SPACE, SCIENCE, MIND & SPIRIT

Having just experienced a presentation at Cape Town Planetarium, I feel fascinated but also frustrated.  I am fascinated by the technology and the incredible pictures of our neighbouring planets and even more so by the Hubble telescope photographs of distant stars and nebulae.  However, the presentation seemed hollow and something vitally important was missing.  What could that be?

My frustration is, I suppose, partly due to my knowledge of the spiritual dimension we each possess.  The presentation, though full of interesting facts and suppositions was equally full of “we don’t knows” and out and out guesswork masquerading as scientific expertise, even allowing for the obvious influence of Hollywood.  It was hollow because it was so superficial.  Whilst I can just about forgive physicists for being so materialistic because they are dealing purely with matter, I find it impossible to excuse astronomers and astrophysicists.  Surely what they see should produce a greater sense of awe than they evince.

To my simple mind, the vast distances and dimensions involved call for a recognition that only by conceiving a methodology that goes beyond the brain, and the physical reaction to what we experience and see, can sense be made of the universe as revealed by space probes and telescopes.  It is impossible to imagine all this being the result of blind chance or “only give us time to develop more sophisticated instruments and vehicles and all will be revealed.”  I lost count of the number of times the commentator spoke of our children and our children’s children being able to do what we find impossible.  Whilst this is undoubtedly true and even recognising the need to simplify astronomy to meet the audiences’ ability to understand, I found the approach condescending.

In the majesty of the heavens lie all the verities of human life:  Its grandeur, its boundlessness, its endless variety, its complexity and yet also its simplicity.  When reduced to its basics, the universe and all its millions of worlds and suns is the result of few, but incredible, natural laws.  Laws that for their comprehension demand the overwhelming and overriding presence of mind:  Mind through which the spirit shapes, not just the physical worlds and all that is in them but also those unseen spiritual worlds. (Unseen by our physical eyes at least):  Worlds that cast the shadow that humanity imagines as reality:  Mind that is the essence of the true, inner self and that Great Spirit we know to be God.

What we imagine as reality is but the shadow.  The shadow cast by the spiritual world that is our true home and to which we all must return.  All physical manifestation originates as a spiritual manifestation.  Every physical world is a duplicate of a spiritual original.  A truth that one day Particle Physicists will discover.  We need to recognise that the immortal, invisible portion of human beings, the part that gives us life and consciousness, the part that we share with God, is both mind and spirit.

If only scientists would abandon their obsession that everything can be measured by using either physical instruments or purely physical observations and that the mind is part of the physical brain.  Abandon this way of thinking and our understanding of all things would grow by leaps and bounds.  It would grow because in abandoning their prejudices, scientists would open their minds.  Open them to the influence of those in the spiritual world who understand so much more about everything than even the most knowledgeable amongst us.  Once the mind is accorded its true importance, it can be studied intensively and its power recognised.  We could learn how to harness that power in the way earlier civilisations did and those in the spiritual world do every day.  The power of the mind, properly focussed, can literally move mountains.  Equally, it can devise ways, using its power, to explore the physical universe without the need for rockets and space ships.  As with any power however, the greatest caution must be exercised to ensure access to it is universally available.

Many of the mysteries of the universe, which have puzzled humanity for ages, could be demystified.  If only we all accepted and sought to understand more fully that life, animate and inanimate, is more about mind and spirit than it is about its physical envelope.  It demands a sea change in human perception but unless this is achieved, humanity will continue to wallow in fear and stagger from one materialistic disaster to another.  This world of conflict need not be so.  Given a real understanding of our spiritual dimension, conflict can be seen in its true perspective; i.e. the means whereby the individual spirit learns to develop character and realise its true potential.  Once this is accepted, humanity will no longer see conflict in terms of “us and them”.  Fear and hatred would be replaced by understanding and love.

What an opportunity this presents to us, though we would need to take care the study of mind is used to bring greater freedom to all and not a means for a few to enslave the rest.  Must we destroy much of what we have achieved in making physical life more tolerable before we turn away from materialism and embrace a philosophy that more closely reflects the totality of human existence?  All the competing religious philosophies can be reconciled and peace prevail everywhere, if we would only accept mind as a spiritual faculty and use it as it should be used.  There would be so much to learn and so many wonders to be seen and experienced we wouldn’t have time for petty feuds and religious bigotry.

CHANCE?

