by Carl Wickland

The philosophy of life and descriptions of conditions in the higher realms have been given by spirits who have attained enlightenment and are desirous of helping humanity to an understanding of the spiritual laws.

A friend of many years standing, formerly a Methodist minister, had followed our work with great interest and had been a constant attendant at our circles, in which his daughter took an active part.

Five days after he passed away he came through Mrs. Wickland, and several months later spoke to us again, telling of his experiences in spirit life.

EXPERIENCE, OCTOBER 27, 1920 Spirit: WM. Y., SR. PSYCHIC: MRS. WICKLAND

Well, I am here again. I have been here before, many times. Do you know who I am? I am Doctor Y.

I am glad that I can be with you here tonight and I am pleased this circle is continuing. We are here every time you have a meeting, and I wish you could see the spirits who are waiting to come in for an understanding of life.

Life is a great problem to the world. I wish people would study life and its existence in matter.

It is a shame to send so many spirits out of their bodies into the darkness of ignorance. They only believe; they sing and praise God and we cannot reach them.

They are so self-hypnotized by their religion, in the first place, that they do not know they are dead, and, in the second place, by their praising of God and singing, then we cannot reach them with the understanding that they must praise God in a different way.

We must act; we must work for humanity. We must learn the first lesson that Christ taught; to serve others, and to love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.

How many do really love God? They pray and sing, but they do not do what the Bible teaches.

I understood a great deal about the other world and still I was like a child regarding that understanding, because I had not learned to control matter and the conditions that surround us. When we pass through the sphere of ether, the sphere around this material world, we pass through the sphere in which are most of the spirits of darkness, which we call earthbound spirits.

There, all is, selfishness and ignorance. These spirits must serve to help themselves to a higher understanding, for they have not served but have been served in their earth lives.

They do not know what it is to live and do for others; they have lived only for self. They are waiting to be served. Their minds have not been developed to do for others.

I wish I could take you to the sphere of suicides, the sphere of the churches, the sphere of the slums, the sphere of the misers, and so on. Here they are in darkness, crying for help. Many of them do not know what to do. They go to mortals and try to control them, upsetting their lives, and they are ignorant of what they are doing. Frank and Charles (relatives in the spirit world) have taken me to all those places and shown me many things.

If you could actually realize what that means. I wish I could make a picture for you of all those conditions and the agony of despair these spirits are in.

They will have to find themselves and waken to a realization that they must not look for God outside, but within themselves.

When you find this wonderful understanding of life, and realize what the object of life is, that is glory. No one can do this for you; others can only teach you, but you have to work for yourself.

There is no time in the spirit world; you have all the time in eternity to find yourself, and as soon as you understand God in His glory you will have happiness. Then your spiritual eyes will be opened and you will awaken to a world of grandeur. You will awaken and realize harmony and glory.

But this is not “Heaven”; Heaven must be found within you.

There is a world of spirits, and there is a future life everlasting. There you have your homes as you have made them while here.

Nearest to the earth is the City of Ignorance and the conditions in which many awaken. No matter how good you have been, nor how well you have lived your life-that alone is not sufficient.

If you are ignorant of the life and system of the other side, you are in darkness for the time being until you awaken and realize that there is a life after this.

Each has a home in the spirit world made by service to others during earth life. As you have made it here, so you will have it there. If you have done good acts and lived a pure upright life, doing the best you know how, your home is beautiful. But you will not know how to reach that home if you are ignorant of the laws governing the spirit world.

If you have lived a life of selfishness and lived only and entirely for self, your home is a little place that you can hardly creep into, and you see nothing but self.

You have no company but your own self. You have your thoughts of self, you have lived for self, and you have to live in that state of mind until you ask God for help, and say: “Not my will any longer, but Thy will. Give me help.” Then your spirit comprehends the results of your actions during earth life. You go back to the earth plane again and there you have to serve those whom you have harmed through your selfishness.

If they are still in earth life you have to watch and help them all you can, and you will have to serve them until you have atoned for the harm you have done them while you were on earth.

If they have passed out and are in the dark, you will have to find them and help bring them to an understanding of life, and you will have to serve them until you have paid your debt.

