When the people we left behind are sorrowing for us too intensely, it depresses us up here!
The best way to cheer up is to wander out and pick an apple or pear or any other fruit we happen to fancy. It has the effect of recharging our batteries.
What sort of clothes do you wear, Mike?
Any old thing we choose. It is simply a matter of concentrating on a particular cut of cloth, and hey presto! we are wearing it!
There is one robe that we could never try to alter―our spirit robe.
When we have public gatherings here―or when we call on one of the higher brethren in the halls of wisdom and learning, we simply discard our personal fashion of the moment, and our spirit robes appear at once. They hang in classical folds and come in an entire spectrum of glowing colours.
We can never change the colour―or alter the shape of a robe because its function is to reflect the true condition of our spirit.
Suppose, on earth, I had been a man with a violent temper. My robe here would have splotches of dark, muddy grey―or dirty red shot through with grey. This proclaims to all and sundry that it is high time the wearer began ridding himself of these blemishes.
Most of us here wear our spirit clothing most of the time―
When we combine this with our gift of telepathy, it is well nigh impossible for anyone to maintain a phoney front and hope to get away with it!
No sooner have I thought a thing, than the person I am talking to hears it. He knows exactly what is making me tick!
As no dust or grime exists up here, we have no reason to wash our clothes. Nor do we need dry cleaners.
When we feel that our clothes do not have the shine we would like them to have, we exercise our minds and the clothes shine as brightly as we deserve.
We have a lot of fun with the teenagers who have just arrived here. Especially the girls, when they think they are still the cat's whiskers. Oh, Dad, you would laugh to see them pimping around as if they were in a department store, changing out of one set of glad rags to put on another, and then starting again from scratch, and dreaming up something even more weird and wonderful! Which promptly appears, as large as life, and twice as natural! They have the time of their lives for hours!
Jasper was fascinated by the idea of thought manifesting as matter, and he asked Mike to elaborate further.
Well―our Father is the Creator of this entire magnificent cosmos and its untold galaxies. The galaxies are comprised of universal systems, millions and millions in number.
We are the sons of this same Father―Believe me, we are!
Some of us like to live in communities―others like to live in rural cottages on the rolling downs―or even alone in the forests. We are free to choose where we would like to live, and with whom we would like to live.
Our particular place in creation is distinguished by the way it reflects the Law of Retribution.
When I move down to our lower planes, I see people getting up to the most idiotic shenanigans. For example, I saw this one bloke surrounded by piles and piles of gold―he was literally buried under it! Yet he kept jealously counting every coin. He did not even pause to look up when I greeted him―he just grunted and kept on counting.
I thought that this miser was nuts to sit there counting his money, as if he could still buy wealth and importance with it.
So I asked one of the elder brothers about him because they are always approachable when we go to them with a problem that is perplexing us. The elder explained that on earth, this bloke had been an honest-to-goodness miser. Every night, when all his doors were locked and his curtains drawn, he used to haul out his gold and count it until he was cross-eyed with fatigue. When he passed over, he was still the same man he had been on earth, of course, so he got so homesick for the gold he had left behind that finally piles of it appeared all round him!
Thought had become fact, as it always does on this plane.
Well―there the gold was, so he sat down to count it, as he had never counted it before. Then he discovered that just by thinking, he could turn it into twice the size it was before. He must have been sitting there for over thirty years of earth time, just multiplying his wealth. And he will be perfectly happy doing just that until he eventually realises that gold is utterly useless to him here.
We have no wealth or poverty here.
And so it will finally dawn on him that he has been wasting his time. And no one will regret it more than the poor old bloke himself!
And there was this other fellow who had been a drunkard all his earthly life―
When he passed over there, he began with a rabid desire to drink a whole case of good brandy. So, lo and behold, a case of brandy appeared under his nose! He pried open the lid, grabbed the nearest bottle by its neck, and drank it at one gulp. It tasted exactly like it had on earth, but here comes the snag, Dad―
He could not get drunk!
But because his mind was now one with its creator, it refused to make itself drunk! Drink had only been an alibi on earth―a device to avoid facing reality, so when he drank to avoid facing reality here, he realised at long last that no matter how much booze he poured down his gullet, it had left him stone cold sober!
What worse punishment could befall a miser or a drunk who had abused the fruits of the earth? But the beauty is that they themselves determined their own punishments.
There is no great Judge presiding over us here, handing out dry bread and water and solitary confinement! When a new soul comes to us, there is no vindictive confessor who says―you have been good, go to Heaven! You have been bad, go to Hell! and then hurls you into the fiery pit anyway! Again, I tell you that our Father is one of infinite love and compassion.
Any punishment brought about in your world, but accountable in ours, is paid for solely by the transgressor himself. Conservation of energy is a prime law here. That really means moderation. We learn to be moderate in all things.
