on own compo ition . As time went , however, there was a change . The writing proceeded at a a normal p ce , but every word, and sometimes as every sentence , w mentally conceived before the any action of hand followed . It was nearly r d simultaneous , but so like the ordina y metho Of wri ting that I felt sure that the sole influence was that Of my own mind— I was doing it al l— and al I discarded this means of communication as f se . This decision did not prevent a further develop Of ui a u s ment the int tive f c lty, and impres ions a a and fi so bec me cle rer were, when veri able , seldom at fault that I eventually made a note Of a t to see ny hing interesting, for I began the possible val ue of visible evidence in the absence m of perfect emory . Without any conscious

40 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT the influence of the spirit of some one I had l a s u os . known , Vit in expre sion and strong in p rp e a a The dvice he gave was simple and logic l . i was Psych c development , I told, depended mo re on concentration than on anything else e fi a on not practis d arti cially, but habitu lly every hi if Not did c ncen little t ng in everyday l e . only o tration make for health and efficiency in ordinary t course of events , but it built up a sound ounda for a hi u tion incre sed mental power, w ch wo ld lead to an individual understanding of the higher a l ws of nature . al a a B nce w s another point on which he insisted . The study of a practical subject w as necessary in line with that of psychic discovery and every thing in proportion but the proportion of spirit communication was exceedingly small in com a ai p rison with other matters . The d ly ten minutes was sometimes extended to half an r was a e hou , but it out of my power to incre s it after the stated time no more writing came . I not on at l could turn it wil . nf l on i and I al ibility any po nt was disclaimed, in no case was advice to be taken that fell short se as a of reason and common nse . It w expl ined that a human instrument sometimes failed to ur respond acc ately, and, therefore, at the begin ning of psychic development there must be a l s e a ca as residue of worth es m ss ges to be st ide . Patience and verification were advised Proofs DOUBT AND SUSPICIONS 41

e mis w re pro ed whenever possible and, when not r a was fo thcoming, the critic l attitude to be and of ns observed , in the question predictio , adequate testimony w as to be obtained before the possibility of fulﬁlment . Our co- e as a ai Op ration had, its object , to tt n personal knowledge of the higher laws which could be practically brought to bear on earthly existence . For a short period I had the inevitable su s picion of orthodox training that al l this must be and a the devil , I rgued this point with some ’ a vil a u he t in the de s f vo r, supporting it with s quotations from the Scripture . An injunction to study the Scriptures more was all thoroughly the reply, and to test by the a a new Comm ndment , Thou sh lt love thy ' a neighbour s thyself . If there are suggestions that you Should do anything contrary to this e hi is il a r t ac ng, it the dev , but if we ende vou to

Serve God by serving man, will you not be the channel through which this may be achieved ' can s s t Looking back , I mo t honestly te ify that in every communication where cc operation has c s ar r a suﬁerin s been ne e s y, the desi e to ssuage the g of humanity has been uppermost . Certain rules were made to which I willingly

'a . w as acquiesced . S nces were forbidden There to be no attempt to obtain messages under any circumstances whatever ; all would be given 42 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

an u l al spont eo s y, thus lowing the doctor to decide who might approach me for the purposes of n and as to commu ication, I w desired abstain from reading any books on the subject of psychical a mediurnistic or rese rch , development , theo Sophical teaching ; the reason being that I w as too sensitive to attend a Seance without danger a w as a th t it better, at this stage , for responsible being to have control over the number and sort of would-be communicators until I had more discernment and ability to keep the frivolous

e a a di . as or und sir ble comp ny at a stance And, I was i in a posit on to receive direct teaching, it was more satisfactory to be taught exclusively m an s by one ind, d more convincing to my elf to compare such teaching with current literature

later on . I w as told that in the future I Should come a a i cross m ny who , like myself, l ved under con s a cious guid nce from the unseen, and, in

course of time, I gradually found myself drawn all a into a circle of people , of sects and denomin co- a tions, living and working in oper tion with the other Side and often with the widest hila p nthropic interests . Some told me these u a g ides took the form of ngels, and others the ri a and s spi ts of disc rnate friends relation , but there was a certain reserve on the subject owing to the ignorant and often unkindly criticism and c a and l s denun i tions , , unti the exigencie of ANOTHER PERSONALITY 43

the bereaved in the late war forced conﬁdence , comparatively few had the courage to advance convictions that would have entailed argument and disputations in time that was valuable . I have heard this called the greatest freemasonry in existence ; certainly it was amazing to see how much had been achieved for the common good of humanity by these psychic workers of ’

a i . twenty, thirty and forty ye rs stand ng There was another discarnate personality who wrote a series of essays through me for my own ﬁ u bene t . He and the doctor were q ite distinct

a a . r in ppearance , ch racter and handw iting ; the of s e w as doctor, cour e , I knew, but the oth r a and e complete stranger, it was long b fore I a stumbled upon evidence th t proved his identity . ff in Their intentions di ered . The doctor variably gave practical advice and communica a for tions which c lled practical results , while the philosopher conﬁned himself to explanations of certain developments and theorised on much that was fast becoming fact . There were chance communicators who came wi to th the doctor from time time , but , after giving a few messages to be conveyed to their ri ds or on f en , the completion of some scheme h out se w ich they were unable to carry them lves, there was little or no interest beyond the concern for of r the Object thei endeavours . But , in the of h w as case the p ilosopher, the inﬂuence quite 44 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

a and t e equ l to that of the doctor, con inu d regularly over a long period . He volunteered no information in regard to l al himse f . Unlike others who , most without hi exception, would give me some proof by w ch iﬁ a s of the they could be ident ed , and even det il people I was called upon to help for the purpose of

a u . recognition, he was content to remain nonymo s ul see him a a w I co d cle rly, and the h nd riting w as decidedly characteristic ; he was obviously

a . him scholar In due course , I knew through this correspondence as a very real friend as di ife stinct from others as in ordinary l , but it was not l a unti two years later, when I came cross a signed photograph in the drawing-room of a a a a new acqu int nce in London , th t his identity

was . v revealed To me , it was conclusive e idence , further strengthened by the Opinions volunteered old ri s a a by his f end , sever l of whom I h ve since a of had the ple sure meeting, that his letters were not r lik r only extraordina ily e in handw iting, in but in style and in thought . Compar g these ri e li with real letters w tten in his arth fe , there are certain little bits which are like his and unlike my other spiri t correspondents or myself apart from the handwriting— and the use of a li -ﬂow n phraseology, ttle obsolete and high , was so foreign to my knowledge of language that on many occasions I have had to resort to the a li diction ry for en ghtenment . INSPIRATIONAL WRITING 45

AS e a r an exp riment in Inspiration l W iting, he gave me some views on psychical research in to relation the Christian Faith , dealing mostly with the attitude taken by the orthodox that such inquiry is contrary to religion . Nearly all came word by word— sometimes I got a sentence mentally before it was written , but never was the . point Of any paragraph intelligible to me until I ff d read it over . The e ect is isjointed but the argument good . The whole paper lacks beauty and li po sh , and the author is obviously handi capped by the discrepancies Of an imperfect nf machine, an i erior brain and limited education , but it has a C haracteristic style . This experiment w as made in response to the request of a friend for views on psychical research on three points ' Is it right from the religious point of view Is it practicable And to what does it all lead I had never deﬁnitely formed answers to these questions and, in my ignorance of the ar gument which he brought forward little a to by little , I expected concise reason be given

r . a in th ee short sentences Inste d, the paper r ran to about th ee thousand words, and a friend and I became keenly interested to see what would come next in the series . It is in my handwriting , and the experience was similar to writing at dictation with a difﬁculty to get all the words di i st nct , and sometimes a feeling as if it were a a little known language . I insert letter written 46 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT by the friend w ho watched the development of this experiment

MY DEAR The C hapter on psychic development interests me because I have followed it from

the ﬁrst . At ﬁrst I must say honestly I nor of the neither liked approved subject , but my personal affection for you compelled me to to ou A l listen y . fter a whi e I was interested of to in spite myself , and began realise the of ou to worth it . The paper y refer is the

one which I see now inﬂuenced me the most . 1 I certainly suggested the experiment in 197 . AS to was each paragraph was read me, I simply u for to asto nded, without meaning be rude , I r never heard you a gue like that , and I knew no w that you were then riter . The ideas were

- new to us both . If it had come to day I Should not have been so astonished but if I may say i a has what I really think, th s person lity somehow taught you a great deal in more ways one has than , and even inﬂuenced your present r handw iting . It is this sort of inspiration

which attracts me most . f Yours a fectionately,

M .

I have three other criticisms on this produc ﬁ b r who tion, the rst given y a modern w iter

48 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT counteract his inevitable inﬂuence as tutor by of w r the study modern itings , the exercise of independent judgment over and above anything he may suggest .

I do not wish to merge your own indi vidu alit for y absolutely into mine , I am of a ar to past generation, and it is necess y have the ” - edge of to day cutting sharply to the subject .

But he does not hesitate to criticise freely and give me ideas for essays

Keep it modern in its phraseology and do n ot allow my style to antiquate the setting . ou too i Neither must y be curt and d sjointed, for sin that is , at present , your besetting , if I may call it SO An essay should be a series of rings— e ach perfect and each adjoining to r without break, polished pe fection, and n e li king together to form a d pendable chain, its strength lying in the accuracy and

mechanism of each little C ircle .

It was he who desired me to send my articles for the consideration of the editor Of the Nine teenth C entur And A ter the y f , against advice, w e i of r e ith a singl except on, all my f i nds , who a it s id was courting a blank refusal . He strengthened this advice by predicting that the ﬁrst article would be accepted over a year before SUB- CONSCIOUS INFLUENCES 49

’ l or of di it i a . s pub c tion, , indeed, the E tor s decision a l a This I c nnot quote , as it is stil in the h nds of d ri W fi a me ical f end , in hom I have con ded various predictions before the possibility of their or fulfilment f the last seven years . The success of the second article w as also predicted before it as 1 18— in w written in May and June , 9 July it w as dispatched to the Editor and published the o SO on f llowing September and . I am well aware that the identity of this personality is not sufficiently well attested to T carry great weight with the general public . oo is on of much dependent my testimony, the word a single individual ; and the rule of adequate testimony is not one that can be ignored by a conscientious student who has the interests of the n subject at heart . But I ca not omit the account of an experience which has played so great a part in the development of my understanding nor exclude an expression of gratitude for patient and systematic explanations of so much that mystified an unformed mind . What puzzled me greatly at an early date were s a i n w ho me s ges from the l vi g, from spirits were still incarnate in a physical body . They were all t is subconscious hat to say, while the thoughts were intentional there w as no inten a tion th t I should receive , through the means i w as of nspirational writing, a letter which then perhaps only mentally decided and still E 50 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

unwritten or even a desire involving my co

u . Operation , yet nvoiced It is common enough now for me to be aware beforehand of the contents of i and my letters, dispatched but undel vered, , al though there is a form of clairvoyance which of gives the outcome schemes barely conceived, I believe this tapping of surrounding vibrations by a sensitive to be the true explanation of many accurate prognostications of the immediate future so often placed to the credit of the unseen

helpers . a Curiously enough , spontaneous mess ges from the living are more satisfactory than prearranged

experiments . There seems to be a necessary attunement at the psychological moment which one at present eludes investigation . In case, wil tw o m s en ra ort sympathy l place ind pp , in ual has eﬁect another, a mut interest the same , but at critical times and especially when sympathy and n n to a i terest are i creased anxiety, the stre m of communication from one mind to another is f a e fectu lly stemmed . On the other hand extra ordinarily accurate information comes from communicators in whom one has neither sym

pathy nor interest . The whole subject of thought u transference is pec liarly elusive , but I believe now a hi th t it is the key to my mediums p . ﬁ It attracted me from the very rst . If a human being could respond to Vibrations of thought in a as l as such way to produce visible resu ts, such SIGNIFICANCE OF TELEPATHY 51

a al autom tic or inspiration writing, here was somet hing in line with the scientific discoveries of and hi the day w ch , when once recognised as a ul talent to be perfected with practice, wo d engage the attention of the positive minds whose very interest would claim systematic work from those human machines who were naturally fitted for it . Thought could be exploited because , although requiring the vehicle of a brain to a produce Visible manifestations, the br in could be that of another . These experiences extended to telepathic hypothesis north , south, east and west of the two hemispheres on which we exist and” a a r naturally, Shook my f ith in disc rnate spi its n of for a little , and even now the importa ce thought vibrating round us cannot be exagger i ated in my op nion, but the continual develop ment of a keener discernment enables me to see (or feel) the difi erence between the personalities and when receiving a thought message, I must confess that I now extend the belief in Telepathy — ri of still further to the spi ts the discarnate . Apart from all proofs of identity I can recognise familiar discarnate personalities in exactly the same w ay as I do those still in the body ; and n r of ff further, I can see no ma ne di erence in the c mode of communi ation . H ow strange I I wrote in the very ear ly stages of development before I knew anything 52 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

about telepathy, I am thinking all this and ” you write what I think . It was an Old lady who had discovered that she was dead and was able to impress this fact on me in writing closely resembling her own and partly in a foreign language with which my aq u aintance is but the

slightest . And this is what I believe to be the e of faculty of p rceptive mediumship , a question a natural sensitiveness to vibrations set up by thought and equival ent to the musical talent by which a musician is able to distinguish the n vibrations created by sou d . As a composer can a vi b of so rrange a melody in si le form notes, can a w riting medium C lothe the impressions given a by thought in words intelligible to the re der . A few lines were given me just the other day by a n unknown correspondent . The writing is a l ﬁne of l sm l and , the Italian school, rather ike that of the middle of the last century— one comes old w across it in books, the ink brown ith age I give it as it is obviously intended -merely as n t an opinion and o as an infal lible utterance . Opinions are as varied and diverse on the other as side on this the outlook remains personal.

I would like to write with you for a little while to tell you my idea of spirit commu nica — . of v tion I think , from my point iew that is, from the point of view of a discarnate spiri t

a t' of its th t there is not the remotes , possibility SPIRIT COMMUNICATION 53

a ever becoming gener l . At present there is the impetus from the bereaved and from the young men who have passed over in their full

r . st ength The latter pass over fully conscious, or at a a i , le st , on reg in ng consciousness , fully i aware of the l fe they have left . Their whole interest is centred on enviro nment and human beings from whom they have been torn and C - naturally they ling to the half done task .

Then , the bereaved on their side , resent their loved ones being taken from the familiar scenes of activity and the mutual longing draws the two together into natural com e e munion, hence the pres nt dev lopment of to-da psychic experiences y. In normal times there is more preparation and for for the future less resentment , death not as a ra comes , when by accident , natu l and old event , in the case of age , there is more of the personality on this side towards the end of life than there is on earth— and it is like waiting in a place prepared for the loved l to . ones fol ow And so , the necessary incentive to communicate with ear th is absent and the bereaved resigned and content to await the future . i r i ou This is perhaps d scou ag ng to y who, to with others , are working establish Com m ication hi ou l see un , but in a little w le y wi l it is not required and the whole of psychic 54 PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

investigation (barring the communication of natural psychics) will become a science and left to the few to decide ' as in other dis coveries the matter of spiritual law will be m n studied by a handful of e . It will be of r knowledge , primarily, ether, vibrato y manifestations in the ether and all pertaining to what has formerly been called the spiritual e a planes . And furth r, the laws de ling with life on this plane which deal very largely with that o li i f the earth plane will become intel g ble . All this will be found to be ruled by thought and the next step in the world’ s development will of mentalit ill be that y which w , in time, of — overrule the importance matter rather, matter and physics will slip into their right e to i place , subservi nt the undy ng principle in man and this will be generally understood and — a . a ar 1 1 cknowledged Dated, J nu y 99.

