{"1": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3356", "width": "2095", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "cos:- v ,!i*i*. i^.:\\nA rf\\\\\\\\ 5\u00c2\u00bb A.\\no\\n.\\\\a S^-^ A*\\nu\\nK3*\\nv*", "height": "3181", "width": "1860", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "wv* m \\\\s vwv\\n\u00c2\u00abW\\n**0\\nft", "height": "3181", "width": "1860", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3251", "width": "1648", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "AS IT IS TO BE\\nA\\nBY Jt\\nCORA LINN DANIELS\\nAUTHOR OF THE BRONZE BUDDHA AND SARDIA\\nSIXTH THOUSAND\\nBOSTON\\nLITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY\\n1900", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "50022\\nl_ibrfcur y of Cona\u00c2\u00bb*\u00c2\u00ab\u00c2\u00bbse\\nwo Cofits Received\\nSEP 21 1900\\nCopyright wtry\\nSECOND COPY.\\nlM verwf t\u00c2\u00ab\\nORDH DIVISION,\\nBy Cora Linn Daniels.\\nfi^\\n6\\nV\\nAll rights reserved.\\nUNIVERSITY PRESS JOHN WILSON\\nAND SON CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "DEDICATION\\nE \u00c2\u00a9eotcate tfjts OTork to gem\\nMAY YOU ENJOY AND SPREAD JOY ALL THE DAYS\\nOF YOUR LIFE\\nC. L. D.", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "CONTENTS.\\nCHAPTER I.\\nPage\\nHow the Narrative Began 1\\nThe Philosopher. The Spiritualist. The Thinker. The\\nPhysician. The Religionist. The Reader. The Voices.\\nThe first step. English language. Telegraph. Foreign\\ncountries. India. Human beings. A living friend.\\nVoices of spirits. Subtle difference.\\nCHAPTER IT.\\nThe Process of Dying 7\\nContemplation. Death. Peace. Pure light. Infinite\\ncontent. Faces. Laughter. Rising upwards. Becoming\\nchanged. No change of individuality. Opening of spir-\\nitual consciousness. The walls of Heaven. Location of\\nHeaven. Near and far at once. Instantaneous communi-\\ncation. Illustration.\\nCHAPTER III.\\nLight and Speed 15\\nLight unlike anything known. A blazing star. Hearing\\nat a distance of millions of miles. Instantaneous journey\\nfrom a star. Immortal thought. Eating in Heaven. In-\\ntensity of life. A spirit s feat. A spirit at the theatre.\\nStartling sympathy. Communication hefore death. An\\nintangible grMp. Astonishing phenomena. Throwing\\nth( spirit to a distance. An absent spirit. Do spirits\\nsuffer? Human sorrow vain. Life like a broken toy.\\nIdeas assume form.", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "Contents\\nCHAPTER IV. page\\nThe Law of Attraction 25\\nGentle reproaches. Spirits have no power to seek those\\nwho do not desire them. The law of mutual attraction.\\nMagnetic currents. Attention a prime element of spiritual\\nlaw. Will.\\nCHAPTER V.\\nEvil and Purity 28\\nA point in morals. No evil in spirit life. Illustration of\\nthe parable of the ten talents. The symbol of a pure\\nsoul.\\nCHAPTER VI.\\nSenses of Spirit 31\\nSpirits on approaching earth do not necessarily assume\\nhuman form. Mortals could not recognize a spirit in the\\nspiritual form. Spirits have senses and perceptions.\\nSpiritual senses magnified infinitely. Spiritual sense of\\ntouch. Universal knowledge. Cognizance of whatever\\nattracts attention. Studies of the spiritual life. More\\nthan five senses. New senses. Keason is absolute.\\nSpiritual knowledge without doubt. The telescopic and\\nmicroscopic eye. Hearing by the law of attraction. Do-\\nminion of spirit over matter. The life of spirit depends\\nupon conscious Will. The new name. The difference\\nbetween human and spiritual language radical. A lan-\\nguage of facts. A spiritual laugh. St. John intensely\\nintuitive.\\nCHAPTER VII.\\nOur Conditions and Surroundings after\\nDeath 45\\nSpirit dictation. A community perishes. What their\\ncondition Children enter a land of unspeakable beauty.\\nHeaven s gate not shut to any soul. Progression in spirit\\nlife instantaneous. Goodness and eternal life joy in them-\\nvi", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "Contents\\nPage\\nselves. Evil, properly, not a malignant force. Definition\\ntoo sweeping. No spiritual evil. Evil elemental. Pun-\\nishment. Annihilation of opportunities and joys. No\\nsoul left helpless. Time of no account. Who was the\\nChrist? My Father and I are One, illustrated. A\\nspiritual home. The garment of immortality.\\nCHAPTER VIII.\\nIdea-Facts 59\\nInterruption of converse. The issues of life and death.\\nMaterial the manifestation of idea. God s practicality.\\nThe play of Almighty intellect. Personal entity a fact,\\nwith or without form. Human life based on expression.\\nAn intuitive experiment. Expressing an idea-fact. Car-\\nried to the Infinite. No heavenly maps or drawings.\\nReciprocal action of spirit and universe. Ideas are eter-\\nnal. Time the sign-manual of human ignorance. Seating\\nourselves on the crown of a sun. Goodness the key to\\nspiritualistic power.\\nCHAPTER IX.\\nScientific Spiritualism and Heavenly Pow-\\ners 72\\nWhen the spirit enters an infant. Material a cobweb.\\nPenetrating the veil. Normal conditions. Intensest\\npassions easiest to manipulate. Communication between\\nspirits and men. Millions of believers. Scientific spirit-\\nualism. Production of life. Life a mysterious force.\\nNature yields to a general law. One s standing in spirit\\nlife. Right for its own sake. Rewards. The many\\nmansions. The relationships of the heart. What is\\nmind without form? Choice of a palace or a cottage a\\nmatter of will. All past ages from which to select. A\\npermeating light. Breathing life. Home in every place\\nat once. Kindly attentions to weakness and ignorance.\\nThe crown of goodness. The naturalist. The astronomer.\\nThe historian. The statesman. A dual unit. The spirit\\nof our mate. Male and female mingled in one.\\nvii", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "Contents\\nCHAPTER X. page\\nWhat is Unconscious Will 90\\nAn explanation demanded. Conscious and unconscious\\nwill. The invisible life of your own spirit. The spirit\\nflees away intact. Presentiments. The senses of the\\nspirit infinitely fine. What is intuition Illustration of\\nunconscious will. The eternal idea. Application of eter-\\nnal significance to observation. Prayer dominates invis-\\nible forces.\\nCHAPTER XI.\\nMortal Mind 98\\nWill and imagination. A strange communication. Em-\\nanations. Ghosts. Magnetism. The effects of mind.\\nThe Black Magician. Obsession.\\nCHAPTER XII.\\nPunishment 107\\nReading in Heaven. Memory absolutely perfect. The\\nAlexandrian library. A royal road for a royal child.\\nThe out of Heaven. A germ. A rare spiritual phe-\\nnomenon. Punishment of the wicked. An eye for an\\neye. Natural punishment. An unsafe doctrine. Tor-\\nment for torment. The universal sheriff. The punish-\\nment of Napoleon. Memory and contrast. Spiritual\\nignorance. Ignorance is not wicked. The sun of right-\\neousness. The indestructible germ. Blotting out sin.\\nYears of probation. Atonement on earth best. The task\\nis not hopeless. This is all the hell there is. A Christian\\nmother and wicked son. Does the angel suffer Comfort\\nbeyond words. The great gulf fixed. It is a fable.\\nThe Testament compilers bungling. No value in morals.\\nNo separation of place or portion. The Voice has lived\\nin heaven a thousand years. There is no hell. There\\nis no everlasting punishment. Jesus not necessarily in-\\nfallible. The Almighty veil. Christians should be modest.\\nviii", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "Contents\\nCHAPTER XIII. paob\\nSpirits do not Tempt The Celestial Body 131\\nA morphine eater renewing his vice. An invisible ap-\\npetite. Liars and hypocrites. An insult to man s moral\\nnature. Christ a magnetic healer. No fear of intrusive\\nspirits. The celestial body. Do young people retain their\\nyouth The current of Heavenly will. The change in\\nus brings a desire for a change in our friends. The\\ndevelopment like that of a rose. No disappointment in\\nthe land of satisfaction.\\nCHAPTER XIV.\\nOpposing Creeds 137\\nJarring sects. The Calvinist. The Methodist and the\\nRoman Catholic. All go to the same place. Love shows\\nthe vanity of dogma. A simple creed. The overwhelm-\\ning No! The Heavenly creed. Worship of the highest\\nideal. Christ still active. The Christ still able to atone.\\nThe Word in 1892. The name in Arabia. No savage\\nneglected, forgotten, or despised. Goodness Goodness\\nthe universal name. The higher goodness.\\nCHAPTER XV.\\nThe Dual Unit 145\\nThe Heavenly union. Individuality intact. Each ab-\\nsorbs the other. God s secrets. Mismating. The criminal\\ncode. The union of genius with unappreciation. Ad-\\nvantage to the man. Advantage to the woman. Mutual\\nadvantage. A rule that should work both ways. Con-\\nscious and earnest love of God.\\nCHAPTER XVI.\\nA Curious Experience Ei.ementaries 151\\nA strange vision. A critical comment. No struggle. A\\nrare phenomenon. A wholly unexpected explanation.\\nIX", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "Contents\\nPage\\nElementaries. Immortal, but not human. Its use. The\\nlife principle of the brute creation. Nothing is ever lost.\\nRenewed friendship with animals. To will from the mass\\ninto the individual. No individual resurrection of ani-\\nmals. God s infinite solicitude.\\nCHAPTER XVII.\\nRe-incarnation Childish Age 161\\nRe-incarnation. Is it possible there is such a thing?\\nRe-incarnation of spiritual thought through a material\\nmedium. The Oriental less spiritual than the Occidental.\\nDoes goodness alone claim the highest Heavenly reward\\nGrowth rapid, according to harmony of intellect and mo-\\nrality. Ambition for perfection the flower of knowledge.\\nHeaven enjoyed according to each one s capacity. An\\nentity attains individuality by means of an individual\\nfleshly form. No necessity for re-incarnation. A descrip-\\ntion of the idea of Karma. The soul never lapses into\\nthe general mass. Why man was born. The essence of\\nGod illustrated by a crystal ball. The childishness of\\nage illustrated. The spirits of the aged who have lost\\ntheir minds, leave the body. Testimony of my grand-\\nfather. Is there any relief from the shrinking from death?\\nA beautiful answer. The star of eternal life. The body\\nand the spirit in a constant struggle. Nothing can dis-\\nturb the spirit. Enjoy and spread joy.\\nCHAPTER XVm.\\nMusic, Art, and Memory 183\\nMusic in heaven. No instruments. Can spirits compose\\nand play music No such word as ungratified. Music\\nin Heaven is thought. Uttering one s self in violin tones.\\nNo need of implements. Thought takes form. Thinking\\na statue into form. Artistic utterance permanent. Math-\\nematical morality. The will of the observer the focusing\\npoint. A prophetic bugbear. Must our hidden histories\\nx", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "Contents\\nPaob\\nbe read An unjust proceeding. Sin, struggle, tempta-\\ntion, error, no part of spirit life. The protection of\\nsilence. Still more beautiful protections in spirit. Obe-\\ndience a necessity and a desire. God sets the fashions.\\nVisible advantage the result of all acts. We go as a\\nwhole, not in parts. The million daily drops of vicissi-\\ntude. God helps. A diamond illustration. Punishment\\na beneficence. Memory the birth-gift of earth.\\nCHAPTER XIX.\\nFear 201\\nFear is in its nature harmless. No evil an evil until\\nabused. A new and unwonted freedom. Fear deals with\\nthe future. Religious fear an evil. The privilege of fear.\\nBusiness fear. Fear of sickness. We can control forces\\nby courage. Imparting vitality. The spirit is crushed\\nin a person who fears. God s arm right around you.\\nVictory Rational courage is power. Each thought an\\ninvisible influence. Sending out a strong foree for good.\\nCHAPTER XX.\\nAstrology 213\\nAstrology. Planets do not affect individual destiny. Suc-\\ncessful predictions more than counterbalanced by unsuc-\\ncessful ones. The mind warped and biased by astrology.\\nSuch superstition beneath an immortal intellect. Re-\\nincarnation false. Correct predictions not done by means\\nof astrology. An explanation. Will Venus make a poet,\\nor Mars a soldier? The craving to know the future.\\nIllustration of the fallibility of astrology. The secret\\nwish. A Bermudian prediction. A shrewd reader of\\ncharacter.\\nCHAPTER XXI.\\nProvidence 224\\nInvisible compensations. Has prayer any effect? To\\nwill is often to accomplish. Human life infinitely varied.\\nxi", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "Contents\\nPage\\nPrayer an effort of the will. Exceptional providences.\\nNo such, thing as especial providences. No direct inter-\\nposition. Providences only applicable to material. The\\nkeynote of earthly prosperity. Miracles, j\\nCHAPTER XXII.\\nThought 240\\nVarious beliefs as to what the Voices are. I do not\\nanswer my own questions. Thought. The Voices will\\nimpress the world. A shell endowed with God s thought.\\nSpace a place of confusion. A dead body goes into ap-\\nparent nothingness. Sifting a motive. Is unuttered\\nthought a force No general association of ideas. Can\\nwe prove the meaning of thought Projecting one s self.\\nStrata of thought. Will thinking riches bring riches\\nStrataic thought forces. Evil thoughts cause war, re-\\nvolts, and crimes. Massed thought. Silent thought\\ninfluences all. A fresh breeze. How did the Christ heal\\nthe sick Christ healed by obedience to natural law.\\nThe spirit has no ear for evil. Spirits cannot respond to\\nevil desires. Are spirits disturbed by mortal influences\\nDefiance of all natural conditions. We may explore the\\nworld as spirits. A travelling party. Plunging into the\\ncentre of the earth. The mandate of love.\\nCHAPTER XXIII.\\nThe God-Soul of Man 259\\nEspecial care for God s children. You are God. No self-\\nhood out of God. Many spirits have disappeared. Spirits\\nas gods. Every soul shall be perfect at last. Is there a\\nsecond death The queen-mother. The realm of divine\\nholiness. A wall like precious stones.\\nxii", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "Contents\\nCHAPTER XXIV. page\\nThe Drama A Day in Heaven 265\\nMemory. Evolution of elements. Some planets are in-\\nhabited. Planets differ in glory. The human mind must\\ndiscover material facts. The transcendent genius of men.\\nOne spirit a living link. Education in spiritual law.\\nScientific data. A satisfactory mission. Poetry, romance,\\nand affection. The drama. Dramatists and actors.\\nActors act their own souls. A stage murder. To mor-\\ntals death is the tragedy of tragedies. Interesting situa-\\ntions. Plots of facts. The supreme moment of love.\\nThe spiritual canvas. Evil disciplinary and remedial.\\nWork out your own salvation. A strong stepping-stone.\\nThe negatives of Heaven. We shall be strong. The\\nkernel of character. Growth and unfolding. Evil blotted\\nout. Opera, oratorio, and orchestra in Heaven. The\\nenvious clock. Intercourse and society in Heaven. The\\nshadow of desired privacy. Delightful occupations. Day\\nis infinite sight. Added powers. Farewell.\\nXlll", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "AS IT IS TO BE\\nTHE VOICES: A STATEMENT OF FACT\\nCHAPTER I\\nHOW THE NARRATIVE BEGAN\\nTHE following narrative of what has\\nnow become a matter of intensest\\ninterest to me, will probably be set\\ndown by most people as a work of the\\nimagination by others, as a superstitious\\npiece of nonsense and by a few as a singu-\\nlar history of unusual phenomena. The phi-\\nlosopher, not finding anything infallible in it,\\nmay shrug his shoulders in disgust the spir-\\nitualist, already prone to believe his very shad-\\now is a ghost, will accept it with eager ears\\nthe thinker will theorize on the possibility of\\npsychometric impression the physician wili\\nspeculate upon the state of the stomach, the\\nnervous system, and the circulation the nar-\\n1 1", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nrow religionist will declare it to be wholly of\\nthe devil; and my reader, who, I hope, is\\nintelligent, poetic, and comprehensive, may\\nadmit the truth, at least, of the story itself\\nas actually happening, or seeming to happen,\\nto me in the following way and order. I\\nbegin the description of the Voices without\\nknowing or dreaming how it will end for in\\nbeginning I feel that I have only taken the\\nfirst step, and they only know where they\\nmean to lead me, or how far.\\nThroughout my life since I was about\\ntwenty years old, I have occasionally heard\\nwhat I called Voices speaking to me. These\\nVoices are distinct to my consciousness as a\\nhuman voice, yet I realize that they make no\\nsound. They speak in the English language,\\nbut I have often heard them speak a very\\ndecided brogue, a Scotch idiom, once in a\\ngreat while some language I could not under-\\nstand, and very often upon subjects with\\nwhich I had nothing whatever to do, and with\\nwhich I could not have any possible connec-\\ntion. I first began to notice these Voices as\\n2", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "How the Narrative Began\\na sort of dual consciousness. I would be\\nthinking in my own words, when I would\\nsuddenly stop short and listen to what was\\nbeing said besides my own thoughts just as\\nif a telegraph operator should be sending a\\nmessage and still listening to those which\\nwere being sent over the wires to her.\\nIf I was in New York I often seemed to\\nhear the most laughable conversations going\\non between two Irishwomen, or between per-\\nsons evidently of the lower classes and I\\nhave often smiled at the exhibitions of human\\nnature so unconsciously made to me. Again,\\nI have heard conversations evidently not going\\non in this country at all, and while listening\\nto them I would frequently get so strong an\\nimpression of the speaker that I could actually\\nsee him.\\nAt one time I saw a young and an elderly\\nmilitary man, each dressed in English mili-\\ntary undress, with cork travelling-hats covered\\nwith white canvas and wrapped with blue\\nsilk veils, talking to each other, as one lit a\\ncigar and the other leaned against a big rock", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nin the sultry sunshine of a day in India.\\nThey seemed near Bombay, but in the coun-\\ntry, and they were discussing some project\\nconnected with the Khedive of Egypt. This\\nwas some years ago, but these Voices, talking\\nof a thousand things, acted in my conscious-\\nness as if I were a telegraph-wire over which\\nconstant messages flowed and while I could\\noften feel that they were going on, and some-\\ntimes get quite a consecutive bit, if I fully real-\\nized and tried to listen to them, I would, by\\nthe mere act of concentrating my attention,\\nseem to stop the message, and I would\\nlose the sequel of what was being done or\\nsaid.\\nSo far, I distinctly recognized the Voices\\nas those of human beings still living on the\\nearth. In many cases I have communed with\\nabsent friends, feeling conscious, and after-\\nwards ascertaining, that their thoughts were\\nupon me at that very time. In one instance,\\nwhile in the night, the Voice of one whom\\nI dearly cared for seemed for a long time\\nto converse with me. This led me to infer\\n4", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "How the Narrative Began\\nthat at times our spirits do leave our bodies,\\nboth when those bodies are awake and when\\nasleep for we go on, mechanically perform-\\ning our accustomed affaire, while our minds or\\nspirits are far, far away, occupied with others.\\nAs time went on, I noticed a change in the\\nVoices. They now impressed me as being\\nthe voices of spirits who had passed out of the\\nbody into the immortal life. Many and long\\nhave been my inward conversations with\\nthese spirits (if they be spirits), who have\\ntold me many wonderful things things that\\nit does not seem to me I could possibly\\nimagine.\\nTo describe how I can converse in my mind\\nwith the Voices without getting mixed up, is\\ndifficult. Of course, if I ask a question or\\nmake a remark I wait for a reply, as in any\\nordinary conversation. Many might think\\nthat my imagination dictated these replies\\nquite as much as it dictated the questions.\\nBut there is a strong and subtle difference\\njust as strong as is the difference between\\nyour own speech and that of some one else.\\n5", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nBesides this, I am by no means confined to\\ntUe-a-tete. Many talk one after another.\\nIt was, perhaps, about two years ago when\\nthe spirit Voices became occasionally familiar\\nin conversing with me, and if I was i( blue\\nor unhappy, many were the cheerful words\\nthey said. But it was not until the autumn\\nof 188- that I began to have such definite\\ncommunications that I listened in astonish-\\nment. About that time a very dear friend\\ndied in a foreign country, and I at once was\\ntold that the Voices had an especial work for\\nme to do. They also intimated that I was to\\nbe relieved of trouble and anxiety to so great\\nan extent that nothing should materially inter-\\nfere with this work. As it is now three years\\nlater, I may interpolate here that my life has\\nrun in an even current ever since. I have been\\nat ease mentally and physically for the past\\nperiod as I had not been for years.", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER II\\nTHE PROCESS OF DYING\\nVERY much happened to me that\\nabsolutely precluded conversation with\\nthe Voices until the winter set in\\nand I was frequently alone in my chamber,\\noften about dusk, before dinner, when, not\\nyet having had the gas lighted, the dull glow\\nfrom the coals sent out a gleam into the\\ndarkness. I had a fancy to sit so, thinking of\\nmany things, often attaining a state of quiet\\nadoration of Him who had afflicted me, and\\nyet who so gently drew my mind from a\\nsorrowful to a cheerful contemplation of both\\npast and future. The soul in solitude and\\nsilence often invites harmonious conditions\\nwhich never obtain in the society of people\\nnor in the daylight. It is possible that un-\\nseen beings can then approach more closely to\\n7", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nhuman environments or speak with a more\\npotent effect in reaching the mind.\\nIt was then that I became aware of the\\napparent presence of that friend who had\\nrecently died and while I did not really dare\\nto believe it was he, yet I could but hope it\\nwas that manly and noble and true soul,\\nwhich could never do or say aught but what\\nwould be wholly honest and good. In a\\nmental tremble of hope, doubt, and fear, I\\nfinally assumed to my own mind that the\\nVoice was sometimes his that now spoke to\\nme, and I ventured to ask him of himself.\\nTell me, said I, if you are allowed to\\ndo so, what death is like.\\nIt is a natural process, said the Voice,\\nlike birth, and like birth is an unconscious\\none. Being unconscious, it is painless and\\nutterly devoid of fear, and being natural, goes\\non of its own accord without help or hin-\\ndrance of the person. Shall I describe to you\\nwhat my own death was like You are cor-\\nrect in using the word death/ from which\\nspiritualists shrink that is the name of the\\n8", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "The Process of Dying\\nprocess, and might as well be used as any\\nother. Well, then, when I died I was in no\\npain and had no fear. For some time during\\nmy illness I had been rebellious; I did not\\nwish to die. I was in the prime of manhood,\\nand I could not seem to bring myself to admit\\nthe righteousness of it. But as time went on\\nand I approached my death, I became more\\nand more resigned, until I was at peace and\\neven happy.\\nThe moment of the actual separation of\\nmy spirit from my body is an absolute blank to\\nme I know nothing about it. Of what hap-\\npened to me after the time when I drew my\\nlast conscious breath on earth, I cannot say\\none word. When I awoke, however, to con-\\nsciousness here, it was the same kind of con-\\nsciousness to which I had been accustomed.\\nI felt that I was I, and I knew myself and\\nwhat I was about. My first sensation was of\\nlight, pure light. This light was different\\nfrom any of which I had been cognizant. It\\nwas brilliant in the extreme, more brilliant\\nthan any light I could have imagined, and yet\\nI", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nit did not dazzle or annoy me. The whole\\nsurrounding atmosphere seemed nothing but\\npure light, in which was no form, no line, no\\nobject of any kind.\\nMy other sensations were those of infinite\\ncontent, rest, and peace. I seemed to be fully\\nsatisfied I wanted nothing. I must have re-\\nmained thus, bathing and basking in pure light,\\nfor some time. But at last I saw, approaching\\nme out of the glow, some faces. They were\\nfaces I knew my mother, father, and many\\nfriends. As they approached I saw their\\nbodies also. They greeted me with smiles,\\nhappy speeches, and delightful welcomes, each\\nvying to attract my attention and each saying\\nsome pretty or affectionate thing, with laughter\\nand happiness beaming from every eye and lip.\\nIn a little while I felt myself rising. My\\nfriends had formed a group like a half-circle,\\nand were moving back and up, their faces still\\nturned to me, and each doing his or her best\\nto attract my attention. They succeeded in\\ndoing so, for I was constantly replying to them,\\nyet at the same time I was conscious that just\\n10", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "The Process of Dying\\nas fast as they rose backward and up I was\\ndrawn lightly after them, without any volition\\nof my own.\\nWe seemed to move for an immense dis-\\ntance at an immense speed, and as we did so\\nI began to notice a gradual change in all the\\nforms and faces. The farther we proceeded,\\nthe more radiant and beautiful they became.\\nThey began to scintillate colors, throwing out\\nrays of many hues, and becoming so changed\\nthat had I seen them in that way at first, I\\nshould never have recognized them, for they\\nwere angelic and exquisitely radiant, and beau-\\ntiful beyond all language. They were utterly\\ndifferent from what they were on earth,\\nand from what they were when I first saw\\nthem. Yet strange to say, they each kept\\ntheir individuality intact. I knew each per-\\nfectly and could not mistake them, any more\\nthan you can mistake your mother; and yet\\nthey did not look like anything I had ever\\nseen.\\nBy this I was taught that as we enter more\\nand more the spiritual state, our spiritual con-\\n11", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nsciousness is opened. The more we throw\\noff the earthly nature the more we become\\nenlightened in things above it. We finally\\nreached the walls of Heaven.\\nThe walls of Heaven I exclaimed does\\nHeaven have a wall\\nYou would call it such, answered the\\nVoice it is a boundary. One might as well\\ncall it a wall as anything, in your language.\\nWell, I said, if Heaven has a wall or\\nboundary, it has location therefore it is a\\nplace. I thought it was a state, not a\\nplace.\\nIt is both a state and a place, said the\\nVoice. At last we reached the state and\\nplace of Heaven, as you call it, and when we\\nentered in I cannot tell you any more. I can\\nonly say that they who led me grew even more\\nmagnificent.\\nIf it is a place and has location, it must\\nbe somewhere, said I. Is it millions and\\nbillions of miles away Is it outside of our\\nuniverse\\nIt is a great distance away as measured by\\n12", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "The Process of Dying\\nyour miles, and at the same time it is not sepa-\\nrated from earth at all. It is right around you\\nat the same time that it is an immense distance\\noff.\\nHow can that be I queried, nonplussed.\\nBecause the communication between\\nHeaven and earth is literally instantaneous.\\nThere can be no separation of space where\\nthere is no separation of time therefore, as\\nthere is no time and no space in the spirit\\nworld, a place can be away and near at the\\nsame moment. We are enveloped in an atmos-\\nphere which is instantaneous in communication\\nbetween any points, and nothing can be said\\nor done on earth that is not known at the same\\nsecond in Heaven. You may say that I used\\nthe terms of time to describe what is no time\\nbut how else can I convey to your mind the\\nideas that are expressed so differently here?\\nThere is a constant telegraphy, as it were\\nor I can illustrate it by saying that when\\nyou touch a flame with your finger you are\\nalmost instantly conscious of it in your brain,\\nand so the material universe is felt in the\\n13", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nspiritual universe, without the loss of the\\nmillionth part of a second.\\nAnd you say it is a state as well as a\\nplace\\nYes, but of that I cannot speak, simply\\nbecause no mortal can understand it. To\\nknow how we feel, you must become one of\\nus.\\n14", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER III\\nLIGHT AND SPEED\\nTHIS ended that chat, and it was some\\ntime before I had anything said to me\\nof so astonishing a nature. Yet I\\nfrequently held communion with my invisible\\nfriends and became singularly accustomed to\\nthem. They seemed to become a part of all\\nmy thought.\\nI was speaking to the Voice of the light\\nhe had seen, and asked him what it was like.\\nWas it like the sun, the moon, gas, electric,\\nor what The Voice assured me it would be\\nimpossible to describe it, since it was unlike\\nanything his mortal eye had seen yet, it was\\nsomething like the soft flame of an Argand\\nburner behind a porcelain shade, if one might\\nimagine the flame multiplied a million times\\nand the shade made of an opal.\\nBut it is so difficult to understand this\\ninstantaneous communication, said I. Do\\n15", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nyou mean to say that, if you were in Heaven\\nand I should call you, you could be with me\\njust as soon as I called, in actual presence,\\nstanding by my side\\nYes, I do.\\nAt that moment I glanced out of the\\nwindow. There was no light in my room,\\nand the rosy glow from the fire was its only\\nillumination. The moon was just rising, and\\nbeside her shone a brilliant star. Now, one\\nof my ambitions is to be able to visit other\\nworlds. I am in great hopes to be able to do\\nso if ever I become a spirit, and on seeing\\nthis magnificent star blazing forth in its glory,\\nI instantly questioned the Voice.\\nCan you go in a moment anywhere you\\nplease Can you go to that star\\nI think a moment elapsed before there came\\na reply,\\nWhy, certainly I can.\\nAnd were you standing on some eminence\\non yonder star, could you still speak to me so\\nthat I could hear you\\nYou hear me, don t you? said the Voice.\\n16", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "Light and Speed\\nWhy, yes, I answered, somewhat sur-\\nprised.\\nWell, I am standing on the very star you\\npointed out. I came here before I answered\\nyou. Now, doesn t this prove to you that\\nthere is neither time nor space in spirit\\nDon t you hear me and understand me as\\nwell as if I were beside you\\nI confess I do I exclaimed.\\nWell, I am beside you. I am touching\\nyou.\\nWhat?\\nCertainly. How long does it take your\\nthought to travel to that star? Not an\\ninstant. Well, spirit is even subtler and\\nswifter than thought; for human thought is\\never limited by its environment of flesh, and\\nmust act through it. Immortal thought is\\nunhampered by anything material, and knows\\nnothing of limitations.\\nTell me again about the light you first saw\\nas you awoke, said I, persisting iu one idea,\\nit seemed so fascinating.\\nIt was a light so different from any\\n2 17", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nmaterial radiance that I cannot/ the Voice\\nanswered patiently. (i A man born blind may\\nbe told what light is like, but he can never\\nreally imagine it so with you.\\nDo you eat there\\nThe Voice laughed. If we please, for\\npleasure\\nThen you are not obliged to\\nNo. We live in an atmosphere of life,\\nnothing but life. There is no decay, no loss,\\nno ruin, no fading, no lack, no sense of want\\nof any description. The air we breathe is\\nlife, vibrant, pulsing, dominant, active, all-\\nsurrounding, all-sustaining, all-upholding.\\nWe cannot know pain or death, because it is\\nthe decay of the system that causes pain and\\ndeath. We are always full in every part of\\nintense life, and we exist in a state of joyous\\nvitality.\\nThen you can have no fear\\nThat is one of the sweetest things of our\\nexistence.\\nWould you not be afraid to encounter a\\nfire I asked earnestly.\\n18", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "Light and Speed\\nI should pass right through it, said the\\nVoice, in an amused tone.\\nPass through it said I, incredulously.\\nYes, I have walked right through a\\nfurnace.\\nI was silent from amazement. In a moment\\nanother Voice said, He is gone, and in some\\nway I felt that I was alone.\\nI was at the theatre with my mother one even-\\ning, and was much interested in the audience,\\nthinking of no spirit certainly, when the Voice\\nsaid to me I am going to see the play with\\nyou to-night here I am, right beside you and\\nas an empty seat was next to mine, I invol-\\nuntarily picked up my opera glass, which\\nlay upon it, that my companion might sit\\ndown.\\nOn occasions too numerous to mention, and\\nin the midst of all the daily affairs of life, the\\nVoices have come creeping into my conscious-\\nness, with a sympathy and an understanding of\\nmy most secret thoughts, as beautiful as start-\\nling. Often when my own spirit has been\\nexalted and purified by prayer, the Voices of\\n19", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nmany together have assured me of their\\napproval, and declared that such communion\\nwith God is the very breath of success and\\nhappiness, here and hereafter.\\nAmong other strange, I may say incompre-\\nhensible revelations given meat this time, was\\nthe assertion by one of the Voices that even\\nbefore he died he had had communication\\nwith me, although at a distance.\\nI did not recognize it then, any more than\\nyou did. I was not aware that I literally sent\\nmy spirit out of my body to you and used a\\nmutual friend to express some of my feelings\\nand sentiments towards you. But it seems\\nthat I did actually do so. I can hardly be-\\nlieve the fact that when still I was a living\\nman, pursuing my vocations in a distant city,\\nthis spirit, this actual I, used to leave that\\nbody and converse with you by animating\\nthe thoughts of our mutual friend, influencing\\nhim to go to you and using him as a medium\\nthrough whom I could have the pleasure of\\ngrasping your hand. Nevertheless it is true,\\nbut it is a law of being which even now I do\\n20", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0040.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "Light and Speed\\nnot pretend to understand, and when I be-\\ncame aware of it, it was us astonishing to me\\nas it is to you.\\nI studied this statement for a long time, and\\ncould but remember instances when it seemed\\nto me as if there was actual communication\\nbetween myself and my friends, without any\\nvisible means. Often I have been so thinking\\nof the same thing at the same time, that\\nletters of the same date, written by mamma\\nand by me to each other, would dwell on the\\nsame subject, and even seem to answer each\\nothers questions. Again, I have at times, in\\nmeeting a person, seemed to see a new sem-\\nblance, a phase of character not their own.\\nThen it is possible for a human being to\\nthrow the spirit out of the body to a dis-\\ntance I said.\\nYes. Have you not many times been\\nmechanically doing something, while your\\nthoughts were earnestly and entirely absorbed\\nwith some place or person at a distance?\\nAnd if any one suddenly startled you with a\\nquestion, would it not take a moment to with-\\n21", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0041.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ndraw your thoughts from that distant object\\nand turn them to the person at hand\\nOh often.\\nYou were laughed at for being absent-\\nminded, perhaps. The word was no mis-\\nnomer. Your mind, your spirit, were actually\\nabsent and your body was actually vacant\\nsave of enough ethereal life principle and\\nconsciousness to keep it going. A cord of\\nattraction still held your spirit in direct com-\\nmunication with it, yet was so attenuated as\\nto permit an actual absence of the dominant\\nforce. I have found this out since I came\\nhere, and I confess I have heard nothing that\\nsurprised me more.\\nDo you not suffer mentally when you\\nobserve the grief of your friends Did you\\nnot pity me when I wept\\nI did not suffer, I was not unhappy, and\\nyet I did sympathize with you.\\nHow could you see me in anguish and not\\nbe pained\\nBecause I see how little human grief is,\\nhow unreal, how baseless. You wept because\\n22", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0042.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "Light and Speed\\nyou thought of me as dead, absent forever,\\nlost until you should die yourself. Yet here I\\nstood beside you, far more alive than yourself,\\nand conscious of the absurdity of your grief.\\nYes, I know that even an imaginary grief is\\nstill a grief, but I could see how short-lived it\\nwould be what a comparatively momentary\\naffair your whole life would be until you came\\nto me and how certain you were to feel as\\nI did when you did come. I felt as a mother\\nfeels who sees her baby sob over a broken toy.\\nShe knows baby will have a whole lifetime of\\nsweet things ahead, and the toy is so small,\\nsuch a nothing.\\nThen human life is, after all, a little toy,\\nand if our friends die, we may feel that they\\nhave only broken a bauble, said I, bitterly.\\nTo enter into the jewel life of princes,\\nsaid the Voice.\\nMy serenity softly returned. And I notice\\nthat always, after a chat with the Voices, life\\nassumes a more serene aspect. I feel that it\\nis short but significant, and to be used as if it\\nwere endless. A vast sweep of ideas seems\\n23", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0043.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nto be waiting for me to enter in on them,\\nwhere, in majestic splendor of limitless beauty\\nand grandeur, they swing around an eternal\\ncentre. Ideas seem to assume form to my\\nconsciousness, and I vaguely feel as if every\\nword was to be found symbolized in the spirit\\nlife.\\n24", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0044.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER IV\\nTHE LAW OF ATTRACTION\\nI HAVE recently felt what I call a sort\\nof spiritual dryness, a stagnation of the\\nmore intellectual and spiritual qualities\\nwithin me, and I have aspired to no commun-\\nication with the Voices, on account of various\\nmaterial circumstances which I did not deem\\nappropriate. But the other night I earnestly\\ndesired the presence of that delightful Voice\\nwhich has so often cheered me, and I had\\nhardly uttered in my mind the strong wish\\nbefore I heard it, reproaching me in most\\ntender terms for the long time I had allowed\\nto elapse since I had called on it before. It\\nseemed to be grieved.\\nBut have you not been with me, never-\\ntheless I asked, surprised at the expression\\nthat my banishment of it had been such a\\n25", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0045.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ntrial aod its eagerness to approach me had\\nbeen so keen.\\nWhy, certainly not, it replied seriously\\nwe cannot intrude upon you! If you do\\nnot manifest any desire for us, we have no\\nright and no power to seek you. We no\\nlonger belong to the earth or to the mortal\\nstate, that we should be governed by mortal\\nlaws, and we can only come to you when you\\nsend out your attraction in the form of a wish\\nor a desire.\\nIn spirit everything is governed by attrac-\\ntion, mutual attraction. We may long never\\nso much to be beside you, but if you send out\\nno attraction, if you do not think of or care\\nfor us, you literally banish us from your pres-\\nence aye, from even the very knowledge of\\nyou. Everything is reciprocal here. You\\nseek us with a tender longing, and we in-\\nstantly respond with an equal desire, like the\\ntwo ends of a magnet, one positive, the other\\nnegative, with a constant current between,\\nover which flow telegraphic communications.\\nI have often noticed, said I, that you\\n26", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0046.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "The Law of Attraction\\nseem to dwell on the word attention in\\nyour descriptions of spirit existence. To at-\\ntract attention seems to be one of the strong\\npowers of that state, or indeed the manipu-\\nlation of the law of attraction.\\nYes, was answered, attention is one of\\nthe prime attributes of spiritual law. The\\nmind or soul must be made to set attention on\\nwhatever it wishes to accomplish. Attention\\nis the basal quality of will. No one can will,\\npositively and successfully, without first pro-\\nfoundly setting the mind on the object of de-\\nsire. It is for this reason that we must be\\nobedient to the law of attraction regarding\\nour visits to you. Unless you have us in\\nmind to the extent of consciously or uncon-\\nsciously willing us to come, we have no cur-\\nrent whereby to approach you. You make a\\nmagnetic current by throwing your will out\\ntoward us, and we swim to you on its vibrat-\\ning wave.\\n27", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0047.