,transcriber's ,note3 struck-through text is indicated like this4 ,,the ,,seven ,,purposes ,the ,,seven ,,purposes ,an ,experience in ,psychic ,phenomena ,,by ,,margaret ,,cameron ,illustration ,harper ,brothers ,publishers ,new ,york and ,london ,,the ,,seven ,,purposes ,copyright1 #aiah1 by ,harper ,brothers ,printed in the ,united ,states of ,america ,published ,october1 #aiah 8,that is what we hope to establish as a recognized truth in your life there2 that a force as yet unknown to science is operating between the planes1 and can be developed and used in your life40 8,a force compared to which electricity is spring water40 8,some day your scientists will discover and prove by experiment certain laws now unrecognized40 8,if you will only believe and know that ,i am not dead40 8,come1 all ye who struggle and strive6 ,perceive once and forever the purpose of life4 ,join now the forces of construction1 and bring to all men brotherhood40 8,a great brotherhood is only possible when its component parts are great40 8,forget the class and remember the man4 ,forget the price and remember the pearl4 ,forget the labor and remember the fruit4 ,forget the temple and remember ,god40 ,,introduction ,twenty-five years or more ago my attention was attracted to the entertaining possibilities of a planchette1 and1 like other young persons1 ,i played with one at intervals for several years4 ,like others1 also1 ,i speculated concerning the source of the remarkable statements sometimes obtained in this way1 but the assumption that these statements were dictated by disembodied personalities always seemed to me rather absurd4 ,at no time has my interest in the matter been sufficient to lead me to read anything describing or discussing psychic phenomena1 with the exception of an occasional magazine article4 ,neither have ,i read philosophies to any extent4 ,i have been always a busy person1 taking life at first hand1 without much regard to what students have said about it4 ,such faith as ,i have had in anything1 human or divine1 has been based upon works1 and1 without convincing demonstration1 it has been impossible for me to be sure that individual life continued4 ,after the beginning of the war1 however1 when interest in the possible survival of the individual was so suddenly and pathetically increased1 and one heard on every hand of attempts to establish communication with those gone before1 ,i resolved to experiment again with planchette2 but it was not until our friend ,v---- expressed a desire to try it with me1 sometime in #aiag1 that ,i really bought one4 ,for almost a year it lay untouched in its box1 and when finally we found opportunity to test it we had no success4 ,it did not move from the spot where we placed it1 and ,i made no attempt to try it alone4 ,several weeks later1 two friends1 ,mrs4 ,wylie and ,miss ,gaylord1 told me that they had been making efforts1 through some one near their home1 to get into touch with their brother ,frederick1 with results they thought promising4 ,a day or two later we tried planchette together1 with some success4 ,it moved briskly1 wrote 8,frederick 444 mother 444 love 444 happy 4440 and other detached words4 ,it also persisted in making little circles1 perhaps two inches in diameter1 the pencil tracing the circumference again and again4 ,this was so often repeated that ,mrs4 ,wylie thought it might be a symbol1 but could obtain no satisfactory reply to questions about it4 ,my friends went home without renewing the experiment1 and my interest was not greatly stimulated4 ,it seemed quite probable that the words written had reflected the thoughts and desires of ,frederick's sisters1 and that the whole episode could be explained by the theory of unconscious response by the muscles of the hand to the prompting of the subconscious mind4 ,i had dismissed the matter1 as far as my own participation in it was concerned1 when a letter came from ,mrs4 ,gaylord1 saying that her daughters had told her ,i had 8mediumistic power10 and suggesting that ,i might be able to help her4 ,i knew that the exceeding bitterness of her grief lay1 not in the separation from her only son1 but in her inability to believe that his identity and development continued1 and that the assurance that he had not 8gone out1 like a snuffed candle10 as she afterward expressed it1 would bring her the greatest--indeed1 the only possible comfort4 ,therefore ,i replied at once that while ,i had no reason to believe that ,i possessed 8mediumistic power0 to the slightest degree1 ,i would make further experiments1 at the same time warning her that the attempt would probably prove fruitless4 ,the following pages contain a partial history of the result4 ,it was soon evident that certain of these revelations were of too great moment to be withheld from public knowledge4 ,in addition1 while much of the more intimate personal matter has been omitted1 most of those to whom these messages were given have felt impelled to share1 in this tragic time1 the comfort and assurance of their conviction1 and have voluntarily yielded their privacy1 hoping thereby to bring to those in sorrow an added faith in the continuance of personality1 with all that this implies4 ,to facilitate reference1 and to avoid breaking the sequence of the twelve impersonal communications forming the basis of the whole revelation1 this report has been arranged in three parts4 ,first1 the genesis and rapid development of the individual message1 brief at first1 and purely personal1 but growing both in volume and in import with each day4 ,second1 the ,lessons4 ,third1 additional individual messages1 no less personal in their original application than the first1 but more impressive in their wider human appeal and significance1 illuminating and emphasizing the meaning of the ,lessons4 ,for obvious reasons1 the names and initials used have been substituted for those of the persons involved1 with three or four exceptions4 ,part ,i 8,that is the eternal battle1 between the purposes of progress and building1 and the purposes of disintegration4 ,it goes on in your life1 and it goes on less bitterly in ours4 ,help me build as we began1 toward the great unity40 8,this is the battle to which we call you and all who are for progress40 ,i ,my first serious attempt to establish communication through planchette with a person or persons in a life beyond ours was made ,sunday morning1 ,march #c1 #aiah4 ,not so very serious an attempt1 either1 for ,i anticipated no success1 and was not without a humorous appreciation of my position1 sitting with my hand on a toy1 inviting communication with celestial powers4 ,i remember laughing a little1 as ,i pictured the sardonic glee with which certain of my friends would be likely to regard such a proceeding4 ,perhaps this is as good a time as any to say that ,i was seeking a stranger4 ,i never saw ,frederick4 ,when our friendship with his parents began they lived in one city1 we in another1 and he in a third and more distant one1 where he was first a reporter and later a political and editorial writer on the staff of a leading newspaper4 ,i knew that he was young1 successful1 a bachelor1 and singularly devoted to his family1 as they to him4 ,but his habits of thought and speech had never been described to me1 at first because it was expected that we would meet1 and in the much closer intimacy of our later acquaintance1 because the pain of his loss was so poignant that no member of the family could speak of him with composure4 ,i had never seen a photograph of him1 even4 ,after perhaps twenty minutes1 during which planchette did not move1 ,i left the paper--a roll of blank wall-paper1 called lining-paper1 which ,i found years ago to offer the most continuous and satisfactory surface for use with planchette--spread over the table1 and went into another room1 intending to return later4 ,but ,i forgot it1 and only when ,i was putting things in order for the night did ,i re-enter that room and remember my promise to ,mrs4 ,gaylord4 ,i decided to make one more attempt1 that ,i might be able to tell her positively that ,i had been unsuccessful4 ,all other members of the household were away--,cass at ,atlantic ,city1 recuperating from an illness--and ,i was entirely alone in the apartment4 ,for some minutes planchette was motionless1 but almost immediately ,i felt the curious sense of vitality1 very difficult to describe1 that precedes movement4 ,it is like touching something alive and feeling its latent power4 ,presently it began to move4 ,unfortunately no exact record of those first messages was kept1 and this report of them is taken from my letters to ,cass1 written immediately after each interview1 and from the typewritten record begun a week or ten days afterward1 in which was included what ,i could remember of details not written to him4 ,at first there was little capitalization1 but within a few days capitals were used freely4 ,the punctuation throughout has been added1 except in cases noted4 ,from a letter dated ,monday morning1 ,march #dth3 444 ,instead of doing the usual loop sort of thing1 it made straight runs across the table4 ,i asked1 8,are you ready to write80 8,yes40 ,then1 as nearly as ,i can remember1 it went like this3 8,are you ,frederick80 8,no40 8,are you ,mary ,kendal80 8,no40 8,are you ,anne ,lowe80#a 8,no40 8,did ,i know you in life here80 8,yes40 8,recently80 8,no40 8,are you my father80 ,at this it ran sharply toward me1 point first1 but for some time did not reply1 perhaps because ,i so hoped it would write 8yes40 ,eventually1 however1 it wrote a very clear and uncompromising 8,no40 8,can you tell me who you are80 8,yes4 ,mary40 8,mary ,kendal80 8,no40 8,which ,mary8 ,what ,mary80 8,mary 4440 followed by a character that might have been either ,k or ,h1 but looked more like ,k4 8,mary ,kendal80 8,no40 8,tell me again40 8,mary ,k40 8,mary ,k480 8,yes40 ,planchette was down at the lower right-hand corner of the table when ,i asked the last question1 and it swung to the center1 writing that 8yes0 very quickly and firmly4 8,my ,mary ,k480 8,yes 444 yes 444 yes40 ,her name was ,mary ,katherine ,m----1 but ,i always called her ,mary ,k4 ,she has been dead sixteen years or more4 ,over and over she insisted that she was ,mary ,k4 ,sometimes1 in pauses1 with the casters hardly moving at all1 the thing would write 8,mary10 in tiny script1 but round and clear4 ,i asked if there were any message1 and it wrote1 8,mon 44410 trailing off into a series of waves1 a good many times4 ,i guessed ,monday 444 money 444 ,mons 4441 but always the answer was1 8,no40 ,finally it wrote 8man0 very clearly4 ,i could not get more for quite a while4 ,finally came1 8,many thanks40 8,thanks for what80 8,for knowing40 ,i asked if ,frederick or ,anne were there4 8,no40 8,any message80 8,yes40 8,for whom80 8,broth 44410 trailing off again4 ,this several times4 8,brother80 8,yes40 8,where80 8,albany40 8,his name80 8,james40 8,james ,m----80 8,no40 ,this was confusing4 8,where80 ,beginning apparently with ,u1 the writing trailed off4 ,finally made out 8,united 44410 but no more4 ,then ,i remembered that ,mary ,k4's only brother was killed in an accident1 years before she went over herself4 ,i said so1 and the thing began making loops4 ,that used to be planchette's way of laughing at me4 8,why did you say that80 8,joke40 ,this was not at all like ,mary ,k4 ,she had a fine mind and was not given to buffoonery4 ,i have since thought that she might have been trying to get over a message to some other person's brother4#b 8444 ,can you get word from ,frederick ,gaylord80 8,yes40#c 8,will you come again80 8,yes40 8,have you been trying all these years to get into touch with me80 8,no40 8,will you help me make a bridge between those on your side and those here80 8,no40 ,then immediately it went back and wrote1 8,yes10 over the 8,no40 ,very curious4 ,after a long pause1 ,i said ,i would go to bed1 if there were nothing more1 and it wrote1 quickly1 8,go40 ,i said1 8,good night40 8,good night4 ,god bless you40 ,i asked again if this were ,mary ,k41 and got the same quick 8,yes40 ,then ,i put planchette away and came out to my room4 ,it was one o'clock4 ,three before ,i went to sleep4 ,can you imagine anything more weird than my sitting here alone in the middle of the night1 with that thing fairly racing under my fingers part of the time1 insisting it was nobody ,i expected8 ,claiming to be a very dear old friend1 but the last ,i should expect under the circumstances4 ,it was certainly queer1 but ,i am very sure something outside of myself was doing it4 ,i shall try again to-night4 ,from a letter dated ,monday evening1 ,march #dth3 ,i have just had another amazing try at planchette4 ,this time it was ,mary ,kendal1 writing one word at a time4 8,let 444 ,manse#d 444 know 444 ,i 444 am 444 here44440 ,she gave me several intimate messages for him1 and when ,i finally said ,i would write and ask him to come1 so she could tell him herself1 she wrote1 8,yes 444 yes 444 yes10 very quickly4 ,what do you make of this8 ,isn't it the queerest thing you ever heard of8 ,in the midst of her talk1 another hand took hold1 very brisk and energetic4 8,not ,mary80 8,no40 8,perhaps ,frederick80 8,yes40 8,message80 8,yes4 ,mother40 8,anything more80 8,happy40 8,more yet80 8,only love40 ,then he was gone1 and ,mary came again1 writing 8,miss ,a----1 messenger10 many times4 ,later1 ,frederick interrupted to write one word1 8family40#e ,then another hand began writing 8,annie ,manning10 over and over1 and1 8tell ,manning40 ,i said that ,i knew no ,manning4 ,how find him8 ,answer1 8,question40 ,i did not know what that meant4444 ,there was a lot more1 but ,i am too tired to write it to-night4 ,b---- ,gaylord telephoned to-night4 ,she is either coming to ,new ,york ,thursday or going to ,atlantic ,city1 if ,i am there4444 ,this is the most amazing thing that ever happened to me6 ,to-night it was as if several were trying to talk at once4 ,i am almost afraid to have ,b4 ,g4 come1 yet it was for her sake that ,i began this4 ,it seems too indefinite and unsatisfactory4 ,but at least she can be sure ,i am not faking it4 ,something outside of me does it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,that same evening ,i wrote to ,mansfield ,kendal1 though what his attitude toward this situation would be ,i could not even guess4 ,we had known him well for several years1 but our numerous discussions had never touched questions of religious faith and a future life4 ,a man of extensive reading and of wide interests1 supplemented by long residence abroad1 he has been engaged for years in the executive conduct of large engineering and agricultural enterprises4 ,i knew him to be intellectually open-minded4 ,but ,i also knew him to be a devoted adherent of the orthodox ,church1 giving much time and thought to its support1 and ,i was afraid that an assumption on my part of ability to communicate with the departed might offend some deep and reverent sense in him4 ,therefore1 while ,i wrote him fully of my surprising experience1 giving him ,mary's messages1 ,i promised at the same time never to force the subject in conversation1 should he prefer not to discuss it4 ,subsequently1 impelled by ,mary's continued insistence1 ,i wrote several other letters to him1 which1 like the first1 were sent to his club in ,new ,york ,city1 as ,i knew him to be traveling in the ,middle ,west and thought they would reach him more quickly in this way than if sent to his business headquarters in the ,south4 ,thus1 curiously1 ,i found myself vicariously engaged in a double search for a mother on this plane seeking her son on the next1 and for a wife on the next plane seeking her husband here1 and it is significant that1 of the two1 ,mary ,kendal was the more insistent4 ,as she said1 later1 8,we know how much it means40 ,from a letter to ,cass1 dated ,tuesday morning1 ,march #eth3 ,another evening with ,mary6 ,h4 dined with me4 ,i told her something about planchette1 and she wanted to see it work4444 ,this time it wrote1 8,mary ,kendal10 at once1 and1 8,tell ,manse ,i love him4444 ,tell him ,miss ,a---- is messenger from some one he knows4444 ,mentally beautiful people are fearless4444 ,faith is fearlessness4444 ,mannerisms are essential to recognition40 ,some of these took a long time to work out4 ,h4 asked1 8,do you mind my being here80 8,excellent portent40 ,i asked why4 8,intellectual interest40 ,h4 said1 8,you mean that you are glad to have intelligent people interested80 8,yes40 ,when we were talking about ,h4's interest1 it wrote1 8,tell others40 ,this was repeated several times4 8,i am a missionary10 came as clearly as ,i have written it here4 ,we asked if she meant a missionary from that life to this4 8,yes40 ,at the end she again urged ,h4 to tell others4 ,i laughed1 saying1 8,tell as many others as you like about the experience1 but don't tell too many that it came through me40 8,sorry40 8,sorry that ,i am unwilling to be overwhelmed by a flood of curiosity and hysteria80 8,sorrow40 ,i said ,i would be glad to help people in sorrow4 8,sorrowful people suffer40 ,isn't that like ,mary ,kendal8 ,when ,h4 was leaving1 it wrote3 8,good night4 ,tell others40 ,after she had gone ,i went back1 and got another movement entirely4 8,frederick80 8,yes40 ,he seems to have more difficulty in writing than she does4 ,is very clear at first1 but becomes illegible sooner4 8,do you know that your mother is coming80 8,yes4444 ,wish to make her at peace40 ,i said ,i wished to make her at peace1 too1 and would do all ,i could1 and he wrote1 8,thank you40 99 99 99 99 99 ,as has been said1 ,cass had been ill1 and his improvement after going to ,atlantic ,city had not been as rapid as we had hoped it might be4 ,a letter received from him on ,tuesday reported a slight relapse1 and promised a telegram on ,wednesday4 ,it had been arranged that ,i should join him if he needed me4 ,from a letter dated ,wednesday evening1 ,march #fth3 ,your letter and wire both came after four1 though the letters usually arrive with the first mail in the morning4 ,i was getting a little anxious4 ,went to planchette and asked ,mary ,kendal whether she knew anything about you4 ,she said you were better to-day and that a letter was coming1 but that ,i must go to ,atlantic ,city4#f ,frederick also came1 seeming very anxious lest the meeting with his mother fail4 ,wrote 8message0 several times1 and by dint of some questioning ,i found it was not a message he wished to send1 but one he wished me to send to her about coming at once4 ,wrote of her 8mental anguish10 an expression ,i never should have used myself1 and wanted her to join me at ,atlantic ,city4 ,knew nothing about you1 but was keen to meet her4 ,later1 he seemed to go1 and ,mary ,kendal wrote a little4 ,then came something very hard to get4 ,over and over we tried4 8,com 444 come 444 comf 444 comp44440 ,i suggested various words4 ,always the answer was 8,no40 ,finally1 very clearly and slowly1 8,comfort dear ,mother40 ,after the ,m of the last word ,i expected ,manse1 as ,i thought ,mary was still writing4 ,when it proved to be 8,mother10 ,i said1 8,is this ,frederick80 8,yes40 ,i promised again to do all ,i could4 ,he wrote1 8,thank you10 and went4 ,it is an amazing experience6444 ,to sit all alone here and have that foolish toy move firmly and definitely under my hands1 write things ,i have to puzzle out1 sign names of persons who are what we call 8dead10 and beg me to send messages to those they love--all this is startling and deeply impressive4 ,deeply moving4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the next day ,i joined ,cass at ,atlantic ,city4 ,he had never seen a planchette used1 and was much interested in the whole matter4 ,in the evening we experimented1 and 8,mary ,kendal0 was written at once4 ,he exclaimed1 8,god bless you1 ,mary ,kendal60 8,god bless you1 too4 ,tell ,manse ,i love him4 ,don't fail to tell him that40 ,during all the preceding days this had been her constant plea4 ,repeatedly ,i assured her that ,i had told him1 and as often she urged1 8,tell him again40 ,then came a strong1 brisk movement1 to and fro1 for a space of about five inches4 ,i asked if this were ,frederick1 and received an affirmative answer1 after which planchette ran about1 as if in uncontrollable excitement1 presently pausing to write3 8,you are a trump60 ,we laughed1 and he added1 8,you bet60 ,as we had never known ,frederick1 and were unaware at that time of the continuance of what some one familiar with this experience has defined as 8the subtleties of personality10 this enthusiastic use of slang was startling4 ,when ,i asked if he had thought ,i would fail him1 he replied1 8,no1 but ,i was afraid ,mother would not come40 ,the next day ,mrs4 ,gaylord told me that when ,frederick begged me1 on ,wednesday1 to send her a message about coming at once1 she had almost decided to postpone her visit until after our return to ,new ,york4 ,more running about followed1 during which ,cass said that it was a pity to obliterate the earlier messages in that way4 ,planchette then swung back to a clear space and wrote clearly1 8,mother is coming60 ,beneath this1 the bow-knot flourish we have since learned to associate with ,frederick4 8,you are a brick60 was a later comment4 ,when ,cass said he had thought the last word would be friend1 ,frederick concluded3 8,friend1 too4 ,thank you a million times40 99 99 99 99 99 ,an interesting1 but rather confusing1 feature of these earlier communications was the constant interruption by ,annie ,manning4 ,on all occasions1 frequently even breaking into messages from some other person1 she wrote her name and her one request18,tell ,manning40 ,during this period1 also1 ,i repeatedly asked ,frederick to give me a message for his father1 and was unable to account for his invariable refusal4 ,once1 ,i asked ,mary ,kendal if she had no message for me1 personally1 and she returned1 8,yes1 believe10 which seemed1 at the moment1 somewhat cryptic1 though the relation of my faith to the full development of this intercourse was afterward explained4 ,thursday night1 at the end of the fifth day1 ,i was fairly certain that ,i had established communication with three definite and recognizable personalities on the next plane1 but ,i dreaded ,mrs4 ,gaylord's arrival the following day1 lest these fragmentary messages fail either to convince or to comfort her4 ,,ii ,the next morning1 ,friday1 ,march #hth1 before giving ,frederick an opportunity to communicate with his mother1 ,i read her my letters to ,cass1 wishing her to know just what had occurred and my attitude toward it4 ,then we turned to planchette4 ,from this point1 the account is taken from the original manuscript4 ,at first we did not realize the importance of writing in our questions1 some of which we were unable to remember later4 ,during those first days1 also1 the messages were sometimes confused by other messages written over them1 or by lines and circles done in apparent excitement and joy1 and were impossible to decipher afterward4 ,frederick's writing1 from the first moment with his mother1 was quick and firm--at that time the most rapid and consecutive ,i had ever seen done through planchette1 although in comparison with later communications these were slow and fragmentary4 8,mother dearest10 he began1 immediately1 without question or comment from either of us4 ,she told me that this had been his name for her1 which ,i had not known4 ,he went on1 writing eagerly1 with brief pauses between phrases4 8,i am here1 dearest4444 ,just believe4444 ,mother1 you do believe1 don't you8444 ,tell me you do40 ,after replying to some questions1 he began making the small circles first noticed during the preliminary episode when his sisters were in ,new ,york4 ,i asked what they meant4 8,joy4444 ,don't fail to make her believe40 ,i reminded him that this was his responsibility1 and he added1 8,you and ,i40 ,a question of which there is no record drew this reply3 8,yes1 busy every minute4444 ,work is so interesting4444 ,i love you just the same4444 ,go home when ,i can4444 ,tell ,dad ,i am with him 444 helping all ,i can 444 ,i am so glad you came4444 ,i was afraid you would not4444 ,go home in peace1 ,mother dearest4 ,i am alive and happy and busy and well40 ,she said it was like him to sum it all up that way4 8,of course it is like me4 ,it is #8me4'0 ,some personal comment concerning members of the family followed1 in the midst of which ,annie ,manning interrupted with her invariable1 8,tell ,manning40 ,asked if she had any connection with the ,gaylord family1 she said1 8,no1 good-by10 and ,frederick resumed his sentence where it had been broken off4 ,throughout this and subsequent interviews ,mrs4 ,gaylord and ,i kept up a running conversation1 impossible to reproduce here--my hand still resting on planchette--to which ,frederick frequently contributed a remark1 precisely as if he had been present in the flesh4 ,again1 he would break a pause by addressing some characteristic statement or appeal to his mother1 sometimes1 she told me afterward1 answering her unspoken thought4 ,over and over he begged her to say that she was convinced of his presence and identity1 and at last she gave him this assurance4 8,oh1 thank ,god60 ,he made strong circles1 before running up to a clear space some inches above1 to add1 8,tell ,dad40 ,for the first time1 a possible explanation of his inexorable refusal to give me a message for his father occurred to me1 and when ,i asked1 he said1 8,yes1 ,i want to reach them through her40 ,he told her not to think of him as he had been during the months of his last illness1 saying3 8,forget all that4 ,it is over1 and ,i am well and strong1 and happier than ever--now40 ,when we wondered whether it had distressed him to be unable to communicate with his family1 he said1 8,yes1 ,i needed that40 8,will you talk every day1 you and she80 he asked1 presently4 8,thank you40 8,mrs4 ,gaylord1 ,frederick is a fine force10 followed immediately1 in a more running script1 and when ,i said this must be ,mary ,kendal1 the answer was3 8,yes4 ,tell ,manse ,i love him4444 ,tell him again40 8,he doesn't need to be told that10 ,i assured her1 as ,i had so many times before4 ,and again she returned3 8,yes1 he does4 ,there are reasons4 ,tell him40 ,i promised to write to him once more1 and she continued3 8,mrs4 ,gaylord1 ,frederick wants you to be sure that he is doing more here than he could there4 ,you should not grieve for that1 should you8 ,you have a fearless mind in other things4 ,trust for that4 ,good-by40 8,mother dearest1 that was ,mrs4 ,kendal10 ,frederick resumed1 with his more vigorous movement4 8,she is a missionary1 and a fine force40 ,noticing the repetition of this word1 ,i asked1 8,you say force1 not spirit80 8,no1 force is what moves things40 ,to his mother's inquiry about a friend1 he replied3 8,he is here with me1 working4 ,bob's little girl is here1 too40 ,she told me that a medium visited by his sisters had described him with a little girl1 saying that he wanted them to 8tell ,bob40 ,i had heard this from them1 also1 and the subject recurred later4 8,yes10 he acquiesced4 8,same child40 ,when she expressed her belief that he was still alive and growing1 promising that she would be happier in future1 he said3 8,thank you1 ,mother dearest4 ,that is all ,i need4 ,tell ,dad to be happy1 too4 ,i am with him4 ,he has not lost a son4 ,i am better and bigger and more useful than ,i ever could have been there1 but ,i have been sorry you suffered so much40 8,have you been trying recently to let us know you were with us80 she inquired4 8,yes1 for months4 ,at first ,i could not40 ,he said that ,mary ,kendal had found him for us1 and when ,i mentioned that ,mary ,k4 had come first to me1 he explained3 8,yes1 she is more used to it4 ,she found ,mrs4 ,kendal1 and she told me40 8,you had better get your lunch10 he suggested1 after a pause1 rousing us from our complete absorption to a consciousness that it was late4 ,mrs4 ,gaylord denied being hungry1 but he warned her--characteristically1 ,i learned afterward1 8,you will have a headache1 ,mother dearest1 if you don't40 ,after luncheon we went out for a walk1 and then to our respective rooms to rest1 the morning having been fatiguing in its emotional strain4 ,planchette and paper had been left in ,mrs4 ,gaylord's room1 and in the afternoon1 while ,cass and ,i were still alone1 ,i picked up a lead-pencil and placed its point on a sheet of letter-paper1 expecting no response4 ,to my great surprise1 ,i was conscious almost instantly of its vitality4 ,the sensation is comparable to that of holding a quiet1 live bird1 wrapped in a handkerchief1 its energy muffled but palpable4 ,sometimes this sensation of a current from without is communicated to the hand and arm1 sometimes only to the fingers4 ,in a short time the pencil moved1 writing1 8,mary ,kendal10 followed by the usual messages for ,manse4 ,cass asked whether it annoyed them to be questioned1 or interfered with things they might wish to tell us4 8,no1 it does not interfere4 ,we are here to tell you what we can1 but we cannot tell everything4444 ,you have the right to know what we can tell you4444 ,you are getting nearer the big things every day40 ,this made ,cass wonder whether 8the big things0 would come to us in this life or the next1 and she added3 8,both4 ,you begin there and keep on growing4 ,as soon as you are ready1 big truths are shown to you40 ,addressing me1 he made some allusion to what 8she0 had said1 suggesting that it seemed to support a theory he had once held1 that this world is one of elimination4 8,no1 it is one of growth10 was her answer4 8,and #8she' is trying to tell you that growth begins there and does not stop4 ,it goes on and on1 as long as you are worthy40 8,then unworthiness kills80 8,it does not kill4 ,it defers40 ,weeks afterward1 it was interesting to turn back to these early pages of the record and find how much of the wide significance of later revelations had been foreshadowed from the first4 8,are you as eager for this communication as we are80 8,we are more eager1 because we know how much it means4 ,we know that more truth can be taught this way than any other40 ,cass turned to ,mrs4 ,gaylord1 who had rejoined us1 saying that this seemed to imply that they were our superiors4 8,no1 we are your elders10 said ,mary ,kendal4 ,as has generally been the case during these interviews1 we were talking among ourselves1 frequently going on with our conversation while the pencil wrote4 ,some one wondered how or why they had time or desire to leave their presumably more important work to talk to us4 8,because we are all humans1 after all10 ,mary responded1 8and it is our work to help1 just as it is yours4 ,many people do not want to help1 here or there4444 ,this life is just a continuation of yours under happier conditions40 8,are you happier there than you were here1 ,mary80 8,yes1 except for ,manse40 ,mrs4 ,gaylord asked whether a man who had loved books1 and had always kept himself surrounded by them in this life1 would find that interest there4 8,no10 ,mary said1 8but we have its equivalent interest40 ,mrs4 ,gaylord then explained that the medium already mentioned had described ,frederick to his sisters as surrounded by books4 8,he told her that to identify himself1 as characteristic40 ,in this connection1 an incident occurring three months later is interesting4 ,one night1 about the middle of ,june1 a group of us had been talking for some time1 through my pencil1 with friends on the next plane1 when one of the women announced that she could see distinctly a large man's hand resting upon the hand of a man present4 ,the person in question--a hard-headed1 practical business man1 successfully conducting large affairs--looked startled1 saying that he had noticed a peculiar sensation in that hand1 and asked whether a friend1 whom he named1 was actually present4 8,yes10 was the reply through the pencil4 8,r---- saw4 ,i manifested physical attributes for a minute4 ,i have no hands1 but ,i can imagine them and project them in your minds1 occasionally40 ,no one else saw the hand1 and at no other time in my experience has anything of this kind occurred4 ,i asked ,mary ,kendal whether they preferred planchette or pencil1 and she said1 8,it is easier for us this way40 ,therefore1 except on one memorable occasion1 all later writing has been done with a pencil4 ,for the information of persons interested in physical details1 it may be explained that ,i generally use a long pencil1 which is held erect1 almost at right angles to the paper1 the fingers clasping it lightly two or three inches from its point1 the hand and arm entirely unsupported4 ,in the very rapid writing that has sometimes been done1 and occasionally in moments of great eagerness or emotion1 the force propelling the pencil--which seems to be applied sometimes above1 sometimes below my hand--has forced it to a sharply acute angle in relation to the surface of the paper4 ,from the first1 ,i have used right and left hands alternately1 and the writing1 with exceptions so few as to be negligible1 has been done in rather large script on wall-paper1 many rolls of which have been covered4 ,one of the exceptions to the use of wall-paper was this first experiment with a pencil1 when loose sheets of letter-paper were used1 and as many of them were missing when ,i tried to assemble them the next day1 much of this interview has been lost4 8,frederick1 shall we ever have our holidays again80 ,mrs4 ,gaylord asked1 in the evening4 8,just as many holidays as you will take10 he replied4 8,i am always there on high days and holidays4 ,why leave me out80 ,this was the first time he made an interrogation point4 ,it was traced slowly and with great precision1 as if to emphasize his inquiry4 ,his mother then explained to us that the celebration of certain festivals1 which had always been days of family reunion1 notably ,christmas and ,easter1 had been impossible to them since his death4 ,shortly afterward he expanded this theme4 ,that night ,mrs4 ,gaylord telegraphed to her husband that she had received messages for him and for the family4 ,she said1 as other members of the family have said since1 that there was in everything ,frederick had written a familiar and convincing sense of his personality1 a quality which we were unable to recognize1 never having known him4 ,the next day he announced1 buoyantly3 8,mother dearest1 ,i am here4 ,thank you for wiring ,dad4 ,made him happier40 ,greatly comforted by the conviction of her son's continued life and development and devotion1 ,mrs4 ,gaylord's thought was already turning to other bereaved and suffering mothers1 and more than once she expressed her desire to share with them her new knowledge1 urging me to make preparations for the publication of the messages she was sure ,frederick would give us1 to which1 for personal reasons1 ,i demurred4 ,we asked ,frederick whether he thought it should be published1 and he replied in the affirmative4 ,after some discussion1 leaving me still unconvinced1 he resumed his appeal to his mother4 8,you will be happy now1 won't you8 ,you can't be sorry ,i am so much better off and more useful4 ,i get your thoughts and you get mine1 only you don't recognize them always as mine4 ,you will now40 8,is there any way ,i can know when you are with me80 she asked4 8,you will learn1 now you know ,i am there4 ,i can't tell you how1 but you will learn4 ,that is part of this big knowledge1 dearest4 ,you are both just beginning1 but1 like other knowledge1 growth is rapid1 once begun4 ,you will meet skeptics1 who will laugh1 but don't be disturbed4 ,this is the next big revelation1 and you are with the first over the top40 8,are you still interested in the war80 she asked1 and the reply came with great vigor4 8,yes4 ,how can anybody help that8 ,it is great and hideous and wonderful1 and the salvation of the civilized world4 ,something had to wake the souls of most men4 ,they have been quiet too long4 ,growth is always struggle4 ,it is hard struggle there1 because you don't see far ahead4 ,we see farther--much farther--and it is easier to climb40 8,was the war the fault of the ,germans1 or the result of world conditions80 8,both4 ,the ,germans had long been obsessed by a lust of power1 and the rest of the world by a lust of ease and money1 and individual interests4 ,there has been real unity of purpose only in ,germany40 ,when she said that this thought of ,germany's unity had been much in her mind of late1 he added1 quickly1 8,that was ,i1 ,mother dearest1 trying to tell you what ,i could of what ,i know40 ,a long talk on personal topics followed1 during which he referred to me as a 8messenger10 explaining ,mary ,kendal's previous use of the word4 ,by this time1 many of the messages were conveyed to my consciousness before the pencil wrote them4 ,sometimes ,i had no previous impression of them2 sometimes only the meaning reached me1 being expressed by the pencil in other phrases2 sometimes ,i knew what the words would be4 ,i mentioned this1 with some misgiving1 and ,frederick dryly remarked3 8,you are very sensitive for so obstinate a person40 ,referring to his earlier statement about ,germany1 ,cass asked3 8,what would national unity of purpose lead to8 ,hasn't it elements of great danger80 8,many men feel that unity of purpose is dangerous1 but it is up to men 444 to guide the purpose to sane and right ends4 ,it must come through the awakening of the souls of the people everywhere4 ,we work for that here1 because the growth of the part is the growth of the whole4 ,you can help us and all life by working for that unity with us40 ,this was the first intimation1 apparently personal and casual1 of that gospel of unity and co-operation so fully developed later4 8,mother dearest1 you are normally a builder10 he went on1 after a little4 8,now clear away the dbris of things outlived1 and begin the new structure with me40 ,she replied that she had been feeling for some time that she must free her life of many small1 insistent demands1 and have time to think4 8,not only that1 dearest4 ,you must get out of shadow into light4 ,out of mourning into building4 ,out of black into color and life4 ,out of grieving into joy with me in our work together4 ,it is not that ,i object to black10 he continued1 when she expressed her unwillingness to lay aside her black dress1 8but to a symbol of mourning4 ,sorrow is not constructive1 after it has done its first big work4 ,leave it behind and go on4 ,can't you do that8 ,won't you please try8444 ,as for me1 this is a great time to be here4 ,think what this war means here4 ,we are busier than you are4 ,there1 ,i should be in the army1 ,i suppose4 ,i am doing bigger work than that here4 ,just now1 ,i am on a sort of furlough1 to visit with you4 ,that is permitted4 ,but when ,i go back to work ,i can't be with you all the time1 this way40 8,can you get into touch with my father1 who died years ago80 ,cass asked4 8,and do the young stay young1 and the old1 old80 8,i will try to find your father4 ,some of us go on into remoter places to work1 but almost all of us come back1 at intervals4 ,we are tremendously interested in life there1 for it is the root and beginning of all our work4 ,when things improve there1 they are just that much better here4444 ,age is a matter of experience here1 not of time40 8,does your work affect us in this world1 or only those joining you80 8,we try constantly to help you with our greater knowledge1 but some of you are easier to help than others40 ,this led to a question as to whether all our knowledge here is given to us from his plane1 and he went on3 8,not all4 ,we help develop what you are willing to work for1 if you are really sincere in wanting it4 ,sincerity is the crowning virtue40 ,we talked this over1 and in the midst of our discussion he interrupted with a question of his own3 8,mother dearest1 are you getting tired80 ,she denied it1 but he said1 8,she is tired10 and we talked no more that afternoon4 ,,iii ,shortly before dinner that night ,i picked up a pencil again1 and 8,mary ,kendal0 was immediately written4 ,it had become customary for her to write her name both at the beginning and at the end of her communication1 probably to avoid confusion with ,frederick4 8,manse is in ,new ,york10 she told us1 repeating it several times4 ,for some reason ,i questioned this1 and she said3 8,you must not doubt4 ,he is coming to-night40 8,are you happy1 ,mary80 ,cass asked4 8,very1 especially now1 since ,i am with you4 ,you can reach ,manzie40 ,keenly sympathizing with her eagerness to reach her husband1 from whom no word had come1 he suggested telephoning to ,mansfield at his club1 but ,i demurred1 feeling that1 if he were there1 he would receive my letters and communicate with us1 unless1 as ,i began to fear1 he preferred not to approach the subject in any way4 ,repeatedly1 however1 ,mary insisted 8,call him up10 and ,cass put in the long-distance call accordingly4 8,he is there4444 ,he will answer10 she reiterated again and again1 while we waited4 ,it is impossible to make a fully accurate report of this interview4 ,the messages were confused and broken1 and there were many monosyllabic replies to questions not recorded4 ,at one time we asked about ,anne ,lowe1 and ,mary said3 8,anne is not here4 ,she is a lovely character4 ,she works for children4444 ,manse is not there4444 ,manse is out4444 ,he will answer4444 ,he is not there40 ,eventually the long-distance operator reported that ,mr4 ,kendal was not at his club and was not expected4 ,i asked ,mary why she had said that he was there1 telling her that this was making me doubt my powers of correct transmission1 to which she replied that this was better than too much credulity1 adding3 8,manse is there4444 ,he is out of the club4444 ,he must be there40 ,we called up the ---- ,club a second time and ,i talked to the clerk1 who said ,mansfield ,kendal was not registered there1 nor had they been notified that he was coming4 ,long afterward we learned that he had expected to be there at that time1 but had been detained in the ,northwest by business4 ,meanwhile1 there was much confused writing from ,mary4 8,manse is in the club4444 ,he is not there4444 ,he must be there4444 ,he is out40 ,effort to write the name of a city was followed by1 8,minneapolis recently4444 ,manse will be there soon40 ,it was ,mansfield ,kendal himself who ultimately arrived at a possible explanation of some of these apparent inaccuracies1 ,mary having explained others meanwhile4 ,but at the time it was all very contradictory and confusing1 and after dinner ,cass demanded an explanation4 ,mary ,kendal came at once1 admitting that she had been wrong in saying that ,mansfield was at the club1 and asserting that she 8thought he would be40 8,didn't you know80 8,no40 ,again the messages are confused and fragmentary4 8,you must not doubt4444 ,he will be there soon 4440 are among those now decipherable1 each many times repeated4 ,she seemed profoundly distressed4 ,to ease the tension1 ,cass made a little joke1 eliciting no response from her1 whereupon he asked whether they retained a sense of humor over there4 8,yes1 but this is no time for humor4444 ,i am so afraid of missing ,manse40 ,again she urged me to write to him1 but ,i refused1 reminding her that ,i had made every possible advance until some reply to my letters should be received4 8,yes1 ,i know1 but it means so much6 ,you will help1 won't you80 ,knowing nothing then of the tremendous forces of attraction and repulsion unconsciously put into operation by persons ignorant of their existence1 and assuming--not unnaturally--that she must be able to learn at least as much about ,mansfield's whereabouts and condition as both she and ,frederick evidently knew about