The Startling Truth

A Series of Letters from the Spirit of a Well-known Lady — 

Letter Number Eleven

I am about to write something in this letter that may not meet the views of most Spiritualists, and I doubt very much if any will believe me. Nevertheless, I shall write nothing but the truth.

Any truth when first given to those of earth from the spheres is met in an antagonistic spirit, but if we ceased to give of our knowledge to the earthly world on that account no progress would be made there.

The startling truth I have to give is this — 

No spiritual being ever yet returned to earth in its real, tangible, spiritual body. I mean its sublimated material body—the body that it at length takes on after being here quite a length of time. Do not start at this assertion and say that I am a falsifier, or that I contradict myself, as I have already told you that Lady — and I went back to earth and dwelt in a sequestered home in Russia. But Lady — and I had not yet taken on our sublimated material spiritual bodies; we were yet simply spirits without density and were not yet grown or covered by tangible bodies. That was still in store for us. To the spirits in the spheres we yet appeared pale, fluttering, weak and vapourish; fluctuating, undecided, for we as new-born spirits were in this condition. A spirit appears precisely like what it is. No one on earth expects a new-born babe to be like a large, solid man or woman; it is small, soft and tender. I do not mean that our bodies were small, they were exact counterparts of what our earthly bodies had been, minus decrepitude and age, but they were not yet firm, condensed and beautiful as they were at length destined to be.

And now you ask me – What kind of a spirit body is it, then, that returns to earth? and I reply – A soul can clothe itself in various bodies, or rather it has various bodies. It has a thought body, an astral body, a spiritual, vapourish body, and a sublimated material spiritual body; and it is this last body that never returns to earth. While you are on earth in the fleshly form you have all these bodies, but are not yet conscious of them; still, the world is getting there very fast. You talk of telepathy. Well, that is the action of the thought body. You talk of etherealisation. Well, that is the astral body—when it is genuine. You talk of an intangible, impalpable spiritual presence. Well, that is the thin, vapourish body, and this sometimes takes on from those sitting in a circle a materialised body—and it is just here that I shall prove to you the truth of what I say.

If an impalpable spiritual body can for a short time clothe itself with material substance on earth, can it not form and wear a body within the spheres, of sublimated material substance?

Whatever you may think, such is the fact. But this body cannot, and does not return to earth. It must

remain, necessarily, beyond the attraction of gravitation, else it would be injured; for it is dense enough to receive injury were it to strike the hard, revolving earth.

My friends, the thought body returns, the astral body returns, and the vapourish spiritual body returns; but not the real, sublimated material spiritual body. The soul desires to return to earth. It leaves its dense body here in the spheres and goes forth clothed in its thought, astral and vapourish bodies, or rather it is covered by these bodies. The astral corresponds to the ether, the vapourish to the vapour, and the thought body to the thought, while the exquisite, sublimated material spiritual body is at rest here like one of earth who is sleeping. For instance – I, Madam, am here with this sensitive now, controlling to write; but, before coming here for that purpose, I said in my mind or with my thought body – I am now going down to earth to write a message to the people, consequently I went and laid myself down, as one does who goes to sleep on earth, and my sublimated material body is asleep, or unconscious, while I am doing this. I sent forth my thought, it took with it my astral body and my vapourish, spiritual body, but the other body it must leave behind, then when I return I shall awake, or, rather, my various bodies will once more be joined together and I shall arise and go about my business in the spheres.

I hope I have made this clear to the most obtuse mind. I have tried to at least.

Now if earthly emanations condense here in the spheres, as they certainly do, and we have animals, vegetation, water, land and homes, you must see that our bodies must correspond, and that if we could take these bodies with us to earth, of course we could take—as those of earth do when they journey—many other things besides. So by this you perceive that I have told you a great truth. How glad I am that so great and good a man as the Rev. Heber Newton has told his people, that in the heavenly world there are homes and employments similar to those of earth, for he has voiced a great, grand, eternal truth.

Yes, friends, we have all these things here in the spheres. If we only understood the Christians better, and they understood us better, we should scarcely disagree in anything. Professor Franz Petersilea tried to tell you of some of these halls, homes, institutions of learning, and so forth, and his heart is grieved and sore because he has been met by many in such a spirit of intolerance, the same spirit that you Spiritualists accuse the Christians of. We advise to pluck the beam from your own eyes before looking for the mote in your brother's eyes.

