Physical Aspect of the Spirit World Continued

As there is no vapour, there is no night in the Spirit World and there is, therefore, nothing to impede the light of the sun, which is at all times present. As to heat from the sun, spirits do not know it in their world at all. They have one invariable temperature and one invariable universally-diffused light. Although there is no night, yet light is excluded by material obstructions and, of course, there is darkness in such places but, since spirits have higher senses, their vision is not affected by the absence of light. The sun, moon, and stars are visible to them and rise and set in the same way. The physical laws which appertain to the spirit world is one which we cannot understand because spirit matter and our matter are so very different in their nature.

Spirits on the earth plane converse by their tongues, the same as we do. Even with us, however, persons intuitively learn to communicate by spiritual means more or less, that is, by mental sympathy. We understand one another better and require less talking in proportion to the amount of mental sympathy which exists between ourselves and our friends; thus, one who has been on such sympathetic terms in earth life with a friend will readily communicate with him in the spirit world without the use of his tongue. If spirits are sufficiently developed to rise above the earth plane, they communicate with one another in this way. The general mass of spirits on the earth plane, unless they come there as visitors from the higher spheres, communicate with one another by word of mouth and gesticulation.

Another peculiarity in the relative powers of the higher and lower spirits is that the higher spirits are not visible to those below them; whilst the former have the power to see all the spirits on the earth plane. The latter, therefore, are ignorant of the others' presence unless it is desired to make them aware of the fact. 

Higher spirits can read the thoughts of the lower ones—each sphere, in fact, comprehending the one below it. The earth plane is not necessarily a higher sphere than our world—it all depends on the degree of development of the spirit, whether embodied or disembodied. If our spiritual development qualifies us to rank with the spirits from the third sphere, our thoughts are not even cognisable to spirits in the Summerland (the second sphere), much less to those on the earth plane. We see, therefore, the importance of keeping our thoughts pure and cultivating our own spiritual development. By this means we raise ourselves higher and higher above the temptation of earthly spirits, who, being unable to comprehend us, are incapable of tempting us and we are less likely to fall. We may be indirectly tempted by low spirits through the agency of bad company but they are less powerful for evil than disembodied spirits who come upon us unawares and may always be with us suggesting evil thoughts and exciting our passions. Spirits who have once progressed above the earth plane never fall.

Since higher spirits can read the thoughts of spirits on the earth plane and hear them speak, besides being obliged to listen to our spoken and unspoken utterances, we can easily imagine that in our crowded thoroughfares and places of resort, the Babel of tongues, intermixed with the other noises that meet the ear and are alike audible to them, make a combination of sounds that is not at all attractive. The sounds from the spirit side of life are often a mixture of oaths, shouts, and uproar, which are painful to listen to, for the disturbances that take place between the unhappy men and women who throng our courts and alleys and minor thoroughfares—unheard by human ear—are at times perfectly demoniacal.