ours1 ,i was unable to understand1 even dimly1 the contradictions of the present situation1 and the cloud of it hung over me all that evening and the next day4 ,i was oppressed by a sense of my responsibility in conveying messages from sources seeming suddenly so uncertain4 ,following ,mary1 ,frederick came again1 his buoyancy undiminished4 8,mother dearest10 he began1 without question1 8,mrs4 ,kendal is true4 ,she is a fine force40 ,i rather held back on this1 and the writing was angular and unyielding4 8,there are things we cannot explain40 8,you have too little faith4 ,mary ,kendal40 ,this statement was made without preliminary comment1 and until she signed her name ,i thought ,frederick was writing4 ,i reminded her that she had made it impossible for me to trust her wholly4 8,i am sorry ,i shook your faith10 she said4 8,i welcome you to this relation1 and want you to believe40 8,mother dearest1 you know ,i am here1 don't you80 ,again ,frederick made his own interrogation point4 8,because ,i am1 and you will feel my presence more and more clearly as time goes on40 8,do you know all that we want to know80 ,cass inquired4 8,not all you want to know4 ,we know more than you do1 and will tell you all we can1 as soon as you are ready for it40 ,we were uncertain whether this meant mentally and spiritually ready1 or that we must learn the conditions through which they can best reach us1 and he explained4 8,we can tell you anything you are prepared to understand1 and the more you learn there the better you will do your work here40 8,are you still interested in politics here80 he was asked1 a little later4 8,oh yes4 ,but they are in a state of transition that is fearfully difficult to understand or to influence now4 ,the seed has been sown1 but the harvest is not yet garnered4 ,nobody knows what will come of it in this country40 8,are you conscious there of what people here call ,god80 his mother asked4 8,we are conscious of a great purpose4 ,some of us call it ,god4 ,i see it as light in dark places4 ,others see it as power4 ,others as love4 ,but we all recognize it as a purpose40 ,at luncheon that day we had spoken of ,prof4 ,william ,james and ,sir ,frederick ,myers1 and later in the evening ,mrs4 ,gaylord asked ,frederick whether he knew ,professor ,james4 8,i know him1 but ,i am not sure he knows me4 ,he is a great force1 and many of us go to him for help and instruction4 ,only one other man has the same sort of power4 ,that is ,sir ,frederick40 8,are you with people from this world only80 some one asked4 8,and does everybody go there1 or only a certain element80 8,there are people from this world only1 but it is as with you1 not all people are equally prepared4 ,growth is easier here if one has earned it there4 ,but not all have earned it1 and the penalty for laziness is long struggle4444 ,purgatory is not a bad definition of it4 ,the right to do big work must be earned4 ,some people have a terrible struggle of it4 ,their8 ,moral muscles are flabby40 8,do you agree with ,mary ,kendal that there is humor there1 but that this is no time for it80 8,oh1 she didn't mean that6 ,she meant that this particular crisis is not humorous to her4 ,she is deeply concerned to get into touch with him4444 ,good night1 ,mother dearest4 ,i'll be with you all night40 8,good night10 said ,mary ,kendal4 8,i'm sorry ,i upset you40 ,,iv ,the more ,i thought about the ,kendal affair the more perplexing it seemed1 and since ,i could neither question that ,mary ,kendal and ,frederick had actually communicated through me nor believe that she would wilfully deceive me1 there seemed no possible explanation of the episode ,saturday night1 except some unconscious influence of my own mind4 ,by the next afternoon ,i had almost persuaded myself that the repeated erroneous statements about ,mr4 ,kendal had been induced1 in some way not traceable1 by my increasing anxiety concerning his reception of the letters ,i had sent to his club4 ,after luncheon1 we took up the communication again1 and immediately1 without interrogation1 the pencil wrote1 8,you are a good messenger40 8,who is writing80 ,i asked4 8,frederick40 8,how much of this do ,i do1 and how much is yours80 8,you do very little4 ,mostly1 you lend a hand40 ,this is so literally what ,i do that we laughed4 8,you are by nature skeptical10 he continued4 8,mother dearest1 you must not let her make you doubt that ,i have said all these things40 8,it unsettles me when ,i know what the message is to be before it is written10 ,i persisted4 8,do you suggest it to me1 or ,i to you80 8,sometimes you suggest things to me and ,i say them10 he returned4 8,sometimes ,i don't40 ,this reassured me somewhat1 for ,i had frequently noticed that a thought strongly in my mind seemed to delay the pencil1 yet was not written4 ,returning for a moment to the discussion of politics1 ,cass asked3 8,by reason of our different environment1 am ,i not more interested in large details1 and you in large movements80 8,there can be no real movement without a mass of detail4 ,here we are interested equally in both4 ,they are inseparable40 8,you said yesterday that the seed had been sown and the harvest not yet garnered4 ,has the seed generally been good seed80 8,there is no telling how much of it will come up4 ,there has been seed1 good1 bad1 and indifferent1 sown in all sorts of soil4 ,the crop is not foreordained4 ,we work and hope40 8,is there anything in this life to any degree a counterpart of what you have there80 his mother inquired4 8,or is it something so wholly new that we can't even imagine it80 8,it is so much more expansive1 so much more beautiful and free1 that we can give you no conception of it40 8,perhaps it's better that we shouldn't know10 it was suggested2 and ,frederick's reply seems to hold a hint of humor4 8,it might make you envious40 ,when ,i wondered what became of suicides1 ,cass said1 8,they probably get the purgatory he mentioned yesterday40 8,that's what they get2 and it's a long1 hard road back to mental44440 ,the pencil hesitated4 ,after some efforts to write a word beginning with p or f--we were uncertain which--,mrs4 ,gaylord suggested1 8,poise80 8444 poise4 ,yes40 8,is there unconsciousness at first1 when you go over80 she asked4 8,it depends on circumstances and persons4 ,sometimes there is a period of unconsciousness4 ,i was conscious from the first moment1 and so happy to be here40 ,when ,cass interpreted this to mean that he greatly preferred being there1 he corrected3 8,no1 to be free4 ,but for the first weeks ,i was dazed by the bigness of it40 ,later in the afternoon ,frederick discussed with his mother various personal matters1 with a good deal of humor4 ,afterward1 more seriously1 he continued3 8,you'll do better work1 and be more open to suggestion from me1 if you don't dull yourself by too constant harping on one chord4 ,play a little1 you and ,dad40 ,she told him they had not been happy enough to play4 8,you will be happier now4 ,tell ,dad few men are as near their sons as he is to me4 ,he and all of you have only to learn to recognize me1 when ,i am trying to tell you ,i am there40 ,we spoke of her desire to receive his communications through her own pencil and he said that if she would 8keep on trying and believing10 he could talk directly to her before long1 as he has since demonstrated4 8,it is difficult for us to overcome doubt in a messenger10 he said4 8,faith is a positive force4 ,it helps us reach you4 ,doubt1 being negative1 hampers us40 ,this reminded me of ,mary ,kendal's first personal message to me1 8,believe40 8,are you hampered by my doubt to-day80 ,i asked4 8,no4 ,that is not doubt of us1 but of yourself4 ,it is a safeguard40 ,at this point we went to dinner4 ,later in the evening1 when we had returned to the pencil1 ,cass said3 8,you were facetious last night1 ,frederick1 so perhaps ,i may ask if you have dined80 8,i've had a feast of reason1 thank you10 was the instant retort4 ,asked whether the different races were represented where he was1 he replied3 8,we have groups4 ,people naturally divide themselves4 ,but not actual race distinction40 ,when ,cass explained that he had wondered whether peoples of widely differing religious beliefs1 ,christians1 ,confucians1 ,mohammedans1 and so on1 would be together there1 ,frederick continued3 8,certainly4 ,each group does its work more or less in its own way1 but all to the same purpose40 ,here again is a clear reference to conditions and forces of which we had then no knowledge and concerning which1 apparently1 he had at that time no authority to speak in detail4 ,mrs4 ,gaylord was sitting in silence1 at a little distance from the table4 ,after a pause1 ,frederick began again1 as if in answer to some unspoken thought3 8,mother dearest1 you will get what you are asking from me when we are all more accustomed4 ,margaret is afraid to let me handle her40 ,i said that the ,kendal episode the night before had disturbed me1 and that ,i had been careful all day not to yield to any impulse in the pencil unless it were very definite1 to which he returned3 8,that's all right4 ,you be as careful as you like1 as long as you don't deny us40 ,cass asked whether he could put us in touch with a friend on his plane1 one ,david ,bruce4 8,mary ,kendal can4 ,that is part of her work4 ,mother dearest1 you won't backslide80 ,mrs4 ,gaylord turned astonished eyes on me1 asking3 8,is #8backslide' a part of your ordinary vocabulary80 ,when ,i assured her that it was not1 she laughed1 saying that it was 8a ,gaylord word40 8,i'm not sure that ,i won't backslide when ,i get home again1 away from these daily messages10 she said4 8,then you come to us--,margaret and me4 ,we'll fix you60 ,he drew a circle around this1 as if to emphasize it4 ,when she wondered whether she might not find a messenger nearer home to give her occasional help1 he added3 8,you can get help1 but you can't trust everybody40 ,the pencil was moving slowly1 with many false starts and delays4 ,i asked whether he would prefer planchette1 and he said he would1 so his mother went to her room to get it1 while ,mary ,kendal talked to us about ,manse4 ,as soon as planchette was placed on the table1 however1 ,frederick took possession again1 moving it briskly back and forth1 in a space of about six inches1 as if warming it up4 ,mrs4 ,gaylord was then sitting opposite me1 and ,cass to the right1 some distance away4 ,suddenly planchette swung sharply down to the lower right-hand corner of the table1 from my position1 and addressing ,mrs4 ,gaylord directly--that is1 writing from right to left and upside down from my viewpoint1 so that his mother sitting opposite me read it as it came--,frederick wrote rapidly and strongly3 8,mother dearest1 this is your boy1 come back to stay40 ,we were astounded4 ,given a fresh surface1 planchette raced all over the sheet1 in energetic circles and flourishes4 ,it ran toward me1 point first1 as if it would leap off the table1 paused1 wheeled1 crossed toward ,mrs4 ,gaylord1 retreated1 darted to where her hand lay on the papers1 followed as she moved it1 and then resumed its apparently meaningless tracing of angles and circles4 ,when ,i said that ,i did not understand this performance1 the reply came with a whirl1 followed by one of his big flourishes4 8,i am trying to show you that ,i am running this myself60 ,then1 very rapidly1 upside down again to me3 8,you can't doubt this4 ,even ,margaret can't doubt this40 8,i haven't doubted that you were here1 ,frederick10 ,i said4 8,no1 but you've got to believe in me40 ,again ,i placed the instrument at my left1 in readiness to write1 as usual1 across the sheet1 but he had not finished4 ,swinging down to the right1 and moving toward the left1 once more reversed from my point of view1 he wrote3 8,mother dearest40 ,then he ran to the upper right-hand corner and wrote along that edge of the table3 8,now ,i'll do it this way1 ,mr4 ,l----40 ,in circles and flourishes he crossed1 to write along the left edge3 8,now ,i'll do it this way40 ,up then1 to the edge opposite me4 8,now ,i'll do it this way40 ,by this time the paper was completely covered with interlacing lines and words1 except a narrow margin along the right edge4 ,sliding over to this1 he wrote1 slowly1 8,now are you convinced80 ,we were amazed1 breathless1 and all somewhat moved by his determination to demonstrate his presence4 ,circling again to the center1 already so covered with lines that we had to watch the pencil-point to make out the message1 he said3 8,now get the pencil40 8,did ,i show you then who is running this80 he demanded1 when ,i had complied with his request4 8,mother dearest1 when you are inclined to backslide1 remember that little exhibition1 and ask yourself how you can doubt any manifestation of me that you perceive40 ,mrs4 ,gaylord said that it was peculiarly characteristic of ,frederick to insist upon making his point1 and in one way or another to succeed4 8,dad won't need to see that10 ,frederick stated1 when ,cass wished that his father might have witnessed this extraordinary performance1 8but if he does1 ,i'll do it for him with trimmings4444 ,he has not lost a son in any but the most superficial sense4 ,tell ,sis ,i'll do stunts for her1 too1 if she'll come where ,margaret is1 and ,babe can have her own show1 too40 ,again ,mrs4 ,gaylord gasped1 for he had used his own intimate names for his sisters1 neither of which ,i had ever heard before4 8,now were really getting down to business10 he remarked1 presently4 8,i had to convince ,margaret before she would loosen up40 ,cass began to explain that it had not been necessary to convince me1 but before he was fairly started the pencil ran on3 8,yes1 it was4 ,she didn't quite believe ,i was running this show4 ,now she's nice and amenable40 ,verily1 all resistance had been taken out of me6 ,thereafter he had his own way with the pencil4 ,cass began another question1 but broke off1 saying that it was not fair to keep ,frederick answering impersonal inquiries when he wanted to talk to his mother4 8,that's what it's all for10 was the candid admission4 8,the ,l----s are all right1 but it's for ,mother dearest and the ,family that ,i'm here4444 ,this isn't exactly what religious people call heaven1 but it is life eternal in the biggest sense4 ,but ,i can't be quite happy in it unless you whom ,i love so much are happy1 too4 ,don't you backslide6 ,only let me have a chance1 and ,i'll keep you convinced2 but doubt is the hardest thing to combat because it destroys the very proof we are trying to bring against it4 ,believe every suggestion of me until it is proved false40 ,one of us asked whether their greatest difficulties in communicating with us were caused by doubt or by dishonest messengers4 8,both4 ,it is hard to find a good messenger1 but1 having found one1 doubt is apt to destroy all his work40 8,all four points of the compass1 ,mother dearest40 ,this we took to be an allusion to his writing along the four edges of the table1 earlier in the evening4 8,you see1 we have not much time left1 and you must go home fortified and happy1 and glad for yourself and me4444 ,it will mean a lot to ,dad4 ,he has thought ,i was in some remote and far-off heaven1 and he will like to know that we are working more nearly shoulder to shoulder than ever before1 as we are in some ways4444 ,i want to talk to him straight40 ,long afterward one of his sisters told me that 8shoulder to shoulder0 was a characteristic phrase of ,frederick's4 ,again sliding over to the lower right-hand corner1 he wrote quickly1 in big swinging script1 upside down to me3 8,mother dearest1 don't forget the four points of the compass4 ,i want you to remember that ,i am your boy come back4 ,not lost at all4 ,please remember that40 ,when a fresh surface offered and the pencil was placed at my left1 as usual1 he said1 8,no10 and swung once more down to the right1 writing quickly and firmly toward the left and upside down to me4 8,i am going to write a little letter to ,dad and the girls4 ,i love them just as well as ever1 and it hurts me to have them think ,i am not alive and loving them1 because ,i know they still love me4 8,,frederick40 ,although the movement in this reversed writing is rapid and definite1 as if great energy were exerted to accomplish it1 it is extremely difficult to follow1 perhaps because the muscles of the hand are accustomed to move from left to right in writing1 or because the mind instinctively resists a movement it cannot readily understand4 ,v ,the next day 7,monday1 ,march #aath7 we all returned to ,new ,york together1 ,mrs4 ,gaylord rejoining us in the evening1 after dining with other friends4 ,before her arrival1 we talked a little to ,mary ,kendal1 who was still uneasy about the failure to reach her husband1 from whom no word had come4 ,we asked if she knew ,david ,bruce1 and she replied3 8,no1 but he is here1 and most of us know what he does4 ,he is a sweet force40 ,when ,mrs4 ,gaylord came1 we told her of this characterization1 after some personal talk with ,frederick1 and at once he took up the suggestion4 8,mother dearest1 you are a sweet force1 too4 ,help me build a structure of strength1 which is ,dad1 sweetness1 which is you1 and illumination1 which is my part40 ,we remembered then his asking her to 8clear away the dbris of things outlived and begin the new structure with me10 but not until greater revelations followed did we understand fully what he meant4 ,a little later he said of his father3 8,he will discover that ,i am more a force than ever1 and then he will be as proud as men who have sons #8over there4' 444 ,should you prefer a son in the trenches or in the place of accomplished peace8444 ,i am nearer you now than ,i have ever been before1 but the price of that is apparent separation4 ,your life knows no such companionship as ours can be now1 but that is possible only at the cost of apparent and visible contact4 ,this is gain1 not loss4 ,you are questioning that1 but trust me4 ,i know4 ,you can't even guess what this means to all of us1 ,sis and ,babe and ,dad and you and 8,,frederick40 ,his name was dropped a line1 like a signature4 ,it was coming slowly1 with hesitations and false starts1 and ,i asked3 8,are you tired1 ,frederick8 ,or am ,i80 8,both10 he said4 8,this is not the simplest thing ,i ever did4444 ,i am not tired1 as you understand weariness1 but it is easier sometimes to get things through than others40 ,the next evening--the last we had with ,frederick at that time--his first messages were personal1 expressing his desire to 8talk straight0 to other members of the family4 8,but there's no hurry10 he went on4 8,we've all eternity together now4444 ,only one thing can separate us4 ,if you doubt my existence1 ,i shall still exist1 but your doubt will destroy the thread that links us like a telegraph-wire1 only more closely and warmly4 ,so you must not backslide1 for my sake as well as your own40 8,why don't you stay on80 he asked presently4 8,i can reach you1 but not so definitely for a while to your sense1 and actual speech with you is keen joy4 ,tell ,dad 4440--the erasure is his own--8444 the family ,i want to talk to them1 too4 ,let's have a reunion4 ,one that won't leave me out4 ,i want to be in40 ,rapidly and strongly1 he underlined the last words three times4 ,his mother promised that the family festivals should be held again1 in the full consciousness that he was there with them4 8,thank you1 ,mother dearest4 ,you don't know how we hate being left out40 ,when she explained that they were 8left out0 ignorantly1 rather than intentionally1 he continued3 8,no1 we know you don't mean to leave us out4 ,but you--and we1 too--would be so much happier if you knew we were there and we could know you were not grieving4 ,you see1 we are really nearer to you than you are to each other1 and only memory tells us why you grieve4 ,there is no reason for grief in what you call death and we call knowledge40 8,why hasn't all this been told to us before80 she demanded4 8,it was cruel not to let us know it60 8,as ,i wrote you the other day1 not everybody has been prepared for the knowledge4 ,it is known only to the few--those first over the top ,i spoke of4 ,but it will be the next great revelation4 ,as well say it was cruel not to have known chloroform in the ,middle ,ages1 when it was sorely needed1 or wireless telegraphy in the ,napoleonic wars4 ,there is an evolution of soul1 as well as of biology and chemistry4 ,many fine souls have still lacked this peculiar preparation40 ,this started a little discussion between us4 ,one said that many persons had lost faith in the orthodox religions1 thus making the need of a new revelation great4 ,another spoke disparagingly of the modern theory of a pervasive and impersonal energy1 from which we come and to which we return1 losing individuality4 ,at this point ,frederick took the lead again4 8,don't you let them fool you6 ,there is no such thing as ,bergson's stream of energy1 unless every individual of us is a well-defined drop in the stream4 ,that is all a philosopher's dream1 coated with poetry and tinctured with science40 ,mrs4 ,gaylord said she had never heard of ,frederick's reading ,bergson1 and ,i mentioned that ,i had read nothing of his1 except one article in a review4 8,i never read ,bergson1 either1 but you could not live in the world1 or pick up a ,sunday supplement1 some years ago1 without encountering that stream of energy40 8,there speaks the newspaper man60 his mother said1 laughing4 ,during all these talks with ,frederick he had frequently made the little retraced circle1 which we had been told meant joy4 ,he made it again now1 with vigor1 and some one suggested that he seemed excited4 8,wouldn't it excite you to get into actual touch with your family1 after long doubt and pain8 ,i am no angel1 you know1 and thank ,god ,i am not above being excited4 ,when ,i am ,i will be dead60 ,again he underscored a word4 ,mrs4 ,gaylord spoke of her feeling of his presence1 of his characteristic personality1 saying that he seemed 8just the same40 8,plus1 ,mother dear4 ,you'd like me better now4 ,i don't mean that ,i am perfect1 you know4 ,i've got more to learn than ,i ever knew existed1 but ,i can see ahead now4 ,and you would like me better4444 ,i didn't say love me better10 he added4 ,we talked about the force moving the pencil1 which on this occasion was very strongly applied1 though ,i was greatly fatigued by the efforts of the past few days1 and ,i asked ,frederick whether he could move it without my co-operation4 ,but he said1 8,only as you hold it40 ,to a suggestion that he expressed himself not through the pencil1 but through me1 he replied1 8,she is like the battery40 ,from the first ,mrs4 ,gaylord had been experimenting with planchette and pencil1 hoping to establish direct communication with ,frederick4 ,while placing more emphasis on a possible communion of thought1 without material aid1 he had encouraged these efforts4 8,mother1 you can do it1 ,i am sure10 he said once1 8but don't expect much fluency for some time4 ,i have not written except through ,margaret yet1 but they tell me she is exceptionally sensitive as a messenger40 ,referring to this1 he was asked whether others1 not known to me personally1 had desired to communicate through me1 and replied3 8,no1 but they have watched her1 this last week40 ,ten days later1 when the most amazing of all the communications began to come1 we remembered this4 ,after enumerating some of the qualifications of a good messenger1 he said3 8,when that combination is found we are all interested1 if we want to reach our own people40 8,are you over there especially interested in reaching your own families and friends1 or in reaching persons who might be interested in the possibility of these communications80 8,both4 ,but if you have ever been unable to communicate with those you love1 for months and years1 and have known they were suffering1 then you know which interest is keenest4 ,the one is immediate and urgent1 the other more or less a matter of evolution40 8,shall ,i try to talk to some of you occasionally80 ,i asked4 8,or shall ,i wait for a call80 8,you are over the top4 ,we shall be glad to come40 8,can you let me know1 if you have something to say through me80 8,not always4 ,sometimes we can suggest the thought to you40 ,since that time1 however1 a more perfect connection has been established and ,i am often conscious of a definite summons4 ,on these occasions the pencil starts at once1 generally with great vigor1 and almost always writes some message not conveyed to my consciousness except as ,i spell it out after the pencil4 ,toward the end of the evening1 when ,mrs4 ,gaylord had suggested going back to her hotel1 the pencil made a little circle and some apparently aimless marks inside it4 8,is this ,frederick80 ,i asked1 wondering at indecision from him4 8,yes4 ,i want to do something ,mother can't forget4444 ,you don't need any more fancy stunts1 do you80 ,she said she did not1 but that she was very tired and could stay no longer4 8,oh1 don't go60 he begged4 8,i'll go with you1 but ,i like gassing this way40 ,another characteristic phrase1 she said4 ,after some further assurances of his frequent presence and constant watchfulness1 she said she really must go4 ,frederick then moved the pencil down to the right corner again1 and wrote1 very clearly and carefully1 one more 8upside-down0 message--a touching little message of love to 8dear ,dad and the girls10 which he signed1 8,your boy1 ,frederick40 ,the next day ,mrs4 ,gaylord went home1 where she immediately destroyed all her black-bordered cards and stationery and similar symbols of mourning4 ,she wrote me that she felt it was false and wicked to mourn for a son as vitally alive and happy as she now knew ,frederick to be4 ,,vi ,one of my letters to ,mr4 ,kendal had been marked 8,urgent40 ,on the day of ,mrs4 ,gaylord's departure a telegram came from him1 asking that a duplicate of this letter be sent to him at ,chicago4 ,it developed later that all my missives1 after some delay1 had been forwarded from his club to his business address in the ,south1 where1 owing to the uncertainty of his plans1 his secretary had held them1 notifying him by wire of the one evidently demanding immediate attention4 ,after some hesitation--reluctant to shock him by a bald and startling announcement unaccompanied by any explanation of a situation concerning which ,i was convinced he would be skeptical1 if not wholly unsympathetic1 and yet impelled by his wife's distressed insistence to reach him before he should go ,south again--,i telegraphed him that ,i had reason to believe ,i had been in direct communication for several days with ,mary and others1 and asked him to return via ,new ,york1 if possible4 ,early that evening ,i took up a pencil1 which moved at once4 8,manzie has your message40 ,this could be no one but ,mary ,kendal4 ,to my inquiry concerning his reception of my telegram she replied3 8,he is startled4 ,he is wiring you40 ,an expression of her happiness followed1 concluding1 8,he is thinking of me 444 and ,i can help him40 8,can't you help him unless he is thinking of you80 ,apparently this presented difficulties1 but after long effort and many false starts she achieved what ,i felt to be only a part of the answer she had intended4 8,on power ,i can40 8,you mean that you can influence his work8 ,his strength1 or accomplishment80 8,yes1 but not his heart and soul40 ,after assurances that he would come soon1 she thanked me touchingly4 ,later in the evening she said1 8,manzie is so amazed60 ,when ,i asked whether he believed it1 she returned3 8,he does now4 ,he has thought44440 ,details personal to him followed4 ,still later ,i asked whether ,mr4 ,kendal had telegraphed me1 and she said that he had not1 though he had intended to do so4 ,as a matter of fact1 he had not at that time received my telegram1 but he afterward told me that when it reached him1 twelve hours later1 his reactions were exactly as she had described them4 ,also1 his intention of telegraphing me immediately was delayed several hours by business necessities4 ,this is one of several instances when a difference of plane has seemed to enable them to look ahead for a limited space and foretell events4 ,the next morning1 for the first time in ten days1 the pencil was merely a piece of dead wood between my fingers1 without impulse4 ,after long delay it moved slowly1 making light circles1 but no words came4 ,i knew that ,mrs4 ,gaylord had intended to make an effort that day to get into touch with ,frederick through a semi-professional medium in her vicinity1 and in the evening ,i took up a pencil1 wondering whether we could learn what success had attended the attempt4 8,mary40 ,supposing this to be ,mary ,kendal1 ,i made some allusion to ,mansfield1 and was immediately corrected4 8,no4 ,mary ,k40 ,this was surprising1 as it was the first time she had responded since my initial effort to establish this intercourse4 ,she said that ,mary ,kendal was not present1 and that ,frederick had met his mother at ,mrs4 ,z----'s1 with results only partially satisfactory--which letters from the ,gaylord family afterward verified4 ,we suggested that this might have been discouraging1 and she replied3 8,discouragement is not for ,frederick40 8,how do you know so much about ,frederick now80 ,i asked4 8,ten days ago you said you did not know him40 8,mrs4 ,kendal interested me in him4 ,he is for justice1 light1 and progress4 ,my work1 too40 ,to my expressed hope that she found life happier there than it had been for her here she returned1 8,yes1 ,i was glad to come10 following the statement with the little circle so often used by the others4 ,she1 too1 said that it meant joy4 ,we have since learned that it means much more1 but apparently they were educating us by degrees4 ,in this case the joy was not hers alone1 for the renewed communion with her brought me great gladness4 ,our friendship began long ago1 in a ,western city1 whither she had come in search of health4 ,both were young1 she a few years the elder4 ,she was alone4 ,i never saw any member of her family1 and we had few friends in common1 but between us1 from the day we met1 there was a strong bond of sympathy1 which grew to deep affection1 notwithstanding many differences between us4 ,she was more widely read than ,i2 ,i more actively in touch with life than she4 ,she was a church woman2 ,i was not4 ,her point of view was ,eastern1 mine at that time entirely ,western4 ,our many disagreements were argued warmly and at length1 but at bottom each knew that she could draw at will upon whatever strength or resource the other possessed1 and the debt in the end was mine1 when her death left a blank to which ,i could never be quite reconciled4 ,her brief career seemed to contradict the law of compensation1 upon which1 until recently1 my philosophy of life has been based4 ,meticulously truthful1 scrupulous in all things1 strong of purpose1 giving of her best to life1 life passed her by with a shrug4 ,keenly sensitive to beauty1 whether spiritual1 intellectual1 or material1 she was hampered in its pursuit by limited health and limited means4 ,for years she struggled with uncongenial employment of one sort or another1 denying herself the loaf she needed to procure the hyacinth she needed more4 ,longing for life at its fullest and richest1 she scarcely touched its margin4 ,yearning for high peaks and wide outlook1 she lived always on the plain4 ,when1 finally1 the path seemed to be opening before her and she was pleasantly established1 doing a healing and constructive work for which she was fitted1 she died suddenly1 still baffled1 having given the last proof of her love for humanity by yielding her life for it1 worn out by hard work1 combating an epidemic in a college town4 ,rejoiced to learn that at last she was happy1 ,i asked whether she could tell us of her work1 and she began1 easily3 8,yes1 on the 444 on 444 on the44440 ,after long difficulty she accomplished it4 8,on the perpetual tour40 ,when she had verified this astonishing statement as correct1 ,i suggested1 8#8,off ag'in1 on ag'in1 gone ag'in'80 8,that's it40 ,for an eager spirit like ,mary ,k4's no happier heaven could be imagined4 ,replying to further questions1 she said that it was not just luck that ,i had caught her that first night4 ,no1 neither had she come to me from the other side of the world4 8,i've been working on you for a month10 she said4 8,ever since ,v---- was here40 ,it was considerably more than a month1 but time and place seem to have little significance to those on her plane4 ,shortly after this ,annie ,manning interrupted again4 ,it was said that ,mary ,k4 knew ,annie ,manning and wished me to find her brother4 ,inquiry developed the fact that he was the brother mentioned the first night ,i used planchette4 ,his name was given as ,james ,manning1 and his address1 ,albany1 ,new ,york4 8,united ,states ,ho44440 ,we could not get beyond that4 ,at one time the word seemed to be 8,hotel40 ,unable to find any ,united ,states ,hotel listed in ,albany1 ,i suggested ,saratoga1 but this was not accepted4 ,repeatedly asked to write to him1 ,i could obtain no address4 ,afterward the address was given as ,albany1 but not ,new ,york4 ,long efforts to write the name of the state resulted in 8,i 44410 ending in wavy lines4 ,suggestions of ,illinois and ,iowa brought negatives1 but the mention of ,indiana was greeted with a quick1 8,yes40 ,vain and fatiguing efforts to get the rest of the address resulted in the indefinite 8,united ,states ,ho 4440 and at last ,i gave it up1 disappointed4 ,an hour later ,annie ,manning came again1 but ,i asked her to let me talk to ,mary ,k4 8,here6 ,mary ,k410 was the prompt response4 8,do you remember all the good times80 ,i told her ,i did1 and thought of them often4 8,all the many ae 444 an44440 ,there ,i lost it4 ,she began it many times1 in many ways1 apparently trying to get a momentum that would carry her through4 8,all the many am 444 ,i mean ae 444 ,i meant to say anm44440 ,too tired to continue1 again ,i abandoned the attempt4 ,annie ,manning came once more1 making futile efforts to give me her brother's address4 ,she finally said it was 8just ,united ,states ,home40 ,once she wrote1 8just ,home40 ,and once1 8,honest1 that's all40 ,i have never learned the whole truth about ,annie ,manning1 who ceased1 after the first fortnight1 to manifest herself2 whether because she lacked perseverance or because other influences were already at work1 ,i do not know4 ,the next day ,i took up the pencil1 expecting ,mary ,kendal1 with news of her husband1 but ,mary ,k4's strong1 underlined signature greeted me instead4 ,she said that ,mr4 ,kendal was coming1 adding3 8,on cen 444 cent44440 8,century80 ,i suggested4 8,twentieth ,century ,limited80 8,no 444 cen 444 ce 444 cent44440 ,finally1 she agreed to ,century--compromised on it1 ,i learned later4 ,within five minutes a telegram came from ,mr4 ,kendall--the first word ,i had received from him--saying that he would arrive in ,new ,york ,sunday or ,monday4 ,when ,i told him of this experience he exclaimed3 8,central6 ,new ,york ,central60 ,which1 for some reason1 had not occurred to me4 ,at the hour when ,mary ,k4 gave me this information he had ordered1 at his club in ,chicago1 a ticket for the ,lake ,shore ,limited--like the ,twentieth ,century1 a ,new ,york ,central train4 ,later1 having the ticket actually in his possession1 he telegraphed me that he would come by that train1 reaching ,new ,york ,sunday evening1 but afterward changed to another road4 ,this second message arrived ,saturday afternoon1 and ,i at once inquired of ,mary ,k4 why she had said 8,century40 ,instead of her familiar signature1 however1 8,frederick0 was written4 ,having ascertained that this was ,frederick himself1 and not a message about him1 ,i asked him to go on4 8,the ,family are happy40 ,at no time during this brief interview had ,i the slightest inkling of what was coming4 ,as he had been always so courteous in acknowledgment1 the first letters led me to think he was beginning his customary 8,thank you40 ,saying that their happiness added greatly to my own1 ,i asked if he had anything else to say4 8,yes4 ,at your service4444 ,at the next large family reunion you both will be present1 won't you80 ,i said we would try to be1 and again he wrote his name1 indicating that he had nothing more to say1 whereupon ,i called ,mary ,k41 reproached her for inaccuracy1 and asked why she had said ,mansfield ,kendal would come by the ,century4 ,apparently despairing of penetrating such density1 she replied1 merely3 8,he wanted to leave to-day40 ,later in the afternoon she said1 8,he will be perfectly ready to believe10 which seemed to me highly improbable4 ,some things written that afternoon came to my mind before they did to my fingers1 and ,i asked whether she could not write the messages without first telling me what they were to be4 8,yes10 she returned1 8but it is harder for us and more exhausting for you40 ,weeks afterward1 when this separate control of mind and pencil had been more fully demonstrated1 it was more fully explained4 ,remembering her statement that her work took her 8on perpetual tour10 ,i asked how long she would be here4 8,i shall be near you for months10 she said1 and then began again her never wholly relinquished effort to write the message first attempted two days before4 8,ao 444 an 444 aon 444 aem 444 aeons ago 4440--here she made a frantic little joy circle--8444 we were lovers40 ,this surprised me1 for it seemed unlike her and was absolutely foreign to my thought1 but when she had verified it1 ,i asked3 8,is reincarnation true1 then80 8,no4 ,aeons ago 444 ,i was a friend of yours in ----40 ,she mentioned a person whom ,i have known all my life4 ,again this seemed utter nonsense1 but again she verified it4 8,we were concerned in being more and more curiously limited 444 more and more animal40 ,some of this came readily1 some with halting and false starts1 which--like ,frederick--she crossed out herself4 ,at first this1 too1 seemed devoid of meaning1 but after a little thought ,i asked whether she meant that we had been associated in some way as pure spirit4 8,everybody was pure spirit once1 and will be again10 was the rapid reply4 8,is this life a punishment1 then80 8,no1 a beginning of individuality40 8,does the individual continue to exist forever80 8,yes40 8,as pure spirit80 8,yes40 8,then how were we associated as pure spirit80 8,we were the same purpose40 ,completely puzzled1 ,i asked1 8,why do you say we were friends in ----80 8,he was the larger purpose1 of which we were a part40 8,the original purpose is not all the same1 then80 8,no1 there are many purposes in the beginning1 but only one in the end40 8,does ,frederick know all this80 8,all of it40 ,when she said good night1 she added1 8,god bless you10 and ,i asked3 8,mary ,k41 how do you see ,god8 ,frederick sees ,him as light in dark places40 8,justice1 light1 progress40 8,is that ,god1 or ,god's work80 8,tested40 8,you mean that you have tested it80 8,yes40 ,the next day1 ,sunday--two weeks from the day she had first talked to me through planchette--she returned to this theme1 which still seemed somewhat fantastic to my practical and pragmatical mind1 with further allusions to our long association4 ,during the days of confusion and uncertainty before ,mr4 ,kendal replied to my telegram1 when his wife constantly implored me to write to him again1 and ,i as constantly refused1 insisting that she first show cause why she had misled me about his movements and whereabouts1 ,i wrung from her an admission that in some way he had put her so far from him that she neither knew nor could learn anything about him1 except that he suffered and needed her1 which both ,mary ,k4 and ,frederick verified4 ,i said once to ,mary ,k4 that it was incredible that this could be1 to which she laconically returned1 8,it can40 ,after his actual receipt of my telegram1 ,mary ,kendal never returned to me until she came with him1 and the character of her earlier banishment1 and consequent inability to perceive his movements1 was still unexplained4 ,as the hour of his arrival approached ,i grew uneasy1 and asked ,mary ,k4 whether he came happily or in dread4 8,certainly with o0--the joy circle1 and as we have since learned1 the circle of completion4 ,when ,i asked her to write it out in full to reassure me1 the pencil ran back1 underscoring 8certainly40 ,she said further that ,mary ,kendal was with him1 and very happy4 8,has ,mary ,kendal been very unhappy80 ,i asked4 8,no4 ,aeons ago they were one purpose40 8,what has that to do with it80 8,she knew that he must answer if she could reach him40 8,does that hold good of evil purpose1 too80 8,yes40 ,,vii ,it seemed to me that if ,mr4 ,kendal had not received my letters1 and was in possession only of the meager information contained in my telegram1 it was best that he should read the record of the earlier interviews with his wife before coming to communicate with her1 and to that end the book containing the whole story was to be sent to his club before his arrival4 ,having decided this1 it occurred to me to consult ,mary ,k41 who emphatically negatived the plan4 8,no4 ,mary ,kendal is most anxious to tell him herself now40 ,she told us to make brief explanations1 adding3 8,all he needs now is ,mary ,kendal40 ,shortly afterward ,mary ,k4's now familiar summons--an indescribable sensation in the arm or hand--recalled me to the pencil1 and she wrote1 quickly and firmly3 8,mary ,kendal wants you to change your record40 ,surprised1 ,i asked what change she wished1 and was told to take out everything relating to her banishment from ,mansfield's life1 because she preferred to tell him that in her own way4 8,shall ,i show him the record at all80 ,i asked4 8,yes1 but take that out first40 ,fortunately1 the record is kept in a loose-leaf1 typewritten book1 so this was not difficult4 ,as the day wore on ,i grew more and more nervous4 ,suppose he should be more hurt than helped8 ,suppose we should fail8 ,rarely in my life have ,i dreaded anything so much1 or felt so little confidence in anything ,i had deliberately undertaken to do4 ,by nine o'clock ,i was in a nervous chill4 ,meanwhile ,mr4 ,kendal telephoned that he had found my letters1 which had been returned to his club1 and that he would join us presently4 ,upon his arrival he told us that he had been one of the early members of the ,society for ,psychical ,research in this country1 and had spent several years investigating phenomena of this nature1 together with various other young men1 under the general supervision of ,prof4 ,william ,james1 ,dr4 ,minot ,savage1 and others of that group4 ,he mentioned some of the frauds and self-deceptions uncovered at that time1 but said he believed the ultimate conclusion to have been that there were certain well-authenticated phenomena for which no logical or scientific explanation had been found4 ,nothing that he said1 however1 indicated to the slightest degree his attitude toward the question in hand1 and ,i received an impression that his mood was critical1 which steadied me4 ,the disappointment1 should we fail1 would be less hideous4 ,in the end1 he suggested a trial1 and after preparing the table1 ,cass left us alone4 ,the pencil started almost immediately1 with a strange1 jerkily rhythmical movement--due possibly to ,mary's agitation1 possibly to mine1 but wrote very distinctly1 without pause or faltering4 ,it was evident at once that the message conveyed more to him than its words suggested4 ,much later in the evening he told me that for some time after ,mary left him he had believed that if she still existed anywhere in the universe she would contrive somehow to let him know2 but as months had passed