Читать книгу The Astral World—Higher Occult Powers. Clairvoyance, Spiritism, Mediumship, and Spirit-Healing Fully Explained онлайн

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In my next lecture I shall begin with the question of Spirit-spheres, and endeavor to unfold to the consciousness of each of you the evidence of the existence of a first sphere, from which you will all do well to escape; and shall then proceed to prove the existence of other spheres, namely, the second, or relational sphere, and a third, or divine sphere. I invite skeptics and atheists in particular to be particularly captious.

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Man possesses three natures—the animal or sensuous nature, the intellectual and moral nature, and the divine nature. Mind, in whatever department it is manifested, possesses two qualities—perception and affection, and understanding and love; or, when understanding is united with true affection, wisdom and love. I have heretofore said, that since man, in the lowest department of his being, is animal in his character, possessing the faculty of perceiving facts and phenomena, that faculty was the perceptive part of his animal being which embraces self-love, or a desire after self-gratification. That portion of the mind which pertains to the second part of man’s nature was described as being that which investigates the laws and relation of things, inquires into what relates to that department of nature called the scientific, and studies that which relates to man and society. What is called the moral department of man’s being is that which relates to the affectional part of his nature, and which is called moral love or charity. That which pertains to the divine or absolute of man’s being was said to embrace the religious element in him; through which department the Infinite, as the absolute of being and of affection, is to be revealed to the mind. The love characterizing this department was described as divine love—the love of the Divine Being. The first love is objective in self, the second is objective in neighbor, and the third is subjective in God. Thus, then, was given the division of that department of mind pertaining to man’s perception and affection.