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 HE GUIDING 
 LIGHT 
 
 JAMES D. MILLER 
 
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TKe Guiding LigKt 
 
THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES D. MILLER 
 
 QKe ChristopKer Publishing House 
 Boston, U. S. A. 
 

 
 Copyright 1922 
 By The Christopher Publishing House 
 
 MADE IN AMERICA 
 
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Dedicated To 
 
 MY DARLING MOTHE% 
 
 And to Faithful Friends, Both Spirit and 
 
 cMortaU "(vho Have Done so Much 
 
 To Build up my Physical and 
 
 Intellectual Systems 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This book has been written in my own words, no large 
 words or literary phrases has been injected into it. The 
 limitation of my education has endowed me with but 
 a small vocabulary where with to clothe many great 
 thoughts that have welled up in my mind. Not a line 
 in this book has been written or recorded from "hear- 
 say," not a fact is given that I do not know to be 
 true; from beginning to end, my one purpose has been 
 not to write an eulogy, but to write justly the truth. 
 No attempt has been made to write this book in story 
 form, it is written in paragraphic form, relative to my 
 life and experiences with the Great Spirit Forces. I am 
 prompted to write this book through inspiration, to give 
 out these facts unto the world; to teach those that are 
 near-sighted, self-centered, and those who are being 
 blindly led by improper influences; the easier and better 
 way of seeking relief for their bodily ailments and 
 troubles. All who read this book have a perfect right 
 to criticise and to question, but, I shall not feel under 
 any obligation to make further reply. Life is too short 
 and too precious to spend it in privately answering per- 
 sons who "wish to be assured that the writer is none 
 other than a normal person as far as his intellect is 
 concerned, or who cultivate original theories concerning 
 their character or life." 
 
 Not a line has been written for the sake of writing it. 
 1 must apologise at the outset for the personal reference, 
 which, but for the clearness that it may lend to the 
 statements, I would surely avoid. I am not a writer by 
 
nature; at least this talent has never unfolded itself to 
 me, nor was I aware of its existence, until the unseen 
 ones about me discovered the talent in my soul; which, 
 by touching with their quickening power, they have 
 developed and produced the results here given. 
 
 It is the writers earnest wish that the contents of this 
 book will help up-lift those, who, for years, have been 
 laboring under some heavy physical burden. 
 
 J. D. M. 
 
The Guiding Light 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 In a white house, "low and small" on a small farm in 
 the Connecticut Valley, twenty miles north of Hartford, 
 Connecticut in the Town of Enfield, I was born on the 
 nth day of September, 1895. The house was small, 
 without the slightest pretensions to architectural beauty. 
 It was one story and a half in height, the front looking 
 toward the East and separated from the road by a narrow 
 strip of door-yard grass. A low porch was at the South 
 of the house and from the steps of this, a path of well- 
 trodden soil led to a cool unfailing well of water. A 
 few yards distant, close to the wall on the South side 
 and almost pushing its strong thrifty boughs through 
 the little attic window, flourished a fruitful apple tree. 
 Beyond the door-yard, and sloping toward the South- 
 east, lay a small garden with its single row of small peach 
 trees, dividing its length; and beds of vegetables laid 
 close on either side. A little in the rear of the dwelling, 
 stood the ample weather-beaten barn, the busy haunt of 
 the restless swallows and sparrows. A number of state- 
 ly and symmetrical pines which had been kindly spared 
 from the forest when the clearing for the house was made, 
 grew just across the drive-way and in the summer, threw 
 their thick cool shadows over the road, making a grate- 
 ful shade for the tired traveler. 
 
 In such a home I was born, the first child of William 
 Miller and Elizabeth MacDougall, his wife. My father 
 
10 THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 was an agricultural worker from childhood. Early pov- 
 erty and the hard exigencies of life had left him no time 
 nor facilities for acquiring anything more than the mere 
 rudiments of a common school education; and the con- 
 sciousness of his want of culture and an invincible dif- 
 fidence born with him, gave him a retiring manner and 
 a want of confidence in his own judgment, which was 
 mherited to a large measure, by his offspring "myself." 
 My mother is brown-eyed and beautiful. My mother 
 is a woman of superior intellect and of good, well-ordered 
 life. To me she stands apart from all others, purer, 
 sweeter, doing more, and living better than any other 
 woman. She was the wonder of my childhood and the 
 comfort and guiding inspiration of my maturity. How 
 she did so much work and yet did it well; how she 
 reared carefully and governed wisely so large a family 
 of children and yet found time to develop by thought 
 and reading, a mind of unusual strength and clearness is 
 still a mystery to me. An exemplary housewife, a wise 
 and kind mother, she left no duty unfulfilled, yet she 
 found time often at night after every other member of 
 the household was asleep, by reading to keep herself 
 informed of all the issues of the day. When we re- 
 member that the woman who kept herself informed of 
 all the issues of the day, is the mother of eight children, 
 a housewife who performed the labor of her large house- 
 hold with her own hands; that she lived in a rural 
 neighborhood wherein personal and family topic were 
 the supreme subjects of discussion, aloof from the larger 
 interests and busy thoroughfares of men, we can form 
 a juster estimate of the superiority of her natural powers 
 and the native breadth of her mind and heart. Such 
 
THK GUIDING WGHT U 
 
 are my father and mother, Elizabeth and William 
 Miller. 
 
 From my father, I inherited the retiring temperament, 
 and from my mother, I inherited my interest in public 
 affairs, my passion for justice, my devotion to truth and 
 duty as I saw it, my clear perceptions and conceptions, 
 and sturdy common sense. Blended with my personal 
 love for my father and mother, is the ingenuous pride 
 and delight in my ancestry. 
 
 At birth, I was a perfect specimen of babyhood, not 
 a deformity, not a disproportioned limb, nor a blemish 
 of any kind, weighing seven and one-fourth pounds at 
 birth. I was also endowed with all the stamina and 
 vitality that my mother could bestow upon her first born. 
 Thus I entered this great mortal world to fight the great 
 battle of Life. After my birth, I thrived splendidly 
 until I was about two years old, at which time I was as 
 physically fit and perfect as any child could be. When 
 about the age of two years, I contracted a severe cold, 
 which settled in my bronchial tubes. A medical doctor 
 was consulted and after an examination, informed my 
 mother that it was nothing serious, and left some medi- 
 cine, as was the usual procedure. (Medicine, when 
 properly symbolized, is narcotic in varying degrees of 
 strength.) My mother followed this medical Doctor's 
 orders faithfully, administering the medicine to me. 
 After several doses of medicine, a little relief was secured, 
 and so my condition continued for several days with no 
 marked improvement. The medical Doctor was con- 
 sulted again; this time he changed the medicine, which 
 was administered as per directions. After a period of 
 time, I was able to be up, although very weak and it 
 
12 the: guiding wght 
 
 was about this time that my mother discovered a slight 
 wheezing every time I took a breath but she thought 
 it was just the after effects of the cold. This was in 
 the latter part of November 1897. As time went on, 
 the wheezing increased. I was taking medicine practic- 
 ally all the time, its effects and relief were only tempo- 
 rary. Under the constant strain of hard breathing and 
 the sickening effect of the medicine, I declined into what 
 is known as a delicate condition. My mother took 
 extra precaution against colds and dampness, but it 
 seemed to be of no avail, and so my condition continued 
 delicate; sick part of the time, and fairly well part of 
 the time. 
 
 My story takes me up to the time I was about eight 
 years old. I was not able to start into school at the 
 regular school age, which is about six years of age. 
 By this time, due to the combined effort of hard breath- 
 ing, coughing and medicine, I was gradually becoming 
 deformed. I was becoming barrel chested, (better known 
 as chicken breasted), my spine was becoming distorted, 
 curved; my legs, arms and face were abnormally long 
 and as I look back, it was quite a transformation from 
 a perfect baby into deformed boyhood. 
 
 The above statements were dictated to me by my 
 mother, I, being too young to comprehend the happenings 
 in my life up to the age of eight. Now, dear readers, 
 I will give you the rest of my experiences as I remember 
 them, starting at the age of eight years. This may 
 sound to you as being rather a young age to conceive 
 and remember the experiences, but, having been sick so 
 much, and forced into older company, I was older in 
 ways than my years indicated. 
 
the: guiding light 13 
 
 I was denied boyhood romps and games, due to my 
 physical condition. Up to this time, I had been unable 
 to attend school, so at the age of eight years, I started 
 into grammar school. The school-house in which I 
 gained the rudiments of my education was located a 
 distance of almost a mile from my home. This dis- 
 tance was always walked, as there were then no modern 
 means of transportation. The plain two story brick 
 building is still standing, and is still used for school 
 purposes. I was backward, bashful and a weakling; I 
 was twitted by other children in the class-room and out. 
 This, of course, had a tendency to make my path harder, 
 but I studied and learned what I could. The teachers 
 were not very considerate and the consequence was I 
 didn't learn very rapidly. Of course, I had my sick 
 spells of hard breathing and wheezing, although I was 
 taking medicine practically all the time. I was obliged 
 to attend and stay out of school intermittently during 
 the school season. In all, I managed to attend school, 
 when totaled up was about two months of the school 
 season and when I was able to go I was obliged to trail 
 along after my class, skipping a large portion of the 
 studies, much in the same manner as a lame chicken 
 follows a healthy flock at feeding time. And so I 
 continued until I reached the age of twelve years, at 
 which time my parents decided that I should not attend 
 school any longer, due to my physical condition. By 
 the time I left, I was able to read, write and figure ele- 
 mentary work fairly well. My parents thought that by 
 taking me out of school, it would give my nerves a rest 
 and perhaps build up my system. About this time, we 
 moved on to another farm, which was located on high 
 
14 THE GUIDING I,IGHT 
 
 and dry ground. We were advised to do this by a med- 
 ical Doctor, who said he thought I would improve when 
 located on higher ground: but such was not the case. 
 The so-called asthmatic attachs came and went intermit- 
 tently as before, but now the attacks had a tendency to 
 become more prolonged. I tried to work some, on the 
 farm, but could not accomplish anything to speak of. 
 