into years1 with no sign from her1 while never entirely losing faith in the continued integrity of the individual after death1 his despair had deepened with his growing conviction that 8the drop that was ,mary0 had been swept on in the stream and forever lost to him4 ,widely read in philosophies and unable to forget them1 steeped--despite his practical occupation--in scientific and intellectual theory1 he had feared to rely upon a reunion in a future of which no proof had been given him1 lest he be grounding his faith in the sands of his own hope4 ,it was to this unhappy conviction--a conviction so strong in its negation that for a time she had been unable to penetrate in any way the psychic atmosphere it created--that she addressed herself in those first written lines4 ,she used1 also1 her intimate name for him1 which ,i had never heard1 and his for her1 which ,i knew1 although ,i supposed the peculiar spelling used on this occasion to be an error1 until he told me otherwise4 ,he asked one or two questions about personal matters1 which ,i assumed to be in the nature of tests1 which she answered briefly1 though not very specifically1 concluding3 8,i cannot tell you anything to-night1 except that ,i am so happy4 ,i had lost you1 and you are found again4 ,let me talk to you to-morrow40 ,some time later he wanted to know why he could not read her mind direct1 and she replied3 8,you can1 in time1 if you will let me in1 and learn4 ,we can have such communion as we never had before1 because one veil is now removed4 ,but that will take time to learn4 ,it is true4 ,it can be4444 ,take me into your heart and soul joyfully1 without resentment or grief1 and you will soon learn to read my thoughts as ,i have read yours since ,i seemed to leave you4 8,then ,i can tell you things that ,i cannot say through any messenger4444 ,you can learn4444 ,all ,i want now is to convince you that ,i am alive and longing to be with you and to have communication directly with you4 ,it is impossible for me to do that alone4 ,but ,i had to reach you somehow1 and ,margaret was the first way ,i found40 ,we talked a little of the possibility of his establishing direct communication with her4 ,i asked whether he could use a pencil in this way1 and she returned3 8,yes1 if he will try every day1 he could in time1 ,i think4 ,there is always a way for us to reach our dearest ones1 if they only persevere40 ,during a pause1 with the pencil-point still resting on the paper1 ,i told him of ,mary ,k4's assertion that eons ago some of us had been one and that we still continue one in purpose4 ,mary ,kendal took it up immediately4 8,manzie1 you and ,i are the same purpose4 ,that is the reason that1 once reunited1 we cannot be separated1 except by our deliberate yielding to a different and disintegrating purpose4 ,that is the eternal battle--between the purposes of progress and building and the purposes of disintegration4 ,it goes on in your life1 and it goes on less bitterly in ours4 ,help me build1 as we began1 toward the great unity4444 ,all of us here are working against those forces of disintegration so rife in your life now1 and every bit of retention of unity that is for upbuilding helps us and helps the great purpose for which we work4444 ,you and ,i began working for that long ago1 and each of us will always continue to work for it4 ,but we shall be happier if we do it consciously together4444 ,don't think of me as far away4444 ,we will welcome to our unity anything or anybody who strengthens the purpose1 but let us always hold fast to each other40 ,here was the first actual statement1 however brief and incomplete1 of that theory of life which seems--to us who received it first1 at least--so rational1 and so full of inspiration and hope4 ,referring to her phrase1 8all of us here10 he asked3 8,is #8here' a place1 or a state1 or both80 8,both10 she answered1 quickly4 8,it is the beginning of eternal life40 ,after a moment1 she added3 8,the state is fluid2 the place is ephemeral40 8,i believe it60 he exclaimed4 8,that's more nearly an explanation than anything ,i ever heard before40 8,this is more nearly the truth than anything you ever heard before4 ,that's why4444 ,truth in your life is comparative4 ,here it is absolute1 but not dogmatic40 ,he said that she had not been given to the use of a philosophic vocabulary in this life1 and must have acquired it there1 to which1 at the moment1 she made no response4 ,some time after ,cass rejoined us ,mr4 ,kendal asked how much farther1 or how much more clearly1 they could see about purely business or political matters than we4 8,we can see much farther1 but we are not permitted to tell you1 except by ethical suggestion4 ,part of your development comes through your struggle to decide1 and while we see your struggle1 we can help only by giving you as much of our strength and light as you can take4 ,it is a moral universe1 ,manzie40 ,the underscoring is hers4 ,out of his wide experience with psychic phenomena1 he gave me much comfort regarding the inaccuracies and misleading statements that had so greatly disquieted me4 ,he argued that these discrepancies might easily be caused by some factor or factors unknown to us1 operating on another plane1 and was entirely untroubled by them4 ,in this connection1 ,mary ,k4 said to me the next day3 8,we regard things successfully started as accomplished40 ,some weeks later ,mr4 ,kendal suggested another possible reason for these apparent inaccuracies1 using as a comparison a familiar experiment in physics4 ,he reminded us that if a rod be projected in a straight line between the eye and a coin at the bottom of a bowl of water1 its tip will miss the coin by a distance varying with the angle of vision and the depth of the water4 ,assuming that the difference between this plane and the next must be vastly greater than that between air and water1 he argued that there might be a factor comparable to this deflection of ray influencing their perception of material1 specific details of this plane--a simile which ,mary ,k4 subsequently characterized as 8almost perfect40 ,it was three o'clock in the morning when ,mr4 ,kendal left us to return to his club--but he went convinced4 ,like ,mrs4 ,gaylord1 his confidence was inspired not only by the temper and tenor of the messages he had received1 but by the accompanying consciousness of a familiar personality1 akin to the certainty of identity one feels in talking to a friend by telephone or in reading a characteristic letter4 ,like her1 too1 he said that in several instances his unspoken thought had been directly answered4 ,the next day we resumed our conversation--for it amounted to that--with ,mary4 8,there will be hours1 and sometimes days1 when you cannot feel me1 just at first10 she warned him4 8,but ,i beg of you1 do not let the doubts prevail4 ,i shall be there1 unless that disintegrating force drives me away4 ,that's a power we here cannot fight alone4 ,faith is not the desire to believe1 as some men have said4 ,it is the thread that connects your life and ours1 and when it is broken we are powerless to reach you40 ,we spoke again of inaccuracies concerning mundane activities1 and he elaborated somewhat his theory that it is unwise to ask and unsafe to rely upon answers about concrete1 specific things1 because in translating them into terms of our plane we are apt to overlook some transforming1 unknown factor1 and so go wrong4 8,besides that10 ,mary took up the discussion1 8you must work out your problem yourself4 ,we can only help you definitely and directly in the larger things that pertain to the life of our purpose4 ,your present problem may be solved in any of several ways1 and will perhaps affect the ephemeral part of your life4 ,your greater concern1 and my only concern1 is with the fluid part1 which we shall share together always1 now40 ,he asked1 after some further talk1 whether there was danger of my being exploited or employed by malign influences--a suggestion entirely new to me--to which she replied in the negative1 adding3 8,trust us for that4 ,her own purpose is definite1 and with that foundation1 we can protect her fully40 ,apparently she underestimated the strength of the enemy1 or perhaps she merely disregarded the temporary confusion created by occasional sorties4 ,thinking that he might know something about ,new ,albany1 ,indiana1 ,i told him of the ,annie ,manning episode and my failure to ascertain her brother's address4 ,our conversation was interrupted by an unsigned statement that the brother was not in ,new ,albany1 ,indiana1 but in ,albany1 ,new ,hampshire1 flatly contradicting a previous statement4 ,my impatient comment was answered by an assurance that ,annie ,manning had recently passed to the next plane and was confused4 ,a suggestion that possibly ,annie ,manning was one of the malign forces mentioned brought no response1 unless ,mary ,kendal's next words constituted an indirect reply4 8,manzie dear1 444 you will have entirely different forces working against you1 from those trying to control ,margaret1 but we will truly and surely protect you both40 ,again1 following a period of silence1 she wrote a brisk reply to his unspoken thought1 adding1 when he commented upon it3 8,you see1 ,i do know what is in your mind1 and the time may not be far away when you can read mine as clearly4 ,i don't always answer your thought1 because ,margaret has still some fear of being deceived in her reception of my message1 and it is hard1 but as she works with us she will learn unconsciously to yield1 just as you will learn to detect my presence40 8,is there anything ,i can do to help you or your work80 he asked4 8,or must it be all take and no give with us80 ,i have no record of her reply4 ,she began by saying that any actively constructive effort here helped them there1 because it helped the great purpose4 ,this was followed by a message so intimately and exquisitely his that ,i felt it almost a desecration to be the messenger through whom it necessarily came4 ,he took that part of the roll away with him1 and ,i am glad to say that twenty-four hours later no word of it remained in my memory4 ,it was truly his4 ,the next night he came again1 very happily4 ,she1 too1 was in a lightsome mood1 and while there was some serious talk1 most of it was pure effervescence1 frequently witty1 sometimes brilliant4 ,unfortunately1 little of this may be quoted1 either because of its too personal character or because1 like much amusing conversation1 it was too essentially of the mood and the moment to bear translation into type4 ,constantly he exclaimed at the characteristic quality of her repartee1 to my great surprise4 ,i said that ,i had never seen this merry side of her1 and had not dreamed that it existed1 to which she replied3 8,you never saw us when we were not in trouble--before40 8,let me in and don't chafe10 she told him1 in one of her more serious moments1 8and ,i can tell you much of what ,i see ahead4 ,grief1 resentment1 bitterness and doubt are our highest barriers4 ,there is no cause for grief in a relation closer than your life there knows4 ,there is no ground for resentment in the price we pay4 ,there can be no bitterness in growth and development together--quicker growth1 fuller development1 than could be possible if one of us were not here4 ,it is largely in the point of view1 this thing that is called grief40 ,in the course of their drifting talk he asked her how to go about starting persons who have no starting-point--8no peg to hang things on40 8,sometimes a bomb is effective4 ,but the fragments are not always efficient40 ,we laughed1 and she added3 8,they just have to wait and grow up1 ,manzie dear4 ,we learn here that our frantic haste there has been foolish4 ,growth must take its own time4444 ,no1 ,i didn't60 ,i had called attention to her failure to cross a t1 and she returned to it with a flourish4 ,several times thereafter she made a little joke by conspicuously dotting her i's4 ,in the midst of one ecstatic whirl she paused to inquire3 8,who ever started the foolish notion that there was no life beyond that one8 ,was he a philosopher1 or a dyspeptic1 or both80 ,and again1 following some amusing nonsense1 8,you don't think this would sound trivial to a scientific investigator1 do you80 8,what's the matter with the scientific type of mind80 he asked4 8,mostly it's pure intellect--and life isn't40 ,during another moment of jesting he said3 8,i don't think ,i'll bother to walk home4 ,i'll just float40 8,come on6 ,we'll float together10 she retorted4 8,do you raise that1 or call80 ,laughing1 he returned3 8,i'll pass the buck to ,saint ,peter10 whereupon she intimated that ,saint ,peter was not immediately available4 8,who hold the keys80 8,you hold your own--not transferable40 8,you are mostly pure idealist10 was another comment1 a little later1 replying to something he said about his own attitude toward life1 8and got lost for a while in the dark40 ,he began to say that he should hardly have called himself an idealist1 but already she was answering4 8,a true idealist is not a man who limits life to ideas1 but a man who puts his ideals into life40 ,one otherwise serious statement1 concerning the influence of 8hard-headed1 intelligent men who are not afraid to testify to their faith0 in these revelations1 was given a humorous touch by the signature1 8,missionary ,mary40 8,do you want me to go forth and testify1 also80 ,i asked4 8,no1 you do it1 and that involves too much10 she replied4 8,let your converts testify4 ,you go on playing hermit40 8,have you seen ,william ,james80 he asked4 8,he is instructing many of us4 ,some of my newly acquired vocabulary he taught me4 ,he is more certain and less philosophical than he was4 ,the will to believe has given way to the duty of faith4 ,he has learned more quickly than most do1 because he is truly sincere and had cultivated his ground well4 ,now he is still a leader of thought and accomplishment1 but his instruction is dynamic4444 ,he is a very fine force1 ,manzie1 and is doing magnificent work here1 but he no longer smothers it in language40 ,much of this parting interview must be omitted4 ,at nine o'clock ,sunday night ,mr4 ,kendal had approached this experience in a state of high nervous tension4 ,at midnight on ,tuesday1 fifty-one hours later1 he left us to return home1 imbued1 like ,mrs4 ,gaylord1 with the vitalizing quality of this touch with the unseen and carrying with him the happy conviction that he did not go alone4 ,,viii ,up to this time the messages1 while frequently impersonal in tenor1 had seemed entirely personal in direction4 ,it happened1 fortunately1 that both ,mrs4 ,gaylord and ,mr4 ,kendal were more interested in the wide meaning and purpose of life than in the narrow1 individual details of its conduct1 and to that interest chiefly those nearest them on the next plane had addressed themselves4 ,the rapidity with which these communications came1 and their surprising volume1 was attributed to the fact that in both cases the time in which they could be given through me was limited4 ,aside from the attendant nervous strain--which has been less1 on the whole1 than one would expect1 probably because these efforts have been followed by such sound and refreshing sleep as ,i had not known before in years--the manual labor involved in taking these long messages1 and in typewriting them afterward1 has been excessive4 ,assuming1 however1 that this flood of disclosure would be diminished when the necessity for immediate expression passed1 ,i looked forward to leisure and opportunity for some long talks with ,mary ,k41 which should be more detailed and personal than our somewhat fragmentary intercourse thus far had been4 ,this was briefly delayed by requests to establish interplane communication for one or two other friends1 whose need was more imperative than my own1 when significant and beautiful messages--not to be quoted here--were obtained4 ,one of these slightly elaborated the now familiar idea of the close and intimate relation of certain persons to one another1 because of their union in a common and eternal purpose4 ,in a letter to ,mr4 ,kendal ,i mentioned this1 adding3 8,it begins to look like a gospel1 doesn't it80 ,finally1 however1 my own opportunity came1 on ,thursday1 ,march #bast1 but instead of permitting me to propound any of the many questions ,i had in mind1 ,mary ,k4 delivered a detailed message of instruction that left me astounded and incredulous4 ,most of this is too personal to repeat1 but some of it must be quoted1 in view of what followed4 8444,we have much to tell1 and few through whom to tell it4 ,you have the sensitiveness to receive and the power to convince4 ,when you have fully grasped the meaning of what we have to tell1 you must make it known1 but not before we give you the whole of it4 ,you will get the truth slowly1 through helping many people1 but keep the full knowledge frankly back until it is all told4444 ,let them know you are withholding it1 but do not let them have it in fragments40 8,you mean they are not to be told of the division of original purpose into individual life80 8,no1 they must have that to build on4 ,but there will be more given to you in fragments4 ,piece it together for yourself1 but do not give it to any one as long as you are still receiving it4444 ,the light is breaking1 and you are the aces 444 accustomed 4440--later she returned1 to write 8accredited0 over this word4 ,i think neither was what she tried for4 ,perhaps accessible8--8444 force to make the meaning clear4444 ,it is what we have long sought and just found4 ,that is the reason we are giving you things never told before4 ,you are to pass them on when the time comes4444 ,this is your work1 your contribution to the great purpose1 which will be revealed to you little by little4 ,keep clear of disturbing contacts1 as you have done1 and keep your purpose true4 ,you have already recognized this as a gospel4 ,it is more4 ,it is a faith4 ,be true to it and it will save many from suffering4 ,that is the reason ,i am here now and shall remain4 ,i am the force used by greater forces to reach the world through you4 ,we have always been the same purpose1 and ,i can reach you freely40 ,after an allusion to mental purpose1 she defined it thus3 8,mental purpose is the force that convinces men4 ,moral purpose is that which persuades them4 ,we prefer conviction4 ,it lasts1 where persuasion fades4 ,nothing more now1 but this is only the beginning4 ,mary ,k40 ,after the first phrase1 save for one or two brief pauses1 this long communication was so rapidly written that ,i could not follow it with my left hand1 though ,i made several attempts1 as my right arm became greatly fatigued4 ,at no time had ,i the slightest impression of what was to be said1 and during most of it ,i was too bewildered to think clearly1 my mind being filled with blank wonder and vague questioning1 scarcely formulated1 yet immediately answered4 ,the next day she resumed her exhortation4 8444 ,this is war work4 ,it is going to make the war seem what it is1 a reawakening of the souls of men4 ,there is no higher duty than to make a man know his own soul and the souls of his fellows4 ,the war will be justified only if this result is obtained4 ,we work for that here1 and we ask you to help us4 ,there can be no victory unless this is accomplished4444 ,be true to your purpose and ours1 and help us build for light and progress1 against the forces of doubt and disintegration40 ,to an inquiry about ,germany1 apropos of her mention of the war1 she replied3 8,germany is the united purpose of fear4 ,it is her weapon and her weakness1 and it is to defeat the force she symbolizes that we all work4444 ,there you have the real war1 the battle that has gone on from the beginning4 ,this is one of the crises of eternity40 ,here ,i thought of certain past wars1 when the victorious barbarians set civilization back4 8,sometimes the forces of disintegration have won1 sometimes we4 ,but their victory is never permanent1 because they are negative and we are positive4 ,they delay us1 but we live and work4 ,we shall win in the end1 but that is far away4 ,we call you to fight with the forces of life and light4 ,you can do more with us than you can alone40 ,the following day found me still incredulous1 and she said3 8444 ,tell them that you are doing the people's work1 under secret orders1 and that they will perhaps know presently what it is4 ,they will all recognize it when it is given to them1 except those souls not mentally free from fear40 ,from this she passed immediately into the first of that remarkable series of communications which she has called ,lessons4 ,again the writing was so rapid that my arm ached to the shoulder1 long before she had finished1 from the incessant movement to and fro across the table1 and again my mind was filled with blank amazement4 ,perhaps it should be stated that1 although ,i have written more or less light fiction during the past fifteen years1 literary composition is to me a slow and laborious exercise4 ,especially is this true of opening paragraphs1 which generally require many hours of work4 ,unfortunately1 the time consumed in writing one of these ,lessons was never noted1 but with one or two exceptions1 when ,i was too tired to receive readily1 they were done without hesitation and with extraordinary rapidity4 ,also1 while in personal messages the mental impression is sometimes given to me a little before the physical movement occurs1 never during the writing of the ,lessons had ,i the slightest inkling of what was to follow4 ,one by one the words were revealed by the moving pencil1 my principal sensations being wonder and incredulity4 ,until frequent repetition had accustomed me to this experience1 ,i felt as if ,i must be dreaming4 ,part ,,ii ,,the ,,lessons 8,the lessons came from great forces combined4 ,they represent unity of all purposes1 and were framed by the co-operation and agreement of the greatest forces of each constructive purpose1 to reach the consciousness of men in general terms of your plane40 ,i ,march #bc;d4 8,all pure purpose is fearless1 whether for good or evil1 but few humans are pure purpose1 and the first fight is in themselves4 ,all this has been said before in effect1 but based on other premises4 ,this is the first time the original purpose has been defined and explained4 ,for centuries men have sought the source of life4 ,this is the first time they have been ready to accept the whole truth about that1 or to be prepared for the next step4 8,once convinced that chaos grew from purposes born of the ,force ,beyond ,perfection1 purposes perfect from the beginning1 but at war because they contained within themselves all the elements of life and of conflict--once convinced of this1 men will gradually find their own clear purposes defined1 and the war within themselves will cease4 ,they will choose definitely to build or to destroy1 to be honest or dishonest4 ,self-deception will be less easy or possible1 and the fight will then be with you1 as it is now with us1 between forces clearly indicated4 ,now you are all confused by a war within a war1 infinitely continued4 ,conflict multiplied by the number of purposes in each purpose4 ,this has been recognized1 but the remedy has never been clearly found4 ,it lies in the conviction that force of every nature is purpose1 which has existed from the beginning1 and that the force which builds is beneficent and may be clearly segregated and united4 8,the ,force ,beyond ,perfection is composed of all things1 and therefore understands all things4 ,the original purposes were all good1 and will be again1 if they can all become intelligent4 ,they became evil through attraction of like for like1 akin to your atomic attraction1 and chaos resulted4 ,this struggle created a desire and determination to exist in concrete form1 to add a new force to the forces of chaos4 ,that was a great conflict1 resulting in a tie4 ,purposes became fused in the same individual1 and the battle infinitely multiplied1 but yet not lost4 ,now the effort of both participants is for united purpose again1 and the fusion of purposes in each individual makes the confusion greater and the fight more bitter4 ,men are swayed first by one purpose and then by another1 and are themselves unable to distinguish between good and evil4 8,this precipitated the ,great ,war with you1 the purposes in the ,central ,empires being more nearly united than elsewhere4 ,their purposes are fundamentally destructive1 because fundamentally autocratic1 based on fear1 and would ultimately reduce civilization to infancy again4 ,the reason ,germany has been able to fight so long is because her purpose is conscious1 while the ,allies fight blindly but determinedly1 moved by purposes they do not recognize and yet must obey4 ,they talk of unity1 but do not perceive its nature4 ,they are misled by phrases hollow1 but plausible1 and do not perceive them to be the enemy in disguise--not the mortal enemy1 but the ancient purpose1 divided into many4 8,the light is beginning to break now1 and the hour has almost come for the forces of construction to unite and smite powerfully4 ,but it must be consciously1 as the purpose of construction1 if the victory is to be permanent or truly for progress4 ,men must learn to choose their purposes consciously and intelligently1 to be definitely and actually building for a definite and actual future4 ,there is too much quarreling about ways and means1 and too little recognition of the goal4 ,too much self1 and too little sympathy4 ,this is equally true of all classes of society4 ,materialism has been rank in the tenement and in the cottage1 as in palace and counting-room4 8,it is a common purpose we serve1 for building or for tearing down4 ,it is impossible to be consistently for both continuously4 ,that has made the ,great ,war1 and that is the struggle that must be settled in the minds of men before there can be peace on earth or lasting and progressive brotherhood4 8,this is the first lesson40 ,,ii ,march #bfth4 8,this is the second lesson4 8,the forces of disintegration are gathering for a titanic struggle1 of which your ,great ,war is only the beginning4 ,had ,germany won there1 they would have a foothold with you that we would find it difficult1 if not impossible1 to combat effectively for many years4 ,the spirits of free men would have been soiled with fear and despair1 and the forces of doubt and disintegration would have held civilization captive4 8,germany has felt her forces weaken and fail under the onslaught of freedom1 light1 and progress1 and the forces of disintegration are deserting her4 ,she is left alone1 to work her way1 through mazes of despair1 back to a place in the sun4 ,she must find her own way4 ,she chose to follow the forces of destruction1 and they will surely destroy her4 8,but the forces she followed are uniting for a fiercer fight1 more subtle1 more deadly1 more furious4 ,hidden beneath the garments of peace and good will1 they make ready to poison the minds of men before destroying their forces and delaying their purposes4 8,this is the battle to which we call you and all who are for progress4 ,this is the message you are to give the world1 to warn them of the danger at hand4 ,the time has come when men must choose consciously to fight for or against the forces of construction4 ,they are confused from the conflict within themselves1 running hither and thither1 calling for help from the gods they have made unto themselves1 but looking only to the present good1 perceiving only the present purpose1 fearing only the present defeat4 ,they will find no help from these gods1 for they have impotent feet of clay4 8,the forces of disintegration have made friends with the poor and the needy1 and have fed them husks of brotherhood4 ,they have made friends with the powerful and rich1 and have tempted them with earth and its kingdoms4 ,they have fed the artist falsehoods1 and the writer fear of fear4 ,they have touched the priest with tainted hands1 and rulers with fear of the people4 ,they have entered the home and rent it asunder1 and the temple is a market-place4 ,these are the works of the purposes we fight1 and thus do they disguise themselves4 ,unless this can be brought home to the souls of men1 the fight will be long and bitter4 8,forget the class and remember the man4 ,forget the price and remember the pearl4 ,forget the labor and remember the fruit4 ,forget the temple and remember ,god4 8,men fight together for one end alone--the purpose for which they live4 ,it is hard to find there1 in the confusion of personal conflict1 but the time is at hand when it must be found4 8,the forces of light are positive4 ,shun negation4 ,the forces of freedom are individual4 ,shun dependence4 ,the forces of progress are fearless4 ,shun fearful combinations4 ,work together as individuals1 consciously cooperating1 not as sheep4 ,you will learn to think4 ,you will learn to feel4 ,you will learn to see4 ,then we may move on to the next phase of development toward the great purpose4 8,the forces of disintegration are wily1 but fearful4 ,bullies and cowards4 ,but when they are united in sufficiently strong numbers1 fearless and unscrupulous4 ,they fear the reawakening of the forces of progress in your life4 ,this is the reason they gather now1 to smite while the world is weary4 ,disguised as purposes of light1 they hope for welcome4 8,this is our call to arms4 ,arouse ye6 ,come forth for freedom1 light1 justice1 and progress--consciously1 freely1 strongly4 8,this is the second lesson40 ,,iii ,march #cast4 8,this is the third lesson4 8,when men learn that the ,force ,beyond ,perfection is purpose1 which has personified itself in them1 they will grow to feel the possibilities to which they have heretofore been insensible4 8,life is purpose4 ,purpose is force4 ,force is personality1 from highest to lowest1 from saint to stick and stone4 ,men have called it many things1 but what it is none have perceived clearly4 8,eternal purpose is perfect justice1 perfect fearlessness1 perfect understanding1 perfect honesty1 perfect sympathy1 perfect unity1 and eternal growth1 which is progress perfectly expressed4 ,this is the end for which we work4 ,not ,nirvana4 ,not oblivion4 ,not power stagnant and powerless4 ,but a perfect balance1 progressing to purposes and powers as yet undreamed4 ,this is the ,eternal ,purpose1 toward which all purpose moves4 ,purposes of construction consciously and determinedly1 purposes of destruction unwillingly and inevitably4 ,they fear us1 they fight us1 they seek to destroy us1 not perceiving that they must in the end rejoin us1 having left us in the beginning4 8,to bring this home to the souls of men is our first duty1 and for that reason those of us nearest to your life work first among men4 ,purpose frees forces you but dimly apprehend1 and free forces construct a foundation in your life for the perfect unity of ,eternal ,purpose4 8,any force not free destroys itself4 ,any good not animated and active destroys itself4 ,force imprisoned becomes destruction4 ,good imprisoned becomes evil4 ,all are fundamentally good1 fundamentally beneficent1 but have become powers for destruction through lack of progressive development and exercise4 8,all men are fusions of many purposes1 moved by many forces1 answering to many calls4 ,each responds to the call of his dominant purpose1 which flows and fluctuates with his life's struggle4 ,one day he destroys1 and cares not4 ,one day he builds1 and marvels at his power4 ,one day he sleeps and forgets4 ,one day he fights to the death for a purpose he had not yesterday1 and loses to-morrow4 ,this is the life of man1 and this our field of battle4 ,there are other lives1 other struggles1 other lessons to learn1 but this is the first4 8,purpose manifests itself in man inevitably in action4 ,his purpose is not what he believes1 not what he desires1 but what he is and does4 ,if he destroys1 and builds not on the ruins1 he is against us4 ,if he falls and fails not1 he is with us1 though he stumble an hundred times4 ,he fights within himself the ancient fight1 and if he win that1 his eternal battle is won4 ,thereafter1 he is part and parcel of the forces of construction4 8,purpose answers freely only to its kind1 freely and fearlessly it responds to the call of self4 ,if a man be captive to destructive forces1 he responds to the cry1 ,destroy6 ,but if he be given to powers of progress1 he builds1 though his eyes be blinded and his hands cut off4 8,in every man captive to forces of disintegration the builder lies dormant4 ,to reach that faint glow of ,eternal ,purpose is the first duty of every constructive force4 ,call to it1 rouse it1 free it1 and it will eventually respond4 ,but do not smother it with false charity1 darken it by conflicting precepts1 weaken it by fictitious aid4 ,every individual must serve his own purpose4 ,only thus is the integrity of the whole conserved4 ,though he be only a doorkeeper in the house of the ,lord1 yet does he serve his eternal purpose as truly as the priest4 ,let each man learn his purpose and serve forcefully where his development has placed him4 ,only thus can he progress4 8,purposes are divided4 ,thus do they show themselves to men4 ,the purpose of ,progress is first and greatest1 because it moves all the others toward the ,great ,purpose4 ,the other constructive purposes are these1 divided and subdivided3 ,light1 ,justice1 ,truth1 ,production1 ,healing1 ,building4 ,each divided and divisible by any of the others1 yet pure and perfect in itself4 ,light may dwell with ,healing or ,production1 but only ,light calls unto ,light1 only ,justice unto ,justice4 8,all forces of construction work together1 yet each purpose separate unto itself4 ,choose ye1 therefore4 ,build or tear down1 produce or destroy1 illumine or obscure1 free men1 or hold them captive to themselves4 ,choose daily and hourly the purpose ye serve4 8,this is the third lesson40 ,,iv ,april #ast4 8,this is the fourth lesson4 8,the world fears purpose that is free and fearless4 ,all the forces of humanity are turned against freedom4 ,the church imposes its creed1 the class imposes its caste1 the profession imposes its etiquette1 the moralist imposes his fear1 the libertine imposes his folly4 ,all men are bound by the conventions of church1 caste1 profession1 or moral status4 ,thus do they throw wide the door to forces of disintegration4 ,each man assumes a purpose not his own2 a force that is his own deserts him4 8,free development demands free purpose and concentrated force4 ,wherever two or three are gathered together to follow the same purpose in free and conscious co-operation1 there force is multiplied4 ,wherever an hundred are assembled to be led like sheep by the bell-wether1 there force is debauched and disintegrated4 8,because men have huddled together in fear1 destruction threatens them4 ,because free speech has been debauched to fell purpose1 free men distrust it4 ,men1 forces of disintegration1 but possessed of glib tongues1 have played bell-wether to the multitude4 ,priests of purpose1 whose counsel was inspired by the ,eternal1 have been thrust aside and stoned4 ,better were it for the immortal man to follow his purpose to death and mortal oblivion1 than to lose his force to the bell-wether4 ,many purposes make great purpose4 ,many forces unite for freedom4 ,but better for immortal man to destroy greatly and greatly strive than to sink his purpose in the medley disguised as brotherhood4 8,a great brotherhood is possible only when its component parts are great4 ,strength lies not in numbers1 but in purpose4 ,the fit may not lie down with the unfit1 and their progeny survive4 ,the strong may not yield their purpose to the weak1 and their force remain4 8,a light breaks in the ,east--,russia1 given as a sacrifice to the brotherhood of men4 ,a light not of star or dawn1 but of sacrificial fire4 ,heed it1 guard it1 ye youths and virgins1 for by its flaming sacrifice are ye saved4 8,brotherhood is purpose of progress1 not purpose of profit4 ,brotherhood is made beautiful by unity1 not by schism4 ,brotherhood suffereth long1 and is kind4 ,brotherhood regardeth every brother1 great and small4 ,brotherhood waiteth upon brother and grumbleth not4 ,all build together the common home of all4 8,seek ye those of your own purpose4 ,unite together all who fain would build4 ,master and man1 architect and mason1 financier and farm laborer1 all work to the same end1 and this is ,brotherhood4 8,to work for the same purpose1 in whatever capacity may be necessary1 this is the only true ,brotherhood4 8,this is the fourth lesson40 ,v ,april #c;d4 8,this is the fifth lesson4 8,men have long cherished the ideal of ,brotherhood1 but they have clung to the letter of the ancient law and lost its spirit4 ,before the days of liberty1 when men were languishing in slavery or bound as vassals1 sell all thou hast and give to the poor had a significance lost in a day of free labor and industrial progress4 ,the spirit of the law is unchanged and unchangeable1 but the letter progresses with civilization's advance4 8,to-day1 the first essential of brotherhood is freedom4 ,freedom to think1 freedom to believe1 freedom to strive1 freedom to develop1 from highest to lowest4 ,and the employer who refuses this opportunity to the men who work under him is no more truly a force for disintegration than the laborer who refuses to co-operate with his employer and thus proves himself unworthy of a place in the procession of progress4 8,there can be no house that will stand against storm that has not foundation1 walls1 and roof4 ,there can be no society that will withstand disintegration that has not labor1 capital1 and market4 ,when capital oppresses labor1 forces of disintegration are freed4 ,when labor dominates capital1 forces of disintegration are freed4 ,when the people forget justice1 forces of disintegration are freed4 ,and the destruction of one is the destruction of all4 ,the rich man who denies his brother freedom is a destroyer4 ,the poor man who denies his brother freedom is a destroyer in no less degree4 ,each is a part of the other1 and each follows eternal purpose to one end--construction and progress4 8,the man who has freedom of thought1 freedom of purpose1 freedom of action1 is free1 though he be a pauper1 and is free to choose whether he will build or destroy4 ,the man who is bound by any tie that dictates his thought1 belief1 or action is a force of disintegration1 because he may not follow his purpose freely and with all his force4 ,the man who has freedom and wealth1 and1 forgets his brother1 is a force of disintegration4 ,the man who has strength and poverty1 and forgets his brother1 is a force of disintegration4 ,equality of opportunity does not demand or imply equality of development4 ,many men are rich who use their wealth to forward the purposes of construction4 ,many there are who waste it and invite disintegration4 ,many men are poor1 who use their strength to help along construction4 ,they are forces of progress1 and will find their places here4 ,many there are who delay the march1 and invite disintegration4 ,what shall it profit a man1 though he gain the earth1 if he lose his own soul8 8,there are seven purposes4 ,progress1 ,light1 ,truth1 ,healing1 ,building1 ,production1 and ,justice4 ,equally great1 save ,progress1 which moves them all4 ,one of these must each man serve1 if he proceeds toward the ,great ,purpose4 ,whether great or small1 high or low1 wise or foolish1 learned or ignorant1 rich or poor1 powerful or apparently impotent1 each human individual is a force for construction or for disintegration1 and follows his purpose to its inevitable end3 constructive forces to construction of great purposes1 disintegrating forces to the long struggle that can have but one end1 however distant--construction4 8,there are many phases of development1 each looking onward to the next4 ,if a man climb without envy1 forgetting himself in his purpose1 he shall climb far4 ,if he look with envy at his higher brother and with scorn at those below him1 he shall climb on slipping sands and find himself again at the foot4 8,bear ye one another's burdens is a command unchanged and unchangeable4 ,give unto each his opportunity to grow1 and to build for progress4 ,freedom to strive is the one right inherent in existence1 the strong and the weak each following his own purpose1 with all his force1 to the one great end4 ,and he who binds or limits his brother's purpose binds himself now and hereafter4 ,but he who extends his brother's opportunity builds for eternity4 8,choose ye4 8,this is the fifth lesson40 ,,vi ,april #c;d4 8,this is the sixth lesson4 8,men are afraid of fear4 ,they fear to fear1 and fall into folly4 ,fear of disintegrating purposes makes for wisdom1 and wisdom makes for construction4 ,fear is a disintegrating force made constructive1 when directed against disintegration4 8,wisdom in high places has been dethroned1 and intellectual curiosity usurps the scepter4 ,men who should lay foundations of wisdom experiment with fantasies of the intellectual dreamer4 8,brotherhood1 to one class1 is a defensive organization1 for protection4 ,brotherhood1 to another class1 is an offensive organization1 for pillage4 ,brotherhood1 to another class1 is an organized attempt to preserve the unfit4 ,brotherhood1 to another class1 is a dream of unorganized following of untried theories4 ,none of these know that all men are brothers4 8,evolution of matter follows evolution of purpose1 but when material things are left behind1 purpose continues to progress4 ,why1 then1 lose your purpose in pursuit of material gain8 8,church and state alike urge morality for personal ends1 and recommend personal punishments4 ,there is no morality4 ,there is only purpose1 constructive or destructive4 ,there is no punishment4 ,there is only consequence4 8,personal motives are deterrent forces1 neither actively constructive nor actively destructive1 except as they may be applied4 ,these forces crowd in between the contending purposes1 hindering both and helping neither1 except when compelled by sheer force of numbers to sweep on with one or the other4 8,forces of disintegration are frequently mistaken for personal motives4 ,they are always destructive4 ,personal motives are always deterrent4 ,self-interest excludes sympathy4 ,purpose demands sympathy4 ,self-interest excludes true unity4 ,unity is the ,great ,purpose4 ,any morality based on personal interest is1 therefore1 a deterrent force4 8,the time has not yet come when men in the mass have vision4 ,the great ,purpose to the small mind is vague and of no significance4 ,personal motives are more easily recognized than purpose1 and ,church and state emphasize and encourage them4 ,but the time is at hand when great conflicting purposes will meet in combat for control of men4 ,wake the sleepers4 ,cast off little things4 ,sink personal motives4 ,rouse ,church and state to perception of force and purpose1 and unite together1 regardless of class1 creed1 or party1 to win the world to purposes of construction4 8,church and state urge unity1 and yield none4 ,tolerance1 freedom1 fearlessness1 light--these are almost strangers to temple or court4 ,little by little the lines are softening4 ,little by little we gain on fear4 ,here a tolerant and noble clergyman1 there a statesman who serves the state4 ,but for one of these1 a thousand huddle under creed or slogan1 and fear of freedom impels them all4 ,this is because they have not recognized purpose1 and they impede progress who might be its power4 8,come forth1 then1 priests1 teachers1 and leaders6 ,call upon the people1 not to follow1 not to huddle1 not to hesitate1 but1 to choose4 ,set ye the seven purposes