How do you let out your frustrations?

The basic trouble is that most of you mortals will insist on existing rather than living. You trip over your frustrations until you can barely stumble from pillar to post.

―Spirit Mike

What would you say those things were?

Look over there! What would you say those things were?

Soulless astral envelopes are solid, lifelike, full of animal vigour, yet they are like automatons, and do not seem to possess any intelligence. They drift and bob about like buoys at sea, and are the result of countless little living germs, which we throw off continually from our earthly body. These emanations are material enough when brought into contact with the magnetic forces of the astral plane to form imitations of human forms.

These astral spirits are not true spirit envelopes since the soul-principle is wanting―

A soul has never been in this form and it has never had a conscious existence as a soul's astral envelope. These astrals decay far faster than soul-enveloping astral forms, for they have none of the higher principle of life clinging to it―

Astral forms draw their life from soul-germs or they soon cease to exist and crumble away.

Astral forms assume the shapes of human forms by the action of the spiritualised magnetic currents, which flow through all the ether space continually, as the currents flow in the ocean. These magnetic life currents are more etherealised and they act on these cloud masses of human atoms in the same way that electricity acts on the freezing moisture on a windowpane, forming them into the semblance of human forms, as the electricity forms the freezing moisture into a likeness of trees, plants, and so on.

This refined form of magnetism has a similar share in the formation of human forms and animal life.

Atoms may be classed under different heads, and each class has a special attraction for others of its own kind, thus vegetable atoms will be attracted together to form astral trees and plants, while animal atoms will form into the semblance of beasts, birds, and human atoms into human forms. 

In some cases where the individuals from whom the atoms come are very low in the scale of humanity and nearly akin to animals, their atoms blend with those of the lower forms of life and create grotesque horrible creatures, which resemble animals and men.

These astral beings are created from the cloud masses of human atoms, and never having been the envelope of any soul are very little more permanent in their nature unless the power of some higher intelligence acts on them to intensify their vitality and prolong their existence. They are expressionless and like wax dolls in appearance and readily lend themselves to receive any individuality stamped on them.

Astral atoms, whether of trees, plants, animals or human beings, are unlike the true spirit or soul-clothing atoms, which constitute the real spirit world and its inhabitants.

Astrals of every kind are the intermediate degree of materiality between the gross matter of earth and the more etherealised matter of the spirit-world―We talk of a soul clothed in its astral envelope to express that earthbound condition in which it is too refined or immaterial for earth existence, and too grossly clad to ascend into the spirit world of the higher spheres or to descend to those of the lower―

A spirit even in the lowest sphere is more spiritualised as regards its body than an earthbound spirit.

Human astral forms, which have possessed individualised life as a soul's envelope have absorbed a greater or less degree of the soul's magnetism or true-life essence, and this soul magnetism animates it for a longer or shorter period and forms a link between it and the soul, which has animated it.

A soul whose desires are all for higher things soon severs the link between it and its astral envelope, while with a soul of evil desires the tie may last for centuries and chain the soul to earth, making it earthbound.

Astral matter is practically so much of the soul's vitality, that after the soul itself has sunk into the lowest sphere of all, the empty shell will still float about the earth like a fading image of its departed owner. Such are sometimes seen by clairvoyants hanging about the places where they once lived and are truly spooks. They have no intelligence of their own since the soul has fled, and they can neither influence mediums, nor move tables, nor do any other thing except as mechanical agents of some higher intelligence, whether that intelligence be good or evil.

Spirits of a low type can clothe themselves in these empty astral garments, but their grossness of the spirit or soul prevents them from retaining possession long―

The dense magnetism of the low spirit's own body acts as a strong noxious vapour or gas and renders it into a thousand pieces.

To a spirit above the astral plane, an astral envelope appears almost as solid as iron, but to one below it these fragile shells are like a cloud or vapour.

The lower the soul, the stronger is its envelope, and the more firmly does it hold the soul, limiting its powers and preventing it from rising into a more advanced sphere.

A spirit above the earth plane who is anxious to show himself to a clairvoyant will sometimes enter one of these shells, which he stamps with his identity, and in that way the clairvoyant will truly see and describe him.

To a spirit of the lowest spheres, an astral envelope is a convenient, an all too evanescent cloak with which to hide his own degraded spirit body, but to a good and pure spirit, the astral envelope is as a suit of iron capable of imprisoning him.

Your thoughts are mirrored on the atmosphere of the astral plane, and as pictures, they can be read and answered by spirits possessing the knowledge to read them.

The spirits then of which you should most beware are not so much the poor ignorant half-developed spirits of the earth plane and lower spheres whose degraded lives have made them what they are, and who are often glad of a helping hand to raise them, but it is of the intellectually evil―those who have great powers alike of mind and body and who have only used them for wrong purposes. 

The emanations thrown off by individuals of low intellect and evil, sensual lives can be used for the very worst purposes. 

When animated by an evil intelligence, these astral shells can even be used to affect material matter on earth. Where wise and good intelligences control them, no harm will be done. 

To these astrals, and to those of a similar class in which the soul-germ yet lingers, are due those rough and dangerous manifestations sometimes seen in spirit circles, seances, where men of bad lives and others too ignorant to protect themselves are assembled from motives of curiosity or mere amusement.

And among what class of spirits do you place those ghouls and vampires, so firmly believed in in many parts of the world?

Vampire spirits are those who have known earth life, but have so misused it that their souls are still imprisoned in the astral envelope. 

Their object in sucking away an individual's animal life-principle is to retain their hold on the life of the earth plane and so save themselves from sinking to far lower spheres. 

They are anxious to cling to their astral envelope and to prolong its life, just as men of very evil lives on earth cling to the life of the earthly body because they fear that when they are separated from it, they will sink into some unknown depths of darkness and horror. The constant renewal of the animal and astral life often enables these vampire spirits to hang about the earth for centuries.

Is it possible for a vampire-spirit to possess itself of a sufficient amount of materiality to appear in mortal form and mingle with men as described in many of the tales told of such creatures?

The vampire can, does, sometimes take complete possession of a material body, just as other spirits do, and can cause its acquired body to act in accordance with its will. Thus, it is quite possible for a vampire spirit clothed in the physical body of another to so change its expression, as to make it bear some resemblance to the vampire's own former earthly appearance, and through the power obtained by the possession of a material body, it might really lead the curious double life ascribed to them in those weird tales current and believed in many countries.

 

By far the larger number of vampire spirits however are not in possession of an earthly body, and they hover about the earth in their own astral envelope, sucking away the earthly life of mediumistic persons whose peculiar organisation makes them liable to become the prey of such influences, while they are themselves quite ignorant that such beings as these astrals exist.

The poor individual suffers from a constant sense of exhaustion and languor without suspecting to what it is attributed.

But cannot spirit guardians protect individuals from these beings?

They do protect them, but only as one may protect a person from infectious fevers by showing them the danger and warning them to avoid spots where owing to the associations with their earthly lives, the vampire spirits are especially attracted.

This the guardian spirit does by instilling into an individual's mind an instinctive dread of the places where crimes have been committed or persons of evil lives have lived.

Knowledge, guidance, and help will always be given, but only in such a manner as will not interfere with man's free will, and only such knowledge as he himself desires―nothing will ever be forced on him by the spirit world.