Four Spirit Teachers | Introduction | Forword | Next Chapter
Greetings.
Tonight my friends, I am happy to be with you once more. I wish to speak to you on the value of silence. There are many, many forms of silence. That in which you can spend your time of meditation; silence which comes from within yourselves no matter how busy or troubled the exterior may be. The silence which comes within your heart, within your mind and enables you to refresh yourselves, enables you to hear the counsel of the God Spirit; the communication from those who love you in the world of spirit. The value of silence also can be seen when the word of anger is withheld. You know so often a moments thought, a moment of silence would prevent pain inflicted on another. Silence gives you time to stop, to think, to reconsider. How often that which is spoken in haste is bitterly regretted but I have said before many times, no action, no word, no thought once given out can ever be retracted. Thoughts like words and deeds are things and once they are sent out, to the earth plane, into space, they are there for all time, just as the events of your lives are held within your memory, so are the thoughts of your heart and mind recorded upon the sound-waves, the thought-waves of this earth. Care and thought and silence make so often for harmony. They give contrast also to the sounds which surround you.
Without silence you would not appreciate sound, just as without the night you would never see the day. Light is made-up my friends of many shades, shades between joy and sorrow, between light and dark, between injury and forgiveness. Learn then to value your moments of quiet, your time of silence. For those are the moments in which the voice of the God Spirit can be heard within you and the voice of reason which will make itself known within your mind. Do not waste you time but learn to use it to appreciate all that is around you. See the light of the God Spirit, see the beauty that is created; for this earth despite the faults of those dwelling upon it, despite all this is still a place of beauty. It is a school in which you may learn, learn of the Creator and of the greater creation which is the universe. This earth is a universe in miniature, there are many nations dwelling upon it, nations who should dwell in harmony, but whose words and deeds create friction and warfare. I speak to you of remaining silent in moments of anger, how much more does this apply to nations, how often during the history of mankind if the leaders of nations had paused for thought, had held' their tongues in silence, would warfare, suffering and death have been prevented. Words can heal, they can also destroy. Make, in this time, sure, that the words that come from your mouth, the thoughts that emanate from you mind, are filled not merely with sound but with love and understanding.The teachers of this earth plane, those who have come from the God Spirit in past times, have recognized this value, the value of words and of silence. Jesus the Nazarene spoke so often of moving to a quiet place. The silence may heal and refresh the minds both of himself and of his followers and that was the renewed strength gained by this stillness; they may heal the bodies, the minds of their fellow beings. Today upon this earth, there is much noise, much bustle, so much so that man tends to miss the important points of life; no longer appreciate the simple pleasures which his forefathers knew. To find those who stand in stillness and lift their minds to the praise of the God Spirit is today a rarity but in times gone by, man recognized his affinity with God. Maybe the realization did not come that there was but one Creator of whom we all are a part but nevertheless there was a joy, a celebration at the coming of each new day, there was a thanksgiving to whatever god that particular soul gave worship to. Today with many, many people upon earth, religion as such is ridiculed. We, as you know do not advocate orthodoxy but one must respect the beliefs of another and who is to say what is right or what is wrong in the way one worships the God Spirit. What is important is the recognition of this Spirit of Life. The knowledge that there is a force greater than man, a force that gives life, protection, understanding and compassionate love to all. Let each one of you try to make use of the silences within your life. Make a point of taking a little time each day, to be still, to be silent and in that silence to worship, to thank, to love and to be at one with that being that gave each one of us life.
Etheric Bodies
Question. Does our Etheric body go with us in all incarnations.
The Etheric body is the outer form of the life force within you but it will be, as it were, re-shaped in each incarnation, can you understand? Just as the form, the physical form, which you take during an incarnation will vary. for you can manifest for instance either as male or female. Each one of you will know, each one that reincarnates, will have known both forms of life. Therefore the Etheric body that goes with you in each incarnation, will vary according to the individual personality - not personality but outer form - that you take in that incarnation. In the higher spheres of this side of life, you do not take form at all. This is difficult I know to imagine but it is no longer necessary. As one of the higher' beings from these spheres comes, as it were through, to those of a lower level of understanding, so they will take form and usually it is the form of their last known incarnation. It is said in some religions that so and so is an aspect, they will say that - for instance - let us speak of the gods and goddesses, of the ancient religions. Do you follow? Taking the Egyptians, Hathor, the cow-headed goddess had many aspects, they will say, she appeared, she can appear also as Sakhmet the cat and so on and these are said to be aspects of one being. In a similar way, any soul, spirit, call it what you will, could if they so desired appear again to earth in any of the forms which they had used during previous incarnations but it is usual to use the last, the latest one. Does this answer you?
Questioner. Yes, very much so. May I also ask who you are? I am Marcus.Perpetual Guides
Question. As we progress through different incarnations, do we keep the same guides or are we guided by higher ones with each progression.