clearly before them1 clearly perceiving them1 ye that call1 and bid them choose1 for the life of all1 the purpose they will serve4 8,thus may deterrent forces become constructive1 and the ,great ,purpose known of all men4 8,this is the sixth lesson40 ,,vii ,april #eth4 8,this is the seventh lesson4 8,before the light of freedom dawned on the world1 a puissant chaos of purposes and forces fought for control of the liberties of men4 ,a short space of time brought liberty of body1 after the perception of the people had been clarified by the gradual development of the ideal of liberty4 ,they moved rapidly toward it1 when they began to understand it1 with halts and hesitations and blunders1 but forcefully and inevitably still4 ,they overthrew kings and barons1 and took into their own hands the physical and material government of their kind4 ,but their minds and forces are still enslaved and shackled by outworn tradition4 #8,onward ,christian soldiers'1 is a plea for progress2 but it has become a recessional1 not a marching song4 ,men have made their justice vassal to tradition1 and their brotherhood fief to gain4 8,men have learned the value of free bodies1 but free force1 mental or spiritual1 terrifies and puzzles them still4 ,they have learned to discipline their bodies1 to keep them strong and clean4 ,but they fear to trust the purposes and forces1 without chains and prison bars to hold them1 lest they make chaos of civilization4 ,church1 state1 profession1 trade1 guild1 or society commands3 ,thou shalt not think4 ,follow1 yield1 accept1 and endure1 but let not thought be found among ye1 lest the bars be broken and destruction loosed4 8,many men follow2 a few men think4 ,these are the overlords1 the kings and barons of forces that might be free4 ,but freedom demands free purpose1 and free purpose demands justice4 8,no man is free who commands not himself4 ,no man is free who forgets his brother4 ,no man is free who fears to follow his own purpose with all his force4 ,no man is free who fails to carry his share of common load4 ,he may have wealth and luxury2 yet is he slave4 ,he may be tempted by beauty2 yet is he slave4 ,he may be frightened by calamity2 yet is he slave4 ,he may be beaten by strangers2 yet is he slave4 ,no man is free who commands not himself in any emergency4 ,he may lose wealth and luxury1 and still be free4 ,he may dwell with squalor1 who loves beauty1 and still be free4 ,he may be defrauded by his brother1 and still be free4 ,he may be shackled by strangers1 beaten and imprisoned1 and still be free4 8,freedom lieth not in a man's estate1 but in the man himself4 8,this is the seventh lesson40 ,,viii ,april #hth4 8,this is the eighth lesson4 8,many men try to perceive the purpose of ,god in truth and beauty and justice1 and fail to recognize that the ,eternal ,purpose is unlimited by the detached conceptions of men4 ,truth is one of the fundamental purposes4 ,beauty is a subdivision of ,building4 ,justice is fundamental4 ,all are part of the ,eternal ,purpose4 ,but the ,great ,purpose is unity4 8,the fundamental purposes are common to all men1 of whatever race1 color1 belief1 or prejudice4 ,they are the foundation from which the forces of ,eternal ,purpose start1 and by their divisions only are men ultimately grouped4 ,as a commander divides his army into infantry1 artillery1 cavalry1 air forces1 quartermaster1 engineer1 and medical corps1 so are the eternal forces divided into the seven purposes for the eternal conflict4 8,the purposes of disintegration are more than seven4 ,they divide into myriad motives as they fight the aspirations of immortal man4 ,free men choose freely how they will array themselves1 but slaves are driven by their masters1 visible or invisible1 to fight for purposes not their own4 ,only when they have learned to discipline and develop their minds1 as they now discipline and develop their bodies1 may they choose freely the force with which they will be arrayed4 8,rich man against poor man4 ,capital against labor4 ,state against offender4 ,poor man against wealth4 ,labor against development4 ,criminal against law4 ,all are false distinctions4 8,seek ye the man of your own purpose1 and cleave to him4 ,if ye would build1 seek a builder4 ,if ye would heal1 seek a healer4 ,if justice absorb ye1 seek a man furthering justice4 ,but be not misled by the slave-driver1 without or within4 ,beware of the bell-wether1 and of personal or material motives4 ,govern yourselves first1 and then choose ye whether to fight for progress or for disintegration1 for unity or for destruction4 ,then choose ye the purpose ye will serve forcefully through eternity4 8,this is the eighth lesson40 ,,ix ,april #hth4 8,this is the ninth lesson4 8,men have lived in fear of forces from without1 and have not perceived that within themselves all forces are made potent4 ,men have feared purposes from without1 and have not perceived that their own purpose is eternal4 ,men have talked of power1 and failed to perceive its source4 ,men have dreamed of possession1 and failed to find freedom4 ,possession is temporary and ephemeral4 ,freedom is eternal4 ,should a man yield the freedom of his eternal purpose for any possession whatsoever8 8,build ye with all possessions1 that purpose may be free4 ,for brotherhood commandeth service1 and for this are possessions hallowed4 ,he who hath1 and denieth his brother opportunity1 destroys his own purpose4 ,he who hath possessions1 and giveth his brother opportunity1 builds for eternity4 ,he who hath power and plenitude1 and giveth his brother help1 has given all men more than the one can take4 ,he has built for eternity4 8,the man who has this power to build with possessions for eternal progress has a force beside his own1 the force of material purpose to aid his brother's force4 ,many there be who build for eternity with material possessions4 ,they are the keepers of the keys for all who labor1 stewards of opportunity4 8,he who has opportunity to strive1 and striveth not1 destroys his own purpose4 ,he who has the key to opportunity for building offered him1 and fails to free the force1 destroys both his own purpose and that of his brother4 8,one purpose are all to serve--,progress4 ,and whether it be with purpose and possessions1 or with purpose and poverty1 all serve equally who put their whole force into service4 8,so may all men know they are brothers4 8,this is the ninth lesson40 ,x ,april #ith4 8,this is the tenth lesson4 8,the purposes of disintegration are these4 ,malice1 ,envy1 ,doubt1 ,falsehood1 ,ignorance1 ,lust1 ,cupidity1 ,fear4 ,all these make for ,destruction1 which is the strong purpose that moves them all4 ,each of these is divided and subdivided into myriad motives of disintegration1 many of which disguise themselves before daring to enter the consciousness of man4 8,malice and ,envy present themselves most often as ,light or ,justice4 ,doubt as ,light1 ,lust as ,justice or ,production1 ,cupidity as ,building1 ,fear and ,ignorance as ,truth1 and ,destruction as ,progress4 ,but the disguises vary with the individual and with the moment1 and the motives springing from these purposes are legion4 8,each individual in your life is a battleground of purposes that have fought from the moment the purposes of disintegration gathered one to another4 ,each man struggles to ally himself permanently with one or another of the purposes within him4 ,thus is it that a man whose desire is for light falls victim to malice1 envy1 and destruction2 and he whose desire is production1 to lust4 ,weakness of purpose is a subdivision of fear1 and folly a minion of ignorance4 8,all men aspire4 ,some with reluctance and halting1 but all feel the purpose of progress working within them4 ,they may mistake its nature or deny its power1 but no man lives who has not felt its prompting4 ,this is the purpose beyond all others1 the ,eternal ,purpose of ,united ,construction4 ,no man can thwart it1 no man can evade it1 no force can defeat it4 ,why1 then1 oppose and delay it8 8,come1 all ye who struggle and strive6 ,perceive once and forever the purpose of life1 join now the forces of construction1 and bring to all men ,brotherhood4 8,this is the tenth lesson40 ,,xi ,april #abth4 8,this is the eleventh lesson4 8,there is no man who has not force4 ,he may be frail of body1 weak of purpose1 light of mind1 faltering of step4 ,yet to some degree has he force1 for without force personality cannot exist4 ,there is no man so frail of body1 so weak of purpose1 so faltering of step1 that he has not personality4 ,there is no personality that is not a force for construction or for destruction4 ,none that may not serve to build4 8,there is no man so bound up in himself1 so personal of motive1 so narrow of vision1 that he may not be turned from a deterrent force into a force for construction1 save only those already given to purposes of disintegration4 8,but no man is so vigorous of body1 so firm of purpose1 so profound of mind1 so sure of step1 that he may perfect his brother's life4 #8,am ,i my brother's keeper8' has been transformed from a question uttered in defense of iniquity to an assertion uttered in defense of arrogance4 #8,am ,i not my brother's keeper8' 8,no man is his brother's keeper4 ,the utmost that he may do for his brother is to arouse his brother's purpose1 whether for construction or for destruction4 ,call to the purpose of ,progress4 ,call to the seven purposes of construction4 ,help ye each brother to find the onward way4 ,but if he will not answer1 if calling fail to move him1 then bid him destroy after his own purpose1 that the fight may be open and his allegiance known of all men4 8,freedom to choose is the inalienable right of every human soul4 ,who hinders his brother's purpose delays the end of battle4 ,win him to progress1 if he can be won by calling4 ,bid him declare himself1 if he answer not the call4 ,but he who coerces his brother1 though it be toward construction1 prolongs the struggle and delays the ,great ,purpose4 8,no man is his brother's keeper4 8,this is the eleventh lesson40 ,,xii ,april #abth4 8,this is the twelfth lesson4 8,many men there be who fight for liberty and coerce their brothers4 8,in war1 all men must fight4 ,but there is no man who may choose for another how his allegiance may be given4 8,he who is not for progress is against it4 ,he who has no allegiance that he will declare1 is traitor to himself and to the purpose he follows4 ,cast him out and he will find his purpose known4 8,so shall the opposing forces be clearly indicated4 ,so shall each man find his own purpose clearly defined4 ,so shall the wars within wars cease among men1 and the fight be with you1 as it is with us1 between purposes and forces known and united1 one against the other1 until all purposes of destruction have been conquered and transformed1 and the ,great ,purpose rendered free to progress to greater glories without end4 8,this is the twelfth lesson40 ,,notes ,asked to explain one phrase in the first ,lesson1 8the original purposes were all good10 ,mary ,k4 said3 8,all were balanced4 ,there is no evil that may not be good in proper combination4 ,evil is the gathered force of undirected and not fully animated good1 combined in a destructive purpose by the attraction ,i mentioned40 99 99 99 99 99 ,an apparent contradiction of a statement in the first ,lesson--8,all pure purpose is fearless1 whether for good or evil0--by one in the second ,lesson--8,the forces of disintegration are wily1 but fearful4 ,bullies and cowards0--seemed to imply that forces of disintegration are not pure purpose4 ,mary ,k4 explained3 8,they are pure purpose1 fearless in pursuance of destruction1 wily in bringing it about1 brutal in consummating it1 but cowards individually4 ,fearless of consequences when they pursue1 but fearful when they fail4 ,like ,germans40 99 99 99 99 99 ,early in ,june1 ,i discovered a relation between the definition of ,eternal ,purpose in the second paragraph of the third ,lesson1 and the divisions of the purpose of ,progress near the end4 8,eternal purpose is perfect justice 7,justice71 perfect fearlessness 7,production71 perfect understanding 7,light71 perfect honesty 7,truth71 perfect sympathy 7,healing71 perfect unity 7,building71 and eternal growth 7,progress71 which is progress perfectly expressed40 99 99 99 99 99 ,the end of the seventh ,lesson seemed obscure1 until the relation between its clauses was discovered4 ,written thus1 its meaning is clear3 87#a7 ,no man is free who commands not himself4 7#b7 ,no man is free who forgets his brother4 7#c7 ,no man is free who fears to follow his purpose with all his force4 7#d7 ,no man is free who fails to carry his share of the common load4 ,he may have wealth and luxury1 yet is he slave 7#a7 if he commands not himself4 ,he may be tempted by beauty 7#b7 to forget his brother1 yet is he slave1 if he commands not himself4 ,he may be frightened by calamity 7#c7 in following his purpose1 yet is he slave1 if he commands not himself4 ,he may be beaten by strangers 7#d7 while carrying his share of the common load1 yet is he slave if he commands not himself40 99 99 99 99 99 #ith ,lesson4 ,a curious inconsistency in the use of verbs will be noticed here1 archaic and modern forms appearing in the same sentence repeatedly4 ,this may have been due to my great fatigue when this lesson was taken1 to the presence in the room of other persons1 or to some condition or intention as yet unexplained4 ,part ,,iii 8,science is the ladder by which life may quickly ascend1 but until science recognizes a spiritual force as the one essential force1 of which all other forces are incidental phenomena1 progress must be limited40 8,we have purpose to progress beyond the vision of man1 but even material progress1 to be constructive and permanent1 must be governed by a vision beyond the day4 ,we are trying to extend that vision40 ,i ,immediately after the first ,lesson had been given1 ,cass telephoned that the news from ,france was alarming4 ,it was ,saturday1 ,march #bc;d4 ,the great ,german offensive of #aiah had begun two days earlier1 and the ,allied forces were falling back1 with appalling losses4 ,i asked ,mary ,k4 whether she could tell us anything about it4 8,yes4 ,it is a force of destruction1 momentarily victorious1 but ,germany cannot win4 ,she moves steadily toward her destruction40 ,remembering our differing conceptions of time1 ,i asked3 8,do you speak in terms finite or infinite80 8,you will see her defeat soon1 but the fight eternal will not be over with the end of the ,great ,war4 ,that will be only a temporary lull1 and we shall have it all to do over and over1 until conscious purpose ends it4 ,do not fear40 ,the emphasis is hers4 ,to be sure ,i had made no mistake1 ,i pressed the inquiry again4 8,you need not fear the end of the war4 ,it is certain and inevitable4 ,germany is doomed1 and must work her way back to light4 ,this is not foreordained1 but here we already see the end1 and are looking toward the battles that will still be raging when the countries of the world seem peaceful40 ,some weeks later1 this confident prophecy was slightly modified in its letter1 though not in its spirit1 when she said3 8,unless the ,allied purpose is undermined by forces of spiritual disintegration1 ,germany is doomed1 but the fight must be kept up with confidence and consciously united force and purpose40 ,this1 however1 merely emphasizes the teaching of all the lessons1 that constructive purpose cannot find expression in passivity1 that he who would live must fight1 and that he who is not actively striving for progress is arrayed against it4 ,as has been said1 my knowledge of philosophies is of the slightest1 and there is scarcely a suggestion contained in the first ,lesson that was not new to me and entirely foreign to my habit of thought4 ,therefore1 ,i sent a copy of it to ,mr4 ,kendal1 asking him to tell me whether the cosmic theory there outlined was familiar to him4 ,conscious of ,mary ,k4's summons1 ,i took up a pencil4 8,tell ,mr4 ,kendal the philosophers have perceived the truth in fragments4 ,this is to be the whole truth1 as far as it can be understood on your plane4 ,it may sound1 at moments1 like a patchwork of philosophies1 because all--or most--of them have some truth4 ,he will help you in this4 ,he found the truth in spite of philosophies1 and it is part of his work to help others find it because of one--a philosophy not dreamed1 but lived and proved and known4 ,therefore1 not a philosophy1 but a faith40 ,the next day1 we dined with friends of that ,anne ,lowe for whom ,i had asked the first night ,mary ,k4 came to me1 and from her long messages to them1 a few may be quoted4 8444 ,it has always been easy for me to reach you1 because you never doubted that ,i was there4 ,doubt is one of the things we cannot reach through4 ,doubt1 bitterness1 grief--all these are destructive forces40 ,to a statement that they had felt deep grief1 she returned3 8,you have not had the kind of grief that would shut me out4 ,you have shut out some helpful forces1 but you will do that no longer4 ,it is because the force may reach you through me that ,i can come4 ,we are the same purpose1 and ,i can reach you freely4 ,we can always reach those who are very near and dear4 ,sometimes people are dear to us there who are not really near us here4 ,they do not need us1 nor we them4 ,it is an ephemeral relation4 ,love lasts eternally4 ,please don't ever forget that4444 ,listen to me4 ,i cannot always reach you as directly as this1 but just as soon as you learn to read my thoughts1 as ,i now read yours1 a messenger will not be necessary40 ,briefly she explained to them the eternal significance of the ,great ,war1 the united purpose of ,germany1 and the failure of the ,allies1 thus far1 to comprehend the essence of unity4 ,elizabeth1 one of her friends1 mentioned that it was like her to drop personalities for great issues1 and she replied3 8,the reason that ,i told you the thing ,i did about the great purposes and the eternal conflict is that ,i want you to realize a little of what it is all for1 and to help you recognize the great ends toward which your problems lead4 ,build1 build1 never cease to build4 ,unite yourself to anybody who is of your purpose4 ,keep as clear as you can from entangling yourselves with forces of disintegration40 ,miss ,s----1 a teacher1 and a stranger to me1 was present1 and after a little her brother took control of the pencil4 8,you cannot realize how intimately we work together still10 was one of his assertions to her4 8,you are a fine force for progress4 ,you are being and teaching the things we all work for here4 ,teach1 above all1 unity of purpose4 ,never mind the method4 ,look to the goal4 ,building1 light1 freedom1 faith--these are what the forces of construction stand for1 the way to the great purpose4 ,the forces of disintegration are gathering for a tremendous fight4 ,the ,great ,war is one of the crises of civilization1 but the battle to come still is one of the crises of eternity4 ,it is for that we are preparing now4 ,this is what we must say to all dear to us and1 through them1 to as wide a public as we can reach4444 ,it is a great message that is to be given4 ,to-day ,i only want you to be sure that ,i know all you feel and all you have suffered1 and that the more confidently and freely you reach out to me1 knowing ,i am there1 the more easily and surely ,i can reach you40 ,like the others1 this man used the circle1 which we were beginning to perceive must signify more than joy1 as we understand the word4 ,for example1 on this occasion it was used thus3 8,you will look for me now1 listen for me1 feel me near you1 and the 7,o7 will be as near your life as it ever can be there40 ,after telling her of the frequent use of this symbol1 ,i asked him whether it had not a deeper significance--perhaps completion1 perfection1 consummate unity1 something joyous of this larger sort1 to which he replied in the affirmative4 ,a night or two after this1 ,cass suggested that we must make an effort to get into touch with ,david ,bruce1 but ,i said that we had asked about him several times1 and that if he wished or needed to communicate with his family he would undoubtedly let me know4 ,aware of ,mrs4 ,bruce's interest in psychic phenomena1 ,i thought they might have established communication in some way4 ,within a few minutes ,i was conscious of a summons to the pencil4 ,first came ,mary ,k4's strong signature4 ,then1 very quickly3 8,david ,bruce is here1 and wa44440 ,there it ran off into nervous1 illegible waves4 ,when ,i said ,i could not follow1 and asked that the message be more slowly given1 it was resumed where it had been dropped4 8444 wants to talk to ,e 444 ,bess40 ,his wife's name is ,elizabeth1 and naturally was in my mind1 but having written ,e1 the pencil balked1 delayed1 crossed out the ,e1 and finally wrote 8,bess10 firmly4 8,thank you10 was the response to my promise to arrange the interview4 ,for the first time it occurred to me that possibly ,mary ,k4 had given over the pencil1 and ,i asked who was writing1 to be told quickly3 8,d4 ,b40 ,mrs4 ,bruce came the next day to talk to him1 and ,mary ,k4 told me1 before her arrival1 to give her no details about the previous messages1 adding3 8,he will tell her40 ,and while his opening message to her merely summarizes similar assertions previously received1 it is interesting as the first consecutive personal statement of the survival of individuality in the eternal pursuance of constructive purpose4 8,i am here with you1 darling ,bess1 as ,i have been with you from the start10 he began at once4 8,you have known it all the time1 and ,i have been able to reach you in a way that ,i can only describe to you as spiritual40 ,here was the first veiled allusion1 at first rather puzzling1 to that unknown force afterward mentioned by ,william ,james and others4 8,we so long to tell you whom we love not to grieve4 ,we are of you1 as you are of us4 ,even more closely than we were when ,i was visibly with you4 ,perfect union is only possible to pure spirit4 ,that will come4 ,meanwhile1 one of us is pure spirit1 and both of us so much the richer thereby4 ,once1 in the beginning of things1 you and ,i were the same purpose4 ,purposes are eternal4 ,they may be temporarily divided1 temporarily overcome by the forces of disintegration1 which are forever seeking to destroy1 but forever each divided purpose answers to the call of its own4 ,you and ,i were one purpose in the first1 and we shall be perfectly reunited when you have joined me here4 ,but while we were one in the beginning1 one with many others of our great purpose1 we are now eternally definite and separate individuals1 but united as perfectly1 after the first life there1 as if we had returned to one unit4444 ,the first message any of us send must be this one4 ,that is the reason we can come so freely now and tell so much40 ,a little later1 speaking of their children1 he said3 8,all young people have battles to fight and problems to solve4 ,don't try to spare them that4 ,it is thus they learn life's lessons1 and the more they learn there the readier they will be to do the fine and glorious work here40 ,he had spoken before of being very busy1 and now she commented3 8,he seems so interested in the work60 8,interested is not the word4 ,it's more like inspiration40 8,was the passing difficult80 she asked4 8,not difficult at all4 ,the pain ended with unconsciousness40 8,but you had no pain60 8,yes1 ,i had some--not expressed1 nor quite definite4 ,difficult to explain until experienced4 ,words do not convey the sensation4 ,not quite fear1 not quite pain1 but a strange moment of suffering4 ,then consciousness again1 beauty1 force1 perfectly clear perceptions1 but a period of something approaching incredulity40 ,i mentioned ,frederick's statement that he had been 8dazed by the bigness of it10 and ,mr4 ,bruce went on4 8,that's it4 ,the bigness of it is indescribable1 and so extraordinarily lovely and high that it is not readily realized or grasped40 ,she said she had dreaded to have him go alone1 and asked whether some one met him4 8,yes1 we are very tenderly received4 ,there is always a part of one's own purpose waiting40 8,have you seen ,jack80 8,yes2 he is still a little bewildered1 but will soon be in fighting trim again40 ,this young man had been killed in an accident4 8#8,in fighting trim'60 she repeated4 8,how funny60 8,no1 it isn't funny4 ,we fight perpetually1 and love it4 ,it is a wonderful thing to fight with the great forces1 and to know why4 ,most of those in your life fight in confusion and doubt1 and suffer4 ,but here we unite ourselves to a definite and constructive purpose1 and the fight is glorious40 8,do you see ,granny80 8,no4 ,she has gone on to a life beyond ours4 ,she will come back1 some day1 and ,i will see her40 8,you have helped me very much by believing that ,i lived10 he told her1 at another point4 8,it is very hard for us to be put aside4444 ,we know here how intimately our life and yours are lived together1 and the one almost intolerable thing is to have our dear ones live and believe that we do not4 ,it defers things so4444 ,it hurts us when the apparent separation is made real40 8,i hope you won't get so far beyond that ,i can't catch up10 she said4 8,never6 ,you will begin farther along than ,i did4 ,we shall go on together now1 for eternity4 ,since you know that ,i am with you1 and especially as we live and work consciously together1 we shall grow together40 8,did ,i do all ,i could for you1 at the last8 ,did you feel my fear80 8,no1 ,i did not feel your fear4 ,but when one knows that the step is coming1 there is one blinding moment of dread4444 ,you kept me a little while10 he continued1 when she said that she had tried to hold him here1 8but the thing had gone too far40 8,was there anything we could have done that was not done80 8,nothing4 ,it had to be40 ,but when she inferred that the time had come for him to take up work in the next plane1 he protested4 8,no4 ,nothing like that is #8intended4' ,there is no foreordination4 ,it is all a matter of forces1 constructive and destructive4 ,my material energy was too little to withstand the material forces of destruction4 ,my flesh yielded4 ,that has no real relation to eternal force4444 ,one serves one's purpose1 here or there4 ,i am doing better work here than ,i could have done there1 but that has no relation or part in death4 ,it is entirely a physical thing40 8,did ---- make you nervous80 8,no mere man could make me fail to respond to your call to courage4 ,i knew and you knew1 that it might be the end of life there2 but there was no possible thing that you could have done1 mentally1 physically1 or spiritually1 that you did not do4 ,it was your courage that kept me calm1 even through that dread moment2 your spirit that met me when ,i woke here2 your tenderness that soothed my first bewilderment2 your purpose that roused me to better1 broader1 finer work than ,i had ever dreamed before4 ,it has been you--you and ,i1 one always--that have helped and upheld me1 as your faith has enabled me to reach and uphold you40 ,this interview took place in the afternoon1 and with a good deal of incidental conversation1 covered several hours1 leaving me very tired4 ,but after dinner the familiar summons warned me that my services were again in demand4 ,i took up a pencil1 and ,mary ,k4 announced the second ,lesson1 which followed rapidly1 with the same unhesitating flow that had characterized the first one4 ,,ii ,meanwhile1 happy letters were coming almost daily from the ,gaylord family1 and less frequently1 but with expressions of equal conviction1 from ,mr4 ,kendal4 ,mrs4 ,gaylord had promised to spend ,easter week with relatives1 in a ,middle ,western town1 which she had not visited--indeed1 had scarcely dared to think of--since taking ,frederick's body there for burial2 and the day after the second ,lesson was given she arrived in ,new ,york1 where she paused briefly en route1 her elder daughter and son-in-law joining her the next morning4 ,although her train arrived late in the evening1 we talked a little to ,frederick before separating for the night4 ,we had been commenting on her changed appearance4 8,mother dearest1 you are not much differenter than ,i am10 he began1 after the usual signature4 8,why1 ,frederick60 she exclaimed4 8,are you better1 too80 ,he made the enthusiastic little circle so often used4 87,o7 ,so much better6 ,you can't guess how much better ,i am4 ,it helps me as much as it does you40 8,were you at ,mrs4 ,z----'s the other day80 she asked1 referring to a visit to a 8medium10 of which ,i had not been informed4 8,i was that1 but she fell down on what ,i was trying to get over10 was the reply4 ,when his mother said she had not received what she expected on that occasion1 he returned3 8,nor what we expected4444 ,she's all right1 as far as she goes40 ,he told her1 also1 that the woman accompanying him1 described by ,mrs4 ,z----1 had been his father's mother4 8,this is a nice1 peaceful powwow we're having to-night10 he commented1 when they had exchanged views concerning various personal matters4 8,i had to work last time1 but this time ,i'm here for44440 ,the pencil paused1 and ,i asked3 8,for what80 8,just for a good time1 ,mrs4 ,l----4 ,sis is coming to the party to-morrow4 ,hooray60 ,a little later1 when she expressed some uncertainty about her ability to go through an ,easter in ,k----1 with all its sad associations1 unshaken1 he warned her3 8,don't you go backsliding60 ,continuing1 she told us that his last illness had developed just before ,easter1 and that in his desire to give the family an unclouded day he had persuaded a friend to send them a typewritten letter1 which he signed1 containing no intimation of his illness4 8,i'll write you a letter this ,easter with a lot more pep in it10 he promised4 8,you go on and have your ,easter presents1 and flowers1 and eggs1 and all1 and when you begin backsliding1 stop 444 look 444 listen#g 444 and ,i'll be on the crossing1 ringing the bell40 ,with an ejaculation of surprise1 his mother told us that she had been recently in the home of a traffic expert1 whose large hall was strikingly decorated with signs for the regulation of traffic4 8,i believe that's what he's thinking of60 she exclaimed4 8,sure1 you've got it6 ,i'll ask ,sis to buy you a bell for me1 to remind you40 ,this diversion had completely banished the gathering sadness of her reminiscences1 and she began talking of ,washington1 whence she had come1 saying that there seemed to be a good deal of pessimism in official circles concerning war conditions4 ,it will be remembered that the bombardment of ,paris1 by a long-distance gun1 began ,march #bc;d4 8,there are lots of things ,washington doesn't know10 ,frederick assured her4 8,the end of the war must come soon40 ,we wondered1 as ,i had before1 how much difference there was between his conception of time1 as indicated by the word 8soon10 and ours4 8,none of us can name the day and hour1 but we see the inevitable end coming soon4 ,germany knows she is weakened1 but doesn't know why4 ,we do1 and we have told you4 ,no nation on earth can fight this fight alone1 deserted by all purposes1 both for good and evil1 and with only one force left--,fear40 ,long afterward1 ,mary ,k4 said to me1 in this connection3 8,we see the awakening purpose of forces for progress in your life1 and are able to help them in proportion to the vigor with which that purpose is put into action4 ,germany1 on the other hand1 fights now with only physical power4 ,eternal forces are implacably against her1 and the forces of destruction have abandoned her4 ,she has no ally here now4 ,her unity is destroyed1 while ours is strengthening4 ,the only danger1 as far as the war is concerned1 lies in a weakening of actual purpose1 forcefully expressed in action4 ,we are your allies1 answering your call and inciting you to endeavor4 ,when ,germany began this war she had superhuman strength1 which the world was unprepared to meet1 but for every vibration of pure constructive purpose among the ,allied forces we have added two1 and only a weakening of your purpose can defeat us now4 ,every individual among you who fails to strive for victory with all his strength invites disaster40 ,frederick's talk with his mother was brief that night1 and when she arose1 to return to her hotel1 he said3 8,good night4 ,i am going home with you1 if ,i may40 ,this seemed to ,cass and me a curious phrase1 under the circumstances1 and we also commented upon his generous use of slang1 especially in the latest interview1 wondering whether it were characteristic of him4 ,the next morning his sister1 ,mrs4 ,wylie1 arrived with her husband1 to spend a day with ,mrs4 ,gaylord in ,new ,york4 ,it chanced that they had been away from home for several weeks and had seen none of ,frederick's manuscript1 nor any copy of it4 ,as she read--from the original roll--his messages of the preceding evening1 she constantly exclaimed3 8,how characteristic60 and his closing phrase brought tears to her eyes4 ,she told me1 then1 that along with a copious use of slang1 ,frederick had preserved an odd little formality of phrase1 even in his closest personal relations--a trait not common to other members of the family4 ,later1 in glancing for the first time through the typewritten record of earlier interviews1 again and again she expressed astonishment at the characteristic quality of his phraseology1 which had not been mentioned to me before4 ,mrs4 ,gaylord had spoken of her vivid consciousness of his personality1 imbuing all he said to her1 and had told me1 during the earlier days of this intercourse1 more or less about his habit of thought1 but it is characteristic of her to ignore minor details1 and only when ,mrs4 ,wylie arrived did ,i learn anything about his habit of speech4 8,frederick10 he announced1 when we invited communication1 his bold signature stretching across the whole width of the paper4 8,hello1 ,sis6 ,this is too good not to be true6 ,hello1 ,dick60 ,this to ,mr4 ,wylie1 whose marriage to his sister had taken place during the last weeks of his illness4 8,welcome home to the family6 ,we're all in it now1 for good and all4 ,this is the thing we've all needed1 ,i almost as much as the rest of you1 but ,i did know that sooner or later it must come1 so ,i could bear it better than you could40 ,it must not be understood that all these communications came as consecutively as they are presented here4 ,there were frequent pauses2 sometimes because of our preoccupation in conversation2 sometimes1 apparently1 because of difficulties of transmission not explained4 ,occasionally ,i stopped to verify a word or a phrase1 asking if it had been correctly taken1 and with increasing frequency the pencil returned without suggestion from me1 to cross out false starts4 ,some of the latter1 which seemed significant1 will be indicated from time to time4 ,the following message1 however1 came rapidly1 without pause4 8,we are all of kindred purposes4 ,that's the reason we cling to each other so4 ,family hasn't a thing to do with it4 ,it was our good fortune to have no forces of disintegration in our immediate group4 ,we are all builders1 in one way or another4 ,not all in the same way1 but all for the great purpose4 ,this is one of the things ,i have wanted to say to you4 ,don't be misled by transient relationships of that life4 ,respect them1 but don't be eternally influenced by them1 because when you get over here you'll find that some of the people you've thought you were most fond of have simply dropped out4 ,you don't need them1 nor they you4 ,find your purposes clearly1 and stick to them4 ,we all have purpose1 but not all of you there have found out just what yours is4 ,find it1 and follow it fearlessly4 ,there1 that's off my chest60 ,mr4 ,wylie spoke of the 8upside-down stunt10 of which some one had written him1 and ,i said it had been done chiefly to convince me--to show me1 in ,frederick's phrase1 8who was running it40 8,you know now who is running it10 he contributed1 8but you're certainly formal with strangers60 ,in the midst of some talk of ours1 the pencil swung off with vigor1 writing1 8,sis60 in huge script1 like a joyous exclamation1 ending in strong circles4 8,just wait till ,i catch ,dad60 he went on4 8,and ,babe1 too6 ,all of us together6 ,margaret will have to forget her formality then1 ,i tell you60 ,mrs4 ,wylie mentioned the common impression that personality must be transmuted by death into something remote and strange--that only the soul survived4 8,of course1 we love the soul of any one dear to us10 she said4 8,but1 after all1 the thing we know best1 and therefore love best1 is the habit of thought--the characteristic mental attitude1 and it is so wonderful to find ,frederick unchanged--just like himself40 8,sure6 ,why not80 he returned4 8,you people must learn that this isn't #8like himself4' ,it is himself4 ,right here on the job40 8,those words60 ,his mother and sister exchanged startled glances4 ,then they told me that just before his long struggle for life on this plane ended1 when during six months his powers of recuperation had repeatedly astonished surgeons and nurses1 he opened his eyes1 to find his father bending over him1 and whispered for the last time3 8,on the job40 8,i've always been on it since1 too10 he rapidly assured them1 8and longing to tell you so4 ,you never can know1 until you try it1 how we hate to be left out4 ,we're on the job as you can't even imagine1 and it makes us sort o' sick that we can't get it over to you of our own love and purpose40 ,he interrupted the talk following this with3 8,trot along to lunch6 ,i want to start going and not stop4 ,get it over1 do60 ,so we trotted1 and got it over as soon as possible1 though throughout the meal he insisted upon having a voice in the conversation1 writing messages on all the blank paper we had about us1 and over the backs of the available menu cards4 8,you can't lose me1 and needn't try10 he told me1 and when ,i protested that he was making it impossible for me to finish my luncheon1 he retorted3 8,you have a perfectly good left hand4 ,eat with that40 ,several times ,mr4 ,wylie expressed his interest in what he called 8the upside-down stunt10 and when we were again seated about a writing-table1 ,frederick 8demonstrated40 8,incidentally1 ,dick10 he mentioned1 starting at my right and writing toward my left1 8you wanted to see this work4 ,well1 here you are4 ,this is the way it is done40 ,as this began1 ,mrs4 ,gaylord smiled1 pulling her chair nearer to the table1 where she could watch every movement of the pencil4 8,sit up closer1 ,mother dearest10 ,frederick continued1 8and everybody hold hands40 ,looking slightly bewildered1 she held out her hands to the others4 ,i said that he had used a figure of speech1 but she thought he had meant it literally1 and we referred the question to him4 8,yes1 all but your writing-hand10 he said2 so we all joined hands1 and ,i asked why4 8,just to make us know more surely that we are all one and indivisible1 from now on through eternity4 ,easter resurrection for every one of us4 ,we are all born again1 to some extent1 by our communion in this way2 ,i more than you1 because ,i have left the flesh behind4 ,but to you has come new life1 new force1 new purpose1 new faith1 through your touch with this life of pure spirit4 ,it is truly your resurrection4 ,this is your ,easter message4 ,hail6 ,and be happy ever after60 ,i anticipated none of this message1 and its tenor surprised me greatly4 ,before ,i had recovered from my astonishment ,mrs4 ,gaylord exclaimed3 8,that must be the ,easter letter he promised me60 ,immediately he signed it4 8,frederick1 to ,mother and all of you40 ,we spoke of the relation of this whole revelation to orthodox religion1 and some one said that it was not in accordance with the ,bible4 8,yes1 it is10 he contradicted4 8,you have never learned to read the ,bible in this light4 ,the great prophecies have always been phrased in the language1 and more or less in the spirit1 of the time in which they were uttered4 ,this is the first time in the history of the world when physical science has been sufficiently advanced to enable us to tell the people the truth in terms they would truly understand4 ,prophecies have been veiled1 apparently1 not because the truth was vague1 but because men were not prepared to understand it in all its details4 ,nor are they now4 ,but this is to be the whole truth1 as far as it can be understood now by your prophets and people4 ,and for the first time it is possible to give it to you directly in this way1 without pretense or mystery1 book or bell1 a natural law operating naturally and freely1 through an accredited messenger who makes no claim to inspiration40 ,in the course of our drifting talk his mother remembered that ,mrs4 ,z---- had tried to convey a warning through her from ,frederick to ,mr4 ,wylie1 but had been unable to tell her what it concerned4 ,after some effort to discover its connection1 suggesting possible journeys or business ventures1 ,mrs4 ,z---- had finally said that ,dick was about to do something1 she did not know what2 but whatever it was1 ,frederick said he must not do it4 ,mrs4 ,gaylord now asked ,frederick what he had intended to say4 8,she didn't get my message4 ,i was trying to tell him not to be fearful about anything40 ,mr4 ,wylie is sometimes prey to nervous apprehension and worry4 8,it keeps us back and we can't help him as we're trying to do4 ,open up1 ,dick6 ,let us in and we'll all pull together40 ,this apparently touched some situation unknown to me1 for ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,wylie exchanged glances1 and instantly ,frederick made his quick circles4 87,o7 ,that's it6 ,now we're off6 ,no1 it isn't incredible10 he added1 replying to some comment of theirs4 8,it's the truest thing you ever heard4 ,but ,mrs4 ,z---- can't get beyond externals40 ,this seems to be a very good example of the way certain messages are confused by the persons through whom they come4 ,in this case1 while the intended warning was conveyed1 a purely subjective and spiritual message was so distorted1 however unconsciously and unintentionally1 that it was given an objective and material significance4 ,asked whether an acquaintance of theirs would be helped by a knowledge of their intercourse with him1 he said3 8,she is not ready for this yet4 ,few people1 comparatively1 are free enough to accept it4 ,it has been forbidden by the church1 ridiculed by the laity1 and labelled #8poison1 don't touch' by neurologists and the scientific1 half-baked intellectuals40 8,fake mediums have done a lot to bring it into disrepute10 ,mr4 ,wylie suggested4 8,that's the reason for some of it4 ,another reason1 less obvious to you1 but equally potent1 is that people who had the sensitiveness to be messengers frequently lacked the purpose of truth fundamentally1 and though thinking they were honest1 entertained devils unaware4444 ,that is the reason so many people have gone to pieces1 mentally and physically4 ,the purposes of disintegration caught them and destroyed them4 ,but this time1 we beat them to it40 8,all philosophies have had some foundation of truth10 he told us1 a little later1 8or they would not have been permitted to live4 ,this new faith will be attacked by the disintegrating forces1 in an attempt to discredit it as a patchwork of philosophies4 ,the new truths they will ignore1 or flatly deny4 ,but this is the whole truth1 as far as it can be told now4 ,believe it1 follow it1 preach it1 live it1 and we shall truly build that structure ,i told you of1 ,mother dearest1 of force1 light1 and sweetness--which is you4 ,i seem to be doing a darned lot of