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The Letters of a Woman 
 Who Was 
 
 BY THE 
 
 WOMAN 
 
 <&GXj<rifcurYi) Oc^ixvt Oa£X<£> 
 
 WALTER H. ROBERTSON 
 
 209 West Fifteenth Street 
 
 MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. 
 
 1917 
 
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 Copyright 1917 
 walter h. robertson 
 
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 APR 17 1917 
 
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 ©GI.A460349 ^_ 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 This book, which has been written by a 
 young woman who is not familiar with the sub- 
 jects dealt with, contains truths which cannot 
 fail to convince you of a life outside the physical 
 existence. It is especially impressive since it 
 bears the stamp of earnest appeal and sincerity. 
 
 The circumstances connected with its com- 
 position are compelling, and it is important that 
 these facts should be made known that the 
 readers of this book can draw their own con- 
 clusions regarding its authenticity. The man- 
 ner in which the young woman discovered that 
 she possessed psychic power was unusual. The 
 first message which she received came on a Sun- 
 day evening early in October when a small party 
 of persons were amusing themselves by receiving 
 messages from discarnate spirits. The method 
 used was the simple one of the drinking glass 
 and the alphabet which was printed in large 
 letters upon a square of bristol board. One of 
 the ladies in the party was apparently the only 
 one who could draw a control. No messages of 
 weight or importance were received until after 
 the guests had departed. The seance had taken 
 place at the home of the young woman who has 
 
6 The Letters Of 
 
 written this book. She was so thoroughly ex- 
 cited over the events of the evening that she 
 decided to try to get a message alone. The 
 glass immediately began to move and letters 
 formed intelligent messages. That was the be- 
 ginning of many interesting and unusual mes- 
 sages, which gradually led up to the writing of 
 this book. On the eighteenth of October, in 
 1916, early in the forenoon when the young 
 woman was alone busily engaged with her house- 
 hold duties, a voice so natural that it failed to 
 startle her told her to get the glass. This she 
 refused to do. The voice was insistent and the 
 girl suddenly realized that it was not a natural 
 occurrence and hastily got the alphabet and the 
 glass. It moved rapidly, almost eagerly, and 
 spelled out that the spirit controlling the glass 
 was Mrs. Thomas and that she wanted to write 
 a book. A few days later Mrs. Thomas com- 
 menced the writing of her book through this 
 method. However, the strain was so great up- 
 on the young woman that after a few pages had 
 been written she was ready to give up in despair 
 of ever completing it. At this point Mrs. Thomas 
 spelled out the following message: "Put away 
 the glass and I will control your arm." This 
 seemed almost impossible to the girl, but she 
 
A Woman Who Was 7 
 
 took a pencil and a pad of paper and after an 
 interval of a few minutes the pencil began to 
 move with jerks but always very rapidly, and 
 the writing of the book was resumed through 
 the automatic control. 
 
 It took fifty-one hours to write the book, 
 averaging about three hours a day. This book 
 carries a direct appeal to those who have been 
 seeking for knowledge of this character. It is 
 written in a simple, straightforward manner, in 
 the form of letters such as a mother would write 
 to her children from a foreign land, giving ad- 
 vice and counsel, making many sage observa- 
 tions about life in the spirit world and on earth. 
 The book expresses her various moods. She 
 tells of her sorrows, her trials and regrets, relat- 
 ing also many unusual experiences of other en- 
 tities with whom she has come in contact. 
 
 Those of you who read this book cannot but 
 be convinced of its sincerity and truth and its 
 effect will be that of giving you a new hope and 
 of making all who read it better men and women. 
 
 With this explanation I submit to the read- 
 ers the following chapters. 
 
 Editor 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The object of this book is to place before 
 the masses in clear, condensed form some initial 
 truths pertaining to the spiritual existence which 
 in the due course of time we are all called upon 
 to assume. Many of these truths have before 
 been extolled, although in such a ponderous form 
 as to be accessible only to a student or scholar. 
 My mission is to impart to the masses this in- 
 formation in clear concise form that they may 
 fully comprehend and understand its full mean- 
 ing. By accepting these facts you will find that 
 you are gaining something which you have 
 never before possessed. The essentials that are 
 necessary to advance evolution consciously are, 
 first, the keenest desire for the truth, then you 
 must acquire devotion and finally a clear under- 
 standing. After you gain these qualities you 
 will be ready to accept the truth and spiritual 
 knowledge. I am not imparting these truths 
 through my own understanding but through 
 that of high entities who are taking upon them- 
 selves the great responsibility of enlightening 
 the masses. Through previous incarnations I 
 was drilled and coached that I might become 
 the channel for this work. The young girl 
 
10 The Letters Of 
 
 whom the adepts have chosen has also gone 
 through rigid training and since early childhood 
 of this life she has been under the constant 
 observance of the adepts who were awaiting 
 fuller development of that spiritual strength 
 which even now is only in its bud. This young 
 woman has been chosen as the channel through 
 which these teachers will impart such truth as 
 the world never before has possessed. There 
 are to be five more books of greater length which 
 will explain fully every phase of life in the 
 spiritual existence and on earth. This book is 
 merely the means for introducing the great 
 works which are to follow. The next book is 
 full of vital interest and a narrative runs through- 
 out it and it will be known under the name of 
 "The Diary of an Adept." It will contain as- 
 tounding truths and experiences which even the 
 advanced student has yet to learn. The time 
 has come when the world must accept these 
 truths. It has been so decreed and from this 
 time on there will be revelations made which 
 we hope will convince the people in the world 
 of the absolute truth of a spiritual existence 
 after death. This great work is taken up with 
 the point in view of enlightening those people 
 who desire to know the absolute truth about life. 
 
A Woman Who Was 11 
 
 Many of you would before have accepted 
 these teachings had they been presented in more 
 readable form, which would appeal to the best 
 that is in you. In the perusal of this book I 
 would suggest that you study completely each 
 thought and try to get the spiritual meaning as 
 I have tried to convey it. There are many 
 books that can be obtained that expound these 
 spiritual truths to a certain measure, but hu- 
 man mind, no matter how highly developed it 
 may be, cannot grasp fully the significance of 
 these facts and in writing of these truths they 
 are not always accurate in stating them. It is 
 indeed my sincere wish that this work and those 
 which will follow it will be accepted by the 
 public and that some good may be gained 
 through our combined efforts. Since we know 
 that we cannot progress through ignorance, why 
 not take up the candle' of spiritual illumination 
 and hold it before us that we may be guided 
 through our existence without getting so sorely 
 bruised and weary, and since you know that by 
 gaining full consciousness of the spiritual exist- 
 ence you will have gained something which is 
 immortal and cannot but help to serve you and 
 to lighten the burdens that all human beings 
 are called upon to bear. And so I say unto all 
 
12 The Letters Of 
 
 Ages and Races, Strive for the finest, noblest 
 things in life. Keep your ideals lofty and do 
 your utmost to live up to them. We all fall at 
 times beneath the level we have set out to gain 
 and there is no disgrace in that. The disgrace 
 is staying down when you might well arise and 
 even gain the great heights that appear so far 
 away; and my purpose is to help you to gain 
 that knowledge of the first essential truths that 
 will help you to climb up without falling or 
 even stumbling on the way. My great hope is 
 that these facts will be accepted in the spirit 
 they have been given. With this thought in 
 view I offer without apology the following 
 chapters. 
 
 The Woman 
 
The Letters of a Woman 
 Who Was 
 
 March 31, 1914. 
 
 I have undergone the experience of death 
 and I feel completely at a loss; I seek constantly 
 to find some means through which I can com- 
 municate with my children. I can see them as 
 plainly as I could in life, but the vastness of the 
 barrier between us is tremendous. 
 
 I can feel that there are heights before me 
 which I must climb very soon, but I shall linger 
 near my old associations as long as possible. 
 During the few hours previous to death I had 
 lain in a seemingly unconscious state, although 
 in reality my mind had never been more active. 
 I reviewed every experience through which I 
 had passed until the events of my whole life had 
 been placed before me. And when they were 
 finished I passed out of the door of a physical 
 existence and in at the door of a spiritual life. 
 
 April 1st, 1914. 
 
 Although there is no time or space here, I 
 will set it down that these letters may be com- 
 
14 The Letters Of 
 
 prehensible to you. I am existing in the mental 
 sphere which is the state of existence nearest 
 the earth. The first sensation that I experienced 
 after the so-called death occurred was that of 
 being in a profound space. There was only 
 that maddening and external space surround- 
 ing me on every side. I felt the motion of ob- 
 jects and I heard a medley of sound without 
 being able to distinguish anything and I fought 
 that unseen presence with all my mental 
 strength; I was like a person battling for life 
 in mid ocean. Then behold! For as suddenly 
 as I had become conscious of that invisible 
 something I became aware of a strange illu- 
 mination and it was possible for me to discern 
 the objects that before had been veiled from 
 my presence. There was life all around me 
 and of various forms. A helper came to help 
 me to grasp the surroundings and under his 
 guidance I learned to know the different forms 
 of life on the mental plane. 
 
 April 2nd, 1914. 
 
 The inhabitants of this plane suffer intensely; 
 they all cling to the physical and mourn be- 
 cause they have lost that physical vehicle which 
 prevents them from functioning in the material 
 
A Woman Who Was 15 
 
 sense. We are all drawn to some phase of an 
 earthly existence. Many of the entities here 
 hover over their earthly grave in perfect agony. 
 It is gruesome to look at the inanimate cold 
 body which once was the instrument through 
 which the true ego found expression. Had it 
 been possible for most of us here to have real- 
 ized that there was a spiritual existence ahead, 
 we could have saved much of this utter misery 
 which we are now enduring. During my last 
 life on earth I was exceedingly material; how- 
 ever, I was not gross. It was the comfort and 
 pleasure of life which I loved and which still 
 attracts me greatly. Had I been less domineer- 
 ing, I might also have escaped this phase of life 
 which is my punishment for erring as I did. 
 My earthly nature was one of impulse, storm 
 and sunshine and it will take a long period of 
 time for me to outgrow these faults. I took a 
 keen interest in current events and what this 
 or that person was doing and I do the same 
 here. I am curious about all my surroundings 
 and watch the attitudes of the entities with 
 keenest interest and sympathy. Many entities 
 arrived here at the same time I came, most of 
 whom had died from tuberculosis and thought 
 it necessary to go on coughing and suffering, 
 
16 The Letters Of 
 
 and, when they discovered that they had cast 
 off that physical shell, their surprise was un- 
 believable. One ego, a very young girl, came 
 about a week before I came, and she seems in 
 great misery; she had left a little crippled brother 
 behind her and she tries to talk to him. At 
 present she is leaning over his bed imploring 
 him to speak to her, but, of course, she is not 
 manifest to him and his perfect unconsciousness 
 of her presence is causing her new sorrow. This 
 same entity died as the result of an automobile 
 accident and she seeijis to live over those dread- 
 ful experiences. She is completely earthbound 
 and will not listen to that voice which is calling 
 us to higher and better existences. 
 
 April 30th, 1914. 
 
 I have been unable to write until now, as I 
 have been very unhappy; the grief of my chil- 
 dren has caused me much discomfort and I 
 have been trying to reach them, but they could 
 not see me. I wish they could know that I 
 am all right and that I would rather they would 
 not grieve for me. How dreadful that rigid 
 Christian demonstration is! Why go through 
 the gruesome ceremony of looking at the cast- 
 off shell as it lies in its casket? It means noth- 
 
A Woman Who Was 17 
 
 ing. How much better it would be if they 
 would realize the consciousness of my present 
 existence and help me through their strong de- 
 sire to rise above this earthbound condition, 
 which is so distressing. 
 
 May 6th, 1914. 
 
 Life here seems endless and I am beginning 
 to wonder if I shall ever be able to sever the 
 bonds that connect me still with that earthly 
 life. Even my favorite chair attracts me and 
 I long to sit in it as I used to do. I combat 
 these desires, because I know that if I seek to 
 satisfy them I will remain in this present state 
 of life. That physical body which I cast off is 
 slowly disintegrating and it is indeed painful to 
 look upon it as it is very difficult to make my- 
 self realize that it is as the shell a little new 
 born chicken casts off and amounts to nothing 
 more. One becomes greatly attached to that 
 vehicle and I hope my experiences will help you 
 living beings to know the futility of letting the 
 material absorb your entire attention. The en- 
 tities here are all working out of their own in- 
 dividual earthly attachments and desires and 
 they do not greatly concern themselves with 
 the suffering of those around them. This is 
 
18 The Letters Of 
 
 especially true if they have remained here any 
 length of time. Entities just arriving are far 
 more susceptible to the vibrations and are curi- 
 ous to know about every phase of existence 
 here. The novelty soon wears off and they set 
 themselves to work out of this state of exist- 
 ence. 
 
 December 10th, 1914. 
 
 I have gone through many experiences since 
 my last letter and am about to ascend to the 
 fourth astral plane, where I will take up my 
 spiritual or astral evolution. That physical shell 
 which I cast off nine months ago has disinte- 
 grated and I have lost all desire to function on 
 the physical plane. My family has ceased to 
 grieve. My unhappiness is over, and now I 
 will ascend to better things. Now that I am 
 able to look back over previous events, the one 
 incident that impresses me most is that of my 
 existence here in the spiritual world before. 
 When I was called upon to assume a physical 
 existence the last time I did so very unwillingly 
 and had to be forced to accept it as the only 
 way that could be, as it was necessary for me 
 to live in the physical state many more times; 
 but the spiritual life was so satisfying that I 
 
A Woman Who Was 19 
 
 dreaded to leave it for the sharp discomfort of 
 the physical body. I remember now of looking 
 into my future existences and seeing plainly the 
 experiences through which I was to pass, but 
 when the time for physical rebirth came I lost 
 the consciousness of all things spiritual and I 
 completely forgot that unwillingness to descend 
 to a material life until physical death again 
 loosened the bonds and I was permitted to re- 
 view and digest those occurrences again. 
 
 January 1st, 1916. 
 
 I am now existing on the fourth plane and 
 it is vastly different from that state of existence 
 I have left. This plane is the intermediate one 
 and is where the masses coming from the earth 
 begin their astral evolution. In looking at the 
 physical existence from here it looks cold and 
 uncomfortable and I have no wish to retrace 
 the ground between us. It is the beginning of 
 a new year and there is much boisterous gaiety 
 on the physical plane. The garish lights and 
 music are attracting the human lot; even my 
 own children are participating in this mawkish 
 pleasure and every one is seemingly enjoying it. 
 How very near it all is and yet how far removed 
 from this existence! 
 
20 The Letters Of 
 
 March 15th, 1916. 
 
 It has been two years since I passed from the 
 physical existence and I am only now beginning 
 to learn the knowledge that is essential to pro- 
 mote spiritual growth. Some entities are, of 
 course, much more evolved than others and it 
 is the same with the vegetable and animal in a 
 lesser sense. Each state of existence is trans- 
 ferred to the planes most suited to its own 
 individual state of maturity. Man must carve 
 out his own evolution and through only intense 
 suffering or spiritual illumination can he gain 
 exalted heights. Misery, grief and despair all 
 teach their lesson and it is necessary to spirit- 
 ual growth that they be learned at some period 
 of one's evolution. 
 
 March 21st, 1916. 
 