The miser allowed his sense of balance to turn turtle because he lusted for gold and nothing, but gold. The drunkard was so afraid to face life that he drank himself into insensibility, instead of using his alcohol as a reasonable pick-me-up at the end of a hard day's work.
Jasper asked Mike how he occupied himself in the golden world in view of the fact that he had set his heart on architecture in his earth life. Did architecture come into the picture at all?
You can bet your boots! Once a fellow reaches this stage in his development, he is bound to apply critical taste to the kind of place he wants to live in.
As soon as I arrived here, I was shown the sights by Uncle Mark.
People who practiced architecture on earth because they loved the profession, like Uncle Mark did, inevitably seek out their own kind and put out the "business as usual" sign here.
When a new boy like me is ready to shop for a home of his own, he "makes his number" with these architectural types, and we all sit down and discuss what kind of house would suit me best.
Remember, we never have rain or bad weather, so there are no wear-and-tear problems.
As a matter of fact, there is no need for a house at all! but if you want a house, you sort of pick and choose until gradually you decide on such-and-such a house with so many rooms.
If you want ten thousand rooms, you can have ten thousand rooms, though it seems a bit unnecessary. It would be a great big echoing white elephant, in case you had not banked on that!
At any rate, as soon as you have decided on the kind of house you want, you look for the perfect site.
There are valleys, mountains, rivers, even oceans, in our world―so you start cruising about a hundred and fifty feet above the ground at a fair speed, say two hundred miles an hour until you find the spot that tickles your fancy.
I wanted mine to be somewhere near a congenial community, and I saw exactly what the doctor ordered. It was perched on a gentle slope, protected by beautiful trees and springy green turf.
The grass grows to about three inches high here, and it is beautifully soft to walk on. It never needs cutting, it never withers, it always remains this beautiful emerald green.
Once I had picked my site, I called in the architects. They sat down, and visualised in their minds, the type of house that would suit me best. Then the builders arrived.
There were three of them, and they sat down right beside the architects.
A minute later, right there on the plot I had selected, the shimmering outlines of my house began to appear!
Then everybody looked at me, and Mark said―Well, Mike, is that more or less what you had in mind?
I cannot tell you how exciting it felt to be a bona fide home owner! I hollered back―You bet it is!
At once, the transparent shell started to take on solid form. In twenty minutes, there was my house! It is perfect in every detail, Dad!
Somehow or other, the various bods had read my mind―every trick of the trade I had ever envied from afar has been incorporated into this brand new home of mine.
I took possession that very same hour and sent out mental invitations to all my friends to attend the housewarming. In no time flat, they were all there in person and I welcomed each one at my own front door!
The first item on the agenda was to ask one of the elders to join us.
We sat round him in a circle and conveyed our gratitude and joy to the Great One.
After which, we had a pop concert!
Yes, Dad! We used every kind of music―you know how fond of rock 'n roll I used to be on earth―
Well, we soon had a full-scale orchestra going strong, and we really did ourselves proud! It was a fantastic housewarming!
It soon became obvious that the house was not big enough to hold us all, so I sent out an S.O.S. to the original architects.
And as soon as we all put our heads together in a sit-down-and-think session, lo and behold, the house was increased to the exact capacity we needed!
Believe me Dad, this universal sharing of everything has to be seen to be believed.
There is no envy, there is no greed, there is no You have got more than I have because the minute you want anything, it is there!
You remember how I loved to walk in the rain in nothing, but a singlet and a pair of shorts when I was a nipper?
Well, whenever I need to feel the refreshing rain, beating in my face, and the wind blowing my head clear, I go out into an open field, and I think―
I enjoy my own private thunderstorm!
It does not interfere with anybody else―I take good care that it does not―
We make a point of live and let live on this plane!
The rain forms little puddles, as I walk, yet when I turn round and look behind me, there is no sign of it, only the usual long green grass. It takes some getting used to―the fact that the mind is a creative weapon. I used the wrong word there―not weapon. Instrument is a much nicer way of saying it.
But Mike, what are you allowed to do if any of your neighbours turn out to be neither kind nor considerate?
That could not happen here. We are all at the same stage of development. If one of us were to disturb the harmony, even if unintentionally, one of the elders would nip along smartly and nudge him back into line.
Sometimes, the best of us are apt to slip up, of course.
That is when the elders point out the error of our ways, and we correct ourselves at once. It is so serene here that one is immediately remorseful, for having been the "odd man out," and the remorse immediately rights the wrong.
No one is ever punished in this world. A man punishes himself if he has broken the rules of happy living.