preaching60 8,it isn't like you1 either10 his mother remarked4 8,you see1 we've got to get this over4 ,it's imperative40 ,at that1 she said it was like him1 after all1 because he had always talked eagerly to the family about his 8job10 whatever it might be1 adding3 8,is it #8imperative' because of the war and the sorrow8 ,or because the time is ripe80 8,it's because there's the very devil of a fight coming1 and we've got to gather every force we have1 and unite it40 8,is beating the ,germans helping the constructive force8 ,or is the war merely the awakening through suffering80 8,germany has been united in purpose as a destructive force for many years4 ,they gave themselves deliberately1 not as individuals1 but as a people1 to what parsons call the powers of darkness4 ,we know them to be forces of disintegration1 which found in ,germany their strongest ally in the civilized world4 ,we've been fighting ,germany and her purposes here for years1 ,i find4 ,suffering makes people readier to listen to truth1 but beating ,germany was as necessary to the world's health as sanitation to a hospital40 8,that's a clear and explicit statement10 some one said4 8,we are perfectly definite and explicit about questions of eternal purpose4 ,the difficulty with most people is that they want to know how much ,u4 ,s4 ,steel will go up next ,tuesday1 or whether to give the baby soothing-syrup40 ,after some interchange concerning his father and younger sister1 he said1 8,i want to write them an ,easter greeting40 ,so we got a fresh roll of paper1 and he wrote a brief but tender letter1 which was sent to them that night4 8,which one of us will be best able to do this80 ,mrs4 ,wylie asked4 8444 ,the time will come when this sort of thing is unnecessary4 ,we can talk without material aid4444 ,we never know when the power is going to develop4 ,it's much like an electric current4 ,you never know it's there until you feel it--until your signal comes over the wire4444 ,try it out1 all of you4 ,we know no more about who can do it than you do1 except in cases of extraordinary power40 ,some time afterward1 however1 he warned them of the dangers of attempting to handle this force1 intimating that great conservation of energy in other directions should accompany the endeavor4 ,his mother spoke of his being happy1 and he returned3 8,perfectly happy now1 thank you4 ,it's the eternal thing1 really started4 ,i hate to have this party break up1 but anyhow it isn't for long4 ,i've been away longer1 when ,i lived there1 than ,i shall be now1 and we are all of us as sure of the next meeting1 and the next good time1 as we were then40 8,he knows it is ending1 and we must go to our trains10 ,mrs4 ,gaylord said4 8,not ending at all4 ,beginning6 ,hooray60 ,on that triumphant note they took their departure1 ,mrs4 ,gaylord westward bound1 the ,wylies to ,new ,england2 but1 owing to a defective timepiece1 both missed their trains4 ,within an hour1 ,mrs4 ,wylie telephoned me that her mother had caught--by the narrowest margin--a later train1 hoping to secure sleeping-accommodation after leaving1 a dubious venture in these days of diminished service and crowded trains4 ,we arranged to dine and spend the evening together4 ,afterward1 it occurred to me that ,frederick might prefer to be with his mother that night1 and ,i asked ,mary ,k4 about it4 8,frederick has engaged his mother in 7,o7 4440 8,what does that mean now80 ,i interrupted4 8,bliss80 8,yes 444 and will come here to-night to see the others40 ,,iii ,like the rest of the family1 ,mrs4 ,wylie feared the effect of the ,western visit upon her mother's new-found tranquillity of spirit1 and she was also uneasy lest ,mrs4 ,gaylord had been unable to secure ,pullman accommodations4 8,mother is all right and happy10 ,frederick told us1 in the evening4 8,she is still reading her precious book0--a copy of his earlier interviews1 which she carried with her4 ,some one asked whether he meant that her general condition was 8all right10 or that she was 8all right0 on the train4 8,on the train4 ,she's blissful60 ,this was verified a day or two later by a letter from ,mrs4 ,gaylord1 in which she said3 8,i came away filled with strength and calm and joy40 ,she also mentioned casually that she had found a vacant section on the train1 and traveled comfortably4 8,how does purpose combat forces of evil80 ,mr4 ,wylie asked4 8,it is done by overpowering them1 as the sun dispels mist1 separating them into smaller particles or units4 ,and when that is impossible1 by driving them like clouds before a high wind4 ,they work for evil1 but can be separated sometimes from the mass and united with constructive forces4 ,only small fragments of the main forces can be so converted1 at present4 ,mostly we rout them40 8,does an evil soul lose personality80 his sister questioned4 8,is it absorbed1 or broken into fragments80 8,the individuality that finds its first expression in your life is never absorbed or broken up4 ,i speak of the forces of disintegration1 composed of more individuals than the greatest army1 as being routed4 ,we mass ourselves and our purposes against them and theirs1 when we fight in the open here4 ,but as has been explained in the ,lessons1 the very material form you have was originally an effort to evolve a force not conquerable by purpose alone4 ,both good and evil forces1 in your phrase--constructive and destructive1 in ours--took possession of these concrete forms1 and now the bitterness of the fight is greatest where both forces are represented in one individual4 ,the only way we can fight that effectively is to sit on the job1 and try to call to the purpose that is ours more clearly and appealingly1 or more commandingly1 than the other fellow does4 ,that's the reason we are begging you now to work with us4 ,a great crisis is at hand1 and we want you to meet it consciously in your life there1 knowing its nature1 so that we can have your help1 not only in withstanding material onslaughts1 like ,germany's invasions and brutality1 but in things of the spirit--the real things1 the eternal things--so that together we may win a real victory4 ,the individual whose purposes are fundamentally destructive is not damned nor lost4 ,he is just delayed4 ,sooner or later he must work his way up1 and it is entirely up to him whether he does it sooner or later--after he reaches this life1 especially4 ,in your life1 he is sometimes confused or misled4 ,he pays for that1 too--not pays1 but makes good for it1 by working here for the development he had not sense enough to take there4 ,but his delay is brief1 beside that of the essentially destructive force40 ,a little later1 ,mrs4 ,wylie spoke again of her uneasiness about her mother's visit to ,k----1 and some one suggested telegraphing her that ,frederick had been with us that evening4 8,give her my love when you wire10 he directed1 8and tell her ,i'm on the crossing1 still ringing that bell4 ,don't you worry1 ,sis4 ,i'll go and stay with her most of the time she's there1 and she'll know it4 ,i'll come to you1 ,easter1 too1 for a little while4444 ,tell ,dad ,i'll be taking care of ,mother4 ,he needn't fret about it40 8,do you want me to look up #8,bob' and tell him about his little girl80 she asked4 ,he replied1 8,yes1 do40 ,and when she asked if he could give her something more definite than a ,christian name by which to trace this unknown man among his large and scattered acquaintance1 he wrote the name of a ,middle ,western city1 adding3 8,you can find out from the fellows4 ,all of them know ,bob40 ,this seems to be a case of marked deflection of ray1 to use ,mr4 ,kendal's simile1 for up to the day when this manuscript goes to the printer the ,gaylord family have been unable to identify 8,bob10 although there was a confused intimation1 late in ,april1 that ,mrs4 ,z---- had made a mistake in the name1 and a suggestion that the surname was ,roberts4 ,it is not impossible that this was one of those wily incursions of disintegrating force1 with intent to confuse1 to which we afterward grew accustomed4 ,on ,friday and ,saturday of that week 7,march #bith and #cjth71 there were interviews of great interest1 but of too personal a character to be extensively quoted4 ,replying to the inquiry of a man for his father1 ,mary ,k4 said3 8,he was a great force here1 but has passed on into the life beyond ours4 ,he can and will return to talk to you1 but not immediately40 8,tell ,g---- the constructive forces are working for him1 as he for them10 was the answer to questions about a man in this life4 8,temporary disappointments are unimportant4 ,do not fear4 ,we build together1 and surely4 ,the result is certain and for his purpose--progress1 light1 and justice4 ,his individual concern is to have faith1 follow his purpose1 and trust us4 ,the only failure possible comes from admitting doubt1 disintegration1 and fear40 ,an expression of anxiety concerning another man on this plane was met thus3 8,n---- has felt his own purpose stirring a little4444 ,a perfectly good purpose when he finds it4 ,he has had many forces fighting1 within and without4 ,he will wake when this message is given to the world4 ,he is too intelligent not to recognize truth as obvious as this will be40 ,some one asked when this would occur4 8,when ,margaret completes the book she will publish soon40 ,this was the first intimation of the way in which ,i was expected to carry out ,mary ,k4's instructions to make this experience known1 concerning which we had wondered not a little4 ,it was suggested that a member of this person's family might help him1 from the next plane1 but this was said to be impossible1 as they were not of the same purpose4 8,the family connection is nothing here4 ,his own purposes know him1 both good and bad1 and they are fighting it out4 ,he has answered first one1 then another4 ,but fundamentally he is for justice4 ,he will answer to that in the end4444 ,sometimes he will shut it all out and yield to the forces seeking to destroy him1 but he will fight in the end for freedom and justice40 8,she is not of our forces10 was the reply to an inquiry about an artist who left this life twenty years ago4 ,this was crossed out1 however1 and 8not mentally free0 substituted4 ,when ,i was alone1 ,i asked ,mary ,k4 about this woman1 and she returned3 8,she is not a destructive force1 but is deterrent4 ,she is working out problems not met when she should have met them1 and is fighting for growth1 just as she soon or late will fight for progress4 ,she fights for herself1 her own growth1 and not for progress in the larger sense40 ,afterward1 ,i learned1 from some one who knew her well1 of this woman's devouring and unquenchable ambition for supremacy in her profession4 ,whimsical ,anne ,lowe1 writing to three friends of her continued association with them1 said3 8,believe--know--that we are a positive force1 and united we stand1 hurrah6 ,our faith helps all beneficent purpose4 ,its force is freed and multiplied by the sum of your participation40 8,i wonder if she could tell us what our purposes are80 ,elizabeth said4 8,yours is ,progress1 ,ruth's is ,light1 ,katharine's is ,healing and ,light4 ,you are blended4 ,elizabeth to push1 ,ruth to illumine and interpret1 ,katharine to understand and soothe40 ,ruth said1 wistfully3 8,then all ,i can do is to shine80 8,interpreters are really prophets10 she was told4 8,that is all the greatest prophets ever were4 ,you are of their purpose1 so cheer up60 ,interrupting a little discussion as to whether dominant purpose is born in us or developed1 she said3 8,we are born with many purposes1 latent and striving1 but as we live we make daily choice40 ,that evening1 our old friend ,maynard ,holt came for a long talk4 ,after some entirely personal exchange1 ,cass spoke of ,maynard as having been1 in this life1 a believer in individualism4 ,beginning with some allusion to former discussions between them1 concerning what he called 8the temporary manifestations of ,socialism10 ,maynard replied3 8,now ,i can tell you definitely that the salvation of the civilized world is dependent on the independence of the individual4444 ,it's a big and glorious period in eternal history4 ,the time has almost come for the open fight4 ,prepare your ground carefully1 and gird up your loins for combat4 ,it's coming40 ,a little later1 in a similar connection1 he said3 8,the conscious co-operation of purpose is the only sound principle of ,socialism4 ,that is eternally sound4 ,and now that we are consciously and forcefully working in harmony with the great and eternal purpose1 they can't stop us40 8,has this new opportunity of communication with this plane made you over there happier80 he was asked4 8,it has opened an entirely new channel to us here in this part of the world4 ,in the ,far ,east1 we have the channel1 but no hard-pan to support the stream4 ,here science gives us a foundation from which to work1 but we have had no channel through which to reach it4444 ,everywhere in the civilized world the minds of intelligent people have turned to this4 ,there is reaching and questioning and longing1 and a dawning faith40 ,at this time ,i did not know how frequently belief in the possibility of communication with those in a life beyond is accompanied by an inclination toward the ,oriental philosophies1 but ,maynard's allusion to the ,far ,east was given greater significance by the replies to later questions4 ,to an inquiry concerning the possible influence of these teachings in ,germany1 he returned3 8,they are a philosophical and abstract-minded people1 and they'll be hunting a plausible and satisfactory explanation of themselves before long4 ,and this is less uncomplimentary than the others will be1 besides having the undeniable advantage of being true1 which they will have learned1 by that time1 to appreciate40 8,can't those with eyes1 ears1 and understanding learn wisely to control1 lead1 and uplift the mass80 ,cass asked4 8,in ,russia1 for example80 8,don't be in such a hurry4 ,there's all eternity1 and evolution is slow4 ,but the mills of the gods grind on1 and the grist is sure4 ,the ,russians1 like the ,germans1 must climb their own hills4 ,america has a few to climb1 too4 ,this will help many1 uplift a few1 escape the mass1 but leaven the whole4 ,there is no millennium at hand4 ,this is just a light by which the path is made more clear4 ,it will influence many thousands1 in many countries1 but the inert mass must work its way on1 through the old channels of evolution1 made easier by knowledge and by experience of those ahead1 but not to be evaded or avoided by any miracle40 8,but it will bring conscious purpose and effort to bear in helping this evolution80 8,surely4 ,it is a message eagerly awaited and desired40 ,later that evening1 ,i asked ,mary ,k4 whether she could tell me anything about the book ,anne ,lowe had said ,i was to publish4 8,yes4 ,it must be ready for publication by ,fall40 8,evidently sordid1 material details of book manufacture escape your attention10 ,i said1 laughing4 8,this is the thirtieth of ,march1 and you have not yet given me all the material for your book4 ,when you have done that1 it still must be edited1 assembled for publication1 copied1 accepted by publishers1 printed1 and sold4 ,perhaps you don't know that salesmen for publishing-houses begin taking orders for ,fall publications in ,june1 and generally carry sample copies of the books with them80 ,she said ,i would have the necessary material in a month or six weeks1 and that editing would 8take another month10 from which it is evident that no eight-hour law is operative on her plane4 ,she also advised me to see publishers at once1 tell them what was happening1 read them parts of communications already received1 and arrange for ,fall publication1 conditional upon their satisfaction with the completed manuscript--which1 not without misgivings concerning such procedure1 ,i immediately prepared to act upon4 ,a night or so later1 ,maynard ,holt came again1 with his mother1 who said3 8,maynard brought me to call40 ,when we asked if she worked with those on this plane1 she replied3 8,yes1 but also with undeveloped purposes1 here before their time40 ,returning to the subject of ,russian upheaval1 ,maynard said3 8,they are goners for some time1 now4 ,it will take them long to assemble their purposes again constructively40 8,if you had been here10 ,cass asked1 8would you have viewed the ,russian situation and its effect on the world as you do now80 8,not quite1 ,i think4 ,we see farther ahead1 and have sounder premises from which to argue than you've ever had there40 8,this plan1 of course1 includes all the people of the world10 ,cass continued4 8,are those who leave here undeveloped1 still undeveloped there80 8,there is a large and growing population here of the undeveloped10 was ,maynard's reply1 8which is one of the lesser reasons for our keen desire to purposize the world40 ,,iv 8,what place have the unfit on your plane80 we asked ,mary ,k41 at the conclusion of the sixth ,lesson4 8,no place4 ,they are errors of development1 and have a long struggle ahead before they can reach the degree of development that should have been theirs in your life4 ,they are fusions of weak purposes1 and should not be permitted to hold back the strong and the fit4 ,development will come to them slowly1 at best1 but more quickly here than there40 8,in the present stage of our development1 is there a sufficient incentive to progress1 without hope of material gain or personal improvement80 8,any material gain that is for the constructive purpose is a force for light and progress in the larger sense4 ,material gain is deterrent only when purpose is its price4 ,personal ambition is an incentive always4 ,when it is for personal gain1 at any price1 it is deterrent4 ,when it is ambition to serve a great purpose worthily1 it becomes a constructive force1 to which material gain adds only more constructive force40 8,have you all history spread out before you8 ,or are you taught after you get there80 8,we have a grasp of results1 not easily understood in your life4 ,it is like seeing a landscape from a high and distant hill4 ,the salient features are easily distinguished40 8,are these messages for all people8 ,or only for civilized people8 ,do they come from ,christians on your plane80 8,this is a message to the civilized world4444 ,jew or ,gentile1 ,christian or agnostic1 all men are brothers in the larger sense4 ,uncivilized little brothers will grow1 or come to this freer plane to join their larger purposes40 8,then from whom do these ,lessons come80 8,from great constructive purposes4 ,there is no sect or creed1 color or prejudice1 here40 ,saturday1 ,april #fth1 ,mrs4 ,bruce came again to talk to her husband1 and he thanked her for a public gift which she had just made in his name1 promising such co-operation in the work it promoted as could be given from his plane4 ,she said that she had felt suddenly impelled to make this contribution1 and had acted at once upon the impulse4 8,you all feel impelled to work with us as soon as you realize we are here near you10 he told her1 8and the things we can do together are as yet undreamed in your life40 ,she spoke of his former interest in the arts1 which he said he had left behind as 8material manifestations40 ,discussing the relation of artistic expression to constructive purpose1 he said3 8,art1 when it is a real interpretation of life1 is a high and noble thing1 but the art that is merely self-expression is a disintegrating force4 ,too much of it is that now40 ,at that time1 she had read none of the ,lessons1 and he told her of the seven purposes of construction1 continuing3 8,to purpose of any nature only similar purpose calls1 and when the call is heard there is no choice but to answer4 ,no choice after the call has been admitted to consciousness4 ,it may be shut out and denied1 but once listened to1 whether for construction or for destruction1 the answer is bound to come4 ,that is why we so insistently urge the discovery of purpose and the beauty of construction4 ,character1 as you understand it1 results from the purposes admitted to consciousness4 ,not always recognized1 but always let in40 ,he had some difficulty in getting one word written1 and she spoke of his erasures of wrong starts as extraordinary and unusual4 8,not a bit unusual1 if you think how often the words of your languages fail as convincing and accurate symbols4 ,you often correct them yourselves4 ,a translation may be made in any of several ways1 depending on the reactions of the translator to certain symbols4 ,so1 when ,margaret reacts freely1 we let it stand4 ,when she fails1 wholly or in part1 we correct it40 ,in view of later statements concerning the force used in these manifestations1 ,i assume this to mean1 not that ,i make the translation mentioned1 but that certain symbols used in translation are sometimes difficult to convey through me4 ,frequently other words have been substituted for those originally begun1 when there was trouble in writing them4 ,another explanation of these occasional difficulties of transmission was suggested afterward1 first by ,frederick and later more explicitly by ,mary ,kendal4 8,do you see us visibly80 ,mrs4 ,bruce asked4 8,yes1 of course4 ,we see all you do1 and more4 ,we see motives1 where you see appearance40 ,long afterward 7,may #bfth71 ,mr4 ,kendal asked ,anne ,lowe whether she could see sunsets1 and she replied3 8,no1 but we see their equivalent in dawn of purpose40 ,she had previously expressed approval of a room1 which had been arranged with great care for one dear to her1 and he asked whether she saw its physical details1 or only its effects upon the minds of persons entering it1 to which her answer was3 8,we never see material things4 ,we see their significance40 ,similarly1 ,mary ,k4 said 7,may #cast71 8,we read your thought frequently1 and always perceive motive1 intention1 and the mental and spiritual significance of your reactions to material things1 in themselves unimportant4 ,so we say we see the thing itself1 because we perceive its essential significance40 ,mrs4 ,bruce said her daughter wanted to know whether dogs continue to exist after life here1 feeling that they must4 8,they do not come as animals1 exactly4 ,but there is no manifestation of force that is not purpose1 and purposes are united and gather here1 in ways not possible for you to understand1 in the progress toward the great purpose40 ,ten days later1 ,frederick stated this more explicitly4 ,after a pause1 ,mr4 ,bruce said3 8,we are so full of our fine but tremendous task here1 at this great moment of crisis1 that ,i'm afraid ,i'm not very entertaining4 ,we talk shop to you1 because that is the reason we can come so freely now40 8,you refer to the great crisis80 she asked4 8,not to our present crisis here80 8,germany is bereft of all purpose4 ,purposes of destruction have left her4 ,she has one sole1 frantic force remaining--fear4 ,after that1 destruction1 long followed1 will turn and rend her1 and fear will be lost in despair40 8,aren't there some good ,germans80 she suggested1 adding that their daughter thought it unfair to condemn a whole people for the sins of some of them4 8,many good ,germans have admitted to consciousness the call of destructive purposes1 and have for the moment joined forces against us4 ,for many years this preparation has been going on4 ,no ,german who has ever admitted the forces of disintegration is quite free from them now4 ,there were some officers who took their own lives and faced the consequences1 rather than join forces with the dominant purpose of their people4 ,no person can live in ,germany now who is not party to disintegration4 ,no ,german lives in the world1 who still calls himself ,german1 who is not party to disintegration40 8,you say they have #8joined forces against us for the moment1'0 ,i mentioned4 8,some of them will see light1 and build forcefully for true progress4 ,some of them will destroy while they live4 ,some will be for years deterrent1 and the end is impossible to foresee40 ,a day or two after this1 when ,i was alone1 ,i asked ,mary ,k4 what ,mr4 ,bruce meant by saying that once the call of purpose is admitted to consciousness1 there is no choice but to answer4 8,he meant that your personal struggle is only with the purposes admitted to consciousness4 ,all forces are constantly trying to reach you1 to enlist you for the great struggle4 ,once admitted to your consciousness1 you have no choice but to answer1 and the struggle between opposing forces is fought with your help4 ,many waver between the two1 now lending aid to this one1 now to that4 ,a few choose instantly2 some to progress1 some to delay1 some to build1 some to destroy4 ,this is what men call character40 8,he said also that no ,german who has ever admitted to consciousness the forces of disintegration is quite free from them now4 ,why80 8,because there is in your life1 as here1 a group loyalty4 ,but whereas here we are grouped by purpose1 there you are grouped largely by geographical location4 ,and any ,german who justified this war in the beginning is party to disintegration to some extent still4 ,his group loyalty holds him1 though his purpose protest4 ,that will be the final test4 ,purpose1 or finite loyalty to finite group40 ,one or two interesting statements were made1 about this time1 during an interview with the widow of a well-known ,new ,york surgeon4 8,your husband's work is healing still10 ,mary ,k4 told her4 ,after enumerating the constructive purposes1 she continued3 8,healing was always his purpose1 and he follows it still1 with all his great force4 ,he has a freer field here1 and fulfils his purpose fully4 ,that is the reason he is unable to be here to-day4 ,the ,germans are liberating many bewildered and fear-stricken souls1 and all our great healers are held by their need40 ,when we spoke of ways of finding happiness she said3 8,who fears the purpose he should serve with force destroys it4 ,fear not4 ,find it1 serve it1 and happiness of a positive kind will find you4444 ,your force is scattered among many latent purposes4 ,find the dominant call of ,progress to your soul1 and follow that1 leaving the rest behind40 ,again1 a day or two later1 the present preoccupation of healers on the next plane was mentioned1 when ,i asked ,mary ,k4 whether a certain woman would come at a given time to meet friends who had asked for her4 8,she may4 ,i shall try to have her here10 she said4 8,her work is healing1 and all our healers are working constantly4444 ,she was an artist with you1 and somewhat deterrent4 ,she has found a new purpose40 ,the day before the last ,lessons were given1 ,maynard ,holt1 explaining to a friend the seven purposes1 said3 8,every ,human being who is for progress and construction serves one or more of these purposes4 ,it is by them that what you know as human force is ultimately grouped for eternal advance4 ,our effort now is to unite all forces for ,progress in conscious co-operation40 ,after speaking of ,germany's unity of purpose1 he went on3 8,she is1 and has been for years1 the center of forces and purposes of disintegration in your life4 ,she is1 in theological parlance1 the ally of his ,satanic ,majesty4 ,we have learned here that there is no evil1 per se4 ,there is only purpose1 constructive or destructive4444 ,but the forces of disintegration are gathering for a battle of wits and morals1 and we are emulating ,germany in just one thing4444 ,we are preparing4 ,we want you to wake up and realize what is going on4 ,we want every one of you to find and recognize not only your own purpose1 but the other fellow's4 ,find out who is for progress1 and who merely camouflages disintegration4 ,conscious co-operation of constructive purpose is warranted to beat the devil4 ,he can't defeat it1 nor yet delay it4 7,o7 ,that is what it means to all of us4444 ,come on in4 ,the water's fine60 ,v ,as has been said1 our invisible friends have seemed somewhat hazy in their perceptions of time and place and of mundane details generally1 and they have shown no inclination to concern themselves with our trivial personal affairs4 ,when pressed for specific statements about small details1 their replies have been sometimes in exact accordance with the fact as we have perceived it1 sometimes not1 but they have rarely diverged widely from the truth4 ,in the larger matters directly related to spiritual unity and growth they have been correct1 as when ,mary ,k4 explicitly stated1 ,march #bc;d 7already quoted71 that the ,german offensive then in progress and up to that time successful would ultimately fail4 ,on one occasion1 apropos of certain questions her husband had asked1 ,mary ,kendal said3 8,we are not here to satisfy intellectual or any other kind of curiosity4 ,if we were not sure you would use this information for construction1 we wouldn't fuss about it--except you and ,i1 ,manzie40 ,several times during ,march and ,april1 however1 ,mary ,k4 gave me correct and specific information about various minor affairs1 and these incidents are mentioned here because ,i have been asked repeatedly whether such statements had been made and verified1 rather than because undue importance is attached to them4 ,for example1 hastening to an appointment one morning 7,march #bith71 ,i carelessly left my muff in a taxicab4 ,discovering the loss an hour later1 ,i telephoned to the cab company1 to be told that no report had been received from the cabman1 but that they would try to locate him at one of their various stands4 ,it was arranged that ,i should call at their office for it late in the afternoon1 had it been found4 ,during luncheon1 which ,i took at a restaurant1 ,mary ,k4 indicated that she had something to say1 and on the back of an envelop wrote3 8,your muff is found for you40 ,two hours later1 when ,i reached home1 the muff had been returned by the cabman4 ,another incident1 less accurate in detail1 but substantially correct1 concerned ,mr4 ,kendal and my record-book4 ,having had1 during his brief stay in ,new ,york1 no leisure in which to read the record--which then contained only the genesis of this experience1 ,frederick's first interviews with his mother1 and some messages from ,mary ,kendal not included in my letters to her husband--he had taken the book away with him 7,march #bjth71 and three or four days later ,i began looking for its return4 ,when1 on the #bith or #cjth 7exact date not noted71 it had not arrived1 ,i asked ,mary ,k4 whether she knew anything about it1 and she replied that it had been sent and would probably reach me that day4 ,at that time the record1 wrapped and addressed1 lay on his desk1 where he had left it with instructions that it be mailed when he left home for the ,easter week-end4 ,it had been overlooked1 and he found it there when he returned on the following ,monday4 ,apparently ,mary ,k4 perceived only his intention and belief that it was on its way to me4 ,on the #ast of ,april she told me that a letter concerning these communications1 then several days overdue1 for which ,i waited with great anxiety1 had at last been written4 8,really written80 ,i asked4 8,or is this one of those successfully started things you regard as accomplished80 8,really written40 ,at the same time she promised me other letters1 from persons specifically named1 and gave me certain information concerning a member of the ,gaylord family4 ,two days later1 when none of these letters had appeared1 ,i said1 8,where are those letters you promised me80 8,the letters are coming1 fearful and wonderful messenger10 she humorously assured me4 8,you have not made a m 444 fr 444 friend 444 free 444 fantom 7,o7 friend in vain40 ,laughing1 ,i asked3 8,is #8fantom friend' right80 ,she said it was4 ,half an hour later the long-delayed letter arrived1 and as she had told me1 it was dated ,april #ast4 ,the other letters came later the same day1 the one from ,mrs4 ,wylie verifying the information already given by ,mary ,k4 about a member of her family4 ,on ,monday1 ,april #ast1 ,i sent a copy of ,frederick's recent interviews with his mother and sister to ,mrs4 ,gaylord at ,k----1 hoping that it might reach her by ,wednesday morning4 ,wednesday night ,mary ,k4 told me that an expected letter from ,mrs4 ,gaylord had not been written1 adding3 8,she waits for the record40 ,a week later1 after a happy visit in ,k----1 ,mrs4 ,gaylord returned to her home and notified me that she had not received the manuscript from me4 ,fearing that it had been lost in the mails1 ,i asked ,mary ,k4 about it1 and was told that it would be received4 ,this was repeated at intervals covering several days4 ,when1 on ,monday1 ,april #aeth1 two weeks from the day it had been sent1 it was missing still1 ,i told ,mary ,k4 that it must have been lost4 8,they shall have it soon10 she said4 8,it is not lost1 but delayed40 8,shall ,i make a duplicate for them80 8,you must trust us40 8,you are positive that it will arrive80 8,yes1 it will40 ,it was delivered to ,mrs4 ,gaylord the following day1 ,april #afth4 ,on one occasion ,i asked ,mary ,k4 about a woman for whom ,i had been requested to arrange an interview with a person on the next plane1 but about whom ,i knew nothing whatever4 8,she is deterrent10 was the reply1 and during the subsequent interview1 for the first time since the beginning of this experience1 ,i encountered an individual whose outlook and desire was limited to the narrowly personal4 ,one of the most striking of these examples of specific information occurred on the night of ,tuesday1 ,april #b;d1 the day of the ,senatorial elections4 ,cass said3 8,ask ,mary ,k4 whether she will answer a specific1 mundane question for me40 ,when she had written her name and indicated her willingness1 he inquired3 8,who was elected in ,wisconsin to-day1 ,lenroot or ,davies80 8,are you there80 ,i questioned1 when no reply came4 8,yes40 ,after another delay1 when the pencil wandered lightly and aimlessly1 she wrote3 8,lenroot40 ,supposing that she had finished1 ,i put the pencil aside1 but she summoned me again1 to add3 8,lenroot elected by latest count4 ,close in some places4 ,we consider him elected40 ,cass looked at his watch4 ,it was five minutes past twelve4 ,the next morning our papers announced ,mr4 ,lenroot in the lead1 with final returns not yet received1 and not until ,cass reached his office did we discover how truly 8exclusive0 our information had been4 ,he learned then that the suburban editions of several ,new ,york ,city papers1 which probably went to press about the time we talked to ,mary ,k41 practically conceded the election to ,mr4 ,davies1 reporting him ahead by returns then available4 ,of many other specific statements that were either absolutely correct1 or so nearly correct that ,mr4 ,kendal's theory of a difference of perceptive method might easily account for the error1 one is notable4 ,on ,sunday1 ,may #aith1 ,i asked ,mary ,k4 whether she could tell me anything about the projected ,german drive4 8,yes4 ,it will be fierce1 but futile4 ,all forces here see her doom1 and the war will last only as long as unsupported human endeavor can endure against eternal purpose4 ,germany has no ally here4 ,the forces that have impelled her for these many years are overpowered by world-purpose1 and have left ,germany to her destruction1 while they prepare to destroy the finest spiritual fruits of victory40 ,similarly1 while writing to friends at the front of our entire confidence in the outcome of the ,picardy drive then in progress1 ,may #cjth1 ,i paused to ask ,mary ,k4 whether she had anything more to say about the war4 8,only that we are the victors4 ,germany does not win this drive1 either4 ,our forces rally1 and the end is near4 ,defeat this time will leave them despairing and afraid40 ,to this ,maynard ,holt added1 8,all the forces have withstood the blow and gather for the final and decisive defeat of ,germany40 ,,vi ,the actual existence of intelligent1 invisible forces1 constantly doing battle for and against spiritual progress1 through possession of what we are wont to call our souls1 was at first difficult for me to accept literally1 the idea being in direct opposition to my whole mental tendency4 ,while the theory was interesting1 it seemed hardly credible in its specific1 individual application4 ,however1 ,i was soon given a manifestation of the strength and pertinacity of the disintegrating forces1 which--although it ultimately strengthened my conviction1 proving highly corroborative--threatened for a time to end this effort1 as far as ,i was concerned4 ,the last two ,lessons were given to me on the #abth of ,april1 and it had been arranged that ,mr4 ,t----1 the representative of a publishing-house1 should come on the evening of the thirteenth for a demonstration of the communication with the next plane4 ,from the day this arrangement was contemplated1 frequent assertions were made under ,mary ,k4's signature1 concerning ,mr4 ,t---- and his attitude toward this experience1 many of which were afterward proved untrue1 and all of which ,i doubted1 notwithstanding repeated proofs1 already quoted1 of her general correctness of statement4 ,day by day these messages grew more confusing1 and ,i less able to account for them by any theory then formed4 ,that a deliberate 8drive0 by malign powers was in progress never occurred to me1 and would have seemed too absurd to credit1 even had ,i thought of it4 ,as there seemed to be no close tie between ,mr4 ,t---- and any of those from whom he had expressed a desire to hear1 no great eagerness on either side to complete a circle of which each was a part1 ,i felt that the interview might present difficulties not encountered before1 and resolved to do no writing during the day1 reserving my strength for the evening's work4 ,in the morning1 however1 ,i had occasion to ask ,mary ,k4 for some brief information4 ,beginning1 as usual1 with her signature--somewhat haltingly done--the pencil wrote quickly1 but erratically3 8,mr4 ,farrow is dead40 ,this man is a business associate of ,cass's1 living abroad4 ,startled1 ,i thought ,i must have taken the message incorrectly1 but it was repeated4 8,mr4 ,farrow is dead4 ,cass will hear later40 ,when ,i insisted that this could not be true1 it was reiterated4 8,yes1 he is here1 and b 444 blon 444 latter 444 bewildered4 ,mary ,k40 ,our personal relations with ,mr4 ,farrow1 while pleasant1 have never been close1 being based entirely upon a business connection1 and my affections were in no way responsible for my resistance to this announcement1 nor would our personal affairs have been in any way influenced by his death4 ,but ,i did not believe it4 8,farrow is here with us4 ,may 444 ,mary ,k40 ,this signature was slow and irresolute1 beginning as ,maynard and ending as ,mary ,k41 but lacking the firmness of either--an indecision and inconsequence characteristic1 ,i have since learned1 of disintegrating force in these invasions4 8,was he killed in an accident80 8,no4 ,pneumonia4 ,maynard4 ,tell ,cass40 8,shall ,i telephone to ,cass now80 8,no4 ,i am watching over him4 ,maynard40 ,the use of the word 8dead0 in this connection was surprising1 since the whole trend of former communications had been toward elimination of the idea of death4 ,once more ,i asked ,mary ,k4 if they were sure there had been no mistake4 8,yes4 ,he is dead to your life40 8,you mean ,farrow of ,p----8 ,not his brother8 ,or his son80 8,yes1 ,p----4 ,it is true4 ,you will hear soon4 ,cass must go there40 ,i telephoned to ,cass1 saying nothing of this experience1 and found him in good spirits1 proving that he had not heard of ,mr4 ,farrow's death4 ,returning to the pencil1 ,i told ,mary ,k4 ,i did not believe the information was correct4 8,yes1 he is dead4 ,a telegram on the way to ,cass4 ,he will receive it soon4 ,before one o'clock40 ,some time later1 having heard nothing from ,cass1 ,i told ,mary ,k4 again that there had been a mistake4 8,no1 it is true4 ,mr4 ,farrow of ,p---- is here with us4 ,cass will know in a few minutes4 ,he will telephone40 ,i warned her then that my faith in her veracity was at stake1 and that while ,i could not doubt that ,frederick1 ,mary ,kendal1 ,maynard ,holt1 and others1 had communicated through me1 ,i could not take the responsibility of publishing anything she had told me unless ,i could trust her in all things1 adding3 8,if this is not true how can ,i be sure that any of it is80 8,mary ,k4 ,it is true4 ,don't doubt40 ,i said ,i had no wish to doubt1 but that unless this message came from some other than ,mary ,k41 ,i could not believe her again1 if it proved1 as ,i was sure it would1 to be untrue4 ,i began to suspect that disintegrating forces were at work4 8,it comes from the constructive force4 ,be confident4 ,it perplexes you40 ,later experience has taught me that while either force may be in complete command at moments1 during these struggles for control1 not infrequently a message begun by one is finished by the other4 ,during the three days of this first persistent attack1 however1 ,i held no key to the mystery1 and the occasional clearly constructive and characteristic messages from ,mary ,k4 and ,maynard ,holt merely added to my bewilderment and dismay4 ,yet never for one instant during those three days did ,i accept the repeated statements of ,mr4 ,farrow's death as true4 ,weeks afterward1 ,mary ,k4 told me why ,i was not deceived4 ,since that time1 too1 ,i have learned more clearly to distinguish personality by the degree and quality of force applied to the pencil1 which varies greatly with individuals1 though it sometimes varies in the same individual at different times4 ,but in the first experience it did not occur to me to apply that test of identification4 ,all that ,saturday afternoon the argument went on at intervals1 ,i insisting that ,mr4 ,farrow was not dead1 the pencil reiterating that he was4 ,at two o'clock ,maynard said3 8,believe in us1 ,margaret4 ,we can help you better40 ,it is evident now that this referred to the conflict with the disintegrating force1 but at the moment ,i misunderstood it and reminded him of the many specific and inaccurate statements made1 during the past few days1 regarding the man who was coming that evening by appointment1 asking if this were more misinformation of the same sort1 to which the reply was3 8,no1 ,farrow is here4 ,he is dazed1 but will be taken care of40 ,an hour later1 ,i returned to the pencil1 begging them to tell me1 before definite information reached me from other sources1 that there had been a mistake4 8,mary ,k4 ,you must not doubt4 ,we shall lose control of you if you do40 ,when ,i said that what ,i sought was truth1 she said3 8,i know1 but you doubt our control1 and weaken it40 8,i also doubt my own correctness40 8,you are correct40 ,as1 indeed1 ,i was4 ,her message reached my consciousness4 ,at three o'clock the insistence that ,mr4 ,farrow was dead continued1 and attempts were made to explain former inaccuracies1 on the plea of a difference in plane1 creating 8errors in terms of finite space40 ,shortly before five1 it was said that ,cass had received news of ,mr4 ,farrow's death1 and was on his way home4 ,a few minutes later ,mary ,k4 warned me again4 8,you must not doubt4444 ,you can't be a messenger without faith40 8,how am ,i to know when you are telling the truth and when it is error80 8,the truth is the truth1 and you must learn to differentiate between the planes40 ,i suspect that she intended the last word to be 8forces10 and that control was wrested from her before it was written4 ,resenting the whole confused situation1 and entirely unable to account for my conviction that this message was false1 ,i said3 8,if ,cass tells me1 when he comes home1 that ,mr4 ,farrow is dead1 ,i will believe anything you tell me in future4 ,if he is not