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER V\\nEVIL AND PURITY\\nA RECENT conversation brought out\\nthis point in morals. I asked (in\\neffect) what should be the highest\\naim of a human being during this life. Not\\nall thinkers believe that goodness is the\\nhighest good, or righteousness the highest aim\\nto be pursued by man. For instance, Draper s\\nIntellectual Development of Europe leads\\nup to quite another idea. The answer was\\nwhat one might have expected, but with a\\ndistinction.\\nIt is, of course, to build up a perfect\\ncharacter. But to do this one should not so\\nmuch endeavor to eschew evil, as to enlarge\\nand develop good. It is more important to\\nset the mind on doing and being good than\\nto set the will to resist and overcome evil.\\nWhy?\\n28", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0048.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "Evil and Purity\\nBecause, when the soul enters this\\nworld it brings with it only the good.\\nThe evil is completely purged away.\\nNothing evil can enter here. But the\\nresidue of permanent good may be very small\\nand the spiritual vitality very low, so that the\\nman or woman may be a very infant in his new\\nlife, and have to progress from the mere germ,\\nwhile he who has built up a large and noble\\ncharacter of goodwill take his stand as an adult.\\nBut what is the difference T cried. If\\na man eschews evil, he is good, is n t he and\\nif he is good, just so much good goes with\\nhim into the other world.\\nThe spirit laughed. True in one sense,\\nbut let me illustrate Have you not met\\napathetic, self-satisfied, quiet people, who\\nmoved through life without doing any positive\\nevil, but also who did no positive good\\nThat is what Jesus meant when he spoke the\\nparable of the ten talents. These people\\nsimply exist. They do not use their thirty\\nor fifty years of life to any advantage. They\\ndo not grow they do not progress. The\\n29", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0049.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nspark of spiritual vitality does not become\\na flame; it smoulders, amounting to nothing.\\nIn them evil is little, certainly, and there is\\nlittle to cast off but there is so little life of\\ngood, that they might as well never have\\nbeen in a fleshly envelope at all, for all the\\nstatus they gain here.\\nOh I exclaimed, that is very plain\\nindeed.\\nThe Voice then spoke to me in a new way.\\nI am going to show you the symbol of a\\npure, beautiful soul, it said. And presently I\\nbecame aware (although with my eyes closed,\\nat night in a dark room) of a lily. It was a\\nvery large lily. It had no leaves about it, but\\nwas a pure white blossom, standing alone on\\nits stem, about twenty feet from me. But it\\ndid not continue simply a white lily. It turned\\ninto a sparkling silver lily, and soon seemed to\\npulse with throbbing life, its whole form vibrat-\\ning with seeming vitality and finally throwing\\noff a silver radiance supremely beautiful. In my\\nestimate, it was at least two feet high. I finally\\nopened my eyes, and I saw and heard no more.\\n30", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0050.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER YI\\nSENSES OF SPIRIT\\nMY chats with the Voices have\\nincreased of late, and I have asked\\nthem some questions about myself\\nand themselves. Their answers were often\\nunexpected.\\nWhen you come back to me, thus entering\\nthe atmosphere of earth, do you re-assume a\\nhuman form\\nI fully expected they would answer, Cer-\\ntainly, but instead of that they said No.\\nWhat form do you assume said I.\\nI cannot describe it to you it is not like\\nanything you have ever seen.\\nIs it round?\\nNo.\\nIs it oblong or oval\\nWell, yes, somewhat so it is permeated\\nwith light.\\n31", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0051.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nIf that is so and it exists in an atmosphere\\nof light, I don t see how one can see it.\\nWhat difference is there between an object\\nabsolutely permeated with light and the light\\nitself?\\nWe have form enough to be individualized.\\nYou would, if you were in a similar form,\\nrecognize me, but if you saw me with your\\nmortal eyes you would not recognize me at\\nall.\\nWhere are you at this moment\\nI am standing beside and bending over\\nyou.\\nAnd yet if I could see as well as hear you\\nI should not see you with your former human\\nresemblance of the body\\nNo.\\nFor one to see you, then, you would have\\nto what they call l materialize yourself? Can\\nthat be done\\nI believe it can.\\nDid you ever doit?\\nNo.\\nWell, if you have no human form you\\n32", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0052.jp2"}, "53": {"fulltext": "Senses of Spirit\\nhave 110 liumau eyes; therefore, can you\\nsee\\nYes.\\nAnd hear?\\nCertainly.\\nAnd taste?\\nWe can taste if we please, but we do not\\noften. Taste and smell are more animal than\\nsight and hearing, and we endeavor to throw\\noff all the less spiritual qualities as soon as\\npossible.\\nI can imagine that.\\nAll the senses are wonderfully intensified\\nhere. We have a sense of smell a thousand\\ntimes more acute than that of a human being.\\nI should think that would be decidedly\\nunpleasant. I sometimes thank my stars that\\nmy sense of smell is not particularly acute.\\nThat is because you are liable to smell\\nunpleasant odors. Here we cannot smell any-\\nthing unpleasant, because all is eternal vitality.\\nUnpleasant odors come from decay, disease,\\nand death. They arise from the refuse of\\nnature, and arc safeguards, warning humanity\\n3 33", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0053.jp2"}, "54": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\naway from their dangerous proximity; but\\nhere, nothing but the odors of sweet and clean\\nlife obtain, and therefore no kind of smell can\\nbe obnoxious.\\nHow about touch said I.\\nTouch with us is contact of atmospheres.\\nIt is not like the shaking of two human hands.\\nImagine what it would be to be joined, united,\\nintermingled with, and one with your des-\\ntined mate, the love of your soul, yourself and\\nnot yourself, the man-spirit, counterpart of\\nyour woman-spirit can you conceive of any\\ngreater joy?\\nNo. But if you have neither eyes nor\\nears, how do you perceive I went on.\\nOur perceptions are a universal cogni-\\nzance of all things that can appeal to con-\\nsciousness.\\nThat, I should think, was a definition of\\nGod s powers.\\nOne can be conscious of a thing without\\nhaving the power to rule or dispose it, can\\none not\\nCertainly. I am conscious that the sun\\n34", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0054.jp2"}, "55": {"fulltext": "Is\\nSenses of Spirit\\nshines in the heavens, but I am not able to\\ndirect his course.\\nVery well, that is precisely our condition.\\nWe are aware of whatever attracts our atten-\\ntion, but we do not presume to alter anything\\nnot given us to do.\\nAnd how do you find out how to make\\nthings attract your attention\\nHow do you find things attracting your\\nattention on earth Everything appeals in\\nitself, does it not You hear of things from\\nevery possible source your eyes alone hold\\nyour attention to a million things each day.\\nBut here we have the added power of getting\\nknowledge by simply desiring it. To desire is\\nto will. To will is to have. To have is to\\nknow and understand, in this state of instant\\nperception of truth. I would say that if we\\ndesire knowledge, we pursue it in natural se-\\nquence. We study as gradually (though more\\nsimply) as you do in your books. We go on\\nfrom step to step in any topic which we wish\\nto master.\\nFor instance, let Chemistry be the sub-\\n35", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0055.jp2"}, "56": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nject we proceed to set our attention on any\\ncombination of matter, and the more intensely\\nwe will to know, the more rapidly the pro-\\ncesses of change in the arrangement and com-\\nposition of matter go on, unfolding themselves\\nto our understanding and perception, until\\nthe whole process is complete, and that branch\\nof chemistry is fully understood. It is de-\\nmonstrated to what answers to the very eyes\\nand ears, smell, taste and touch, besides other\\nsenses of the spirit, so that it becomes as\\nfamiliar to him as his own new name.\\nYou have used two expressions in that\\nsentence which I do not understand. You\\nspeak of l other senses and a new name/\\nNow, what do you mean by these expres-\\nsions\\nWe have added senses, senses of percep-\\ntion and conception, senses of will, of esti-\\nmate, of deduction, of conclusion, all of them\\nringers of the mind, able to grasp ideas as you\\ngrasp objects with your hands. They are active\\nand conscious elements of spirit life, moving\\nwith the same ease with which your sense of\\n36", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0056.jp2"}, "57": {"fulltext": "Senses of Spirit\\nsight moves, and carrying the same conviction\\nto our reason. You do not doubt the evi-\\ndence of your own senses, do you\\nNo.\\nNeither do we doubt the evidence of our\\nsenses, which assure us with equal precision\\nof the stability of our conclusions. Reason,\\nwith you, consists of the conscious exertion of\\nall the elements of logic. In the human form\\nthey are mere germs, and have to be manipu-\\nlated slowly by constant comparison; but\\nwith us they become absolute. We can rely\\nupon them. We do not have to constantly\\ncompare. What is, appeals to us exactly for\\nwhat it is, in its every minutia of attribute,\\nand as there can be no untruth, no decep-\\ntion, or misappliance, or falsity, we know\\nwhat we know, without fear, argument, or\\ndoubt.\\nLet us go back a little, said I. u What\\nis the advantage of this intensity of sense\\nas, for instance, the sense of smell What is\\nthe benefit of being able to smell a thousand\\ntimes more acutely than a human being\\n37", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0057.jp2"}, "58": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nThe intensity is not confined to any one\\nsense, and in all cases it is exactly graduated\\naccording to the strength and use required\\nby the spirit who possesses it. For instance,\\nalso, we have the telescopic and the micro-\\nscopic eye, or perception, which is the same\\nthing, and we can hear at the distance of\\nmillions of miles, or close by.\\nBut if you can hear thus, what a jumble\\nit must be How can you make sense out of\\nit In one place the whirr of steam at the\\nsame time, on another planet, the roar of cy-\\nclonic storm-winds music in a thousand dif-\\nferent places oceans tearing on a million miles\\nof shore\\nStop Do not speak such inharmonies.\\nNothing of the kind occurs. We hear by the\\nlaw of attraction and attention, as we live by\\nit. We hear what attracts us or we attract,\\nor what we wish to hear only. Supposing we\\nwish to hear an oration by a man on your\\nplanet. Do you suppose his voice would be\\nsubmerged under an overwhelming billow of\\nuniversal sound No. We should hear what\\n38", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0058.jp2"}, "59": {"fulltext": "Senses of Spirit\\nwc were attracted to hear, as you would, the\\nrustle of the audience, the speaker s words,\\nthe environment of human habitations but,\\nmark you, if we wish to visit a fiery world,\\nbursting continually into deafening explosions,\\nor swept by a demoniac roar of flame and\\nfury, our strength to receive that impression\\nwould be instantly adapted to the conditions,\\nand we should suffer no pain nor inconven-\\nience from what would strike you deaf for\\nlife. Or would we gather into our conscious-\\nness the viewless winds which blow around\\nthe four quarters of your world, or chase with\\nunfaltering wing the ministering angel who\\nbears the chalice of God s love to bless your\\ntiny sphere behold, we fly on the pinions\\nof immortal will, even to its boundaries.\\nSuch is the dominion of spirit over matter.\\nSuch the power of everlasting life, unchange-\\nable and perfect, over mutable matter, ever\\nchanging, ever imperfect, ever advancing, ever\\nreceding, restlessly producing that eternal mo-\\ntion which is its basal law. Passivity in mat-\\nter is impossible its very existence depends\\n39", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0059.jp2"}, "60": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\non its endless activity. But spirit depends\\nnot upon activity for its existence it depends\\nupon conscious will as the basal law, a will\\nabove and outside of itself, yet within and a\\npart of itself also and for this reason it\\nremains in one condition as to its existence,\\nresting passive upon the bosom of Infinity\\nirrespective of every mutation of matter, and\\nindependent of it. And it is the intuitive\\nhint of this fact, caught by the sages of the\\nancient world, that has led to that doctrine\\nof the absorption of the soul into the God-\\nhead, which has become popularly known as\\nNirvana.\\nYou certainly have made it very plain to\\nme, and I think we have brought your state-\\nments up to date, if I may so express it, all\\nbut the meaning of the new name to which\\nyou alluded. Now, what new name have\\nyou?\\nMany. Whereas in your language we\\nwere once called mortals, we are now called\\nspirits but that is only a general term, indi-\\ncating a state more than a race. Individually\\n40", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0060.jp2"}, "61": {"fulltext": "Senses of Spirit\\nwe each assume a new name with our new\\nconditions.\\nWhat for?\\nIf you went into a foreign land to become\\na permanent inhabitant, using the language,\\nand entering society as one of the same class\\nand with identified interests, would you be\\nlikely to use your English name strictly, or\\nwould you gradually assume the accent and\\nstyle of pronunciation which would always\\nbe given to it by those who were your\\ncompanions\\nDoubtless I should gradually fall into\\ntheir way of calling me.\\nSo do we. The difference between hu-\\nman and spiritual language is radical. One\\nis a language of symbols the other a language\\nof realities. Your English is represented by a\\nscries of symbols and tones, which in their\\nvarious combinations represent your meaning,\\nas the words are written or spoken. You\\nhave twenty-six signs, which do to express in\\ntheir combinations the ideas you wish to con-\\nvey; and, corresponding to those twenty-six\\n41", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0061.jp2"}, "62": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nsigns, you have tones which, in their varied\\ncombinations, produce the same effect. One\\nyou recognize by the eye, one by the ear.\\nYou smell, taste, and touch neither and that\\nis an illustration of the superior intellectuality\\nof hearing and sight over the other senses, as\\nI said before.\\nBut we have a language of actualities, of\\nrealities, which needs no symbolization to be\\ncommunicated one to the other. And as we\\nare different in having a language not made\\nup of words, and not dependent upon signs,\\nso we have also a new name as, for instance,\\nmy name, had it been John Anderson on\\nearth, would not now be called John Ander-\\nson by my associates.\\nWhat would you be called\\nThe spirit smiled. I know it did. I could\\nfeel the smile just as if I had heard a laugh.\\nHow can I answer you, child How can I\\ntell you, when I must speak in signs, in lan-\\nguage, to explain to you something which is\\nneither, and which cannot be expressed\\ntherein\\n42", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0062.jp2"}, "63": {"fulltext": "Senses of Spirit\\nIt was in Revelation, I remarked, that\\nthe new name was spoken of. What kind of\\na product was that book? Was it really a\\nvision of heavenly things, or was it an alle-\\ngorical narrative of past experience Was it\\nwhat we call an inspired work, or was it the\\nwritings of a man or men whose brains were\\na little turned What authority should it\\nhave over our lives\\nNone. It was not intended as a work on\\nmorals. It was simply an expos4 of the\\nwriter s individual conception of the eternal\\nlife.\\nDid he hit the truth?\\nMore or less, yes. He was intensely in-\\ntuitive for his age at least, the writer who\\nso described the heavenly kingdom. Yet the\\nbook is deeply tinctured with the human prej-\\nudices of the age and nation and the culture\\nof his time. He also was, necessarily, inclined\\nto Oriental symbolism in his expressions, and\\nthe result is that the work is almost useless\\nto modern investigation.\\nStill, it was in a measure inspired\\n43", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0063.jp2"}, "64": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nYes but he was an imperfect medium,\\nand blended his previous education with his\\npresent discoveries. He had not an eye single\\nto the propagation of pure truth.\\nAlas few perfect mediums can be found,\\nI fancy, said I.\\n44", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0064.jp2"}, "65": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VII\\nOUR CONDITIONS AND SURROUNDINGS AFTER\\nDEATH\\nSOME of the communications of yester-\\nday were so fascinating to me that I\\ncould hardly bear to stop writing, but\\nI was tired and gave it up. The last words\\nuttered by the Voices were a courteous sen-\\ntence, thanking me for my attention and for\\nwriting for them. This brought me to a\\nsudden recognition of the material part of\\nthis intercourse, my pen.\\nYou dictate to me now, it seems\\nYes.\\nUp to yesterday I had only transcribed the\\nconversations occurring between us, when at\\nnight, or when sitting somewhere by myself,\\nI have thought of the Voices and asked them\\nsome questions. But yesterday I kept right\\n45", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0065.jp2"}, "66": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\non, my pen flying at a tremendous rate, and\\nI did not stop to see or think whether I was\\nfinishing a narrative or going on with some-\\nthing new. I began again\\nIn the Johnstown disaster thousands of\\npeople perished. They doubtless included a\\ngreat many phases of character. Some were\\nintellectual, some brutal, some innocent, some\\nsinful, some spiritual, some animal. Now,\\nperishing all together, when each entered the\\nnew state of the spiritual life, what was the\\nspritual status of such How did they begin\\nWho welcomed them Or were they left\\nunwelcomed? It was the transferring of a\\nwhole small town from one state of being\\ninto another. All went together neighbors,\\ncousins, brothers, minister and congregation.\\nWhat became of them? The relationships\\nremained the same, the circumstances and\\nenvironment were radically changed. Can\\nyou explain this\\nThose people occupied the same status\\ntoward each other that they did on earth.\\nThe changing of state did not change their\\n46", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0066.jp2"}, "67": {"fulltext": "Our Conditions, etc., after Death\\ncharacters. But they are widely separated as\\nto condition. Many of them were sad, afflicted,\\npoor, desolate, and discontented on earth. All\\nthat is past. The children enter into a land\\nof unspeakable beauty.\\nAre they separated from their parents\\nNo. There is no such thing as separation\\nso long as there is attraction between spirits.\\nCan the parents follow them into that\\nland of unspeakable beauty\\nThey can, but many of them do not yet\\ndesire it.\\nWhere do they remain\\nThey remain near their old homes, or seek\\nout the homes of spirits whom they knew and\\nloved. They go where they are most strongly\\nattracted.\\nThat is what I wish to get at. Heaven,\\nthe land of beauty, is not shut upon any one\\nwho wishes to enter it? All at least enter?\\nThere is no, Too late, too late, ye cannot\\nenter here\\nNo but unfortunately most spirits, when\\nthey just leave the earth, do not seek or aspire\\nM", "height": "3288", "width": "1883", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0067.jp2"}, "68": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nto it. They still cling to the planet on which\\nthey were born as human, and do not at first\\nrise to the conception or belief in anything\\nhigher. For instance, the farmer might return\\nto his wheat-field, the weaver to his loom.\\nBut if they have spiritual vision, I should\\nthink they could see that land, see their inno-\\ncent children there, and fly after them.\\nThey see only what attracts their attention.\\nThey attract their children to them instead of\\ngoing after them.\\nWell, that is what I call a slough of\\ndespond, and is in exact harmony with that\\ndespairing book called Light on the Hidden\\nWay.\\nNo, it is not a slough of despond it is\\nsimply that as yet they have not progressed in\\nspirit life.\\nHow long does such a state of affairs\\ncontinue\\nThe progression is instantaneous, and pro-\\nceeds more or less rapidly, according to the\\nvitality of the germ, precisely like birth\\ninto your world. If the infant is weak, ill-\\n48", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0068.jp2"}, "69": {"fulltext": "Our Conditions, etc., after Death\\ndeveloped, puny, sickly, it grows slowly and\\nfeebly at first, but after a little, with good\\ncare, becomes as well and strong as any child.\\nSo with the spiritual germ.\\nBut meantime, how about the feelings\\nand emotions of these weak ones Do they\\nnot suffer by comparing themselves with\\ntheir friends Do they not despair of ever\\nprogressing, and sink back to earth in\\ndespondency\\nSuch would be the case if evil and sorrow\\ncould ever enter here; but I have told you\\nthat good, nothing but good, can exist here,\\nand nothing but life, pure life, can fill the\\nspirit. Now, however little may be the good\\nand the life apportioned to a spirit, what\\nthere is of it is unadulterated by anything\\nwhich can bring sorrow, for goodness and\\neternal life are joy in themselves.\\nWhy can nothing but good exist in the\\nspiritual state\\nBecause evil is wholly material. It is an\\nattribute of what you call nature, and is the\\nopposite force which impels incessant action.\\n4 49", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0069.jp2"}, "70": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nWithout evil the operations of the material\\nworld could not go on. Evil properly is not\\na malicious or malignant force; but in its\\nresults, beneficent. But it is a force which\\nmay be abused by the conscious will, associated\\nclosely with a material envelope as a medium\\nof power. Besides, the definition given to\\nevil by humanity has always been by far too\\nsweeping a one. An earthquake, a cyclone,\\na fire, a destroying of one race to build up\\nanother these and a thousand other things\\nlike them, which are simply the changes and\\nmutations of nature, necessary to its very\\nexistence, have been designated by man as\\nevils, when in fact they have all worked\\ntogether for his good.\\nBut what of spiritual evil the evil of\\nthe mind, of the soul, which preys upon its\\nneighbor and gains pleasure at the expense of\\nanother\\nThere is no spiritual evil. Spirit is ever\\npure, no matter what are its associations. It\\nmay be crushed out, it may be prevented from\\nentering and progressing to any extent in the\\n50", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0070.jp2"}, "71": {"fulltext": "Our Conditions, etc., after Death\\npersonal identity, but what does enter that\\nhuman body is the saving germ which keeps\\nit from utter annihilation.\\nWhat, then, is the evil that is unjust,\\nuntrue, murderous, thievish, and every way\\ndishonorable\\nIt is the survival of the earth element of\\nbasal force, the ingredient in the universal\\ncomposition which charged the mass with\\ncontending forces and started the cosmos into\\nactive being. Evil of all kinds is elemental,\\nand a necessary part of the order of things.\\nHe who is born of a savage race is far more\\nfull of this elemental passion than he who\\nhas come of a race which has cultivated itself\\nout of and above the material, sufficiently to\\nsubdue and dominate it; while he who has\\ncultivated the intellectual and the spiritual in\\nhimself sufficiently to rule his body and his\\ncharacter, almost emancipating himself from\\nthe burden of the elemental attributes, has\\nalready half emerged into that state where\\nthe material is put off entirely, with the evil\\nwhich belongs to it, and it alone.\\n51", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0071.jp2"}, "72": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nIt seems, then, that the punishment re-\\nceived by a person who has been inclined to\\nevil all his life, yet still retains some mere\\ngerm of the spirit, is not an actual punish-\\nment of remorse, grief, and anguish, but is sim-\\nply the fact of his being an infant spirit, of less\\npowers than his better friends and neighbors?\\nIf a man knew what that meant he would\\nconsider it punishment enough exclaimed\\nthe Voice.\\nWhat does it mean? You will excuse me\\nfor thus mercilessly treading on your heels, as\\nit were, in this new path of learning. I con-\\nfess I do not scruple to make you prove a state-\\nment by asking you point-blank questions.\\nIt means annihilation of a thousand op-\\nportunities for enjoyment which he might have\\nhad, if he had chosen to enter here with his\\npowers strong and active. He can but real-\\nize his deprivation of magnificent, aye, glori-\\nous powers which would have led him into\\nhigher and higher joys, and also to know that,\\nhaving taken no advantage of the chances\\noffered him in the earth life, he has to begin\\n52", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0072.jp2"}, "73": {"fulltext": "Our Conditions, etc., after Death\\nat the foot of the ladder, and toilsomely make\\nhis way up to the level of his wiser asso-\\nciates.\\nBut does this not cause him grief\\nNo, not the kind of grief that you know.\\nNo spirit can ever be hopeless or doubtful.\\nHe knows there is no more death, and he feels\\nwithin himself the promise of perpetual youth.\\nBut if he is not attracted towards good\\nif he prefers to remain passive\\nDo you think he is left alone, without\\nteaching or help Do you leave a babe alone,\\nand give him neither care, food, nor shelter\\nDoes even an animal neglect her young, and\\nleave it to perish of ignorance, inability, or\\nhelplessness And are we, who live in an\\natmosphere permeated with the light of God,\\nless tender or less just or generous than the\\nlion or the tiger No soul is ever left to its\\nown inability or ignorance. It is aroused and\\nhelped, fed and clothed with knowledge and\\ntruth, until its past career of evil on the earth\\nis so blotted from its consciousness that the\\nearth life becomes like a dream of no mean-\\n53", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0073.jp2"}, "74": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ning or moment, save as the embryo stage of a\\nprogress which it has forever left behind.\\nI hope this does not occur while one of\\nits loved ones remains still in the flesh.\\nAh I was speaking then of ultimate, not\\nimmediate things. With us time no longer\\ntells. We see forward and backward at once,\\nand the episode of the earth life seems but a\\nday amid days.\\nSpeaking of ultimatums, I suppose the\\nultimatum of all progress is to see and be one\\nwith God. You know it is written, The\\npure in heart shall see God.\\nYes.\\nYou remember who spoke those words,\\ndo you not\\nYes.\\nWho was he?\\nHe was a Jew, a messenger, a prophet, a\\nseer, a being of singular powers and singular\\nmission.\\nWas he simply a man\\nWe believe he was the Son of God, ex-\\nactly as he said.\\n54", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0074.jp2"}, "75": {"fulltext": "Our Conditions, etc., after Death\\nDid he ever teach that he was the Crea-\\ntor?\\nNo you cannot find such an expression.\\nHe said, I and My Father are One.\\nThat is true, and so they were one, yet\\nhe was not the Original Cause, as the word\\nFather indicates. They were one in pur-\\npose just as you and I are one in purpose\\nyou to hear and execute what I say and give\\nyou to do.\\nThat is a magnificent illustration.\\nBut let us drop theology for awhile, said\\nI. I want to know about the relationships\\nof heaven. I want to get some kind of an\\nidea what my home is going to be like. All\\nthese ideas of space and endless time and in-\\nfinity are not cozy and homelike or human.\\nIn thinking of myself solitarily roaming about\\nspace, without a settled place to go home to,\\nI feel a sense of lonesomeness, even horror,\\nwhich kills out all desire to go.\\nDo you think, then, that we are in a con-\\nstant state of wandering over creation\\nWhy, I don t know I don t know any-\\n55", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0075.jp2"}, "76": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthing about it. My idea of intense satisfac-\\ntion on earth, is to have a lovely and artistic\\nhome, with my dear friends about me, leisure\\nto study, money to travel, good health, and\\ngood morals.\\nYou can have all these here, if you\\nwish.\\nWhat A home of my very own, where\\nI can be as hospitable as I wish and still find\\nleisure to pursue knowledge and progress in\\nmind and soul\\nI see no reason why you should not have\\nall these things and many more.\\nVery well I do not want them no, I\\nwill not have them, unless the meanest human\\nbeing shall also share them, or obtain their\\ngood wishes equally with myself. I realize\\nEternity enough for that If I thought one\\npoor miserable soul were to be shut into\\ni outer darkness while I sat inside enjoying\\nmyself, I could not, I would not rest until he\\ntoo came in.\\nMy child, that is just the way\\nevery spirit feels, from god down.\\n56", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0076.jp2"}, "77": {"fulltext": "Our Conditions, etc., after Death\\nI must say that this speech made me draw\\na breath of relief. It taught me to believe\\nnot the worst, but the best of God. For if I,\\nin my mere mortal impurity, can feel no joy\\nin the thought of my own salvation while\\nanother suffers deprivation and sorrow, what\\nmust He be, far-reaching and abundant as is\\nHis beautiful love\\nDo you wear clothing\\nWe are clothed upon with immortality.\\nWhat does that convey\\nLight is our element, and in different de-\\ngrees of light we are clothed. Yes, we are in\\ncolors and in different shades of color. We\\nwill our clothing as we please, yet there are\\nsome who have not a choice those who\\nhave not yet learned to will.\\nWhat do they wear\\nTheir simple immortality as a garment.\\nHas immortality color or form\\nNo, not as you mean it. You mean to be\\na little sarcastic, and ask if immortality is act-\\nually a coat or a dress. But we know what\\nmere immortality is without the exercise of\\n57", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0077.jp2"}, "78": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nconscious will, and the former is distinct from\\nthe latter.\\nMany beautiful things are mentioned in\\nRevelation, as, for instance, precious stones.\\nNow, can one wear precious stones in\\nheaven\\nIf we were to have precious stones, why\\nnot all kinds of follies and fashions Do you\\nthink a spirit delights in material combinations\\nof silks and satins, feathers and ribbons?\\nThey may be used as symbols but, child,\\nyou wish to make a heaven as material as\\nyour earth.\\n58", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0078.jp2"}, "79": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VIII\\nIDEA-FACTS\\nALL these months, and not one written\\nword of the Voices I have been\\nfar to sea and back again, and ex-\\nperienced many new scenes, met new people,\\nand have added to my knowledge of the\\nworld one of its beautiful tropic islands.\\nDuring this time I have not been deserted by\\nthe Voices, but I have kept no record of what\\nthey have said to me, save in memory, which,\\nthank God, is as good for conversations as it is\\nbad for dates and names. Of all, however,\\nthat I have heard from them, little has been\\nof more than personal interest. What has\\nbeen otherwise, I will faithfully recall. The\\nfault has lain wholly with my surroundings.\\nI had neither leisure nor opportunity to think\\nnor listen, yet I have missed it. But once I\\nquestioned Could you tell whether a man\\n59", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0079.jp2"}, "80": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nwould die, supposing he were ill Do you\\nknow when any one is going to die\\nThe answer was The issues of life and\\ndeath are in the will of the Creator. We can-\\nnot, any more than when mortal, tell when a\\nchild is to be born or a mortal to die. He\\nalone knows from whom come both life and\\ndeath. It is His secret and we cannot pene-\\ntrate it.\\nI think I asked you about birth and the\\nembryo of a human being, and you said, some\\ntime back, that the spirit enters into a child\\nthe instant God forms the idea of that child\\nthat it does not have to become an actual\\nmaterial fact before it is an individual spirit.\\nThe idea is the fact. The material form\\nis only the manifestation of that fact. When\\nGod originates a new idea, then a new fact has\\nbeen uttered and the mere putting it into a\\nvisible form is but the throwing a filmy mantle\\naround a statue.\\nAnd do spirits also utter facts in the way\\nof ideas?\\nNot as creative. Creation belongs to the\\n60", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0080.jp2"}, "81": {"fulltext": "Idea-Facts\\nInfinite combination to His creature. We\\nmay manipulate ideas when once He has\\nuttered them, but no one can originate the\\nsmallest truth.\\nBut how can ideas or facts be recognized\\nas such, unless they do actually become mani-\\nfested in some form\\nThey are not so recognized, nor intended\\nto be. They each do assume form, from the\\ngrasses of the sea to the stars that shine above\\nthe waves. The practicality of God is one of\\nHis infinite perfections. He no sooner con-\\nceives an idea than He puts it to definite use.\\nWere we to be able to cognize ideas before\\nGod had uttered them, we should be able to\\nread His mind. No all I wish to teach you\\nis that ideas are facts in themselves, while the\\ntransient transmutation of them into a material\\nform does not affect them one way or the\\nother. They are as real out of form as in\\nform. They are the play of that Almighty\\nIntellect which forever throws out, in undi-\\nminished splendor, abundant and eternal, new\\nconceptions, which instantly take their place\\n61", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0081.jp2"}, "82": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nand appointed station in their destined order,\\nnot swerving so much as a hair from the law of\\nharmony, which is rooted in the Godhead itself.\\nThat you have entered into an envelope\\nof flesh upon a diminutive planet to exercise,\\nin the majesty of freedom, that will and\\nimagination and reason given to your portion\\nof Him, is not of particular consequence.\\nHad you never been born, you would still\\nhave been a fact, no matter into what shape\\nyou were transmuted. If another planet had\\nbeen your transient abiding-place, or had you\\nslumbered on in indistinguishable night up to\\nthis moment, you would still have existed as\\na fact, an idea, since He uttered you, and\\nnothing henceforth could annihilate you. As\\nit happened you fell into the order of the\\nhumans (or, I should say, as He disposed of\\nyour idea that way), you now possess the\\nattributes of humanity, and proceed on for-\\never from that level of being. If, however,\\nit had not been so, your entity would still\\nhave been a fact.\\nI cannot understand that. If I am an\\n62", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0082.jp2"}, "83": {"fulltext": "Idea-Facts\\nidea-fact, it must be an idea-fact of a human\\nbeing, not an idea-fact of a dog, or a tree, or\\na drop of water.\\nYou do not understand it, because it is so\\nhard to make you comprehend what an idea is.\\nTo you an idea must have form. It must\\nallude to something visible, or to something\\nthat has come within the imagination or ex-\\nperience of man. You say you have abstract\\nideas which are not reducible to form, but you\\nwill find that even your most abstract idea is\\ndependent upon a train of logic that is based\\non expression, manifestation, in some way or\\nanother. Why, an idea must have words to\\nbe conveyed to your minds at all. To us an\\nidea is a reality, known absolutely without the\\nappendage of any form at all. And when\\nGod utters an idea, it is a second process to\\nput it into form, yet we are cognizant of it\\nbefore that second process is begun.\\nCan you not illustrate this I find it\\nstill vague.\\nYes. Do you not know that you can take\\na letter which you never saw until that in-\\n63", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0083.jp2"}, "84": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nstant, from a person you never heard of, and\\nwithout perceiving so much of the hand-\\nwriting as a single word, can place it upon\\nyour forehead, and almost instantly tell the\\nwriter s character without a failure Do you\\nnot instantly say, sentimental, dreamy, po-\\netic, fond of silence, etc., as the case may be\\nYes, I have done it many times, but I\\nnever knew how I did it, nor do I understand\\nit at all.\\nWhat was it that came into your mind\\nbefore you uttered the word sentimental\\nWas it anything with a form Did you recog-\\nnize it as anything that you had ever seen or\\nheard? Or was it an instantaneous cogni-\\nzance of something to which you involuntarily\\ngave the name of i sentimental\\nWhy, it was an intuition which amounted\\nto a fact for the word sentimental actually\\nuttered itself to express it.\\nThere Now you yourself have described\\nan idea. Your spirit was sufficiently awake\\nto be what you call intuitive, but what we call\\nnormal enough to know an idea-fact before it\\n64", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0084.jp2"}, "85": {"fulltext": "Idea-Facts\\nwas reduced to form. You yourself gave it\\nform in the word l sentimental/ with which\\nyou described a phase of the writer s character,\\nbut which existed and would exist, whether\\nyou had ever noted it or not, as a fact, formless\\nyet real.\\nAnd you say that a spirit can perceive and\\nunderstand an idea as soon as it has been\\nuttered and before it assumes any definite\\nform Is not the utterance of an idea an\\nexpression of an idea, and is not an expression\\na form\\nli Yes, but let me illustrate this by a very\\ncommonplace incident. You lost your screw-\\ndriver, hunted all over the house for it, gave\\nit up and forgot it, did you not Then two\\nmonths later you suddenly called out to your\\nhusband, who had come into another room,\\nOh, Joe, I think I loaned that screw-driver\\nto Miss A, after all And he returned, Yes,\\nI have just been there, and she gave it to me.\\nHere it is. Now you perceived the met\\nbefore you knew it. You sensed it by\\nyour soul-knowledge, and that is the way we\\n5 65", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0085.jp2"}, "86": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nhave knowledge of ideas before they reach us\\nin form. All I can explain, and all I wish to\\nmake plain is, that if God had formed the\\nidea of a new palace built by the side of the\\nriver Thames, that, before it had assumed\\nform, before a stone was quarried, or an\\narchitect had conceived a line of it, or the\\nfirst notion of it had dawned in the head of\\nthe man who would choose to build it, we\\ncould know it and conceive of it and acknowl-\\nedge it to be a fact as immutable as the\\nfact that the palaces of the kings of Egypt\\ndid once exist by the river Nile. Nor are\\nthere heavenly maps, nor paradisaical draw-\\nings and specifications by which we could look\\nforward to its completion. The only form it\\nwould be in would be the will of God, which\\nwe all know, by heart and by soul, and by love\\nand by joy, the moment it acts.\\nIt seems to me, then, that a spirit is\\npractically omniscient.\\nIt is, according to its capacity of will,\\nattraction, and attention. That is all. We\\ndo not know everything that will happen or\\n66", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0086.jp2"}, "87": {"fulltext": "Idea-Facts\\nhas happened. All we know of either is\\nwhat attracts us or we attract. We act on\\nthe universe and the universe acts on us\\nreciprocally. If, for instance, we had the\\nbuilding instinct or taste, there is nothing\\nwhatever to hinder our knowing about all\\nthe buildings that have been built, or all\\nthat will be built, so far as God has willed\\nthem. As long as we pursue the knowledge\\nof building, we can have the whole field of\\nthe past to study in. The fact that a build-\\ning has crumbled to material ruin is no hin-\\ndrance whatever. The material manifestation\\nwas but the clothing of the idea. The idea\\nstill exists, for the idea is spiritual and eternal,\\nand we recognize an idea, as I said before,\\nwithout the need of a physical expression.\\nBut does not all this take time Can\\nyou cognize ideas to the very end in all their\\nmultitudinous variations all at once\\nThe knowledge comes in succession, cer-\\ntainly. We progress from one point to\\nanother.\\nBut what is succession, what is progress,\\n67", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0087.jp2"}, "88": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nbut the using of time? Yet you say there\\nis no time in the spirit world.