 The object of these letters is to give a 
 helping hand to humanity and to teach you the 
 glory of going on with banners flying. The 
 great blessings you will receive through pro- 
 gressing in all consciousness of the truth is 
 greater than I can impart to you. The fine 
 points of evolution that have been so cunningly 
 worked out are almost more than the human 
 mind is capable of conceiving. We are all con- 
 
A Woman Who Was 21 
 
 scious of the fact that there is absolute justice 
 in every phase of life and on every plane. 
 These powerful scales must balance; every ac- 
 count has to be paid in the fullest measure. 
 There is only one way and one goal; some reach 
 it sooner through seeking constantly for that 
 spiritual awakening, while others, the masses, in 
 fact are forced forward in the steady march of 
 evolution as I have been through misery. It 
 should be a source of comfort to every human 
 being to learn and progress spiritually. How- 
 ever, this is usually not the case and misery 
 becomes the whip lash that drives humanity 
 forward. 
 
 April 9th, 1916. 
 
 It has been a constant source of pleasure to 
 me of late to review my former experiences and 
 to compare them all and find out just how 
 much I have progressed. I seem to have gained 
 constantly and the adepts have kept me under 
 close surveillance for many hundreds of years 
 that one day I might become the channel for 
 their great work. The entities here are all 
 reviewing and digesting their former experiences 
 just as I am. In being able to look back upon 
 these former lives it becomes a teacher to us and 
 
22 The Letters Of 
 
 we learn not to do the things that retard our 
 growth. 
 
 April 15th, 1916. 
 
 What wonderful things do happen. A great 
 and splendid Being has come among us to-day, 
 imparting courage and strength to all. I never 
 knew that there could be an entity of such 
 grandeur. He reflects the glory of the Master. 
 His countenance is more beautiful than light. 
 He is on his way to help the sufferers of Europe. 
 I shall live in the radiance he has left behind 
 him and shall strive to gain that state of perfec- 
 tion more than I have ever before striven for 
 anything. 
 
 April 20th, 1916. 
 
 Many helpers are rushing to the battlefields 
 to help the wounded and dying soldiers and I 
 will relate some of their experiences a little later. 
 The effect of the hideous death dealing instru- 
 ments is terrible and the earth seems in an up- 
 heaval of devilishness and hate. The merciless- 
 ness and callousness with which the soldiers kill 
 each other is revolting in the extreme. How- 
 ever these conditions, the dying and suffering 
 are all essential in that the world will be made 
 
A Woman Who Was 23 
 
 to realize the futility of wrong living and wrong 
 thinking. These men who are dying and those 
 who have died will return to be born again 
 cleansed of some of the foulness of human 
 nature. Every phase of this terrible war is 
 working good for the coming generations, for 
 the world was becoming sluggish and people 
 were bent on their round of pleasure. The 
 loathsome vices of the present day are appalling 
 and it is only through this very suffering that 
 the world can be brought to change its per- 
 spective. The little children who are being left 
 fatherless and the mothers who have had to 
 endure the agony of parting with their husbands 
 never to meet again during this life, are simply 
 working out karma which they generated in 
 previous incarnations. When these debts are 
 all paid evolution will have taken a mighty 
 stride ahead and one of the darkest hours will 
 have passed. There is a source of great com- 
 fort in knowing that while to-day we are paying 
 debts, to-morrow and the days in the future are 
 clear and it is entirely in our own hands to 
 what use we will put them. We can generate 
 good karma or evil and it behooves us to keep 
 to the illuminated path of righteousness if we 
 wish to escape working out of more karma. 
 
24 The Letters Of 
 
 The gross and material things cannot endure; 
 they are only temporal and the only advance- 
 ment that really counts is that which will 
 enable one to comprehend the true existence. 
 Perfection is in the far distance to be sure, but 
 one can gain it much sooner through working 
 intelligently and in harmony with the law. 
 
 April 21st, 1916. 
 
 The helpers have been extremely busy to- 
 day; many hundreds of soldiers have been killed 
 and wounded. It is very difficult for these 
 soldiers to become quiet and it sometimes takes 
 much time to convince them that they have 
 left their physical body behind them. Andre, 
 a young Frenchman of twenty years, has been 
 especially troublesome. He was shot down by 
 a German major and his hatred toward that 
 particular soldier made itself manifest when he 
 looked down on the battlefield and saw the 
 Germans breaking through the French lines; 
 he plunged among them and struck in all his 
 ugly fury at them. However, it did not help 
 him and did not affect the fighting men, because 
 he had been unable to materialize. His fury 
 was especially directed at the German major at 
 whom he repeatedly struck. It is indeed beau- 
 
A Woman Who Was 25 
 
 tiful and noble, the work of these helpers and it 
 would be impossible to keep order without 
 them; they lighten the suffering of soldiers who 
 are dying. A young English soldier, David 
 Mallowe by name, was terribly mutilated and 
 left in an unconscious condition among the 
 other unfortunates to die, during a recent battle. 
 One of the helpers who had been waiting to 
 assist stepped forward in the form of a human 
 being and knelt beside him. He stroked the 
 feverish head and when the soldier regained 
 consciousness he was there to lessen his suffer- 
 ing. Presently he attempted to sit up but fell 
 back moaning and gasping in the utter agony 
 that the effort caused. The helper threw a veil 
 over his mind and caused that physical shell to 
 be cast off. This same helper assisted David 
 when he became conscious that he was no long- 
 er existing on the physical plane, to grasp his 
 surroundings and then lulled him into a state 
 of semiconsciousness that he might rest after 
 the ordeal through which he had passed. A 
 recent experience of a French lieutenant is also 
 worth relating that it may prove the power of 
 these invisible helpers. There is no such thing 
 as luck; every occurrence has to be guided 
 through help, and help is always given to those 
 
26 The Letters Of 
 
 who deserve it. This lieutenant was riding 
 towards headquarters and had to cut in at the 
 rear of the German camp. He was seen and 
 several of the German soldiers immediately 
 pursued him mounted on fresh horses. In the 
 possession of the French lieutenant were valu- 
 able dispatches and it meant disgrace if he 
 allowed himself to be captured. He urged his 
 mount on, he gave no thought to his personal 
 danger; his one idea was to get the papers to 
 his commander. Finally he reached a river; he 
 stopped, hesitated and sent the horse lunging 
 in. The Germans aimed and fired; bullets 
 rained around the Frenchman without once 
 finding their mark. One German soldier, Hans 
 Swartz, by name, pursued him way out into the 
 river and was killed when his horse stumbled 
 and threw him and then trampled him to death 
 in his fright. The lieutenant reached the shore 
 safely although his mount was completely ex- 
 hausted and died on reaching the shore. He, 
 however, staggered for hours through the forest 
 and was finally rescued by a brother soldier who 
 was out scouting. He reached headquarters 
 and delivered his dispatches and was decorated 
 for bravery by his general. Had he been less 
 brave and less deserving of help he would have 
 
A Woman Who Was 27 
 
 been killed many times over. An invisible 
 hand guided him out of his danger and turned 
 the rain of bullets from him. These incidents 
 are constantly occurring and will continue to 
 occur to the end of the great world conflict. 
 Help is given to every nation equally and 
 wherever it is deserved. God is not on the 
 side of the Allies more than he is on the side 
 of the Germans. He knoweth all and seeth all, 
 and judgeth wisely. 
 
 May 4th, 1916. 
 
 I have been directed to correct a view point 
 that has become general and one which is de- 
 cidedly wrong and unfair. Of late race hatred 
 has become very pronounced and it is being 
 directed at Germany who is fighting against 
 such great odds. It is so human to judge from 
 one's narrow and cramped point of view. I am 
 in possession through the highest sources of the 
 truth regarding this matter. The great world 
 war is responsible for much of the hatred be- 
 tween the nations involved. All nations are 
 equally to blame no matter what any human 
 being says regarding the subject, that fact re- 
 mains fixed and settled. But when an entity 
 who is supposed to be evolving spiritually lets 
 
28 The Letters Of 
 
 material motives and earthly hatred enter into 
 his writing he is retarding his own evolution. 
 There is no nationality in the spiritual existence. 
 The cause of this conflict began centuries 
 ago and the discord became more apparent with 
 each succeeding generation. In the near future 
 there will be peace and little will have been 
 gained materially by any country. However, 
 from a spiritual standpoint much has been 
 gained, since long standing karmic debts have 
 been paid; the trumpet has sounded and evolu- 
 tion will have taken a long step in advance. 
 Nietzsche is not responsible for the conditions 
 that exist at present. His philosophy was in- 
 deed a material one and he met a sad fate, but 
 the present condition of affairs would have been, 
 had Nietzsche never existed. There is a pro- 
 nounced belief in paganism among certain sec- 
 tions of Germans and they openly flaunt their 
 belief; but this very same condition exists also 
 in England and in France although it is to be 
 sure covered over partially with the gloss of 
 religion. I merely make these statements that 
 things may be properly balanced. I wish to 
 correct the wrong ideas and impressions that 
 the masses have formed. There should be no 
 race hatred. You are all human and each one 
 
A Woman Who Was 29 
 
 is doing his share to advance the evolution of 
 soul. You are each and all a spark of the great 
 infinite mind, God, that created every living 
 creature. 
 
 June 6th, 1916. 
 
 To-day I am going to tell you something 
 about life on the astral planes. There are eight 
 planes, not including the mental sphere which 
 is the lowest of all spiritual planes. The first 
 and second planes are passed over by most 
 persons. Only the very lowest types of the 
 human races require to spend any time on 
 these. The savage races and the least evolved 
 of the white races evolve in these low spheres. 
 The third plane is where drunkards, sensualists 
 and criminals begin their astral evolution and 
 they go through intense agony, often seeking 
 to gratify their earthly desires. If such an 
 entity succeeds in getting possession of a human 
 being he can satisfy his cravings to a certain 
 extent and it is that invariably which causes 
 men to drink intoxicating liquors to excess or 
 to overeat. However, these low egos do not 
 seek to control highly developed or sensitive 
 persons. They are only attracted to those of 
 their own caliber. A sensualist can gratify his 
 
30 The Letters Of 
 
 loathsome desires through gaining possession of 
 a low type of human being and it is that which 
 causes many of the terribly depraved and ut- 
 terly horrible incidents which take place in the 
 world. Persons of great strength of character 
 and strong will are never tempted into the 
 possession of these vile entities and for this 
 reason every person should begin to acquire a 
 knowledge of life as it really exists. When you 
 allow yourselves to go on in a maze of material- 
 ism and worldly pleasure you are only existing 
 in the unreal things and still have the greatest 
 truth to learn. I wish also to explain some- 
 thing about the greatness of the thought force. 
 Every thought that leaves one's consciousness 
 generates new matter according to the char- 
 acter of that thought, either for good or for 
 evil, and rebounds back at the sender with double 
 its strength. A greater part of the human race 
 chooses the path of least resistance, but if you 
 could only realize what it leads to you would 
 willingly climb the steep cliffs to avoid the 
 greater suffering that it is the lot of those to 
 work out of who choose to glide through life, 
 never thinking of that existence in the future, 
 knowing little about it and caring less, for when 
 once the wheels of evil actions and dissipation 
 
A Woman Who Was 31 
 
 are set in motion it is difficult to stop them. 
 They move slowly at first and the transgressor 
 continues blindly on his way, never dreaming 
 of the consequences. The forces begin to move 
 more rapidly and still the erring human mind 
 believes itself capable of controlling the situa- 
 tion until these forces become as pounding 
 demons and it is beyond the power of human 
 will to control them. When men are influ- 
 enced by these evil forces and driven before 
 the storm they become weakened creatures and 
 abhorrent wrecks which the creatorintended 
 to be human beings full of vitality and strength 
 and possessing a purpose in life. This truth 
 should be a solemn teacher of which is the 
 way to pursue and indeed I hope that it 
 will impart its lesson. After an entity reaches 
 the higher planes evolution becomes much 
 more pronounced and the desire for the ma- 
 terial pleasures exists no more. On the fourth 
 and fifth planes the masses of humanity begin 
 their evolution after the so-called death occurs. 
 Entities existing on these planes have no morbid 
 desires and their influence is always good if 
 exerted over human beings at all. The sixth, 
 seventh and eighth planes consist of more 
 highly evolved egos and that existence is still 
 
32 The Letters Of 
 
 farther removed from the physical plane. On 
 the seventh and eighth planes entities are con- 
 scious of the human race only when the entity 
 has recently passed through the experience of 
 death and wishes to console his dear ones whom 
 he has left behind him. The entities on the 
 eighth plane are of the highest astral types and 
 are superior in wisdom and knowledge. In 
 speaking of planes I do not mean to give the 
 impression of an existence such as the physical; 
 each spiritual plane is a state of consciousness 
 and it is according to the development of the 
 ego into which state of consciousness he will be 
 sent when the physical shell is cast off. 
 
 June 10th, 1916. 
 
 In looking over these letters I feel that 
 perhaps I have had a tendency to preach. I 
 do not wish to preach. I mean these letters as 
 a deep appeal only. I appeal to the reason 
 which you all possess either in a small or large 
 sense. I long for you to see the truth. By 
 investigating these facts that I have put down 
 you will find them all logical and true. It is 
 that you may possess a clearer insight into these 
 truths that this little book is being written. A 
 great majority of the human race exists in ignor- 
 
A Woman Who Was 33 
 
 ance of the actual truth about life. Theosophy 
 has done great work in enlightening the world 
 and those who earnestly study and strive for 
 the knowledge of the true existence will be 
 rewarded for their efforts. 
 
 June 16th, 1916. 
 
 Many things have taken place since I last 
 wrote a letter. The Master of Light has again 
 been among us. He teaches courage and pa- 
 tience and helps every ego to rise above his own 
 vibration and causes us to progress more rap- 
 idly. There is going to be need soon for 
 highly developed entities and he is coaching 
 the most highly developed ones among us to 
 gain more knowledge that we may assist in 
 the formation of the coming cycle. The love 
 and truth that radiates from His being is won- 
 derful and the radiance He leaves behind is as 
 the sunshine and we live in it until He comes 
 again. He departed in a cloud of light to other 
 planes where He will teach the other entities 
 as He has taught us. 
 
 June 17th, 1916. 
 
