BF 1272 
 .T4 
 Copy 1 
 
THE LIGHT BEARERS 
 
 AND OTHER 
 LECTURES 
 
 PRICE 50 CENTS 
 
 BY 
 
 ALFRED H. TERRY 
 

 Copyright 1918 
 By Alfred H. Terry 
 
 HAYWORTH PUBLISHING HOUSE, WASHINGTON. D C. 
 
 ©CI. A 495953 
 
 MAY -. 
 
ALFRED H. TERRY 
 

 <b 
 
 ^ 
 
 X 
 
 ^ 
 
 X 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Nuggets of Wisdom 5 
 
 The Light Bearers 9 
 
 The Mission of Spiritualism 21 
 
 Influences Affecting the Life of Man 40 
 
 Life After Death 53 
 
 The Healing Power 63 
 
 Man^ the Magician 74 
 
 The Higher Life 87 
 
NUGGETS OF WISDOM. 
 
 "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall 
 find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For 
 every one that asketh receiveth and he that seek- 
 eth findest, and to him that knocketh it shall be 
 opened.' , 
 
 Jesus. 
 
 "But the manifestation of the spirit is given to 
 every man to profit withal. For to one is given, 
 by the spirit, the word of wisdom, to another the 
 word of knowledge, by the same spirit. To an- 
 other faith by the same spirit, to another gifts 
 of healing, by the same spirit. To another the 
 working of miracles, to another prophecy, to an- 
 other discerning of spirits, to another divers kinds 
 of tongues, to another the interpretation of 
 tongues." 
 
 Paul. 
 
 "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love 
 dwelleth in God, and God in him. — There is no 
 fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear. 
 He that f eareth is not made perfect in love/' 
 
 John. 
 
 "The truth is noble and sweet, the truth can 
 deliver you from evil. There is no savior in the 
 world except the truth." 
 
 Buddha. 
 
 [5] 
 
"I hold that the term evil comprises everything 
 that destroys and corrupts, and the term good, 
 everything that preserves and benefits/' 
 
 Socrates. 
 
 "Look within. Within is the fountain of good, 
 and it will ever bubble up, if thou will ever dig." 
 
 Marcus Aurelius. 
 
 "Wisdom is right understanding, a faculty of 
 discerning good from evil, what is to be chosen 
 and what rejected; a judgment grounded upon 
 the value of things, and not the opinion of them; 
 an equality of force and a strength of resolution." 
 
 Seneca. 
 
 "Religions are many; reason is one; we are all 
 brothers/' 
 
 Chinese Proverb. 
 
 "An enlightened mind is like heaven, a dark- 
 ened one like hell. The spiritual essence goes 
 everywhere. Mind is infinite/' 
 
 Chinese Proverb. 
 
 "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the 
 good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 "We lie in the lap of immense intelligence, 
 which makes us organs of its activity and re- 
 ceivers of its truth." 
 
 Emerson. 
 
 [«3 
 
"The great silent men! Looking round on the 
 noisy inanity of the world, words with little 
 meaning, actions with little worth, one loves to 
 reflect on the great empire of silence. The noble 
 silent men, each in his own department, silently 
 thinking, silently working, they are the salt of 
 the earth." 
 
 Carlyle. 
 
 "Nearly all my successes in life are founded on 
 previous failures." 
 
 Disraeli. 
 
 "Nothing but truth and justice can ever really 
 satisfy our deepest human instincts." 
 
 W. J. Colville. 
 
 "Knowledge holdeth by the hilt and heweth out 
 a road to conquest. Ignorance graspeth the blade 
 and is wounded by its own sword." 
 
 Martin Tupper. 
 
 "Let no enemy from without be feared, conquer 
 thine own self, and the whole world is con- 
 quered." 
 
 (Author unknown.) 
 
 "It is a grand thing to be owner of yourself." 
 
 Ingersoll. 
 
 "The so-called infidel is often a man of great 
 gentleness of spirit, and his disbelief is not in 
 God, but in some little man's definition of God, 
 a distinction the little man, being without humor, 
 can never see." 
 
 Elbert Hubbard. 
 
 m 
 
"If we live long enough to see the results of 
 our actions it may be those who call themselves 
 good would be filled with a wild remorse and those 
 whom the world calls evil stirred with a noble joy. 
 Each little thing we do passes into the great ma- 
 chine of life, which may grind our virtues to pow- 
 der and make them worthless or transform our 
 sins into elements of a new civilization more mar- 
 velous and more splendid than any that have gone 
 before/' 
 
 Oscar Wilde. 
 
 " 'In spite of air has been my motto since the 
 age of nine, and I have been faithful to it. I have 
 fought with time, and have been stronger than 
 time. I have striven with illness and conquered 
 it. I have battled with death and repulsed it — 
 requesting it to come back later. This is the secret 
 of my youth/' 
 
 Sara Bemhart. 
 
 "In Spiritualism is to be found an expression 
 of the religion of Jesus of Nazareth. It is truly 
 democratic, given to saint and sinner alike both 
 here in this life, and after death an opportunity 
 for redemption/' 
 
 Ammyeetis. 
 
 [8] 
 
THE LIGHT BEARERS. 
 
 That which we recognize as civiliza- 
 tion, is the result of centuries of culture 
 and applied knowledge. The pillars that 
 support this great structure are Science, 
 Religion, Art and Philosophy. To be- 
 live that these great institutions of knowl- 
 edge were given to man direct as a free 
 gift, is to err greatly. It is true that life 
 and the faculties for obtaining knowledge 
 are given to man, but all the marvelous 
 possibilities of the development of these 
 innate principles depend upon thought and 
 effort of the individual. One of the 
 greatest errors this world labors under is 
 the idea that anything of real value is 
 free. There is a price set upon all things 
 from the highest to the lowest, and the 
 higher the goal man aims to reach, the 
 greater the price he must pay. Even 
 knowledge which is appreciated only by 
 the few, has never been a free gift, but 
 quite the reverse, it is in fact of all things 
 that which man pays most dearly for. Ex- 
 perience is the only coin which can ob- 
 
 [*] 
 
tain knowledge, and then only as it is 
 rightly used does it develop into true wis- 
 dom. Knowledge has ever been the re- 
 ward of effort, suffering and struggle. 
 
 Everything, no matter how great and 
 how wonderful may be its proportions, if 
 traced to its source we find originated 
 within the mind of one individual. We 
 find that the various branches of 
 Religion, Science, Art and Philosophy 
 were each founded upon the ex- 
 periences of one person, who expressed 
 and promoted it. These great souls 
 were the Light Bearers to humanity that 
 the way might be opened up, and reveal- 
 ed by which and through which all man- 
 kind would sometime pass. It is indeed 
 encouraging to realize that there always 
 have been in all countries, and in all ages, 
 a few upon whose prophetic vision the 
 possibilities qi life rose, and they were in- 
 spired into action which has ultimately 
 developed into the splendor of our mod- 
 ern civilization. 
 
 In the religious sphere of life there came 
 Buddha, Jesus, Mohamet and other true 
 
 [10] 
 
Christs, all Light Bearers, all Saviors in 
 the sense that they gave unto man a sav- 
 ing condition. The lamp that man reads 
 his book by does not read for him, but 
 supplies him with light, which is a con- 
 dition that enables him to read for him- 
 self. So Jesus and all the other great 
 teachers supply a saving condition which 
 is knowledge, but only as each man ac- 
 cepts it, and applies it to his own life, is 
 it a positive good. For even salvation is 
 not free, but must be worked out by each 
 individual for himself. 
 
 In Art there was Raphael, Michael An- 
 gelo, Titan and Rembrandt, all founders of 
 art schools, all Light Bearers in the realm 
 of art, and upon whose wonderful paint- 
 ings man gazes today with wonder and 
 admiration. Then there were Beethoven, 
 Chopin and Mozart in the music world. 
 While in science we have Darwin, 
 Spencer, Lambroso, Camille Flammarion, 
 and Lodge. Philosophy is best repre- 
 sented by Socrates, Seneca, and Epecte- 
 tis. Now all these men, and many besides 
 too numerous to mention, were the Light 
 
Bearers, and the truths they gave unto 
 the world are the foundation of our own 
 knowledge today. How clearly this re- 
 veals the power of the individual, what 
 wonderful possibilities are his, what mar- 
 velous gems of eternal grandeur lie within 
 his consciousness, needing only the polish- 
 ing of experience to bring them forth as 
 radiant emblems of knowledge to adorn 
 the world's crown of clustered truths. 
 It is this God within man, whose 
 mighty power and beauty reveals it- 
 self in the paintings of a Michael 
 Angelo, the melodies of a Beethoven, the 
 wisdom of a Socrates and the love of a 
 Jesus, that lets the world see that God is 
 here, the light of the world is here, not 
 as something that shines from afar, like 
 the light of a distant star ; but deep in the 
 heart of man is God's love, and His light 
 shines in the consciousness of his awaken- 
 ing soul. 
 
 The Light Bearer gives light always. 
 He does not, like the miser with his gold, 
 save it to become rich for the mere pleas- 
 ure of counting his coin, but enriches him- 
 
 [12] 
 
self with knowledge that he may give it 
 out to shine as a beacon unto man. Sup- 
 pose the great souls of all ages had kept 
 their knowledge to themselves ; would not 
 man today be much the poorer in wis- 
 dom and in truth? 
 
 Every man has something within him, 
 which, when developed and brought into 
 expression can benefit the world; or, in 
 other words, every man can be a Light 
 Bearer if he but wills. Some have the 
 idea that all great souls lived in the past, 
 and that the world today is barren of any 
 who equal those exalted personalities. 
 They have put such a halo around the 
 past, that the present appears dull in com- 
 parison. If, however, they could be trans- 
 planted back into the past, they would 
 find that the same sun illuminated those 
 days that lights our world today; the 
 same stars and moon by night; the same 
 spring, summer, fall and winter; the 
 same men and women in positions similar, 
 and thinking the same thoughts that oc- 
 cupy our minds today. Human nature 
 has not changed in the last two thousand 
 
 [13] 
 
years. Men hate and love as they did 
 centuries ago; are selfish and ambitious 
 or self-forgetting and noble as they were 
 in times past. The same great miracles 
 are going on today that happened two 
 thousand years ago, but man is so psycho- 
 logized by the past that he is living more 
 in it than in the present and thereby many 
 times his view escapes the miracles of to- 
 day. 
 
 In this grand and glorious present lurks 
 all that has been, and all that ever will be, 
 and it is for man to appropriate to him- 
 self the possibilities of the present that he 
 may be what others before him have been, 
 a Light Bearer; that he may scale the 
 heights to knowledge and to truth, and 
 partake of divine wisdom. It is only as 
 man shakes from his eyes the dust of ig- 
 norance and superstition realizing himself 
 as a spiritual being, blest with mighty pos- 
 sibilities and goes to work to develop these 
 innate abilities, that he truly becomes 
 himself. 
 
 Light Bearers of the present day, and 
 there are many of them, are holding aloft 
 
 [14] 
 
the lamp of truth that its glorious rays 
 may illuminate the darkness of error here 
 on earth. The various creeds and dogmas 
 are like great trees whose spreading 
 branches hide from the earth the warm 
 creative light of the sun, holding man in 
 the darkness of their shadow; shadows in 
 which superstition, ignorance and charla- 
 tanism are indeed the trinity under whose 
 sway the people are ruled. 
 