\\nTime is a man-made division of light and\\ndarkness. Time is a man-made measure of\\nspace. The fact that man is limited by a\\nbody which cannot move at will with the\\nrapidity of thought, has forced him to meas-\\nure out the interval which it will take him to\\nget from one place to another, and he calls it\\nan hour or a day. Time is the sign-manual of\\nhuman ignorance. It is the limit set by God\\nto the intellect of mortality. If you eliminate\\ntime you eliminate space, and conceive, as we\\ndo, of eternity. But no by comparison you\\nlive, move, and have your being. You com-\\npare the future by the past, and the present\\nwith both. You cannot think of anything\\nwith neither beginning nor end. If you draw\\na circle, even in your imagination, you begin\\nit, and when the line comes around again you\\nend it. Therefore to you, one thing after\\nanother means a series of moments. Progress\\nmeans a series of actions through a series of\\nstages cause and effect, and time to do it in.\\n68", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0088.jp2"}, "89": {"fulltext": "Idea-Facts\\nThis is the small round of the finite mind.\\nBut to us time is neither yesterday, to-morrow,\\nnor to-day. Now is all there is, and all is\\nincluded in Now. And all will ever be\\nincluded in Now. Our advancing in the\\nattainment of ideas is but a manipulation\\nof the ever-present Now, which neither\\nalters nor changes as to its verity. The\\nmanifestations of ideas in myriad forms, and\\nour becoming cognizant of them, requires no\\ncomparison of either time or space. We do\\nnot say, Last year I was a million miles from\\nhere If we had been a million miles multi-\\nplied by a million miles, we should still have\\nbeen just where we are, and where we have\\nbeen, aud where we shall be in a state of be-\\ning which is everywhere at once, and therefore\\nwithout possibility of calculation by any kind of\\nmeasurement. In so far as we are spirit we es-\\nchew limitations, and the nearer we approach\\nperfection the more unfettered we become.\\nWell, even although I am fettered and a\\nmortal, I don t see practically why I am not\\nin the Now as much as you are! I am, it\\n09", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0089.jp2"}, "90": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nseems, the mere physical manifestation of an\\nidea which is in verity an eternal fact, so I\\ndon t see why I am not actually enjoying the\\nfreedom from space and time as much as you\\nare.\\nJust so far as that idea acts in you, you\\nare. It is not the fact, but the comprehension\\nof the fact in which you are lacking. And\\neven you have the comprehension of the free-\\ndom of your thought, for in an instant you can\\nsend that thought to the planet Venus, or to\\nthe isles of the sea you have just quitted, and\\nall this without the slightest difficulty or effort,\\nand without the slightest necessity for meas-\\nurement, either of time or space. Thus you\\ncan prove my statement in your own mind,\\nthat it is for the convenience of material con-\\nditions that man has invented the clock and\\nthe yardstick.\\nMental conditions, even as imprisoned in\\na brain, do not need these arbitrary rules.\\nYou leap beyond almighty depths of material\\nspace the moment you turn your eyes to the\\nheavens, and by a ray of light which, being\\n70", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0090.jp2"}, "91": {"fulltext": "Idea-Facts\\nmaterial, has taken ages to reach you, seat\\nyourself instantly upon the crown of a sun to\\nwhich your own is nothing. This is already\\nyour power while yet you crawl in ant-like\\ninsignificance upon a dark and fleeting orb.\\nWhat think you, then, must be your powers\\nwhen, spurning the material, you spring into\\nthe spiritual, partaking in full of all your soul\\ncraves, and freed from all that was gross in\\nyour condition\\nWould that man could once know the in-\\nfinite value of what he so values time. To\\nhim, time, to live a little longer in, to pursue\\nhis pleasures in, to snatch from the Unknown\\nanother hour of foolish existence, is the one\\ndesire. What is its true value to him To\\ncultivate, to build up every longing into a\\nconscious willing of righteousness, to add an\\nhourly desire to rise, to expand, to broaden in\\nevery fibre of his mind, and most of all, to\\nimitate the unlimited love and generosity of\\nhis Maker. Those who gain the most good\\nsoonest attain true spiritual powers. Tell\\nthat as a fact, an idea-fact, expressed.\\n71", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0091.jp2"}, "92": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER IX\\nSCIENTIFIC SPIRITUALISM AND HEAVENLY\\nPOWERS\\nI\\n^HE subject of the union of matter\\nwith spirit has always been one of\\nintense interest to me. How far\\nthings are spiritual, from the verbena in the\\ngarden to my Folly dog, or from a bit of gold\\nquartz to a child, is a puzzle that I would\\ngladly solve. If God is in all things and all\\nthings are in Him But I will ask.\\nBe good enough to tell me if there was\\never a human being who did not even contain\\na single spark of goodness.\\nNo; positively no, not even an embryo\\ninfant.\\nWhen does the spirit enter into the infant\\nform?\\nI have told you that the spirit begins on\\nthe conception of the idea in the mind of\\nEternity.\\n72", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0092.jp2"}, "93": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\nThe idea, then, I suppose, is the determin-\\ning power, and not the act of physical union\\nWhy, of course. The act of physical\\nunion would be fruitless were it not deter-\\nmined by the will of God to be fruitful. If\\nthe idea of the babe is uttered, it is perma-\\nnent, and finds its expression in a physical\\nform as His law determines. Material, the\\nexpression or result of idea, is transitory.\\nMatter alone originates nothing. It is the\\nspirit which animates, not any other power.\\nThe union of two portions of matter produces\\nno vital result without the spirit to vivify such\\nunion. To you, that which appeals to your\\nsenses is substantial and certain. To us it\\nappears as a film, a cobweb, woven across the\\nface of infinity.\\nThen, as the Christ said, or, perhaps, St.\\nPaul, here we see through a glass, darkly,\\nbut there, face to face. It is then that the\\nmaterial, which, after all, is but a slight\\nbarrier, stretches as a veil between us and\\nreality.\\nYou are quite right.\\n73", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0093.jp2"}, "94": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nCan that veil be penetrated by a mortal\\nAre you not doing it in some measure\\nHearing is not so satisfactory as sight.\\nMortals have even seen.\\nWhat state is a mortal in who sees A\\nnormal state, as I am in this minute\\nWere you in a normal state when you saw\\nthe lily?\\nWhy, yes, I certainly was. I am as sensi-\\nble this moment as I ever am, and I was then.\\nBut I have always heard that clairvoyance is\\naccompanied by a lethargic state trance,\\ncoma, or whatever they choose to call it. Is\\nsuch a state of body necessary\\nNo, and yes. It depends upon the person.\\nYou are affected by simple, plain impressions\\non the brain. These need not alter your phys-\\nical or intellectual powers. Indeed, the fact\\nthat you sit intelligently recording our con-\\nversation proves that. Others are impressed\\nin their emotions, imaginations, sentiments,\\npassions, predilections, the intensest of these\\nbeing the weakest to resist and the easiest to\\nmanipulate. The predominant force in you\\n74", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0094.jp2"}, "95": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\nis reason, and it is easiest approached and\\nmoulded into the forms of truth.\\nMuch of the reasoning in the world is\\nwholly wrong because it starts from false\\npremises. The material so dominates the\\nimagination that the will becomes obstinate\\nand refuses to admit ideas outside of that\\nrealm. To such, a communication like this\\nwould seem impossible and therefore fraudu-\\nlent. You will in all probability never see\\nthe symbolical expression of spirit life, unless\\nunder the most favorable conditions, which\\nrarely occur. Others could not hear the\\nVoices which so readily impress you.\\nIn all this you tacitly admit that there is\\nactual communication between the mortal and\\nthe spirit life going on\\nThere certainly is a constant and advan-\\ntageous exchange of influences, both recog-\\nnized and unrecognized. They are visible and\\ninvisible, open and silent.\\nCan this be increased so that the majority\\nof people can receive communications from\\nthat other world\\n75", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0095.jp2"}, "96": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nIts increase is already rapid. Never in\\nthe history of man has there been such an\\nawakening to the truths of spirit. It only\\nlacks some one with sufficient power to demon-\\nstrate that truth fully, openly, and without the\\nslightest secrecy or concealment, to gain mil-\\nlions of believers already anxious for a con-\\nfirmation of their faith.\\nAnd will such a one appear\\nIn due time. And, meantime, many like\\nyou will give a foretaste, in words pregnant\\nwith authoritative truth. There must be a\\nrevolution of ideas concerning death. Men\\nmust learn to think no longer that it is a thing\\nof horror.\\nHas not the fear of death and the mystery\\nin which the after-life has been wrapped acted\\nas a deterrent force to the evil within him\\nCertainly, up to now. But the world is,\\nsay what the pessimists may, gradually evolv-\\ning into a more spiritual state, and is there-\\nfore more capable of demanding and receiving\\nspiritual truths. Among the more intellectual\\nclasses you will find this great question of\\n76", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0096.jp2"}, "97": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\nScientific Spirituality, or the science of spirit,\\nbeing discussed in a hundred forms and even\\nthe most steadfast adherents of the material\\nphilosophy must and do admit that there is a\\nlaw, a power, an invisible force outside of it-\\nself which lies at the base of and wholly vivi-\\nfies matter.\\nIndeed, they do not deny it but coming\\nto the point where life ends and death begins,\\nwhen asked, What is this life Whence\\ncomes it Out of what is it born they an-\\nswer, so far as any tests or possible conclusions\\nfrom tests are concerned We do not know.\\nIt is certainly not a property of matter, yet we\\nrecognize its existence we cannot properly\\ntrace or define it we cannot produce it, yet\\nthere it is.\\nWhy, life can be produced by the union\\nof matter under certain conditions.\\nThe result of the union of two bodies of\\nmatter under certain conditions is the enter-\\ning in to such a united body, the principle of\\nlife but where that life comes from, or what\\ncauses it to enter, or how long it will remain\\n77", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0097.jp2"}, "98": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nafter it has entered, you neither know nor\\ncan predict.\\nYou may set a hen on two eggs, each\\nproperly impregnated as to natural conditions,\\nand one hatches out a chicken and the other\\naddles. There is no visible difference in the\\neggs in the first place, but the mysterious force\\nrefuses to enter one egg and willingly enters\\nthe other. Now, is there a man or a mind,\\nhowever powerful, that can command that\\nboth shall hatch No. No spirit, even,\\nshall dare to command it. The issues of\\nlife are in the will of God, and extend from\\nthe worm to the highest organism ever\\ncreated.\\nYet that force, after all, seems a compliant\\nforce, or else amenable to law for it is not\\ndifficult for the pigeon-fancier to breed new\\npigeons, nor the bee-keeper to increase his\\nswarm. Nature is generally to be relied upon\\nin this matter as well as in others. She yields\\nto a general law that seems to run through all\\nher works.\\nTrue, and the complaisance of God, with\\n78", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0098.jp2"}, "99": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\nHis untiring energy of love, seldom dis-\\nappoints the confidence reposed in it.\\nDo you think a full knowledge of what\\nthe spirit life is would be conducive to the\\nbenefit of the world\\nThere can never be full knowledge.\\nThere can be approximate knowledge enough\\nto imbue humanity with newer and higher\\naims, and different and more righteous\\nambitions. When it is fully believed that\\none s standing in spirit life absolutely depends\\nupon the righteousness of one s character, and\\nthat a lack of righteousness is the lack of\\nevery possible advantage, men will be as\\nanxious to accumulate goodness as now they\\nare to accumulate wealth. Here goodness is\\nwealth. But they must believe it absolutely.\\nAnd to teach this, to prove this, will be a\\ngreat mission.\\nI am not satisfied with that kind of moral-\\nity at all. The idea of punishments and\\nrewards was always obnoxious to me. I feel\\nthat the only true goodness is goodness for its\\nown sake, with no other motive whatever than\\n79", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0099.jp2"}, "100": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ndoing it because it is right. Right for its own\\nsake, irrespective of results, is my idea of pure\\ntruth, and I think whoever sets his standard\\nlower than that, errs.\\nYet facts are facts. The man who builds\\nup the strongest character of righteousness in\\nthe human life is the man who stands highest,\\nhas finest powers and noblest joys in our life.\\nDo you mean to say that teaching a child to\\nbe good because that goodness will win the\\napproval of God, the esteem of society, the\\npeace of his own conscience, the enlargement\\nof his intellectual powers, and the usefulness\\nof his existence, thus bringing inevitable joys\\nof a rare character to his experience, is setting\\nbefore him a system of rewards? Why call\\nthem rewards? They are natural sequences\\nand progressions in the line of pure right,\\nand carry in themselves ample pleasure and\\nconstant delights. I did not mean to infer\\nthat the righteous man should have a more\\nluxurious mansion than his neighbor. I\\nmeant that harmony with right gathers to\\nitself all the powers of God, and these advan-\\n80", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0100.jp2"}, "101": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\ntagcs arc commanded by him whose motives\\nare purest and most unselfish. Thus your\\nsoul need never be despondent if outward\\ncircumstances seem against you. For your\\nsoul lives forever, but the outward circum-\\nstances are always transient.\\nAnd after death is the soul always pros-\\nperous, always happy, always at ease\\nAs regards its environment, yes, and that\\nis the comfort we can give to the most\\ndespondent. The conditions of the soul are\\nalways harmonious, and therefore favorable to\\nthe best possible advancement in every line.\\nAh the wings of my reason and my\\nimagination flag. I droop under the abstract\\nideas you give me. I am a woman, with a\\nwoman s affections and desires, and when you\\nsay the word mansions, I think of the many\\nmansions prepared for us of which Jesus\\nspoke, and I long to know something of them,\\nsomething of the domestic, the affectional\\nside of a life I too must enter. I cannot bear\\nto think that existence in spirit is a bare\\nexistence of mere ideas, or idea-facts, which\\n6 81", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0101.jp2"}, "102": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nsound to me so cold, so intellectual, so\\nlogical\\nWhat is the relationship of the heart there\\nWhat are the treasures of the happy soul\\nWhat do people do How do you occupy\\nyour time Are you isolated, or in groups\\nIn families, or communities Are there arts\\nand sports and laughter and fun and merri-\\nment as on earth, or are you all in some misty\\natmosphere like that poor ghost spoken of by\\nthe poet who wrote of l twilight land, of no\\nman s land/ who did not know what he was,\\nfor he only died last night\\nCan anything be more weird, more ghastly\\nthan a feeling that spirits are nothing but\\nmind What is mind if it has no form\\nAn idea, you will say, and ramble off into\\nmore abstractions. Pardon me, but as yet I\\ndo not feel at home with you. I don t know\\nwho you are, or where or how you live.\\nGive me some definite hold for my imagina-\\ntion. In two words, make me a pen picture\\nof your home.\\nWe make our homes where we please it\\n82", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0102.jp2"}, "103": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\nmay be in the country or the city. We build\\nthem out of ideas, which, as I told you\\nbefore, are the only realities. They are very\\nbeautiful, and they come and go at will. We\\nevolve them out of ourselves, in the form of\\nideas. If we wish them to remain, located,\\nthey remain. If not, they vanish like a morning\\ndream. There can be no envy of a man who\\nchooses to build himself a palace, when the\\nnext man can do the same thing if he pleases.\\nSo, if we prefer a palace, we build one, or if\\nwe wish a pretty grotto covered with vines, it\\nis ours. Poetry, painting, architecture, sculp-\\nture, carving, music, color, every art you\\nknow and many you cannot conceive of, are\\nbrought into requisition for the adornment of\\nour homes.\\nIf you see on earth a diversity of taste\\namong the wealthy, in the style of their dwell-\\nings or the furnishing of their apartments, how\\nmuch more might you expect in us, who have\\nall past ages to select from or copy, and all\\nfuture improvements to anticipate. But\\nthere are so many things that are necessary to\\n83", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0103.jp2"}, "104": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nyou which we neither require nor miss. To\\nyou a message call, burglar alarm, electric\\nlights, steam heat, sewing machines, are all\\nluxuries or necessities of profound benefit.\\nBut of what use are all these things to us\\nWe have but to think our messages cer-\\ntainly no thieves break through and steal here\\nour light is a light permeating all things or\\nshadowed at will our atmosphere is neither\\nhot nor cold our garments are the emanations\\nof our own fancies.\\nAgain, a house unprovided with a fine cook\\nis a poorly arranged home on earth, while\\nhere we need no manipulation of material to\\nsustain life we breathe it we are it, and\\nonly to gratify a passing fancy or a fleeting\\nremembrance of our former existence on\\nearth, should we will into being the richest\\ndish that ever tempted an epicure.\\nFragrance is the atmosphere, music is the\\nvery air of heaven. Flowers and fruits, beauty\\nunspeakable, scenes beyond description gleam\\nwith ever-changeful glory from the farthest\\nheights. Yet height and depth, east and\\n84", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0104.jp2"}, "105": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\nwest, north and south, what are they to us\\nI only use the words you can understand.\\nOur compass points but in one direction, go\\nwhere we will. To the centre, the centre of\\nthis glowing stretch of endlessness, we turn,\\nforever turn.\\nHome is in every place at once, for love\\nmakes the home, and Love Supreme dwells\\never in the very light we breathe.\\nWhat do we do Fly through the worlds\\nwith speed that leaves their lazy flight behind,\\nto carry tidings of great joy abroad. Stoop\\nto the lowliest blossom of a new-fledged\\nplanet, to fill its cup with dew.\\nDo I speak in parables The least act is\\nthe greatest and the greatest least to those who\\nonly live for good. Myriads of sparks from\\nthe Infinite leave their material forms, human\\nor otherwise, and need those kindly attentions\\nwhich weakness, ignorance, lack of develop-\\nment, persistent evil, the embryo stage, and a\\nthousand other causes have made necessary.\\nDo we stand idle when they come to join us?\\nAnd our relations of affection Him whom\\n85", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0105.jp2"}, "106": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nwe hated, we love. Him who wronged us, we\\nenjoy. Her who stole our dearest hope from\\nus, we seek with gladness such is the generos-\\nity of feeling we seek and obtain.\\nAnd those we love and loved T is subli-\\nmated into poetry and eloquence t is taught\\nit never knew how sweet was love. Song\\nand silence, grace and triumph satisfaction\\nsatisfaction of every wish, every desire, long\\nsince so hopeless, comes stealing in and grow-\\ning on the consciousness until not so much as\\nthe sleepiest little prayer offered as a child\\nremains to be answered in full.\\nThe crown of goodness lies upon each\\nforehead. The joy of goodness beams from\\neach countenance the rest of goodness calms\\nevery expression the glorious strength and\\nenergy of goodness lead the way to ever-\\nreceding heights.\\nSatiation cannot pall amidst an ever-varied\\nround of new experience solitude counter-\\nacts society at will.\\nYou know your favorite Bryant wrote at\\nthe end of Thanatopsis, and each shall chase\\n86", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0106.jp2"}, "107": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\nhis favorite phantom Ah that was because\\nthe phantom is so often a vain and fleeting\\nmateriality. But here we chase our favorite\\nphantom, indeed a phantom of ideas you call\\nit; a tangible reality we know it; unfading,\\nindestructible never disappointing our ex-\\npectations never refusing to yield up its\\ninmost secret.\\nWould the naturalist chase to its ocean\\nbed the denizen of waters miles in depth\\nWhat shall hinder his researches? Would\\nthe astronomer make himself acquainted with\\nthe inner strata of a sun? What prevents\\nhim? Would the historian see in actual\\npresence the battles of an Alexander or the\\ncoup d etat of a statesman? Surely none\\nshall say him nay. Would the disciple of\\nBeethoven hear the master compose his\\nfavorite work Here is Beethoven, and on\\nthe eternal canvas of idea was long ago\\nimprinted in indelible notes, tones, harmo-\\nnies, touches, motions, vibrations, the long\\npast melodies of composers who to you arc\\na half-forgotten name.\\n87", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0107.jp2"}, "108": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nHeart joined to heart and soul to soul,\\nour other half, ourself and not ourself, the\\nunit, the twin being who rounds us into a\\nperfect entity, the mate who is to us like\\nlovely music wed to noble words, asserts, in\\never happy companionship, the possibility of\\ndivine union.\\nNo marriage or giving in marriage\\nyou say to me in rebuke. True for how\\nshall one dual being be married? Once,\\nperchance, we were each in an individualized\\nmaterial form, which might or might not have\\nbeen united one to the other but here,\\nas one element in a chemical combination\\nrushes with irresistible force to join itself\\nwith another element that attracts it, so,\\nwithout doubt, hesitancy, forethought, desire\\neven, the spirit of our mate, our other half,\\nrushes to mingle itself forever with us, in all\\nthe incontrovertible persistence of natural law.\\nNor are we capable of holding back, for\\nevery instinct of our being teaches us this is\\nthe only perfect immortality. We seek with\\njoyous delight the one dear counterpart in\\n88", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0108.jp2"}, "109": {"fulltext": "Scientific Spiritualism\\nwhom can be no mistake, from whom we\\nderive completion. Ah, exquisite contra-\\ndiction and agreement within ourselves at\\nonce She or he, he or she, what matters\\nit or if the male and female mingled into\\none, form a new creature with a new name,\\nas John on Patmos saw What harmony of\\nhuman conception were worthy to celebrate\\nit Love was never yet written in words or\\ntold in story. Only the shadow of his bright\\npresence ever illumined the earth-bound air.\\n89", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0109.jp2"}, "110": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER X\\nWHAT IS UNCONSCIOUS WILL?\\nALTHOUGH I am constantly gaining\\nmore faith in what is told me, still,\\never since the Voices have begun to\\nspeak with me I have instinctively felt that I\\ncan bear no failure in their statements. When\\na seeming paradox has been given me I have\\nnot been .mentally at rest until to my mind it\\nhas been clearly explained, and so I have,\\nsince the above writing, dwelt particularly on\\na sentence uttered some pages back, which\\ntroubled me as I wrote it, and which troubles\\nme now. I therefore desire to demand an\\nexplanation of what is meant in the following\\nAttention is the basal quality of will.\\nNo one can will positively and successfully\\nwithout first profoundly setting the mind on\\nthe object of desire. It is for this that we\\nmust be obedient to the law of attraction in\\nour visits to you. Unless you have us in mind\\n90", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0110.jp2"}, "111": {"fulltext": "What is Unconscious Will\\nsufficiently to consciously or unconsciously will\\nus to come, we have no current whereby to\\napproach you.\\nNow, I cannot comprehend the final sen-\\ntence. First you say we must set our minds\\npositively to work to accomplish anything, and\\nthen you say unconsciously attract. To will\\nyou to come is to consciously desire you to\\ncome and we cannot, so far as I can see,\\nunconsciously will anything. Attention\\nbeing the basal quality of will, how can any-\\nthing be willed unconsciously?\\nYou are in your present condition made\\nup of two bodies. You have a physical body\\nwith its brain, and a spiritual body with its\\nsoul. Now, in the every-day life that sur-\\nrounds you, you intelligently will this or that\\nand accomplish your will by setting your at-\\ntention on the object and then proceeding to\\naction. But at the same time the invisible\\nlife of your spirit is going on with its own func-\\ntions and powers, and the spirit of you being\\nthe dominant force of you, it often wills in a\\nway of which you, as a physical being, arc un-\\n91", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0111.jp2"}, "112": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\naware. Do you think spirit begins only when\\nyour body dies Do you think that when\\nyour body dies your spirit is newly born\\nDo you think that all the while your body\\ngrows, and your intellect develops, your spirit\\nlies dormant, waiting for you to get through\\nwith your material form before it clothes you\\nwith a spiritual form\\nWhy, yes, and no. I think it is usual to\\nimagine that we become a spirit when we\\ncease to be a living being. Still, I am not un-\\naware of the theory that the physical form\\nand intellect are pervaded by a spiritual form\\nand soul, distinct in itself, so that when the\\nbody lies dead it flees away intact.\\nIt is not a theory it is a fact. And what\\ndo you think that this spirit which pervades\\nyou is doing all the time that you grow and\\nprogress\\nThe idea that I am double is so new to\\nme that I cannot say.\\nLet me illustrate to you Did you ever\\nhave a presentiment that came true\\nYes, and a good many that did not.\\n92", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0112.jp2"}, "113": {"fulltext": "What is Unconscious Will\\nDid you ever have an intuition that proved\\ncorrect\\n11 Yes, and a good many that did not.\\nDid you ever suffer unrest, remorse,\\ndoubts, fears, which sometimes proved base-\\nless, but often proved the results of an out-\\nside cause of which you were at the time\\nignorant\\nYes, of course, every one has.\\nu The inner workings of your mind are your\\nspiritual growth, and, with your spirit ever\\nbusy, many unconscious desires, predilections,\\ntendencies, go on, and we may unconsciously\\nbe desired to come to you by that spirit, who\\nalso rules you in many things of which you\\narc not practically cognizant.\\nThe senses of the spirit, even while at-\\ntached to an envelope of flesh, are infinitely\\nfiner than the senses of the body and many\\ntimes when you seem to hear truth with your\\nphysical ears, and see truth with your physical\\neyes, and touch truth with your physical hands,\\nyour spirit tells you without words, in what\\nyou call intuitions, that it is falsehood that\\n93", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0113.jp2"}, "114": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nyou hear, see, or touch. Have you not many\\na time touched the hand of a stranger and felt\\nan inward distrust, repulsion, even loathing\\nof him or her\\nYes.\\nHave you not listened to arguments so\\nplausible that a philosopher could not combat\\nthem, uttered with inimitable persuasion and\\neloquence, and, during it all, has not your\\nspirit told you it was all a fraud and warned\\nyou to keep aloof?\\nOh, many times.\\nDid you attribute these warnings to your\\nown active and dominant spirit\\nNo. I attributed them respectively to\\nreason and intuition.\\nWhat is intuition?\\nI should say it was the instantaneous per-\\nception of a truth without any basis of reason\\nto stand upon.\\nAnd I should say it was the opening of\\nthe faculties of the spirit, while yet in the\\nbody, to the universal truth and knowledge\\nwhich pervades the true spiritual atmosphere.\\n94", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0114.jp2"}, "115": {"fulltext": "What is Unconscious Will\\nStill, as I answered you, my intuitions are\\nnot infallible.\\nCertainly not. No spirit is infallible, no\\nmatter how high he has reached. Only God\\nis infallible. How, then, could one expect\\nthe earth-bound, flesh-enveloped germ of spirit\\nto give infallible instructions, however much\\nthey may be relied upon, above many of the\\nordinary conclusions of the senses\\nThen, coming back to the original ques-\\ntion, man does at times unconsciously will, by\\nmeans of that invisible spirit of his that per-\\nvades him\\nHe certainly does. But as was suggested\\nthe other day when you discussed this point,\\nhere is a much simpler solution. You love\\nyour mother dearly, and she is far away in\\nBermuda. If you had your way you would\\njoin her forty times a day or desire her to join\\nyou. Your souls are in perfect harmony, and\\nnothing she does or you do would be uninter-\\nesting to the other.\\nNow, practically, your reason and intelli-\\ngence tell you that it is useless for you to con-\\n95", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0115.jp2"}, "116": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nsciously will your mother to come to you.\\nTherefore you do not form in words the\\nthought I wish mother were here. Oh, if\\nmother could be here to join me in this\\nYou put aside any conscious willing of her to\\ncome, as impracticable. But all the time\\nyour spirit does actually seek hers. Dominat-\\ning your action, it leads you to avoid what\\nshe would dislike, and to do what she would\\napprove. The longing in you to be with her\\nis in its way an unconscious longing, because\\nyour whole mind seems taken up with affairs,\\nbut after all, the love in you, the eternal idea,\\nwhich nothing can obliterate, calls and calls\\nto her spirit and were she a pure spirit, were\\nher physical being dead that physical form\\nwhich holds her on the Island of Bermuda\\nshe would be with you in the twinkling of an\\neye. And were you both dead as to your\\nbodies, your union, even from the end of mor-\\ntal-imagined space, would put the lightning\\nflash to shame.\\nThus it is that you sometimes unconscious-\\nly attract us. The very fact of your mind dwell-\\n96", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0116.jp2"}, "117": {"fulltext": "What is Unconscious Will?\\ning on spiritual subjects and making pure\\ntruth the object of your warmest enthusiasm\\nis an attraction of itself. The very fact that\\nyou seldom move either among men or amid\\nthe scenes of Nature without applying a spirit-\\nual and eternal significance to your observa-\\ntions, is another unconscious attraction, of\\nwhich you may not be aware.\\nAgain, every soul which aspires to God as\\nthe chief end and aim of existence every soul\\nwho loves God deeply, constantly, and fer-\\nvently, calls to itself, holds and commands in-\\nvisible powers and harmonies of which its\\nearth-bound imagination cannot dream. Every\\nfervent prayer for light, for truth, for righteous-\\nness, is an unconscious willing of forces which\\nmake for the causes you advocate. Were you\\nconscious of that\\nI am wholly and perfectly answered. I\\nhave no more to say.\\n97", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0117.jp2"}, "118": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XI\\nMORTAL MIND\\nTHE Voices now seemed to me to be\\nvery exalted spirits, yet I felt sweetly\\nfamiliar with them. I asked, Can\\nyou tell me what kind of power it is which\\nproduces raps, table-tippings, footsteps, closed\\ndoors opened, and indeed such phenomena as\\nare always caused by some invisible agent\\nIt is an elemental power.\\nWhat kind of a power is that\\nMaterial.\\nYou mean that it is not a spiritual\\npower\\nYes.\\nBut these manifestations seem intelligent.\\nThe raps and taps answer questions and tell\\nthings unknown to those manipulating them,\\nor rather, questioning them.\\n98\\nv", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0118.jp2"}, "119": {"fulltext": "Mortal Mind\\nNevertheless, the power is a material force,\\nmanifested by means of material.\\nCan a material force be intelligent\\nNo, but a mortal mind can control a mate-\\nrial force so as to make it perform phenomena.\\nDo you mean to say that spirits do not\\ncommunicate by means of these phenomena\\nNo spirits sometimes do, but never in the\\nway you were thinking mischievously.\\nWhat is it, then, that thus communicates\\nmischievously\\nMortal mind.\\nYou mean that the phenomena arc the\\nresults of will\\nYes, will and imagination. The strongest\\nwill, magnetically considered, in a number of\\npeople gathered to see such things, generally\\ncontrols the current, and if there be any intel-\\nligent communications, he or she consciously\\nor unconsciously produces it, more usually\\nunconsciously, as few mediums understand\\ntheir own powers, and many erroneously at-\\ntribute to spirits qualities which they pos-\\nsess solely within themselves.\\n99\\nL*C", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0119.jp2"}, "120": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nHow do you account for the message\\nwhich I received from my dead father, which\\nwas written on a slate cleaned by me and\\nclosed by another slate, with nothing between\\nthem, which I held at arm s length and which\\nno one else touched?\\nWe know how that was done. He did\\nit.\\nWho did it\\nYour father did it. But there was nothing\\nevil in it, was there\\nQuite the contrary. It was all good.\\nWell, good messages are often given by\\nreal spirits in various ways. But bad and\\nmischievous things are never written, spoken,\\nnor acted by spirits. It is impossible. All\\nevil is material and mortal.\\nSpiritualists always, everywhere, claim\\nthat they know there are evil spirits as well\\nas good. Take that Mrs. C that bright,\\ngood woman. You cannot convince her that\\nthere are not evil spirits, for she has seen and\\ntalked with them.\\nNo, she has not. Her imagination may\\n100", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0120.jp2"}, "121": {"fulltext": "Mortal Mind\\nhave produced such a delusion, but she was\\nunder the influence of mortal mind, not of\\nspiritual fact.\\nHow is one to discriminate between\\nimagination, illusion, and truth\\nKeep strictly to the rule\\nIf it be good it may be spirit\\nIf it be bad it cannot be spirit\\nWhat are apparitions\\nThey are emanations of material from\\nspirit.\\nEmanations?\\nYes, they are the spirit idea made mani-\\nfest in material.\\nThey emanate from spirit\\nYes but mind you, they are not imbued\\nwith actual spirit. They are mere shadows,\\nprojections they are not actual spirits.\\nIn this town an old woman was frequently\\nseen lying on her bed after she had long been\\ndead and buried. Now, what was that\\nHer strong idea of herself as being there,\\nmanifested in material, shadowlike, but made\\n101", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0121.jp2"}, "122": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nup of actual particles, the emanation of her\\nspirit.\\nSo ghosts are real things n\\nYes, and so real that they are chemically\\ncombined as much as you are, only they are\\nnot permanent appearances.\\nWhy do ghosts haunt the earth\\nBecause the immortal mind behind them\\nhaunts the earth, attracted, perhaps, by an\\neager desire to atone for some wrong; or it\\nmay be it is attracted to and longs for the old\\nplaces or some place so strongly as to actually\\nbecome materialized for a more or less time,\\nmore or less often. Usually a disturbed con-\\ndition of the brain at death is the initial\\nreason for such re-appearances.\\nSudden death, great anxiety, some most\\nimportant thing left undone, will frequently\\ndistract the good of the spirit which comes\\nhere from an upward progress, and hold it\\nby its attraction earth-bound for some time,\\nor until satisfaction is achieved.\\nBut do not these ghosts often do mischief\\nand cause evil\\n102", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0122.jp2"}, "123": {"fulltext": "Mortal Mind\\nNo. They may cause fright. Anything\\nabnormal/ as you would call it, would do\\nthat.\\nDo they never beat or bruise, or set fire,\\nor do any kind of evil, as flinging things about\\nthe house, or making unbearable noises, and in\\ntwo words, do they not take delight in making\\na row\\nNo. Every one of those things you have\\nmentioned is caused by mortal mind.\\nSome person within reasonable distance of\\nthe manifestation is full of magnetic qualities,\\nwhich show themselves by currents projected\\nand acting on material, as the mind of the\\nperson works. They often are harmless and\\nas often harmful, since evil or good currents\\nmay be thrown out consciously or unconsciously.\\nThere are invisible causes as well as visible\\noperating in Nature. Mind expresses itself\\nquite frequently by magnetic currents acting\\nupon material.\\nCould I make a double rap on my door\\nNo but a very strong medium could, and\\nstill not know it was he or she who did it.\\n103", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0123.jp2"}, "124": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nUsually such things are attributed to the\\naction of spirits, but most often falsely.\\nThen, if I sat in a circle and heard distinct\\nraps on my chair, knowing nobody could touch\\nit, what would it be\\nA magnetic current, impinging suddenly\\nupon the wood. It would probably be thrown\\nthere from the mind of some one present.\\nMind dominates matter. Remember that.\\nSome minds of a peculiar quality have de-\\nveloped the power of manifestation in material,\\nand although they themselves may believe it is\\ndone by outside spirits, I reiterate that almost\\nall of those experiments are done through\\nand by mortal mind. Spirits may, but do not\\noften, communicate by such means. Words,\\nthoughts, impressions, not raps, taps, twang-\\ning and pounding of instruments, are the true\\nmeans of message from our world to yours.\\nIf in the rarest case such a method becomes\\nnecessary, you may rest assured the communi-\\ncation is very important and always for\\ngood.\\nThat does put a new phase upon the\\n104", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0124.jp2"}, "125": {"fulltext": "Mortal Mind\\naffair. Who ever dreamed before that one\\ncan actually move a table by willing it to\\nmove\\nMany have discovered their power. In\\nolden days what was called the Black Magi-\\ncian knew how to manipulate material and\\nhe could accomplish more or less surprising\\nfeats by means of his magnetism, which he\\ncultivated and conserved. It is not physical\\nmagnetism alone, but a magnetism of the\\nmind, the spirit, which is necessary for the\\nactual manipulation of material without con-\\ntact. Unfortunately, as long as the spirit is\\nstill mortal mind, or enveloped in a covering\\nof flesh, the material element may predom-\\ninate, and evil things be done. However,\\nvery few persons possess, or if they do possess,\\nknow how to use this natural power, so not\\nmuch evil is done by it.\\nI know that one mortal mind may domi-\\nnate another mortal mind.\\nYes, and no end of evil is worked in that\\nway. Spiritualists are too prone to attribute\\nto spirits everything unusual. Thus they say\\n105", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0125.jp2"}, "126": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthat people may be obsessed by an evil spirit.\\nNothing could be more false. A person may\\nbe hypnotized by a bad mortal mind and thus\\nbe actually obsessed by that mind, but there\\nnever was a person yet obsessed by any spirit\\noutside of an envelope of flesh. A man or\\nwoman may obsess or hypnotize another per-\\nson and cause them to do any and every pos-\\nsible evil. But no spirit can.\\nBut obsessed people claim that they see\\nor hear a bad spirit\\nSo do mesmerized people declare that they\\nare freezing or burning if their mesmerizer tells\\nthem to The imagination is at the mercy of\\nthe hypnotizer, and one might see an angel or\\na devil if so willed.\\nAre many people affected by hypnotists\\nAlmost every one during a lifetime has\\nsome such experience, although both the\\nhypnotizer and his subject may be utterly\\nunconscious of the processes and influences\\nthat are at work between them.