No happier home is to be found anywhere than that of the Aikens. From the experiences of the past they have learned many lessons. As benefactors to the needy and suffering they are widely known, for they delight to use their wealth for good, under the direction of their angel friends; while Katie Morrow is looked upon by all as the favored daughter of a most happy and lovable couple.
CHAPTER XI.
EXPERIENCES IN SPIRIT LIFE.
In my investigations into the mode and manner of living beyond earth’s portals, and in my desire to gain knowledge of spiritual things, I have visited many places, witnessed various scenes,—some strange, others familiar,—and have interviewed a number of spirits in regard to their own experiences. A portion of the information thus acquired I propose to transcribe for my readers.
I do not think that mortal—even well-educated, well-informed Spiritualists—realize fully that all around them spirits live, that the very atmosphere pressing around them is peopled by human, conscious, individualized beings, each intent upon his or her own work, purpose or mission, be it good or be it evil. While this is true, it is also true that the spirit world has its localities, its homes distinct from your homes, its natural scenery, and its places of interest; its life is as real, and its inhabitants pass through many and varied experiences, even as do the denizens of the mundane sphere.
THE VARIOUS CLASSES OF SPIRITS NEAR THE EARTH.
In passing, let me simply state that those beings who people the world around you, who dwell in earthly homes and pursue a labor in connection with material life, are not all attracted to this locality of yours by the same conditions. Some of these spirits are bound to physical life because of the grossness of their under-natures; their joy is found in pursuing carnal pleasures; they have no desire to rise above the conditions of matter. A portion of the spirits abiding here are held by the selfish affection of their mortal friends who cling to them,—if only in memory,—with a passionate sorrow and despair that will not let them rise above the earthly sphere; and for a time such spirits remain in contact with material life, because they yet lack the power to rise above its conditions. Others find their work and pass a large part of their existence here, in connection with the physical, in doing good, ministering to the spiritual necessities as well as laboring for the alleviation of the physical wants and sorrows of suffering humanity. And so you have a world within a world right here, and a double life pulsating, where you only perceive the manifestations of the external; and those of you whose aspirations are holy, whose desire is to be of use in the world, who strive to do right, attract the good spirits to your side; they come to gain magnetic strength from your lives, which enables them to resist the friction of material conditions while pursuing their labors for others, and at the same time they impart a blessing of peace to your souls. Often do you entertain unawares pure and silent guests, who watch you with their holy eyes and read your hearts with unerring precision.
And those of you whose aims are all personal and selfish, whose motives are impure and unworthy, who do not cultivate charity and kindly feeling toward others, attract undeveloped, unreliable spirits to your homes; they come depleting you of vital and spiritual strength, thus leaving you unarmed for the battles of life. Sowing discord in your hearts, their presence is a curse to all. Where ill-harmony, want of sympathy and distrust abound in families, these selfish, malicious spirits delight to throng, and thither they flock, by their presence to increase the unhappiness of the home of strife, while at the same time fostering their own disposition to live a sensuous life. And so it behooves each one of earth to look well to the personal life they live, for upon its character depends not only their own happiness but also the well-being of many others.
THE POWER AND EXTENT OF PERSONAL INFLUENCE.
These things of which I speak I have learned through my experiences with spirits, and they have opened up a vast field of inquiry concerning the influence which we as individuals, embodied, or disembodied, exert upon one another,—a field that is yet to be explored thoroughly by the investigating spirit of man; and when its problems are solved, and its questions correctly answered, I believe we shall understand many mysteries which now puzzle humanity, and comprehend more fully the conditions pressing around and upon mankind. And in this way, and from these experiences, we will learn to so regulate our individual lives that only the best influences will emanate from them, and only the highest results flow from their midst.
It has interested me to perceive the lives led by spirits in the body; for when I come in close contact with a mortal, I can behold the interior workings of the spirit within, and know whether its tendency is upward or downward; for life is continuous everywhere, and what its environments and conditions are to the mortal, so are they of the same kind as those to the spirit,—apart from the body,—only differing in degree, those of the untrammeled spirit perhaps being less limited, intolerant, and arbitrary. And so spirits begin their vital experiences in the body and work out through them into the larger freedom, the broader realities and wider expanse, of the immortal world. These truths are suggestive of thought to the studious mind, and teach the lesson that you, mortals, are God’s children now,—his spirits at the present as much as you ever will be; and it is your bounden duty to brighten, unfold, and bless your spiritual life in the body as much as it will be to do so by-and-bye, when you leave the tenement of clay for another home “not made with hands.”