第2章

“B“relatesthefollowingasadream：“IsawtheAmericansoldiers，inclay-coloreduniform，bearingtheflagofvictorytwoweeksbeforetheSpanish-Americanwarwasdeclared，andofcoursebeforeanylivingbeingcouldhaveknowntheuniformtobeadopted。LaterIsaw，severaldaysbeforetheactualoccurrencehappened，thedestructionofCervera’sfleetbytheAmericannavy。”Signed“B。”

“JustaftertheSouthAfricanhostilitiesbegan，IsawinadreamafiercestrugglebetweentheBritishandBoers，inwhichtheformersufferedseverelosses。AfewnightsafterIhadaseconddreaminwhichIsawthecontendingforcesinalong-drawncontest，verydisastroustoboth，andinwhichneithercouldclaimavictory。Theyseemedtobefightingtoafrazzle。”Signed“C。”

“D“relatedtomeatthetimeoftheoccurrenceofthedreamthefollowing：“Ithadbeensuggestedtomethatthetwocereals，cornandwheat，weretoofarapart，andthatIoughttobuycorn。AtnoonIlaydownonaloungetoawaitluncheon；Ihadbarelyclosedmyeyesbeforeavoicewhispered：`Don’tbuy，butsellthatcorn。’`Whatdoyoumean？’

Iasked。`Sellatthepresentprice，andbuyat237/8。’“Theforegoingdreamwasrelatedtomebyapractical，successfulbusinessmanwhoneverspeculates。Iwatchedthecornmarketandknowittooktheturnsindicatedinthedream。

Inthisdreamwefindthedreamerconversingwithsomestrangeintelligencepossessedofknowledgeunknowntoobjectivereason。

Itcouldnot，therefore，havebeenthewakingthoughtsofthedreamer，forhepossessednosuchinformation。Wasthemessagesuperinducedthroughtheenergiesandactivitiesofthewakingmindonthesubjectivemind？

This14

couldnothavebeen，becausehehadnosuchthoughts；besides，theintelligencegivenwasfreefromtheerrorsofthecalculatingandanxiouswakingmind。

Wemustthereforelooktoothersourcesforanexplanation。

WasitthehigherselfthatmanifestedtoAbrahaminthedimagesoftheworld？WasittheDivineVoicethatgavesolacetoKrishnainhisabstraction？

WasittheunerringlightthatprecededGautamaintothestrangesolitudesofAsia？WasitthesmallvoicethatElijahheardinthedesertofShurr？

WasittheComforterofJesusinthewildernessandthegardenofdistress？

Or，wasitPaul’sindwellingspiritofthisearthlytabernacle？Onethingwemaytruthfullyaffirm——thatitdidnotproceedfromtherational，objectivemindoftherankmaterialist，whowouldclosealldoorstothatinnerlifeandconsciousnesswherealltruereligionfindsitsbirthmark，itshope，itspromisesanditsfaith；which，rightlyunderstood，willleavetothehorrorsoftheRomancrucifixionthetwinthieves，superstitionandscepticism，whiletheangelof“Goodwill“willgofreetosolacetheworldwiththefruitandfragranceofenduringpowerandpromise。Thesteelchainsthatfastenthesehydra-headedcrocodilesofsensuouspoisonaroundloveanddestinycanonlybeseveredbythediamondofwisdomandknowledge。

Acitizenworthyofconfidencerelatesthefollowingdream：

“InDecember，1878，Isawinadreammybrother-in-law，HenryYarnell，sufferingfromabloodyknifewound；afterthisIawoke，butsoonfellasleepagain。ThesecondtimeIdreamedofasimilarscene，exceptthatthewoundwastheresultofashotgun。AfterthisIdidnotgotosleepagain。Iwasmuchtroubledaboutmydream，andsoonstartedinthedirectionofmybrother-in-law’shouse。Ihadnotgonefar，whenImetanacquaintancewhopromptlyinformedmethatmybrother-in-lawhadbeenshot。”Signed“E。”

Awell-knownresidentofChattanooga，Tenn。，formerlyofNewYorkCity，willvouchfortheaccuracyofthefollowingincidentinhislife：

“OnFebruary19，1878，IwasboardingwithafamilyonChristopherstreet，NewYork，whilemywifeandbabywerevisitingmyparentsinthecountry，ashortdistancefromthecity。Ourbabywastakensick。

