< What is Occultism? (continued from page 1-141) >
the spirit progressed till it reached the fulness of the Godhead bodily. From these spheres were appointed the guardians of the inferior spheres, the messengers of God, ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation.
Such is a brief outline of spiritual occult philosophy; it may seem to be inconsistent with the ideas of modern Spiritualism, yet even Spiritualism has not altogether lost sight of the seven spheres and other peculiarities of the ancient astor spiritual faith; and as knowledge is acquired and experience gained, a better understanding of both ancient and modern mysticism will bring them nearer together, and show a consistency and mutual agreement which has never been disturbed only obscured by human ignorance and presumption. But Occultism has a physical aspect which I cannot afford to pass by. Man is a fourfold being:
Four things of man there are: spirit, soul, ghost, flesh; |
When the spirit leaves the body, and is properly prepared for the stellean spheres, it leaves behind all sensual thoughts and memories. These are retained in the mortal remains, and the shade which is no part of the spirit or the tree man or woman, may still counterfeit them, make revelations of the past, in fact reveal more of its sensual history, and prove sensual identity better than the spirit itself could do, seeing it knows only spiritual things. The sciomancy of the past bears the same reality to modern psychometry, that ancient magic does to modern Spiritualism. Thus in haunted houses, in grave-yards and places where deeds of violence have occurred, sensitives see the drama reacted which transpired long ago, the spirit being no accessory thereto.
Even the spirit cannot communicate unless through the interblending of physical and spiritual aural, and only by coming en rapport with physical things can it know anything of them; and thus mediums are as necessary on the other side as this; through which mediums, guardian spirits, we may gain a nearer apprehension of spiritual truths, if we live for them.
Is Spirit Material?
Kabolism gives us a knowledge of the spiritual world or the world of causes. The material is developed from the spiritual, which has been demonstrated and proven by those acquainted with alchemical science. We thus have two distinct forms of science, subjective and objective. The former was studied almost exclusively by the Kabolists, hence their wonderful knowledge of Nature. The forces governing the subjective are very different from those governing the objective, but their modes of action are similar. The soul of the spiritual world consists of ponderable matter; it is that chaotic substance in which God manifested himself when he said “Let there be light.” The substance of chaos was known to the ancient sages, also the process by which creation was unfolded from it.
The soul of the world corresponds with the soul oi man, and the spirit of the world with the spirit of man. The world, therefore, as well as man, is threefold, consisting of body, soul and spirit. The body is the gross, material covering of the soul which is essential for its mundane existence. The soul is the of the spirit, and therefore the intermediate between the spirit and the physical organism. The soul per se is as inactive as the material body per se; both consist of atomic matter, and each polarized by two distinct forces. The spirit of the universe bears the same relationship to the causal world as our sun does to the material world. The former is the unfolding force of the soul, while our sun is the unfolding force of the material world. Therefore spirit is not die of false approbation. j material any more than the light of the sun. Prof. Crookes has endeavored to demonstrate that light la not only a universal and primary motor, but that it possesses ponderosity, that it can be weighed in the balance. If he would turn him attention to Kabolism he might probably find something accompanying light that gives it a materiality. This substance and light are inseparably connected. Therefore it was not light that be weighed, but the substance which accompanies it. Our sun is not what scientists regard it, an immense body of fire, replenished with fuel from the planetary system. It is a self-luminous body, requiring nothing from the material world for its support. The influence it imparts to the planetary system to which It belongs is by impulse. It has not increased nor diminished from its first inception to the present day. The planets are its children, born and afterwards nourished by it. Harmony is the unique law by which God governs the universe. If this law should be suspended one moment, forms would disappear by matter crumbling into atoms, and chaotic darkness reign supreme. The disturbances occurring in the external world correspond to diseased action in the human organism, and are the result of the disturbance of the harmony existing between the subjective and objective forces. If this disharmony should extend too far, the balance is lost, and the relationship between these two classes of forces is broken up, which constitutes physical death, and disintegration of the physical structure. When diseased action of the physical organism it viewed in this aspect, and the proper remedy obtained to correct them, the health problem will be solved, and the physical sufferings of the human family wonderfully ameliorated. The cause of physical disturbances was known to the ancient sages, and they endeavored to procure a universal remedy by which the harmony could be restored, life prolonged and the bloom of youth retained even in old age. This has been regarded as a myth, but there is more truth in it than fiction. These hints are thrown out for those interested in Occultism to ponder over. They are the outward expression of sublime truths; when obtained will give the recipient a knowledge of the laws and forces of nature unknown to the scientist who dwells exclusively on the outward plane, and whose reasoning is exclusively inductive.
The subject of this article was prompted by reading Hudson Tuttle’s review of Dr. Diedemann, in the Spiritual Scientist of March 30.
The Russian Experiments in the Phenomena of Spiritualism Abandoned
The Scientific Committee of the University of St Petersburg, Russia, has abandoned its proposed investigation of Spiritualism after a few experiments. M. Aksakoff nevertheless offers, at his own expense, to pay Dr. Slade $1000 to come to St. Petersburg and hold public seances, and Dr. Slade has accepted the proposal. We shall give fuller particulars next week, not having space in this number for the articles in relation to the action of the committee.
A Distant View of Amsterdam
Editor's notes
- ↑ Is Spirit Material? by unknown author (signed as Zeus), Spiritual Scientist, v. 4, No. 13, June 1, 1876, pp. 152-3. From the Spiritual Scientist
- ↑ The Russian Experiments in the Phenomena of Spiritualism Abandoned by unknown author, Spiritual Scientist, v. 4, No. 7, April 20, 1876, p. 79
- ↑ A Distant View of Amsterdam by unknown author
Sources
Spiritual Scientist, v. 4, No. 13, June 1, 1876, pp. 152-3
Spiritual Scientist, v. 4, No. 7, April 20, 1876, p. 79