My father, the Reverend Alvin Daniel Mattson, S.T.D., a Lutheran theologian, died on October 19, 1970. Affectionately known as “AD” by hundreds of former students, colleagues, and friends, he was a pioneer among the clergymen who sought to awaken the organized church to its responsibilities in the area of social justice.
Not quite five months after AD died, Margaret Flavell, a close friend from London, was visiting us. She is one of the most respected clairvoyants in England and has a remarkable record of accomplishments in the field of psychic communication. On the morning of March 2, 1971, we decided to see if we could get in touch with AD from the world beyond and to tape-record our attempt. We had expected to make contact with him and to get evidence that he does survive, but little did we expect the quantity and quality of very significant communication and information that we received.
AD always believed that truth, wherever it is found, is universal. In keeping with this belief, this material is intended for all men, whatever their religious or philosophical beliefs. A widely respected theologian, AD speaks bringing us his message from the spiritual world.
The Dynamic Substance of Thought
Concerning the creative power of thought, AD stated, “Things are not born in the astral world. They are created by thought. Thought is the essence of all things. Be careful that your thinking is not slipshod and formless, because when you come out of the body you actually meet the thought forms that you create in your thinking. Your thinking, praying, or inquiring goes out from you in waves. Nothing is ever lost – nothing is ever put aside or unused, even your thought.”
Discipline Your Thinking
“We don’t appreciate the wrenching that goes on when we begin to think about one thing and then stop that thinking and go to another. If we don’t make a clear cut between one set of thoughts and another, it looks like a tangled skein of wool to anybody who is looking on.
“Disciplined persons have disciplined thinking. This is most evident when they arrive here. When they tackle a subject, there is no deviation, no intrusion, no obstacle. They think it out in a straight line and arrive at a point. The thinking patterns around them are regular, clear-cut, and sharp on the edge. They know exactly what they are going to do, say, or think on a particular subject or line of thought.
“We sometimes meet souls who are not disciplined in their thinking. They just drift along, and it looks like a lot of cobwebs around them. You talk to them and they can’t even finish a sentence in their thinking before they have bobbed off onto another. There is no adhesion, no cohesion.
“Discipline your thinking. Learn to keep your mind on one topic at a time. Allow yourself to become immersed in it. This is a most useful attitude to develop for life when you are on earth, and it carries over with you when you come to the astral world.”
The Importance of Right Thinking
“I have always enjoyed a good discussion, but here you cannot put out thoughts into the ether that you don’t really believe as truth, just for the sake of provoking an argument or discussion. If we put such thoughts into the ether, we lose far more spiritual energy than it is wise to lose. We then have to sit back, be quiet, concentrate, and start drawing the power back again. This is retribution because you have to use power to withdraw an untruth from the ether. That power could be used for more constructive purposes. This applies to all negative thinking – here as well as on earth.
“When you are in a physical body, the negative thought forms you create stay right with you. In order to get rid of them, you have to nullify your negative or disagreeable thinking by positive thinking. Positive thought forms have to be created to remove the negative ones before you can feel right. This requires effort and concentration, which would not have to be expended if you had held a positive and agreeable approach to life in the first place.
“You know that even a rainy, windy day can get you off on the wrong foot, making you feel depressed, unhappy, and unable to function as your best self. Even this can be nullified by a proper attitude and by extending a thought such as, ‘The earth needs all this water and the trees enjoy being blown. It doesn’t really matter about me – I can put on a raincoat and boots and protect myself.’ The attitude with which you approach such weather can make all the difference in the world as to your effectiveness as a person for that day.”
Visual Patterns of Thought
“Until I left my physical body, I was not sufficiently aware that there were visual patterns of thought. This is something that would be interesting for people to know. Even the desultory conversation of a family around a meal table forms a pattern. When you find members of a family who are truly adjusted to each other and are enjoying themselves, there may be the most beautiful flower that is left as a thought pattern when they have finished their meal. When there is jangling and egotism of one trying to dominate the others, the one pushing in on the others will leave a thought pattern like tangled wire. There will be more solidity to it than from the ones who are passive, listening and perhaps just adding color and understanding or maybe a prayer.
“This is an extremely interesting area, and one on which those whom you might call your guardians from the astral realm can tune in. They tune in on a particular visual pattern, and from this they can interpret your need. A guardian never controls your action, but he can give you support for original thinking. He can try to guide an individual into his own pattern and way of thinking, which will be helpful.