Themaladydevelopedinto15

brainfever，followedbywateronthebrain，causingthelittleone’sdeath。

“Atourboarding-placetherewasatthetimeaquartetteofusgrasswidowers，aswecalledourselves，andinordertopassawaythetimepleasantlywehadorganizeda`grasswidowers’euchreclub。’Weusedtomeetalmosteveryeveningafterdinnerinthedining-room，andplayuntilabouteleveno’clock，whenwewouldretire。OntheabovedateIdreamedthatafterplayingourusualeveninggameswetookourdepartureforourrooms，andonthewayupthesecondflightofstairsIheardaslightmovementbehindme；onlookingaroundIfoundIwasbeingfollowedbyatallfigurerobedinalong，loosewhitegown，whichcamedowntothefloor。Thefigureseemedtobethatofaman——Iwouldsay，aboutsevenfeettall——whofollowedmeupthesecondflightandalongthehallway，enteringmyroom。Aftercominginthedoorhemadeacircleoftheroomandseemedtobelookingforsomething，andwhenheapproachedthedoortomakehisexithestoppedstill，andwithagestureofhishandremarked，`Ihavetakenallyouhave。’Onthefollowingmorning，about9：30o’clock，Ireceivedatelegramfrommywifeannouncingthedeathofouronlybaby。”

Signed“F。”

Awell-knowncitizenofChattanooga，Tenn。，relatesandvouchesforthetruthofthefollowingoccurrence：

“Severalyearsago，whenaboy，Ihadaschoolmateandfriend，WillieT。，betweenwhomandmyselftheresprungupamutualfeelingofhighregard。Wewerechumsinthesensethatwewerealmostconstantlytogether，bothatschoolandathome，andamongthepartnershipsweformedwasoneofhavingamateurshadowgraphandpanoramicshowsinthebasementofWillie’shome。Thismuchtoshowthementalandsocialrelationshipthatexistedbetweenus。Sometimeduringthisassociation(Icannotrecalltheexactnightnow)Ihadastrangedream，inwhichmychumappearedtomewithout-stretchedhand，askingmetoshake，saying，`Ishallnotseeyouanymore。’Withthat，thedreamlapsedandwasover。Ithoughtnothingoftheoccurrence，andhadalmostforgottenit，whenoneday，aboutaweeklater，duringwhichtimeIhadnothadaglimpseofmychum，whilehewasouthuntingwithanotherfriend，W。McC。，infollowinghimoverarailfence，thelatter’sgunwasaccidentallydischargedinWillie’sfaceand16

neck，resultingininstantdeath。WiththisshockingnewsthememoryofthedreamIhadhadcamebacktomevividlyandpuzzledmeverygreatly，andindeedhaspuzzledmetothisday。”Signed“G。”

Therecipientsoftheabovedreamsarelivingto-dayandtheirnamesandaddressmaybeobtained，noneofthemarecredulousfanaticsorpredisposedtoabeliefinpsychicorspiritphenomena。

Theabovedreams，excepttwo，cannotbeexplainedbytelepathy，becausethementalpicturecastonthedreammindhadnotineitherinstancetakenplaceinwakinglife。Thiswouldaccountforthedreamperceptionof“D。”whichdidnot，inallprobability，takeplaceuntilafterthemurderhadbeencommitted。

Thevisionof“F“mightbedisposedofinthesameway。

Inthisinstance“F“sawthewhite-robedspecteropenthedoor，walkaroundtheroomandfinally，takinghispositionasiftodepart，say：“Ihavetakenallyouhave。”Nodoubtthisvisiontookplaceattheexactmomentofthechild’sdeath。

Therearethousandsofsimilarexperiencesoccurringdailyinthelivesofhonest，healthyandsanehumanbeings，thatrivalthepsychicmanifestationsofIndianYogismorHebrewrecords。

Stillmengoondoubtingthistrueandlovingsubjectiveintelligencethatisconstantlywooingforentranceintothesoulandisevervigilantinwarningthemateriallifeofapproachingevils。TheyprefertheWitchofEndor，andtheBlackMagiciansofancientEgypttothehigher，orChristself，thathasbeenseenandheardbythesagesandsaintsofallages，assumingappropriatesymbols，asinthecaseofthevisionof“F。”wheretheangelofdeathwasassumed。

ToPaulitappearedasagreatpersonaltruthwhomhewasrelentlesslypersecuting。Tomanyawaywardsonordaughterofthepresenttime，itappearsasadeadrelativeorfriend，inordertoapproachthematerialmindandmakeitswarningmoreeffective。

TothosewhowereinterestedintheteachingsofChrist，butwhoafterhisdeathwereinclinedtodoubthim，thishigherselfmaterializedintheformoftheGreatMasterinordertoimpressontheirmaterialmindsthespiritualimportofhisteachings。So，tothisday，whendoubtandtemptationmarthemoral17

instinct，God，throughthespiritualself，asJobsays，approachesmanwhileindeepsleepuponthebedtoimpresshisinstructionsthathemaychangemanfromhispurpose。

