some about 'the art of music' from the book

through ANTHONY BORGIA  - ca.60years ago

leaving the coarce body for "next stop" on the Astral world level which exist in another "channel" or frequency and we already have an more or less un-developed body/ vehicle for sensing/living on this level, which we train a little during sleep at night. About this, wrote the cosmic initiated as fx  Martinus or Rampa

intro: music is an expression of feelings, and such quite much stronger or clearer on the "true levels of that source-energy" (the earth-level marked by yellow field on this symbol of Martinus, which is to be developed more also on the physical earth-level in the coming times/centuries, but still exist in a more developed stage on the higher levels of this earth, on 'another matter-frequency', where this sence/feel-energy is dominant). This 'music-level' is talked over in this book of A.Borgia, which is created thru this medial person here, who had in advance of the passing of his friend, Edw.White Benson,  made agreements to communicate to him around his new life on the other side, they both KNEW to exist, prior to Edwards passing. Same method used - pre-trained psycic method of clair-audience, with help of the normal helpers that make such communication thru the levels possible, or easier.

The book  this is extract from, is made thru such a CLEAR medial connection to the other side - and created such, some ca.60 years ago!

from chap.VII: MUSIC
Music being such a vital element in the world of spirit, it is not surprising that a grand building
should be devoted to the practice, teaching, and the fostering of every description of music. The next hall
that our friend took us into was entirely dedicated to this important subject.

When I was on earth I never considered myself a musician, in an active sense, but I appreciated the
art without very much understanding it. I had heard some splendid vocal music during my brief sojourns at
different times in one of our metropolitan cathedrals, and I had had some very scanty experience of
listening to orchestral music. Most of what I saw in this hall of music was new to me, and a great deal of it
very technical. I have since added appreciably to my small knowledge, because I found that the greater the
knowledge of music the more it helped one to understand so many things of the life here, where music
plays so important a part. I do not suggest that all spirit people should become musicians in order to
comprehend their own existence! The imposing of such a condition upon us would never be consonant with
the natural laws here. But most individuals have some latent, innate musical sense, and by encouraging it
here, so much the greater can be their joy. The latter, in effect, is exactly what I did. Ruth already possessed
some extensive musical training, and so she felt very much at home in this great college.

The hall of music followed the same broad system as the other halls of the arts. The library
contained books dealing with music as well as the scores of vast quantities of music that had been written
on earth by composers who had now passed into spirit, or by those who were still upon the earth. What are
called upon earth “master-works”, were fully represented among the musical scores upon the shelves, and I
was interested to learn that there was hardly a work that had not since been altered by the composer himself
since coming into spirit. The reasons for such “improvements” I shall make plain later on. As before, the
library provided a complete history of music from the very earliest times, and those who were able to read
music—not necessarily instrumentally, but with a familiarity of what the printed notes indicated—were
enabled to see before them the great strides that the art had made during the ages. Progression, it seems, has
been slow, as in other arts, and freakish forms of expression have obtruded themselves. Needless to say the
latter are not entertained here for reasons connected with those that inspire composers to alter their works
after passing here.

Also contained in the library were so many of those books and musical works that have long since
disappeared from earthly sight, or else are very scarce and so beyond the reach of so many folk. The
musical antiquary will find all those things that he has sighed for on earth, but which have been denied him,
and here he can consult, freely, works that, because of their preciousness, would never be allowed into his
hands on earth. Many apartments were set aside for students who can learn of music in every branch, from
theory to practice, under teachers whose names are known the earth world over. Some there are, perhaps,
who would think that such famous people would not give their time to the teaching of simple forms of
music to simple lovers of music. But it must be remembered, as with the painters, composers have a
different appraisement of the fruits of their brains after passing into spirit. In common with us all here, they
see things exactly as they are—including their compositions.

