Prayers from the Spirit Realms — Robert Bayer [Editor] — (2020) — [60 pages]

Prayers from the Spirit Realms Robert Bayer (editor) (2020)

1

Table of Contents The Powers of The Spiritual Mind [p3] Prayers to Live a Higher Life [p7] Praying to Reform Oneself [p9] Prayers of Eternal Love [p12] The Power of Prayerful Thoughts [p16] A Prayer for a Mission [p20] Praying on The Heights [p22] Prayer is The Great Purger of The Soul [p25] The Vibrations of Prayer

[p28]

Prayers in Hell [p32] The Inner Powers [p38] Prayers Heard by a Guardian Angel [p39] Prayers to Uplift the Spirits [p43] Praying to Rise [p45] Lift Your Souls in Spiritual Prayer [p48] At The Children's Home [p52] This Heavenly Prayer [p55] Prayer Leads to Salvation [p58]

2

The Powers of The Spiritual Mind Charles Drayton Thomas Life Beyond Death with Evidence (1867)

Father: It is important to make known the added powers of average people like ourselves; it will make for a better understanding and appreciation of the after-life. Many on earth fear that on leaving their body they will be less complete than at present; their physical body seems so essential that the idea of being detached from it suggests a sense of loss, of being less well off than before. But such an idea is entirely wrong. The unseen body has a real existence all the time you are in the physical body, and it has much greater power when freed therefrom. While in the physical body its power is small, because your personality functions in the physical body. But you live in your spiritual body during sleep, and in moments of inspiration, or prayer.

When your soul is freed from its earthly body it finds itself living in one that is similar, but which has indeed added powers of feeling and of movement. I wish to emphasise that not only am I surrounded by greater beauty and happiness, but that my powers of appreciation are greatly expanded. You know how one used to walk past beautiful flowers, and grand sights, without seeing all that was in them; we are

3

able to see the complete beauty. In short, our powers are a thousand times greater than yours.

C.D.T.: Do you really mean a thousand times?

Father: Yes, incalculably more; one cannot exactly say how many times greater. Etta will be very glad to give you her views. She is enthusiastic, just as she was when on earth.

Etta: You ask me to tell you something about our powers here. For one thing, we have complete control over both mind and body, a complete control. It is astonishing how little control we really had when on earth. The contrast impresses me immensely on coming here. On earth the mind has some degree of control over body and health; a bending of the mind to one's task, and a determined cheerfulness under difficulties, can accomplish a good deal. But here our body is perfect, perhaps on account of the mind's perfect control over it.

Our emotions also are under the control of mind. Suppose I see something which makes me indignant. I feel the indignation, but should not lose my temper or neglect anything I happened to have in hand. I should register the emotion, but should not dwell upon it. And so likewise with sorrow, I may feel sorrow, but it does not hurt me. I 4

have no sorrow for myself, but I do feel for others. When I realised that I had come here I felt sorrow for you all who were mourning my loss; but that sorrow did not hurt me, because I did not dwell upon it in the sense of putting other things aside for it. I knew that I felt sorrow, I registered the fact, but it makes all the difference when the mind has complete control.

Another of our powers is that of realising the great happiness of love for our friends on earth without the old craving for their immediate companionship.

I

have

not

that

craving,

but

always

the

consciousness that one would not be away from them were it not right. I think it is the complete consciousness of being in one's right place which overcomes all such personal desires and griefs.

On earth, even in sorrow, there comes the moment of enlightenment in which you know that all is right; for the moment you feel it, although you revert to the old sadness afterwards. Contact with the ordinary conditions of life brings back the former sadness. Yet, in that momentary flash, you experience the kind of consciousness which is always ours here. It would be incorrect to say that I long and crave to have contact with earth. Rather say that when I have this opportunity of talking with you it brings me an added happiness. We think more and more of our friends as we progress in our upward life. The only occasion when we should not be permitted to engross our thought 5

with friends on earth would be when any of them selfishly attempted to compel us to do so. Not many would do that. It is a thing to avoid, and may as well be stated by way of warning. Opportunities should be given us, but it is useless to try and compel.

6

Prayers to Live a Higher Life Miss M. T. Shelhamer Life and Labor in The Spirit World (1885)

I met with some of these happy people; conversed with them, after the manner of spirits, read the interior conditions of their souls, and found them all pure, loving, simple, intelligent, respecting man, adoring the divine in humanity, and recognizing God as the author of life, whose spirit was found in everything. How their spirits sent forth a halo of light, which, springing from their unbounded love and veneration for Robert Burns, settled about him like an atmosphere of glory!

Well did I think highly of the good this man had accomplished; of the beauty of his life-work, of the grandeur of his spirit, .which, rising above adversity, rejecting the tempter, had out-wrought by his example, by his endeavors, such a noble result as this,—the emancipation of souls from bondage. How many, few could tell; for his efforts have been unlimited, and the results of his labors are not confined to this valley, but are scattered far and wide in spirit life and on earth. What need has Robert Burns to return to earth and sing his songs through the lips of media? He does so rarely; and why? His spirit of love, of faith in God, of hope for human progress is so broad, 7

so free and untrammeled that it breathes itself out in a benediction of good over all humanity. It is manifested wherever a soul prays to be of use to itself and others; it inspires the weak with strength, and blesses the erring with a determination to redeem past errors; it is felt on earth and in spirit life, purifying, elevating, and regenerating. Is not this the loftiest poem, the sweetest song, the grandest tale that bard or prophet ever could have dreamed? Is it not the outworking, in lines of living glory, of the most sublime yet soulful paean of praise to God that spirit can conceive? Is it not the breathing, soul-quickening, revivifying poem of life that is out-wrought from the inspirations and aspirations of a gifted, struggling soul once in mortal, and which is the perfect culmination of all that has been dreamed of by that soul, manifesting itself in the fruition of a work of beauty, glory, and grandeur,—not of mechanical art, but of natural, quickened, sentient life?

Could the mortal denouncers of Robert Burns witness his noble triumph of spirit over matter, his defeat of all sensual life, his wonderful efforts for the good of others, and his glorious soul, radiant with the light of truth, they would bow before him in abject poverty of spirit. One of a band of noble workers, his spirit flows out in love and forgiveness to all his foes, and in blessing to all humanity.