Thespiritualworldalwaysfixesitsorbituponastraightline，whilethematerialworldisfonderofcurves。Wefindmanstrugglingthroughdreadfulmarshesanddesertsofcharlatanisminordertogetaglimpseintohisfuture，insteadofsolicitouslyfollowingthestraightlineofinnerconsciousnessthatconnectswiththeinfinitemind，fromwhich，aidedbyhisChurchandthehealthyactionofhisownjudgment，hemayreceivethosehelpfulspiritualimpressionsandmessagesnecessarytosolacethelongingsofthesearchingsoul。

ThephilosophyoftheTrueMasteristhestraightline。

Pythagoras，PlatoandChristcreatedanglesbyrunningverticallinesthroughtheecclesiasticalandhypocriticalconventionalitiesoftheirday。ThenewanglesandcurvesthusproducedbytheboldphilosophyofthehumbleNazarenehaveconfrontedwithimpregnablefirmnessduringtheinterveningagesthesophistryofthePharisees。

“Inadream，inavisionofthenight，whendeepsleepfallethuponmen，inslumberingsuponthebed；thenheopeneththeearsofmenandsealeththeirinstruction。Thathemaywithdrawmanfromhispurposeandhidepridefromman。”——JOB33：15。

“MancannotcontradictthelawsofNature。But，areallthelawsofNatureyetunderstood？”

“Realphilosophyseeksrathertosolvethantodeny。”——

LYTTON。

Thosewholiveactivelivesexcludespiritualthoughtandfilltheirmindswiththefascinationsofworldlyaffairs，pleasureandbusiness，dreamwithlessfrequencythanthosewhoregardobjectivematterswithlighterconcern。Theformerdependaloneuponthevoluptuouswarmthoftheworldforcontentment；theylooktomoney，thepresenceofsomeone，ortootherexternalsourcesforhappiness，andareoftendisappointed；

whilethelatter，withajustappreciationoftemporalwants，dependaloneupontheinnerconsciousnessforthatpeacewhichpassethallcarnalunderstanding。

Theyarestrengthened，aswereBuddhaandChrist，bysuppressingthesensualfiresforfortydaysandnightsinthewilderness18

oftrialandtemptation。Theynumberafew，andareneverdisappointed，whiletheformernumbermillions。

Natureisthree-fold，soisman；maleandfemale，sonorsoul。Theunionofoneandtwoproducethetriadorthetrinitywhichunderliesthephilosophyoftheancients。

Manhasaphysicalorvisiblebody，anatomofthephysicalorvisibleearth。Hehasasoultheexactcounterpartofhisbody，butinvisibleandsubjective；incompleteandimperfectastheexternalman，orviceversa。

Thesoulisnotonlythesonorcreationofman，butitistherealman。Itistheinnerimperishabledoubleorimprintofwhathasoutwardlyandinwardlytranspired。Allthoughts，desiresandactionsenterthesoulthroughtheobjectivemind。

Theautomatonofthebodyrespondsasquicklytothebatoftheeyeasitdoestothemovementofthewholebody。Byitthefoot-stepsofmanandtheveryhairsofhisheadarenumbered。Thusitbecomeshisinvisiblecounterpart。Itisthereforethebookoflifeordeath，andbyithejudgeshimselforisalreadyjudged。Whenitiscompletenothingcanbeaddedortakenfromitspersonnel。Itissometimespartlyopenedtohiminhisdreams，butindeathisclearlyrevealed。

Manhasalsoaspiritualbody，subjectiveto，andmoreetherealthanthesoul。Itisaninfinitesimalatom，andisrelatedinsubstancetothespiritualorinfinitemindoftheuniverse。Justasthegreatphysicalsun，thecenterofvisiblelight，lifeandheat，isstrivingtopurifythefoulmiasmaofthemarshandsenditsluminousmessagesofloveintothedarkcrevicesoftheearth，sotheGreatSpiritualSun，ofwhichtheformerisavisibleprototypeorreflection，isstrivingtoilluminatewithDivineWisdomthepersonalsoulandmindofman，thusenablinghimtobecomecognizantofthespiritualorChristpresencewithin。

TheheresyandHerodofwantonflesh，degeneratevictimofthesensuousfilthandfermentationofself-indulgence，iseverstrivingtoexileandsuppress，fromthewildernessofsin，thewarningcryoftheNazaritevoicebyintriguingwiththecunning，incestuousdaughtersofunholythoughtsanddesires。

Theobjectivemindismostactivewhenthebodyisawake。

Thesubjectiveinfluencesaremostactive，andoftenfillthemindwithimpressions，whilethephysicalbodyisasleep。Thespiritualintelligencecanonlyintrudeitselfwhenthehuman19