 My parents were advised by our family physician 
 to have me vaccinated. The physician said it would, 
 when I had it done, give me relief and would also help 
 build up my physical strength. Well, I was vaccinated, 
 but the promised relief did not appear, nor did I get 
 any stronger, though in addition to the regular suffering, 
 T had to endure the sickly effect of the toxin. I never 
 knew the time, when I felt light-hearted. I was always 
 depressed by the physical burden which I had to bear. 
 
 At the age of fifteen, I decided to try raising poultry. 
 I succeeded fairly well, having hatched and raised six 
 hundred chickens; hatched and raised them with the 
 aid of incubators and artificial mothers, until they were 
 about nine month's old. (When I wasn't able to take 
 care of them, my mother assumed the duty). When 
 they were about nine months old, ill luck befell me. A 
 dog killed over one hundred full grown chickens, belong- 
 ing to me. I became so discouraged and sick that I 
 =old the remaining five hundred, and with the proceeds 
 decided to try the salt air for a change to see if it would 
 be a benefit to me. So, in the spring of 1911, I went 
 to New Haven, Connecticut, which is located practically 
 on the Long Island Sound, about sixty miles from my 
 home. The first two weeks, I was there, I did not notice 
 much improvement in my condition. Then my system 
 
THi; GUIDING LIGHT IS 
 
 gradually began to respond to the clear salt air. I 
 secured a position as dock-clerk on one of the docks 
 there, so as to be as near the salt water as possible. I 
 improved wonderfully, put on weight, had better color 
 and a splendid appetite. The hard breathing and wheez- 
 ing had practically disappeared. I thought I had found 
 a cure at last. I worked there all summer, grew fat, 
 but still remained in a deformed condition. 
 
 It was during this summer that I became somewhat 
 interested in mediums and spiritualism. I had a sitting 
 (my iirst) with one of New Haven's leading mediums. 
 T was startled and surprised at some of the revelations 
 in regard to my physical self, but I treated the facts 
 lightly, practically scoffed at them. I thought most of 
 it was fraud and humbug and that it must be some 
 outside spiritual agency: that it was Satan (so called) 
 or his emissaries. I was also very much afraid of it. 
 Even though I did not believe there was a hell hereafter, 
 I could not bring myself to realize that the messages 
 Avere from spirits of the other and higher plane. I had 
 always had faith that there was celestial life hereafter, 
 but never gave a thought as to how our spirit friends 
 were to communicate with this plane. I never took into 
 consideration that there was an intermediate person 
 whose mind was tuned to the proper vibration, so as to 
 attract and act as an instrument for our spirit friends, 
 when they wished to communicate with us. 
 
 I was advised to have my adenoids removed. I was, 
 at the time, undergoing treatments for my nose and throat 
 which consisted mainly of forcing an instrument up my 
 nose in an effort to open up the nasal system which the 
 physician claimed was closed. I submitted to these 
 
^^ THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 treatments for almost one year without results Well 
 I had my adenoids removed by a noted eye, ear and 
 nose specialist of New Haven, Connecticut, and I will 
 say to all who have been advised to have their adenoid, 
 removed to look into and investigate the matter thorough- 
 ly. Perhaps some of you do not know how the adenoids 
 tunction. I am not quoting anything from medical 
 hearsay, but from my own personal experience The 
 adenoids act as a strainer for the bronchial tubes and 
 the lungs. When inhaling cold air, such as we have in 
 the wmter time, they act as an air warmer, that is when 
 you mhale, they sift out all the little particles of dust 
 and also takes the chill off the air before it (the air)' 
 reaches the bronchical tubes. That is the effect when 
 you have them. Now, when you have had them re- 
 moved, all those little particles of dust go right into 
 the bronchical tubes and when you breathe in the cold 
 air, it goes straight to the tubes before it is warmed 
 Vou can see by using your own common sense what 
 a strain and irritation it places upon the bronchical tubes 
 when the adenoids are removed. This I know to be a 
 positive fact. Also, after you have had your adenoids 
 removed, you have practically no control over the nasal 
 system. I have seen the time that I have been oblicred 
 to use four or five handkerchiefs in the short space'' of 
 nve hours. You have absolutely no control over the 
 nasal discharge, after you have had your adenoids re- 
 moved. 
 
 I thought I was getting along well enough then so 
 I did not pay any attention to the advice given me by 
 the spirit forces through the medium. Summer wore 
 on into autumn and in the latter part of November I 
 
THK GUIDING UGHT 17 
 
 felt the old condition coming back, but I tried to make 
 myself believe it wasn't so. But in the early part of 
 December 1911, I was all in, and came back home. I 
 suffered all that winter, and most of the summer of 1912. 
 I got some better along toward the fall of that year. 
 My parents at various times, had sittings with different 
 mediums in regard to my health as well as other things, 
 and on one occasion one of the mediums gave my mother 
 some herbs compounded by her guides, but as I had no 
 faith in the mediums at that time, I did not, nor would 
 not follow out directions as given. So consequently the 
 herbs did no good, and the conditions remained somewhat 
 the same, the attacks came and went. 
 
 I don't like to think how much I was robbed of in 
 this world by just the conditions of my life; how much 
 better work I should have done but couldn't, due to poor 
 health; how much more success I might have won if 
 I had been given a better opportunity in my youth. 
 But for the first eighteen years of my life, it seemed as 
 if there was actually nothing in my existence but suffer- 
 ing. My father always worked; my mother's work was 
 never done; the whole family struggle was just for the 
 right to live free from the curse of debt, of which my sick- 
 ness was the cause. I hungered and thirsted for knowl- 
 edge, but there were but few books on our family book- 
 shelf, not a Public Library within reach. There was plen- 
 ty of time to study but there was no chance to learn, as I 
 was not in possession of the proper books. As you can 
 see it has been a long and discouraging struggle both 
 for my parents and myself. On more than one occasion, 
 1 was obsessed with a spell of melancholy which had a 
 tendency to weaken and deteriorate my mental facilities. 
 
18 tnt GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 In the Spring of 1915 I answered a Correspondence 
 School advertisement and in due time enrolled in one of 
 their courses. I studied faithfully at home, as there 
 was not much else that I could do. I progressed rapidly 
 in my studies through that summer and fall. About 
 this time my mind had matured into such a state that 
 I often wondered what would become of me if I was 
 left alone in the world. I had made up my mind to 
 learn a trade some day if I could find an employer who 
 would be lenient enough to hire and keep me during the 
 time I was experiencing asthmatic (so-called) attacks, 
 which, by the way now occurred about every ten or 
 twelve weeks. I had about this time, made up my 
 mind as to what trade I would learn. In the month of 
 May 1916, there was an opening in the line of work I 
 had made up my mind to follow. So I made the most 
 of it and secured the position as apprentice. I had to 
 explain to the manager my short-comings and he agreed 
 to hold my position for me if I should experience an 
 attack. I was sick several times during the time I was 
 serving my apprenticeship, which stretched over a period 
 of two years. 
 
 On one occasion during the time I was serving my 
 apprenticeship, I suffered a lapse of memory. It was a 
 very peculiar sensation. It happened on one afternoon. 
 I left my home to do some shopping for myself. When 
 I reached my destination the first errand I had to do 
 was to purchase some stationery. I entered the sta- 
 tionery store and proceeded to the counter where the 
 paper was on sale. I remembered picking out the kind 
 of paper I wanted and paying for it and that was all I 
 remembered until I came to my senses some time later. 
 
the; guiding i.ight 19 
 
 During the time my mind was blank, I had made my way 
 out of the stationery store and walked as near as I can 
 reckon, four blocks. When I came to, I found myself 
 on a side street, standing on the curb-stone. I did not 
 know the day of the week, the time or what I came 
 after. My iirst thought was to get home as soon as 
 possible to get straightened out. This I accomplished 
 without further trouble. It was a terrible sensation! 
 This lapse of memory was due to the effects of a certain 
 medicine which a Medical Doctor had given me for a 
 tonic. You can readily see for yourself that I had 
 some experience while taking medicine. 
 
