Something of a humorist, Loliad will be the first to insist on the correct pronunciation of his name: Lee-lee-ad. Seven thousand years of heavenly influence has in no way blunted his ready wit, and has served to lubricate the wheels of painstaking progress. To reduce his mentality from a hundred percent to four and one-half percent in an effort to educate this animal has required unlimited patience; any superlative introduction I could make would be totally inadequate, yet in comparison to the Master, Loliad is but a wisp of shadow.

For the record, might I add that an Archangel differs from an Angel in that he is performing a specific mission among earthbound spirits rather than serving Omniscient Will in the universe.

The Aura is the name given to the inner ray emanating from within each human being, flowing and ebbing according to the individual mood, and its degree of brightness varying, dependent on its freedom from smirch and its strength.

(Diagram Illustrating the different Sections of the Head)

It could be likened to the Aurora Borealis, or a rainbow, shimmering with light or clouded by the degree of its burden of animal error, and the temperament of the animal at that particular time.

The foregoing illustrations are to give some idea of the aura's appearance in three different cases might be. First one colour predominates and then another, or a mixture of two or more, but always the one best reflecting preconscious thought showing strongest. The centre picture shows the ideal state of being and the degrees by which this is attained. The right side illustrates the average mixed colours of the mediocre type, an aurotic battle-field with no particular predominance of either spirit or flesh. These illustrations are all theoretical.

Thus shines the spirit, which takes unto itself the "sins of the flesh". This is the eternal portion of humanity which returns to The Master when the flesh is discarded.

It will be of no avail to run to a mirror and start squinting through half closed eyes; your "Halo" won't be showing. Many will turn away, disappointed, and say, "I can't see it, so it can't be there." To these I suggest putting a finger in the light bulb socket to check on electricity, the current will let you know it's there quite well, even as the aura surrounds mankind with power, yet to most human eyes is invisible.

If auras were visible to earthlings in general, how careful people would be, striving to keep them immaculate; not, however, for the benefit of God, but rather for added status in the eyes of fellow men. How generous is Our Father to protect mankind from making this mistake. How gently He directs our footsteps.

Yet from the heavenly viewpoint, this is how humans appear to Spirit. What a collection of "whited sepulchres" He must behold!

Being of Truth, the aura cannot lie or try to "cover up" the animal errors. They are there, so to speak, in startling hues. Before entering His house the Aura must again be spotless; without blemish, yet of deeper, stronger colour than when it first arrived on Earth. This is the problem we have actually been trying to cope with in the preceding chapters.

"You can't take it with you" is a popular phrase. But in fact, you do take with you your spiritual wealth or impoverishment. There is no other alternative.

The more technical spiritual matters are extremely difficult to explain in human language. Try, if you can, to imagine that the taint on the Aura has some weight, and can be weighed in the balance to ascertain the exact degree of its smirch. This weight can be brought about by a series of small, petty errors or fewer major errors, each adding to the weight of the whole.

Translate this into a term like "the weight of conscience" and the idea becomes clearer.

A person whose conscience (spirit) is active on this earth has less remorse to feel than one who, to all intents and purposes, is so self-satisfied with the animal that he can be considered spiritually dead. The spirit is also judged by the degree of effort it has put forth to prick the animal mind into a state of spiritual awareness, resulting in the spiritual void of the "lukewarm" who choose mediocrity, and so shall be rewarded.

Science verses superstition is an excellent concept: science will eventually prove that there is no such thing as evil or evil spirits; that evil is an invention of the animal mind to explain that which it cannot understand and to excuse its fleshly instincts. To gloss over the fact that Homo sapiens, the animal, is the most vicious, vindictive, vile specimen that evolution has produced on Earth.

Science will fight ignorance, and nothing can be more highly commendable. Science will unravel the mysteries of matter -- most useful!

Science will never -- nor can it ever -- hope to explain Spirit. The two are separate, and though they can be harnessed in harmony, the twain can never blend.

