Pro-Life Spiritualism

Editor: Robert Bayer (2012)

Table of Contents
Spirit is Immortal Life by Mrs. J. H. Conant p3 Oahspe p7 The Jewels by Carlyle Petersilea p11 Little Ruth by Aber and Nixon p14 What Became of That Fetal Life? by Aber and Nixon p16 The House of the Harpy by James Hewat McKenzie p19 The Unborn Dead by Edward C. Randall p21 Of Birth and Death: From Whence To Where? Brought Back to Earth by The Eloists p34 A Nurse from the Plateau by The Eloistsp36 Infantry by Anonymousp38 Bless the Innocents by The Eloists p44 The Gift of Life by The Eloists p46 Growing in the Spiritual Worlds Peace by The Eloists by p52 Dear Souls of Light by The Eloists p53 Lines of Light by The Eloists p56 The Sacred Life Immortal by Robert Bayer p59 Eternal Families of Love by Robert Bayerp62 Pro-Life Feminism by Jeannine Parvati Baker65 by The Eloistsp51 By Walter DeVoe p26

Flashes of Light Mrs. J. H. Conant (1872) Spirit is Immortal Life

Q. Is life, or that principle of vital activity which is manifested through the human organism, spirit? If not, what is it leaves the body at death?

A. Spirit I define as something undiscernible by human sense; something which no living soul can measure or analyze. I define life to be, so far as we understand it, a manifestation of spirit. Those things which our senses perceive, recognize, 3

are the things of life, all living things, every one of themnot one dead; and they are all manifestations of spirit. That subtle power that defies the scalpel, and passes out of the body at the change called death, I believe to be spirit, co-eternal with the God-spirit, and part and portion of the divine life,such a part as that divine life saw fit to exercise over humanity. You call it the spirit of man, the soul of man or woman. It matters not by what term it is recognized. It is the one spirit, the infinite, all-pervadinga something indestructible, without creation and without end.

Q. You consider all spirit immortal?

A. I do, most certainly. And I have most ample proofs that it is all immortal.

Q. Then animals are not at death swept into a grand chaosthe great mass of spiritto be again worked over into some other form?

A. By no means. Here is the rockthe rock of formupon which all classes of theological scientists split, and many of them founder; the rock of form, supposing that the form we have or behold to-day will exist forever; that the immortality rests with that, is dependent upon that. By no means is it. Forms are constantly changing, as spirit has need of higher instruments through which to express itself. The instrument is made better. How is it with regard to the flowers? They are not to-day what they were years ago. And why not? Because the God that was within them called upon the God that was within the human 4

intellect, and said, "Come, intelligence, shed your dews upon me, act upon me, bring me into a higher form of good." What was the result? Why, the husbandman went to work to make more beautiful flowers, to add new hues to their fair faces, to make more beautiful their forms, to change for the better the rose and lily, not at all infringing upon Nature or Nature's God. Immortality does not call upon the form for its power. By no means. Forms must change. You have evidence of that every day of your lives. But the immortality that belongs to the form is immortal forever and forever. There is no sudden change of those forms, but a gradual growth. If the change was sudden it would produce too great a shock in the realm of intelligence; therefore it is very slow, comes as you are prepared for it. The years throw their snows upon your brows as you are prepared to receive themjust so fast, and no faster.

Q. If spirit is not matter, is all spirit the samethat is, equally advanced or perfect? If so, what benefit is derived from its manifestation through matter? A. That spirit is not matter, matter is every day proving. But that spirit is inseparably connected with matter, matter is also every day proving. Matter is the expression of spirit, not the spirit; the outer bark, the foliage, the branches, not the inner, invisible life. What the advantage? Why, all intelligence can answer that question as well as we can. Of what advantage is it to you of this age that you have greater light than they who lived ages before you did? Since you require greater light, certainly it is for your advantage to have it. All the expressions of spirit through matter are not only an advantage to matter, but is also to intelligence, to that subtle force that expresses itself through the human brain, and says, 5

"Behold, this is very beautiful or very grand." The world of matter was made for the world of intelligence. When you keep this in your mind, you will hardly wonder that matter changes its form.

Q. Is the spirit of the infant an emanation from that of the parent? and, if so, is the spirit of the parent less an individualized entity, or does it suffer any diminution or disarrangement in its powers?

A. The infant is physically a physiological result of the parents' life, but spiritually it is not. It is a spirit independent of either father or mother; you may be sure of this. It is from God, the Great Spirit, the Father and Mother, the Whole, the Universal Life.

Q. If the spirit of the infant is not an emanation from that of the parent, whence does it originate? At what period during the incubation does it take possession of the human organism?

A. At conception.

Oahspe John Newbrough

(1882) And yet the depth is not full. In a stately mansion a woman of high caste is dead. And it was said she was blessed, because since not having borne children, ease and glory were at her command. And now, with curious mirth and some envy, the spirits of other women who were outcasts come to behold the newborn spirit of the leader of fashion. And as they turn about, nurses come with children born from her body and her spirit, by abortion cast into heaven, even in Jehovih's face accursed: A curtain of black death that will not away, choketh her. To the left, the right, or up and down, there is nothing but the wail of sweet babes - Mother, why murderest thou me? Was I not Jehovih's gift? The woman of fashion hides but is not hidden, even the soiled outcasts are white beside her; like a woman that is

crushed but cannot die, she squirmeth and writheth in the kingdom she built with her own hands. (Oahspe, Book of Knowledge 6:18)

As I have quickened the seed of the first born, so will I quicken all seed to the end of the earth. And each and every man-child and woman-child born into life will I quicken with a new spirit, which shall proceed out of Me at the time of conception. Neither will I give to any spirit of the higher or lower heaven power to enter a womb, or a fetus of a womb, and be born again. (Oahspe, Book of Jehovih 6:21)

The Ever Present quickeneth man into life in his mother's womb; and he is then and there a new creation, his spirit from the Spirit Jehovih, and his body from the earth; a dual being the Father createth him. His destination is everlasting resurrection; in which matter man can have delightful labor as he riseth upward forever and ever. (Oahspe, Book of Arc of Bon 28:27-28)

Out of the darkness man is brought forth a blank and his entity is a spark of Jehovih. His entity will never cease to grow. Yea, from the hour of conception it is a new star in the world, and it magnifieth itself forever. (Oahspe, Book of Knowledge 2:24)

Thus went Fragapatti through the lowest regions of Aoasu; for forty days and nights labored he and his hosts, and he broke up the regions of hell, and cast out the souls of the tortured, thousands of millions of them. Neither was there left any 8

place standing in all the lower heavens where evil held dominion. And there were established in those regions around about, two hundred thousand colonies, comprising the evil ones who had been rescued. But the very lowest, who knew not anything, who were: some, infants who died at the time of birth; some, infants of drunkards, who came to the lower heavens with the intoxicating liquors or smoke of their mother's debauchery; some, very young abortions, slain by their mothers and fathers; some, chaotic, killed in wars, who were mad and crazed, howling and screaming and fighting, of whom there were nine hundred millions: these Fragapatti had brought away from all the others, putting guardians over them for the present. (Oahspe, Fragapatti, 12:8-9)

We were created in order to help rescue the world from darkness, and to rejoice in our own lives, because of such good as we can do unto others. Behold, we were orphans and castaways; Jehovih wedded us to all the world. Having, therefore, wisdom and purity within themselves, and, withal, having sufficient association to choose from, they did choose and wed for love's sake. Nor did any worldly ambition control their choice, or influence them in hope of any gain as to their wedded partners. And it came to pass that the offspring begotten of these were indeed a new race in the world, as to wisdom, love, purity and spirituality, and new also as to beauty and shapeliness, the like of which had never been before in all the world. And they were by birth so developed in su'is, that, when they were grown a little, education came to them without books. To see and to hear, either corporeally or spiritually, was all they required in order to accomplish wisely all things required unto mortals. And, with them, the heavens were as an 9

open book; the libraries of the heavens as the sound of voices full of wisdom. And the angels of ancient and modern times came, and stood by them, and walked with them, revealing the past and the future. And, yet, none of these colonies were bound by written laws, nor had any of them leaders or masters, nor any government, save the Light of Jehovih. Nor was one colony bound by the customs and commands of another colony; but all of them lived by the highest Light that came to them. Nor owned any man, woman or child anything more than the clothes he or she wore; but all things were Jehovih's, in care of the keeping of the colony. (Oahspe, Book of Jehovihs Kingdom on Earth, 23: 1-20.)

