by Charlotte E. Dresser

Introduction:

Seventeen years ago, when quite alone, after the ‘passing’ of father, mother, sister, and brothers, I formed a friendship, that grew into a companionship so fine that the world became for me a happier place and life a brighter thing. We were a trio: ‘Dee,’ ‘F. R.,’ and ‘Sis’; for so we changed our names to familiar and intimate expression.

Twelve years passed, with no break in the happy association, and then suddenly and with little warning Dee passed out of this earthly life. To me, remained the hope of renewing the companionship in a world where parting is unknown. To. F. R. a black wall, beyond which, nothing! For, long before, his mind had accepted the reasoning of materialistic philosophy, and, arguing from that standpoint, death ended all; and life, going out like a spent candle, could in nowise be relighted.

Months went by. Finally a few friends, interested in psychic phenomena, asked us to join them in an experiment. I was asked to try automatic writing; and, after a few trials, found the pencil moving quite freely and giving messages which I could not have anticipated, and which many times were quite contrary to my own thought and belief.

Dee almost at first gave her name and proved to us her identity. Mary Bosworth—Dee has told us, is the good angel who was sent to meet her as she passed into the Beyond. Mary is the leader of the communicating circle on that side. With this explanation or introduction, I have left the work of selecting and editing the mass of material coming through the pencil, to the patient care of F. R.

Lands Of The Spirit – What of its environment? What is there to see?

It is practically beyond the powers of the material brain to conceive of the reality, the substantiality, of the spirit world, the objects that the inhabitants of spirit land see with the perception that corresponds to our sight. From various descriptions that we have read, and from the information given to us, there is reason to believe that the landscapes, trees, and buildings of the spirit world are more ‘real,’ are more nearly a solid substance, than we might think. The suggestion that mind in that realm has power to build up these objects from electrons by using laws of which we know nothing, gives us food for thought.

The results of such work are not perceptible to our senses, of course; but they are seen by the new powers of spirit. How little we would know of air and most forms of gas if our other senses registered them no better than does our sight! Can we not imagine a sight perception so superior to the one we now possess, that sensations would be registered and recognized, not only from gases, but from even more tenuous ‘material?’ Is there reason for denying that electrons may be controlled by laws we have not known? We certainly do not deny the reality of atoms or molecules; yet what inconceivable numbers of these must be massed together before they can be sensed by any of our five material powers! Is it safe to assert the impossibility of some other combination of these, or of electrons, than those we have known? Scientists of course are loath to take any hypothesis into consideration involving unknown laws. But most of them accept ether, the characteristics of which seem in some ways to defy known laws. This means that if ether exists, it is controlled by laws as yet unrecognized. There may be other unrecognized forces. There may be ‘substance’ and ‘material’ in the spirit realm!

Of course our inquisitive minds were early seeking information as to what the spirit world was like. Were there trees and flowers and buildings? Were there mountains and rivers and beautiful landscapes?

“There are gardens and flowers here of exceeding beauty. They are formed by thought processes according to certain laws, and only those who love beauty and form are intrusted with the work. Architecture is also a thought product. You need not try to understand the operation, for it belongs to spirit and to spirit alone.”

One who was at that time engaged in architecture and in color formation there told us one evening:

“We are building and building, making halls and rooms and houses in the most exquisite way imaginable, and never for a moment have to halt for lack of means or lack of material. Truly the ‘many mansions’ are here, and beautiful beyond description. When you come you will have a home that will express your most artistic fancy and your greatest desire for beauty.”

‘Can you give us a description of the building you use as a meeting hall?’

“I will try. It is not of marble or wood or stone, but a beautiful building of white material, shining and pure, with dome of golden color, with halls and rooms and various meeting places and appointments for the different studies.”

‘Do you have pictures?’

“Pictures are used to illustrate many different studies; but these are more evanescent thoughts thrown forward pictorially to illustrate something in the lesson.”

‘Do you have no permanent pictures?’

“Pictures are painted by artists here as they are on earth, only with different canvas and color. But once painted, they can remain until replaced by others, or until the artists themselves erase them.”

‘Does this hall of learning appear to each person the same in every detail?’

“The building remains; and those who enter find the same halls, the same rooms, the same laboratories, the same equipment for explanation, and the same books,—if I may so name some of the thought impressions. You seem to think there is no substantiality to spirit, while we know it is the only substantiality.”

Being told that they were creations of the mind, it was very difficult for us to realize their permanence, and we more than once asked about it.

‘You say the park or landscape is a creation of the mind?’

“Yes; but more real than you imagine of mental pictures, because all can see and enjoy the same.”

‘Is this mental picture of a park a mirage or a reality?’

“It is a reality, for mind is the only reality here.”

‘Is such a picture permanent, or does it change?’

“It would remain until altered by command. It has permanency affected only by the directing wills of the powers who control.”

‘Can you tell us what the flowers are like?’