 Science has marched on conquering 
 new fields of knowledge and in the realms 
 of mechanics wonderful things have been 
 done; and yet in religion, as it is express- 
 ed in theology, things are as they were in 
 the past. There has been no new revela- 
 tion or new inspiration, or advancement 
 on past revelations. All the church has 
 to offer man is the recitation of things that 
 happened ages ago and which it says are 
 quite impossible to occur today. The 
 Light Bearers are evidently not in the 
 church or if perchance they are there have 
 not the strength of purpose to let their 
 light shine for fear perhaps of losing their 
 position, so content themselves with giv- 
 
 [15] 
 
ing put over and over again the same old 
 story, which may have had great power 
 and influence over the minds of our 
 grand-parents, but which is certainly los- 
 ing its sway over the minds of the present 
 generation. We hear so much talk of 
 why there are so many empty seats in the 
 churches; the reason is very plain. The 
 church of today has nothing to give the 
 thinking man, it does not appeal to him; 
 for he is progressive and the doctrine of 
 the church is not. The Light Bearers of 
 religious truth are today, as in the past, 
 outside the church. Jesus, himself the 
 great Light Bearer, had no church or tem- 
 ple and was indeed outside the church; 
 and so was the case with Buddha, he had 
 no church, but presented his glorious 
 teachings as Jesus did in the field and city 
 streets, anywhere, in fact, where he could 
 command the attention of the people. And 
 so today we find that the religion of prog- 
 ress, of unfoldment of enlightenment is 
 not to be found within the church but as 
 oT old outside its ranks. Light is stream- 
 ing today from many minds, giving not a 
 
 [16] 
 
stone, but the bread of spiritual life; giv- 
 ing inspired living truths, not the repeti- 
 tion of words, which many times spell 
 error instead of truth. 
 
 Let Theosophy, New Thought, Chris- 
 tian Science and Spiritualism all march on- 
 ward. Each one is a herald of a great 
 fact, each one has its work, to illuminate, 
 educate and develop the consciousness of 
 man, to prepare him to fulfill his glorious 
 destiny. Let us be friends with all these 
 great bodies, realizing each has its own 
 place to fill, its own particular class to 
 reach and a bond of divine union and fel- 
 lowship will encompass us all under one 
 yoke, and that spiritual truth; with one 
 purpose, that the salvation of the world; 
 with one God and that God Love, not 
 only spoken on the lips, but felt in the 
 heart, not only believed in as a mental 
 aspiration, but lived as an actual fact here 
 and now in the present life. 
 
 [17] 
 
TESTIMONY OF GREAT MEN. 
 
 "We ourselves are not limited to the few years 
 that we live on this earth, we shall go on without 
 it, we shall certainly survive. Why do I say that? 
 I say it on definite scientific ground. I say it be- 
 cause I know that certain friends of mine still 
 exist, because I have talked to them. Communi- 
 cation is possible. One must obey the laws, find 
 out the conditions. I do not say it is easy, but it 
 is possible, and I have conversed with them as I 
 could converse with any one through a telephone/' 
 
 Sir Oliver Lodge. 
 
 "My position therefore is, that the phenomena 
 of Spiritualism, in their entirety, do not require 
 further confirmation. They are proven quite as 
 well as any facts are proven in other sciences." 
 
 Alfred R. Wallace. 
 
 "It will be hereafter proved that the human 
 soul, even in this life, is in constant communica- 
 tion with the spirit world, and that these are sus- 
 ceptible of mutual impressions; but ordinarily 
 these impressions are unperceived." 
 
 Immanuel Kant. 
 
 "There are times when the unknown reveals it- 
 self to the spirit of men in visions. Such visions 
 have occasionally the power to effect a transfigura- 
 tion, converting a poor camel-driver into a Ma- 
 homet ; a peasant girl tending her goats into a Joan 
 
 [19] 
 
of Arc. * * * Those that depart still remain 
 near us — they are in a world of light but they as 
 tender witnesses hover about our world of dark- 
 ness. Though invisible to some, they are not ab- 
 sent. Sweet is their presence, holy is their con- 
 verse with us." — From "Toilers of the Sea/' by 
 Victor Hugo. 
 
 "So many proven facts have been first discov- 
 ered by occult science, that some day we shall 
 have professors of occult science, as we already 
 have professors of chemistry and astronomy." 
 
 Honore De Balzac. 
 
 "Do not sneer at the humble beginnings, the 
 heaving table or the flying tambourine, however 
 such phenomena may have been abused or simu- 
 lated, but remember that a falling apple taught us 
 gravity, a boiling kettle brought us the steam en- 
 gine, and a twitching leg of a frog opened up the 
 train of thought and experiment which gave us 
 electricity. So the lowly manifestations of Hydes- 
 ville have ripened into results which have engaged 
 the finest group of intellects in this country dur- 
 ing the last twenty years, and which are destined, 
 in my opinion to bring about far the greatest de- 
 velopment of human experience which the world 
 has ever seen." 
 
 A. Conan Doyle. 
 
 [20] 
 
THE MISSION OF SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 Spiritualism, with its divine revela- 
 tions, is growing more into the limelight 
 of the world's interest; its consoling reli- 
 gion, enlightening philosophy and con- 
 vincing phenomena are reaching all peo- 
 ple in various parts of the world and 
 bringing them into a closer atonement 
 with God. Spiritualism has entered the 
 realms of religion, science, art and the 
 most acceptable literature of the day. The 
 great minds, leading thinkers, have been 
 touched, aroused and convinced of the 
 sublime reality of its teachings. No doubt 
 one of the main reasons for the great prog- 
 ress of spiritualism is that the vital ques- 
 tion "If a man die shall he live again?" is 
 more fully and satisfactorily answered 
 with evidence which must convince every 
 honest investigator. Another fact which 
 impresses the mind of the liberal thinker, 
 who investigates spiritualism, is its great 
 scope, its broadness, it has no set limits, 
 but is as limitless in its expression of wis- 
 dom as truth is infinite. Here at last is a 
 
 [21] 
 
religion which embodies the essence of 
 science and philosophy, wherein there is 
 room for the growth and development of 
 every man no matter what his religion 
 may be for in it he may find all the vital 
 facts of his faith and more besides. 
 
 Spiritualism is as old as man, it holds 
 within its splendid philosophy and inspir- 
 ing religious teachings all that has been 
 and the essence of all that will be. Take 
 the sacred books of all nations, the Gospel 
 of Buddha, the Koran of Mohamet, the 
 legends of the Talmud, etc., and with them 
 place the old and new testament ; here you 
 have combined the spiritual history, the 
 religious revelations of the early ages of 
 man. Spiritualism is the vital flame of 
 truth in every one of these books giving 
 light and life to their pages; its great fea- 
 ture is to bring man in communion with 
 the so-called dead, and this has been the 
 source, the inspiration, from which every 
 religion has been born. As Moses and 
 Mohamet went up on the mountain to 
 talk with the spirit and Buddha listened to 
 its voice within the walls of his palace, so 
 
 [22] 
 
the great founders of religious systems re- 
 ceived their knowledge through spirit re- 
 turn from the ancient up to the present 
 day. 
 
 Ancient Spiritualism is as old as man, 
 but spiritualism in its more modern ex- 
 pression is only seventy years old. It had 
 its humble beginning in the year eighteen 
 forty eight, when in a small cottage in 
 Hidesville, N. Y., where a family lived by 
 the name of Fox, rappings and other 
 strange noises were heard. John D. Fox 
 and wife and two daughters investigated 
 these manifestations and finally on the 
 night of March thirty-first intelligent re- 
 sponses were gained by means of raps. 
 In the last seventy years these little raps 
 have echoed and re-echoed around the en- 
 tire world, arousing such interest that so- 
 cieties have been formed, churches and 
 temples erected, children's lyceums insti- 
 tuted, while thousands of books have been 
 published. The National Spiritualists' 
 Association, with state associations, with 
 affiliated local societies in every state in 
 the union has been founded. All this 
 
 [23] 
 
wonderful work in seventy years! What 
 a great future lies before this truth, whose 
 destiny is to become the universal reli- 
 gion. 
 
 The first great mission of Spiritualism 
 is to reveal truth. Truth is one, it never 
 contradicts itself. One truth cannot con- 
 tradict another, but error can contradict 
 itself so that there may be many errors, 
 each at variance with the rest. Truth is 
 therefore of necessity an element of har- 
 mony, error is necessarily an element of 
 discord. In educating man, Spiritualism 
 is thereby overcoming the greatest of all 
 evils — ignorance. We hear much of the 
 power of knowledge but of the frightful 
 and terrible effects of ignorance little. 
 That which liberates man from ignorance 
 conveys unto him life's greatest blessing 
 — freedom crowned with knowledge. Its 
 purpose is then to educate man into the 
 laws governing life in its expression here 
 in matter and also when dissolved into its 
 own natural element in the spirit world. 
 
 Its great work is to establish commu- 
 nion between the two worlds. To lift the 
 
 [24] 
 
veil between the world of flesh and the 
 plane of spirit. In bringing man into per- 
 sonal touch with the immortals on the 
 other side it conveys to him all the pow- 
 ers and the wisdom of their experiences, 
 which, as a guide to his life here today, 
 will indeed be a light on his path to aid 
 his footsteps up the ascent of life. A man 
 who holds communion with the spirit 
 world is going to be happier, stronger and 
 a more useful member of society for so 
 doing. Its effects are certain to be con- 
 structive to him physically, mentally and 
 spiritually. 
 
 The purpose of Spiritualism is not only 
 to preach the truth that man shall never 
 die, but prove it to the world as a fact by 
 opening up the way broader and clearer 
 through which the spirits of the so-called 
 dead can communicate with those in the 
 flesh. Spiritualism, with its splendid 
 phenomena, has annihilated the darkness 
 that surrounds the tomb, removed indeed 
 the sting from death and revealed, in all 
 its beauty, its divine splendor, the life 
 after death. It shows the beloved dead 
 
 [25] 
 
alive, with a life radiant, in which the 
 shadows of earth play no part, but peace, 
 joy and love abound. 
 
 The evidence upon which the creeds of 
 theology base their teachings, are reve- 
 lations which occurred two thousand 
 years ago and have never been repeated 
 since that time. The mighty truths of 
 spiritualism do not rest alone upon the 
 revelations of the far distant past, but up- 
 on what is of much more vital importance 
 — the ever living present. Angels are de- 
 scending to commune with man in great- 
 er numbers and in a more satisfactory 
 manner today than they did two thousand 
 years ago and man is awakening to their 
 presence being thrilled by their touch and 
 inspired by the eminations of their wis- 
 dom. There is being brought about a 
 great resurrection of the spirit within man 
 and with its expression comes into being 
 spiritual gifts which enable man to see, 
 hear, feel and respond to the higher 
 things of the spirit. The time of miracles 
 has never passed; in fact there is now 
 dawning a period in which greater revela- 
 
 [26] 
 
tions of the spirit will be revealed to man 
 than ever before in the world's history. 
 The spirits of the immortal dead are here 
 knocking at the heart of every man; 
 they bring gifts, treasures beyond price to 
 those who will open the door and bid 
 them enter. It is the mission of spiritual- 
 ism to awaken man to their presence and 
 assist him to get into communication with 
 them. What could be greater, grander or 
 more inspiring than this — to know the be- 
 loved dead live, to see them face to face, 
 to hear once again their dear familiar 
 voices, to feel the soft pressure of their 
 arms, in other words to know there is no 
 death, but life everlasting and eternal. 
 