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The Discovered Country Carlyle Petersilea (1889) The Jewels

A little child had passed through the Gates Eternal, and was lying happy and content in the arms of an angel. We heard the mothers wail of grief, and hastened to comfort her.

She was kneeling by the grave of her baby, desolate and heart-broken; to her the child was dead she would never see it more; the heaven she believed in was too far off, too indefinite; she felt that her baby was lost to her forever.

We whispered words of hope and comfort to that sorrowing heart, placed the

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spirit-form of the babe within her arms, and then with gentle magnetic touches we opened the mothers spiritual sight and she saw the babe within her arms, she felt its little hands caress her face, its little lips as they were pressed to hers, she looked into its beautiful spiritual eyes and her tears were dried. My baby! oh my baby! You are not dead but here with me.

The jewel was a pearl, and it sent forth rays of soft and beautiful light as the angel passed it to the one on the left.

You all know, said the angel, that every jewel here has its own story. Some kind and loving deed was done; if not directly to the denizens of earth, to some new-born spirit.

Some of these jewels represent the taking and caring for infants sent into spirit-life, before they ought to come, through the ignorance of parents. Other of these gems, are of those that think out inventions and improvements of all kinds for the benefit of both earth and heaven. Others, for the amelioration of all suffering, and using their influence to bring those together that will give the greatest amount of happiness to each other; for happiness is heaven and heaven is happiness; and you all know that ignorance and suffering is all the hell there is, or ever will be; and it is to save man kind, both in and out of the body, from ignorance, suffering, or hell, that we all are constantly working. We also know that whenever any creature suffers there is ignorance and wrong somewhere. If the wrong has not been committed by the sufferer, it has been 12

committed by some one; and it is to right these wrongs, and to bring all things into harmonious and happy relations, that we are constantly at work. The greatest amount of suffering known to us is caused by ignorance. To enlighten those below us in wisdom will event usually create a heaven for all, and at last all will inhabit the kingdom of heaven which is happiness.

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Beyond the Vail Aber and Nixon (1901) Little Ruth

1298. Little Ruth (see page 430) is one of Zelda's pupils. (Paragraph 1211) Perhaps this Ruth is daughter of Rachel Ann John (page 252), who is sister to N, this secretary. ("Rending the Vail," 31) It is not because this is a sister to the secretary, but because the case is one of a class of many thousands of similar cases, and because this particular case was susceptible of identification by N, that the spirits, having charge of this work, chose this case to illustrate this class of conditions, and intimate to the psychic student the great schemes in the economy of Nature by which she ultimately gathers into her illimitable garners the ripened harvests of all the seeds she ever sows: and to present to mankind

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lessons which, being heeded, might assist Nature in working out her ultimate designs to the advantage of mankind in the coming ages. It was not until one year after closing these sances that N got hold of the facts concerning the immediate cause of the premature transition of sister Ann. And now that the reader may have advantage of such facts as seem necessary to the case, we may be excused in retrospecting so far as we have learned. Some eighteen years before the beginning of these sances, sister Ann married at the homestead in Washington County, Indiana, and immediately

accompanied her husband to their home several hundred miles away, and N never again met her in the physical life. In due course of time there was one son of this union, who yet survives. And, later still, perhaps three years from the marriage, she had a fetal abortion, brought on by taking calomel or some other violent purgative in an over-dose, as prescribed and insisted on by a physician or some very confidential friend, which she now, in spirit, says she "felt she ought not to take, but did so just to please"; and from the complication, blood-poison caused her transition. And it is now said by some who were present when she was about to pass out of her body that she became both clairvoyant and clairaudientcould both see her spirit friends within the room and could hear them talkand thus the spirit messengers were enabled to assist her through the gates with joy and peace to her.

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Beyond the Vail Aber and Nixon (1901) What Became of That Fetal Life?

1299. On the evening of the 5th day of June, 1890, at the second sance for "Rending the Vail," sister Ann made her presence and identity known in materialized form, and thenceforward, at different sances, for nearly two years she appeared, always holding in her hands the appearance of an exceedingly small babe, and would claim it as "my little girl baby," but never would give any explanation, and N, never having been apprised of the cause of her death, farther than that it was some kind of fever, was unable to understand what the appearance of the little babe meant. 16

At the sances of 1899 and 1900 for "Beyond the Vail," sister Ann sometimes was invisible form, but did not present the form of a babe in her hands or arms. In making illustrations for this book, the spirit artist made one which is found on page 252, recognized as a good likeness, in many respects, of this sister Ann, and she said: "That is my picture." And the artist made another picture, found on page 430, which presents so many features in common with the picture of sister Ann as to lead us to conclude that the two pictures are undoubtedly pictures of mother and daughter, and after we so recognized the pictures, the spirits informed us that we had guessed the true intention of the pictures and that the picture of the child is designed as an illustration of the personality and work of one called in spirit Little Ruth, and of whom Reed speaks in his description of work in the spirit world. (1207-1210) If the reader will turn back and read carefully all of last above reference, he or she will be prepared to discern what has become of our fetal life in question: That just as Ruth was given in charge of Little Peg, and by the assistance of Dr. Reed, got Little Peg into a cozy little home in spirit life and changed the name Margaret or Peg to Crystal, because Little Peg was becoming such a beautiful spirit, so some qualified spirit messenger was given charge of the spark of life eternal that escaped from this fetus in question, garnered it away and cared for it and named it Ruth, in designation of the messenger work it would be qualified to do. But, ere this, Ruth has grown to adult condition, passed all the schools of Zelda, and is climbing the eternal mountains of grandeur and intelligence that the spirit Thomas Paine so eloquently portrays in "Rending the Vail." (R. V., 2455-2459) 17

Purpose of This Case

1300. Perhaps part of the purpose of this spirit band in presenting this case in the manner in which it is done is to further assist the psychic student and the student of medical jurisprudence who may chance to peruse these pages, in learning that, (a) From a period exceedingly early in fetal life it contains an organized spirit entity that survives destruction by whatever cause of the fetal body. (b) That the tiny spirit is received into the tender care of kind messenger spirits, who look after its welfare, much the same as would have been the case with it in this world, had the child been permitted its natural birth alive in its physical body.