 I am going to tell you something of the 
 coming race or cycle as the Master of Light has 
 
34 The Letters Of 
 
 told us. Theosophists and various other cults 
 believe that beautiful souls have died in the 
 war that they might be reincarnated soon, to be 
 of assistance in the coming cycle. They are mis- 
 guided in this belief. Partially beautiful souls 
 have died during service to their countries, but 
 it was to hasten their own individual evolution 
 that they endured physical death. Perfected 
 souls or entities who have developed highly 
 enough will reincarnate into the new race and 
 it is these great almost perfect beings who will 
 be teachers and masters in the new cycle. The 
 cycle in which we are living at the present time 
 has been an exceedingly material one. The 
 pendulum swings both ways; one cycle will be 
 material and the next spiritual. The world 
 to-day possesses more spiritual knowledge than 
 it has ever possessed before, but it will not 
 accept this knowledge; it desires only the ma- 
 terial pleasures and material power. The spirit- 
 ual truths have been brushed into the back- 
 ground and it was only the great war which 
 could change conditions and force the human 
 race to realize the futility of wrongdoing. The 
 new cycle will be one of great spirituality and 
 the new race through the intense suffering that 
 it will have passed through will grasp the beau- 
 
A Woman Who Was 35 
 
 tiful truths of life hungrily. Even in this 
 generation the new race is beginning to form 
 and there are a few selected cults which are 
 living according to the true law and life as they 
 understand it. The masses of the present age 
 are greatly like the woman who started out to 
 visit a friend who had recently returned to the 
 city. The woman had looked forward with 
 keen anticipation to the pleasure of an after- 
 noon spent in the company of this friend. So 
 when the time came she boarded a street car and 
 on nearing what she supposed to be her destina- 
 tion began to seek in her purse for the book that 
 contained the friend's address. After a futile 
 search she turned hopelessly to the conductor 
 for assistance. In a vague manner she remem- 
 bered the name of the avenue. The conductor 
 directed her accordingly and she started in 
 search of her quest. She got no results and 
 after tramping in several directions had to 
 return home and secure the address. With this 
 firmly clasped in her hand she had no difficulty 
 in finding her way, although most of the pre- 
 cious time had been spent needlessly and there 
 was little time left to spend with the friend. 
 And so it is with the people of the earth. You 
 start your earthly journey with a faint glimmer 
 
36 The Letters Of 
 
 of spiritual truth in your possession, but after 
 you travel a short distance through life you 
 become confused as to which is the proper way 
 to pursue and seek assistance. After traveling 
 in several different directions you arrive at no 
 place and find it necessary to retrace all the 
 ground and begin the spiritual journey over 
 again. As a consequence much of your valu- 
 able time has been wasted and you possess less 
 time in which you may develop your spiritual 
 nature on earth. If you would avoid making 
 this great mistake, cultivate your own spiritual 
 intuition and if you follow that which comes 
 intuitively you will not need outside assistance 
 and will progress far more rapidly. However, 
 it is through the sheer force of desire that you 
 will be given the power to proceed. 
 
 June 25, 1916. 
 
 Let tranquility reign in God's great soul 
 shaping world; all is well and while many things 
 appear beyond our ken, in reality life is as an 
 open book. "If you wish to possess a knowl- 
 edge of life as it really exists, cultivate your in- 
 tellect and acquire the desire necessary and all 
 things will be made manifest unto you," so 
 saith the Master of all intelligence and life. If 
 
A Woman Who Was 37 
 
 you feel inclined to doubt what I tell you, look 
 around at the elements of life, at the grass grow- 
 ing under foot, the wheat in the fields and the 
 fruit on the trees. Where do they come from? 
 You will answer that they have sprung from 
 the seed and that is true, but that little seed is 
 a spark of the Divine Essence of life, the Great 
 Infinite Being who has created every good thing. 
 Even the deformed creatures for whom you feel 
 such intense pity are part of the great scheme 
 of life and they are reaping in this life what 
 they have sown during previous incarnations. 
 Not a single infliction is caused unjustly and 
 every agony that is endured is of its own mak- 
 ing and every height we gain, every glory that 
 is ours, must be gained through merit. The 
 Great Father is not a finite being who doles out 
 favors promiscuously. His love is of the most 
 supreme order. He is absolutely just and gives 
 nothing unless it has been earned. It is the 
 habit of some persons to kneel down and pray 
 after committing some wrong act. They pray 
 for forgiveness for that wrong, but the only 
 way in which it can be atoned for is by working 
 it out, paying the debt and making the wrong 
 act right. As surely as there is a sun and moon 
 so is there cause and effect and when the human 
 
38 The Letters Of 
 
 mind becomes capable of comprehending these 
 facts much of the present suffering will de done 
 away with. When you commit an act that will 
 harm any one, then an effect is forthcoming 
 that will make you suffer. And so it is in every 
 phase of life whether here or on earth; our every 
 act is put on record; every thought that leaves 
 our consciousness is recorded in the ahkasic 
 records, and in the due course of time we will 
 all be given the opportunity of reading them. 
 There are perhaps two persons now existing on 
 the physical plane who can read these records 
 correctly; even an entity is not always capable of 
 reading them. 
 
 June 28th, 1916. 
 
 I am writing these letters in such a manner 
 that if you were to read one each day several 
 times over you would comprehend only part of 
 the hidden meaning. There is food for much 
 thought in them all. I have written them in 
 this way that you may cause your sluggish 
 spiritual natures to awaken partially at least. 
 St. John said, "Verily, verily I say unto you, he 
 that entereth not by the door into the fold of 
 the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the 
 same is a thief and a robber, but he that entereth 
 
A Woman Who Was 39 
 
 in at the door is the shepherd of the sheep and 
 to him the porter openeth." He meant that if 
 you try to climb to great spiritual heights with- 
 out earnest endeavor and through the use of 
 material methods you would be as a thief and 
 a robber. But if you will enter in at the door 
 of spiritual understanding you will gain the true 
 consciousness and your mortal perspective will 
 no longer be distorted. It is so difficult for the 
 average person to understand the true state of 
 existence. We are apt to grope blindly as one 
 would in a dark room without being able to 
 reach the object for which we are seeking. If 
 we had an illumination we could find it without 
 groping at all and much sooner. It is so with 
 the journey of evolution. Some evolve much 
 more rapidly than do others, because they are 
 conscious of that spiritual illumination which 
 lights their way. When you close your eyes to 
 these truths it is to evade the reckoning for a 
 day perhaps, but it will come in its own good 
 time and your regret will be great indeed. Per- 
 haps these facts are all dry and uninteresting, 
 but if you will only strive to comprehend their 
 significance and will seek out the vital truths 
 of this existence you will save so much misery. 
 I am trying to the utmost of my power to ap- 
 
40 The Letters Of 
 
 peal to that divine spark which is in each and 
 all and every living creature. 
 
 July 2nd, 1916. 
 
 To-day's letter will be how to become the 
 pupil of a master. There are very few human 
 beings ready to become the pupils. Develop- 
 ment of the highest order is essential. The most 
 vital necessity is truth; one must be truthful in 
 thought and deed. Do not deceive yourself, for 
 if you deceive yourself you will deceive others. 
 After this difficult but essential lesson has been 
 acquired, learn to be unselfish. It is most es- 
 sential that one should be entirely unselfish. 
 Do not haggle over small things; give them up. 
 The master requires the pupil to be above 
 argument. It is perhaps the most common of 
 human faults and one of the most difficult to 
 overcome. The pupil of a master must be ab- 
 solutely devoted to the spiritual life, ready and 
 willing to give up all material pleasures. He 
 will be called upon to endure countless hard- 
 ships to test his worth. A very strong will is 
 also required, for the way is steep and rough, 
 and without a will of tempered steel the pupil 
 would fall to the depths. His motto is, "I will," 
 and it makes no difference what the master re- 
 
A Woman Who Was 41 
 
 quires of the pupil his answer is always "I will." 
 The pupil of a master can readily be distin- 
 guished from the ordinary human being. He 
 goes through life with a purpose and his time is 
 filled with worthy employment. The pupil may 
 remain under the surveillance of the master dur- 
 ing several incarnations before he becomes per- 
 spicacious enough to continue the work alone, 
 although he must be in a receptive state of 
 mind first that he may become a pupil. Some- 
 times a pupil is taken on trial if he possesses a 
 keen desire to be taught by a master; he is given 
 the opportunity, but if his will does not remain 
 firm he is discountenanced at once and all further 
 communication between the master and him- 
 self is cut off. It is like a boy graduating from 
 the primary grades at school to the higher ones. 
 If by chance he passes the examinations and is 
 promoted but cannot keep up the work required, 
 he is accordingly sent back to the lower grade 
 to learn his lesson more fully. It is that way 
 throughout one's lives. We are all forced to 
 learn the lessons that have been neglected. 
 Everyone must be thoroughly learned before we 
 are allowed to leave the physical existence be- 
 hind us and it is for this reason that reincarna- 
 tion is essential to progression. 
 
42 The Letters Of 
 
 July 6th, 1916. 
 
 The world is in confusion and there is much 
 need of enlightenment; much must be proven 
 to the human mind that it will cease erring and 
 will be willing to move on according to the law 
 of evolution. The Master of Light came among 
 us and pointed down at a boy, a young boy not 
 more than eighteen, and he said to us, "Behold 
 that is the body into which the Christ will 
 enter," and he selected two among the souls to 
 guard the boy from harm. He has long been 
 under the guidance of a master who is prepar- 
 ing his body for the reception of the Christ and 
 that body is now in readiness for the Christ 
 who will soon come again. And the Master of 
 Light said further, "He is now ready to give up 
 his vehicle to the Christ. He shall assist in the 
 new cycle and shall be as my right hand and 
 will do as I bid. His will is as steel tempered 
 fine. His aura showeth only the light of strength 
 and purity. I have said my word. Let it be 
 remembered." And so it was made known to 
 us into what body the future Christ would enter. 
 The teacher who will come must possess a wide 
 outlook that he may appeal to the present age. 
 He will be expected to discuss politics and 
 economics. He must take an interest in the 
 
A Woman Who Was 43 
 
 present day mode of living. These things have 
 all been met and the coming teacher will appeal 
 to all alike. The coming of this teacher will 
 mark a new era in the history of the world. 
 
 July 13th, 1916. 
 
 To relieve the apparent dryness of my work 
 I am going to relate some intensely interesting 
 anecdotes of different entities. It will be of 
 interest to many of you to compare these ex- 
 periences with my own. About a year ago a 
 woman of great intellectual strength came here. 
 She had been a leader of New York society and 
 was completely absorbed in the material things. 
 However, during the last days of her life on 
 earth she changed her attitude. Through in- 
 tense physical suffering she was made to see the 
 folly of letting the material existence take full 
 possession of the ego. She lost all desire to re- 
 main amid the worldly luxuries that surrounded 
 her and eagerly took up that spiritual life that 
 awaited her. After the physical shell was cast 
 off she arose to good things and began evolution 
 here in all consciousness and grace, appreciat- 
 ing the spiritual and casting down the material. 
 She did not find it necessary to remain in the 
 mental sphere at all as the physical left no at- 
 
44 The Letters Of 
 
 traction for her. The only unpleasant sensa- 
 tion that she experienced was when the family 
 and friends mourned over that inanimate body 
 which had once been the instrument through 
 which she had found expression. She says that 
 she would not go back to the physical existence 
 as she left it and is perfectly content to continue 
 her spiritual evolution here. Of course, after a 
 long period of time she will return again to that 
 physical, but her understanding and conscious- 
 ness will remain with her to a certain extent as 
 that is the way her nature naturally inclines. 
 Another rather interesting experience is that of 
 Earl Kitchener, who was the great military 
 leader of England. He was a man of great 
 strength of intellect and character. He had 
 been a deep thinker, a scholar and decidedly a 
 man of sterling worth. He was a man whom 
 most persons found it very difficult to approach. 
 He accepted few men as friends and their worth 
 had to be fully proven to him before he accepted 
 them as his own equal. At heart he was a man 
 of great kindness until the great conflict came. 
 Then his mind became intent upon slaughter. 
 The desire to gain victories for his country at 
 any cost caused him to forget entirely that the 
 Divine Father rules over one country as well as 
 
A Woman Who Was 45 
 
 another and is just to all. When death over- 
 took Earl Kitchener it found him unprepared. 
 His mind was in a perfect chaos or upheaval and 
 his spiritual nature was entirely dominated by 
 the mortal mind. It was his lot to enter the 
 mental sphere and work away from the desire 
 to kill and gain material victories. His suffer- 
 ing was intense. He suffered every agony of 
 soul that it is possible to endure. His spiritual 
 and real self battled with that physical self un- 
 til the real and eternal mastered the mortal 
 mind. When the soul gained possession he as- 
 cended into the sixth plane and his being has 
 been glorified by that experience. His perspec- 
 tive is entirely changed; his being radiates pa- 
 tience and kindness, so that dreadful experience 
 of death has been to him enlightenment. He 
 has gained a power that before he never had 
 possessed and this great soul is hastening on 
 toward perfection more rapidly than could have 
 been hoped for had death not overtaken that 
 physical body. He is deeply penitent for hav- 
 ing had a part in the conflict but that had been 
 ordained and no power of his could have pre- 
 vented the war. Another type of entity is that 
 who when physical birth occurred was exceed- 
 ingly spiritual. Such an entity would have to 
 
46 The Letters Of 
 
 be highly evolved, almost ready to leave incar- 
 nation behind him. This type would lead a 
 spiritual life, would think of his neighbors' com- 
 fort more than his own and would go out of his 
 way to help those who need it. Such a man 
 was Elbert Hubbard and he has arisen to almost 
 perfect spirituality. He is an inspiration to 
 those around him and many entities absorb of 
 his spiritual strength. His pleasure is that of 
 doing for others and it is indeed the greatest, 
 noblest pleasure of all pleasures. These types 
 are the ones constantly coming here. The latter 
 type is to be sure a very rare one, as few human 
 beings have reached a high state of develop- 
 ment. There is first the very material type, 
 second the ordinary material, third the com- 
 bination of both, fourth a very spiritual type. 
 The mode of functioning in our spiritual exist- 
 ence is, of course, ethereal. We do retain bodies 
 similar to the physical one in appearance com- 
 posed of ethereal matter. We do not function 
 in a physical sense. It is not necessary in the 
 spiritual world to give any thought to the com- 
 fort of the body; since that body is not physical 
 it needs no attention such as the physical one 
 would need. We do not eat or sleep or get 
 tired or sick here; life is formed of much greater 
 
A Woman Who Was 47 
 
 things. We have far busier lives than do you 
 who are existing in the material world. Just as 
 you have steady employment so have we work 
 which keeps us busy all the time we remain here. 
 We help each other in many ways. Where one 
 entity is bearing a heavy burden the other will 
 help to make it lighter. These burdens we en- 
 dure are all mental or spiritual ones. We are 
 not immune from impatience and anger here, al- 
 though as we advance we lose these faults. 
 Entities of a lower character who have certain 
 attachments or desires can satisfy their crav- 
 ings to a certain extent in some instances. These 
 egos are many years in outgrowing material 
 desires while a few work out of this phase of life 
 very rapidly. Entities such as sensualists, glut- 
 tons or drunkards seek to gain control of human 
 beings of a low caliber such as themselves. When 
 these entities take control of a human being 
 they can satisfy their own desires and this is 
 invariably the cause of human beings, eating and 
 drinking to excess. Drunkards are usually those 
 who are lead by a malign or evil entity. It is 
 exceedingly dangerous to let such an entity gain 
 control, as in time the person who is controlled 
 loses his personality in that of the ego and is no 
 longer capable of controlling himself. He is 
 
48 The Letters Of 
 
 completely at the mercy of the evil spirit and it 
 is almost impossible to throw off that influence. 
 It has been done, however, and if the person 
 will set out with the firm purpose of breaking 
 away from the influence, he can do it, although 
 the battle is a very long and hard one. These 
 evil entities often get control of children and in 
 such instances cause them to become morally 
 perverted and irresponsible. There are just as 
 many dangerous personalities and influences here 
 as there are on earth and they are more power- 
 ful, because they can watch every opportunity 
 and you may be sure they never overlook one. 
 These malign entities are of the lowest types and 
 are only in the lowest state of development. The 
 reason for which I am explaining these matters 
 is that you who may read this book will be in 
 possession of true facts and can accordingly 
 guard against these dangerous entities and in- 
 fluences. 
 