They find, too, that the music of the spirit
world is very different in outward results from music performed on earth. Hence they discover that their
musical knowledge must undergo sweeping changes in many cases before they can begin to express
themselves musically. In music, it can be said that the spirit world starts where the earth world leaves off.
There are laws of music here which have no application to the earth whatever, because the earth is neither
sufficiently progressed on the one hand, and on the other because the spirit world is of spirit, while the
earth world is of matter. It is doubtful if the earth-plane will ever become ethereal enough to hear many of
the forms of spirit music in the higher realms. Innovations have been tried, so I have been told, on the
earth-plane, but the result is not only barbaric, but childish as well. Earthly ears are not attuned to music
that is essentially of the spirit realms. By some strange chance earth people have essayed to produce such
music on the earth-plane. It will never do—until the ears of those still incarnate have undergone a
fundamental alteration.

The many types of musical instrument so familiar on earth were to be seen in the college of music,
where students could be taught to play upon them. And here again, where dexterity of the hands is so
essential the task of gaining proficiency is never arduous or wearisome, and it is, moreover, so much more
rapid than upon the earth. As students acquire a mastery over their instrument they can join one of the
many orchestras that exist here, or they can limit their performance to their many friends. It is not by any
means surprising that many prefer the former because they can help to produce, in concert with their fellow
musicians, the tangible effects of music upon a larger scale when so many more can enjoy such effects. We
were extremely interested in the many instruments that have no counterpart upon the earth-plane. They are,
for the most part, specially adapted to the forms of music that are exclusive to the spirit world, and they are
for that reason very much more elaborate. Such instruments are only played with others of their kind for
their distinctive music. For that which is common to the earth, the customary instrument is sufficient.

It is natural that this building should be possessed of a concert hall. This was a very large hall
capable of seating comfortably many thousands. It was circular in shape, with seats rising in an unbroken
tier from the floor. There is, of course, no real necessity for such a hall to be under cover, but the practice
merely follows others in this realm—our own dwelling-houses, for example. We do not really need those,
but we like them, we have grown used to them while upon earth, they are perfectly natural to life, and so
we have them.

We had observed that the hall of music stood in grounds far more extensive than those we had
already seen, and the reason was soon made clear to us. At the rear of the hall was the great centre of
concert performances. It consisted of a vast amphitheatre like a great bowl sunk beneath the level of the
ground, but it was so large that its real depth was not readily apparent. The seats that were farthest away
from the performers were exactly upon ground level. Immediately surrounding these seats were masses of
the most beautiful flowers of every possible hue, with a grassy space beyond, while the whole area of this
outdoor temple of music was encompassed by a magnificent plantation of tall and graceful trees. Although
the seating arrangements were upon such an expansive scale, much more so than would be at all practicable
upon earth, yet there was no sense of being too far from the performers, even in the farthest seats. It will be
recalled that our vision is not as restricted in spirit as upon earth.

Edwin suggested to us that we might like to hear a concert of the spirit world, and then he made a
strange proposal. It was that we should not take our places in the seats of the theatre, but that we should
take up a position at some distance. The reason, he said, would be manifest as soon as the music began. As
a concert was due to start very shortly, we followed his mysterious suggestion, and seated ourselves on the
grass at some considerable distance from the actual amphitheatre. I wondered whether we should be able to
hear very much so far away, but our friend assured us that we should. And, indeed, we were joined by
numbers of other people, at that very moment, who, doubtless, had come for the same purpose as ourselves.
The whole place, which was empty when Edwin had first brought us in, now contained many people, some
strolling about, and others, like us, seated contentedly on the grass. We were in a delightful spot, with the
trees and flowers and pleasant people all about us, and never have I experienced such a feeling of real,
genuine enjoyment as came upon me at this moment. I was in perfect health and perfect happiness, seated
with two of the most delightful companions, Edwin and Ruth; unrestricted by time or weather, or even the
bare thought of them; unhampered by every limitation that is common to our old incarnate life.