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Spirit Interaction James Hewat McKenzie (1917) The House of the Harpy

The author, travelling on one occasion through the middle astral plane, visited a city which had almost fallen into ruins, the houses on the outskirts being quite impossible of habitation, for only the walls remained; others in a better state of repair were inhabited by people of a type such as might be met with on earth in slum neighbourhoods. The atmosphere of the place was disagreeable, and in the deserted streets from time to time one could perceive what appeared to be the dead bodies of new-born children, in various stages of growth. Entering one

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of the houses, these baby forms were everywhere to be found, let into the walls, lying on the floor, and upon the beds, so that there seemed to be no place within the rooms where one could sit down without seeing these strange creations. In these homes lived women whose lives on earth had been devoted to the procuring of abortion, and who had to suffer the annoyance of having these baby forms continually kept before them by unseen spirit operators. Before sitting down it was necessary to remove them from the chairs, and they frequently cast them out of the windows in their desire to be rid of them, but no sooner was this done than the forms were returned to the old position, for unseen eyes were always watching, and brought them back as speedily as they were got rid of. These were artificial creations used by higher spirits as object lessons to awaken the conscience, and arouse these women to the unnatural enormity of their past evil practices. This irritating lesson seldom, failed to bring them to an understanding that what they believed was dead and unknown was in reality alive and known to all.

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The Dead Have Never Died Edward C. Randall (1917) The Unborn Dead

I am impressed not to leave this subject without a word of warning to do no murder. Know that at the moment of conception out of the mass of the universal good, out of the life mass, an etheric atom, a body infinitesimal in size and perfect in form is clothed, and no matter whether the physical birth is natural or premature, that life-force so individualized has commenced its journey back to God, and all the power in all the Universe cannot change its ultimate destiny. I am told that into the afterlife countless millions of children have come and are coming who have never had the advantage of a natural physical birth and earth experience so necessary to their development, but that heartless mothers by 21

abortive acts and with the aid of dastard physicians have done and are doing countless murders, more terrible in result than the taking of the life of a man, because the unborn infant is so weak and helpless. If this knowledge shall cause any mother to spare the life of her unborn child, blood of her blood, and bone of her bone, or the physician to pause in his criminal act, sorrow untold will pass both by. Ella Wheeler Wilcox described perhaps better than she knew in her "Ballade of the Unborn Dead" the natural and logical result of child murder. "They walked the valley of the dead, Lit by a weird half light, No sound they made, no word they said, And they were pale with fright. Then suddenly from unseen places came, Loud laughter, that was like a whip of flame, They looked, and saw, beyond, above, A land where wronged souls wait Those spirits called to earth by love, And driven back by hate. And each one stood in anguish, dumb and wild, As she beheld the phantom of her child. Yea, saw the soul her wish had hurled Out into night and death, Before it reached the Mother world, Or drew its natal breath. 22

And terrified, each hid her face and fled Beyond the presence of her unborn dead, And God's Great Angel, who provides Souls for our mortal land, Laughed, with the laughter that derides, At that fast fleeing band Of self-made barren women of the earth. Hell has no curse that withers like such mirth. 'Oh, Angel, tell us who were they, That down below us fared; Those shapes with faces strained and grey, And eyes that stared and stared; Something there was about them, gave us fear; Yet are we lonely, now they are not here.' Thus spake the spectral children; thus The Angel made reply: 'They have no part or share with us, They were but passers by.' 'But may we pray for them?' the phantoms plead; 'Yea, for they need your prayers,' the Angel said." "I want to tell you," a teacher in the afterlife said, "of a little waif that came to us in infancy. We taught and carefully guarded, and schooled her in the pure conditions of our sphere until she approached womanhood, but she had no contrasts, therefore she could not judge of the relative purity and delights of her 23

environment. In order that she should be able to enjoy her home and the glories of our world, it was necessary for her to have a knowledge of earthly conditions. And so I was instructed to conduct this child back to earth from time to time. When this child first returned to earth and was among your people, she could hardly endure even to examine the gross conditions, and could not understand how people could exist in such dark, crude elements. But, as I led her along from one condition to another, over the road she would have gone had she remained on earth for the ordinary allotted period, I said to her: 'Had you lived your time in the body, you would have been in the condition in which you see these people.' I also told her that they would look gross to her when they reached the spirit state, but that in course of time they would improve enough to assume the state of purity and peace that she enjoyed. And as we journeyed on, we met one whose earthly experience had unfolded, and the little lady said: 'That one looks different.' And I told her that this one had received a higher training. And we passed along to another place in the earth-life where there were children of the poor and ignorant, as well as of the rich and learned. And we tarried until my little charge thoroughly learned the different environments of children on earth, and the great contrast between their homes, daily life, and schooling and those in spirit-life. This child had never known anything but innocence and purity, and she was far removed from the ordinary conditions of the childhood of earth. It was long before she could, in any degree, recognize it as a reality. "And, having learned of the methods of training in the institutions of earth, we pursued our investigations farther along; and, finally we came to where there was a great orthodox church; and there, unseen, we mingled with the 24

congregation. She said: 'This churchhouse is not like ours at all. What is taught here?' Presently the services began. I told her to listen attentively to the minister, for here she would get the average experience of the church methods and be able to see wherein a great work, in brave hands, is greatly needed on the spirit side. Then, the minister proceeded with his discourse in his regular methodical manner, telling the people all he thought essential to prepare them to enter higher realms of the spirit. But the girl, now grown to nearly womanhood, could not accept the dicta of the minister, for she had up to now been raised in the spirit world and had learned nothing that was in harmony with methods attempted by the church to enlighten the people and prepare them for future realities. Therefore the teachings of the minister seemed to her so gross, so false, so out of line with all she had ever seen, heard, or read of in the land which had always been her home that she hesitated to remain, but I told her that her future work and welfare required that she learned as much as possible of the earth conditions in which your people live, and the kind of preparation such earth conditions make for their inheritance in our life. But the more the young lady heard of the sermon the more she disbelieved it. In fact, it was so much opposed to what she knew of the conditions on this side, and so different from what preparation while on earth for entrance to and enjoyment of spirit life should consist that at my suggestion she resolved to visit those who had just left the earth-plane, schooled under its teaching, and witness the effect of it; we, therefore, journeyed on."

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From The Archives of The Eloists Walter DeVoe (1933) Of Birth and Death: From Whence To Where?

Let us begin your journey through eternity from the only logical starting point, conception. We could begin with the infinite vastness of the All Person because the essence of your being, your soul, is and always has been the very Person of your Creator, and for that reason the essence of your being has always existed through the infinite eons of the past. In that sense your soul being has always had an existence, but in the same sense even the physical body you possess has always existed, for the atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and so forth of which it is composed have been part of your planet, your sun, your galaxy, your nebula and thence from previous stars and nebulae that have been dissipated and gone from an unfathomable and incomprehensible time long passed. Could the atoms of your physical body speak with a conscious awareness, they could 26

tell you awesome stories of stars and planets, peoples and civilizations in the farthest reaches of space, that were born, struggled with the limitations of corpor for a time and then passed on.

Their histories long forgotten except in the minds of great gods and goddesses high now in etherea who either lived on those birth places of immortal souls or in some way had assisted with their resurrection and growth.

Yes, even if the spiritual "atoms", if we may use the poetic license to call them such, of your soul being could speak, they could tell you tales of life through the numbing distant unlimited past, of a place infinitely far away or so very close, of a time incomprehensibly ancient and yet as recent as the very now, of experience and wisdom whose comprehension and magnitude would leave even the highest raised angel speechless with awe.

But wait, all of this is our fanciful imagination at play, for none of it can be. Your earthly shell cannot speak, nor can the component parts of your astral shell or soul, though that is where the Great Intelligence that created you resides; and neither can you speak of those times, for the you that you are, the self-conscious, self-knowing aware being that you are came into being at the moment of conception.