TELEPATHY AS A NATURAL MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

E LE H Y T PAT , or the transference of thought from one person to another without the agency Of the a of is a recognised org ns sense , a br nch of ex perimental psychology which opens up a vast and unlimited ﬁeld of inquiry . l The late Mr. F . W. H . Myers he d the opinion al a e e of that this ment ction , b ing indep ndent a of the physic l body, indicated some hope the of m a persistence ind and memory after de th, and considered that a fuller understanding of laws governing telepathic communication would lead to a better comprehension of the spiritual side of

a am d i Th t s e irect influence of m nd on mind, in minimis ul which we Show wo d, if supposed in aximis a operative m , be a form of st ting the fi a or ef cacy of prayer, the communion of s ints , ” even the operation of a Divine Spirit . The majority of people have not given sufficient study to the subj ect to afford a complete fi a n a i o justi c tio of such w de outlo k, but there is considerable interest Shown in the questions

57 58 TELEPATHY

that frequently arise as to the validity of telepathic communication which are outside their a ar own experience . It is pp ent that many are still at the stage which demands more evidence to demonstrate clearly that thought is a faculty on that man may exercise perceptibly others , with the hope for further evidence that may all un to the eventu y lead, without due credulity, supposition that a facul ty so essentially a mental ’ - of n (or spiritual) part ma s being, may persist and and be practicable after the mind is divested of

matter . of In early days psychical research , the fact to that communications , believed be from the the unseen world , could be traced sometimes to mental action Of a human being upset certain preconceived ideas that all similar communica tions o riginated in a spiri tual source or from a

discarnate entity . Some people went further and a declared that , this being the c se , all these communications originated in the minds of other or not human beings, whether we could prove it , and swept aw ay the hope that there was ever any of u di ar likelihood a conscious , tho gh sc nate , N . ow a personality at work , it is more gener lly a ai con cknowledged that , if we are to give a f r to ri sideration a succession Of telepathic expe ences, it is necessary to admit the possibility that some of them may originate in the thoughts of discarnate al o of n a person ities equally with th se the i c rnate, IN CHILDREN 59 otherwise a great deal of evidence which cannot be traced to a human or incarnate source is cast as as i a and al ide inexpl c ble , the v ue of investi gating and comparing the possible origin of such s is evidence with other more ea ily proved lost . a if an r In everyd y l e, elementa y form of tele pathy is indicated by a mental anticipation of what some one else is going to say next or by an irnpression that such and such is the case which is perhaps veriﬁed later on by a corre den i al lai spon t. An ind vidu with c rvoyan t or . clairaudient powers will receive a more deﬁnite revelation which will be either of a visionary or of an auditory nature ; while a by no means uncommon occurrence is a vivid dream of the exploits of an intimate fri end or relation in at or of extreme danger about the time action . c C X erts Children are often uncons ious p . I have one smal l friend who used to win prodigi l all ami ous y at a game c ed Happy F lies . The game consists of guessing what cards are held by

Opponents , and, through an accurate conjecture , to gather the various members of these Happy am di on F ilies into united groups , success depen ng the number and the speed with which the Object ai hi h w a is att ned . I asked the c ld ow it s She ”

ri . she ai invariably guessed ght Oh , s d, ’ I just think Where is Mr . Bun the baker ' ” has a . for second, and then I know who him I tried to stop this by omitting to arrange my cards 60 TELEPATHY

all a at , and refr ined from even a glance at them she a so before m de her requests , and, by doing, arrested her progress successfully . Her mother tells me that She has often tried an identical ’ and a experiment has been equ lly successful , but adds the information that the child would as a for she a invariably k loud what wanted, p use for a moment while everyone instinctively looked s the of at the card they held , and then add name the person who had it . To what extent the concentration of thought d on di ua can be carried depen s entirely the in vid l. l k In two cases persona ly nown to me , students a of a have seen , in a dre m, the contents ex mina tion papers on a certain subject a short time on a w as before the day which the examin tion held , not but , however, before the questions were a decided . Both these people are highly intellectu l , dl and this foresight , which was undoubte y wn of di valuable , cro ed months excee ngly hard and for study, , in one case , absolute necessity

w as . success an additional impetus But , anyhow, and such concentration is exceptional , the action of personal thought with results ensuing is more commonly demonstrated . My own experiences lead me to believe that a thought directed to a certain individual will fall in the mental environment of that individual as an arrow from the how of a good marks

man And l . . , Should the thought be powerfu the WRITTEN DEMONSTRATIONS 61

ll vibrations wi continue for some time after, according to the force with which the thought was projected . Possibly because inspirational writing has been a means chosen for me as a suitable method of e a rec iving communic tions from another world, I sometimes receive messages from people in this world in the same manner . A feeling comes over a a of me to m ke note something, and before I a u a am h ve q ite re lised what I doing, a sentence is l o a C a rapid y written , cc sionally in h racteristic r handw iting . In ignorance of the value of these thought a a a m to mess ges , I h ve , in the p st , o itted get of u n many them properly attested, and have , a a fortun tely, c st aside much that , taken as tiny e bits of a gr at whole , would build up quite a c al strong wall of evidence for criti readers . But I have a few veriﬁed examples which I am at liberty to give with the full permission of the are a people concerned . They for the most p rt al a d trivi n , with two exceptions , spontaneous , but they are chosen from a succession of similar messages which should obviate the assummion of chance coincidences . The life of an average human being is com of ﬁ ai posed mostly insigni cant det ls , but what to others is trivial may be of supreme immrtance was to the person in question . At one time I receiving messages from a man who was in the 62 TELEPATHY

of ﬁ all of midst incessant ghting, which were l h . W exclusively persona It was remarked, y did he not send me some news worth having of from such an important part the line , and let me know the result of the ﬁghting before it became common property ' I can only say that his desire to inform me of his safety in the midst of great danger was far more natural than the wish to give information of the German advance , and my interest in the actual events of war w as considerably less than my anxiety for his personal

safety . There are several of my intimate friends with

whom I am in constant mental communication , but friendship in itself is not the determining a factor in all cases . There appears to be a natur l psychological element which mentally attunes

the two , which is capable of development , but h - w ich , if non existent , I believe cannot be

acquired . One instance of a natural attunement between almost complete strangers and myself was Shown w u n in the follo ing message , which was as

expected as was the suggestion it contained . Would you like to see a friend this afternoon ’ ' ” at four o clock Fleetwood . There was no to reason expect these people , but they did call on r in thei way to another house the same vicinity, and discussion subsequently proved that I received the message about the same time that

64 TELEPATHY

l hi which reached us the fol owing day. T s ex

' perience verges on psychometry in an eﬁect which is produced by touching some article worn by the a had individu l in question , but I nothing in my a hand th t belonged to him to justify that theory, and the only explanation is the energy of thought for s vibrating ome days , the vibrations being strong enough to affect me with a vivid feeling as a a of otherness , Sir William B rrett so ptly e d scribes it . ari This feeling of otherness, which inv ably discloses the identity Of a communicator person ll a w as a y known to me , apart from nything else, fully indicated on another occasion when the a a a and el ctu l mess ge was good news the fe ing, r misery . A ve y sympathetic woman of my acquaintance apparently sent me a communica tion to the effect that there w as a certainty of promotion for her husband which would involve a was not at all l as change . This un ikely, but , it was by no means to be deplored I was aston ishod at the impression I received s1multaneously of extreme unhappiness on her part for which I ul a co d not account . For many ye rs telepathy between us had mutually proved extraordinarily a d hi was so a correct , n t s irreconcil ble that I took the precaution of dating this experience and did to a she not write her on the subject , knowing th t was certain to tell me of such an important step . Shortly after another impression superseded the MORE EXPERIENCES 65

ﬁ i n a . rst , contrad cting the original i form tion We met a few weeks later and discovered that al though She had quite unintentionally conveyed t r o . the message me, it was co rect I received it on the actual day on which the likelihood of a new and better appointment for her husband in the immediate future was made known to them a pri vately . Before She was ble to follow up her wr intention of iting to me, the appointment was frustrated by a most unusual circumstance which one no could have foreseen, and, all the time , she was suffering from nervous depression caused by a Slight indisposition which had nothing whatever w ' to do ith the case in point . The ﬁrst telepathic message from another friend proved itself useful and was the beginning

of many others from her with equal success . w as for This written in the third person which, r of some reason or other, was characte istic her

early communications . Mrs . W . sends her love and will meet you at the theatre I came to no wa the conclusion that , as there was other y of k li letting me now, she had de berately tried to impress me with the fact that her plans were u C a navoidably hanged, and I cted accordingly, in spite of the arrangement we had made to travel

together by a certain train and go to the play .

But that w as not so . She was worried because unforeseen circumstances prevented her from keeping to the original arrangement and hoped 66 TELEPATHY

a fi n h ul th t , not ndi g her at the station , I s o d act independently and go on to the theatre where a she intended to meet me . On nother occasion s all her intention were forest ed in the same way . s— l f Mrs . W . fear wil you run round (one) a ter i a Mrs. W . noon , was written and expl ned by , of when I told her it , by an overwhelming pre hi a monition which came over her, and w ch c used her such intense mental suffering that She decided to fix an afternoon without delay when we C ould al talk it over . It was a most unusu course for a her to t ke , and about the only exception I have ever known her make with regard to her habit of n r al extreme reserve o any matter of pe son feelings . These are typical illustrations of a C lose com munion between myself and kindred spirits in the n of not greatest se se the word, but it does follow that I am able to receive messages from anybody who a nor has chooses to try to transfer thought , any matter ever come to my knowledge without a full intention that I should know in the mind Of n h the people themselves . It is ot a faculty throug ’ which one may become aware Of others inmost dl thoughts , which would undoubte y lead to al r and mutu discomfo t , I am of the opinion a feeling of reserve on any subject acts automatic ally and closes the line of communication of as efiectu all as r thought y , in eve yday intercourse, l l sa si ence wi l cover innate reserve . I y this f r advisedly after many years o expe iences, CHARACTERISTIC HANDWRITING 67 supplemented by experiments made by friends w ith whom this telepathy is most marked, to see if they could withhold matters that would eventually concern me personally until they chose r a i to eve l them . And in th s they were always successful . If they require my services it appears un to that I am r g up Sharply, so speak if it is a question of personal intentions which can be a out c rried independently of me , whether I am or not a included in the scheme , I am left in pe ce .

The interest , I believe , however slight , must be a mutu l . When messages take the form of characteristic handwriting which satisfactorily discloses the of a identity the person lity at work , it is advisable to arrange C xperiments whenever it is possible to have these demonstrated . It is seldom that two separate communicators who have proved them selves to be capable of impressing their style of handwriting in addition to their thoughts are a i a on a st y ng in the s me town , but one occ sion to and z this happened be the case , we sei ed the e ﬁrst opportunity that presented its lf . There were just the two experimenters besides ” of myself . One them , Ella, Often and success l a ﬁ s h ful y sent me thought mess ges, but the r t t at arrived w as unintentional . Have you any messages for me — Ella was written one morn ing by me in the midst of ordinary correspondence and a and , lthough with extreme rapidity with no 68 TELEPATHY

a of an un a a expect tion y comm ic tion from her, in

replica of her handwriting . I met her the follow w as ing day, and her explanation was that she n of ri thinki g me at the time I got the w ting, and anxious to know if I had good news from a mutual friend on active service who occasionally enclosed for messages her . On another occasion when I had not met her for a few weeks owing to a serious illness which wr prevented her from receiving any visitors, I ote the following Vou s pou vez venir me voir ’ a r l Si o s v u lez e u ane ttre e u ou d mi v u o . R le d j , p ” ac J k. I fully expected a note from her in

course of the morning but none came . The next day I called to inquire and w as allowed to see her f r o r . on a Sho t time She then told me that , the e She morning b fore , as was feeling stronger, she wanted me to come and had every intention of in send g her French maid with a message , but the doctor’ s visit intervened and he vetoed the as suggestion unwise . The message about the letter was also correct . eri e As regards the other exp m nter , Mr . D he to i had from time time sent me commun cations . They were invariably short but always very much n to the point . Perhaps o e of the most satis factory I ever received from him was apropos of all x an incident which caused us some an iety. He had been given an important commission after much hard work and expenditure of personal I AM NOT DISMISSED ” 69

ff u e ort to sec re it . As his services were not ui m r req red i mediately, he left the count y he w as a who in and c me over to his people , were then in

England . I was staying with the family at the time and saw for myself a private telegram from headquarters advising him to return at once and explaining that there was danger of the com mi to ssion being cancelled owing his absence . This telegram had been delayed for four days and the earliest moment that he could possibly arrive l w as ﬁve i and report himse f days later st ll . Things looked black and he started on his journey

his al . f fully expecting dismiss O course , we knew when he was likely to be at his destination and we were reassured by a message I received late on the day he should have arrived I am not dis ”

mi . a ssed This was signed with his n me . We who it w all recognised was from by the hand riting, and it w as happily veriﬁed by a letter from him u a received in due co rse, and dated the same day s

my message .

Judging from these , and other equally satis e u all for factory instanc s , we nat r y hoped great results immediately on settling down to the

ri . . expe ment . Both Ella and Mr D were as e interested and enthusiastic as mys lf, but it took a little time before the pencil I had in my hand ll ’ a . wrote anything at . Mr D s previous messages of at had been sent in moments excitement , and and he was ha high pressure , of the Opinion t t some 79 TELEPATHY strong impetus was necessary to give sufﬁcient ff vibratory energy to a ect me . But a few ri a sentences were w tten , not the actu l one which n he w as endeavouri g to impress on me, and which a n his for was inconsequent , but indic ti g hopes , h the coming summer . T ey were , he confessed, in uppermost in his mind, and the handwriting e the ﬁrst instance decid d their origin . My own idea is to get back to England this

. can summer, if possible But I am not sure I get n w a P permission . The o ly ( y ) will be to get the necessary We have to get Special per o m mission to g over to England often, but fa ily ff can s e n a on a airs be pres ing, and b i g ask of ri account (name given) , b ng up an excuse and put it throng At this point the writing became illegible and C ri I S hanged . Let me w te . it possible that ” (name given) is trying to write ' And a to a IS ou ll the nswer my rem rk that y , E a was given mentally and recorded by the pencil ” f . o w a Yes The style the riting, lthough much of enlarged, resembled that Ella , and then ” a followed immediately I w nt to say something, a not so a which, lthough ch racteristically written as his was previous communication, correctly

' . . A attributed to Mr D by me before he spoke . h ai to sa Slight pause ensued, w ile I w ted for him y ’ i r it , but the penc l wrote in Ella s style, ve y ” l M c a much en arged, the word uri . She cknow

72 TELEPATHY

endeavours to prove that he retained a complete his a -li memory of e rth fe , but they were in the aﬁ rmation minority. One was the of a certain ’ a to his action unknown to me , and contr ry wife s o ﬁ at a supp sition, which was veri ed much later a a d te another, a prediction he m de concerning ic some business matters , wh h might have been e w as fores en by him, but which not even hoped for by any other ; and a third was a promise made to me privately that he woul d give a w in a message for his ife the follow g Saturd y. I fully expected him to communicate that message and w as e di a not to me , intens ly s ppointed to an receive y on the day mentioned, but he did u a better . He entr sted it to a mutu l friend on the t M a o rs. Saturd y promised, who sent it X . She appreciated it greatly for the fact that neither of u s knew that this lady possessed any psychic gifts nor had we ever discussed the subject with

her . was a an To return to the experiment , it rr ged principally for the purpose of getting evidential ‘ a a Mrs thought m nifest tions from . W. with

as t . As a Mrs X . a wi ness usu l I could get

nothing at all from Mrs . X . except a bare Yes she a a r or No, which gave ment lly in nswe to some simple questions which we tried in despera ’

Mrs W . s tion . . thoughts on the contrary were a d la and tr nsferred immediately without e y, my full attention became ﬁxed on her and what she A FOURTH INTERVENES 73

was going to think next . In the middle of a sentence there was a pause— my hand was arrested in mid- air for a moment and then diﬁerent wr in a totally style , ote the word,

and s a . hi My, pau ed gain By t s time my a w as h a ttention thoroug ly roused, for I thought she w as trying an experiment of her own and I ” wa a a r ited until the pencil moved g in , when the e was ri l a w tten, very de iberately, Wife w nts X ’ . X . i . . . s s . ometh ng, R F , Mr initials There had been no indication of his presence until this so far as - was moment I concerned, but the a u was not im message, ltho gh unexpected,

la Mrs. an . as probable, but exp nation from X w a Mrs forthcoming. She s id that . W. and I were so absorbed in our experiment that She thought she would try one of her own and resolved to attract my notice to her through a strong con a and was ar e centr tion of will , determined to r st Mrs hi a . w as the stre m of thought from W. w ch being registered by the pencil . Either this took the form of a message from her husband or he had become aware of her desire and passed it on to is me . It impossible to prove , but in drawing any conclusion it should be remembered that there has been evidence pointing to a close and Mrs communion between Mr . . X and a s hi a moreover, in mess ge w ch he g ve relating to episodes known to her and tested in such a way t l mi was s as to prove hey evo ved from her nd, it hi 74 TELEPATHY

i r persistence , nﬂuencing me, which proved stronge

than her arguments every time . a i a It is dis ppo nting but true , th t in the case of a great friendship the gulf of space is not al ways bridged naturally. In the case of one of my

a R . much loved friends , Miss , in spite Of the fact that she was a highly evolved psychic and worked indefatigably with an old member of the Psychical Research who continues activities from a higher a s sphere , we were never ble to end or receive thought-messages from each other except with a iri as H is this discarn te sp t a messenger . per sonality was well established to several others and e she besides ourselves , of cours both and I were perfectly aware of his co-Operation on many as is occasions . But , irritating it to be told by the psychically blind and deaf critics that one cannot be sure of the identity of an unseen al person ity, for the sake of the subject we were ready to work for some time in accordance with the rule that unconscious telepathy between her i and a . a myself expl ned everything In one c se , o ma a however, this supp sition y be llowed to as a give way, the communic tor desired what

to both seemed impracticable . The facts are as

had a in ai o - I left London, h v g s d g od bye to as al Miss R . for, we then thought , sever months , hi was a a ai but wit n a few weeks I b ck g n, just for a a a and in Short time, on business m tter, , know g A DISCARNATE MESSENGER 75

had a a a that Miss R . rr nged to spend th t par ti at cul month in the country, I did not hope to l r- see . o r her We Se dom never cor esponded . I as one ri w desired morning, by the Spi t of her a friend, to go to her at once, an urgent re son for Not so was . was doing given only She ill, but difficulties had arisen in which I could be of u a assistance . Nat r lly, I demurred, my reason was w being that she not ithin reach . He assured She me had not left town, and begged me to go . o as a h I went and f und it was he had s id . She ad ai She had rem ned in London longer than intended, n ffi ul h She was not o ly ill, but in di c ties w ich I was ' Atnd a off a . able to t ke her h nds , to the com munication made to me was added one to her a l i from him the s me morning, te l ng her to send a u was a for me , and ss ring her that I ne r enough was one to call . This only of many Similar e n exp riences , and the story is know to others who agree that the details of the difi culties that faced her were of so unusual a character as to preclude e ar a i a surmis on my p t , or an anticip t on that r might have a isen from unconscious telepathy. Another case in which the transference of thought from a discarnate individual was again w as an ui an ofi cer debatable , inq ry made by , a a in recently dece sed, reg rd g a matter of which his ul widow declared he co d not be in doubt . She el w as an indefinable of wa hers f psychic in sort y, but sufficiently so to be sure of the persistence of 76 TELEPATHY his ull r a a and ha f pe son lity and guid nce , d no desire for any further communications to supple r ment those that She received he self . Du ring an a al w as fternoon c l , it evident to me that he was and sa with her, he impressed me to y that he w as anxious to know if She had received all the money nf due to her . She i ormed me that he w as most al all his methodic , he had been careful to leave documents in perfect order in case of his sudden h diffi ult e deat , and there had been no c i s in any of her monetary affairs . He impressed me further with the fact that it w as some extra she money which ought to have received, and we Should find allusion to that money in a packet of nfi letters co ned by a broad, red rubber band. h of She contested t is hotly, but in Spite her certainty that he mu st know that her business a r n matters were all s tisfacto y, and a co sequent di a di a ai sbelief in the v li ty of his mess ge, I prev led n d o her to bring down a ispatch box . She looked u r find thro gh it hu riedly, only to a few bundles r and all of r of lette s, them enclosed in na row ru w a bber bands , and she s quite decided that I

mi . had made a stake The next morning, however, a to l af she She c me te l me that , ter my departure , a l found a sm l packet at the bottom of the box , one She the only had with the distinctive broad, red rubber band . It contained a few letters a hi ddressed to him , w ch had evidently been l da a was l an de ivered on the y th t he ki led, d were CAN TELEPATHY BE CONFINED 77

i n . w as f a n a unope ed One rom her, ck owledg ng C for a sum of heque a l rge money, which the Government had granted for some extra expenses that had been incurred , in answer to a request in made by him a registered letter, to acquaint f l i o rr a d . him its a iv , imme ately There w as no desire made on either side for nor further communication, were there any l f a a o . ctu proofs identity given In this case , my w as and as perception of his presence visionary, al ri he was person ly known to me , a desc ption was

un r . a necessa y I had, however, sensation of severe physical injury to a part of my body w as which, I told some time later, was the locality of the wound to which he succumbed . di Telepathy is in sputable . As a means of communication between the living it is by no means uncommon . The question remains ' If this transference of thought cannot logically be ﬁ i con ned to the liv ng, being apparently inde oi not ai to pendent matter, is it f r suppose that such communion may be not only a possible but natural link which the death of the physical body cannot destroy '