\\n106", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0126.jp2"}, "127": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XII\\nPUNISHMENT\\nLAST evening I began to talk with the\\nVoices, and we had the following\\nconversation\\nI often wonder how Heaven can be\\nHeaven if we cannot have our own things\\nwith us. What a disappointment it would be\\nto an enthusiastic collector of paintings to be\\nobliged to give them all up forever when he\\nhad secured just what he wanted Now, in\\nmy own case, shall I not miss my possessions\\nFor instance, I have just been arranging my\\nbooks, as perhaps you know. I find I have\\nover seven hundred, and I believe they are\\nevery one of them dear to me. I make con-\\nstant use of them. Hcigho I suppose when\\nI go to you that will be the end of it. You\\ndon t have books there, I suppose\\n107", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0127.jp2"}, "128": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nNot actual books, do.\\nDon t you read, then\\nOh yes, we read, but we are not obliged\\nto have actual books before us, as you do.\\nOh I know. You mean that the idea\\nof the book existed before it was written or\\nprinted, and so you read the idea. But there\\nare a good many objections to that, I should\\nsay. An author s mind is in a state of chaos,\\nas it were, in compiling his ideas for a book\\nit is a process he writes, scratches out, fills\\nin, and is never done changing until he\\nfinishes the last proof. It would be rather\\ntedious, I fancy, to follow the ramifications\\nof his ideas. What we want is the finished\\nwork, and usually not half of that.\\nWell, you can have what you want, and\\nyou cannot have what you do not want, here,\\nso I should think you would be satisfied. You\\nhave what you are attracted to, and you don t\\nhave the rest thrust upon you. As for read-\\ning your books, it is not necessary for you,\\nwhen a spirit, to be with them. You can\\nread them a million miles off as well as you\\n108", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0128.jp2"}, "129": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\ncan read them when before you. You can\\nread them here, there, or anywhere.\\nDo you mean that what I have once read\\nis forever retained and can be recalled to\\nmemory at will when in the spiritual state\\nAbsolutely so.\\nAnd what about books that I have never\\nread at all, but which I should like to\\nread\\nThey all exist for your pleasure and profit,\\nand your mind will take them in whenever\\nyou choose, wherever you choose.\\nM The magnificent library of Alexandria was\\ndestroyed by fire, I said wistfully.\\nAre you sure But material fire cannot\\ndestroy spiritual facts. The Alexandrian li-\\nbrary is still as accessible to us as ever.\\nAnd the Alexandrian authors also I\\ncried. Oh what a thought.\\nYes, said the Voice, as if smiling.\\nBut see here. How could I read the\\nAlexandrian library Why, I took up a\\nGreek lexicon last night and became so inter-\\nested in the English definitions and explana-\\n109", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0129.jp2"}, "130": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ntions but they were so constantly interlarded\\nwith Latin and Greek that I gave it up in\\ndespair. How, then, could I read books in\\nforeign languages Does changing from the\\nmaterial into the spiritual form give one a\\nroyal road to learning?\\nIt should be a royal road for the daughter\\nof the king, certainly, and it is. We have a\\nuniversal language.\\nIs it Greek?\\nNo.\\nThen what good will it do when I wish\\nto know Greek?\\nLanguage in form, tone, symbol, is of\\nhuman and material invention. It is the uni-\\nversal language shattered into parts. The\\nuniversal language contains all languages, and\\nis the root and crown of all idioms and diver-\\nsifications. We, who know the root of all\\nlanguages, have no difficulty in comprehending\\nthe different branches. Does not the tree\\nknow its own fruitage\\nThis will be a joy to scholars.\\nHeaven is joy.\\n110", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0130.jp2"}, "131": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\nBut out of Heaven, or before one gets\\nthere Is there an out of Heaven\\nThe preachers say so.\\nI know it. It troubles my soul, for I see\\nno answer to it. You say sin and evil are\\nwholly material and cannot enter the spiritual\\nexistence. What, then, of a man wholly\\ngiven over to sin\\nNo man is wholly given over to sin.\\nGod is in him, more or less.\\nWell, supposing we say less less to the\\nutmost degree what becomes of him\\nDo you mean to take the extreme case\\nYes, the most extreme case possible.\\nHe becomes a germ.\\nA germ!\\nA spiritual germ, answering to material\\nprotoplasm. It is from this rare phenomenon\\nfor it is a spiritual phenomenon, it is so\\nrare that men have caught the notion of\\nannihilation. They knew instinctively that\\nthere was such a tiling as apparent annihila-\\ntion, and out of this soul-consciousness lias\\narisen the formulated idea. But the germ is\\n111", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0131.jp2"}, "132": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nnever annihilated. It may remain dormant\\nindefinitely we cannot say how long, it is\\nin the decree of God bnt He eventually\\nvivifies it and it begins its career of progress.\\nBeing spiritual, its progress is proportionately\\nrapid.\\nI cannot see any punishment to the wicked\\nin this. If the germ lies unconscious, but\\nheaven and eternity are stilt before it, I can-\\nnot see how its sins are of any practical dis-\\nadvantage to it, or cause it either remorse or\\nsuffering.\\nWho told you that human beings were\\ncreated to suffer\\nJustice. Wrong must right itself. The\\nwicked must be redeemed out of their wicked-\\nness the evil must be purged out of their\\nnatures.\\nBut why by suffering\\nBecause they have made others suffer.\\nOh an eye for an eye, a tooth for a\\ntooth. You are Jewish, then\\nNo, just.\\nAnd merciful\\n112", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0132.jp2"}, "133": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\nYes, merciful, for if there were no punish-\\nment for evil, evil would overrun the earth.\\nCivilization would be in ruins.\\nDon t you punish your criminals\\nYes, when we can catch them.\\nYou have caught them and punished them\\nenough to save civilization from ruin, have n t\\nyou?\\nYes, I suppose we have.\\nAnd Nature severely punishes all sins\\nagainst her, does she not\\nYes, sometimes to the third and fourth\\ngeneration, innocent though they be.\\nSociety condemns petty evils also, docs it\\nnot There is a punishment for even the\\nawkwardness of the boor, is there not, in\\nderision, or sneers, or laughs, or avoidance\\nLook over the world and count your pun-\\nishments. After that look into the world s\\nconscience and count its secret punishments.\\nDo you not think there is enough punishment\\nright where you are, without our importing it\\ninto our peaceful country\\nYou arc teaching mo a dangerous doc-\\n8 113", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0133.jp2"}, "134": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ntrine. The fear of future punishment of some\\nsort is one of the strong links that bind soci-\\nety together. Let it be known that there is\\nno remorse, no suffering, no sorrow in the after-\\nlife, but merely the being born again into a\\nnew and safe and sweet condition let it be\\nknown and believed, I say, and the statistics\\nof suicide would be overwhelming, while crime\\nwould ride rampant over our heads. The law\\nof love may do in Heaven, but not on earth.\\nThen you think love and mercy cannot\\neliminate evil. You believe justice and suf-\\nfering only can bring a man to a realizing\\nsense of his misdeeds. Unless he suffers what\\nhe has made others suffer, either mentally or\\nphysically, he cannot appreciate the extent of\\nthe misery he has caused, or desire to cease\\nto inflict it, or rise to better things? For\\nyou, if a man causes a man to be burnt at the\\nstake, he should also be burnt at the stake.\\nIf a man torments his wife with a thousand\\npetty, mean, miserable misdeeds and words,\\nhe should be subjected to exactly the same\\nexperience.\\n114", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0134.jp2"}, "135": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\nIf she retaliates she should be retaliated\\nupon to the degree she strikes, and so on end-\\nlessly. This is a pleasant picture. Will you\\nplease tell us whom you have appointed to be\\nyour universal sheriff in the spiritual world\\nI don t know. I cannot say. I must\\nonly think that in justice we should reap the\\nfruit of our misdeeds, good or evil.\\nAlas child, how blindly you speak.\\nHow little you value the power of words.\\nReap the fruit of your deeds What was the\\nfruit of Napoleon s deeds Were not the\\nnations of the earth influenced? Were not\\nwhole peoples changed Did not he make a\\nmillion widows and orphans Did not he\\nsweep the world with his sword? Did he\\nnot scourge nations as with a whip, yet, after\\nall, were they not purified as with a flame?\\nAre not the fruits of his deeds endlet\\nHave not you eaten them And will you\\nheap this whirlwind of suffering all upon the\\ndevoted head of Napoleon Can you say\\nwhether or not he was a minister of the Di-\\nvine Will Yet heap the fruits of his deeds\\n115", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0135.jp2"}, "136": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nupon him Tit for tat/ that is the course of\\nyour justice, untempered by mercy and love.\\nSee where it leads you There is no justice\\nin it all. It resolves itself into fiendish\\ncruelty.\\nWhat is the spiritual law, then\\nWe have told you. Cultivate spirituality,\\ngoodness, mercy, love. These, crowned by\\nfaith, hope, and charity, make the elements\\nof eternal life. More or less so you will be,\\nas you possess them, and if so little as to be\\nmerely a germ, thus missing glories unutterable,\\nstill, under the sun and dew of God s love,\\nyou will finally begin to develop, progress, and\\nrise.\\nDo we remember our misdeeds\\nYes, you remember everything. In con-\\ntrast, you see what you might have been.\\nEvery attribute of your nature now longs for\\ngood and abhors evil. Your whole aspiration\\nis to be in harmony with God, and the remem-\\nbrance that you were ever out of harmony\\nwith Him is an exquisite pain that only final\\nperfection will eliminate, a pain with an\\n116", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0136.jp2"}, "137": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\neternal hope in it, to be sure, but full of\\nrealization.\\nI cannot answer you at times. You strike\\nme dumb with my own blindness, if I can use\\nsuch a term. And the strange thing is that\\nwhen you answer me exactly contrarily to\\nwhat I anticipated, I am convinced of your\\ntruth the moment you utter it. You are\\ninfinitely persuasive. I must believe you,\\nwhether I will or no.\\n11 1 have been thinking, I continued, about\\nthe great gulf fixed, i so that they which would\\npass from hence to you cannot, neither can\\nthey pass from thence to us, that would come\\nthence/ which, in the Gospel of St. Luke, is\\nspoken of by Abraham. Between the Heaven\\nand hell spoken of there, it appears there is no\\npassing. Dives was in anguish, and Lazarus,\\nin Abraham s bosom, in happiness. One could\\nnot go to the other. What does it mean\\nWhat truth is there in it\\nThere is no spiritual truth in it at all. It\\nis a fable, a story written years and years\\nbefore Christ. He is supposed to have told\\n117", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0137.jp2"}, "138": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nit, but He did not. If you will look at the\\nchapter carefully, you will see that this story\\nneither begins nor ends with any allusion to\\nthe Christ. He ends His speech by speaking\\nof adultery, and instantly, without any con-\\nnection whatever, this Jewish fable is intro-\\nduced, and the next chapter goes on without\\nany application, or lesson, or moral drawn from\\nthe story, by Christ speaking of e offences.\\nThe tale is old as the hills, and is of human\\nconception entirely, like a thousand other\\nmyths.\\nRemember the compilers of the New\\nTestament had very many old manuscripts to\\nselect from, and they put the life of the\\nSaviour together in a very bungling fashion.\\nThis had nothing to do with Him.\\nChrist was either inspired or not inspired,\\neither true or false, divine or human. If He\\nsaid there was a hell, He certainly believed it,\\nand if He was inspired and divine, it was\\ntrue.\\nNot necessarily. You must remember that\\nJesus was the son of a woman. He was human.\\n118", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0138.jp2"}, "139": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\nHe said He was the Son of Man. He may\\nhave been dual, but certainly He was both\\ninspired and not inspired both human and\\ndivine. Actuated by two natures, His teach-\\nings may have varied with them. Doubtless\\nHe believed all He taught. But His intellect,\\ntraining, education, custom, habit all these\\ninfluences may have told upon His opinions.\\nHe never claimed to be infallible it was\\nHis followers who came after Him that did\\nthat.\\nMay have, may have why do you say\\nmay have Don t you knoiv whether Christ\\nis divine, the Son of God, after living in the\\nspiritual Heaven a thousand years\\nNo.\\nI should think, then, that your information\\non any subject would not be reliable. If you,\\nwho have been in Heaven so long, cannot tell\\nme anything about the Saviour, how shall I\\ntrust what you may affirm Why cannot you\\ntell me of this most important thing\\nThe almighty veil is drawn hefoke\\nHis face. We feel, but we do not see\\n119", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0139.jp2"}, "140": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthe Godhead. I cannot say if within\\nthe Godhead exists a Christ. I know\\nI HAVE NEVER SEEN HlM OUT OF IT.\\nChrist said c The pure in heart shall see\\nGod.\\nTrue, but He did not say how long it\\nwould be before they should see Him, nor\\ndesignate when.\\nI think that believers in Christianity look\\nforward to seeing Jesus at once, and if they\\ncould not imagine Him as to be seen in a\\nhuman form, recognizable as their human\\nSaviour, they would be disappointed beyond\\nwords.\\nLet them ask themselves if they comply\\nwith the condition a pure heart. On con-\\nsidering that, they may be willing to modestly\\nwait until called.\\nu But a thousand years\\nAnd does that seem so long to you Yet\\nremember, to Him a thousand years are but\\nas one day.\\nIs there such a thing as spiritual blindness\\nin your world, such spiritual blindness as\\n120", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0140.jp2"}, "141": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\nto exclude from the spirit the light and joy of\\nHeaven\\nNo.\\nWhat truth is there in Swedenborg s state-\\nment that some people, after death, are still\\nso wilfully evil that spiritual truths cannot be\\nimparted to them\\nThere is no truth in it. The statement is\\nfounded on his belief in a hell, and the eternal\\ndegradation of some spirits, which belief is\\nutterly false.\\nBut there must be spiritual ignorance\\nHow is that dealt with\\nWith tender mercy. As we have told you,\\nthe spiritually ignorant are simply undeveloped\\nspirits who need and receive teaching and en-\\nlightenment* Some are more quick to learn\\nthan others, but none are utterly blind.\\nThe receptive faculty may be dormant and\\nunsunned, as one might say, but how long\\ndo you suppose it can remain dormant in our\\natmosphere\\nBut if the will of the spirit is opposed to\\nenlightenment? Take a thoroughly evil man,\\n121", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0141.jp2"}, "142": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nwho has always been selfish, ignorant, obstinate,\\ntyrannical, cruel, and self-conceited. He thinks\\nhe knows it all. He does n t think anybody can\\nenlighten him. He scoffs at angelic wisdom,\\nand would laugh any one to scorn as an old\\nfogy who would try to inform him that he is\\nliving on a low, unworthy plane, unfit for his\\nfuture destiny. What can you do with a wil-\\nful fellow like that I have seen such.\\nHe leaves his selfishness, obstinacy, tyr-\\nanny, cruelty and self-conceit behind him\\nwhen he comes here. His ignorance is not an\\nevil, so he still remains so. But ignorance is\\nnot wicked. Then, although ignorant, he also\\nbrings whatever good quality he did possess,\\none or more. Now, as soon as the selfishness,\\nobstinacy, tyranny, cruelty, and self-conceit are\\ntaken out of him, it leaves him with a residue\\nof a few kind impulses, gentle acts, transient\\nsympathies, and generous thoughts, perhaps,\\nwhich give us ground to work upon, and him\\na tendency towards good. He is now in an\\natmosphere in harmony with good, which is a\\nlaw, acting with the same unerring force as the\\n122", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0142.jp2"}, "143": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\nlaw of gravitation in the natural world. Ho\\ngravitates towards good in spite of himself,\\njust as a ball dropped from a tower gravitates\\ntowards the earth in spite of itself.\\nThe immense attraction of the Sun of\\nRighteousness draws and holds all spirits\\ntowards good, even as the sun of your physi-\\ncal world holds and draws all planets towards\\nitself. The result is, that having shed those\\nevil qualities he had with the body, he keeps\\nonly the spiritual qualities he attained and\\ndeveloped, and by our ministrations and God s\\nattractive force, he inevitably tends upward\\nand onward. No soul is exempt from this laiv.\\nWherein comes the theory of free-will,\\nthen\\nMan has free-will only to a limited extent.\\nHe has never been given free-will enough to\\nabsolutely destroy himself. As regards his\\nown final destiny, he has no free-will, cither\\non earth or hereafter. He has free-will to\\nthe extent of non-development of his own\\nspiritual powers, and can carry it to such an\\nextent that the angels look with pitying\\n1 28", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0143.jp2"}, "144": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nhorror upon his obstinate depravity; but do\\nwhat he will, he cannot kill out within him-\\nself the indestructible germ of spirit, which is\\nimmortal and eternal, and which, after a cer-\\ntain series of vicissitudes, will inevitably\\ndevelop and come to ultimate perfection.\\nAre those vicissitudes full of pain, misery,\\nagony? Do they in any imaginable form\\nresemble passing through a hell\\nNo.\\nDo they resemble in any way a punish-\\nment, remedial or otherwise\\nThey do in this sense: the spirit, now\\ndeprived of all tendency to evil, is yet conscious\\nof his past, the opportunities he has missed,\\nthe joys he might have had and won, and the\\napproval of God which might have been his.\\nWe actually hang with ecstatic\\ndelight upon the approval of god.\\nThere is nothing in Heaven or on\\nearth which we would not suffer, do,\\nGIVE, OFFER, SACRIFICE, TO GAIN IT. It\\nIS THE VERY BREATH OF OUR EXISTENCE.\\nIf we feel the least disapproval of any act,\\n124", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0144.jp2"}, "145": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\nthought, feeling, or other emotion, which we\\ncannot explain to you, because there are spirit-\\nual emotions of which no mortal ever dreamed,\\nwe are so exquisitely sensitive to it that it is\\nas harsh and agonizing to our spiritual senses\\nas a stone would be in your eye.\\nWe love God so utterly, and know His\\njudgment and criticism to be so unapproach-\\nably pure, that to offend Him, or rather to\\ngrieve Him, is an unspeakable pain, a sorrow\\nthat is nothing like your earthly sorrow for\\nintensity, yet parallels it when you have really\\nwronged and hurt one whom you would give\\nyour life to please.\\nWell, this new-comer, such as you have\\ndescribed, having entered this realm of spirit-\\nual emotion, partakes of all our feelings, and\\nbeing now terribly aware of his ill-spent years,\\nhis shortcomings, his neglect of truth and\\nright, his spiritual deformity in the midst\\nof ineffable beauty, so infinitely desires the\\nforgiveness and approval of God that even\\nHeaven cannot charm him until that harmony\\nis established.\\n125", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0145.jp2"}, "146": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nAnd does God forgive him And does\\nhe get into harmony\\nEventually.\\nBy what means does he gain it\\nBy blotting out, one by one, his transgres-\\nsions, until his soul is purified and white and\\ninnocent as a child s.\\nHow is that done\\nHe seeks every soul, every animate thing,\\nbeast or human, that he has ever wronged in\\nthought, word, or deed, and humbly tries to\\nrepair that wrong, gain forgiveness for that\\ncruelty, receive in penitence and contriteness\\nof heart whatever just penalty is imposed, and\\noffers himself over and over again as a repent-\\nant soul, seeking to do all he can to undo all\\nthe wickedness of his earth-life.\\nTo accomplish this he must sometimes wait\\nuntil he can meet his enemy, or the one he\\nhas wronged, face to face, and that cannot be\\nuntil that wronged soul has come itself into\\nHeaven. Years may pass before the explana-\\ntion, the pleading, can take place but in time\\nevery sentient thing, including every insect\\n126", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0146.jp2"}, "147": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\neven, which he wilfully hurt from selfish or\\nidle pleasure, or gratification of a mere animal\\ninstinct to kill or slay unnecessarily, yields its\\nforgiveness, not in actual words, but in a way\\nunderstood by his spirit. And at last he is\\nfree from stain, free from dark spots which\\nspoil the immortal beauty of his spiritual\\nform.\\nAnd then God forgives him, too, and takes\\nhim into harmony\\nWhen man forgives his own soul,\\nGod also forgives him, for God and he\\nin essence are one. then is harmony.\\nAs no person is without these stains and\\nblemishes of character in word, thought, and\\ndeed, all must go through this very process, I\\nsuppose.\\nMore or less, yes. But before death\\nmany go through the process while yet within\\ntheir natural bodies. They think over their\\nsins with such true and perfect penitence, and\\nwould so fully repent and atone were their\\nphysical condition compatible, that they go\\n127", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0147.jp2"}, "148": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthrough the purifying fire of remorse while yet\\non earth, and enter here in the possession of\\ndivine peace. The repentance and atonement\\nupon earth is a quicker, better, and nobler\\nprocess than the long and minute discipline to\\nwhich the soul is subjected here.\\nGod sees the heart. Nothing can hide the\\ntruth from Him. He is within the heart and\\ni\\nknows its every beat. There can be no\\nhypocrisy, glossing over, palliating, or excus-\\ning to that inner spirit which you all know is\\nwithin you. And if, before death, by any\\nmeans, you can become honestly at peace and\\nforgiven to yourselves by yourselves, you may\\nconsider that you have accomplished your\\nforgiveness, which is God s. Your own souls\\nare your own judges. You cannot forgive\\nyourselves until you are worthy.\\nAnd until we do forgive ourselves Heaven\\nitself cannot give us joy\\nHeaven will give you sympathy, tender-\\nness, courage, instruction, and all manner of\\nhelp. You will not be left alone to work out\\nyour salvation with fear and trembling, but\\n128", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0148.jp2"}, "149": {"fulltext": "Punishment\\nyou will be one of a great multitude, all busy\\nat the same task, some just beginning, some\\nfar advanced, some emancipated and rejoicing\\nwith great joy.\\nAnd another thing, the task is not hope-\\nless. You know you will accomplish it, and\\nthe eagerness with which you set about puri-\\nfying yourself will be as wings to your feet.\\nWhat a glorious and just law I am\\namenable to it. I welcome it. I will forever\\nabide in its belief, and, so help me God, I\\nwill begin now to wipe out my stains.\\nWell done, my child.\\nSome say there is no probation after\\ndeath. We are judged by the deeds done in\\nthe body and if we do not come up to the\\nstandard we are condemned forthwith.\\nWe do not use the word i probation in\\nthat sense at all. Your probation simply means\\nthat you are rooting your spiritual nature, and\\nwhen it is strong enough to shoot up into the\\nfull sunshine you will begin to grow, under\\nnew and wholly favorable conditions.\\nSo this is all the hell there is?\\n9 129", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0149.jp2"}, "150": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nThis is all.\\nThere is something yet, however, about\\nwhich I am troubled. Here is a loving Chris-\\ntian mother in harmony with God. Her son\\nis wicked beyond expression. Both die.\\nOne becomes an angel, full of angelic powers\\nthe other becomes an infant, a mere germ,\\nlying dormant indefinitely. Does not the\\nangel suffer in seeing her son lie deaf and\\ndumb to Heaven s glories\\nNo. She becomes his sun and dew. She\\nis the minister to his salvation. Were he\\ndead, she might mourn, but she knows he\\nliveth, and that the evil that wrung her heart\\non earth is all done away with forever. Re-\\njoice she cries, ye saints, ye angel host, for\\nmy son who was dead is alive again the lost\\nis found/\\n130", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0150.jp2"}, "151": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XIII\\nSPIRITS DO NOT TEMPT THE CELESTIAL\\nBODY\\nf I VIERE is a dreadful thing taught by\\nspiritualists so dreadful, indeed\\nthat I can hardly bear to think of\\nit to the effect that mortals are sometimes\\ntaken possession of by wicked spirits, who\\nlead them into all sorts of evils as, for in-\\nstance, morphine eating. A person who died\\na morphine eater has the power to renew his\\nvice through the medium of some unfortunate\\nsensitive, and so fill him with a desire for\\nmorphine that he, too, shall involuntarily be-\\ncome a morphine cater to gorge the invisible\\nappetite that preys upon him. Or perhaps\\nsome poor fellow born with an hereditary thirst\\ndies a drunkard, and then in the spirit con-\\ntinuing to long for stimulants, fastens like a\\nleech upon some other poor mortal, and leads\\n181", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0151.jp2"}, "152": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nhim astray. I wish to know if there is any\\ntruth whatever in this horrible doctrine.\\nWe are astonished by the pranks of the\\nhuman imagination, and were it possible for\\ncelestial beings to be angry, we should indig-\\nnantly deny so base and unworthy an impu-\\ntation upon the Almighty justice and honor.\\nAway with such liars, such hypocrites,\\nwho, to excuse a vile passion, try to thrust the\\nresponsibility upon beings whose whole exist-\\nence towards them is, and can but be, only\\nbeneficent and exalting\\nShame on the cowards who dare not own\\nto the unrestrained evil within them There\\nare many who claim to be mediums and clair-\\nvoyants, who promulgate ideas which are ab-\\nsolutely false. Their ignorance has helped a\\nbelief which is full of corruption, misunder-\\nstanding, and superstition. No, wholly no\\nMan was not made to be the unconscious\\nprey of beings more powerful than himself;\\nthe slave of invisible spirits whose sole busi-\\nness is to ruin him. Nor could his Maker\\nsubject him to such an insult to his moral\\n132", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0152.jp2"}, "153": {"fulltext": "Spirits do not Tempt\\nnature. Whatever exists of passion in man\\nis his own and no other s, and to answer for it\\nhe, and he alone, will be compelled.\\nHow about the demons, spirits, and devils\\nthat Jesus cast out\\nMen called hysteria, insanity, nervous\\nprostration, illness of any peculiar form, a\\ndevil, for they knew little enough of anatomy\\nor physiology. In fact, their vocabulary did\\nnot include words which would in any proper\\nway designate a disease. The Christ was a\\nnatural healer, possessed of refined spiritual\\npowers. His magnetism healed the sick.\\nTheir faith, which, you will remark, He al-\\nways insisted upon and commended, helped\\nthe recovery. They were physically ill. He\\ncast out neither spirit nor devil.\\nThen we may fear no intrusion of spirits\\nor impressions unwelcome to us\\nYour independence and solitude arc as\\nsecure as if you were the King of kings. Your\\nown spiritual will, the highest and divinest\\npart of you alone, can attract a spirit to your\\npresence, and if it be that you demand entire\\n133", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0153.jp2"}, "154": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nexemption from any approach or intercourse\\nwhatever, you have but to become conscious\\nmerely that such is your desire, and no wind\\nthat ever blew could drive us fast enough\\naway to satisfy us, and fulfil the law of re-\\npulsion.\\nI would like to ask you more about the\\ngerm. Although the germ of spiritual life\\nis all that enters your atmosphere from an\\nalmost wholly evil individuality, does it as-\\nsume a celestial body, or does it remain un-\\ndeveloped even as to its envelopment\\nThere is in your imagination a certain\\nform which you wish me to say belongs to the\\nangelic race, and you think, by questioning\\nthus, that you will ascertain whether you\\nare correct. But I cannot describe to you a\\ncelestial body. Youth, age, childhood, in-\\nfancy, are terms which convey to your mind\\ndifferent phases of earthly images, the image\\nof the Creator, and so you marvel if an in-\\nfant in spiritual life looks like a little human,\\nsucking, smiling baby.\\nYou think of your dear old grandfather\\n134", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0154.jp2"}, "155": {"fulltext": "Spirits do not Tempt\\nwith his silvery locks, and wonder if he will\\nbe the first to meet yon, looking so familiarly,\\njust as when he sat in his chair by the fire-\\nplace. You think of young people who have\\npassed on, and wonder if they retain their\\nyouth. It is a great and puzzling question to\\nyou and to all who think about it. Shall we\\nsee our friends again as we knew them here\\nIf not, we shall be so sorry, so disappointed.\\nNow, for your present comfort, I will say\\nthat when you come to us, gently borne upon\\nthe current of Heavenly will, you will find\\nnothing to frighten you or render you other-\\nwise than perfectly at ease. If it occurs to\\nyou to think of your friends at first and to\\nwish for them, it will not be an instant before\\nyou see them, just as you expect to see them\\nor desire to see them. But this will not and\\ncannot last. The development in spiritual\\nvision which will come to you will change\\nyou, and in changing, you will no longer de-\\nsire to see your beloved ones as you knew\\nthem. Satisfied with them at first, you would\\nbecome deeply dissatisfied if, while changing\\n135", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0155.jp2"}, "156": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nyourself into the new and celestial form, they\\nremained as of old. For mingled in one\\nsupreme and beautiful whole, are infancy,\\nchildhood, youth, middle age, and age, rounded\\nand full in those who experienced all of these,\\nand exquisitely anticipative in those who did\\nnot pass childhood and youth.\\nLike the bud, the half-blown rose, the rose\\nin its perfumed splendor, each beautiful and\\nperfect in its stage, are v those beings who,\\nnot any more assuming the indefiniteness of\\nchange, as in earthly life, are at all times per-\\nfect as to form, according to the glory within\\nthem. Ask not, then, to know whether the\\ngerm or the saint has a celestial body. Be-\\nlieve that no language could describe to you\\nwhat no eye of mortal hath seen. Rest satis-\\nfied that no one shall be dissatisfied in this\\nland of satisfaction, where every pure craving\\nof a tender soul meets with its exquisite and\\ndivine fulfilment out of the unutterable bounty\\nof God.\\n136", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0156.jp2"}, "157": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XIV\\nOPPOSING CREEDS\\nOVER the beauty of the foregoing\\ncommunication I happily dwelt for\\nthe day. I wore it upon my heart\\nlike a new jewel. And, by the way, once\\nsuddenly I heard the Voices say Love\\nwhich you mortals send to us spirits takes\\nthe semblance of jewels. Your love for your\\ndear friend burns like a ruby on her breast and\\nflames out when you think of her. But this\\nmorning, on thinking of the one hundred and\\none sects the two and seventy jarring\\nsects, as Omar Khayyam hath it of this too\\njarring world, I thought I would ask the\\nVoices what becomes of opposite opinions in\\nthe land of light.\\nOpposite opinions arc harmonized in one\\ncomprehension of truth. Where knowledge\\n137", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0157.jp2"}, "158": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nis, can be no argument. Your creed-makers\\nall agree that there is a sun. Here they know\\nthere is a Sun of Righteousness, and harmony\\nwith Him is the only admissible creed.\\nYes, but error of opinion must exist some-\\nwhere. You say a man takes his memory\\nwith him. Well, he dies a Calvinist, while\\nhis neighbor dies a Methodist, and their friend\\ndied a Roman Catholic. Each was good,\\neach a Christian, but each remembers what\\nhe was. How can they get over it How\\ncan the Catholic help believing that absolu-\\ntion is necessary to salvation How can the\\nCalvinist help believing in election How\\ncan the Methodist help believing in the neces-\\nsity for conversion? They think these are\\nessential points in the scheme of salvation,\\nand that he who does not accept them is lost.\\nI have a relative to-day who honestly believes,\\nbecause I have never joined any church nor\\nbecome converted, that I shall inevitably\\nbe separated from her eternally in the here-\\nafter. She begs me with great tenderness to\\nbe a Christian, while I am satisfied to say that\\n138", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0158.jp2"}, "159": {"fulltext": "Opposing Creeds\\nI am just a lover of God. What can harmon-\\nize all these opposing beliefs\\nIn the first place, they all come here,\\nsaid the Voice. That answers it as far as\\nhell, purgatory, and everlasting punishment\\nare concerned. Then they see among them\\npeople who professed no creed at all. En-\\nlightenment, like a beam, creeps into the dark\\ncrevices of their minds, hitherto filled with\\nthe prejudices of inheritance, education, cus-\\ntom. Charity, broadening the intellect and\\ninflaming the heart with universal sympathy,\\nsoftly sweeps away from their souls the clouds\\nof intellectual error. Love, all-surrounding,\\nall-commanding, shows them the vanity of for-\\nmula, the selfishness of dogma, the pride of\\ntheologic wile, the obstinacy of human preju-\\ndice, the sanctity of Right for its own sake,\\nthe overwhelming No, uttered against non-\\nconformity to a universal creed including all\\nintelligent beings, and proportioning to each\\nhis share of glory as the pure goodness of his\\nheart deserves.\\nIt is not, it cannot be, a matter of organi-\\n131)", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0159.jp2"}, "160": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nzation, election, foreordination, atonement, bap-\\ntism, conversion, which elects, and chooses,\\nand calls men and women to a higher sphere.\\nIt is loving and worshipping the Father, loving\\nand being kind to all fellow-creatures, dumb\\nanimals, and the wicked and the unfortunate\\nalike it is the right exercise of every power,\\nthe loyalty to honest purposes and high aims,\\nthe self-sacrifice for others, the ordering of life\\nwith a view to a nobler and better state of\\nexistence hereafter, which leads the soul on\\nand up into a state of beatitude and bliss.\\nGoodness that is all the conversion needed\\nto bring you here, and to profit by every\\nadvantage of Heaven.\\nBe a heathen and love your highest ideal,\\nthe ideal which means God to you, even if it\\nbe a rock or a stick, and we will welcome you\\nwith the same joy, and God will grant you the\\nsame love, as if you sought Him before the\\naltar of the most orthodox church.\\nBat the Congregationalists teach that we\\nare all naturally depraved, and that, unless we\\ncan believe in Jesus Christ as the atonement\\n140", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0160.jp2"}, "161": {"fulltext": "Opposing Creeds\\nfor our sins, we cannot enter the Kingdom\\nof Heaven. l There is no other name under\\nHeaven/ you remember He said Himself,\\n4 whereby you can approach the Father save\\nthrough Me/ or words to that effect. How\\ncan you answer that\\nBy simply saying that whoever uttered\\nthose words in the flesh is now inevitably\\nsomewhere in the spirit, and if the Christ\\nexists in the Godhead, do you doubt that He\\nis as active now as He was two thousand\\nyears ago? Can He be blind and deaf to\\nthe cries of humanity? He holdeth the\\nsickle in His hand, and reapeth the ripe\\ngrain of His ancient sowing. His minister-\\ning angel still bears His messages of peace\\nto earth.\\nIs not His name as potent, His will as\\nstrong, His compassion as tender, His consid-\\neration as deep, His comprehension as broad,\\nand His love as perfect as when He conde-\\nscended to tread your planet centuries ago\\nWhat do you suppose the dear Christ is doing\\nall this time? Do you think His invisible in-\\n141", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0161.jp2"}, "162": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nfluenceis not as persuasive as was His visible?\\nIs the time gone by when He hath power to\\nraise from the dead, to heal the sick, to rescue\\nthe perishing, to atone for the wicked How\\nknow you, feeble and weak-sighted mortal that\\nyou are, what are the plans and intentions of\\nOne for every living soul to-day, or how His\\nName, taking various forms in various con-\\nsciousnesses, is not as much the Word to-day\\nas in 33 If you see a stranger walk up the\\nlane, and accost him, and he answers you in a\\nforeign tongue, you feel he is an alien, a being\\nnot of your kind, like a bear or an elephant\\nhe is different you do not know him. Yet,\\nif you look into his Arabian mind, for instance,\\nyou will find him at sacred moments worship-\\nping God, and the dew of God s blessing rest-\\ning on his forehead.\\nSay the Name to him he may have heard\\nit, but it is of no moment to him. Yet the\\nName is at that moment written on his heart\\nin some deed of righteousness that would put\\nyour petty sacrifices to shame.\\nBe not narrow. He who came to save the\\n142", "height": "3303", "width": "1943", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0162.jp2"}, "163": {"fulltext": "Opposing Creeds\\nworld will save it, rest assured and if the\\nsavage who burns his ox-meat on some rudely\\nconstructed pile before an idol offers up the\\nlove and homage of his poor, ignorant nature\\nas well as he knows how, do not think that\\nhe is forgotten, neglected, or despised, save of\\nthose churches who grant him and his ancestors\\na burning hell for the sole portion of their mis-\\nfortunes, and no probation even for the inno-\\ncent babe he carries on his rude but human\\nbosom.\\nWe cry out, we who watch the madness\\nof the world, in longing to save it from itself.\\nAnd cannot you trust Him who gave Himself\\nto order things aright? Speak aloud, aye,\\nshout the word Goodness in the ears of men.\\nThere is a creed worth having, and the only\\none inclusive enough to hold The Spirit.\\nThen whoever has been born into this\\nworld has an inalienable right to eternal life,\\nand the varied theologies of men arc but the\\noutcome of the intellectual struggle for a true\\nreligious basis?\\nYes. But outside of genuine goodnrss\\n143", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0163.jp2"}, "164": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nall creeds are chaff. It is by unity in good-\\nness that men dwell here. The Incarnate\\nGoodness is the universal Name that needeth\\nno translation, for it is known among all\\nnations and is the same in all tongues.\\nIn using the word incarnate goodness,\\nI suppose you mean the goodness done in the\\nflesh by man to man as we know it, do you\\nnot You are so careful in the use of words\\nthat I wish to make sure.\\nYes. I meant that goodness that is\\nrecognizable everywhere, and which is the\\nreflection of the Source of goodness, even as\\na lake reflects the stars. Of the higher good-\\nness I did not speak.\\nIs there, then, a higher goodness, a\\ngoodness greater than itself\\nAye but it is above the comprehension\\nof any creature of the soil.\\nAh, what a vista you open before me\\nWhat a hint of something unimagined, yet\\ndimly recognized as possible\\nSay no more. It is beyond.\\n144", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0164.jp2"}, "165": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XV\\nTHE DUAL UNIT\\n1^ ^~AY I request you to explain a\\nI little about the dual unit to which\\n-*~you have alluded several times in\\nthe past What kind of a union can it be\\nwhich makes one person out of two Are\\nthey personally joined together\\nYou mistake us if you think one person is\\nmade out of two to produce a dual unit.