The essence of Jehovihs Person that is all knowing and resident in the sperm, and the spark of the Divine Being that is all knowing and resident in the egg 27

came together in a magical transformation within a star-flash of that union and at that moment a new soul was born. At that moment you were a dual being in soul: the very I AM of the All Person and a "blank slate" that was destined to be the sentient, self-aware, reasoning being that you are. Due to the maturity of our age, the you that you are became an immortal soul when those two components cleaved together in the physically primitive embryonic cell. Understand that whether your physical embryo ever reached further stages of development or not, the spiritual being that you are was already assured immortality as a soul and was destined to grow into more expansive realms forever onward. If it had not been allowed to proceed with its growth on the physical plane in the womb, then it would have continued the growth the I AM ordained it to experience but on the spiritual plane instead by special dispensation. The means by which this is accomplished will be discussed in a later chapter. This then was the birth from whence you came, and this is sufficient understanding to allow us to turn our attention to the places you will be exploring in the days ahead.

Each person born as to life on earth is bestowed with three component attributes, namely a soul or spiritual nature, a corporeal or physical being and the qualities of action, movement, self-expression, metabolism and similar manifestations of energy in motion which we call life. This is why it is said that we are born in the Creators image, because the Great Spirit also has the same three components which are the Ever-Present All-Spirit, the infinite corporeal creation (composing our universe) and the All-motion or the manifestation of sentient Energy, the All-Life. 28

Since we are bestowed with those same attributes in a limited form, and since our destiny is an ever expanding comprehension and usefulness as our Creators "hands" in action, it is logical to begin by experiencing one aspect of creation at a time and thus allowing our infant souls a chance to grow at a tolerable rate, and at the same time provide an anchor through which our immature spirit may be nurtured until it reaches a state where it can comfortably subsist on its own.

The main purpose of corporeal existence therefore is to acquire a basic appreciation of the physical aspects of creation, to provide an elementary education for our newly formed souls, which are like blank slates waiting for the experiences of life to be written upon them, and finally to provide a fetal stage for the embryonic development of our soul-selves, the spiritual being that our earthly shell merely reflects.

While it is important to put our brief sojourn on this earthly plane to the greatest possible use, and to grow in maturity and wisdom to the best of our ability before our time comes to move on, yet, in the great scheme of things, our time here is of minor importance in comparison to the eternity ahead, just as our nine months in the womb is of minor importance when compared to the perhaps 90 or even 100 years of corporeal existence. Life in the womb would probably be of great importance, indeed, to the fetus were it able to comprehend, but that nine months pales in comparison to the life time ahead. It is the same when 29

comparing the earth life to the infinity that lies before us in the world of spirit. Were life in corpor of more importance, would not the Creator have provided greater safeguards to make our physical bodies less vulnerable to premature death as to this life? The simplest and most unexpected mishaps can snuff our corporeal lives out, for the mortal body is so delicate and vulnerable. But the truth is that our corporeal existence is only like a heartbeat when compared to the infinite life ahead, and our corporeal life while important is not paramount and is not crucial to our eventual development.

And so it is, be it soon or late, the time comes for each of us. The delicate bond between spirit and corpor snaps to allow our true selves, the spiritual beings that we are, to emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon and take its rightful place in the greater part of creation. For the world of spirit is not a vague and ephemeral place. It is only the imperfect perception of your mortal senses which gives you these false impressions.

Your whole world consists of the surface of a little ball of corpor, while our spiritual world penetrates all levels of the rest of creation. We here in spirit can see, hear and feel on levels that you can only dream of, for your earthly shell handicaps the natural spiritual senses that you possess in a blunted form. We are free from your earthly drudgery. We are freer on every level beyond your wildest dreams, for we are the real inhabitants of a real world, a world that you are destined to inhabit as your true and rightful place in an infinite creation.

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No two souls describe the act of passage in the same way, for no two individuals perceive through the windows of their separate souls in quite the same way, and the circumstances of each transition differ in detail. Suffice it to say that everyone admits that the actual process that liberates the spirit from corpor is easier and smoother than anyone expected. Some "arrive" with such swiftness that they at first dont realize that the change has taken place at all, while others make the change so gradually that they can describe every detail as a remarkable experience of joy and wonder. Realize that when we say "arrive", that no actual travel necessarily occurs, for when we speak of you being "there", while we are "here" describes not so much the difference of location as it does describe the difference of dimension, which is something that interpenetrates the same place at the same time at a differing level of vibration. This difference in state prevents you from not only perceiving us, but also prevents the interference of one level of experience with that of the other unless extraordinary conditions come into play.

Yet, in spite of the illusion of a great chasm separating us, everyone, soon or late, will make the transition called death, for all your earthly existence is merely preparation for that great event. All you experience, both good and bad, has been an exercise for your soul to build in strength and perfection so that it may be ready to stand on its own in the more refined states of thought, where your self-control and will must be at a greater stage of maturity than had been required when your being was localized in its corporeal shell. For while the personality that you are is housed in its earthly shell, the dulling influence of the 31

lower vibrations of corpor allows the "thought being" that you are to subsist with greater safety and efficiency. Realize that your lack of maturity as a young and immortal soul allows your concentration to wander, and your self control or will is seldom a dominant force in your existence. You are easily distracted by things in your environment and you are often led in your weakness to do things which are not in your best interest or in the best interests of others. You can see, however, when comparing an infant to a mature adult, that some degree of progress has been made in this regard, through ones life time. There is more self control. There is a greater understanding of how your mental powers can be applied to create and accomplish. There is a greater exercise of will to do what is right and necessary even when your lower propensities would have you act differently. Of course, there are great differences in the degree of development even in mature adults, but in most cases it is of a great enough degree to allow that individual after death to subsist in the freer and more refined state of spirit with a great enough degree of competence to keep from being a burden on the rest of the newborn in spirit who are residing on the same plane of existence. Should this newborn be too imperfect, then special provisions must be made, depending on the degree of imperfection and the reason for its occurrence. The innocent soul thrust prematurely into spirit life by being killed through abortion, for example, must be dealt with in a very different manner than a person who has passed over as a result of the fruits of a life of crime. But in all cases, whether it is through natural development in a normal corporeal existence or through special corrective measures applied afterwards, every soul must reach a state of mental development that allows him or her to exist competently in a state of refined 32

vibrations of thought, for the world of spirit requires much greater strength of personality and control of will than is required in the grossness of corporeality. Always remember our basic truth that you are in essence a being of thought. The greater totality that you are is not your corporeal shell but rather your mind, which is thought, and in thought, as a distinct portion of the All-Thought, will you live, move, and have your being for all time to come.

33

Radiance The Eloists (1985)

Brought Back to Earth

You don't need to keep your mind closed to information of events taking place in the world. Learn all you can about the earth. Thus you will be more fully developed when you pass on to the next world. You have to go through different grades of learning, just as you do in schools. You cannot go forward into more complicated grades until you have passed those in the corporeal world. Babes who die in infancy, by abortion or other means, are brought back to earth under angelic protection to learn about the place of their birth. Earth is really a beautiful planet, and you can be grateful you were born upon it. There are many ugly

34

things about it, to be sure, created by spirits in darkness who are influencing people to harm one another and make war. This will go on until the light of the Creator takes over and comes into positive expression through many awakened souls. You don't need to tune in with anything in the news that depresses you, but you can pour light into the dark conditions as you keep your awareness with the Creator at all times.

Of the trillions of souls who need to be brought in the way of resurrection, fully a hundred million are infants, most of whom are the result of abortions and stillbirths. With the widespread acceptance of the heinous act of abortion, we have been flooded with these poor souls, and though it is true that they are without sin, yet that does not lessen the burden placed upon our workers or upon the lower heavens as a whole.

