Karyn

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou This week's Friday Afterlife Report is now online at https://victorzammit.com/October21st2022

"Do take plenty of time for rest...take time to work, to think, to make contacts for a social life and for recreation."  Edgar Cayce reading 3624-1

Oliver Lodge communicates Recorded: April 25th 1966 “So little is understood even now, about our world and communication...” During his lifetime Sir Oliver Lodge was a great supporter of mediums and wrote about his experiences of spirit communication - most famously in the book about his son entitled 'Raymond'. He returns here to speak to George Woods and Betty Greene 25 years after his own death. He refers to a new scientific method of spirit communication and he ponders on the idea whether there will ever be a time when spirit mediums will not be required at all... Read the full transcript below as you listen to the recording... HERE Note: Although this vintage recording has been enhanced, some interference remains.

‘What I Believe’ spoken by Ernest Walter Oaten Spiritualist President and Editor of ‘The Two Worlds’ Recorded: Friday April 13th 1934 From the personal collection of Leslie Flint, this vintage recording by Ernest Walter Oaten is the first ever radio broadcast on the subject of Spiritualism - which went out live on national BBC radio on April 13th 1934. In his talk, Mr Oaten shares some of his experiences from attending thousands of séances, and explains his conviction that life goes on after death and that spirit communication is a reality. Originally recorded onto 3 double-sided bakelite discs this broadcast is made available online for the first time. Note: This 88 year old recording has been enhanced and the quality is generally good. Ernest Oaten To listen to the recording and reading the below transcript please go HERE A man’s convictions are based upon his training, plus his experience. I was brought up in the bosom of nonconformity, and in my late teens was seriously troubled by grave doubts concerning matters of religion. It seemed to me that the whole of religion turned upon the question of whether there is, or is not, an afterlife. If there is no life beyond this, then there may be a case for ethics and morality, but there is none for religion - and accordingly, the existence of a spiritual world forms the preamble of all the great religions. I was then a young man, and young men often make hasty decisions. I came to the conclusion that there was no evidence whatever for a future life. Reliance was placed upon the traditions of the past, but the credulity…the credibility of these opened the way to very extensive arguments. It was at this juncture that I heard of Spiritualism. The subject at first aroused in my mind something of incredulity and contempt, and yet the men I knew who were associated with the subject, were sane, decent and reliable businessmen. I listened to what they had to say concerning their experiences at séances, and I came to the conclusion that they had been deluded, and that it only needed me to expose the whole subject. Yet if what they said was true, Spiritualism offered the type of evidence that I had found nowhere else. It was in this frame of mind that, accompanied by two relatives, I attended my first séance in February 1892, at Cardiff. The company assembled were of an intelligent middle-class type, some sixteen in number. We sat in a good white light, quite sufficient for reading by - and at that séance a large walnut round table floated in the air, without any contact. A relative and I, holding a walking stick between us, completely encircled it as it floated in space. The whole company turned the backs of their chairs to the table, and knelt on their seats, so that no feet were underneath the table; they joined hands round, and I assert that that table rose into space and remained suspended for some minutes. Further, it was under intelligent direction. It obeyed our requests as to moving in this direction or that, and later - still without any contact - spelled out messages, including the name and address, the date of death, etc, of my grandfather, who had died some years before in the West of England. We were told of his age, trade, the maiden name of his wife, etc. I made a complete examination of the room and could detect no mechanism to account for the happening. I was puzzled. The following day I borrowed the table and had it weighed at the store. It registered eighty-four pounds. That was my first experience. On returning home that night one of my relatives and I tried an experiment with a small card table, by placing our hands upon its surface. It tilted very freely. I had heard something of unconscious muscular action, so I made an effort to get information which might throw some light on the force directing the table. We laid down a code, by asking the table to tilt at each letter of the alphabet, stopping at the one required, and by this cumbersome method messages were spelled out, letter by letter. On that occasion we received information concerning a relative in London, of whom we had not heard for five years. It referred to happenings at that present moment, which could not possibly have been known to anyone in Cardiff - and these were subsequently verified up to the hilt. I have neither the time nor inclination at the moment to go into the details of the messages, which concerned the intimate domestic life of the family. That experience convinced me that there was something which demanded explanation and I commenced a long course of reading and personal investigation which has lasted forty odd years, brought me untold happiness, settled all doubts as to there being wisdom and purpose behind all life - and has left me without a single shred of doubt as to a future life. I have sat in more than 4,000 séances, under all conditions - many of them ridiculous in their simplicity and many arranged under strict scientific control. Of those séances, considerably fewer than 100 have taken place in the dark. I know that certain forms of psychic phenomena are more easily obtained in the dark, but I have a strong distaste for dark séances, and I always object to sit in the dark with strangers. It is not merely that I am suspicious of mediums. I want to see what the sitters are doing... I have witnessed as much duplicity on the part of sitters as on the part of mediums. Dark séances are, in my opinion, not necessary to conviction, and generally raise more questions than they settle. Under excellent conditions for observation, and in good light, I believe I have seen every phase of psychic phenomena. It would be true to say that quite fifty percent of these phenomena, whilst interesting, offer little or no evidence of the action of spirits. Probably a further twenty-five percent form a borderline, in which one has to choose between the Spiritualistic and other theories: telepathy, intuition, subconscious activity, etc. But in my experience there is a residuum, which compels the conviction that the intelligences at work are human beings other than those present in the flesh. In other words, as a result of forty years investigation, I am absolutely certain that the so-called ‘dead’ can communicate with the living. I assert that the evidence I have obtained makes it impossible for me to doubt that I have talked with those who have passed through the gates of death. So strong is that conviction, that if I were the only man on Earth who believed it, my faith would remain unshaken. I have seen deceased persons clairvoyantly, and obtained veridical messages and information which was unknown to anyone present. I have photographed spirit forms under strict test conditions. I have seen, spoken to, and held in my arms materialised forms; in lamplight, gaslight, electric light and daylight. I have clasped their hands and held conversations with them in the presence of witnesses. Hence, let me say categorically and emphatically - I know that there is a life beyond this, for I have talked with the people who live in it. Doubtless, I shall be expected to say something on the question of fraud. Yes, I have met fraud, but its proportion is certainly not greater than one meets in the ordinary, everyday affairs of life. Fraudulent mediumship is generally known to the public because Spiritualists take every opportunity to openly and publicly denounce it. In other movements, unsavoury incidents are generally suppressed. The Spiritualist believes that fraud and duplicity in religion should be ruthlessly exposed. Most of my experience has been gained in what is called a ‘home circle,’ where no strangers have been present. I have had very few dealings with professional mediums: firstly, because I could not afford them and secondly, because I preferred investigation with my own family and personal friends, in my own home. I have seen better phenomena in my own home and the homes of intimate friends, than I have ever witnessed at professional séances. I do not decry professional mediums, provided the investigator can be assured as to their bona fides. [good faith.] The best way to secure this, is to gain the confidence of a responsible Spiritualist or a reliable Spiritualist Association. Many professional mediums are doing excellent and unselfish work. And what are my convictions? Firstly, I am satisfied that man is a spiritual being, that he has come into this world for the purpose of gaining experience and building character. Life here is a sort of ‘trial trip’, which will presently enable us to take our places in the real life beyond. This Earthly experience is only the prelude to life, and in this sense it is true that we don’t really begin living until we are dead. I am satisfied from my talks with the departed that death works no immediate change in character or ability. At death man passes into another life with the mental and spiritual equipment he has assembled here. No creed has any advantage over any other - save, in so far, as such creed may have influenced the type of life he lived here. As to the nature of the life…we obtain in the next world, I could say much, did time permit. I believe with Mr. Gladstone that the study of this subject is “the most important work that is being done in the world.” There are two things sure for every one of us; first, that we each came into this world, and secondly, that we must all go out of it. Our life here is but a brief span of seventy years; comparatively, a mere speck upon the sum of existence. The man who boasts that he is practical, because he devotes the whole of his attention to this life, is really the most shortsighted of persons, since the number of his days here bears but a fragmentary relationship to his actual life. I am convinced that there is a spiritual world, which exists around us like an atmosphere. It is peopled by those who die. Death is not a terminus - it is merely a junction where we change to another line. And at that junction we shall find that nine-tenths of the luggage which we have accumulated here, is sheer lumber. What, then, will death mean to me? Well, it will mean the dropping of my physical body; but there are certain things about me which are not physical. My character and personality differentiate me from all other people. These cannot be expressed in terms of physics, mechanics or chemistry. My memories, which are the result of my experiences, are surely as much a part of me as my hands or my feet. If I drop all the physical attributes by which I am known to my fellows, I still retain these. Now there is a tendency of all life to express itself in form, and I believe that when I die I shall still have a form. The spiritual body does not come into existence at death. It is our constant companion during life, and we build it, in somewhat the same manner as we build our physical body, by feeding it - though with different food. I believe, that from the moment of conception, the spiritual energies which exist within the ego of each one of us, builds our bodies. The life-germ in a fertile egg uses the rest of the contents of the shell to build the body of