 July 20th, 1916. 
 
 Reincarnation has been so widely discussed 
 that I think it will be worth while to use it as a 
 topic for this letter. Persons are likely to ask: 
 Why is incarnation essential to evolution? 
 How can a man or woman gain an education 
 
A Woman Who Was 49 
 
 without going to school? How do human be- 
 ings broaden their outlook? Only by coming 
 in contact with other human beings. When a 
 woman remains at home too much she gets in a 
 rut so to speak and even loses all interest in 
 affairs outside the home. This type of woman 
 does not expand; she is not healthy and her 
 viewpoint is decidedly narrow and cramped. 
 It is so with the soul, or ego; without incarna- 
 tion the soul could not expand; it takes the 
 combination of the material and the spiritual 
 to round out and perfect the ego. Incarnation 
 is only a small part of the experiences of the 
 soul, but it is quite as essential as evolution in 
 the spiritual world. Gold in its raw state is 
 practically without value; after it has gone 
 through various refining processes it comes out 
 polished and beautiful and is very valuable. 
 It is so with the ego; in the beginning the ego 
 was only a small undeveloped atom and seem- 
 ingly had no outlook or future, but through 
 hundreds of years of refining that ego gradually 
 gained consciousness. This evolution continues 
 until the development has reached the state of 
 humanity. When the ego has grown past the 
 lower kingdoms it becomes an individual and 
 has a distinct personality of its own. It is then 
 
50 The Letters Or 
 
 reincarnated as a person. This soul must also 
 evolve until it has reached high enough spirit- 
 ual development to discard incarnation. So 
 it is necessary for the ego to experience human 
 emotion as well as spiritual that he may possess 
 full knowledge and insight and understanding 
 of life as it really exists. The sacred laws have 
 been so finely worked out that not the slightest 
 thing that is essential to spiritual perfection 
 has been neglected. The soul, or ego, has its 
 most vital experiences after life on the physical 
 plane is over, but when the soul has reached 
 high enough development to evolve only in a 
 spiritual sense he is almost a perfect being. 
 This is the simplest manner in which I can ex- 
 plain the cause of incarnation. It is a broad 
 subject and the book which is to follow this one 
 will explain every detail and give the cause in 
 such a manner as has never before been given. 
 
 July 25th, 1916. 
 
 My dear earth people, I feel great sympathy 
 for you all. The intense heat of the physical 
 plane is quite unbearable, I know. So many 
 little babies have come here. Dear little crea- 
 tures that have been unable to withstand the 
 discomfort of the physical plane. Helpers have 
 
A Woman Who Was 51 
 
 been busy making suitable places for these little 
 ones who will return to the physical very soon 
 again to take up the work that has been in- 
 terrupted. It is quite sad to see these little 
 babies seek for their mothers. They do not 
 seem able to comprehend at first that they are 
 not existing in the natural sense. After they 
 are soothed by helpers they become perfectly 
 content and await in patience for the time to 
 return to the physical again. In most cases 
 these children return within a very short time to 
 the earthly existence. These entities are, of 
 course, developed, although for a time they 
 realize only their limitations. Every phase of 
 life both here and on earth is different in its 
 aspect and it takes these various phases to 
 complete and round out the true existence. 
 
 August 6th, 1916. 
 
 I have had in mind for some time a few rules 
 I would give the human being to live by. You 
 must all know that until you are master of 
 your physical body you cannot hope to be mas- 
 ter of the mind and you will find that until the 
 physical desires are put under foot the spiritual 
 nature cannot develop. If human beings would 
 only follow certain set rules or self laws and 
 
52 The Letters Of 
 
 would never disobey them, they would find the 
 way could be made much easier. You should 
 plan to arise at a certain hour each morning and 
 always do it. Eat less or no animal flesh at all, 
 if that is possible. Do not drink intoxicating 
 drinks. Drink is a brawler and wine a mocker 
 and whosoever erreth thereby is not wise. 
 Christ drank no beverage except the pure juice 
 of the grape. Live clean lives and keep your 
 intellects clear. When you have gained con- 
 trol of your physical selves thus far, learn to 
 control your errant thoughts. This is far more 
 difficult, but through concentration and strong 
 purpose you may accomplish even this. When 
 you have met these things, the spiritual nature 
 is ready for conscious development. Self-sac- 
 rifice is most essential to the evolution of the 
 ego and must be learned at the very beginning. 
 The path of conscious development is not an 
 easy one to follow, but nothing in the universe 
 that is worth while was ever gained without 
 effort. Christ sweat spiritual blood for his 
 fellow creatures and so in a sense do we all 
 sweat spiritual blood when first making an at- 
 tempt to gain our foothold. The human beings 
 that live for the material pleasures only and 
 accept the physical comfort at the expense of 
 
A Woman Who Was 53 
 
 the spiritual do not give the higher nature even 
 a glimmer of an opportunity to make itself 
 manifest. In these instances it is only through 
 soul agony that the transgressors are brought to 
 time. It is said in the Bible, "Fret not thyself 
 because of evil doers; neither be thou envious 
 of them that work unrighteousness; for they 
 shall be cut down like the grass/' meaning that 
 you who are developing in all consciousness of 
 the truth should not worry over the person who 
 is going along the easy road, for the path of 
 pleasure leadeth to destruction. The road of 
 righteousness is a hilly and rough one when one 
 travels it in lack of understanding, but there is 
 always the comfort of knowing that you are 
 gaining in godliness and will at some distant 
 time be a perfect being. It is only through 
 honest work and effort that you can gain perfect 
 spirituality. Every intelligent person should be 
 conscious of possessing a purpose in life and 
 should do his utmost to strengthen that pur- 
 pose. There are great difficulties to be sur- 
 mounted both here and on earth and it takes 
 both courage and strength of purpose to over- 
 come them. When human beings become hum- 
 ble and forget self they will have taken a step 
 ahead. All persons are full of their individual 
 
54 The Letters Of 
 
 importance and are so very egotistical that they 
 cannot accept teachings which jar them out of 
 their rut or interfere with their own limited 
 perceptions. I do not write these truths be- 
 cause of a desire to preach, but because the 
 world has great need of help in this present hour 
 and I am endeavoring to give some of the neces- 
 sary assistance. There are closer connections 
 now between the spiritual and the material than 
 ever before and every possible channel is being 
 put to work. Psychic phenomena are being more 
 widely discussed than ever before and persons 
 are more eager to accept these facts and I will 
 say that in the very near future a pronounced 
 change will be seen and felt throughout the 
 physical world. 
 
 August 16th, 1916. 
 
 I have been exceedingly busy getting to- 
 gether sufficient true data that I might be able 
 to explain to you the different forms of mate- 
 rializations. There is so much misunderstanding 
 regarding materialized beings that in a clear 
 condensed way it should be stated. There is 
 first the shell or cast off astral body of the 
 entity who has taken existence in the mental 
 or devachanic sphere. This shell floats around 
 
A Woman Who Was 55 
 
 in the astral world until it finally disappears in 
 much the manner that the physical body disin- 
 tegrates. This shell is what is commonly seen 
 around the medium's cabinet. It is an evil 
 thing since it is entirely controlled by outside 
 forces and is galvanized into seeming intelli- 
 gence through these material forces. It is a 
 thing to avoid coming in contact with, since 
 unconsciously you are responsible for its com- 
 ing. This form of materialization is the com- 
 monest one. The second form is the true form 
 or ego, who materializes. The entity often 
 makes himself manifest immediately after death, 
 especially if the friends and near relatives are 
 exceedingly emotional in their expression of 
 grief for the departed one. The entity will then 
 seek to get to them, since their outpouring of 
 lamentation causes him great discomfort. He 
 is very seldom able to appear, however, before 
 anyone except those persons who possess clair- 
 voyant power and these persons are very few 
 in number. The departed entity also is some- 
 times found haunting the earth grave, agonizing 
 over the still physical body, although, when he 
 learns the futility of this, he ceases to linger 
 there. It only prolongs the earth bound condi- 
 tion and keeps him in bondage to the material. 
 
56 The Letters Of 
 
 The higher astral types also materialize on cer- 
 tain occasions. Such incidents are more rare, 
 however. Not long ago a young girl was in a 
 very bad train wreck. Her father had passed 
 over many years previous to this, although he 
 had kept watch over this young daughter 
 always. When the two trains collided he ma- 
 terialized and took his child out from under a 
 burning car. She saw her father plainly al- 
 though when she was found to be safely removed 
 several feet from the accident no one could 
 account for it and the girl herself believed the 
 father to have been only a vision she had seen 
 in her semiconscious state. In cases of extreme 
 suffering these entities often materialize and 
 are afterward accounted for by delirium of the 
 suiferer when in reality they are real entities 
 and not weird fantasies of a tired or feverish 
 brain. Also before physical death occurs a 
 dying person is often heard to say, "I see the 
 most beautiful angel or I see such and such a 
 dear one," who had passed before. Human 
 beings have never accounted for these appari- 
 tions which indeed are not apparitions at all 
 but are helpers waiting to assist that soul 
 through the door that leads to a spiritual exist- 
 ence. These are the first two classes of mate- 
 
A Woman Who Was 57 
 
 rializations. The third is that of the helper or 
 adept who can and does materialize at his will. 
 He does good every place. He can be in New 
 York in one hour and in London the next. 
 Often these helpers take the form of an ordi- 
 nary human being and help the dwellers of the 
 Ghetto or the slums in New York. One in- 
 stance worth relating is that which X. K. had 
 in Chicago in a low district. X. K. is a master 
 and does a vast amount of good work. In this 
 case he materialized as a minister of the church 
 and was apparently calling on the members of 
 these families to make observations. In one 
 particular family he found disease rampant. 
 The father and mother were both in a deplor- 
 able syphilitic condition. There were six chil- 
 dren all huddled up in various corners. Their 
 mother was giving the youngest child stale beer. 
 Both were in a pitifully intoxicated condition. 
 The father was a man of great stature and small 
 brain. He was a cruel, almost animal-like 
 creature under whose evil influence the mother 
 had become an abject wreck. When X. K. 
 appeared at their door he was bidden to depart 
 by the father. He slipped in and waved the man 
 into a corner. The man felt the powerful vibra- 
 tions of the master and cowered in utter fear. 
 
58 The Letters Of 
 
 The filth and loathsome uncleanliness was appal- 
 ling. The whole family was evidently resigned 
 to slowly dying of absolute decay and unclean- 
 liness. The master stepped up to the woman 
 and took the child who was about nineteen 
 months of age. It was blue and bony and 
 almost ethereal in appearance from lack of 
 nourishing food and proper care. It was dying, 
 although it had escaped from the disease which was 
 slowly eating up the parents. X. K. set to work 
 removing as much of the filth as was possible. 
 He cleaned the children and through his own 
 method he brought the woman out of her 
 stupor. For many weeks he continued to go 
 to this family as a minister. The children were 
 sent to school; the little ailing child was given 
 the proper care and the father has been brought 
 to know of the Grace of God. He now works 
 steadily and keeps a fine family together. He 
 and his wife were both healed and entirely 
 cured of the deplorable disease affecting them. 
 They have taken quarters in a good neighbor- 
 hood and the father carries a balance in the 
 savings bank. Such an incident is almost 
 unbelievable, but in reality it is true and is only 
 an example of our adept's wonderful work. I 
 could name countless other cases which from 
 
A Woman Who Was 59 
 
 a material standpoint are accounted for as 
 chance work when in reality they are guided 
 by these superhuman helpers. The world is 
 constantly receiving help in this manner and it 
 accepts blindly without knowing the true source 
 of all supply. The fourth and last form of 
 materialization is that of the entity who exists 
 in the devachanic state. He no longer has a 
 material body, but through sending thoughts 
 into the hearts of the people, in such a manner 
 warnings and premonitions are given. When 
 you suddenly feel a kind or exceedingly beauti- 
 ful thought you may know the vibration of 
 these entities has carried into your own con- 
 sciousness, and their work is beautiful and 
 helpful. Every fine impulse and unselfish de- 
 sire you feel is strengthened and helped to mature 
 through these entities' vibrations. The deva- 
 chanic existence is commonly called the Heaven 
 World although in the sense you would take it, 
 it is not the Heaven you read of in the Bible. 
 It is the resting place after the many incarna- 
 tions on earth and after countless spiritual 
 existences. When the entities reach a certain 
 high point of evolution they are given a com- 
 plete rest and in this Heaven World every dream 
 is realized. No splendor is too great to realize 
 
60 The Letters Of 
 
 there. Your every desire is fulfilled and life is 
 peaceful and beautiful and the entities are con- 
 scious of the great outpouring of love from the 
 Logos. There are above this Heaven existence 
 many great planes to which these entities 
 ascend in the due course of time. These 
 different forms of spiritual consciousness are 
 almost beyond human conception. The form 
 of the beings who dwell in the Heaven World, 
 is entirely soul and thought. There no longer 
 remains an ethereal form which resembles the 
 physical in appearance. It is quite unexplain- 
 able since mortal mind cannot conceive of an 
 existence without a body and it takes hundreds 
 of years to acquire the fundamental truths of 
 existence and laws as they really are, not as 
 they appear to be. Everything the human eye 
 is capable of seeing is called real, when actually 
 the objects you can focus your gaze upon are 
 temporal, and not only that, but sight is not 
 accurate and these objects are different than 
 they appear to be. That which is true appears 
 to be not and that which is not true appears to 
 be. You all know that the average human 
 being knows little or nothing of astronomy. 
 To a student it is a pleasure and not in the 
 least difficult to look at and perceive the in- 
 
A Woman Who Was 61 
 
 visible planets. And it is the same with the 
 realities of life. A student of the true life can 
 perceive the meaning of the invisible when the 
 average material human being gropes blindly 
 without being able to absolutely comprehend 
 the invisible which he cannot see and feel with 
 his physical senses. We that appear to you as 
 non-existent are more vitally alive and full of 
 the great purpose than you can ever possibly be 
 during your present existence. The average 
 smug Christian is to be pitied and no less. 
 He does not comprehend the spiritual teachings 
 of his own religion and what could be more 
 pitiful than that, to accept and believe in some- 
 thing entirely false. Christ never meant his 
 words to be taken literally. He was not cruci- 
 fied in the flesh but in the spirit. How few 
 living beings grasp that fact. When I look 
 down upon the lack of understanding and in- 
 sight it wrings my soul to its depths and I reach 
 out my arms in supplication to you all. You 
 cannot hear the voice, because the voice of God 
 is still and small and the howl of evil is drown- 
 ing it. When Christ set forth the command- 
 ments he meant you to accept them and live 
 according to them; but they were not to be 
 taken literally either. The old fashioned Chris- 
 
62 The Letters Of 
 
 tian idea of "Thou shalt not labor on the seventh 
 day" is meant in a spiritual way. It does not 
 mean that you must sit in meditation merely, 
 but it means that you shall do no evil thing. 
 Do not harm your brother. Do not slander 
 your neighbor. Any wholesome pleasure is 
 yours and it is quite as necessary to be good on 
 Monday as it is on the Sabbath. Every day is 
 holy in the sight of the Creator and you cannot 
 pay your sins by meditating on the Sabbath 
 and then immediately sinning when the week 
 days start. If you would only take up your 
 Bible in a sane rational manner and seek for the 
 spiritual enlightenment it contains, it would 
 work a miracle, but it is rarely done; conse- 
 quently the human lot is a hard one and there 
 is much to be worked out yet. 
 