THE SURVIVAL OF MEMORY AFTER DEATH

TH ERE is an old legend which still holds influence over many to-day when other tal es of equal antiquity and val ue have long since been dis It ll ul carded . te s of how the so s of the departed drink Of the Waters of Lethe and straightway x is forget their earthly e istence . This thought ainl the a of a for m y responsible for fe r de th, the a is ali a fear of de th , in re ty, the fear of etern l a a hi is to sep r tion, w ch is inevitable if oblivion be our future state . If memory of the earth life is entirely dependent on that part of the physical al ai body we c l the br n, then indeed is the legend . fi w a n justi ed, but we are a long y from provi g a and a a ai th t , , to dr w f r conclusion from the ever increasing mass of evidence , it is obvious hi that somet ng persists , consciously endeavour man lf and a ing to ifest itse , in a few c ses , there a appears to be positive proof of surviv l . not Survival need necessarily include memory . Were there no indications of a desire to com municate with us we might suppose that the whole interest would be centred on the wonders of G 82 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY the spiritual world to the exclusion of old earth ties . But the fact that communication is desired s a l hi pe ks for itse f, and, in the face of t s , the continuity of a spiritual law of aflinity is more a a probably fe ture of a happier existence . A short memory is not C haracteristic only of the dead. If we consider how elusive it is in and fi ul r are life, with what dif c ty old memo ies a a w w kened, more sympathy will be Sho n with those on the other Side when disappointing s ar e e di mes ages, which p rhaps storted out of recognition in the transit through another’ s mind a or br in, are received . The delicacy of telepathic al communication, to take but a norm method, nl can o y be realised through practical experience , and like experiments with the living make one wonder how the dead ever manage to convey a is n sensible mess ges at all . It o good under n difliculties of a estimati g the communic tion , and not the least is the lapse of memory on the part of the inquirer with regard to certain points ai r r sed by the communicating Spi it . Grief and anxiety are to blame for an impatience which is ai so apparent to a disinterested outsider. Cert n are tests demanded, and no mercy is shown when o the resp nse is vague or false . On the other hand, tests are spontaneously given which are contradicted or unrecognised and deliberately cast a as i n side until , it somet mes happe s , the inquirer comes across an old letter or a picture which CROSS PURPOSES 83

revives the incident in his memory and he realises as e hi i that there w som t ng n it . A Slight instance of this was at the time a very i n r i great d sappoi tment to a f iend of m ne . One of the proofs of remembrance volunteered by the discarnate spirit was an allusion to the circum of stances attending the gift a book . The book w as described by the medium as a volume of

sonnets . As there had been a mistake in choosing the colour of the binding it had arrived c ur ri in a blue over, a colo which my f end de ai s tested, and this r sed a great discu sion with the result that blue was carefully avoided when other h presents were chosen . Wit that incident in her mind She demanded what w as the colour of that m particular book . The edium replied she could r n distinguish no words but , to her, eve ythi g went r w and She o the w a b o n , from that supp sed book s

. w as brown Incredible though it may appear, it a was a a as long , long time before it re lised th t , the book was a collection of sonnets by Elizabeth r nin an i was l Ba rett Brow g, the swer g ven a ittle - ar of far fetched, but very ch acteristic a man who used all his wits to convince her of his identity in and w art a ar every conceivable way, ith p icul r reg d . to the possible transference of his thoughts to the a medium . The medium was tot lly uneducated in e r every sens of the word, and I ve y much doubt had if she ever heard of any of our famous poets . I remember an occasion when my excess of zeal 84 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY for scientiﬁc proof was the cause of impatience da w as which I regret to this y. I given a com munication in writing from a deceased ofﬁcer who begged me to tell his widow that he still t a m dir existed, hoping hat this mess ge , co ing ectly him al and ai u from , would lay her grief r se her o t di of a miserable con tion of hopelessness . He expressed surpri se when I asked for proofs of a his a identity to ccompany st tement . He told w as a a his me who he , the p rticul rs of death and a al his amil hi r as great de about f y sto y, but I all h had previous knowledge of t is, I suspected n a the activity of my own mi d. In nswer to my a sa a a rem rk, You y you are C pt in A he m not a r a . o wrote , I Capt in A I am Maj ” a ou— l n M jor, I tell y Major, under i ing the word k . as Major with considerable force I new, a a not a his fact , th t he had att ined majority, and a was a r concluded that the mess ge merely im gina y,

and cast it aside as worthless . A few months di a later I scovered my mistake . The man h d di a a a ed c ptain , but owing to cert in circumstances Government had given him the rank of major posthumously in order that a larger pension mi ur a ght be ens ed for his f mily. As is often the a case in chance communic tions, he never sent

another message . In the face of a Single communication or the an n i a a absence of y i d c tion th t such is desired, many are inclined to believe in the existence of THE DOMINANT PRINCIPLE 85

some irresistible spiritual force which attracts wa the spirit far a y from earth after death . This ’ theory is the an tithesis of the earth s magnetic a ttraction to the physical body, but it has no ea and r l foundation is , as yet , unproven . and The strongest force we know here is love , , ar a for my p t , judging from the many c ses I have a of known , person lly, when the whole desire the discarnate Spiri ts has been to comfort the bereaved — to reassure them of continued existence— 4 0 convince them that there is no eternal separ ation -and Often to guide them , as of Old, I am forced to believe in the persistence of love as a domi nating principle in the law of attraction in the

spiritual world . al is al Actu communication not ways possible, nor, when possible , does it appear to be the sole f occupation o departed souls . An unverifiable portion of the messages deals with allusions to work that the discarnate are i a out g ven to c rry , which would not only account i for absence , but provide a log cal hypothesis that strikes the happy mean between a state Of forgetful ness in celestial spheres and the question ’ able joy of hanging on to the fringe of another s no fi existence in this world with xed purpose . I believe those who work regularly near the earth to have a very decided motive in the interests of u h manity . mm i er n a These co unications come in d fi e t w ys . 86 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY

Some personalities will use the means known as automatic writing exclusively ; others can be heard speaking, and others, again, can be dis tinctly seen and accurately described or even recognised at a future date in a picture . Those who are accustomed to practise communication seem able to use any method best suited to the and can medium , , in addition, they impress their wishes on a likely subject during the hours of a l a m sleep . But , at the e r iest st ges of ediumistic development there is often an indeﬁnable feeling that the spirit of a friend is near and it is recog nised because of a sense of familiarity . There is a a something int ngible, inexplicable , th t we have and hi experienced before , to which somet ng in u s responds . What exactly constitutes recognition is un ni a of known . We do recog se hum n beings , is al a course , by the appearance, but there so feeling of personality to which some people are hi s sensitive , and t s feeling may po sibly deter mine the fact that some human beings are kindred Spirits and others the reverse it arouses likes and dislikes between complete strangers before there is time to discover any reasonable

grounds for either . u an eﬁect These people who feel, int itively, that different individuals have on them are s ri nor are sensitive , but not nece sa ly psychic, n a ul a a they of a y p rtic r ch racter or temperament .

88 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY

conviction in a case where the slight proofs that were given were of far less conseq uence to the lady who related her experience to me than the strong impression She received of the identity

of the literally unseen presence . It w as from i beginning to end a question of feel ng . She felt that a certain discarnate spirit w as Speaking to and nf ma unveri her, the i or tion he volunteered, ﬁable w as m for the time being, supple ented by a statement that a book belonging to him was in a par ticular corner of a book-case in a certain i s hi old . r room of his home On making inqui e , t s proved to be correct . Not only had the position of the book-case been changed from the wall of his in - all s had e dress g room, but the book be n a out a his a a t ken and rearr nged since de th, a f ct quite unknown to the lady with whom he had a and e communic ted, , in this book in the corn r ri w as desc bed, there a passage underlined which hi bore directly on the subject of s conversation . a a e Without realising the v lue of such a mess g , as al s ﬁ not only an initi step toward identi cation, as did n of an but implying, it , k owledge event his w as subsequent to death , she utterly con vinced of own n her perceptive recog ition, although ns al in her opinion, being of an inte ely practic f A h o was . S e a turn mind, it unreasonable s s id, How could I know who it was when there w as nothing to be seen — a remark which has been a m de to me by others over and over again . THE FEELING OF PERSONALITY 89

In receiving a communication from a discarnate hi e n r ali is i spirit , t s fe li g of pe son ty , to the psych c , irn r more decided . There is an p ession of the character of the communicating entity— a feeling a ma of age or youth , as the c se y be , and even a sense of past relationship in connection with the a person for whom the mess ge is intended . This is something quite outside clairvoyance or clair a One a a of udience . is ware lso past physical su fierings and the effect Of accidents . When a ll nfi symptoms of the l st i ness are co rmed, I consider it a valuable basis for further investi ation far g . So as experience has led me at in present , I believe these vibrations to be and w t voluntary impossible to i hhold, while actual messages can be deliberately deceptive . In the case of the living I have invariably felt vibrations of pain when the fact of suffering has e u nselfishl be n otherwise y withheld, while thoughts that have been transferred to me have e been determined entirely by the exp rimenter . d out of An , in nine cases ten, messages follow nd who a corroborate the identity Of a spirit has , i a not ma nvolunt rily or as it y be , conveyed to me the symptoms of his last physical sensations dia on vi imme tely coming into my en ronment , and this , with very few exceptions , independently of any psychometry . On one occasion the locality of the pain I felt in the course of receiving a message was such as 90 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY

I knew to be utterly different from the symptoms ’ of la ll so fi a the man s st i ness , and de nite , th t on a inquiries were made medic l grounds , only to find that there was this particular pain during a and the moments that preceded dece se , that was of his a a s it not a symptom m l dy. Sub equent ’ communications verified decidedly this man s identity entirely to the satisfaction of his near est w as ni of friends, and the begin ng a remarkable instance of beneficial co-operation between the

two worlds . Why it is that these Old sensations of pain are n a eﬂect revived independe tly of messages to th t , and even when those on a totally different ar e i subject being given, is hard to determ ne . It appears to be contrary to the wishes or even

the knowledge of the communicator . There is no parallel in life ' the discomfort of bygone illnesses is soon forgotten when once the bodily is e a health r established . I was giving a mess ge ni da a for a strange commu cator one y when, fter a i e accurately di gnos ng the fatal dis ase , I lost my voice completely while delivering the last

few sentences . Curiously enough , this person ality had suffered from an affection of the throat a of which resulted in tempor ry loss voice , but r ar ve y many ye s before his death . a ex eri With regard to feeling, ag in, a recent p was had ment arranged because a Mr . X . pro mised to get something through to prove that

92 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY had turned to psychic subjects in which the

was a . nl s interest mutu l Sudde y my ho tess , who is mi and so has very mediu stic, said, So just ” n o is an di a come i to the ro m and st ng by my ch ir . see hi an d I could somet ng, tried to corroborate

her vision, but my description of the communi cating personality w as not in the least like her r a f iend, and it became obvious th t I was in touch f with some one else . It was the spirit o a much w as older man . There a feeling of detailed symptoms of a heart attack and subsequent heart an w as dis failure , d an old trouble, bronchitis , tin uished h g ; at t is, the other lady recognised her to father . He tried give proofs of memory and made allusion to a life full of memories which bewildered him when endeavouring to com m nic s fi u ate . w a A hand described, nely made fi and a filbert ai with long ngers be utiful n ls which, w as was his fi ll I told, that of widow, and, na y, he expressed regret at having no opportunity of a lk lf of hi ta with a man, younger than himse and s ’ di m 5 . an daughter generation, before he ed This she took to be one of her brothers who was away at his from home the time of death, but it was ’ fi m and a r ly contradicted, a Gu rdsman s uni as e a form w given me , immediately recognis d s of of oflice that another member the family, an r to a C in the Guards , whom the mess ge was learly a ria a is s in pprop te . The c se interesting a an fluence strong enough to counteract the joint EVIDENCE OF VISION 93 thoughts and expectations of two people besides myself who were prepar ed for manifestations of an entirely different C haracter— I knew some ’ So-an d s — thing of the cause of Mr . o s death and to me the feeling of the heart attack and vibra tions which conveyed the message for the Guards ff man were distinct and di erent . A mere evidential side of mediumship is the visualising of the etheric double of the physical a n as body . These m nifestatio s , in the c e of the dis ar c nate , can, of course , be compared with ’ a of the phant sms the living, a subject which has already been so admirably dealt with by dis authorities as to call for no cussion here . h ar T is etheric double , a counterp t of the e a ai physical body, does p rsist , and , to cert n i o s a a ur f n . extent , re ss ance future recog ition fi a ai I have veri ed it over and over g n . a Gener lly these appearances come in a flash , a ri and , although one c tches details that f ends ni is is suffi recog se , it seldom that the vision ciently prolonged to give a full description after fi l wards . Almost the rst successfu case of visualising came to me after I had seen a photo of man fi an an graph the taken in pro le , at gle which gave the effect of an oval face and par l rl C ticu a y a finely pointed hin . In my vision was vis- d-vis was a this man my , and I sceptic l w as a when he told me who he , seeing heavy, - al and an square jawed individu , not by y means 94 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY so as a handsome the photogr ph I knew . How a his a and ever, he repe ted n me , I then noticed he n n had an uncommo ly loud voice . Relati g this to his n people , they corroborated the latter by telli g r me that , owing to this powe ful organ , he was, old as in the days, known the bull, and they ai showed me another photograph which , they s d, mOre resembled him than the one I had seen . a - a It was t ken full face , and the squ re jaw w as unmistakable . Both these photographs are in existence . There were , of course , many other o on hi diff r n pro fs to work besides t s, but the e e ce w as r l in the two aspects st iking, being entire y as n i opposed to his likeness I k ew it . It s a hi coincidence that , w le the Great War was never to hi al and predicted us, t s person ity advised encouraged one member of the family to take and so she had so l up nursing, by doing ittle spare time that She was forced to forgo all com mu nication nl with him , being o y able to receive his messages through automatic writing . Her talent for that w as extraordinary ; but she has his for never regretted following advice, the training She took enabled her to respond instantly to the call for competent nurses at the very i l beg nning of hosti ities . Another incident which again demonstrated the remembrance or persistence of the physical l is one as ll out ine which I regard being, persona y, not t v one only one of the mos con incing, but

96 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY many questions I put to hinf that disposed entirely of the objection that I had guessed the a and a nswer, much that he g ve me proved was accurate and interesting . It a few years was i one of before I able to ver fy his assertions, which w as with regard to a minor detail of his fami hi was all of his ly story, and contradicted by

a uaintances e to . a q I happ ned know Eventu lly, C ircumstances brought about a meeting with one of his near relations who w as in a position to conﬁrm his statement— one which was not generally known to outsiders and unknown to the friends of the deceased whom I had pre

viou sly come across . Another point which brings me to an interesting development of psychic investigation was the ’ fil n of ful me t a promise he made, and turns one s attention to the possibility of direct mental influence being brought to bear on the people in diff of this world from a erent plane . Knowing my hobby for collecting actual copies of the original manuscripts relating to episodes in the i of had ai t one l ves people I met , he s d hat , way i al or another, he would get me the orig n account of had a remarkable experience he in early life . Time went on and as his relations did not ofier me anything of the sort I w as beginning to look

on . was it as a forlorn hope However, when I calling one day on a lady with whom I had m a ai our a i recently beco e cqu nted, convers t on CONVICTION OF EXPERIENCE 97 turned to interesting documents and She brought ou t one of hers which , without a hint from me , to She most generously gave me copy . It con ’ tained the full account of my discarnate friend s as s a experience related by him elf, t ken down at the time by one of the audience word for word . There are many experiences which will convince a r a or psychic expe imenter th t an outsider, one n with little k owledge of the subject , may feel on a inadequate, but , the other hand, the actu l experi ence and the personality of the comrnu ni cator can be emotionally unconvincing even when the matter is conclusive . Of these two cases of visualising the first w as a not person lly convincing . I knew that I had fi seen a photograph of this man except in pro le , and w as the loud voice , at the moment , an irn ressive a w as p re lity , but apart from that , I face to face with a visible personality who w as determined to overcome my doubt as to his and his i a s identity, determ n tion made it elf felt and a da c rried the y. t was ar so n The o her instance not ne ly convinci g, al though the evidence of the peculiarity of one of his limbs taken with the other details of personal appearance has been criticised as proof positive and r a by sceptics . It was a pe iod of system tic work that eventually strengthened my belief in r a and him, the co rectness of his ssertion the fulfilment of his promise to get me an authentic H 98 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY copy of his unique experience (which w as given me by a friend of his friend who possessed the original document) finally assured me of the