8

Praying to Reform Oneself Miss M. T. Shelhamer Life and Labor in The Spirit World (1885)

More than once I have visited liquor saloons, hoping to draw some poor wretch away from the curse of rum and its allurements. I have not always succeeded, but at times have been more successful.

On one of these occasions, a man in the prime of life, who was drinking copiously, and rapidly making himself worse than a beast, arrested my attention, but I could make no impression upon him.

While making the effort, a street musician began playing a dancing tune. The musician, a young and delicate boy, accompanied by a still younger female child, who was the dancer, was one whom I could impress, which I did by making him cease the dancing tune, and begin that sweet, pathetic air of Payneâ€&#x;s “Home, Sweet Home.â€? The little maid stopped her dancing, looked puzzled for a moment, when, catching the inspiration of the moment, she broke out in bird-like tones of sweetness, and sang the words of the song.

I watched the effect upon the drinker. At first he did not seem to hear, but gradually a listening expression stole over his features, and at last his head sank upon his hands. Now was my time. I whispered to 9

him of his mother, of his dear old childhood home, of his wife and child waiting anxiously for him even now, and of the dear one who had died and was calling to him from her heavenly abode.

He, of course, never knew but what they were his own thoughts awakened by that tune. In part they were, but their power was intensified by spirit presence and aid. His spirit child was close by my side, anxious that her father should be drawn away from that place.

From her I learned of her mother and invalid sister, who were living, and of whom I whispered in his ear.

The music ceased, and, rising, the drinker passed from the place, unheeding the call of the barkeeper to “stop and take another drink.� I followed him home, saw his wife and lame daughter, and learned from the state of their minds that he had resisted all their pleadings to remain from the rum shop, and had even raised his hand threateningly to his child. He said nothing that night, but went quietly to bed. In the morning I was there. Softened and humbled in mind, the man sat looking out of the window. I went to his daughter, influenced her to call her father and talk to him, as she had never done before. It was the voice of the spirit calling to him to look up higher, to pray for a strength to resist temptation, and to strive to live a better life. Amid tears of contrition he promised; by the bedside of

10

his invalid child that man took the pledge, and so far it has been kept, and his family are content, while his spirit child is happy.

11

Prayers of Eternal Love A Wanderer in the Spirit Lands Franchezzo (1896)

My thoughts had now turned to my beloved again, and the thoughts carried my spirit with them, so that I found myself entering once more the room where I had last seen her and the two ladies. This time I seemed to pass in at once, and was received by two spirit men whom I could but very faintly see. A veil seemed to hang between us, through which I saw those two spirit men, the ladies and my beloved.

I was told that I might again give a message to her through the lady who had written my words before. I was so anxious to try if I could not make my darling write down my words herself as I had seen her guardian spirit do, that I was allowed to try. To my disappointment I found I could not do it; she was deaf to all I said, and I had to give up that idea and let the lady write for me as before. After I had given my message I rested for a short time and watched my beloved one's sweet face, as I had been wont to do in other happier days. My musings were interrupted by one of those spirit men—a grave, handsome young man he seemed to be so far as I could see him. He spoke to me in a quiet kindly voice, and said that if I truly desired to write my own words through my darling herself, it would be well for me to join a brotherhood of penitents who like myself desired to 12

follow out the better way, and with them I should learn many things of which I was yet ignorant, and which would help me to fit myself to control her mind as well as give me the privilege I sought of being with her at times while she dwelt on earth. This way of repentance was hard, he said—very hard—the steps many, the toil and suffering great, but it led to a fair and happy land at last where I should rest in happiness such as I could not dream of now. He assured me (even as the kind earthly man had done) that my deformed body, which I was still so anxious to hide from my beloved one's eyes, would change as my spirit changed, till I should be once more fair to look upon, such as she would no longer grieve to see. Were I to remain upon the earth plane as I now was, I should most likely be drawn back into my former haunts of so-called pleasure, and in that atmosphere of spiritual degradation I should soon lose the power to be near my darling at all. For her own sake those who guarded her would be obliged to exclude me. On the other hand, were I to join this brotherhood (which was one of hope and endeavor), I should be so helped, so strengthened, and so taught, that when in due course my time came to return to the earth plane, I should have acquired a strength and an armor that could resist its temptations.

I listened to the words of this grave, courteous spirit with wonder and a growing desire to know more of this brotherhood of whom he spoke, and begged he would take me to them. This he assured me he would 13

do, and he also explained that I should be there of my own free will and choice only. Did I desire at any time to leave I could at once do so. "All are free in the Spirit world," he said. "All must follow only where their own wishes and desires lead them. If you study to cultivate the higher desires, means will be given you to attain them, and you will be strengthened with such help and strength as you may need. You are one who has never learned the power of prayer. You will learn it now, for all things come by earnest prayer, whether you are conscious that you pray or not. For good or for evil your desires are as prayers and call around you good or evil powers to answer them for you."

As I was again growing weary and exhausted, he suggested that I should bid adieu to my darling for a time. He explained that I should gain more strength as well as permit her to do so if I left her for the time I was to remain in this place of which he spoke. It would also be well that she should not try to write for three months, as her mediumistic powers had been greatly tried, and if she did not rest them she would be much impaired, while I would require all that time to learn even the simple lessons needful before I could control her.

Ah! me, how hard it seemed to us both to make this promise, but she set me the example, and I could but follow it. If she would try to be strong and patient so should I, and I registered a vow that if the God I had so long forgotten would remember and pardon me now, I would 14

give all my life and all my powers to undo the wrongs that I had done; and so it was that I left for a time the troubled earth plane of the spirit world of which I had as yet seen so little, but in which I was yet to see and suffer so much. As I left the room to go with my new guide I turned to my love and waved my hand in farewell, and asked that the good angels and the God I dare not pray to for myself might bless her and keep her safe for evermore, and the last thing I saw was her tender eyes following me with that look of love and hope which was to sustain me through many a weary, painful hour.

15

The Power of Prayerful Thoughts Mrs. Maud Lord-Drake.

