Spirits
The safest answer is: it would appear to be so, but it is hard to be one hundred per cent sure. All over the world and throughout history, man has engaged in various kinds of spirit practices.
The usual method is to make contact with the spirits through a special intermediary, called a medium. The problem here is that one needs to be sure of that person's intrinsic honesty, otherwise there is a strong possibility that the proceedings may be fraudulent or the spirits may be bogus.
backYoung people, for example, university students, are quite intrepid about this and often engage in their own kind of experiments. There are many stories about the disastrous outcome, but these are probably urban myths.
A whole range of spirit entities, at various stages of development, seems to come through .. anything from screeching poltergeists to Tibetan monks. The precise nature of the phenomena and which entities may put in an appearance are matters that seem to depend on (a) the composition of the group that is holding the séance, and (b) the state of people's minds and their general composure.
backDo you advise spiritualist séances?
If there are spirits - and by this I mean, if there is such a thing as non-corporeal or abiotic existence - then spirit séances should provide proof, and this in turn would be substantial evidence in favour of the existence of God, or Gods. Once it is realised that there is something more than mere matter, then a whole load of other possibilities really do open up. For this one reason alone, spirit séances could be helpful.
As I have already implied though, one has to be alert to the many opportunities for fraud and deceit. Then there is the further question that, if spirits do indeed manifest themselves, how do you know whether they are good or evil - and if they are evil, what can you do about it? In general, my advice would be: make sure that you keep good company and that you only carry out such experiments when you are among good friends. This is one of those eye-catching and sensational topics that are best dealt with later.
backHow should we think of the dead?
Many communities look on the dead in much the same way that they regard unborn babies, i.e. as if they were full members of our community with rights and duties. If their interests and concerns are neglected or forgotten about then we must expect them to be peevish and to do things to remind us of our duties. Among such peoples, when anything goes amiss in an individual's life, he is taught to review his recent activities to see whether or not he has left something out of his 'ritual observances'.
It is also thought that the souls of those who have died recently may be bewildered and may even get lost. If this happens then it is part of our duty to help such a one to regain the path before the so-called 'Sweepers' find him. The sweepers are supernatural dustbin men who roam the astral, apparently removing debris .. and lost souls.
backWhat happens between reincarnations?
For all I know, souls may register for unemployment benefit. What makes you think that I or anyone else knows all the answers? We may have opinions or thoughts on the subject, but you are wrong to ask us what these may be. Just because I am a Master, it does not follow that my views on other matters are any better than yours. You may not like my favourite food, or you may be revolted by the colours that I favour. Ah, you say, but reincarnation is a different matter. Is it though? We are once again in the realm of the 'unproven and improvable'. It is up to each person to make his own mind up whether or not he is convinced by the little evidence that is available.
backAs regards the doctrine of reincarnation, there is the little problem of a glaring statistical anomaly. The number of all dead (i.e. the total number of people who have ever lived) outnumbers the present population by only 5 to 1, and these figures are changing all the time. This can only be explained if we postulate that 'new' souls are in process of being created from time to time. It is always a possibility that a soul may 'reach fruition' and then 'split in two', or it may even be that individual souls are divided from some central core rather like tufts of cotton wool being tweaked from a huge roll. In any event, Occultists believe that souls can also exist outside of a human shell. This is evidenced by the phenomenon of astral travel by humans and by transmigration. Consequently, we have no difficulty at all in imagining that some of them might be astral nomads.
backCan beings from Beyond possess us?
Again, the answer appears to be yes, but in order for this to take place, our own soul must have left the body vacant, or else it has been weakened to such an extent that the alien entity is able to make a forced entry. It is not always obvious that a person is indeed possessed and it may well be that certain states, which are diagnosed as multiple personality or mental illness, could well be cases of spirit possession. I know it is thought of as old-fashioned, but in the New Testament, Jesus expelled spirits on several occasions. Exorcism is still practised today and is common all over the world. In striving to find 'other explanations' for the phenomenon, we may be missing the essential point. Our anxiety not to believe in spirits may be blinding us to some pretty powerful facts.
backWhat makes possession more likely?
A weak will is the most inviting condition, I would say; that and a powerful charge of negative energy. Such a charge may be generated by such matters as extreme jealousy, anguish, unsatisfactory sex, a yearning for revenge and other, similar emotional states - whether in the present or dating back several years. It is a prudent step to seek to discharge these noxious influences at regular intervals and to purge one's soul, so to speak.
backSuch a thing is within the bounds of possibility, but it is important to realise that it all hinges on a battle of wills. Exorcism has been known to fail. When an entity has been in place without detection for a long time then it is almost as though he acquires the astral equivalent of 'squatter's rights. His hold on the individual becomes that much stronger and persistent. Traditional folklore to do with Vampires, Werewolves and such, may have its roots in certain notorious cases of prolonged possession. It is worth noting that the traditional remedies - stakes in the heart, silver bullets, garlic, sunlight, etc., - are all sexual symbols, and this suggests that the negative energies were thought usually to emanate from bad sex.
backCan I volunteer to be a medium?
To be honest, I do not know, but I suspect not. The spirit world would surely detect which people were most sensitive and make contact as and when they felt it was appropriate to do so. I do not recommend that you go knocking on anyone's door to apply for the job.
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