After you have done that, you step out of that sphere into a higher sphere where your home is. Your home is given to you after you have earned it. Then your friends come to you and help you, and there is a reunion like which there is nothing on earth, because that reunion with your relatives and friends is a reunion in reality.

All are like one, all are in tune, all are in harmony with each other. Just to be able to say, “I live in the hearts of my friends” is great happiness.

The reunion that they had for me at the time I passed out and came to an understanding of life can never be described. Many of my friends I met later, and I have been helping to waken them to the glory of understanding.

Let us not believe but let us act. Let us all do our duty while we are here, and let us understand the wonders of Nature and the wonders of God.

We could not worship more than God, for God is everything. You are one part of His grand work, the flowers are another part of His grand work, the animals another part, so how could you be outside God? Why should you not worship His manifestations in every way? You are in the very midst of Him. When you are one with God you have great glory.

I want to say “Hallelujah!” (A favorite expression in earth life.) That is grand, that is beautiful!

This is a step every one has to take; every one has to pass through this. I learned my first step in a few months. When I woke up from the sleep of death—we call it a sleep of transition—I was really awake. I had understanding. I was told about the grand things in spirit but I never could have imagined it as grand as I found it.

Let us visit the “churches” of the ether sphere, the place of the spirits who pass out with religious belief and dogma. These gather in a group and do not try to waken to the realization that they are still sleeping spiritually, because they have never asked: “Who am I? Where did I come from? Where do I go? Where is the real life?” They are self-hypnotized by their belief in Jesus Christ, and in God sitting on a throne with Christ at His right side, judging the people, good and bad. Some, they think, have to go to a burning hell, and some will go in glory to God in Heaven.

That is the belief they have, and, although “dead” the majority of those who only believe are still on earth, going to church. They, want to be on earth singing the same songs, and praying the same prayers. They think that all they have to do is to sing and pray.

Many do not know they have passed out. They do not even stop to think that their relatives and friends do not talk to them as they did formerly. We have a very hard time to reach them.

Some sing and pray, others walk alone, trying to find out what is the matter; at other times they become attached to mortals and hypnotize them so much so by their belief that the mortals become obsessed and are sent to the asylum for religious mania.

It is a great pity that men cannot understand God. When they have that understanding they cannot live for themselves; they will want to work for others and give every one of their happiness.

I have still to see the depth of misery to which the wretched ones go because of hate and selfishness. These hate all humanity. That is the worst condition. They are so crippled that you can hardly believe they are persons.

They have to be taught to realize, but how can they be reached? They are afraid of themselves, and they have to remain in that condition until they want in all earnestness to be freed.

I have learned this in the few months I have been on the spirit side of life. I have a very nice home in the spirit world. I have my relatives and friends, but everything is very different here from there.

I have to help many of my friends because, even though some passed out long before I, they are still in darkness regarding an understanding of the real life.

The teaching of children should be very different from what it is. Children should be taught about God in Nature, taught that God is Love. If they were properly taught you would not have any crime. They would love Nature, they would love animals, they would love humanity at large. But they are taught not to understand Nature. How could you understand God more beautifully than to understand Him through His manifestation?

I am glad to be with you tonight and I want you all to go on with your work. If you could only see, every evening when you have your meeting, how many crippled and unfortunate spirits listen and try to get help so they can pass into the life beyond.

Humanity should rouse itself and not send so many ignorant spirits to the other side, because these only stay near the earth and do harm to those who are here on earth.

Humanity will have a difficult time for a little while, because of crime and selfishness. All that people live for now is money and self. They will have to change their viewpoint some time. Then peace will go over the earth. Now it is war—war with everybody, but when peace and harmony prevail, you will find a glorious condition.

I say “Hallelujah!” Let that time come as quickly as possible! Just now it is fighting and laws. Unless this is changed people will rise because they want freedom, but God speed the day when the peace spirit will come over all.

I wish you could all understand God, not as a person, but as the Life of the whole Universe, and realize that there is no life without God. He is the Divine in everything, but we are clothed with selfishness, jealousy and ignorance.