Psychic Light: (1903)

Thought builds character and is all the enduring wealth we can acquire in this stage of existence. Thus counseled Mrs. Lord‟s more advanced guides. They urged her to hold out a strong hand to stay the feet of the weak and erring. They gave her the wisdom to claim the attention of the thoughtful, and to confound intellectual vanity.

They gave her to understand that thought vibrations once set in operation move on eternally and whoever comes within their limits must be influenced and modified by them; — that they will produce their legitimate result somewhere and some time. The mother‟s thought may not be so directly appreciable in the child as in the third and fourth generation; but, once involved, it will be evolved some time.

Thoughts become acts. Every act must be preceded by a thought, and these operations form character — the only desirable consummation of life. Let no mother doubt these laws and their far reaching effects. Call it heredity, if you will. The first cause is thought, — a deific or demonic force set in operation, and according to the

16

dynamic energy you give it so will it bless or curse the race and you as well. There is no place where you can escape from it.

There are those still living in Chicago, and at other places, who remember the lessons taught by Mrs. Lord‟s controls and who listened and applied them, and have beautiful children as a result.

How? She repeated to them the lessons given to her and told them her experience — told them how her inspiration of unalloyed joy knew no bounds when she thought of a young soul to be born into the world, mantled in glory and sweet perfection. The mysterious, magical law of thought, — the spirit‟s selection and impress of matter, molding it into forms of beauty and organizing it according to its kind and quality must produce the results for which she did so devoutly pray, — if no other environment and deleterious forces are present to check and delay for a generation, — possibly a second generation, the beauty and perfection for which she so fondly hoped. Prayers unceasingly rose to the mother‟s lips, from the hope-inspired heart, that her child might be all that nature‟s God could make it.

Out in the severest storms went she to pray; out into the sunshine where the songs of birds seemed to make life more sentient and beautiful; out beyond the great city‟s limits to peaceful fields abounding with life that only sanctified and glorified the soul within — the double life — that she might bring all good and potent conditions 17

to develop the dear babe so precious to the hungry heart of this inexperienced mother.

She sought places of art; she listened to the murmuring brooklets, singing birds and rippling waters, and lingered wherever and whenever she could find the beautiful in nature. She listened to the soft melodies of human souls that loved her. She reveled in natureâ€&#x;s rhythmical swells of grandest elevation and inspiration, and prayed for the fulfillment of the hue. The controls desired her to keep herself in a negative condition, to let nothing trouble her, to look to the sunny side of life, that the grand incomprehensible magnet called LOVE; primal, potential, creative force should so sensitize the child-life as to make it most beautiful.

This is the law, and its fulfillment must come somewhere in the line she was creating. Her prayer was for its direct and immediate fulfillment in the generation within her time — within her reach. There were other vibrations about her which her controls and she sought to neutralize. Time alone could tell if they were not also a law unto themselves. She was, however, assured that her efforts should bear golden fruit at some point on the line of the life she was thus individualizing. If not in her child, by reason of law, then by the same law they must manifest in a later generation. Natureâ€&#x;s laws make no

18

mistakes. In their continuity they span all existence — and are but modes of infinite intelligence.

19

A Prayer for a Mission Psychic light Maud E. Lord (1904)

This power which has caused you so much sorrow of God. It is God-given to uplift, not to downcast your soul. On the morrow redemption shall come to you. The life you think so full of woe and so blighted shall rise with the dawn of another day, full of brightest hopes.”

Thus spoke this lovely visitant from the shores of another world.

Again the beautiful words fell in sweetest cadence: “Thou, my child, hast prayed most earnestly, not for gold or silver, but for a mission to humanity. It shall be granted, and in its light thou shalt forever after move. Beautiful precepts shall be thy guide. Thy star of hope hath risen. We bid thee arise and seek thy home, with the consciousness that we who pledge and promise thee will bring light out of this darkness. “We will straighten the tangled web of life that hath run so strangely. All thy prayers and supplications, seeming but mockery to thy soul‟s great needs, shall be answered. Meet all troubles bravely and thy heart, bathed in divine life and light, shall be so illumined that your teachings shall find ready acceptance in the hearts of those who have reviled thee. Those now refusing this light of Christianity shall 20

revere thee. Child of glorious endowment, return to thy home!

To-morrow thy redemption shall come. Emancipation shall be thine.

On earth thou art of my race and lineage. In the world of spirit I am thy guardian. Remember that into all lives some sorrow must come.

Much of sorrow and sadness has come to thee. More must come, for it is so written. For every blow we will bring a balm. Crushed must be the flower that yields the sweetest perfume. Arise, fail not, and falter not, for we are with thee hereafter forever.�

21

Praying on The Heights Christian D. Larsen On The Heights (1908)

Beautiful beyond description is the new life we have now begun to live; every moment is an eternity of bliss, and to live — simply to live — that is sufficient. We can ask for nothing more; we have received everything that the heart can wish for; we are in that higher world where every prayer is answered, where every desire is granted, where every need is abundantly supplied; we are ON THE HEIGHTS, where God is closer than breathing, nearer than hands and feet.

This better world is the secret places of the Most High; that inner state of divine being where we enter into oneness with the Infinite, and meet Him face to face. It is the 22

true house of prayer, the temple of God, the sacred tabernacle of the soul. To enter therein is to walk with God — to feel that He protects us and keeps us, and to know that He is with us always, even unto the end of the world.

Pray without ceasing, and pray with all the power of heart and soul, that you may ascend into God's own beautiful world. Ceaselessly desire the highest, and inspire every thought with the soul of this desire.

The action of every desire, whether of the body, mind or soul, should be animated with a strong ascending life. The whole of life should be made a prayer — a beautiful prayer of faith — a prayer for the spiritual life on high. And whatsoever we desire, pray for, or ask for, we should ask it in the name of the Truth; not simply in the verbal expression of that 23

name, but in the spiritual understanding of that name. To enter the spiritual understanding of the name of the Truth when we pray is to enter into that spiritual world where everything that we may pray for is already at hand for us to receive.

