Spiritualism, A Guide for Those Who Seek ~ Part 2, Philosophy (Nov. 29, 2011)

Educate-Yourself
The Freedom of Knowledge, The Power of Thought ©

By Ethel Rowe and Norma Bright
http://educate-yourself.org/mbc/ethelrowespiritualism2part29nov11.shtml
Nov. 29, 2011

Part 2 ~ Philosophy

Spiritualism is a philosophy because it studies the laws of nature both on the seen and unseen sides of life and bases its conclusions upon the presently observed facts.

Through mcdiumship, we have received communications describing what life is like in the spirit world beyond the grave. The accounts have come from people who dwell there and who describe their first-hand experiences. There arc limits to what they can tell us because of their inability to transmit complete pictures of an existence which is super-physical and superior to earthly dimensions and limitations. Language is an artificial method which is inadequate to convey the totality of thoughts and ideas. The ideas and thoughts, being non-material, are greater than language, which is material.

Nevertheless, from these spirit communications, we obtain glimpses of the kind of life that we shall experience when our turn comes to say farewell to earth. Indeed, apart from mcdiumship, no detailed description of the after-life has been presented. In the New Testament, there is to be found the statement, "In my Father's house arc many mansions," but nothing about what they are like, how they are made, or who will dwell in them.,

One day after death, you will be precisely the same individual as you were the day before, except that you will have discarded your physical body. You do not have to die to become a spiritual being. You are a spiritual being today .. Death comes when the real you withdraws itself from your earthly body and functions through your spirit body.

Life in the spirit world is not lazy, unsubstantial, or nebulous, but full of activity. There are ample opportunities and occupations for everyone. It is foolish and erroneous to imagine that when we pass from life we sleep forever - or until such time as there will be a resurrection. Death itself is resurrection!

People are accustomed to think of the material world as being real and solid, but solid matter is very much an illusion. Nuclear fission has made us all painfully aware that energy and reality are to be found only in the invisible. To the vast majority, the things of the spirit world are shadowy and vague. But to those who live in. the spirit world, the spiritual and the mental are real, and the physical is the shadow. Our thoughts and aspirations-arc more tangible to them than our so-called solid walls.

For many people, there may be, after death, a period of rest or recuperation to enable them to adjust themselves to the new life. The sad fact is that most individuals are so ignorant of spiritual verities that it is a tremendous shock to them to find they have survived the grave. In a minority of cases, it may be the equivalent of hundreds of years for individuals to awaken after their passing. These arc the earthbound ones so often responsible for hauntings, whose spiritual natures seldom function because of their selfish or greedy lives. It docs not take long, however, for the average person with his mixture of homely virtues and trivial "vices" to adjust himself. Fortunately, there are relatively few really wicked people, and, unfortunately, there are relatively few saintly individuals.

The overwhelming majority of mankind has nothing to fear from death. Usually, on awakening, the newcomer is greeted by loved ones who have preceded him. Families are united, friendships renewed, old associations reestablished. Recognition presents no problem. Those who love us in the larger life have constantly watched over us and usually help when it comes to our passing because in the spirit world, thought is reality; and they are able to show themselves as we knew them.

Once the readjustment, due to shock, has been made, we discover that we are not in a strange world. The truth is that we have visited it on thousands of occasions. We "die" every night, but our separation from our physical body is temporary. The connecting line, known as the Silver Cord, ties the spirit body to the physical body. Its etheric composition allows it to give total freedom to the movement of the spirit body. It recoils as the spirit body returns to the physical body. At death, this Silver Cord is severed and the physical body becomes inert.

One great factor that operates is the immutable law of attraction. Only those of like spiritual qualities can dwell on the same plane in this new life. A husband and wife, who were joined only by legal ties, between whom no love existed and who were mentally divorced from one another, will not be together in the spirit world.

In the spirit world people live in houses, though these are not made of bricks and mortar. They arc constructed of thought, which is the most malleable substance in a world where thought is the reality. It is as tangible to those living in the spirit world, as bricks and mortar are to us.

A similar principle applies to the clothing that is worn, although this does not follow earthly fashion, but consists of robing, which provides an index to an individual's spiritual attainment. The fundamental instinct to clothe oneself persists in the spirit world.

In the lowest levels, people eat and drink, so long as they think it is necessary to do so. They obtain the illusion which, of course, is real to them. In reality, they are enjoying the essence of the food and drink. It satisfies them until they progress to higher levels where they know this kind of sustenance is unnecessary.