\\nThe individuality of each person is intact,\\nbut at the same time is imparted to its mate,\\nso that there is complete union of being as to\\nmemory, experience, thought, tendency, taste,\\ninspiration, intention, and goal.\\nCan you not illustrate this so that I can\\nunderstand it more clearly\\nThe dual unit, the one made of two, mas-\\nculine and feminine, when joined here, are as\\none being. Mark you, we do not say, are one\\n10 11.", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0165.jp2"}, "166": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nbeing, as if a man and a woman were moulded,\\nlike a lump of clay, into a new form, but are\\nas one being as to all spiritual essence. Each\\nabsorbs and holds the other mingles, mixes\\nwith, resembles the other. All mutual or\\nseparate experiences are blended into har-\\nmony. If one was artistic, but lacked busi-\\nness qualities, the other would have business\\nqualities and very likely not be artistic, but in\\nthe one being business and art would come\\ntogether, and thus supplement each and make\\nit perfect. Thus you see how beautifully God\\nplans for His children. What one lacks the\\nother will possess, provided that lack is neces-\\nsary to be made up to form a harmonious union.\\nGod s secrets are always more lovely than the\\ngifts He reveals.\\nIt is so seldom that people with genius\\nhere find a mate who appreciates them. Is\\nnot one of the chief sorrows of this world the\\nresult of mismating\\nNever call a marriage a mismating. How-\\never it may affect either party, there was need\\nof the experience by each. The idea that\\n146", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0166.jp2"}, "167": {"fulltext": "The Dual Unit\\npeople have a right to consider themselves\\nfree because a marriage is not congenial has\\nled to more wrongs, errors, crimes, sensuality,\\nand earthiness than many another seemingly\\ngreater evil.\\nBut supposing one of the partners is crim-\\ninal, cruel, brutal\\nThat is another question, and comes under\\nanother head. It is not defined in the mar-\\nriage law, either of earth or of heaven. It\\nshould be relegated to the criminal code,\\nwhere it belongs, and its punishment should\\nbe the cutting the offender off from society,\\nlike a theft, a rape, an arson. What we\\nallude to is the easy loosing of a bond which\\nhas simply become tiresome, distasteful, or\\nfilled with unpleasant duties. When it be-\\ncomes unendurable, dragging both body and\\nsoul into low and disorganizing states, the\\nexperience has served its purpose and must\\nlegally be brought to a close.\\nWhat is the advantage gained by a man\\nof genius from being united to a common-\\nplace, dull, unapprcciative woman\\n147", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0167.jp2"}, "168": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nPerhaps just the fretting of his soul. His\\nstruggle to lift her, or his pity or scorn of her\\nincompetency, or his disappointment, casting\\nhim more and more upon his own resources,\\nmay draw out of his life harp-strains of\\nimmortal beauty which might never have\\nsounded in the sweet but enervating society of\\none like himself.\\nAnd what is the advantage to the\\nwoman\\nAssociation with genius the society it\\ndraws around it. The hearing, even dully,\\nnoble and beautiful thoughts, or the seeing of\\ngrand pictures, or the absorbing of rich music,\\ninevitably have their effect, even if not a\\nvisible one. Through the dull or almost\\ndumb medium of the body, a growing soul\\nmay not make itself strongly manifest, her\\nmind even may seem to shut itself in un-\\nresponsive silence but always take into\\naecount that spirit of hers, which, pure, takes\\nin only the good. Then you will see the\\nmutual advantage of a seemingly unfortunate\\nmarriage.\\n148", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0168.jp2"}, "169": {"fulltext": "The Dual Unit\\nHow, then, all things work together for\\ngood for those who love God\\nThey certainly do, but should you not\\nturn it the other way, and make it for those\\nwhom God loves It is a poor rule that does\\nnot work both ways.\\nAh but would that quite do It would\\nmean everybody then, would it not? For\\nnone would dare say that God does not love\\nall His children.\\nWell, if you take all who love God, and\\nall whom God loves, you make a perfect rule\\nperfectly applicable to all. And as the sun\\nshines on the just and the unjust alike, we\\ncannot see whom you can exclude. Know that\\nthere is a meaning to that saying which renders\\nit particular, at the same time it is universal.\\nThose who consciously and earnestly love\\nGod, place their spirits in instant harmony\\nwith His. His will then becomes their will,\\nand they offer in themselves no opposition to\\nthe divine plan, which is included in the human\\nplan, even as the human is included in the\\ndivine. And in offering no opposition, but\\n149", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0169.jp2"}, "170": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ngladly and lovingly yielding to God s sweet\\nway, the whole universe, material and spiritual,\\nbends to serve and obey the mortal, as if it\\nwere the Immortal will, since in harmony\\nthey are one.\\n150", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0170.jp2"}, "171": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XVI\\nA CURIOUS EXPERIENCE ELEMENTARIES\\nONCE in a while during my friendship\\nwith these strange companions I\\nhave seemed to have interior glimpses\\nof things and happenings not cognizant by\\nmy mortal senses. I cannot call them visions,\\nI should rather call them intuitions, a con-\\nsciousness without senses. A very curious\\nexperience happened last evening. I was\\njust beginning to hear the Voices speak, when\\nI became aware of a struggle in mid-air. It\\nseemed to me as if a spirit, about five hun-\\ndred feet in the air, were struggling with\\nsome power or powers, and crying out, Let\\nme go Let me alone I will not go back\\nWhy do you hold me Let me go, I say\\nover and over again.\\nI felt critical in my mind while I was im-\\npressed by what seemed to me to be a quar-\\nL53", "height": "3333", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0171.jp2"}, "172": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nrel, and, as I am ever on the alert to detect\\nthe Voices in one misstatement, I said to\\nmyself Ha there is no evil spirit, they say,\\nyet behold, there is a struggle and a quar-\\nrel and loud cries in the very air.\\nIn a very brief time the spirit I saw for\\nit seemed to me I saw this, although I know\\nI did not see it with my own bodily eyes, but\\nwith my perceptions was drawn down to\\nearth and was silenced by what I believed to\\nbe other spirits, although I saw nothing but\\nthe spirit who seemed to fight air. I then\\nsaid in a somewhat sarcastic tone That\\nwas a very pretty sight for the Heavenly\\nsphere\\nIt is strange, said the Voice, and it is\\nvery painful, if what we feel can be called\\nso, because it draws us sympathetically so\\nclose to the material.\\nWhat was it I thought there was with\\nyou nothing so material as a quarrel.\\nThat was not a quarrel the Voice ex-\\nclaimed it was a rare occurrence which we\\nvery seldom observe. The spirit you saw\\n152", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0172.jp2"}, "173": {"fulltext": "A Curious Experience\\nwas that of a man who was dying. His\\nfriends believed him, for the moment, dead.\\nHis spirit was so far separated from the body\\nas to be conscious of itself and its new free-\\ndom. But nature, vitality, the life of the\\nmaterial, was so strong in him that he could\\nnot fully dissever himself from the body\\nthe law of attraction still held him too closely\\nto the material to permit him to escape.\\nHe realized the pulling back, the strong\\npower behind him pulling on every limb, and\\nonly half awakened to his true state, he be-\\nlieved he was attacked and jostled and pulled\\nback by other spirits. So he cried out as you\\nheard, deceived, as you were deceived but\\nfinally obliged to yield, he had to re-enter his\\nbody. His friends doubtless thought he\\nfainted, or fell into a state of coma, since he\\ncame to life. He will probably live.\\nI was thunderstruck at this startling, this\\nwholly unexpected explanation of the singular\\nscene. And now I think it over, this is the\\nsecond time I have seen anything. The vision\\nof the silver lily was the first and this is the\\n1 58", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0173.jp2"}, "174": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nsecond spirit view I have had both full of\\nsignificance.\\nThe next day I began to think of what I\\nhave read regarding the belief of ancient na-\\ntions in what is called Elementals. They are\\nmentioned in many books as spirits and as\\nlying, mischievous spirits who can exercise an\\nevil and deceptive power over man.\\nPermit me to ask you, my good Voices,\\nwhat an Elemental is, or rather, is there such\\na thing?\\nThere is.\\nWhat is it?\\nAn undeveloped spirit.\\nMay I ask if it is a germ\\nIt is not.\\nIf undeveloped it is in embryo, perhaps.\\nNo. It is spirit in so far as it is immor-\\ntal, but it was never human and can never\\nattain to human spirithood. It is not earthly\\nbut earthlike an emanation of primeval mat-\\nter. It possesses intelligence without soul.\\nIt is conscious without knowledge. It is the\\n154", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0174.jp2"}, "175": {"fulltext": "A Curious Experience\\nbrute force the physical vitality trans-\\nformed into a sort of spiritual vitality.\\nWhat is its use in the economy of na-\\nture\\nThe preservation of the kind. It is the\\nunreasoning and unmoral intelligence which\\nanimates animals, birds, insects, fish, vermin,\\nand all life below the human, the idea-fact\\nof the lower order of intelligence which can-\\nnot rise to human consciousness or thought.\\nWere it not for the existence of elementals,\\nanimals would become extinct or dwindle in\\nvitality, instinct, and intelligence to mere idiots\\nof animals, one might say. The spirit of a\\nliving being of any order is superior to the\\nbeing itself. Although an elemental is only\\nthe life-principle of a brute creation, yet it\\npartakes enough of its eternal inheritance of\\nglory to know, to think, to utter itself.\\nYou certainly seem to contradict yourself.\\nYou first say it is conscious without knowl-\\nedge, and then you say it can know and\\nthink.\\nSo does your dog know its master, think\\n155", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0175.jp2"}, "176": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nof food and seek it, and utter its meaning by\\nmotions. But, certainly, you would never\\nsay your dog has knowledge. He is con-\\nscious, but not moral. He is capable of\\nreasoning and yet is not a reasonable and\\ntherefore responsible being. So it is with the\\nelemental, which represents the animal spirit.\\nAnimals do, then, have a hereafter\\nNothing is ever lost.\\nI have often hoped that the sufferings of\\nhorses in the service of man, the faithfulness\\nof dogs, the affection of many other animals,\\nshould be rewarded. Can I feel that our pets\\nwho have been so really dear to us do not\\nabsolutely perish at death\\nThey do not. You can renew your\\nfriendship for animals, if you please.\\nAnd are they conscious of a newer and,\\nbetter condition? For instance, a splendid,\\nwilling, trusty, intelligent horse, which has\\nbeen beaten, abused, starved to death here\\ndoes he awaken to a consciousness of warmth,\\nease, plenty, all that his brute instincts de-\\nsire?\\n156", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0176.jp2"}, "177": {"fulltext": "A Curious Experience\\nNo. He is merged in the general whole.\\nThen how can I observe him when I am\\na spirit, or know him as Old Bill (a fine old\\nfellow long gone to his rest)\\nBecause you will him out of the general\\ninto the individual, by your desire, attraction,\\nand attention.\\nA phantom of my own consciousness\\nNo, a reality, since you desire it.\\nI cannot understand this.\\nWell, imagine all the beasts that ever ex-\\nisted. Would you desire that they should\\nre-exist in an individual form\\nNo. That would be a howling wilder-\\nness, I should say.\\nVery well. Be satisfied, then, with the\\nlaw that any sentient being below the human,\\nwhen leaving the material form, merges into\\nthe mass of elemental force, adding its vitality\\nto the spiritual atmosphere from which new\\nmaterial forms are emanated. But if, com-\\nmanded by the superior human spirit, any\\nparticular animal is willed and attracted out\\nof the general mass into an individual spirit-\\nL57", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0177.jp2"}, "178": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nual entity, it will obey and become as real a\\ndog or cat to the human spirit as it was a\\nmaterial dog or cat to the mortal. Were it\\nnot so, the supremacy of the soul above the\\nintelligence would not be maintained.\\nThe Rev. J. G. Wood, author of Man\\nand Beast/ would, I am sure, be pleased with\\nthis information. His great heart suffers in\\nthe thought of animal annihilation.\\nHuman beings are apt to endow animals\\nwith more human attributes of thought, feel-\\ning, sensitiveness, delicacy even, than they\\npossess. But such feelings toward animals\\nare ennobling in the extreme. They refine\\nand uplift. Thus there is a reactive in-\\nfluence.\\nBut all this leaves me where I began in\\nmy thought. Where is the compensation for\\nanguish endured by animals and dumb life\\neverywhere What joy shall come into their\\nconsciousness to repay them for the pain of\\ntheir existence in this life In what way is\\njustice and mercy to be dealt to them, who,\\nsinless, still suffer and suffer, only at last to\\n158", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0178.jp2"}, "179": {"fulltext": "A Curious Experience\\nbe killed for the food of man or some other\\ncreature for whose prey they were born\\nWho is to recompense this enormous mass of\\npain that forever goes on, without stop or\\nlimit, in beings who cannot sin, but who live\\nsolely to fulfil the requirements of the nature\\nbestowed upon them? If they do not con-\\nsciously live again, how useless appears their\\nexistence, a vicarious existence, a forced\\nsacrifice of life for the sustaining of other\\norders in which they have no part and from\\nwhom they receive no consideration.\\nWe cannot give you any answer. The\\nfact remains that the animal does not attain a\\nseparate and conscious individuality. As far\\nas we have ever known, no animal has been\\nconscious of any reward or compensation for\\nhis earthly sufferings. Possessed of no lasting\\nmemory, he knows not to-day what he suffered\\nyesterday, and docs not anticipate any suffer-\\ning to-morrow. He lives his life and returns\\nto the elements. What that general state\\nmay be, I know not. It may be a state of\\njoyous vitality like ours, only adapted to the\\nL59", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0179.jp2"}, "180": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nanimal nature it represents. But I cannot con-\\nsole you with any definite statement. Faith\\nin God s goodness must here be your logical\\nstay. For if you are so solicitous as to the\\nhappiness of the animal creation, remember\\nyou could not be if it were not the spark of\\nGod in you that makes you so and He, in\\nHis infinite solicitude for all creation, must\\nhave, in some wise way, provided for exact\\njustice and true loving-kindness in this as in\\nother matters, although neither you nor I can\\nunderstand it.\\n160", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0180.jp2"}, "181": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XVII\\nRE-INCARNATIOX CHILDISH AGE\\nI CONFESS that the last chapter was\\na distinct disappointment to me. I\\nwished to be told that I can find my\\npets living spirits in their own form, as im-\\nmortal as I am But I desire now to con-\\ntinue the conversation by asking if there is\\nsuch a thing as the re-incarnation of the\\nhuman spirit. That is, if an adult die, can\\nhis spirit, under any condition whatever, enter\\nthe infant form of another human being and\\nlive a second human life in this world\\nXo. He cannot.\\nThen the keynote of Buddhism and of\\nBrahmanism is a false note?\\nNo, not wholly. I, at first, was at a loss\\nto answer your direct question, for it implied\\nso much, but I think I can make you under-\\nstand. Your soul naturally abhors the idea of\\n11 161", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0181.jp2"}, "182": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nre-incarnation, and I feared if T admitted the\\npossibility of such a thing you would shrink\\nout of harmony with me. But there is a\\ncertain re-incarnation of which the idea of a\\npersonal and physical re-incarnation is symbolic\\nor emblematic.\\nIt is the hint of the truth which has led to\\na doctrine which is practically false, but spirit-\\nually true. The re-incarnation of mind can\\ntake place in a certain way, one of which you\\nare at this moment illustrating. I cannot live\\nagain upon the earth in a human physical form,\\nbut my thought embodies itself and will live,\\nnevertheless, by means of you and your pen.\\nThe Buddhistic scheme appears to have\\nbeen formulated to explain the existence of\\nevil, and especially hereditary evil, and to\\nemphasize the substratum idea of evolution,\\nprogress.\\nYes. But the imagination of the East\\nruns into the material far more easily than\\nthe West, much as they boast of their spiritu-\\nality. Their Nirvana is not our Heaven, nor\\ncan they conceive of such. The Occidentals\\n162", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0182.jp2"}, "183": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\narc the active, the Orientals are the passive.\\nYet here opposites meet.\\nYou mean that spirit is spirit and goes to\\nspirit, no matter what it believes\\nThe division is peculiar.\\nWhat do you mean by that\\nI mean that according to the cultivation\\nof the intellect in a right direction, so the\\nadvance is more rapid.\\nBut if the morality be equal\\nA good man may be a fool.\\nTrue, but we none of us suppose that a\\ngood man shall not have the highest reward,\\nlet his intellect be what it may.\\nDoes he in your world\\nNo. But every one feels that by rights\\nhe should.\\nWe spoke in this way because we wished\\nto sec if we could mislead you.\\nWell, did you sec\\nWc see we cannot, for you seem to have a\\nkeen perception of righteousness. Let me say\\nnow, once for all, that man is born once only,\\nlives one human life, becomes wholly spirit,\\n1G3", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0183.jp2"}, "184": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nshuffles off all evil, is graded in knowledge\\nand glory according to his character of good-\\nness, and rises to perfection rapidly or slowly,\\nas intellect and goodness are combined in him\\nharmoniously. But you seem to think that all\\npeople must instantly enter upon equal knowl-\\nedge when they reach Heaven, or else they will\\nrepine and be or feel misused.\\nAsk your maid to-day if she has an ambi-\\ntion to understand Euclid, or to be able to an-\\nalyze a Greek root, or do a problem in geometry,\\nor read the stars as a seer. Such a proposi-\\ntion would astound or frighten her, and if she\\nthought she should ever be forced to do it she\\nwould cross herself and cry to all the saints.\\nYet think not that she will enter here only to\\nfind dissatisfaction. Knowledge is a growth,\\nand the desire for knowledge is an outgrowth\\nof that growth. Ambition for perfection is\\nthe flower of the growth of that growth, and\\nnot every one attains it in a thousand years.\\nYet all are content in simply growing as\\nGod wills, and the joy of every step and every\\ncondition, each after its own kind, is a crescendo\\n164", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0184.jp2"}, "185": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\nof multiplied sensations and pleasures. Your\\nsense of justice, absolute justice, is so strong\\nthat you cannot bear to think that one human\\nbeing enters Heaven with any better chance\\nthan another.\\nBut since Heaven is joy, and is taken in\\nby each to his or her fullest capacity, satisfy\\nyour mind. Hold up a cup as boundless as\\nspace if you will, and ask the Infinite to pour\\nout His whole spirit to fill it, so that you and\\nHe are one but do not think such a feeling\\ncould be comprehended by the mass of people,\\nwho would shudder at the boldness of the\\nthought and faint at the mere hint of so stu-\\npendous a crisis. Each to his own in full\\nsatisfaction. So is our life here. Ask no more.\\nI may feel quite safe, then, that I am not\\never to be obliged to re-incarnate myself in\\nanother human form and perhaps lead the life\\nof an Italian woman, or a Hindoo girl, or even\\na Frenchman\\nNeither you nor any human being need fear\\nit, nor anticipate it. The ilesh is but the dress\\nof an entity. That entity attains individuality\\n1G5", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0185.jp2"}, "186": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nby its envelope, in which it lives its human,\\nearthy span. Once cast aside, the spirit s\\nneeds are over, as far as your world is con-\\ncerned. It has been born on the human\\nplane and starts from there. Why should it\\nbe born over and over? What advantage\\nwould it gain\\nWhy, they teach that in every new incar-\\nnation the spirit throws off a little more evil,\\nuntil finally it becomes saintly and ready to\\nenter peace.\\nThe necessity does not obtain.\\nYou say that the entity becomes individ-\\nualized by entering its envelope of flesh. Did\\nyou not state some time back, that had I never\\nbeen born I should still have been a fact, an\\nentity, no matter into what shape I was\\ntransmuted\\nCertainly, but you might not have been\\nan earthly, human entity, or have started on\\nthe earthly plane. My statement is that you,\\nas an idea-fact uttered by God, are individual-\\nized and made distinct and separate by means\\nof the fleshly envelope in which you dwell and\\n166", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0186.jp2"}, "187": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\nexperience the vicissitudes of existence. If\\nyou had not entered the earthly form you\\nmight have become one of a different order of\\nbeings. Your entity would have remained\\nintact your dress would have been of a\\ndifferent cut and fashion.\\nHaving, then, become individualized, does\\nthe soul ever lapse into the general mass\\nagain, so as to need to again become individ-\\nualized, either here or hereafter\\nNo. As God has made you a woman\\nspirit, so you will remain a woman spirit to\\nall intents and purposes. What is beyond\\nperfection I know not there may be much\\nbut up to the perfection of the human spirit\\nit preserves its selfhood and identity intact.\\nNo spirit can tell you more than this.\\nWhat truth is there in the Theosophical\\ndoctrine of Karma\\nNone at all. It rests on their doctrine of\\nRe-incarnation, which is utterly wrong.\\nBut let me state the doctrine of Karma as\\nI view it. Maybe there is truth in it They\\nsay, in brief, that all our acts in this life build\\n167", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0187.jp2"}, "188": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nup for us good or bad conditions in our next\\nlife on earth; that a true, noble, unselfish\\nlife in this world gains a reward of pleasure,\\nagreeable circumstances, and joyous relations\\nthe next time we come back here therefore\\nour characters will always improve, until we\\nare at last so pure that we have built up a\\nKarma which shall keep us out of any\\nfurther re-incarnations. While, on the con-\\ntrary, persistent evil will at last lead us to\\ncomplete annihilation, or hell.\\nThere can be no argument about Karma\\nwhen there is no such thing as re-incarnation.\\nWe have told you that the sum and result\\ntotal of the goodness which you have built up\\nwithin yourself, in one sole existence in the\\nbody, is all that goes with you, or rather is\\nyou, in the world of spirit which you enter.\\nThat good, little or great, is all there is left of\\nyour earth experience, and it at once proceeds\\nonward, multiplying itself forever.\\nThe good conditions, the joys which sur-\\nround it, are the outcome of its own righteous-\\nness, and abound more or less, according to\\n168", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0188.jp2"}, "189": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\nthe capacity to enjoy, comprehend and make\\nuse attained by the living spirit. There is no\\nlooking backward or going over again an\\nexistence in a material body, once the spirit is\\nwholly escaped from it, and that process never\\ntakes any noticeable length of time.\\nThen all this teaching of morality because\\nit will be well for us in our next life here\\nis so much useless and pernicious chatter\\nIt is pernicious because it is not true, and\\nequally so because it holds forth rewards for\\ngoodness in a material sense and suggests inev-\\nitably material riches, comfort, and pleasures,\\nto the exclusion of higher motives.\\nIf I were capable of appealing directly to\\nTheosophists all over the world, what argu-\\nment could I bring to bear to convince them\\nthat they are laboring under a delusion\\nTruth. It will infallibly make its way.\\nThe belief in re-incarnation and Karma, intro-\\nduced into the Western world and eagerly\\naccepted here, is powerful in two ways it is\\nnew to most Europeans and Americans, and\\nthose to whom it comes are anxious and asking\\n169", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0189.jp2"}, "190": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nfor something which shall satisfy their reason\\nor seem to make a way of escape from the old\\nforlorn doctrines of eternal punishment.\\nMany conscientious persons believe that\\nreal justice demands the punishment of evil\\npersons, even to the spirit s death, but they\\nshrink from it nevertheless, and if they could\\nsee one loop-hole through which the light of\\nHope should stream, they would set their eyes\\nand hearts upon it with joy and thanksgiving.\\nThis, re-incarnation offers, and Karma is the\\nmeans by which they think it is possible for\\neven the most evil to repent. It is a sort\\nof probation that the gospels they had been\\naccustomed to do not offer. They say to\\nthemselves Here is a chance that Calvinism\\ndoes not give me. In the orthodox religion I\\nhave but one life, and my judgment comes on\\nthat. My poor little seventy years settle my\\nfate. But if I can be re-incarnated many\\ntimes, each time gaining a little, my judgment\\nwill be put off indefinitely, and it will depend\\nupon me, through a long series of experiences,\\nto determine my own final destiny.\\n170", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0190.jp2"}, "191": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\nThat certainly, that is the must reasonable\\nand logical. I cannot blame my Maker, then,\\nfor He gives me plenty of time while, as the\\nChristian religion stands now, He practically\\ngives me no time at all. It is too short. It\\nis not reasonable. I do not believe it. I will\\naccept this better and older theory I will\\nbe a Theosophist\\nBut neither of these doctrines is true, and\\nyou can see for yourself that Thcosophy is\\nmerely a makeshift, a putting-ofF of the dread\\nday when some settlement, some definite con-\\ndition must be entered upon by the soul. Its\\nmotive, just like the motive underlying the\\nidea of hell, is fear, and brings forth slavery.\\nThe root idea of both these doctrines is save\\nyourself. But, as I have told you before, the\\nnecessity docs not obtain. You are put here\\nin your world principally to accomplish Divine\\nDiffusion. God multiplies Himself in you.\\nYou are one of the sparks of Eternal joy\\nthrown off from the great centre of life. The\\nabundance of material presupposed a culmina-\\ntion of it in a link between material and spirit.\\n171", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0191.jp2"}, "192": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nYou are that link. You are the\\nclasp between and the lock which\\nholds the material to the spir-\\nitual, In you both are\\nunited, and\\nThe pur-\\npose of THUS\\nLINKING SPIRIT\\nWITH MATERIAL IN THE UNION SEEN IN THE\\nHUMAN OR INTELLIGENT BEING, IS TO PRO-\\nDUCE INDIVIDUALIZED CONSCIOUS-\\nNESS, WHICH, LIKE OUR FATHER HlMSELF,\\nIS UNLIMITED IN POWER, AND CAPABLE OF\\nPERFECTION, WHICH IS BLISS.\\nThis is why man is bom.\\nGod s essence could not be contained self-\\nishly within itself It must of its nature per-\\npetually diffuse itself and spread abroad ever\\nmore abundantly its overflowing love. For\\nthis purpose individual consciousness was\\nnecessary, so that each individual should par-\\ntake of and be one with the Supreme.\\nHaving attained individual consciousness\\nby the process of linking the material with the\\n172", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0192.jp2"}, "193": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\nspiritual in an organized form, you henceforth\\ngo on consciously progressing back to the orig-\\ninal source. Material being the lowest mani-\\nfestation of the Divine idea, you start from\\nthat lowest plane and go on and on up and\\ntowards your source, completing the circle,\\nuntil you reach the highest plane in which\\npure essence is\\nBut there is no reason, logic, or sense in\\nthe idea that this process must be gone over\\nand over. The thing desired has been accom-\\nplished once for all, and God needs not to\\ngo over and correct His work. His law has\\nbrought your consciousness into being. That\\nfact is sufficient. Given a consciousness, then\\nthe cultivation of it, the broadening, lifting,\\nstrengthening of it But all it was ever put\\ninto a fleshly envelope for was to personalize\\nand give it a separate entity That done,\\nwhy more\\nImagine a crystal ball cut into thousands\\nof facets. Each facet reflects in little what\\nthe whole ball reflects in full. They arc of the\\nsame material, have their similar lights and\\n17:]", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0193.jp2"}, "194": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nshadows, are iridescent with the same rain-\\nbow hues, and take upon their surfaces the\\nsame pictures. They are permeated by the\\nsame light, glitter with the same brilliancy and\\nform, and by their very individuality enhance\\nthe glory and beauty of the whole. All is of\\nthe same nature, but broken up into individual\\nforms upon the surface, so that, look on which\\nside you may, you recognize the exquisite\\norder, purity, beauty, and glory by means of\\njust the individualizing facets.\\nNow, imagine a crystal ball perfectly round.\\nNot a line of engraving or cutting, no shade\\nof alteration on one side or the other. It is,\\nindeed, a pure, lucid, beautiful object; but\\nwhat has become of its sparkle, life, glory\\nof color, reflection of images, rainbow hues,\\nand response from one brilliant point to an-\\nother It is, one might say, a ball of dead\\nmatter compared with the globe of speaking\\nexpression before observed\\nSo, my child, in an image infinitely poor\\nand dull we try to bring practically to your\\nmind the cutting up and diffusion of the essence\\n174", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0194.jp2"}, "195": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\nof our God. Out of Him cometh all we arc\\nof Him wc are all made lost from Him we\\ncan never be one with Him we must always\\nremain and it is our joy and His love and\\ngrace which make each one of us a facet on\\nthe face of His universal globe, reflecting both\\nexterior and interior, and responding to the\\nlight within and without Him and between\\neacli other. For His nature cannot abide that\\nHe should be a dead, flat, undiversified entity,\\nexisting selfishly in and for Itself, conscious\\nof Itself alone, and holding Its powers in the\\nlimited and egotistic circumference of an un-\\nanimated creation.\\nBless God that you are what you are, a\\nliving part of the Intelligence in which you\\nmove. Whatever trials you may suffer, per-\\nhaps they may be the polishing brushes of cir-\\ncumstance rubbing you into a finer brilliance.\\nBut if all your life you remain a dull and\\nunreflecting facet in the diamond crystal of\\nbeing, at least remember that in being a\\nfacet at all you have attained forever your\\nconscious identity, and God will see to it\\n175", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0195.jp2"}, "196": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthat in the perfection of progress you shall\\nshine like the rest.\\nSpeaking of the vicissitudes of life in a\\nfleshly envelope reminds me of the last years\\nof my admirable grandfather Pond. Every-\\none knows his saintly character, his bright\\nintellect, his religious ardor, his personal\\nhonor and integrity, his manly love of in-\\ndependence and all the virtues. About\\ntwo years before he died his mind became\\nunbalanced and childish. The quick wit\\ndied out, the sparkling intelligence withered,\\nthe flower of his manhood decayed, while the\\npoor, patient, sick body lingered on. Tell me,\\nI beg, tell all who watch, with grief and dis-\\nmay, the beloved aged lose their faculties and\\nshrink into childish senselessness, what be-\\ncomes of the living spirit during the months\\nwhen only silly or idiotic stupor rewards the\\neager and longing watchfulness of their friends?\\nWhere does it go What becomes of it?\\nIt comes here.\\nWhat!\\n176", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0196.jp2"}, "197": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\nI said very plainly it comes here. Of\\ncourse, you have always supposed that until\\nthe body lies cold and dead the spirit never\\ndeserts it, but it does frequently, although\\nnever wholly. You may have noticed that\\nold people who appear very childish up to\\ndying, suddenly regain all their faculties at\\nthe last, and make some rational remark that\\nlingers in the astonished memory of friends\\nfor many years. Your grandfather is here\\nwith us, and, if you choose to question him,\\nwill answer you.\\nI am awestruck\\nDo not be. He is right. I was not\\nwholly with you in those days. I was re-\\nceiving the holy baptism of a new process,\\na new birth, which with me lasted long. It\\nwas strange, a dual consciousness, a knowl-\\nedge that death is simply the decay of the\\nbody, and may occur as a mere incident, while\\nthe spirit looks calmly on.\\nWe felt, when at last your body lay at\\nrest, that you were far away, mounted into\\nthe very Heavens.\\n12 177", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0197.jp2"}, "198": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nI was so.\\nI wish, my dear grandfather, or my dear\\nVoice, that I could get the idea of weirdness,\\nof ghastly, ghostly strangeness, out of my head\\nin thinking of death. I have seen people die,\\nhave helped them die, if I may say so, giving\\nmy prayers and my courage to them through\\nthe hand I held but when the last breath\\ncame, the little bubbles of air came from the\\nlungs for the last time, I have felt unearthly,\\nweird, cold, disconsolate, deserted, horror-\\nstricken. Such I believe to be the feeling\\nof almost every one, let faith be never so tri-\\numphant or religion never so pure. What can\\nyou say to relieve mankind of this instinctive\\ndread, doubt, shrinking from the final scene\\nWe can only reiterate the fact of Life.\\nThink of Life in its fullest significance Life,\\nwith all its emotions, passions, hopes, ambi-\\ntions, joys, in full glow and play. Think of\\nyourself on the sunniest morning you ever\\nsaw, when your health was perfect, your youth\\nand beauty at their best, your fortunes com-\\nfortable, your secret pleasures sweetest, your\\n178", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0198.jp2"}, "199": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\nvery feet too light to walk, so it seemed you\\nmust fly, and your voice at the top of its bent\\nsinging for very gladness. Is there anything\\nweird or strange about that picture Think\\nof Light, golden, pure, scintillating in radi-\\nance. Everything clear to the senses, no\\ndimness or doubt about it. Think of laughter\\nand friendliness, intercourse with friends and\\ndelight in foes, the absence of pain and the\\nabsolute lack of all fear. This is your weird,\\nawful death. This it is to die and leave the\\nearth. How ghostly it all is, is n t it? I\\nwould I could convince the waiting, dying\\nworld of this. Why will ye have cars and\\nhear not eyes and see not\\nAh, but the eyes of the body arc so blind,\\nthe ears so slow of comprehension l eforc\\nyou, great spirit, passed from earth, had you\\nnot the natural and proper fear of death\\nwhich secures self-preservation\\nYes, my child, but I had also a hope, a\\nsweet and constant belief in the restoration\\nof my faculties to their highest powers. In\\nmy inner being, which at the last was dull and\\nL79", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0199.jp2"}, "200": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nstupid in its outer expression, I already knew\\nthat death is Life, the only life, the way to\\nlife. Proclaim it and prepare for this life of\\nwhich ye shall all partake.\\nI believe it is my grandfather who has\\ndictated to me these last paragraphs. May I\\nask, then, how it is that a weak, or feeble, or\\naged body loses its spirit to a certain degree\\nIt is a natural law that spirit seeks spirit\\nlike seeks like. The more enfeebled the\\nbody, the more worn and aged the material,\\nthe less power it has to attract and hold the\\nspirit, which is ever struggling to be free.\\nFrom the time of birth the body and the\\nspirit are in a state of struggle one to leave,\\nthe other to keep. For this reason food is\\nconstantly necessary to rebuild the system,\\nwhich, once too much weakened, is immedi-\\nately conquered by the spirit and thrust off.\\nThe material life of man is a long birth, as it\\nwere, an embryo state in which the spirit de-\\nvelops, ever longing to be born, and when the\\nbody becomes much enfeebled it frequently\\nhappens that all but an animating principle\\n180", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0200.jp2"}, "201": {"fulltext": "Re-Incarnation Childish Age\\ndetaches itself and enters a new state, border-\\ning on spiritual consciousness, but not fully in\\nharmony with spirit and liable to be recalled\\nif by any chance the powers of the natural\\nman are re-enhanced by any means, or the\\ngreat throes of material being momentarily\\ndemand the re-entrance of the soul.\\nI referred to the fact of evident conscious-\\nness and rationality at the last being observed\\nin persons long sunken in childishness. The\\nlast painful effort of nature to re-assert itself\\nis then so strong, so violent, as to compel the\\nfleeting spirit to re-assume the fading garment\\nof mortality for a brief period.\\nBut is not the state of the spirit painful\\nand restless, uncertain and out of harmony\\nwith itself and its environment when half de-\\ntached and half not\\nThere is no pain in spirit. I cannot suf-\\nficiently describe such a state as it enters. I\\ncan only say that no evil of any kind, either\\nof feeling, or perception, or sensation, can dis-\\nturb the spirit. It is the body which is con-\\nstantly disturbed and out of harmony with its\\n181", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0201.jp2"}, "202": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nenvironment. Outside of the body there is\\nnothing to dread. The worst there is you see\\nright before you in the deficiencies of the\\nsenses, the physical pain, the loss of memory,\\nthe stupor which fills you with grief and anxi-\\nety. In so far as the spirit escapes from all\\nthis, it is at rest.\\nAnd if one has been extremely active and\\nkeeps his faculties to the end, or if one is sud-\\ndenly struck out of physical life in the vigor\\nof his strength, what happens then Is it a\\nshock to the soul as well as to the body\\nu The peace of God, which passeth under-\\nstanding, ever abideth with the spirit of man.\\n11 1 cannot sufficiently thank you for this\\nencouraging information. Many hearts will\\nbe relieved by it.\\nThat is precisely what we desire and what\\nit is your mission to fulfil. You are to enjoy\\nand spread joy. That is your motto and let\\nme tell you, little child, there is more good\\nfortune to you in this than you wot of. Good-\\nnight.\\n182", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0202.jp2"}, "203": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XVIII\\nI AERMIT me to ask you something\\nwr** about the music in heaven. One of\\nthe greatest delights of earth is its\\nconcord of sweet sounds. Yet the beautiful\\nmusic now elaborated by means of every kind\\nof instrument has been a long and patient\\ngrowth from the beginning of the history of\\nman. In the National Museum at Washing-\\nton is a magnificent collection of almost all\\nknown instruments, and in many libraries are\\npreserved the MSS. of music written by the\\nmost celebrated composers. Are all these to\\nbe of no value in the after life And how\\nabout the voices of dead singers, the songs of\\nbirds Do these too become lost chords\\nHow can a song that is sung, an opera that\\nhas been finished be reproduced as it was\\nheard on earth If the masters live shall\\nis:;", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0203.jp2"}, "204": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ntheir works live with them I doubt not that\\nwe shall have music, but will it be played by\\nmeans of mechanical instruments Some\\nspiritualists believe that if you long for a\\npiano, but are deprived of it in this life, in\\nHeaven the piano will be provided.