A Book Chronicling Direct Voice Communication: Behold I Live

Lucy Chauncy Bridges in her autobiographical book Behold I Live (1966) described attending Direct Voice seances in the home of Mr. Leslie Flint during the 1960s.

We would sit in comfortable chairs in total darkness by a table in which my portable tape recorder was placed.  And after about ten minutes Mickey the medium's compere in Spirit would break the silence by saying: "How are you Aunty Lucy?  The doctor is here" or "Your husband and mother are here" as the case might be, followed by the immediate spirit presence of the loved one recognisable by his or her voice and a conversation would ensue between us for about 3/4 hours.

The subject for discussion was my own choice decided on previously, and I would return home after it happy and elated in the renewed knowledge that they were never far from me, and they invariably ended the talk by saying: "Do come again as soon as you can and talk to us."

The first part of the book provides details of the author's life as a child between 1896 and 1908.  Her family lived in Demerara, British Guiana, where her father was manager of a sugar estate.  At the age of ten, she and her sister were sent to a boarding school in a London suburb for a year.  Then, after three years residing in an English town, the children were sent to another boarding school.  Part Two of the book recounts events in Lucy's life beginning forty-five years later.  After the unexpected death of her husband, she moved from a Berkshire village to London and decided to investigate Spiritualism.

I went to services at a number of small societies and churches scattered about London, all run as separate units but with the form of service universally the same and with the last half hour reserved for the giving of specific messages from departed friends by a medium to individual members of the congregation.  The medium (a man or woman) would begin by saying "I have with me here on the platform" and then the invisible spirit-friend would be briefly described.  In those early days I derived much comfort also from their other activities, such as Development Circles, Psychometry, Healing Sessions, as also later from the Reading Room and Library of the Marylebone Spiritualist Association (or the M.S.A. as then called) at 33 Belgrave Square, and in some of their lectures and services held every evening of the week.  There was also a little Chapel reserved for meditation and prayer.

Lucy learned about Direct Voice medium Peter Clarke from a leaflet handed her while in a queue outside the Royal Albert Hall preceding a Spiritualist Association of Great Britain "Service of Reunion" on November 9, 1952.  She wrote to him and was given a date in January for a group seance, where she found herself among approximately 100 people.

On the platform was a table on which was placed the gramophone presided over by Mr. Taylor, the medium's assistant.  On the left of the platform was what might be described as a sentry box, painted black and with a black curtain.  This was for the medium, and into it Peter Clarke went with the curtain drawn across the front so that he was invisible for the whole of the séance and was himself in darkness.  The hall was well lit and the séance began with the playing of the gramophone.  After about ten minutes the medium was in trance when the gramophone was turned off and the séance began.

I was sitting in the middle of a row halfway down the hall and in the row in front of me was seated a lady dressed in deep mourning.  Almost immediately a girl's voice was heard close to and speaking audibly to the lady, her mother, with great rejoicing.  I cannot remember all they said but the conversation, which did not last more than ten minutes, was just full of love and endearments.  The girl assured the mother that she was very happy in her new life of spirit, that her love and thoughts were continually with her and that she (the mother) was not to worry about her.  Then the voice ceased and the invisible spirit presence vanished.


After the séance I spoke to the mother, who told me that her daughter had died a few months previously from a severe illness at the age of seventeen, and that the medium knew nothing about them before the séance.  Then followed another demonstration of departed friends.

Beginning on February 11, 1953, Lucy began attending "the first of a long series of Direct Voice Séances" with Clarke that continued once a month during the next four years.  During the first of these, there was heard 'Jamie,' "the young man who helps to run the proceedings from the other side"; then the medium's guide Dr. John Walker (in spirit) was heard and he soon called out to Lucy.  She experienced the first of many conversations with the voices of her husband and mother.  Unfortunately, the author doesn't include in the book any transcripts of commentary showing the perspectives articulated via the voices of Jamie or Dr. Walker.

At her first private Direct Voice seance on February 19, Lucy's husband Robert told her:

"You made me so happy and were the centre of my life, and when you come over we shall live together again.  A group of spirits is helping me to contact you in your present life so that I can help you.  I do come to see you every day . . ."

There was also "a fifteen minutes conversation with Mother."

. . . Mother told me that she and father lived in a large country house, and she spoke of her present life and of the loveliness of the scenery and of her freedom from physical pain.  She said that Father could not talk to me because he thought it wrong to lower his vibration in order to come to earth—but that he sent his love.

Here are some excerpts from the author's description of the June 18, 1953 seance.

At this seance, after Dr. Walker, Robert and Mother had spoken to me, there came Sir Henry Segrave, the speedboat racer and authority on the internal combustion engine, who was killed about twenty years ago.  He said that he was Henry Segrave and that his wife, who lived in the top flat of my block, would be able to help me if I would get in touch with her.  This I did, and she was very kind and lent me books on various subjects including communication.

After Sir Henry Segrave had gone, Tom Elyston, the late Squire of East Hendred (a Berkshire village), who was killed in the 1939-45 war, came, for he must have known that I was going to East Hendred the next day to stay with my sister ('Margie'), who is acquainted with his wife. 


Then came a voice of greeting and I said, "Who are you, please?"

Said the voice, "I am Charles Prebble, and I lived in your village of Appleford just over a hundred years ago.  I was a York surgeon once."

"Which was your house at Appleford?"

"It exists no longer, but there is a tablet to my memory in the church.  Just fancy erecting a tablet as if I were dead!  But I would not be back on the earth for anything—it is a pretty low place at present.  Here we have no wars, no economic troubles and no disease.  I knew your husband was at Appleford and that he would pass over from there."

At the Direct Voice seances conducted by Leslie Flint, a recurring guide for Lucy was Dr. Timothy Wilson.  The following passage is Dr. Wilson's January 20, 1961 reply to the question " . . . where is the other side, is it a planet like ours?  Where is it in relation to the earth?"

Dr. Wilson: "Well, firstly, of course, it is quite impossible to give it an exact geographical position or description obviously, but as you term space, our world is thousands of miles removed in relation to yours.  It is not, of course, as limited as yours, and we are in the etheric atmosphere.  There is no way in which we can measure either time or space, for we are outside of it, in the sense that you understand it.  But we must remember, in referring to this other world, that really in effect there are hundreds and hundreds (not just one) of other worlds—the same as there are hundreds of stars—which are worlds inhabited.  Your world, in comparison to many of the satellites, is infinitely small.  You see, in your world you are obviously limited, in as much as you can only visualise its size from your earthly point of view, as you know it, or think it to be, and your world is surrounded by untold worlds in the etheric world itself.  That's why we refer loosely to 'the Spheres.'"

Lucy asked about reincarnation.  Dr. Wilson's response is quoted —

"Yes, in some instances but not necessarily in every case, for a person may have reincarnated a number of times and there is no further need for them to return to earth.  They have assimilated, if you like, all the necessary knowledge and experience, and have then become inhabitants of the new worlds, outside of yours."