“Try to imagine a flower that neither fades nor withers, yet may disappear to make room for other flowers when so desired. We do not destroy, but they become a part of the etheric substance again, to be used later in other creations. We can produce growing plants if we choose, and watch the bud come into flower, and leaf and stem perfect themselves. Or we can create the flower full grown and beautiful.”

Once when Dee had been telling us of her little pupils, and of their play in the gardens, she said:

“The gardens devoted to children are far more beautiful than any known to you. The flowers are of exquisite beauty, many-hued, and with forms unknown on earth. There are lakes with water crystal-clear; fountains softly splashing; tree-shaded nooks and corners; and wide, open places for games or play. Can you imagine children playing in lake or fountain without spoiling their beautiful garments, or catching cold? Can you imagine a sunshine that does not burn, or winds that bring no dust, or play and exercise followed by no fatigue?”

‘Will we be able to see the beautiful landscapes from the first, when we arrive?’

“You will be able to enjoy nature from the first. We have landscapes here, and can go on to other scenes as we wish, the same as you travel to new scenes and places.”

‘Are there changes there? Do the landscapes change? Do your beautiful flowers change?’

“The things we wish to remain are stable. But our wishes change, and our surroundings adapt themselves to our thoughts. Would you like to live in an old house when a more beautiful one could be yours? Would you there keep a garden of weeds, if your larger intelligence could produce flowers? Everything here evolves as we evolve. Growth and change are the laws of life both here and there.”

One evening we called for Dee, and Mary replied that she would soon arrive. When she came Sis said:

‘Dee, I was thinking of your coming when I called, and wondering how you came; whether you walked on the ground or came through the air?’

“I was coming quickly, so that my feet did not exactly touch the ground; but I can walk if I choose.”

‘What is the ground like? Can you describe it?’

“We walk on solid ground, you might say, but not as earth ground would seem. It has no dust; no rain can make it impassable, nor mud to soil our garments or feet. It is more like a glass foundation. That is not a good comparison, but it is as near as I can think just now. Always smooth, dry, dustless; and always beautiful in its winding way or broad thoroughfare. We may walk through groves, or by running stream, or sit by lake or fountain. Or we may meet others in the broad and beautiful streets. Yet we do not need to use these paths or streets unless we choose, for we can come more quickly, rising above all the habitations and all the natural loveliness, and move swiftly through the air.

“Does this satisfy you? We are not confined to any one way, but can choose our own.”

‘Can you in any way describe what the ground is made of?’

“Not exactly, any more than we can describe the material of which our homes are made. There are some things here that are so nearly indescribable to you, that all we can do is to make an attempt at their appearance. No spirit material is exactly like the mortal, and our names for them would convey no meaning to you.”

‘Do the trees and flowers there have any life that is comparable to plant life here?’

“The life of a plant here depends upon the thought of the one who conceived it. For flowers and plants are the work of artists, and each artist has a different conception of beauty. Hence we have a variety and beauty not known on earth.”

At another time she said:

“There is no beauty on earth equal to the beauty here. Never fear for lack of variety of expression, or lack of appreciation.”

I said it seemed rather vague to us, because it was so difficult to think of all these things as more than unstable visions, where there was no solid material as we know material.

“You cannot understand the conditions, but you need not think of these things moving away from you, disappearing like a dream. They stay! I saw the same beautiful creations when I first came that I see now. We love our surroundings and do not change them except for some vital reason. If a tree was in your way, would you not cut it down? Or a pillar that did not correspond with the rest of the architecture, would you not replace it? Something of the kind might induce a change here, but we rest in the very permanency of the things we love.

“Nevertheless, you must not forget that the heavenly universe is limitless, and millions of spirits are creating new homes and new surroundings out in space. And the beauty grows and grows, and a ‘change of scene’ can be had in an instant’s time by a journey into space. Spirit is the only thing that persists. Then why cannot you conceive of its permanence?”

‘If you have so many vast territories, I should think it might interfere with movement to other planets and universes?’

“Not at all. Remember we are not confined to the ground. We are not hindered by obstacles, for we move over, as easily as in a straight line. Vast spaces are given to beauty of scene or of landscape, but remember the ease and quickness with which we move. What would a hundred miles be, for instance, for light to travel?”

Again when speaking of beauty, we were told:

“We have everything that pertains to beauty, either of dress or scenery or gems or anything else. Make no mistake! Your world has nothing to compare with the beauty of this!”

I had been questioning about their surroundings in various ways, and asked here:

‘I realize that beautiful things are there. But I was thinking that one would not need many things there that are used on earth: such as a pocket-knife, a pencil, a sewing machine, or an automobile; and I wonder just what will be there?’

“Suppose you needed a knife, why, then create one! That is within the range of spirit power. But you would find it quicker to perform the service without the bother of making a knife. And this applies to other things as well. We do not need the sewing machine when we can create the dress by quicker and better means.”

Yes, I realize that you really need little that we have here. Even your houses are not needed for protection from storms and cold.’

“We do love our homes, and we love to have them beautiful; but they do not require the care that is given earthly homes. Beauty is care-free here. We wish we could give you a picture of our home, but you would want to come right away if we did!”