There is one very foolish method of coming here―by suicide. This is a futile action for all concerned. When someone on the earth plane feels so restricted, so cramped, so frightened that he sees no solution to it―
When he can no longer face up to the day-to-day burdens that confront everyone else in your world, he thinks that committing suicide will be an easy way out, and will punish his “tormentors” at the same time.
When his soul comes here, it is immediately placed in a state of rest until the jangling dislocations of the suicide have subsided.
Then he is immediately sent back to earth to inhabit a new body.
Once again, he finds himself a mortal man, but he retains no recollection of his previous history. What is more, in this succeeding life of his, he is going to be confronted by exactly the same problems. If he fails a second time, the same process will occur―continue to occur until he learns to face his problems rather than escape them. Throughout, he will be surrounded by the love of the Great One, and guarded by his brothers, but he must solve his problem without any aid from anyone. Once he has faced it, solved it, there is no further danger of him committing suicide. At the same time, he is developing the strength of mind that he will need when he eventually learns to be a creator, as his great Father was before him.
So, if you want a frustrating round trip ticket up to our world and right back down to yours again, Dad, commit suicide! It will get you nowhere fast!
Originally, when our souls first took on the forms of men, we were still sons of God―
With His Divine Sanction, you chose for yourself how you wanted to look―how you would develop. All divine law is predicated on this freedom of choice. You decide, Dad.
You yourself decide what you are going to do. If it conflicts with any of the divine rules, then you have to correct your error.
Remember the miser and the drunkard when they came over here?
They punished themselves very, very effectively! Yet no one sat in judgment on them.
No one decreed any punishment or penalty.
When ‘men of the cloth’ get up here, oh Dad, it is terrible to watch their self-recrimination and soul-searching when they realise what they taught on earth was too often wide of the mark even though they merely taught on earth what they themselves had been taught.
They need all our help and comfort, as they battle against terrifying images of devils and hell fire, which in truth do not exist here―or anywhere else! But there are on the lower planes souls who need the security of a church and the advice of a minister before their faith can take articulate form. They attend beautiful cathedrals and listen avidly to all the sermons.
But the only ritual they hear here is the true litany!
When Heather last talked to you, she told you about the kitten that adopted her when she came here. Now she has a dog.
There is every kind of tame animal and bird in these realms―proof once again of the Law of Love!
When you create a bond with an animal on the earth plane that bond is powerful enough to bring him here when he dies. He is cared for until his master passes over to our plane.
When animals arrive here, it is wonderful to see them gambolling with one another―lions and tigers alongside tabby cats―
Why, some Burmese mahouts even bring their elephants with them! All of them survive the journey because of the love and care showered on them by everybody here.
You hear birds singing wherever you go.
If I happen to admire their song, they immediately respond to my thought―they will perch on my finger and show off their colours and their musical range!
You never cease to marvel at the infinite variety of happiness on these planes, Dad.
When I first arrived here, I felt no sudden jar at my passing. As I told you, we were lifted in the air, and I took Heather’s hand, and together we saw the cars collide. Then Uncle Mark was suddenly standing beside us. He explained that we had been through such a terrible collision that we were no longer in the land of the living. I was too surprised to ask him how he knew, although I did have a hunch I was dead, and it seemed perfectly natural that he had come to take charge of us. I decided that Heather and I could not do better than go along with him, so we did. It was simply a question of ascending gradually into the sky until all of a sudden we were in this beautiful pasture.
I cannot say exactly how long it took us to leave the earth plane.
It was rather much like flipping a radio dial from one station to another. When you turn the knob, you take for granted that another station will be awaiting your pleasure―
You do not think there is anything unusual about it.
That was how we moved from your world to our new one. All our family, even the ones we did not know when we were on the earth were here to welcome us. They made us feel wanted, and very much at home! That is why I took so long to realise that the news of our death would not be accepted by you, as it was on this plane. It was only then, Dad, that I could actually feel the terrible pull of the grief that you and Mum were suffering.
You remember when you wanted to punish the driver of the other car?
When I felt that terrible resolve hardening itself in your heart, I knew I had to return and make myself known to you. Nothing else would have altered your stubborn determination to revenge our deaths.
Before you could raise yourself up to this plane, you would have to raise your vibrations to the speed of mine.
Likewise, when I need to regress myself back to your world, I have to reduce my vibrations to their slowest rate. This is not easy Dad, some of it is downright painful. It is like putting on a straitjacket. I have to constrict myself more and more like the Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland until my vibrations are moving as slowly as yours.
Not that I am trying to blow my own trumpet, you understand, but I am one of the few here who have been able to manage it.
I can move from my world to yours by my own free will. Heather can do it too now. But I would say that ninety-five per cent of the souls at this level are completely unable to manifest at the earth level.
Maybe in moments of urgency, they can appear momentarily to their loved ones on earth, but they would not promise to guarantee it.
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