"Then I suppose we can be sure of going to the same etheric world as our relations, our loved ones?"

"That rather depends on the individuals concerned.  We must remember that, though it is most likely, for instance, that peoples of one generation will meet because they will be on the same strata of development, being and mentality, husband and wife, for instance, mother and son, and so on, and because the time element is so limited and so little removed, they will continue together in their special achievements and attempts and in growth accordingly."

The transcript for the sitting on April 22, 1964 includes opening remarks by Mickey.

Mickey: "How are you?"

Myself: "Oh, I'm alright, thank you, Mickey."

"I always look forward to your coming."

"Why is that?"

"Well I think it's always interesting, it's different from the ordinary sort of séance when everyone talks to their Uncle Fred or Aunt Jane! I mean, it's a bit boring, ain't it? Important only to those concerned. I much prefer your conversation."

"Thank you, I am so glad."

"You are intelligent."

"That's going into the book, that little talk."

"I suppose, though, one has to think of people's needs. They mostly seek personal proof of survival, which is all very good, one has to get it, but so many [people] just stay there, don't they? They never sort of progress at all."

"Possibly not."

"You're different to the average, anyway. What was it you said?"

"I said I was going to put this little conversation into the book, it's most interesting."

"Are you recording it, then?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, smashing!"

"Yes, isn't it smashing?"

"You're a case, you are, Aunty Lucy; I bet you've been a proper tartar in your time."

"No, I don't think I have."

"I bet when you was a young woman, you didn't have half a good time."

"I had a very dull time."

"Why?"

"Sorry, I can't go into that now. I must speak to the doctor—the time goes so quickly."

Dr. Wilson: "You seem to be having quite a chit-chat with our friend Michael. He is most amazing, a very interesting character, and if I were to lead him on, he would discuss things most intelligently, quite above the average. He has performed a remarkable task and has done it very well."

The following month, Lucy informed 'Dr. Wilson' that she wanted to learn about Mickey for the developing book: "What is his function?  What was he on the earth?"

. . . though he assumes the outer appearance and guise of a child, he has the knowledge and mental equipment of a very adult person who has experienced a good deal and is a very old soul.  There is no doubt that he has had a very good many incarnations and has chosen to come back to be of service and to do a work to help, uplift and instruct, and to comfort those whose needs are many and whose sorrow is often great."

"Then why does he come in the guise of a child if he is not a child?"

"It is deliberate."

"Why?"

"The main reason is, I think, that the vast majority of people who are seeking evidence of comfort would be put at ease by a child and his tremendous naturalness.  He comes as a young control of the medium and acts as comprere, generally helps in every way he can to put people at their ease, to answer their questions when they have problems and queries—to put them in touch with the persons they most desire to contact.  He acts in the capacity of an introducer from the point of view of introducing souls from this side to the sitter.  So you see that his function is a very important and indeed vital one.  I think you will find that all mediums do have someone of a similar nature.  Of course, it may be an adult from the point of view of the individual—in fact it invariably is an adult.  But these 'child' controls as they are often termed are not necessarily children.  They may have been children when they passed over but they are far from being children when they return.  They are mentally adult and advanced, but as they enter the earthly vibrations they assume the old self, which indeed most of us do.  In other words, that is how you would recognise a person."

At the end of the transcript of this seance, 'Dr. Wilson' is quoted:

"I do think it is so important to stress in your book how life being continuous, must be constant change, evolution, the acceptance of new thoughts and ideas.  The whole history of the evolution of man is this constant change.  

The third and final part of the book offers Direct Voice seance transcripts focusing on healing.  The first collection of transcripts chronicle the perspective of 'Shafir of the White Brotherhood' and the second are the vocal expression of  'Dr Timothy Wilson.'  The following passage is an excerpt of the March 21, 1957 transcript of Lucy's conversation with Shafir concerning her work facilitating spiritual healing.  

"You are part of the Universal Mind, of the nature of God, which is Universal Mind.  Therefore, it is necessary to provide you with your conscious mind, though you are at the same time part of the Universal.  The subconscious is the link between the ordinary and everyday you and the God you."

The following transcript is the May 18, 1962 “Talk with Dr. Timothy Wilson.”  This passage is described by the author as being “About Disease and the Doctor.”

"God does not desire that His children should suffer and have disease and sickness, but man in his struggle through aeons of time has brought upon himself the particular condition of life in which he finds himself from one generation to another.  There are, for instance, illnesses of to-day in your world which didn’t exist 100 years or so ago, and there are illnesses which existed 100 years ago which didn’t exist 1000 years before that, and so on.  I believe that man has to go through this cycle of events and conditions which he has created in foolishness and ignorance through his allegiance to the evil in himself.  I do not use the word evil in the orthodox sense, since we on this side do not believe in the existence of a devil or in evil as such.

"What I am trying to convey is that there are those who are spiritually inclined and those who have not progressed or reached a standard of development.  There are certain people on a very low strata of being, on a very low vibration who, as it were, give out such thoughts and conditions which, for want of a better word, cause evil.

"So if we accept this fact that all illness is something that has developed over generations of time, through the minds and lives of individuals who have gone before, we see some sort of pattern and it’s like a tapestry, every stitch of which is a life.  Some lives have been full of colours and goodness and they shine forth on the tapestry with beauty and light and make it come to life, and there are the lives of people who were dark and drab and colourless, showing only stitches but no form in the tapestry.  It does seem to me that we must realise that every individual though plays a part, and that the darkness and drabness must exist from the point of view that you cannot appreciate, visualize or understand until you have had the experience of all that life can offer.  But you hear people say “If God exists why does He allow this innocent person to suffer and an evil one to go scot free?”  This is only because you see things on a material plane for people in your world are so inclined to judge everything from a material standard."

Arthur Findlay's Introductory Profile of Direct Voice Medium John C. Sloan

   

This blog article presents Arthur Findlay's introductory profile of Direct Voice medium John Campbell Sloan from the fourth chapter of On The Edge of the Etheric (1931).  One can compare the circumstances of Sloan's seances with those of Leslie Flint, whose Direct Voice seance audio tape recordings are available for listening online.  Nineteen verbatim Direct Voice seance transcripts are presented in Where Two Worlds Meet (1951) by Arthur Findlay.

Findlay commented about his participation in Sloan's seances in Where Two Worlds Meet (1951) —

When I was having my regular Sittings with John Sloan, away back in the years 1918 to 1924, I soon learned that it was wiser not to be too curious and only to ask a few questions at a time.  I was told to take what came, but that if I wished to ask many questions I could have private sittings for that purpose, when those fitted to answer me would be present to speak.  Moreover, I found that the other sitters were not anxious to receive the information I wanted, and that they only wished to talk to their friends on the other side.
 