 Spiritualism recognizes man as a think- 
 ing being with the God-given right of 
 thinking for himself. It does not take 
 man as a child to be given a bad dose of 
 medicine holding his nose while it forces 
 down his throat a bitter dose — that is 
 practically what theology has done and is 
 doing — and then if he rebels they threaten 
 him with hell-fire. God gave you a mind 
 to use and your main business is to use it 
 
 [27] 
 
in solving all the problems of your exist- 
 ence. Man was made to think for himself, 
 there is no liberty, no manhood, no educa- 
 tion, no mental or spiritual unfoldment 
 unless one thinks for himself. All the great 
 saviors, liberators and benefactors the 
 world has ever known were free-thinkers. 
 They were men who were not affected or 
 psychologized by the narrow religious 
 systems of their time. Spiritualism aims 
 to help man use his mind, think for him- 
 self. It encourages the use of his reason 
 and every faculty of his being to investi- 
 gate, to test and decide the values of the 
 truths it offers him. The result must ever 
 be favorable to spiritualism as well as a 
 great advantage to the investigator. 
 
 A questioning mind is a healthy mind; 
 the one that takes everything for granted 
 is not alive; the mind that wants to know, 
 desires truth, asks questions, craves 
 knowledge is exercising its divine right. 
 Spiritualism is the religion for the think- 
 ing man, it encourages free-thinking, it as- 
 sists man to break down the bars of igno- 
 rance and open wide the windows of his 
 
 [28] 
 
soul to truth's mighty light, to come out 
 of the prison house of superstition and 
 fear into that liberty which crowns knowl- 
 edge. As light is the enemy of darkness, 
 so truth destroys error and in the teach- 
 ings of spiritualism the white, searching 
 light of truth annihilates ignorance, dis- 
 solves superstition and reveals life here 
 and hereafter as it really is. 
 
 Those who condemn it are not free; 
 they are either enslaved by the prejudice 
 of some narrow religious opinion or are 
 influenced by some private motive of pol- 
 icy which pays them to work against it. 
 Those who talk against and condemn it 
 the most are the ones who know the least 
 about it, as all honest and sincere investi- 
 gators who have really given time and 
 thought to it have become convinced of 
 the reality and sublime value of its truths. 
 
 Spiritualism depends for the evidence 
 of its phenomena upon mediums, those 
 who have developed spiritual powers, that 
 enable them to be the means of commu- 
 nion between the living and the so-called 
 dead. The great majority of these me- 
 
 [29] 
 
diums before the public are entirely hon- 
 est but unfortunately there are a few un- 
 principled persons who use it as a cloak 
 to hide their own selfish ends, and it is 
 to these few, masquerading under so 
 sacred a guise, that much criticism against 
 Spiritualism can be traced. Why should 
 a cause be denounced because one finds 
 some of its representatives are dishonest? 
 Does one denounce wholesale the science 
 of medicine because one finds a quack 
 doctor? Does one condemn the profession 
 of law because of an unfortunate experi- 
 ence with a dishonest lawyer? Would it 
 be fair to denounce all clergery as dishon- 
 est and immoral because one steals the 
 church money and runs away with the 
 organist's wife? Certainly not! Why 
 then should the sacred cause of Spiritual- 
 ism be denounced because in a rare in- 
 stance a medium is found to be dishonest 
 or immoral? Spiritualism owes much to 
 its faithful mediums for it is by their 
 work, their sacrifice that its truths have 
 been proven to millions ; they are the ones 
 who have bridged the space between the 
 
 [30] 
 
two worlds, brought courage to the weak 
 and sorrowing with messages from the 
 spirit world. 
 
 We find, in studying the revelations in 
 Spiritualism, that it holds the fundamen- 
 tal truths which are the life of various re- 
 ligious systems. It teaches, as do the ori- 
 ental religions, the evolution of the soul 
 of man through various incarnations in 
 the flesh until he is done with earth and 
 ready and willing to mount to the heights 
 of the spirit world, which the orientals 
 call Nirvana. 
 
 It recognizes Jesus as one of the world's 
 saviors, a great soul alive with God, 
 whose divine message to man was one of 
 the greatest ever given. It seeks to bring 
 His word, His message to man to show 
 that it is the truth that He taught that can 
 save, not His death on the cross. No 
 blood can atone or wash man clean of sin ; 
 the only thing that can save is truth. As 
 Jesus said, "The truth shall make you 
 free." He brought into the world, as 
 many other souls have, the principles of 
 great truths and it is these very principles 
 
 [31] 
 
that Spiritualism aims to instill into the 
 heart of every man. So Spiritualism is 
 working, not against Christ, but with 
 Him. He said He would send the com- 
 forter. Spiritualism is indeed this com- 
 forter, which brings man nearer to the di- 
 vine spirit of Jesus, in realizing the full 
 value of His teachings and His life. Too 
 much stress has been laid on the import- 
 ance of His death and too little concerning 
 His message to man. Spiritualism, in its 
 mission embraces the value of Jesus' mes- 
 sage, but puts His death as a feature of 
 His life, which has no bearing upon the 
 salvation of man. 
 
 Spiritulaism recognizes the healing 
 power and teaches its followers how to use 
 it. It helps man to see that the same 
 force which assisted Jesus in His wonder- 
 ful cures is in the world today and man 
 can bring himself in tune with it and ap- 
 propriate for his own use and to bless 
 others with. 
 
 It not only recognizes the power to heal 
 but all other spiritual gifts it teaches the 
 full value of. The power of vision and 
 
 [32] 
 
the value of dreams, the ability to com- 
 mune with spirits and thereby be brought 
 in closer atonement with God. 
 
 Immortality, re-embodiment, evolution, 
 teachings of Jesus, of Buddha and all the 
 other great masters, healing and the use 
 of all spiritual powers and privileges — 
 these are the main principles of the ad- 
 vanced teachings of modern spiritualism, 
 the universal religion, which is destined to 
 become the guide and savior of all human- 
 ity. 
 
 Here is a religion with which science 
 can go arm in arm. Every move forward 
 of science, every new discovery, has but 
 helped the progress of Spiritualism. 
 Science, with her great torch of knowl- 
 edge held aloft, is the enemy to every er- 
 ror and superstition. The creeds and 
 dogmas fear science more than they do 
 the devil, as the devil is their main instru- 
 ment for converting souls, while science is 
 a force whose mighty powers prove the 
 errors of their creed. Spiritualism wel- 
 comes science, sees in her a friend whose 
 revelations but prove as an established 
 
 [33] 
 
fact its teachings ; and this is why the lead- 
 ing scientists are Spiritualists. They have 
 found a religion at last which is founded 
 upon scientific principles, which is har- 
 moniously related to all laws which gov- 
 ern the universe. 
 
 The world is soul hungry, it has cried 
 for bread and the church has given it a 
 stone, it has sought truth and received er- 
 ror; so it is now turning away from the 
 church and receiving the bread of life, 
 true sustenance in spiritualist meetings. 
 All over the world people are gathering 
 together and in a few hours receiving 
 more enlightenment, more consolation 
 than they did in their cold and narrow 
 creeds for years. The only thing of value 
 the creeds have to offer you is the love 
 and teachings of Jesus and they come to 
 you more direct and unadulterated and in 
 a purer form through the teachings of 
 spiritualism. 
 
 The mission of Spiritualism is to edu- 
 cate man, to free him from the limitations 
 of ignorance. The work of the creeds 
 and dogmas has ever been to keep man in 
 
 [34] 
 
ignorance concerning the vital laws of na- 
 ture and of God. Look into the history 
 of the church and see what a barrier it 
 has ever been to knowledge and to truth. 
 It has stood in the way of every discovery, 
 every invention; it has done all in its 
 power to prevent the free growth and de- 
 velopment of intellect. It has made it a 
 sin to think and has dishonored, persecut- 
 ed and punished the representatives of di- 
 vine knowledge and truth who not only 
 were brave enough to think for them- 
 selves, but dared to utter what they knew 
 to be true. The history of the church is 
 a bloody one, like unto the bloody creed 
 it teaches. No wonder under the sway of 
 such a religion the world has been kept 
 in warfare. With them blood is the vital 
 thing, in comparison to which truth, 
 knowledge, wisdom, love, sympathy and 
 brotherhood all sink into oblivion. For- 
 tunately the church is gradually losing its 
 power, its structure reared on the drifting 
 sands of error must pass away but with its 
 passing nothing of real value will be lost 
 for the divine truths gleaming beneath all 
 
 [35] 
 
the debris of ignorance and superstitution 
 will be brought into full expression. 
 
 The pure ethical teachings of Christian- 
 ity will stand forever ; every wise maxim, 
 every just law, every great and splendid 
 thought will remain and the rest will be 
 discarded to the trash-heap of ignorance 
 and superstition. All the splendor, all the 
 grandeur of the divine truth taught by 
 Jesus and His disciples will remain. The 
 spirit of Jesus is alive in the world today 
 and He is speaking to man. His message 
 is echoing and re-echoing throughout the 
 corridors of the infinite and those who 
 have developed spiritual powers can feel 
 and respond to His divine presence. 
 
 Another great fact which puts Spirit- 
 ualism as the foremost religion in the 
 world today is its attitude to woman, it is 
 her friend, it recognizes her true worth, 
 her wonderful possibilities and it offers 
 her its great powers and forces to gain 
 that place in the world which rightfully 
 belongs to her. It seeks to free her from 
 all that limits and binds and bring her into 
 that state of liberty which is the greatest 
 
 [36] 
 
blessing of life. Much that has held wo- 
 man in bondage can be traced to the nar- 
 row false teachings of the church, which 
 is based upon a theology which lays the 
 blame of the fall of man upon a woman, 
 bringing out the point that the devil could 
 influence her a great deal easier than he 
 could the man; also revealing woman as 
 merely a rudimentary part of man being 
 made from a rib taken from his body. 
 Statement after statement is made right 
 through the teachings of theology which 
 recognize woman as only a slave to man 
 with little or no intelligence whose main 
 and only business in life is to do what 
 man tells her to. The motto of theology 
 to woman is "Obey man." 
 
 Woman has awakened in the last thirty 
 years, she has roused herself and is now 
 throwing off the yoke of bondage and 
 claiming the liberty which rightfully be- 
 longs to her. Spiritualism has done more 
 than any other religion to give woman her 
 rights. It has taught the equal rights of 
 man and woman, it has encouraged wo- 
 man to develop and unfold herself spirit- 
 
 [37] 
 
ually and intellectually that she might 
 take her place in the world beside man, 
 not as his slave, his chattel but as his right- 
 hand partner. Spiritualism has recogniz- 
 ed woman to the extent of ordaining her 
 to fill the public rostrum as an exponent 
 of its truths. Some of the ablest lecturers 
 and mediums before the public in the 
 cause of Spiritualism are women whose 
 work has not only been a credit to them- 
 selves but also to the cause. 
 