Edwin told us to walk over to the theatre and look down over the seats once again. We did so, and to
our astonishment we found that the whole vast hall was packed with people, where there was not a soul to
be seen but a short time before. The musicians were in their places awaiting the entrance of their conductor,
and this great audience had arrived as if by magic—or so it seemed. As it was apparent that the concert was
about to begin, we returned to Edwin at once. In answer to our question as to how the audience had arrived
so suddenly and unperceived, he reminded me of the method of bringing together the congregation of the
church that we had visited in the first days of our travels. In the case of this concert, the organizers had
merely to send out their thoughts to people at large who were particularly interested in such performances,
and they forthwith assembled. As soon as Ruth and I had shown our interest and desires in these concerts,
we should establish a link, and we should find these thoughts reaching us whenever they were emitted.
We could, of course, see nothing of the performers from where we were situated, and so when a
hush came upon all around us, we were thus sufficiently informed that the concert was to begin. The
orchestra was composed of some two hundred musicians, who were playing upon instruments that are wellknown
to earth, so that I was able to appreciate what I heard. As soon as the music began I could hear a
remarkable difference from what I had been accustomed to hear on the earth-plane. The actual sounds made
by the various instruments were easily recognizable as of old, but the quality of tone was immeasurably
purer, and the balance and blend were perfect. The work to be played was of some length, I was informed,
and would be continued without any break.

The opening movement was of a subdued nature as regards its volume of sound, and we noticed that
the instant the music commenced a bright light seemed to rise up from the direction of the orchestra until it
floated, in a flat surface, level with the topmost seats, where it remained as an iridescent cover to the whole
amphitheatre. As the music proceeded, this broad sheet of light grew in strength and density, forming, as it
were, a firm foundation for what was to follow. So intent was I upon watching this extraordinary formation
that I could scarcely tell what the music was about. I was conscious of its sound, but that was really all.
Presently, at equal spaces round the circumference of the theatre, four towers of light shot up into the sky in
long tapering pinnacles of luminosity. They remained poised for a moment, and then slowly descended,
becoming broader in girth as they did so, until they assumed the outward appearance of four circular
towers, each surmounted with a dome, perfectly proportioned. In the meanwhile, the central area of light
had thickened still more, and was beginning to rise slowly in the shape of an immense dome covering the
whole theatre.

This continued to ascend steadily until it seemed to reach a very much greater height than
the four towers, while the most delicate colours were diffused throughout the whole of the etheric structure.
I could understand now why Edwin had suggested that we should sit outside the theatre proper, and I could
follow, also, why composers should feel impelled to alter their earthly works after they have arrived in
spirit. The musical sounds sent up by the orchestra were creating, up above their heads, this immense
musical thought-form, and the shape and perfection of this form rested entirely upon the purity of the
musical sounds, the purity of the harmonies, and a freedom from any pronounced dissonance. The form of
the music must be pure to produce a pure form.
It must not be assumed that every description of discord was absent. To lack discord would be to
produce monotony, but the discords were legitimately used and properly resolved.

By now the great musical thought-form had assumed what appeared to be its limit of height, and it
remained stationary and steady. The music was still being played, and in response to it the whole colouring
of the dome changed, first to one shade, then to another, and many times to a delicate blend of a number of
shades according to the variation in theme or movement of the music.
It is difficult to give any adequate idea of the beauty of this wonderful musical structure. The
amphitheatre being built below the surface of the ground, nothing was visible of audience, of performers, or
of the building itself, and the dome of light and color had all the appearance of resting on the same firm
ground as were we ourselves.

This has taken but a brief while in the telling, but the musical thought-form occupied such time in
formation as would be taken by a full-length concert on the earth-plane. We had, during this period,
watched the gradual building of the outward and visible effect of music. Unlike the earth where music can
only be heard, there we had both heard and seen it. And not only were we inspired by the sounds of the
orchestral playing, but the beauty of the immense form it created had its spiritual influence upon all who
beheld it, or came within its sphere. We could feel this although we were seated without the theatre. The
audience within were basking in its splendor and enjoying still greater benefit from the effulgence of its
elevating rays. On the next occasion we should take our places in the huge auditorium.