So these private Sittings were held, and I took with me my secretary to make notes of everything said and done.  Much of the information received will be found in On The Edge of the Etheric and the two books which followed it, The Rock of Truth and The Unfolding Universe . . .

CHAPTER IV.  THE MEDIUM.

An honest man's the noblest work of God.—Pope.

 

Mr. John C. Sloan, in whose presence the experiences I have to relate occurred, is a middle-aged man, of slight build and a quiet manner.  He has rather a dreamy expression, and when sitting still and not speaking or taking part in a conversation he seems to lose touch with his surroundings.  At these times his eyes take on a far-away look, and when spoken to he is palpably startled.  He enjoys quite good health, and at his work few would notice certain peculiarities, which become marked in his own house when his work is finished.  When he has nothing special to occupy his attention this dreamy state seems to take hold of him and he becomes absent-minded and forgetful.  Except for this he is like any other healthy normal individual.

All his life he has been aware that supernormal occurrences took place in his immediate surroundings.  In his youth he was often disturbed by rappings and strange voices which he could not understand, and during the past thirty years these have developed into manifestations of a general and varied nature.  His mediumship during these years has embraced trance, telekinesis, apports, direct voice, materialisation, clairvoyance and clairaudience.  These have varied in degree year by year, but his friends generally agree that fifteen years ago his mediumship was at its best.  To those who have had little experience of these phenomena, let me explain.  Trance is a state of unconsciousness certain abnormal people experience.  It might be compared to falling into a deep sleep with a short interval between consciousness and unconsciousness.  It is, however, more than sleep; it is a much deeper state of unconsciousness; the personality is withdrawn to a greater extent, and the body is more insensible to pain.  A person in trance can be better compared to one under an anaesthetic than to one in sleep, with this difference, the trance state may last for from two to three hours and be repeated several times a week without any ill effect being noticeable.  When Sloan is in this state he speaks, but it would be more correct to say that his vocal organs vibrate the atmosphere, as no one can be with him long while this is taking place and think that his own personality is responsible for what is said.  The voice is different and the accent is different, and much of what is said is quite outside his range of knowledge.  Clairaudience and Clairvoyance are the powers some have of hearing what to others is inaudible and seeing what is normally unseen.  Both are due to the etheric structure of the ear and eye functioning abnormally, and thus these organs can catch the etheric vibrations.  Telekinesis is the word used for the movement of objects without the use of any known force.  Apports are objects brought from one room to another, or from a distance to where the medium is, by some invisible agency.

What is called the Direct Voice is the special subject of this book.  In the medium's presence, but quite apart from him, voices, claiming to be those of deceased people, speak, and when replied to answer back intelligently, showing that there is not only a mind behind the voice but that the intelligence is able to hear as well as to speak.  When first experiencing this phenomena I naturally thought that the medium was impersonating people, as when these voices speak it is generally in the dark, and what could be easier than that he should be tricking me and others into believing that we were speaking to our departed friends?

On the first occasion I experienced these voices I was decidedly suspicious, and yet as the séance went on I wondered how it would be possible for any man, even if he had accomplices, to carry on such an imposture for over three hours.  Thirty separate voices spoke that night, of different tone and accent, they gave their names, their correct earth addresses and spoke to the right people, were recognised, and referred to intimate family affairs.  Never once was a mistake made and the darkness really increased the evidence in favour of the genuineness of the whole proceedings, as, difficult as it would be to remember everyone's departed friends and relations and their family affairs in the light, it would be doubly so in the dark, because fifteen people were present and the medium would have to remember exactly where each one was sitting.  The voice on every occasion spoke in front of the person who recognised the name, the earth address and the details which were given.

It was all very mystifying, and the fact that sometimes two or three voices spoke at once did not make it less so.  There must be accomplices, I thought, and not only that but a regular system of gathering information.  How it could be done in so thorough a manner was the question, but yet, on the other hand, how could the dead speak?  Even if they lived again their physical vocal organs were certainly buried, and how could the atmosphere be vibrated without a physical bodily instrument?  No, nothing so impossible could happen.  I had heard of frauds and impostors, but never of the dead speaking, so the balance was certainly in favour of fraud.

So ran my thoughts that memorable night of the 20th September 1918, when suddenly a voice spoke in front of me.  I felt scared.  A man sitting next to me said "Someone wants to speak to you, friend," so I said "Yes, who are you?" "Your father, Robert Downie Findlay," the voice replied, and then went on to refer to something that only he and I and one other ever knew on earth, and that other, like my father, was some years dead.  I was therefore the only living person with any knowledge of what the voice was referring to.  That was extraordinary enough, but my surprise was heightened when, after my father had finished, another voice gave the name of the other person who on earth knew about the subject, and this voice continued the conversation which my father had begun.  No spy system, however thorough, no impersonation by the medium or by any accomplices, could be responsible for this, and moreover I was an entire stranger to everyone present.  I did not give my name when I entered the room, I knew no one in that room, and no one knew me or anything about me.

That was my first introduction to John C. Sloan and the Direct Voice, and after the séance was over I asked him if I could come back again, as I was anxious to know more about this subject.  "Certainly, any time you care to come I shall be pleased to see you," was his reply, and I turned to someone standing near and asked how much I should pay Mr. Sloan.  I have always remembered the reply.  "If you suggest such a thing as paying him he will be deeply offended; he does this as a duty, not to make money out of his mediumship."  That did not impress me as the method adopted by a fraud.  How could a working man earning a few pounds a week, I wondered, afford the time and the money to gather all the information I heard given to the people present that evening?  I was so impressed with my strange experience that I went home that night and wrote till the small hours of the next morning a careful account of all that occurred at this my first séance, and this practice I have constantly adopted, unless I had a stenographer present.

Slowly, but steadily, I came to understand that what I thought was impossible really was possible, what I thought could not occur did occur, that those I thought were dead were very much alive, that they had bodies of finer texture but similar in form to our own, and that the medium gave off a substance which enabled them to materialise their etheric mouth and throat and tongue and again vibrate our atmosphere.  Further, I learned that as physical life can only gather round it matter, in the initial stage before birth, in the dark, so darkness was required to enable materialisation to take place from the substance drawn from the medium.  This I learned only slowly and after I had given much time and thought to the subject, but before I tried to know how it was all accomplished I set myself to prove the medium's honesty.  This I did in many ways.  After that first night many friends who had died spoke to me, giving their names and correct addresses on earth, and told me things which no one present except myself could have known.  Then I thought it might all be telepathy, though how telepathy could vibrate the atmosphere as a voice which I recognised, I could not understand.  However, I wished to leave no stone unturned to get the truth, and so I waited to see how long this theory would hold the field.  It was not long till it, like the fraud theory, had to go also.  Friends came and spoke to me, and told me things that not only no one present knew but that I did not know myself, and never have known.  These things I found on enquiry to be correct, so thought transference between my conscious or subconscious mind and that of the medium was ultimately ruled out.