\\nThere is nothing material in spirit. So\\nwe may smilingly state that a drum, a brass\\ninstrument, a piano, a music-box, have no\\nplace here.\\nOf course no human can conceive of mu-\\nsic without some means by which to make it.\\nWe have means, only not your means.\\nWhat are your means\\nEars to hear, or rather the perception of\\nmusic in ourselves. On the sensitive atmos-\\nphere of spirit all sound is thrown, as on its\\natmosphere also all scenes are photographed.\\nAll music which has ever been sounded eter-\\nnally sounds, and we have but to choose what\\nwe will hear, to hear it, excluding what we\\ndo not desire to hear.\\nThis is still done by the simple laws of\\nattraction and attention, I suppose\\n184", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0204.jp2"}, "205": {"fulltext": "Music, Art, Memory\\nYou are beginning to be an apt pupil.\\nBut this is not wholly satisfying. It is a\\npleasure to hear excellent music, but to some\\npeople who have genius the pleasure of com-\\nposing and playing music is infinitely greater.\\nYet how many, sick from the music in their\\nsouls, die with it unuttered from lack of\\nopportunity, teaching, the lack of the in-\\nstrument itself. Shall they go forever\\nungratified\\nThere is no such thing here. l Ungrati-\\nfied Why, such a word does not belong to\\nour language. We do not understand it.\\nBut if there are no instruments to play\\nupon, how shall these unhappy ones play\\nu Upon their hearts. Out of it are the\\nissues of the soul. A spirit s genius finds its\\ntrue expression within itself, and out of his\\nown being come the harmonies, which re-\\nquire no instrument for translation. Music\\nis thought expressed by means of a material\\nin the world. Music in Heaven is thought.\\nThe moment the musical thought is uttered it\\nexpresses itself, instantly, in the tone, length\\n185", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0205.jp2"}, "206": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nof tone, harmony, chord, scale, and so forth,\\nwhere it belongs. On earth a man must prove\\nhe is musical by taking a violin in his hands\\nand using the bow across its strings. When\\npeople hear it they are convinced that he is\\nmusical and can play the violin, because they\\ncan see and hear him do it.\\nNow, when that same man comes here\\nand continues his musical thought in reference\\nto the violin, he utters himself in the tones of\\nthe violin by means of what we may call\\nviolin-thoughts, and at once it is patent to all\\nthat he is capable of violin-music.\\nAs we have told you before, material is\\nonly the expression of the spiritual, and while\\nthe violin may be shattered, the music fled, to\\nall mortal ears, the man s body cold in his\\ncoffin, and the memory of his playing wiped\\nfrom the minds of his generation, still all that\\nhe ever thought in musical exercise of his\\npowers remains intact, to be used, improved\\nupon, and enjoyed, with all the ardor of an\\nadded comprehension.\\nIt is upon this same principle that painting,\\n186", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0206.jp2"}, "207": {"fulltext": "Music, Art, Memory\\nsculpture, poetry, architecture, and the accom-\\nplishment of talent or genius in any direction\\nbecomes easy where we dwell. There is no\\nnecessity for the instrument, opportunity,\\nteaching, when what is in a man or woman\\nexpresses itself without the aid of brushes and\\ncanvas, chisel and hammer, pen and paper,\\nstone and mortar, and always only at its\\nhighest and best.\\nBut I cannot quite understand how a\\nsculptor, for instance, can express a statue\\nout of himself so that any one else can see it.\\nDo you mean to say that if Hiram Powers\\nwere talking with me in the spirit world, that\\nif he had a fancy for a new statue of Eve,\\nhe would begin to look like his conception of\\nthat statue, so that for the time being I\\nshould see him practically turned into the\\nstatue itself?\\nNo. The utterance of thought in spirit\\ntakes form, lie docs not himself change and\\nturn into his thought, lie utters himself in\\nform, instead of in words which express form.\\nHe might sit with you there all day at your\\nL87", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0207.jp2"}, "208": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ndesk and describe to you in words what his\\nconception was but the more he told you of\\nthe lines and curves, the attitude and drapery,\\nthe expression and character, the more con-\\nfused you would get, and under no circum-\\nstances could you see that statue as he saw it\\nin his mind s eye. But here he would think\\nhis statue into form without any description\\nat all, and you would perceive it just as he\\nthought it.\\nAnd, having done so, would the statue\\nremain permanently, so that I or many might\\nsee it over and over, or would it, having\\naccomplished its mission of being seen by me\\nat the moment, go back into Mr. Powers\\nbrain, or dissolve, or disappear\\nIf mortal thought is eternal, certainly spir-\\nitual thought is so. Heaven is made up of\\nthought utterance in every possible form, and\\neach of these is enjoyed forever.\\nBut to return to music. Much musical\\nthought must be unmusical beyond expres-\\nsion. It is here. A perfect clamor of hideous\\nsounds arises from this city every day, only\\n188", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0208.jp2"}, "209": {"fulltext": "Music, Art, Memory\\nmercifully hidden from the ear of the public\\nby enclosing walls. What becomes of the\\npractisiugs and experiments of beginners and\\nwould-be artists in Heaven If all their\\ncornet and fife and drum utterances resound\\nthrough the eternal vault, I should prefer\\nsome other abode.\\nYou make us laugh.\\nI am glad of that but what is your\\nanswer\\nRighteousness extends through the domain\\nof spirit from end to end. You have heard a\\nscientific man say that a careless conclusion\\nis actually immoral. Artists feel that a dis-\\ncord of color is artistically immoral. It\\ntouches them to a sense of indignation in a\\nmaster, and pity or contempt in a pupil. In-\\ntellect is moral or immoral, although it is not\\ngenerally considered so. The abstract opera-\\ntions of a mathematical problem contain\\nwithin themselves the elements of righteous-\\nness or unrighteousness.\\nNow, when the soul arrives here, all that\\nis immoral and unrighteous, even in the intel-\\nls J", "height": "3280", "width": "1928", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0209.jp2"}, "210": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nlectual, scientific, artistic sense, is done away\\nwith. Whatever is done, is done rightly and\\nin the best way. It may be a very simple\\nthing in itself, but whatever the act, so far as\\nit goes, it goes righteously and in the proper\\ndirection.\\nSince, then, the law of harmony operates\\ncontinually and no one can escape from it, any\\nmore than a mortal can escape from the law of\\ngravitation, whatever is uttered, is uttered\\nharmoniously, and it blends itself with the\\ngeneral harmony without noticeable or un-\\npleasant sharpness, the will of the observer\\nbeing the focusing point, which draws it into\\ndistinct and separate being for him. So if in\\na Heavenly audience, which had assembled to\\nhear a Heavenly oratorio, one should desire to\\nhear only the flute obligate, he would hear only\\nthe flute obligato, while the rest would hear\\nit all.\\nIf all music uttered in Heaven is perfect\\nas far as it goes, I can conceive of no higher\\npleasure than attending an oratorio. But this\\nexpressing one s self this uttering of one s self\\n190", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0210.jp2"}, "211": {"fulltext": "Music, Art, Memory\\nin form leads me to another phase of life\\nthere, which in my imagination troubles me\\nmuch.\\nYou remember St. Paul said that now we\\nsee as through a glass, darkly, but then face\\nto face. This prophecy has always been a\\nbugbear to me, and I imagine that other\\npeople shrink from its idea. Nobody wants\\nto be seen face to face. There are secrets,\\nerrors, temptations, shames even, in every life,\\nno matter how pure, which all would instinc-\\ntively hide or blot out forever. The struggles\\nof the soul against the enticements of the flesh\\nare, in some of the most magnificent charac-\\nters, of such a nature, that to have them\\nexposed to public view and criticism would\\nbe a humiliation, a source of hurt pride and\\nbitterness which would undo all the good\\nthe experience had done.\\nMust we, then, believe that that sacred,\\nhidden portion of ourselves and our histories,\\nwhich we guard with our very lives here,\\nmust immediately stand the (ire of Men\\nthousand witnesses/ and the sins we may\\nL91", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0211.jp2"}, "212": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nhave hoped were blotted out by the grace of\\nGod appear and confront us with their hor-\\nrible realities on the eternal canvas of spirit,\\npainted irrevocably for all the Heaven to\\nread?\\nNo. God is not so mean as that. Not\\nthat you meant to cast a slur on His justice\\nand honor, but that you felt that perhaps that\\nis the only remedial punishment which would\\nbe absolutely just But look at it. Can you\\nconceive of a more unjust proceeding than to\\nhave, as you say, ten thousand witnesses to\\nlook at all the actions of the past and judge\\nthem and you by them To be sure, in that\\ncase you could read their lives also, but that\\nwould be a poor consolation. No, child. I\\nwill show you how impossible such a state of\\naffairs here would be.\\nIn the first place, it is against the law of\\nharmony. Sin, struggle, temptation, error,\\nare no part of spirit life. Neither are the\\nreflections of sins, struggles, temptations, er-\\nrors, thrown on the eternal canvas. The\\ncamera is not sensitive to them. Photograph-\\n192", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0212.jp2"}, "213": {"fulltext": "Music, Art, Memory\\nically, they won t take They belong to\\nmaterial things, and never can leave their own\\nelement. Yon will remember that it was\\nwritten that Satan shall be chained for a\\nthousand years. The real meaning of that\\nsaying I have just interpreted to you. The\\nevil elements within human nature were\\npersonified under the name of Satan and\\nfeeling intuitively that the time would inev-\\nitably come when these should be wholly cast\\nout and forever imprisoned in the material,\\ntheir proper abode, the prophet pictured the\\ncasting of Satan into the bottomless pit by the\\nangel of Heavenly Goodness. For all out of\\nharmony must stay out of harmony. There is\\nno entrance into the kingdom of God except-\\ning through the door. The door is spirit, and\\nall spirit is pure.\\nAgain, even in your mortal form, God has\\ngiven you the protection of silence. Unless\\nyou choose to tell the secret in your mind,\\nnone can know it. You are hedged in by the\\nbeautiful economy of an unreadable intellect,\\nsuited admirably to a brain covered by a bony\\n13 L98", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0213.jp2"}, "214": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nand fleshly envelope. They may saw it open,\\nthe secret escapes. They may draw the brain\\nout and examine it microscopically, yet it\\nholds its tongue. Every protection is granted\\nyou in mortal life to preserve your individuality\\nintact. You do not know what John thinks\\nor does, when he conceals it. Houses, rooms,\\nall the limitations of civilization, are accesso-\\nries and helps to keep his thinkings and\\ndoings unknown when he wishes to keep\\nthem so and the fact is, you do not know\\nJohn very well, although you have lived in\\nthe house with him for ten years.\\nImagine, then, the still more beautiful pro-\\ntections which surround the soul when it has\\nentered into a state where spiritual law prevails\\nand everybody obeys it. It is not like natural\\nlaw, which everybody disobeys. On earth it\\nseems as if men spent their time pulling and\\ntugging against the very laws that are their\\ntrue life. It is right in its way it means\\neducation, domination, progress. But here\\nwe obey, not only because we are willing to,\\nbut because we must, and wish to, just on the\\n194", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0214.jp2"}, "215": {"fulltext": "Music, Art, Memory\\nsame principle that you breathe. You must\\nbreathe, you cannot help it, and you wish to\\nbreathe. If you could not breathe you would\\nbe in agony until you could. That is our life\\nin all its ramifications. We must be good,\\nand we wish to be good. If we could not be\\ngood we should be in agony until we could\\nbe good. We wish the sweetest, highest,\\nnoblest pleasures for all others all others,\\nunderstand and we must do our share to\\ncause such pleasure. If we could not wish\\nand do so we should be in agony until we\\ncould. So on.\\nNow, is this compatible with the view of\\nthe sins of human life being put before us\\nRemember, we all breathe in God and take\\npattern from Him. He sets the fashions here\\nbless His holy name! and even He is\\nvoluntarily subject to His own laws.\\nThen, finally, nothing can occur in spirit\\nwhich does not work out an advantage. On\\nearth thousands of projects arc worked and\\nthe end is no visible advantage. Here visi-\\nble advantage is the immediate result of all\\n195", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0215.jp2"}, "216": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthings done. The universe of spirit is sweep-\\ning on towards perfection. Each step leads\\non. There are no retrogrades. Why, then,\\nshould that mortal episode, which is past and\\ndone with, be dragged into general inspection\\nWhat lesson could it teach here It taught\\nits lesson of experience there, and led the\\nperpetrator to do better, or eschew it, perhaps,\\nbut here we cannot eschew what enters not\\ninto the life, and we cannot do better where\\neach one, according to his or her capacity, is\\ndoing the best possible.\\nPut aside, then, the thought that that lack\\nof charity, that ignoble suspicion, that unkind\\nword, that or this or the other error, fault, sin,\\nin your life-history shall be made in the after-\\nlife a subject for comment. You come here\\nas a whole, not in parts. There lies the\\nerror of human judgment. So many have\\nbeen taught that this or that error or sin is\\njudged separately, or rather, that an account\\nis kept of the sins and the good deeds, and\\non striking a balance, the soul is punished or\\nrewarded. This is not true. Life, both on\\n196", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0216.jp2"}, "217": {"fulltext": "Music, Art, Memory\\nearth and in spirit, is a progress. Experience\\nis the teacher, God the helper. Now, from\\nsin to sin yon pass, and from virtue to virtue\\nyou pass. It is a constant mixing and min-\\ngling of good acts, bad acts good motives, bad\\nmotives, mixed motives hereditary and almost\\ncompulsory errors, hereditary and almost com-\\npulsory virtues tendencies arrested and devel-\\noped; imagination warped or broadened and\\nall this going on in the mass of surrounding\\ninfluences, visible and invisible, which act\\nupon, pull, push, twist, lower, lift, by beat\\ning on nerves and muscles, digestion, brain,\\nintensifying emotion, lowering the vitality of\\nboth body and intellect, vitiating the will,\\nand pouring on the receptive spirit the mil-\\nlion daily drops of vicissitude which go to\\nmake the deep current of human existence.\\n4 Now, if the being, under these overwhelm-\\ning circumstances, keeps a general tendency\\nupward, aspires instead of grovels, has faith\\ninstead of yielding to scepticism, and battling\\nalong does gradually build np B character ol\\ngood, here he comes with that good, pure and\\n197", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0217.jp2"}, "218": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nsimple, leaving all that went to produce it still\\nat work, still active for others in the material\\nworld.\\nAnd if he has struggled in vain, and his\\ntendency to evil and the material has been too\\nstrong to build up a substantial character of\\ngood, still God helps, for he is a spark of\\nGod, and must forever preserve his identity\\nintact and although he may come here a mere\\ninfant in goodness, all the evil in his life that\\nbuilt up even so much (and under certain cir-\\ncumstances to build up so much is a wonder to\\nthe angels) is also left behind him to operate\\nwith the general mass on others and weak,\\nfainting, feeble, into the land of Life he comes,\\nto be cherished in his little goodness with as\\nmuch tenderness and overflowing love as if he\\nrode upon the wind, in a current of Attraction,\\nto the Throne.\\nGoodness is goodness here, much or little.\\nA diamond is a diamond on earth, and you\\ncherish it according to its size. Here each\\ndiamond is a gem struck off from the Crown\\nof Joy, and its value lies not in its size, but in\\n198", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0218.jp2"}, "219": {"fulltext": "Music, Art, Memory\\nits identity. The fact that it us a diamond at\\nall is enough.\\nBut we ourselves can remember the past,\\ncan we not, and communicate it to others if\\nwe please There are very many secret feel-\\nings that I have had in my life, which I should\\nnot want to forget, and still would not wish\\nothers to know; also equally exquisite emo-\\ntions which I should like to impart.\\nIf you keep your identity it is Bupposable\\nthat you keep your memory. I have told you\\nbefore that you remember everything. It is\\nhere that punishment conies in, if you can\\ncall that punishment which is, after all, a\\nbeneficence. For whatever is remedial in its\\ntendency, no matter how bitter in actual expe-\\nrience, is a benefit to the soul beyond expres-\\nsion. The knowledge of his past life, with\\nthe results to his soul in the new life, is to\\nthe criminal one of the remedial punish-\\nments which urge, uplift, brace him to effort,\\nadvancement, high aims.\\nMany a soul, feeble in goodness, ignorant\\nof the blessings attendant on its increase,\\n199", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0219.jp2"}, "220": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nmight lie dormant, passive, unkindled so far\\nas itself were concerned, were it not for\\nmemory, which was the birth-gift of earth.\\nBut now, abhorring evil, shuddering at vice\\nin himself, memory sends him on towards\\nperfection with an almighty levership. Ah\\nit is so difficult to put into language the true\\ncondition of the spirit at any phase of its\\nexistence, yet we do our best.\\n200", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0220.jp2"}, "221": {"fulltext": "V\\nCHAPTER XIX\\nFEAR\\nOICE of the Silence you say that\\nin the spirit world there is no such\\nthing as fear. I cannot sufficiently\\ncongratulate you on that. Fear in its various\\nforms seems to be one of the greatest tor-\\nments of earth. Can you tell me what is its\\nnature and why it exists, and if there is any\\nway for an intelligent being to be rid of it\\nExcessive timidity seems to be one of the\\ndarkest clouds over happiness.\\nFear is in its nature harmless.\\nWhat?\\nI repeat, fear is in its nature harmless.\\nIt is the abuse of fear that makes it harmful.\\nFear, like any other evil element of the\\nearth, is earthy/ and only adapted to earthly\\nconditions. It is not experienced in spiritual\\nconditions, because there is no necessity for\\n201", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0221.jp2"}, "222": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\npreserving and conserving life, energy, power,\\nexistence. Pain we know not, nor decay,\\nnor deterioration of any faculty or pleasure.\\nNothing wanes here. Everything waxes. But\\nwith you self-preservation is the first instinct,\\nand underlies the possibility of a material\\nevolution. Were it not for this instinct of\\nself-preservation no race of organic beings\\ncould ever have come into rational existence.\\nNow, fear is the harmless, nay, the beneficent\\nforce which helps this instinct of self-preser-\\nvation and keeps it alive and active. The\\nfear of an animal that preys upon it keeps a\\nrabbit cautious, and gives it power to secrete\\nitself or scamper off at the approach of an\\nenemy.\\nSo throughout all Nature. Fear is the\\ncheck and the incentive the one to prevent\\nfrom rushing into danger, the other to plan\\nand build and act against danger which\\npreserves the species and the genus, the whole\\nrace from utter annihilation. Coining to man,\\nfear is a beneficent power until abused. God\\nnever created in Nature or spirit an evil which\\n202", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0222.jp2"}, "223": {"fulltext": "Fear\\nwas an evil until abused. Every force is\\nbeneficent if you use it properly, and if you\\nlook at it closely you find it not only benefi-\\ncent, but preservative and tending towards\\nthe best and highest good of everything to\\nwhich it is applied.\\nTo illustrate Man s fear of fire prevents\\nimmense conflagrations. Why? Because his\\nfears cause him to take precautionary meas-\\nures. Man s fear of public opinion prevents\\ncrime and folly to an almost unlimited extent,\\nwhen the whole mass of the population is con-\\nsidered, for he dreads exposure, disgrace, and\\npunishment. Indeed, take fear quite out of\\nthe world, and anarchy, bloodshed, riot, and\\ngradual extinction would come to the race.\\nFor instance, to bring the illustration quite\\nhome to you, what do you think would hap-\\npen to-night if fear were instantly eliminated\\nfrom the heart of every person in your city\\nEvery man would instantly feel a new and\\nunwonted freedom. The angry man would\\nbeat his wife; the man bent on revenge would\\nmurder men on duty under superior officers\\n203", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0223.jp2"}, "224": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nwould take a night off burglars would in-\\nfest houses; men s passions let loose would\\nrape and seduce women would fly to meet\\nillicit lovers servants would cease to attend\\nto their duties people would walk off docks,\\nbridges, high places, or cross in front of horses,\\nengines, or place themselves in the most dan-\\ngerous situations physically, morally, and men-\\ntally. There is no end to the revolution\\nwhich would occur at once if fear were taken\\nout of the world. Sharp-cutting truths would\\nbe uttered and life-long enemies made secrets\\nwould be told and lives blighted in fact, we\\ncannot fully picture what this city would be\\nin twenty-four hours.\\nThus you see, with a little thought, that\\nwhatever is, is, so far as it is used properly,\\nright. But there is an abuse of fear which\\nshould be overcome and driven out of every\\nheart. It is needless fear, fear for to-\\nmorrow, anxiety, doubt, those forms of fear\\nthat almost invariably deal with the future.\\nMen do not fear the past that is over. They\\nfear the results of the past as happening\\n204", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0224.jp2"}, "225": {"fulltext": "Fear\\nin the future, results of mis-steps, errors,\\ncrimes, which they have not yet paid for, as\\nthey call it.\\nAgain, fear is abused, instead of used,\\nwhen unfaith creeps in, or faith in coining evil\\nhereafter, or doubt of God s eternal mercy and\\nlove, or belief in torments and everlasting\\ndamnation. Religious fear in any form what-\\never is the abuse of fear, for there is no fear\\nin true religion, nothing to fear hereafter, and\\nfear has no place beside so holy a word. Re-\\nmember the saying/ Have no anxious thought\\nfor the morrow; yet who is there who does\\nnot have anxious thought for the morrow I\\nFew who reach mature life. Every woman\\nfears sickness, accident, trouble to her near\\nand dear ones, if not to herself. Parting and\\nseparation are full of human fears. Basil\\nis crowded with fears in fact, almost every\\nsituation in life has its fearsome side. Every\\nsituation should, but only so far as rational\\nprecaution goes. Do right and fear not.\\nThat is a notable motto. Use your privilege\\nof fear just so far as reasonable judgment\\n205", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0225.jp2"}, "226": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ntells you it is available to protect the interests\\nof yourself and your friends, but, having used\\nit to that extent, carry it no farther. The\\nmoment you do you abuse the gift and delib-\\nerately turn it into an evil.\\nThus, in a business complication, use your\\nbest knowledge of affairs, act as honorably as\\nif you were dealing with God, and let it turn\\nas it will. Whichever way it turns, it will be\\nthe best way. For if you put into it only the\\nelements of good, it cannot go against your\\nbest interests. You may lose a fortune in\\nspite of your best endeavor, but you will be\\ncertain to find that sometime, somewhere,\\neither on earth or in heaven, you have won,\\ngained, advanced, in ratio to what true good-\\nness you put into the whole matter. Remem-\\nber that goodness, righteousness, enters into\\nbusiness talent as well as into business moral-\\nity, into calculations of finance as well as into\\nevery other phase of earthly experience, and\\nin so far as you preserve the integrity of your\\nhonor, you gain inevitably, even though you\\nare reduced to poverty.\\n206", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0226.jp2"}, "227": {"fulltext": "Fear\\nAgain, you may be watching by the sick\\nbed of a loved one; do everything in your\\npower to arrest the disease and fear not.\\nWhichever the result, if you are truly in har-\\nmony with God s will, and offer no resistance\\nof fear, doubt, distrust, you may be sure Al-\\nmighty goodness will see to it that the best\\nand only the best for all concerned shall come\\nout of the experience.\\nBut this is only the most general promise\\nof courage. We may easily indicate how lack\\nof fear actually helps where anxiety, doubt,\\nand worriment might wholly defeat your own\\npurpose. As I say, having done all that true\\nfear demands, in the way of precautionary\\nmeasures, if you then utterly drop fear, you\\nbecome calm, quiet, cool, brave, strong, pow-\\nerful, influential, and a force. Your own\\ncalm mind, rationally active, throws out\\nhealthy currents filled with vital forces from\\nyour well-conserved will. These strong, in-\\nvisible forces of your controlled and positive\\nthought, act upon the thoughts of others and\\ncontrol them. The vigorous, BWeeping cur-\\n207", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0227.jp2"}, "228": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nrent of your manly or womanly freedom from\\nthe nervous excitement, even prostration, or\\noverstrung, tense mental and physical condi-\\ntion, a current which moves with a grand,\\nsilent flow amidst the petty, shifting rills of\\nthought about it, will gather them in and\\nmove them on in the direction you wish to\\ngo, and instead of being one among a thou-\\nsand as anxious and wrought up as yourself,\\nyou will be the directing force, which shall\\neither swing them away as obstacles of no\\nmoment, or carry them on to a success.\\nSo also with sickness. Trusting in God,\\ndoing your utmost, fearless because sure that\\nGod permits no evil to His children, your\\nspirit will breathe over the patient its own\\nvitality and vigor. Your very atmosphere\\nwill breed life in the diseased body, by\\ncontact, of strength, of purity, faith, power,\\nand out of the very calmness and surety of\\nyour soul your loved one may be saved. It\\nis this that Jesus meant when He cautioned\\nHis disciples not to fear too much. Fear\\nbeyond its proper use is weakening, deaden-\\n208", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0228.jp2"}, "229": {"fulltext": "Fear\\ning, discouraging, and evil. The life of the\\nspirit is crushed in a man who fears. For\\nthe spirit cannot exist in an atmosphere an-\\ntagonistic to its own quality. But oh how\\nbeautiful is the first flight of a fearless spirit\\nupwards! It is out of its element when\\nplunged in fear, as much as a bird would be\\nwhen plunged in water. It must struggle\\nwith all its might to live in a body drawn and\\nquartered by fear. For fear is a torment be-\\nyond words, and is not in any sense spiritual.\\nCast out, then, this evil the moment it\\nbegins to be an evil. Some one once said to\\nyou in a wise way, Trust as if it all (101)011(10(1\\nupon God. Work as if it all depended upon\\nyourself. Live day by day, moment by mo-\\nment, as if nestled against God s very heart,\\nfor there is no moment that you do not lio\\nupon that Universal Breast which boat- for-\\never with the throbs of infinite love. If you\\nknew God had His arm right around you and\\nwas speaking the word of Victory for you at\\nevery moment, you would have no fear.\\nRest assured this is the absolute fact. The\\n14 209", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0229.jp2"}, "230": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nmoment you will lean upon that Arm, the mo-\\nment you will listen to and obey that Voice,\\nthat moment Victory, in some form, awaits\\nyour every effort, and fear is needless. It is be-\\ncause the spirit is fully conscious of this at all\\ntimes that no fear prevails. It rests with you\\nyourself, with each one of the men and women\\nand little children who are alive to-day,\\nwhether they shall be successful or not, ad-\\nvance or not, grovel or not, aspire and rise or\\nnot. In the one case they can love God so\\nperfectly as to cast out all fear in the other,\\nthey can love earth and themselves and what\\nfleeting pleasures they can weakly gain, so\\nmuch that fear shall dodge and pursue them\\nto the very grave.\\nThen rational courage is a power\\nYes, thought of any kind is a power.\\nYou, perhaps, do not realize that when you\\nsit by your own self, as you like to say it,\\nand think, that whatever you think is making\\nits impression on hundreds of other minds\\nNo, I never thought of such a thing.\\nIt is high time you did. You certainly\\n210", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0230.jp2"}, "231": {"fulltext": "Fear\\nwould be more careful what you thought if\\nyou knew somebody heard it and would shout\\nit from the housetops in ten minutes. Now\\nwould n t you\\nI certainly should, on the same principle\\nthat we never speak as freely before twenty\\nas we do before our intimate friend.\\nThe actual words of your thought are not\\nheard, of course. But each thought has an\\ninvisible influence. It is a power. It im-\\npresses itself upon the spiritual atmosphere in\\nwhich all Nature is immersed, and it carries\\nwith it a peculiar force to act upon all other\\nminds, as their thought acts upon yours.\\nSo, if your habitual thoughts are pure, en-\\nnobling, trustful, intellectual, free from low or\\nmean intentions, selfish aims, false hopes, false\\ntheories, frivolous, inane, and silly devices and\\namusements if courage and integrity, honor,\\ncharity, chastity, tenderness, sympathy, right-\\neousness occupy your mind, you send out from\\nyour room, your bed, your carnage, your\\nseat, your passage along the street, indeed,\\nfrom every place where you stand, sit, or lie, a\\n211", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0231.jp2"}, "232": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nstrong, steady, positive force for good, clearing\\nthe moral atmosphere about you, lighting up\\nthe darkness of melancholy, discord, grief,\\nweariness, hopelessness, fear, wrathj revenge,\\ncruelty, meanness, and guilt, which unfortu-\\nnately are mixed and mingled in the spiritual\\natmosphere of all cities. Remember this:\\nEvery thought is a power. Make it a power\\nfor good.\\n212", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0232.jp2"}, "233": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XX\\nASTROLOGY\\nf ^HERE is no phase of occult re-\\nsearch which does not interest me.\\nTeach me, then, if you can, my kind\\nVoices, whether there is any truth in the so-\\ncalled science of Astrology. It may be super-\\nstition in me, but I have known of and believed\\nin several predictions made by this method\\nwhich seemed remarkable, both for accuracy\\nand for knowledge. Yet it docs not seem\\nreasonable that Jupiter should make a man a\\nruler Do the stars and planets have any\\ninfluence on the lives and careers of men\\nNo, not directly.\\nThat implies that indirectly they do have\\nsuch influence.\\nMan is influenced by all things, visible\\nand invisible. We cannot say the stars and\\nplanets do not influence his life, because they\\ndo most magnificently. Where would your\\n213", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0233.jp2"}, "234": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nAstronomy be, for instance, with no remote\\nsuns and beautiful planets to observe and lift\\nthe soul Heavenward And in many other\\nways they influence him. But if you ask us\\nwhether his individual existence, as regards\\nhis fortunes, marriage, business career, or other\\nincidents of his earth-life are brought about\\nby the influences of the planets acting directly\\nupon him, we answer no, for man is a creature\\npossessing free will, and is under no influence\\nof any such character.\\nAstrology is practically a chapter of coinci-\\ndences, built up by general prognostications of\\neffect from cause, and helped by the eloquence\\nand cunning of the astrologer playing upon\\nthe credulity and superstition of the believer.\\nCoincidence has a remarkable effect on the\\nhuman mind, although Nature herself is one\\ncontinued mating and putting together of two\\nand two. The fact is, that so few cases appear\\nin exact sequence of an astrological prophecy\\nand so many fail or are so absolutely ignored,\\nthat in the long history, to which its votaries\\nturn in triumph, the things it did succeed in\\n214", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0234.jp2"}, "235": {"fulltext": "Astrology\\npredicting, set over against the things it did\\nnot succeed in predicting, are as the first\\nturned leaves of the autumn against the\\nbackground of solid green.\\nu One should put no dependence, then, upon\\nthe so-called laws of Astrology, and pay no\\nattention to the planets in the ascendent at\\nbirth?\\nAs an amusement it may do no harm, but\\nto build upon it would be misleading. For\\ninstance, supposing an astrologer should tell\\na woman that at forty-three her husband\\nwould die, and that at forty-five she would\\nhave an offer of marriage from a man who\\nwould prove to be a villain, but that she was\\nfated to marry him. And further, supposing\\nher husband should happen to die when she\\nwas forty-three and at forty-five some gentle-\\nman should offer her his hand. What do you\\nsuppose would be the effect on her mind of\\nthese two simple coincidences? She would\\ncertainly suspect the man of being a villain,\\nno matter how excellent his character, and\\nher whole judgment of the situation would\\n215", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0235.jp2"}, "236": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nbe warped and biased by something that in\\nreality had no meaning, influence, or truth,\\nsave as a very general guess, which happened,\\nin very natural sequence, to prove correct.\\nFor why, if her husband should die at any\\ntime, should she not, after a proper time is\\npassed, receive addresses from gentlemen\\nSo these charlatans thrive on the very\\nsimplest and easiest deceptions. Few stop to\\nthink that whatever is predicted must hit the\\ncase at some time or in some way, and in the\\nmany things that are always told, one at least\\nwill appear to come true/ Then they are\\nconvinced. Do not have to do with this\\nfolly in any earnest way. It is beneath the\\ndignity of an immortal intellect.\\nNevertheless, all literatures of all times\\nand many peoples abound with allusions to\\nthe influence of the stars on human destiny.\\nHow is it that falsehood is so persistent?\\nWhy does not enlightenment wholly explode\\nsuch falsities\\nGive it time. The theory of re-incarnation\\nis one of the prime beliefs of millions, yet\\n218", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0236.jp2"}, "237": {"fulltext": "Astrology\\nthere is not the least truth in it. Man\\ndoes not advance in truth in proportion to\\nhis mental capacity any faster than Nature\\nadvances in evolution of higher forms. If\\nit takes him four thousand years to wholly\\ntaboo a false religious doctrine, how long do\\nyou think it will take him to know the truth,\\nthe whole truth, and nothing but the truth\\nThe earth will be without form and void\\nbefore he knows that. Yet the stupendous\\ndifference between a cultivated intellect and\\nan oyster, for instance, is apparently as infinite\\nas is that between perfection and mortality. 7\\nBut it seems strange that in so many\\nrecorded instances, deaths, insanity, accidents,\\ncatastrophes and favorable events to men and\\nnations have occurred as predicted. I think\\nI must insist on asking once more, is there\\nany truth in Astrology?\\nNo.\\nCan a man predict future events by means\\nof a horoscope or diagram of the star-\\napplied to one s birth\\nNo.\\n217", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0237.jp2"}, "238": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nIt has been done correctly.\\nNot by those means.\\nBy what means, then\\nEither by human reason and calculation,\\nby reading physiognomy, form, and character,\\nor by clairvoyance, or by coincidence, or by\\nmind-reading, or by transference of magnetism\\nand mental impression, or by clairaudience.\\nBut not by calculation Of the planets. Man\\nhas free will, and is not subjected to natural\\nor material forces, save in a general way.\\nThe moon affects the tides, and his ship\\nmay sail at three o clock instead of seven\\no clock. Had he waited until seven the\\ncaptain would have just escaped a gale. As\\nit was he ran into it, his vessel foundered,\\nand he was drowned. But to say that he was\\ninfluenced by the moon directly, instead of by\\nhis human reason, or to say that he could not\\nhave sailed at any other hour if he chose to\\ndo so, because he was born under such and\\nsuch an influence of the moon, is folly.\\nYou say that man is not subject to natural\\nand material forces, save in a general way.\\n218", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0238.jp2"}, "239": {"fulltext": "Astrology\\nWill you not please to explain what you mean\\nby a general way\\nI mean that fire will burn him if he falls\\nfrom a high place he will be injured; if he\\nstays under water too long he will be drowned\\nif lightning strikes him he will probably be\\nkilled if a weight falls upon him he will be\\ncrushed if he defies the winter he will prob-\\nably have a cold if he defies the intense heat\\nof summer he will probably be sunstrnck.\\nHe is always operated upon, and thus influ-\\nenced, by the forces of Nature, visible and\\ninvisible, but these do not influence his spirit\\nin any phenomenal way.\\nThe laws of cause and effect operate in\\nhim steadily, but that being born under\\nJupiter will make him rich, or under Venus\\nwill make him poetic, or under Mars will\\nmake him a soldier, is not true. Of the\\nmasses and millions who never so much as\\nknew what Astrology meant, thousands have\\nbeen born under Mars without a single\\nsoldierly quality or military connection, and\\nthousands more, born under the very finest\\n219", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0239.jp2"}, "240": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\naspect of Venus, never composed a line of\\npoetry, never painted or had anything to do\\nwith the fine arts, and only plodded on un-\\nknown, unhonored, and unsung, in the daily\\nround of drudgery, or savagery, or stupidity,\\nwhich is the lot of so many poor mortals on\\nyour earth.\\nYet great men of all ages have believed\\nin and consulted Astrology.\\nTrue. It all arises from the longing, the\\ncraving, to know the future, and is only a more\\nexalted form of divination by means of tea-\\ngrounds, apple-seeds, chickens lucky-bones/\\nand other simple tricks. It is on the same\\nprinciple that people cry out, Do not open\\nan umbrella over your head in the house, it is\\nunlucky (what about the time when they\\nhad no umbrellas and Do not sew any-\\nthing which is on your body, it is unlucky\\nand Never pare your nails on a Friday, it is\\nunlucky and If you put on your stocking\\nwrong side out don t change it, it is unlucky.\\nAll these things are mere notions, of no\\nmoment or consequence, and do not affect\\n220", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0240.jp2"}, "241": {"fulltext": "Astrology\\none s fate by a hair. I cannot illustrate the\\nfallibility of Astrology in any better way than\\nby calling your attention to the fact that, no\\nmatter what is predicted, it must happen\\nsomewhere, at some time, for predictions are\\ninvariably based upon experiences of the past\\nand if any prediction were sifted to the bot-\\ntom it would be found to have been caused\\nby means of one or the other powers I have\\nmentioned, or else to have been so applied by\\nthose who had knowledge of some subsequent\\noccurrence as to appear to have fitted the\\ncase.