Whatsoever ye pray or ask for, believe that ye have received it and ye shall have it. It has already been given; it is already at hand in the kingdom waiting for us to come and take possession; and I Am the door; we may enter the kingdom and receive our own providing we enter in the name of the Truth, in the pure spiritual conception of the divine significance of that name.

24

Prayer is The Great Purger of The Soul Mrs. Joy Snell The Ministry of Angels (1918)

“The mind of man can find in the world about him, as he beholds it and takes cognizance of it with his material senses, no satisfactory evidence of the existence of an omnipotent Creator, still less will he be able to discern proof that the Creator is a being of infinite love.

Laws of nature, as he terms them, he will discover seemingly cruel and pitiless often, and from them he may deduce the existence of a supreme law-giver who sets in motion forces, physical and moral, of irresistible power and lets them work, indifferent utterly as to whom they bless and whom they destroy. But he will discover no proof that will satisfy his reason that from God he can obtain comfort when in trouble; courage when sorely beset; strength when his own strength fails him; hope when he is in despair.

“It is only by spiritual understanding that this knowledge can be acquired. The spiritual understanding apprehends spiritual truths by their effect — by the glow of delight which they kindle in the soul. It is only the spiritual understanding which can apprehend the love of God.

25

“The love of God is not a mere abstraction; it is something real; it is the most potent force in the world. It is to the soul of man what the sun is to the earth on which he dwells. Deprived of the life-giving heat and light of that sun the earth will yield man nothing that will satisfy his physical hunger. He may dig and plough and sow, but nothing will ripen for him.

“And the soul that is shut off from the fructifying light of divine love will yield nothing that will satisfy the needs of the spiritual nature for sustenance. The man who ignores God, whose soul is never illumined by the glorious light of divine love, despite the most laborious efforts of his own intellect, however gifted he may be, can find no satisfactory answer to the deep problems of existence which press upon every earnest nature for solution. But as the magnetic needle turns to the pole so does the soul, under the influence of divine love, turn to the Heavenly Father and hearken unto Him. Then do the doubts and perplexities that assailed him when he trusted solely to the guidance of his own reason vanish. Peace wraps him round. His fears are dispelled. He feels that wisdom far higher than his own is counseling him, and that which he has yearned to know, that which alone will give him peace of mind, is being revealed to him.

He realizes then that God does indeed exist, and that God is directing his paths.

26

“To attain that state of mind which renders him accessible to the ministry of angels and bring his soul into communion with his Maker, man must cease his own mental struggles. He must acknowledge his own inability to find that which his soul needs. He must yield himself to that instinct of prayer which is implanted in all hearts. He must pray for help. Be it in words or in a voiceless longing, it matters not so that it be sincere. Prayer is the great purger of the soul of those things which keep it from hearkening unto God. By prayer he enters the silence where all jarring discords are stilled. And there, reverently and humbly, he should await the answer to his prayer.

“It should not be expected in material and tangible form, nor in audible words, but in the thoughts and feelings that are impressed upon him. For it is at such times there is revealed to man the truth that makes him free — free from fear in all its varied forms — and he partakes of that blessedness which is found in rest in the Lord.”

27

The Vibrations of Prayer G. Vale Owen Life Beyond The Veil: Book 1: The Lowlands of Heaven (1920)

One thing it may be well to notice is the efficacy of prayer and meditation.

You have already received some instruction on this subject, and we would add to it.

Prayer is not merely the asking for something you wish to attain. It is much more than that, and, because it is so, it should receive more careful consideration than it has yet received. What you have to do in order to make prayer a power is to cast aside the temporal and fix your mind and spirit on the eternal. When you do that you find that many items you would have included in your prayer drop out from the very incongruity of their presence, and the greater and wider issues become to you the focus of your creative powers. For prayer is really creative, as the exercise of the will, as seen in our Lordâ€&#x;s miracles, such as the Feeding of the Five Thousand. And when prayer is offered with this conviction, then the object is created, and the prayer is answered. That is, the objective answers to the subjective in such 28

a way that an actual creation has taken place.

This does not happen when the prayer is wrongly directed. Then the projection of the will glances off at a tangent, and the effect is only proportionate to the scattered rays by which the objective is touched.

Also, when the prayer is mixed with motives unworthy it is proportionately weakened, and also meets with opposing regulating wills on this side, as the case may require; and so the effect is not attained as desired.

Now, all this may sound rather vague, but it is by no means vague to us. For you must know that there are appointed guardians of prayer here whose duty it is to analyse and sift prayers offered by those on earth, and separate them into divisions and departments, and pass them on to be examined by others, and dealt with according to their merit and power.

In order that this may be done perfectly, it is necessary that we study the vibrations of prayer as your scientists study the vibrations of sound and light. As they are able to analyse and separate and classify the rays of light, so are we able to deal with your prayers.

And as there are light-rays with which they are confessedly unable to deal, so many prayers present to us those deeper tones which are beyond the range of our study and knowledge. These we pass on to 29

those of higher grade, to be dealt with in their greater wisdom. And do not think that these latter are always found among the prayers of the wise. They are frequently found in the prayers of children, whose petitions and sighs are as carefully considered here as those of nations.

“Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.” You will remember these words spoken by the Angel to Cornelius.

They are often passed over without being understood as the literal description of those prayers and alms as they appeared to that Angel, and were passed on, probably by himself and his fellow workers, into the higher realms. It is as if he said, “Your prayers and alms came before my own committee, and were duly considered on their merits.

We passed them as worthy, and have received notification from those officers above us that they are of exceptional merit, and required a special treatment. Therefore I have been commissioned to come to you.” We are trying to put the case as emphatically as we can in your language of official business in order to help you to understand as much as you may be able of the conditions here obtaining.

If you will examine other instances of prayer in the Bible in the light of the above, you may get some glimpses of the reality as seen by us here in our own land.

30

And what applies to prayer also may be applied to the exercise of the will in directions not so legitimate. Hate and impurity and greed and other sins of the spirit and mind take on here a solidity which is not seen or realized in your sphere; and these also are dealt with according to their merits. And, alas, those who say that Angels cannot grieve, know little of our love for our brethren still battling on earth.

Could they see us dealing with some of these misusings of the Fatherâ€&#x;s great gift they would probably love us more and exalt us less.