the chicken. The ego then builds its own body, though its action is modified, first by its innate strength and power of selection, and secondly, by the materials available. The same principle is at work in the etheric body. These two bodies have a great similarity, since they are the habitual expression of the same individual. In certain hypnotic phenomena, and under the influence of certain drugs, a man can easily find himself floating in space and looking down on his body on the bed. Now, if he is lying on the bed, who is the looker-on? “There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body,” says Paul. Death is merely the separation of these two. During life there is reaction between them, which varies with different people. Just as the caterpillar passes into the chrysalis stage and emerges as a butterfly, so shall I presently drop this physical body to inhabit another, giving me a larger range of action and consequently greater freedom. That’s all death means to me, and far from looking at it as something to dread, I look forward to it as a most interesting adventure. I am convinced that the most important thing about life, is living it - with the recognition that it is continuous. The whole of the testimony of the spirit people emphasises one point; namely, that in the other life an individual gets his exact deserts, no more and no less. It may be that “in My Father’s house are many mansions,” but everyone must equip and furnish his own abode; and such equipment depends, not upon the creed he has professed, but upon the life he has lived. While it is true that Spiritualism does much to confirm and explain the phenomena and beliefs of all ages, in me there has grown up a religious conviction based on present-day evidences. Spiritualism is my religion, my only religion, and I have not felt the need of any other. It has answered the criticisms of my intellect and satisfied the longings of my heart. In fact, if the whole of the records of the past were destroyed and erased from human memory - though I should be the last to desire such a thing - it could not affect my religious convictions in the slightest degree and there are thousands of people in this country in the same position. I shall be glad, as far as my time will allow, to help and advise anyone who desires seriously to pursue this investigation. But please do not ask me to recommend mediums. All private sittings with mediums are illegal* and render the medium - however honest - liable to three months hard labour. Under the present law of England, honest mediumship is penalised, whilst the charlatan and pretender flourish because they are prepared to run risks. The law, too, is not impartially administered. In some cities people may do as they like. In others, they dare not do very much. Spiritualists are the only religious denomination in this country who are denied religious freedom. I should be the last in the world to decry other faiths. “Let every man be persuaded in his own mind.” As long as there are different types of mind in the world, there will be different outlooks. I personally accept the principles laid down by the Spiritualists’ National Union - the representative body of Spiritualist Churches, of which I was honoured to be the President for a number of years. These principles may be briefly summarised as follows: Spiritualists accept: 1. The Fatherhood of God, 2. The Brotherhood of Man, 3. Continuous Existence of the Soul, 4. The Communion of Saints and the Ministry of Angels, 5. Personal Responsibility, 6. Compensation and Retribution Here or Hereafter for all Good or Evil Done on Earth, and 7. A Path of Endless Progress Open to Every Human Soul. These seven principles constitute no creed or dogma, since every individual is granted the right of personal interpretation. You may ask why I insist that Spiritualism is my religion. Well, the existence of God and the fact of the future life, seem to me to be interdependent. The evidence of a future life, its progressive development under more congenial conditions than those of Earth, the necessity of developing abilities and characteristics which will be of use to us in that life, the interdependence of all humanity, the necessity for mutual service and the recognition of a beneficent love as a guiding factor in all life, seem to me to embody the essentials of religion - and one cannot be in communication with advanced spirits without getting these convictions. I accept ‘The Fatherhood of God ’ because I can only understand the phenomena of nature on the assumption of an all-pervading intelligence behind and within all things, displaying infinite wisdom and… beneficent purpose and operating through unchanging law. Thus, I believe that there is only one life in the universe, of which we are each an individualised expression. Hence, when we know ourselves, we shall find that we are all knitted together within the common bond of a benevolent purpose. That is what Spiritualism has taught me and, in doing so, has changed my whole outlook on life. It implies fatherhood and brotherhood, since “all are but parts of one stupendous whole, whose body nature is and God the soul.” Spiritualism takes in ‘The Brotherhood of Man’ as one of its fundamentals and thus becomes…thus it becomes a binding obligation and intelligent duty to strive for the abolition of all things which hinder the attainment of the fullest and richest life for every man, woman and child. Unemployment, slums, disease and ignorance, which hinder or delay the attainment of the full life of mutual service, must be swept away - both in the interests of this world and that of the future states. The two worlds depend upon one another. In conclusion, I believe with Victor Hugo that; “When I go down to the grave I can say, like many others, ‘I have finished my day’s work.’ But I cannot say, ‘I have finished my life.’ My day will begin again the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley, but a thoroughfare, and I shall close my eyes upon the twilight, only to open them upon the dawn.” ---------------------------- Additional questions were asked during the broadcast, and answered by Mr Oaten, as follows: Question: Thank you very much, Mr. Oaten. What you say is extraordinarily interesting. The first thing I should like you to clear up is this: you said at the beginning of your talk that it seemed that the whole of religion turned upon the question of whether there is or is not an afterlife. You were speaking of your belief at a time when you were a young man and hadn’t yet come across Spiritualism. Am I right in thinking that those words could still be used to describe your belief about the nature of religion? In fact, what exactly do you mean when you say that Spiritualism is ‘your religion’, and that you haven’t felt the need of any other? Mr Oaten: “Yes, my conviction still remains that religion rests definitely upon whether or not there is a life beyond this. It is not an accident that all great religions insist on a life hereafter. What does salvation mean if there is not something to be saved from and something to be saved for? My religion does not depend chiefly upon what has happened, but upon what is happening.” Question: Another thing you said was that ‘the existence of a spiritual world forms the preamble of all the great religions.’ Now do you believe that the question of whether or not there is a spiritual world is the same question as whether or not there is an afterlife? Mr Oaten:Yes, I believe these two concepts are but phases of one problem. I would rather say spiritual worlds than a spiritual world. But the two ideas are, in my opinion, inseparable. Question: When you said that Spiritualism had left you ‘without a shred of doubt as to your eternal future,’ did you mean by the word ‘eternal’ of going on for ever and ever? And in the same way when you said since life here is a ‘brief span of seventy years; comparatively a mere speck upon the sun of eternity,’ did you mean by eternity ‘a very, very long time, prolonged indefinitely backwards into the past and forwards into the future?’ Or did you mean by the word eternal ‘out of time altogether?’ Mr Oaten: The enigmatic philosopher and the mystic may be able to conceive that eternity is something outside of, and different from time, but the average seeker certainly cannot. Hence it is convenient, and I think logical, to speak of eternity in terms of endless time - both backwards and forwards. There may be only an ‘eternal now.’ In the light of my knowledge I cannot imagine life coming to an end. I believe I shall always continue to be and to grow. And as each step on the path enlarges my range of attainment, I shall be safe within the orbit - or the arms - of a benevolent, all-wise purpose. In other words; God. Question: Why is it that you believe in the ‘Fatherhood of God and The Brotherhood of Man? Has Spiritualism taught you to hold onto those beliefs? And would you be a Spiritualist at all, if you didn’t hold them? Mr Oaten: I accept the ‘Fatherhood of God’ because I believe that there is only one life in the universe and we are all parts of one stupendous whole. Question: Mr. Oaten, do you think we all should be Spiritualists? In other words, do we have a positive duty to believe in Spiritualism, or is it a matter of taste? Mr Oaten: “To thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” There is no moral obligation for anyone to proclaim themselves a Spiritualist, until personal experience justifies or demands such a declaration - to neglect to do so, when conviction is established, is cowardice. It may be a matter of choice as to when, by searching, we arrive at that position. But I am personally convinced that, here or hereafter, the acceptance of the position of survival is inevitable, since ultimately truth must prevail. Question: You said that you were satisfied that man has come into this world “for the purpose of gaining experience and building character.” What do you mean by ‘experience?’ And does Spiritualism teach us what kind of character we ought to build, and how to go about building it? Mr Oaten: McDougall has suggested that consciousness and experience are best viewed as synonymous, and with this I agree. Life on Earth gives us an opportunity of gaining experience in association with matter. The lessons learnt from this can establish convictions which determine the moral and spiritual reactions, which we know as character. Spiritualism has taught me the nature of the future life and the characteristics which will be of value to me there - thus indicating what it is wise to establish and what it is wise to restrain. I don’t always live up to it, but I try! Question: There is an interesting remark about spirits, which the philosopher Hobbes made in the 17th century, and I should like to know what you would say to it. Hobbes said; “If this superstitious fear of spirits were taken away, and with it, prognostiques from dreams, false prophecies and many other things depending thereon, by which crafty ambitious persons abuse the simple people, men would be much more fitted than they are for civil obedience.” So does Spiritualism make people more or less anxious than before, to get the unemployed to work and abolish the slums and so on? Mr Oaten: Well, we are not living in the seventeenth century, so it is not now a question of superstition. Modern Spiritualism is based on scientific observation of facts. There was no such Spiritualism in Hobbes’ time. But since Spiritualism takes in the Brotherhood of Man as one of its fundamentals, issues such as unemployment, slums and disease must be swept away, in the interest of this world and the next.” ---------------------- *Illegal = séances and sittings with mediums were illegal in the UK until 1951, when the Fraudulent Mediums Act was introduced, which finally gave genuine mediums the freedom to pursue their work, without the threat of fines or imprisonment. Transcribed and presented for the Trust by K.Jackson-Barnes - April 2019 After the 1934 radio broadcast, all of the text above was published by ‘Two Worlds Publishing’ in this yellow booklet.