 August 20th, 1916. 
 
 I am intensely interested in the newest relig- 
 ion, Christian Science. It has a great many 
 splendid points, although Mrs. Eddy's view 
 point was limited, and commercializing the heal- 
 ing is retarding and keeping undone the great 
 good it would otherwise accomplish. Christian 
 Science healers should not heal because they 
 are being paid and they do not heal; the Creator 
 
A Woman Who Was 63 
 
 does that. They are merely used as the channel 
 through which the healing passes. Just as the 
 girl who is taking down this book is not writing 
 it; she is a channel even as I am. You will 
 perhaps set up the cry that you think it quite 
 right to pay out of gratitude for the help it has 
 given you. Very true, you should be grateful 
 and willing to give something toward the 
 support of the semi-healer, and you undoubt- 
 edly would be governed by that desire. The 
 fault lies with those who practice healing in 
 issuing statements of healing given. It is a 
 terrible thing to do and as long as these prac- 
 titioners seek for material gain they will never 
 accomplish that which they would if they lived 
 in a humble fashion. It is an entirely different 
 age from that when Christ existed to be sure; 
 but if you wish to live as Christ lived and heal 
 as Christ healed you will be obliged to do as 
 Christ did. It makes no difference what faith 
 you are of; if your desire is pure and your mode 
 of living is in keeping, you will get the perfect 
 healing. The healings of the present day scien- 
 tists are imperfect and accordingly not per- 
 manent. The true and perfect healing is per- 
 manent. I merely bring in these facts to cor- 
 rect, if possible, the present method, for if it 
 
64 The Letters Of 
 
 continues as it is Christian Science will suffer a 
 great decline and will become extinct. For this 
 reason, if no other, it behooves the believers of 
 Science to turn their face hither and fight off 
 the material nature that their faith may expand 
 and grow into a beautiful and perfect realiza- 
 tion. The simpler life you lead, the nearer 
 your Creator you are. All the superficial crea- 
 tions of man and the affectations of the present 
 day are as tinsel on a Christmas tree and amount 
 to even less. They are perishable and are not 
 in any way desirable. By that I do not mean 
 to say that refinement and education are not 
 necessary, for they are. You can acquire both 
 education and refinement without going to 
 college or to a finishing school. It remains in 
 your own hands to round out and make the 
 most of your earthly existence. You must be 
 adaptive and desirous of attaining fine heights. 
 Keep your ideals lofty. Be big. Cast your 
 lot in with big people and live according to the 
 highest ideals as nearly as you find it possible. 
 Do even as a pupil of a master does. Say, "I 
 will" and always make your material nature 
 bow down before the spiritual and finer nature. 
 That is the way the adepts and masters have 
 gained perfection; through using indomitable 
 
A Woman Who Was 65 
 
 will and possessing great courage. Do not let 
 your fellow creatures affect your own knowledge 
 of right and wrong. It does not in the least 
 matter what the world thinks or pretends to 
 know about you; but it is that which you know 
 you are harboring in your own consciousness. 
 The world contains a great many beautiful beings 
 in the form of thought and could be full of 
 these beautiful thoughts if you would all work 
 in unison and harmony. The greatest of all 
 evils is self deception. It is the root of most 
 every crime that is committed and should be 
 combated as a devil and cast away. When 
 you once start deceiving yourself you begin to 
 deceive others and deception causes you to lie 
 and steal and sometimes even kill to avoid 
 being found out. There are more phases of 
 materialism than you can count and as long as 
 you allow either the desire for luxury at the 
 expense of some one else or the lust for power 
 to hold sway over you, it will keep you from 
 realizing to the full extent the blessings you 
 would otherwise receive. The gross sensations 
 of life are so very evil in their influence that I 
 entreat you from the depths of my soul to over- 
 come them. Change the course of your exist- 
 ence while you still possess a physical body to 
 
66 The Letters Of 
 
 function with, so that when the experience of 
 death overtakes you it will find you on guard 
 and ready to take up that spiritual existence in 
 a higher state of consciousness. 
 
 August 22nd, 1916. 
 
 In Nietzsche's philosophy he expounded the 
 superman. It is an interesting and worth while 
 topic. There will be supermen and women in 
 a future cycle, although that period of evolution 
 is still in the far future. When the superman 
 comes into existence the difference between 
 him and the present man will be vast indeed. 
 He will be larger and more perfect in physique. 
 His intellect and mind will be far superior to 
 that of the man of the present age. The ma- 
 terialism of this day will not dominate him; he 
 will live a life full of noble purpose. His am- 
 bitions will be spiritual. He will crave knowl- 
 edge of the Infinite and will be able to perceive 
 more of the invisible. Every superman will 
 possess psychic and clairvoyant power. When 
 that phase of development has been reached the 
 hardest and most difficult part of the journey 
 of evolution will have been passed and spiritual 
 enlightenment will be very pronounced. It 
 would not be possible for the human mind of 
 
A Woman Who Was 67 
 
 to-day to conceive of the spiritual splendor of 
 the superman. These are facts that will be 
 proven in the due course of time and for this 
 reason I say continue your way in all conscious- 
 ness of the truth. Christ lived such an exist- 
 ence and through such training of His soul and 
 mind He gained perfect spirituality and came 
 back to teach His fellow creatures the way. 
 It is often stated in Christian Science that the 
 physical world does not really exist, that it is a 
 figment of the imagination. They are mis- 
 guided in believing this. For the physical has 
 always existed just as the spiritual has always 
 existed and it must continue to exist forever. 
 It is a part of the plan and serves its purpose. 
 If it were not for the physical existence the 
 evolution of soul would be all one-sided. You 
 see examples of this one-sided development 
 every day in the world. A great musician 
 usually develops his talent at the expense of 
 all other necessary faculties and it would be so 
 with soul development. It would not be nor- 
 mal and complete without experiencing the 
 human emotions as well as the spiritual and 
 the soul could never gain that state of perfec- 
 tion which we all hope for. It is indeed true 
 that we spend only one thirtieth of our time on 
 
68 The Letters Of 
 
 the physical plane; but during the physical 
 existence you can accomplish a great deal 
 toward the end in view and you can make 
 noticeable advancement. The temptations of 
 the flesh are far greater than are those of the 
 spirit and if you can make spiritual advance- 
 ment while functioning with a material body 
 and can overcome countless temptations the 
 accomplishments of the ego, or soul, are that 
 much greater. Mrs. Eddy said in Science and 
 Health, "There is no physical science," but 
 physical science is vital to the growth of the in- 
 telligence, or ego. It is that which helps to form 
 and round out the true state of being. Many 
 so-called Christian Scientists also believe that 
 when she said, "There is no death" she meant 
 a physical death, which is a misunderstanding 
 on the part of the Scientists. The real "I am" 
 is as eternal as the Creator himself and can 
 never die. The soul is a spark of the divine 
 essence of life. If I could set before you a plan 
 or map of the greatness and vastness of the 
 scheme of evolution and life you would each 
 and all be utterly astounded and even this the 
 coming teacher will do, to teach you more com- 
 pletely the universal law and commandments 
 that you may understand more fully the in- 
 
A Woman Who Was 69 
 
 visible power which after all is the only power 
 which is permanently established. When Christ 
 lived before, He taught the people in a way that 
 would most appeal. He taught them by using 
 signs and symbols and parables and they were 
 all written down in the Scriptures and the 
 people of a later day reading them took the 
 meaning literally. The spiritual truth and 
 beauty of His work was completely lost and it is 
 only at this late day that human beings are 
 beginning to grasp the significance of His great 
 teachings. When He comes again all will be 
 changed. St. John, the Divine, said in Reve- 
 lations, "Behold, he cometh with the clouds 
 and every eye shall behold him. I am the 
 Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, 
 that which is, which was and that which is to 
 come, The Almighty." There is little hope for 
 those human beings who are governed by 
 agnosticism as one must be alert and keen in 
 desire for spiritual phenomena to occur before 
 it possibly can happen. Faith can remove 
 mountains, but, of course, that faith must be 
 perfect and of a fine character. These sayings 
 of mine are more than ben trovatos; they are 
 actual facts and can be proven in your every 
 day life. Dieu et mon droit. I am willing to 
 
70 The Letters Of 
 
 undertake the responsibility of dictating this 
 work in the hope that a few of the millions will 
 accept it and strive to comprehend it. It has 
 been thus dictated by jure divino and I am 
 humble enough to follow out these directions 
 to the best of my small ability. 
 
 Aug. 24th, 1916. 
 
 It is indeed surprising the amount of fear 
 and dread that human beings experience when 
 the subject of death is discussed. It is the 
 commonest of all fears and one that must some- 
 time be realized according to the mortal sense. 
 The secret of perfect fearlessness is to be aware 
 of the existence into which you will pass and 
 learn to distinguish the different routes. You 
 can acquire a marvelous sense of sureness and 
 poise by studying this book. There is meaning 
 in every word and thought, because there is a 
 purpose back of it all. The one and only way 
 to overcome the fear of the physical death is to 
 feel intuitively that you are not passing into 
 oblivion but on to a better existence. Human 
 beings who commit suicide are cowards and do 
 not realize until it is too late that there are les- 
 sons which must be learned. It is like a small 
 boy playing truant. He escapes the hard les- 
 
A Woman Who Was 71 
 
 sons of school for a day but when he returns the 
 next day he has lessons to make up and new 
 ones to learn, besides the feeling of shame he 
 experiences for having taken the easiest way of 
 getting a rest. When people who take their 
 own physical lives awaken to consciousness in 
 the spiritual world they feel a great shame for 
 having given up to a momentary weakness and 
 they suffer pangs of agony, because they realize 
 how futile it was to give up the physical instru- 
 ment before the time was right. It makes evo- 
 lution much slower, because the persons have to 
 return to earth again and complete their ex- 
 periences there before they can take up the exist- 
 ence in the spiritual sense as they were meant 
 to take it up. When suffering, either mental or 
 physical, appears to be more than you can pos- 
 sibly bear, lift up your heart to the Creator and 
 get strength. If you earnestly seek, all good 
 things will be given unto you. It is the wrong 
 outlook, the narrow viewpoint and lack of under- 
 standing that keeps you from realizing the full 
 blessings you were intended to enjoy. All pov- 
 erty, sickness and vices are of your own mak- 
 ing. The Creator has no part in these unpleas- 
 ant experiences of life. There are certain effects 
 from certain causes and in such a manner that 
 
72 The Letters Of 
 
 you will learn. When a baby learns that a 
 stove is hot he will keep away from it and when 
 you learn that certain actions will bring certain 
 unpleasant results you will cease committing 
 these errors and when you cease to err you cease 
 to suffer. Every phase of life must be logical 
 and evenly balanced; otherwise the Creator 
 would not be a supreme spiritual being. When 
 you look around at the poor deformed creatures 
 you feel intense pity, and you say to yourself, 
 Why must it be that humanity must suffer this 
 way? What has that innocent person done to 
 merit this terrible disfigurement? Would you 
 call God just if he permitted his creatures to 
 suffer unjustly? Then why do they suffer? Un- 
 less you are aware of the divine laws you will 
 not know that that very creature who you are 
 pitying is reaping as he has sown. The Creator 
 is not responsible for his deformity. He made 
 his own karma and must pay his karmic debts. 
 No one is responsible for his suffering except 
 himself and when he gains the light and knows 
 how to accept his life, he will seek to pattern 
 himself after his Creator and live a life that will 
 cause him to be glorified at some future time. 
 Most every living person has at some period 
 gone through some phase of deformity and has 
 
A Woman Who Was 73 
 
 committed suicide during some incarnation. We 
 all pass through the various stages of develop- 
 ment. Some work out of the lower existence 
 far more rapidly and there are a very few who 
 are climbing the short and dangerous path that 
 they may gain spiritual exaltation more quickly. 
 In most instances it is exceedingly unwise to 
 attempt to hurry development; it is better 
 to progress in a normal manner as too much 
 meditation along one subject, especially one so 
 broad and serious, is quite likely to cause a human 
 mind to become unbalanced. There are very 
 few persons who are under perfect enough con- 
 trol to ascend the steep path of rapid develop- 
 ment and you should be wise enough to study 
 slowly and continually until you are capable of 
 grasping all these fundamental truths in the 
 proper fashion. 
 
 August 25, 1916. 
 
 Deo non Fortuna come all good things, con- 
 silio et animis you may gain the most exalted 
 heights and through careful perusal of these 
 beautiful words you would realize how fully 
 that is true. The person who absconds from 
 the true existence and eagerly accepts a substi- 
 tute is utterly lacking in discretion, since if he 
 
74 The Letters Of 
 
 were discreet he would study consciously all 
 laws pertaining to the true state of existence, 
 not as it merely appears to be. Everything is 
 different under the surface and it is so with life. 
 Alas! We rare]y learn of our folly until it is 
 beyond our control and it is then only through 
 intense discomfort and pain that we learn not 
 to transgress. To show you how thoughtless it 
 is to commit suicide, for instance I will relate 
 an incident of a woman who came here a month 
 ago. She had suffered great mental agony, al- 
 though it was her own fault. She did not real- 
 ize it then. Her husband began paying atten- 
 tion to a younger, better looking woman. She 
 almost lost her reason when she learned of his 
 unfaithfulness to her. Instead of making the 
 most of life and making herself captivating 
 enough to win him back she moved and threat- 
 ened him to the very limit. He simply ignored 
 her and became more and more indifferent. The 
 root of all the evil was her jealousy. She had 
 imagined so many things about him and had 
 accused him so often that finally it drove him 
 right into the company of the other woman who 
 possessed a kinder disposition. It was quite the 
 effect taking place and had she been a wiser 
 woman she would have pulled up short and 
 
A Woman Who Was 75 
 
 would have molded her life and his along better 
 lines. It is such weaklings who cause the great- 
 est tragedies of life. She gave full sway to the 
 demon of jealousy and moroseness that held her, 
 and after her husband finally left her, she took 
 her own life. That man is going through life 
 with a heavy burden to bear. The pity all 
 rested on the wife's side. No one could com- 
 prehend a man allowing his wife to eat her heart 
 out as he had done, and the suicide was the 
 climax of the tragedy. When Mrs. R. awak- 
 ened to consciousness here she opened her eyes 
 to the true state of existence. She is now aware 
 of her great mistake, although it is quite beyond 
 her power to undo that which is already done. 
 She cannot lessen the burden her husband is 
 bearing. She cannot comfort him or beg for- 
 giveness; that is the bitter part. When the wine 
 is gone the dregs remain. The blessing that is 
 hers is the insight she possesses. She is not 
 floundering in a sea of darkness, for she knows 
 life. She will, of course, return to an earthly 
 existence much sooner than shall we who have 
 lived out our natural lives. She must again be 
 tested and tried out. Her trials will be great 
 and she must endure them in all patience, since 
 she will only be paying up old karmic debts. 
 
76 The Letters Of 
 
 There are countless cases similar to Mrs. R's., 
 and if you who are now existing in the world 
 could but realize the utter futility of it all, you 
 would not slip along; you would not allow the 
 tide to carry you beyond wading distance from 
 the shore of common sense and discretion. 
 