The music at last came to a grand finale, and so ended. The rainbow colours continued to interweave
themselves. We wondered how long this musical structure would survive, and we were told that it would
fade away in roughly the same time as would be taken by an earthly rainbow—comparatively a few
minutes. We had listened to a major work, but if a series of shorter pieces were played, the effect and
lasting power would be the same, but the shapes would vary in form and size. Were the form of greater
duration, a new form would conflict with the last, and the result to the eye would be the same as two
different and unconnected pieces of music, when played together, would be to the ear.

The expert musician can plan his compositions by his knowledge of what forms the various
harmonic and melodic sounds will produce. He can, in effect, build magnificent edifices upon his
manuscript of music, knowing full well exactly what the result will be when the music is played or sung.
By careful adjustment of his themes and his harmonies, the length of the work, and its various marks of
expression, he can build a majestic form as grand as a Gothic cathedral. This is, in itself, a delightful part of
the music art in spirit, and it is regarded as musical architecture. The student will not only study music
acoustically, but he will learn to build it architecturally, and the latter is one of the most absorbing and
fascinating studies.

What we had witnessed had been produced upon a scale of some magnitude; the individual
instrumentalist or singer can evolve on a greatly reduced scale his own musical thought-forms. In fact, it
would be impossible to emit any form of musical sound deliberately without the formation of such a form.
It may not take definite shape such as we saw; that comes from more experience, but it would induce the
interplay of numerous colours and blending of colours. In the spirit world all music is colour, and all colour
is music. The one is never existent without the other. That is why the flowers give forth such pleasant tones
when they are approached, as it will be remembered of my early experience with flowers. The water that
sparkles and flashes colours is also creating musical sounds of purity and beauty. But it must not be
imagined that with all this galaxy of colour in the spirit world there is also a pandemonium of music going
on unremittingly. The eye is not wearied by the fullness of colour here. Why should our ears be wearied by
the sweet sound the colours send forth? The answer is that they are not, because the sounds are in perfect
accord with the colours, as the colours are with the sounds. And the perfect combination of both sight and
sound is perfect harmony.

Harmony is a fundamental law here. There can be no confliction. I do not suggest that we are in a
state of perfection. We should be an immensely higher realm if we were, but we are in perfection in so far
as this realm is concerned. If we, as individuals, become more perfect than the realm in which we live, we,
ipso facto, become worthy of advancing to a higher state, and we do so. But while we are where we are, in
this realm or higher, we are living in a state of perfection according to the limits of that realm.

I have dwelt rather at length upon our musical experiences because of the great position of music in
our lives and in the realm in which we are living. The whole attitude to music held by so many people of
the earth undergoes a great change when they eventually come to spirit. Music is looked upon by many on
the earth-plane as merely a pleasant diversion, a pleasant adjunct to the earthly life, but by no means a
necessity. Here it is part of our life, not because we make it so, but because it is part of natural existence, as
are flowers and trees, grass and water, and hills and dales. It is an element of spiritual nature. Without it a
vast deal of the joy would depart out of our lives. We do not need to become master-musicians to
appreciate the wealth of music that surrounds us in colour and sound, but as in so many other features of
this life, we accept and enjoy to the full, and in the enjoyment of our heritage we can afford to smile at
those who persist in believing that we live in a world of emptiness.

A world of emptiness! What a shock so many people have upon their coming into the spirit world,
and how immensely glad and relieved they are to find that it turns out quite pleasant after all; that it is not a
terrifying place; that it is not one stupendous temple of hymn-singing religion; and that they are able to feel
at home in the land of their new life. When this joyful realisation has come to them, some of them are
reminded that they looked upon the various descriptions of this life that have come from us from time to
time, as “rather material”! And how pleased they are to discover that it is so. What is it, if it is not
“material”? The musicians that we heard playing were playing upon very real, solid instruments from very
real music. The conductor was a very real person, conducting his orchestra with a very material baton! But
the beautiful musical thought-form was not so very material as were its surroundings or the means to create
it, in just the same relative way as an earthly rainbow, and the sun and moisture that cause it.