 During the time I was serving my apprenticeship, I 
 had several sittings with a medium during which the 
 Spirit Guides, working through her instrumentality, ac- 
 quainted me with many facts, relative to my work and 
 also my health which, afterward, came to pass, and 
 while I did not place much confidence in her recom- 
 mendation in regard to my health, I began to realize 
 that if some of the things which she had told me came 
 to pass, there must be something in the talk she gave 
 me in regard to my health while she was under influence. 
 Of course, after each sitting I acquainted my mother 
 with all the details of the reading, and mother would 
 often say, "Why don't j^ou give some of Mrs. H.'s 
 (medium) prescriptions a trial?" But I was headstrong, 
 and kept on with the Medical Doctor's medicine. 
 
 The only relief I could get when I had the hard 
 spasmodic breathing spells (and that was only tempo- 
 rary), was secured by inhaling the fumes produced by 
 burning Doctor R. Schiffman's German Asthma and 
 Bronchial Powder, better known today as Schiffman's 
 
20 TH£ GUIDING I«IGHT 
 
 Asthmador. I have used this powder for inhalations 
 ever since I was five years old. It was the only little 
 bit of salvation 1 could get when I had the severe breath- 
 mg spasms. Asthmador, in itself, is nothing more than 
 a combination of Nature's products. Properly com- 
 pounded, it consists essentially of salt-peter and herbs, 
 including the leaves of the well known mullen plant, 
 which you have often seen growing in pastures out in 
 the rural districts. 
 
 I learned my trade in two years, finishing it in the 
 Spring of 1918. I had also kept studying the home 
 course I had taken from the Correspondence Schools. 
 I secured a position as a full fledged tradesman at which 
 I worked until the early part of December 1918, when 
 1 contracted the dreaded disease of Influenza. There 
 was very few disease epidemics that I escaped. Shortly 
 after contracting the Influenza, I was confined to my 
 bed. My condition grew rapidly worse. My parents 
 called in several Medical Doctors, during the early stage 
 of my sickness. The prescribed medicine was admin- 
 istered as per directions. I suffered an intense fever and 
 had a frightful time in general; but by the latter part 
 of December 1918, I had passed the crisis and was able 
 to sit up part of the time. By this time, the fever 
 condition had passed, but it left me in a very weak 
 condition which was accompanied by hard breathing, 
 which became spasmodic at times. In addition to the 
 Medical Doctors' medicine, I tried all kinds of patent 
 medicine, but I could not gain a particle of strength. Of 
 course I was discouraged. My parents were in despair 
 The Medical Doctors, with all their so-called science 
 and methods could not bring me out of the condition. 
 
the: guiding wght 21 
 
 I was practically a hopeless case. I gradually became 
 so weak that in addition to the strong (drugs) medicine 
 administered, I was gradually losing the use of my 
 limbs. I got into such a condition that every so-called 
 asthmatic spasm I had, my parents thought it would 
 be my last; but I had jaith in what, "I did not know." 
 I knew that the Medical Doctors had reached the end 
 of the rope, as far as my case was concerned. My 
 parents did not know where to turn to get relief for me. 
 Through physical suffering almost beyond precedent; 
 through days and nights and years of almost hopeless 
 illness, yet I clung to this life, not through any lack 
 of faith or fear in the other and higher plane, but be- 
 cause it seemed to me that I had not yet exhausted the 
 possibilities and the fullness of this life. And so my 
 condition continued until the 14th of January 1919. 
 
 The following is a citation of the human body; what 
 it is in a sense, composed of, and how it should be cared 
 for and developed in order to be able to enjoy perfect 
 health. The following will no doubt, make you realize 
 how blindly the writer was led along on the wrong path 
 in his endeavor to procure a healthy condition. Nature 
 is the only doctor, but some do not realize it until too 
 late, while others abuse it. 
 
 Our bodies are composed of cellular tissue. The cells 
 have a life of their own. They are born, function, grow 
 old and cease to exist. The health and youth of the 
 body depends on the vitality of the cellular tissue 
 throughout the organism, and this is mainly auxiliary 
 to proper nutrition and moderate and symmetrical ex- 
 ercise, the cells become decrepit and the organism be- 
 comes torpid and prematurely aged. The latter was 
 
22 THi: GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 my condition for a period of years. By over exercise, 
 the changes in the cellular tissues are abnormally rapid 
 and the over-taxed parts are disproportionately develop- 
 ed, (in the writers case, it was his chest that was, in a 
 sense, over developed), at the expense of the vital func- 
 tions. All wisely devised methods of bodily culture will 
 aim to strengthen the interior vital parts of the organism 
 rather than the superficial muscles. You will not doubt, 
 by using your common sense, see that Medical Doctor's 
 medicine will never be able to accomplish that which 
 Nature can accomplish, or accomplish the above effect. 
 A full use of the lungs habitually cultivated by deep 
 and regular breathing, an active circulation of the blood 
 through all the organs by means of which the vital func- 
 tions of the body are performed. There should be reg- 
 ularity in the hours of sleep and the periods of rest. 
 Healthy and normal activity of the vital functions rather 
 than the development of inordinate muscular power 
 should be our aim. 
 
 As a summary, the real cause of all this suffering, 
 which I have found out now, with the aid of the Spirit 
 Forces, as you read on, will be unfolded to you. The 
 following point is what I want to bring out. The point 
 is, that while the doctor treated me for a so-called dis- 
 ease, they were giving the underlying weakness, in my 
 case, a chance to become firmly seeded in my system. 
 That is, while I was taking the medicine prescribed by 
 the Doctors which had the effect of deadening and 
 weakening the nerves and tissues of my body, the dread- 
 ed so-called asthma, which, in reality, is nothing more 
 than a physical weakness, was getting a deadly grip on 
 my system, settling principly in my bronchial tubes. The 
 
the: guiding ught 23 
 
 medicine instead of killing the supposed disease germ, 
 was simply feeding it, giving it all the chance in the 
 world to thrive, which it did. 
 
 Friend reader, I have written my physical experiences 
 in detail, to give you an idea how near I was crossing 
 the border line. My reason for doing this is to point 
 out to you, one of the many ways which Christ, as a 
 power, has in bringing and teaching you to see and do 
 things in the right way. Later on in this book, you will 
 see, as I do now, that the methods used were only to 
 teach me the right from the wrong way. By that I mean 
 to teach, that if we only would place faith in him (the 
 Great Power), our paths on the earth plane would be 
 made much easier, both intellectually and physically. 
 
24 THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 On the 14th of January 1919, my mother and I decided 
 to try and get relief from a new quarter for me. My 
 mother went practically as the last resort and had a 
 sitting with a medium, Mrs. Anna Houghton, of Spring- 
 field, Massachusetts. 
 
 Mrs. Anna Houghton, as a woman, possesses a person- 
 ality far above the average person. To my mind, her 
 personality is surpassed by only one person and that 
 is my darling mother. Mrs. Houghton is a woman, 
 endowed with Christ's principles, always aiming to uplift 
 and inspire those who are in trouble and those who have 
 become dejected through the lack of understanding. Her 
 motto is, "Look up and not down, go forward and not 
 backward and give those who are weak a helping hand." 
 As a Spiritualist Medium, Mrs. Houghton is superb; 
 her intellect and broad-mind is one that is rarely in 
 possession of the human body. She, in a sense, is a 
 ministering angel here among mankind to those who have 
 faith in the higher ideals of life. Her uplifting person- 
 ality is, in a sense, a tonic for all those who talk with 
 her, both when she is under the Spiritual influence and 
 when she is not. She is so gentle, so kind, upliftful and 
 yet forceful in her manner, words fail to express the 
 fme woman which she is. 
 
 As I look back now, it was more the Spiritual Guid- 
 ance that sent my mother to see her, than our own 
 initiative. When the Spirit Forces took control of and 
 worked through this medium, they (I say "they" for 
 
THK GUIDING LIGHT 25 
 
 there were more than one influence) described my case 
 identically as it was. They informed my mother that 
 if I followed their instructions closely and placed faith 
 in them, I would be up and around in a short time. I 
 will give you, friend readers, the exact formulas and di- 
 rections which they (the Spirit Forces) gave my mother 
 for preparation and administration in my case. The 
 formulas are printed herewith and calling for the follow- 
 ing herbs: One-half ounce of Yellow Dock, One ounce 
 of Spikenard Root, one ounce of Red Clover Blossoms, 
 one ounce of Buchu Leaves and one ounce of Thorough- 
 wort. The above was to be mixed together, dry, and then 
 steeped in one quart of cold water for several hours; 
 then put over a fire and brought to a slow boil, which 
 was continued for one hour, after which the herbs were 
 taken from the fire and cooled. When cool enough to 
 handle, strain through a cheese cloth, and to the re- 
 maining liquid was added three ounces of French Brandy 
 which acted as a preservative. Then it was bottled and 
 corked tightly. The directions were, two teaspoonfuls 
 four times a day. 
 
