Interpersonal relations -- Fiction; Spiritualism -- Fiction; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
“Incredible as it may seem to you, I still have nerves.”
Once when Chrissalyn was peevish and dissatisfied, she said she had a
mind to give up fooling with Planchette; that it was scary and risky,
and there was no telling what was at the bottom of its queer doings.
Prescott came like a flash to the rescue, fearful that she would put
her threat into execution, and so cut off communication entirely.
“O Butterfly, dear, don’t do that! Please don’t, for my sake,” he
pleaded, with an earnestness that touched their hearts. “You do not
appreciate this grand, beautiful privilege, which to me is so precious.
Who, besides you can do this--converse freely with friends so far away
that the railroad has never been made that can reach them?”
Somewhat mollified by his pathetic tribute to her extraordinary psychic
gifts, she grumbled that for his sake she wouldn’t give up Planchette.
He continued:
“Had I known as much about the unknown future, when on earth, as you
do, I should have thought myself wise, indeed.
“It astonishes me now to remember that I ever doubted the persistence
of the individual, the continuousness of life. Fools who think
themselves savants will tell you to have nothing to do with spirits,
not to encourage them to come back, as that interferes with their
progression, and other rubbish of the same sort. Such persons know
nothing of the laws of progress here. The two worlds--in fact all
worlds--are one and the same. Your best interests and ours are
identical. There is no differentiation. Frequently our work lies
entirely with you. What higher mission could one have than to cheer
and strengthen the disheartened and fainting ones of earth? We help
you, and you in turn often help us. What would you think of a friend
who told you never to come and visit him, but to go on and progress by
yourself? Well, spirits are simply human beings living under conditions
as yet not understood by you. Many of them are your friends, whom you
would not dream of treating discourteously while they were with you
visibly. The pupils of your schools go from grade to grade. Those of
the highest grade are not prohibited from contact with those of the
primary, if they wish it, and often they return there as teachers. The
division between your world and ours only exists for those not yet
far enough developed to understand its non-existence. It is not real,
but only an appearance. It exists only in the consciousness of those
ignorant of the great law of oneness which is operative everywhere. And
this is true of many things that seem very real to you. They only exist
in your consciousness. Also that which is not within your consciousness
has no existence for you whatever. We are one--all the peoples of all
universes, and all are moving upward into light by means of the process
called evolution, which is the unfolding and perfecting of man, who is
spirit, not clay.”
“Are we ever reborn into this world?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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