"Keep listening, listening, for those promises that are yours. And as to how, where you may find them - it is in the little kindnesses, the longsuffering, the gentleness that you may show even under stress, even under hardship."  ECRL 281-50

What an absolute pleasure it was to be in conversation in my live webinar with Dr. Martha Jo Atkins last night! We covered a lot of territory about shared crossings, and discussed the methods that can enable you to experience a shared crossing or Shared Death Experience (SDE) of your own. We also introduced our upcoming Shared Crossing Pathway Seminar, the only program that teaches methods that enable the shared crossing experience. Register for the Pathway Seminar Shared crossing experiences have completely transformed my life and can transform yours, as well. They helped me realize that I am able to share in the journey with my loved ones to the other realm in an utterly beautiful experience; that the end of a life can be full of love and connection instead of fear; and that our bonds with loved ones continue beyond death. Across my lifetime of researching SDEs and other shared crossings such as visitation and after-death communication, I’ve interviewed hundreds of experiencers and developed methods that enable individuals like yourself to have these experiences too. Our next course, the Shared Crossing Pathway Seminar, takes a deep dive into how you and a loved one can experience a shared crossing (including the majestic Shared Death Experience) for yourself: REALIZE a conscious, connected, and loving end of life for yourself and your loved ones TRANSMUTE fear of death into acceptance and wonder LEARN the truth about what comes next on our soul's journey PREPARE for the best death possible It is being offered in-person in sunny Santa Barbara, CA (October 21-23) as well as online (November 11-13). Take a look and join me for this life-changing three-day seminar! If you missed the webinar last night, you can catch the recording here, and if you'd like to see more stories like David and Cindi's, our free video Story Collection is available on our website here. I hope to see you again soon, William Peters Founder, Shared Crossing Project Register for the Pathway Seminar

My pleasure, Kevin.

INTERVIEW WITH LEADING ITC RESEARCHER DR. ANABELA CARDOSO Dr. Cardoso, author of Electronic Voices, Contact with Another Dimension, describes some of her motives for using the "direct radio voice" method to explore unknown domains of reality. She has carried out hundreds of conversations with communicators who identify themselves as her deceased family members, as well as other unknown personalities who claim to speak from a dimension beyond time. According to her communicators, the survival of all forms of life—not only human—after physical death is part of the Natural Law. She says her communicators insist on the need for expanding human consciousness; this seems to be one of their main goals when attempting contact with our dimension in this way. . Read this PDF file of a wonderful interview by Sylvia Hart Wright CardosoInterview.pdf

Hi Kevin, I will do a series of snips as I have lost the part of the response to you. The search facility is quite powerful and of course the more you know the better the search. I did a random search for linger. The search bar is right near where you sign on. Obviously I did this fast however it will search and give up all types associated with Linger right across the site. I wanted only to show how it works. Please let me know if this is not helpful for you and I will delve further. However I am sure you know what you want and will obtain a result speedily. Blessings Karyn