35

Radiance The Eloists (1985)

A Nurse from the Plateau

Let us ponder for a moment on the awesome burden placed on our spiritual realms by the untimely death of so many innocent babes through the thoughtless act of abortion. The number of undeveloped souls thrust into the care of our doctors and nurses who labor on the plateaus close to the earth is far greater than your darkest imaginings. The fact that these babes are thrown upon us in greater and greater numbers each year makes the scene that much more pathetic. Could we only make these selfish women realize that each soul is complete and immortal at conception, perhaps they would more carefully ponder their decision. Their basic misconception that their body is theirs to do with as 36

they please is their first error. They had as little to do with the growth and development of their own bodies as that of the infant they carry. Both belong to the Creator that made them and He is the one to whom they must ultimately answer. If they could only realize that the soul of that poor infant is brought back to them in many cases and fetaled upon them until full term (and therefore only the earthly body may be aborted while the spirit remains), perhaps they would think again before making the fateful decision. If they could only realize that the day will come when they will pass over into our realms of spirit and there meet their rejected child face to face, though then fully grown, and be forced to justify their decisions and rectify their actions once and for all. Perhaps this is the image they need placed before them. Perhaps if they could see their child's pained expression as he or she asks, "Why did you do this to me, mother? Why did you deprive me of my life and your love? What did I do to you to be treated so?" "Why?" is our question as well. We, here on the Plateau in the hospitals and nurseries labor hard and long to maintain and revive these innocent souls, fetaling them sometimes to the natural mother and sometimes to a more appropriate soul, until they are strong enough to be transferred to the nurseries where primary education can begin. This is, of course, more difficult without the corporeal body and corporeal experiences to guide them. But we will work harder and longer still, until those on earth awaken to the Light of the Creator within their souls and awaken to the love that dwells within their hearts. Until then we remain, Your loving friends.

37

The Faithist Journal Anonymous (1988) Infantry

One day as my body lay resting quietly on its

bed, I decided to plunge into I closed my eyes,

hada, the lower atmospherean heavens of the Earth. visualized the soles of my feet until they

started to tingle; then I felt the tingling picked up on

creep up my ankles, lower legs, thighs and torso. The tingling

my fingertips and crept up my forearms to the elbow, then to the shoulders and finally to the top of my head. Meditating on this a while, I heard (or felt) a

38

loud buzzing sensation in my head and my reclining, corporeal form.

suddenly I was outside, looking back at

I floated through the bedroom walls to the wandering amongst

outside and soon found myself

the teeming billions of departed earthlings who inhabit loved. I talked with many

that region closest to the Earth and to all they have of them as I wandered,

and found that their aims, aspirations and beliefs might meet at the county fair. Saviour"

were little different than those of the people one Many expressed

disappointment in not having been taken to "The

and all were preoccupied with finding a (The

more or less permanent place to reside. Island multiplied by

crowding of this region is somewhat like Manhattan

many thousands of times).

As I elbowed my way through the dense open valley. The

crowds, I came eventually to a large piles

ground of this valley was covered with boxes, baskets

of straw and similar things, each of which infant. Each

contained the astral form of a tiny for as far

infant was wrapped in a blanket. The scene extended

as the eye could see, clear to the horizon American continent.

of this region over the North

There were millions of tiny infants, placed in little walkways cleared between the groups.

groups of about a dozen, with walkways

Up and down along these

strolled a few dozen sad, tired, middle-aged looking ladies, each wearing a grey tabard with a rope belt, and each busily trying to take care of the immediate 39

needs of several hundred of the infants.

Needless to say, I was quite curious about this scene, and could not resist inquiring what it was all about.

"Where did all these children come from?", I inquired of the nearest lady.

"One of these babies is mine", she responded, "but I don't know which one, because I never saw it; I don't even know, whether it is a boy or a girl. I do know that if it has blue, grey or green eyes, it very probably isn't my own, because I and my lover both had brown eyes. And the new ones arriving, of course, are

not mine, either, but they all need to be taken care of; they all need a mother but they only have us few."

"How did it happen", I asked, `that you never saw your own child?"

"It was an abortion", she sadly replied, "I was ashamed to let my folks find out that I was pregnant so I went to this so-called doctor who ripped it out and left me unconscious from shock and, incidentally, with all sorts of germs in the torn spots and I came over here shortly afterward as the result of a serious infection. All of these kids were aborted, and every day we get several thousand more, so we press into service every woman who comes here looking for her child. Still, as you can see, there are not nearly enough ladies to take care of all of them properly." 40

She continued, "They all need to be bathed more often than they are. There are so many of them and we have such meager facilities for it, and so few people to help with it; that's why the stench is so bad. I don't really mind it myself but it is

so offensive to the others that they always bring them here and just drop them." She added, "Most of their mothers wouldn't care enough about them to help, even if they were over here on this side; they were just glad to be rid of them. As for their fathers, I seriously doubt that many of them even believe that they have children here."

I looked out across the tremendous field with miles and miles of little bundles, all dirty, hungry, crying and squirming with loneliness and discontent.

I thought to myself, "If only every young girl who plans to get rid of her kid could come over here and see this!"

I wanted to help, but knew that I lacked the skill and experience to even get started; also, I knew that I had to return to my body, so what little I was able to do was just a token, like dipping out the ocean with a teaspoon. I wondered quietly whether the lower heavens over the other continents of the Earth had tremendous foundling fields like this one.

I knew that heredity is the main factor in whether one continues after death of the body, so to a certain extent, survival of bodily death comes to most as a corollary 41

to the gift of life itself. It's a little like beauty; one gets it chiefly by choosing the right parents. If survival of bodily death was due to faith or to good works or

piety, none of these little ones would be here. If it was a universal gift to every animal thing, the lower heavens would be a raging, howling zoo filled with creatures of every description still trying to do the things they did in corporeal life. As such it would hardly be called heaven.

I wondered at the poor physical condition of many of the babies.

There were

cripples of every kind, deformed bodies, missing members, Siamese twins, dwarfs, blind, deaf and partly paralyzed children. There were representatives of every, race and ethnic group on the North American continent, but the ratios didn't seem the same as in the corporeal real world. I suppose that some ethnic groups place a higher value on life and on children than they do on daughter's "reputation." Certainly, the child's religion could hardly have any effect upon its survival, particularly at the ripe old age of minus four or five months.

As I strolled through these thousands of acres of outdoor nursery, looking at the millions upon millions of abandoned children who had been prematurely cast into heaven, I marveled at the size of the task before any woman who had the courage to volunteer to help. I also wondered at the folly of our people in letting this thing happen to us. I realized that the Puritan Ethics, the antiquated

concept of "marriage" and the consequent quaint ideas about "honor" and "disgrace" related to the reproductive process must carry much of the blame for this wholesale slaughter of innocents. I remembered hearing that in the United 42

States of America, it is estimated that over two million such deaths at the hands of dear mother occur every year. The U.S.A. only lost somewhat over fifty thousand young men each year during the ten years of the Vietnam fiasco.

Eventually, I tired of this nightmare and was overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness and sadness.

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Radiance The Eloists (1988) Bless the Innocents

Soon we will be gone from your focus until our travels bring us back to your realm again. My hosts and I have been hard at work to strengthen the organizations that are helping the weak-minded, the undeveloped and misguided souls who continually cross the great divide. Our nurseries, most of all, are overburdened above your nation. These are part of the great change we are seeking. Your people must make the leap in consciousness from war and violence to peace. They must learn peace among nations, peace in the home and peace within their inner selves. They must also put an end to the slaughter

44

of the innocents and either accept the responsibility of parenthood or learn how to become mature adults and not become parents, through conscious choice. We can no longer tolerate the continued destruction of so many unborn babes. The hand of judgment will remain above all nations that condone such practices, and until their ways are changed, peace will not reign within their families, but they will continue to deteriorate and wallow in misery.