I next decided to take the first opportunity to sit beside the medium, and when a voice was speaking to put my ear right up to his mouth.  I held his hands from the beginning of the séance, and when a voice spoke I put my ear close to his mouth.  I felt his breath, my ear and his lips were just touching, but not a sound was to be heard.  This I have done, not once or twice, but many times until finally I was convinced that the phenomena of the direct voice was not only genuine but that those who spoke were those they said they were, our friends and relations, who, though parted from their physical garment, continue to live a life much as we do here, and when able to gather sufficient ectoplasm from a human being, called by us a medium, they can, by lowering their vibrations, vibrate our atmosphere, speak to us, and hear us when we reply.

After twelve years' intimate experience of Mr. John C. Sloan and having sat with most of the other leading mediums in this country and America, I can say with conviction that he is the best Trance, Direct Voice, Clairvoyant and Clairaudient medium I have ever sat with.  Though trance utterances never appeal to me as does the Direct Voice, yet his powers in this direction are remarkable.  His power of hearing clairaudiently is extraordinary, especially his faculty of getting the names and addresses of those speaking, a task which most mediums find difficult to do.  If he had been willing to give his gifts to the public he would have been known as one of this country's most famous mediums, instead of which he has preferred having his friends to his house for an evening once a week or so and giving them the pleasure of meeting again those of their acquaintances who have passed beyond the veil.  He is retiring to a degree and modest in the extreme.  He cares nothing for the praise which so often comes at the end of such an evening.  He always gives me the impression that he dislikes these séances and only holds them as a duty.  I know that, if left to himself, he would never exercise his mediumistic faculties.  His sense of duty and kindness of heart are the reasons why his friends have been so specially privileged.

I know no man more honourable, of kinder heart, or with more of the old Scottish type of independence.  So long as he can get work he will never take money in exchange for his gift.  He has had his ups and downs, and though a good and trustworthy workman, on occasions, through no fault of his own, he has been out of work.  On one occasion Mr. McCully (some of whose experiences are recorded in Chapter IX), who was one of the regular attenders at his weekly séances, told me that when Mr. Sloan had been out of work for some time a proposal was made that he should take something from those who came, and that they would bring others also who would gladly pay.  Very reluctantly he agreed to give three séances on these terms, but after the second he refused to give the last.  "I have now got a job," was his reply, "and I shall never again take money for my mediumship, if I can get work to enable me to support my family."  The third séance was, however, held only on the condition that no payment was made.

Such is John C. Sloan, quixotic, yes; stubborn, yes; but only in what to him is a matter of conscience.  No one need ask him for permission to be present at a séance and fear refusal; no one need fear that he will be made to feel that a favour is being granted.  To Sloan, his duty is to give his gift to those who need it, but no money need be offered, as it would not be accepted.

It may be considered extraordinary that a man with such gifts should be so little known, but this is entirely due to his modesty and retiring disposition.  He hates publicity of any kind; he is so shy that on occasions, when I have asked him to give my own friends a sitting in the Séance Room at the offices of the Glasgow Society for Psychical Research, he has asked me not to introduce him, just to let him come in, take his seat and then have the lights put out.  He is at his ease only when in his own house, his own friends gathered round him, and the séance takes the form of a religious meeting, as to him it is a holy communion with the unseen.  His reward, he says, is in sending away some sorrowing one with the knowledge that life continues beyond this world, and that he has been the means of bringing together a bereaved mother or widow and a son or husband who has passed into the beyond.  To see their happiness after he comes out of trance at the end of a séance is to him ample reward for all his trouble.  Hundreds upon hundreds have received this comfort and consolation through his instrumentality.  He only claims to be an instrument; he says he knows nothing as to how it all comes about; he has read little on the subject, and as he is in trance throughout the séance, he knows nothing of what takes place.

Had Sloan been made in a different mould, he could have made an easy living by his gift and become known as one of our most famous mediums; but he has been content to live simply by the labour of his hands, earning a few pounds a week.  He has brought up a large family in a small, but comfortable house in one of the working class districts of Glasgow, and often he has had a hard struggle to make ends meet.  He performs his daily work conscientiously and well, and his employer, who often was present at his meetings, considered him one of his best and most trustworthy workmen.

Such is the man I met that evening, now over twelve years ago.  I was then ushered into a small room, in which were gathered over a dozen people, and after some preliminary conversation, we sat down in a circle, Sloan on the music-stool beside a small harmonium.  The lights were put out, and the room was in complete darkness.  After a preliminary prayer, Sloan turned round and played several hymns in which we all joined, but before the last was finished he became controlled by an entity who goes under the picturesque name of "Whitefeather," but was usually addressed by us as "Whitie," a most amusing personality, who says that when on earth he was a Red Indian Chief, that he lived in the "Rockies" and therefore thinks our Scottish scenery tame in comparison.

During the sitting Sloan, so far as I could judge, remained seated on the stool.  Voices of all degrees of strength and culture spoke, from what appeared to be all parts of the room, but it was difficult to say where they actually originated, as in the centre of the circle were two megaphones, or trumpets, each about two and a half feet long, and from the metallic ring of the voice it was evident that they were occasionally being used to speak through.  All the time the two trumpets, when not being used to speak through, went round the circle touching each one gently.  Someone would be lightly touched on the point of the nose, another on the top of the head, another's hand would be touched, and so on—never a hard knock.  At request, any part of the body would be touched without a mistake, without any fumbling, a clean, gentle touch, an impossible feat for any human being to do in pitch darkness, as I have proved on various occasions.  Lights, about the size of half-crowns, of a phosphorescent appearance, were continually moving about the room at all angles.

Looking over my records I find that I have notes of forty-three different séances at which either I or my friends had conversations with those who claimed to have known us when on earth, thirty-nine of which have been with Sloan, four with other mediums.  I have also witnessed, at different times, the same phenomena with the leading direct voice mediums, both in this country and in the United States, so I think I may claim to have sufficient experience to enable me critically to examine the phenomena and record my conclusions.  As I say, I have notes of thirty-nine different séances with Sloan; eighty-three separate voices have spoken to me, or to personal friends I have brought with me; two hundred and eighty-two separate communications have been given to me or to them; one hundred and eighty of these I class "A1," as it was impossible for the medium or any other person present to have known about them; one hundred I class as "A2," as by means of the newspaper or reference books the medium could have found them out.  One item of information given me I have not had the opportunity of verifying, and only one I have found to be incorrect.  This latter was right up to a point, but as it was a message given me by a voice on behalf of another, it is possible it was wrongly delivered.  If it had been delivered in a slightly altered form, it would have been correct, so I think that this one exception need not invalidate in any way the other items I have had correctly given.

