God delights in the happiness of His creatures

God delights in the happiness of His creatures.

I cannot move! I am faint with joy! This is rapture. This is the real heaven, the immortal life! I feel as though I must go back and tell all my friends, on the dark and unhappy earth, of the glorious reality; the surety of a future life, and how vast and beautiful this heavenly country is.

The Discovered Country

We must earn all things before we can enjoy them

We must earn all things before we can enjoy them.

You may not enjoy heaven alone, you must help others to enjoy it with you; the heavens here are just what the angels make them. Heaven does not create itself; the natural heaven exists the same as the natural earth, but if man remained on earth in the natural or savage state, he would never rise much above the wild animals; if spirits remained crude and ignorant here, there would be no heaven. Most of the souls that come here are crude and ignorant; they do not know how to create their share of heaven, and must first be taught by those wiser than themselves; and if those on the earth did not receive wisdom direct from the angel world, there would be no progression there, and man would remain on a level with the brute. 

The Discovered Country 

Plain unvarnished truths

The actual soul does not age permanently, though it carries the impress of the body when it first comes over. By degrees, freed from material cares, the signs of age disappear and the spirit-body looks like that of an adult in the prime of life and in perfect health.

Before I came to this life, I had thought, if there was a life, at all, after the death of the body, that each remained at the same age they were when they died. That a child remained as a child, and a man, a man; and an old person, still old.

When we leave the earth-life, we appear, for a short time, much as we did when we left it; but the moment we commence to learn heavenly wisdom, that moment we commence to grow young and beautiful; we do not go back to childhood in our appearance, neither, do we ever again have the same appearance that we had in the earth-life; but as we throw off error after error, and take on wisdom, love and truth, we become perfect and beautiful in our outward appearance; and every mark that time leaves upon us, is one of perfection and beauty.

Some of the angels here, are so bright and glorious, that even we, that have been here many years, cannot behold them; and those that come here as children, grow in love and wisdom, until they appear as full grown men and women, and then they go on like the rest.

The Discovered Country 

Supremely light, blessed and happy

At our so-called death, our old burdensome bodies of material matter are cast from us forever and we are above and beyond all death and decay. This truth alone is enough to render us supremely happy. Then, on the other hand, when we find we have lost nothing but gained all things and that in losing our material bodies we have cast off a heavy and decaying garment or covering, we feel supremely light, blessed and happy.

Every creature that lives will attain great joy and happiness

Great joy and happiness is the only life to which we can look forward to, as there is no other for the soul of man and as time rolls on every creature that lives will attain it.

No act of kindness is ever forgotten by an immortal soul

No act of kindness is ever forgotten by an immortal soul and if the one that confers the favour does not receive his reward on earth, he is sure to meet with it in the heavens.

Pages from the Book of Nature

Where did this spiritual ground come from?

From the earth you have just left. Examine it more closely, Herfronzo, and you will discover that it is attenuated or spiritualised matter. Being a spirit yourself, it is to you now as substantial as your earth was when you were in an earthly body. It is spiritualised earth to spiritualised man.

How can I account for water being here?

How do you account for its being on the earth? It came directly from your earth. It is attenuated and spiritualised to fit the spiritual man and the spiritual earth. 

Now, Voncelora, the grass, the flowers, the trees, the shrubbery, the mountains? 

They also came directly from your earth. Nothing propagates itself here in this spiritual world; there is growth and progression but no propagation. The material earths are the only places where propagation takes place. But all spiritual things have their root in the material. The grass, the flowers, the trees and the shrubbery come from earth. The spirits of all things that die on earth pass directly to that earth's spiritual spheres and take their places according to natural law. That is the true meaning of all death. Nothing decays, nothing dies here, nothing can be injured; all things grow more and more beautiful as the ages roll on.

How is it that I find animals here?

Were you not an animal when you were in the material body? Do not other animals have just as good a right to exist as you? Are my sheep not just as beautiful in their way as you are or as I am? Not so intelligent, perhaps, but just as necessary in the chain of existent things as either you or I.

How did this bread and fruit come into existence?

The spiritual fruit exists on spiritual vines and trees and can be plucked to feed the spiritual man the same as he can quaff the water but they are not diminished when you eat and drink.

How is it that the grapes are not diminished by plucking them and they bear no seed within them?