 Here we have a religion broad and fair 
 enough to give woman equal rights with 
 man; whose works and teachings strive 
 for the true liberty of every human being, 
 to break the chains forged by ignorance 
 and superstition and give that knowledge 
 and power which is only born of freedom. 
 Here is a religion which not only recog- 
 nizes the father-hood and mother-hood of 
 God, the brother-hood of man, but also the 
 sublime fact that no soul can be lost or de- 
 stroyed but that every human being can 
 ultimately enjoy the blessings of the 
 heavenly life. In such a religion there is 
 no room for hate, for cruelty or jeal- 
 
 [38] 
 
ousy, no room for hell-fire, destruction, 
 but as the rising sun puts to flight all the 
 shadows of night, so the evils of the world, 
 the lies, the superstitions must depart and 
 their place forever filled with the glory of 
 Truth, the inspiration of Love, the Ra- 
 diance of Knowledge, and the majesty of 
 Power. 
 
 [39] 
 
INFLUENCES AFFECTING THE LIFE 
 
 OF MAN. 
 
 Man might be likened unto a ship at 
 sea bound for a certain port. The time 
 of her safe arrival depends upon certain 
 conditions. These conditions may hasten, 
 prevent or delay her arrival. So man, on 
 the great sea of life, is affected greatly by 
 conditions and influences whose powers 
 are helpful or hurtful to his career. These 
 influences are numberless, but they spring 
 from great central causes which are the 
 law of Karma, physical Heredity, Spirit 
 Influences, Astrological Conditions and 
 the influence of environment. These 
 great powers influence and control his life 
 to a great degree, they affect his failure, 
 his success, his sorrows, his joys, his 
 health, his disease, his birth and his death. 
 Therefore a knowledge of these forces 
 gives man the power of accepting the 
 good which can come from them and re- 
 jecting the bad. The saying that ''Knowl- 
 edge is power" is the greatest of all truths, 
 for it casteth out fear and it is fear which 
 binds man. Knowledge makes him free. 
 
 [40] 
 
In making him free, gives him the oppor- 
 tunity to work out his destiny. In the 
 beginning man's religion was a religion of 
 fear. He feared all things, because he did 
 not understand the universe or its mani- 
 festations, so he worshipped the gods in 
 fear, and even today in our modern Chris- 
 tianity man worships God in a love which 
 is mingled with fear. We want no fear in 
 the highest religion, because as long as 
 there is any fear lurking within the con- 
 sciousness of man his life is greatly limit- 
 ed in its expression. So knowledge, di- 
 vine wisdom, has grown in the mind of 
 man in the passing years, like a loving 
 hand drawing the curtain which man's ig- 
 norance has hung between God and him- 
 self that the divine light of truth may 
 shine upon him, clothing him with immor- 
 tal power, and revealing to him that God 
 is love, and as he allows the love within 
 his own being to manifest itself in pure 
 thoughts and good deeds he will become 
 God-like not only in love but in power, 
 in Wisdom, and in Truth. 
 
 Accepting the statement that man is an 
 immortal soul, the great power which in- 
 
fluences his life more than any other is 
 the law of Karma. The word Karma is 
 an oriental name for the law we recognize 
 as cause and effect. In our everyday life 
 all of our experiences teach us to act ac- 
 cording to our estimate of the conse- 
 quences to follow, so that we work or rest, 
 indulge ourselves, or make sacrifices, 
 scheme and plan, eat and drink, for the 
 most part with regard to the effect those 
 activities will have upon our life as a 
 whole. It is from the Orient we receive 
 the teachings of Karma, which was at one 
 time the centre of civilization and of 
 knowledge. The thoughts which are ob- 
 tained from the sacred books of the east 
 are, when freed from the fables which 
 have veiled them, of the highest. The 
 earnest seeker after truth is willing to ac- 
 cept from any quarter and any source, 
 knowledge, he is like a thirsty man who 
 will drink as eagerly from a tin cup as 
 from a crystal glass. So the truth seeker 
 never allows preconceived ideas or preju- 
 dices to interfere with him in receiving 
 new knowledge. This has led the people 
 
 [42] 
 
of the Western world to study the oriental 
 teachings of the East and their doctrine of 
 Karma has become universally known. 
 This same law is clearly expressed in the 
 Christian Bible where it is written: 
 "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
 also reap." In spite of this fact many of 
 the Christians seek to find an escape for 
 the sinner by which the reaction of his 
 wrong doings will not affect him. 
 
 To realize fully the law and the power 
 of Karma we must accept the truth of re- 
 embodiment, that is we must believe that 
 man lived, previous to his present life, in 
 the body, in the world of spirit and before 
 that he had lived in the body, perhaps 
 many times. 
 
 Man comes to earth with a threefold 
 personal Karma. There is first his whole 
 mass of unpaid debts accumulated from 
 the experiences of past lives, and which so 
 far he has not been able to work off. Sec- 
 ond there is the destiny of his present life 
 upon which he is entering, and third, there 
 is the new Karma which he is going to 
 make. 
 
 [43] 
 
The truth of re-embodiment renders 
 justice to God and power to man. It re- 
 veals the great fact that all human beings 
 are on their way to ultimate perfection, 
 that the blessings of the higher life shall 
 be enjoyed by all. In this great doctrine 
 there are none eternally damned or lost, 
 but all have a chance to redeem them- 
 selves through good works. 
 
 We are continually making new Kar- 
 ma, or in other words we are creating 
 causes which will inevitably be followed 
 by corresponding effects. Pain follows 
 our mistakes, strength is developed by 
 struggle, w;e reap after every sowing the 
 natural result. Happiness grows out of 
 right, sorrow out of wrong. So in every 
 case the individual's past explains the in- 
 dividual's present, and when the law of 
 growth is known and obeyed, man can 
 build for himself a sublime destiny. 
 Genius is but the result of tireless effort 
 which has been continued for many lives. 
 Socrates said "The soul which has seen 
 most of truth shall come to the next birth 
 
 [44] 
 
as a philosopher or artist, or some musi- 
 cal and loving nature." 
 
 The advantage gained by knowledge of 
 this law is that we cease to blame God 
 for our mistakes, but recognize our life 
 is what we have made it. The fault lies 
 within ourselves. Even if there are some 
 who, for no other reason, than that they 
 dislike the idea of re-embodiment, and 
 therefore will not believe in it, if they will 
 at least recognize the law of cause and 
 effect, which is working constantly in 
 their lives, they will be greatly benefited 
 by it. Whether we personally believe or 
 not in this great law, it governs our lives 
 just the same, but if we will believe in it 
 and work with it we can make of it a kind 
 friend instead of a seeming enemy. 
 
 There are many who believe in Fate in 
 the sense of predestination, that is that 
 everything has been ordained from the be- 
 ginning of the world and all that man can 
 do is to bow to the inevitable. This idea 
 has come down from ancient times and is 
 clearly expressed in the following lines 
 from the Rubayat. 
 
 [45] 
 
"Tis all a checker board of nights and 
 
 days, 
 Where destiny with men for pieces play — 
 Hither and thither moves and mates and 
 
 slays, 
 And one by one back in the closet lays." 
 
 Such a belief takes away all freedom from 
 an individual and makes him but an in- 
 strument in the hands of some cruel 
 power. It is a superstition and like all 
 other superstitions is founded upon a 
 truth, but the truth is distorted to the ex- 
 tent that it is misleading instead of help- 
 ful. It is really a farstretched and igno- 
 rant expression of the law of Karma 
 which is every man's fate, but is every 
 time of his own making. Destiny and 
 Fate are not the same though they are 
 grieviously confounded. The wise men 
 of the East, the great Astrologers, taught 
 Destiny but not Fate, that is, they taught 
 that every human being had a path work- 
 ed out for him but that which we call 
 fortune or misfortune were largely under 
 our own control. We must always look 
 
 [46] 
 
upon Fate as something we can alter, 
 change, as it is but the result of our own 
 actions and in changing our actions we 
 alter our Fate. Destiny is a far greater 
 word than Fate : Fate pertains to our pres- 
 ent condition. Destiny is our ultimate 
 goal, the great centre toward which we are 
 evolving. The ultimate destiny of man- 
 kind is a glorious one, but as to when and 
 how and where he will realize this divine 
 state is a matter which depends solely 
 upon himself. This is illustrated in the 
 following quotation: "Allow the thought 
 and it leads to a choice, accept the choice 
 and it leads to an act, continue the act and 
 it forms a habit, follow the habit and it 
 creates the character, continue the charac- 
 ter and it forms the destiny." Destiny is 
 indeed the result of character and life is 
 the gymnasium for the development of it. 
 Heredity is another factor which in- 
 fluences the life of man. The power of 
 which has been exaggerated beyond all 
 credence by some. Natural inheritance is 
 no doubt a fact but to assume that man 
 is powerless to overcome the effects of un- 
 
 [47] 
 
desirable heredity is false. It is good to 
 realize that we may inherit desirable quali- 
 ties, as well as undesirable ones, and it 
 lies within our power to utilize the good 
 and weed out the bad. Inherited tenden- 
 cies to drunkenness, to stealing, and all 
 other repulsive perversions of appetite 
 must be overcome by mental culture. How 
 sad it is when we realize how many peo- 
 ple make themselves miserable, worrying 
 for fear they will develop some dreadful 
 disease because their parents or grand- 
 parents happen to die with it. Surely, if 
 by nothing else, their fear alone is 
 laying them open to the monster they 
 most dread. Whereas a knowledge of 
 selfhood, an understanding of the power 
 of the Spirit and they could cast their fear 
 to the winds. 
 
 Astrology is a science of the stars and 
 is one of the oldest beliefs prevailing in 
 very early times among the Egyptians, 
 Hindoos and Chinese. Observing the in- 
 fluence of the Heavenly bodies and espe- 
 cially the Sun in ruling the seasons, and 
 determining the crops, man came natural- 
 
 [ 48] 
 
\y to suppose that the planets also influ- 
 enced his life. In Christianity we see an 
 expression of the relation between the 
 stars and man in that beautiful story of 
 the wise men journeying to Jesus' cradle, 
 guided by the star in the East. 
 
 For great solitary minds Astrology has 
 ever had an attraction. Napoleon often 
 spoke of the star of his destiny. We must 
 not allow ourselves if we take up the study 
 of Astrology to go to the extreme limit 
 of believing the stars have absolute con- 
 trol over our lives, that would indeed be 
 superstition; but that they have an influ- 
 ence either favorable or unfavorable is in- 
 deed true. The time honored affirmation, 
 "The wise man rules his stars, the foolish 
 man obeys them;" is indeed an expression 
 of wisdom. For man can if he will but 
 assert his will power, rise above every 
 limitation and can overcome every obsta- 
 cle, no matter from what source they may 
 arise. 
 
 There is however a vital thing in our 
 lives, which is not distant like some planet 
 moving in space, but close, surrounding 
 
 [49] 
 
us on every side, and the most partial of 
 men cannot help but recognize and re- 
 spect its powers. This surrounding con- 
 dition, which every one has to contend 
 with, is environment. 
 