 

Last Sunday, my wife and I were walking in the foothills of the mountains on the edge of the village where we live.  It was a glorious, sunny morning and we were really enjoying our walk.  At one point we stopped to rest, sitting on a large rock beside the trail, when a couple of other walkers came down the mountain towards where we were sitting.  We began talking to them and found that they were visiting the village for a few days from the distant city where they lived.  They were experienced hikers and were planning to spend two or three days climbing locally.

We chatted together for about thirty minutes and then they continued on their way.  We followed a short time later as we had decided to return home.  We noticed, after a while, that the other couple had branched off onto a trail leading higher up the mountain.  “They’re courageous” said my wife and I mumbled something like, “Maybe foolhardy!”  We continued our journey home thinking what a pleasant couple they were and thought no more about it until the following evening when an acquaintance mentioned that two hikers were missing in the mountains and a search was underway.  The man had been found but the woman was still missing.  From the description, we realised it must be the very couple we spoke to in the mountains the day before!

We were very concerned and prayed she would be discovered unharmed and that her husband was not injured.  Next morning, we were walking in the village when the husband drove past us.  We stopped him and asked if he was alright and had his wife been found?  It seems they realised it was late, the wife was tired and they couldn’t find their way down the mountain in the dark.  He asked his wife to wait and he would go for help. On his way down he had fallen, lost consciousness for a while and when he became aware again, he could no longer raise her on her mobile phone.  He called the emergency services and was eventually found late that night.  Someone stayed with him until dawn as it was too dangerous to bring him down in the dark from the ledge where he was. 

The searchers were still trying to find his wife, he said.  We expressed our concern, gave him our telephone number and said if he felt he needed company, he should not hesitate to visit us at home.  We first met him on Sunday morning and this was Tuesday.  That evening we heard from a friend that a body had been discovered in the mountains and of course we feared the worst.  Our fears were confirmed when, next morning, we received a text message from the husband saying his wife had fallen to her death.  We were shocked but repeated our offer for him to come to see us at home.  He eventually came to see us later in the day and he told us the rescue service was bringing his wife’s body down from the mountain around the time we were speaking.  Fortunately, some family members had driven to the village to be with him and they had agreed to identify the body; something he had been dreading he would have to do. 

We tried our best to comfort him and explained about our conviction that life was eternal and that we felt sure his wife would try her best to let him know she was still near him.  My wife explained about experiences she had when her brother, whom she loved dearly, had passed at an early age.  These concerned his name and his nickname appearing on a lorry that drove past her and the inexplicable playing of his favourite song on the radio in a restaurant.  It was played very loud and the waitress later apologised for the loudness as she hadn’t realised anyone else was present.  When my wife explained this he mentioned that, for no apparent reason, a wind chime at the hotel where he was staying rang as he was passing it.  This happened on two separate occasions since the accident and there seemed no reason why the chime should do so at those times.   He spent perhaps two hours with us, telling us about his life and going over what had happened in the mountains and then left, promising to call again next day.  He did call at our house the following morning but unfortunately we missed him.

He sent us a text message saying he had now left the village, thanked us for helping him and explained he had had further unusual things happen that convinced him his wife was close.  He said without our talk with him, he would have failed to see the significance of these.  Apparently, as he was driving away from the village having failed to see us, he switched on the car radio.  He heard just static, so pressed the search button and a station was found that immediately began to play a series of songs that were all about girls with the same name as his wife!  Even more surprising, after these songs had finished, the station played his wife’s favourite song!!

Was it chance that of all the people in our village, where they were total strangers, the couple should meet my wife and I before the accident?  Was it also coincidence that he should drive past us in the street while the search for his wife was taking place?  Was it chance that the radio should play those songs and the wind chime should ring just as he passed it, on not one but two occasions?  Was it also chance that we missed him when he called at our home which meant he was in his car able to hear the particular songs played by the radio station the search button had found?

God and the Spirit World do work in wonderful ways to help us in our moments of sadness and despair.  Tragedies unfortunately happen but it is my belief that what is about to happen is known in the spirit world and steps are taken by those there who love us, to help us cope with the consequences of the tragedy.  Our experience last week shows this in operation.

A Special Time of the Year

A Special Time of the Year

The next week is of major importance to all who accept that life does not end upon physical death.