 August 29th, 1916. 
 
 A most interesting subject is regarding seers, 
 psychics, clairvoyants, etc. Most persons are in- 
 deed skeptical in regard to the occult and in all 
 justice I must admit they have ample cause to 
 be, since many of the so-called psychics are the 
 most ordinary kind of fraud and, if it is possible 
 to discriminate between the true psychic and 
 the impersonation, I should strongly advise you 
 to never go to one of the latter. It is bound to 
 leave an impression upon your mind which is 
 indelible and even though these persons do not 
 possess the natural psychic force in even a small 
 degree, they can send out harmful thoughts. 
 The way of the true clairvoyant is indeed a 
 difficult one, since so many deceptions of that 
 order are being practiced. There are also dif- 
 ferent classes of mediums. First, the one who 
 attracts merely shells and malign spirits. This 
 type should religiously be avoided. The atmos- 
 
A Woman Who Was 77 
 
 phere of this sort of a seance is exceedingly 
 harmful. There are different types of mediums 
 as well as types of people and spirits, or souls. 
 The various types of clairvoyants see from vari- 
 ous levels and often they are so undeveloped as 
 to see distorted visions and in such instances 
 their information is not at all accurate. The 
 only information that can be called absolutely 
 correct and accurate in every sense is that given 
 through a master, since all other entities are of 
 a more or less undeveloped order and are not 
 aware, to the full extent, of the life surrounding 
 them. The only type of clairvoyant that is re- 
 liable is that which is under the direction of a 
 master. Such a person is accordingly of a high 
 spiritual order and lives a more ethereal exist- 
 ence. By that I do not mean to imply that such 
 a person would be free from all material im- 
 pulses, for that is not true. They do work away 
 from the lower state of consciousness more 
 rapidly and are able to perceive the invisible 
 where the ordinary sluggish human beings need 
 must struggle for a long period of time before 
 reaching so high a level. Every one will at 
 some future period of development possess clair- 
 voyant powers. It will be as much a part of 
 you then as your hands and arms are now. You 
 
78 The Letters Of 
 
 have perhaps noticed at various seances how 
 each medium draws different types of entities. 
 Entities are attracted to their own kind and if 
 entities of a lower plane communicate through 
 the same medium as do those of higher levels, it 
 would denote that the medium is possessed of 
 both characteristics and whichever impulse held 
 out the stronger, that impulse would draw en- 
 tities in accordance. Every side of existence 
 can and must be given an account of. Nothing 
 is as mysterious as it appears. It is like a blind 
 man. He cannot see the world; consequently 
 he cannot feel that it really exists. A blind man 
 feels only taedium vitae and longs for the time 
 to come when he will possess spiritual sight, if 
 he be not permitted to possess physical sight. 
 After all he is learning something which will never 
 leave him again and that is patience and self- 
 control. And it is so with you all; you cannot 
 conceive of the invisible life, because vou are 
 blind to it. But be consoled, for the voice of 
 the people is the voice of God. As I said in an 
 earlier letter the master selects his pupil with 
 an eye to the possibilities that the pupil may 
 possess and unless the clairvoyant has gained 
 his power through a good and wise source he 
 cannot in any possibility attract an entity who 
 
A Woman Who Was 79 
 
 is highly evolved; the vibration between one 
 and the other would not be in accord. It would 
 not stand to reason and could not be made right 
 in any sense. That accounts for the various 
 types of mediums and psychics that exist. Many 
 have forced this occult development and have 
 used it only for material gain or to harm. In 
 such cases the power is evil and consequently 
 can draw only the lowest types of astral beings. 
 Keep this as your motto, Nil desperandum, and 
 live according to it. 
 
 September 2nd, 1916. 
 
 I have lived up to the present and I feel quite 
 satisfied with my letters in that I know they 
 are sincere and carry an appeal to you all. I 
 am not writing them at my own will or through 
 my own small understanding; a great mind is 
 guiding me and I am content. I am deeply 
 impressed with the vigor of life that you all 
 express and I feel that this vigor may be turned 
 into splendid use after careful study and guid- 
 ance. It will be wise for you to remember that 
 since you think you exist, without thought you 
 would become as nil. So keep your thoughts 
 high and put honor and truth before riches of 
 
80 The Letters Of 
 
 the earth. To accomplish this is tour de force 
 and the reward is eternal life. 
 
 September 3rd, 1916. 
 
 To-day I will discuss Buddhism as it is, not 
 as it may appear to be, and I feel that some light 
 ought to be cast on the present condition of Hin- 
 dooism and Buddhism. In many instances Hin- 
 dooism and Buddhism are all right and the fol- 
 lowers are doing that which seems true and good. 
 There are many highly evolved men among them, 
 but for the average Hindoo who claims to impart 
 spiritual truth and knowledge I have little in 
 favor to say. These men invariably practice 
 deception on their followers who are usually 
 women of refinement and possess large incomes 
 or fortunes. These women usually live to re- 
 gret the influence of the Swamies. In a great 
 many instances they accept money for impart- 
 ing their philosophy and I could give in detail 
 and name countless sad experiences that women 
 have gone through by allowing themselves to 
 be lead or influenced by these Hindoos. I do 
 not mean to make these assertions to harm but 
 only to give you understanding of these phil- 
 osophies and their followers. These teachings 
 which I am writing down are not in any way 
 
A Woman Who Was 81 
 
 connected with any of the philosophies of the 
 present day. The egotism of the so-called 
 theosophist is usually his own greatest draw- 
 back. He is so apt to believe he has developed 
 rapidly and consequently blinds himself to the 
 actual state of his own consciousness. Theos- 
 ophy in itself is Divine Wisdom and those who 
 in all truth attempt to live according to that 
 which it teaches are the nearest to having gained 
 the desired understanding. There are indeed 
 very few who are following in all honesty the 
 way it directs. Most of the so-called theos- 
 ophists listen to the ideas and opinions that 
 they form themselves and there are a great 
 many teachings which they expound which have 
 simply been conceived of in man's own brain 
 and are not of divine origin in any sense. Man's 
 viewpoint and his perception of life are sadly 
 limited and lacking, so how can one man tell 
 other men how they shall live? The greatest 
 drawback of these Eastern cults is that they lay 
 too much stress on the personality of material 
 beings and really they are more absorbed in the 
 personalities of their teachers than they are in 
 the true philosophy that theosophy teaches and 
 to be sure it does contain a tremendous amount 
 of fine, uplifting thought. The Buddhist does 
 
82 The Letters Of 
 
 not live according to the teachings of Buddha 
 in that they worship idols and burn incense not 
 to the spiritual uplift that Buddha meant them 
 to get but to the material side of his philosophy. 
 Through worship of the symbol they have come 
 to look upon that symbol as the real object and 
 it only proves the more conclusively how dis- 
 torted the average human perspective really is. 
 It is invariably true of the rigid orthodox re- 
 ligions too, since they accept Christ's beautiful 
 teaching in a literal form and all the wonder, 
 the greatness and vastness of life is lost in this 
 manner. The secret of all understanding lies 
 in the proper interpretation. A woman may 
 learn to sing an Italian song. She may even 
 pronounce the words as softly as they were 
 meant to be, but if she does not understand the 
 meaning of the song the best part of it is lost 
 and she cannot sing it as she would if she knew 
 the meaning. And it is so with religion. You 
 can believe and go along reading your Bible and 
 your philosophies, but if you do not understand 
 the meaning of that religion you do not gain any 
 enlightenment by reading and believing in it. 
 The only way is to continue on your journey of 
 evolution with thankfulness and gratitude in 
 your heart and in your consciousness; repeat 
 
A Woman Who Was 83 
 
 Ich Dien, as a German would say and always 
 remember ex nihilo nihil fit, which in Latin 
 means, from out of nothing nothing comes. 
 Nothing produces nothing. Knowing this you 
 can realize how acts produce acts and thoughts 
 produce thoughts and when you have no good 
 thoughts think nothing at all, since nothing pro- 
 duces nothing. 
 
 September 9th, 1916. 
 
 Oh Grasping Materialism, could you be but 
 shattered into a thousand pieces and allow the 
 human beings who are now in bondage unto 
 you to become free, how glad I would be. My 
 hands are tied in that, since we must all work 
 out our salvation. It remains for each one to 
 break the chains that bind you to materialism. 
 I doubt if many of you who will read this book 
 are aware of the power of vibrations passing 
 from one consciousness into another. Some 
 persons are unusually susceptible and sensitive 
 to either good or evil vibrations. There are 
 various forms of them and it might be well to 
 name them that you will be able to distinguish 
 between them and avoid coming in contact with 
 harmful ones as much as possible. Anger causes 
 a keen or sharp vibration and causes new ef- 
 
84 The Letters Of 
 
 fects to take place which rebound back into the 
 consciousness of the person who allowed him- 
 self to become angry. Every inclination or de- 
 sire causes a vibration to take place, although to 
 the sense of the ordinary human being they are 
 seldom felt unless they are of a powerful nature. 
 Intense passion of any sort causes extremely 
 heavy and depressing vibrations to form. You 
 have perhaps felt upon suddenly entering a room 
 a deep depression or feeling of uneasiness. It 
 is because of the character of the vibrations of 
 which the atmosphere of the place is formed. 
 Each individual forms different vibrations or 
 impressions and it is these vibrations which also 
 color his personality to a great extent. In the 
 presence of some persons you feel a comfort and 
 ease. In such persons the vibrations are of a 
 better type. Anger, distemper and surliness are 
 not in the disposition of such persons except in 
 a very small sense. They have learned the 
 power of self-control and know unconsciously 
 how to mold their own vibrations. I remem- 
 ber distinctly of my own disposition on earth. 
 I was very sensitive to vibrations, although I 
 did not know then how to account for the sensa- 
 tions I experienced. Into every home that I 
 went I felt different vibrations; sometimes the 
 
A Woman Who Was 85 
 
 very air appeared to be electrified with depres- 
 sion. In other homes I have found the spirit of 
 kindness and hospitality just as dominant. You 
 know by having had experiences of your own 
 how distinctly uncomfortable another person can 
 make you or how very happy. It is according 
 to the vibration between you just how you will 
 feel. Of course, your own vibrations have some- 
 thing to do with the feeling that you experience. 
 Every living creature is constantly sending forth 
 these vibrations, since he is constantly thinking 
 and acting and vibrations are the result of 
 speech, thought and actions. I could devote the 
 space of a whole book to this one subject; it is 
 so wide and it varies so greatly. The vibration 
 a materialist sends forth is like a living thing 
 and it plants new seeds of materialism in the 
 hearts of others. By associating with densely 
 material, pleasure loving folk you will in time 
 be just as they are. Though your own nature 
 inclines toward spiritual things, you can smother 
 that nature until it becomes almost separated 
 from you by simply closing your eyes to all but 
 that which the senses can perceive. Persons say 
 so often, I do not believe in anything which I 
 cannot see or feel. How pitiful; how little hope 
 there is of enlightening them. It is they who 
 
86 The Letters Of 
 
 suffer such agony after the physical bonds are 
 severed. It is this type who finds it his lot to 
 agonize until he has burned these desires and 
 inclinations into ashes. He must submit and 
 bend his head humbly sometime and how much 
 better to bend your head humbly now and avoid 
 the suffering afterward. When hell is spoken 
 of in the Scriptures it means exactly what I am 
 telling you in this book. It is the agony, re- 
 morse and sorrow which you experience for hav- 
 ing not lived spiritual, godly lives. Carpe diem, 
 enjoy the present day, embrace the opportunity, 
 improve time. 
 
 September 12th, 1916. 
 
 I have since coming into a spiritual exist- 
 ence witnessed many entities coming here as 
 the result of accidents and dreadful sicknesses, 
 and their first sensations after death are so 
 unusual that I have decided to relate a few of 
 them that you may understand more fully how 
 little death in itself really means. Aside from 
 being interesting and unusual they are all true 
 experiences and have been undergone by count- 
 less persons. An experience of this nature which 
 has perhaps impressed me most was that of 
 A. H., a young aviator of considerable fame. 
 
A Woman Who Was 87 
 
 He had been known the continent over. Dur- 
 ing one of his famous dips the engine was shut 
 out by the force of the wind; he failed to adjust 
 it and fell several hundred feet to his death. 
 His body was horribly mutilated by the force 
 of the fall; indeed it was a sight to cause the 
 most courageous to shrink from in horror. 
 However, his spirit left the body before the 
 plane reached the earth. Upon awakening into 
 consciousness, he says his first thought was, 
 Well, how in the world does it happen I am not 
 hurt after falling from such a height? Then 
 he looked around him, he seemed in a partial 
 darkness, he could feel nothing and the shadows 
 were so deep as to leave him uncertain. He 
 believed that he was lying on the aviation field 
 and that it had grown dark. When he was 
 about to investigate further a helper appeared 
 before him. The boy thought he was his own 
 mechanic and in a rather jocular manner he said, 
 "Well, Tom, I sure had some tumble, but I 
 am as whole as a new whistle, so roll a cigarette 
 for me; I feel rather unsteady." The helper 
 motioned him to remain quiet and he took hold 
 of him saying, "Come, I wish to show you some- 
 thing." He made it light around them and 
 then he pointed down at a wrecked machine 
 
88 The Letters Of 
 
 from under which they were removing a body. 
 "That is your physical body," continued the 
 helper, "you have left that vehicle for all time, 
 you are now dwelling in the mental sphere." 
 The boy looked and looked upon the body that 
 was so badly crushed and hurt and finally he 
 turned away. He found it a most difficult task 
 to realize that he was no longer a human being 
 and for a long time he was only content while 
 watching other aviators flying their planes. He 
 brooded and clung to that phase of the material 
 until he saw his favorite aviator killed in the 
 manner that he had been physically annihilated. 
 After that he was content to work out karma. 
 He had been a clean but densely material fellow 
 and had possessed little belief of a God or a 
 future life. He had believed that when death 
 overtook him he would simply cease to exist for 
 all time. At first he rebelled, as many of us do; 
 then he grew sad and finally he became re- 
 signed. I cannot say that he is happy, although 
 in time he will be quite so after he has learned 
 the futility of being attracted to material things. 
 He will arise safely and will come to know the 
 truth and in time he will forget the material 
 entirely. He will then be ready to take up 
 existence in a higher^sense. 
 