. hi is of unreasonableness of my doubt T s , ’ the course , merely psychic s point of View, the ’ experimenter s own attitude towards mani festations which are sometimes extended over a period of months and even years when not limited ini to a Single communication . The un tiated are apt to believe that psychic experiences occur only in a state of trance or an extreme height of subliminal level . When promises ar e kept it gives cause for No nl is li thought . t o y there imp ed knowledge is th s a of what going on here , but e que tion rises as to the persistence of the action of a well-known a l of f ctor in ife , the inﬂuence a stronger mind on

. see a an infl not others We it d ily, uence merely s e and of word but of som thing behind the words , if this persists it may explain an irnpelling force which determines many of our actions and accounts for an inspiration which is often freely acknowledged . Psychic workers often receive messages actually s of indicating the whereabout people in distress, an f r a is n ai d help given o this re son i variably s d, as di by the recipients , to have come a rect answer of to prayer . Without denying the reality and of i thoughts (prayers) , the possibility the r import being received unconsciously by one who roo SURVIVAL OF MEMORY writing purporting to come from the spiri t in a question, emphatic lly stating that he had proved his identity to her and promising that I should receive verification . Incidentally he gave me his rank in the Service at the time of his death and a very fair description of this woman and her character which I acknowledge to be tru e now that I know her but the point of the message lay in the fact that to her he had given fl cient of su i proof his identity . After the lapse of two a a e ai ye rs , writt n account Of the full det ls a an di were pl ced in my h d by a sinterested person, incidents of psychic interest bearing on my own in . a t experiences And, l hough op ion may be di the who find vided, numbers of investigators the evidence is good are well in the majori ty and I only wish I were at liberty to publish the details

ﬁ a . was a here , to con rm my mess ge I ble to as certain al so that these proofs had been received w who before my conversation ith the sceptic , no his i i was . doubt , perfectly honest in op n on There is one more example which I would like do f to give . It has to with the intervention o a hi as man (dead) who , up to t s time only worked far as we knew in the immediate environment of his a a al ali to f mily circle , very re person ty me and d u to his own people . A istressf l case had come to my notice of a woman living in a town to for a s which we had, the moment , no direct cces , and it seemed irnpossible to give any sort of help GUIDANCE 101

ll a and at a . w s l I quite hopeless, very doubtfu of a written message I rece ived to the effect that ’ I Should ﬁnd the deceased man s family able and lli a wi ng to help , and indicating by the n me of hi another country how this might be ac eved . I a will answer for my f mily . Get help through r r his (the count y) we e words . It seemed a hi c impossible . However, I cted on t s advi e , and wrote to his family who answered instantly that ’ one of this deceased man s oldest friends w as in a the country mentioned, and further, th t owing to ’ this man s recent travels and position he w as

able to do what was required . His sympathy and co- a n s oper tion were e li ted, complete success iﬁ ul a following a most d c t undert king . The pivot on which the whole enterprise swung w as the name of the country which pointed unmistakably to the whereabouts of a reliable w as wa agent of whose existence I una re . One can but surmise a knowledge on the part of the a his a a subse dece sed, in m ny communic tions his quent to death , of recent events in the other ’ hi is not x i man s career . T s an isolated e cept on . These experiences may raise hOpe rather than of conviction in the minds others , for knowledge derived from experience cannot be transferred all r but in discove ies , the majority trust to the experiments of those naturally endowed for ai e cert n inv stigations , and judge the outcome of their experiments by the tests of truth and 102 SURVIVAL OF MEMORY

r expe ience . The hope lies in the fact that in these revelations there are indications of a con tinuity of purpose Shown by the interest in all for ur that made life dear, this implies a nat al law of sequence in an existence determined by the a a a t e individu l ims in past life, and an ctive membran ce far removed from the time-honoured myth of oblivion .

THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

IN MEDIE VAL TIMES

IT must be acknowledged that psychic experi ences i old are destruct ve , in some respects , to li a a estab shed beliefs . M ny orthodox ide s , which have been accepted as articles of faith in child ’ a s and e a hood s d y , b come a matter of habitu l di thought , are upset by contra ctory events . In e a other resp cts , there is an incre se of faith and understanding in doctrine which has been re vealed from time to time for the benefit of man r r kind . Were I questioned as to what pa ticula points my own faith have been strengthened h a t rough person l experience , I Should reply, u n o and nhesitati gly, the p wer of thought the i ffi a of . r e e c cy prayer Because of these expe enc s , a a wn I , like m ny others , h ve been dra , irresistibly, a old to study the records of spiritu l revelation, and find an a al ai new, and n ogy between cert n a all and mystic l experiences of time , it seems to me that the comparison of contemporary inter re ti n a a a p ta o of these m nifestations is v lu ble . ro s 106 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

Although diverse interpretations have been given to supernatural occurrences according to i are knowledge of the r day, there , beneath the l rin i bewi de g mass of evidence , underly ng truths no r which are w more pe fectly understood . ns nfl a Visio , voices and i uences , spiritu l or psychic, all are common to ages , but their interpretation and e fi r a th ir signi cance vary, ve y gre tly, with ’ a ri a the progress of man s underst nding . Spi tu l perception appears to be entirely dependent on al a a e ain individu ability , but actu l revel tion r m s un d r and change , and the fact that spi it matter are not considered to be SO entirely antagonistic a for s as in medi times , in tance , shows that we are coming to a realisation of the old belief in spiritual guidance for the betterment of this world . c r is e al The onflict of spi it and matter p rpetu , a iri a r although in v rying forms . Sp t h s su an d il u dim mounted, must st l s rmount , great culties its m an and a before i port ce suprem cy, a s r a o emph si ed two thousand yea s g , may be a a ri is . al attained Ment lly, mor lly, and spi tu ly it a survival of the fittest in an age when these things are taken into consideration and tested by all f r i s is that makes o civ li ation . If it felt that modern inquiry is too severe towards psychic l reve ation, it must be remembered that there has always been a tendency of faith to degenerate and a h h into superstition, buses have crept in w ic

108 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

their meditations shows a nobility of character the elevated nature of their inspirational works a not has obviously a highly spiritu l , if an ulti ur mately divine , so ce . Little is known of the higher spiri tual side of as modern revelation known psychic . Naturally s in there is he itation in acknowledg g experiences, al hi to wholly private and person , w ch, owing the of di a ma inadequate testimony a single in vidu l , y s be denounced as delu ive , whatever the results

. x may be Nevertheless, such revelation e ists , to be taken into consideration and compared wi of for th that olden times , it is evident that ai ari u n there are cert n simil ties . Some truth,

- daunted by unbelief or over credulity, is still persisting in an endeavour to force its way r a continuously through impe fect hum n agents . In mediaeval times mysticism reached heights of extravagance which are naturally condemned

- by modern critics as over ecstatic, or contemptibly

ri a l one of . hyste c l, but that was on y Side mysticism fi of h In considering the nest products t is period, hi af an c w ch, ter all, is the rule in y great subje t , w e find , among these mystics, men and women of who strong individuality, have influenced not e human thought , carried away by th ir a r in e ex lted expe iences, but strengthened purpos r to work fo others . Before the fourteenth century a mystic belonged to of his and w as the progressive element day, , MEDIE VAL MYSTICS 199

m r for the most part , in sy pathy with refo ming

. ul ideas Through the means of voices , imp ses and ri revelations by the Holy Spi t , he received mm a do i ediate guid nce in all he should . He G C laimed direct communion with od . In the lives of some of the great media val find mystics we the same characteristics . In ar e their writings , and p ticularly in thos of Saint a a and a ai C therine of Sien S int Theresa of Sp n, we find directions as to how this direct com munion with the Al mighty may be attained ; d x ri ri how the ivine e pe ence, a Sign of spi tual a Was a of gr ce , vouchs fed to men and women a and ai devout ch racter s ntly aspirations . They were divinely taught by a method of communica tion to which we find frequent allusion in the writings relating to contemporary mysticism Speech without words after the manner of l ” ange s . Saint Catherine and Saint Theresa may be taken as two of the finest examples of practical ie i idealists that med val mystic sm produced . The practical outcome of the religious life com mands the respect of the most exacting material

ists of our . a day Those, sceptic l of the mystical of side their natures, must acknowledge that the . inﬂuence of thes e two women was not only great but beneﬁcent ai a w as a 1 S nt C therine born in the ye r 347 , a d at a e - a a nd ied the g of thirty three, fter life 110 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

Af a of strenuous activity . ter some ye rs of She prayer and abstinence , entered the world to a al m a t ke up practic work, see ingly on divine injunction to banish from her heart all anxious and own thoughts concerning herself her salvation, so that no distraction should keep her back from not a the service of others . She did fors ke her of she vi means direct guidance , but e dently regarded the devotional life as a means to an end — for preparation a life of activity in the world, politically and otherwise . We ﬁnd records of her in the streets and hospitals of Siena during the terrible plague of 1 r i - r and 374, comfo t ng the terror st icken dying to aid populace . She was called the of the Church o r by the Pope t promote refo m . Amongst many She is n other works of a practical nature , k own to have acted as peacemaker between artisans an u f d their employers d ring a period o revolution . ni She lived for huma ty. Saint Catherine was a woman of remarkable

. a an intellect She taught herself to re d, and, m y are years later, to write , and we told by a biographer that the dignity and beauty of her u a w ri lang age h ve led ters to compare her style ,

not a of . a unfavourably , with th t Dante Sever l of poems some merit were written by her, but her book in which her own philosophy is set

o e ine E ' tler Js ph . u .

1 12 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS regard to the divine communion which guided a o hi w as their ctivities, the c mmunion w ch an hi ai outcome of prayer, a subject of w ch both S nt Catherine and Saint Theresa were enthusiastic exponents . Prayer to them w as not so much a matter of supplication as a means of grace— a mental its l s r hi a exercise in ear y stage , th ough w ch c me al e a higher sense of spiritu und rstanding . It was e ri a a divine res arch , an expe ment l science a of r or graduating in st ges th ee four degrees , the ﬁ r as a al and rst th ee being described voc l , ment , a culmination in communion when the still small as u s n voice w disting i hed by the supplia t . The fourth degree is described by Saint Theresa as an impetus to action

When a soul arrives at this stage she does not remain satisﬁed with desires ; God gives ” her the strength to execute them .

The importance of prayer is advocated by Saint a ri and is she C the ne , it evident that writes in the l il di ful knowledge of experience . Wh st in cating to what heights of ecstasy the soul may reach by a she diff a const nt prayer, erenti tes especially a between the voc l and mental exercises . She w as at to an a i times subject entr nced cond tion , and was so as a han l di ui a used c ne for vine g d nce, s l a sa i a the fo lowing p s ge shows . It s taken from SAINT CATHERINE 1 13

a a la an ext nt public tion of her own reve tions, e — A God entitled, A Dialogu Colloquy between ” l and a e and her sou , composed dict t d by her, in an 8 a 1 . tr ce , in the ye r 37

Vocal prayer can be useful to the soul l a and to the p easure , and from imperfect voc l prayer it can advance by persevering practice to perfect mental prayer. But if it aims to of a simply complete its number ( p ternosters) , or if it gave up mental prayer for the sake of al ri ul ar . voc , it wo d never ve at perfection ul has a a Sometimes, when a so m de resolution sa r a ma to y a ce t in number of prayers , I y visit its w a mind, now in one y, now in another ; at one time with the light Of self-knowledge ri at a and cont tion over its lightness ; nother,

with the largesse of My Charity at another, i e its di a by putt ng b fore mind, in verse m nner as ma t ma it y please Me , and as hat soul y have P of t craved the resence My Tru h . And the soul will be so ignorant that it will turn from Vi its My sitation, in order to, complete number, from a conscientious scruple against giving up a what it beg n . It ought not to do this , for hi ul a wi at t s wo d be le Of the devil . But once , its a for V a when it feels mind re dy My isit tion, an wa as a a a in y y, I s id, it should b ndon the

a ra . has voc l p yer Then , when the mental s is can pa sed, if there time, it resume the other 1 14 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

h had sa whic it planned to y. But if there is not time it must not care nor be troubled or

a a l h l we ma In priv te etter, composed erse f in, y s m a a a e ur ise, norm l condition, Saint C therin carries on this teaching '

i Prayer is of three sorts . The one s per petual ; it is the holy perpetual desire which prays in the sight of God ; for this desire ll is directs a thy works . The other kind a oﬁices a voc l prayer, when the or other pr yers al ai a are said oud . This is ord ned to re ch the — a is a ' l third th t , mental pr yer your sou reaches this when it uses vocal prayer in and a prudence humility, so th t while the tongue d speaks the heart is not far from Go . She rises in mental prayer above herself— that is ab the s u of the — nd ove gros imp lses senses a , w a l r l ith nge ic mind, unites he se f with God by force of love and sees and knows with the light o and l f thought clothes herse f with truth . She ” is a l made the sister of nge s .

(From a letter written to her niece Sister

Eugenia.)

As a ma of ari is l tter comp son, there but litt e ’ difference in Saint Theresa s dissertations on prayer two centuries later.

1 16 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

is a k a u al There ind of supern t r tuition , hi She tells us, in w ch the Lord suddenly places of a in the centre the soul , wh t He wishes it to w a understand, ithout words or represent tions n of a y kind .

Saint Theresa is conﬁdent that this most inexplicable Species of communication was beyond an a to the reach of y delusion, and in ccessible o li the father f es . In the seventeenth century mysticism is not experienced exclusively by members of the Church f Am Fox as o . w Rome ongst others , George then n ri of di preachi g the doct ne rect , divine revelation, the religion of individual conviction and ex eri ence a p , Robert Barclay, the Scottish 'u ker, of n was expounding the subject Spiritual i ﬂuence, Swedenborg explaining the interior teaching of the divine Word

a I recount the things that I h ve seen ,

says Emmanuel Swedenborg . I take my

stand upon experience . I have proceeded by observation and induction as stri ct as that of am o has any man of science ong y u . Only it been given me to enjoy an experience reaching two — a of ri as as into the worlds th t Spi t , well ” a f th t o matter .

In a chapter entitled Concerning Worship ROBERT BARCLAY 117 it is interesting to read the conclusions of Robert Barclay and to compare his experiences of Silent meditation with those of Saint Catherine and Saint a Theres . a Yea, though there be not word spoken, yet is the true spiritual worship performed divers meetings have passed without one word ; and yet our souls have been greatly ediﬁed and w refreshed, and our hearts onder ’ fully overcome with the secret sense of God s and w power Spirit , which ithout words have m l been ministered fro one vesse to another. This is indeed strange and incredible to the al and a mi man mere natur carn lly nded , who will be apt to judge all time lost where there is not something spoken that is obvious to the outward senses ; and therefore I shall insist a little upon this subject as one that can a a a r Spe k from cert in expe ience , and not ar a t ri by mere he s y, of his wonderful and glo ous a so m dispens tion , which hath much the ore of the wisdom and glory of God in it as this Silent waiting upon God is contrary to the ’

a a s . n ture of m n s Spirit , will and wi dom and No words, yea, not the best purest words , r even the words of sc ipture are able to satisfy. Such are necessitated to be silent before the Lord being directed to that inward principle h th m lv of life and lig t in e se es. ’

a a . . (B rcl y s Apology, Prop XI ) 118 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

But it is to Madame Guyon we owe the relation of experiences which anticipated the very factor which was to instil hOpe in the hearts of serious inves tigators towards the end of the nineteenth

century . It is natural that we Should ﬁnd the same appreciation of the experience of wordless com a a a munion in the autobiogr phy of M d me Guyon, of a as in the writings her two gre t predecessors, ai a ai a a S nt C therine and S nt Theres , advoc tes a a h ma a of her own origin l f it , the Ro n C tholic

u . l she as a l Ch rch Doubt ess , took them ex mp es in the early days and acted on their injunctions to pray with the full expectation of the state to

al l l a . she which voc prayer wou d e d Like them, a dl mm as i reg rded the wor ess co union d vine , but whilst upholding the means of this communion al as a a ul was l so divine f c ty, to her, it not exc u sivel so. mm y In her experience , such co union is possible between human beings under certain c di on the onditions , the con tions depending state of the human soul and often the dual a al concentration of mutu prayer . a di a a of There are , ccor ng to V ugh n, records m a r of a Si il r expe iences in the life nother mystic, ai Ida was S nt of Nivelles . It revealed to her in a moment of ecstasy that a friend was in the am di ri a a a s e con tion ; the f end was m de w re , a a ai Ida as m r Simult neously, th t S nt w im e sed in s the ame divine light with herself . They were

120 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS the time of an extraordinarily gracious inﬂuence and that her Spirit communicated mysteriously in the Lord with the Spirits of those dear to f her when ar away .

