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Raymond Lodge's World Life Beyond (5)
Every communicator, - friend, relative or stranger - from the World of Spirit tells us something about what they are doing on the other side, but since such information is not always evidential of their survival, not proof of their identity, researchers tend to ignore or refuse to publish such descriptions. This is one reason why there is such a dearth, or complete lack, of information about the Other Side. Even Sir Oliver Lodge deleted a detailed account given by Raymond of a visit to a higher plane. But as you will see [in a later episode], the astounding effect of the experience stayed with Raymond for a long time afterwards. If we had such a cosmic or blissful experience, it would be so overwhelming we would either be speechless or not remember it at all, like a fantastic dream that vanishes as soon as we awaken.
However, descriptions of the Other Side may be very evidential of a particular person’s identity, since they will describe characteristic activities which only they were formerly interested in on earth. The very fact that Raymond keeps referring to the visit to the higher plane in subsequent communications with different mediums and sitters is evidence in itself that it is Raymond speaking, that he has a lasting long-term memory of events, as well as the ability to watch life on earth, pursuing the interests he had when he was alive. His former inquisitive state of mind carried over with him to the Other Side. This demonstrates that the mind of a soul in the spirit world is far more extensive and solid than our own down here. Here is Raymond again, continuing to talk with his father about casualties on the battlefield.
December 3rd, 1915. Medium: Mrs Leonard.
SIR OLIVER LODGE - What about a limb lost in battle?
RAYMOND - Oh, if they have only just lost it, it makes no difference, it doesn’t matter; they are quite all right when they get here. But I am told that when anybody’s blown to pieces, it takes some time for the spirit-body to complete itself, to gather itself all in, and to be complete. It dissipated a certain amount of substance which is undoubtedly etheric, and it has to be concentrated again. The spirit isn’t blown apart, of course, but it has an effect upon it. I haven’t seen all this, but I have been inquiring because I am interested.
OLIVER - What about bodies that are burnt?
RAYMOND - Oh, if they get burnt by accident, if they know about it on this side, they detach the spirit first. What we call a spirit doctor comes round and helps. But bodies should not be burnt on purpose. We have terrible trouble sometimes over people who are cremated too soon; they shouldn’t be. It’s a terrible thing; it has worried me. People are so careless. The idea seems to be – hurry up and get them out of the way now that they are dead! – They shouldn’t be cremated for seven days.
OLIVER - But what if the body goes bad? [e.g., gangrene, rabies, ebola, Alzheimer’s etc].
RAYMOND - When it goes bad, the spirit is already out. If that much [a trifling amount] of spirit is left in the body, it doesn’t start mortifying. It is the action of the spirit on the body that keeps it from mortifying. When you speak about a person ‘dying upwards’ it means that the spirit is getting ready and gradually getting out of the body. I saw the other day a man going to be cremated two days after the doctor said he was dead. When his relations on this side [in the spirit world] heard about it they brought a certain doctor on our side, and when they saw that the spirit hadn’t got really out of the body, they magnetized it, and helped it out. But there was still a cord, and it had to be severed rather quickly, and it gave a little shock to the spirit, like as if you had something amputated; but it had to be done, in every case. If a physical body is to be consumed by fire, it is helped out by spirit doctors. A spirit body doesn’t come out of its own body, but an essence comes out of the physical body – oozes out and goes into the spirit body which is being prepared. Oozes, like in a string. String, then it seems to shape itself, or something meets it and shapes round it. As if they met and went together, and formed a duplicate of the body left behind. It’s all very interesting.
I told Lionel [at a previous sitting] that I wanted a suit at first. I never thought that they would be able to provide me with one.
OLIVER - Yes, I know. Lionel told us; that you wanted something more like your old clothes at first, and that they didn’t force you into new one, but let you begin with the old kind, until you got accustomed to the place.
RAYMOND - Yes, they didn’t force me, but most of the people here wear white robes.
OLIVER - Then can you tell any difference between men and women [there]?
RAYMOND - I don’t think that they stand to each other quite the same as they did on the earth plane, but they seem to have the same feeling to each other, with a different expression of it…..