Within the last few years changes have occurred in Mr. Sloan's life.  His daughters married, and his sons went to sea, so that he found living alone monotonous.  His wife's people were sea-faring folk, so his sons followed the same calling.  He also had all his life a longing for the same life, and as he had no ties to keep him on shore, he too followed his sons and joined an Atlantic liner as Master-at-Arms, which position he held for some years, when he decided to again come and live on shore.  He is now employed with one of the leading business houses in Glasgow, but continues to give séances to his friends.  Only occasionally, however, does he now exercise his gift of mediumship, as his health is not so good as it used to be.

It seems strange that a man of such exceptional gifts should, for all practical purposes, be unknown to the world, but so it is.  It can only be attributed to his persistent refusal to accept money and become a public medium, and nothing will change him from this course.  He writes to me at times and I hear of him through mutual friends, but we seldom meet now, as living in England I am only occasionally in Scotland.  I have, however, my notes to remind me of the many interesting and instructive times I spent in his presence, and all my life I shall be grateful to him for the kindness and courtesy he has always shown me.  I look back on the night we first met, and feel that I was there in the position of one who was looking for something and had not found it, but that night he gave me the chance of finding what I had been seeking, the proof positive that we still live beyond this narrow vale called life, and that, when the end of earth life comes, we not only enter a larger and fuller one but also join again those we once loved here.  For this, my life-long gratitude will be felt towards John C. Sloan.

Excerpts from Where Two Worlds Meet

 "Mr. and Mrs. Sloan in 1946"

Arthur Findlay's Where Two Worlds Meet (1951 / PDF File of book) is described on the title page as "The Verbatim Record of Nineteen séances with John Campbell Sloan, the famous Glasgow Direct Voice Medium."  The Foreword recounts events leading to the publication of the book.

During the Second World War, Mr. John Campbell Sloan kindly gave his services from time to time, without charge, at the houses of different people, so that they and their friends might obtain the phenomenon known as the Direct Voice.  Miss Jean Logan Dearie, who lives at 16 Atholl Gardens, Glasgow, W.2, attended some of these meetings and took verbatim shorthand records of all that took place.

She accumulated twenty-four records of that number of séances, and in December 1950 she wrote to me to ask if I thought anything could be done to  make the contents of these documents known to the public.  I asked her to send them on to me, and, after reading them through, I realized that they formed a valuable addition to the records of the séances I had already published in my book On The Edge of the Etheric.

 
Miss Dearie is an expert stenographer, and is employed as private secretary to one of the principals of one of the leading business concerns in Scotland.  Her ability and integrity are undoubted, and I am satisfied, after careful enquiry, that the records given in this book are accurate.

This is how Miss Dearie is quoted about the seance transcripts.

"I started off with a new notebook for each séance, which I held on my knee, and put my thumb (left hand) at the beginning of the top line before the light was turned out.  When I reached the end of a line, I moved my thumb down a space, and continued doing this until I felt I was at the foot of the page, when I turned over and just guessed where a line started on the next page.  I was not always on the line, but my notes were fairly straight and regular, and the writing always legible.  I never looked down at my notebook while I was writing, but looked about me just like the other sitters, and so was able to see all the spirit lights and phenomena that occurred.  I never felt it tiresome taking the notes, and have no doubt I received help from the other side with that work."

Nineteen of the 24 verbatim Direct Voice seance transcripts are presented in Where Two Worlds Meet.  These 19 meeting transcripts are dated between April 11, 1942 and July 10, 1945.  Findlay reported that 34 different people attended the meetings at various times  —

. . . the names given are those of real live people, and I am grateful to them for allowing their names to be published and their private family matters to be made public.  Finally, this book gives an exact copy of what Miss Dearie transcribed.  The text of what was said, both on this side and from the other, has been scrupulously adhered to, and only on a few occasions have I had to leave out something said from the other side.

Findlay's Foreword of the book was written 20 years after the publication of his book investigating 'psychic phenomena' On The Edge of the Etheric and other works about Spiritualism.  His purpose was "to spread the truth and increase knowledge" and he mentioned: "I have made no money from this work, as my books have never been sold above the cost of printing, binding, selling and advertising them."

In the Introduction, Findlay designated the various 'supernormal occurrences' that have been aspects of John Sloan's mediumship: clairvoyance and clairaudience, Direct Voice phenomena, trance mediumship, telekinesis and apports.  Findlay commented about Sloan's mediumship capacities:

He has never exploited them for money; in fact, he is quite indifferent about money.  Consequently, he has given séance after séance over the past fifty years, and never received a penny.  He was paid nothing for attending the Meetings recorded in the pages which follow.  Instead of gaining anything from them he put himself to both trouble and expense to be present.  He has received gifts from grateful sitters from time to time, but he never asks for anything and never expects a reward for his services.

There are also some background details concerning Sloan's life.

Sloan's home town is Dalbeattie in Kirkcudbrightshire, and when quite a youth he went to sea, to return to take up drapery, and later tailoring.  Then he went to Glasgow, to return home to Dalbeattie, and there he married.  His wife, whom he had known since childhood, was a clerkess in the Post Office at Edinburgh.  After that, he settled down in Glasgow to follow different occupations.  He was employed for several years in various departments of the Post Office, then as a packer in a warehouse, and in middle life he again went to sea for some years, returning to Glasgow to open a small newsagent's shop.  This was followed by other forms of employment, and then lie settled down in a cottage at West Kilbride in Ayrshire, where lie spent the happiest years of his life until his wife passed on.

After listening to the statements of the transcendental communicators whom Findlay sometimes called 'Etherians,' he defined death as "simply the severance of this etheric body, or structure, from the physical body . . . There is another world, about and around us, interpenetrating this physical world, into which we pass at death.  It has been described to me by those who have spoken to me from it, but only in language suited to our finite minds."  The substance of Etheria is stated by Findlay to be "of a higher vibrational frequency than is our earth . . . Mind is the common factor between this earth and the other etheric planes of existence . . . Each one of us has his share of this universal mind . . . Earth, then, is the training ground for mind which has become individualised."

When remarks are rather vague it is for a purpose, because Etherians are careful not to say anything that would be resented.  They know much about our private lives, but they realise that we do not wish our friends and relations to become aware of all we think and do.  So they are tactful in what they say, though at times they do say something that the person spoken to would rather keep private.  On these rare occasions, when they give something private away, I have deleted the remarks and mentioned that I have done so.

Accompanying lecture transcripts are remarks at the end of each chapter by Findlay about the seances in relation to society.  The following are some of his observations about what he witnessed.

At most séances, lights, the size of half-a-crown, float about the room, the trumpets rattle against each other, and move about at great speed.  A band of luminous paint on them makes it possible to follow their movements, but, without that, the swish they make when going through the atmosphere is easily heard.  They reach as high as the ceiling and at times beat the time of a tune on it.  No one is ever hurt by them, though they pass very near to the heads of the people present.  Sloan has had many a bang on the head, which sounds alarming, but he was never hurt.  This helps to relieve any tension.

The sitters in time get used to the materialised hands stroking their hands and faces.