“We do not go around indiscriminately spying into people’s lives. However, someone may send out a call wanting to know, ‘Now, what on earth should I do over this?’ When they sit down to think about it, that sends out a great, huge question mark, and we know according to the color of that thought form the level of the question. For example, ‘What shall I do about my bank balance?’ gives us a sort of reddish color of trepidation with a little green and quite a bit of brown. That’s not my color – I can’t help them with money – but those who have been financiers and those who know how to deal in these areas will come. They will direct ideas and thought into the people’s auras – into their physical magnetic field – so that they may pick up a book, open a newspaper, make a telephone call, or get in touch with a person who can help them with their problems. This is the way they are helped.
“I want to emphasize again, though, that there is a privacy around all people on earth which cannot be violated. Those of us in the astral world are not allowed to go around and see what is going on in a person’s life unless we are called to do so by that person. I am allowed to go over the material I am putting through for you, after it has been given, to see the impression it has on you and the various people who are sharing it. However, I am not allowed to go around and see what is going on in the homes of people anymore than I could do that, uninvited, when I was on earth. The privacy of people is respected.”
Materialization Through Thought
Thought as a creative force to materialize objects was mentioned by AD throughout the sittings.
Regarding clothes on the astral plane, AD stated, “When you come here, you experiment with your thinking and you think up your clothes. When I was on earth, a member of my family would say, ‘You know, I think I would really like a green dress the next time in such and such a style.’ And she, in her own mind, would have thought out the kind of dress she would want. Like a fashion designer, she would think out a style. Well, here you think up your clothes, they materialize, and you put them on. When you want to change what you are wearing, you can thought-power off the clothes you have on and create something else. We all tend to wear the kind of things that we enjoy. Most of us, in the beginning, wear the things to which we are accustomed.”
Margaret also received “pictures” of thought-created buildings with vibrantly colorful mosaic floors and handsome furnishings. In one sitting she saw a beautiful azalea bush about ten feet high behind the area where AD was sitting. It had blooms of many colors, ranging from pale yellow to deep crimson, all on one bush. She questioned AD about the unusual azalea and how all those colors could be gotten on one bush. He replied, “Over here we can create any kind of bush we want. When we create things by the power of thought, using astral substance, actual materialization occurs. Whatever we create remains as objective reality as long as we wish it to.
“I have told you that on numerous occasions I have been permitted to visit the higher planes. We do function differently there, but I will give you more information on those levels of consciousness at a later date.”
Bodily Materialization from the Higher Realms to Lower Realms
Materialization of discarnate persons have been reported in scientific, parapsychological studies, and in some instances such materialization have been photographed. AD told us that, through the power of thought, discarnate persons materialize themselves on earth by using the etheric matter of the earth’s atmosphere to make themselves visible to people who ordinarily are not clairvoyant. However, this takes a great deal of thought power, and therefore materializations of this kind do not occur frequently.
AD also told us that the principle of materialization applies even to planes which are higher in frequency of vibration than the astral plane. When people are at a point where they are ready to function more permanently on the higher planes, the astral body is cast off, similar to us as in physical death, and they then function in a body compatible with the higher plane.
Concerning materialization on these higher planes, AD said, “When people have passed from the astral plane, they can again come back to it. Through the power of thought, they re-clothe themselves in astral substance.” He specifically mentioned two well-known persons who have cast off their astral bodies and are now on the mental plane. However, they still manifest themselves on the astral plane by using astral substance to materialize themselves. These two persons are Francis Bacon and Martin Luther. AD stated, “Although these men are on the mental plane, they can return to the astral plane and walk among us and talk with us here.”
Multiple and Simultaneous Contact Through the Power of Thought
“Through the power of thought, there is an actual personal exchange of power between those on earth and those of us in the spiritual world. When you think of me, that thought runs along a pulsating line of force and creates an exchange between us. It is difficult to describe, but I feel it coming like a little golden bead of light. Suddenly I feel it with me, and then I can send a thought to you and it goes back down this little tunnel or thread of light. I know, from a little feeling of impact I get, when it has reached you. Here we can have hundreds and hundreds of these threads of exchanges with different people, and it can be going on all the time.”
Excerpt from Witness From Beyond
See Part II here. Part IV coming soon.