Those great and good men, Rev. Heber Newton, and Rev. Minot Savage, are more tolerant, by far, than the most so-called Spiritualists. It seems that most Spiritualists cannot and will not accept any truth beyond that which they think they already know, yet they are continually talking of progression. If they will not accept any new truth which may be given, where is the progress, pray? Now there is just one point more that I wish to touch upon, and it is this – Franz Petersilea tried to tell how we build our homes in the spheres, and immediately there arose the cry – Insane spirits! for it is nothing but insanity for a spirit to build his home within his mind and then reside within it as the insane of earth imagine they have what they have not.

If anything can be more material and obtuse than that, I should like to know it. And yet these same people will tell you of shining spiritual cities, and houses not made with hands, eternal and in the heavens. O consistency, thou art a jewel when found!

How do these intolerant, fault-finding ones think our houses and. cities are built? Do they suppose they are built of brick, stone and mortar, or wood—that the workmen use plane, saw and trowel, ladders and derricks, together with all the paraphernalia that is made use of on earth? Do they think we burn brick, mix lime and cement, cut down trees, have planing and saw mills, make shingles, and so forth? If they do, then I reply, We do not.

How, then, do they build these homes and shining cities? They build them within the mind. Thoughts are things and go forth from the mind, and from the desire of the mind, or, rather, the force or will-power exercised they are clothed with sublimated material and become real. Do you call a man of earth insane because he first builds his house in his mind and then clothes it with brick, stone, and mortar or wood, glass, and so forth? But the house must be planned, or built in the mind first, or there can be no house. Throw brick, lime and mortar together promiscuously, and see if it will build itself. No, friends; all things, except natural things, must first exist in the mind or thought, to be clothed upon by material or spiritual substance, as the case may be. It is only an obtuse and intolerant spirit that can think or talk otherwise.

Rev. Heber Newton also referred to the employments of heaven, saying that they were similar to those of earth; and a greater truth was never uttered, for they are, indeed. There is not a trade, art or employment of earth that we do not have here, with this difference – we do not work with the hands, but with the mind, the thought, the spirit, and these thoughts take on tangible shape and are clothed with sublimated or spiritual substance, and you of earth must perceive this great truth.

How can we cut down a spiritual tree, or kill a spiritual animal, or burn brick and so forth? Spiritual life of any kind cannot be taken. If it could, the life of a spiritual man could be taken. Nothing can rob an Ego of its life. It may be robbed of material substance, but not of its identity or life. Life is life forever and aye!

Now the more perfect and beautiful our thoughts the more beautiful our houses or homes; the more perfect we are, the more perfect our surroundings; and thus it is. How sublime, beautiful and true – A house not made with hands, eternal and in the heavens.

No; our houses are not made with hands and they are eternal and in the heavens. Also – In my father's house are many mansions. There are mansions, very many mansions in the heavens, or, as you now call it—the Spiritual Spheres—which is all one and the same thing. The heavens are the spheres. A rose is a rose call it by whatever name one will. Heavens or spheres. Call them by which ever name one may choose.

A few words more and I am done with this letter. If the sound of a voice, or any other sound, goes on forever in the ether, how about the life or spirit of anything whatever? Will the bark of a dog go on forever in the ether, and the spirit that causes the dog to bark become extinct? Will the neigh of a horse go on forever, and the spirit, or living principle of the horse, become extinct? Think more deeply, oh, ye sapient sages, or a woman will outwit you, and that will never do, at least you think she never can. But I have to tell you that the coarser atmosphere of earth does not carry the sound of your voice beyond its own atmosphere, the finer ether holds the sound and carries it onward forever – I will not call it vibration, for people get terribly mixed on that word, but you may call it that or anything else you please.

So the finer ether holds the life, or spirit, of all things and carries it onward forever and forever. Spirits of animals seldom or never return to earth. Not having as much intelligence or mind as man, they do not wish, will or desire, consequently do not often return, but, sometimes do. A dog very much attached to his master may remain near him for a long time after leaving the material body, so may a horse, and occasionally some other pet animal or bird, but these are merely exceptions to the rule. Ethereal sounds are not heard by mortal ears, but the ethereal, or spiritual ear hears all the sounds that the ethereal air, or ether, brings to it. The mortal sight cannot see the spheres or the angels, it can only see what is within the dense earthly atmosphere, but the ethereal, or spiritual eye can see all things that exist within the ether. It is simply a difference of atmospheres, that is all. One is dense, almost opaque; the other sparkling and bright.

Yours truly,

MADAM