 
When they ['Etherians'] come to meet and speak to us at these meetings, which we call the Sloan circle, they can often impress us before they even speak with the idea as to who they are.  That is the reason a sitter sometimes mentions a name and immediately afterwards the Etherian speaks.  It may be telepathy or clairaudience on our part, but so it is.

 
It will be noticed that they can keep in touch with distant friends of ours on earth, and report to us at these Meetings as to how they are and where they are.  During the War this was most helpful and many were comforted by the news, especially those who had relations and friends in the East.  Many instances of this form of news service came to my notice during the War, and its accuracy was remarkable.

Another point that comes out in the séance under review is that there we grow to maturity but never get old, and, if we die old on earth, we go back to maturity.  This is emphasised by Etherians on many occasions . . .

 
Emphasis is laid by them on the fact that this happiness comes to all who do their best to live a good and unselfish life on earth.  No theological beliefs or ceremonials are necessary to obtain the position in Etheria which our character alone justifies.  There religion seems to be an enlightened form of Unitarianism; all the creeds, dogmas and rituals of earth religions are soon forgotten, and, as we have sown on earth, so shall we reap in Etheria.

The remainder of this blog article presents transcript excerpts showing some of the aspects of the Direct Voice transcendental communication.  If identified, there are included the names associated with the Direct Voice communication heard in diverse voices that include many known to the witnesses from earlier times before the family member or acquaintance's transition to the ascended realm of existence.

I am 'Star of Peace' (a Red Indian), and I wish that my name would personify that peace feeling in your poor old world.  Our hearts bleed—I am putting it paradoxically so that you will understand how we feel—at the sorrow that goes on in all human hearts in the world to-day, and we pray that calm may be given to those of you who are in the midst of it.  May the Spirit of all Good throw his sheltering arms around each one of your dear ones who are in danger.  This is 'Star of Peace.'"

*

Someone then spoke in a foreign language.  Then a lady spoke, repeating some lines of poetry, the first two of which were lost.  She then continued:

"The time will come when we will all meet again in this land so bright and free from pain.  God bless you all. I am Mrs. Taylor.  Please tell Mary and Jean that I was here.  I think of them all the time, and of my beloved boy who is here."  

Mr. Sloan said: "Aye, that was Robert Taylor.  He was killed." 

A voice then spoke as if from very far away, saying:

"Not killed; I am alive and working yet—doing the Will of the Father—not killed."  

Mr. Sloan said: "Thank you for coming, Robert, we had a few nice words with your Mother."  

Robert Taylor continued in a voice which was clear and distinct.

"Good afternoon, it is Robert Taylor speaking.  I am very glad that I am nearer now, Mrs. Lang.  It is so delightful to be beside you.  It is not every day I get a chance of sending a message.  I am thinking about my beloved friend, Mary Stope.  God bless her for her friendship to me.  It is all fresh to me when I come back and look at you all.  I have passed the way by which all come.  You are filing past the milestones, my friends, Ladies and Gentlemen.  I went over before I had passed many milestones.  I have come to such a wonderful country, and I have got such wonderful work to do."

*

A woman's voice then said:

"Miss Colquhoun, from your cradle days of life I have been your Guide, my dear little sister.  I am the Indian girl, who speaks to you now.  I have been a sister to you all through life, watching you in your career, your joys and pains, helping you when you knew it not, in your trouble and care, in your trials and your sorrows, and will be with you to the journey's end.  God bless you, from Dewdrop.  Have you ever felt influences when you were going to do something, and you stood and thought—'I will not do that just now,' and you afterwards found that that intuition was the correct thing?  I was behind you there, and I will not disappoint you.  'I will shelter you in the shadow of my wings.'  This is Dewdrop." 

*

A man's voice (which turned out to be that of Pathfinder, an American Indian) then said:

"Up above the stars you see, there are other realms of light.  Don't you bother about where the Spirit World is, you will be there all right when the time comes, the whole lot of you.  What I would like to tell you is to prepare yourself on your side of life, so that you will be fitted and able to take a reasonable place and a reasonable responsibility on the spirit side when you do come over.

"Had I lived a better life in the material I would not have been so sad when I first came over here.  That was a beautiful illustration of a veil being drawn so that dear ones on this side do not always know what is going on among their friends on earth.  It is only the grosser things that are hidden from them.  I hope you will understand.  I am a very plain fellow and I am only putting my own thoughts through, which I have gathered from experience, and which I know to a great extent to be true on this side.

"We only know to a limited extent what is going on on the Earth Plane.  Those in the high planes—the Ministering Angels and Shining Ones—do, however, know all, and shade certain things off that would spoil the happiness of those on this side."

*

Then a new voice said:

"George,"

and Mrs. Lang replied: "Come away, friend, come away.  We are very pleased to have you."  The voice went on to say:

"God bless you all. My son, George."

(Prince George, Duke of Kent, killed in a flying accident on previous day, 25th August, 1942.)

"God support him.  Oh, Father God, support him now, support them all.  Pray for my dear son George, dear friends, and all those with him in that accident."

We replied: "We will send out our thoughts to him and to the others also."  King George V replied:

"It is not my son only.  There are thousands and thousands of my People who are passing at the present time.  Send out your loving thoughts to them all.  There is a sweet hallowed influence I find in your presence here.  I see you understand the sense of sorrow I feel for the manner of the passing of my beloved son, and for those dear ones left behind.  I know there are none of you but sense the pathos of the hurt they have sustained.  Pray that they may be comforted.  Although your physical eyes cannot see them, ministering hands are helping and will hold you up until life's journey is over and a wider vista of God's love is exposed to your gaze.  Good night.  God guard you and bless you and all my beloved people.  I was George the Fifth."

Mr. Sloan asked: "Who was that speaking?" and was very surprised when he was told it was King George V.

We were speaking amongst ourselves, saying what a good king the late King George had been, and what a good man our present King is and how well he worked for his country, when a voice from the other side said:

"That is quite right and as it should be.  It would not do to sit and let others do the work for you.  You want to do a little bit of service while in the world no matter what station the great Spirit God may have placed you in.  Each one should be willing to help those around in need of assistance and not allow it to fall on one shoulder only.  Also, you must not allow anyone to impose on you too much; just see that they take their share of responsibility.  It is a good lesson to each one of you to accept your share of responsibility and it helps to prepare you for the journey here, enabling you to take your proper place in the fuller life which awaits you.  I am just one of the stragglers who has come through it, and I wish I had done my duty better in the earth life."

Mrs. Lang asked if we knew him, and if he had spoken to us before.

He replied:

"I have never had the honour of being in your company, this beautiful company, before to-night.  I have been in the vicinity of such a Meeting but have never spoken.  To-night, however, the light was so bright and the conditions so favourable, that I took the responsibility of asking the door-keeper if I might come in.  He told me I might do so but I was to watch his hand and, if I went beyond what I should say or do, he would signal to me."