dead1 ,i'll have nothing further to do with you or your book40 8,mary ,k4 ,you will go on with our work4 ,he is dead40 ,at this point1 ,cass arrived4 ,he said that he had received neither letter nor cablegram from ,mr4 ,farrow for ten days1 although an expected and important letter from him was some time overdue4 ,this seemed to lend color to the report of his death1 but my conviction was unshaken4 ,from the beginning of these communications with the next plane1 although at times excessively fatigued1 ,i had enjoyed an increasing mental serenity1 but with the first announcement of ,mr4 ,farrow's death1 this had given way to the peculiar nervous instability and apprehension invariably accompanying these mischievous invasions4 ,by night my mind was in a turmoil and my nerves on edge1 my confidence shaken1 my faith in the balance--which did not lessen the difficulties of an interview prompted chiefly by intellectual interest4 ,establishing connection with an unfamiliar personality is not easy1 at best1 and frequently some time is required to obtain free communication4 ,on this occasion1 instead of devoting the evening to perfecting one connection1 several persons were called1 all but one responding1 and the messages1 with one or two exceptions1 were unsatisfactory4 ,there were vain and fatiguing efforts to write a name unknown to any of us1 and most of the efforts to obtain specific evidential data were unsuccessful4 ,whether this was due to my own lack of confidence1 to interference by the enemy1 or to the fact that at no time have the individuals communicating through me concerned themselves with personal and specific details--except occasionally1 for my own greater conviction--,i do not know4 ,at midnight1 when this interview was over and we were alone1 although wearied to the point of exhaustion1 ,i asked again about ,mr4 ,farrow1 receiving the same reply1 with a variation to the effect that the cablegram announcing his death had been delayed by the censor1 and with occasional phrases of appeal and encouragement--merely intensifying my bewilderment--from ,mary ,k4 and ,maynard4 8,are you sure you haven't been away and let in disintegrating forces80 ,i asked ,mary ,k4 8,no1 we have been here4 ,they can't touch your purpose4 ,don't fear4 ,you will be perfectly reassured soon10 was her reply1 which1 had we but recognized it1 was an intimation that disintegrating forces had been in partial control in spite of all effort to overcome them4 ,again ,i asked why the word 8dead0 had been used1 and was told3 8,that is what the cable to ,cass says40 ,which manifestly did not explain4 ,sunday morning1 ,maynard ,holt's familiar signature came at once1 followed by a long1 personal message to a friend who was present1 steadily written1 and pointed by an occasional characteristic turn of phrase1 indicating a clear and uninterrupted connection4 ,when this had been finished1 ,cass asked1 8,shall ,i go to the office for that cable80 8,it is not there40 8,it's all a mistake80 ,i urged4 8,farrow is here40 ,but ,i knew he was not there4 ,had he been present in the flesh1 ,i could not have been more certain that he had not left this plane4 ,all day we discussed the bearing of these persistent misstatements--provided they were misstatements--upon the experience as a whole1 and ,i was oppressed1 in addition to my personal disappointment1 by a sense of my responsibility to those others to whom this new faith had brought active happiness and hope4 ,i had arranged to go to ,l---- on the following ,tuesday1 to spend a few days with the ,gaylord family2 ,mr4 ,kendal expected to arrive in ,new ,york a week or ten days later1 anticipating further communication with his wife2 and various other appointments were pending4 ,but though ,i could neither question the authenticity of former personal communications1 nor deny the constructive quality of the ,lessons1 ,i felt that ,i could not continue to act as intermediary if it were possible for persons like ,mary ,k4 and ,maynard to lend themselves to this sort of thing1 nor could ,i encourage others to hold a belief after it had become impossible to me4 ,in the afternoon1 ,mary ,k4 told me to go to ,l---- as soon as possible4 ,when we asked about ,mr4 ,farrow1 ,maynard's signature preceded the message4 8,he is here4 ,why don't you accept it80 8,i don't know why ,i can't10 was my reply4 8,why don't you convince my mind1 as you have at other times8 ,why don't you make me feel it8 ,i can't believe it's true40 8,you have the statement of two friends40 8,you've been mistaken before in specific statements40 8,only in those relating to dimensions of finite space1 which we are unable to gauge accurately40 ,that evening1 ,mary ,k4's signature came first4 8,you must see how foolish it was to mistrust us10 the pencil wrote4 8,mr4 ,farrow is here1 and ,cass will learn of it soon40 8,unless you take refuge again in that difference of plane10 ,i commented1 rather bitterly4 8,why don't you remember it before1 instead of after1 the error it creates80 8,because you should not distrust us40 8,but why not encourage me to trust you by remembering that difference of plane in the first place80 ,i insisted4 8,why be so explicit about things you know may be inaccurately stated80 8,i do not deceive you intentionally4 ,we feel that a thing certain of accomplishment is done1 and are frequently misled into premature statements by the strength of intention1 or purpose1 or movement in a given direction4 ,we are accurate from our point of view1 and not always able to gauge yours40 ,admitting this to be conceivable1 ,i said3 8,now tell me about ,mr4 ,farrow40 8,mr4 ,farrow is here with us4 ,when ,cass gets to the office in the morning he will find the truth40 ,again the signature was hesitating and indefinite1 first ,maynard1 then ,mary ,k4 ,i felt that neither of them wrote it1 but could not reconcile the frequent constructive statements1 urging faith and continuance of this work1 to destructive purpose1 nor could ,i understand why1 if ,mary ,k4 and ,maynard were present1 they did not warn me of false statements by malign forces1 provided such were the case4 ,monday morning1 the situation was unchanged1 save that the statements were slightly elaborated4 ,repeatedly ,i asked whether they were not confusing ,mr4 ,farrow with some other member of his family1 or whether they had accepted serious illness as death4 ,a curious statement followed this suggestion1 under ,maynard's signature4 8,farrow is both here and there4 ,he is here in essence1 there in body4444 ,he is both here and there for some time after death40 ,immediately afterward1 however1 when ,i said that this sounded preposterous1 ,mary ,k4's name was written1 with3 8,mr4 ,farrow is here4 ,he is dead to you4 ,actually now dead4 ,go to ,l---- at once40 8,i can't go to ,l----1 with affairs in this state10 ,i told her4 8,you will know soon4 ,wait40 ,maynard followed1 with an appeal to 8have faith10 adding3 8,it will be clear soon40 ,this went on1 at intervals1 until after two o'clock1 when ,i had promised an interview to a woman who had not visited me before4 ,fully resolved to tell her that ,i could take no messages for her1 ,i made one last attempt to obtain the truth before her arrival--this time with partial success4 8,maynard4 ,it is a mistake 4440 ,at that moment1 my guest arrived4 ,i told her that ,i might be unable to get any satisfactory communications for her1 but her daughter1 who left this plane years ago1 came at once1 writing steadily and clearly1 with the exception of one brief interruption4 ,she told her mother of the seven purposes and their meaning1 urging her1 as had all the others1 to put herself consciously in touch with constructive purpose1 and to open her mind and spirit to those on the next plane who were eager to work with her4 ,when ,i was again alone1 ,i returned to the pencil1 which wrote quickly and strongly3 8,maynard4 ,it is a mistake about ,farrow4 ,the 4440 ,here again the opposing forces evidently gained control4 8,farrow here1 but not your ,farrow40 8,then why have you insisted that he was our ,farrow80 8,he led us to think so40 ,i said with some emphasis that ,i wanted a better explanation than that4 8,maynard4 ,you are messenger for us only if you trust us40 ,a fortnight later1 after a second1 similar experience1 ,mary ,k4 told me1 when ,i asked about this first confused period3 8,we had a terrific struggle for you then4 ,we told you the truth1 but the other forces controlled the pencil4444 ,the forces of disintegration compelled us for the moment4 ,we were not theirs1 but they overpowered and used us40 ,early in ,june1 while preparing this manuscript1 ,i asked her3 8,was it you who wrote1 #8,you must not doubt4 ,we shall lose control of you if you do'80 8,yes4 ,we were fighting for your faith40 8,can you tell me why you did not explain then--why you have never explained--that the enemy had control80 8,we have certain limitations in conflicts of this nature4444 ,in actual conflict we can only affirm4 ,remember that4444 ,when attacked by disintegrating force1 the only way we can help you is to call to your purpose and to affirm our own4 ,in your individual struggle we may not interfere1 even when it concerns our work4 ,you must believe or doubt1 according to your own choice4444 ,we cannot tell you that disintegrating forces threaten you1 until you have recognized them4 ,then we can help you repel them4 ,always we call to you and try to encourage you4444 ,you must make your own choice and your own deductions1 and learn in that way to discriminate between the forces appealing to you4 ,details of your personal struggles may not be explained4 ,they are your development40 ,knowing nothing of all this in ,april1 however1 ,i insisted upon a detailed explanation of the ,farrow mystery1 and again the disintegrating forces played upon my doubt and bewilderment1 elaborating excuses for the mistake1 in ,maynard's name4 ,refusing to accept any of these ingenious but illogical assertions1 ,i contended that they were unfair to me1 having first specifically volunteered this erroneous information1 which they now attempted to account for by obviously specious explanations4 8,we volunteer information pertaining to the message we have for the world through you40 ,this1 it will be perceived1 was an affirmation indirectly disclaiming the ,farrow messages1 but ,i did not so recognize it1 and reminded them that they had reproached me for not trusting them in this matter4 8,you are logical within your limits10 was ,maynard's only reply to that4 8,and you still expect me to go on with your work80 8,you have had many manifestations of our force10 ,mary ,k4 returned4 8,mr4 ,kendal will show you how this occurred40 ,when ,i mentioned1 with some heat1 that some one would have to show me1 as they had asked me to shoulder a heavy responsibility in this matter1 she said3 8,you are puzzled and frightened1 but knowledge of our constructive work through you should decide your action40 ,remembering how fear and grief and despair1 in certain cases1 and cynical indifference in others1 had been banished from the lives of the men and women to whom these messages had come1 ,i conceded the constructive work4 8,then come along and build4444 ,you are unable to distinguish the difficulties under which we work4 ,many messengers have failed to convey the message we have tried to give4444 ,many mistakes happen with the best messengers40 8,was this my mistake80 ,i asked4 8,no4 ,you make only one mistake1 so far4 ,you shut us out by doubt4 ,don't doubt4 ,we are all working for the same great end40 ,eventually1 although far from satisfied about the ,farrow affair1 ,i decided to go to ,l----1 feeling that if disillusionment must come to the ,gaylord family1 it would better come now than later1 but still hoping that some explanation would be given while ,i was with them4 ,in this ,i was disappointed4 ,not until a fortnight later did ,i even begin to understand it4 ,but after the first interview with ,frederick at ,l----1 ,i wrote ,cass 7,april #agth73 8,if ever ,i had any doubts about the truth of this1 they are gone6 ,somebody did something ,i don't understand1 but this is real40 ,i have given this experience in some detail1 not only because it corroborates the statements that malevolent and crafty forces are about us1 striving to thwart progressive effort1 but because it seems also to offer at least a partial explanation of the inconsistencies and contradictions that long have baffled and discouraged investigators of psychic phenomena4 ,obviously1 until the identity and character of the invisible communicating personality have been established and clearly recognized1 and the purpose prompting the communication manifested through a series of experiments1 it is unsafe to rely upon information received in this way4 ,and it is equally obvious that forces of disintegration could scarcely find a more fruitful method of implanting in the human mind doubt and cynicism concerning the possibility of obtaining authentic and enlightening revelations from planes beyond1 than by contradicting and confusing such messages1 or by deliberately misleading the applicant for information4 ,later experience brought further demonstration of the diligence of the sinister purposes1 together with greater knowledge of ways to defeat them4 ,,vii ,before beginning the ,gaylord interviews at ,l---- 7,april #agth71 ,mary ,k4 asked me not to tell the family the details of the ,farrow episode4 8,are you ever going to explain that clearly80 ,i asked4 8,not until you know more about these conditions40 ,that night1 for the first time1 ,i saw a photograph of ,frederick4 ,during the year of her grief and despair ,mrs4 ,gaylord had been unable to bear the added poignancy of a portrait's suggestion1 and only when ,i arrived1 to manifest his actual presence in the family circle1 was the hidden photograph--a singularly lifelike and virile reproduction--brought to light4 8,hooray60 he began1 after the customary signature4 8,here we are again1 all of us together at last6 ,dad6 7,o70 ,it will be remembered that this was the first time that either his father or his younger sister1 ,lois1 had witnessed these manifestations4 8,you have been the one ,i wanted most1 after ,mother4 ,the girls ,i knew ,i could get sometime1 for this is the future for everybody with purpose1 and ,i knew they'd come to know me again soon4 ,but you and ,mother dearest ,i had to have 7,o7 right now4 ,you both need this knowledge and intercourse as much as ,i do4 ,the fuller development that comes there with age and experience1 and here--where there is no age except experience1 makes me nearer to you and ,mother in feeling and outlook than ,i am to the girls and ,dick4 ,not that ,i am not one with all of you4 ,but being here has showed me the reasons for the things--protective1 overseeing1 far-seeing things--that you stand for1 and have learned there through your experience in that preliminary life4 ,so we are a lot nearer of an age than we used to be4 ,now we are off together again1 and there is no reason1 unless somebody backslides1 why we can't keep step through the countless aeons of eternity4444 ,mother dearest1 this time ,i sure am in4 ,thank you for putting me on the mantel4 ,i like it4 ,coming home is lots happier business now4 ,it used to make me sorry to see you all so sad4 ,but this is bully6444 ,dad1 look happy for the boy6 ,he's here for keeps now40 ,mr4 ,gaylord had generally spoken of ,frederick1 during his life here1 as 8the ,boy40 ,i had never heard him use any other name4 8,can you give your father the proof of your presence that you give me80 his mother asked4 8,not only by writing1 but by the feeling in his heart80 8,i will in time4 ,remember1 he hasn't yet grown used to this communion4 ,it hits everybody hard1 at first1 and this fluency is inconceivable to any one who has not seen and felt it at first hand4 ,give us time to get used to it1 and ,dad will be as fully in touch with me and my life as he ever was when ,i lived there4 ,the shock and grief of my supposed departure are taking force from him still1 but he'll see1 just as you have1 that ,i am the better and bigger for this one great experience1 and that ,i never was so deeply and truly a part of his life4444 ,come on1 now everybody talk6 ,i sure do preach1 but you called the turn the other day1 ,mother dearest4 ,it's my job to get this across1 first to you who are my own1 and through you to every one you can reach4 ,it's all our jobs40 ,both ,mrs4 ,gaylord and ,lois had had some success in establishing communication with the next plane1 through the pencil--obtaining detached words1 and some names4 ,and the former now asked3 8,where were you ,sunday8 ,i tried to get you40 8,i had a big job1 attacking a pro-,german newspaper editor in ,south ,africa4 ,he didn't give in1 either1 but we'll get him yet4 ,he doesn't fight openly4 ,he poses as a ,pharisee1 but he's really pro-,german1 and thanks ,god he is like other ,germans40 ,lois asked whether there are any pro-,germans where he is1 and he replied that disintegrating force is 8pro-anything that destroys40 ,during his last illness1 one of his diversions had been to plan with his father a long journey they were to take together when he should be convalescent4 ,now1 after a pause1 he wrote slowly and distinctly1 as if to emphasize the deliberation of his intention3 8,dad1 do you remember that trip we were going to take8 ,you take it with ,mother some day1 and ,i'll go with you1 and we'll do all the things we planned4 ,and ,i can tell you1 if you will just let me in and listen1 all the things you want to hear4 ,we don't need a messenger1 you and ,i1 but as long as ,i can't get to you any other way1 ,i'll use one4 ,i can help you actually--physically1 mentally1 spiritually1 materially--as for so many years you helped me4 ,it was due to you and ,mother that ,i got such a good start here4 ,now ,i am here1 it is for all of us still1 as it always was4 ,but it's my turn to lift a little4 ,you carried me for years4 ,let me come in again now1 as a real1 existing1 active1 growing force--your son1 sir1 wanting to be nearer and more intimately yours than ever4 ,you go on and take our trip1 and ,i promise ,i'll go with you4 ,frederick40 ,a little later1 he said3 8,i wish there could be any way of showing you visibly the radiant force ,i am1 now that we are all united4 ,you have to be translated to this plane before you can understand what it means to be brought back into the family circle4 ,not all families1 but ours4 ,we are all of kindred purposes1 and there's no separating us40 8,i wish you'd do some of your #8stunts' for ,father10 ,lois suggested4 8,all right4 ,if you want stunts1 here is my best one40 ,this was written briskly1 upside down and backward from my position4 8,dad1 this is the way ,i wrote the letter to you and the girls4 ,here's another1 with my love and greeting4 ,i said ,i'd do this with trimmings4 ,this is the beginning40 ,we gave him fresh paper1 and he wrote rapidly1 in winding circles1 starting at the edge of the table and finishing at the center3 8,now ,i'll do it this way1 all around the family circle4 ,all of you in1 and ,i am not left out40 ,diagonally across the whole in bold script1 8,frederick40 ,in moving the paper again1 it was torn a little4 ,mr4 ,gaylord made some suggestion as to the way it should be handled1 and ,lois humorously complained that he was 8always interfering with other people's purposes40 ,beginning at the upper right-hand corner of the table1 ,frederick wrote along the edges1 and then in circles toward the center1 as indicated in the diagram3 ,illustration 8,don't you mind1 ,dad4 ,let them laugh4 ,you and ,i will be laughing at them presently1 from all four points of the compass40 ,again his name was signed diagonally across the whole4 8,i always did like circuses1 and ,i can be a four-ringed one now1 all by myself1 if ,i have a sympathetic audience10 was his next achievement1 done once more in circles from edges to center1 but this time his name was signed in the center1 in small script1 surrounded by a flourish4 ,when again a clear surface offered1 he drew a large circle around the edge of the table--the symbolism of which1 curiously1 occurred to none of us until the next day--and then ran to the center1 to circle toward the edge3 8,all of us together again1 and all being happy in the consciousness that this is real and eternal union1 and that from now on we are going to keep our family circle intact40 ,some one suggested that unquestionably he was keeping his promise to 8do it with trimmings10 and in an intricate pattern1 impossible to describe clearly1 he replied3 8,sure6 ,i'm doing all the trimmings ,i can think of1 and after a minute or two ,i'll think of more40 ,by this time the astonishment and curiosity aroused by these performances had perceptibly lowered the emotional pressure1 and the interview again proceeded more normally4 ,not unnaturally1 in this first family reunion ,frederick's messages were chiefly personal4 ,frequently1 in pauses1 he made enthusiastic little circles1 as has been his custom from the first1 and ,i asked him whether it was the circle of infinity1 all-inclusive4 8,yes1 partly4 ,put out all disturbing factors and all forces of disintegration1 add more to eternity and infinity--and that is the circle40 8,good night10 he said1 a little later4 8,i'll stay here to-night and as long as ,margaret stays4 ,you'll talk often1 won't you80 ,the next night1 he began with a suggestion that the rest do the talking1 adding3 8,i'll listen and answer questions40 ,after some discussion of purpose1 in its personal application1 and inquiries concerning other members of the family on his plane1 ,mr4 ,wylie asked whether his grandfather could talk to him in this way4 8,i can get him1 ,i think1 by to-morrow10 ,frederick replied4 8,he's sheltering a lot of poor1 undeveloped wretches who have come out of conditions not making for fitness or growth4 ,he teaches1 and urges1 and offers them opportunity1 and is too busy and helpful to come away often40 ,after this had been written1 ,i was told that this man1 during his earthly life1 had devoted time and money to providing opportunity for others2 never offering charity1 but building roads that the unemployed might have work1 exchanging some commodity needed by a poor man for some other of which he had enough and to spare1 and always encouraging his less fortunate fellows to retain and develop their self-respect4 ,of another on his plane1 now a healer1 ,frederick said3 8,i haven't seen him4 ,every healing force here1 as with you1 is occupied with war-stricken forces4 ,they come so dazed1 and sometimes terrified--and almost always startled1 if they come from battle4 ,and all our healing forces are required every minute40 ,this reminded ,mrs4 ,gaylord of an experience of her own1 a few days before1 when her pencil had written detached words1 suggestive of battle4 8,lost 444 many lost 444 another dead 444 shot 4440 etc4 ,she asked whether this came from a friend1 and was answered in the negative4 ,to her inquiry1 8,did you live here80 the reply was3 8,near40 ,she asked for the name1 and it was written clearly1 8,k----40 ,a few days later the name of ,lieutenant ,k----1 of a neighboring city1 headed the ,american casualty list4 8,k---- caught his one chance before his consciousness dimmed10 ,frederick commented4 8,he is now too bewildered to talk4 ,just after what people who don't know call death1 there is a moment of singular clarity and vision4 ,he happened to catch you in that moment40 ,we fell to wondering1 then1 whether these messages could be flashed to us from a distance1 or whether the person communicating must be present1 and ,i asked ,frederick whether he could send me a message from a distance4 8,no1 but we travel in a flash40 ,we who had had some experience in receiving these communications spoke of the fear we all had lest we might unconsciously influence the pencil1 at times1 to write our own imaginings4 8,you people have such a fear of imagining things that you shut out a lot we try to tell you10 ,frederick interpolated4 8,we can't get through doubt1 bitterness1 resentment1 or selfish grief4 ,fear can be conquered1 but doubt shuts the door in our faces4 ,please relax a little of this too rigid vigilance1 and at least entertain the idea we are trying to put over40 8,do ,i shut things out by too much vigilance80 ,i asked4 8,you bet you do6 ,but you do it for the best of reasons4 ,you can't take chances of giving the wrong message40 ,to a question about the desire of others on his plane to communicate with those here1 he replied3 8,they are all eager to get in touch1 just now4 ,every one of us here is pulling every thread of connection he can there1 because this is a critical time and because never before in the world's history have so many people been reaching out for the thing that means co-operation and progress1 in the biggest and broadest sense1 if we can only reach them and convince them that we are all working together1 and that we here can help if they will let us40 ,mr4 ,wylie spoke of some one whose 8make-up10 he thought1 might enable him to receive these communications4 8,make-up has a lot to do with it10 ,frederick returned1 8but the peculiar quality of following accurately a thought put forth by a force so subtle that science has failed to detect it is a thing that none of you recognize until it has demonstrated itself40 ,some one asked about a prominent politician1 whom ,frederick had known well in this life1 and he replied3 8---- is working his way back to a place in the forces of ,production4 ,he had a great opportunity1 and used it for personal ends1 and now he is learning how to use it for ,progress4 ,he is not destructive1 nor even deterrent4 ,he is a fine force1 delayed a little40 8,have you ever seen my mother and father80 ,mr4 ,gaylord asked1 thereby eliciting the most rapidly written communication--with the possible exception of one coming the next night--that ,i have ever taken1 the force moving the pencil being so strongly applied1 at moments1 that the instrument was almost pulled out of my fingers4 ,it should be explained that in this appeal to his father ,frederick was addressing neither reluctance nor doubt1 but a certain mental tensity1 resulting from deep emotion1 deeply repressed4 8,yes1 ,i had ,grandmother at ,mrs4 ,z----'s one day10 he began4 8,she is very anxious to talk to you1 but she has gone on to a life1 or a plane1 beyond the one ,i am on1 and ,i can't always reach her4 ,i hope to get her some time before ,margaret goes home4444 ,she never wholly left you1 any more than ,i have4 ,she tried for years to tell you she was there1 and she wants to come back as soon as possible and tell you herself that there is no death1 no separation1 no cause for pain1 or grief1 or fear1 or sadness of parting1 except as it is made in the hearts of those who do not know the truth4 8,we are nearer to you than you are to each other1 ,dad1 and we can prove it1 if you will let go of yourselves and take hold of us4 ,we want to come to you4 ,we do come to you4 ,we try and try to tell you that there is nothing to grieve about1 nothing to dread4 ,only love1 and hope1 and growth1 and beauty of completer union4 ,but we can't do it alone4 ,we must have a free heart1 a free mind1 a free hope to come into4 ,give us that1 and we will show you that we are more truly your own--not your own flesh and blood1 but your own purpose and force1 which was one in the beginning1 and will inevitably be one in the end4 ,we want to make it one now4 ,don't you1 ,dad8 ,won't you try to let the bars down and take us in8 ,we'll come1 and we'll all be happier than you've ever been in all your life yet1 because the ,eternal ,purpose is ,unity1 and we can begin it right here and now1 if you there will join us and be part with us1 as we with you1 of the glorious and happy and 7,o7 irresistible movement toward the great end--which1 after all1 is not an end1 but an eternal and infinite growth toward bigger things4 8,it is a big gospel we are giving you1 sir2 a man's gospel2 a gospel of hope and beauty and construction4 ,and ,i am asking you to let me come in again to your every-day life1 to let the dread and misgiving and unhappiness go1 to think of us here--all of us who are yours--as still yours1 still with you1 still loving and working and hoping with you and for you2 and if you can do that1 ,i promise you we shall all be happier than any of us have ever been before4 8,you see1 sir1 we are all of the forces of ,progress4 ,we are all for ,light1 and ,building1 and ,justice1 and ,truth1 and when one of us holds back we are all held back4 ,this is the first time it has been possible to tell you all this4 ,this is the first time we have been able to reach you freely1 in a way you could not mistake4 ,but the people who have preached the gospel of happiness as a curative force have not been entirely wrong4 ,they have not been wholly right4 ,but the forces here cannot possibly affect a tense and resisting mind as they can a relaxed and receptive one4 ,and the forces here are potent and eager and ready4 ,you know that must be true1 because ,i am one of them1 and the only change in me--absolutely the only one1 ,dad--is that ,i have left the limitations of the flesh behind and grown in perception and knowledge4 ,i am the same ,boy1#h plus the better things1 and minus the limitations4 8,grandmother is the same1 too--plus4 ,she is sweeter1 finer1 broader1 more loving1 than when you knew her4 ,just as she was1 but expanded1 irradiated1 deepened4 ,that's all that death means1 so you see it isn't death at all1 nor separation1 nor anything but beauty1 and greater love1 and wider opportunity1 and higher ideals to live to4 8,this is what we want to share with you4 ,we can1 now4 ,you can have a little of our knowledge1 while still in that preliminary life4 ,you can help us and yourselves by realizing and living the purpose that is ours4 ,you have always lived it1 but you haven't always recognized it4 ,do that1 recognize it1 recognize us1 let us in as recognized and essential parts of your life and hope and happiness1 and ,i shall not need to tell you that this is a true gospel4 ,you will have proved it for yourself4 8,your son always1 8,,frederick40 ,we were all deeply moved4 ,after a little1 ,mr4 ,gaylord asked3 8,is there anything more80 ,frederick began making circles1 and his mother said3 8,he's so happy60 8,happy isn't the word for it6 ,i'm personified radiance and bliss6 ,there isn't anything more to-night1 except my love to all of you1 always--and to-morrow1 and the next day1 and all the days to come1 we are reunited and indivisible4 ,that's enough1 isn't it1 sir8 ,good night4 ,,frederick40 ,,viii ,the next day1 that grandfather for whom ,mr4 ,wylie had asked came briefly1 discussing purpose1 like the rest4 8,i didn't half understand my own impulses there10 he said1 8but ,i know now that the best thing a man can do for other men--and for himself1 too--is to give them a chance to develop whatever is in them4 ,sometimes it isn't much1 from the point of view of the intelligent man1 but the fact remains that it is force1 and the more quickly it is developed the more quickly the sum of the whole will be raised40 ,he closed more personal assurances by saying3 8,there may be no way to put it into words1 but you may be sure ,i am watching1 and helping1 and being helped1 too1 by your reaching toward our common purpose40 ,when ,frederick had taken over the pencil again1 ,mrs4 ,gaylord spoke of the long message to his father the night before1 to which he replied3 8,it was only a beginning4 ,this thing we have to tell you can't be given1 nor yet accepted1 in a day or a month4 ,that letter last night was a sort of foreword1 just to get us all started even4 ,the proof of the pudding is coming later40 ,some more or less personal discussion followed1 during which ,mr4 ,gaylord asked whether certain arrangements he contemplated making were wise4 ,frederick replied that they were1 as far as he could see1 adding3 8,this is hardly a time for making permanent arrangements1 for while the end of the war is certain1 the economic conditions with you1 following the war1 are impossible now to foresee4 ,we have no way of knowing how that struggle between labor and capital1 power of foundation and power of development1 will end4 ,that is one of the reasons we are so eager to get all forces for true progress united now4 ,there are thousands of laboring men misled4 ,get them in for our work4 ,there are hundreds of employers ignorant or indifferent4 ,turn them out40 ,mr4 ,gaylord1 who had not at that time read the ,lessons carefully1 interpreted this as championship of the cause of labor as opposed to capital4 ,some one else suggested that every one1 employer or laborer1 who was not for united progress1 should be 8turned out40 8,sure10 ,frederick answered4 8,turn out the unions1 as they work now4 ,get in unity1 regardless of class40 ,when ,mrs4 ,gaylord inquired about a member of her own family1 he replied3 8,he has gone on1 and ,i haven't seen him4 ,to some of us here there comes a lessening of interest in your life1 and an intensified feeling of the importance of work beyond your plane4 ,he has this interest1 ,i hear1 and very rarely comes back now4 ,there is a lot ,i want to tell you some time about the differences and conditions of the many planes1 but ,i can't do it now4 ,the first work of those of us who have still close ties there is to give you all we can of the possibilities and meaning of the life you live4 ,some day ,i'll tell you what ,i can of the life ahead1 which as yet ,i only aspire to40 8,i suppose there's no use asking whether you inhabit space1 or planes1 or stars80 ,lois inquired4 8,there are things that ,i can tell you later about those matters of plane and future progress10 he said1 8but there is so much that is more imperative now that ,i am told not to tell more1 at present1 than the immediate needs of your life require40 8,do you feel any depression1 when you realize the immensity of the universe and the smallness of each individual80 was the next question4 8,that's a thing you've got to learn4 ,there is no force that is not true force1 and no atom so small that its weight doesn't count4 ,if one atom is for destruction1 that means two atoms lost to construction1 the one that is against us and the one that balances it here1 without any forward movement40 8,have you seen my father80 ,mr4 ,gaylord asked4 8,no4 ,he is a healer now1 and has come back from the plane beyond to help the newly arrived find their balance4 ,i have tried to get in touch with him1 but he is busy and ,i haven't yet met him1 but still hope to4 ,few come back for any work here1 and their greater knowledge makes them very much in demand1 just as a great surgeon is with you in times like these40 ,again the talk turned into more personal channels1 and ,mr4 ,gaylord asked a specific question1 affecting future arrangements4 8444 ,your choice will be influenced1 probably1 by many considerations1 as choice must always be in your life4444 ,i can influence you in ways ,i can't define in words1 but ,i can't properly tell you how to choose--as you know better than ,i4 ,you taught me that1 and it's true4 ,every fellow on his own feet4444 ,not that ,i'm not eager to help1 sir4 ,you understand that1 don't you8 ,but the way ,i can help most is by a close and constant association and suggestion1 that still stops short of definite expression of choice for you4 ,that is your privilege4 ,mine is to help you see the way more clearly40 8,do you know what we are thinking1 at all times80 8,not always4 ,we read most of the thought of the sympathetic forces1 and some of everybody's4 ,i can't always answer the thought ,i read1 though ,i can sometimes4 ,but ,margaret keeps up such a stiff guard1 ,i can't always get over a thing she doesn't know is asked40 ,i said ,i was sorry for that1 and did not understand it1 as ,i thought ,i had lowered all guards as far as he was concerned4 8,you can't understand all the barricades--and the limitations1 too--of consciousness4 ,sometimes ,i sneak one through on you1 but you are from ,missouri1 all right6 ,you want to see the works before you admit the applicant40 ,after dinner1 we talked a little about the publication of these communications1 and of the extent to which personal messages should be quoted4 ,as soon as we gave him opportunity1 ,frederick said3 8,you people can't guess what it means to hear you talking about me1 in the old1 happy way4 ,i've missed myself terribly1 you know4444 ,you've been talking about the book4 ,if you'll permit a suggestion from me1 the plan of copious quotation from all the interviews that have bearing on the big message1 as well as some characteristic extracts from the more personal messages1 under initials frankly substituted for real ones1 is to my notion the way to do it4444 ,a good deal of what we have been allowed to say was because this message was given through ,margaret1 and the rest of us have told things that illumine and carry on the message for the world4 ,we have all wanted you of our own to know these things1 but the channels through which this has come to her have been chosen for her fuller conviction1 and to enable her to deliver this with greater force40 ,in this connection1 it is interesting to note that in every instance when messages of importance have come1 it has been during intercourse primarily requested by those gone before1 who have asked me to send for the person here through whose co-operation the freest communication could be established--,frederick writing more fluently to some member of his family than to me alone1 ,mary ,kendal to ,mansfield1 ,david ,bruce to his wife1 and so on4 ,conversely1 interviews arranged at the instigation of persons on our own plane have been generally without satisfactory result4 8,we who can tell it clearly1 and whom she can absolutely identify10 ,frederick went on1 8have had extraordinary fluency1 and almost unlimited authority to speak4 ,we have spoken to our own1 and through them to all who will listen4 ,keep the personal part of all we have said as sacredly to yourselves as you like1 but my own desire is that the parts of my messages that will carry conviction or comfort to people suffering in ignorance of all this may be given to them through you--as your faith and conviction will lead you to do1 ,i know--not in your name or mine1 but in the spirit of light1 healing1 and progress we all serve40 ,when this was construed as an intimation that he did not want his name used1 he returned3 8,i have no slightest objection4 ,i have only a feeling that this personal revelation belongs to you4 ,use it as you choose4 ,i do not ask anything1 except that you share its essence with those who suffer as you have suffered4 ,give them what will relieve them1 and do it as you think best40 ,at this point1 the question of publication was dropped1 though he returned to it the next day4 ,a short pause followed4 ,then the touch on the pencil changed1 ,frederick's bolder writing being succeeded by a smoother1 more flowing1 and exceedingly rapid script1 in a message to ,mr4 ,gaylord from his mother1 for whose early death he had never ceased to grieve4 8---- dear1 this is ,mother4 8,frederick told me ,i could reach you at last4 ,i have had always the greatest desire to touch you1 to tell you that your mother could not leave you1 could not cease to love you1 could not leave off watching over you1 hoping for you1 guarding your highest hopes and ideals4 ,to have known the darkness that fell upon you1 and to be unable to lighten it1 or to soothe your anguish1 made me as sad as one can be in this fine and everlastingly expanding life4 ,i knew that you must some day come back to me1 and into full knowledge of all that eternal life means1 so ,i could bear it4 8,you have been always a joy and a source of great happiness to me1 in your splendid adherence to the things we know now to be the first and fundamental principles of life4 ,we did not know1 when ,i was with you1 all the wonders and beauties of the eternal life we talked about4 ,we thought heaven was quite different from this4 ,but it is heaven1 in a much higher and finer way than anything we dreamed of then1 and to be able to come back to you now--to my boy1 through his boy--and tell you all this1 is almost as wonderful and blessed to me as it is to you4 8,i have gone on to a life and a work ,i cannot easily explain to you now4 ,i have lost touch with the material things of your life4 ,but you1 your purpose1 your achievement of force1 the love you have never ceased to give me1 the love with which you bless and are blessed by your family--all these things ,i know1 dear1 and have always known4 8,for so long1 ,i tried to tell you not to grieve4 ,we have been so close together1 in the ways that are real and infinite4 ,never grieve again1 dear son1 for any loved one coming to this happy life4 ,we do not leave you4 ,we do not part in any way1 except the way of flesh4 ,we are happy1 but can be so much happier if you know us with you and of you1 and if you can come to us in confidence and love and conviction of our life1 as we never cease to go to you4 8,your father wanted me to tell you this is from him as well as from me4 ,he is doing a great work and cannot come to you now1 but he knew that ,i should soon come to say this1 and he wants you to know that he1 too1 is happier in your growing knowledge of our unceasing life1 and unceasing love1 and unceasing upward growth4 8,your family are all dear to us as part of you1 and therefore part of us4 ,it is a light increasing the light in which we dwell1 to be at last in this close communion with you4 ,i will come again some time--many times--and ,i want you always to think of me as loving you1 keeping watch over you1 and living in you and yours4 8,frederick is splendid4 ,you know that4 ,please be as sure that ,i am--and your father1 too--always so full of happiness in the thought and knowledge of you and your love4 8,your loving ,,mother40 ,,ix 8,i am with all of you as ,i never could be before10 ,frederick said1 the next day1 8because until we are realized and recognized the communion can't be complete4 ,now ,i can tell all of you lots of things you can get without words or messenger4 ,sometimes you will know they are my suggestions1 sometimes you won't4 ,but the fact that ,i am closely and intimately in touch with you is the important thing for all of us4 ,the recognition of my definite suggestion will come later1 when you are more accustomed to all this and have learned the little signals by which ,i identify myself to you40 8,can you tell us what those signals are80 some one asked4 8,they are like the force ,i am1 too subtle for scientific analysis or description1 but you'll know them1 all of you4 ,this thing can't be developed in a minute1 you know4 ,wait1 and watch1 and let the bars down1 and you'll know me when ,i come1 in a comparatively short time40 8,can you tip tables with us80 ,lois inquired4 8,yes1 probably2 but that's a clumsy way of doing it4 ,some of you can run a planchette4 ,none of you are likely to get anything like this4444 ,this fluency of reception is hardly to be expected4 ,we can talk1 however4444 ,you can always get me1 for the essential intercourse1 and somehow we'll get it across40 8,i want you to give your father something like the #8stop--look--listen' reminder to me10 his mother said4 8,all right2 but ,i can't do it in cold blood4 ,let me cogitate1 and ,i'll try to think up a password that can't fail to accomplish the desired effect4 ,you and ,dad are the same purpose in essentials1 but your force is differently applied and can't be approached in the same