If you are troubled by obsession, say to yourself: “I am master over my own body and I shall be.” Do not send out thoughts of evil because they only hinder your own self. They create more thoughts of anger and you will not have gained anything. Develop within yourself power and strength to conquer.

Say to yourself: “I am master, and nobody else can interfere.” Do not think of the other one (obsessing spirit) who is trying to bother you. Send out a kind thought to him.

Doctor, I want to thank you and your wife for that nice little party (funeral) I had—that is what I call it. It was a nice little party at the time I passed to the spirit world. I do not think there was one in that little church who thought it was a funeral. It was a party.

I was with them during the service. I do not think any one thought of the coffin. I thank you all for letting the service be held in that fine little church, and also for suggesting that they all wear white.

That was glory, and I felt like shouting “Hallelujah!”

I wish all funerals could be like that. Sadness and sorrow bring to the spirits sadness and sorrow and gloom. They cannot get out of that gloom for years.

Now I must go.

EXPERIENCE, SEPTEMBER 29, 1920 Spirit: MRS. LACKMUND. Psychic: MRS. WICKLAND

How few people understand life or God in the right way. Instead of believing in God and using His name so much, and calling on Him to do what they should do themselves, they should realize that God is Love and the Light of Understanding.

How can we live and not understand Him in the right way?

If people would only understand God as it was meant they should understand Him there would not be so much selfishness, worry or fighting, because people would have more love for each other and not think so much of self.

People think the more money they have the happier they will be. They do not know what happiness means; they do not know what true happiness is. They think they will be happy when they have plenty of money to get things, things to eat, and things to drink, and live a life of injury to the body. These are the things most thought of at present.

In time, however, the world will understand God. The churches will soon waken and teach the true gospel of God, teach people not to believe but to understand, to understand His wondrous works, to understand Him and how He manifests in everything.

Every flower is a manifestation of God. The odor of a beautiful flower is God, and He sends it out to everyone that His presence may be felt. You can see God’s manifestation through the beautiful spirit of the odor that shines through that flower. You do not need to touch it. If you were blind you would know there must be a flower because of the odor, for it permeates the atmosphere.

Shall you not seek God and see how wonderfully He manifests Himself to you in the exquisite odor of flowers, that make you feel happier for having them around you?

See the Master’s work in one flower and another. Can you make them as they are? Can you paint them with their odor?

In your garden you plant one flower here and another flower there—why do they not mix? Why do not green leaves grow among the petals of the red flower?

The green leaves take from the atmosphere what they need and the red flower takes what it needs and colors itself. The flowers clothe themselves from the colors of the sun. One is purple, one red, another yellow, another blue, and each has its place in the beautiful Nature of God. All is perfect in God’s Nature.

When you go from the kingdom of flowers and vegetables to the animals you will find something that you do not often find in men and women—faithful love.

Men and women should be the crown of God’s creation, but they are bound by doubt and creed. Many think themselves holy, but the holiness is only superficial. They make no effort to be honest in their every day life.

They go to church on Sunday, pray to God and tell Him how good they are, then condemn another man who does not go to church at all, but who tries sincerely to live the right kind of life as best he knows how.

Probably the latter is nearer God in his way than the one who worships outwardly and does not live a sincere life.

Earthbound spirits who torment mortals by obsessing them are man-made “devils.” Selfishness has made them what they are. They go out of the physical in ignorance of the real life, full of hatred, because they were crushed in one way or another. They have hatred for all mankind, and the first persons they can attach themselves to they try to harm, and there you have obsession.

You must all be on your guard; you must, every one of you, try to fight obsession. Humanity is fighting sickness, but does not fight the actual cause of insanity.

Insanity is nothing but obsession by spirits who are sent to the spirit side of life without understanding the truth of God.

Christ taught us to love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. People do not love their neighbors as they should.

Teach children the right way of living; teach them the right understanding of God and of the teachings of Christ. Teach them to live according to high principles, not to worship Christ as a person but as the True Understanding and the Light of Life. Then you will not send earthbound spirits to the spirit side of life to obsess sensitives who have to be sent to the asylums. Instead of that they should be taught the nature of God, and be given an opportunity to develop higher ideals.

This is Mrs. Lackmund. Good Night.

Excerpt from Thirty Years Among The Dead