Miss Colquhoun remarked: "But you have not seen the signal yet, have you, friend?"

He replied:

"I do not require to see the signal; I would feel it.  There are so many things on this side of life which you cannot understand yet.  Of course you cannot, because I could not understand them myself when I first came over.  It is a gradual unfoldment.  While in earth life I used to wonder what kind of life this would be, and what clothes I would have on the spirit side of life.  In fact, I used to wonder if there was a spirit side at all; I hoped for it but was not at all certain."

*

The trumpet came over to Miss Dearie, and patted her hands, and a very pleasant voice said:

"Have you got your pencil ready?"

One of us remarked: "The two trumpets are still going around, anyway," and received the reply

"Number 1 is.  Number 2 is in use."

We then heard sounds like a bird whistling, and this went on for some time.  The room was in complete darkness, but to our surprise a very bright light appeared on one of the walls of the room.  It was like sunshine shining through a grating or venetian blind.  It remained there during most of the Sitting, though at times it dimmed or disappeared, but always came back again.

We started singing the hymn They are winging, they are winging, and Mr. Sloan went suddenly into trance.  He rose from his chair.  It was one of the Indians who controlled him, one who could not speak English very well, and it was difficult to make out what he said.  He seemed to be a healer, and came round the circle, shaking our hands.  We asked his name, and he said something like "Matouche" and "your bruder."

When he reached Miss Duff he said to her:

“You heal, me heal, you got one, two, three patients in charge, one very bad, me help you."

Miss Duff said that was so, and thanked him.  After he had spoken to Miss Dearie and to Mrs. Potter, who was sitting next to her, he suddenly said:

"Bruder must go.  Cannot hold him too long.  Get back to seat."

Miss Colquhoun helped Mr. Sloan into his seat, and then he came out of trance and asked: "What is the matter?  What has happened?"

Miss Colquhoun said: "It is all right, Mr. Sloan.  You have just been asleep for a little while, that is all."

*

He [Brian “the Irish friend of Mrs. Potter”] laughed heartily, and Mrs. Potter said: "It is nice to hear you laugh, Brian."

He replied:

"Sure, I laugh. Why should I not laugh?  The world is full of sorrow, but why should those who feel like laughing not smile?  Always remember that a smile from you may lessen the sorrow of some weary soul."

Another voice said:

"We have all but a short time on the Earth Plane, and it is up to you who are there to make the best of your opportunities, walking that pathway in such a way as to bring satisfaction to your own soul and joy to those about you, and, in the everlasting time, rejoicing will be yours, yours when you reach Paradise at last.  May the great good Father bless you all.  I am Pathfinder." 

*

Mrs. Lang asked: "Who is speaking, friend?  Have you been here before?"

He replied:

"Jim, Jim, or James.  I liked the name and took it for my own.  It was not the name I had in earth life."

Mrs. Lang said: "But you have been here before, have you not, James?" 

He replied:

"Many times. I have tried for a long time to find means whereby I could get the vibrations to speak to you, and others are helping me.  I am not able to speak as you hear me speaking.  I am registering the sound of those who are above me and showing me the way.  I love you all.  I am only the dictator (intermediary) speaking the words which I am getting handed on to me."

Mr. Cameron said: "I understand your thought is instantly turned into sound."

He replied:

"A thought on the Earth Plane is turned into sound on our side of life.  (Probably he meant our thoughts are sensed telepathically.)  If you are in coequal love and sympathy with each other, that is a cord which never loosens and never breaks." 

*

"There is just such a mass of humanity coming into the spirit side of life at the present time that it is beyond the comprehension of your minds to understand it, and we cannot put it into words, but I might put it in this way: 'It is difficult to get them sorted out.'  I think you will understand what I mean, friend Cameron.  Some are willing to listen and some are just as obstinate and unwilling to be led into the way that leads upwards and onwards.  I say it remains possible for you in the earth life, who understand, to throw out your sympathy and your love to those who have passed over through this war, and to let your kind thoughts go out to them as comrades and friends because it is wonderful how quickly on this side of life they come to see what a foolish, foolish thing they had done to be killing and hating each other, and the feeling of enmity is soon forgotten.

"Your loving thoughts and prayers can help them to arrive more quickly at this conclusion.  If you could just realise the condition of chaos in which they come over you would send all the love possible, but they are immediately put into the hands of those best fitted to help them.  Every loving thought that we give helps them, and every loving thought coming from those on the earth side of life is immediately directed to those who most require it."

Mrs. Bowes asked: "Even when we can give love to our enemy, what happens to that love?"

She got the reply:

"If you give love to your enemy, well, you are giving a love on both sides where it can be used.  Had the nations of the world had more love for each other, the world would not be in the state it is in at the present time.  God bless you.  A thought of love goes to your credit, dear lady, all the time.  I am Thomas Armstrong." 

*

We opened the Sitting with the usual hymn, Nearer, my God, to Thee, and afterwards repeated The Lord's Prayer. We afterwards spoke about the weather, and one of us remarked that snow had already been seen on the hills.

An Etherian remarked:

"There is snow on some hills all the time."

We next spoke about clan tartans, and Mr. Cameron remarked that the colourings of some of the ancient clan tartans were very beautiful.

A voice asked:

"Are you a Cameron?"

and the trumpet touched Miss Colquhoun.  She replied: "No, I am a Colquhoun."

The voice then asked Mr. Cameron:

"And what clan do you belong to, Sir?"

Mr. Cameron replied: "I am a Cameron," and the Etherian remarked:

"I thought there was something Highland about you, and I appreciate your beautiful compliment about the tartans, friend Cameron.  I am also a Highlander, but I do not fight now for any one clan.  We are all fighting under the same banner, for truth and liberty for all men and all women, that all the world may be free, irrespective of clan, nation, or color, all one brotherhood of the great 'I Am,' Whom, not having seen, we love and adore His Majesty, His Purity, and the wonder of His Love."

*

Mr. Sloan's son in Etheria then said:

"This is Dougal speaking.  You have not lost me at all, Dad.  I am often with you, and very often help you.  Why should I not?  It is Dougie."

Mr. Sloan replied: "Dougie, when I said good-bye to you at the Docks I did not think it was for the last time."

His son answered:

"It is just as well we do not know these things, Dad, but just wait until the time comes when you come over beside us.  We will go over all the glorious scenes of the past, and walk in the new country and the new land which God has prepared for all His children.  I am Dougal Sloan.  If you walk according to God's laws you will have a wonderful life in the land of light.  God bless you.  Thank you, Dad, for you were a good Dad to me.  I know you miss Mother, but she is here, and it will be all right.  We will all meet again by and by.  Just you go on and do the best you can.  You have got strength in you yet for a while."