Extrasensory perception is as ancient as Adam, available to all to some degree. Why shouldn't the "quick" and the "dead" communicate? To the spiritually minded man the dividing line is barely perceptible. To the sensation seeker, morbid curiosity will only lead him further astray. The carnal-analytical mind, trying to explain spirit in terms of the material, will be left up the proverbial "Gum Tree."

For "spiritualists" to hold the view that their sect is favoured with greater knowledge than another is to insinuate that God plays favourites, which is not so. Spiritualism teaches that the golden rule supersedes the iron rule and the silver rule of conduct, which is true of all religious teachings, but no spirit communicates without the Master's permission, or the order of His Council.

Years ago, when comfort for the oppressed was sorely needed, visitations from the other side were common and not considered unusual. This was the Council's way of keeping people informed of eternity, and aware of the World of Spirit, to help them up the ladder of light.

In North America, particularly, mysticism is generally regarded as absurd. The more primitive races, however, receive daily proofs of future existence. It's the same old story; in trying to force our preconceived beliefs on men of other cultures we totally ignore any contributions they may have to add to our own store of knowledge. It is much easier to say "These people are primitive; ignorant; superstitious -- we are smart; educated." Ego is at it again!!!

The facets of Omniscient Mind are innumerable. Many have small glimpses of infinity as reflected in one facet or another, but no human mentality is sufficiently broad to withstand the whole power of Truth. Rather than belittle the knowledge of others, it would be better to pool the mutual resources.

It is written, "Whenever two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I also." Any two people who open-mindedly discuss their beliefs are adding to their combined total spiritual strength, leaving each other with a little more breadth of vision and better preparedness to accept further portions of insight from a third person.

Faith can be taught; the preconscious, when shown a wisdom greater than its own, is willing to subdue itself, and in so doing, release the inner power that love and humility may flow freely through the carnal mind. The power of love is within each human being, waiting to find release in conscious thought, to be reflected in the actions and outlook of that person.

Jesus Christ lived, "died," and reappeared in the realm of the living. Deny spiritual life and you deny Christianity, deny Deity. None can attempt to separate God, Christ, and Spirit, and say they believe in the existence of one without the other. Resurrection is for all.

Not to believe is to be carnal-minded, to pass through earthly existence living like an animal, to die like an animal, with spiritual strength so starved and dwarfed that the task of clarifying the Aura will be painfully long and tedious.

By keeping the Aura clean on Earth, living a happy, peaceful, useful life, each generation becomes an improvement over the former until the ideal state of being is enjoyed by all. When this is accomplished Jesus Christ will return to claim His earthly kingdom.

Returning to the demonstration baby: while its spirit is invisible to most human vision, it actually emanates from the child in the form of a "halo" or Aura. The carnal frailties which causes this Aura to cloud over have become pretty well established by the time adulthood is reached, for the habits formed while young are almost impossible to alter.

On release from the flesh, this same Aura, or spirit, ascends with the animal "sins" absorbed unto itself, printed all over it. With no place to hide, all this error is plainly visible to the heavenly host in the bright light of Truth.

How did Robbie Burns express it? "Oh would the gift the Giftie gie us, to see ourselves as others see us." This gift can be yours, on earth, if you have courage enough to take a look.

Normally, though, it is after "passing over" that the work of purification begins. Each smear, each discoloration, must be cleansed before the risen spirit can enter His house. This is the work the Master is now going to help us begin on earth in order to speed our heavenward progress.

To cover shame, a "cloak" is given to each spirit entering the school, or purification process. Thus we find our Seven Levels, or grades in terms of human understanding.

We call the first level the "Brown" and all spirits on this level are veiled in brown until they graduate to the next level.

Up and up, clearer and brighter they becomes until the process of eradicating the errors is complete -- exactly as we can now do, here on earth, as citizens of God's earthly kingdom.

It is normally those of the first few levels who return to communicate with earthlings, usually via a medium (one with sufficient magnetic attraction) in an effort to prevent those that follow from making the same mistakes as they themselves made while on earth. Their knowledge is very limited in scope, however, their purification being incomplete, and curious people distract them with question of individual interest.

