POWERS OF THE MIND
CHAPTER EIGHT
POWERS OF THE MIND
AFLEET STREET Editor, with some experience of Spiritualism, put questions to Silver Birch on the difference between thought and inspiration. This is how the guide answered:
"You who live in the world of matter are most unoriginal creatures. You do not, except very seldom, create anything. You are receiving stations and also transmitting stations. Thoughts come to you; they lodge within you; you add to their wings and send them forth where others receive them. The thought that comes to you is not the same as when it leaves you; your person-ality has quickened it, or slowed it down, enriched it, or impoverished it, made it more beautiful, or more ugly, given it new life, or perhaps vitiated it. But over and above all that, you can, when you attune yourself, receive positive inspiration from those of like mentality to your-self.
"When people 'die,' as you call it, they come to our world, but all the richness of soul and mind which is theirs cannot die. It is divine, infinite, and like all things divine and infinite, it cannot perish. All the qualities of soul and mind continue to grow, to unfold, to develop and to mature in our world. The mere fact that you possess these great qualities of the soul means that when you reach this world of ours, you soon desire to render service to those less fortunate than you. You find, or strive to find, people like yourself.
"If you were a poet, you seek a poet, a musician, you seek a musician, like interests wherever possible, so that you can give freely all you have learned in your new world. The difficulty is to achieve the process of attune-ment. It is not our fault that inspiration is limited to brief flashes. If the laws that regulate conditions between the two states of life were perfectly understood, if the people of your world were to rid themselves of the many prejudices and superstitions which create barriers to a full and free communication, this wisdom of the infinite could be poured through human instruments into your world. It always depends on having an instrument to receive what we give and the ability of these instruments to attune themselves to receive the highest that can be given. All inspiration, all wisdom, all truth, all know-ledge is dependent upon your capacity to receive."
Explaining, on another occasion, how spirit influence is brought to bear on mediums, the guide told a group of his earthly friends: "We work in two ways. First, there is the hard part, that is, when you have to make your influence felt in your world. You do not know how difficult that isーto start off without any touch with a world of matter and then, by sheer mental exercise, concentration, projection of thought and idea focused on one person so that he or she can be influenced, uncon-sciously, as far as they are concerned, so that they think it is their own idea at work, to be moved into that place where the first link can be made.
"That is the hard task, and it takes years and years and years. It takes so long, sometimes, that in my case I had to start even before the instrument was born. Then having done that, the next part is not so difficult, because once you have an instrument, a medium, a channel, and you can express yourself, however poorly, it has at least forged the magnetic link, and that cannot be broken.
"From that beginning the amount of influence can be increased; the funnel of the spirit can become larger and larger; and the only limitation is the capacity of the instrument, for that is always the restriction placed upon the amount of co-operation with us. In all these cases,
wherever there be a fault, the fault does not lie with us but with the means at our command. When people say, 'Why does not the world of spirit do this or that?' surely the answer is that the instruments make it possible or impossible.
After that magnetic link has been made it is much simpler, because through our world the power of the spirit can reach you. If, of your own free will, you begin to allow your inner self to develop, you allow that part of you which is the eternal reality to begin to find expression here instead of waiting until you have passed through the gate of death.
"Then the association becomes closer and richer and more effective as time goes by. After that, it is not so difficult to bring together the varying people whose meeting is part of a plan. It is the first step that is the hardest."
The part played in trance communication by the medium's mind was explained by Silver Birch on one occasion. It began with his comment that he had a little difficulty in controlling because the medium was falling asleep. "That is no good for me," he said.
"Why is that?" asked a sitter.
"I must have control over all that regulates the body," replied Silver Birch.
"Could you not have control if the medium were asleep?" the sitter asked.
"No," said the guide. "Because I must use his sub-conscious mind to direct his body, and it becomes quies-cent in sleep. Trance is not the same as sleep."
"But does not the medium go outside of his body in both cases?" the sitter asked.
"No, it is not a question of the medium being inside or outside," replied the guide. "You are dealing with con-sciousness and its functioning, and that is not in or out."
"I thought the medium's consciousness stood aside,“ was the sitter's comment.
"Yes, but that is a temporary separation from his physical body," said Silver Birch. "It is a willing sur-render, instead of the negation which sleep is. All mediumship is conscious co-operation between our world and yours. There are examples of unconscious co-operation when the faculties are stimulated for a time, but where there is a real work to be done between a guide and an instrument, the co-operation must be a conscious one, a willingness on the part of the medium to take part in all the machinery associated with the development of mediumship."
"Haven't there been cases where the medium has been used in his sleep and trance messages have come through him?" the guide was asked.
"There might have been," he said, "but it is a reversal of the process which should normally be used."
"It is possible that the medium agreed in his sleep to be so used," remarked the sitter.