There was a discharge on her best disposed i d al and and ch l ren to their mutu joy comfort , nl not o y when present , but sometimes when

absent . I even felt it to ﬂow from me into

l . w in their sou s When they rote to me , they formed me that at such times they had re

ceived abundant infusions of divine grace .

hi e x ri a T s fe ling, e pe enced by Mad me Guyon, w as al a al o and not ways , however, th t of mutu j y she comfort , for we read that in Paris no longer

ma es . i gin (to quote a biographer, R . A a she ff an con V ughan) , that su ers inward guish sequent ou the particular religious condition of Father La Combe when he is three hundred miles h a Off. a s e But , in her utobiography, still Spe ks of the sense which enabled her to know the state at Of the souls given to her, even when they were a distance and of communication in God with those to whom the Lord united her by the tie of spiritual maternity . ’ There is one other side of Madame Guyon s a a ul om ch r cter , which sho d not be ignored in c ai a i a and paring her with the s nts of e rl er d ys, that is the practical life with which mystic UNDER ANOTHER NAME 12 1

l revelation did not interfere . A though the mystical side is due partly to her own imagi a as a s a n tion, Vaugh n implie , he does not hesit te to praise the practical service which was al so a feature in the lives of Saint Catheri ne and Saint ”

. li a Theresa Few ves , he says , h ve been more busy than that of Madame Guyon with a vi of an the cti ties indefatigable benevolence . e a is The fe ling at a dist nce , however, in the present day given a more explicit reason than imagination ; the same experience received the honour of a new and Special word in the English a a ﬁ a l ngu ge , coined expressly to de ne faculty hi al ni c w ch , in the latter h f of the neteenth entury, could no longer be ignored as illusory nor hon oured as a exclusively divine . Mad me Guyon anticipated material for investigation which has forced some great thinkers to believe in the existence of Spirit independently of matter at a s ai the s me time , giving cau e for extreme f th to others in the unlimited powers of the human an i mind, to the exclusion of y other solut on .

In telepathy, the investigators of psychical research seem to have struck the deepest note of an ascending scale of vibrations to which the mystics of Old responded octaves higher than can modern minds measure. 122 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

FROM TH E PSYC HOLOGIC AL STANDPOINT

TH E nineteenth century was not remarkable for m s al r d a e y tic evelations . It followe p riod of a ri al al i m t e ex m te ism , the natur react on fro h m hi m rea tre es to w ch mysticis , uncurbed by son, had reached . But the pendulum was slowly w a a a and was a r s inging b ck g in , there desi e in the hearts of men— perhaps seldom expressed for proof of a universal hOpe that existence was de endent s al l not p on the phy ic body, nor ife

al ul al . wa together r ed by the physic forces It s, e al a an a e a gen r ly spe king , g of gnosticism con v n i nall e t o y repressed . Science was avoided by a iﬁ the orthodox, bec use scient c speculation led and n e to doubt and doubt led to hell, i that r spect the attitude towards religious beliefs had not m dia val a n e a . l ch nged Si ce d ys Religion, ike the ri of c w as t o s expe ences mysti s , o holy to be que tioned al media va or mila , though l mysticism si r manifestations of unseen forces were regarded with suspicion . Towards the end of this century there was a development in research which called forth denunciation or derision from onlookers who were content to remain accordingly in faith or agnosti cism from prejudice or indifference as the case

m . a w as ight be Agnosticism, in some c ses,

124 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

l e has ' Re igious Experienc s , he no scruples what i a r l Soever in sober ng down m nifestations, spi itua and n a or psychic, pru ing way much that had

e ar as nfal . r a b en reg ded i lible He c iticises tr nces , and l ari s voices , visions, pecu i ties , classed a ’ a al a p thologic , not from the theologi n s, nor even ’ o of i but the anthropol gist s point V ew, merely as a i m as psychologist , acknowledg ng the features hi sa w ch have helped to give religion, neces ry to

ni and ﬂ . a huma ty, authority in uence And he t kes the more developed subjective phenomena re a li a r corded in p st ter tu e , which were produced a u an ll by rtic late d fu y conscious men, together of and i with other his own day, comparing judg ng al di s hi of their v ue by imme ate luminousne s , p lo sophic reasonableness and moral helpfulness as nl ai a the o y av l ble criteria . Professor James is of Opinion that personal li a re gion is gift of our organism . It is either for are s who there or not there us , and there per ons can no more become possessed by it than they can fall in love with a certain individual by word of f command . He di ferentiates between religion and science as the interest of the individual in his private and personal destiny and the repudia of l a v . tion the person point of iew, respectively But religion is taken as the most irnportant of all i a human functions , and, in the bel ef th t o of ri f unders every Church, and all the o ginators of s he all Christian sect own t ir power, origin y, PROFESSOR WILLIAM JAMES 125

to the fact of their personal communion with the a a C x r re divine, supern tur l pe iences a seriously

considered . di n This vine communion, the religious feeli g of is not of the presence God, obviously always a ma ll a tter of ha ucination as many ssert , but , in a s ﬁ ri cert in case , it is certi ed that this expe ence

does not give conviction of a divine Visitation . a ri a With reg rd to some expe ences of friend, it is said that this friend does not interpret these experiences theistically as signifying the presence of is of h God . There a consciousness somet ing there— a knowledge of the close presence of a sort of mighty person ; and when the experience w as al as over, memory one persisted the sole a proof of re lity . An interesting record of the same sort of C x a perience is given, but with the ccompanying G sense of the presence of od.

a a e a I h ve , on numb r of occ sions , felt that I had enjoyed a period of intimate m com union with the divine . What I w as f t felt a temporary loss o my own iden ity, accompanied by an i llumination which re veal ed to me a deeper Significance than I had t a been wont o att ch to life . It is in this that I find my justification for saying that I have enjoyed communication wi th

God . 126 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

There is another instance quoted from the ll correspondence of James Russell Lowe .

a a a nin I had revelation l st Frid y eve g. Mr a an a m . Pitm n entered into rgu ent with me a er so on spiritual m tt s . I never before clearly felt the Spiri t of God in me and around T air a r and w me . he seemed to w ve to fro ith ” a the presence of Something I knew not wh t .

e les a These p , cited from number, Show that the sense of divine communion did not -da cease with the early mystics . Men of to y a m la x e and e h ve Si i r e p riences , moreover, th se experiences claim the attention of modern

. hil a s u students But , w e Professor J me , in a tr ly ri l of modern spi t, views the who e subj ect mystic ism all his a a critic y, investig tions impel reverent a a H is attitude towards Spiritu l manifest tions . l are x a d aril a ura con conc usions e tr or in y f vo ble, sidering an obvious dislike of the supernatural a its a es ai s a st te for own s ke . He giv S nt There , a l a ia all o for inst nce , ful pprec tion for her g od al a i as qu ities but , at the s me time , critic ses her one who wasted too much of her energies in experiences which could have no direct bearing l on her earthly ife . was a of the a l t m She , he s ys, one b es wo en , c li s a s a . in m ny respe t , of whose fe we h ve record ha l ll She d a powerfu inte ect of the practical order.

128 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

To the mystic eternity is now eternity is

timeless . ’ m is x v his The ystic s world more e tensi e, point of View superior and commanding a wider a al e radius th n that of the physic sens s . Those who stand outside of these states may not accept ri a a their revelations unc tic lly but , it is greed, the higher mystical states point in directions to which the religious sentiments of non-mystical men ri ff incline . Hypotheses of Spi tuality are o ered as h nk r which Professor James declares , t i e s , he and an s others c not po sibly upset . And further, e hi when the intuitive knowledg , w ch in most ain al persons rem s sublimin , appears to impel a energy long the lines of the inspiration received, we have realities to judge by the test of ex er ence a a of a p i . A pr ctic l outcome spiritu l revela tion is the sign of true inspiration the results manifested in the actions are the fruits to be seen by the world who rightly demands concrete conclusions . a is a l On the whole , pr yer tre ted more eniently r by this w iter on Religious Experiences . It is given full value as the very soul and essence of u s i religion when taken in its f llest sen e, mean ng every kind Of inward communion as taught by ai not i the s nts and limited to mere begg ng . Petitional prayer is only one department its ff a is not e ect , the Sign th t religion rooted in ri delusion. There is some spi tual energy which , FREDERICK MYERS ON PRAYER 129

h h a m a and ri al t roug pr yer, beco es ctive spi tu is a ff l c i work re lly e ected, but whi e re ord ng numbers of examples where petitionary prayer and those especially for guidance and help have s a is evoked re ponse , Professor J mes inclined to leave the explanation of the workings of Such ll a laws to Frederick Myers . The fo owing quot M r tion is from a private letter written by Mr . ye s a ri s s a r i e to f end, and how theo y ndepend nt of usual doctrine

I am glad that you have asked me about prayer because I have rather strong ideas on x a n us ri al the subject . There e ists rou d a Spi tu ni r a is a a la u ve se, and th t universe in ctu l re tion

with the material . The prayer is not indeed a purely subjective thing ; it means a real increase in intensity of absorption of Spirit u al power of grace but we do not know enough of a a a wh t t kes place in the Spiritu l world, to know how prayer operates who is cognisant of r r a l c it , o th ough what ch nne the gra e is given it would be rash to say that Christ Himself hears us while to say that God hears us is merely to restate the first principle that grace flows in from the infinite spiritual

The extensive action of individual prayer showing a function through which man may K 130 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS exercise his own desires and affect the object a are di is a to which these pr yers rected , very m r x odern idea, far emoved from the e clusively a as c divine oper tion con eived by the saints. a a w al hi T ken in comp rison ith scriptur teac ng, it seems but a more comprehensive View of original Christian teaching that thought itself wa s s a important as action . Further inves tiga tions into this functionn on the mental plane ds strengthen, if not prove , the wor of the Apostle that the eﬁectu al fervent prayer of a righteous w ai r (or ise) man av leth much . Unde stand the a a its l ws that govern thought and pr yer, in ari a iﬁ widest sense, must necess ly become scient c i r a w v a . a t uth, invigor ted th fresh it lity Investig has so tion into holy ground , far, but strengthened u the position of religio s teaching . The conclusions which Professor James draws from the experiences under his consideration are strikingly in accordance with those of persons to ai is n of whom f th the o ly method deduction . a l s It is , princip lly, that re igion mu t necessarily al a play an etern part in hum n history, and that , although unable to accept either popular or a h ni schol stic t eism, he believes that , in commu on w l ith the Ideal , new force comes into the wor d . a r for The unseen region c nnot be me ely ideal, it produces effects and it is the effects— the total expression of human experience as he viewed it -that have urged a critical psychologist beyond

132 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS transmissions of thought and feeling from one person to another by other means than through f ’ the recognised channels o sense . There is no question of religion in the two formidable volumes which contain the conclusions dm a of Myers, Gurney, Po ore, B rrett , Richet, h and others , on the subject w ich lies in the ” a an ae region of ethic l d sthetic emotion . The transmission of thought and feeling is no longer as lan a alluded to the gu ge of angels . It is a means of communicationWhich Myers considered a possible scientific basis for much to which ” C l fi s ifi at men now ing without de nite ju t c ion, as a of i a and, such, the tre tment d rect ction of mind upon mind was believed to be necessary by him and his colleagues before considering a or a ral m a other supernorm l supern tu pheno en . Thought transference exists between people a ma a and a d in nor l st te , , ccor ing to M . Richet , the percipients need not be persons of any special l x susceptibi ity . E periments of elementary sen sations a m l and a prove that t stes, s el s p ins can be felt by the percipient— a word can be repro u d ced sometimes unconsciously . Besides the a m a can be r emotion l i pressions , telep thy audito y, a nd a a a t ctile a visu l . App ritions h ve been traced a a l to the disc rn te , hence the tit e of the book in i quest on . These mental representations of the living u as o e t occ rring, they d Sometim s, when he THOUGHT CREATIONS person in question is in a normal condition and at a are i not the point of de th, the most interest ng branch of psychic investigation which has been brought to the notice of students . They open so a l up many venues of inquiry. The old be ief that such apparitions were only those of the dead— ghosts— has been confounded by the many examples of living people who have been seen lai a a e a a c rvoy ntly . App r ntly they ppe red to their friends when their thoughts were concen trated on them— thought creating vibrations which arranged themselves in the likeness of the agent . Why these manifestations should occur between ai a a a cert n individu ls is still mystery . Telep thy is not confined to friends or even to sympathetic acquaintances ; the necessary rapport appears to exist between strangers ; a stranger to the agent at a distance may be C learly perceptive of a hil or these vibr tions , w e a friend relative a ma a present m y not . One y conclude th t definite knowledge of the laws governing this s a a f a am soul sympathy i but m tter o time . M d e Guyon was more prophetic than She knew when she said that the language of angels might be t of learnt by men on earth . The heories Frederick Myers may prove to have an equally prophetic value if investigation is carried on with the same painstaking manner in the present c entury. 134 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

Before leaving the subject as it stood when a as li Ph ntasms of the Living w pub shed, I will quote his theory on thought with regard to material ism from the same book

I maintain that if the general fact of telepathic communication between mind and m a al a mi ind be dmitted, it must so be d tted that an element is thus introduced into our conception of the aggregate of empirically known facts which constitutes a serious obstacle to the materialistic synthesis of human hi al experience . The psyc c element in man must henceforth almost inevitably be con ceived as having relations which cannot be x s of e pressed in term matter . This dogma— new to experimental science IS familiar and central in all the higher l i forms of re ig on . Relations inexpressible in terms of matter and subsisting between spirit and Spirit— the human and Divine— are im plied in the very notion of the interchange of d an a and . sacred love Love, of gr ce worship The materi alist may regard prayer and a u w spiration with ind lgence , or even ith ‘ al aril e approv , but he must necess y conceiv them as forming merely the psychical Side of certain molecular movements of the particles of a an and a hum n org isms , he must necess rily regard the notion of Divine response to prayer

136 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

a a a s an l i v we pon g in t y be ief in Div ne inter ention, an al ma guid ce or Spiritu influences on this hu n, a a al a lie a though not ctu lly physic , b sis, there s hope that it may C xplain the laws of Spiri tual u and a a emcacious comm nication , th t inspir tion, a u and m al t ll com pr yer, infl x, or streng h wi be pletely understood . In one sense this is a step back into mediaeval m s i a a al y ticism . Such commun c tion has Spiritu man s . Not r a ource exclusively Spi itu l , says the to- a of a exam es of day, with inst nces popul r m of telepathy in his mind and taking the word r i n a so. Fo s ow Spiritual s being divinely , it proved that thought is not necessarily prayer the action of transferential thought a human possibility not confined to the righteous— and hi a of mm ni a l t s me ns co u c tion, in the ight of a and a r s is trivi l sometimes bsu d incident , not used solely for philosophic or religious prOpa a a e is ll g nd . Th refore , telepathy sti felt to be m or l s a at an ore ess something, if not phy ic l, y a wa ain n to a r te in some mysterious y pert i g m tter, and an x a when it comes to e tended telep thy, m a a n as to so e people nathem , touchi g, it does, of the e are on the souls or thoughts depart d, we e e all on holy ground . The dead, d spite evid nce a us and are round of evolution continuity, in ’ a s God s h nd , in a place indescribable and utterly detached from this world by a door which God has a a li b shut . An impenetr ble sp ce es etween HOLY GROUND 137 human beings and the discarnate Spirits of men and women whose mutual thoughts might logically be supposed to bridge the gulf un b ma h m . sa impeded y tter T ey may, y so e , but if e do a a m i and th y , it is s intly co mun on, holy a m a as a s cred . It ust be reg rded a m tter of a a religion , ccepted in f ith , unquestioned by l science . Extended te epathy holds exactly the same position now as human telepathy did in M a — a a a the time of ad me Guyon s intly ttribute , a spiritual communion between those in the ” Lord . The language of angels is now understood by en a an a a an a m on e rth, but y m nifest tion of ngel messen er to (or g , give the correct translation) a a di no longer in physic l body, is piously stin uished as a m a S g co munion of s ints . The ame a al ul order of revel tion, the identic res ts of thought vibrations which have been found active a in hum n beings , is too holy, even now, to be

e t . a qu s ioned And, in the bsence of proof, certain sections of the public distinguish between as m a and m ni the two co munic tion co mu on, and a ai m ni respectively, pre ch f th in the co mu on a ma is a a of s ints, which to ny merely a f mili r s of m l r n pa sage e otiona obscu ity, owi g to the fact a is and x a th t it little understood seldom e pl ined .