 The above is the internal preparation, and the follow- 
 ing, for external application. The Spirit Guide also 
 mstructed my mother at this sitting, to procure two of 
 P. D. Ordway's double strength, strengthening plasters 
 for application on my back and chest; also a Spice 
 Liniment was prescribed to be mixed and applied as 
 follows ; 
 
 To one-half pint of Medicated Alcohol, add one tea- 
 spoon each, of Ground Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, 
 Ground Nutmeg; the same to be thoroughly mixed. To 
 apply the plasters and Spice Liniment the following 
 
26 THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 procedure was followed: My chest and back was spong- 
 ed with warm water, then the Spice Liniment was ap- 
 plied, rubbing it in thoroughly with a piece of cotton. 
 Then the plasters were heated enough to soften the ad- 
 hesive and one was placed on my chest, and the other 
 on my back. These plasters were to remain on three 
 days and then changed for a new set. Now, the purpose 
 of taking the herbs internally and applying the Spice 
 Liniment and plasters on my back and chest was to 
 accomplish this:- The herbs were to drive out and 
 cleanse the system internally, of the poisons which had 
 created therein and left by the effects of Medical Doctors' 
 medicine, while the Spice Liniment opened the pores, 
 which were rendered unhealthy by the same poisons, and 
 the plasters were to draw out the inflammation, poisons 
 and also strengthen the motor nerves and tissues of my 
 back and chest. 
 
 The Spirit Forces informed my mother that I was in 
 such a condition and had such a small amount of blood 
 that when the blood started out on its rounds of nourish- 
 ing the body, it was practically normal in its consistency, 
 but it gradually became thinner and weaker, so that when 
 it reached the heart for to be re-pumped through the 
 system, its consistency was like that of water. That 
 was how they conceived it. 
 
 This practically concluded the first medical sitting on 
 my case with my mother acting as an intermediate 
 person this time. The Spirit Guide, at the conclusion 
 of this sitting, instructed my mother to return for addi- 
 tional advise in about two weeks time from that date. 
 The instructions were carried out to the letter. The 
 foremost thought in my mind as well as that in the 
 
the; guiding light 27 
 
 minds of my parents, was the great word RELIEF. I 
 will say that here on this day, was the start of my re- 
 juvenation. 
 
 At the end of the third day for the first set of plasters, 
 1 had the pleasure of having them forcibly removed. 
 Perhaps some of you readers have had the same experi- 
 ence. If so, you have my sympathy. After the plasters 
 were removed ,you could see where they had drawn out 
 some of the poisons, for on my back and chest were 
 patches of matter, as were the removed plasters, and 
 I will say the suffering was acute. A fresh set of 
 plasters were applied, and I still continued taking the 
 herbs. This was kept up for the two weeks, and it 
 may surprise some of you, as it did me, to say, there 
 was a very slight improvement for the better. I was 
 able to sit up in a chair, and I will take the liberty 
 here in stating that my faith became stronger than ever 
 in the Spirit Unseen Forces. At the end of the two 
 weeks my mother had another sitting v/ith the medium, 
 Mrs. A. Houghton for further instructions. When the 
 Forces had taken control, they informed my mother that 
 I was coming along alright, but slow. They said that 
 my blood condition was gradually improving, which ac- 
 counted for the slight improvement shown, and I was 
 to keep on with the herbs for two weeks longer and with 
 the plasters until they would not stay on any longer. 
 By that they meant until they would not adhere to the 
 ^esh any longer. The reason for stating the above in 
 this way meant that when all the poisons and inflamma- 
 tion were drawn out externally from the system, they 
 would not stay on any longer, as they had done the 
 work designed for them. They also informed my mother 
 
28 THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 that I would be able to come for next sitting, but my 
 mother couldn't see how that would be possible; but 
 it was. This concluded the sitting. 
 
 I continued as per directions and in the third week 
 from the start of this peculiar treatment, the plasters 
 did come off of their own accord. I put on a new set 
 of plasters and they would stay on three hours. The 
 mattered places on my chest and back disappeared. It 
 was almost unbelievable, but a fact. At the end of 
 the fourth week from the start, I was able to go for a 
 sitting myself personally, as was predicted; although 
 terribly wobbly weak on my legs, I managed to make 
 it allright. This was on the 14th of February 1919. 
 A marvelous though slight improvement in this short 
 space of time. At this sitting, after the Spirit Forces 
 had informed me that my system had been gradually 
 cleaned and was slowly, but surely improving, but what 
 I needed mostly now was rich blood to strengthen the 
 system, and so I was given instructions to prepare a 
 blood-maker and tonic which consisted mainly of Nature's 
 own Products. The tonic formula was as follows: Six 
 good sized blood beets; one cup of brown sugar and two 
 large cups of cold water. In preparing the beets, they 
 were not to be scraped or peeled. Simply wash the dirt 
 off, then grind them in a meat-chopper into fine pulp; 
 then the sugar and the water were added and mixed 
 thoroughly in a granite dish and covered tightly; then 
 they were placed in the oven and baked for three hours. 
 They were then taken out and cooled gradually. When 
 cool enough to handle, strain through a cheese cloth and 
 to the liquid three ounces of French Brandy was added, 
 then bottled and corked tightly. The directions for tak- 
 
THE GUIDING IvlGHT 2P 
 
 ing were, one-half a wine glass four times a day. This 
 concluded this sitting, and I was to continue taking this 
 tonic for four weeks, at which time I was to return for 
 further instructions. 
 
 The herbs were stopped, as I started taking this tonic, 
 their work, in my case having been accomplished. One 
 compounding of the above formula lasted me five days, 
 at the end of which, more was to be made. I followed 
 out the directions very diligently, but my condition did 
 not seem to improve any, nor did I slip back any. I 
 remained seemingly at a standstill for three weeks. 
 Experience has taught me, that Nature is slow but sure 
 in its strides. As my system became cleansed, all the 
 nerves that had been deadned for so long by narcotics, 
 seemed to come to life. My teeth ached so that I had 
 to have some of them extractd. 
 
 At the end of the fourth week, there was some im- 
 provements in one way, and in other ways there wasn't. 
 The most noticeable feature at this time was my increase 
 of appetite. I wanted to eat almost everything, and 
 my mother was only too willing to get everything I 
 wanted. In fact, I over-done it. I ate some tomatoes 
 for which I had a great craving, and the results were, I 
 suffered a set back. The tomatoes which I ate developed 
 ptomaine poisoning, and I suffered agony for two days, 
 but finally the effects passed off, and with it went some 
 of my recuperated strength. I was obliged to set back 
 the date of my next sitting from the fourth to the sixth 
 week from the time I started with the beet tonic, or 
 about ten weeks from the date of the first sitting, which 
 my mother had with Mrs. Houghton. On the 28th of 
 March 1919, I went for my third sitting with the same 
 
30 the: guiding i,ight 
 
 medium. This sitting was of longer duration than the 
 one previous and there was some radical change made 
 in my treatments. When the Spirit Forces had taken 
 control, they informed me that conditions were a great 
 deal brighter than I was conscious of. They issued 
 instructions to the effect that I was to continue the beet 
 tonic and as my system was thoroughly cleansed of all 
 poisons and narcotics, I was now able to withstand a 
 more energetic form of Nature's treatments of which 
 there are quite a number. I was instructed to undergo 
 a physical examination conducted by a Naturepath. A 
 man cannot carry the degree of Naturepath, symbols 
 N. D. until he has studied and satisfactorily passed ex- 
 aminations pertaining to Chiropractic adjustments. Osteo- 
 pathy, Natureopathy, Mechanotherapy and Massage. 
 This N. D. was also a Spiritual Medium in his particu- 
 lar line of work. 
 
 The Spirit Guides informed me that after I had taken 
 several treatments I would experience and see a great 
 change in my physical self. (To be frank with you, 
 readers, I thought that was well nigh impossible, even 
 though I had the staunchest faith in the Spirit Forces). 
 1 was informed that this Naturepath would strengthen 
 the ligaments, muscles and tissues, which medicine had 
 for so long suppressed, and also that my spine would 
 be straightened and my barrel chest reduced. It was 
 almost too good to be true, but, as I had been through 
 so much, I was determined to give it a trial. So during 
 the sitting I made a note of all the details that were to 
 be carried out. This concluded the sitting. On my 
 way home, I pondered over what I had been told, hoping 
 with the faintest hope that it would come to pass and 
 
the; guiding wght 31 
 
 turn out as predicted. The treatments were to cost one 
 dollar each, and as my condition had eaten up all the 
 cash my folks had, I was unable to undergo the treatment 
 at that time. So on the morning of April 19, 1919 
 (Easter Sunday) I went to be examined by this Nature- 
 oath, my darling mother having previously made an 
 appointment. It was a morning that I shall never for- 
 2;et. I was obliged to walk about one-eighth of a mile 
 to get to his office. My folks wanted to hire a taxi, but 
 1 would not hear to it; so I started out. On the way, 
 1 had to climb a slight grade, along side of which was 
 an iron pipe fence. With all the excitement anxiety and 
 anticipation of what I might have to go through sapped 
 considerable of my strength, and I had to take a firm 
 hold on the fence to hold myself up, and keen going, but 
 determination conquers all. I reached the Doctor's office 
 practically all in, but after a short rest I felt better and 
 stronger. 
 
32 THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Naturepath's name is Doctor Edward L. Benson, 
 and he resides at 346 North Main Street, Springfield, 
 Mass. He is a rather tall man, stocky of build, brown 
 eyes, dark hair, a finished athlete and has a wonderful 
 personality. He is a man possessing superb intelligence 
 and a man who has a personality strong enough to com- 
 mand attention among men. He is a man whose person- 
 ality is far above that of the average. Doctor Benson, 
 to develop and make the most of the gift which Nature 
 has given him (mediumship) undertook and carried 
 through several courses in as many different, colleges, 
 from each one of which he is a graduate. His medium- 
 istic power, together with the theoretical and practical 
 training he received at college, along his chosen line of 
 work, has placed him in a position where he is a master 
 of masters in his chosen profession. His skill at times 
 's uncanny; which the writer knows from experience. 
 