 As the fountain rises and falls in the 
 air, and is affected in its expression by the 
 wind, which makes up its environment, 
 so the life of man is controlled and affect- 
 ed by the environment in which he lives. 
 The power however which environment 
 has upon man depends upon himself in 
 how much he will allow surrounding con- 
 ditions to influence him. Some go so far 
 as to say that environment makes the 
 man — if this was so Lincoln would have 
 been a wood chopper, Columbus a wea- 
 ver, Ben Johnson a bricklayer all their 
 lives, but instead of letting environment 
 shape their lives, they rose superior to it 
 and controlled it, then by transforming it 
 until it corresponded with their highest 
 desires and aims. 
 
 It is a fact that environment will con- 
 trol and limit all who will allow them- 
 selves to be guided and controlled by it. 
 
 [50] 
 
And it is likewise true that it is sometimes 
 impossible to work sudden great changes 
 in one's surroundings, but as the winter 
 slowly gives way to the warmth and 
 beauty of spring, which gradually trans- 
 forms the cold barren earth into a scene of 
 beauty — so man, if he will use the divine 
 power within him, can bring back the 
 spring time of youth and joy over the 
 winter of age and sorrow. 
 
 It is from the world of spirit man re- 
 ceives his greatest inspiration and assist- 
 ance, which if he will but respond to, can 
 guide and help him up the steps of life far 
 above the low lands of sorrow and de- 
 spair, up to the mountain peaks of spirit- 
 ual attainment and power. 
 
 As to what kind of spirit a man may 
 draw around him depends upon his own 
 desires and inclinations. If his desires are 
 low he will naturally attract spirits from 
 the lower spheres, but if he seeks the high- 
 est, the best and noblest spiritual influ- 
 ences will be drawn to him. 
 
 Laugh at Karma, at Environment, at 
 Heredity, at Astrology, snap your fingers 
 
 [51] 
 
in the face of evil spirits, know all these 
 things for what they are, emanations from 
 your own being, and stand fearless and 
 strike from the shoulder, once, twice, 
 thrice, times innumerable till your strokes 
 lay low the monsters that have broken 
 their teeth on your unyielding shoulders. 
 This is a glimpse of life as life should be, 
 here life is self-determined, here no hand 
 but yours guides, no brain but yours 
 thinks, no strength but yours works, no 
 soul but yours proclaims your sublime 
 destiny, and the whole vast universe waits 
 to aid you, all the resources of nature and 
 of God are yours to command, to use for 
 the development of your own immortal 
 spirit and for the upliftment of your fel- 
 low man. 
 
 [52} 
 
LIFE AFTER DEATH. 
 
 Amid all the uncertainties of this 
 life there is one thing that is a certainty. 
 Many may be successful in their life's 
 work, many may reach the heights of 
 their ambitions, or on the other hand 
 many may fail in their endeavor, but all 
 this success or failure, poverty or riches, 
 is a matter of uncertainty, depending upon 
 external and internal conditions. This 
 change comes to all, the rich and the poor 
 alike, the famous and the unknown, the 
 good and the bad, all, sooner or later must 
 meet it, and this great certainty, which 
 can be put off but never escaped, is death. 
 
 It is unfortunate that this death, which 
 is really a change from one state of being 
 into another, a birth, as it were, into an- 
 other world, should be pictured under 
 such aspects of horror as it is. Death in 
 the minds of many is associated with such 
 horrible symbols as skull and cross-bones, 
 a skeleton with scythe and hour glass, or 
 it appears to be some great, dark chasm 
 on the very edge of which man walks and 
 
 [53] 
 
at any moment is apt to be pushed into 
 its unfathomable depths. 
 
 How different man's outlook upon 
 death is when he views it from a stand- 
 point of spiritual truth; then instead of 
 being something horrible, something to 
 fear, it becomes a normal and natural 
 change, a part of life's evolution and 
 as necessary a factor in the existence 
 of man as birth. For it means to 
 him, when it comes, freedom, a greater 
 liberty to realize his ideal, to continue his 
 work and to develop more fully the pos- 
 sibilities of his nature. It leads him out 
 into that larger invisible world which sur- 
 rounds this planet, it opens up unto him 
 the life after death. A life which man has 
 pondered on in all ages, and which his re- 
 ligions have outlined for him in varying 
 hues. 
 
 Although the world's religions differ 
 widely on many subjects, on at least one 
 they all agree and that is the immortality 
 of the soul. That the soul of man is im- 
 mortal is the most vital and important 
 principle in all religions, for in every age, 
 
 [«1 
 
and among all people, great souls have 
 proclaimed with one voice that although 
 the body, an outer shell, perishes, yet the 
 soul endures forever. But as to where 
 the soul goes after death, it's condition 
 and environment in that great beyond is 
 a subject upon which the various religions 
 differ widely. 
 
 We find in studying the Koran as given 
 by Mahomet and followed by millions of 
 human lives today as their guide that the 
 future life is made up of a heaven and 
 hell, the hell being a place of torment by 
 fire, and the heaven a sort of harem filled 
 with beautiful girls and embowered with 
 flowers whose perfume never palls and 
 whose beauty never fades. In picturing 
 this after life the Arabian prophet dwelled 
 upon the groves, the fountains, the pearls 
 and diamonds, the robes of silk and 
 palaces of marble. 
 
 In the Gospel of Buddha, the Enlight- 
 ened One, we find that the life after deafli 
 is a spiritual state which comes in between 
 man's earth lives and in which each soul 
 reaps the result of its past life and pre- 
 
 [55] 
 
pares to enter again on the earth plane 
 and thereby, by many lives lived here on 
 earth, the soul finally gains all the knowl- 
 edge necessary, becomes perfected and 
 rises unto Nirvana. 
 
 From the standpoint of theology the 
 future life consists of two states of being, 
 heaven and hell. In the Christian world 
 they believe that Angels were created 
 from the beginning and of them was form- 
 ed heaven and then the Devil, or Satan, 
 was an Angel of light, but becoming re- 
 bellious he was cast down with his crew 
 and of them was founded hell. This hell 
 is a place of fire in which the sinner must 
 suffer eternally without hope of ever be- 
 ing saved from the torture. Some people 
 think that the church does not teach hell 
 and eternal damnation any longer. Per- 
 haps some churches do not, but many of 
 them do. In Washington, D. C, only last 
 winter the editor of one of the leading pa- 
 pers published an article headed, "What 
 will happen to the sinner after death?" in 
 which he interviewed the ministers of the 
 different denominations to get their 
 
 [56] 
 
opinion. This is what the Catholic Priest 
 said, "The truth of the doctrine of hell is 
 certainly most appalling. It is a truth, 
 however, as certain as the existence of 
 God/' 
 
 The Baptist minister said, "To say that 
 everlasting punishment does not mean 
 punishment without end is but to state the 
 personal opinion of some men not to 
 make a statement of divine scripture." 
 
 The Presbyterian minister states, "The 
 doctrine of endless punishment, of the 
 final impenitent is an awful truth." It 
 would be a waste of space to quote more, 
 but this reveals that hell, that dreadful 
 place of eternal fire is believed in and 
 taught in some of the churches today. 
 To think that now, in this so-called en- 
 lightened age, there are those who believe 
 in a hell such as Spurgeon so clearly de- 
 scribes here: "There is a real fire in hell 
 as truly as you now have a real body, a 
 fire exactly like that which we have on 
 earth in everything except this that it will 
 not consume though it will torture you. 
 You have seen the asbestos lying in the 
 
 [57] 
 
fire red hot, but when you take it out it 
 is unconsumed. So your body will be 
 prepared by God in such a way that it 
 will burn forever without being consum- 
 ed." This is the barbaric conception of 
 hell as formulated by the Christians who 
 claim to be the most enlightened people 
 on the face of the globe, and who are so 
 certain that their religion is the only true 
 one that they send missionaries all over 
 the world to teach it to the poor heathens, 
 who have in many instances a religion 
 which transcends in spiritual truth and 
 grandeur that of theology. In fact it would 
 seem that when the so-called Christians 
 created hell they certainly did so in a more 
 horrible manner than any of their pagan 
 friends. 
 
 As the hell of theology is filled with hu- 
 man hate and anguish, its heaven is a 
 rather dull milk and water kind of place. 
 Its golden streets and pearly gates, its 
 harps and robes and crowns, with a back- 
 ground of blue clouds is the substance of 
 it. The only occupation of its bliss-en- 
 tranced inhabitants is to sing hosannas to 
 
 [58] 
 
the accompaniment of harps with the ex- 
 ception of the Christian-like (?) enjoy- 
 ment of being able to look down into hell 
 and witness the souls of the damned be- 
 ing roasted. As one clergyman puts it, 
 "You will then be so purified and perfect- 
 ed that as you gaze on that sea of suffer- 
 ing it will only increase your joy." In- 
 stead of inspiring the blessed inhabitants 
 with a taste for science, conversation and 
 friendship they have created something 
 more like a singing school and called it 
 Heaven. 
 
 It is indeed with a feeling of satisfac- 
 tion one turns to the teachings of Sweden- 
 borg for here is more clearly revealed the 
 future life, and his descriptions are not 
 given from the creations of his own imagi- 
 nations but come to him from the lips of 
 disembodied spirits. In Swedenborg's 
 wonderful book, "Heaven and Hell," he 
 teaches that self love is the cause of all 
 the hell in this world and the next. Self 
 love is to will well to self alone. Heaven- 
 ly love loves all for the sake of all. Love 
 is therefore the creator of both heaven and 
 
 [59] 
 
hell. He also states that "He who wills 
 and loves evil in this world, wills and loves 
 evil in the other life." 
 
 It is not, however, until we study the 
 splendid philosophy of modern Spiritual- 
 ism that we find the greatest of all revela- 
 tions concerning the life after death, and 
 these given in a more rational and satis- 
 factory manner than all previous revela- 
 tions. Until it came as the world's great 
 teacher and comforter death was a king of 
 terrors. It has brought man in communi- 
 cation with the so-called dead and from 
 these interviews revealed the life over 
 there. The great and wise souls on the 
 spirit side of life tell man that the doctrine 
 of a burning hell is false, that there are no 
 realms of physical torment there. The life 
 beyond is a continuation of this earth life 
 only under more wonderful and favorable 
 conditions; and that man, mentally speak- 
 ing, is the same after death as he was be- 
 fore. That the change affects him no 
 more than removing his clothes influences 
 him now. His body is the same body 
 whether it is naked or clothed, his spirit 
 
 [60] 
 
is the same entity out of the body as when 
 it occupied its robe of flesh. As a bird 
 can fly no higher than its wings will carry 
 it, man can, in the spirit world, ascend 
 only so high as his aspirations will lift him, 
 and although it is impossible for a man, 
 by merely willing it, to add wings to his 
 body it is possible for a man, by merely 
 willing it, to add wings to his soul. 
 
 The future life then depends absolutely 
 upon the state of man's mind. Heaven 
 or hell are not objective planes so much 
 as states of consciousness. As the Per- 
 sian poet so clearly gives it: 
 
 "I send my soul through the Invisible, 
 Some letter of that After-life to spell; 
 And by and by my soul return'd to me, 
 And answer'd, 'I myself am Heaven and 
 Hell.' " 
 
 Here is the great vital truth in a nut- 
 shell and it shows man that every soul 
 makes for itself its own heaven or its 
 own hell. The open secret of heaven 
 here or hereafter is pure love, and he who 
 
 [61] 
 
dwells in perfect love is already in hea- 
 ven. As far as punishment for sin is con- 
 cerned Paul knew what he was saying 
 when he uttered, "Whatsoever a man 
 soweth that shall he also reap." Here is 
 the principle upon which the rational hell 
 must be conceived and described. 
 