Spiritual fruit of any kind does not produce seed. Seed germs are left entirely in the earth-life. Your fruit on the earth is not diminished by its gathering. This spiritual fruit grows new each time you pluck it but as we have no years here and Eternity is all the time we have and there are no seasons, neither day nor night, our fruit forms necessarily immediately after the plucking.

The Discovered Country 

The law of attraction decrees where the soul will abide

The soul comes enclosed in its spirit body with the spirit’s entry into the spirit world. The spirit body does not have, of itself, the power to determine its own location or destiny as regards a place, for the law of attraction that operates on the soul determines its condition and location. As the spirit body is the soul's covering, it must go where this law of attraction decrees the soul will abide.

A case of wires being down

It is a constant study on this side to find out the hindrances to spirit communion.

Samuel Bowles (Spirit)

An incompatible thought power

The gain of one man through the labour of others establishes a thought power incompatible with the true idea of national equality.

Co-operation would have made hundreds of homes happy

Co-operation would have made hundreds of homes happy.

True prayer is that which sets in action the love-force of spirits on this side

True prayer is that which sets in action the love-force of spirits on this side, which acts in accordance with law for the betterment of the supplicant.

Samuel Bowles

Save him, Oh! Lord!

My attention was drawn to one poorly-dressed woman in Salvation Army dress―whose face could be clearly seen, as she knelt in prayer. 

She was imploring that her precious boy might be saved from the power of drink. 

Save him, Oh! Lord!

I watched her through the prayer. 

There was so much of agony in her face. 

I watched a party she could not see―a trio of spirits who compassed her about. 

They too seemed to be pleading for help from some higher source.

 

Scarcely had her voice ceased, when a young girl―an angel of light, dressed in pure white, with shining eyes and glad face, led in a young man who―by his dress and bloated face―showed how low he had fallen. 

She led him to his mother―who had just risen, and was standing. 

 

I've been outside with the toughs, mother, and heard you pray for me, your boy, and I could not help coming to you, and saying―

I will stop drinking―I will serve God. 

I did not stop to hear more, for there was such a noise of prayer and praise. 

But then I saw an answered prayer―answered by spirit-friends who, at that time, had power to respond. 

My thought was―

Oh; I hope it will last.

 

Golden Gleams from the Heavenly Light

The obstacles to development in spirit life have their root in earth life

Samuel Bowles recounts the story of the two brothers. As he bids the brother goodbye, Samuel Bowles thinks – 

All those whom he directly wronged are now in spirit life and have forgiven him but he cannot forgive himself. This is slow Hell!

Remember – 

True strength lies in forgiveness.

In his rambles, Samuel Bowles meets a great student of the law. He asks him – What are you doing with your knowledge?  The other answers – Oh! I'm storing up, storing up, all of the time. I don't intend anyone to get ahead of me.

Remember – 

Let your bestowing love and your knowledge be devoted to be the meaning of the earth! 

Zarathustra I:22. The Bestowing Virtue 

Of obstacles to development in spirit life, Samuel Bowles writes that he understands enough to make him speak in thunderous tones to those who are in earth life –

Lay down all idols, for you will find them to be clay. Break all conditions of habit, whether of body or mind, which will serve as a hindrance to rapid progress in spirit life.

An honest man must criticise himself!

An honest man must criticise himself!

The life principle in all things is beyond the hand of the destroyer

The recuperative power of all things here is so great that nothing can be destroyed – the life principle in all things is beyond the hand of the destroyer.

Samuel Bowles (Spirit)

We are free to go as we will

We are free to go as we will.

Choose which shall be your master – Right or Wrong

Choose which shall be your master – Right or Wrong.

Samuel Bowles (Spirit)

God, who will render to every man according to his deeds

My heart is sad to think, if the old Book is followed in some things, why people do not take more closely to heart that passage which says, God, who will render to every man according to his deeds. That would avert much of the disappointment, for then they would know, even though they hope they are forgiven, that the old stains must be wiped out by earnest work here.

Samuel Bowles (Spirit)

Each soul is a law unto itself!

Our works follow us.  We must not expect to transgress one law of the moral or physical world and escape the recoil on our souls. Any abuse, any excesses, any inclination to degrade drags the soul down. There can be no effectual repentance except through suffering, worked out by slow degrees and even then the scar is left! Life is ever-existent and the two properties – good and evil – are capable of growth but the growth of one is at the expense of the other. Unbridled passions, impure lives are the outgrowth of old conditions but, because tolerated, they cause their victims long hours of darkness and despair.

Samuel Bowles (Spirit)