"Yes, but as you know, we always defer to the wishes of the instrument," said Silver Birch, "unless they are un-important, and then we suggest what should be done. But of course this body does not belong to us; it belongs to the tenant who inhabits it. If he cares to surrender the lease to us for a little while, that is well and good, but to rob him of his tenancy without his permission is contrary to the law. It is a natural surrender, with a respect on both sides for the forces which will inhabit the body."
Asked to tell the circle something about the employ-ment of the subconscious mind in trance communication, Silver Birch said:
"There is much misconception about it. Very briefly, mind has many functions. Man is an expression of consciousness, and consciousness is the all-important thing. Consciousness is individual life; individual life is conscious-ness. Wherever there is consciousness there is individual spirit; and wherever there is individual spirit there is
consciousness. You are not aware of the fullness of your consciousness in the physical world in which you live because your consciousness is much largerーto use a term that you will understandーthan the physical body through which it is trying to express itself. The smaller cannot contain the larger; the lesser cannot hold the greater.
"And so throughout all your earthly life you express but a mere fraction of that larger consciousness which you will come to recognise in the days after you have passed through the gate of death. Even then you will not immediately become aware of all your consciousness, for it is only through evolution, even in our world, that more and more of the consciousness can be registered through its vehicle.
"Your mind, which is the director of your intelligence, the controller of all your individual life, does not function actively and consciously for every requirement of your physical body. So many of the functions which are necessary for your life in this world are automatic and mechanical. Once the consciousness has arranged the muscles or the nerves, or the cells, or the tissues, and their co-ordination necessary to perform that task, it relegates their repetition to the subconscious part of your mind.
"For example, when you eat you automatically open your mouth, which means the interplay of many nerves and forces before the jaws can move. Nervous impulses have to be sent from the brain, which is the physical counterpart of the mind, and then your teeth have to open and similar instructions have to be given by the
brain. All that is automatic. You do not, every time you pick up a morsel of food, deliberately go through all the processes necessary before you can eat. You do them automatically; the subconscious mind does them for you. When you were a baby you had to learn them all one by one; now it is done unthinkingly; purely mechani-cally.
"You will find that most of the control, therefore, of your bodilyーand, to a large extent, your mentalーfunctions have been relegated to the subconscious mind, which is a department, the basement, of your conscious mind. You read a book and you stop and ask yourself what you think of it, and the reply automatically is flashed into your mind. It is your subconscious mind which registers the answer for you, having learned through association with your consciousness the reason that you employ. You hear a speech, and if at any time you are asked, 'What do you think of it?' even unthink-ingly you provide the answer.
"When, however, you are confronted with problems outside of your ordinary experience, which have not been performed or solved before by the subconscious mind, then your consciousness has to start work, because a new track is involved. But, with these exceptions, where you have to employ original thinkingーif such a phrase can be used in that connectionーmost of your life is relegated to your subconscious mind. It acts as storekeeper; it takes charge of all the records of your memory; it con-trols most of your living processes; and therefore, from many aspects, it is the most important part of you.
"When it comes to mediumship, it stands to reason, does it not, that where an intelligence which is foreign to the intelligence which has expressed itself through the bodily organism has to function, it is easier for it to take control of the subconscious mind, which is already accustomed to acting on the directions from the conscious mind. It is used to taking orders; it is used to having tasks assigned to it and performing them without interruption, save if anything goes wrong.
"Nearly all forms of mediumship involve the use of the subconscious mind of the medium, for that is the secret of his personality. There, embedded in its store-house, are all the facets of his individuality. In trance mediumship, what the guide has first of all to learn to avoid is that in controlling his instrument he so takes charge that he does not get from the instrument the usual automatic responses that the medium does, when his consciousness calls on his subconsciousness. That is the whole keynote."
"Has he to still the subconscious mind?" asked a sitter.
"No," said Silver Birch. "The guide has to harmonise his personality with the medium's to achieve such a perfect blending that he superimposes his own thought through being in co-operation. At the same time he has to be master of that subconsciousness which, the moment it gets the association of another directing intelligence, begins to send up impulses, just as when you depress the keys of a typewriter letters move up. That is what the guide has to learn, to avoid that happening.
"You can conceive that, as you are dealing with a living being, with an individual with ideas of his own, with prejudices, likes and dislikes, you are bound in all forms of control to get some aspects of the medium. It is impossible, as I have told you, ever entirely to eliminate the medium. The degree of elimination is dependent on the success in blending the guide's personality with that of his instrument. If it were possible to effect a perfect fusion, then there would be no subconscious interference by the subconscious.
"It is not that you eliminate the mediumーyou cannot do thatーbut you have to blend. That is what develop-ment of mediumship is. That is why you sit in circles. That is why you have séances, so that the power that is gathered from all those who assemble is used to aid the blending. That is why harmony is essential. That is why, if there is friction among sitters, it is impossible to get harmony between the guide and the medium. You are deal-ing with mental forces all the time and, though there is nothing visible to show, all the unseen thoughts, impulses, wills, desires, wishes of all the sitters have an effect on the communications that take place. The more proficient the guide, the more experienced, the greater the state of harmony between him and his instrument, the less will be the subconscious interference."