\\nLike all superstitions, Astrology appeals\\nto just those elements in human nature which\\nare most easily misled and confused, exagger-\\nated or intensified; while few ask a question\\nof an astrologer without secretly wishing be\\nmay predict the truth. This very wishing and\\nbelieving leads a weak person to do the very\\nthing that would naturally bring the eircuin-\\nstance about, and the result is that a coinci-\\ndence may occur which will convince against\\nall argument. We state positively, however,\\n221", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0241.jp2"}, "242": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthat there is no more truth in the so-called\\nscience of Astrology than there would be in\\nsuch as this If an owl shall hoot seven\\ntimes of a night on one side of a house, a\\nmember of the family will die within seven\\ndays, seven weeks, or seven months/ a sen-\\ntence that I have this moment originated.\\nI have been somewhat superstitious in\\nthat way myself. On the night before I sailed\\nfor Bermuda, an astrologer, who could n t have\\nknown anything of me, told me that I was to\\nsail for a tropical island inside of three days,\\nand that my husband would follow me later,\\nsince he had decided that very day to go.\\nOn arriving at a friend s house I found a\\ntelegram saying that my husband would fol-\\nlow me in a fortnight. Up to that day he\\ncould not have decided, for some business\\nreasons. I went, and he went, precisely as\\nthe man predicted. How did he do it\\nHe was clairvoyant, or else read your\\nmind. Why, child, your whole atmosphere,\\nthought, intent, purpose, were permeated with\\nthe thought of going and of your husband s\\n222", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0242.jp2"}, "243": {"fulltext": "Astrology\\ngoing. If he was the least sensitive he could\\nnot fail to get the impression. So it is in gen-\\neral. People go to the astrologers, either out of\\nidle curiosity or else intent upon some certain\\ntopic. A shrewd reader of character, impres-\\nsionable and even partially clairvoyant, will\\nbe exceedingly stupid if, after a little experi-\\nence, he cannot satisfy his client witli a story\\nwhich shall call out unreasoning admiration.\\nBut let us drop the subject, which is unpleas-\\nant and useless. We prefer to get out of the\\nplane of the ignoble and false as rapidly as\\npossible, for to dwell on it is to us ail\\nactual trial.\\n228", "height": "3302", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0243.jp2"}, "244": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXI\\nPROVIDENCE\\nT as a wa y s keen a na PPy thing for me\\nI to believe that God loves each of us as\\nif each were the only child He has.\\nAware that the general pronunciation of the\\nabove word does not convey its full value,\\nProv-i-dence viz., to provide I am anxious\\nto ask The Voices if there is such a thing as a\\nreal, personal Providence manifested towards\\nindividuals by the Deity.\\nYes, there is.\\nHow can that occur without partiality\\nHow does the sun shine fruitfully on one\\nman s crop and blastingly on another s\\nWhy, it depends upon the nature of the\\nsoil, the crop, the abundance of water and the\\ncare with which the field is cultivated, whether\\nthe sun shall blast or render fruitful. If the\\nsoil be well selected in reference to the seed\\n224", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0244.jp2"}, "245": {"fulltext": "Providence\\nput in, and all other conditions arc carefully\\nlooked out for, the crop will be a success.\\nWell, so with God s providences to indi-\\nviduals. If they, with all wisdom and human\\nforesight, together with the proper conditions,\\ndo all in their power to bring about success,\\nthey succeed.\\nNot always Many and many a man,\\nwith all possible care and foresight, has failed\\nto succeed because of the lack of what seems\\nto be just this personal providence of which I\\nspeak. The sun won t shine on his field, do\\nwhat he will. Clouds constantly obscure the\\nsky, and he fails for want of sun. The records\\nof biography show that man after man of\\ngenius has gone down to a pauper s grave in\\nobscurity and misery Where was the Pr\\ndence in their case\\nThat they were men of genius Else you\\nwould never have heard of them. Do you\\nthink their compensations rested in line clothes,\\nrich food, and the ease of your world These\\nmight have stilled the very poem in its birth.\\nGod s providence to such lies in themselves,\\n15 225", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0245.jp2"}, "246": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthe seeing eye, the hearing ear, the responsive\\nheart, the intellectual greatness, the pure\\nspirit, the noble achievement. What was it\\nto them when they came here, endowed with\\nthe glory of their inner powers, that for a few\\nbrief earthly years they suffered to bring those\\npowers into condition, force them into action,\\nand accomplish the works that set the world\\ncheering with wonder and admiration So,\\nin differing degrees, of all men.\\nWhat I meant, especially, was something\\na little different to tnis. I meant, for instance,\\nin answer to prayer, does God assist a man (or\\nwoman, if you please) in the accomplishment\\nof any material business, desire, or ambition, or\\ngrant things prayed for, by an interposition in\\nthe individual s favor\\nNo, God never interposes between His\\nown laws. He will not reverse any law\\nin favor of anybody. Prayer will not effect\\nany change whatever in the natural sequence\\nof affairs.\\nThen what is the use of prayer\\nThere are many uses, but I take it you\\n226", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0246.jp2"}, "247": {"fulltext": "Providence\\nmean peculiarly in reference to a providence,\\nI said prayer effects no change in the affairs\\nof men, as simply a request that such a change\\nshall occur, unaccompanied by any effort on\\nthe part of the prayer-maker. Prayer for a\\nbicycle, without making the slightest effort in\\nany way to get one, stands but one chance to\\nbe answered. But if prayer for a thing is\\naccompanied by mental, physical, or other\\neffort on the part of the prayer-maker, a bicy-\\ncle may be forthcoming in so rapid and Bur-\\nprising a manner as to seem l a direct answer\\nto prayer or a providence.\\nYou say that to pray for a thing simply as\\na request, without any effort to get it, st t i /s\\nbut one chance of being answered. What do\\nyou mean by that\\nTo pray for it at all is a mental effort to\\ngain it. Now, the invisible power of thought,\\nas we have intimated, is often, and almost\\ninvariably, stronger than people suppose. To\\npray is to will more or less determinedly. To\\nwill is often to accomplish on the spot. The\\nconditions must be harmonious, and to the\\n227", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0247.jp2"}, "248": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nrighteous and pure in heart the conditions are\\napt to be harmonious, so that to will, and to\\nexpress that will in prayer, thus at the same\\ntime exalting the nature into the spiritual\\nrealm where will is the basal quality of power,\\nis to draw forces into a focus towards the thing\\nwilled for and the result is, that it is done, and\\nthe astonished and grateful recipient calls it a\\nprovidence, and blesses God for interfering in\\nhis behalf and answering his prayer, whereas\\nGod had no more to do with it than the per-\\nsistently carrying on of His laws, which, if in-\\ntelligently taken advantage of, may always be\\nmade to favor the individual as a broad cur-\\nrent will carry a floating canoe, strongly pro-\\npelled by human arms, more rapidly and well\\nthan it can carry a water-soaked log, drifting\\naimlessly along and striking against every\\nsnag\\nDo we wonder that an Indian in his swift\\ncanoe can outstrip the fallen branch that\\nsimply lends itself to the laws of gravitation\\nIs it a providence that he makes twenty miles\\nan hour down stream\\n228", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0248.jp2"}, "249": {"fulltext": "Providence\\nSo with intelligent effort mental, physi-\\ncal, moral, spiritual! Unless a man puts a\\nshoulder to the wheel, the stuck wagon,\\nfloundering in the mud, cannot be gotten along.\\nFor human life is always going through diffi-\\ncult and muddy ways, up-hill and over streams\\nand across marshes and over mountains, an\\ninfinite variety, calling for wit, wisdom, will,\\ntact, capacity, endurance, persistence, cour-\\nage and if you add these to prayer, belie vo\\nme, your go-cart will be trundled along\\nyea, to the very end.\\nThen Providence, in the sense of a special\\ncare bestowed on an individual in the direc-\\ntion of saving from danger, restoring property,\\nassisting in accumulating material things, pre-\\nventing sickness and death, allowing escape\\nfrom an accident, or other phases of seeming\\nespecial favor, docs not exist\\nIt docs not from the outside, as you mean.\\nYou are your own Providence. You haw\\nbeen given a universe of things and forces t\\nmanipulate, according to the purity and intel-\\nligence and strength of your own will. The", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0249.jp2"}, "250": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ninvisible forces are as potent, as active and as\\nreal as the visible forces. Your bodily con-\\nsciousness dictates how you shall use your\\nmaterial forces, and your spiritual conscious-\\nness dictates how you shall use your spiritual\\nforces. Either one or the other predominates at\\neach present moment. Frequently, in prayer,\\nthe spiritual force of your will predominates.\\nThis draws to your aid the invisible forces\\nwhich you unconsciously manipulate, and\\nwhat you strongly wish for succeeds, and\\nyou master it and hold it and have it.\\nIt is very much like a problem in arith-\\nmetic. You desire to conquer the problem,\\nwhich exists abstractly in a realm that your\\nmind seems vainly to penetrate. You cannot\\nsee the answer, or prefigure it. But you\\nnow will to know it, and at once have taken\\nthe first step to know it then you make your\\ncalculations, use your figures, and one by one\\nyou master each, and at last accomplish the\\nright answer. You marshal invisible forces\\nto your aid, which cannot fail to illumine\\nyour mind as you persist. At last you step\\n230", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0250.jp2"}, "251": {"fulltext": "Providence\\ninto that abstract and unknown realm that\\nseemed so vague, and find yourself at home\\nthere.\\nAccording to this, wherein comes the\\nFatherhood of God? To believe God\\ncare for me is the sweetest thing in all my\\nconception of my Maker. My chief gratitude\\nto Jesus Christ is, that He proclaimed that\\nGod is our loving Father, that we are of\\nmuch greater value than many sparrows, that\\neven the hairs of our heads are numbered,\\nthat He loves us with an everlasting love,\\nthat we are His children, and that we can-\\nnot suffer without His sympathy\\nIn what, of all this, is there any need of\\nprovidences Do you w T ish to prove God s\\nfatherhood by the exceptions He makes in\\nyour favor? For instance, if you intended\\ngoing on a ship that was burned at sea and\\nall souls lost, but were prevented from embark-\\ning and were thus saved from death, would\\nyou consider that a token of God s loving\\nover you\\nMany would.\\n231", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0251.jp2"}, "252": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nli How about those who were lost\\nYes, I know. It is absurd, for that would\\nnot be fatherly love at all, but just jealous\\npartiality towards His favorites.\\nAnd about obtaining material blessings?\\nHave you not murmured when you have\\nseen truly selfish and unprincipled people\\nrolling in wealth while some poor saint\\nwent hungry\\nYes, indeed!\\nYou did not see any providence in a cold-\\nblooded capitalist making another million by\\ndefrauding the poor\\nNo.\\nAnd you wondered that some of those\\npoor souls did not escape the loss of their\\nlittle all by means of a providence\\nIt would have seemed just.\\nSo it would, child, if there were any such\\nthing as especial providences, interfering, dis-\\nposing, organizing, changing, re-ordering, and\\nre-moulding the sequent events of active exist-\\nence. Were there such intervention mortals\\nmight well cry out at the injustice of God,\\n232", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0252.jp2"}, "253": {"fulltext": "Providence\\nwhich strips the miserable to add to the ease\\nof the surfeited Thus you see that by look-\\ning at the other side of the question, the idea\\nof a Providence to anybody has its veto plainly\\ndiscernible within its own essence. To favor\\none at the expense of another, by direct inter-\\nvention, wholly overthrows all idea of the\\nfreedom of will, the law of cause and effect,\\nand the impartiality of God, thus wiping out\\nthe fatherhood and love of God, to make\\nHim an arbitrary ruler, whiffling this way\\nor that, according to the prayer of faith\\nof any child who may be praying at exact\\nopposites with any other child\\nAnd yet, strange coincidences do OOCBT,\\nwonderful answers to prayer, strange escapee\\nfrom accident, amazing benefits to those at\\ntheir wit s end how to live, etc., etc.\\nThe sweet gratitude in human nature,\\nwhich is a Godlike Godpart of the soul,\\nattributes these to the all-loving rare \u00c2\u00bbf the\\nFather for His children. It is a beautiful\\nthing to watch the humble thankfulness of\\nthe world in receiving these favors with an", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0253.jp2"}, "254": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nimmediate thanksgiving to a supernatural\\npower But while that glorious Power is\\ntruly to be praised forever, for having so\\nwisely arranged the universal laws and\\nhuman beings that they may have har-\\nmonious and successful mutual relations\\nto attribute direct interposition to either\\nincrease, assist, re-direct, or reverse those\\nlaws, to produce any circumstance whatso-\\never of what seems to be a providential\\nincident, is to do wrong, since it is the\\nsubversion of truth and the acceptance of\\nignorant falsehood.\\nTry to have a broader conception, first of\\nGod, then of law, and then of yourself. The\\none, eternal, is your source the second, ever-\\nactive, is your preserver the third, immortal,\\nis possessed of powers that reach out and on,\\nback to Perfection, even the Father, of which\\nit is the Child.\\nNevertheless, I think the world will be\\nslow to accept this impersonal governing, this\\nself-providence, which, while true, is cold and\\nlonesome to the heart. Say what one may of\\n234", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0254.jp2"}, "255": {"fulltext": "Providence\\ntruth, if it is abstract a truth of law rather\\nthan of love it seems to fall short, and leaves\\nthe soul craving and hungry. I want to feel\\nwhen I speak to God that He hears me,\\nand that His soul responds to my soul, and\\nthat the ecstasy of union which I have some-\\ntimes felt between Him and me has been a\\nreal spiritual union of affection and reciprocal\\nfeeling, as a child may glow with reverent\\nadmiration of her father, and the father glow\\nwith tender pride in his child.\\nIn what wise docs the question of Provi-\\ndences enter here\\nWhy, you say prayer is but an expression\\nof the will! that it effects nothing unless\\nfollowed or accompanied by effort.\\nOh, no! we did not say that! We said\\nprayer had many uses. Do not mix up your\\nideas.\\nProvidences can only rbfbb to mate-\\nrial THINGS, THE THINGS OF Till. EARTH,\\nTHE ACCIDENTS, INCIDENTS, AND PHE-\\nNOMENA OF THE WORLD! TllKY A UK RE-\\nLATED SOLELY TO THE CONSERVATION OF\\n285", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0255.jp2"}, "256": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nMATERIAL INTERESTS, THE GOOD OF THE\\nBODY AND THE THINGS OF THE BODY.\\nWhen a prayer about any of these earthly\\nthings is made it is a prayer which must\\ninvolve the laws by which earthly relations\\nare maintained, and is thus necessarily amen-\\nable to those laws, or else unsuccessful.\\nFor instance, you may pray that your trip\\nto the West may be taken with safety and\\ncomfort. By thus praying, whatever invisible\\npowers may be manipulated by your spirit\\nwill be drawn favorably towards you, and if\\nyou select a good train, over a well-established\\nroad, you will probably get there in safety.\\nNevertheless, you may be burnt alive in your\\nsleeper, for you are no more exempt than\\nanother from the natural sequences of law.\\nBut in prayer which seeks no material bene-\\nfit, there is no supposition of a Providence\\nThen God does hear and does answer\\nAye, child The universe thrills with the\\njoy and trembles with the bliss of the com-\\nmunion of the child-soul with the Father-\\nsoul, throughout eternity. The ecstasy you\\n236", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0256.jp2"}, "257": {"fulltext": "Providence\\nhave felt of pure and holy communion with\\nGod is the best reality in all existence, and\\nwill forever continue in beauty, purity, joy,\\nand uplifting, until you disappear in the\\nCelestial Light whither all souls tend.\\nWhat are the invisible forces which we\\nmay unconsciously manipulate by will, prayer,\\nthought?\\nThey may be the affections and cares of\\nspirit friends, granted the privilege of watch-\\ning over you or they may be the innate\\npowers of your own soul as the impressing\\nof your desire upon other persons, the suggest-\\ning and persuading by means of your thought,\\nthe hypnotic forces of your personal mag-\\nnetism, the intuitive perception of the cir-\\ncumstances and characters of others, the\\nfaculty of clairvoyantly looking forward, and\\nother powers of which you are unconscious,\\nbut which you can focus into a strong, active,\\naggressive motor to work out yom desire.\\nWill is the root of this. Use it firmly, wisely,\\nrighteously.\\nUnrighteous will succeeds.\\n237", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0257.jp2"}, "258": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nCertainly, on earth, where there is a choice\\nof evil and good, strong unrighteous will is as\\npotent as the other.\\nThe result?\\nIs inevitable. Such do not develop good,\\nand so come to us weak, ignorant, infantine\\nin true life.\\nI think, then, that as regards our earthly\\nexistence we should say with the Christ, Thy\\nwill be done, and then use our own will with\\nall our might to get what we want\\nIf you say it reverently and act it right-\\neously, you will have struck the keynote of\\nearthly prosperity. God s will is in the laws\\nwhich He has beneficently established, and He\\ngave you your will to use upon those laws,\\nwith all intelligence, for your own benefit.\\nBefore we leave you to-day we wish to cor-\\nrect a phrase which you have used, a truth\\nof law rather than of love. There are no\\ntruths and no laws which are not founded in\\nand conserved wholly of love. Love rules\\neverything, wisdom guides everything. If any\\ntruth seems abstract to you, you can always\\n238", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0258.jp2"}, "259": {"fulltext": "Providence\\nfall back on the consoling thought that, since\\nit is truth, it is love manifested in righteous-\\nness. You also have a latent thought in your\\nmind, that if there are no especial providences\\nthere can also be no miracles. You can apply\\nall we have said of Providences to miracles\\nand find they both come under one law. A\\nso-called miracle is the unusual manipulation\\nof things by a well-ordered will. As for\\nnatural miracles, as that fire will not burn\\nor water drown, there is nothing of the kind.\\n289", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0259.jp2"}, "260": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXII\\nTHOUGHT\\nDURING the writing of this manu-\\nscript I have placed it in the hands\\nof some of the brightest and most\\ncultivated people of thjs country. They have\\nall read or heard it with interest. Some have\\nbelieved that the Voices are actual spirits, who\\nimpress me with the words that I here put on\\nto paper. Others have said that they believe\\nI have a dual consciousness/ and that these\\nwritings, which I call interior Voices, are in\\nreality but the answers that I give to myself\\nout of the stored knowledge, imagination, or\\nfancy which, through a somewhat general\\ncourse of reading, I have absorbed. Some\\ncall it my higher self.\\nMany ask me what I believe myself is the\\ntrue origin of the answers to my questions.\\nI can only answer that I do not know. I\\nknow that these answers sound in my brain\\n240", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0260.jp2"}, "261": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nin about the same tone of voice which I use\\nmyself. I know that when I ask the question\\nmy mind is frequently blank as to the reply.\\nOften I have a preconceived opinion which\\nI find is wrong (if the Voices are right),\\nand although I feel as if I were talking with\\nanother person, and am impressed that I do\\nnot answer my own questions, still I do not\\nknow who it is who answers, save in the very\\nfirst I imagined it might be a very dear friend,\\nfrom his description of his death, and later on\\nI think it truly was my grandfather Pond who\\ngave me a few sentences.\\nOtherwise I cannot conceive who or what\\nthe Voices are. They appear to me as thought\\nI do not physically hear them, but I do get\\nthought which appears to me far above my\\nown capacity and often in exact opposition to\\nmy own opinions.\\nSince, then, neither I myself nor any one\\nelse can positively determine what is the true\\norigin of this work, I will now ask t\\\\w Voi\\nthemselves about thought, and let them say\\nwhat are its powers, visible and invisible.\\n1G 2 1 1", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0261.jp2"}, "262": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nAnswer We are quite willing to aid you\\nin discovering the true origin of your work,\\nand by those who have the least intuition it\\nwill be readily perceived that we are not\\nstored knowledge, imagination, or fancy/\\nWe are truth, and we assure you that we\\nshall impress the world as being true, for\\nour thoughts are not as their thoughts,\\nneither can they as yet comprehend them.\\nThought is immortal and eternal. It is the\\nI, the dominant I of everything created.\\nWithout thought, you, man, animals, trees, all\\nthe order of Nature, are but things. Destitute\\nof thought, or foresight, or will, or design, or\\nintuition, the universe were a dead blank, a\\nnothing. It would never have existed.\\nGod infused thought when He blew His\\nbreath into the nostrils of the primeval races.\\nHe infused thought when He fanned into\\neternal flame the sun of your universe. He\\nendowed with His thought the shell you\\npick up on your seashore to hear the hol-\\nlow roar of the main sound roundly in your\\nears.\\n242", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0262.jp2"}, "263": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nIt is thought that has uttered forth and\\nbrought into being all that is or ever shall be,\\nand the roots of the tree of life are imbedded\\nin the fecund soil of Eternal Thought, which\\nsends its sap to every branch and twig,\\nand blossoms in the petals of every flower.\\nThought is motion, force, gravitation, and\\nevery law which, by years of mortal striving,\\nhas slowly been brought in the cognizance\\nof mortal mind. Withdraw for one instant\\nthe thought which holds the stars in place,\\nand space would become a place of inextri-\\ncable confusion, running riot in eternal mutual\\ndestruction. Thought is the regulator, the\\nharmonizer of all conflicting elements, for in\\nits potent grasp it holds worlds and suns and\\nuniverses with the case of infinite power.\\nTake thought from yourself and you be-\\ncome a thing. What are you without thought I\\nA shell, a case, a garment, soon repulsive,\\nsoon dust, soon nothingness. Out of the Infi-\\nnite Thought you came, back to the Infinite\\nThought you go, leaving that nothingness\\nwhich soon your material form becomes,\\n248", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0263.jp2"}, "264": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nand soaring above the thing you once so\\nloved. It is as an outcome of thought that\\nman exists, and his utter dependence upon\\nthought is an idea he would do well to more\\nfully appreciate.\\nAll we actually are, then, is what we\\nthink?\\nThat is all. For the outcome of thought\\nin deeds is a mere expression. If you do\\nanything whatever, thought was the force\\nthat compelled you to do it.\\nIt is the motive, then, not the deed, that\\ncounts\\nYes, but be very sure that the motive\\nwhich appears clear and fair to you is not\\nmixed.\\nWho shall sift a mixed motive?\\nYourself shall.\\nIs there no other Judge or judgment\\nNay. Law is law. Whether you wish or\\nno, you must abide by it. The evil motive\\nin you is forever cast aside, the good is for-\\never taken up higher. Beware lest the evil\\nshould predominate. But again to thought\\n244", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0264.jp2"}, "265": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nand thoughts. For some days you have\\nbeen questioning in your mind what is the\\nforce of thought\\nYes, that is true. I have wondered if\\nunuttered thought is a force, and if so, is\\nthere anyway to avail one s self of it for one s\\nadvantage\\nYou can. Every person can who chooses\\nto do so. The average thought of the world\\nto-day is what one may call desultory, casual,\\nwithout any especial end or aim to it. Go\\ndown on to Broadway and enter a horse-ear.\\nWhat harmony of thought obtains there\\nOne man thinks of stocks one man, of\\ndrugs; one, of his sick wife; one woman,\\nof how to match a ribbon one child, of\\na grammar lesson the driver, of his hoi\\nand yourself, of the last book you have\\nread, or whether you can secure tickets for\\na matinee. It is a mixture which is simply\\nbeyond definition. There is no sequence, no\\nmingling, no harmony, no leading from one\\nidea to another. It is an ollu-poilrhht of\\nincongruous elements. There is apparently\\n246", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0265.jp2"}, "266": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nno possible association of ideas in the whole\\ncommunity save in audiences, colleges, and\\nschools, where people come together for the\\nacknowledged purpose of listening to a cer-\\ntain theme.\\nBut be not deceived. Nothing exists out-\\nside of law. There is design and oversight\\nfor every idle word ye utter. Each has its\\nappropriate place, and wings its way with un-\\nswerving course to its one and only position\\nin the general mass. You look out at night\\nand view the myriad stars and seem to see\\nno regularity to their positions. You can-\\nnot understand why some are grouped, some\\nsingle, some by twos, and some in clusters.\\nThe astronomer can give you many ideas, but\\neven he cannot see the true meaning of this\\nconglomerate mass, although his sagacity has\\nreached the knowledge of a harmonious law.\\nSo you vainly try to probe the meaning of\\nhuman thought, still more ignorant that it,\\ntoo, is governed by harmonious law and\\nseeks its own as surely as the law of\\ngravitation causes planet to seek sun and\\n246", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0266.jp2"}, "267": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nbend in its orbit with obedience to the\\ncentral force. In thought, as in everything\\nelse, like seeks like. Melancholy thoughts\\nseek the stratum of melancholy. Wise,\\nstudious thoughts seek the stratum of wis-\\ndom. Gay, sunny thoughts go to the stratum\\nof cheerfulness with a joyous bound.\\nWhat do you mean by stratum or strata of\\nthought\\nThe atmosphere of the world is permeated\\nby a spiritual atmosphere, which is, as it were,\\nin layers or strata, and each of these layers is\\nmade up of certain spiritual idea-facts, which\\nare represented with you by thoughts ex-\\npressed in words. Your thoughts form a\\nconnecting link between yourself and the\\nrange of thought that corresponds to your\\nfeelings and spiritual condition.\\nDo we send our thoughts out to that\\nlayer which matches them\\nYes. Projecting yourself by means of\\nyour thought, you may enter the stratum of\\nmisery and foreboding and inevitably absorb\\nand retain the forces which that stratum of\\n217", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0267.jp2"}, "268": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthought holds. Projecting yourself by means\\nof your thought you may enter the realm of\\nluxurious, artistic, refined, cultivated thoughts\\nand instantly absorb and retain for yourself\\nsome portion of the forces of those strata.\\nSeek poverty and sorrow in your thought,\\nand you become just so much poorer and\\nmore sorrowful in actual being. Seek a\\nsuccessful stratum, carry will with your\\nthought, take attention and attraction on\\neither hand, and you enter the stratum of\\nwell-being, and the longer you exercise the\\nforces of will, attention, and attraction in this\\nstratum, the more you absorb and retain of its\\nbeneficent sway.\\nDo you mean to say that if I persist in\\nthinking of myself as being happy, rich,\\nindependent, wise and cultivated, I shall\\nactually become all these\\nYour tendency will certainly be in those\\ndirections, and the forces of those strata of\\nthought will react on you to exactly the extent\\nyou not only attract but apply them. Do not\\nthink that mere sitting still and thinking you\\n248", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0268.jp2"}, "269": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nare rich will actually make you so, without\\nfurther effort of your own. To really will,\\nattract, and set your attention on prosperity is\\nto carry out to the best of your means the\\nwisest plans you can conceive to secure it\\nand having a cheerful faith that you will suc-\\nceed puts you in harmony with every force\\nwhich sweeps toward higher and better things.\\nWhat is the spiritual stratum made of;\\nwhat is it?\\nIt is the reality, the Eternal verity of\\nthought in its essence. All thought is first\\nborn in the spirit. It is then expressed, either\\nmentally, or both mentally and actually in\\nsound, through the medium of the brain.\\nThe atmosphere of spiritual thought that sur-\\nrounds the earth is of human emanation.\\nIt seems, then, that thought strata are\\nprincipally made up of the emotions. Melan-\\ncholy, anger, joy, ambition, grief, these are\\nthe emotional elements of human nature, and\\nit seems that angry thoughts add to the\\nstrataic forces (if I may coin a word for the\\noccasion) of anger in general, while kind and\\n249", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0269.jp2"}, "270": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nloving thoughts augment the strataic forces of\\npeace and tenderness\\nExactly so. Anger, discontent, indigna-\\ntion, hatred, envy, malice, and all uncharitable-\\nness go in thought-form to their own peculiar\\nplace, and when these forces become over-\\nmuch, dominating the forces of true human\\nbrotherhood, they produce war, dissension,\\nlawsuits, murder, robbery, and crimes of\\nevery kind. Epidemic diseases become more\\nwidely spread by the thoughts of the multi-\\ntude drawing upon themselves the massed\\nfears of the community, currents of thought\\nflowing like rivers over the heads of those who\\nconstantly add to their depth. Every evil\\nwish or unrighteous desire adds to the\\nthought-force of criminality, sensuality, law-\\nlessness, and anarchy.\\nOut of a concentrated mass of wrong opin-\\nions, wrong motives, wrong wishes, revolu-\\ntion, revolt, tyranny, cruelty, and unreason\\nbreak out in a city or a country, inflamed\\nfirst by all that is uttered, and last, but not\\nleast, by all that is unuttered but silently\\n250", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0270.jp2"}, "271": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nthought; in many instances bodying forth in\\nterrible eruptions the whole secret power of\\nthe body politic.\\nThose who make for righteousness in their\\ninner lives the lives not uttered at all, per-\\nhaps, to their neighbors do more to make a\\ncommunity equable, contented, healthful, pros-\\nperous, cultivated, open-handed, and honest\\nthan all the teachers and orators put together.\\nThey are the silent, earnest, constant power\\nfor good, attracting and holding the giant\\nenergies of massed thought in harmony with\\nthe place they inhabit, and even over the lives\\nand fortunes of those only casually associated\\nwith them, they continue a settled agency.\\nDoes our silent thought or tendency of\\nthought appeal to or touch upon persona with\\nwhom we hold no communication by words or\\napparent notice, with efficient influence? M\\nYour thought is yourself and goea with\\nyou wherever you go. So if, for instance, yon\\nenter an elevator full of people whom you\\nnever saw before, if your thought happens\\nto be pure, sweet, humane, harmonious or\\n251", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0271.jp2"}, "272": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nelevating, you inevitably impart it to the\\natmosphere and attract to you and to them\\nthe forces of such thought out of the general\\nmass. Unaware of it, they absorb it. If you\\ncould see as we see, how astonished you\\nwould be to note the change wrought in the\\nthought of a group of persons when suddenly\\na mind of a clear, spiritual nature comes\\namong them. It is like a fresh breeze. They\\nfeel it, but do not know how or whence it\\ncomes. Virtue goes out to others from all\\nwho desire the good of others. If you long\\nto bless the world, you can bless it by being\\nheavenly-minded, prone to charity and good-\\nwill, earnest in endeavor to be better, and\\nstrong in faith. Your thought is your atmos-\\nphere, which touches other thought atmos-\\npheres either for good or evil.\\nHow did Christ heal the sick Your\\nspeaking of virtue going out to others, re-\\nminds me that when the sick woman touched\\nHis garments He felt virtue go out of Him/\\nand as she had such absolute faith she was\\nhealed.\\n252", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0272.jp2"}, "273": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nSimply take that as a supreme illustration\\nof what we have been saying. The Christ,\\ndivinely pure, with His soul longing to bless,\\nheal, save, was in harmony, absolutely, with\\nthe thought-strata of all health, all prosperity,\\nand all righteousness. There was nothing in\\nHis nature to alloy or debase the pure energy\\nof goodness or virtue, which, in other words, is\\nEternal Life, to which, with perfect faith, He\\nappealed. There was no obstacle of mixed\\nmotive to prevent His will from operating on\\nand attracting to Himself the whole concen-\\ntrated energy of thought, which represented\\nhealth and happiness He was en rapport with\\nunadulterated spirit, therefore instantaneous-\\nly His atmosphere and then His thought res-\\nponded to the woman s perfect faith in Him, and\\nthe miracle was performed by simple, com-\\nplete obedience to God s natural, spiritual law.\\nThat is certainly a new interpretation of\\nmiracle.\\nIt is the true one.\\nI have often wondered if evil prayers arc\\never answered\\n253", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0273.jp2"}, "274": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nThey practically are not heard as prayers.\\nThey add their quota of evil thought-force to\\nthe general mass of mortal thought, but no\\nevil prayer can enter or be recognized in the\\nrealm of spirit, and it produces no response\\nthere. The spirit has no ear for evil, no\\neye for evil, no sense for evil. Therefore an\\nevil thought cannot penetrate into spiritual\\nconsciousness.\\nYou are a spirit, are you not\\nI am.\\nYet you are talking of evil. Have you\\nno spiritual consciousness of evil\\nNot as you mean it. I do not mean to\\nsay that a spirit cannot understand that evil\\nexists, or cannot see it going on, or cannot\\ndesire to alleviate the misery it causes. We\\nhave a consciousness of the evil in mortality,\\nbut no consciousness of evil in ourselves or\\nin our surrounding atmosphere. We cannot\\nrespond to evil desires, because we have no\\nevil desires. There is no attraction or har-\\nmony. You cannot mingle water and oil by\\njust shaking them together. We enter into\\n254", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0274.jp2"}, "275": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nthe mortal atmosphere and see all that goes\\non therein, but we no more mix with it or\\nare a part of it than you can mix a glass of\\nwater with a bottle of oil.\\nThe material, then, is wholly thrown off?\\nI ask this advisedly.\\nThe material is wholly thrown off.\\nYet you, as a thought, have a form\\nYes, certainly.\\nCan that form penetrate material\\nEasily.\\nFor instance, can you go through a stone\\nwall?\\nWhy not What is to hinder There is\\nno substance which we cannot penetrate.\\nSubstance does not exist to ns.\\nAre you affected by heat or cold\\nNo.\\nAre you affected by gases, electricity, or\\nchemical combinations\\nNo.\\nAre you as much at case in a howling\\nblizzard as in a warm Bummer s day?\\nWe feel no perturbation whatever by\\nyour storms. 255", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0275.jp2"}, "276": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nAccording to that, should you so desire,\\nyou could approach the sun until you fairly\\nwere within its flaming ball.\\nWe can. But why do you ask this\\nI desire to perfectly understand the immu-\\ntability of spirit. For I am most anxious\\nwhen I become a spirit to do just that. In\\ndefiance of all material conditions, I wish to\\nvisit and see for myself the planets, comets,\\nstars, nebula3, and all on or in them, so that\\nI may fully understand the glory of God.\\nThere is no reason why you should not,\\nas long as you are in harmony with His will.\\nBut you say in spirit one cannot be out of\\nharmony with His will.\\nThank Him, no. That was only an ex-\\npression. But He may not at once permit\\nsuch journeys. If He does not you will not\\nwish to go. But in all probability there will\\nbe no reason why you should not follow out\\nyour wish to the utmost.\\nI can hardly wait to explore this world,\\nfor instance.\\nYes, it is natural that you should first\\n256", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0276.jp2"}, "277": {"fulltext": "Thought\\nwish to know your native planet. When you\\njoin us, if you wish to visit the most inaccesi-\\nble portions of the globe, you will not neces-\\nsarily go alone. Thousands share your pure\\ndesire to know their Mother Earth in all her\\nphases of grandeur and beauty. You will be\\naccompanied by the poet, the thinker, the\\nscholar, the traveller, or if you prefer, you\\nmay go in solitude, led with unerring guid-\\nance by the law of attraction with you.\\nYou will, perhaps, be escorted by a sea-\\ncaptain who glories in the remembrance of\\nsuccessful battles with the deep, and who\\nnotes with a smile the ports and bays where\\nhis good ship lay at anchor. The geologist,\\nno longer hampered, will point out to you\\nthe primeval rocks, or with swift and fearless\\nenergy make his way with you beneath the\\nearth s brown crust to explore the hidden\\ndepths of her interior being.\\nOn mountain heights of snowy peaks, where\\nit were almost death for a man to venture,\\nyou may stay at ease surveying with joy the\\nplain stretching out before you, or, retir-\\n17 257", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0277.jp2"}, "278": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ning into space by a simple thought, may be-\\nhold the speckled globe with its cities and\\nshores, oceans and continents, roll its huge\\nsides around beneath your gaze, until from\\nChina to Peru, from Greenland s icy moun-\\ntains to India s coral strand, her magnificent\\npanorama shall do its best to fascinate and\\nhold your willing and enchanted eyes.\\nNor is this all. Mere sight without com-\\nprehension were but the tapping of a drum-\\nstick on a drum. Laws, forces, beauties,\\nharmonies, growing out of a general grouping\\nand massing of the whole in the conscious-\\nness, appear to the spirit in clear and simple\\ndirectness, each taking its own place in the\\ngrand result and never altering from the man-\\ndate by a hair. That mandate is Love,\\nuniversal Love, which shapes all things unto\\nrighteousness and believe us, never was a\\ntruer saying than that l the hairs of your head\\nare all numbered, or that not a sparrow fall-\\neth to the ground without your Father.\\n258", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0278.jp2"}, "279": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXIII\\nTHE GOD-SOUL OF MAN\\nTHESE sweet words gave my soul\\nexquisite rest. But soon after the\\nlast writing I again began Many\\npeople imagine that God made a set of laws,\\nall tending to the best good of His children,\\nand then practically left His children to work\\nout their own salvation. 