Now we will leave you to consider this matter further for yourself, if you think it worthwhile, and, as we see you are willing to continue somewhat, will touch on another matter which may be both of interest and of help to you.

31

Prayers in Hell J.S.M. Ward Gone West (1920)

“How long I remained in that awful solitude I have no idea, but it seemed like centuries. Anyway, at length an inspiration came to me, sent, I believe, from above in answer to my inarticulate prayers. It was, „Turn towards God. He can help you, and no one else can!

“Turn towards God. It was a new idea. My whole life had consisted in turning deliberately away from Him. How could I turn towards Him even now? Yet what would I not do to get out of this awful place?

“Again and again my mind reverted to the idea, but how could I go towards Him? How could I get out of this awful spongy darkness?

Besides, I was damned.

“Another idea flashed into my mind. Why not pray? I tried the Lord‟s Prayer, but could not manage it. I had forgotten how to pray.

“At length, like an inspiration, the words suddenly burst from my lips, „O God, help me!‟

32

“Once spoken they came easier, and I repeated them again and again.

“What followed next, and, indeed, the whole of my process of getting out of this deepest depth, will, I am afraid, be very difficult for you to understand. It is next to impossible to find words adequate to describe these experiences.

“Well, the first effect of this praying was to produce what seemed like a pleasant sensation of warmth, and this warmth grew and grew until it became far too hot. Finally, I seemed to be afire. The more I prayed the more intense grew the heat, till at length I ceased to pray, hoping it might stay the pain. But it still continued.

“Then I became aware of a new sensation. I seemed to be growing lighter, and gradually I realized that I was slowly rising up through the spongy darkness.

“What had happened was, that by praying even so feebly I had begun to burn away a little of the grossest part of my nature which had rendered my spiritual body so heavy. Thus it became too light to remain stuck in that darkness, and gradually rose and rose, till at last I saw jutting out from the darkness what seemed like a black and slippery rock at the edge of some beetling cliffs. Though this phrase 33

would not be adequate, yet if you consider this lowest depth as a deep lake of utter darkness with forbidding cliffs all around, you will get some idea.

“As soon as I saw this black, slippery rock I tried to climb on to it, but slipped off again and again. By this time the burning sensation had ceased, and, encouraged by the evidence I had just received of the benefits of prayer I tried it again.

“„O God, help me to get out of this darkness.‟ “I had hardly done so when the lake of darkness (upon which I was now floating instead of in it) became agitated. Great waves rose up round me, and seemed as if they would engulf me. Instead, however, I was lifted up and hurled on to the rock. It was as if the dark waters would no longer contain me on their bosom, and therefore cast me ashore.

“I have little doubt that in part this was the case. You see, bad as I still was, I was yet too good to remain there now, and so was cast up on the shore of the second lowest division.

“The darkness was still intense, but not so tangible; but when I commenced to investigate my surroundings, I must admit my heart sank. The rock seemed to jut out like a table from a high cliff, and at

34

first I could find no path by which to climb it. Remembering how useful prayer had been before, I again assayed its benefits.

“For some time nothing happened, and I began to lose heart; but at length my sight seemed to become clearer, for I was able to detect a hole in the cliff a short distance to the left of the flat rock. I found that I could just reach it with one hand, and having tried many parts of the cliff with my foot, at length found a sort of step or hole broken or cut in the cliff, into which I placed my foot. After several more desperate struggles I reached the cave‟s entrance, and on climbing into it found that, after running some distance inland, it opened into a kind of narrow gully.

“Now I‟m afraid that all this must sound fearfully physical, but you must bear in mind that to us super-physical beings super-physical rock seems almost physical, and, in any case, when describing it to you we cannot convey the finer distinctions for which there are no words or symbols. This fact must be fairly intelligible to you, for look how natural in many ways is this spirit world to which you are permitted to come!

“By means of infinite toil and effort I was able slowly to climb up this gully, and after a while reached a spot some way up the cliff. Here I

35

found a ledge of rock which ran along the side of the cliff for some distance, and followed it.

“In due course this, too, ended, and I almost gave way to despair.

Had I struggled so far only to fail at last? I crouched down and thought, but as I could discover no way out, I began to pray again, but without much hope. However, the mere action of praying seemed to soothe my troubled spirit, and at length, encouraged by it, I rose and again searched for a way out.

“Suddenly there was a roar like thunder, and a mass of rock fell forward from the face of the cliff and jammed across the narrow gully close by where the path had broken off. This made a steep, sloping bridge. I could not see from where I stood whether the further end of the bridge led on to another path or ledge, but I felt sure that it had fallen in answer to my prayers. With infinite pains I scrambled on to this rough bridge. Several times I feared that I should pitch into the chasm below, but still I struggled on.

“At length I reached the top of the sloping stone bridge, and found that the chasm wall on the other side was more like screes than a sheer precipice. Up this I painfully struggled, often slipping back, but still persevering. My iron will stood me in good stead in this predicament.

36

“At length it was done, and I crawled on to comparatively level ground, rough and bouldery though it was, with a sigh of relief. I was back once more in the second division of Hell. At the same time a new fear seized me. Should I again see those devils?

“But nothing happened, no one came, and in time a new terror presented itself to my mind. Had I, after all, not left the lowest depth, was I still in that awful solitude? For a moment despair gripped me.

Were all these painful efforts in vain? Were the apparent answers to my prayers a mockery, the scorn of an angry God who would never be appeased?

“But soon other thoughts came. The darkness, though still here, was not the same, it was not tangible, it was the darkness of the second division. So again came hope.

37

The Inner Powers Mrs. Josephine M. Brace The Descending Light (1922)

If you will cultivate the inner powers, if you will illuminate the heaven within you, if you find the God-spark within you and bring forth its illumination, you will protect yourselves.

The spirit within, the spark of the Infinite, is wisdom. That which man gathers from the surface and thru experience is knowledge.

Knowledge wakens, aye, but wisdom reveals. So take thru knowledge all that you can gather from the world beyond, hold it as knowledge, and then in deep, solemn, prayerful, spiritual meditation illuminate it with the spirit within, and behold, thru wisdom you will know that it is not the man who searches materially that finds the light. He may find that which satisfies him for a time, but he does not gather the great good that man gathers thru searching spiritually.