 After the short rest he came and said, "Well, Son, 
 what's the trouble?" So I related all my experience up 
 to and including the work of the Spirit Forces. He 
 listened intently and every once in a while, would pull 
 his face into a queer shape. This I found out later was 
 his habit while partially under Spirit control. After I 
 had finished my story, he instructed me to strip, which 
 I did, then he seated me upon a high sort oi a table and 
 started to feel the different bones, ligaments and muscles 
 of my body. He was under control, but I was not con- 
 scious of it. During the examination he did not have 
 
THD GUIDING WGHT 3^ 
 
 a word to say, simply examined one bone and then an- 
 other, and I will take the liberty here to say that he did 
 not use a stethoscope or any other form of tools such 
 as the Medical Doctors have to use. His tools were his 
 bare hands, and the Great Gift (mediumship) which 
 had been bestowed upon him. After he had thoroughly 
 examined me all over, he informed me that my case was 
 a very delicate case to handle; that I was anemic, having 
 very little blood and that was not of the quality that 
 it should be. The distortion of my chest caused by 
 medicine and hard breathing had created spinal curva- 
 ture of the worst kind. He informed me that my spine 
 was almost a perfect letter "S." He also told me that 
 in time, with perseverance and patience, that he could 
 and would remove the spinal curvature, also reduce the 
 barrel chest effect and straighten my bones in general. 
 He also enlightened me to the fact that the congestion 
 caused by the non-development of the bone structure 
 m my youth, was the direct cause, coupled with the effect 
 of narcotics, of the so-called disease asthma. 
 
 He said while under (spirit control) that I did not 
 have or never had the Asthma, so-called, but a general 
 physical weakness. I will tell you, readers, that it was 
 the greatest moment of my life to hear him say I did not 
 have a disease, after having spent all these years in 
 misery, being led blindly by the Medical Doctors, who 
 had extracted every dollar that my parents could get 
 together in an endeavor to bring to me relief. Doctor 
 Benson informed me that he was going to use his own 
 methods which are a combination of Chiropractic, Oste- 
 opathy, Mechanotherapy and Massage in the use of 
 which he is very skilful. He said that if he took my 
 
34 THE GUIDING I.IGHT 
 
 case, he would go at me with the sole purpose of strength- 
 ening this weakness which the Medical Doctors had 
 called a disease. I was informed by him that it would 
 take a long time to accomplish the desired effect, as I 
 was such a physical wreck. After he was through diag- 
 nosing, he said, "Well, Son, w^hat are you going to do, 
 take the treatments or not?" And the very words I 
 used in answer to him were these: "I want to get well." 
 So that was the beginning of my first treatment and also 
 placed me on the second leg of my journey to good 
 health. The first treatment consisted of chasing what 
 little blood I did have from one part of my body to 
 another part, with the aid of a vibrator. This first treat- 
 ment was only "baby play" in comparison to what I 
 went through in later treatments. After Doc was 
 through the first treatment I got up from the table 
 affair and I was frightfully dizzy, caused by the stimula- 
 tion and circulation of the blood, but after a while this 
 effect passed off and after making arrangements for 
 future treatments, of which there was to be three a week, 
 I proceeded home where my anxious parents were wait- 
 ing. I was so overjoyed that I could hardly conceive 
 of what I had been told. When I reached home, I 
 related in detail to my parents what had been told me. 
 They did not say a great deal. I believe they were a 
 bit skeptical as to how the new plan of treatments would 
 work, but I had all the faith in the world in it. I re- 
 turned for my next treatment on the day arranged, 
 during which time I suffered until agony due to the 
 tor's hands substituted. I did suffer a great deal of 
 discomfort during the treatment and the next day, I 
 was so lame and sore, I could hardly move. It seemed 
 
THD GUIDING LIGHT 35 
 
 as if every bone in my body had been loosened, which, 
 in a sense was actually the case. I continued the 
 Naturepathic treatments for two months or more (the 
 exact date I have forgotten), before I felt any better, 
 during which time I suffered untold agony due to the 
 N. D. loosening up the bone structure. There was not 
 a great difference in the hard breathing. It did not 
 seem to let up much, but I did not get discouraged as 
 I had gained considerable strength and was able to walk 
 more or less. This showed a slight improvement some- 
 where. I still kept at the beet tonic which was having 
 a tendency to make blood faster with the increased cir- 
 culation; and so my condition continued for another 
 month, with a gradual tendency toward improvement. 
 
 By the first of August 1919, I had improved so much, 
 with the aid of the Naturepathic treatments and the 
 light exercise which included deep breathing, which I 
 was instructed to perform by Doctor Benson, with the 
 idea of expanding the chest and keeping the bone struct- 
 ure limber in preparation for adjustments and to keep 
 the blood circuit open. There instructions I followed 
 diligently with never failing faith in the Greater Power. 
 About the first of August, I was able to do a little spare 
 work at my trade. 
 
 I did not over-tax myself, for I did not want to slip 
 back any. In this way the treatments were continued 
 with a slow, but gradual improvement. Up to this 
 time, my body had not reached the required condition 
 where it would stand the Naturepathic adjustments. 
 From the time I had placed myself under the care of 
 Doctor Benson up to August 11, 1919, I gained eight 
 pounds, just in that space of time. So you can imagine 
 
36 THE GUIDING WGHT 
 
 how highly I was elated over the improvement shown. 
 In eight month's time from the start of the Naturepathic 
 treatments, the muscles and tissues had become sufficient- 
 ly strong for me to stand the spinal adjustments, as 
 worked in the methods of Doctor Benson while under 
 influence. You can see what a slow and hard battle I 
 had fought to reach this far in my fight for complete 
 health. 
 
 The Medical Doctor's medicine had worked such havoc 
 with my stomach, that it had practically eaten away 
 the internal lining of the stomach. This I was informed 
 would re-establish itself again if given the proper care, 
 and treatment, which was to give Nature a chance to do 
 its work, and I did give Nature a chance to work. It 
 was a slow and tedious job, but I feel more than amply 
 repaid for the money, time and care, spent in creating 
 a healthy normal stomach. Medicine had created the 
 condition, but medicine did not have power enough in- 
 vested in it to take away that stomach condition. It 
 was Nature's work and Nature with the proper faith and 
 Spiritual Guidance accomplished it. I will take the 
 liberty to state here before going further, that the Spirit 
 Forces working through and with Doctor Benson were 
 marvelous. It did not seem as if any man living could 
 be gifted, so as to perform the miracles which he per- 
 formed on me. When he first started adjustment work 
 on my back and chest, it was nothing short of torture, 
 which I suffered. It was a different kind of suffering 
 than that which I had been accustomed to. In describ- 
 ing an adjustment treatment, I am obliged to illustrate 
 one step by step: 
 
 First, I had to strip to the waist, get upon the adjust- 
 
THE GUIDING UGHT 37 
 
 ment table and sit in an upright position while Doctor 
 Benson massaged the back of my neck from the shoul- 
 ders up to the roots of the hair. This was to stimulate 
 the circulation and partly take away the dizzy effect 
 experienced later on during the treatment. I had to 
 lay upon the table face downward. He then took several 
 massage strokes with the aid of his hands, the whole 
 length of the spine. This was to insure that the blood 
 circuit was clear; then he started the shifting of the 
 various vertabre one after another and sometimes several 
 at once. The idea for doing this was to take the press- 
 ure off the different nerve centers and also give the 
 cartilages, which are small cushion-like substances placed 
 between the vertabre, a chance to gather strength and 
 become strong enough to keep the pressure off the nerve 
 centers. The whole secret of these treatments are to 
 open, strengthen and keep open the various nerve centers, 
 and give Nature a chance to do its work. That is the 
 keynote. After the spine has been thoroughly shaken 
 up, I had to turn on to my back so he could work on 
 my chest, stomach and throat. He would start massag- 
 ing my stomach first with his hands using a circular 
 motion. After several minutes of this he would leave 
 the stomach and start to work on my chest, first massag- 
 ing and then applying pressure, using the weight of his 
 body as a leverage. The purpose of this was to broaden 
 or flatten the chest, also create a larger lung cavity, 
 which consequently gave a larger space internally for 
 lung development. It also had a tendency to release 
 the drawing effect upon my spinal column. While going 
 through this, I could feel and hear the bones at the 
 joints snap out of the sockets, and then back again, 
 
38 THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 which was a painful sensation. You will, no doubt, 
 realize what a delicate proposition it was. Then from 
 my chest he would move his hands up to my neck and 
 massage that thoroughly. Then he would take a small 
 dry towel, fold it twice and lay it upon my chest. He 
 would then take the palm of his hand and slap my chest 
 with considerable force much in the same manner as 
 you would slap a disobedient child, only considerably 
 harder. This is called percussion work and its purpose 
 '*s to strengthen internally as well as shake up the motor 
 nerves of the system. When he first started this per- 
 cussion work I could only stand a very light tapping with 
 the hand, but it was gradually increased until I could 
 stand practically the full force of his blows with the 
 palm of his open hand. As I have said after he was 
 through massaging my neck, he would step around the 
 head of the table and with his two hands, would grasp 
 my head and bend my body up much in the same man- 
 ner as a wooden barrel hoop is bent. The purpose of 
 this move was to stretch the spinal column which had 
 been loosened during the course of the treatment, and 
 this practically concluded the methods used in admin- 
 istering a Naturepathic treatment. 
 