1 1 can imagine, say\\nsome, that God cares for us in a general way,\\nbut when I think of this little, insignificant\\nball on which I move, and then of my small,\\ninsignificant self, as compared with His uni-\\nverse, I cannot believe that He notices me\\nin particular, or has anything especial to do\\nwith my life/\\nWhat can they mean\\nWhy, I suppose that they cannot imagine\\nso great a being condescending to notice or\\ncare for so small a being as a man or woman.\\n259", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0279.jp2"}, "280": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nDo you not care for your own\\nWe certainly do.\\nDo you care for the drops of blood in\\nyour own bodies\\nCertainly. Is this a comparison\\nYou and all like you are God.\\nWe are God?\\nInsomuch as His spirit is in you, you are\\nGod.\\nKindly explain this.\\nYou have no selfhood, really. You are\\nyou, only because He has permitted a part of\\nHimself to enter an individual form. Your\\nselfhood consists in being endowed with an\\nindividuality of thought different from other\\nindividualities of thought, but should He\\nrecall that endowment you would become no\\nlonger a self, but selfless in Him.\\nIs it likely He will\\nI know not. Many have disappeared out\\nof our realm of consciousness.\\nIs that what you meant when you said\\nyou did not know if Christ was in the God-\\nhead, you had never seen him out of it\\n260", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0280.jp2"}, "281": {"fulltext": "The God-Soul of Man\\nI think I could not have meant that ex-\\nactly. Note what I have just said. I said,\\n1 Many have disappeared out of our realm of\\nconsciousness that presupposes that they were\\nonce within our realm of consciousness. 1 1 e\\nnever was. I believe, and we all believe,\\nthat He was one with God, and there was\\nno necessity for progression where perfection\\nalready obtained.\\nIf many have disappeared from your realm\\nof consciousness, how do you know that they\\ndid not go into that realm of l outer darkness\\nwhere is weeping and wailing and gnashing\\nof teeth\\nI know it because there is no outer\\ndarkness, and they were as Gods among us,\\nwhose knowledge of the Higher Goodness\\nmade them beyond all words radiant with\\nperfect light. They were the angels, the\\nleaders, so far in advance of us in recognized\\ngoodness that we thrill with heavenly joy\\njust to remember the glance of their beauti-\\nful eyes! Alas! that none on earth have\\nseen such, nor can sec! And how near it\\n201", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0281.jp2"}, "282": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nbrings us to earth by comparison How\\nlittle we have advanced when we compare\\nourselves with those mighty, lovely ones who\\nhave gone on and up by their own inherent\\npurity\\nAh my child, you have touched us with\\nalmost a mortal feeling of helplessness in ask-\\ning us these searching questions. But even\\nnow we know that you and every man and\\nevery woman will yet be unutterably lovely\\nin the brightness of unspeakable splendor.\\nWhy, then, even for a moment, suggest that\\nlife Eternal is a task Nay, rather a sweet\\nand swift movement upward, borne on by the\\never-present attraction of Love for its own\\nwhich, let it act upon the spirit when or\\nwhere it will, in the body or out of the body,\\nbears its divine command of Joy to every\\ncreated being.\\nYou say that those lovely highest angels\\nhave disappeared out of your realm of con-\\nsciousness. Do they ever return\\nThey may.\\nBut, alas that again presupposes separa-\\n262", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0282.jp2"}, "283": {"fulltext": "The God-Soul of Man\\ntion. Is it a second death For if they go\\nare lost out of your consciousness what\\nis the difference between that and our friends\\ndying, going out of our realm of conscious-\\nness? It is separation any way you can\\narrange it.\\nYes, but what a glorious separation On\\nearth you have no absolute knowledge of eter-\\nnal life. Here we know there is no death,\\nloss, nor end. If a queen-mother feels her\\nheart throb with joy and exultant pride when\\nher noble son, grown to manly strength and\\nunderstanding, ascends the throne amid the\\nrejoicings of his people, and, in answer to\\ntheir glad acclaims, pledges himself to equity,\\nmercy, wisdom, and honor, as the head and\\nleader of the nation, how much more do\\nthousands of queen-mothers in Heaven lift\\nup their voices of joy when their sons, having\\nattained the high prize of perfection, so far\\nas we know it, enter into the realm of Divine\\nHoliness, and receive the honors due to merit\\nAll Heaven is in festival and in brighter\\nglory when that grand occasion is announced,\\n263", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0283.jp2"}, "284": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nand even as a gallant ship is welcomed by a\\nthousand voices when she comes into port\\nafter a long battle with wind and sea, so\\nmillions cry out with sympathetic pleasure\\nand beautiful anticipation when one among\\nthem goes to the Celestials. Then, indeed,\\ncan be seen a multitude that no man can\\nnumber, bearing palm branches of unutter-\\nable peace, and singing hosannas to Him\\nthat sitteth upon the Throne For we all\\nshall join Him, even you, every man and\\nevery human being. Not soon, not perhaps\\nfor centuries, but finally and every moment\\nof your time, and every impulse of good\\nby which we measure ours, brings each to\\nthe sweet, bright boundary, which, set like\\na wall of precious stones about the Throne,\\nis inscribed forever and ever with the\\nmeaning,\\nHoliness unto the Lord\\n264", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0284.jp2"}, "285": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXIV\\nTHE DRAMA A DAY IN HEAVEN\\nSOME time elapsed, after reading over\\nthis last utterance, before I could bring\\nmyself to begin again. The words\\nseemed sacred. They seemed, in a few sen-\\ntences, to comprehend a vast circle of ideas\\nand an almost infinite vista of progn\\nIndeed as I had written during so many\\nmonths, there had appeared to be a growth of\\nspiritual knowledge within myself which\\nseemed as if absorbed from some unknown\\nsource. I found myself positively freed from\\nall fear of death and had imbibed a gentler\\nacceptance of life. I then resumed a former\\ntrain of thought.\\nThe fact that we are born on this planet\\nseems to differentiate us from other intelligent\\nbeings, does it not? Each inhabited globe\\nhas its peculiar people\\n265", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0285.jp2"}, "286": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nFlowers differ in color and odor, yet are\\nall rooted in the same earth. So worlds and\\ntheir races differ, yet are all from the same\\nSource.\\nYou have stated with considerable em-\\nphasis that memory is the birth-gift of earth/\\nWhat do you mean by that\\nWe mean that life exists in many forms\\nand phases before it reaches the human condi-\\ntion, but not until it reaches earth and as-\\nsumes a mortal form is it endowed with\\nmemory. Many of your physical senses were\\ndeveloped before your physical organism was\\ncompletely formed, and not until memory\\nentered into its composition were you an\\nintelligent and intellectual being.\\nDo you mean to say [that my body has\\nbeen in a process of evolution, and that when\\nit had finally evolved into a human form that\\nit was endowed with a new power which we\\ncall memory\\nNo, I do not mean that your actual body\\nborn of your mother was evolved from a still\\nlower form of body similar to it. I mean that\\n266", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0286.jp2"}, "287": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nthe elements of which your body is composed\\nhave always been in existence somewhere, in\\nsome form, going through different phases and\\nconditions of existence, and that it was not\\nuntil they were gathered into a definite form,\\nwhich you call human, that they became en-\\ndowed with spirit or the true life, which in-\\ncludes memory as the essential quality of\\nindividuality. And it is earth which gives\\nthis birth-gift to otherwise unconscious\\nmatter.\\nIn that case, we might call earth the\\nplanet of memory.\\nYes, as we might call Venus the planet\\nof love.\\nWhy, does the planet Venus endow her\\ninhabitants with that quality?\\nYou do not understand me. I do not\\nmean to say that earth, as a planet, lias\\npower to endow her inhabitants with memory.\\nI mean that the human form is the highest\\nform on earth, and that form is thus endowed.\\nOn other planets there are other forma,\\nperhaps, endowed with other po\\\\u\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2207", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0287.jp2"}, "288": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nThere certainly are.\\nThis appears to lead to the doctrine of\\ntransmigration of souls from one planet to\\nanother, living a life in each and attaining\\ndifferent powers in each. It is a very old\\ndoctrine. Is there any truth in it\\nNo.\\nAnd yet you say that the other planets\\nare inhabited\\nSome are.\\nBy human beings\\nNo. Human beings are earth-born beings,\\nand that is why I called memory the gift of\\nearth.\\nAre the inhabitants of other planets en-\\ndowed with souls When they die do they\\nbecome spirits\\nSome do, and some do not. They differ\\nin glory both materially and spiritually.\\nAre the inhabitants of earth the most or\\nthe least spiritual of the dwellers on the\\nplanets?\\nNeither. But it is useless for you to try\\nto prove anything by this means of investiga-\\n268", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0288.jp2"}, "289": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\ntion. We cannot bring convincing scientific\\nproof to bear on the question. As you cannot\\nsee and have never seen, cannot hear and\\nhave never heard, the inhabitants of another\\nplanet, we cannot convince you that there are\\nsuch.\\nAndrew Jackson Davis, the clairvoyant,\\ndeclares he has seen the inhabitants of other\\nplanets, and even describes them.\\nHe may have, but the world in general\\ndoes not believe it, neither do you, actually.\\nAnd right here and now, let us explain why\\nwe do not tell you great scientific truths, or\\nunfold scientific laws, or give you discoveries\\nand proofs of things outside of your material\\nworld in the worlds of matter beyond. We\\nhave actually nothing to do with the material.\\nAlthough as in the present instance, we are\\nobliged to make use of the material to convey\\nspiritual truth, we only use the material, that\\nis, your brain and pen, as a medium to express\\nwhat otherwise you could not know by any\\nother means. It is not intended by Chd that\\nanything that the human mind M oapabk of\\n269", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0289.jp2"}, "290": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ndiscovering for itself should be handed to it\\nlike a free gift.\\nFor instance, as I used the picture of the\\ngeologist plunging into the centre of the earth,\\nyou wondered why I did not go on and say\\nwhat he would find there, whether a solid\\ninterior of fire, a nucleus of rock, and then a\\nlayer of fire, and then the crust, or whatever\\nelse it might prove to be. In time this will all\\nbe determined by science, and we have no per-\\nmission nor right to steal from human intellect\\nits chance of glory and strength, by telling be-\\nforehand the secrets it delights to gradually\\ndiscover.\\nIn the realm of matter all that man needs\\nto know can be brought to light by him, and\\nit is his zeal for knowledge and brave defiance\\nof obstacles, his patient waiting and observ-\\ning, his almost miraculous sagacity and power\\nof concentration, which have produced the high\\nrate of natural intellectual force in the mass\\nof the people to-day. The leaders, the work-\\ners, the thinkers, leaven the whole lump with\\nthe fire of their transcendent genius, and it\\n270", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0290.jp2"}, "291": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nwould be a poor part for a spirit to play to\\ncrush out and render useless the very ambition\\nfor knowledge and growth which makes hu-\\nmanity but little lower than the angels, the\\npride and the amazement of the universe.\\nDefinite knowledge of spiritual law and\\nlife must be communicated knowledge, for\\nhowever deep his intuition or sure his pene-\\ntration, man cannot truly search the spiritual\\nby himself. Contact with spirit and spiritual\\nthought alone can correctly inform him of his\\nspiritual nature and destiny. He cannot work\\nout that problem without help, for he has no\\nspiritual data or phenomena unconnected with\\nspirit. Material cannot translate spirit to his\\nconsciousness. For this reason One spirit, the\\nhighest, entered into the form of a man and\\nbecame a living link, binding together, hence-\\nforth and forever, the material and the spirit-\\nual. He established a connection. He is the\\nwire, one may say, over which messages may\\nrun from Heaven to earth, lie said He was\\nthe Door and the Way, and in so far as we\\nmay follow Him we also endeavor to show\\n271", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0291.jp2"}, "292": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nyou the Door and lead you to that Way,\\nwhich is the Resurrection and the Life.\\nIt seems to me that the world is con-\\nstantly becoming more interested in every-\\nthing pertaining to the subject. I hardly\\ntake up a paper or periodical of any kind\\nwithout finding some narrative, article, story,\\nor anecdote touching upon the very varied\\nphenomena generally attributed to i spirits/\\nBut will this settle into any actual knowl-\\nedge Will the time come when we shall\\nbe familiar with the true causes of phenom-\\nena and be able to manipulate them for our\\nuse For instance, is there any way to har-\\nmonize and make effective the casual, desul-\\ntory, mixed thought of the crowd\\nNo, not at once. Education in spiritual\\nlaw will finally effect it. When children are\\ntaught in school that prosperity to themselves\\nand the world is secured as much by thought\\nas by deed, and morality of thought is as\\nessential as morality of action when youth\\ncomprehend that harmony with goodness\\nmeans harmony with happiness, as well in\\n272", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0292.jp2"}, "293": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\na material as in a religious and spiritual\\nsense when men and women stave off and\\nconquer illness by will and thought, assist-\\ning with spiritual force the activity of remedial\\nmaterials, then will begin to grow of itself a\\ntendency to harmonious thought and science,\\nby data of observed phenomena, will soon\\ngive to the world rational rules whereby\\nthought shall be controlled and exercised\\nin a way to gain the greatest good for the\\ngreatest number. Meantime many like you\\nwill first give the hint. This is a mission\\nworthy to satisfy most.\\nMay I not now be indulged by being told\\nsomething of Heaven in its sweetest aspect\\nI mean, in its union of families, its mating of\\nlovers, its amusements, its pleasures. All\\nthese very great and moral ideas about laws\\nand forces are of course essential in your\\ndictation to me, but again 1 must plead for\\nsomething that shall satisfy the poetry, the\\nromance, the affections of my soul. Can you\\nnot describe to me a day in Heaven 1 Tell\\nme what ordinary spirits like mine do there\\n18 278", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0293.jp2"}, "294": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nafter they have become accustomed to their\\nnew state of being and are at ease among\\nall the bright lights and immensities of\\nEternity?\\nYou say it would be a great pleasure to\\nyou to travel. Yet on earth, when you think\\nof travel, what does it involve Always more\\nor less anxiety, expense, danger, weariness,\\ndeprivation and annoyance. What would you\\nthink if you could travel and see all the won-\\nders of your world and other worlds, without\\nfatigue or fear\\nNo tired, hot feet no chafed skin no\\nweary, dazzled eyes no thirsty throat no\\ncold or hunger no anxiety as to where you\\nshall sleep; no necessity to consult time-\\ntables, or to arrange for your baggage!\\nWhat if you could speed silently, swiftly,\\nsecurely, to any desired place in all God s\\nuniverse, to see or do whatever suited your\\nsweetly righteous fancy What if that dear\\none, that appreciative soul, who could always\\nunderstand and sympathize with every thought\\nand feeling of your heart, could go with you\\n274", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0294.jp2"}, "295": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nand enjoy all you enjoyed? If there be\\npictures, shall you not see them? If there\\nbe gardens, shall you not wander in their\\npaths If a collector has spent years in\\ngetting together the rarest and most beauti-\\nful specimens of art, shall any one hinder\\nyour delighted observation? Whatever is\\ninnocent and noble and right that your dis-\\nenthralled spirit wishes to do, that it may\\ndo, without let or hindrance, trouble, pain,\\nor payment of any kind.\\nThis is the freedom and light of the occu-\\npations of Heaven. The poet may turn him\\nto his poetry the mother to her little ones\\nthe lover of mechanics shall study from sub-\\nlime examples and by eternal principles.\\nThe tired worker shall lie at case and rest\\nthe heart bowed down with earthly trial shall\\nbe filled with a sense of luxurious happii\\nmore blessed because so unanticipated.\\nThose who were held to the wheel of the\\nworld s toil, undeveloped in mind and morals\\nand spiritual insight, shall be so divinely\\nrecompensed in their new life that their glad\\n275", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0295.jp2"}, "296": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nlaughter shall re-echo through the soft valleys\\nof their sunlit homes.\\nBelieve me, to be born a human being\\nis a glorious thing It is to have bestowed\\nupon one, for the price of a few years of\\neducational probation in the body, that in-\\ndividual consciousness which can never die,\\nand which, once the chrysalis of the flesh\\nis left behind, enters a form so well adapted\\nto its best condition that it is self-sustaining,\\nand no longer a hamper upon the freedom of\\nthe mind. But respect that flesh Respect\\nand honor the splendid environment which\\nhas been given to your entity on earth!\\nThank God for the delicate, yet strong, com-\\nplex yet perfect body which gives expression\\nto your present condition of existence. Con-\\nserve its noble energies preserve pure the\\nwell-spring of the blood use and never abuse\\nit keep it holy Earth is now your God-\\ndesigned dwelling-place: your body is the\\nTemple of His Spirit! Live harmoniously\\nwithin, until you are called to your next phase\\nof progressive experience.\\n276", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0296.jp2"}, "297": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nAnd then, of other occupations: you are\\nvery fond of the drama, arc you not\\nM Exceedingly, when good.\\nDid you ever expect to find a drama in\\nHeaven\\nI might have, if you yourselves had not\\nshut out that idea You say that nothing\\nevil can enter there So how can you pos-\\nsibly have any drama The drama is made\\nup of the lights and shades of human emotion.\\nIt cannot be a story of endless felicity. There\\nmust be contrast. It represents crimes, trag-\\nedies, wrongs, mysteries, and all sorts of evil\\ncomplications, such as are supposed to be con-\\nstantly taking place in real life and if there\\nwere none such, there could be no story, for\\nto make triumphs of virtue, one must have\\nsomething to triumph over, and to work out a\\nplot with any pith or point, there must be\\nwrongs to avenge or to overcome. Unless it\\nis all farce or light comedy, I do not see how\\nthere can be any drama in Heaven.\\nBut what do you suppose beconu\\ndramatists and actors There have been gnat\\n277", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0297.jp2"}, "298": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nearthly geniuses in both lines. They love\\nit. There is nothing necessarily wrong in it.\\nIs their occupation gone because they have\\nentered a more sensitive, keen, perceptive form\\nand state of being\\nReally I cannot answer you. If your rule\\nholds good, I do not see where emotional\\ndrama the drama of jealousy, hatred, in-\\ntrigue, ambition, as pitted against self-sacrifice,\\nlove, candor, self-abandonment for the good of\\nothers can come in.\\nWell, listen to me. We have a drama\\nwhich deals with realities. Your drama is\\nthat of imagination. l Camille and Monte\\nCristo, Juliet and Petruchio, drawn from\\nthe fancy and put into imagined situations,\\nare represented by men and women who learn\\nthe part and endow the character with their\\nown conception of what it should be like.\\nHere actors and actresses act out their own\\nsouls, and make a drama on the spot, under\\ndirection of that controlling mind which\\ndraws them into harmonious association for\\nthe agreed purpose.\\n278", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0298.jp2"}, "299": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nTragedy, comedy or farce, or that higher\\ndrama of the intellect which deals with what\\nto you were dry abstractions, is not denied us,\\nfor we have the whole world-history of planets\\nfrom which to draw and re-enact those scenes\\nof gorgeousness and splendor, imperial pomp\\nand historic bravery, which even now thrill\\nand re-thrill the observer with wondering awe.\\nIf you will observe human nature you will\\nfind that deeds of heroism blanch the cheek\\nand fill the eyes as no deeds of evil can. A\\nstage murder causes a shudder or a feeling of\\nhorrified disgust, mingled with instinctive\\nhate, indignation, and desire for revenge.\\nBut a stage hero in the act of giving up his\\nlife, his love, his every hope, to save his honor,\\nfills the audience with a new fire, a new glow,\\na new love for humanity, a new faith in itself.\\nPoems, describing deeds of valor standing\\nby duty until death; offering all of life for\\nlove carrying fidelity and loyalty to the pitch\\nof self-immolation martyrdoms for principle\\nsecret struggles with love, triumphing and\\ngiving the beloved one to another these and\\n279", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0299.jp2"}, "300": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nthousands of examples remain where nothing\\nevil enters into the whole composition, but\\nrather everything that is inspiring, noble, re-\\nfining and strengthening to the best impulses\\nof the heart. All such enter here.\\nAgain, much that you call evil, as we have\\nbefore shown you, is not evil, and much that\\nyou call tragedy is not tragedy. To you,\\ndeath is always the tragedy of tragedies\\nTo us, of course, it is transformed into a\\nsimple incident, a momentary break of un-\\nconsciousness between one hour and another.\\nYou have fainted away, have you not\\nYes, and remained unconscious fully half\\nan hour.\\nHave you since dwelt on it as the most\\ntragic thing in your life\\nWhy, no I did not realize much about it\\neven at the time, and certainly have not\\nthought anything particularly about it since.\\nWas it frightful or tragic to you\\nNo. I simply fell back, and when I came\\nto consciousness I felt a little weak.\\nPlease to look upon death in the same\\n280", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0300.jp2"}, "301": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nway, minus the weakness and plus strength,\\npeace, and happiness. So, to resume, we do\\nhave the drama. Human history is full of\\ninteresting situations, far more delightful\\nand fascinating than ever yet have been\\nportrayed upon the stage. Our plots are\\nplots worth having, for they include facts,\\nmore perfectly grouped as to harmony and\\nsequence than mortal ever dreamed. Do\\nyou not often meet women of whom people\\nsay, Her life is far more interesting than\\nany you ever read. If it could be published\\nthe whole world would be entranced\\nOh, yes, I even know a woman wlu.se\\nromance is far superior to any novel or play.\\nIf you could have seen the other elements\\ngrouped around her, her career would have\\nseemed even more remarkable. To make a\\nHeavenly drama, we have but to group the\\nelements. Of themselves they play with so\\nmuch verve and force that I doubt your\\nthinking the plot insipid Look into your\\nown life! Can you not remember some\\ndramatic touches? And was the result in\\n281", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0301.jp2"}, "302": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nany way evil? Now put in the lives that\\nput in the dramatic touches; their relations\\nto you and to others Ah, you begin to be\\nsomewhat interested Now add the supreme\\nmoment of love Now add the supreme mo-\\nment of faith Now the supreme moment\\nof self-sacrifice The scenes are somewhat\\nplottish I thought so.\\nStill, I do not see where you get your\\ncontrasts, your shades, your solemnities, fear,\\nhorror, doubt, anxiety, suspense, agony, those\\nelements which hold the sympathies and work\\nupon the pity, the loyalty, the enthusiasm of\\nthe beholder. You have said that nothing\\nevil is so much as reflected on the spiritual\\ncanvas, it will not take Then, how can\\nyou make dramatic use of evil, which is the\\nonly contrast to good that can work a play\\nup to a climax? Who or what is your\\nvillain, and what does he pursue\\nAgain you mistake. You are misled by\\nthat old theory that every incident of a life,\\nif evil, is noted, classed as evil, and helps to\\nround up one side the evil side of a\\n282", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0302.jp2"}, "303": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nnature. Now, we look at nothing as being\\nactually evil which leads to and actually\\npromotes good, by the resistance it excites\\nand the triumphs of virtue which grow out\\nof it. Untempted innocence is characterless.\\nIf evil leads to evil and degenerates the\\ncharacter and finally dominates and subdues\\nthe whole nature, that evil is unmitigated.\\nBut much classed as evil is disciplinary and\\nremedial, and therefore beneficent, as tending\\nin the end to greater virtue than as if it had\\nnever been experienced. A burnt child dreads\\nthe fire. Caution is substituted for careless-\\nness, forethought for recklessness. The reali-\\nzation of the misery of evil, its whips and\\nstings of conscience, its shame of heart, is\\noften necessary to bring a mind to a sense of\\nits own unworthincss.\\nYou were not put on the earth to slumber\\nin undisturbed innocence! You were put\\nthereto work out your own salvation with\\nfear and trembling, going through all kinds\\nof evils, and if falling, rising again and going\\non In that sense evil is not truly evil to\\n283", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0303.jp2"}, "304": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nhim who conquers, but a strong stepping-stone.\\nThere is no word which is so difficult to define\\nto human consciousness. The good in human\\nnature is developed by just those experiences\\nwhich are generally termed evils. But were\\nthere no such experiences, no temptations, no\\nstruggles, there could be no progress, no\\ngrowth. Man might as well be a tree or a\\nstone, if he were never subjected to trial. He\\ncould not be a moral being if he had no\\nchoice between right and wrong.\\nBut you say no evil enters spirit! Are\\nnot spirits, then, moral And if so, how can\\nthey be moral if they have no evils with\\nwhich to contend\\nSpirits are not moral in the earthly sense\\nof morality. There is no occasion. They\\nhave become spiritual beings, and have risen\\nbeyond being moral beings in the sense of\\nyour idea.\\nWell, how can our morals be conserved\\nthere How can the virtue of generosity, for\\ninstance, be continued and developed in a\\nplace where every one has everything he\\n284", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0304.jp2"}, "305": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\ndesires? I should think it behooves us to\\ndevelop it all we can here, for I do not see\\nbut what it is our only chance! The nega-\\ntions of Heaven How many they must be\\nThey seem to eliminate from the character not\\nonly its evils, but its virtues. Just see No\\ngenerosity everybody has everything. No\\nenvy your neighbor has no better than you.\\nNo jealousy each has his mate, who abso-\\nlutely satisfies in utter confidence. No ambi-\\ntion every wish is gratified. No pride we\\nare all on a level. No regret there is nothing\\nto regret; all is forgiven and forgotten. No\\nhope all things are realized; there is\\nnothing to hope for! No faith for faith\\nhas become knowledge. No charity be-\\ncause no one needs charity. No expectation\\nHeaven has satisfied us. No desires\\nthey have been gratified. No fear\u00e2\u0080\u0094 that is\\nall past. No sorrow that is done with.\\nNo doubt we sec face to face. No appe-\\ntites we have no physical organization to\\ngratify. No anger angels can have no\\ntemper No patriotism we have no eonn-\\n285", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0305.jp2"}, "306": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\ntry and no enemies to awaken patriotism. No\\nself-sacrifice where each one is perfectly\\nhappy there can be nothing to sacrifice one s\\nself for. No suspense we know as we\\nare known. No weakness for we shall be\\nstrong in His likeness. No economy for all\\nthings are forever provided. No policy for\\nno motive obtains for policy. No j ustice for\\nall has been justly adjusted and there is no\\nquestion of right and wrong. No compassion\\nfor there are no objects of compassion all\\nare happy as we are. No belief for sight\\nand knowledge are ours.\\nIn fact, so many human qualities must be-\\ncome useless in a society where there are no\\npain, no sickness, no parting, no death, no\\nfaults, no sins, no misunderstandings, no mis-\\ntakes, that one searches about in one s mind\\nto find what may not be stripped from us\\nwhat may be allowed to remain intact of all\\nthat we have worked so hard to build up here\\nCharacter, the outcome of all these quali-\\nties, and by means of these qualities made to\\nbe what it is, must become, in a state of\\n286", "height": "3258", "width": "1958", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0306.jp2"}, "307": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nHeavenly perfection, a useless thing, unless\\nwe can find out what the concentrated essence\\nof all these qualities is For it is plain that\\nwe do not need the qualities I felt that\\nthe spirit smiled very indulgently. Your\\ncharacterizations arc in many instances far\\ntoo sweeping, but I can tell you that you\\nbecome the essence, the kernel, the soul of\\nwhat those qualities have made you upon\\nearth.\\nAnd what is the essence of character?\\nWhat are the fittest qualities that will survive\\nin us and give us identity and individuality in\\nHeaven What is the supreme outcome of\\nthese earthly characteristics so familiar to us\\nhere?\\nFirst, Love. That is immortal, eternal.\\nNothing can ever take that away. In 1 leaven\\nwc all love each other. Next, peace. For\\nwithout fear, sorrow, and sin, the peace which\\npasseth understanding must forever enter the\\nsoul. Next, harmony. Our environment be-\\ning perfectly adapted to our being, and our\\nspirits to each other, no discord can enter in.\\n287", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0307.jp2"}, "308": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nNext, knowledge, ever increasing, ever unfold-\\ning. Next, worship forever shall we adore\\nthe Father Almighty. Next progression\\nthe growth and unfolding of every power\\ntowards the higher goodness. Lastly, per-\\nfection itself! thus fulfilling the injunction of\\nthe Christ, Be ye perfect, even as your\\nFather in Heaven is perfect. All tends to\\nthe attaining of infinite perfection that God\\nmay be in us and we in Him, that at last God\\nshall be all in all\\nThe magnificence of this answer kept me\\nsilent for some time. I finally continued\\nBut to return to the drama, from which\\nwe seem to have so far digressed. You have\\nyour opposing features\\nWe have our lights and shades, our con-\\ntrast and climax actually before us in our\\ndrama. The reunion of those long parted by\\ndeath, mystery, insanity, shipwreck, and dis-\\naster, the lover clasping in his arms the love\\nfor whom he had waited a life-time, breathing\\ninto actual form the emotions of their mutual\\nsouls, contain the poetry and romance, the\\n288", "height": "3303", "width": "2011", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0308.jp2"}, "309": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nagony and bliss which would be the useless\\nenvy of the earthly dramatist, and is the\\ndeepest glory and joy of ours.\\nIn this world the drama is the production\\nof the intellect. What is intellect It seems\\nit is not actual spirit, although it is all the\\nspirit we can comprehend. When I think of\\nmy spirit, think of that I think with, or\\nintellect.\\nThe intellect is one of the faculties of\\nspirit, just as hearing is one of your faculties.\\nu According to that, hearing is a faculty of\\nintellect and intellect is a faculty of a still\\nhigher power, which is spirit\\nExactly so. And mark you, we said one\\nof them. You think that intellect is the\\nsupreme faculty, because you know of nothing\\nhigher than intelligent comprehension, but it\\nis to us only one of the attributes which make\\nup the quality of being.\\nWell, let us go on.\\nIn picturing to you the dramatic points of\\nyour life, wherein have I brought your errors,\\nyour sins, your mistakes? Ton see, if a lift\\n17 289", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0309.jp2"}, "310": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nhas a tendency for good, it does not necessarily\\nshut out the dramatic element. So here.\\nThen if you have the drama, of course\\nyou have opera, oratorio, orchestra, every kind\\nof musical entertainment\\nYes.\\nI should like to hear Parepa Rosa sing,\\nand Jenny Lind, Mario, the whole long list.\\nWhat a glorious possibility! and to think\\nthat they cannot die and leave us again Or\\nDante, with his long, melancholy face actually\\nlighted up with a smile. Or Longfellow, read-\\ning his poem of Two Angels, now an angel\\nhimself!\\nYou begin to imagine somewhat nearly\\nthe truth. The doings of a day in Heaven are\\ndoings of what each one most likes. How\\nmany times you have sat with a friend on\\nearth, absorbed in some sweet topic, tenderly\\nharmonious and happy momentarily gaining\\nlife and joy, wisdom and health, from each\\nother when the envious clock would toll out\\nthe hour, and with a sigh the wraps would be\\nhurried on, Too long I stayed, quoted, and\\n290", "height": "3303", "width": "2011", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0310.jp2"}, "311": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nTime, the old miser, would send your friend\\nflying, for nobody knew how long an absence.\\nThe aggravation of it The pain of it The\\nbroken continuity of thought The unsaid\\nword, the forgotten point, the undeveloped\\nplan, the dissatisfaction, the sense of loss and\\ndisturbance Clocks do not strike in Heaven.\\nUnion is undisturbed by the necessities of\\nbusiness, trains, mails, and the other parapher-\\nnalia that go to make up the motors of civili-\\nzation or preservation of the race. We arc\\nalready preserved to put it in a somewhat\\ncomical way we keep well, too. Intercourse\\nand society have no end of time, or rather no\\ntime at all.\\nYou hurry on earth, because away down\\ndeep in your hearts you are afraid you si will\\ndie before you get things done. That may not\\nbe the conscious motive, but it is the uncon-\\nscious motive. You hurry to get rich so as to\\nenjoy it before you die. You hurry to marry\\nbecause you say, l Why waste time in living\\napart You hurry to bed to preserve health\\nenough to go through the task of to-morrow.\\n291", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0311.jp2"}, "312": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nYou hurry up for fear you cannot perform it\\nin less time. All the enjoyments depending\\nupon the labor of some one compel time\\nengagements; all the travel, involving acci-\\ndents on railroads and financial disturbances, if\\nthings are not carried on systematically, must\\n1 be on time and so you hurry to depots, and\\nrush to steamboats, and are in perpetual toil\\nand turmoil, even to get to a party or to go to\\na concert. With you, weather, conventionali-\\nties, hours, proprieties, customs, and unlim-\\nited trivialities of no real meaning or moment\\nhamper all free intercourse. Here, the seren-\\nity and ease of inner grace and power the\\nknowledge of endless harmony, prevents that\\neager strain and anxiety which so detract\\nfrom the joys of earth.\\nThe rule of goodness unlocks every door\\nand flings the whole universe wide open for\\nthe uses and enjoyments of God s children.\\nMoving quicker than light can move, with\\nendless ages in which to meet every possible\\nwant or longing of the spirit, with every force\\npushing for us instead of against us, and\\n292", "height": "3303", "width": "2011", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0312.jp2"}, "313": {"fulltext": "The Drama A Day in Heaven\\nevery hope of old fulfilled in some best way\\na way we recognize as the very most blessed\\nthat can be, our Heavenly days pass in those\\ndelightful occupations which, highest in im-\\nagination, picture themselves to you as most\\nagreeable, and which after that transcend the\\nsweetest dream, the richest fruit of industry,\\nthe noblest attainment of science, the purest\\nconception of Love, that humanity ever bodied\\nforth in song, wove into material, studied and\\nwrested from the universe, or drew from the\\ntrembling heartstrings in a chord of majestic\\nmusic.\\nDay in Heaven is eloquence and beauty.\\nDay in Heaven is innocence and mirth. Day\\nis the mastery of great problems, the focusing\\nof long-trained ideas, until the light of reason\\nand wisdom bursts into the consciousness with\\na rapture of awe and love to Him who leads\\nthem silently along. Day is the comprehension\\nand use of new, unflagging powers which fail\\nand dim not, neither are weary nor of weight.\\nDay is sight, clear as crystal and piercing to\\ninfinite depths, or following to its inmost\\n293", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0313.jp2"}, "314": {"fulltext": "As It is to Be\\nintricate curve the ear of an insect too small\\nto be seen beneath the material microscope.\\nDay is the exercise of ranges of emotion and\\nsense indescribable to you, but ever increasing\\nin value and delicacy, while never losing\\nstrength and variety. Make up one day on\\nearth with only one of these added powers,\\nand you would declare life too poor a thing\\nto resume without it. x\\nRest in peace, little child, and ask no more.\\nWe have striven to give you some hint of your\\nduty to yourself and to others. Open wide\\nthe door and ask them in. If they will\\nreceive, give freely. If they will not receive,\\npray for them.\\nWe bid you farewell for the present, and\\ntrust to your growing judgment the time of\\nour reunion.\\nThe Voices.\\n294", "height": "3303", "width": "2011", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0314.jp2"}, "315": {"fulltext": "The Bronze Buddha\\nA MYSTERY\\nBY CORA LINN DANIELS\\nAuthor of As It Is To Be, Sardia, etc.\\ni2mo. Decorated cloth. 51.50\\nOf surpassing interest. Boston Globe.\\nIn this remarkable novel the combination of\\nthe most extraordinary mysticism of the Orient\\nwith the modern progress of the Occident gives\\nopportunity for bringing out contrasts of char-\\nacter in a most fascinating manner.\\nThe author has caught the art of deepening the inter-\\nest of readers with every page. Minneapolis Journal.\\nA wonderfully attractive story, in characters and plot\\nChicago Inter-Ocean.\\nAn interesting story presents vivid and startling\\ncontrasts. Washington Star.\\nThe interest is admirably sustained, and the characters\\nare drawn with discrimination and true to life. Cam-\\nbridge Tribune.\\nThe reader s interest is held from the first page to the\\nlast in fascinated attention. Lilian WhiTI*\\ncago Inter-Ocean.\\nLITTLE, BROWN, CO., Publishers\\n254 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0315.jp2"}, "316": {"fulltext": "H b^ QZdi", "height": "3303", "width": "2011", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0316.jp2"}, "317": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0317.jp2"}, "318": {"fulltext": "Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process.\\nNeutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide\\nTreatment Date: Dec. 2004\\nPreservationTechnologies\\nA WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION\\n1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive\\nCranberry Township. PA 1 6066\\n(724)779-2111", "height": "3303", "width": "2011", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0318.jp2"}, "319": {"fulltext": "\u00e2\u0080\u00a2w\u00c2\u00abr v *v \\\\ygttg: \u00c2\u00b0-w\\nFEB 82\\nN. MANCHESTER,\\nINDIANA 46962\\no", "height": "3347", "width": "1965", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0319.jp2"}, "320": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3303", "width": "2011", "jp2-path": "asitistob00dani_0320.jp2"}}