At the risk of making myself very tedious I have reverted more than once to this strange fallacy that
the world I am living in, here in spirit is vague and shadowy. It is strange that some minds strive always to
banish from the world of spirit every tree and flower, and the other thousand and one delights. There is
something of conceit in this—that makes such things exclusive to the earth world. At the same time, if any
soul thinks that such things have no business to exist in the spirit world, he is at liberty to abstain from both
the sight and enjoyment of them by betaking himself to some barren spot where his susceptibilities will not
be offended by such earthly objects as trees and flowers and water (and even human beings), and there he
can give himself up to a state of beatific contemplation, surrounded by the heavenly nothingness that he
thinks should be heaven proper. No soul is forced into an unwilling task here, or into surroundings that he
considers uncongenial. I venture to assert that it will not be long before such a soul emerges from his retreat
and joins his fellows in the enjoyment of all the delights of God’s heaven. There is just one fault—among
one or two others—that the earth world possesses: the overwhelming superiority, in its own mind, over
every other world, but principally over the spirit world. We can afford to be amused, though our
amusement turns to sadness when we see the distress of souls upon their arrival here; when they realize that
they are, at last, faced with eternal truth beyond question or doubt. It is then that humility so often sets in!
But we never reproach. The reproaching comes from within each soul itself.

And what, perhaps, it will be asked has all this to do with musical experiences? Just this: that after
every new experience I have thought the same thoughts, and very nearly spoken the words to both Ruth and
Edwin. Ruth has always echoed my words; Edwin has always been in agreement with me though, of
course, what we were seeing was not new to him by any means. But he still marvelled at all things here, as
indeed do we all, whether we have but just arrived, or whether we have been over here many years of earth
time.

As we walked along after the concert, Edwin pointed out to us the dwelling places of many of the
teachers in the various halls of learning, who preferred to live close to the seats of their work. They were,
for the most part, unpretentious houses, and it would have been comparatively easy to guess the occupation
of the owner, so we were told, from the various evidences within of their work. Edwin said that we should
always be welcome should we ever wish to call upon any of the teachers. The exclusiveness which must
necessarily surround such people when they are incarnate vanishes when they come into spirit. All values
become drastic altered in such matters. The teachers themselves do not cease their own studies because
they are teaching. They are ever investigating and learning, and passing on to their pupils what they have
thus gained. Some have progressed to a higher realm, but they still retain their interest in their former
sphere, and continuously visit it—and their many friends—to pursue their teaching.
But we have already spent some time on this subject, and Edwin is waiting to take us on to other
places of importance in the city.

whole book pdf  | mirror | audiobook of same | youtube-upreding of same book

on the same theme, music on the Astral level - extract from the book of Peter Richelieu:

A SOUL’S JOURNEY:

' I shall give you a general outline of some of the conditions found on the astral plane. To the man who during his lifetime thought of little else but business, the next life will tend to be rather dull at first, especially if he has been in the habit of loving money for its own sake. Money is a purely physical thing and useless on the astral plane. This type of man will have to develop some other interest if he is to be really happy, in the next world. If however a man were fond of music in his lifetime, then he will be fond of it after death and he will find many opportunities of satisfying the longings he was unable to satisfy before. If he wishes, the lover of music can spend the whole of his time listening to the finest music the world can produce. Distance is now no limitation; he may listen to an opera in London for a time, then with scarcely a minutes delay he can be listening to another performance in New York or Australia. He can meet the great musicians of the past - unless they have already reincarnated; he can see the mighty thought forms which music on the physical plane produces in the finer matter of the astral world.