 These revelations remove the false 
 teachings of how through another great 
 soul's bloody sacrifice man can be redeem- 
 ed from sin and lifted to the highest 
 heaven, no matter how great a sinner he 
 may be. It exposes the folly of believing 
 that the murderer who kisses the crucifix 
 and dies enters paradise, and had he not 
 kissed the crucifix hell would have been 
 his eternal doom. But this higher spirit- 
 ual knowledge teaches that man is the 
 savior of his own soul, the creator of his 
 destiny both here and hereafter, and so 
 the responsibility of his eternal future lies 
 in his own hands and he can be what he 
 wills to be. As in all the infinite worlds 
 beyond he could not lose self, and it is 
 self that is heaven or hell, man must get 
 right within himself, and heaven with all 
 its unlimited possibilities will be revealed 
 unto him. 
 
 [62] 
 
THE HEALING POWER. 
 
 It is good to realize that here around us 
 in the world today people are waking up 
 to the fact that illness is not as they were 
 led in the past to believe, a condition that 
 they must suffer in patience as part of 
 God's will, but a penalty which they bring 
 upon themselves by their ignorance of 
 nature's laws. By their lack of thought 
 in conducting their lives and also by their 
 belief in certain things which are condu- 
 cive to illness instead of being productive 
 of good health. With this awakening, ill- 
 ness becomes something to be more 
 ashamed than proud of, as it reveals igno- 
 rance, lack of knowledge, carelessness on 
 the part of the one who is ill. 
 
 It is strange indeed when we can realize 
 that the central figure around which Chris- 
 tianity is built, Jesus of Nazareth, who 
 demonstrated the healing of the sick all 
 through his administration and who said, 
 "Greater things than I do ye shall also 
 do," that the church built to honor his 
 name and carry on his works, should leave 
 
 [63] 
 
out this great and most important factor. 
 It took Mary Baker Eddy in the nineteenth 
 century to bring to the minds of the 
 Christian world that the works of Jesus 
 could not only be taught, but demon- 
 strated, and to this great truth Christian 
 Science owes it success. The power that 
 will liberate man from disease and free 
 him from suffering is the greatest and 
 most valuable force in the world today. 
 To say that Christian Science has a corner 
 on this great healing power is as ridiculous 
 as to say any particular religious creed 
 has the only divine revelation of truth or 
 the whole of truth. Christian Science 
 simply is demonstrating a force which has 
 been used by all healers of the past and 
 present and which is open and ready to 
 serve all who will but accept it and put it 
 into expression. It is as free as the sun- 
 light and just as plentiful. It is an all 
 abiding energy responding to the will of 
 man, and the very air he breathes abounds 
 with it. Around this great healing power 
 there have been formed various creeds 
 and dogmas built up from the opinions of 
 
 [64] 
 
different people on the subject of healing. 
 So, as the result, we have today Christian 
 Science, Metaphysical Healing, Magnetic 
 Healing, Spiritual Healing, Faith Healing, 
 etc. Each of these bodies, no matter how 
 their views may conflict, are using the 
 same power but applying it in different 
 ways. 
 
 It makes very little difference whether 
 we deny the reality of disease or recog- 
 nize it, as long as we bring a power to bear 
 upon it, which finally overcomes it. One 
 may recognize dirt in their room, but a 
 broom in hand can sweep it out; so to 
 recognize the existence of disease does 
 not necessarily say that it is all powerful. 
 The most scientific view of the question is 
 to recognize disease, but also realize that 
 there is a power greater, and when this 
 mighty force is directed upon it, disease 
 must be overcome and swept into noth- 
 ingness as darkness is annihilated by the 
 presence of light. Our Christian Science 
 friends tell us there is no such thing as dis- 
 ease, it is an unreality and pain is an illu- 
 sion of mortal mind; nevertheless when 
 
 [65] 
 
one is suffering from the toothache, it is 
 about the strongest "illusion" and "un- 
 reality" that can be imagined. It is true 
 indeed that pain and disease are not real- 
 ities in the sense that there is in them no 
 eternal quality. This is a glorious truth, 
 and one to give courage to those who suf- 
 fer, but although their difficulties may not 
 be real in an eternal sense, they are very 
 certain conditions in the present state. 
 And so we might just as well call a spade 
 a spade and recognize disease and suffer- 
 ing in bringing this power to bear upon it, 
 realizing that a certain positive force can 
 eradicate and overcome it. The great and 
 important fact is that this healing force is 
 a universal energy, an infinite reservoir of 
 power from which every man can draw 
 the strength to overcome illness. To say 
 that only a few chosen ones can be heal- 
 ers and disperse this divine energy is as 
 narrow as to say only a few are gifted 
 with the right to teach any art. Scripture 
 says "Many are called but few are 
 chosen." We might add many are called, 
 but few respond to the call. And so with 
 
 [66] 
 
healing, all are called to receive the great 
 blessing, but few respond. 
 
 The vital need in the world today is 
 health, and a religion which rants only of 
 saving souls and gives no thought to sav- 
 ing the physical bodies of men which are 
 the temples of the living souls falls short 
 of the mark in giving to the world divine 
 aid. Reveal to man a force which will 
 make him well and keep him free from 
 disease and you will convert him to a be- 
 lief in God and immortality more quickly 
 than by preaching to him for twenty 
 years. The mind of man is getting more 
 scientific; he wants to see things proven, 
 and this glorious truth of spiritual healing 
 can be demonstrated to his utmost satis- 
 faction. 
 
 Physical disease and suffering are ef- 
 fects proceeding from mental states of un- 
 rest and discord. These mental condi- 
 tions are influenced and affected by ob- 
 jects through the eye, imaginations of the 
 mind or evil atmosphere of others, con- 
 tact with persons or things, ignorance and 
 improper control of the body. These are 
 
 [67] 
 
the usual doorways through which most 
 diseases find entrance to the body. At 
 least two-thirds of the diseases are the 
 product of fear, followed by physical 
 symptoms and inflammation. Worry 
 and anxiety all lead to decay and disease. 
 If man keeps in his mind an image of 
 himself in perfect health, full of strength 
 and action and uses his will to forward 
 every effort toward the attainment of this 
 ideal condition, he will draw to himself 
 from the unseen forces that rule the uni- 
 verse that which he desires. This power 
 will energize and rebuild the body, mak- 
 ing it strong where before it was weak, 
 and bringing health where was previously 
 disease. 
 
 That which man believes about his 
 body tends to become true. It therefore 
 follows that if he keeps on believing him- 
 self to be healthy, handsome, youthful, 
 happy, strong in body and mind and pros- 
 perous, he will become all these. If he 
 keeps on believing himself otherwise that 
 belief will be realized in his case. 
 
 So it is plain to see that Thought is the 
 
 [68] 
 
power behind the throne, and its potent 
 energy is the force which breeds disease 
 or health, failure or success, poverty or 
 wealth. It must be remembered that the 
 thought that is creative is the chronic one, 
 that is the thought that is held persistent- 
 ly for years. Such a thought becomes an 
 absolute power to create and bring into 
 expression its likeness. So man must be 
 careful of his habitual thought, not the 
 one that comes today and is gone tomor- 
 row, but the thought that is a fixture in 
 his life yesterday, today and tomorrow; 
 for that thought carves his destiny, be- 
 comes a part of his character here, and 
 robes his immortal soul in the life to come. 
 There are thoughts which, if allowed to 
 find lodgment in the mind, sap the energy 
 of the body and breed germs that fester 
 into diseases attacking its different organs. 
 Then there are thoughts which blur the 
 consciousness with a darkening fog that 
 shuts out all the glory of light and in the 
 shadowy darkness paints with somber 
 shades, visions of dread, terror and dis- 
 tress, which torture the mind worse than 
 
 [69] 
 
actual experiences, as they can be almost 
 endless. These mental hells that people 
 create and torment themselves in, are built 
 by the thoughts of fear. Kill out fear, 
 and in its place put hope, which leads to 
 belief and knowledge in good, then the 
 arch-fiend is overcome, the cause of mis- 
 ery blotted out. 
 
 There are other thoughts that come 
 with glowing light that vitalize, exhilarate, 
 lifting the consciousness into a state of 
 confidence and power in which the good 
 appears, and where perfection, beauty, 
 health and strength abound. These 
 thoughts are faith, hope, expectancy, con- 
 fidence and belief in the all abiding power 
 of good. 
 
 If man would be well, first he must stop 
 abusing his body, making it work when it 
 is tired, eat when it no longer desires food 
 and forcing it into various kinds of ex- 
 cesses. Or, in other words if man would 
 be well, he must use common sense — 
 which, by the way, is a most uncommon 
 thing — and intelligent judgment in the 
 care of his body. All the powers of hea- 
 
 [70] 
 
ven cannot keep a human being well who 
 carelessly uses his body. If he will give 
 consideration to the thoughts he enter- 
 tains and see that they are strong, con- 
 structive thoughts, he will find that they 
 will serve as wings to his soul, lifting him 
 up into those sublime heights of knowl- 
 edge and power, where he will realize that 
 he is a part of God and has a spiritual 
 power, which, when developed, will sup- 
 ply every need and grant him perfect 
 health. 
 
 It must be remembered that Nature is, 
 herself, a great physician and therefore 
 man must do all in his power to bring 
 about conditions that will assist in her 
 good work. The doctor, with his knife in 
 hand, ever ready to cut man open as a 
 cure-all, is not a physician but a destroyer 
 who fills the graveyards of the country 
 with corpses. The intelligent physician 
 who conscientiously seeks to assist hu- 
 manity, instead of increasing his bank ac- 
 count, by expensive operations, is not 
 studying diseases so much as giving his 
 attention to the study of health and how 
 
 [71] 
 
to preserve it. The power of mind over 
 matter is no longer a theory, but an es- 
 tablished fact, scientifically demonstrated; 
 and yet in spite of this there are physi- 
 cians who, either from ignorance or preju- 
 dice, will not acknowledge it. However, 
 it is good to realize that some of the lead- 
 ing physicians do recognize this great 
 truth and are using methods similar to the 
 mental and spiritual healers with good re- 
 sults. 
 
 The silence plays an important part in 
 attracting the healing power, as it gives 
 the necessary condition to receive freely 
 and respond intelligently to its potent 
 energies. Thereby an hour of silence each 
 day will bring added strength to the body, 
 clearness and vigor to the mind and 
 when continued persistently, brings forth 
 marvelous results. It is in the silence that 
 the unexpected flowers of the immortal 
 spirit unfurl their pure, white petals and 
 reveal to man's enraptured gaze the gold- 
 en heart within. It is also here within the 
 magic circle drawn by the silence that the 
 veil is lifted and the sublime and sacred 
 
 [72 1 
 
truths of life become revealed in all their 
 naked grandeur, undraped by lies and hu- 
 man errors. Truth that will indeed set 
 man free, free from ignorance and disease, 
 the twins that ever go hand in hand, giv- 
 ing him in their stead knowledge and 
 health, the two attendants, who sustain 
 all great and marvelous achievements. 
 