way40 8,how far down in the scale does the possession of a soul go80 ,mr4 ,wylie asked1 presently4 8,how about animals80 8,there is no such thing as soul1 in that sense4 ,all purpose is force4 ,all force personified is individuality4 ,all individuality is eternal4 ,the development is unequal4 ,the undeveloped force finds quicker development here4 ,but the force that has been developed to a point of intelligence in your life1 and is not actively put to work1 goes down in the scale1 is deterrent1 and has to work just as hard to get back as the force that never has developed at all40 8,where does the force animating babies come from80 ,i asked4 8,what was little ,dick before he was little ,dick80 8,that's what ,i want to explain1 if ,i can4 ,the force that manifests itself in animals is a grade higher in force than the vegetable manifestation1 and that higher than inanimate stone and metal4 ,the force of an animal comes here1 to swell the forces that become individual and human through birth1 but individuality begins with human consciousness4 ,all force that is not human may eventually become human1 but there is no persistence of individuality until birth as a human and more or less productive force begins it4 ,animals do not produce anything but their kind4 ,only man creates1 and that is the eternal attribute40 8,is there a struggle between purposes to enter a new-born human80 8,many purposes are latent in every human being from birth4 ,none is in absolute possession4 ,life on your plane is one perpetual struggle between the eternal warring purposes4 ,no newly born child has chosen4 ,the training of a child should1 from the first1 be a preparation for battle1 for daily--almost hourly--choice4 ,diligence1 vigilance1 purpose to work unceasingly and against all disintegrating influences1 determination to construct and to progress in spite of anything1 mental1 moral1 physical1 or material--these are the essential things in training a child to live forcefully and eternally40 8,what becomes of babies who die at birth80 8,they have undeveloped personalities and are developed here4 ,we have strong forces of ,light and ,truth devoted to their teaching40 8,when a man is consciously determined to construct1 is he ever overcome by disintegrating forces80 8,sure thing he is1 if he doesn't fight4 ,sometimes he sways and recovers4 ,read the ,lessons4 ,they'll tell you more every time you read them4 ,they come from ,general ,headquarters4444 ,the arousing force of this message is to be measured by conviction manifested in action4 ,again you are respectfully referred to the ,lessons40 8,it doesn't seem fair that physical and nervous conditions should affect one's ability to resist or receive the forces10 ,lois mentioned4 8,it doesn't4 ,you just think it does4 ,the forces of construction are always eager to come in4 ,the thing you call nervous exhaustion generally comes from yielding to forces of disintegration4 ,a person yields to one or more of them1 and then is sorry for himself because some doctor doesn't rout them4 ,what he needs is to buck up and kick them out himself40 ,evidently he referred here to the nervous disorders arising from mental disturbances1 for the next day he emphasized the government of physical forces by physical laws4 ,it was suggested that while many nervous disorders might be controlled in their incipiency by the person suffering from them1 they eventually get beyond his control1 and ,frederick replied3 8,you think so2 but there's always force where there's personality1 and if it can just be put up to you1 by yourself or another1 that the choice in the end is yours and nobody's else1 you can help yourself4 ,in the end1 you help yourself1 anyhow1 unless you slide back to protoplasm of purpose4 ,get busy and buck up1 or backslide and slump4 ,it's up to every fellow for himself1 and every one who slips back impedes the way for somebody else40 ,in the talk following this1 some one spoke of the constant teaching of brotherhood and regard for one's neighbor as a vicarious gospel4 8,not vicarious10 ,frederick corrected4 8,it is not vicarious to give the other fellow a chance4 ,no man is his brother's keeper4 ,no man has a right to impede construction1 unless he's destructive4 ,but it's every personality developed to its highest that makes the strong constructive army4 ,the weak should have a chance to develop1 but no strong force should yield its purpose4 ,nothing vicarious about that4 ,just common sense and good organization40 ,mr4 ,gaylord--the successful head of a large manufacturing concern--asked1 with a twinkle3 8,can you successfully run a business in accordance with the principles laid down in these ,lessons8 ,before you answer1 ,i want to say that ,i believe it can be done40 8,you're right1 ,dad4 ,it can't be done easily1 nor quite consistently1 at present1 because of the complexity of modern business conditions4 ,you are all bound to some extent by association with some one else1 whether by a man1 a directors' board1 an association1 or a contributing concern4 ,these all limit1 to a certain extent1 your freedom of action2 but fundamentally the principle is practicable1 and can gradually be put into consistent practice by uniting with those of your own purpose1 instead of with those who seem expedient40 ,that evening1 ,mrs4 ,wylie said that the repeated assertions of invisible forces of construction and of destruction1 alertly striving to influence us1 reminded her of the old theories of guardian angels and possessing devils4 ,i think it was that night1 too1 though ,i made no record of it at the time1 that ,mr4 ,gaylord said1 when ,frederick's good night had been followed by his customary signature3 8,i wish he'd sign the name ,i used to call him by40 ,efforts to obtain it then1 however1 were unsuccessful4 ,the next day--the last of my visit--,frederick said of a man of whom we had been talking3 8,he hasn't just found himself yet1 but he will4 ,he likes to produce some things1 and he will respond to the higher call to build for the higher end4 ,you can all help him1 and yourselves1 and our whole purpose1 by calling to the latent builder in him4 ,he wants to come in1 but doesn't know just where to start4444 ,more effort1 more concentration1 more force applied for purpose1 is the thing to strive for first4 ,i can't tell him how to build4 ,that's for him to choose4444 ,you can build together4 ,each of you helping the other1 each of you bringing effort1 willingness1 perception1 force of various kinds4 ,but first and foremost1 devotion to the purpose of progress1 regardless of intervening difficulties and discouragements4 ,habit is strong in every human force4 ,remember that1 and watch--watch for the little masquerading devils of destruction4 ,they are clever and subtle1 and come in plausible guise4 ,kick them out and work4444 ,you said this sounded like the old stories of possession by devils1 ,sis4 ,it's not that4 ,the devils of old possessed a man in spite of himself4 ,the forces of destruction govern him only when he permits them to4 ,he can always be constructive1 if he will4 ,he may do no more than carry bricks to the mason1 but still he builds4 ,the man who has great opportunity must use it greatly4 ,the little chap can use only the force he has4 ,thus endeth this preachment40 ,lois asked whether he had been present at a moment when several members of the family had been in great physical danger1 and he replied that he had come at once1 from a great distance1 in response to a summons from a force 8that is always with you when ,i am not40 8,there is always a connecting force between you and the free forces here10 he explained4 8,we are always in touch that way4 ,that is equally true of the forces for destruction4 ,the greater forces for good or evil can be instantly summoned to reinforce your choice40 ,this led to a discussion of prayer1 in which certain members of our group had lost faith4 8,you can always summon help1 if you call the 7,o7 eternal constructive forces to build with you10 he told us4 8,but most people pray for physical or material aid4 ,physical forces follow physical laws4 ,forces of eternity affect them to some extent1 but do not govern them4 ,prayer with other people is a sort of lying down on the ,infinite and giving up personal effort4 ,the prayer that is most truly and promptly answered is the one that begins and ends with a determination not to yield to weakness1 or fear1 or the other disintegrating powers4 ,prayer implies an open mind1 and is too often made with a closed one4 ,not wilfully closed1 but fearfully1 and therefore not truly open40 8,physical forces1 ,mother1 were too much for my physical resistance10 he said1 when she spoke of her effort to hold him here4 8,no amount of prayer1 or influence of the forces of eternal progress1 could affect that1 beyond the extent to which it was affected4 ,that is the reason it was a long fight4 ,the forces helped all they could4 ,but the physical thing is a minor thing1 after all4 ,the eternal thing is all that really counts4 ,and to be able to put you1 whom ,i love so much1 in touch with the eternal while still in that preliminary life1 is worth all that ,i--and you--went through to make it possible4 ,to be able to pass on this knowledge to that life of yours is worth anything40 8,isn't the time coming when we shall be able to control our physical condition better than we do now80 ,mrs4 ,wylie asked4 8,yes1 the mind--and what we call force in the eternal sense--has great influence over personal physical force4 ,it performs no miracles1 but prevents much yielding to what is really the forces of destruction1 trying to hamper and delay accomplishment of any constructive kind4444 ,the forces of disintegration are the busy boys1 and it takes force and purpose and struggle to keep them out40 8,is our decision to use your first name in the book right80 his father asked4 8,yes1 sir4 ,i am very happy about that4 ,it will identify me1 and therefore the message1 to many people ,i should like to reach personally1 and will not identify you to the public at large4 ,i should not like to have ,mother and the girls annoyed by publicity1 but that was for you to choose4 ,the message1 as you know1 is important and general4 ,but to a lot of fellows ,i want to reach1 ,frederick will carry where ,z4 ,x4 would fail to convince4444 ,your attitude about the book pleases me1 too4444 ,you and ,i both know the force of the primitive masculine feeling that a man's family is his own1 and its affairs private and personal4 ,this time1 the personal affair is also the eternal affair1 vital and illuminating4 ,and the fact that ,i have been one of the channels through which this came1 that it was the search for me that made ,margaret begin this work1 must not be confused in anybody's mind with the fact that the message is more than a message--it is a revelation4 ,for that reason1 you and ,i both will gladly sink the personal reluctance and remember the purpose we serve40 ,a long pause ensued1 while we sat soberly about the table1 waiting4 ,then some one suggested that perhaps he wished us to ask questions4 8,all ,i want is to talk like folks to the family10 he announced1 with a force and rapidity amounting to emphasis4 8,for the love of ,mike1 stop thinking of me as different1 and translated1 and serious1 and solemn6 ,i do preach a lot1 ,i admit4 ,that's for reasons you know4 ,but ,i'm just as fond of a joke as ,i ever was1 and ,i refuse to be set aside as a superior being6 ,come on1 now1 count me in as the ,boy1 and out as a thing to be treated with solemn reverence6 ,i'm myself1 and ,i want it recognized60 ,after this1 the talk drifted1 much as it might have done had he returned visibly after a long absence1 touching here and there4 ,presently ,lois asked1 referring to a friend in ,europe3 8,did you know ,h---- was married8 ,and to an ,american woman80 8,no1 ,i didn't know that4 ,he should marry a free force1 like an ,american girl4 ,he was too blamed medieval in his feeling about females4 ,we are all a bit inclined that way1 we men1 but ,american women are doing a lot to free force1 the world over4 ,they are more nearly free in purpose than any other women in the world1 more truly individuals--when they don't abuse it1 and turn into dolls4 ,american girls help women everywhere4 ,they don't stand for any harem stunts4 ,h---- will learn a lot of things he needs to know1 if she's the real thing40 ,concluding a long reply to a personal question of his father's1 he said3 8,know that ,i am enjoying every pleasure you take1 doubly1 once for you and twice for myself4 ,there's your watchword1 ,dad6 ,one for myself1 and two for the ,boy4 ,remember that every time you are worried1 every time you are tempted to overwork1 every time you put off physical repairs1 every time you feel depressed1 every time you need rest and relaxation and pleasure1 every time you play with ,mother and the girls1 every time you renew your fellowship with other men--always remember3 ,one for myself1 and two for the ,boy40 ,that evening1 ,mrs4 ,gaylord said that she had received a message about a relative in the ,west1 purporting to come from her brother on the next plane1 which she thought was not true1 but one of her daughters told her that a letter received the night before had verified it4 8,mother dearest1 all messengers have that trouble10 ,frederick warned her4 8,there are certain things concerning details of your plane1 that will come to you through forces around you1 that get confused in transmission4 ,that's as near as ,i can come now to explaining what happens4 ,some day1 ,i can perhaps tell you more about it4 ,but don't let that disturb or discourage you4 ,the explanation is as natural as a deflected ray of light1 or an electric current grounded4#i ,it is a part of the conditions under which we work with your plane1 and is never encountered regularly or continuously4 ,certain detached experiences of that sort come to every messenger4 ,this one you mention was not one of them1 but ,i tell you this now1 because the experience may come to any of you1 including ,margaret1 any day4 ,the current gets mixed4 ,that's the best way ,i can express it4 ,but it doesn't persist for any length of time40 ,we talked about the force moving the pencil4 ,mr4 ,gaylord asked whether ,i wrote the words1 after receiving the message through my mind1 and ,i replied that the force1 on the contrary1 seemed to be applied to the pencil from without--sometimes above my fingers1 sometimes below them--my only participation being to hold the pencil upright and to follow its movement4 ,mrs4 ,wylie mentioned the theory that the message comes through the subconscious mind1 the muscles of the hand supplying the motive power4 ,we asked ,frederick whether he could tell us anything about it4 8,the subconscious mind is like the battery10 he said1 slowly1 8but the connection is made through the hand4 ,the motive power for the pencil does not come1 as scientists claim1 from the subconscious mind1 but from the subtle force ,i mentioned1 put into connection with the hand by certain sympathetic and sensitive conditions of the subconscious mind4 ,the comparison is not exact4 ,the force is not electric1 and has certain definitely distinctive qualities not to be expressed in any terms now familiar to your plane2 but in time words will be found--or coined--to express this connection40 ,some weeks afterward1 ,mr4 ,kendal obtained a little additional information about this unknown force from his wife4 ,in endeavoring to establish communication with ,frederick1 through a pencil1 one of his sisters had been overwhelmed by insistent1 and frequently unknown1 personalities seeking expression1 and had had some rather violent and annoying manifestations of the force they employ4 8,you mustn't do too much of this writing stunt10 ,frederick now advised her1 8unless you give up a lot of other things4 ,you can't burn your candle of force at both ends4 ,margaret gave up a lot of outside activities long ago4 ,you are sensitive1 and could do this in time very freely1 but the receptivity is decidedly a strain upon the messenger at best1 and if any amount of writing is to be done1 you can't do other things1 too40 ,after mentioning that she would probably be beset by 8any number of yearning forces10 he added3 8,so either say #8not at home' to anybody but ,uncle ,j---- and ,bud 4440 ,i halted the pencil1 supposing that he had intended to write either ,boy or ,brother1 and that there had been a mistake in transmission4 ,lois glanced at the sheet1 and ejaculated3 8,buddie60 8,that's the name ,i've been waiting for60 her father exclaimed4 ,the pencil then went on1 completing the name as if no interruption had occurred3 8444 die1 or give up other things1 or quit40 ,afterward1 when it had been explained that certain members of the family had called ,frederick ,buddie1 ,bud1 or ,buzz1 variations of ,lois's baby attempts at ,brother1 he added3 8,i've been trying to get that through1 but the ,missourian held me to known names40 ,at first1 names came to me with little difficulty1 but latterly--possibly beginning with the ,annie ,manning episode--,i have been generally unable to transmit them4 ,some one asked ,frederick the reason for this4 8,because names are specific10 he said4 8,she knows my name4 ,she knew ,i had a special name1 besides4 ,but while an idea expressed in familiar words can be transmitted1 however unfamiliar the idea1 the definite and specific spelling of an unfamiliar name is very difficult to get through1 especially if the messenger is a little nervous about it1 or constantly alert for possible mistakes4 ,we can sometimes get it through1 as ,i did this1 in a rush of other stuff40 ,a few days later1 when ,i was very tired1 receiving with difficulty1 and therefore questioning every statement made through the pencil1 ,mary ,k4 said3 8,you are the most mentally 444 el 444 elas 444 el 444 elastic is not the word4 ,means elastic and masterful 444 impregnable messenger ,i ever tried to work through4444 ,that is the reason names are almost impossible to send through you4 ,you try to get them1 but the almost invincible character of your mental resistance to deception makes it difficult for us to penetrate where a doubt exists in your mind4 ,a name is specific to the highest degree1 and resistance1 however unconscious and unrecognized1 prevents its free transmission40 8,you will come again1 won't you80 ,frederick asked1 as the hour of my departure approached4 8,i have had a bully time talking to the family1 and ,i can do better work now1 because they are all happier1 and all with me in conscious purpose4 ,it's true that every bit of conscious co-operation with us helps us1 as well as you4 ,so that #8,one for myself and two for the ,boy' is not bunk1 ,dad4 ,it's the real thing1 for both of us40 ,with a final brief message to every member of the group1 the last of these ,l---- interviews closed4#aj ,x ,the experience at ,l----1 while stimulating1 was also fatiguing1 and for several days thereafter ,i was tired and dull1 receiving with difficulty the few communications that were attempted4 ,tuesday evening1 ,april #bc;d1 two of ,anne ,lowe's friends wished to talk to her1 but were told that she was busy and could not come4 ,mary ,k4 answered some of their questions1 concluding3 8,anne sends love to you both1 and says please come again soon4 ,she is sorry she can't come now40 ,after giving me the twelfth ,lesson1 ,mary ,k4 had said3 8,that is the last formal lesson4 ,the rest will be given in other ways40 8,you mean through interviews and personal messages80 8,not entirely4 ,you will be given signed letters1 by great forces40 ,afterward1 she mentioned these prospective communications sometimes as 8letters10 sometimes as 8talks10 but ,mary ,kendal told us1 ,may #acth1 that this intention had been temporarily abandoned1 as sufficient material for the book had already been given4 ,evidently this decision had been reached only recently1 however1 for an attempt to give me the first letter was frustrated on the #beth of ,april1 and a second period of confusion and partial control by invading forces ensued4 ,during the morning1 ,mary ,k4 prepared me for this letter1 in a communication written quickly and easily1 as follows3 8,men will ask the theory of the letters that are coming to them through you4 ,this must be explained4 8,as the ,lessons have been given to me to deliver to the world through you1 so the letters that are to come will be given to me by the forces from whom they come4 ,the reason that they come through me is that ,i reach you more freely1 when you are alone1 than any other force known to you and therefore commanding your confidence4444 8,the ,lessons came from great forces combined4 ,they represent unity of all purposes1 and were framed by the co-operation and agreement of the greatest forces of each constructive purpose1 to reach the consciousness of men in general terms of your plane4 8,the reason that these forces do not come to you personally is that not all of them can reach you as freely as ,i do4 ,your simile of wireless telegraphy is a good one4 ,it does not fully explain the connection between you and me1 but is as good an explanation as the progress of physical science enables you on that plane to follow4 ,the full explanation will inevitably be possible1 as physical scientists are already beginning to work toward it4 8,you and ,i may be regarded as the receiving and sending instruments through which forces here transmit their messages4 ,you receive from many other instruments1 ,i send through others4 ,but for impersonal messages you and ,i are most completely in accord1 and thus it is that these greater forces use us as a means of communication4 ,the first letter is ready now40 ,it chanced1 unfortunately1 that ,i was called away1 and when ,i was prepared to take the letter1 later in the day1 almost two hours were consumed in an attempt to write the name of its author1 who was described as 8a leading educator40 ,eventually ,i was assured that 8,matthew ,alden0 was correct1 but1 while the name was repeatedly written1 ,i had a strong impression that it was not what ,mary ,k4 had intended to write4 ,reminding myself of previous difficulties in obtaining names1 ,i tried to believe that the delay and fatigue incident to this effort had contributed to my doubt of its authenticity4 ,but the doubt remained4 ,the long letter which followed was also received with great difficulty and many delays1 and proved1 when completed1 to be a verbose jumble of platitudes concerning educational methods1 with here and there a striking phrase4 ,it was signed1 8,matthew ,al44440 ,by this time1 ,i was excessively tired and could obtain but one statement from ,mary ,k4 8,you have not the name right40 ,later in the evening1 ,i took up a pencil1 and it wrote3 8,mar 444 ,matthew ,ald44440 ,the name was not finished4 8,isn't ,mary ,k4 here80 8,no4 ,no1 she will return40 8,she said she would be with me through this work40 8,she will again4 ,mary ,k44440 ,illegible lines followed4 8,is this ,mary ,k4 now80 8,no4 ,mary ,k4 has gone4 ,this is ,mar44440 ,again the reply trailed off indeterminately4 8,mary ,kendal80 8,no4 ,mary ,k4 has gone4 ,matthew40 ,eventually1 failing to elicit any response from ,mary ,k41 ,i asked whether ,matthew had anything to say to me1 and he replied with vague phrases1 so reminiscent of the 8letter0 that ,i impatiently gave up the attempt for the day4 ,the next day1 ,friday1 ,matthew's signature was the only one obtainable1 but ,i have no record of any messages4 ,i think ,i refused to take them from him4 ,saturday morning1 ,i tried again4 8,matthew ald44440 8,i want ,mary ,k4 ,why isn't she here80 8,mary ,k4 will be ret 444 eternally with you40 8,then isn't she here now80 8,no1 she was called away4 ,she will come back soon40 8,was that letter from the #8educator' yours80 8,no1 ,i am not a force for light4 ,i am for truth and healing40 8,did you deliver it to me80 8,no40 8,then why was your name given before it80 8,mary ,k4 to 444 taken 444 told 444 took 444 tried to tell you ,i was here and would guard you4 ,she will return soon40 8,do you know about the letter8 ,did she give it to me80 8,not all of it4 ,she will explain4 ,i am just ,mary ,k4's tatl 444 to 444 tr 444 tried 444 trained substitute40 ,asked how he could be her substitute1 when admittedly not of her purpose1 he said3 8,healing is her purpose and mine1 and truth the best guard40 ,at this time1 the ,farrow mystery was still unsolved4 ,not until after this second prolonged experience was ,i given any explanation of these attacks by opposing forces1 or of the conditions governing such struggles1 and while ,i was less disquieted than upon the first occasion1 ,i was still puzzled and uneasy1 strongly suspecting interference of some kind4 ,that afternoon1 ,mrs4 ,gaylord and one of her daughters1 passing through the city1 came in for a brief talk with ,frederick1 and while there was at first some interference1 he was soon writing with his customary clarity and vigor4 ,when his sister asked about a personality aggressively demanding utterance through her pencil1 he said3 8,not much6 ,don't give in to him4444 ,don't you let anybody you don't know tell you anything4 ,it may be true and it may not1 and it's not a game to play any more blindfolded than you have to be4 ,you have to take a good deal on faith1 at best4 ,identify anybody who comes1 as far as possible40 8,can you tell me from whom that #8letter' came80 ,i asked4 8,that letter got deteriorated in transmission4 ,it short-circuited1 so to speak1 and was somewhat damaged4 ,the next1 we hope1 will be better40 ,after my friends' departure1 ,i caught ,mary ,k4 briefly1 when she told me the source of the letter she had tried to deliver1 adding that it had been too much interrupted4 8,other forces tried to intervene and dominated you temporarily10 she said1 after which the pencil wrote only 8,ma 444 ,ma 444 ,ma44440 sometimes surrounding the letters with two reversed circles4 ,i suggested ,maynard1 but the answer was1 8,no 444 ,ma 444 ,ma 444 ,matt44440 8,i am not a disintegrating force10 was the reply to my accusation4 8,i am ,mary ,k44440 8,mary ,k4 back80 8444 no 444 her substitute4 ,mary ,k4 will return soon40 8,are you sure of that80 8,yes4 ,mary ,k4 is here40 ,this was followed by ,mary ,k4's characteristic and vigorous signature4 8,you should know me40 8,it seems easy for the others to masquerade10 ,i mentioned4 8,not to your touch10 she returned1 indicating a means of identification that ,i had hesitated to trust4 8,why do you leave me80 ,i demanded4 8,you know ,i have followed light1 healing1 and justice all my life10 was her retort4 8,why doubt me now8 ,i leave you that 444 ,ma 444 ,ma 444 ,ma 4440 ,by a curious coincidence1 the names of several persons connected with these communications begin with those two letters--,mary ,k41 ,mary ,kendal1 ,mansfield1 ,maynard1 ,margaret--and ,i suggested each of them in turn1 before it occurred to me that 8,m4 ,a40 signified ,matthew ,alden1 the usurper4 ,that evening was spent with ,anne ,lowe and her friends--,anne in one of her whimsical moods1 jesting most of the time1 with occasional more serious moments4 ,speaking of a dog for whose death they had grieved1 she said3 8,he came1 and grew into a better force1 and some day he'll make an adorable baby4 ,part of him1 anyway4 ,he was almost human4 ,every force goes on to a higher one--unless it slides back4 ,in the end it's got to go on1 so why fret and fume about a step either way8 ,whichever way it is1 it's one step nearer the end1 and the end is inevitable and fine4 ,if people must have coasting1 let them coast4 ,they'll begin climbing that much sooner40 8,matt 4440 was written once1 but with one voice we refused to talk to him4 ,mary ,k4 followed1 with a reference to a promise she had made to ,ruth1 several weeks before4 ,then ,anne again1 with an apparently clear connection4 ,sunday1 ,i was unable to get anything from ,mary ,k4 ,i was told she was away1 doing my work4 ,monday morning1 ,m4 ,a4 told me that ,mary ,k4 would be 8through with the task soon10 and wrote various phrases intended to be misleading4 ,in my note-book1 at this point1 ,i find the following entry3 8,i am beginning to get ,m4 ,a4's messages a little more freely1 but they are still slow and difficult40 ,upon the departure of a visitor1 late in the afternoon1 ,i was conscious of a strong summons1 and of a strange sense of turmoil and commotion4 ,when ,i took up the pencil1 the applied force was very strong at moments1 then ceased utterly--sometimes sharply1 in the middle of a word1 or with a letter only half formed4 ,occasionally1 the pencil was dragged down until it almost lay flat on the paper1 and cancelations were frequent4 8,matthew ,alden is destructive 444 ,ma 444 ,m4 ,a4444 ,matthew is destr4444 des 444 de 444 disturbed about ,mary ,k4 ,she means to be the force de 444 to have 444 han 444 handle you1 but she destr 444 has not done 444 been here 444 held to her purpose1 and has departed to the other side of the world4 ,she must be held firmly to her purpose40 ,knowing ,mary ,k4's steadfastness in all things1 ,i said that this was absurd4 8,she will be pursued 444 bett 444 forced to strong pleading to be allowed to do the rest of the letters4 ,she should be having a following of our forces4 ,she has been detained for a long time4 ,matthew ,alden 444 is having a battle4444 ,matthew has been defeated and 444 ,m4 ,a4444 ,matthew is de 444 det 4440 ,bewildered and irritated1 ,i demanded3 8,what does this mean80 8,means that the powers 444 forces of de 444 construction are defeated4 ,we have been beaten40 8,i don't believe that for a minute10 ,i said4 8,or do you mean the military forces8 ,is ,germany winning a battle to-day80 8,no1 that is the least of it40 8,are you trying to tell me that ,germany will win80 8,yes1 we are defeated4 ,her forces have reassembled1 and have helped her slaughter ours40 ,again ,i said ,i did not believe it4 8,m4 ,a4444 ,matthew is doing his best40 8,you said he was defeated40 8,he lost a fight40 8,if you are ,mary ,k4's substitute1 why doesn't she come to the rescue80 ,i asked4 8,she didn't4 ,she believes ,matthew held out4444 ,message from ,mary ,k4 ,margaret1 ,i do4444 ,i do fight for you40 ,i asked if ,mary ,k4 were writing4 8,no4 ,go to high forces for help4 ,only be forceful for us first4 ,mary ,k4 will do her best for forces of light and progress4 ,matthew is better and danger is passing4 ,m4 ,a40 ,i demanded ,mary ,k4 8,not this time4 ,all the forces have gathered4444 ,she should 444 said be forceful40 ,saying that the whole thing seemed absurd1 ,i asked whether it had to do with ,germany and the war1 or with the book and me--provided it had to do with anything1 which ,i began to question4 8,it is the flander 444 it is the battle 444 book1 not the godse 444 god sent war40 ,amazed1 ,i questioned3 8,is ,god-sent war right80 ,after some delay--when one of the numerous blanks occurred1 all force being withdrawn from the pencil--the impression of tumult instantly ceased1 leaving a sense of sudden quiet and peace4 ,then--8,mary ,k4 ,mary ,k4 ,mary ,k40 8,that feels like ,mary ,k410 ,i said4 8,it means ,mary ,k41 too40 8,what did all that mean80 8,meant that the forces of disintegration have had control of you for days1 at moments4 ,matthew was a force for fear40 ,when ,i asked whether she had been away she wrote quickly3 8,no1 not for one instant4 ,he held me back1 and called to your fear in accents of truth4444 ,we have the forces all about us1 and sometimes we are overpowered and compelled to let them through temporarily1 but they can always be fought away in time40 ,brisk circles of affirmation followed my suggestion that possibly this explained the ,farrow episode1 and she made the statement previously quoted3 8,we had a terrific struggle for you then4 ,we told you the truth1 but the other forces controlled the pencil40 ,weeks afterward1 ,i asked her to explain more fully this dual control1 and her reply seems to me singularly illuminating4 8,the connection with the pencil has no influence on your consciousness4 ,we may control the consciousness1 through purpose and its unity1 even though other forces control the material instrument40 ,this seems not only to show why these messages are written sometimes with and sometimes without the messenger's previous knowledge of their content1 but also to offer a possible explanation of phenomena of a much wider range4 ,to my great surprise1 ,mary ,kendal announced herself a day or two after this1 having preceded ,mansfield1 she said1 because ,i was 8fairly beleaguered by the enemy0 in an attempt to prevent the publication of the message4 ,in spite of this reinforcement1 however1 ,m4 ,a4 persisted in attempts to engage my attention4 ,on one occasion1 he invited me to 8try a little change0 and talk to him4 ,on another1 he asked me to let him write1 as he had 8a long story to tell0 about my husband1 who was out of town4 ,again1 he assured me that ,i had disappointed 8them10 that 8they0 felt that ,i had failed as a messenger1 and that ,mary ,k4 had departed permanently4 ,still again1 when confusion seemed to have overtaken the book project1 he declared1 quite frankly3 8,we have stopped you now4 ,m4 ,a40 ,no longer troubled by these intrusions1 however1 ,i never permitted him to use the pencil after his identity had been discovered4 ,occasionally ,i was deceived for a moment1 and not infrequently it was his failure to complete a sentence or a word that betrayed him4 8,he defeats himself by his fear1 like all cowards10 ,mary ,k4 said1 one day1 and when ,i mentioned that his messages lacked continuity1 she returned3 8,no coward is consecutive4 ,how could he be80 ,these were by no means the last of the encounters with ,matthew4 ,mr4 ,kendal arrived on the #gth of ,may1 and a night or two later1 when several of those interested in these communications were together1 ,m4 ,a4 made his appearance again4 ,for some time his initials followed every attempt to establish communication with our invisible friends1 but eventually we obtained ,mary ,kendal's clear signature1 and a message1 slowly written1 with frequent pauses1 during which the personality striving to oppose her was gradually overcome4 ,m4 ,a4's erratic touch was occasionally evident1 lessening in strength as ,mary's steady1 gentle control increased4 8,come on10 she said1 finally4 8,we are ready for a little fun now1 and we will leave the more serious matters until we have more truly a clear field40 ,accordingly1 we abandoned our intended inquiry1 for the moment1 resorting to persiflage1 in which she took an active part1 writing with increased fluency4 8,laughter is a constructive force1 children10 she told us1 when things were going smoothly again4 8,remember that when you fight fiends4444 ,if we keep our touch close1 and laugh like that1 with real mirth1 they can't get in40 ,later that evening1 ,anne ,lowe came for a moment1 just to tell us1 she said1 that we had made a step in learning what laughter that is from the heart will do4 8,it is protective1 constructive1 curative1 and the devil for devils4 ,they can't get over1 or around1 or through it4 ,that's your best weapon and your best protection1 aside from fundamental purposes4 ,use it1 and more power to your--what is it you laugh with8 ,diaphragm1 or what80 ,the next night1 when conditions were normal from the first1 we asked ,mary ,kendal about this incident1 and she said3 8,it was just a massed attack1 which will occur from time to time4 ,they will fight as long as they exist1 but the virulence and violence of their present efforts is due to our united attack on them40 ,an interesting and illuminating variation of these occasional sorties occurred during an interview between a man of whose personal relations and interests ,i have only the most casual knowledge1 and a personality on the next plane whom ,i knew not at all4 ,the first messages to him1 as to most of the others1 concerned purpose and its unity4 ,apparently not convinced of the authenticity of their source1 he repeatedly asked for an intimate1 characteristic1 personal message4 ,not receiving it1 he asked a question relating to an entirely imaginary situation--8just to see10 as he afterward explained4 ,the question was answered in detail1 immediately followed by the statement1 8,phil fears too much40 ,suspecting interference1 from the peculiar movement of the pencil1 ,i asked him who ,phil was1 and when he replied that he knew no such person1 ,i demanded to know who was writing4 8,m4 ,a40 ,this signature was not complete1 but the reply to a question in this connection1 purporting to come from ,mary ,k41 was followed by a vigorous repetition of ,m4 ,a4's initials1 inclosed in two reversed circles--his characteristic signature when in full control of the pencil4 ,my visitor then admitted that he had asked a fictitious question1 but attempts to learn who had answered it resulted in contradictory assertions from various sources1 and knowing the difficulty of re-establishing a connection once effectually broken1 ,i refused to continue the interview4 8,the integrity of the seeker10 ,mary ,k4 said1 the next day1 8is the messenger's only protection from disintegrating force during an interview4 ,these forces should be persistently repelled1 not invited4 ,ignorance of their presence and power frequently opens a way for them1 as in this instance4 ,absolute sincerity and candor are essential to the maintenance of a connection with constructive forces1 in these interviews40 8,forces of disintegration do not wait to be invited10 she asserted1 on another occasion4 8,they constantly attack1 and seize the first opportunity to take possession4 ,we1 also1 watch and call1 and enter where we can4 ,but the idea of original sin is so strongly implanted in the minds of most men1 that an assumption that disintegrating force can only enter where it is invited is inevitable4 ,it must be clearly understood that attack by forces of disintegration does not imply weakness1 or fear1 or sinful desire4 ,it implies only a desire on the part of the attacking force to destroy4 ,that there are individuals given to disintegration is another matter4 ,those most desirous of construction and progress are more often attacked by persistent1 massed forces of destructive purpose4 ,to be conscious of this is to be protected1 to some degree4 ,for that reason1 we urge the publication of these truths1 that the struggle may no longer be waged in ignorance and doubt and confusion40 8,does #8massed forces of destructive purpose' imply some combination1 or co-operation1 or co-ordination1 among disintegrating forces80 ,mary ,k4 was asked1 at another time4 8,yes1 they combine every appealing force1 as we do4 ,one man may answer to doubt1 fear1 cupidity1 and envy4 ,another to malice1 doubt1 and lust4 ,any forces that can reach him mass themselves in attack and call on their purposes in him to respond40 8,then there must be a considerable degree of intelligence among them4 ,you said they would become constructive when intelligent40 8,when intelligent enough4 ,i never meant to imply that the purposes and forces of destruction are unintelligent4 ,they are not fully intelligent4 ,they are not balanced1 not fully animated4 ,all forces of construction comprehend destruction4 ,no forces of destruction comprehend construction4 ,they are intelligent and wily in destruction1 but fail to apprehend its futility40 8,are they what we on this plane call uneducated1 unlearned1 ignorant in that sense80 8,they are sometimes found on your plane among the highly educated1 learned1 and powerful4 ,here we regard them as undeveloped forces1 to be fought unceasingly until they consent to become constructive40 8,you don't call that coercing your brother1 do you80 ,i asked4 8,no1 we do not compel them to construct1 if they would destroy by preference4 ,we oppose them until they perceive that they must fail1 and seek light4 ,then we accept them1 instruct them1 and are stronger4444 ,the forces opposing us have no faith1 hence no knowledge of a future4 ,they dread destruction1 fear the end of existence1 deny a future1 and constantly seek to destroy the inevitable40 ,in this connection1 ,mr4 ,kendal once asked ,mary3 8,what do the evil forces think they're trying to do8 ,have they lost the great primary idea8 ,was there a great primary idea8 ,or are they just bandar-logging it around in a chaotic forest of spiritual upas-trees1 screaming at anything they happen to see80 8,there was no great primary idea of destruction10 she returned4 8,a lot of idle force gathered together1 and finding itself behind the procession in strength1 radiance1 and beauty1 began envying and coveting and backbiting1 and from that to destruction is a logical and inevitable progression4 ,why is anybody among you envious1 or malicious1 or cowardly1 or destructive8 ,there is no great idea behind it4 ,they see they are behind somebody else in something1 and instead of developing what constructive power they have of their own1 they1 hate the person who has more and try to destroy him1 or his reputation1 or his property4 ,there you have concrete examples of all the idea there is in destructive purpose4 ,it's spiritual unintelligence40 8,why did they quit ,germany80 he asked1 then4 8,isn't the apotheosis of such personal and deterrent and soul-driving and dominating purposes just their caliber80 8,they see the forces of progress gathering among you1 and know that they cannot win through ,germany4 ,she still follows their methods1 but without their help1 while every vibration of progressive and co-operative purpose among you enables us to help you more4 ,so they have left her to the fruits of their union1 the consequence inevitable1 and hatch fresh mischief themselves40 ,,xi ,on the evening of his arrival1 ,may #gth1 ,mr4 ,kendal asked his wife whether she could stay with us during his visit to ,new ,york1 and she replied that she would outstay him1 unless the forces attacking me were defeated before his departure4 8,it really helps1 then1 for us to get together here10 he inferred4 8,yes1 indeed1 it helps4 ,all combination of force adds by the sum of its participation to the original amount of force combined40 ,taken in conjunction with other1 similar assertions in this connection--8,its force is freed and multiplied by the sum of your participation02 8,for every vibration of pure constructive purpose among the ,allied forces1 we have added two02 8,force united is more powerful by half than similar forces separately striving02 etc4--it seems probable that these expressions were intended as figures of speech1 emphasizing the increased potency of united purpose on our plane and the ability of the free forces to reinforce it in proportion to its actual vitality1 rather than as mathematical statements of the exact degree to which this reinforcement and co-operation may be carried4 ,mentioning that sometimes they seemed to make a distinction between purpose and force1 and again to use the terms interchangeably1 ,mr4 ,kendal said he would like to know the character of each4 8,is purpose like the direction of an electric current1 and force like amperage and voltage80 he asked4 8,or is purpose the road1 and force the velocity in following it8 ,is purpose qualitative1 and force quantitative8 ,is the distinction between them along some of these lines80 8,it is along all those lines10 was the reply4 8,purpose is the force that draws4 ,force is the purpose that pushes40 ,like various others to whom these messages first came through me1 ,mr4 ,kendal had been trying1 with some success1 to obtain direct communication4 ,mary facetiously described his pencil as 8a good burro10 and mine as 8a real hawse40 ,i had thought this