Even though during his lifetime he was unable to play, he can now produce music by imagination. On the physical plane there are many people who are able to imagine beautiful passages of music, but are unable to express themselves, owing to the lack of technique. On the astral plane all such people are to be envied indeed, as their natural cravings are for things not dependent on the help of purely physical plane conditions.

For the man who is fond of art, all the masterpieces of the world are at his disposal, whether they be in art galleries or private collections. Many an art lover has long wanted to go to Rome. Think of the hours of delight for him devouring the works of art to be seen there and there alone. He may meet the artists of the past, and it must not be supposed that they lose interest in their work because they have died. Far from it, now they create beautiful thought-forms, for they have no longer to use brushes and canvas to express their art. That was their only method of expression in the physical world, but after death the thought forms they create are just the same as pictures here, just as visible and much more beautiful.

Many artists here have stated that they are always dissatisfied with their work when it is finished, even though the world applauds their genius. They often say: "If only I could express on canvas exactly what my imagination pictures, but never does it come exactly right." On the astral plane the pictures created are exactly what the artist perceives and so the creations of their imagination there are more beautiful than the finest pictures to be found in the world. Lovers of books also have a happy time, for the world's libraries are now open to their inspection.’

'As an example of what happens to a man after death, take the sort of person who lives entirely for the physical plane life. By that I do not mean anything bad or that he is a man of many vices. On the contrary he is probably an exceedingly popular man during his lifetime, always surrounded by a host of friends and generally spoken well of by all.

Probably his pleasures consist of living well, attending theatres, dances etc, and doing the thousand and one things that go to make up the life of what is termed "a man about town". Undoubtedly he is a successful business man and considered a model husband, but all the same, his life - both business and pleasure - depends on physical things, such as are only obtainable on the physical plane. There are many such people, as everyone who looks around him can see.

'After death a man of this type will probably be extremely bored and will have practically nothing to do. He will soon realise that making thought-forms of good dinners and intricate business deals becomes a very unsatisfactory method of killing time, when there are no physical results. He does not get the physical satisfaction to which he is accustomed after a good dinner with choice wines, though he can imagine and even appreciate the taste of dishes and wines, which he used to have on earth. It is impossible for him to feel the same result after drinking alcohol that he felt during his lifetime, however much he may drink, and the feeling of repletion which follows a good dinner on the physical plane, is entirely absent from the "astral" meal. Neither does he obtain much satisfaction from a successful business deal produced in his imagination, when he is unable to use the money so made for. On the astral plane things cannot be bought or sold.

He can make thought - forms of as many thousands of gold pieces as he likes, but what can he do with them? Nothing! He can be likened to a man who had been wrecked on a desert island, surrounded by treasures, invaluable to him could he transport them to a civilised country, but useless in a place where there are no buyers and nothing to be bought. The man on the desert island has one advantage over the man on the astral plane, in as much as there is always the possibility of his being rescued, he may be able to return to his country with his newly found wealth. The "dead" man has no such hope, for when he returns to this plane, he comes as a child without possessions other than the experience gained in his previous lives, experience stored by his higher self in the reservoir of knowledge which, as he gradually evolves, he is more and more able to bring down to the physical level. Similar dissatisfaction is experienced from his accustomed sports. In all probability he played golf; he can still play golf if he wishes, in his new life, but he soon tires of this, for every shot he makes goes to the exact spot he has in mind at the moment of striking the ball. Every round played is a perfect round, never differing from the one before. Every putt is holed automatically, for he makes a thought -form of what he wishes to do and the fluidic astral matter immediately carries out, in form, the thought that his mind expressed. You can easily imagine how boring such a game would soon become and how different from the games played at the physical level, where one day he would play like a master and perhaps the next would be little better than a rabbit. The uncertainty was the charm of the game, and this no longer exists at the astral level.

