Letters from a living dead manHatch, David Patterson (Spirit)
Religion
Letters from a living dead man
Hatch, David Patterson (Spirit)
Spirit writings; Spiritualism
I HAVE spoken of a determination to visit other planets when my work of
writing these letters is ended; but I must not neglect to say that I
consider such journeys to and fro in the universe of far less spiritual
value than those other journeys which I have made and shall make into
the deep places of my own self. Travelling in actual space and time
is important to a man, that he may gain knowledge of other lands and
peoples, see the differences between these peoples and himself, and
learn the causes thereof; yet quiet meditation is even a greater factor
in growth. If a man whose spiritual perceptions are open can do but one
of these two things, it would be better for him to sit in a cabin in
the backwoods and seek in his own soul for the secrets which it guards,
than to travel without such self-examination to the ends of the earth.
Get acquainted with your own soul. Know why you do this or that, why
you feel this or that. Sit quietly when in doubt about any matter, and
let the truth rise from the deeps of yourself. Examine your motives
always. Do not say, “I ought to do this act for such and such a reason;
therefore I do it for that reason.” Such argument is self-deception.
If you do a kind act, ask yourself why. Perhaps you can find even in a
kind action a hidden motive of self-seeking. If you should find such a
motive, do not deny it to yourself. Acknowledge it to yourself, though
you need not advertise it on the walls of your dwelling. Such a secret
understanding will give you a greater sympathy and comprehension in
judging the motives of others.
Strive always for the ideal; but do not label every emotion as an ideal
emotion if it is not really that. Speak the truth to yourself. Until
you can dare to do that you will make little progress in the quest of
your own soul.
Between earth lives is a good time to meditate, but one should form the
habit of meditation while in the flesh. Habits formed in the flesh have
a tendency to continue after the flesh is laid aside. That is a reason
why one should keep as free as possible from physical habits.
If my charming acquaintance who comes every night to her husband to
write love messages through his hand would spend the greater part of
her time in acquiring knowledge of this new world, so that she could
enlighten him, then might their communion be an unmixed good; but I
fear it is not so. Therefore I shall look for her again, and give her
some fatherly advice. She has a quick and receptive mind, and I think
she will listen to me. He would be interested in her experiences, if
for no other reason than because they are hers. Yes, I shall have to
find her again.
I have made wonderful discoveries in the archives of my own soul.
There I have found the memories of all my past, back to a time almost
unbelievably distant. In seeing how the causes set up in one life have
produced their effects in another life, I have learned more than I
shall learn on my coming tour of the planets.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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