Carmine Mirabelli Carmine Mirabelli was born in Botucatu, San Paulo, Brazil on the 2nd January, 1889. He was the first child of a protestant pastor, Luigi Mirabelli and his wife Christina. He lost his mother at a very early age and it was this event that is believed to have helped his parapsychological sensitivity. His father died on the 22nd February, 1914, after which Mirabelli followed with a complete financial breakdown, leaving him quite ill. It was during this time that his extraordinary paranormal activity flourished. He used to say that his father was his 'guiding star'. Mirabelli was not a spiritualist, but he claimed he could see the spirits of his dead family which included, his parents, an uncle, his mother in law and his daughter. In 1914 he worked in the local shoe factory "The Villica Footwear Company", when he was around, bizarre phenomenon (similar to poltigeist activity) would take place. Shoes were seen to jump from the shelves by themselves, loud bangs without apparent reason. Mirabelli did not understand what was happening, but many of the company's horrified clients attributed the phenomenon to the work of the devil. It did not take long for the company to realise that the phenomenon occurred only in Mirabelli's presence, and as a result Mirabelli, was considered to be possessed which resulted in his being beaten up on the streets and his home stoned by religious fanatics. Later he was interned in an insane asylum. His doctors verified that he had a "Nervous Energy" that was above normal. With the assistance of distinguished researchers of physical phenomena, Mirabelli became aware of the importance of his rare psychic gifts and decided to submit himself for experimental sittings. It has been said that Carmine Mirabelli, could generate a considerable amount and variety of phenomenon never matched by any other medium. It was believed that much of his phenomenon was generated by his own psychic force, without the involvement of spiritual energies. A committee of 20 leading men, including the President of Brazil, was set up to interview witnesses to decide what should be done scientifically, to investigate Mirabelli. In 1927 it was decided to mount a series of controlled experiments in the newly established 'Arcadaiopus de Estudos Psychicos', using the same controls that European mediums had to submit to. His mediumship was seen in action by many respected personalities. During "The Experiments" all the doors and windows were locked and all persons present were assured of the best illumination possible to enable everyone to see the phenomonon in detail. The investigators divided into three groups, one group dealing with spoken mediumship had 189 sittings that produced positive results. A second group investigated automatic writing and had 85 positive sittings and 8 negative, (no results). The third group investigated psychic phenomenon and had 63 positive and 47 negative sittings. Of the positive sittings, 40 were held in daylight and 23 in bright artificial light, (none in darkness) in rooms that were searched before and after each sitting. Taking into account that Mirabelli, had only a basic education and spoke only in his native language. It is amazing to find that whilst in a trance state, spirit beings spoke through him in 26 different languages, which included; English, German, Dutch, French, Japanese, Czechoslovakian, Russian, Spanish, Polish, Turkish, Hebrew, Albanian, Latin, Chinese, modern and ancient Greek, sino Egyptian and several African and Italian dialects. Also whilst in trance, high-level spirits delivered talks on subjects that would have been far beyond his basic educational standard, which included medicine, sociology, political economy, theology, psychology, history, natural science, philosophy, and the list goes on. Again whilst in trance he was able to complete automatic writing in 28 different languages and at a speed that normal penship could not succeed. Example: in 15 minutes he wrote five pages in Polish on "The resurrection of Poland", in 40 minutes he wrote in Persion, 25 pages on "The instability of the Great Empires". Mirabelli's mediumship did not stop there, at a well attended seance at San Vicente, the chair in which he sat on rose and floated in the air two metres from the floor. Witnesses timed the levitation at 120 seconds, (two minutes). After another seance which was conducted one morning in full daylight, and in the labratory of the investigating committee, and in full view of many people to note, (including 10 men who held degrees in doctorates of science), the complete form of a little girl materialised by the side of the medium. Dr Ganymede de Sauza was present and confirmed that the child was his daughter who had died a few months earlier, and that she was wearing the dress in which she was buried. Another observer, Colonel Octavia Viana, took the spirit child in his arms, took her pulse and asked her several questions, all of which she answered with understanding of what was asked. Photographs of the apparition with her father and other guests were also taken and attached to the investigating committee's report. After this the child floated around the room and disapeared after having been visible in daylight for 36 minutes. At another seance under controlled conditions, Mirabelli himself, dematerialised to be found later in another room. Yet the seals on the doors and windows of the seance room were intact, as were the seals and bonds that held Mirabelli to his chair. On one occasion, Mirabelli was stood on a railway station with a number of his companions waiting to board a train. He was saying goodbye to one lady friend, when he started to dissapear in front of her eyes. Startled she screemed, attracting the attention of others on the platform and of those boarding the train. A great number of people turned in time to see Mirabelli disappear into thin air, leraving only what could be described as a whisp of what looked like smoke. About 15 minutes later the station master received a telephone call from San Vincente, a town about 95 kilometres away, it was Mirabelli stating that he had appeared there exactly two minutes after he had disappeared from Da Luz, the station from which he was about to board the train. Among those who gave their names as witnesses to Mirabelli's amazing feats, were the President of Brazil, The Secretary of State, two Professors of Medicine, 72 Doctors, 12 Engineers, 36 Lawyers, 89 men of public office, 25 Military men, 52 Bankers, 128 Merchants and 22 Dentists as well as members of religious orders. The testimony of so many credible witnesses is hard to overlook. Even so, he has been accused of fraudulent practices and some photographs showing his levitations, were seen to have been 'touched up'. As he got older, Mirabelli didn't loose his strange gifts. There are records on file with reports of phenomena being observed up to 1950, a few months before his death. On Monday, April 30th, 1951, Carmine Mirabelli and his son Caesar had left their home. Mirabelli was crossing the road to buy milk, leaving his son chatting to a shoe cleaner on the side of the road, when suddenly a black Ford car, according to Caesar's recolections, turned the corner and ran over his father leaving him in a state of coma. According to the death certificiate, Mirabelli had a skull fracture and died in hospital aged 62. His body was entombed the next day, on the evening of May 1st, 1951 in the cemetery at San Paulo, Brazil. An Addition to Mirabelli Here is a further addition to the story of Mirabelli: Probably this was the world's first case of materialization to be mentioned in a medical thesis. The "spirit" of Italian poet Giuseppe Parini (1729 - 1799), author of the satire Il giorno and editor of the Gazzeta di Milano, allegedly materialized during an experiment at the Cesar Lombroso Psychic Studies Academy, located at Coronel Seabra Street 18, in São Paulo (SP), on February 4, 1922, at 8 pm. The poet was photographed between Mirabelli and physician Dr. Carlos Pereira de Castro, director of the academy. The thesis, by Dr. Brasílio Marcondes Machado, entitled Contribution to the Study of Psychiatry (Spiritism and Metapsychism) was presented on December 26, 1922 at Rio de Janeiro's Medical School, but was refused. Parini's materialization lasted a few minutes. It happened in a well illuminated room with all doors and windows closed. The poet materialized in the room, declaimed poems in Italian and greeted those who were present shaking their hands. The process of dematerialization was followed carefully by all witnesses. The entity slowly dissolved in a subtle smoke. The phenomenon was observed by the following witnesses: Dr. Carlos Pereira de Castro, Dr. Olegário de Moura. Mrs. Delourdes de Moura, Dr. Francisco Guazelli, Mr. José de Freitas Tinoco, Mr. Francisco Reichert, Mr. Rodoswal Novak, Mr. Osório M. de Barros and Mirabelli himself. Mirabelli became famous for his spirit materializations under intense illumination. Nothing was done in darkness, nor concealed by black curtains. The place was always carefully examined to prevent accusations of fraud. According to documents of the time (photos and records with signatures of those who were present), "spirits" would appear in front of numerous witnesses and were touched and examined by physicians for several minutes. Among the many cases of alleged materialization is that of an entity who identified himself as the legendary Iranian Caliph Harun ar-Rashid (766 - 809). The phenomenon happened in the 20s, during a scientific-spiritualist experiment at the Cesar Lombroso Psychic Studies Academy, in Sao Paulo. Physicians Dr. Carlos Pereira de Castro and Dr. Olegario de Moura were among those who witnessed what seemed impossible. Some observers (including the two mentioned above) were sitting in circle around a table when a loud blast was heard coming from above (the ceiling was over 3m high). Mirabelli was in a trance state. Suddenly a man with Arab looks appeared standing over the table. There was a general astonishment, once no-one could understand how the man could have entered the room, which was completely locked. The very solid apparition descended from the table and sat among the others (photo available). Dr. Olegario did a clinical examination which lasted for half an hour and verified that the "entity" was a normal human being. All in the room touched the figure. The strange man, who spoke in Arabic, introduced himself as Harun ar-Rashid. The real shock was the unthinkable disappearing feat of the man. He returned to the table top, spoke a little more in Arabic, LEVITATED for 10 to 12 seconds and vanished in a flash.