I u se the w ord angel here in the sense that it is obviously intended in the phrase It is his angel

( Acts xii. I 138 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

has a efini m an To some, however, it d te e ing through experience . a la a An uthentic story, re ted to me by distin uished al man a g medic , shows conception of a ifu it i saintly communion be ut l in s s mplicity. The question of the right interpretation of the Communion of Saints was raised at a Bible las and e al a to c s, s ver young soldiers were sked a a was say wh t they thought it me nt . There a his only one who answered . To illustr te mean ing he related an experience which had occurred an in Fr ce , where he had recently seen some a fi H is e ri had l he vy ghting . b st f end been kil ed, an a his wa was d soon fter, this soldier lost y ; he fi a in a tight corner and could not nd a w y out. of a a as a a i im All hope s fe return w f st le v ng h , when he received guidance which proved to be al u e had a s effectu . He s ppos d that he vi ion a was fi u his a nyhow, it the g re of de d friend who led him a and v n to s fety, just before the isio a to a n in C s f ded he pointed k eel g form lo e by, n his whom the boy recog ised as mother. She as a at n and o w s fe home ; he k ew he felt , instin l h as as all tive a s e w him. w y, th t praying for It over before he realised that something out of the dina had a r re or ry h ppened, but the imp ession in and his s a ma ed strong convincing . And e c pe from being taken prisoner or from probable death l m a as a . a i t e w rea ity That, Sir, I t ke it, s h e n ing of the Communion of Saints l

146 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

IT is easy to see that mediaeval thought still influences that of to-day on certain points in r s fi si mode n inve tigation . The scienti c hypothe s that there is a natural rapport between the sympathetic souls which bridges distance is not uncommon ; the theory that thought is per ceptible is second nature to some reasoning s a l all a is mind . M ny wi l ow th t there truth in the belief of supernatural guidance through r the agency of a recently discarnate Spi it . But t is an a la and m al here ide , popu r undeno ination , that any communion between the dead and the li a i reli ions a is ving must necess r ly be g , th t to sa ul c u n a m a y, it sho d o c r duri g ti e of pr yer, at a a r v a u x s c ed ser ice , or, to use c rrent e pression, ’ a l ri ual in the Lord. It should be of high y spi t a ur a s of u a in n t e , too lofty to be the me n g id nce ri a l of a l e e a t vial det i s d ily ife . In short , the m di v l attitude to the language of angels has a a a a m a and p r llel in co munion of s ints , this communion must be regarded as holy and allowed in s i a to rest obscurity, unque tioned by the log c l faculty . The first few years of this century have seen discoveries that few men could have foretold . its n a a a e Even now, in i f ncy, ch nges h ve b en MEDIZEVAL INFLUENCE 141

wrought that would have staggered our immediate l ancestors . Cosmic aw has been superseded through fresh knowledge of a still higher law a as a re lities , conceived dreams , h ve been brought as is a dimen forth mighty forces . There nother x i ra sion of e istence . The subconscious self s p c tically acknowledged as a psychological cer ai fi of a t nty in a eld unquestioned ctivity. This fi a eld lies in fourth dimension of space , which science looks forward to locate in the future with m a a al ar so e degree of ccur cy . Ide s e being a a a is a gr du lly brought down to wh t , met horicall a in a of Old a p y spe k g, rule three spiritu l truths are known now to be purely mental a a is ttributes evolution , men t ke it , the key note of life on this planet— evolution of the Ego ll hi is an k . for a not un nown doctrine But t s , there is influence in the minds of many human can a e a beings which be tr ced to medi v l thought , a lingering idea that in the transition of souls a all a mm from wh t we c life , to the st te co only as a r a a known de th , the pe son lity le ps into — in absolute perfection other words he , despite

s a e e m a a . hi e rthly prop nsities , b co es s int is i al so is a It llogic , but then we have, it s id, a i a se a - a a arrived t an mp s . The fter de th st te cannot be investigated ; even if there be this

li u ai a ma ai . possibi ty, it Sho ld rem n tter of f th Any feeling of personal communion must not be encouraged beyond circumscribed limits 142 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

obscuri ty or semi-illumination is preferable to l la the full ight of clear reve tion . It must be taken for granted that a discarnate spirit is instantly occupied with saintly aspirations far removed from any natural interest in the difﬁ cul ies m ri l t or ise es of those he loved sti l on earth . has nl ail a One o y to read the d y newsp pers , to see these sentiments expressed by people of all la c sses . Of ai s f has course , s ntliness it el seen many ’ a e i s ch ng s , or rather, man s conception of t a has a a me ning v ried through the ges . Once ﬁlthy rags were positively part of the religious life ; indifference to uncleanliness and to un s eakable i mf n p d sco orts , the Sig of Spiritual

. x d growth But now, cleanliness is ne t to go liness di c l extreme ascetic s ip ine but seldom exercised . We obey an older precept than that followed by

' the early saints in a practical belief that the human body should be honoured as a temple of a fit for e the living God, m de s rvice and not racked with unnecessary pain and torture to a the of a - r elimin te danger future hell fi e . So it is possible that the term saint conveys nothing more to some people than an ordinary human being whose main desire is beneficence towards m others in things te poral . This conception of the word Simplifies the meaning of certain a so far as ma see n incidents which h ve , we y , o d the hi irect bearing upon t ngs eternal .

144 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

familiar sense of the proximity of a known r a ual am pe son lity, is us ongst psychics . It occurs in common with the living and can be traced to a the individu l thoughts of the one recognised . This experience has an anal ogy with regard to — a is al the dead the feeling is the s me . It equ ly i s so in on a s mpres ive, more fact cert in occa ions , can as al but it be imperson as in olden times . Prayer for guidance is often answered by an immediate an d deﬁnite inspiration concerning a difﬁ u l a c lt matter, quite new to the supp ic nt , and a proved subsequently to be wise solution, but u a n o n ccompanied by a y sense f personality . one a so sa ot How often he rs a per n y, I g up from a ai C l a l my knees with my p th l d e r y before me , and the most astute sceptic cannot deny the a i wisdom of the inspir t on sometimes , whether the prayer is answered by the subconscious mind of a or n u the supplic nt by a gelic g idance . I had a a a sudden inspiration, s ys nother, which as see decided, I now , a momentous event which ” w as then unforeseen . Prayer is as potent now as in the days when advocated by the mystics with a whole-hearted faith in the workings of

Providence . I asked a friend who has worked for many years in some of the worst slums in London if the very poor— the submerged tenth— had any l at all was a re igious instincts . Her reply th t , m l w s ss she und a even a ongst the o e t cla es , fo FAITH IN PRAYER 145 belief in prayer which w as often the one redeeming point that when there was hardly the capacity for a r i a m underst nding what elig on actu lly eant , n in a a there w as a inborn inst ct to pray . N tur lly and she I asked for an instance , gave me the l fo lowing from amongst her own experiences , with regard to two Sisters She had come across recently in the workhouse . One w as delicate and had been al ways incapable of work the other had worked for both and had kept body and soul together for at least ﬁfty-ﬁve years by what is known as umbrella trimming— sewing the tassels on umbrellas a task which is not too well a f ar was n a p id . My riend s d it i credible th t they could have existed for so long under such condi a ar of how tions . She knew the p rticul s the poor

was a . live to her it a mir cle But the conditions, as min bad they had been , were e ently preferable to pauperism to these two women ; the work w house as looked upon as degradation . H ow did you do it all those years P asked ri my f end . ’ a a m n Well , miss , s id the wom n , I don t i d ou a and n telling y . I pr yed for work ; whe I se on worked, every time I sewed a tas l an um r brella, I prayed to do it well . and eve ything i went r ght until now . But I am praying and I i mean to go on pray ng . She only asks a sufi ci ency of work to ensure a pittan ce which would keep her and her sister out of the workhouse in L 146 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS the dignity of independence ; in face of Old age she is i t and undermined health, pray ng wi h a a f ith based on experience of old . i a a To a psych c, the import nce of pr yer is al s a i a u u proved mo t daily. L y ng side the n mero s cases of sudden inspirations that certain indi viduals are in difficulties or the unaccountable impulse to give some practical help in a quar ter where to judge by outward appearan ces it is not necessary— laying these aside as examples of u ifi a is p rely telepathic Sign c nce , there a pre ponderance of definite instructions of the re q uirements of certain individual s given by di iri is scarnate sp ts . When it possible to act di a all is on these instructions , plom tic y, for it seldom that one may give the true reason for a ri a is pr ctical interest , inva ably the rem rk made

All this has come as an answer to prayer . And an a it is nswer to prayer, and one which I believe is the key to most adequate responses in practical al ar e matters , though there many who are guided unconsciously in response to their natural ih clination to alleviate the sufferings of others . Psychic work does not consist only of receiving messages from the dead to the living to assure hi a them of their welfare . I t nk , lmost without exception, the mere experience of psychic revela of i tion gives the recipient a sense responsib lity , and a realisation of the need for service and especially in practical aid to those who need it .

148 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS any articulate reason for this sense of certainty i which inﬂuenced her so strongly . The po nt is i a r that when I la d the c se before her, eve y thing w as ln readiness and the object was achieved immediately without an inevitable delay which would have occurred had She not acted previously in conjunction with personal inspiration . She a ai had she b r c nnot expl n it , but, een a little mo e schic is py , there no doubt the source of the

a a en . inspir tion might have been app r t To me , it has always been one of the strongest proofs of a a n supernatur l intervention I h ve ever k own, but a a of al then it is m tter person experience, the only true way of arriving at absolute conviction . The comforting and helpful Vibrations of inter cessory prayer are keenly felt an d recognised by i f f a psychic . There s a great di ference in the ef ect on the recipient one can sense immediately is u the feeling that conveyed by a stray tho ght , and the warmth and power of which one is con a God for ri a scious of prayer to spi tu l strength . ’ A thought attracts one s attention towards an image of the individual through whose agency the vibrations are raised a prayer gives a sense of harmony and Spiri tual strength that language

fails to express . al ri a As a matter of person expe ence, a ch nge in my handwriting if I happen to be writing at the time gives an immediate C lue to the per sonalit am en ra ort y with whom I momentarily pp . AN EFFECT OF THOUGHT 149

The pen twists into C haracteristic strokes and r tu ns , foreign to me but more or less like the di al is in vidu who found, invariably, to be thinking of me at the moment if not in actual correspon li hi dence . Once I be eved t s to occur only when a w as its wa ar a a letter on y to me , but it appe s , c su l eﬁect and thoughts will have the same , I am endeavouring to get instances of this form of C a a a ri telepathy, h r cteristic h ndw ting, properly a es r v of tt ted however t i ial the incident , because the possibility that it may lead to more import an t

developments . One has little to Show in an incident of mere ff the a w thought except its e ect on h nd riting . In the middle of a letter recently my handwriting C hanged so deliberately to that of a fri end (one with whom I am in natural rapport) that I w as astonished to receive a visit from her the same of afternoon instead the expected letter. On a n ai comp ri g the exact time , I ascert ned that at a wri in C she w as the moment my h nd t g hanged, discussing a business matter with an agent in AS which we had a joint interest . there were nf x s she ri some u oreseen e pen es , , in ente ng more ull a l was ni mi f y into det i s, tur ng over in her nd, a li a at the s me time , the possibi ty th t I might question the wisdom of making a hard and fast to decision and called later discuss the matter. all a was to Incident y, the Slight nxiety conveyed C a me when my writing h nged. 150 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

ur to It would be , of co se , comparatively easy of guess , even unconsciously, the arrival letters from regular correspondents and to place such divination amongst telepathic experiences . I a have found, however, the same thing happen , change of handwriting in the midst of literary work accompanied by the peculiar sense of al a the ai hi person ity, in c ses where acqu ntances p

has l . been s ight , and a letter a new departure In an a e ri is so l is g when w ting very genera , it possible that handwriting may be a development in telepathy to reckon with on the theory that C haracteristic handwriting is decided by the personal manipulation Of thought vibrations which possibly convey a personal sense of feeling recognisable to a psychic . As an example of this feeling combined with a change in handwriting I can give one instance is which attested by two disinterested outsiders . w as in I jott g down notes for some research work , and in the middle of my notes the handwriting C a h nged, becoming larger and the strokes more was am i decided . It unf il ar, but there was a sense of personality which I recognised as a new a a and acqu int nce , I instantly felt that he was writing a letter to me . I mentioned the fact to s an of a two friend , one Old member the psychic l a on as rese rch whom I met later in the day, n in i terest g if it proved to be correct , for there was a no re son to expect a letter from this quarter,

152 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

for nearly a year and we subsequently became ri s f end . Mrs m ar . AS far as a a . I w e , K did not pray for a ai la me g n until some time ter . I was then a and conscious of the gr ce personality, and was ai C the incense ag n a feature in the xperience, t she had a but , this time , I felt hat strong purpose for including me in her prayers and felt intensely

curious to know the reason . There w as a sense e ul not a of imp nding trouble which I co d loc te . The same afternoon I received news of the sudden death Of a great friend which was indeed a a r a shock and ve y great loss to me in many w ys . f Mrs . a O d . a and K had he rd it the previous y , knowm af a the g how it would fect me, m de me special subject of her prayers that morning at early Mass ; but this I did not verify as coincidental with my experience until I met her a week later . ll l i x a The fo owing etter g ves her e pl nation .

London, oth r 1 20 . March, 9 M My dear iss Monteith, Many thanks for your letter of the 7th as had which gave me great pleasure , I been thinking of you and wondering where you

Certainly you may use anything I have told you about our experiences of reciprocal PERSONAL CORROBORATION 153

— prayer and intention . Three occasions when I have prayed for your intention as we Catholics express it— stand out vividly in my

in . ﬁ d m d On the rst occasion, my prayer di not ac hi so far as re h you in t s world, we know

but no prayer ever goes astray . On the two a ial other occ sions , when I spec ly mentioned fi ou a a you for a Speci c reason , y bec me ware of and n ot so. it , asked me if it were The first time— which did not impress you was 1 1 think in June, 97 , I I found you al one aft r and one e noon, we had a long talk on a in telep thy, the influence of prayer, etc . I ’ sisted rather strongly on the Catholic Church s a and al in uthority and wisdom, w k g home I wondered if my zeal had not outrun my pohteness l But I felt so strongly attracted d an so ou us . to you, I wished y to be one of You were also rather anxious about at the time so that night I prayed earnestly and a a at a m for you, g in M ss next orning, that she might recover quickly and that you might us some day be one with . That time I made no impression on you . The second time was after reading your ineteenth C entur as first article in the N y . It w in May— the Month of Mary — and I felt more than ever that you were what I Should call a mystic— though not developed on Catholic — and l i h o lines thus, I fe t , m ssing muc of the j y 154 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

and glory of your gift— and I prayed for Light on ou h ni y , bot at ght and at Mass on the

following day . You were away from home , and it was some time after that we again had a talk on these subj ects— and you then asked ri s had me , much to my surp e , if I not prayed ou — I ou for y at that time think I told y then , ' that as your name w as Mary— it was Mary s -i e M — recom . a I month . y had Specially mended you to the Protection of Our Blessed

Lady . w as 1 1 and The third time in 99, is quite i a ll fresh n my mind . I tr ve ed to Exeter with al — Mrs . W a mutu friend and she told me She o sad feared y u would be very at the death,

just announced, of My impression is that I had al so seen it in the Telegraph before

starting . I felt very sorry for you— both for having a al and lost friend whom I knew you v ued, s also a I feared your work would be disturbed . You were much in my thoughts both that day and the next— and I prayed for you that evening and at Mass in the morning— I prayed mf that you might be co orted, and that your work should not suffer— and especially that you might have the grace given you to be one

with us in the Holy C athohc Church . It was not till the afternoon of Saturday t a w as r hat you he rd the news . I not ve y

156 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

e between myself and two others simultan ously , ali one ve and the other dead, would never have occurred but for a chance discovery of a natural attunement between me and the discarnate r a n his pe son lity duri g earth life . He was a perfect stranger to whom I had occasion to write on a matter Of business without any sort of introduction . The necessary answers to my letters were written in a few hu es by a a but in r secret ry, his read g of my lette s evidently rt created the rappo . I became aware of two distinct and unknown pieces of information with regard to my own aﬁ airs which he postponed explaining to me until an inevitable meeting which took place at a much later date. They are a not attested . I give them s incidents which brought the fact of a natural rapport to my notice and was the means of getting all other incidents of telepathy between us attested by responsible people . As was a time went on, there a cert in amount of personal correspondence between us owing to his of hi interest in some my psyc c work, and it was then that I found myself able to ascertain about the hour he read my letters . We proved it in this way . I would invariably know the substance of his answer to my letter the day he received it by means of inspirational writing a his slightly ch racteristic of . It w as puzzling at ﬁr a a hi st , bec use he never actu lly wrote s PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE 157

’ a t nswer un il after a few days interval, but the correct reply and once deﬁnite criticism on a ﬁ u Speci ed case , being transferred to me sim l taneou sl w as li y when he , in all probabi ty, reading a my letter, m de me conclude that he generally h di determined is answer at the moment Of rea ng . a ur dis This was his rule , he ss ed me when we cussed the matter later ; it was seldom that he his a changed origin l opinion, and his letter , was as postponed by stress of work, exactly he had formed it mentally when I received it . After his death I received similar communica was r tions . The feeling of presence then g eatly n r ri strengthe ed, and I had visiona y expe ence an which gave added conviction . The h dwriting became more characteristic in spite of the fact a to hi a ani th t , in order test t s particul r m festa far as s tion as pos ible , I would write in the dark al -l too to w n or in a h f ight , dim for me see the riti g al as it C ame . I so held the pen in a perpendicular w on position, ith the point lightly resting the no a of or arm paper, and p rt my hand touching

a . the t ble Still it was characteristic, sometimes m more and someti es less . There were com mu nications ﬁ which were satisfactorily veri ed, but these point more to personality than to the — ra or subject in question the dual pp t. e or We wrote r gularly f a few months . Inci a his wi was a a dent lly, dow lmost a str nger to on c s me ; we had met two oc a ions only, both 158 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

l hi w as ﬁ im previous y to s death . There no xed t e agreed upon for the communications . I would concentrate my mind on him for a moment and mentally send a message that I was at liberty to As a w as a . receive a communic tion rule , there a o a a r l one resp nse fter ve y ittle delay, but evening the response was not forthcoming so k ur quic ly . In the meantime , I had a c ious e n ai hi a so fe li g of being r sed to a gher pl ne , to S and saw him his peak, it seemed I standing by f a e an a o . widow, who was kne ling in ttitude pr yer a t a Directly fter his, the pen wrote a mess ge in his a ri and a h ndw ting, on re ding it I found the following words ' I was with my wife— she ” was praying . to for ﬁ a Noting the hour, I wrote her veri c tion, and received a letter which I have as part of the a n t a u document ry evidence , sayi g h t it was q ite