 While performing the above operations. Doctor Ben- 
 son is partially under Spirit control. I state this here 
 to pomt out what the Spirit Forces, working through 
 the various mediums have done for me. Thus, I kept 
 up the treatments as described above with an occasional 
 variation in certain methods. In addition to an in- 
 creased amount of light exercise all through the winter 
 of 1919 and 1920, and with the aid of a little spare 
 work, which I was able to do, helped to defray my ex- 
 
THK GUIDING I^IGHT 5»> 
 
 penses, besides I was now able to take a little joy out 
 of life, something that I never had been able to do 
 before. 
 
 During the very early part of the winter of 1920, I 
 felt so good that I began telling my friends that I thought 
 that I would soon be able to take a permanent position. 
 Some of them sort of laughed and said, "Oh! You can't 
 hold a permanent position. You will be sick again in 
 about a couple of weeks." These insults were rather 
 hard to bear after having made such a fight for my 
 health, with the aid of the Spirit Forces, working through 
 the mediums, but I made up my mind that if an oppor- 
 tunity presented itself, I would accept it and say nothing. 
 Things ran along rather aimlessly for a few weeks and 
 one day our telephone rang and mother answered it, and 
 the call was for me. It was one of my brother co-workers 
 and he informed me that there was a position open in 
 my line of work, and that if I presented myself to the 
 proper authorities, I, no doubt, could secure the position. 
 I availed myself to this information and secured the 
 position. I went to work the latter part of January 1920 
 and was able to work every day from that time to the 
 early part of June of the same year, at which time, due 
 to the general financial condition of business, the con- 
 cern I was working for closed out their business and this, 
 of course, forced me out of work, but I did not stay 
 idle long, as a number of my co-workers were taking 
 vacations and consequently I filled their positions, while 
 they were away, and together with other spare work, 
 which I was able to pick up. I managed to earn and 
 save a small sum of money, something I had never been 
 able to do before and never expected to be able to do. 
 
40 th^ guiding light 
 
 My friends often would say to me, "What are you 
 taking, you are looking so good," and consequently an 
 explanation had to forthcome. Along about the middle 
 of the latter part of the summer, my father met one of 
 the physicians who had formerly doctored me, and he 
 wanted to know how I was getting along, and if I was 
 any better than I was when he gave up my case as 
 hopeless, and you can rest assured, the Medical Doctor 
 received a very forceful explanation from my father. I 
 personally have never met any of the Medical Doctors 
 that doctored me so long. 
 
 Coming back to the treatments, I continued the treat- 
 ments for a trifle more than two years during which 
 time, under the careful spiritual and professional guid- 
 ance of Doctor Benson, my spine gradually lost its letter 
 "S" shape and has assumed a position like that which a 
 normal healthy spinal column occupies. That is 
 straight! My chest has broadened and flattened out 
 so that it has lost its former barrel shape to a large ex- 
 tent. My bronchial tubes has been strengthened to such 
 a degree that I am immune from the hard breathing 
 which formally was so distressing. My body has de- 
 veloped in proportion. I am now able to play the great 
 National Game of Baseball, something that I have 
 longed to do for years, but never had the strength or 
 vitality to do it. My complexion has lost its pallidness; 
 my eyes have lost the glassy stare caused by the exces- 
 sive amount of medicine I had taken. I have today a 
 healthier looking complexion; my body is healthy 
 r.hroughout; my eyes has the lustre belonging only to a 
 healthy person; I am today enjoying the health which 
 many people who never have known, a day's sickness, 
 
THE GUIDING LIGHT 41 
 
 abuses and sometimes throw away; and all this came 
 about in the short space of two years. It is in my mind 
 a case and a record to be favorably compared with any 
 like case. 
 
42 THS GUIDING WGHT 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Just previous to the time that I underwent my first 
 treatment, I was weighed and tipped the scales at seventy- 
 nine pounds and was five feet, four and one-half inches 
 in height, and wore a size thirty-five suit of clothes and 
 today I tip the scales at one hundred and two pounds. I 
 have grown or been stretched out three-quarters of an 
 inch, which makes me five feet, five and one-fourth inches 
 tall and I have broadened out so that I have to wear a 
 size thirty-six suit of clothes. Formerly I had to have 
 a suit fitted to me, due to the rounded condition of my 
 shoulders; but today, I can put on and wear a size 
 thirty-six coat and wear it without any alterations what- 
 soever. (I herewith quote a saying which I overheard 
 regarding Doctor Benson and myself). One of my 
 friends said to another, "That fellow," (referring to Dr. 
 Benson) "certainly can make them over," (referring to 
 the writer,) which is a fact. I will take the liberty here 
 to state, that I can truthfully say that had not the 
 Spirit Forces been appealed to and consulted and their 
 prescriptions and directions carried out, I would not be 
 on the earth plane today. We all have an awakening 
 sometime in our life, sometimes it does not come until 
 death, so-called, raps at our door; but in my case, the 
 awakening came to our humble home while I was practic- 
 ally upon my death-bed, and the call was heeded and 
 the instructions followed as diligently as mortal man 
 could do it. 
 
 I will take the liberty to say that I have had a very 
 
THE GUIDING I,IGHT 43 
 
 lemarkable career, one that no one should envy or one 
 that any one would want to go through. There has been 
 stumbling blocks galore, blocks in the rocky path of life. 
 1 have always been more or less of a dependant. I 
 never felt that I could go out into the world or life's 
 pathways unaided, until lately. There were many times 
 that my mortal life was despaired of, but for the help 
 and guidance of the unseen and unheard forces, I would 
 have gone across the border-line. But as it was, my 
 time for the transplantation in the better, higher and 
 more cheerful world had not arrived. At times, my 
 suffering was greatly aggravated by pressure which was 
 brought to bear on our family household, such as worry 
 and anxiety. As I have said, I was a normal baby at 
 the time of my birth, but the grip of circumstance changed 
 it, i.e., it created a weakling so-called, as life went on 
 from infancy into maturity. There is one thing that 
 J am thankful for and that is the unimpared intellect 
 which I possess. It is in a way, miraculous, how it 
 escaped the ravages of medicine. Very few have escaped 
 It, who have been forced to indulge in it as much as I 
 was forced to. 
 
 My early life was not all that it should have been, 
 even from the moral standpoint. I was at times, very 
 dejected, over my physical self, which is very bad, even 
 for the healthiest of conditions, let along the condition 
 which I was laboring under. I have often wondered 
 that my brain did not snap under the abnormal strain, 
 which was imposed upon it, but fortunately I was endow- 
 ed with a remarkably and goodly amount of intellectual 
 and brain vitality, which has kept me in good stead on 
 more than one occasion. Very few men who have been 
 
44 THE GUIDING U(iHT 
 
 through as much, physically, as I have, have ever re- 
 cuperated their physical health. I can thank my stars 
 that I was awakened to have faith in the Spirit Forces 
 before it was too late. Now that the crisis of my life, 
 as far as my physical health is concerned, is over, I 
 can look out onto the world and smile; smile in a way 
 that I never have been able to before. Now that I have 
 passed from the uncertain strata into the certain and 
 faithful strata, i.e., into a state where I am able to real- 
 ize and appreciate the fullness and beautifulness of Life, 
 which, before the awakening was but one long tragic, 
 dramatic act, after another. I was, in a way, tied hand 
 and foot with that so-called and much heralded supposed 
 disease, Asthma. I felt at times that it was some curse 
 of mankind that had been thrust upon me, but now, I 
 can see that it wasn't. It was simply the sure and sane 
 method which the great power used in awakening the 
 good and the intelligence in me, and that which is in 
 every man. Thus, the writer's case of the so-called dis- 
 ease was held up for examplification by the Medical 
 Physicians far and near; held up so as to expose how 
 useless it was to even think of over-coming this so-called 
 ailment. But it has been proven to them, as well as 
 to you, that such was not the case. Nature created all 
 ailments for the purpose, and she also created an absolute 
 cure for those same ailments. I am not only thankful 
 for what the Spirit Forces have done for me, but I am 
 also thankful for the opportunity to give this great and 
 noble act of thoughtfulness out onto the world so that 
 they who will may also be benefited by their (the unseen 
 forces) spiritual help and doctrines. 
 When I began to feel relieved from that terribly hard 
 
the; guiding ught 45 
 
 breathing, I could have sung out with joy; a joy that 
 would be boundless; a joy that words cannot even in 
 their most eloquent manner, express. There were times, 
 when the skeptics around me were rather doubtful as 
 to my complete recovery, but I had tasted the seed of 
 relief and would not let go. I was so enthused over and 
 with my condition that shortly after the Spirit Forces 
 took my case, I went out and over-taxed my strength 
 so, that I was brought back a little by a slight reminder 
 which was in the form of a cold. But this condition 
 was only a temporary check in my progress, for the com- 
 plete recuperation of my health. When I started on the 
 road to recovery, I was so enthused, that I told every 
 one I knew and some of them scoffed at the idea, saying 
 when I had turned my back, that it was simply another 
 one of those ten minute cures; but in this statement, 
 they were far from being right. They see and know 
 it now, but they won't acknowledge it. Permit me the 
 liberty of making the following statements: Words, 
 deeds, nor money can never repay those two mediums, 
 Mrs. A. Houghton and Doctor Edward L. Benson, for 
 their wonderful devotion and skilful work on and for 
 me. The only thing that I can do in the way of com- 
 pensation is to show them every appreciation that I 
 can regardless of whether they accept it or not. They 
 are, to my mind, characters above reproach. The work 
 that has been performed through their instrumentality 
 is so far above that of the average, that it should not 
 be mentioned except in the most select places. Their 
 instrumental facilities are so far in advance of the 
 majority of mediums, that they should be called super- 
 mediums. The influence that they attract is of the 
 
46 THD GUIDING I,IGHT 
 
 highest intelligence, and if they were not endowed with 
 the higher principles, they would not attract the atten- 
 tion of the higher intelligence. I will herewith quote 
 an old quotation, "Like attracts like." 
 