38

Prayers Heard by a Guardian Angel Mrs. Josephine M. Brace The Descending Light (1922)

"I came into your home — I was not acquainted with your name, but I was in your home when your family were sick. It was at a time when you were praying that you might know what to do, and I stood right by your side, but you had no sense of feeling my presence. There is no stronger invitation given to us than that which comes thru prayerful thought; and as my great desire has been to bear some spiritual message to mankind, I am very strongly drawn to you by your prayer in thought.

"You have asked to be shown the proper step to take, and I am here to guide you; and I shall stand by your side, and I shall be of some assistance to you — and I am glad of the opportunity.

"You do not know me by name, but if you will send your thoughts to your Godhead, I will come upon the rays of that light to minister unto you.

My life upon the earth plane was that of a monk, though here I have come to serve in God's holy name and light.

39

"A great future lies before you, my sister, and I will help you as you bring those little ones into womanhood. You have done for His sake a great deal, and your life will be a spiritual help to those you have drawn to you. God bless you." "Friends, I have come to speak only for a moment or two, tho I am out of the flesh and you are in it — that is why I speak to you; as I am standing here I am sending you these thoughts.

"You are holding in your hands tonight, symbolically speaking, the key which can make harmony for you, that will make happiness for you, or that which will create all unhappiness. Little do men realize as they walk in the flesh that they are holding an opportunity far greater than any opportunity to make or build material things; but to you who have found that key which will open the doors between the two worlds (there are keys and keys) let me tell you, lest you forget, that in all your search attend to this thought: Hold to the things of God whilst in that garden in which you walk today; for it holds the fruits of the hidden things of God.

"What is God? God is a spiritual unseen, ever living, never dying fountain of wisdom of which you are a part. Therefore, I say this to you: lest you wish to walk in the garden in light, stay out of it — stay out of it. If you walk in unselfishness in search of God and spirit, in 40

search of the hidden things for good, then come with us and let us show you the way to the hidden things of God. The sacred channels upon which you are daring to place your feet hold the things that no man in sin shall dare to touch.

"Do you dare to reach out for the things of the soul, and sin and recklessly gather them in? No, it is a dangerous thing to do. Clothe yourselves in purity and truth, and if it is for truth you are searching, come forth and you shall find it. Happiness will be your reward; but if you are searching for satisfaction of selfish desires, turn away my good brethren; seek ye another channel.

"In the light of peace and purity and love shall be born a new race.

Some of you shall be parents of a new generation born to lift and to serve mankind.

"I speak to you in the name of that unseen power of God which no man can wholly conceive of whilst in the flesh. I serve in this field of material life because I have spent but twenty years in the flesh.

My friends, I stand before you a creature not in the flesh in order that I might lift man into a little higher spiritual thought.

41

"You are searching for TRUTH, so beware that you step not into the garden in the spirit of selfishness. Good night." (Another invisible helper speaks.) "Now friends, I am no speaker, but I can help you in different ways. I was a man who thought of nothing but the accumulation of material goods; I was a man who thought of nothing but the building of a fine home, with fine furnishings and everything that appealed to the material eye of man; I never thought I had a soul; but, oh, brothers and sisters, one day there came upon me a sickness and I found myself unable to obtain medical aid sufficient to overcome it; and there came into my mind the realization that I must die. Oh, God, I cannot tell you the feeling that came upon me. The memories of this are hard to bear, but it is necessary that I do bear it because it is of my own creation, they tell me.

42

Prayers to Uplift the Spirits Mrs. Josephine M. Brace The Descending Light (1922)

Very often you have heard a returning spirit say, "I am near you in your prayers," or "I hear your prayers." What does this mean? In your prayers you create a channel of holiness and spirituality and into that and thru it they can come to you with the holiest of holy thoughts — a help to them and a help to you.

There are souls all over the earth plane trying to come back, even searching for their people — searching for their flesh bodies. There are thousands who have passed from their physical bodies and know it not, they believe they are dreaming; they cannot realize they are dead (as you would call it), so aid them in your thoughts. In your spiritual thought, not with the thought, "I want to go to a séance; I want to know what to do about this; I want to know what is best for me." Don't do this. Those souls need your spiritual thought so don't be selfish and drag them down to your material thoughts, for it is hard enough for them to get away from the thoughts clinging to them. Lift them into the spiritual thought by your prayers and soulful aspirations.

Know that you can help them — do not demand of them more than they can give you — help them.

43

Sometimes those spirits whose lives were so bedimmed by materialism, by envy, by hate, selfishness, jealousy, find themselves dragged down to the earth plane; and how man wrongs the spirits of those poor unfortunate souls when he will go into a sĂŠance room with a thought of gain, with a thought of envy, with a thought of nothing else but a material life. He opens the door to those spirits who have left the body in that line of thought and it holds them down and does not help them to rise into the light of spirit.

Spiritually draw from the higher realms that thru your consciousness you may aid some poor souls to reach out of their fleshy thoughts; help them to rise and live in spirit. They are close to the earth plane because they were sent out of the flesh before they had completed that physical expression and they need that expression upon the earth.

44

Praying to Rise Mrs. Josephine M. Brace The Descending Light (1922)

My God! To think that I had a wonderful gift and wasted it upon material minds and material things and for material purposes. Oh! That I could live those last twenty years of my life over again — oh!

That I could. But seeing that I cannot, I ask that I may borrow your force, that I may borrow some of your time. Oh! I pray that I may learn to rise and serve my fellow-men; that I may teach mediums to aid in the upliftment of mankind.

My soul is crushed with grief — Infinite Love requires service of me, and I am here to serve. It is because I come in the Light of Love that I can ask that I might serve, Infinite Love can touch me only by service — and I cannot expect to live and bask in the sunlight of pure Infinite Love until I have made myself worthy of this.

So I have come in touch with the earth plane again — and it is in response to my desires that this has happened. Some time I will tell you more of my life and show you the outcome of wrong doing, wrong living, the outcome of wasted gifts and talents, and then I know that I shall have done some good."