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Radiance The Eloists (1990) The Gift of Life

Oahspe reveals to humanity the truth of your immortality, and the reality of the angelic overshadowing that has continuously, over countless centuries, labored to raise the understanding and behavior of mortals to a state that would allow them to become a blessing to themselves and to their progeny, who would inherit conditions in which they have little to say and even less control. Many of the actions taken by mortals through ignorance not only make their lives a time of suffering, but also place inestimable burdens on our angelic realms. It is in that concern that we speak with you tonight, not only to impress upon you the

46

seriousness of our plight, but to enlighten you on things to come. Life begins at conception. At that very moment you become an immortal human soul destined to progress in wisdom and power throughout eternity. This marvelous reality was not always assured in the distant past history of your race on this planet, but for many thousands of years now every soul has been guaranteed immortality at conception, regardless of one's parentage and circumstances surrounding the birth. The evolving embryo at that moment is a separate and distinct immortal being, placed in the care of another separate and distinct immortal being by the Ever-Present Creator until it can subsist unaided in the mortal realm. To terminate or abort this development for any reason constitutes murder of the earthly habitat and thus thrusts the developing soul into our spiritual realm prematurely to the will of the Creator. This is the simple truth which cannot be couched in euphemisms or more expedient phrases. The reality of the consequence is all too readily apparent to us here, and is a practice which must be reversed before any semblance of order can be restored to the lower heavens surrounding your planet. You are well aware that this issue is being hotly contested in your nation today, and it will continue to be hotly contested through the decade to come. But we tell you that the Creator's hand is over this matter and the day will come when your society will finally decide in favor of life, but not before a great deal of suffering is sustained as the battle over this issue is brought to the streets of your nation. Just as your nation's civil war could not be resolved until the majority of your nation's inhabitants resolved in their hearts in favor of freedom to the slaves, so will your nation not find peace in its cities or country places until the majority resolves itself in favor of life. Until then, violence 47

in the streets and within the home will continue to grow. The integrity of the family base will continue to crumble. The children you do raise will continue to be a disappointment both individually and collectively as constructive members of your society. Criminal activity will continue to undermine the fabric of society and the use of drugs and other forms of self-destruction will continue to thwart your efforts at reformation. Though we are already entering a period of increased spiritual light, yet amongst the masses of society it will hardly be evident until this issue is resolved. Until then, keep the light of your focus strong and stay well centered. When the minds of the masses begin to awaken there will also come great progress in disarmament, social reform and the blessings of peace. But many long and painful years remain. Sometimes this is the only way important lessons can be learned. Keep your spiritual community committed and strong so that you may ride unscathed through the turmoil and contribute something positive and helpful in the process.

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Radiance The Eloists (1991)

Growing in the Spiritual Worlds

Peace be with all the Creator's children on earth. Let love flow from their hearts to one another. There is no time to waste. Precious lives are being snuffed out of the body too soon. Too many are passing on to the other side with no preparation for further development. Our time and energies are devoted to receiving these many new souls, and trying to keep them from going back to earth again. Once they have left their physical bodies, they must go on to new experience and spiritual awakening. It is not an easy task for us. We have great compassion for these newborn souls. Many little babies come over here from abortions, sickness and accidents. They have been cheated out of their earthly experience. Not that they would have had all good experiences, but every 49

experience, good and bad, would have contributed to their soul development. They will still grow in spiritual worlds, but it will take much longer. We put all in the hands of our Creator and give Him our faith and love. It is by His power in us that we are able to accomplish our task

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Radiance The Eloists (1991) Peace

Peace be with all the Creator's children of Earth! Let love flow from their hearts to one another. There is no time to waste. Precious lives are being snuffed out of the body too soon. This earth is a school for the education and development of souls while still in the physical body. Too many are going to the other side with little preparation for further development. Our time is taken up in receiving millions of these new souls and trying to keep them from going back to earth again. Once they have left their physical body, they must go on to new experiences and spiritual awakening. It is not an easy task for us. We have great

51

compassion for these newborn souls, especially little babies who came here due to abortion, sickness and accidents. They have been cheated out of their earthly experience, not that they would all have had good experience, but every experience would have contributed to their development as souls. They will still grow in spiritual worlds, but it will take much longer. We put all in the hands of Our Creator, and give our Faith and Love to Jehovih at all times! The Ever-Present is the captain of our ship!

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Radiance The Eloists (1992)

Dear Souls of Light

Be steadfast in our common purpose. As we come together at these appointed times we work to build greater harmony and continuity between your plane and ours. We seek to burst through the barriers that separate us. As we do this, it is important that your whole life, the sum totality of your existence, plays a fundamental part in this process. The time spent in council is fine and good, but the preparation beforehand makes you fit tools through which we can work and that is the vital link that really "sets the stage." It is how you live, what you think, 53

and how you serve each and every day that molds your vessel for our use. Through it all, it is not what you did yesterday, today, or tomorrow that makes the difference, but rather what habits and traits you nurture day in and day out, year by year, until they are constitutionally part of your character and personality.

We have made great strides together, no doubt, but do not let that slacken your pace. Reconsecrate yourselves, your lives and your Purpose to Jehovih each and every day and you will be answered with greater fulfillment and greater joy of soul throughout all the days of your lives here and hereafter.

We have a deep and genuine concern for your wellbeing. Since we are much older than you in years (as you count them), you are like precious children whom the Great Spirit has chosen to place under out care. All children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth and surroundings, are gifts of the Great Spirit and their presence among us should be viewed as a most sacred trust.

They are "angels to be" in time, just as you are, but their innocence and vulnerability behooves us all to love, protect, and nurture them 'until they are strong enough to stand on their own. That is your obligation as their elder care takers, just as you are our responsibility as your elders even though we are separated from you by the unseen dimension that seems to separate your realm from our world of Spirit.

Every child is a sacred trust from the moment of conception, and every child from 54

the earliest moment of development should be held in greater reverence for the sacred miracle that it is. This is not the case among too many people on your plane, and this must be changed through growth in understanding as to who we are as immortal souls, with a purpose and destiny greater than just the here and now.

The number of young souls cast upon our spirit plane prematurely every year are testimony to the fact that the people of your world are still mostly misguided and stumbling, diseased in spirit and burdened with darkness. Verily are you rising and falling, both at the same time. This must be remedied, and it will be remedied in this era of Kosmon, but it will be a laborious journey with no easy solutions.

Have no doubt that Jehovih has the solution, and it will be made manifest through the exalted Hosts of Angels who labor as the Creators hands, yes and hearts on the scene. Have no doubt that they hold all of you as their most sacred trust, and they will not rest until all have been redeemed to light and understanding, to a fuller consciousness and maturity unlike any that has heretofore manifested on earth. Then will a greater peace manifest. Then will all the awakening gifts of spiritual and corporeal knowledge blend and blossom into the fullness of a blessing as it was meant to be, free of all the pain and sufferings of the past. This will be the task of the high-raised beings who are soon to follow us now that we have fulfilled our part and set the stage. All is planned; all is in concert; all is orchestrated. 55

Radiance The Eloists (1992)

Lines of Light

The Hosts of Light are with you in focus. We come from realms that are not so far removed from your plane that we are insensitive to your earthly trials and your mortal needs, nor are we so close that we are unduly influenced by your realm's unenlightened behaviour or the inharmony and disorganization of the lower atmospherean realms. We have risen to a state in which unity of action and unity of purpose under one Infinite Source is our rule and guide. We work organically under one high council and our labors being so perfectly planned and orchestrated bring us seasons of endless delight and fulfillment as only the

56

higher, more liberated realms can enjoy.