A Woman Who Was 89 
 
 Another interesting and somewhat unusual 
 experience was that of Mrs. L. who was killed in 
 a train wreck last February. She was first 
 knocked into complete unconsciousness during 
 which the car that she was in plunged down a 
 steep enbankment and several of the occupants 
 were buried in the snow. For many hours the 
 body of Mrs. L. remained in its grave of snow. 
 Her suffering was acute for a few moments and 
 then she passed into a state of half-conscious- 
 ness. She believed that she was listening to 
 beautiful music, which, of course was only the 
 sound which all persons in a half conscious state 
 of mind apparently believe to be music. It is 
 in reality only the receding sound which vi- 
 brates until it finally altogether disappears. 
 The snow in which she lay was melting ever so 
 little and the trickle and running of the water 
 may have sounded like music. She says of her 
 own experience that she could not account for 
 the sound. She also says that she saw objects 
 moving with weird fantastic motions. These 
 peculiar sensations and visions are, of course, 
 accountable only in one way. Every person 
 who has gone through the experience of death 
 has seen different visions and has heard dif- 
 ferent sounds. It is according to the state of 
 
90 The Letters Of 
 
 his mind when death occurred. Mrs. L. also 
 says further that from the time she knew that 
 death was about to overtake her she felt no 
 desire to resist it. She was even glad to go, 
 since she was anxious to know just what would 
 happen after death. During her life on earth 
 she had been an agnostic and the only emotion 
 she felt was for those she was about to leave 
 behind. She said that during her whole jour- 
 ney she had felt a shadow of what was to come 
 and in a sense she was prepared for it. She 
 never felt afraid at all and when she found her- 
 self as much alive as before death she was only 
 happily surprised since she had believed in 
 nothing before. She felt a pang of mental 
 nausea when she saw the physical body re- 
 covered from its burial ground of snow. She 
 did not seem particularly affected by the grief 
 which her husband exhibited and apparently felt. 
 Her life had not been of the brightest kind and 
 it was really a blessing that she found it possible 
 to slip out so quietly, for she is much happier 
 here. I must say that she is a fine broad char- 
 acter and is advancing rapidly because of her 
 firm, just disposition, or nature. It has never 
 been difficult for her to keep on the right path 
 and she does not possess a single material desire. 
 
A Woman Who Was 91 
 
 The greatest discomfort for her evidently will 
 be in returning again to the physical plane. A 
 peculiar phase of rebirth is the fact that a 
 woman is rarely reincarnated a woman twice in 
 succession although it does occasionally happen. 
 The sex of the person usually alternates with 
 every incarnation and Mrs. L. says that she has 
 a perfect horror of being incarnated as a man. 
 However, all of these phases of our lives will 
 work out as they should. It only remains for 
 us to live to the best of our ability and do that 
 which the Master directs. Sometimes just at 
 the close of one of your days when I look down 
 upon you going your way in darkness as to the 
 true source of all light and goodness, it wrings 
 my soul to its depths but I know that it is best. 
 The great law of karma must be obeyed in life 
 and it is only in this manner that we can 
 grow and learn. Mrs. L. is especially adaptive 
 and has accepted her life here in a quiet matter- 
 of-fact way which to me was very surprising. At 
 first I believed her to be apathetic. I have 
 learned that she is not so in any sense of the 
 word. It is merely her way; she takes things 
 as they come and does the best she knows how 
 to meet them. She regrets nothing and mourns 
 for nothing nor has she ever been affected in any 
 
92 The Letters Of 
 
 sense by the disintegration of the physical 
 body. Of course, many other entities have re- 
 signed, patient attitudes and are more than will- 
 ing to work out of their material attractions. 
 It is rare, however, that they retain no desire 
 for some loved one or some precious earthly 
 treasure whether it be human or inanimate. 
 There are only a few entities of that character 
 on this plane. Had Mrs. L. possessed 
 spiritual insight she would now be on the sixth 
 or seventh plane; but in such a manner are the 
 scales balanced. Where she possessed patience 
 and other necessary qualities I possess to a 
 greater degree spirituality and understanding of 
 life as it really is. You see entities have faults 
 and are in many respects as inaccurate as are 
 human beings and can see life only from their 
 own level. If every entity here would attempt 
 to write a book as I am doing, the books would 
 all describe life here differently. In no way 
 would they correspond with my own book. In- 
 deed if I were not getting counsel, advice and 
 understanding from a high source, which is 
 always accurate, I would undoubtedly write an 
 entirely different story, since from my own level 
 things do appear differently than I am writing 
 them. In many respects there are so many 
 
A Woman Who Was 93 
 
 sides to our life and so many different states of 
 consciousness that unless one can get the true 
 understanding from a high source it would be 
 useless to attempt to give you a correct and 
 accurate picture of our life here, our own vision 
 is likely to be distorted or limited, although, of 
 course, we are not limited in the sense that 
 human beings are limited, since we know abso- 
 lutely that there are different planes of life and 
 consciousness while you are only surmising that 
 there are planes of life around you. You do 
 not feel at all certain of this unless you possess 
 clairvoyant power. To those who possess this 
 power the understanding comes naturally and 
 these persons accept it, for they know and can 
 judge for themselves. 
 
 September 15th, 1916. 
 
 A somewhat interesting subject is that of 
 control and how entities are able to control 
 mediums or psychics or give messages through 
 an alphabet or a table. In the first place one 
 person among those sitting around the table 
 must be sensitive to our influence. Unless there 
 is one sensitive, the control will not be perfect 
 and we cannot talk or make ourselves known, 
 and it depends very much on the type of the 
 
94 The Letters Of 
 
 person what character of entities will be drawn 
 to the table. There are different kinds of con- 
 trol and high entities very rarely come to a table 
 seance. It is mostly malign or low entities who 
 amuse themselves in this manner. The highest 
 of all controls is that of automatic writing as 
 only entities of the best type are capable of con- 
 trolling the arm of the sensitive, although occa- 
 sionally a lower entity does gain control even 
 through this method. However, it is a forbidden 
 pleasure and such an entity would be made to 
 suffer for having taken control in this manner. 
 So many people ask and wish to know how it is 
 that we control the sensitive and in what man- 
 ner do we gain control. It is a question that 
 has never been answered correctly and I am 
 going to state it clearly now. Of course, I have 
 made it clear that in no sense are we physical; 
 consequently that means of gaining control is 
 eliminated. It is our personality or spirit that 
 communicates through the medium. For in- 
 stance, in writing this book I do not move this 
 young woman's arm in any manner except 
 through concentrating my whole personality or 
 individuality upon the arm and I think what she 
 writes and forthwith it is written. It is entirely 
 through thought and in no other way is her arm 
 
A Woman Who Was 95 
 
 guided. So often you hear automatic writing 
 spoken of as the writing of an invisible hand. 
 That is a ridiculous supposition and should be 
 eliminated at once. However, a great deal does 
 depend upon the constitution of the person 
 whom we control in this manner. By that I do 
 not mean that the person must be especially 
 good or religious. Many persons who possess 
 psychic power have developed it by other meth- 
 ods than by spiritual development. A clairvoy- 
 ant can use his power for good or evil. When it 
 is used for other purposes than for the benefit 
 of humanity it is evil and can do great harm and 
 no good whatever. Some one said not long ago 
 at a seance, that he wondered whether we 
 possess voices. Of course, we possess voices. 
 We converse with one another as we always did; 
 but our voices are spiritual and cannot be heard 
 by the ordinary human being since they do not 
 sound like your own physical voices. It would 
 be difficult to describe a spirit's or entity's voice 
 except that it is more a thought than a voice. 
 We are conscious of what each other thinks and 
 we answer in thought and the other entity is 
 conscious of what is being answered. That is 
 the nearest that it is possible to explain our mode 
 of conversing. It does not explain it fully, since 
 
96 The Letters Of 
 
 it is unexplainable to a human being. I wish 
 to say one more word about the different forms 
 of control. The planchette used to be a common 
 method for getting into communication with the 
 spiritual existence. It has now become such an 
 abused instrument that only nature spirits or 
 prixies will be drawn to it. They have derived 
 great amusement from it, however, and indeed 
 it is quite a humorous spectacle for us to watch 
 you asking your questions to these little impish 
 spirits who answer in kind and they gurgle in 
 their joy at the deception they so successfully 
 play upon the sitters. They give unusually 
 clever answers and are very good impersonators, 
 too, often passing themselves as departed rela- 
 tives of the sitters. There are so many forms 
 of spiritual life and it is quite as easy to be de- 
 ceived by spirits as it is by human beings; even 
 more so, since it is possible to learn of the de- 
 ceptions of human beings while those that spirits 
 practice are not at all accountable. So when 
 you attend seances you may know that you are 
 completely in the dark and you may or may not 
 be speaking to the entity who claims to be your 
 friend or mother. There is only one solution for 
 this problem. Do not use a planchette ever and 
 do not attend seances except when given by a 
 
A Woman Who Was 97 
 
 highly developed psychic, since all other modes 
 of communication are exceedingly treacherous 
 and it is very unwise to use them. The aver- 
 age medium is undeveloped spiritually and can 
 draw only a low type of entity. If the psychic 
 is under the guidance of a master and the master 
 gives his sign, then that psychic is a developed 
 type and can draw only the best influences to 
 him. Another peculiar thing about control is 
 the fact that it is only under certain conditions 
 that we can communicate at any length; unless 
 the medium is in a certain condition or frame of 
 mind we cannot answer mental questions. If 
 conditions are exactly right, it is possible to an- 
 swer questions which have been written on a 
 paper and sealed in an envelope. In a great 
 many instances mediums or clairvoyants abuse 
 themselves by overwork or by allowing them- 
 selves to become nervous under the condition. 
 This state of mind would quite naturally bring 
 about conditions that would cause us to be un- 
 able to answer mental questions and it would 
 indeed be almost impossible to communicate at 
 all. Very few persons realize just how sensitive 
 a psychic is and are likely to expect too much of 
 him. Indeed the psychic himself often does 
 not realize how easily he can overdo and overtax 
 
98 The Letters Of 
 
 his own nervous system. In writing this book 
 I have had to do so under very difficult condi- 
 tions and some days I have not allowed the girl 
 to take any dictation, since it would mean the 
 sacrifice of her health if she were to continually 
 work under the nervous strain that she is the 
 victim of. Indeed she has worked under ex- 
 ceedingly adverse circumstances and has not 
 been in the right atmosphere for good work from 
 the beginning. And it is so with any medium. 
 He must work under the proper conditions to 
 get the best that we can give. Also the com- 
 plete understanding or part of it at least is often 
 lost when transferred through a medium. In 
 many instances messages you get through a table, 
 for example, are not intended as the sitters are 
 lead to believe, since these entities are not capable 
 of communicating their thoughts correctly when 
 such laborious methods are used. In time it will 
 be possible to communicate with us in a simple 
 and sane manner and there will then no longer 
 be doubt as to the source of the message, because 
 you will know intuitively. Of course, a great 
 many things must first be learned and you will 
 find it necessary to study thoroughly deontology 
 before you can hope to be designated a channel 
 through which this work will come. 
 
A Woman Who Was 99 
 
 September 25th, 1916. 
 
 In starting my letter to-day I want to say 
 one thing about the letters which have already 
 been written. In looking them over I feel that 
 perhaps they may at first impress you as a 
 preachment. However, they are not meant to 
 be such. My desire is to banish the narrow 
 mindedness. I want every living creature to 
 have his chance. My heartiest desire is to 
 straighten out matters. Is it quite fair not to 
 give the invisible souls an opportunity to prove 
 their existence? Heretofore only a small per- 
 centage of the people have accepted the truth 
 about life and we have been smothered into our 
 own spiritual existences without having been able 
 to prove our existence in any sense when in reality 
 we are more keenly alive than you are. So for this 
 reason I may have preached in that I might show 
 you the light. In my earnestness I have laid 
 before you all a picture which will be indelible 
 and you who read this may know that you have 
 gained something which you can never lose, and 
 if you feel ready to accept these truths you will 
 have gained greater blessings than you have the 
 insight to comprehend. You need not despair 
 ever when you learn the truth. It is never too 
 late to turn your steps heavenward. To be sure 
 
100 The Letters Of 
 
 it will be more difficult since the longer you trans- 
 gress the more debts of karma accumulate and 
 it will be indeed a task to pay all of these debts. 
 But be brave and face the situation calmly; set 
 out to meet every account, do not attempt to 
 shirk the responsibility as there is no possible 
 means of escape. But when you have met every 
 debt of karma you have the rest of your exist- 
 ences clear and it behooves you to generate only 
 good karma in that you may develop spirituality, 
 since the reward of righteousness is a place in 
 the kingdom of Heaven and it is in the power of 
 every living creature to attain that blessed state 
 of consciousness, and remember omnia vincit 
 labor j meaning that labor overcomes all things. 
 
 October 16th, 1916. 
 
 Some time has elapsed since I have written 
 a letter and I am becoming attached to this 
 means of expression. Indeed I shall miss it 
 greatly when the work is transferred to another 
 entity to assume, since it has given me the op- 
 portunity of coming in contact with my loved 
 ones on earth and I had for many months sought 
 in vain to attract them in some manner. I feel 
 quite satisfied and I shall be perfectly willing 
 to continue my own evolution, since I have 
 
A Woman Who Was 101 
 
 proven to my loved ones that I exist and am 
 even nearer to them than I was when I existed 
 in a physical sense. And now that the time 
 draws near for me to go on to higher levels I 
 know that I can do so in all understanding and 
 in perfect peace. I have done my work. I have 
 given the message I have been directed to give 
 and have followed orders to the best of my 
 ability. With God as my adviser I cannot go 
 astray. The end is only the beginning of another 
 perfect day. And it is so with each and all of 
 you; if you will listen to His call and seek to fol- 
 low His advice and counsel you cannot help but 
 go on to better and finer things. The voice is 
 small and still and can be so easily drowned out 
 by the louder cry of materialism and you can 
 gain consciousness of its presence only through 
 careful meditation and by listening and await- 
 ing it always; remain on guard; do not let the 
 enemy come in and take possession, for when 
 he once gets within the gates the fight is a hard 
 one and it is exceedingly difficult to make him 
 retreat. The candle of spiritual illumination 
 burneth forever. It remains for you all to seek 
 its light and so I say unto all races and nations, 
 peace be with you; the Master liveth always; 
 the world is without beginning or end. The 
 
102 The Letters Of 
 
 planets never fall. Consciousness was and is 
 and will always be. Seek ye always to gain 
 the uttermost point, perfection, as one great 
 man said before me, "Divine law must take its 
 course." The spark of the Divine which is in 
 every human soul will in time become as a 
 beautiful rose colored flame of chastity and 
 obedience. Look you forward to the greater 
 things which are to come and be content to do 
 the will of the Father. 
 
 The time has come for me to conclude my 
 book and I do so with a fervent prayer in my 
 soul that I have been able to help you to con- 
 tinue your ways in peace. 
 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
 
 Ques. (1) Do efforts on the part of the dis- 
 carnate spirits or entities to get into 
 communication with their earthly 
 friends or relatives retard their spirit- 
 ual evolution? 
 
 Ans. (1) In some instances, especially where 
 the loved ones on earth are of ex- 
 ceedingly material natures. Entities 
 of a higher character are less likely 
 to seek to communicate unless it is 
 to help a loved one on earth. 
 
 Ques. (2) How is it that you are able to know 
 on what planes an individual exists? 
 
 Ans. (2) By the aura of the individual we are 
 able to denote his state of conscious- 
 ness and accordingly we are able to 
 know what plane he will be on. 
 However, he may change entirely 
 after the time in which he might be 
 told on which plane he would go to. 
 Since nothing is settled every one is 
 evolving all the time and it would be 
 
104 The Letters Of 
 
 impossible to give accurate informa- 
 tion along this line. 
 
 Ques. (3) Have discarnate spirits any knowl- 
 edge of the future life of their dear 
 ones by which they can give accurate 
 advice ? 
 
 Ans. (3) Where the future of a dear one is 
 positively settled we are able to guide 
 him rightly. But when that life is 
 not settled we could not hope to ad- 
 vise him accurately, although we may 
 tell him that which would be well to 
 do. Such advice is always good and 
 people would do well in accepting it. 
 