After this, Mary and Dee, in answer to a question, gave an account of their experiences and education there. This gives further information on subjects prior mentioned and is given here just as we have it on our records, except that a portion is omitted that is of too intimate a nature to publish. Mary said:

“I was very ignorant when I came over. I was dazed at first and did not recognize myself as spirit. But my good angel was there and I was led into comprehension through suggestion and through teaching. But it had to be very simple at first. Well you know that the first thing I learned was how to walk! In other words, how to move as spirits move, with mental instead of physical effort. When I found I could move from place to place I was as eager and happy as a child. And this lasted quite a while, for you see I was only a child in this new life.

“Then I had to visualize differently. I had not learned the difference between physical and spiritual sight. This took longer, and meantime I made some mistakes. After that my hearing developed. I do not mean that I had no perception of what we might call hearing, but it was really thought transference or telepathy, as you might call it, from my guide. It was some time before I actually heard spirit voices. And then after a longer time, I began to hear faint sounds of music, like some far-off exquisite orchestra. I can never tell you how this affected me, nor with what joy I discovered that I was musical in my soul. That was one of the things I was denied, for the most part, in my earthly life, and I did not realize my own sensitiveness to sound, nor did I dream that sound could bring such ecstasy.

“Then I knew what I wanted to study, and after a long time spent in acquiring speech, hearing, sight, and movement, I took up that study in earnest. I loved it and did not suppose anything could be equal in attraction. But finally my guide called me to go with her to meet others who had come over as ignorant and as helpless as I had been, and suddenly my heart was touched, and my love went out to them without effort. So these two were my regular occupations; and later I added astronomy to a degree, never to a proficiency; and after that, travel.

“I had really not cared for a home at that time. I went from hall to hall, temple to temple, seeking knowledge. And not until Dee came, and our love wished an abiding place that we might call home, did I begin to think of architecture.

“Dee will tell you the rest.”

‘Can you tell us how you came to be leader of that circle?’

“Well, I was so eager for knowledge that perhaps I gained faster than others. Then my work with the newly arrived souls, many of whom longed only for knowledge of their friends, and to send word to them of their safety, made me begin to study communication,— to add that to my other occupations. I found in this work so many ways through which I could give comfort, that I grew more and more interested. And gradually others who were attracted to the subject gathered about me, until we simply became a circle. As I had studied the subject more than the others, the leadership was left to me. And so you see it was very simple. All a matter of attraction and congenial thought.”

‘Then your circle is primarily one for communication?’

“Yes, that is the main work of this circle. But we are not confined to the one study. You will find great diversity of study and tastes and acquirement when you come, and will realize that through variety we avoid anything like monotony.”

‘Now Dee, we want you to go on with the story.’

“I will begin with our home-making. Mary came near to being just pure intellect before I arrived. But she found her heart then, and our companionship was ideal from the first. I wanted a home. She did not at first care for it, but now loves it as much as I.

“We decided upon the architecture, and wished rooms enough for friends; and, of course, I wished pictures and books and beauty in every part of the home. We planned it together. And when you come, you will find in it what I desired on earth,—beauty, rest, books, music, halls for entertaining others, and quiet places for those who wish for quiet. The setting is in a grove, and I know you will love it as we do.”

‘As you do not need kitchens, dining-rooms, or bedrooms, just what use do you have for a home?’

“We go there for the comfort of companionship. I mean quiet companionship; for our homes are as sacred to our personality as an earthly home. No one intrudes, no crowds gather; but quiet companionship is there, and the many things we love:—books, music, pictures, rest, or the entertaining of friends. Nothing is lacking except those things necessary to mortal comfort or convenience.”

‘Just how do you entertain? You do not play cards or give afternoon teas, do you?’

Mary says: “The manner of entertaining is as diverse as personality. Some have readings, some have artistic scenes, or you might almost say, dramas. Others at times give pure fun-loving entertainments, and all is well, and every one happy!”

‘Do you have great dramas?’

“Well you know that the great actors still give great impersonations. And, indeed, much history is told in that way. Shakespeare wrote historic plays, and actors here are greatly in demand for historic representations.”

For lack of a better place in the book to put it, I will include here a paragraph on Art that was given us.

“Art is a big subject here, for it embraces all beauty, as well as all combinations of beautiful material. The beauty of art is the beauty of production; and you must remember that the natural beauty you love on earth, is here one of the arts of this life. Scenery, mountain, stream, forest, vale, and hill; beautiful homes, beautiful statuary, paintings, libraries; and even the colors and the garments we wear, and the dresses we fashion, are all in the way of art.

“Can you see what art means in this spirit life, when the touch of spirit, like a fairy wand, can create the most marvelous beauty and the finest adornments? We can call them into being and preserve them as we choose, and can scatter them to make way for other beauty.

“This all takes study. Each and every one is a class, a school, a craft by itself, and the students of that craft or school prepare themselves by education in the ways necessary for each work.”

Excerpt from Spirit World And Spirit Life