Just as the astral experiences of the average man and the man below average standard, are in accordance with the types lives they have lived on earth, so those of the intellectual man, the man above the average, are also in accordance with his mode of living. Such men pass more quickly through the lower to the higher levels of the astral world, where they are not only able to continue any experimental work in which they were interested, but can gather students with similar tastes round them. Such gatherings are to be seen frequently; the scientists with his group of students, the mathematician with his smaller group, both find the astral world a much more suitable plane in which to work than the physical world, for four dimensional space can now be studied with opportunities of experimenting. The artist has his group of pupils trying to imitate his skill, as also does the musician, and now the latter is happy indeed for he has the opportunity of listening not only to the world's music, but to the music of nature from that of the sea and the wind - to the music of the spheres - for there is a music of the spheres, there is an ordered song as the planets move through their mighty curves in space. There is music and colour connected with all the vast cosmic world, but as yet we understand the glory of the cosmic life as little as the crawling ant understands our life, with its many activities. A musician may meet the great angels of music, for there are angels who live for music, who express themselves in and by music, to whom music is what speech is to us. You will hear more about their activities later.

‘For the spiritually minded man, the man who has meditated deeply on higher things, there waits an infinity of bliss. During his lifetime he has had to rely on faith and his own reasoning powers, now he can prove the truth of many of the theories which he has studied in the world, and one can but faintly imagine the joy and peace that this knowledge will bring .to such a man; he has been struggling in darkness and now, to a certain extent, he has found the light. ‘ The philanthropist who during his lifetime has had one thought, one object in view – the helping of his fellow men - has perhaps the greatest opportunity of all, for now he is free to devote the whole of his time to helping and comforting those who require his services. If he takes up the special work of helping those who have just passed over, he will find work for every minute of his astral life.

During war time the need for this work is great, for the ignorant are many and the helpers are few. Much good karma is then earned by those who have fitted themselves for such work and who seize this golden opportunity.

‘ Therefore I say to you, seek knowledge, not that you may help yourself alone, but that by this knowledge you may be able to assist your brother in distress; also that you may take your share in this great scheme of evolution and be, what every thinking man should be, a guide and a helper to the ignorant. ' Today brings me to one of the most pleasant parts of my description of the astral world, for I must now talk about children, and after all do not children really make a world? It is only necessary to spend Christmas with a family that is without children to realise what a difference their happy voices and romping games make to this greatest of all festivals; nothing seems the same, the house appears to be dead and the world empty of true happiness. Children's laughter is the most wonderful thing in the world, the one thing most missed by those who have worshipped at its shrine in the past, when they find that the time is gone by and that the revellers of the nursery have been submerged into the huge cauldron of adult humanity. It is as if children are the only really natural beings in the human world - the only people who understand enjoyment.

' ‘ The explanation of this lies in the fact that having so recently returned to earth they are as yet so near to the truly glorious life of the heaven world, that they still retain some touch with life at its highest, life that is one with the nature kingdom, the land of fairies, the land of beauties untold and undreamed of by the material beings we all seem to become, when we grow up and are tarred with the brush of convention and ”respectability". A condition analagous to this is to be seen in the animal kingdom. Even lion cubs are delightful as babies; when they are born, they have no fear for they have just come from the astral world where fear does not exist for them. After some months, or even a year or so, their instinct - which is part of the group soul to which they belong - filters through, then fear and antagonism for the human race comes into force and no longer can they be considered as safe pets. It is usually considered that nothing is quite so sad as for a child to be cut off at any stage of its career, but especially at the time when it is emerging from babyhood into what is described as the "interesting stage" at about three years old.

The period when a child ceases to be a child is not determined by age; some lose their childish ways as soon as they enter school, others remain children till well into their teens. The death of a child must always seem unnecessary to those who have not grasped at least the elementary theory of evolution, for it is very natural that they should wonder why parents have to suffer in this way, and what the use is of a life which ends so soon after it has begun. Students of evolution however realise that a child is an individual who has descended to this physical plane to obtain experience - to work out its destiny. If it dies young, it gains little experience and it will not take long to assimilate this after leaving the physical world, thus it is more likely that the child who has died young will be the sooner back to live another life. It does not follow that it would lose anything or suffer in any way from this early death. If the average person would only take the little trouble necessary to gain this knowledge, how much happier the world would be.