 [73] 
 
MAN THE MAGICIAN. 
 
 In these later days, when the mind of 
 man has put into application so many 
 wonderful inventions, that far excel our 
 expectations of twenty years ago, we are 
 beginning to realize that there are no 
 boundary lines to man's unfoldment, 
 mentally or spiritually. When we think 
 of the steam engine, the steamboat, the 
 power of electricity, that lights our streets, 
 lifts us up in elevators and runs our street 
 cars, the telephone which annihilates dis- 
 tance, and enables us to talk as easily 
 with a person hundreds of miles distant, 
 as if they were in the same room with us 
 and, last of all, the flying machine, soar- 
 ing the air which will, no doubt, in fu- 
 ture years become a popular means of 
 travel, we can easily see how that which 
 is regarded as an impossibility by the 
 world at one time, in a later period be- 
 comes a reality. 
 
 All these wonders have proceeded from 
 the mind of man — not many men but one 
 great thinker and dreamer, here and there, 
 
 [74] 
 
isolated from his fellowmen, who works 
 out slowly and patiently, many times 
 against great odds, his idea. Such men 
 were first laughed at and called fools 
 when they sought recognition, but later 
 when they had succeeded in their work, 
 they were regarded as benefactors of man- 
 kind. These great dreamers and workers 
 are the magicians of the world, whose 
 powers transmute the crude into the beau- 
 tiful, the useless into the useful, and, by 
 the direction of their power, in the chan- 
 nels religion, science, art, mechanics, lit- 
 erature and music they have made the 
 world what it is today in beauty, power 
 and knowledge. To the few every time 
 man owes his privileges, but what these 
 few have done and are doing, all mankind 
 can rise to if they but Will to do so. These 
 great souls, who stand upon the heights, 
 have earned the right to the position they 
 now occupy, by sacrifice and struggle and 
 that very height is open to all who will 
 but climb to it. 
 
 There is something deep, divine, mys- 
 terious within man's nature from which 
 
 [75] 
 
he draws the magical power to go on, 
 ever forward and upward to the heights of 
 progress and unfoldment. From the very 
 first up to the present day, man has felt 
 this longing within him and it has prompt- 
 ed him to refine his nature, develop him- 
 self, and slowly bring the resources of the 
 earth under his control. This power when 
 unfolded and developed to a great degree 
 makes of him a true magician. As a bird 
 can fly no higher than its wings will carry 
 it, so man can rise only to the heights that 
 his aspiring thoughts can lift him. To 
 know the things that belong to the higher 
 regions of thought, it is always necessary 
 for man to raise himself to those regions. 
 They do not come down to him, he must 
 climb up to them, and this is accomplish- 
 ed through aspiration, which always pre- 
 cedes inspiration, that glorious, heavenly 
 state in which man sees and knows, and 
 his whole being is thrilled with the power 
 of his knowledge, as the harp vibrates un- 
 der the touch of a master hand. 
 
 To be inspired man must elevate him- 
 self to the plane upon which inspiration 
 
 [76] 
 
dwelleth. That is why we say that in- 
 spiration is the result of aspiration, be- 
 cause by aspiration we look upward and 
 the soul drinks of the waters of truth, as 
 much as it needs, or rather we should say, 
 as much as its past efforts have fitted it to 
 appropriate. For in this divine fountain 
 we never quite quench our thrist, as we 
 are ever aspiring, ever looking for more 
 light. 
 
 At the present day there is a great up- 
 heaval going on, a condition of great un- 
 rest, which will shake everything to its 
 very depth, nothing will escape its influ- 
 ence. Government, politics, and religion 
 all will be greatly affected. There will be 
 chaos and confusion, darkness and dis- 
 tress, but out of it all will rise order, di- 
 vine harmony, a more perfect plan. The 
 age of cold materialism will pass out, and 
 the new goiden age of the spirit shall be 
 ushered in. Man will awaken, he will be 
 free ; dogma and creed will be of the past, 
 and man, liberated from his confining 
 limitations, will be like a bird freed from 
 its cage; free to use his mind and think 
 
 [77] 
 
for himself on life's great questions, free 
 to listen to the promptings of that inner 
 voice, whose guidance will ever lead him 
 to the heights of the spirit. We can now, 
 in the present day, see the signs of spirit- 
 ual awakening abroad throughout the 
 land, and this wave of the spirit is bring- 
 ing about a state of soul sensitiveness to 
 many which is enabling them to come in 
 closer touch with the great invisible realm 
 which sustains and surrounds this planet. 
 The cultivation of this power of intuition 
 is the foremost requirement for the attain- 
 ment of spiritual knowledge; it is the 
 source from which springs all other psy- 
 chic faculties. When once man commu- 
 nicates with the spirit that is within him, 
 he will find that as the bird in the air, and 
 the fish in the water, both are able to live, 
 and know what to do there, so he can live 
 his life and be guided by his spiritual na- 
 ture. 
 
 The saying which was engraved over 
 the gates of the old world, "Know Thy- 
 self," was indeed one of the greatest and 
 wisest of suggestions, and he, who would 
 
 [78] 
 
be a magician, must not only know him- 
 self, but be himself . In being original we 
 strike the keynote of greatness. That 
 which has made all great souls has been 
 their originality. Nothing of real value is 
 gained by imitation, it is like the moon 
 which dimly reflects the light of the sun. 
 The sun's direct rays are filled with great 
 life-giving principles. But the cold light 
 of the moon is dead and devoid of energy 
 Man should study the works of great men, 
 and he should take unto himself their 
 sublime suggestions, and then give to the 
 world the best that is within him, without 
 imitating anybody. 
 
 Experience is the vital thing in the life 
 of man, which awakens and brings into 
 expression the faculties that lie within 
 him. Wisdom is the result of experience, 
 linked with memory, for he who remem- 
 bers the lesson gained through experience 
 increases his knowledge. He reaches a 
 state wherein he has the ability to discrim- 
 inate between the good and the bad. 
 
 In speaking of man as a magician, it 
 would first be best to define Magic, as to 
 
 [79] 
 
many minds the words magic and ma- 
 gician are synonymous with those of con- 
 juror or sleight-of-hand performers, who 
 does mysterious tricks on the stage. Pa- 
 racelsus tells us that "Magic is the exact 
 and absolute science of nature and her 
 laws, and through the science of nature is 
 closely connected with religion, since it 
 initiates men into the secrets of divinity/' 
 The exercise of true magic does not re- 
 quire ceremonies or the making of circles. 
 It only requires strong faith in the omnip- 
 otent power of all good. All things Eire 
 controlled by law. The magician studies 
 the laws governing the universe, and then 
 makes every effort to work in harmony 
 with them, thereby making them his ser- 
 vants in the working out of his ideas. 
 
 The great work is the creation of man 
 by himself, and the materials of which the 
 superior man is constructed are the emo- 
 tions of the spirit. The builders are Love, 
 Will and Reason, and Wisdom is the su- 
 preme architect. Carlyle said "The mean- 
 ing of life here on earth might be defined 
 as consisting in this — To unfold yourself, 
 
 [80] 
 
to work what thing you have the facul- 
 ty." It is indeed by work, and work alone, 
 that man reaches any high plane of attain- 
 ment. 
 
 When we attend the recital of a great 
 musician we are thrilled, charmed by the 
 beauty and power of expression. A sub- 
 tie something which is called personal 
 magnetism holds us, psychologizes us, 
 and, for the time our minds are under the 
 control of the performer, who can make 
 us laugh or cry at will. These great art- 
 ists are magicians but the magical power 
 which they seem to express so easily, so 
 gracefully, is the result of years of tireless 
 practice day in and day out. This alone 
 brought them to the position they now oc- 
 cupy. Is it not also truly magical in ef- 
 fect, the power which enables the painter 
 to bring forth from the white, flat can- 
 vas a picture which is so true to nature 
 that it delights the eye; or the sculptor, 
 who, from a solid block of marble, brings 
 forth a human form in all its symmetrical 
 beauty? Then too, the writer, whose 
 book unfolds before you the history of 
 
 [81| 
 
past periods, the wisdom of the ages, the 
 beauty of poem and romance. These peo- 
 ple are all magicians, as are the scientists, 
 the discoverers, the inventors. These are 
 the souls that are supporting humanity, 
 lifting, guiding and saving them; and 
 every time we find that work is the key of 
 their success and power. The idle man 
 can never become a magician. The first 
 thing to do is to believe in yourself, in 
 your power; then act. Practice is the 
 secret of gaining great ends. 
 
 In order to develop these magical forces 
 the most important and essential things 
 are Faith, Imagination, Will and Enthusi- 
 asm. Tolstoy said * 'Faith is the force of 
 life." True faith rests on spiritual knowl- 
 edge, and without that kind of knowledge 
 there can be no faith. A man without 
 faith — faith in himself, faith in mankind 
 and faith in God — lacks the soul-inspiring 
 element of life. 
 
 The imagination is another important 
 factor. Indeed we might say that a strong 
 faith and a powerful imagination are the 
 two pillars supporting the door to the tern- 
 
 [82] 
 
pie of Magic. The influence of the imagi- 
 nation is great for good or evil according 
 to the desire that prompts it ; therefore, it 
 should be controlled and directed into 
 proper channels. Magic is the use of the 
 will in guiding and controlling the exter- 
 nal forces of nature, and is, as its name 
 implies, the great science. The power of 
 the will is the highest force man is en- 
 dowed with, for it gives him the energy to 
 bring into external being the ideals of his 
 consciousness. There are many dreamers 
 in the world whose thoughts are remark- 
 able, but most of them lack the will power 
 necessary to make the effort in order to 
 bring into a state of reality their dreams. 
 Dreams are indeed the seeds from which 
 have sprung all great and wonderful 
 things. But the vivid imagination which 
 creates them must be combined with a 
 strong will to make them germinate and 
 grow. 
 
 These great faculties, however, are 
 lacking until enthusiasm combines them. 
 Enthusiasm is defined as M Intense or rap- 
 turous feelings felt or displayed, whether 
 
 [83] 
 
habitually or in a particular case, by indi- 
 viduals or by masses, especially as exhibit- 
 ed in ardent zeal over a person, principle 
 or cause/' Enthusiasm is made up of two 
 Greek words — "En," meaning "In" and 
 "Theos," meaning "GOD." Those wha 
 live and work in enthusiasm do live "In 
 God" and God lives in them. For enthu- 
 siasm is the expression of the divine in 
 man. We have only to think of the won- 
 derful enthusiasm of a mother with her 
 child, to perceive a force greater than all 
 other forces combined to push humanity 
 slowly upward. 
 
 Age is not a matter of years, it is a con- 
 dition of mind. Youth is enthusiasm, 
 and if a man be a hundred and is still cap- 
 able of feeling enthusiasm he is young, 
 not only is he young but he is useful. 
 