In mediumship, the preconscious mind goes to sleep, and the spiritual mind speaks directly through the conscious brain of the medium, these thoughts being placed in the spiritual mind by a more powerful, knowledgable spirit from "beyond". The magnetic attraction of the medium acts rather like a receiver and speaker on a radio set, with the thought-wave impulse being picked up from the universal network. On awakening, the medium has no knowledge of what has transpired. Sensation-seeking is ruinous to spiritualism, and the way this is catered to in plays and novels is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

Having passed on, dearly-beloved relatives and friends soon realize that, spiritually speaking, all are brothers and sisters and narrow concepts of animal relationship are wiped out. If this fact were kept uppermost in the carnal mind, and were "spiritualists" primarily interested in seeking Truth without being so demanding of proof and identification, they would find communication and healing much more rewarding and develop greater peace of mind.

Spiritual Life hereafter is not eternal retirement, but eternal progress -- infinite joy in service. All have various jobs to do in accordance with their abilities. Very few of these jobs entail any form of earthly contact; it is not a part of the average spirit's duties to endeavour to conduct the affairs of the animal world. It is part of the spirit world's duties to keep knowledge of the Master before mankind, that man be better informed of his inner self, more conscious of Aura discoloration, for each is soon to join the Heavenly Host.

There is no sense of time in the spirit world. "A thousand Ages in His sight is like an evening gone." "Threescore years and ten is but a moment.

Having ascended, spirit is made aware of the carnal self's own shortcomings, but not those of any other spirit in its class; thus the Brown veil. This spirit is therefore hardly in a position to analyze the sins of others or offer any degree of genuine assistance. The mysteries of the Master's purpose are known to none until complete purification is accomplished.

However, there is one commandment more commonly observed by those who commune with ascended spirits; a lesson mankind in general would do well to learn. As we have said, words are words. A little child hearing from its parents God's name taken in vain, could hardly be blamed for associating this lack of respect with a form of manliness (bravado). This particular aspect of boosting the ego by publicly daring to insult the Master, or His Son, or the Blessed Virgin, (who, incidentally, is a personal friend and very dear to the author) or any of the noble earthlings we call saints, by saying in so many words, "See how brave I am; nothing scares me I even dare ridicule God -- pretty smart, eh?" is a form of animal stupidity so asinine as to be barely worth mentioning. Immature bravado is pardoned as being too infantile to warrant punishment; pray now that He will pardon, for it is written, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain." We do not speak slightingly of those we love.

To those possessed of the inner power, the dividing line between heaven and earth is barely perceptible. The transition is an event to be viewed with awe and anticipation when one has nothing to be ashamed of.

On earth, we have no instrument capable of measuring the comparative second of animal life with Eternal Being. Yet there are still some blind enough to magnify the carnal beyond all proportion.

Accept truth and there is no need to desire to probe too deeply into the world of Spirit; each has all eternity to unfold its delights. Rather, bearing infinity in mind, conduct the animal life joyously, fearlessly, energetically, with the two minds in harmony. Knowing the difference between right and wrong, play the game straight.

The intellectual advancements mankind can make for the benefit of all humanity are limitless. Glass, for instance, more in-destructible than any known material that we have today, can be made of the cheapest materials. Atomic power can be used for peace, for plenty. Probe nature by all means. Live with a capital L -- Live, Love, Laugh and be happy!

The Godlike do not wear a gloomy face. Love is joy; truth is freedom. Destruction, misery, fear, suspicion, and hate are the products of error and materialism. This is the choice before each of you.

This planet is too small for divided opinions, divided loyalties, unequal distribution, and self-seeking.

Call yourselves whatever you like -- Jew, Gentile, Buddhist, or Muslim -- words are animal methods of communication. The thought is what matters; Love God, and thy spiritual-carnal brethren. All will return to One Creator, all will be one in thought with Wisdom on entering His house.

There is but One Sovereign of the universe. One Supreme Being.