March 31^st is Hydesville Day, the anniversary of the night in 1848 when the spirit of a pedlar murdered and buried in a cottage in Northern New York State, broke through the barrier between the spiritual world and the earth to prove his life did not end with his murder. Thus began Spiritualism.  April 5^th is Easter Day, the anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, who by appearing as a materialised form to his mother and his disciples, also proved that his life had not ended. 

The really important lesson for us all in these two events, separated by over 1800 years, is the proof they provide that life continues for the true self, the spirit or soul, after we lose our physical bodies.  These are temporary bodies, constructed purely and simply, to enable us to experience, as spiritual beings, life in a physical environment, with all its restrictions:  To learn spiritual lessons from physical, mental and emotional experiences.  Physical existence is not an end in itself but a means whereby we each equip ourselves for the next stage in our eternal journey: Forever learning and growing:  Forever moving from darkness towards light:  Forever moving from ignorance to knowledge and with the growth of that knowledge, trying to develop wisdom.

You may ask why it was necessary for the events at Hydesville to happen when the Nazarene had already demonstrated life was eternal for one and all?   The answer I’m afraid is that human beings lost the plot.  By accepting the misleading claims of theologians, we had so misrepresented the teachings of Jesus that his message was lost; buried under a mountain of theology, hypocrisy and doctrine.  In the pursuit of power and worldly wealth, the established religions had changed the simple message that every human is an eternal spirit, into a means of instilling fear and building up untold wealth.  Jesus and others taught of love, tolerance and care for those less fortunate than ourselves.  By 1848 the churches were teaching of a vengeful God and claiming the only way to eternal life was through membership of the church.  The Hydeville pedlar changed all that!

The religion of Spiritualism, that grew out of the events at Hydesville, teaches “Eternal progress open to all,” not only to Spiritualists.  It also teaches “Personal Responsibility,” meaning each one is personally responsible for all their words, thoughts and deeds. There is no-one to vicariously atone for our sins.  Neither can there be any death bed conversions to ensure entry to heaven by those who have led selfish, uncaring lives.  Spiritualism considers Jesus not as God but as brother:  God as a loving presence, not a tyrant waiting to punish erring humanity at every turn.  Through the evidence provided by its mediums, Spiritualism tries to persuade us all to live our earthly life in the knowledge of the life which is to come:  A life, the quality of which is determined by the kind of life we live on earth.  It asks us to care for one another and accept that angels and spirit guardians are forever close by to help us.  We have only to ask.  It proves that the love of family and friends persists beyond the grave and that our loved ones will always try to show that love in help and guidance to us.  It teaches that heaven and hell are within the mind and are not spiritual locations, though an earthly life spent in evil can, as a result, mean an individual, when he passes to the spiritual world, finds himself in a hellish place created by that evil.  The law of cause and effect cannot be circumvented.  The person concerned has to show true contrition and face and compensate those he injured, before he can move on to a brighter part of the spiritual world.

This is a very special time of the year, a spiritual time of the year.  Enjoy it to the full and offer a prayer of thanks for the love that God has demonstrated by giving us this lovely Earth on which to live and the family and friends with whom to share it.

Home Thoughts from Abroad

Here I am almost two months since arriving from England and I'm wondering what happened to the time!  Of course days have been spent trying to restore the rooms in the house to normal after the chaos of building operations.  Recently we decided we needed a break and went on a ten day holiday to various places within four or five hours driving time from home.  What a wonderful holiday it was - a real tonic and a time of re-vitalisation for the spirit as well as the body.

One place in particular stands out in my memory.  The location is called Bavian's Kloof and it is a wilderness area, totally unspoiled by modern developments.  We stayed alone in a small cottage built by Italian prisoners of war during WW2.  There was no electricity, though there was running water and the bathroom was open to the skies!  The only company we had were baboons who could be heard but not seen.  The peace and tranquility of the place soon seeped into our bones and although there were plenty of interesting sites within walking distance, such as a beautiful waterfall and some ancient cave paintings, we just stayed put, drinking in the peace and realising just how true it is that all life is not only connected but is truly one.

We stayed out in the evening, long past sunset and marvelled at the huge expanse of stars, brighter by far than it is possible to see from urban areas where so much artificial light robs us of a clear view of the beauty and majesty of the heavens.  We began to appreciate there what starlight really means.  It brought home exactly how much modern humanity has sacrificed to embrace the modern Western way of life.  Spend a little time in a wilderness and you soon come to realise our own insignificance when compared to the glories of nature and the wonder of the night sky.  Yet, at the same time, one also understands how lucky we are to have self-consciousness that enables us to understand, albeit indistinctly, that the spirit which supports all parts of the natural world is the self-same spirit that is the motive force of our own lives.