Kevin, Were you able to find anything out through the search facility at the top of the page?

"Be an anchor. Let the Light come in through you into this world. Don't abandon this world. We need you. We need you here. We need you to be present. And we need you to be open, with an open heart. Everybody must be open. To bring this new age in, it is about opening your heart and letting it sing through you. It is coming." Anne Horn This week's Friday Afterlife Report is now online at https://victorzammit.com/October14th2022

Arthur Conan Doyle communicates Recorded: January 17th 1966 “So many mediums seem to be on a low vibration... There is so much astral communication." The world-famous author and Spiritualism's greatest supporter comments on how his career and reputation and those of Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir William Crookes - were made to suffer through their efforts to enlighten the public to the truth of Spirit Communication. Speaking here to Rose Creet in this 26-minute recording, Doyle also explains how we all have the opportunity to develop those spiritual powers which lie dormant within each of us. Note: This vintage recording has been enhanced for clarity. Read the full transcript below as you listen to the recording... Present: Rose Creet, Leslie Flint Communicator: Arthur Conan Doyle Doyle: So many people do not seem to have time, even if they have the opportunity. Creet: Ah! Doyle: And so many people have no opportunity and plenty of time. Creet: [Laughs] Doyle: And so many people have no time nor opportunity - and the vast majority have no inclination. Creet: That’s it. Doyle: The tragedy of your world is, that so few people are concerned with the things that really matter. Everyone finds time and makes opportunity, if possible, for the most mundane, most miserable of material things. Things which to them seem on the surface so important, so vital, so necessary. One appreciates, of course, the problems of your life and the difficulties, the struggle of making a living in the ordinary way. The average person I quite understand has many problems to contend with. Yours is a complicated and difficult life. Your world gives many...problems and the average person no matter who he or she may be will devote all their effort and time to striving to overcome obstacles. Indeed, man has a nature that enables him no matter what the setbacks to keep on striving and struggling. But all this is invariably of the material and there are so few who are prepared to make any effort whatsoever in regard to the things that are of the spirit. Even when a key, as it were, is put in the door and turned for them, very few would in a spiritual sense make any attempt, even when the door is opened, to walk through and see what is on the other side. You know when I was on your side, I was so often distressed. So often concerned with people who even though opportunity was presented to them, they took little advantage of it and if they did, even in spite of their nature, they would not willingly accept the truth, the evidence of Spiritualism. Even some of those who took the trouble to read books or perhaps attend meetings quite often, in spite of the fact that they themselves presented obstacles from within themselves, who were presented with evidence which would satisfy any ordinary, intelligent person - they would refute it, or if they did not refute it, they would find an explanation for it. Quite often more wonderful than the actual thing itself. There is such a lot that distresses one. When one strives to assist and to help people find truth, the extraordinary thing is, that even those who profess to be searchers after truth, invariably by their very nature, build up barriers, so the truth has even more difficulty in making itself known and understood. Even those who profess to be truly seeking spiritually, particularly those of varying religions...religious organisations where you would expect they would welcome truth with open arms, where you would anticipate that they would be more than delighted [to] have substantial evidence to support their own beliefs - even among men of high intelligence and foresight, you find that they build obstacles, barriers. Their minds are quite often are so closed that you just cannot pierce the wall that they build up. Yet, many of them in themselves are sincere and honest, well meaning. When I was on your side, in my work to bring Spiritualism to the forefront, to interest people and arouse their curiosity, if you like, so that they might find something of real value, something that would be helpful to them, something that would comfort them - quite often you would find, over and over again, these individuals who having received by one means or another, proof of survival, that they would quite often dispute it, try to tear it to pieces, try to make excuses and find other explanations. When I went on my tours, when I lectured as I did so often and I expounded my beliefs, occasionally someone would ask an intelligent question from the audience. But more often than not, I think they came more out of curiosity to see the man who had written Sherlock Holmes. They were more concerned with seeing me, to meet the person, as it were, who’d aroused so much interest with his books, rather than come and listen to my deep-founded beliefs. There were those who said that I was a fool. That I was ruining my reputation, that I was building up for myself, complications which would affect the sales of my books - that would affect not only the sales of my books but my integrity as a human being! But you know it's an extraordinary thing, whenever a man of some substance, a man in a position, whether it is such as myself or whether it be someone like Hannen Swaffer or whether it be someone like Lord Dowding or Sir Oliver Lodge - the more respected you are, the more you are as it were put on the pedestal... [Coughing] Doyle: ...of public opinion and affection, the more they think you must be something of a crank. Creet: [Laughing] Doyle: If you happen to say that you are interested in Spiritualism or that you’re convinced of survival, they say 'oh yes, such a clever brain you know, such a remarkable man, but you know of course he’s gone a little bit off his head in his old age.' [Coughing] Doyle: A number of people who have never said it to my face but implied it in various ways, in magazines and in papers and indeed, on a few odd occasions in my audience, who suggested that perhaps I’d been writing so much fiction for so long that I’d created something from my own brain in regard to this subject. You know people are extraordinary. If you give them what they want they like you very much. But if you give them something that they don’t want or think they don’t want or something which is... [Coughing] Doyle: ...foreign to their nature or to their upbringing and background or if you tell them something that is against the accepted beliefs, whether it is in religion or in politic or whatever it is that goes against the grain, they think, 'oh well poor old thing. He’s a dear old thing he’s contributed a great deal in his own way, but now, of course, he is getting on a bit, and he has gone a little bit soft.' Creet: Have you ever spoken to any of these people on the Earth since you’ve been over? Doyle: Oh, I’ve been through and spoken at different times. Creet: And what do they think now? Doyle: Well of course now, some think I’m still a bit potty. [Laughter] But they still think it’s not me. You know that if I were to come through, if it were possible and write a new book or perhaps some new adventures of Sherlock Holmes and though they were published, people wouldn’t believe that I had come through and I had given them out. They would say, 'oh no, no'. No matter how brilliant the book may be or even if they were better...if the book was better than anything I had written before, they would still say, 'oh no, it couldn’t be, it couldn’t possibly be. It must be some old manuscript that they’ve discovered and brought up that he wrote when he was on Earth' or they would make some excuse of course, in some shape or form. You know, evidence of survival is something so personal to the individual that, in a sense, you cannot really lay down any fast, hard rules concerning it. What is evidence to one person cannot be evidence to another. And of course, we have to accept this. But what amazes me is, the number of intelligent, intellectual people, men of repute who sacrifice, indeed their good name you might say and a source of income, and indeed have given up so much of their personal life to expounding this truth, are invariably looked upon as cranks. As if we are a sort of breed of people who have all gone a little bit 'off the mark' you know. I often have talks to Lodge and I often speak to Crookes and many of the other friends of mine over here, and of course we all suffered from this. And in a sense, I suppose, we're still talked about and we’re still criticised. Indeed, I understand that there are still many people in your world who, though they respect and admire us with our particular work in our particular field, whether it is science or literature, they still think the other aspect of our lives, which became the main interest in our lives, our interest in this great subject, this subject which should and certainly does affect every human being, this universal subject, this universal truth - they still won’t accept that aspect of our interest, of our belief and our great crusade - because it was a crusade. When Doy...when I and when Lodge and all the other...Crookes...when all we who endeavoured to, to, to expound this truth, to expound this knowledge, when we tried to break down the barriers of criticism, we would be set upon by all manner of people in all walks of life, from those of religious persuasion to those who had little or none. The then of course, in a sense, we expected it. In a sense perhaps, you might say we didn’t mind. Of course, we did, but at the same time, in this great crusade, and it is a crusade to bring truth to mankind, we must expect to be placed in the pillory of public opinion. And I know full well as I look into your