I don’t want to eat now, but I see some who do. They have to be given something which has all the appearance of an earth food. People here try to provide everything that is wanted. A chap came over the other day, who WOULD have a cigar! I thought they would never be able to provide that. But there are laboratories over here, and they manufacture all sorts of things in them. Not like you do, out of solid matter, but out of essences, and ethers, and gases. It’s not the same as on the earth plane, but they were able to manufacture what looked like a cigar. I didn’t try one myself, because I didn’t care to. You know I wouldn’t want to. But the other chap jumped at it. But when he began to smoke it, he didn’t think so much of it; he had four altogether, and now he doesn’t look at one. They don’t seem to get the same satisfaction out of it, so gradually it seems to drop from them. But when they first [over] they do want things. Some want meat, and some strong drink; they call for whisky sodas. Don’t think I’m stretching it, when I tell you that they can manufacture even that. But when they have had one or two, they don’t seem to want it so much – not those that are near here. I have heard of drunkards who want it for months and years over here, but I haven’t seen any. [They are probably found on a lower plane than where Raymond is]. Those I have seen don’t want it any more – like myself with my suit I could dispense with it under the new conditions. I want people to realise that it’s just as natural as on the earth plane.
OLIVER - Raymond, you said your house was made of bricks. How can that be? What are the bricks made of?
RAYMOND - That’s what I haven’t found out yet. I am told by some that they are made from emanations from the earth. There’s something like atoms rising and consolidation after they come; they are not solid when they come, but we can collect and concentrate them. They appear to be bricks, and when I touch them, they feel like bricks; and I have seen granite too.
There’s something perpetually rising from your plane; practically invisible – in atoms when it leaves your plane – but when it comes to the ether, it gains certain other qualities round each atom, and by the time it reaches us, certain people take it in hand and manufacture solid things from it. Just as you can manufacture solid things.
All the decay that goes on on the earth plane is not lost. It doesn’t just form manure or dust. Certain vegetable and decayed tissue does form manure for a time, but it gives off an essence or a gas which ascends, and which becomes what you call a smell [or fragrance]. Everything dead has a small [or odour] if you notice; and I know now that the smell is of actual use, because it is from that smell that we are able to produce duplicates of whatever from it had before it became a smell. Even old wood has a smell different from new wood; you may have to have a keen nose to detect these things on the earth plane.
Old rags – cloth decaying and going rotten – different kinds of cloth give off different smells – rotting linen smells different to rotting wood. You can understand how all this interests me. Apparently, as far as I can gather, the rotting wood appears to be used for making things like tweeds on our side. My suit I expect was made from decayed worsted on your side.
Some people here won’t take this in about the material cause of all these things. They go talking about spiritual robes made of light, built by the thoughts on the earth plane. I don’t believe it! They go about thinking that it is a thought robe that they’re wearing, resulting from the spiritual life they led; and when we try to tell them that it is manufactured out of materials, they don’t believe it. They say, ‘No, no, it’s a robe of light and brightness which I manufactured by thought.’ So we just leave it.
You know flowers, how they decay. We have got flowers here; your decayed flowers flower again with us – beautiful flowers. Lily [his sister in spirit] has helped me a lot with flowers.
OLIVER - Do you like her?
RAYMOND - Yes, but I didn’t expect to see her. I’m afraid I wasn’t very polite to her when I met her at first; I didn’t expect a grown-up sister there. Am I a little brother, or is she my little sister? She called me her little brother, but I have a decided impression that she should be my little sister. [She died very young, but now has grown up in the spirit world, which caused Raymond’s confusion]. I feel a bit of a mystery; I have got a brother here whom I know, but there are TWO.. Is it possible that I have got another brother – one that didn’t live at all?
OLIVER - Yes, it is possible [a still-born child or miscarriage].
RAYMOND - No earth life at all! That’s what’s strange. I’ve seen some one that I am told is a brother, but I can’t be expected to recognize him, can I? I feel somehow closer to Lily than I do to that one. By and by I will get to know him, I dare say. [This has some relevance to the whole Pro-Life and Abortion issues].
I am told that I am doing very well in the short time I have been here. I’m taking to it like a duck to water!
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