"Is it better, from your point of view, to choose a medium whose desires and feeling are more or less the same as those of the guide?" asked a sitter.
"It all depends," replied the spirit. "That is one of the debatable subjects, and there is difference of opinion even in our world. You must remember that we are human beings, and we do not agree on every detail in the processes involved in communication.
"There are some who say that more success is achieved by using an ignorant medium, one who knows so little that his subconsciousness can present no barrier. To that, others reply that his mere ignorance is a barrier because it creates a wall which has to be broken down. The same school argues that where you have a well-filled mind you have a better instrument on which to play, for greater music is possible from an instrument created by craftsman-ship than a cheap instrument that you purchase for a few pence in your world, that the better the instrument the better the results our world can get from it. I incline to that belief."
"Why should a medium with more knowledge be better than an ignorant one?" asked a sitter. "Is it not a question of character as well?"
"I am talking about trance mediumship," replied the. guide. "Character is a separate issue which involves other factors. I am referring to the actual processes, or, if you like to use the word, the mechanics of communication. I will put it in a very simple way. A violinist will obtain better results from a Stradivarius than he will from a cheap fiddle because the beauty and quality of that instrument enable him to produce better results. The other is a limitation to him.
"The character of the medium has a great effect on the quality of the communicator who can register through him, and, in physical manifestations, on the quality of the results obtained. The lower the characterーand I am using these words only in terms of comparisonーof the physical medium, the poorer, for example, is the ecto-plasm that is used, not poorer physically but from a spiritual point of view. Character determines the quality of the power of attraction between the spirit and the medium. It would be impossible, for example, for the ones you recognise as saints, because of their high spiritual status, to manifest through a medium of very low character, because there is no point of contact."
"With physical mediumship the subconscious mind also seems to have an effect," remarked a sitter. "Can you explain that?"
"The focal point of every séance is the medium," said Silver Birch. "You are not using a telephone, you are not using a telegraph pole, you are not using a morse key. You are using a living instrument, and the qualities of his life impregnate the communications.
"It is well that it is so. If it were possible, which it is not, to reduce all communication between these two states of life to a purely mechanical apparatus, I know that most of the beauty and sacredness would be lost. At every séance the medium is the focal point. You cannot eliminate him. It is all his qualities that are being used. Even when a trumpet is raised or a materialisation is formed, the foundation comes from the medium, and whatever qualities the medium possesses, in some form or another they are conveyed in the results of the séance."
"Why is it that the heart and pulse beats alter when a spirit takes control?" the guide was asked at another sitting. "Are they, as a rule, the heart and pulse beats of the spirit?"
"When spirits are controlling the medium," he replied, "they are registering through the subconscious mind and automatically their consciousness regulates the primary functions of the body, which are the beat of the heart and the pulse, the temperature and the circulation of the blood. That is why you notice a change of breathing when control is being effected. It is the transitory stage. But what happens is that the guide is reproducing, by association with matter, his own personality as it was expressed in a body. For example, I use a Red Indian body and thus, through the medium, the pulse beat is that of the Red Indian body, because it is easier to take all that consciousness belonging to the astral body and transfer it rather than to start from the beginning."
Answering the question, "Who or what are our guides?" Silver Birch said:
"Sometimes they are those who belong to the family line. Sometimes there is no tie of earthly relationship, but instead there is a spiritual kinship based upon mutual attraction because there is some task that can be per-formed. They are not restricted to the members of any race or nation, for race and nationality do not persist after the grave when the habits of earth have died away. There are no races or nations in the souls; only in the bodies."
Some idea of the work done by guides has been given by Silver Birch. It arose when he was asked, "Can you tell us how the guides are selected?" The spirit teacher answered: "Some volunteer because they are aware of tasks to be performed in your world. Others who have reached a maturity of spiritual growth are approached by those who have taken upon themselves the task of helping humanity.
"I was askedーI did not choose in the first place. But when I was asked whether I would volunteer to do so I readily assented and I can tell you that a very black picture was painted of the difficulties that would have to be surmounted before any progress could be made. Yet those difficulties, to a large extent, have been conquered and the obstacles that still stand in the way are very small compared with those that have been removed."
"And those who volunteer, as distinct from those who are approached, do they have to satisfy some examiners who test their fitness to become guides?" was the next question.
"It is not quite in that sense," answered Silver Birch, "but something very like it. Our world is very highly organised, it is far more organised than ever you have thought was possible, and to perform this task requires a miniature organisation. You know by name some of the members of this band, who incidentally are a most retiring assortment of people, because each time I seek to thrust them forward, they always stand back and say, 'You go ahead.'
"Now you cannot get your group, your band, unless it is attracted to you for the work's sake and you have reached that degree of evolution which gives you the
power of attraction. In our world what you are deter-mines what you do. It is your spirit that is the dominant reality. There are no masks, no disguises, no subterfuges, no cheats; there is nothing hidden; all is known."