world and I see today, although Spiritualism is advanced and has now become respectable, which possibly in a way is the worst thing that could happen to it - because anything that becomes respectable becomes perhaps a little bit boring and perhaps it isn’t... Creet: [Laughter] Doyle: …as particularly as interesting as it might be. When something isn’t particularly accepted, people's curiosity gets the better of them and they start prying and peeping and wanting to know about it and tittle-tattle about it. But you know when a thing becomes respectable, it no longer has the same interest for the vast majority of people, although of course in a sense, there is interest and this I do know, but what I feel is the tragedy, what I feel is a great pity, that so very few Spiritualists are concerned with spirituality. Creet: That’s true. Doyle: So very few are concerned with discovering the possibility that, that is within each and every one. They’re all concerned, well the vast majority are concerned, and not only...which of course is natural that they should be interested in personal evidence, this must come before one can have conviction - but so many of them are more concerned with material things; that their dear ones and relations and friends and so on, should be able to solve all their little material problems and worries and anxieties. And always they are saying to their friends on this side, 'now what should I do about this and can you advise me about that' and always it's to do with their mundane material existences. In a...in a sense, I have sympathy for this. But at the same time, it seems to me the tragedy of Spiritualism that there are so few who are...who are concerned with spiritual truth, who are concerned with spiritual knowledge, who are concerned with allowing this tremendous truth to revitalise them and make them new again. In a sense, there is so much that we would like to discuss, so much that we would like to talk about. So much that we feel is vital and important is held back, because of these souls who are brought onto a low level of consciousness - or should I say a low level of communication - because of the thought forces and the conditions which are built up with the sitters and even the Mediums themselves fall onto that low level, of merely being there to answer the material problems and questions of the average, so called, enquirer. You know when I envisaged this subject, when I saw it for it’s true worth on your side, after I received the evidence and the comfort that was to be derived from it, I saw the immensity of it, the possibilities of it. I saw it as a great truth that would bring the whole of mankind together; that it would break down the barriers of creeds, dogmas and politics that have built over the centuries. That it would bring men to an understanding, a real realisation of the purpose of life. And the possibility of a life to come and how that reality of life to come could be brought, in a sense, even nearer by living it, to some extent, while yet on Earth. You know, the vast majority of people, even though they have some knowledge of this truth, do not or seldom allow it to become too important in their lives. There is no balance. We don’t expect of course, that people in a world such as yours, which of course has changed so much since my day, and which is a much more difficult a life to live and the complexities are many and vast - but nevertheless, one would have thought that those who truly have this knowledge would have some balance in their lives where they would, sort of, have this realisation and they would put it into practice. That they would allow it to be the dynamic force behind all their thoughts and their actions. That they would truly be, as it were, a light, you might say, in the darkness of your world. But we are constantly, constantly being disillusioned, constantly being, I won’t say disheartened, but nevertheless, we are still human enough to feel the sense of frustration with those who we love so much on your side of life, who we feel should be doing so much that is vital, so much that is good. When we go into the churches and the societies, and we hear the repetition of the mundane and the material, where it should be so vitalising and so full of vitality and life of the spirit - how few churches now, it seems, have Mediums or instruments who, as it were, can be taken over by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be controlled and used and speak the words of the spirit. So many seem to be on the low vibration. A vibration not very far removed from their own. There is so much astral communication. There is so much communication of a low order. There is so much that is said and done which is at variance with the truths of spirit, as we understand and we know it. I think back to my own life and I realise of course there were and must be difficulties. I know there is much to contend with, but I know this - that if a man or a woman is prepared, if necessary, to sacrifice themselves to truth, they will not allow any obstacle or barrier to stand in their way. They will go out and they will say unto the world, 'this is true, this is truly truth - for I have proved it, I have found it, and I know it to so be.' And this is something which you could find and prove for yourself. This is not something that depends on a book or series or group of books written centuries ago, which has been changed and altered by man oft times for their own ends. Though the books of which we speak may have some truth - for in all things, there is truth, but often it is obscured by time and ignorance and indeed by the very thoughts and deeds of men - but behind all this is the seed of truth which, if you give it time and opportunity, will germinate and will flower. You know, the sad thing is when we see your world, when we see the unhappiness... [Coughing] Doyle: ...and when we see the misery of your world, when we see innumerable peoples who suffer, often unnecessarily - because much of your sickness and illness and disease is brought about by man himself by his wrong thinking, by his wrong living. You know there are many things which cause us a great deal of unhappiness and I think one of the things that causes us most unhappiness is, that man is so intolerant. That man himself is so inclined to be self-seeking and concerned so rarely with others. Until you can sink yourself in true service and in love, you cannot hope to make any change within yourself. You cannot hope to rise above the ordinary and mundane and material conditions of life in which you find yourself. Until man sees within himself, the possibilities and every man has great possibility. For every man is a spirit and every man has the opportunity to develop the spiritual powers that lie dormant within him. Everyone has the same opportunity. I know there are many people who will say, 'oh well this man has a much better background or this man has a better opportunity, because of this or that. Or this man has so much more money and so on', but all these things when analysed, all fall back to the mundane and the material. And I would go so far as to say that those who seem to have oft times the biggest obstacles, are the ones who oft times, have the biggest opportunities. Because until you have suffered, until you have sometimes at least felt the need for the things of the spirit, you cannot understand nor appreciate them. And it is true to say that oft times, those whose tasks are many and whose path is harder, oft times they have, through their very sufferings, greater opportunity to reach through the sensitivity of things to the realities of the spirit. Because these things of which I speak are invariably revealed more to those who, by suffering and complication and difficulty of life, have become sensitised to truth. Because you cannot find truth if you live and only expect from life all that is good as the world sees it - for if you are to see the good as the spirit sees it, then truly you must have learnt through suffering and have become so sensitised to other people's sufferings and have such feelings within yourself, that you yourself have made yourself more ready to receive. In other words, if one wants to be an instrument or a Medium if you like to use the term medium, you can only hope to be able to accept and understand and appreciate spiritual things when you yourself have become sensitised sufficiently. Those who go through life, or so it seems, without any undue concern or worry, who...those to whom life seems to present all the 'plums' - these people are the ones to find it difficult to understand the things that are of the mind and of the spirit. All the great teachers, all the great prophets, all the great seers, all the men of great wisdom, spiritual wisdom - were men who suffered. No one who wants to do the work of the spirit must ever think that the road and the path is going to be easy. It will not be. In the material sense often, it will be most difficult, most complex and indeed truth, although in fundamental aspect is, by its very nature, simple - nevertheless it has its complexities, because the human mind cannot necessarily grasp things too well, too easily. There are many things, of course, appertaining to the spirit and the realms of the spirit that cannot be fully understood any more than we can fully explain them. But I do say this, that any man or woman who sincerely seeks truth will find it. I know there will be some who will criticise when they listen to this. There will be some who will make excuses. There will be some that will say, 'oh well, how do we know it is him?' There will be some who will say, 'oh of course you know he had a cleft mouth, and that does not sound like his voice' - but, if they are intelligent they will know damn well I don’t have a cleft mouth over here. Anyway, carry on the good work [and bless you. Bless you both. Goodnight my dear]. END OF RECORDING This transcript was kindly created for the Trust by Karyn Jarvie in October 2017. Hear more of Leslie Flints seance recordings: https://leslieflint.com/recordings-archive Learn more about Arthur Conan Doyle here: https://www.arthurconandoyle.com/index.html