May I say at this point that not only you upon earth but we in the world of spirit are all the time progressing. There are none who have yet learned all there is to learn, of life, of its meaning, of the Creator but because it is a continuous process, a continual progression, those who guide you are - shall we say, hopefully - keeping a little ahead all the time; so that you will keep the same counsellors and helpers throughout your spiritual pathway. As you know on this side of life, we work in groups and the incarnation in which you find yourself now, is not only for your own progression, for your learning, for the knowledge which you gain and the lessons which you learn are of benefit to your group a whole. In the time to come, you yourselves having left this earth plane will take your turn at counselling and assisting those less far advanced along the pathway than yourselves. Do you understand? The whole balance of progression is kept by the intermingling, the interchanging of ideas and of knowledge; by the desire to help others as well as yourself. Those who seek only their own progress will not travel far along the path of spirit, until they learn that knowledge is for all and that it is only by giving, by helping that you can receive. The self-seeker finds himself, instead of at the top of the ladder - so to speak - still lifting the foot to the first rung.The Incarnating Spirit
Question. At what point does the spirit enter the body, is it at the moment of conception. [See also Chapter 17].
Very simply, yes. I know there has been much controversy about this point, but I can assure you that at the moment of conception the spirit is there. So that those that destroy this life or this covering rather, are driving back the spirit from earth to our world. It has been said in the past that the spirit enters at the moment of quickening, this I can assure you is not so. There are those who have learned to carry the memory during the whole time spent within the womb and can remember the moment of entry, the moment of conception.
Further question. May I ask further, what does the spirit do, does it just hang around for the moment of conception or what. Why don't they take responsibility as well, when they incarnate.
Responsibility for what?
For the incarnation, I mean, if there was an abortion or something, they would be driven back into the spirit world. Do you understand what I am trying to say, it's not just responsibility on the parents, but I think the incarnating spirit has a responsibility as well.
They do not instigate the conception, just as when we are needed to return to earth, the thought, shall we say brings us. We do not, as you know measure time and it has been said, how then do we keep appointments such as this. It is a linking with the mind of the medium, do you follow? And especially when a soul is waiting to return to earth, they will be aware when the time of conception is taking place. Now you say that the spirit entering should be held responsible for its own abortion. In some cases the return to such conditions is deliberate. It can be on the part of that soul an act - realize that I am saying can be, not always is - an act of atonement, you see, not only is harm done to the unborn being but to those who take this life and to the mother who desires to lose it. It is not within nature that this kind of destruction should take place and those who have performed these operations, these acts, when they come into this side of life and to the full realization of what they have been doing, if they are more than contrite and mistakenly perhaps believed that by undergoing such a swift transition themselves they will in some way repair the damage they had inflicted. I would emphasize that not only in this but in other ways, it is not always the best way of working out one's salvation; to undergo the pain which one had oneself inflicted. Far better is it to try to give healing and help to those upon earth. To influence the minds of those about to repeat the mistakes which you yourself have made. That each must work their karma in the way they themselves feel best. Those who are wise, stop, think and take advice.Birth Control
[Question. Could please advise on the spirit worlds attitude to birth control].
This is entirely a personal attitude. When you speak of spirits in general, remember I cannot speak for all on this side of life. For there are as many different opinions and ways of thought here as there are upon earth. It is a very common mistake with you upon the earth plane to put us all together as spirits. I personally would say that if man obviously is going to use his reproductive powers not only for their intended purpose but as an act of love and of pleasure also, that birth control in some form is inevitable because the over-production which man has so long practised is threatening the earth plane itself. Man, apart from the insect kingdom, is one of the most prolific beings on the face of the earth and I must say the most predatory and the most cruel. I know that several of the very advanced guides upon this side, especially the healing guides, say to you that this gift of reproduction should be used for that purpose and for that purpose only. That is what was intended and that is how the animal kingdom, which man so despises, behaves. The gift is to carry on your own kind, your own species. Animals do not reproduce naturally at the rate man compels them to but that again is another subject. The opinion I have given my sister is mine, do not lay it at the door of us all.
Distortion in Spirit Messages
Question. You have probably answered my question with your words on silence but I would like to ask nevertheless. It concerns communication between the two worlds. In a trance situation, where you take over completely, the problem wouldn't arise but given a situation where the medium retains consciousness and her mind is active, is it possible that the incoming message could be distorted or not received correctly because of the activity of the mind. If so, how does one prepare oneself to deal with this situation.
This is always a difficulty and this is why mediums should be sure of their, development before undertaking any public duty. Do you understand? Certainly in my situation, in this case, because we do remove the medi [medium] and, as it were, borrow the body completely, it does not arise. Where there is, shall we say, a shallow trance, it can although not often happen. Greater difficulty is experienced with clairvoyance and clairaudience. Standing aside, as I often have and watching these instruments working, one sees how easy it is for a salient point to become adulterated by the mind of the medium. I have seen the thought flash through the mediums mind, albeit not even consciously: ‘but I can't say that', yet that whatever it may have been might well have been the one thing the recipient needs, either to help him or to prove that life goes on. One of the most important things any clairvoyant must learn, is that what you receive must be given, not as you interpret it, not as you feel it should be, but as it is given to you. If the mind can be emptied of thought and that medium say truly, give to me that in turn I may give, let all that comes to me be true and let me in truth give it form. The value of the silence within which allows a free flowing of thought and of communication will be realized. One who receives a message from a medium should never accept without question. This is so important. Too many of you who come into this movement are, if not entirely gullible, too willing to hear what you wish to hear, to read what you wish to know into a message; you must be strong and if you do not know then you must be adamant and say so. There is too much today on your platforms, of this: ‘well you will remember later'. Maybe you will but the chances are you will not. There are today still, some very fine, some ver genuine mediums, there has always been from the beginning of time through to modern Spiritualism today, those who are charlatans and cheats. I know that in this movement, you yourselves would be the first to expose them but it is not always so easy.