dialecticism differently spelled1 but he reminded me that 8hoss0 belonged to ,new ,england1 and 8hawse0 to ,mary's native state1 ,kentucky4 ,while the pencil-point rested idly on the paper1 we talked about the sensations accompanying its movement1 and about the probable direction of the force propelling it4 ,to him1 the impulse seemed to come first and chiefly through the consciousness2 to me1 it seemed a physical force externally applied to the pencil1 notwithstanding occasional consciousness of what the message would be2 but we were agreed that it was difficult1 at first1 to be sure that the impulse was not in some unrecognized way our own4 8,it has been amusing to us to see you two struggle against our psychical intrusions10 ,mary remarked1 at this point4 8,we do push the pencil4 ,we also reach the mind4 ,sometimes the one1 sometimes the other1 is what does the trick4 ,it is easier for us to impress the mind1 but harder for you to recognize that suggestion as ours4 ,you think it's your own1 and fight4 ,margaret is even more resistant than ,manzie--perhaps because she has more responsibility to other people40 8,are present conditions--the gathering of the clans for the coming struggle--going to enable many people to do this1 who have never done it before and otherwise would have been unable to do it80 he asked4 8,yes2 but the danger of that is that the other forces will find their own channels1 and steal and defile some of ours4 ,so we can't advise people to experiment1 unless they can absolutely identify the force here1 and only a few1 comparatively1 can do that40 ,he said that he had hesitated to ask questions of his own pencil1 being unwilling to go too far in this until he had checked it up through me4 8,he's scairt10 she teased1 before he had fairly started to speak4 8,you don't trust yourself or me40 ,laughing1 he retorted3 8,that's another60 8,you are right to be careful10 she went on1 serious again4 8,it's a dangerous adventure1 unless you keep your balance1 follow your own purpose1 keep close tab on the force handling the pencil1 and lean on it only spiritually4 ,the minute advice in material things is sought1 that minute there is danger40 8,there's no danger that anybody can impersonate you and fool me10 he declared4 8,never6 ,the danger is that somebody might lie to you about me2 or if you cease to stand on your own feet and make your own choice in matters of your plane1 only then somebody might impersonate me for a moment4 ,sometimes ,i can tell you those things1 but the habit of depending on them is bad for you40 ,a night or two later1 beginning with a reply to a question concerning another subject1 she returned to the discussion of the force used in conveying these communications--8a force compared to which electricity is like spring water10 she said--declaring1 like ,frederick1 that its explanation is still impossible in terms of our plane4 8,there is a vital and potent force1 not yet isolated--and hardly discovered--by your most advanced scientists10 she told us4 8,it has characteristics and attractions not explainable until its discovery and analysis give rise to a new set of words4 ,there is no adequate comparison that may be used to indicate its force1 or the conditions and degrees of its variations4 ,it has some resemblance to electricity1 yet the comparison in certain cases would be misleading40 8,i am talking about the force we use in moving this pencil1 and to some extent in affecting your thought10 she continued1 when ,mr4 ,kendal had mentioned certain recent scientific experiments of which he had read4 8,the scientists have long associated the power of thought with the brain1 and have seriously argued that1 as we could not be seen1 measured1 weighed1 or condensed1 we did not exist4 ,we do4 ,and we have a force at our command that cannot be explained1 as yet4 ,it can only occasionally be demonstrated as clearly as this4 ,electricity is the most likely to impress the man in the street as a comparison1 but to argue from that as a premise would lead to misconception4 ,at present1 it must be accepted as a recognized but not understood force1 only dimly perceived1 as for years electricity was40 8,does it help1 if we emphasize what we know of static electricity1 as well as thinking of the comparison in terms of electric current8 ,a static force in your plane1 perhaps80 8,yes1 that helps2 but the static force is in your plane1 quite as much as here4 ,we have more knowledge of the current1 to continue the simile1 but encounter static conditions both here and there1 as well as counter currents here40 ,this would seem to offer reasons--in addition to ,david ,bruce's explanation of the difficulties of translation when the messenger's reaction to certain word-symbols fails--for occasional delays in the transmission of these communications4 8,margaret hasn't tried us yet with an antagonistic force on your plane10 she said1 on another occasion4 8,we don't do it this way when the forces there are not harmonious40 8,is your forward sight much greater than ours80 her husband asked4 8,or is it1 in relation to other planes1 about what ours is in regard to yours80 8,we can see the end as you have not even dreamed it yet1 but our detailed knowledge is limited to two or three planes beyond ours4 ,even here1 development is uneven1 and some of us see farther than others4 ,we are far from omniscient or omnipotent4 ,we have advanced beyond you1 our individual purposes are clear where yours are confused1 we know where we are bound and why1 we see much farther ahead than you can1 and we work in three planes--yours as teachers1 ours as laborers1 and the next as students40 ,referring to the statements about ,russia1 of which we had told him1 he asked whether there were the same relative differences of opinion and judgment among them as among us1 as to psychological policies to be pursued for the ,great ,purpose1 and as to the applications of those policies on this plane4 8,there are some differences of perception4 ,light1 for example1 sees shadow and desires to dispel it4 ,truth sees error and wishes to correct it4 ,but1 broadly speaking1 the opinions are the same4 ,the impediments in the path of progress are many4 ,each purpose deals with its own2 ,light with darkness1 ,truth with error1 and so on4 ,each may work in the same field1 even in the same individual1 but here we work for the same ultimate purpose4 ,we do not disagree4 ,each follows his own work1 and recognizes the other's field40 8,we have a united policy10 she said1 at another time1 8but each our individual application of it in personal relations and messages like these4 ,it is all intended to enlighten and inspire you1 but only in certain fundamental and specific matters are we instructed what to say40 8,can you determine time there1 by other than the memory of it here and by close inspection80 was another question4 8,we have no time here1 in your sense4 ,we watch you1 and remember1 but we lose track of you1 sometimes40 ,mr4 ,kendal then said--explaining his phrase1 8close inspection0--that he thought they saw time dimly1 as we see through water or through fog4 8,is memory with you as acute as answers to some of these questions seem to indicate80 one of us inquired4 8,not of material things1 generally4 ,we don't pay much attention to them1 unless they interfere with purpose4 ,just now they are interfering a good deal--or were1 before the war1 which is itself a material manifestation of purpose40 ,we said that we should have thought this interference in full force still1 and she continued3 8,the real interference1 from our point of view1 came before the war1 when the world outside of ,germany was too much occupied in pursuit of material things to see what was happening4 ,they failed even to see ,germany's intention4 ,much less did they discover their own danger1 of which ,germany's purpose1 materially1 was the least4 ,the war woke them up by degrees1 fortunately1 or there would be no use telling them this40 ,a question concerning the possibility of communicating with a person recently departed from this plane1 was met with the statement that he had 8free communion0 still to learn4 ,this expression had been used several times by others1 and now ,i asked3 8,mary1 what is free communion80 8,you don't think we vocalize our talk1 do you80 ,mansfield suggested that when a man found himself suddenly without his material veil1 he must be at a loss how to proceed1 and asked whether that was what she meant4 8,not entirely4 ,the veil isn't missed particularly1 but there is a 444 a44440 8,difference of medium80 he asked4 8,like a water-color artist who can't paint in oil80 8,that's it40 8,referring to your assertion in ,march that truth is absolute10 he said1 8is not truth itself relative on this plane8 ,truth as a statement of eternal law is absolute1 but when applied to concrete facts and ideas1 it changes from time to time8 ,that is1 a concrete statement which expressed the relations of certain mundane conditions to the eternal verities in ,b4,c4 #ajjj1 would not necessarily be a correct statement of the relations of corresponding conditions to those verities in the year #aijj ,a4,d40 8,that is the idea on which this whole revelation is based10 she returned4 8,these things have always been true4 ,they would not have sounded true in the year one1 any more than a lot of the #8truths' of that day are true now40 ,a night or two after this1 he said he would like more light on the practical application of these principles1 especially those in relation to freedom4 8,how1 for instance1 would you go about helping a school80 he asked4 8,take1 as concrete examples1 a ,university like ----1 its ,faculty held in subjection by hidebound trustees1 and the proposed ,people's ,university1 to be governed from day to day by plebiscite or referendum1 with no defined policy for procedure beyond a general idea of freedom4 #8,you may lead a horse to water1 but you can't make him drink4' ,should the construction of the trough be left to chance1 or should it be planned carefully8 ,in other words1 should mundane provision and prevision be employed in building it80 8,it has been said already that men must first learn to think1 and to govern themselves1 before they can be free40 ,it was ,mary ,k4 who answered4 8,if experience were not taken into consideration1 progress would be impossible4 ,mundane prevision and provision is essential to all constructive activity on your plane4 ,opinions will differ as to ways and means of applying principles of progress4 ,the first way to help a school is to establish unity among the teachers4 ,not only unity of purpose1 but a certain large unity of method1 that one may not tear down what his brother builds4 ,ideals of freedom have been confused by men resenting the first law of freedom--discipline4 ,lack of discipline1 carried to its logical conclusion1 would return the world to chaos4 ,the school that is free in its teaching must be carried on by disciplined teachers1 united in a purpose of progress clearly recognized and agreed upon1 to teach discipline that the minds of men may dare to be free40 8,the idea underlying that1 ,i take it1 is that as the athlete whose body is thoroughly trained and co-ordinated dares to jump an abyss1 without fear of falling1 so the man whose mind and spirit are disciplined can jump an intellectual abyss1 without losing balance or sanity40 8,yes4 ,and as a man trained to carry great weights on his shoulders must be trained to it from youth1 so the man who would carry government and freedom of thought must train his mind to carry its weight--not alone to hold it briefly1 but to carry it on40 8,is it true1 then10 he asked1 8that safe freedom and constructive freedom are only possible after prior discipline and self-control80 8,how can undisciplined freedom be safe or constructive8 ,it makes the wilderness4 ,it makes the jungle4 ,it makes the uncharted and devouring sea40 ,,xii ,one day1 about the middle of ,may1 discussing these manifestations over a luncheon table1 a man who described himself as 8a sympathetic agnostic0 mentioned that while all those on the next plane reported that they were busy1 none to his knowledge had told just what they were doing4 ,at that time1 we had received several statements concerning their activities4 ,frederick had spoken of his efforts in connection with 8a pro-,german newspaper editor40 ,maynard ,holt's mother had told us that she worked 8with undeveloped purposes1 here before their time40 ,it had been said of a famous editor3 8,he is for ,justice4444 ,he is one of the forces determining the grouping of the newly arrived40 ,anne ,lowe had said3 8,i handle children4 ,some of them thought they were grown up when they left you40 ,and the work of the healers1 in receiving and soothing 8war-stricken forces10 had been repeatedly mentioned4 ,however1 with the comment of the 8sympathetic agnostic0 in mind1 we asked ,mary ,kendal1 apropos of some allusion to the healers on her plane1 whether she could tell us of their work in detail4 8,you have already seen that our ability to be specific1 even about things here1 is dependent on your ability to understand conditions of our plane10 she reminded us4 8,as fast as we can1 we give it to you4 ,but as well explain the operation of wireless telegraphy to an illiterate #8cracker1' as to try to explain healing1 as we understand and practise it1 to the person unprepared by thought and study of these truths40 ,the next day1 in another city1 ,frederick1 writing through a member of his family1 said that he had been doing some work in developing some spirits who had 8let their lowest tendencies be their guiding force40 8,they were men who were very unhappy1 because they had left the world before they were ready1 and did not know what this life meant10 he said4 8,had they recently gone over80 he was asked4 8,yes1 not very long on this side4 ,they were so bewildered that they thought they were in some kind of dream that they could not wake from4 ,they had been sick1 but not long enough to let them get any idea of death1 or light after death1 so they were sorry to come over40 8,do they call you teacher80 8,no1 just a friend40 ,replying to a question about a specific activity on this plane1 he said3 8,i can tell you that a lot of those things that seem bewildering are not important enough to be doing what we call work here40 8,what do you call work80 8,conscious development of spiritual forces40 ,a month later1 a question about a woman known here as a sculptor brought the following reply from ,david ,bruce4 8,she is working with a development of the purpose of production1 which is the foundation that underlay her work there4 ,she is producing force by developing the undeveloped producers40 ,probably the most specific information yet received by any of our small group concerning the practical application of these principles to the affairs of our plane1 came through ,maynard ,holt4 8,my work lies principally with business men on your plane10 he said1 one day1 to a family connection4 8,we are much concerned about the lack of co-operation among persons of constructive tendencies1 and my own job is to apply this force we cannot fully explain to you1 in any way that will influence men or women toward co-operation4 ,sometimes we use it to suggest a new idea4 ,sometimes we use it to so direct apparently consequential circumstances and events that the person we wish to influence gets an object lesson40 ,in support of this is a statement of his made in ,april4 ,while writing a long message1 most of which was intimately personal1 he indicated his interest in business conditions1 and urged a greater and more far-seeing co-operation among business men4 ,in the midst of a sentence the pencil stopped1 creating a long delay4 ,failing1 after repeated efforts1 to transmit the word he had attempted1 he drew a series of singularly uniform arches across the whole width of the paper4 ,after puzzling over it a moment1 ,i drew a line above the arches1 and said1 perceiving no significance in the symbol3 8,that looks like a viaduct40 8,that's what ,i mean10 he resumed1 vigorously1 and proceeded with an elaboration of his theme1 comparing co-operation to a viaduct4 8,in the end1 the forces for progress will cross to all lands by that viaduct10 he continued1 8and those who balk and refuse it will be diverted and delayed by following old paths through the tortuous chasm of competitive destruction4 ,not that we discourage competition4 ,the individual organization1 like the individual man1 must follow its purpose and develop its force1 but 444 competition at its best is entirely friendly and constructive4 ,boys have it taught them in the simplest form in college sports4 ,there it is personal1 but co-operative in the development of college spirit4 ,each man does his best for himself and his own record1 but loyally and cheerfully supports against opposing forces the more successful man who is of his own group4 ,with increasing responsibilities1 temptations and difficulties increase1 but experience should bring ability to meet them4 ,the code of school and college forces may be developed and applied to business and productive forces4 ,this is the first application of college training to competitive business40 ,afterward1 when ,mr4 ,kendal had expressed his cordial sympathy with the theory of co-operation1 widely applied1 ,maynard said3 8,that's where the college team has won and the union has failed4 ,the union was good in conception1 but has made for the suppression of individual development1 where the college team encourages it40 ,later still1 following a conversation concerning national economics and international commerce after the war1 he said3 8,co-operation is moral4 ,commercial supremacy is material4 ,material success is constructive only if permanent1 and permanent only if constructive4 ,until co-operation for permanent progress becomes a principle of international as well as national purpose1 there will be little actual progress toward permanent peace1 or lasting prosperity4 8,as the college boy works first for his own power1 but most for his team1 and first1 last and all the time for clean athletics1 so the business man should work first for his unit1 definitely for his country's welfare1 but first1 last and always for clean co-operation with all who make for the world's progress4 8,the exponents of national supremacy at the expense of world progress are exactly in the position of the exponents of personal prosperity at the expense of national welfare4 ,the situations are analogous to a degree as yet comprehended by few men4 8,it took many years to convince the manufacturer that increased production would follow shorter hours and improved working conditions4 ,it took many years to convince merchants that decreased cost and increased profit followed combination of forces4 ,it took some time to convince financiers and manufacturers that success1 not failure1 would follow the co-operation of competing concerns in the foreign field4 ,yet it is now recognized that all these things are true and practicable4 ,no less--even more--is it practicable to unite world forces of progress in commerce as they are united now in war1 the fight at all times being for construction and development1 against destruction and regression4 8,this cannot be done in a day or a year1 but this is the goal toward which enlightened forces should move4 ,it may sound ,utopian now4 ,so did model factories and tenements1 a few years ago4 ,their advocates were scoffed at and discredited4 ,now1 the manufacturer who fails to provide healthful working conditions for his operatives is called short-sighted and pig-headed1 and cheats himself twice1 while cheating his employees once4 8,co-operation is the basic principle of all progress1 and the point at which it stops is the measure of strength of man or nation4 ,the nation that refuses to co-operate for progress is a nation confessing itself deterrent40 ,again1 in ,june1 ,maynard returned to this subject1 saying that men must become 8strong enough to let the other fellow live and prosper1 without fearing him40 ,after mentioning 8fear of what may come1 or lust for what may be seized10 as motives making for destruction1 he added3 8,neither is constructive or progressive1 and neither can win in the end40 8,we have purpose to progress beyond the vision of man10 he went on1 8but even material progress1 to be constructive and permanent1 must be governed by a vision beyond the day4 ,we are trying to extend that vision4 8,co-operation in individual enterprise has succeeded4 ,co-operation in national enterprise would succeed no less4 ,more and more1 men are recognizing the value of united effort in commercial enterprise1 however long it took the truth to dawn4 ,must other centuries pass1 other wars be fought1 other dynasties rise and fall1 before the larger truth ushers in a new day8 ,will co-operation in business1 co-operation in war1 teach them to study and practise co-operation in world welfare and progress8 ,will they learn that it is not only in war that a weakened ,belgium means an endangered ,england1 that a hungry ,france means short rations in ,america1 that a link weakened means the chain weak8 8,how many times must this premise be demonstrated before the argument is carried to its logical conclusion1 and national co-operation1 free and voluntary1 provide for the good of one by protecting and developing all8 8,this is not a ,utopian fantasy4 ,it is common sense40 ,,xiii ,talking about the ,lessons one day1 ,mr4 ,kendal mentioned his impression that ,zoroaster had said something approaching the first one in theory1 and then asked1 a whimsical gleam in his eye3 8,mary1 has ,professor ,james said anything about ,zoroaster in this connection80 8,manzie1 ,mr4 ,james has no philosophical library here to refer to10 was the prompt retort4 ,she told us1 however1 that he would soon come himself to talk to this former pupil of his1 adding a characteristic glint of humor in the assurance that he would then give 8a demonstration of a philosopher simplified to a force40 ,a night or two afterward 7,may #acth71 she announced3 8,manzie1 here is ,mr4 ,james40 ,there was a brief delay1 and when the pencil moved again1 it was with a changed application of force and a new movement1 the first words being personal4 ,referring to an early period in his own investigation of psychic phenomena1 he said3 8,youth1 in its nearness to inspiration1 sometimes sees more clearly than age1 with its academic dependence upon theory and precedent and what men call the wisdom of experience4 ,when this wisdom is based on perception1 conscious or otherwise1 of eternal purpose1 it transcends the vision of youth4 ,but when it is based on perception of physical phenomena and the accumulated theories of other men1 youth has an inspiration and a faith that leads it1 all unknowing1 to the brink of great mysteries40 ,this was followed by an allusion to those 8befogged in precedent1 physical phenomena1 and intellectual theory10 who were 8unable to follow where they should have led40 8,there has seemed to be a good deal of genuine feeling underlying the humorous persiflage through the pencil about the scientific state of mind10 ,mr4 ,kendal suggested4 8,hasn't the time come when we can reach the scientific type of mind8 ,and isn't it worth while to do so8 ,and if so1 what is the best psychological line of attack80 8,the scientist is not by any means hopeless1 but like many men in your plane1 he is overbalanced and therefore unbalanced by physical considerations4 ,physical phenomena are of vital importance in your life1 and their study and analysis has led to a degree of material progress which would have been incredible to the third--and all but incredible to the second--generation back4 ,it is only because scientists have persisted in the study of physical phenomena that you are enabled to understand in some part what is now being given you4 ,the misapprehension has been that physical phenomena alone could be recognized4 ,those who have believed that have denied the existence of the greatest and most persistent of all forces4 ,attempts to explain spiritual phenomena by physical formul have been found unsuccessful by every one save those who took refuge in denial of the thing that moved them to deny1 the eternal and indestructible purpose4 8,when to their laboratories scientists bring perception of spiritual phenomena exceeding any material manifestation known to man in strength and significance1 then they may hope to discover and develop a force beside which all known forces are insignificant4 ,science is the ladder by which life may quickly ascend1 but until science recognizes a spiritual force as the one essential force1 of which all other forces are incidental phenomena1 progress must be limited40 8,then1 generally speaking10 ,mr4 ,kendal said1 8perhaps the most effective appeal to scientists would be the appeal to scientific ambition40 8,always the most effective means to win any man to anything is to appeal to his purpose4 ,if it be personal1 appeal to his vanity4 ,if it be progressive1 appeal to his eagerness4 ,if it be intellectual1 pique his curiosity4 ,scientists1 like others1 are divided in purpose40 8,we have been much interested in the decisive definiteness with which our friends on that plane have been able to classify the purposes of persons here10 ,mr4 ,kendal mentioned4 8,is this as clear to you as physical characteristics are to us1 and as quickly determined80 8,yes1 and in much the same way4 ,we see motive and intention and their variations as you see physical appearance1 vitality and its variations4 ,we see disintegrating moral factors more clearly than you see physical ills4 ,we judge of purpose by its vitality and persistence under strain1 precisely as you judge of physical health by its vitality under strain and by its persistence in spite of occasional disease40 8,then you see disintegrating force as the scientist sees germs80 ,cass inquired4 8,as disease80 8,no1 we see them as foes4 ,i speak here only of the way we judge purpose4 ,there is no diseased purpose4 ,there may be struggle between more or less intelligent forces1 but in using the simile of physical health1 ,i did it in a limited sense40 8,is there an inherent reason for the different types of philosophies80 ,mr4 ,kendal now questioned4 8,that is1 the ,nirvana-oblivion type in the ,orient1 as contrasted with the hell-fire-and-brimstone type in the ,occident4 ,if inherent1 is its cause geographical1 intellectual1 biological1 or what80 8,a little of all of them4 ,philosophies are the outgrowth of conditions1 physical1 moral and geographical--and therefore to some extent biological--to a much greater degree than is generally recognized4 ,it has been said that food makes the man4 ,to a greater degree1 environment makes the philosopher40 8,may we publish this as coming from you80 8,certainly4 ,i am here for that purpose4444 ,light and ,progress are my purposes1 and teaching still my work40 ,after a few lines of purely personal significance1 this was signed3 8,william ,james40 ,,xiv ,of the messages that may be quoted1 there remain only a few detached statements1 removed from their personal context1 but reproduced because of their general interest or significance4 8,don't worry about ,c----0 was one bit of specific advice1 given in ,march1 before any of the ,lessons had been received4 8,she will have her troubles1 but she must dree her own weird4 ,you might save her some pain1 but life's purpose may not be taught4 ,it must be fought for1 with blood and sweat4 ,let ,c---- get her wounds in her own way4 ,you may then soothe the pain4 ,but don't try to spare her the fight4 ,that has to do with the larger questions of life and eternity40 8#8,life's purpose may not be taught1' but the laws underlying the search for it may be80 8,of course4 ,we are trying now to wake the world to consciousness that these laws exist4 ,most people1 broadly speaking1 have forgotten them1 in the general contempt for laws where they are not enforced1 and in the general hatred of them where they are enforced in oppression and fear40 ,a few days later1 another person1 writing of another and much younger girl1 said3 8,she may have a hard time over the conflicting purposes4 ,everybody does4 ,but with you to give her a foundation1 ,i do not fear for her4444 ,her struggles will only make her stronger4 ,do not try to save her from pain4 ,remember that it is her mother who says this4 ,let her meet life fully and work her way upward4 ,she will always yield in the end to the sublime purpose40 ,on a later occasion1 this same person said3 8,we help all we can1 but even when you want us to1 we are unwilling to hold back the larger and vital development in order to hasten some smaller conclusion4 ,even when the small conclusion is important to you1 it must be your own choice that helps you2 and if the choice is wrong at the moment1 it still helps in the end40 8,she's too sympathetic for her own good10 was said of another young woman4 8,she'd do the vicarious atonement act for all creation1 if she could4 ,what she needs is to have this purpose business driven into her4 ,every fellow has to do his own fighting1 and his own atonement1 and his own climbing1 and take what's coming to him while he does it4 ,she's always trying to soften the path and take the swipes herself1 and it can't be done4 ,she gets the blow and the strain and the struggle1 all right1 but it impedes her and gets the other fellow nowhere4 ,it helps nobody to save them the consequences of their own choice4 ,the way to help is to call to their constructive purpose and give them a chance4 ,if they choose not to take it1 then let them take all the consequence that's coming4 ,if that doesn't teach them1 there's nothing more to do1 except to turn them over to somebody who can arouse their purpose1 if they have any4 ,anyhow1 making a buffer of yourself just batters up good material for no gain in force or purpose40 ,again1 another person to another group4 8,let any fighting force do his own fighting4 ,suggest1 enlighten1 encourage1 but don't try to carry the burden of another's life4 ,you can't hurry their development1 and you impede your own and that of others of your own purpose4444 ,you are like the fellow in the fable1 who finished by carrying not only the pack1 but the donkey1 too4 ,it's a very sweet and unselfish disposition1 but do you think it improves the donkey for his station in life8 ,not that ,i'm calling ,s---- a donkey1 but like all mankind1 he carries a pack4 ,you can't carry both1 and he won't learn to apply his force evenly here if you do it for him there4 ,lots of people develop unevenly and have to even up somewhere4 ,why delay the process by vicarious labor1 especially when it only exhausts you and doesn't develop his muscles any8 ,selah60 8,you can train ,o---- to carry physical temptations1 if you begin early10 a man said1 writing of his nephew4 8,don't let him yield to impulse or desire when it is destructive4 ,make him build his body first1 as a boy4 ,make him respect it and its promise4 ,that's a bully thing for a boy to know at the beginning4 ,he reasons from that to other things4 ,a boy is a brute first1 but a thinking brute4 ,if he respects the flesh1 he respects all things in time40 8,what is my purpose80 a young man asked1 one day4 8,building4 ,you are going to be #8him that hath4' ,build with your possessions4 ,begin the foundation now4 ,build4444 ,build as a producer1 or as a healer1 or in any way that makes for progress1 keeps you growing1 develops forces for construction1 and gives the other fellows a chance to do their best also4444 ,not for yourself alone1 but for all who may climb by your ladder of opportunity40 ,maynard ,holt1 writing to a friend here1 spoke of him as a good fighter1 and when this person said that he would not have been able to fight at all1 but for the little hand of a lady on the next plane1 ,maynard returned3 8,i know you fought hard1 though in darkness1 before you found that hand4 ,that's one reason we count on you now4 ,a man who will fight continuously in darkness is a 444 a 4440 ,the pencil paused1 and after futile efforts to proceed1 retraced its path1 apparently to cross out again and again the last letter4 ,we were talking and paid no attention to its movement1 but when it ceased again1 we discovered that ,maynard had drawn a five-pointed star4 ,then he proceeded3 8444 luminary of force himself1 when light breaks40 ,there were many interesting characterizations1 both of persons on this plane and of those on the next4 8,e---- is a fine force1 but ,a---- is a force multiplied and refined to power10 was said of one couple4 ,a striking example of the determination of our 8fantom friends0 to convey their meaning despite obstacles1 was indicated when some one had told me1 during an interview1 of a boy's objection to his mother's activity in one of the recent 8drives0 connected with war work1 on the ground that it 8made her conspicuous40 8,m---- is an entirely tra 444 trem 444 tr 444 normal and tra 444 tremulous youth1 where his mother and sister are concerned10 was his father's humorous comment4 ,apparently1 in this case1 the connection was imperfect1 no intimation of his meaning reaching me1 and only by altering the form of his sentence was he able to get it written4 8,miss ,t---- has much to learn and much to suffer before a teaching based on unity of force or purpose will reach her forcefully10 we were told1 on another occasion4 8,she must learn the shallows of self before she can sound the depths of individuality1 in the larger and eternal interpretation of the word40 ,following one of the numerous discussions of ,germany and her purposes1 a question about a man of ,german parentage brought this reply3 8,b---- is ,american4 ,the national taint of docility is not in him40 ,the meaning of purpose and its application was stated many times in many ways4 ,one of the most characteristic of these expressions came from a famous humorist4 8,there are things brewing here and among you there10 he said1 8that are going to make the wars of the tribes of ,hohenzollern1 ,hapsburg and ,mephisto look like a village prayer meeting4 ,the carnage of ,verdun and ,mons and the whole show since his little nibs was assassinated is a picayune proposition compared to the losses of time1 purpose1 force and saving grace that we're all going to feel1 if we can't wake you people up to pull together against the devil's crew40 ,some one asked whether a husband and wife1 not too congenial in this life1 were together there1 and was told that he was 8flocking with birds of his own feather10 and that she had 8peacefully and tranquilly found her own40 ,another member of this family group was with neither of the others1 it was said1 8because she found her very own1 for which they were only a substitute40 8,have you seen ,jim8 ,is there any feeling about his wife's marrying again80 was a question which will interest many persons4 8,jim is here and very happy4 ,he has no resentment1 and wishes ,alice to be happy4 ,they are both of the forces of progress1 but not of just the same purpose4 ,they harmonize1 but do not touch40 ,again1 some one asked whether one party to an uncongenial marriage regretted the other's rejoining him so soon4 8,she didn't10 was the reply4 8,he hasn't seen her yet1 and won't4 ,he is willing to work with her purpose1 but not eager to touch her force40 8,what about ,laura80 a woman asked4 8,she is coming to us soon1 but do not be afraid1 dear4 ,she will be tenderly met and guided1 and will be much nearer you all1 much happier and more helpful1 than she is now4 ,never grieve again for death4 ,it is birth1 and so happy40 ,within a few weeks1 this came to pass4 ,when ,i asked ,mary ,k4 for a message for a mother bereaved by war1 she said3 8,tell her we will send for her when he has grown accustomed enough to talk to her4 ,tell her that he is cared for tenderly and guided1 and that she must not grieve4 ,she hurts him and herself4 ,make her understand that she can help him by knowing that he lives and loves her and is near her1 and that it is part of her work as a mother to help him in this 444 to find his purpose more quickly through her love40 ,we were afterward told that he had not yet learned the 8free communion10 but that from the moment his mother began to 8lift her spirit to meet his10 this young man's development was hastened4 ,frequently1 when telling about these revelations1 ,i have been asked3 8,what do they say about reincarnation80 8,there is no possible reincarnation10 ,mary ,k4 said1 when ,i referred the question to her4 8,that is a dream of the ,orient4 ,the idea of reincarnation is regressive4 ,not destructive1 but deterrent4 ,not progressive4 ,it is born of bodily desire40 8,is it like the desire of old men for youth80 8,more4 ,it is a mask1 covering material desire with spiritual semblance4 ,it is taught from this plane by deterrent or partly deterrent forces1 lacking free vision40 ,in another connection1 but with similar meaning1 ,david ,bruce said3 8,some persons hide their love of the flesh by an exaggerated expression of spirituality1 and then think of ways of insisting on the flesh40 ,similarly1 writing through her husband's pencil1 ,mary ,kendal said1 when he asked her what had become of persons like ,csar1 ,luther1 ,cobden1 ,archimedes1 and others in general3 8,there is a great difference in the length of time people stay in this plane nearest to that of the earth1 which depends not only on the stage of development which they have attained when they come here1 but also on the character of work they are best fitted to do4 ,if they can be of more use in direct or indirect contact with your plane1 they stay here sometimes many years1 as you measure time2 but if they are retarded in their development when they arrive here1 they have a long road to travel before they can go on to any other plane4 ,there is no such thing as transmigration of souls as you understand it1 but that idea is akin to what actually does happen1 in the sense that such individualities have to pass through stages of development which are relatively inferior in status to those that they might enter into1 coming from your plane1 if they had made greater progress there1 or had fought a better fight on that plane40 ,when he said that his idea in asking about specific individuals was to get concrete instances by which to check up the general law1 she returned3 8,the danger in that is that your idea of what those individuals really were is very apt to be wrong1 and starting from wrong premises you could hardly avoid reaching wrong conclusions4444 ,martin ,luther was a mixture of purposes4 ,he did great work for progress in fighting the conventions and binding tendency of ecclesiasticism in his times1 but he had personal motives which were deterrent1 and which he spent a long time in working out when he left that plane40 ,of ,napoleon she said3 8,there have been few instances of greater prostitution of great talents and great opportunity in history1 and he paid--and is paying--the penalty1 or the consequence40 ,to the many inquiries as to how direct communication may be established between persons here and the dear ones gone before1 this message of ,david ,bruce's to his wife contains the briefest and most comprehensive answer4 ,she said3 8,i wonder what he's going to tell me80 8,i'm going to tell you to be calm and serene of spirit1 no matter what seems to be happening to disturb you4 ,most of the disturbing factors of individual life on your plane are ephemeral--things of the moment and of the place4 ,others are more important than they seem4 ,i am not always able to tell you about them4 ,it delays you1 instead of helping you1 when the decision is not your own4 ,one way that ,i can truly help when you are troubled is by what we can best describe as the free communion4 ,when you are perturbed in spirit and full of doubt1 it is difficult for us to reach you4444 ,open the door of spiritual force to forces here1 and we can always help4 ,that is what we hope to establish as a recognized truth in your life there4 ,that a force as yet unknown to science is operating between the planes1 and can be developed and used in your life there--to a less degree than in ours1 but still with great effect4 ,it is for this that we work in this communion1 which is more definite to you now and less so to us4 ,we know the limits to which material manifestation like this is confined1 and are eager to teach you gradually the freer and fuller way40 ,,xv 8,a thought that will occur to many persons is that the truths we endeavor to teach are not entirely new4 8,truth is fundamental and eternal4 ,there is no new truth2 there is only new understanding and application of truth that has always existed4 ,no great teacher has ever told new truth4 ,no great teacher has ever told truth in a new way1 until the older teachings had begun to lose their hold on the minds of men4 ,no great teacher has ever found an audience for his new interpretation of truth1 until the minds of men had groped through darkness toward a light dimly perceived1 if at all4 8,the time is ripe now for the crystallization of new application of eternal truth4 ,men hunger for bread of the spirit1 and thirst for the waters of eternity4 ,this is the answer of eternal forces to their search1 and it comes1 for the first time1 not through a teacher or a prophet1 but through a human instrument sensitive to a high degree to the influence of the force that is life's motive power4 8,there are many conditions affecting the application of that force in these communications1 that cannot now be explained2 many conditions influencing its direction1 that you do not understand4 ,some day your scientists will discover and prove by experiment certain laws now unrecognized1 and these days of doubt and scoffing will disappear in a past filled with denial and discouragement of almost every discovery now called modern and progressive4 8,two things only we have striven for through you3 to prove to a group of intelligent persons that this force exists and may be practically applied between your plane and ours1 and to warn mankind of the nature and eternal import of impending struggles4 ,we have more to tell when they are ready to listen1 and upon the choice of them who hear this truth the immediate progress of the world depends4 ,it is a warning to unite and prepare for combat4 8,this is the truth4 ,heed it4 8,,mary ,k40 ,june #ac1 #aiah4 ,,the ,,end ,,footnotes #a ,these names occurred to me1 because these three persons left us within a twelvemonth1 about three years ago1 and all were either friends or closely identified with friends of ours4 #b ,i now believe that this was ,annie ,manning's first interruption4 #c ,i had asked whether she knew any of the three persons previously mentioned1 and each time she had replied in the negative4 #d ,her husband1 ,mansfield ,kendal4 #e ,i have since learned that this was characteristic of him4 ,his letters home frequently began3 8,dear ,family40 #f ,several hours later ,i read ,cass's letter and telegram to his physician1 who advised me to go at once to ,atlantic ,city4 #g ,each of these words was written in larger script than the preceding one4 #h ,later developments make it seem probable that this was an attempt to write the familiar diminutive for which his father afterward asked1 and that my 8too rigid vigilance0 shut out the suggestion4 #i ,short-circuited8 #aj ,in describing ,frederick's pyrotechnical 8upside-down stunts0 and the later 8trimmings10 the great facility with which they were executed should have been more strongly emphasized4 ,they were all written with extraordinary rapidity and firmness4