COMMUNICATING WITH OUR LOVED ONES IN SPIRIT WITH EVP Vicki Talbott is a retired TESOL/ Linguistics professor. When her only child, Braeden, died in a kayaking accident in 2000, they both already knew about the afterlife and Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). So it was not a surprise to Vicki when she started receiving messages from Braeden on her answerphone. What did surprise her, however, was that Braeden had already been coming through to a group of mothers experimenting with EVP. It seems that a group of children in the afterlife who called themselves and their parents 'The Big Circle' were working together to help each other to send messages to their parents by electronic means. Vicky joined the Big Circle and she and Braeden continue to work to communicate and unite children with their parents and teach about life everlasting.

"Life is lived within self. You live it; you don't profess it - you live it. Know in whom you believe and why and then apply it in your relationship to those with whom you are in contact daily."  ECRL 5392-1

"Contentment, peace, harmony, glory, love, beauty, is from within; and is like a growth that makes for that activity, that expression, that will bring growth, understanding, environments, and necessary influences."  ECRL 165-21

Life After Life Blog Digest October 2022 Every month we seek out the best research, stories, and other thought-provoking writing to enlighten, inspire, and entertain. We hope you LOVE this month's selections as much as we do! Excerpt from Blogging Toward Infinity by Kenneth Ring, Ph.D You now hold in your hands – unless you are reading this on your screen – my last book. Of course, I don’t mean my most recent book; I mean the last book I will ever write. Yes, you’ve heard this vow before. Each time I write a book nowadays, I tell you (and my publisher) that it is absolutely, positively and definitely my last book, which turns out to be true until one day, it isn’t. However, now that I am heading toward 87 and the scrap heap, I am convinced that I have finally reached the end of my writing life. From now on, I intend to devote myself to perfecting my cribbage game while I can still count. The Death Experience with Roberta Grimes It’s time for us to talk about the greatest day of your earthly life! I’ll grant you that from where you sit, it may be hard for you to envision the day when your current body expires as the greatest day of your earthly life. But please indulge me here, since that future day will bring about a shift in your perspective that might surprise you. As we have been preparing to launch Seek Reality Online, we’ve been harvesting the best evidence from nine years of podcasts and seven years of these blog posts. And it has shocked me to realize how poorly I have been serving you in helping you to get your mind around what actually is going on in this brief and temporary reality that we share. Our bodily senses are useful tools for living here on earth. But that fact makes of them a tremendous ongoing distraction! Lisa Smartt's Interview with David Lovegrove We hope you enjoy Lisa's interview with David Lovegrove from his Youtube channel, The Portal Superpowers. Lisa's journey in her own words -- "I had the distinct honor and pleasure of meeting Dr. Raymond Moody when I took a seminar from him in 2012 shortly after the death of my father. I had many questions as I was not only a grieving daughter but also a curious linguist who was struck by the changes in my father’s language as he was dying. As I noticed my father’s utterances shifting increasingly towards metaphor and certain kinds of nonsense, I had dozens of questions about the fascinating changes I saw–and Raymond shared in my curiosity and wonder..." Soul Plans and Estrangement By Alicia Young My sister passed in an accident. At the time, we hadn’t been spoken for two years. I took it hard, and I drank too much for a while. Is she still angry with me? I get this question a lot, and it’s heartbreaking because by the time it’s raised, you have already suffered so much. I hope this brings a measure of comfort: when we imagine loved smarting over an argument or a deeper divide, we’re attaching a human emotion to the spirit world. Your sister exists in the world of the absolute, where love, peace and joy exist unopposed. She can no longer feel other human emotions, nor does she have any need for them. Read More NEW BOOKS OF INTEREST g This is Ken Ring's last book, and though he claims to spend most of his days whimpering, his farewell to writing, as his final essays will demonstrate, certainly goes out with a bang. As he veers unsteadily toward eighty-seven, Ring has lost none of his verve or literary panache. As always, his essays sparkle with his usual wit, but mainly reflect Ring's more serious concern to address some of the topics that have engaged him during this last phase of his life. Still, the book begins in a more lighthearted way with his reminiscing about his early life with his absent father ("my father, once removed," he calls him) and about some of the other things that shaped his character, such as the greatest movie ever made that few people have heard of. He also devotes several essays to largely unknown facets of Helen Keller's extraordinary career, including "The Sex Life of a Saint." But most of the rest of the book is devoted to Ring's careful study of the lives of animals and considerations of animal welfare and the movement for animal rights. And it concludes, fittingly enough, with a number of essays that distill what Ring believes are the most important lessons that people should take from his many years of researching near-death experiences—all of which was foreshadowed by that film he saw as a youth that changed his life and foretold his destiny. Blogging Toward Infinity: Last Notes from the Ringdom is available on Amazon. For more information, click HERE. Kenneth Ring, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Connecticut, the author of five books on near-death experiences (NDEs), including his bestselling Lessons from the Light, and cofounder and first president of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). In his new book, Dr. Raymond Moody looks at God and how his personal understanding of the Creator has changed over the course of his life and research into near death experiences. Dr. Moody organizes his insights about God into 12 simple but profound ideas and walks us through them using stories and examples from his own life and from accounts of encounters with God in the hereafter. He looks at our society's beliefs about God, how religion can both help and hinder our relationships with the Divine, and how we can bring Source into our lives with a new understanding that transcends all limits. God Is Bigger Than the Bible is available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback formats. For more information, click HERE.

