THE ASTRAL WORLD/PART 4
CHAPTER IV.
PASSING THE BORDER.
I DO
not deem it advisable to enter into a description of the technical details
attendant upon the process of passing out of the physical body into the astral
body of finer substance. Any description of this kind, even though it be but
merely a suggestion of the facts, might give an untrained person at least a
hint of the process, which might lead him to experiment, and which might bring
upon him very undesirable results. I shall pass over this stage, for the
reasons stated, which will meet with the approval of every advanced occultist
and careful student of occultism.
Now,
student, you find yourself outside of your physical form or body, and clad in
your astral form alone. You probably think that I am joking with you, for as
you glance at your body you find that it appears not different from your
ordinary one. Even your clothing is the same, to the most minute detail—this
occurs through perfectly natural laws on the Astral plane, which I cannot take
time to explain at this time.
You
realize, however, that you are indeed out of the physical body, when you turn
your head and perceive your own physical form, as well as mine, seemingly sunk
in sleep in the arm chairs in which we seated ourselves a few moments ago.
Looking
a little closer, you will see that your astral form, as well as mine, is
connected with its physical counterpart by a tiny, thin, tenuous filament of
ethereal substance, resembling a rope of shining spider-web silk. This filament
is capable of expansion, and contraction, and enables you to move about freely.
Now
concentrate your attention as you have been taught to do, and Will that your
vibrations increase in rate, but in perfect harmony with mine, so that you will
keep in my company instead of moving on to other sub-planes or sub-divisions,
parting with my company. You would not find it exactly safe or pleasant to
leave my presence until you have learned to pilot yourself in these strange
waters.
You
will find yourself with me in a strange atmosphere although you have not moved
an inch in space. Behind you, so to speak, you perceive dimly the room in which
we were just living; and ahead of you, so to speak, you perceive strange
flashes and streaks of phosphorescent light of different hues and tints.
These
are the vibrations and waves of force, for you are now passing through the
Plane of Forces. That vivid, bluish streak is the passage of some electric
current—probably a wireless message flashing through space. Back of you, on my
table, you see the magnetic ore, or lodestone, paper-weight, which always lies
there. But now you see the peculiar phosphorescence around its poles, which is
not visible on the material plane.
You
also notice a peculiar faint vibratory glow around every physical object—this
is the force of atomic and molecular attraction, etc. Still fainter, you find a
peculiar radiance permeating the entire atmosphere—this is the outward sign of
the force of gravitation. These things are all very interesting, and if you
were a learned physicist, or great physical scientist, you could scarcely be dragged
from this plane, so interesting would be the study of force made visible. But,
as you are not such a person, you will see more interesting sights ahead of
you.
Now,
you feel your life force vibrating at a higher rate, and realize that the sense
of weight seems to be dropping from you. You feel as light as a feather, and
feel as though you could move without an effort. Well, you may begin to walk.
Yes, “walk,” I said! You are still on earth, and the floor of the room is still
there under your feet.
Let us
walk through the wall of the room, and out into the street. Don’t be afraid,
step through the wall as if it were made of fog. There, you see how easy it is.
Odd thing, really stepping through a brick and stone wall, isn’t it? But it’s
still more odd when you stop to consider that as we moved the wall really
passed through our thin substance, instead of the latter passing through the
wall—that’s the real secret of it.
Now
let us walk down the street. Step out just as if you were in the flesh—stop a
moment! there you let that man walk right through you! And he never even saw
you! Do you realize that we are ghosts? Just as much a ghost as was Hamlet’s
father, except that his physical body was mouldering in the ground,
while ours are asleep awaiting our return to them. There! that dog saw you. And
that horse vaguely feels your presence! See how nervous he is! Animals possess
very keen psychic senses compared to those of man.
But
cease thinking of yourself, and look closely at the persons passing by you. You
notice that each one is surrounded by an egg shaped aura extending on all sides
of him to the distance of about two or three feet. Do you notice the
kaleidoscopic play of blending colors in the aura? Notice the difference in the
shades and tints of these colors, and also observe the predominance of special
colors in each case! You know what these colors mean, for I have instructed you
regarding them in my teaching on “The Human Aura, and Astral Colors”.
Notice
that beautiful spiritual blue around that woman’s head! And see that ugly muddy
red around that man passing her! Here comes an intellectual giant—see that
beautiful golden yellow around his head, like a nimbus! But I don’t exactly
like that shade of red around his body—and there is too marked an absence of
blue in his aura! He lacks harmonious development.
Do you
notice those great clouds of semiluminous substance, which are slowly
floating along?—notice how the colors vary in them. Those are clouds of thought
vibrations, representing the composite thought of a multitude of people. Also
notice how each body of thought is drawing to itself little fragments of
similar thought forms and energy. You see here the tendency of thought forces
to attract others of their kind—how like the proverbial birds of a feather,
they flock together—how thoughts come home, bringing their friends with
them—how each man creates his own thought atmosphere.
Speaking
of atmospheres, do you notice that each shop we pass has its own peculiar
thought atmosphere? If you look into the houses on either side of the street,
you will see that the same thing is true. The very street itself has its own
atmosphere, created by the composite thought of those inhabiting and
frequenting it. No! do not pass down that side street—its astral atmosphere is
too depressing, and its colors too horrible and disgusting for you to witness
just now—you might get discouraged and fly back to your physical body for
relief!
Look
at those thought forms flying through the atmosphere! What a variety of form
and coloring! Some most beautiful, the majority quite neutral in tint, and
occasionally a fierce, fiery one tearing its way along toward its mark. Observe
those whirling and swirling tiny cyclonic thought-forms as they are thrown off
from that business house. Across the street, notice that great octopus monster
of a thought-form, with its great tentacles striving to wind around passing
persons and draw them into that flashy dance-hall and dram-shop. A devilish
monster which we would do well to destroy. Turn your concentrated thought upon
it, and will it out of existence—there, that’s the right way; watch it sicken
and shrivel! But alas! more of its kind will come forth from that place.
Here,
will yourself up above the level of the housetops—you can do it easily, if you
only realize that you can—there, I have helped you to do it this time, it’s
quite easy when you once gain confidence. However, if you lose confidence, and
grow afraid, down you will tumble to the ground, and will bruise your astral
body.
From
this height look down around you. You will see a great multitude of tiny candle-like
lights—each represents a human soul. Here or there you will see a few much
brighter lights, and far apart you will see some that shine like a brilliant
electric spark—these last are the auric symbols of an advanced soul. “Let your
light so shine—”! Behold the radiance emerging from that humble house of
religious worship, and contrast it with the unpleasant auric atmosphere of that
magnificent church structure next door to it—can you not read the story of
spirituality and the lack of it in the cases of these churches?
But
these sights, interesting though they be, and as useful as they are in
illustrating the lessons you have learned in the class, or from the manual, are
far less in the scale than those which we shall witness in a moment. Come, take
my hand. Our vibrations are raising. * * * Come!
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