 I will say to all you who have been deceived and mis- 
 lead, although, it was for a purpose, by the members 
 of the Medical profession, to open your eyes and place 
 faith in the Spirit Forces; they who are close to you, 
 waiting with out-stretched arms to help and guide you, 
 if you will only give them a chance to help you out of 
 your difficulties. Don't think that when the world and 
 everything is the darkest that you are alone for you are 
 not. Turn your thoughts to and on a higher plane and 
 give the loved ones on the other side who are only 
 waiting for the opportunity a chance to lead you out 
 of the darkness into the sunshine. As you know, the 
 Spirit Forces do not advertise. The only way they care 
 to be known is by the work they are able to do among 
 us mortals. When they took me, so as to speak, I was 
 nothing more than a mortal wreck; a wreck caused by 
 my near-sightedness and lack of understanding. They 
 (the Forces) took me and brought me up out of the 
 depts of the physical mire and brought me up out into the 
 pink of condition. When I was down so low in the 
 physical mire, I knew that I would have to have help 
 from another quarter, other than that of the physicians, 
 before I would ever get any relief, and that help was a 
 whole lot nearer to me than I ever thought it was. 
 
 So, friend readers, you can see what a wonderful 
 transformation I have under-gone in the short space of 
 two years. Perhaps some of you will say that as long 
 as I keep up taking the treatments, I will feel good, 
 
TH^ GUIDING LIGHT 47 
 
 but when I stop, the old affliction will return, (you know 
 some people have some very pin-head ideas), but such 
 is not the case. After taking the treatments for the 
 two years, I felt so good that I thought I would gradually 
 cease the treatment. This I have done, first by skipping 
 a treatment now and then, only taking one once a week 
 or so, and finally I stopped altogether. 
 
 It is now about two months since I under-went a 
 treatment and there are no signs of the old affliction 
 returning. In fact, I am putting on flesh and growing 
 stronger every day. I keep up constantly the light exer- 
 cises which includes deep breathing, walking several 
 miles a day in addition to some bicycle riding which I 
 am able to do. I will take the liberty here to state that 
 words cannot express my appreciation for the remark- 
 able health which I am enjoying, all of which has been 
 brought about by my awakening to the fact of the 
 Great ministering power which God has invested the 
 Spirit Forces with, and they, in turn, working through 
 the mediumship of mortals to help and uplift those who 
 place unfaltering faith in their doctrines. It has been 
 proven to you in this book that if I hadn't received the 
 help that I did from the Spirit Forces, I would not be 
 on this side of the border today. 
 
 Nature is the greatest physician. All we can do or 
 have to do is to give her an opportunity to perform her 
 work. Having been denied the boyhood joys, the games 
 that are enjoyed by all healthy youngsters, being forced 
 Into the companionship with grown-ups, I naturally be- 
 came old-fashioned in my ways, but not in ideas. Later 
 on, I became what is known and often characterized as 
 a "Lone-bird." In my youth, I was shunned by the 
 
48 THB GUIDING I.IGHT 
 
 healthy ones because of my physical disabilities. Being 
 alone gradually grew on me, for now I make no pals or 
 chums except my dear mother. I have been through so 
 much and been spoken to falsely so often that it is hard 
 for me to place faith in any mortal person. I spend 
 most of my time alone, which, consequently places many 
 peculiar thoughts before me, both of the past and what 
 the future holds in store, during my lonely hours. Late- 
 ly, I have learned to place great faith in the Great Power, 
 the unseen forces. I have been prompted to write this 
 book through inspiration, which has come to and been 
 given to me, in these hours that I spend alone. The 
 purpose of writing this book is to bring out facts and 
 not fancies which I have actually experienced during 
 my short eventful life. It ought to be a lesson to some 
 of you who are inclined to be bigoted and self -centered. 
 It brings ouf to you the meaning of the wonderful word 
 FAITH. Faith, not only in what mortal man can do, 
 but in the Great Power and the unseen forces. Faith 
 in the higher power has and will henceforth accomplish 
 every duty assigned it. As we are told, we must walk 
 by faith, and not by sight. We need not be concerned, 
 but that there will always be room for the presence and 
 exercise of faith in the struggle and trials of life, in the 
 spiritual possibilities of life, and the final victory of good 
 over evil. 
 
 I do not wish to be misunderstood on some of my 
 statements regarding the Medical Doctors, they are 
 simply playing their part in life's great drama. All that 
 I have written is bona fide facts and experiences. 
 
 This simple faith of mine in communion with the 
 Spirit Forces must not be confounded with any mere 
 
the: guiding ught 49 
 
 modern delusion. I have inherited this belief from my 
 darling mother, but in my youth, I could not conceive 
 or appreciate the phenomena. There has been no mo- 
 ment in my conscious existence when I did not believe 
 in the New Testament Faith; that the dead (so-called) 
 are ministering spirits sent forth of God to the heirs of 
 salvation. In my youth, I could never understand how 
 the ministering forces could minister and I could not 
 conceive of it; but it has all been unfolded to me now. 
 This lack of understanding caused me at times to scoff 
 at mediums and the work of the ministering spirits. In 
 quoting the term spiritualist I will say "now," that I 
 cannot see how anyone who believes in the New Testa- 
 ment and in God the Great Power, can be other than a 
 Spiritualist. One cannot have faith in another and 
 better world and not feel often that its border lies very 
 near to this earth plane. So near, in fact, that our 
 loved ones who have gone thither may come back to us 
 unseen, unheard, to walk as ministering angels by our 
 sides. 
 
 Spiritualism is, in a sense, an illumination, leading to 
 clearer appreciation of the spiritual and philosophical 
 value of life. 
 
 In some of the above paragraphs, the writer has used 
 the term, "The Great Power." The writer does not wish 
 to be misunderstood in regard to the above term. The 
 Great Power, as common sense will tell you, is Christ. 
 The writer does not conceive Christ as a man immortal, 
 but a pow^er, a Great Supreme Power, one so great that 
 it is infinite and of which every being both mortal and 
 immortal is a unit or part. 
 
 For an analysis of the above, we will take the electric 
 
so TH^ GUIDING WGHT 
 
 dynamo, the wire, and the incandescent lamps. The 
 dynamo is the power; the wires, the transmission medium; 
 and the incandescent lamps are the units. As one light 
 is burnt out, another takes its place. In other words, 
 the light which is burnt out has done its work, while the 
 new one that replaces it has its work to do, but the 
 dynamo or power keeps on running regardless of these 
 changes. So it is with the human and celestial life. 
 Christ is the Power; we mortals are the lamps, born into 
 this world. We do our work here and then pass on, 
 and as we pass on, a new born life here takes the place, 
 which we as mortals, have vacated. It is rather a crude 
 analogy, but it examplifies the principle. 
 
 Spiritualism is, in a sense, a great light which to all 
 intent, has the purpose of being a beacon for the blind 
 multitude, who are constantly trying to forge ahead, 
 but who are on the wrong path. They have the great 
 and unfortunate tendency of depending upon the earthly 
 power, which, in other words, means, upon men who have 
 in their power, influence and money. This, of course, 
 is not the right way. They are depending upon those 
 who care naught about them. People should learn to 
 look up to and abide by the guidance of the Great 
 Power. But, the mortals of today are traveling so fast 
 that they do not, nor will not, take the time to listen 
 to the teachings that they should. They are obsessed 
 with the idea that they can accomplish everything by 
 their own initiative and intellect. Their personal idea 
 of their power is so great that they defy Christ and his 
 powerful principles, but some mortals think that they 
 actually accomplish the above without the aid of the 
 unseen and unheard guiding hand, but, my! how short- 
 
THIS GUIDING WGHT 51 
 
 sighted and narrow-minded they are. It is the writer's 
 opinion that if more people would believe in the great 
 and unseen spirit forces, that their would be less discon- 
 tentment in the world today, as it would give people a 
 broader view of Life and it would place them on a plane 
 where they would be able to conceive and appreciate 
 things and ideas, and principles more readily. It would 
 broaden their minds so that they would be able to take 
 in a greater scope of knowledge, of the actual affairs. 
 It would give them an understanding, which they have 
 heretofore been unable to grasp and appreciate. It would 
 make life more like a happy dream, in place of the 
 sordid dramatic scene which we experience every day of 
 our earthly existance. It would create a more harmoni- 
 ous surrounding, than we have or enjoy today. 
 