The Attraction of Peyote: Native American Psychedelic Spiritualities Ake Hultkrantz Also available as an eBook “Drugs in different forms have served as stimulants for ecstasy in shamanism since archaic times.” The Attraction of Peyote is an unrivalled exploration of the use of psychedelics in Native American spiritualities by one of the world’s foremost anthropologists of religions, Åke Hultkrantz. The author highlights how this psychoactive cactus began as a basis of shamanic power and eventually became a cult object and medicine for the initiated. He examines the formations and spread of Peyote-based religions and the extraordinary experiences that inspired them, showing the relationship between the trance states achieved in traditional “shamanic seances” and the effects of this potent hallucinatory drug. The book is nothing less than a cultural history of Peyote, in religion, symbolism, and practice, incorporating a consideration of Christian and inter-tribal influences on Peyote traditions. Originally published in a European small press edition, The Attraction of Peyote is available now to the general public for the first time. Unique to this edition is the author’s memoir of his own Peyote experience with the Shoshone people. Praise for Ake Hultkrantz. “In a career spanning half a century Åke Hultkrantz has proven his prowess repeatedly as a scholar of American Indian religions. His latest investigation upholds his high standards of thoroughness in explaining the spread of the peyote religion among Native Americans over the past two centuries. … He reviews virtually all published (and many unpublished) accounts of the peyote religion, including his own field notes among the Wind River Shoshonis of Wyoming.” ~ Prof. Christopher Vecsey, Shaman: Journal of the International Society for Shamanistic Research. About the author Åke Hultkrantz (1920-2006) was born in Kalmar, Sweden. He earned a doctorate in ethnology from University of Stockholm in 1946, followed by a second PhD in comparative religion in 1953. Between 1948 and 1990, he often conducted fieldwork and lived among Californian Native American tribes, the Arapaho, and the Shoshone who adopted him as a tribal member. He held many distinguished academic appointments, and was a visiting lecturer at universities across Europe and the United States. He authored some four hundred papers and twenty-five books, including standard works on Native American religions. His interest in afterlife-related subjects, shamanism, and peyote spanned his entire career. Publisher: Afterworlds Press Published September 27, 2022 246 pages Size: 6 x 9 inches / 229 x 152 mm ISBN 978-1-78677-208-4

Seeing Karma and the Big Picture “There is so much to be studied in the bible of humanity! By it, we know that everything has to be paid.” So wrote Amalia Domingo Soler (1835-1909), a Spanish poet, philosopher, writer, editor, social reformer, Spiritist, and the author of Acts that Prove, recently translated into English by Yvonne Crespo Limoges and republished. The book is about the karmic aspects of life, how suffering in one lifetime is often linked to actions in a previous lifetime. According to Limoges, Ms. Soler, (below) is known by Spiritists as the “Grand Dame of Spiritism” and the “Chronicler of the Poor.” “It is a collection of human incidents (usually tragic) that Ms. Soler wrote down, then asked the spirits about them,” Limoges explains. “The language is forthright and direct. The stories were originally printed in her magazine then placed in book form known in Spanish as Hechos Que Prueban, which in English could be translated as either, “Facts that Prove” or as “Acts that Prove.” I chose the latter as more appropriate, because the chapters report actions that occurred or that people took, and then the spirits tell of the effects (consequences) of those acts, whether for good or bad.” One of the frequent spirit communicators in the book is Father Germain, who dictated his life story (when on earth as a priest) through a medium, the result being a book which is now a Spiritist classic, in novel form – Memoirs of Father Germain. (That very intriguing book was translated into English by Limoges’s father, Edgar Crespo.) It is not always clear which spirit is communicating, whether Germain or another, but they offer much to ponder on, including this: “In this period, is when man needs to know something of his life, because he now has sufficient knowledge to comprehend the advantages of goodness and the harmfulness of evil. Therefore, since everything reaches its time, that is why we have come to awaken your attention; that is why the tables dance and why the furniture changes places, and the voices of the spirits resounded in different parts of the Earth, because it is necessary that it be understood that you are not alone in this world.” Another communication put it this way: “We come to give advice, to strengthen you, to teach you to know about universal harmony; to tell you that the story of your mistakes of yesterday are the causes of your misfortune today. This is the mission of the spirits near you; spurring you on to work, to cultivate your reason, and that is what will lead you to the perfect understanding of God.” The story of Carlos and Luisa, as discussed in Chapter 11 is an especially emotional one. The two were romantically attracted to each other in their youth, but Carlos’s mother was adamantly opposed to their relationship because she wanted her son to marry into wealth, which Luisa’s family did not have. To please his mother, Carlos distanced himself from Luisa, but they corresponded frequently, expressing their love for each other. Some 30 years later, when Carlos received a telegram that Luisa was dying, he rushed to her deathbed and sat by her as she took her last breath. As explained to Mrs. Soler by a spirit communicator, Carlos and Luisa had been linked together for many centuries by a powerful love. In their past incarnation, they were married and had a daughter who fell in love with a humble peasant. They objected to her relationship and insisted that she marry into nobility. The humble worker was deported and died in exile. The daughter rejected a noble suitor and died prematurely, forgiving her parents for their blindness. In effect, Carlos and Luisa purified themselves in the present lifetime for the suffering they caused their daughter in a past lifetime. A lady Spiritist wrote to Amelia, informing her that a newborn child had been left at the door of her house and wondering if there was some spiritual significance to it. Amelia asked a spirit about it and was told that in her past life the inquiring woman had belonged to nobility and was deceived and seduced by a baron. The child was taken from her at birth to hide her dishonor and placed in an asylum. In her remaining years, she wept for her lost son and undertook many charitable acts of helpless men in her son’s memory. The abandoned child left on her doorstep in the present life was the child of the past life returning to her. In another chapter, we meet a man named Francisco Crea who was erroneously convicted of murdering a person and then spent 35 years in prison. “Is it not true that the preceding story is horrific?” Soler asks, wondering where we can find eternal justice. She received an answer from the spirit of Father Germain, who explained that some centuries ago, in another lifetime, the man killed his brother and was not held accountable. Thus, he served his time in a subsequent lifetime. In still another story, Teodora Cruz wonders why her husband’s grandmother hates her so much. Consulting with the spirits, Soler is informed that the grandmother is a rejected suitor from a prior lifetime who was dominated by violent passions. There are 41 other stories in which past-life activities are linked to the current life. The author offers much profound wisdom and philosophy in explaining the issues linking the lives. Ms. Soler offers much profound wisdom and philosophy. In the chapter on suicide, she writes: “Living without hope!...It is not living! To live without desiring is to die without agony. Living, dominated by indifference, is to anticipate the crisis of death, it is to open oneself the pit to bury our body in it; it is to become a gravedigger.” Soler cautions against judging others based on outward appearances. She tells the story of a homeless person who died of hunger, in spite of the fact that 31,000 pesetas were found in his bed of rags. Having been very greedy and very much a miser in past lives, he learned the lesson of poverty in the current life, but his past hoarding remained partially with him, the result being that he needed yet another lifetime to learn the lesson of charity. Soler refers to atheism as the most profound desperation. “What is life without a tomorrow; the sketch of a painting, the prologue of a story, a voice without echo, a flower without aroma? On the other hand, when hope encourages us, what unlimited horizons present themselves before our eyes! The death of the one who waits, is the death of the just, as the Catholics say, sweet and tranquil.” Michael Tymn is the author of The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die, Resurrecting Leonora Piper: How Science Discovered the Afterlife, and Dead Men Talking: Afterlife Communication from World War I. His latest book, No One Really Dies: 25 Reasons to Believe in an Afterlife is published by White Crow books.