IF SILVER BIRCH APPEARED ON TELEVISION

　　　　　　　　　　　　SILVER BIRCH

　Asked what he would say if invited to speak about Spiritualism on television Silver Birch replied:

　I would begin by explaining that I am one of those whom your world of matter regards as dead, but that the beliefs of your world are founded on fallacy. Life cannot die. Life continues because it is part of the great, eternal, creative life-force.

　❝I would ask viewers to put on one side all the miscon-ceptions of their inherited prejudices and approach the subject of Survival with simplicity of heart and mind, seeking only to know the truth. I would appeal to them to be tolerant and sympathetic, not to worry about what others have taught, but to seek for themselves. I would cite as witnesses the many all over the world who know there is a life that continues beyond the tomb because they have spoken with the so-called dead.

　I would say that I was one of those who, having completed my allotted earthly span and passed, many years ago, beyond the veil of mortal life, had decided to return to illumine your world and teach it the spirit truths which have been buried for too long.

　I would outline some of those simple truths in simple language and ask whether my viewers thought they offended their reason or insulted their intelligence in any way. I would tell them that I have no vested interest, no money to earn, no job to defend. I have nothing to gain. I come back, after many years in the spirit world, to tell what I know. It is for them to listen.

　I would say that you are deathless, that the ones for whom you mourn stand silently by your sideーsilent because you cannot hear them. You are the dead, the dead who are unconscious of life as it really exists. You have closed your eyes to all the beauties of the Great Spirit's universe. All around you the atmosphere teems with multitudinous life. Your own beloved ones are there and behind them serried ranks of the immortals, men and women from ages past, who, having served your world of matter, are still anxious to offer comradeship, guidance, fellowship and the wisdom of their extended experience.

　The ties that bind you to the Great Spirit can be strengthened by your understanding. If churches stand in the way of your receiving that knowledge, discard the churches. If men are an obstacle, discard the men. If books stand in the way, discard them. Retire into the silence of your own being; forget the world of matter with all its harsh discord. Tune into the subtle, delicate vibrations of the teeming spirit life around you. You can then transcend the limitations of the fleshly body.

　Awaken to knowledge; awaken to understanding. You need not be a prisoner; you can leave the jail of ignorance and live in the light of spiritual freedom. Four walls cannot contain infinity. No book, however inspired, can contain all the truths about the infinite Great Spirit. No man, no matter what his degrees, can come between you and the Great Spirit.

　You can obtain all that you require for your sustenance from the infinite storehouse. If you allow that divinity within you to rise to the surface and learn the laws re-sponsible for the power and inspiration flowing from the higher spheres, you would begin to live as the Great Spirit intended you should.

　Go into the world, try to heal the lame, help the afflicted, be a strength to those who have lost their way and give kindness and sympathy to all who need it. Then you are serving and service is the only religion. I know of no other.

　Religion is the living of a life, not the acceptance of sectarian beliefs. The laws that control life are universal; where there is universal understanding, religion will be of mutual service. Whether it is called Spiritualism or not is unimportant. What is important is the spread of truth which destroys ignorance; the erasion of superstition when wisdom flourishes.

　Beware of labels. More importance can be attached to the label than the truths it seeks to represent, when men begin to worship the label and not the truth. Truth is all-important, the label does not matter. More important than comforting the bereaved, than drying the tears of mourners, is the appli-cation of spiritual truth to all daily life.

　Ours is a practical religion, a religion for every day, for twenty-four hours of every day, for sixty minutes of every hour and for sixty seconds of every minute. That is the standard we set, the ideal to be achieved, the true task of all those who have found knowledge.

　Spiritualism must be judged by its results. If none is richer because of your presence in the world of matter, then you have failed. If Spiritualists do not make their weight felt in all the pressing reforms that are so vitally necessary, then they are false to themselves and to the inspiration which seeks to use them for that purpose.

　The power of the spirit which is poured through human instruments has a mighty destiny to achieve. This destiny is regeneration. It is a slow process, but it is the only way humanity can advance. It is a constant enlarging of the sphere of illumination, a constant struggle against the forces of retreating darkness. You do not require another Nazarene. If the Nazarene himself were to return, he would be one of the most unpopular men in your world, especially among those who say they follow him and acknowledge his leadership.'

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