Mr. Hardman then spoke to Miss Dearie:

"I would like to pay appreciation to you, Miss Dearie.  My devoted thanks go out to you for the beautiful way in which you transcribe my thoughts and feelings to my dear friend in the Orkneys.  May God bless you for it.  I will do my best to show my appreciation.  I think you have someone very dear to you, whom your thoughts are very greatly centred upon.  I shall try and help you there also as far as I can from this side of life.  John Hardman is speaking to you.

"For the lucid way in which you portray my thoughts, I thank you very, very much, and for your kindly bearing with me, one and all, a stumbling disbeliever.  Oh, what will I call myself I do not really know.  I do not know how to put it, friend Cameron, but I did not believe in an after-life.  I did not believe it, but could not get away from the thought that there might be something.  I very speedily found out that there was something, and something far more real than I ever experienced in my earth life.  It is my duty to my friend, Miss Dearie, to express my deep appreciation for portraying my thoughts so minutely.  Thank you."

Miss Dearie replied: "Thank you very much indeed, Mr. Hardman."

Miss Colquhoun's Grand-uncle, David Johnston, and her Grandfather, William, who is David's brother, now spoke to her.  Since their passing on she has come to know them so well that they are to her what she describes as "intimate friends."  First of all David, sometimes known as Davie, spoke to her in a clear, distinct voice:

"Hello, Crissie, Davie Johnston speaking.  I was trying to give you a wee punch on the nose with the trumpet, but I could not manage it.  I would not hurt you, Crissie.  I am as happy, as happy as you could wish me to be, and that is saying a good deal, and now, my dear, dear Crissie, I do wish you could see your Mother—Davie and Mrs. Colquhoun going off for a stroll.  What are you laughing at?  We have far lovelier scenery than you ever see on your side of life.  It is similar but far more beautiful.  The colours are magnificent, and there is no decay.  It just seems to fade away.  You see the growth from the bottom, just as you do in earth life, and when it comes to full maturity it just vanishes."

Miss Colquhoun asked Davie Johnston: "Can you pull the flowers?," and he replied:

"Oh, certainly, you can decorate your homes, your houses where you live, with anything you like, and, if you are passing some place, and have seen some particular flower, and thought 'I would like to have that flower in my garden,' when you return home you will find it there.  The Spirit Overseer of the various plants and flowers will bring the same plant to grow in your garden, without you troubling about it."

Mr. Cameron asked: "Where do you put the flowers when you decorate your homes with them?"

He received the reply:

"We just put them in a vase, the same as in your own house, and you don't need to worry about breaking the vases, because you cannot break them."

Mr. Cameron said: "The flowers won't require water," and the reply came back:

"We have a liquid, but it is not exactly water.  We have the equivalent of many material things here.  It would not be a real home life, if you had not the same things as you had in earth life.  You see the flowers growing up here, so very beautiful, and fading away when they come to full maturity.  There is no waste or decay."

*

[A man's voice] "I am afraid, my friends, I must go now.  I have been the door-keeper.  I have not apparently been taking much notice but I have been doing my best for you.  I feel I must say adieu, because I am required elsewhere.  Good night, my Brothers and my Sisters, and may the blessing of God rest upon you.  Those who are less fortunate than yourself, give them all your thoughts and your sympathy, and God will reward you for it.

"I do not feel that I am adequately adapted to speak to you, Ladies and Gentlemen, in a way that you ought to be spoken to.  It has been a joy and a great upliftment to me to-day that I have been a recipient of the joys and pleasures which you have received in this little Meeting to-night. I have also been uplifted and my soul has been refreshed and strengthened in the labour of the work which lies before me, by being in your presence to-day.

"As one who traversed the Earth Plane long before your time and who has been traversing the planes and spaces for many years, as you count time, I have been in touch time and again with your surroundings but I have never been able to articulate or speak to you until to-day. To-day I feel uplifted and have joy in the thought that I have got a contact and I pray that the Great Spirit of Love will allow me to keep in touch with you, to do you some little good from time to time.  God bless you all."

*

[A man’s voice] "Progress all the time, until, in God's good time, you reach the fulfillment of a purified soul, that can work in harmony with the Great Spirit of All Life.  Progress will go on until the full theme and completion of the Master's Will is accomplished, and you are able to mix with those Shining Ones, in a glorified condition, whom you hope to join some day."

Mr. Cameron asked: "Are you referring to Jesus?," and received the reply:

"Oh, he is the Great Master, you know.  The influence of Jesus, we know, is embodied in many who are working on the spirit side of life.  Not many, as you know, were called 'Jesus of Nazareth,' but there were many Christs, and there will be many more Christs while many worlds exist.  There is a stage when some of us can know no further.  There is a world inside another world, but we have not progressed to that knowledge, nor will we, until we have advanced to a stage much above our present knowledge."

Mr. Cameron asked: "Have you any further knowledge of God than we have?"

The voice said:

"The Kingdom of God, that inner consciousness which emanates from the spirit of the Great Eternal, is within you, and it is in all of you to raise it to an understanding which will help you and help others.  God bless you, keep you, and help you to understand.  I must go now, but I will come again.  I have to go away just from your immediate surroundings, but I shall deem it a favour to come some other time to greet you all again.  Your earthly experiences are just a stage in your spiritual progress."

*

Mr. Cameron remarked: "I just sometimes wonder whether God's ministering angels direct one to the place one has to go."

Wallaho replied:

"Oh no, a higher hand guides that.  It depends first on the life you have lived on earth, and the attitude of the mind on your spirit body when it comes to the other side of life, in what condition you will arrive.  That entirely lies with yourself, with the persons themselves—you know what I mean.  It depends on the life you have lived in the body, and what you have done to help others and to serve the Great Master's cause, without any thought of yourself but for the great glory of God and for the extension of His Kingdom."

*

"Good evening, Mrs. Lang.  How do you do?  I am glad to see you.  I have met you before, in earth life, you know.  Doyle speaking.  It is just a privilege to come in here and say a few words."

Mrs. Lang replied: "That is very nice of you, and we are very pleased to know you are here."

He replied:

"I am just looking around to see you all.  Miss Dearie, I see you are writing.  You will have heard of Doyle."

The trumpet came on to Miss Dearie's head, and then a hand stroked her hair.

Miss Dearie said: "Are you a friend of Arthur?"

Mrs. Lang said: "It is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."

Miss Dearie, now rather confused, replied: "Oh, of course, I know who you are now, Sir Arthur.  Of course, I have heard about you often, and have read some of your books."

He replied:

"I am just what you call 'Sir Arthur,' but never mind the 'Sir.'  I am here now to do some service to any of you that I can.  God bless you all."

Mrs. Bowes asked: "What do you think of the world situation now, Sir Arthur?  The fighting that is still going on?"

He replied:

"It is rapidly drawing to a finish now, my dear."

Miss Dearie asked: "Do you think this truth will spread and be more generally accepted when the war is all over?"

Sir Arthur replied:

"There is no doubt there will be more understanding of it.  It will be more completely understood, I should say.  Good day."