I know it is frequently quoted that one is "closer to God's heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth."  I found myself at Bavian's Kloof questioning this assertion.  As the beauty and tranquility of wild nature  impressed itself upon my awareness I felt I was much closer to understanding the claim by the Psalmist, "Be still and know that I am God."  Indeed, God has been so kind to allow me, even at my age, to come to a country where Man's effects on the landscape are still minimal in many places:  A country, which despite widely reported violence and frequent power cuts, masquerading under the name of "load shedding," offers such wonderful opportunities to obtain greater understanding of humanity's true role in God's plan and thus an inkling of the role each individual has in working out the plans of our creator.

I know it is easier to experience this closeness to nature in the balmy days of summer, as it is here at present but even in snowy and icy Europe, it is still possible if you find the right places.  Even if it is not possible to find a physical place near you where this can happen, don't forget you can go within and in the silence of meditation discover the same truths.

May your God go with you.

Valentine's Day

Sorry frinds, this should have been posted on Monday but I had computer problems. However, "better late than never!" Lionel

Valentine’s Day

Tomorrow is St Valentine’s Day, a day devoted to lovers in Western society. Like so much in this secular age, Valentine’s Day has become commercialised but nonetheless many of the cards sent to lovers tomorrow will be sent with love and sincerity. It is an opportunity to restate our love for those closest to us in this life and as such should not be scoffed at, despite the commercialisation. Love is the greatest of all forces; it is the force that created the universe and everything in it. Part of Christian dogma begins, “God so loved the world He gave his only begotten son . . . “ In my humble opinion it would be far more correct and universally embracing to say this:

God is so full of love that He created life, the Earth and countless other planets in His universe, so that all, (animal, vegetable and mineral) could experience the conflicts, agonies and joys of existing in a physical environment.

These conflicts, agonies and joys mould and prepare all life forms for their eternal progression through the countless realms of spiritual life that lie beyond physical existence: Each step in this eternal chain of progress, refining and purifying the spirit so it can contribute more and more to the creative process; a process which is also progressive and eternal. Even here on Earth, we continually contribute to creation in our daily lives. This is because each of us is part of God and within us, without exception, is that divine spark of divine love and creativity.

This applies just as much to the soaring skylark pouring out its adoration in notes of joy and happiness, as it does to the strutting peacock displaying its beauty so proudly; to the brilliance of gem stones as they sparkle with fire, reflecting the sun’s light, as to the pebbles on the beach or the grace of the mountain that add so much to the beauty and variety of this wonderful world; to the delicate petals and glorious scent of the rose as to the humble daisy; to the tiger “burning bright” as to the meanest crawling insect.

Life, no matter what form it takes, can only exist because spirit energises it. Without the presence of spirit, matter can have no form. This means that even the planets and stars themselves are energised by the power of the spirit. Remember the bible’s description of creation? “And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) Those who dismiss the creation story as myth and nonsense should think again. What the writer of Genesis is telling us is exactly what I have been saying in this article. He is describing the love of God creating form by the donation of a portion of His spirit to all existence.

I wish each of you a happy Valentines Day and the power to recognise and respond to the presence of the love of the spirit in your life.

Spiritualism's Revelation

Quote from Address by Jean Bassett – London 2005

“We have been given a revelation, a revelation that is greater than any revelation that has been given before in this world. Not the faith that you pass on into the world of the spirit and you sit on the right hand of God Almighty; you don't need faith for that. We have been given the means by which we can prove we live on after death and we know that, as God is in His heaven, there is no such thing as a single miracle - a one off. If one person passes through that gateway that man calls death and can communicate back to his loved ones here on earth, then all will do so. It doesn’t matter what you believe, it doesn’t even matter what you do in life, it doesn’t matter how you behave; you will live on after death. That is God’s glorious law; that is the rainbow that touches the sky and joins the world of the spirit to the world of matter, the world of the seen to the world of the unseen; that is that glorious colour that can enter into your life, enter into your hearts, create such a strength in you that you will never need another person’s strength. It can create such courage in you that you will fulfil all that you are meant to fulfil; your destiny will be assured; you will indeed be a part of God Almighty, as indeed you are.”