We come to your plane to bring guidance and inspiration to those who are receptive to the Light. We work behind the scenes to orchestrate those earthly events that we can influence for an ultimate good, and to provide spiritual balm for those who suffer from those events of darkness or fate that we cannot influence.

We greet those who arrive here in both timely and untimely fashion and give assurances and instruction to those who are advanced enough to perceive our presence. When they are not, we turn them over to those hosts who are best trained to deal with souls who are diseased. undeveloped, or mired in darkness. Many of the latter are beyond our immediate help because they arrive in such great numbers at this time, especially when there are self-inflicted tragedies and wars.

These unfortunates try us all and test our resources to the limit. Most have to be left to their own devices until more opportune occasions arise at times of dan or when etherean hosts come to our assistance. It is at those times that circles of dedicated souls on earth can be most useful to us, for when they are trained and well developed over many years of discipline, they can be of use to us as "batteries", "step down transformers" and "anchors", through which we can touch the lower atmospherean realms. Through our earthly intermediaries we can reach those in the lower spiritual realms even though they have already passed 57

through the veil into our world of spirit.

Lastly, we also work with those who are young, undeveloped and innocent; those youthful souls of innocence who are thrust upon us through untimely births, mistreatment or abortion. These arrive without the sins of darkness upon them and they are cared for in a most considerate, caring and loving environment, well removed from the lower discordant realms of earth. Some are joined with an appropriate corporeal host under close supervision until they are mature enough to be taken in a state of spiritual infancy to an appropriate region for care, while others who are more mature are removed right away. But in either case all of these innocents quickly find their way to our organic heavens of the higher atmospherean realms. Though they may arrive under the most sorrowful circumstances, they are all by their innocence and virtue special gems in our plateau of Light and Love. Here they are kept in love and joy and away from all harm, where they soon mature with grace and beauty.

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Visions of a New Age Robert Bayer (2009) The Sacred Life Immortal
There is a clock image before me. It is bejeweled in green and purple crystals. I pass through the clock. I see

Its hands point a few minutes from midnight.

mothers, a dozen or so different ones holding their newborn babies in love, smiling and very happy. A complete shifting of the vision onto a new scene: a surgery room, and screams of fear and pain, and an angelic baby rises upward to be swaddled in a spirit blanket by angels who rise above with it. I look to the grisly settling of the operating table, mother, doctor and table and cutting instruments covered in blood. A lifeless childs body is thrown away into a plastic bag. I see a corridor of such scenes, extending like into infinity when you look 59

into 2 mirrors facing one another. Ghastly butchery after ghastly butchery. Very difficult to keep seeing. Below, and unseen to the doctors, a black network of

tentacles, monstrous, control the thoughts and movements of the doctors. The mother is in a state of shock and the tentacles grip her too, in a kind of dark cocoon. I follow the trail of tentacles to a subterranean chasm of caverns. The lightning and mood is horrific. Blood flows everywhere. A demonic entity,

goat-shaped and black winged, fiery, red coal eyes, wielding knives in both hands, sacrifices the childrens astral forms on the burning altar before him. I can watch no more. I rise up from this hell, to the earth, to the heavens I see pure child after pure child growing up in the heavens, wise and good parents and teachers working with them, loving them, teaching them the truths of the universe they know. Many colors of spiritual blessings enfold them. A great

gathering of these new angels is growing, very serene and very filled with the purpose of returning to earth to enlighten and strengthen all there in a new sacredness of life. Mothers and fathers of the world are coming under their beautiful mantel of love. My guide speaks:

The Unseen is where the Truth of all things lie.

Nothing is hidden, whether the

light of love or darkness of selfishness, all is revealed in the spirit which is the true reality. For decades, a holocaust of infants has terrorized the world and

burdened the heavens. The time for the repudiation of this great crime has come. No more will the murder of the innocent be allowed to continue, blackening the earth in great sin. A new conscious that all life is sacred and created with divine

purpose, by the All Highest Creator, shall dawn and illuminate the mortal 60

mothers and fathers that their highest purpose is to be in love and to love their children forevermore. Our love for you all, our mortal children, is eternal and so let us extend this love to all people, for all are our brothers and sisters, all Children of the Great Spirit, The Sacred Life Eternal.

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Visions of a New Age Robert Bayer (2010) Eternal Families of Love

The blue sky is above me, with very lovely white clouds dappling it. Also, there is a kind of transparent window outlined in a section of the blue sky. I rise up to it and it opens and I pass into it. There is a rush of fast movement upward, myself and others that I can only dimly see. After a short time, and all at once, we appear out in the open, above the crown of vast white cumulous clouds. Passing a little way forward, we then look down upon a city of white and gold and silver and crystal buildings, each surrounded by large gardens and lawns.

The guide asks me where I would like to go. After a short pause, I say where I can be of the most service. He says to follow him and we descend into a park I see

of gardens, wide lawns divided by sections of blooming flowers and trees.

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very young and happy children running and playing.

There are parents and

teachers overseeing one or more young ones. Some of these are baby infants and are being carried and caressed. I try to tune into the vibrations and I perceive that all the My guide speaks:

purpose of this uplifting and heart-warming place. attending adults were childless during their mortal lives.

Yes, you perceive rightly, for all those laboring here, or rather, I should say parenting here, are fulfilling their long-held desire to be parents, while at the same time performing a great service to these little ones. For know that their

work and dedication in service is of an eternal nature, and that they have not simply volunteered for a short time, a few days or years to these newborn in spirit. Their commitment, though not the biological parents in fact, raises them

to be in truth from now on the real parents of these children for all eternity. These are children who were discarded in their earthly lives, whether through abortion or abuse or abandonment, and so met a tragic and far too early end to their lives on earth. Yet behold the Wisdom of our Heavenly Father-Mother, who joins together lives burdened with sad trials, and thereby makes and blesses a new family of heaven, that shall love and support and rejoice in one another. Where before there was sadness, and pain, now there is but joy and healing in united futures of happiness together that shall always be. Here, in these gardens, you and your loved ones shall one day meet.

I smile in tears of joy and look upon the happy scenes of families in harmony and love and cheer. Our thanks and blessings to the Heavenly Creator!