45

The lessons that we are desirous of conveying, and make clear to you, are that your lives, your deeds, and the way you live have to do with your future life. Your own consciousness is your guide, your own consciousness is your judge, and will reveal to you the way to go.

The object lessons are brought to you from the various conditions in which we find souls over here that the relation of their stories will reveal to you clearly a lesson, which can be more closely conceived by man in the flesh than the words we might speak to you.

It is not to show you any particular faith or belief, but to show you the narrow teachings of religion which confine the mind of man to that particular doctrine and give the soul no individual freedom to search for himself and find his own environments spiritually. We desire to show you by the souls who have experienced death the effects of wrong doing, wrong living and the effect of depending upon another's thought; the effect of leaning upon belief and faith.

We urge you to live right, and to do right, and to guard your thoughts, for your mind is a reflector between the great source of ALL GOOD and you.

Cultivate the spirit within you, and all the finer qualities built thru unselfishness will make for you a better soul's home. In your time of 46

concentration send forth a silent prayer for the speedy illumination of these earthbound souls.

The condition one finds over here does not depend upon his faith or belief, but upon his life and the wonderful power within him to think."

47

Lift Your Souls in Spiritual Prayer Mrs. Josephine M. Brace The Descending Light (1922)

Some are looking for the end of the world. Is it the destruction of the clay upon which you walk, or is it the destruction of the materialistic world in which you live? Is it not the spiritual resurrection within man's consciousness!? Man is coming into this wondrous realization, he is waking from his deep sleep and sees the dawn of the bright new day, and things which are of spirit, things which are beyond the mortal mind of man, come upon him with so much force that he cannot comprehend them.

When we say that it is possible for one to make himself perfect, man thinks of his mortal body, because all mind about him is deeply saturated with mortal thought, but man shall know himself and serve his brother; he shall reach out, not to a God upon a throne who would cast him into torment, but to a God of pure spirit, a God of perfection, a God which no man can comprehend with mortal mind.

Lift your souls in spiritual prayer and let the spirit speak to you.

48

Mortal thought is going to be a thing of the past, because the new generation will have developed the sixth sense — intuition. Mother nature is sending out into the universe more and more of the desires of the minds attuned to spirit. There will be no creeds, there will be no power to command you, because the spirit of God will reign.

What is the spirit of God? It is the greatest power you have within you today — and this shall be manifested everywhere. The great Theocracy shall reign, when man shall see thru the divine light of love and knowledge. There will be no hate because man will see by intuition why it is so; and sympathy, compassion and love you will hold for your brothers who are not so much enlightened as you.

In that great new day there shall be no dominating minds manifesting for all men will seek spiritual unfoldment, and this will bring about the universal brotherhood of man. There will be no resting upon the hope of redemption thru the sacrifice of the body of Jesus; that grand and glorious spirit manifested in the body to bring men up from the downtrodden paths of sin in which they walked. His body, as many others, was sacrificed to the great cause of the upliftment of mankind — but you cannot be saved by that. You create all the conditions in which you live; and if you place an obstacle in the way of your fellow-man, multiplied will be the obstacles in the way of your progression.

49

But all about you on the physical plane of expression shall be peace.

Can you believe it? It seems impossible to you that all minds will dwell in one harmonious thought, bringing forth harmonious notes of truth. It is impossible to describe, the great day whose dawn you are witnessing, in the language of today, for the soul has no language, and it will be the day of the soul's unfoldment. It is the day when man shall think naught of walking by the side of those departed, the day when all men shall feel the divine presence of the risen spirit of Christ; the day when public mediums shall not exist — what are mediums? They are only minds that are reaching into another realm of expression. There will be no more need of them because you, as you unfold yourselves, can reach out even over the casket and touch the spiritual soul and feel and know it is there. There will be no possibility of being deceived because the great day comes to you thru The Great Spirit which freshens the minds of all men, fertilizing their thought powers and bringing into existence the wonderful things which live within the temple of knowledge.

There will be no kings or queens, there will be no man who will dare to tread upon you. Even as your planet is seemingly in such a discordant condition, it is only this: It is the birth pang of a newer dispensation that is being born into your world, the new light when man shall know himself, when man shall greet his brother with love 50

and outstretched arms; when deceit shall not reign, but truth shall reign and men shall be guided by the invisible light, and all that is mortal, all that is earthy, shall pass away.

From the higher realms of spirit penetrating thru all that coarser vibration are coming the minds which bear to your world fragments of that harmonious ALL, and they shall teach man how to live, how to do, for the day is rapidly advancing when all things from the world of spirit shall be of benefit to you and to all mankind. Through the touch of the spiritual world peace will come.

51

At The Children's Home Life Beyond The Veil Book 2: The Highlands of Heaven G. Vale Owen (1921)

Then I sat down again and spoke to them. I asked them if they loved our Father, and they said, yes, very much, for He it was Who made all this beautiful land, and showed people how to love them. I told them that those who loved the Father were His true children, and that if they asked Him for anything wise and good, believing He was present in His life and power, they would be able so to make their wills use that power that the thing desired would come to them. So it was not needful that I should make any more animals for them, as they could make them themselves. But, as this was rather a difficult case to begin with, I would help them.

Then, at my bidding, they all thought of the lamb they wished to, have, and then willed that it should come to them. But nothing came of it apparently; and I restrained my power within certain limitation, of a purpose. After trying awhile I told them to pause.

Then I explained that they were not powerful enough yet, but when

52

they grew bigger they would be able to do even this, if they continued to develop their faith, in prayer and love, and continued, "For you have that power, only it is not yet large enough, except to do small things. And I am going to show you that you have some of that power in you now, so that you will continue to learn your lessons from your good guardians. You have not yet sufficient power to create a living animal, but you have enough to influence one already alive to come to you. Are there any lambs on this estate?" They said there were none, but there were so—me on an estate rather a long distance away, where they had gone on a visit a short time before.

"And you," I said, "by your faith and power have brought one of these lambs to you."

Pointed behind them and, turning, they saw a little

lamb feeding on a path among the trees a little distance away.

They were too much surprised at first to do aught but stare at him.