. a she was in correct At the time st ted, pray g for him . far as a ex So I can tell, and comp ring the erience a a al e i p with m ny others , the ctu f el ng, i a a - culm n ting in cle r vision, super normal , but nl a with the perceptive faculties kee y ctive , I as a f a mi take it a c se o du l telepathy, in its li ted tw o the sense , between human beings and, on a hypothesis of extension, between lately de ceased human being and myself . Amongst the communications there were other occasions when I was equally aware of his

160 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

v v va as a e idence of sur i l, it stands , proves such

stupendous fact . ri et The author of Pro Ch sto Ecclesia, ll a chapter ca ed The Undiscovered Country, published in a recent volume entitl ed Immor a e on tality, which contains s ries of essays on modern thought by authorities the subject , w rites sympathetically on the possibility of communion with the departed ' It is quite possible that we have made an entire mistake min supposing that the souls of our dead friends are cut off from u s Miss Dougal distinguishes between communion i a i ni and commun cation, t k ng commu on to mean direct revelation and communication as necos sarily conveyed through the medium of a third As a e . a she p rson m tter of fact , is Opposed to ﬁ as ri a communication de ned Spi tu lism, not , I so think , much in ,the belief that it is better to conﬁne the exercise of a gift which enables one to receive direct revelation exclusively for private a as u and person l use , in the belief that p rely spiritual aspirations will bring about the desired a a communion in natur l way . a i The example given , which illustrates wh t M ss to ri is in Dougal considers be true expe ence , terestin A o s the . r o g , but not uncommon p p of comfort which a certain clergyman has derived ” v from isiting a medium , through whom he believes he has received characteristic messages CONVICTION OF GUIDANCE 161 from the Spirits of his son and his daughter (the di a a al veri c l n ture of which Miss Doug questions) , she relates the following story of a woman who had lost her husband when she w as quite young . ’ She had no faith in her vicar s teaching that God would comfort her, but comfort did come , and ,

as she . subsequently felt, through Him She had lin ﬁ of of God a wonderful fee g , rst the Presence , ar and one day, in the g den, when She was getting ’ to some ﬂowers put on her husband s grave , she knew that her husband was there with her in the garden only braver and stronger and more happy than she had ever known him . She could see nothing she heard nothing and she could give no explanation of how she knew that w as he w as there . This experience followed by many others . She could give no proof except that of the fruits — the wise training and teaching C n she i of her hildre which , as a foolish undisc plined i d g rl , could never have one without superior a and she guid nce , that guidance believed to be

from the spirit of her dead husband . a a al a The vicar rem rked, s ys Miss Doug , th t an was al a this wom evidently unusu , spiritu lly al and l minded, he thy inte ligent , but , he added, that he also thought that She had a lively imagi and di a of nation , he questioned the veri cal n ture

her experiences . ’ It is the old mystics experience of Presence to which is added the present-day feeling of the M 162 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

presence of a known personality with the possi bilities of communication forced by the im e i mediate nec ssities o the beloved ones on earth . The fact that the experience w as limited to feel in al a n s g, though accomp nied by recog ition, Show that the subject was but slightly sensitive and not sufﬁciently psychic to allow of other mani festations an of auditory or visionary nature . s a a is k to The impres ion l st g e a in inspiration , and i s often the beginning of greater things— a rudimentary perception which often develops into more deﬁnite phases with the active co a Operation of a suit ble agent . The communion of souls touches religion ; it a w em nates from debatable land, so little kno n and investigated that it must remain for a while a a will greatly a m tter of faith , but the b rriers a ir not bre k down unless there is persistent inqu y . The imaginary door which God has placed between the two worlds is conceived by man and closed a a li ar e through ignor nce . The bound ry nes are decided by individual limitations , if we to r unk believe histo y . The nown country must needs remain a mystery so long as language limits expression ; if new words are coined for ri how fresh discove es in this world, impossible must be the task of giving anything like a true impression of conditions in a totally strange a world except in p rables or symbols . u of r n As rveyof mysticism, in spite the co ruptio

164 TH E LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

’ involuntarily sharers in one another s pleasures and ai th the ra u p ns, the bro erhood of ce wo ld a n a r ff not be pious spiratio or st enuous e ort , but the reality of all others most vividly before u s the factor in our lives which would all ha ul dominate our conduct . W t wo d be the use of a luxurious mansion at the West and a all End Parisi n cooks if, the time , the misery and starvation of our fellow creatures were telepathically part and parcel of our a l li e ' a d i y v s On the other h nd, what bright Visions and joyous emotions would enter into many dreary and loveless lives if this state of human responsiveness were granted to the race It may be that telepathy is the survival of an old and once cormnon possession of the human race that has fallen into disuse and a di an a lmost ed out with the growth of l gu ge . a is a More prob bly, I think, it a rudiment ry a l s an a and c al a f cu ty, or po sibly e rly Spe i c se of the great human rapport which is slowly awakening the race to the sense of a larger Se

l a h s is a l as The te ep t ic sen e , it cknow edged, a a m tter of experience , arouses pity without the aid a suﬁerin s of the physic l sight of g . Thi l — a — a a n i sense of fee ing im gination w ke s nterest , hi a the c i a in touc ng the he rts of re ipients, t c nnot BED-ROCK OF INSPIRATION 165

fail to evoke a practical response in helping to all v a ff e i te the su erings of others . Knowledge , t a is a s a c in his c se , not h ppines ; it incre ses servi e , and — this form of service is a feature of to day, a as a not reg rded s intly, nor are the means of i nformation considered divine . is al in Telepathy ment action, the work gs, in e d a law is m the low st egree , of which pri arily

- a is . spiritu l . It the bed rock of inspiration i a a of as the Insp r tion, the s ints old perceived vertical threads of an ideal through which the z a s hori ont l lines of progres ive thought , inter avin t s m we g with perfect exac itude , make a y

a a . a a metric l p ttern The w rp of inspir tion, caught to earth and held ﬁrmly through the a a the o f ith of ide lists, is made fast by w of of a a a a and pr ctic l tests , c rried backw rds forwards by the shuttle of divine purpose until a perfect is an mesh completed . At one time a thread of old faith is pulled into prominence at another it is pushed into the background while another a a to n thre d, c lled new, comes the front , o ly to be discarded later in the return journey ; and l sa ai had da peop e then y, old f ths have their y — a an . o new revel tion is at h d But , l oking back, all it is seen that there is nothing new after . Old ai are as a The f ths not , e ch man thinks in his m ti e , uprooted by the new ; they do but strengthen each other in unknown but deﬁnite purpose extending far beyond this mortal life . 166 THE LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

The inspiration that is guiding us to the per ce tion a of of ar a e p of communion souls , inc n t and r a a us far disca n te minds , may t ke beyond ’ old am the grave . God s Acre may be an n e used to deﬁne a new country of fruitfulness and ri vi of Spi tual acti ty undreamt yet by man, but , sa for the moment , we may not y that this hope are hin gives any proof of immortality . We touc g but the threads of a hope in everlasting life— the ri of f nge Immortality .

A WELCOME DECREE OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

RELIGION and irnmortahty are for most men one d l and an a . mm a the s me thing To some , i ort ity a are all surviv l equ y connected ; to many, the whole three are unfortunately combined in the i xa l one word sp ritualism . What e ct y the term spiritualism means to all individuals is unknown . It has many deﬁnitions if we are to believe all we

a . i a to x he r To one, it s religion the ne t , a to ex science another, a belief in the istence of ri a a a spi tu l world peopled with spiritu l beings , a u ri o o a ngels who g ide er ng fo tsteps , the traditi n l i ai of u a . s so rce of revel tion Or again, it a r sing r a a spi its , necrom ncy, ench ntments or magic, the art of revealing future events by communication a a with the de d . There is no doubt that spiritu l ism conveys a very different meaning to different di a e in vidu ls according to th ir experiences , know oi ledge the subject , or conclusions drawn too hastily on a limited perusal of indifferent literature . To associate the serious investigators with the ul absurd and often fraud ent phenomena, which,

169 179 A WELCOME DECREE

of do u a x i course , occ r mongst less e igent ndi d l i all ma l vi ua s s a mistake . Equ y they y be ieve x of as in the e istence Spirit distinct from matter , but the fact of quality is not lost sight of by the f d u more asti ious inq irer, and the existence Of quality in al l spiritualistic phenomena shoul d not

. As are be ignored in every other subject, there a s of u and r e of gr de inq irers deg e s response and, a a to follow a usu l proceeding, e ch one chooses r a ai his or the best , with a propo tion te f th in her

conclusions . a r li To the le ding investigato s , spiritua sm is a not of cert inly a religion, nor is the sole Object inquiry necromantic— a desire to know the future an through communication with the dead . It is inquiry into a system of communications from dl i professe y departed Spirits , ch eﬂy through all an persons c ed mediums , by me s of rapping,

' automatic writing and other manifestations of

ri . a ill automatisms . The p nciples which M C m e Flammarion concludes to be now estabhshed are

(1) That the soul exists as a real entity n of i dependent the body . (2) That the soul is endowed with faculties no t yet re cognised nor understood by Science . (3) That the soul is able to act at a distance

without the intervention of the senses .

At the meeting of the Church Congress , 1 1 n Autumn , 99, it was a nounced by the Primate

172 A WELCOME DECREE

No spiritualist of any standn will agree that either extreme is justifiable . However strong his or her convictions may be as to the value of al n a o i inquiry, the gener Opi ion m ngst nvesti gators is that a great deal of discrimination is s a a and nece s ry in all evidenti l matter, in the C lassification of certain manifestations of the psychic faculty . But with the advantage of a a e pr ctic l knowledge , the psychic student se s o ma ev ntu that the attenti n of the Church y be , e al a of a di and a ly, the me ns a better underst n ng happy reconciliation between science and religion and c fi of a further , that s ienti c proof the surviv l of the human personality after bodily death cannot fail to undermine some of the chief objections to the belief in Christianity raised by a ri al is thi m te alistic sceptics . More especi ly s hope of reconciliation strengthened when the people manifest an enthusiastic interest in ri a i or a spi tu l th ngs (whether for ag inst) , in direct contradiction to the aspersion of lethargy which is supposed to be C haracteristic of the modern mind towards everything but the grossly r r s mate ial . And it is the duty of the autho itie the ri a to guide this interest into ght ch nnels , to ai ui r se the motive of inq ry into the unseen , ni a e to check the idle questio ng , and to encour g a more respectful attitude towards a su bject which eminent men have considered worth in ti ation a ves g . Psychic development is a fe ture OF TH E PRIMATE 173

—da and a of to y, within the bounds of re sonable inquiry ; it cannot be crushed out of life by the ’ a x can weight of yesterd y s orthodo y, nor it be relegated to obscurity to stagnate under cover an a s a v of b tr ct irtue . t a a l l ai The doc rine th t ll shou d be ieve by f th , although necessary at a certain stage of develop m l i a al m in ent , imp ies a s mil rity and qu ity of ind a a x Th um . a h nity th t does not e ist e lack of f ith, so m is a often conde ned, not a st te to be envied when it comes to the matter of a life hereafter neither can the contentment that its possession c d is gives be a hieved by mere esire . Doubt a m u si i h l and for of c rio ty wh c , if order y not idle , becomes scientiﬁc ; it is not peculiar to great intellect nor is it limited to scientists ; it is a natural inclination to inquire from the standpoint of incredulity in the abstract which demands a all a i a f ct C it gnosticism, athe sm, or r tionalism , ts is in i respective degrees , it a product of the age in which we are living— an age of exact The ur is a science . p suit of truth Sign of the times. Of contemporary signiﬁcance is this progressive attitude of the Established Church to confer with the scientists and others on a question which She has been loth to regard with toleration in a a a the face of proven charl tanry nd fr ud . To sa a al y th t spiritu ism does not , roughly speaking, embrace much that a true follower of C hrist 174 A WELCOME DECREE

a a c is v all dis c nnot c ept , too ob ious to c for cussi n is of a o . There still the spirit sooths ying and divination for material gain which was con demned by the Apostles ; the most charitable cannot but look askance at the so—called spiritual manifestations through the medium in ship of questionable characters . Tak g into consideration experiments with mediums of u n li is doubted honesty and respectabi ty, it con tended that the majority of communications are b anal a i i a . , w nt ng in sp ritu lity Trivially personal are ﬂi anc incidents touched upon, giving a pp y to a a a mess ge which ought , at le st , to have dignity, considering that it is revelation of consciousness in a state which we instinctively regard with we r is the a . The spi its tell us nothing new complaint of believers through faith in the doctrine of life after death ; when given the m and supre e test of prophetic ability, they fail e he a worse , they sometim s and le d the credulous - as ai u — who pose f thf l astray. Better far, says l l a all and a it re igion, to e rn from the Bible t ke that direct revelation or inspiration is of the past and that the open vision is now denied to

mankind . These grounds for opposition are all undoubted ly true and common knowledge to experienced e a dl investigators who agree whol he rte y that , if al ai hin spiritu ism cont ns not g more , it should be s a o t as a if not a all t mped u potenti lly, ctu y,

176 A WELCOME DECREE

i a a and a d found, nc p ble of intentional fraud, gu rde from unintentional deception by wise and scien tific of and a di methods experiment , lso , me ums a d s x of the leisured n educated classe do e ist . Until the exigencies of the bereaved in the w ar a was al for compelled dmission , it more usu reserve to be maintained with regard to psychic gifts by unprofessional mediums . The name l was a r itse f slur and, although ce tain distin guished investigators attempted to change it to sensitive or psychic to assuage the feelings s a of those who he itated to sh re , publicly, a nomenclature with others less fortunate than a The t themselves, the objection rem ined . six h s sense , whether manife ted normally and per ce tibl for al s p y, person knowledge , subconsciou ly a fi or in tr nce for the bene t of others, Should be ” efi one di s d ned by the word, me um, and thi Should be recognised as a gift that can be used for good or evil according to the aim of the n al and o n i dividu the desire f the i quirer . There is no manner of difference between the psychic powers of honest and even highly educated man a and a a or wom n, the unfortun te cre tures who are i in P e hunted by the pol ce , persecuted the r ss ri a and d ven, through poverty and ignor nce , to submit to the demands of any fortune-hunter or dl s z are i e eeker of fren ied phenomena , who able a to pay fee . e b t or a l i Ther , u f the gr ce of God, goes myse f, s THE LAW AND THE MEDIUM 177 the sentiment of more fortunate mediums when reading the sensational report of another con ’ viction of spiritualistic fraud in the morning s a mf newspaper . S fe in the position of a co ortable s r na a home and guided by di c imi tion , b sed on a a sound mor l te ching , one cannot but doubt if u l the law, in protecting a cred lous pub ic from ’ and a is ffi lfil deception fr ud, su ciently fu ling man s i is whole duty to h s neighbour . It well to law t m uphold the , but here is basic refor which might well be considered with regard to the in uirers - is ossibil q who go Scot free . There the p ity that not mere fortune- telling but a purely spiritual quest by the public might result in a Th higher aspiration in the medium . e best of u s are apt to respond to the popular demand in r fi and a eve y eld of production, especi lly when poverty is the other alternative . al S ri a Spiritu ism requires pi tu lising ; moreover, like every other subject which commands a wide e re as di i its inter st ir spective of cl s or st nction, claims should be judged primarily by the prac a l a tic l experiences of Skil ed investig tors , who agree that the claim of spiritualism lies in the belief of the superiority of mind over matter ; that man is a Spirit and that his consequent survival of bodily death gives the hope that such

e i can be m s ﬁ a . b l ef , in ti e , cienti c lly understood At present it may be tested by the systematic study of certain phenomena and communications N 178 A WELCOME DECREE

through the vehicle of the sensitively organised

human beings usually known as mediums . This s es s of i i the attitude of the b t ort spiritual st, not ar a c necess ily s ientist . There is another class of a n a Spiritu list to whom tests are u necess ry ; who , w u a ri however, ith a nat r l faculty of disc mination , l a al a wi l t ke the good and mor ly helpful mess ges , and put the guidan ce so obtained to the best u se f h ai o s e a . which he or is ble And there rem ns , of e s Of - us cours , the large re idue over credulo individuals who take all utterances through the l Of an so- l ih ips y cal ed medium as valuable , oi all dependently the obvious fact that , even if es ri n do emanate from discarnate spi ts , it can ot

all all all r . be good, wise , nor t ue Over and above there is the investigation of mental com munication known as Telepathy, which engages the attention of those who otherwise regard the u subject as f tile .