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64

Conscious Conception Jeannine Parvati Baker (1986) Pro-life Feminism

Arising from the Great Cosmic Song are the growing voices of feminists who respect life in all its forms--even down to the "unplanned" pregnancies. For too long the spiritual communities of the pagans and the yogis, the two philosophies I have studied for many years, have neglected to re-vision abortion. Lingering still is the rationalization that an "unwanted" child somehow was worse than abortion--that a "fast death" was better than an entire lifetime of feeling "unwanted" (with a personal history filled with emotional and/or physical abuse from immature, irresponsible parents). It seems to me that abortion really is the ultimate child abuse. And death, whether it be fast or slow, is still death. In fact, I have left particular "spiritual" communities because of this basic anti-life, pessimistic perspective on abortion. It seemed to me that on the most primal level, a person has much more to learn about spirituality by accepting WHAT-IS (i.e., a pregnancy) than by forcefully "re-cycling" the soul (i.e., terminating the baby). And besides, having an abortion undermines any and all possibilities of changing the culture's basic anti-life/anti-children attitude; much less a personal miracle, wherein the reluctant parents-to-be learn to accept their coming child. Allow me first to first turn my attention to the Yoga community wherein it is all too common for women yogis (yoginis) to abort their babies so that they can get on with the "real" spiritual work: i.e., a meditation practice. Babies are sometimes seen as a distraction to a heroic spiritual practice. I have six children and have been practicing yoga for many years. I have received overt as well as more subtle condemnation for my "attachment to fertility" from the yogi community. Somehow being a mother is not viewed as spiritual as being able to go on solitary meditation retreats. In Yoga there are two clear paths to 65

liberation--the sadhu and the householder traditions. The path of the sadhu is to withdraw from the world, unravel our natural attachments and transcend ignorance/suffering by realizing the source of pain: attachment to the ephemeral. From the sadhu's perspective, being sexual and reproducing is seen as adding to the load of attachments. The path I am on is the one of householder--of being in the world, and yet not of the world at the same time. In other words, the attachment to attachment is made conscious. Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, householders are challenged to watch our natural attachments to our children and let them be manifest in their fullest and purest sense. It is a goal to revision this attachment with eternal eyes, not just with temporal sight. Having babies is known to be a great opportunity to learn surrender, service, ecstasy and other qualities of the spiritual life. However, this path has generally not received as much "good press" as the well known path of the hermit/sadhu yogi. Ask the man on the street what his image is of a yogi and the response more likely than not will be "a solitary and limber man, meditating on his navel in the peace and quiet of the Himalayas." I have watched many of my yogini sisters procure abortions knowing that it was breaking the primary vow of ahimsa (harmlessness) that yogis make. They justified their actions with a con-fusion philosophy of reincarnation and "free will." In other words, they said that the soul knew "on some level'" what it was getting by choosing incarnation into a woman who did not want to be a mother just yet. Therefore "on some level'" the fetus being aborted accepts being returned back into the cosmos. Some yoginis have even had the hubris to state that their unwanted fetus was a "very advanced soul" who only needed to be incarnated for a very short time to complete its karma here on this plane of existence. Adding insult to injury they go on to state that they have done it a service by providing the soul with a temporary body to "finish up." Maybe their unwanted baby was a samurai in a past life and by being aborted (by dilation and curettage) it is completing its own slicing karma (!) I am constantly amazed at the cleverness of the mind in justifying its own desires. Calling an aborted fetus a "high soul" not needing full deliverance on earth is an example of confused yoga.

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Yoga clearly considers abortion killingyet guru after guru condones abortion through metaphysical belief in reincarnation. "We only go around a thousand times so may as well grab as much personal enlightenment as we can!" The most liberating belief in some ways is that this is our past lifewith that philosophy we will do what is best for life now and not await our next chance, next lifetime. Which brings me to the pagan community and our heritage as women healers, the Wicca tradition. Wicca is a wise womanone who knows how to work natural forces--one who understands women's mysteries and one who can do magic (i.e. work with images realizing that energy follows thought). Amongst the pagans many abortions do occur from a point of view that calls it "freedom." Janis Joplin sang, " Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" (reflecting perhaps a bit of the sadhu philosophy) yet my pagan sisters still perceive their ability to abort non-medically (through herbs, incantations, etc.) as some kind of statement of power and control over their lives. I challenge the true Wicca to display their "control" and "power" in not conceiving unwanted babies in the first place. Babies teach us that "control" is not as important from the spiritual perspective as surrender. We all know how babies do not recognize "personal privacy" and tend to muck around with special things, like the altar, and generally interfering with "personal pagan progress." How many high priestesses will lead a ritual with a babe in arms? No, here too, children are seen as intervening an ability to raise the cone of power and draw down the moon. To my way of thinking this is the height of irony--that drawing down the moon is perceived as difficult with a baby present! Pregnancy and birth and breastfeeding seem to draw the moon down into our very bodies! It all comes down to what our ideas and beliefs are about "spirituality." Christian writers have well documented the inconsistency of abortion with Jesus' teachings. Christianism itself is claimed by the child archetype and so lends its dogma towards the literal protection of babies as well. "Suffer the little children to come unto me," Jesus said, yet abortion misreads the word suffer literally, not in the original meaning of "allow." However, most of the older spiritual traditions, and here paganism of the west and yoga of the east are our examples (as well as ethnic Judaism), have lagged behind by not consistently denouncing abortion. My intuition says that the confusion in the public mind about witches as evil, ugly women, rather than as healers/midwives comes from abortion practices. And 67

though yoga is quite clearly against violence and killing, this is amended for "advanced" practitioners who have the boldness to believe they are somehow above personal karma. Part of this confusion stems from the archetype of the Terrible Mother and the Great/Good Mother. I have had pagans and yoginis alike tell me that motherhood archetypically contains both the loving as well as the rejecting mother and to be "whole" we need to express both. Abortion seen in that light is but an extension of the natural "weaning mother." This argument is absurd in my book. The source of confusion is calling killing "weaning" or a "natural process"-- dying is a natural process, killing other humans is not part of a natural or spiritual path. Or at least killing doesn't have to be. I am aware that plenty of killing takes place in nature. Yet if we want to arise from the jungle consciousness (and survival of the fittest myth of social Darwinism) and bring "heaven" here to Earth, as is our New Age potential, we need to set an example to the other animals/organisms on our shared planet. How ironic it is that some yoginis will forego the eating of meat out of compassion for animals, yet this same sensitive compassion is not extended to unwanted babies. Pagans also believe in karma with the dictum that what one puts out comes back three times as hard! Yet somehow abortions are set apart from that universal law. Vegetarianism and recognition of the Golden Rule and karma are part of the spiritual path and both yogis and pagans base their practices on doing no harm. I am praying for the day when these practices will extend to abortion as well and all of us will act consistently with these noble beliefs. The homebirth community grows in awareness that previous abortions negatively affect natural birth. When a mother labors in a birth after having an abortion previous to the present pregnancy, she often is doing the work to birth both babies at once the aborted one and the baby coming now. One exaggerated argument against gynecological/medical personnel being involved in natural birth is that in their busyness and routines they might forget in an early prenatal which procedure they are doing--an abortion or a prenatal exam. Unfortunately many midwives also counsel abortions, being wolves in sheep's clothing. For the most part, medically trained perinatal professionals have accrued a lot of harmful karma and it shows in their limited ability to assist in spontaneous births without 68

their technological tools. If on the one hand you are terminating babies and on the other hand trying to welcome them, there might be some subtle confusion. I believe babies can sense who is truly harmless and trust their deliverance into the hands that consistently support life. No amount of sadhana (spiritual practice) or pagan powers can supersede abortion in our psychic closet: Especially if those past abortions are not healed (atoned, integrated and/or understood that what happened made sense at the time but to repeatedly abort is a waste of a painful lesson.) Spirituality in its essence is reverence for life. It is not denying the physical for the spiritual. Rather it is seeing the spiritual in the material and ultimately unifying our vision so that there is no separation. The means is the end. Having an abortion in order "to get my spiritual act together" is self-defeating (Self Defeating). One of the best ways to get oneself together is by helping someone else. Each action we do on the Earth sets the stage for all future actions. Having an abortion is the strongest metaphor for separateness and non-acceptance of the unity of life there is. Let me close with a prayer for all the babies who are here--whether they be convenient or not. May we be worthy of their trust. May we prepare ourselves fully for those babies whose faces we have yet to see rising from the ground. May we witness the end of our world's confusion about personal "freedom" and "independence" and come to celebrate our divine interdependence and oneness. In the God (Us) name, may all conscious beings come to accept fertility as the blessing it truly is and through all our babies, come to know who we really are.

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