 The real ghosts that haunt this planet 
 are mortals without enthusiasm, for, as 
 Buddha stated "Those who are in earnest 
 do not die, those who are thoughtless are 
 as if dead already." There are some men 
 who drag themselves along at thirty who 
 are dead; their enthusiasm oozed away, 
 
 [84] 
 
while there are other men at eighty, who 
 are thrilled with sublime life, and who 
 give the world great books, divine melo- 
 dies, and useful inventions, as well as be- 
 ing useful members of society in other re- 
 spects. Man must laugh at age if he 
 would be a magician, he must realize that 
 he makes himself as old as he wills. We 
 would therefore say unto man that enthu- 
 siasm is the great spring of eternal life, 
 life that is progressive, life that is creative, 
 and to drink of its waters constantly and 
 freely, that his innermost nature may re- 
 spond to this divine elixir, and become in- 
 spired not only to live but to do, not only 
 to dream, but to create. 
 
 Would you, O man, become a magi- 
 cian? Would you bring a great power 
 and light into your life? Then go into the 
 silence and communicate with self — self 
 the great Sphinx of life — for when all 
 problems are solved, there ever remains 
 the riddle of self. It is the greatest, the 
 deepest of all mysteries that ever has or 
 ever will hold the attention of man. Be- 
 come acquainted with this wondrous be- 
 
 [85] 
 
ing within you, and listen to its voice, then 
 stir up the smothering coals of enthusiasm, 
 feel your self burn with its mighty force, 
 and strength divine will be yours, the 
 power to see, the courage to dare, and the 
 patience to succeed. 
 
 [86] 
 
THE HIGHER LIFE. 
 
 As we scan the pages of the world's 
 history, we find that man has continually 
 been pushing his way upward through the 
 darkness of ignorance and superstition 
 to the light of truth and knowledge. There 
 never was a time that man did not feel 
 something of the spiritual nature stirring 
 within him. It was this yearning, this 
 spiritual craving, that prompted man to 
 form his religious beliefs, and, to the best 
 of his ability, express in outer form some- 
 thing of this inner desire. Crude and bar- 
 baric as were his first conceptions of the 
 universe, and God, they were a step in 
 the right direction, and the passing of the 
 centuries has led him upward on the 
 march of progress towards a fuller, and 
 more divine, conception of true religion. 
 The higher man has evolved, the better 
 able he has grown to distinguish between 
 letter and spirit, between the parable and 
 its meaning. In the dogmatic state he is 
 like a little child, being nursed on fairy 
 tales, and parables ; but in the state of ad- 
 
 [87] 
 
vanced manhood he sees things as they 
 are, and has a clearer and more compre- 
 hensive conception of truth. 
 
 Deep down in every human heart is the 
 seed of a diviner life, which only needs 
 the quickening influence of right condi- 
 tions to germinate. As the acorn holds 
 the germ of the oak within its heart, the 
 seed, the possibility of the flower, man 
 has, centralized within him, divine power, 
 which, when developed and unfolded, il- 
 luminates his life with a grandeur eternal. 
 
 The higher life may be characterized as 
 the life which is swayed by principle 
 rather than impulses, and which bears 
 testimony to the reality of the supreme 
 ideals. It includes not only such virtues 
 as personal purity, truthfulness, and a 
 forgiving spirit toward enemies, but also 
 embraces an obligation in general toward 
 society. In the efforts of human life to 
 attain a condition superior to the one it 
 at present occupies, the plan of structure, 
 whether it is in the realm of mental un- 
 foldment, or in the spiritual development, 
 must be a mental unfoldment of the plan, 
 
 [88] 
 
which is termed the ideal, held up before 
 the vision presented as a model to copy 
 after. To realize the higher life an ideal 
 is of utmost importance, as it serves as a 
 goal toward which to concentrate our 
 forces. It is like a port toward which we 
 resolve to steer. Pity the man who drags 
 through life without any inspiring ideal. 
 No bright vision to lure him onward and 
 refresh his soul with the elixir of victori- 
 ous life. 
 
 The power of the conscience is great in 
 moulding the life of man. It is the still 
 small voice of the conscience, which is 
 the awakening soul, that purges the body 
 of sin and the spirit from earthly dross. 
 It is that which treasures not the corrupt, 
 delusive wealth of earth, but gathers the 
 fruits which spring from the pure life, and 
 treasures the gems of heaven. He who 
 is deaf to the higher self is poor, indeed, 
 no matter what amount of power he may 
 have in worldly affairs; but to him who 
 through silent prayer uncovers the higher 
 self and obeys its promptings, is given a 
 power the world knows not. 
 
 [89] 
 
The real life of the spirit can be led 
 right here and now in the every-day con- 
 ditions of our life. It is not necessary 
 to seclude ourselves from the world, as the 
 hermit or the monk, to find God or live 
 the higher life; for it is to be found, and 
 realized in its greatest glory, right where 
 the temptations are the strongest, in the 
 world of affairs. On the way to the high- 
 est good man must take his fellow man 
 with him, not isolate himself. The one 
 who selfishly retires from all active life, 
 thinking by so doing he will realize the 
 spirit, will realize naught but the result 
 of his selfishness. For no one can really 
 live the higher life without wishing to 
 promote it in others as well as in himself, 
 and sharing with others the blessings that 
 come unto him. For the law is, give and 
 you will receive, bless and you will be 
 blessed, love and you will be loved. We 
 grow and develop in proportion as we 
 help others to grow and develop. Now 
 what shall we regard as the spiritual man, 
 one who has attained the higher life? To 
 start with, he must be in perfect physical 
 
 [90] 
 
condition, that the body may truly and 
 harmoniously serve as an instrument of 
 the soul. He must have a finely devel- 
 oped brain, a spiritualized intellect, so that 
 he may unlock all the doorways to the 
 truth of things. His influence upon his 
 fellowman must be uplifting and enno- 
 bling; the effect of his personality upon 
 his wife and children and friends must be 
 to inspire them all with a higher ideal of 
 life and living. A man having all these 
 lovable qualities, spiritually adjusted, rec- 
 ognizes himself as a child of God, and, 
 seeking to come into more intimate rela- 
 tionship with God, has reached the ideal 
 state beyond which we, at present, can 
 conceive of nothing higher. 
 
 A great poet has said, "Self -reverence, 
 self-knowledge, self-control; these alone 
 lead to sovereign power;" and it is most 
 true. Self-reverence depends upon self- 
 knowledge, and it leads to self-control, 
 and these are the elements of the only 
 true greatness of mankind. In every man 
 who aspires to spiritual growth there 
 is a continual struggle, a battle of life, 
 
 [91] 
 
a war without banner, or trumpet or 
 sound. This is the pilgrimage of the 
 world, the combat between earth and 
 spirit; and only he accomplishes a glori- 
 ous victory who conquers himself. Then 
 only does his soul find peace among the 
 flowers of the spirit that bloom in 
 the silent calm, which follows the 
 storm; then, and not until then, 
 does he catch a glimpse of the golden 
 wings of spirit, or hear the melodious 
 music of the spheres flowing out from the 
 mansion of the blessed. Now, in order 
 to grow into higher manhood it is desira- 
 ble to have strong emotions provided one 
 has also, at the same time, sufficient will 
 power to control them. A person devoid 
 of emotion is without virtue and without 
 vice; he is without energy, a shadow, 
 neither cold nor warm, and is neither ca- 
 pable of sinking to any great depth, or 
 rising to any sublime height. For the 
 saying that the greatest devil holds with- 
 in him the possibilities of the greatest 
 saint is indeed true. The devil needs a 
 true education, and his misdirected en- 
 
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ergy will be transmuted into higher chan- 
 nels, and be productive of good instead of 
 evil. 
 
 The one great evil in this world, the cen- 
 tral cause of lesser evils, is ignorance, 
 man's greatest enemy, and his only devil, 
 within whose claws man is held down in 
 the mire of materialism, sin and disease. 
 We hear much of the power of knowl- 
 edge, but little is said of the mighty power 
 of ignorance. Its destructiveness is so 
 great that within a day it can destroy and 
 ruin that which required knowledge cen- 
 turies to build. It is like a blood-thirsty 
 anarchist, and while it is at large no one 
 is safe. All sorrow, suffering, pain said 
 sin are traceable to it, and from it there 
 is only one salvation — applied knowledge. 
 
 Man is at first ignorant — of necessity — 
 he could not suddenly be wise; because 
 what we mean by wisdom, by knowledge, 
 is the summed up result of human experi- 
 ence, to be obtained in no other way. 
 There is no royal road to knowledge, no 
 quick and easy path by which the divine 
 essence of wisdom may be gained, but 
 
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oaly on the great highway of human expe- 
 rience can it be sought and realized. Wis- 
 dom, the result of experience and thought, 
 crowns one who works towards the most 
 sublime ends imaginable, and yet realizing 
 the limitations of existing conditions, is 
 patient and persistent in his effort to at- 
 tain the highest. We have examples of 
 men who, overcharged with enthusiasm, 
 and lacking in reason, have tried to sud- 
 denly reform the world, and we know the 
 results. Growth is necessarily slow, ail 
 great things have evolved slowly from the 
 small to the great. Wisdom teaches us 
 that it is possible to live the higher life, 
 even now, and from day to day grow in 
 strength and nobility. 
 
 The Alchemists of old sought to trans- 
 mute the baser metals into gold. In the 
 same way we may today practice the spir- 
 itual science of unfolding our ideals, by 
 transmuting the baser parts of our nature 
 into the pure gold of spiritual understand- 
 ing. This can be done by the use of will, 
 concentration and aspiration guided by 
 intelligent thought. Among the essential 
 
 [9*3 
 
things there is one, without which the 
 others lose their value, and that is Love. 
 We have grown to that stage where we 
 now recognize God as Love. Love is a 
 wonderful magical power which trans- 
 forms whatever it touches. For the great 
 work is the creation of man by himself, 
 the unfolding and developing of the di- 
 vine that is within him, that it may be- 
 come manifest, and by its beauty, strength 
 and influence give an added glory unto all 
 the earth, a greater representative of the 
 heavens. Man is his own devil, man is 
 his own God, the creator of his heaven, 
 the builder of his hell. Man is the archi- 
 tect of his destiny, the master of his fate, 
 the captain of his soul as it marches 
 through life. Spiritualism, by its great 
 truths, and consoling teachings, has done 
 much toward making the higher life pos- 
 sible. What spirit communion has done 
 with its facts and philosophies has been 
 done more rationally and satisfactorily 
 than all previous revelations ever given. 
 It has swept the fire and brimstone out of 
 hell, wrath out of the bosom of God, and 
 
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fear out of the mind of man. Surely 
 when we Spiritualists realize the 
 many blessings we have received from 
 this sublime cause, we should have little 
 difficulty in so living as to give it a noble 
 representation on earth, helping it with 
 our strongest effort, aiding it in every 
 way that it may quickly reach the place 
 it is destined to occupy as the religion of 
 the world. So to sum up in a few words, 
 we would say that the life of love, the life 
 of truth, the life of service, is the higher 
 life, and wisdom reveals unto us the sub- 
 lime truth, that we are all to realize this 
 divine state sooner or later. We are all 
 to be touched by the hand of the Master, 
 and we are to unfold and blossom forth 
 as do the buds of spring, under the woo- 
 ing heat and light of the sun. The rays 
 of the great spiritual sun are upon us, and 
 its splendor is driving away the shadows 
 of the long, dark night of materialism, for 
 a new day is dawning, in which there shall 
 be no night, but light, everlasting and eter- 
 nal. 
 
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