When a baby is about to pass to the next world, the ceremony of baptism should always be performed. This rite makes the child a member of a holy brotherhood, surrounds it with a certain definite protection and starts it along a certain line of vibrations and influences, which prevent harm from coming near it. ‘When children reach the astral world they have a wonderfully happy life, because of the absence of restrictions. They never lack attention for there are always numbers of mothers that have passed over who are willing and eager to care for a child that has died when a baby. They have the same maternal feelings when living at the astral level as they had when living in the physical world. Poverty, lack of food, and suffering from cold – such things have no place in the thoughts of the astral mother. Sleep is no longer a necessity, so there is plenty of time to give to any child she adopts. Apart from the pleasure of seeing that it is cared for and amused, she can commence the child's education, introducing it to the beauties of this world in their many forms. Such teaching may leave its mark on the child and may cause it to turn the artistic side of life in its next incarnation.

As well as foster mothers, who are always available, there is a vast army of astral helpers also ready to pilot a newcomer through the early stages of his new life.'

Like the adult, the child is unchanged by passing to this new world. There are always many who are only too anxious to help him at his games and there are also the nature spirits, who play a great part in children's games on the astral plane. Think of the imaginative child surrounding himself, still in imagination, with the wonders of the kingdoms described in his fairy books. In this astral world the child will not have to rely on make believe. Once a thing is imagined, it is there plain for him to see, for the matter of the astral world is moulded by thought, and just as long as the child imagines a thing, so will the thing be there.

Instead of sitting in an old washtub with a pair of walking sticks for oars, the child who wants to row on the river has only to think of the river, only to imagine the boat and the oars, and they are there for his use. The child who loves to imitate the heroes of fiction has only to think strongly of himself as the hero, and he immediately becomes his idea of what that character should be. The plastic astral body is moulded into that very shape and so for the time being, the child absolutely becomes what he is trying to imagine. He becomes Hermes with the winged shoes or Jason in charge of the Argo or Robin Hood, the hero of Sherwood Forest. Whatever he thinks of, he becomes and when he gets tired of that impersonation, he has only to think of someone else and the plastic astral body obeys his commands. It is a wonderful education for a child, this living amongst the characters of his imagination, since he learns much by this method that would be impossible under physical plane conditions.

‘We all know the child who is continually asking questions. How often have we found ourselves up against a stumbling block, because it is impossible to give an answer that may be understood by the listener who has only a child's undeveloped brain and elementary intellect. Sometimes we even go so far as to scold the child and try to discourage him from questioning. We do not want to hinder his progress, we just feel that now and again our answers are so inadequate that it would be better for the question to remain unanswered rather than to give a wrong impression.

When the astral plane conditions can be made use of, all is changed. He can be shown the answer to his question by making an image to float before his eyes. A living model (for it is living so long as our thought is concentrated upon it) is a great improvement on a wordy discourse.

'It may be asked: "Do the children not miss their fathers and mothers, friends and playmates?" No they do not and for this reason. Everyone when asleep spends these hours in the same world as the child who is dead. The fathers and mothers who mourn because they think they have lost a child, find that the same child is visible to them again the moment they sleep and are out of their physical bodies; they are able to talk to the child and he to them, to play with him, to continue his education and so on. They are able, practically, to carry on from where they left off on earth, but the pity of it is that these self-same parents, remember nothing about this when they wake up in the morning. The child after death is invisible to the average parent, and to all who have not developed clairvoyance whereas the parents are never invisible to the child. He can always see them (the astral counterparts of their physical bodies) and often when parents are mourning over the death of a child, the one who is dead is standing by their side, trying in everyway possible to communicate with them. To the child, the parents seem to be very dull and stupid at such times, for the child can not realise that although he can see them, they can not see him.

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