In order to understand that communications , or consciously subconsciously received, are not di r all given by sca nate spirits , it is necessary to know a little of the development of the mi a mediu stic faculty . It usu lly has a beginning

' in vague impressions of ideas that are foreign to ’ a one s own thoughts , and consequently rrest a and o the ttention . These become clearer m re on d decided as time goes , and clairau ience or ai c develops , singly along with cl rvoyan e , of which, incidentally, disposes the objection so

180 A WELCOME DECREE

most of them realised the immense value and fi dis r unlimited eld of this cove y . So decided at a c hin were they, this stage, to s ribe not g to the dead that could possibly have its origin in i n a the m nd of the livi g, that some re ders still take it for granted that those manifestations of the vibratory energy of thought in some in definable way depend entirely on the physical so body. That is why we often hear the term telepathy used to explain the inexplicable r man by the ave age , whose knowledge of the subject is insufi cient to give any light on tele l to fi pathy itse f , or de ne exactly what he means x by the subconscious mind, an e pression freely used as a final argument which disposes of the whole theory of mental communication as

being possible and not morbid . Not long ago I w as given the Opinion of an a eminent nerve Specialist th t , within his extremely who s large experience , there were people pos essed

' not a e only one , but Sever l s nses over and above ﬁve ic n i the wh h are usually allotted to ma k nd , an and they were not always by y means morbid . r a not a to Unfo tun tely he is live endorse this , a who e but m ny pathologists , are de ply and i of practically nterested in this branch psychology, of confess that , at present , their knowledge the conscious mind is so limited that they hesitate to speak with any degree Of certainty of what An the su bconscious self may be capable . d PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT 18 1

they agree that the development of super-normal faculties is one to be reckoned with to- day in ’ of a the study man s ment l capacities . Some consider that psychic development is merely the highly nervous and sensitive tempera ment due to C ivilisation ; others that it is an ’ evolution of man s powers of understanding in line with modern discoveries which have over of l come established law . Many us can recal the days when aviation was generally considered i od a an impossib lity . G never me nt us to fl s e y, was the entiment expr ssed by certain a o to C an fi individu ls Opp sed h ge , who justi ed their attitude by their ow n limited understanding of n inven natural law but , all the same , moder tion has surmounted the immense difficulties of artificial flight by the production of our aeroplane of to— of h day. Past knowledge physical facts as of i al and is proved the basis ncreased ment ity, it possible that increased knowledge of the mental of a n w a attributes m nki d ill , in the s me way, give us a complete understanding of spiritual

law . The progress made in experimental Spiritualism i s nce competent investigators took up the subject , points to a law of evolution with which death in o wa old l n y interferes . The be ief in a sudden transition from a state of human imperfections to one of perfect spirituality is no longer general the idea of the immediate transformation of a 182 A WELCOME DECREE

i a a li t e human being nto a s int , with nge c at ribut s in and n es . and angelic heave ly desir , is chang g Of The hope of questionable happiness , in a state a s has wa a everl sting re t , given y to more logical - C om outlook on the immediate life hereafter. munications point to the persistence of personality ar m are so as p t of the Survival of an. They often in keeping with a personality which appears to have remained so exactly the same that when high-ﬂow n ideas are expressed in beautiful ri ral hras e English , or Sc ptu p es are us d by a communicator who C laims to be the Spirit of a hi s t is e a u . schoolboy, iden ity r g rded as doubtf l Should actual proofs be given to establish his of his s identity to the satisfaction friend , then i t must be acknowledged that a change and not persistence of characteristics denoting a is a eak person lity evident but, gener lly Sp ing, the proofs of personality come in characteristic form . As of a matter of experience , the mode ex a ll r pression, the b nal a usions to t ivial incidents in life that appear to accompany the train of thought which communication with a beloved not as a of friend arouses , are to be despised p rt n evidential matter . Another point is the appare t similarity of the state of death to a different mode of life in a new country with which com munication and to is possible, messages intimate friends convey the impression of an ordinary

184 A WELCOME DECREE

necessity to confuse good with evil . Individual experiences of communion with those of another world may be laid before the bar of modern s a u cience without fe r of persec tion, torture or death . It w as on the point of individual communion as with One who had died that St . Paul w brought be w as not fore the judges , and that Holy One then reverenced as Divine ; the State did not I S believe Him to be the Son of God . not this ’ the Carpenter s son ' H is crucifixion between two malefactors w as regarded as the final failure i H is i to . din establ sh Div nity Death, accor g to u a a was the a the pop l r underst nding, neg tion of H i H is . s u o w as teaching res rrecti n disbelieved. ’ It might have been that the sole fact of St . Paul s blindness after the experience which caused his n ul a conversion would, have i fluenced the pop ce , but it was the people who accused him in spite of the decision at the judgment seat We find ' no evil in this man ; but if an angel or spirit ” to us fi a a hath spoken him , let not ght g inst God . And time has justified the words Spoken by Gamaliel with regard to the apostles ' If this s be wi l coun el or this work of man, it l come to God a nought ; but if it be of , ye c nnot over throw it . It is said that Chri stianity is a fail ure that

w ar so . C lai the has proved it One writer ms that , although the hour has not yet struck for PSYCHIC EXPERIENCES 185

a a hri has had its da er dic tion, C stianity y ; a i i x l to reve led rel g on , if it ever e isted, be ongs the s is a ar a pa t , nother contempor y View ; f ith in the

e is ll a . a c uns en i ogic l And yet , more th n on e , agnostics have solemnly affirmed that what they saw on the battlefields and experienced in the trenches have convinced them of the certainty rt of something over and above ea hly existence . It is an open secret that there have been cases of ’ individual experience when under the enemy s fire as al ll i r , criticised hysteric and ha uc nato y, v but which , ne ertheless , have brought men to a a of God realis tion of the power . In modern phraseology these experiences are psychic and of a to be reckoned with in the study spiritu lism . This form of experience indicates that certain individuals are attuned to a still higher octave of vibrations than those set up by the thoughts of human beings or even the discarnate Spirits s a of men . It is , doubtle s , the response to al r a l m strong person desire for spi itu l en ighten ent , a but , app rently, in the light of psychic investiga not u tion , such revelation does occur nless the individual has a psychic gift through which

Spiritual perception is possible . To take a lower form than angelic manifesta s tion of consciou revelation , we get experiences with the discarnate spirits of men Communion ” W r with the dead . hen it is pe sonal it is only al is a person ly convincing ; when it for nother, 186 A WELCOME DECREE

the matter becomes Communication through a ” i and is al . ﬁ s medium , evidenti The rst regarded with approval by some orthodox thinkers the second condemned ; but the actual experience is a identical ; and purely spiritu l communion , a is not to di in ngelic guidance , denied me ums dur g

Of . an quiet times prayer Unfortunately, gelic not fi w revelation is veri able , but communion ith m s ifi r hi the dead is , and clai s cient c inqui y w ch alone can put an end to pretentious mediumship ni a r and undesirable commu c to s . Skilled investi gators are absolutely necessary who are willing to work patiently through the bewildering mass of v o ff e idence , g od, bad , and indi erent , of a subject which is still in its infancy . The pretensions di of me ums must be impossible . Moral guidance through all is the crowning is a a point , and it here th t religion Should t ke r - fi - p o eminence . The scienti c Side is all important so far as it goes . Science promises to step well has over the boundary line that , in the past, separated her from the Church but that in no way decreases the responsibility of the men of fi to God . The resurrection is not con ned the if a just , and communication with the de d becomes an established fact to be taken reverently in hand, we must have assurance that the motive in communicating is worthy and justifiable in r the light of Ch istian ethics . is a man When judgment left to the aver ge ,

188 A WELCOME DECREE that neither investigation nor the means of i e a c iﬁ nv stig tion an be truly just ed, however a a for gre t the subject , except it be c rried out n the gloriﬁcation of God in the service of me . RELIGION .

192 RELIGION

a of the righteous . They h ve no hes itation in making statements to the effect that the sub stance oi these communications prove this argument by their un- Christian or even profane doctrine . Most highly educated men express ha hi of iri opinions, publicly, t t the teac ng the sp ts is a a to ri nt gonistic Holy Sc pture , and further, s a a a n a a s t te th t this te chi g c uses , not only los s a and of upernatural f ith , but deplorably moral i a efiects and a r phys c l , advoc te a number of w ong ’ a a li i ide s about m n s responsibi ty, dest ny, and morality generally. It is Openly denied that a o n iri l is pr fessi g sp tua ist ever a Christian, at least in the traditional sense which demands faith . It may be argued that these views are extreme on i e and narrow, that judgment is decided l mit d e— z a a a evidenc e l combined with ignor nce , as of a — one an matter f ct and yet , if is cognis t of the details of the unfortunate experience which has played , perhaps , only an isolated part in influencing the decisions of these separate Oppo nents (and there are questionable experiences) , it is easy to feel a certain amount of sympathy for the natural antipathy towards the whole an subject . But the greatest influence on m kind c v a is experien e , therefore indi idu l testimony is the only means of arriving at any sort of con clu sion with regar d to a revelation which is n r a appare tly a Spi itu l power . Psychic experiences have a profound and INFLUENCE OF EXPERIENCES 193

la n d al sting i fluence on the in ividu religion . In some cases they give new light on old faiths in s a others , a positive conver ion to ncient truths a r u a which h ve been supe nat rally reve led . I doubt if evidence of a life-hereafter could fail to arrest the steps of those irresponsible creatures who eat dr to— and ink because morrow they die . I know that it has changed the whole attitude of was a is a some to whom life jest , but it matter for personal declaration which should not be withheld at the present crisis of Spiritual judgment . x and l ul The e tremely, unfortunate y, cred ous attitude is responsible for the harm that is in spiritualism . Think for a moment of the conclu sions of the leading spiritualists— the Spirits of men survive bodily death under certain circum stances they are able to communicate with men s a a on earth . Doe th t convey a cert inty that the trend of all spirit communication will be of an a ' a nal equal mor lity And, if of doctri nature , li h s i to be followed imp citly, wit out que t on, Simply because it purports to come from the unseen ar l On the contr y, the belief in the possibi ity a irn hes as i of Spirit communic tion , p , a log cal s e w equence, that a sound inv stigation ill regard of r a a the question pe son lity, me ning the communi a di m as l c tor, or the one behind the me u , a l e his important . He do s not shut eyes to the 0 194 RELIGION fact that there are as many undesirable people in the next world as ever inhabited a physical a an r al body. The ccept ce of pe son ity without proof or the obedience to a communication without C aution is condemned by all who know anything of the subject . Deny if you will the x of al ri ali e istence a person devil, p ncip ties and rs as old- a and powe , f shioned superstitious, but you cannot get away from the fact that evil exists t w in this world hrough the ickedness of men, and e a E that evil thoughts prec de evil ctions . vi dentiall a y, we have no re son to suppose that there is an instantaneous C hange of personality when these men die or that their influence ceases a at death . Ignore this f ct and there you have a of ri a the d nger spi tu lism . Whether it is quite fair to confine this danger to al is a a l Spiritu ism deb tab e point . Long ago it was decided that success or otherwise in life depended very greatly on the influence of one o r mind up n another . Histo y relates that a royal criminal w as once asked if she had used any form of witchcraft or SUpematural means to a n of overcome the m chi ations her enemies . Her reply was— only the influence of a stronger mind a s over the we ker. Thi influence is not now thought criminal unless the power be used on a s ifi w a a per on cert ed to be of e k ment lity . N0 one questions the undue influence which all know plays an important part in the struggle

196 RELIGION

ri of the The myste ous workings prayer, al li e e natur rapport , which we be eve is cr at d suﬁerer one ﬁ to e between a and tted r spond, shows that the responsibility lies in man and G al di not in od . But none the less re is vine un i u d i comm ion, nspiration and g i ance wh ch are o r ma ul over and ab ve the pu ely hu n fac ty.

The agnostic may say we cannot prove it . At no the present , But we have a sure foundation in verified experiences which strengthens ou r faith in an increasing understanding of Spiritual i e in law . Insp ration instill d by a human be g conveys a feeling of personality which we ni di recog se . A gui ng thought is traced by this of to r feeling presence its sou ce , when human . The feeling of Divine Presence is SO distinct from that of a human being or a discarnate n ui on Spirit that faith in Divi e g dance , based verified spiritual (or mental ) communication is absolute . on and This faith is based purely experience , is not due to a doctrinal teaching of discarnate r al n spi its . My teaching has ways been o the lower level of human possibilities— the level of e v rification . The methods and means of com mu nication have been made C lear by demonstra on i of ti . I quote a few l nes early automatic writing from a regular communicator

n Take the listeni g attitude . Cast nothing PERSONAL OUTLOOK I 97‘

a a is a a on side th t c p ble of proof, act nothing w t ri the a a s i hout proof, and b ng critic l f cultie a all to be r on communications, and judge them a a s a by the st nd rd of the highest mor lity, and truth expedience .

None have ever tried to influence my personal religion . Psychic manifestations have been ex ai on ifi a pl ned scient c lines . Prayer, for inst nce, t s as al has been reated in its simple t form , ment research rather than a higher and mystical of exercise a faculty beyond verification . Test all by your own Scriptures and your own con ception of Christianity w as the sole religious injunction . There was always an insistence on the law of f i d cause and e fect . M nor pre ictions demon strated this in no uncertain way retrospection proved the wisdom of certain communications which advocated making the future by perpetual effort rather than trusting to an uncertain power of divination . a of is to The obvious f ct continuity , me , a l r warning in itse f . The decision of the futu e in e i a this world, r st ng so much with the individu l , appears likely to extend beyond the grave ' can not n logically we influence , if determi e , the conditions of the life-hereafter by our desires in a c this world. The s ending degree of spiritual perception of things formerly unseen is a proof 198 RELIGION

u se t l in point . I the word unseen li eral y, not merely as something outside of the physical l S n a a . e ses , but above the individu l Spiritu Sight But this is personal deduction and not spirit m a has com unic tion which , in my case , been pragmatic . What the communicators did teach was the strengthening of the mental faculties through a practice of regular concentration as a weapon suitable to combat evil thoughts and kindred dangers which are supposed to surround a of ffi sensitive . Purity thought and the e cacy of a di pr yer, in the vine sense , were emphasised as a safeguard on the basis of a natural law of attraction said to be pre- eminent in the spiritual a world . Purpose has lways been described as of the keynote a future existence . It is said that the reserve of Christ upon the f — I subject o a future life quote Canon Vernon F . — efu a r Storr His r s l to satisfy cu iosity, His de liberate reticence in presence of the exuberant speculations of contemporary Judaism upon the e di for subj ct , are in cations that most men such are not inquiries intended . one o If is to g entirely by psychic ability, there is no doubt that such inquiry is not intended for all a men . If, however, as some scientists ssert , the dead can communicate through the help of a or of psychic by the use a human organism, it must be admitted that progress and evolution has zoo RELIGION cosmic in general being but the symbols of reality. a a of l of Tradition l ccounts the ife Christ , the mi a H is a c n r cles He wrought , de th, Resurre tio and Ascension are not difficult of belief to any who have had psychic experiences the coming e a a of the Holy Ghost , the sup rn tur l events in the lives of the Apostles are recognised as fact . We have seen the hitherto impossible manifested a m a to in less degree, but because ir cles which, li s an our past mited under t ding, have happened, a t a hi our f i h in gre ter t ngs , impossible to verify, is strengthened ; our hope in the fulfiment of

se n a . Divine promi s, i cre sed hri a ai C sti nity, based on prophecy, sust ned by

i a is u ur . insp r tion , cons mmated in the Res rection It has a personal element in Jesus Who lived on this earth that we might have a perfect a r u of ex mple to follow . The fact of a es rrection men and women personally known to u s— an experience which never fails to arouse a pro found feeling of aw e and wonder on every occasion — deepens our faith in the Resurrection of our is Lord . It through our small experience that we can more fully understand H is appearance to C and i the hosen few who loved Him, apprec ate, a h with bsolute conviction, the trut underlying H is hi a all teac ng . We cknowledge an unlimited a ﬁ f ith in an in nite Saviour . Two examples will suffice to support the SIR OLIVER LODGE 201 testimony to Christianity by leading investi gators who have inquired into psychic phenomena from a scientiﬁc and not from the religious

In his preface to a book called Reason and Belief ’ which Sir Oliver Lodge published ten years ago the following passage may be found

So much has had to be modified in defer ence to scientific discoveries It cannot be maintained that general conviction of the New ha a ui a e a s m . T st ment 're ined q te unsh ken In so as a far, however, my own rese rches have led me to perceive a profound substratum of tru th a e so as underlying ncient doctrin s , and in far a m the progress of science , inste d of under ining, a ll a and m of actu lly i ustr tes illu ines some them, I consider it to be my duty as well as my privilege to indicate to the best of my ability how matters stand The position taken in this book is the result of a lifetime of scientific ’ and its a is a study b sis one of f ct .

More recently he makes a further statement the meaning of which is unmistakable

I want also to Say that although it is not by religious Faith that I have been led to my t a a present position, yet every hing th t I h ve learned tends to increase my love and reverence 202 RELIGION

for the personality of the central ﬁgure in the

Gospels .

a t ll a a o a And l ter s i , fter pers n l bereavement , the r a li a g eatest test of f ith, Sir O ver adds pro photic remark with absolute conviction

Those who think the day of that Messiah ” is over are strangely mistaken .

The other examﬂe of personal testimony is from a s i al s a one of the e rly pioneer of psych c re e rch , ll t a Frederick Myers . It is we known h t he lost his ai in hr a is not al f th C isti nity, but it ways s of iri under tood that , through the study sp tual istic a was a . Evi phenomena, lost f ith reg ined ; dence of this is to be found in his last writings which were published posthumously under the ” a an n me of Fragments of Prose d Poetry, wherein a spiritual pilgrimage is faithfully re c a c a orded. In portion of the h pter entitled The Final Faith he speaks for himself

Yet I cannot in any deep sense contrast ni a r my present creed with Christia ty . R the I regard it as a scientiﬁc development of the d attitude an teaching of Christ . You ask me what is the moral tendency of all these teachings— the reply is unexpectedly i and is se . t s mple conci The endency , one may

204 RELIGION

permanent sense is the adjustment of our emotions to the structure of the Universe and what we now most need is to discover what that s t is co mic s ructure . l a is now su c I be ieve, then, th t Science ceeding in penetrating certain cosmical facts sh has ﬁr which e not reached till now . The st i ’ e s the a a al . of cours , f ct of m n s surviv of death

The desire of the true Spiritualist is to give scientific proof that in death there is no finality l u a at is a e that , a tho gh physic l de h re l, th re are a — God is no de d indeed a God of the living, hf H is fait ul to promises that He may be trusted, and as a nl a e loved served Heave y F ther Who ke ps , guides and teaches us through those who loved us a a u fi best in their e rthly existence , f l lment and continuance of a natural law sometimes called l a u s a and Divine, to e d out of d rkness change the shadow of death into a gleam to the way m al toward the Supre e Go .

TH E END