The Astral World—Higher Occult Powers: Clairvoyance, Spiritism, Mediumship, and Spirit-Healing Fully Explained — John Shaqi
The Astral World—Higher Occult Powers: Clairvoyance, Spiritism, Mediumship, and Spirit-Healing Fully ExplainedTiffany, Joel
Religion
The Astral World—Higher Occult Powers: Clairvoyance, Spiritism, Mediumship, and Spirit-Healing Fully Explained
Tiffany, Joel
Spiritualism
Where the individual loves his neighbor as himself, he would as soon
sacrifice his own interest as that of his neighbor, and would as soon
be unjust to himself, nay, sooner be unjust to himself, than to his
neighbor. He loves that neighbor with a pure heart, loves him as a
manifestation of his divine Father’s Love, Will, and Wisdom, and seeks
to harmonize his own being with him in all his relations. He can not
see a brother, however weak, crushed, without seeing himself crushed
in that brother. When he loves a brother with that pure, unselfish
love—when the common heart of humanity abides in his breast, he comes
into the true plane of charity; for charity is that which seeketh not
her own. The motive that prompts him is not self-gain. It is the desire
to do good unto others that actuates him. The quality of charity is
to suffer long, not to be envious, not to be easily provoked, not to
be puffed up, or behave itself unseemly; but in all things to be true
and faithful, and kind to everybody. The man or woman possessed of
this love, whose whole being and activity is directed in the sphere of
relation to man, to society, to the world, belongs to what I call the
second sphere, and gives evidence that he or she has risen above the
lustful plane which seeketh its own, and which loves to gratify its
passion, desires, and appetites, in one form or another, and that he
or she is loving in harmony with God, and wills and acts in accordance
with the divine impulses.
Look abroad into society, look at the love of the world, and see how
many there are who love their neighbor with an unselfish love—how many
are so careful to be exactly just with their neighbor as they are
careful to have their neighbor be exactly just to them. There are many
who watch the scale to see if it preponderates in their favor; and if
the merchant gives good weight, they speak well of him; but if he does
not give good weight, they are very ready to speak ill of him. When
you come to see how much better they love to have justice done to them
than they love to do justice to others, you have an indication that
the lustful nature is somewhat alive and active in their breast. The
individual who is conscious that his desire is earnestly to be just,
will be as careful not to do an injustice to his neighbor as he would
be cautious to avoid an injury to himself—will no sooner circulate
defamatory remarks against his neighbor than he would defame himself.
When you find an individual thus acting, you may be certain that he has
risen from the first plane and is entering the second. But I am sorry
to say that in the vast majority of cases you will find lust lamentably
present. I called your attention to this in my last lecture, showing
you how it was manifested in almost every sphere of life, even in
performing the duties of a father, brother, husband, or wife. In the
majority of cases man and society are loved for their uses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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