But some of the older ones recovering, broke away and ran, with cries of delight, to the place where he was and, seeing them, he ran sporting and prancing to meet them, seeming as joyous as they to find playmates to sport with.

"It's alive," they cried, and turned to beckon the laggards on; and soon that poor lamb was smothered with fondling and caressing, as he might have been a child of their own begetting. I do think they had 53

for 'him a considerable sense of motherhood and proprietorship.

Now, this may seem more or less casual, according to the bent of him who reads. But it is essentials which matter. And I tell you that the pretty little lesson thus given was the spring of what will eventuate, perhaps long ages hence, in the creation of some cosmos, as it might be that of which your planet is a small member. It is thus the Principalities and Powers began to train for mightier things. What they had seen me do was an act of Creation. What they had themselves done, with some little aid from me, was the beginning of such evolvement, which should lead them on to do what I had done, and then to progress, as we in these spheres do, from power to power greater still as faith is added to, little by little, as we use it in the service of Him Who gives it us to enjoy.

This is faith, and, unseen by you, or not so clearly seen, your faith it is which, sanctified by prayer and high motive, brings to pass its own fulfillment. Use it, then, but with care and circumspection and all reverence, for it is one of the great trusts which He has confided to you—and to us in greater measure—and that is no mean mark of His great love. Whose Name be blessed for the free Bounty of His giving.

Amen forever.

54

This Heavenly Prayer Juliet S. Goodenow Vanishing Night (1923)

The mind cannot conceive the splendors that await revealment. In justice to my efforts to describe the heavenly home, I must repeat as I so often have said in the preceding chapters, that the personality gleans much of heaven while journeying thither—what heaven is to me, measures up to my attainment there. I would that my language might be very clear—that no doubt should mingle with the Truth as I desire to express it. My interior development intensifies the beauty and the glory of Heaven. My soul is Heaven in embryo—this is the same of every soul— God created man in His own Image. As the soul becomes luminant in understanding, Heaven is revealed; the eyes, those windows of the soul, reveal the kingly dwelling place within: the Temple of the Holy Spirit abiding: the dwelling place of the Most High, God!

This is not figurative language. It is old as the

Word given to Moses on the tablet of stone. I am privileged to turn the light on the pages after many centuries have crept down the ages, wrapped in the swaddling clothes of oblivion. The era of a new day is advancing; the night is far spent; the day star is near. Man, the unit, contains the whole creation.

55

When man comes to the recognition of his kingship, he will exercise the leash of self-mastery, and gradually regain his lost inheritance.

The product of his mind will re-create the earth. He will fight the dross of human experience inimical to progress, as plagues are now eradicated. The mind thus clarified will reflect signal beauty of countenance. Deformity will be outclassed as irregular, and inferior product. The new earth will contain a perfect race of men.

You ask about God. Think deeply; cherish the thought. Listen. Do you hear a voice in answer to the prayerful thought vibrating through the chamber of your interior self? Remember, O Soul, the within of you is open to the universal reservoir of the without! The nearness of God is incomparable—He is within you.

"In Him I live and move and have my being." I need this divine essence. I breathe it. It is life; it is hope; it is sustaining; it is love.

I am only dead—a dead thing—when I fail to recognize my Lord, and I shrivel and starve in body and spirit. He is here in this Holy of Holies of my being, lighting the torch of fire which I wave out to the submerged humanities in this grief-stricken world.

Listen. Do you detect a lover's note vibrating in your empty heart, made desolate by war? Do you feel a thrill striking at your dead 56

heart? Had you forgotten love—? You read this sacred page—your thought is stirred to action—you ponder the truth of my words from beyond the stars—you seek to know the Truth.

I claim that within the human personality there is proof of God and of immortality—we need only the lamp of God's love to shine into our hearts. Listen.

Repeat the prayer you learned at mother's knee. The world carries about on its wounded breast, the babies' prayer.

Your lips are tired—you cannot frame the long- forgotten words—your soul is in agony of doubt— already the strength is there within you, waiting to meet your need. You feel the impulse of the Everlasting Arms beneath you; within is the Love of God.

57

Prayer Leads to Salvation Edward C. Randall Frontiers of the Afterlife (1923)

"This is a life of service. Self must be eliminated. That is why folk who have lived unselfish lives on earth get on so well here. They do not need the preliminary training which more selfish spirits need. It is a very long time before some spirits who come over are of any use at all in helping others. This is caused partly by their own selfishness and partly by the selfish grief of their friends and relatives on earth.

That is why so many of the messages sent through are a plea to those relatives for a more hopeful outlook.

"All that I have said is necessary that you may better understand what I am about to tell you. When I had been enabled to throw off somewhat the effects of the grief which others felt for my passing, I began to see how beautiful the place I had been brought to was. It is where most spirits go on leaving the earth. They are taken there by other spirits and every effort is made to help them to forget the earth and its cares and worries. This lovely place is called the Palace of 'Light,' because that is what is most needed by the spirits of human beings when they come over—more light, to enable them to see and understand many things which have not been clear to them while on 58

earth. Human vision—the earthly kind—is very narrow in most cases.

People fail to grasp the wonder and beauty even of the earth, so it is no wonder that they need more light and a considerable amount of training before they can see and realize all the beauty and grandeur to be found over here.

"Everything is so surprisingly beautiful that, once their eyes are opened and the full majesty and splendor of it all begins to dawn on them, they are transformed and become beautiful likewise. Once this transformation is accomplished, their training is at an end and they can go on their way rejoicing in all the beauty of their surroundings, helping others to see and realize it too.

"It is almost impossible for us to help some spirits, as they have no desire to be different or better than they have always been. Prayer by those still on the earth is the only thing which can help them. It will give them a desire for better things. Until there is that desire in their hearts, they will remain much as they were when they were in the flesh. Their spirits still inhabit the earth and they are the evil, or sometimes just the mischievous, spirits I have told you about before.

Prayer is not only a protection against them, but is also their only hope of salvation. Indifference is the greatest sin there is. As long as folk desire to be better, there is some foundation to build on, but if that desire is lacking it is very difficult to do anything with them.

59

“More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of.”

― Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King

60