Imagine yourselves in a vast hall, from which all rays of sunlight or warmth are excluded. Imagine this apartment lined with gorgeous pictures of material life that are remarkable only for their excess of brilliant color, and the magnitude and variety of the forms they represent; each nook and recess filled with statues of men, women, and animals,—white, cold, stiff, stern, and lifeless in appearance; the entire building cheerless and chilly, with no appearance of life, activity, or warmth. Think what it would be to your spirit to be condemned to continuously wander over this vast hall, gazing upon the unattractive paintings, and moving in and out among the lifeless statues, cold and unpleasant to the touch.
Such a life as you would thus lead corresponds to the existence of those spirits of whom I write. On earth they were only intellectual, æsthetic animals, for their love of the beautiful was developed only on the material side, and the spiritual part of life was neglected. Here, they are surrounded by the embodiments of their mental and artistic tastes; but as these are mere forms, and are not imbued with one spiritual idea, they appear cold, unconscious, and dead to the beholder. Continuously wandering amid the senseless, barren forms of their own mind creations, unable to behold anything lovely and meritorious in the productions of others who are more spiritual than themselves, these individuals are like those who live in the frozen regions of the North, stunted in appearance and unable to understand and appreciate the life apart from and beyond their own narrow circle.
True, the awakening period will come to all such when they shall become aware of their false position in the spirit world, and learn that there is active duty and noble endeavor beyond them, through which they will gain happiness and a sense of genial, vigorous life; and they will eventually turn to the more exalted realms of immortal life, in order to gain a spiritual education that will unfold their soul powers, and cultivate the true sense of beauty and the highest intellectual abilities their spirits are capable of expressing. Then their condition will be one of warmth, vigor, and activity; their surroundings, while beautiful in form and expression, will partake of glorified life, and their homes appear bright, attractive, and hospitable to those who enter within their walls.
BLENDING OF THE SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL.
I have seen spirits who were intellectual and lovers of beauty on earth, who were also spiritual in their aspirations, proclivities, and tendencies,—whose tastes were delicate, and whose habits were very refined. The productions of such minds, whether of a literary or artistic nature, appealed ever to the sense of the beautiful, the love of the good, and to the highest conception of purity in the hearts of those for whom they were created. The conditions in the higher life of such souls are glorious. In spirit they are active, ever working for the general good of humanity, seeking to perfect their own powers of mind in order to give them a more beautiful and complete expression for the delight or elevation of others. Ready to receive instruction from the more advanced minds around them, they are constantly gaining a richer experience and a greater unfoldment of their powers. Aspirational in nature and loving in spirit, these beings send forth a congenial, helpful influence that attracts the good and wise to their side. Their homes are bright, cheerful, and attractive; a delicious warmth pervades their households, for they are made radiant by the divine light of love which never grows dim. The surroundings of such celestials are like a beautiful and immense garden, where the choicest and sweetest of flowers bloom, the clearest of waters flow, the most beautiful of birds warble melodious songs of praise, the whitest and daintiest sculptured forms are to be seen, where the stateliest of trees uprear their plumy heads, the balmiest of zephyrs blow, the richest and most delicious fruits are to be found, and where all things continuously allure one to the enjoyment of the finest, most glorious forms of sentient, active, genial life. Who would not rather roam through such a fairy-land of sweets than be compelled to wander in that gloomy, cheerless hall of senseless stone and vapid, unsatisfactory paintings mentioned above.
The difference between the two classes of intellectual and æsthetic spirits is this: the one has developed a taste for beautiful forms and intellectual pursuits merely to satisfy its own material nature and for its own personal glorification and aggrandizement, and while catering to the external has ignored the vital or spiritual part of its being. The other class has cultivated its sense of beauty and educated its intellect in order to instruct and elevate others; has produced literary and artistic work for the purpose of appealing to the inner and higher natures of humanity; has sought and found the love-element within its own being, and has thrown it out as a quickening power to others; has endeavored to cultivate the spiritual attributes of its being, and to bring them into conscious harmony with the outward forces of nature. Therefore, while the condition of one class in spirit life is inharmonious and unsatisfactory to itself and others, that of the other is beautiful, blissful, and congenial to all.
HAPPINESS DERIVABLE ONLY FROM WITHIN.
Observation and experience have taught me that in the spirit world, as in earthly life, individuals vary in disposition, constitution, and characteristics. What is of the greatest interest to one person possesses no charm whatever for another; and that particular employment one being is adapted to pursue may be totally unsuited for another. Happiness among spirits is not drawn from external sources, but finds its central power within the soul, from whence it radiates outward, and clothes every objective form with beauty and every external pleasure with a splendor peculiar to itself, which in turn becomes reflected back upon the heart, and increases the enjoyment of the individual. Never was there a truer declaration than that attributed to the gentle Nazarene: “The kingdom of heaven is within you;” and it is as true today as it could possibly have been eighteen or twenty centuries ago. Unless the soul is at peace with itself and all others,—is not envious of the good another may possess, lives in a sphere of purity and kindly feeling, and desires only to do right,—he or she cannot experience true happiness, which essentially in itself constitutes heaven. But when an individual has attained that superior condition of mind consequent upon the possession of such lovely attributes, he or she has indeed arrived at the heavenly state of existence, and cannot be otherwise than happy.
THE HUMAN NATURE OF SPIRITS.
Humanity appears to be the same everywhere, and in every grade of unfoldment. Many mortals seem to think that spirits—those who have passed through the material transition called death—must be somewhat different from themselves. This, however, is not absolutely the case. Spirits are human beings, nothing more, many of them very imperfect at that, though many others are pure-minded, progressive, and exalted individuals, yet essentially human in every attribute and tendency. And why not? What is more beautiful, more intelligent, more powerful, and more noble than humanity? Nothing but divinity itself.