 Ques. (4) Do we exercise the same amount of 
 free will on the astral plane as during 
 a physical existence? 
 
 Ans. (4) In the spiritual sense we exercise far 
 more free will, since by simply willing 
 to do a thing we can do it, where 
 human beings find it almost impossi- 
 ble to do these same things. We have 
 not the free will to harm or give com- 
 promising information and any such 
 
A Woman Who Was 105 
 
 information given to a human being 
 would be quite valueless, since there 
 are certain fixed laws here which pre- 
 vent slander in any sense of the word. 
 
 Ques. (5) Does the possession of psychic power 
 necessarily imply higher spiritual de- 
 velopment? 
 
 Ans. (5) Indeed not. A great many clairvoy- 
 ants and psychics are quite unde- 
 veloped spiritually, and unless they 
 are pupils of a master they have not 
 developed very much. A developed 
 psychic and an undeveloped one can 
 readily be distinguished, since one 
 draws only fine forces while the other 
 draws low ones. 
 
 Ques. (6) What is the prime requisite to gain 
 spiritual development? 
 
 Ans. (6) Truth is the prime requisite, since 
 without absolute truth in thought and 
 action souls cannot logically progress. 
 It would be quite as impossible to 
 advance without truth as it would for 
 a carpenter to attempt to build the 
 
106 The Letters Of 
 
 chimney of a house first instead of 
 the foundation. Truth is the founda- 
 tion of evolution and when truth is 
 acquired patience and courage are 
 yours. Since it takes patience and 
 courage to be truthful they come as 
 the result of truth-telling. 
 
 Ques. (7) Do dreams have any reality outside 
 the mind of the sleeping individual? 
 
 Ans. (7) Some dreams have a certain mean- 
 ing or significance and are sent for a 
 purpose; but for the most part 
 dreams are the result of the physical 
 mind attempting to function intelli- 
 gently, while the ego is elsewhere. 
 
 Ques. (8) Does the practice of so-called me- 
 diumship impair the individual de- 
 velopment of the medium? 
 
 Ans. (8) Not necessarily; but the average 
 medium had better not be one, since 
 it often causes him to be unable to 
 distinguish between development and 
 clairvoyance and unless a medium is 
 
A Woman Who Was 107 
 
 spiritually developed he cannot at- 
 tract high forces. 
 
 Ques. (9) What causes bring about natural 
 psychic gifts ? 
 
 Ans. (9) Through either forced or merited 
 development. Some psychics have 
 been developing for many hundreds 
 of years to be able at some time to 
 work some good for humanity. These 
 powers are not acquired in one day 
 and it takes long to develop them. 
 
 Ques. (10) Would one ever be justified in using 
 this psychic power to spy upon 
 another? 
 
 Ans. (10) Absolutely not. When a human be- 
 ing uses this power for such a pur- 
 pose it would be evil and would in 
 time bring the user dire results and 
 such a medium could only do this as 
 a representative of the black forces. 
 
 Ques. (11) What is the permanent way of ac- 
 quiring psychic power? 
 
108 The Letters Of 
 
 Ans. (11) Through concentration and develop- 
 ment along spiritual lines. By con- 
 stantly wishing to do good for hu- 
 manity you will one day possess this 
 power. 
 
 Ques. (12) Do we have a new mind in each in- 
 carnation ? 
 
 Ans. (12) In a psychical sense (partly). But 
 the real I am is always in existence 
 from one incarnation to another. 
 The individuality of a soul cannot be 
 lost. 
 
 Ques. (13) What is the advantage of reincarna- 
 tion ? 
 
 Ans. (13) Because without reincarnation de- 
 velopment would all be one-sided. 
 The soul could not progress without 
 expressing both human and spiritual 
 emotions. 
 
 Ques. (14) Who determines when and where a 
 soul shall reincarnate? 
 
 Ans. (14) The Lords of Karma govern the re- 
 incarnation of souls; but the soul 
 
A Woman Who Was 109 
 
 himself holds his fate in his own 
 hands to a certain extent, since man 
 can live in all consciousness of the 
 real life or he can blind himself to it. 
 
 Ques. (15) How can we teach ourselves to re- 
 member our astral experiences which 
 occur during sleep? 
 
 Ans. (15) By concentration before sleep. 
 
 Ques. (16) What produces our moods of feeling 
 of either depression or exaltation? 
 
 Ans. (16) The vibration and the thought at- 
 mosphere that surrounds you is what 
 produces either intense depression or 
 exaltation. 
 
 Ques. (17) Is it ever right for one to investigate 
 for himself and delve into things 
 unseen as far as possible? 
 
 Ans. (17) Not for the gratification of curiosity; 
 but if it is a keen desire for spiritual 
 knowledge the investigation would 
 be justified. 
 
110 The Letters Of 
 
 Ques. (18) Does Death make any great change 
 in man; does he suddenly become a 
 saint or angel; and is he endowed 
 with wisdom? 
 
 Ans. (18) Emphatically not. Man's position 
 after death is according to what his 
 life was when death occurred. Few 
 men have reached high enough de- 
 velopment to be likened unto saints 
 or angels, and their knowledge is 
 also limited. Death causes few 
 changes except that man is relieved 
 of the cumbersome physical shell. 
 
 Ques. (19) Is mediumship a power or a con- 
 dition ? 
 
 Ans. (19) Mediumship is a power which is 
 acquired only by long study and 
 concentration. 
 
 Ques. (20) How is the taking of life by capital 
 punishment regarded from an occult 
 point of view? 
 
 Ans. (20) It is decidedly wrong for one man to 
 take another's life, no matter what 
 
A Woman Who Was 111 
 
 that man may have done. How- 
 ever, if it is his karma to be so 
 punished it would be quite just from 
 the occult point of view. 
 
 Ques. (21) If the world teacher already has a 
 physical body why does the body of 
 some disciple have to be prepared 
 for him? 
 
 Ans. (21) The world teacher is divine and pos- 
 sesses only a spiritual body. To de- 
 scend into the world which is densely 
 physical, he must have a vehicle; 
 hence the preparation of the body 
 for him. 
 
 Ques. (22) Do you believe that the Christ used 
 the body of the Master Jesus two 
 thousand years ago? 
 
 Ans. (22) It is absolutely true that Jesus pre- 
 pared the body for the Christ before 
 even as Alcyone is preparing it for 
 His future coming. 
 
 Ques. (23) What becomes of the individuality 
 of the disciple when the Christ takes 
 full possession of his body? 
 
112 The Letters Of 
 
 Ans. (23) He ascends first into the mental 
 sphere of existence and then is im- 
 mediately incarnated to work with 
 the Master, and the Christ and the 
 disciple are nearly as one so closely 
 allied are they. 
 
 Ques. (24) What can you tell us about the power 
 and use of thought? 
 
 Ans. (24) The power of thought is life; without 
 thought life would be as nil and the 
 development of the ego could not go 
 on. You can help others or harm 
 them by sending forth powerful 
 thoughts. The kingdoms of mankind 
 are balanced on thought, and your 
 evolution depends largely on what 
 you think and how you think. 
 
 Ques. (25) Can a person of low development 
 lose his soul? 
 
 Ans. (25) Souls have been utterly lost, so the 
 records teach us. It is a rare in- 
 stance and in such cases these souls 
 were conscious of the beautiful truths 
 
A Woman Who Was 113 
 
 of life and deliberately set out to 
 combat them. They are the fol- 
 lowers of the dark forces and eventu- 
 ally through ages of systematic wrong 
 doing they lose their individuality 
 and become lost. 
 
 Ques. (26) How would you explain the seeming- 
 ly causeless fears that many persons 
 experience at night? 
 
 Ans. (26) While the ego is existing outside of 
 the sleeping body it has come in 
 contact with evil forces. Upon re- 
 turning to the physical body the 
 ego registers its fear, the brain be- 
 comes alarmed and you are made 
 aware of the unpleasant experience. 
 This accounts invariably for the 
 fears you naturally believe to be 
 causeless. 
 
 Ques. (27) Are the forms of activity on the astral 
 planes equivalent to those on earth? 
 
 Ans. (27) You can employ your time as you 
 desire and if you desire employment 
 
114 The Letters Of 
 
 that is equivalent to that of the 
 physical existence it will be given to 
 you. 
 
 Ques. (28) Are the occupations suited to the 
 individual tastes of the former earth 
 dwellers ? 
 
 Ans. (28) Yes, life is what you make it; but I 
 would strongly advise you to work 
 away from the material tastes and 
 desires and acquire the desire for 
 spiritual development which is vital 
 to the evolution of soul. 
 
 Ques. (29) What effect will President Wilson's 
 re-election have in the United States ? 
 
 Ans. (29) He will undoubtedly serve the people 
 better than before, since all knowl- 
 edge that is lasting is gained by ex- 
 perience and he has learned much. 
 The effect of his election on the morals 
 of the country is favorable. 
 
 Ques. (30) Do we meet and recognize on the 
 astral planes those whom we loved on 
 earth? 
 
A Woman Who Was 115 
 
 Ans. (30) It is seldom that members of the 
 same family meet while existing in a 
 spiritual sense, since each individual 
 goes to the state of consciousness that 
 is most suited to his own develop- 
 ment. However, members of the 
 same family always come in contact 
 while incarnate. That is a karmic 
 law. 
 
 Ques. (31) Is life eternal and what are its pro- 
 gressive states? 
 
 Ans. (31) Life is without beginning or end. 
 The progressive states are the various 
 levels of development and conscious- 
 ness. According to man's under- 
 standing so is he evolved. 
 
 Ques. (32) Does animal life continue the same 
 as human life? 
 
 Ans. (32) Life from the least to the greatest 
 continues. Life of various forms 
 rises gradually from one state of 
 evolution to another. Indeed there 
 are a great many animals on the 
 
116 The Letters Of 
 
 astral plane although they are not 
 conscious of their surroundings as 
 man is and they dream complacently 
 on until they are returned again to 
 earth in some other form. 
 
 Ques. (33) How can man fit himself to continue 
 life on a higher plane? 
 
 Ans. (33) Only through constantly seeking the 
 light of understanding and spiritual 
 illumination. Man must work and 
 acquire enlightenment. Nothing is 
 gained except through merit. 
 
 Ques. (34) What can man do to elevate the 
 thought of the world and the warring 
 nations ? 
 
 Ans. (34) By first elevating his own thought. 
 His individual thought sends forth 
 vibrations and the effect is always in 
 accordance with the thought ex- 
 pressed. It is thought which forms 
 the atmosphere of the creation in 
 both a material and a spiritual sense 
 and man can elevate the thought of 
 
A Woman Who Was 117 
 
 others by always thinking wisely 
 himself. 
 
 Ques. (35) I have always believed President 
 Wilson to be a great ego. Am I right 
 in so thinking? 
 
 Ans. (35) No. President Wilson is not a great 
 ego. He has many fine character- 
 istics but greatness for him spiritually 
 is still in the veiled future. 
 
 Ques. (36) Has any adept done work in Minne- 
 apolis among the poor? If so, will 
 you state an experience or relate an 
 incident? 
 
 Ans. (36) Yes, work is now being done in Min- 
 neapolis by a Master and K. X. will 
 relate many interesting incidents re- 
 lating to this work in his diary which 
 will soon appear before the public. 
 
 Ques. (37) Is intuition always correct? 
 
 Ans. (37) Intuition is always correct; but it 
 may readily be mistaken for impulse 
 
118 The Letters Of 
 
 and there is a vast difference between 
 the two. Man should listen long and 
 well to discern between them. Im- 
 pulse passes and intuition remains. 
 In that way you may know which is 
 intuition. 
 
 Ques. (38) How do you account for all of the 
 different views concerning religion? 
 
 Ans. (38) There are as many types of persons as 
 there are states of consciousness and 
 each type looks at life differently. 
 That is why there are so many cults 
 and sects. The principle back of 
 each is correct; it is merely the inter- 
 pretation which is wrong and that 
 is sadly in need of being righted. 
 
 Ques. (39) How does the rest of the universe 
 appear on the astral plane when you 
 are looking at one certain object? 
 
 Ans. (39) It appears to each of us differently. 
 It does not always become apparent. 
 When I wish I often seek for a par- 
 ticular person or object without 
 
A Woman Who Was 119 
 
 being able to locate it. I am not 
 always able to ascertain that which 
 I am looking for. 
 
 Ques. (40) How does an entity find it possible to 
 tell a human being about other en- 
 tities whom he had never come in 
 contact with during life? 
 
 Ans. (40) There are thousands of connections 
 which appear to the developed or 
 sensitive entity and if the entity were 
 sensitive enough he would know 
 about the other entities by the 
 force of the vibrations. 
 
 Ques. (41) What effect does music have on a 
 sensitive person ? 
 
 Ans. (41) Music of various kinds affects various 
 persons who are sensitive in different 
 ways and it is the kind of music that 
 the sensitive person would hear that 
 would affect him. Many persons can- 
 not listen to music at all. In such 
 instances it is because of extreme 
 sensitiveness to sound. It affects 
 the nervous system and the astral 
 
120 The Letters Of 
 
 body too greatly and causes pound- 
 ing vibrations to take place which 
 are anything but pleasant to the 
 person who listens to them. 
 
 Ques. (42) Does a Master choose a pupil that he 
 wishes to have under his tutelage? 
 
 Ans. (42) A Master selects a pupil with an 
 eye to his possibilities and his de- 
 velopment also is considered. Very 
 few persons are evolved enough to 
 become the pupil of a Master directly 
 in contact with him and it is not a 
 common occurrence for a human 
 being to be accepted as a pupil and 
 he must have developed far beyond 
 the ordinary people of the earth. 
 
 Ques. (43) What is the difference between a 
 disciple and a pupil of a Master? 
 
 Ans. (43) A disciple does not necessarily have 
 to be a pupil. The disciples are those 
 who follow in faith and do that 
 which they are directed and it is 
 usually a pupil who is chosen to 
 direct the disciples. 
 
A Woman Who Was 121 
 
 Ques. (44) Are the invisible helpers drawn to 
 those whom they help by old ties or 
 are they directed by a wonderful 
 being? 
 
 Ans. (44) The invisible helpers help all who are 
 in any way deserving. They are 
 guided by a wonderful being and it 
 is because of this that they help. 
 
 Ques. (45) What is meant by the word "Logos?" 
 
 Ans. (45) Logos means the word, or the God 
 of all creation and it is the constant 
 outpouring of love from the Logos 
 that causes life of every good form 
 to exist. The evil that exists is of 
 our own making and is not part of 
 the Logos. 
 
 Ques. (46) Can an entity travel as rapidly as 
 one's thoughts do? 
 
 Ans. (46) An entity can be in many places by 
 simply willing it. 
 
 Ques. (47) Will persons who have endeavored 
 to attain perfect memory by study 
 
122 The Letters Of 
 
 and concentration have a clear one 
 in the next incarnation? 
 
 Ans. (47) A person who had made the effort to 
 train and also retain his memory will 
 have a clearer insight and under- 
 standing upon the next return to the 
 physical life, . 
 
 Ques. (48) Why should one have doubts in the 
 physical mind when intuitively one 
 knows in the soul, that there are no 
 doubts there? 
 
 Ans. (48) The doubt that one experiences in 
 the physical mind is merely the phys- 
 ical self combating the real self, 
 whenever you may feel doubt. 
 
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