Unlike our world, there arc no language problems in the after-life, for nationalities do not persist. Thought is the only language, and telepathy the means of communication. Deception, pretense, cheating, or lying is impossible. There are no secrets. Every individual is known for what he is - mentally and spiritually.

Labor consists of pursuing occupations in which people express natural gifts and talents. On earth, economies and other factors often prevent these gifts from finding expression and there are millions of square pegs in round holes. In the spirit world, there are endless opportunities for evolving these talents - halls of music, learning, culture, and education. The teachers include those whose accomplishments brought them earthly fame.

There is no money to be earned, no 'property to buy, no cars to acquire, and no rent to pay. Ample opportunities for expressing the real self in service abound.

There are no poor and/or rich, except the poverty or richness of the spirit. Spirit life is one of continuous progress, in which every individual gradually eliminates the cross from his nature. This is done during this striving towards perfection. There is no heaven or hell in the logical sense. These, however, are real mental states which we have created by the way we have lived our lives.

The spirit world has no separate geographical location from earth. It is a part of the universe. It is not divided into separate, self-contained spheres or planes. Each phase blends into the next, and progress is infinite. When we die, we gravitate to the spiritual sphere for which we are fitted. The character we have evolved during our lifetimes determines which sphere our spirit will occupy. We cannot occupy a higher sphere than the one which our spiritual status determines. Nor will we desire to occupy a lower one, unless it is for a specific purpose, such as to perform labor of a truly missionary character.

After death, to put it simply, the saint and the miser do not dwell on the same plane. Spiritually, each is what he has made of himself by his actions, words, and thoughts.

There is both compensation and retribution, because the natural laws of cause and effect are perfect in their operation. There is not a Great Judge on a white throne separating the sheep from the goats. We have "judged" ourselves in the spiritual nature we have attained by the character we have formed. This is our spiritual passport. Our character for which each normal individual is responsible is molded by our earthly lives. The overwhelming majority will find nothing to disappoint them beyond the grave. Indeed, there will be much to give them cause to rejoice. Their worst enemy is their ignorance, which makes them unprepared for the life that follows death.

Heaven will be the reward of a life spent wisely on earth. This will enable individuals, automatically, to be with those they truly love and with friends having common mental affinity and affection, provided, of course, there is a similarity of spiritual status. Hell will be a self-inflicted punishment for a selfish life, compelling the individual to dwell with those of a like nature to themselves.

Decisions of what to do to occupy time are reached with the help of those who are more knowledgeable than the newly arrived. These decisions are in keeping with what we learn as we study and evaluate our past thought and actions while upon the earth plane. We must understand what was wrong and what was right with what we did while in the physical. How we affected other lives is important.

We are all learning lessons while in the physical, lessons that develops character.

Our inner desires and aspirations are all a part of our developing character. The emotion and the thought behind an action is important, because the resulting characteristic shows our growth.

One of the greatest temporary sorrows in the spirit world is the vast number of people who cannot make themselves known to loved ones left behind who are mourning them. This is a pathetic spectacle. They make desperate efforts to communicate through strangers to reach these grief-stricken ones. In time, taught by wise teachers, they adjust to their new life, they fit themselves into their proper place and learn to use their talents.

There is no idleness, no laziness, and no unemployment. Because there is no physical body, there are no ravages to repair. Travel presents no problem, for all locomotion is speedily accomplished as the thought desires it.

Some people in the spirit world are engaged in tasks which entail conscious or unconscious cooperation with people on earth. In the arts, they seek to inspire all who are receptive. Scientists, inventors and pioneers are constantly at work attempting, often successfully, to inspire like minds in our worlds

Communication from the spirit world is not necessarily infallible truth. It may partake of the imperfections of the mind from which they emanate and the channels through which they come. Communications are also subject to misinterpretation by those to whom they are given. No inspired communication in this or any past age, whatever the claims may be or whatever the source, is authoritative beyond the truth it expresses to the person to whom it is given. Truth is the standard by which all inspired and spiritual teachings must be tested. There were false as weII as true prophets in Biblical times, just as in the present age

Inspiration, the influx of ideas and promptings from the spirit world, is not a miracle of past ages, but a perpetual fact! It is the ceaseless method of Infinite Intelligence for human evolution.

Part 3, Religion
http://educate-yourself.org/mbc/ethelrowespiritualism3part03dec11.shtml