This is Heaven!

How did you feel on entering the other world?

When I awoke in the spirit life and perceived I had hands and feet and all that belongs to the human body. I cannot express to you in form of words, the feelings, which at that moment seemed to take possession of my soul. I realised that I had a body, a spiritual body, and with what beautiful and glorious effulgence of light did I remember what Paul stated in his epistle—

It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

I realised at that moment, as I had never done before, the glorious truth of my own unfoldings. I had expected to sleep a long sleep of death and awake at last at the general resurrection to receive commendation or condemnation, according to the deeds done in the body.

Imagine then if you can what the surprise of a spirit must be to find after the struggle of death that he is a newborn spirit from the decaying tabernacle of flesh that he leaves behind him.

I gazed on weeping friends with a saddened heart, mingled with joy, knowing as I did that I could be with them and behold them daily though unseen and unknown—and as I gazed upon the lifeless tenement of clay and could behold the beauty of its mechanism and could perceive the beautiful adaptedness of all its parts to the use of the spirit that once inhabited it, I felt impelled to seek the author of so much beauty and use and prostrate myself in adoration at His feet—

And while contemplating the beauties of God's works and lifting my soul from earth and earthly things, I felt a light touch upon my shoulder and joy unspeakable!

I beheld the loved ones of earth, some of whom had long since departed from the earth plane, saying unto me—

Leave these sad and weeping groups of mourning friends and go with us and behold your future home—your place appointed unto you—and be introduced by us into the society of congenial spirits who have long known you while sojourning on the earth plane, but of whose presence you were ignorant.

And I felt myself ascending—or rather floating onward and upward through the regions of space—and I beheld worlds inhabited with people like unto those who dwell upon the earth—and ascending from each of these beautiful orbs were freed spirits and their guides, bearing me company through the bright realms of immensity. For a time I floated on without any fatigue, but before long I began to feel weary, and the bright band of spirit friends who came to welcome me bore me in their arms, and I felt myself growing unconscious of surrounding scenes. I seemed to swoon away—and when I again came to a knowledge of my condition and position, I found myself by the side of a beautiful flowing stream.

I was all alone.

I fancied I had a dream—that this was not all reality, but the fantasies of a sickened brain—and I arose to my feet and the velvety turf at my feet seemed to vibrate with undulations of music along advancing footsteps—the air seemed redolent with sweet sounds and ethereal voices saluted my ear with the most enchanting melodies.

I shouted—Glory to God! This is heaven!

It surpassed the highest flight of my fruitful imagination, and my happy soul rejoiced in the sweet assurance of unending bliss in this world of beatitudes!

Though to all appearances alone, I felt I could not be alone when surrounded by such sweet and soul-cheering harmonies.

I fell upon my knees. I bowed my face to the earth, feeling my unworthiness of this glorious realisation. But again I felt this slight touch, and the silvery notes of a human voice vibrated in my ear, saying—Arise!

Arise! for you are a child of God, blessed with a glorious and immortal inheritance, and your Father desires you should stand up in the dignity of a child of His love, and commands you in the spirit of that love, not to worship Him as an abject slave, but to give Him the joyous tribute of a grateful heart.

And this bright spirit also informed me that I must contribute to the general wealth of knowledge—that there were those beneath my standing and attainments that required elevating and I must stretch forth the helping hand to some striving, struggling brother, and thus be preparing myself for a higher and more glorious unfolding, for inasmuch as I gave to others, I would be the recipient of higher and purer gifts, imparted from the bright and more progressed minds who were nearer to the Father's heart in their approximation of perfection—not nearer to His love, but more unfolded in beauty and in elevated truths—the fragrance of which reached far over the broad expanse of God's Universe, reaching to the heart of humanity and inciting them to deeds of virtue and love.

This, my brother, was my introduction to this paradise—this land of spirits!

I found myself surrounded by splendid temples, adorned with unfoldings of art and whose walls were decorated by the master hands of those great and ever-to-be remembered artists who had laboured upon the earth—for everything that is unfolded on earth has its life's germ in the spirit world.

There is not a tiny blade of grass that covers the breast of Mother Earth but has a never-dying principle of life.

We have our oceans and bays and tributary streams—we have our warbling songsters and our flowering meads—we have the fragrance of the flower, but no noxious weeds.

—G. D. in Spirit