 Faith in the Great Power and Spirit Forces is the key- 
 note of success, no matter in what line of work or pro- 
 fession. Without it you can get no where. Some of 
 us actually have this faith, but are not conscious of it; 
 others want to have it, but they go and travel in the 
 wrong direction from that which faith travels. By this 
 I mean, that they who travel in the wrong direction, are 
 those who single out an idol and worship it instead of 
 placing faith in and worshiping the Great Power, 
 CHRIST, immortal himself. Some people believe that 
 to respect Christ, they must go to Church. This, in my 
 opinion is all right; but they do not seem to realize that 
 they can respect Him in their own home by simply enter- 
 ing silence for a short period of time each day. They 
 do not seem to be able to conceive this. They do not 
 seem to realize that it is their own selves, who have the 
 respect, and not the influence which the Church brings 
 
52 THE GUIDING WGHT 
 
 out. The Church is but a congregating point for mortals, 
 and the unseen forces, but the amount of help you re- 
 ceive and the faith you put in the unseen power depends 
 solely upon your own personal individual self. 
 
 To take life as the Great Power (Christ) gives it, not 
 as we want it and then make the best of it, is the hard 
 lesson that life puts before the human soul to learn. 
 One's environment may be very disagreeable, but there 
 is a reason for that environment. To become strong, 
 the soul must need to fight something, or over-come some- 
 thing. A great part of the strength of life consists, in 
 the degree which we get into harmony with our appoint- 
 ed environment. I have often said, that the Great 
 Power put me among these scenes, these opportunities, 
 these duties for a purpose. 
 
 Christ is neither absent-minded or incompetent. This 
 is the place the Great Power means me to be in; there 
 is no mistake. But there are things in the circumstances 
 of our lives that we can change. There are opportunities 
 that our own efforts may enlarge. We can conquer many 
 of the difficulties that beset our career, and in so con- 
 quering, be strong. I believe more and more that there 
 is no impediment that cannot be overcome, no hinderance 
 to usefulness that cannot be removed, if we but put faith 
 in the Power of Christ. If we go through life timidly 
 and ineffectively, the fault is neither with our endow- 
 ment nor our environment, it is with ourselves. As our 
 own view of life is of necessity; partial, I do not find 
 that we can do better than to put them absolutely in the 
 Great Power's Hands, and look to him for the direction 
 of our life-energy. The Great Power can do great things 
 with our lives if we but give them to him in sincerity. 
 
the; guiding light S3 
 
 He can make them useful. The Great Power never 
 wastes anything, never forgets anything, or never loses 
 anything. Though he holds the destinies of the World 
 in the hollow of his hand, he will remember us and the 
 part we are fitted to play in the eternal drama. Let us 
 lay hold of faith; of what profit it is to use, to gain a 
 firm hold on life, if we hold it, but blindly, without any 
 light on the meaning of our present conditions, or the 
 character of our future destiny. Faith holds the key 
 to the blessedness of the eternal life. Faith opens the 
 gates of happiness and success. Without faith, the gates 
 remain closed. Strong, serene faith in the loving kind- 
 ness of the Great Power, the guidance of the Great 
 Spirit will enable us to look fearlessly toward the end 
 of the temporal existence and the beginning of the eternal, 
 and will make it possible for us to live our lives effectively. 
 
 Friend readers, did this fact ever cross your mind 
 as it has mine; many a time, that thousands of our fel- 
 low-men and women are cursed in their very birth, born 
 into this world with the physical and spiritual taint of 
 depraved generations, entailed upon them with neither 
 the power, the intellect or opportunity from the cradle 
 to the border-line (grave) to break the chains of poverty 
 and vice and rise to purity? I believe that the oppor- 
 tunity will come to every being that everyone has a 
 chance, if not in this existence, then in another higher 
 plane. 
 
 The key of health is always within our reach, if not 
 always in our complete possession. Some of you are 
 groping blindly for it in the dark, as the writer did for 
 so many years. Some of you are too confidently seek- 
 ing it by repeating the magical formulas of some cult 
 
54 THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 of health seekers. Many of you in the bondage of ab- 
 normal conditions, both physical and mental, are per- 
 haps in despair of finding health anywhere; but if you 
 could only realize how close this help was at handl 
 Broaden your minds, health-seekers! Place unfaltering 
 faith in the great and unseen power, and be directed 
 and guided by the Spirit Forces, as I have been. A 
 little advice to those who are in anguish and in despair. 
 The following is a simple way in which to show your 
 faith, and be guided by the unseen forces: — 
 
 Go into a room all alone; rest your mind and relax; 
 then ask the great unseen power to lead you out of the 
 darkness, out of the difficulties into the sunshine, and 
 be sure to keep that little word "Faith" ever before you. 
 
 To all, it is hoped that this little book may bring a 
 ray of hope and encouragement to those who pursue the 
 quest of health, and a long life, sanely and wisely, along 
 the line which Nature has laid down for our guidance. 
 
 Let it be clearly understood that I make no claim to 
 infallibility on matters spiritual. I merely speak of 
 things as I have found them. I am convinced that 
 before each of us there lies a path of eternal progress, 
 and all who will, may tread therein. I am convinced 
 that for all who sin, there is a punishment of a retributive 
 nature, and for all righteousness a sure and fitting re- 
 ward. And remember, above all things, that I believe 
 these, not because I have been taught to believe as arti- 
 cles of faith, but because I consider I have received 
 and experienced evidence, which compels me to accept 
 them as a matter of fact. 
 
 Christ, the Great Power gives us always strength 
 enough and sense enough for everything he wants us to 
 do. 
 
THi; GUIDING LIGHT 33 
 
 I wish to take the liberty here to apologize for the 
 humble way I have endeavored to put this book together, 
 being deprived of a full grammar school education, 
 which would have enabled me to write and pronounce 
 the large significant words. I have endeavored to write, 
 in a plain matter of fact way; a way that will be under- 
 stood by any living person of this Universe. 
 
 Let the Great Power (Christ) be your Guiding Light. 
 
 THE END. 
 
56 THE GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 The following is a Poem which was transmitted through 
 the instrumentality of Mrs. Anna Houghton, by a Spirit 
 who's Father, was blind and deaf for years before he 
 passed on to the higher life. 
 
 One by one they're gently dropping. 
 
 Like the roses in the Autumn with their golden strodes 
 
 Out of this life to the life immortal, 
 Just as the forests begin to fade; 
 
 But, they are not fading, just gradually blooming, 
 Into the life that is only beyond, 
 
 T'is only progression that death has created, 
 And he enters Heaven with grand resound. 
 
 His vision no longer, is dimmed in darkness, 
 No longer the dread or fear is near. 
 
 His soul new pinioned has soared beyond it, 
 His vision and hearing is now made clear. 
 
 And methinks I can hear him saying, 
 As the new life gradually comes in. 
 
 It is sweeter this life hereafter, 
 Where nothing the sight can dim. 
 
 The winter I dreaded has vanished, 
 Bright summer land now is for me, 
 
 I can see, I can hear, I am happy. 
 Rejoice and be glad that I'm free. 
 
 Alice:. 
 
THB GUIDING IJGHT 57 
 
 THE APPENDIX. 
 
 I oftimes think that it seems curious, then it seems 
 strange to me, that just because a human being's ideas 
 about death (so-called) are unique and decided. That 
 individual should seem to be so completely different from 
 his fellows. Some people have an idea that if there 
 is another world, it is radically different than the mortal 
 world. Personally, I don't think of life, that simply 
 goes on, as being so different from the life we are now 
 living, or of the place it goes on in, as being so far 
 away. The eyes of the Spirit may see it, as being more 
 beautiful than it is to us mortals, but I always feel 
 somehow, as if it were likely to be right here. 
 
 The really curious aspect of the situation lies in the 
 fact that it is not along in times of illness and suffering 
 and those great cirisis, where the heart almost stops 
 beating and the whole world is suddenly changed by 
 one's being brought face to face with the fundamental 
 problems of existence that sometimes we should never 
 believe possible, if we had not seen repeated proof of it 
 in our lives. 
 
 No man can live without faith, because his relationship 
 with the future is an affair not alone of thought, but also 
 of action. Faith is the first word necessary in every 
 life, if they are to succeed on this mortal sphere. No 
 one can live without faith because the prime requisi- 
 tion in life's worn path is courage and the sustenance 
 of courage, is Faith. 
 
 Christ, the Great Power, or what ever you may call 
 
58 TH^ GUIDING LIGHT 
 
 that splendid intelligence, that devised all things, that 
 intelligence has proven to be a marvelous originator 
 and inventor and planner for all possibilities of Nature. 
 I don't see how any one can, in reason, distrust his ability 
 to keep on. I, for my part, am willing to risk it and 
 just expect fine and splendid surprises in the future. 
 
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