Those who are genuine never mind being questioned, those who bluster and shout and say: ‘this is what I am given and this is what it is', no. [Do not accept this]. One who cares will try to find the truth, they will not shout down the recipient. They will say to you, this is what I feel, this is what I am getting, let us see if we can reawaken the memories within you. It is important both for the recipient and for the medium to be willing to accept what is given from spirit but to be sure that it does indeed come from spirit. Does this answer you my brother?
Yes it does, very helpful. I was thinking in terms of, a mind is so active, that you might get a genuine medium who because of lack of control allows the thought to get mixed-up with the message.
Really what I was saying was that a medium must not interpret, they must give what is given. Sometimes you know, a message may seem to all others around, certainly to many of your newspapers, to be utterly trivial and unimportant but yet these often contain one point to give absolute proof to the recipient. If a medium through his or her mind alters one word or one shade of meaning, it can change completely the whole thing. To those among you who aspire to this kind of mediumship, I would say, if you receive clairaudience, try to listen not only to the words themselves but to the pauses, the silences and to the emphasis, for the inflections of a voice can change a meaning so easily. How often have you heard it said, it wasn't what he or she said, it was the way they said it; and this applies very much to messages also.
Ideal Conditions for Healing
Question. Good evening Marcus. Thank you very much for coming. I would like to know what are the ideal conditions for healing. Does it matter on the colour of the room, whether there is music in the background, whether the healer is silent or whether he is talking to the patient. What are the best conditions and what does it depend on, or does it depend on what condition is being treated by the spirits.
It depends very much upon the patient, upon the healer, the healers themselves and upon the condition. I would say that each individual healer, I mean obviously you can heal, my friend, sitting in a train, a bus or anywhere but the power of spirit knows no confines. I assume that you mean one having a particular place in which to heal. Obviously then it must be an atmosphere in which the healer himself or herself feels at home and relaxed. Colours normally of a restful nature; the colours which on this side of life symbolize healing are blue and gold, the colours of your spring iris, do you understand? But soft rather than violent colours for decoration. Music, as you know we use very much and you friend Cathleen has spoken already to you on this. The type of music again should vary according to your own particular taste but there are particular compositions which assist various conditions, you understand. Best I would say to have a wide choice, for anything which irritates either the healer or the patient is going to negate all the good which we can do. All must harmonize and there must be this feeling of peace and of harmony. Where it is possible it is best that a room be kept laid aside for this purpose and this purpose only.
Visits to Cemeteries
Question. When we do our rituals on Sunday and go to the cemetery and place flowers on our beloved ones grave or headstone, what is the attitude of the other side of life to this.
Again it is individual. It is accepted as an act of love and caring but again I would say to you, we do not inhabit the graveyard my friend. So often people visit and they speak to their beloved friends as though they were there but it is only the physical - outer covering - which lies there. The spirit within is free. Far better I would say than talking in a graveyard to go out about the woodlands, the trees, the countryside, commune with your loved ones there or in a garden of beauty, do you understand? We do not remain near our remains, that would be quite, quite pointless. I have some facetious remarks from others upon this side of life. [Laughter]. I think not. This particular lady is, well . . .
Questioner. Is it someone I know.
No, her name is Gladys, she was and is a lively soul, who came from, where do you call it?
The person recording replied: ‘The East-end'. [This refers to the east-end of London].
Yes, she has been here now some years but she has never lost her way of speech. She says: ‘or my four letter words'. The humour with her remains.
Epilogue
My friends, it is wonderful to be with you once again and I will close now, if you will join me in a prayer to the God Spirit.O Father of light, Father of truth, of love and understanding. We come Thy, children in humility before you, asking that Thy blessing may come upon us all, asking that You will open the hearts of all mankind. That they may know and feel Thy love, that they may be consciously aware of Thee, that an who are sick and suffering may know Thy presence and Thy healing power. That those who have little understanding, may gain in knowledge and stature, that those that deny Thee may come In time to know, that those who live now in despair may find the joy of hope. That those who war against each other, may come at last to live in peace, that violence may be turned to love, that each may come to value the other, that they may know, each soul, upon this earth today, that every other being is their brother. That love may tread out anger and that peace may reign throughout this earth. May Thy kingdom indeed be made manifest and may each man know and recognize it. May they come Father into Thy kingdom, with love, with blessings and with thanksgiving. All praise be to Thee who art greater than all.
Good night my friends, God bless you. I salute you.
Four Spirit Teachers | Introduction | Forword | Next Chapter