Unprogressed Spirits

When my brother sins against me, how often should I forgive him? Seven times?
Peter the Apostle

After some months the Inner Circle began to spread its wings. Another weekly meeting was arranged, this time on Thursdays, at the Thornbury home of Mrs Martin’s married brother, Viv Matherson. Later, at the continual requests from friends, Sunday afternoon meetings were started. Sunday night meetings were kept for interested outsiders, at Mrs Martin’s home; admission was by invitation only.

A year or so later Walsh and Jones were invited to other homes, usually on Saturday night. The weekly Tuesday meeting of the Inner Circle, however, remained closed to new members for many years. Finally one more member was admitted in 1927—myself. It was at these little gatherings that all new gifts were developed.

Shortly after the Thursday meetings started, Viv Matherson expressed his fear of ‘evil spirits’. The next Thursday Angus Du Font came and lectured to them on this subject. Miss Grenville took some notes and handed them to me later.

The gist of his remarks was this: You must not call them ‘evil spirits’. No spirit in the sight of God is altogether ‘evil’. They are ‘unprogressed spirits’. Many of these are drawn towards séances. They are lonely, in darkness, often resentful; usually they long for the company of human beings, and need help. We shall be bringing many of them to all your meetings from time to time in an endeavour to bring happiness into their lives.

Be sure, therefore, not to drive them away when we allow them to speak through the instrument, try and make friends with them. Speak to them kindly and send your loving thoughts towards them. All spirits, no matter how low they may have fallen, are the children of God. One day they must all eventually rise again and go back to the great heart of God from whence they originally came.

The lower planes of darkness are full of potential prodigal sons and daughters. Each one will, some day, ‘come to himself or herself, and want to go back home—when that time comes, spiritual helpers, in the name of God, will ‘run to meet them’. You should do likewise. If they sincerely want to better themselves, they need human encouragement—and YOU can give it.

Faithful and dedicated people of every religion, concentrate on saving souls on earth, but it is just as important that every lost or wayward man or woman who passes out of the physical body and goes to the darkened or lower planes of the spirit world should also be saved. The orthodox opinion prevalent in many religions is that once a person has sinned greatly and dies unrepentant, his chance of salvation has gone. That is not true. No one is ever lost forever. The lowest of the low will eventually be saved by God.

There are no hell fires! Everyone who commits evil on earth makes his own hell or purgatory. When these souls pass out of the physical body they dwell in a darkness created by themselves, a darkness brought about by sinful acts and thoughts. Not only do they make their own ‘hell’, but the ‘Wrath of God’ which earlier generations heard so much about is, in fact, the wrath of their own soul.

The soul within us all, is a spark of God—or whatever we may prefer to call the deific universal force that pervades all. It is absolutely indestructible. It is the immortal spark deep down within, which rebukes a sinner who has passed into the world of spirit.

When those who are lost first try to find their way home again, no angel in heaven is too high to come down and help that repenting soul, whether they are still on the earth plane or over here in spirit, they are never ‘lost’.

Jesus, Himself, continually comes down to the darkened planes to help those who are temporarily lost, or who are in utter despair. He speaks to these self imprisoned souls many times. Actually these remarks of Du Font’s are verified in the New Testament in 1st Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 19.

Their prison is of their own making and they remain there until they, themselves, turn towards God. One day they will do so. They may roam close to the earth for years, earthbound and in darkness, but eventually someone’s prayers or loving thoughts, which are the same thing, coming up from the earth plane, or down from the spiritual planes of light, will bring comfort and understanding into their unhappy souls. The realisation that God loves them, and will continue to do so for all eternity gradually brings the desire to better themselves. Once they allow themselves to be touched by the saving grace of God’s love, these lost souls gradually find their way back to their Inheritance.

You can understand, therefore, why your sincere love, friendship and prayers can do much in that direction. Many of these ‘unprogressed’ or ‘weak spirits’ have died in the slums, or in prison, or through violence, murder, execution, or self abuse. In many cases it seemed that every man’s hand had been against them. Many have lost all hope. They are crushed by sin and are in utter despair. It is wrong, therefore, to drive them away when they sorely need your help.

You may ask: Why is it so important that we in the flesh should help these unhappy ones? The answer is: When on the earth plane they are often condemned by human beings. But if they wander into your homes and find that there are some human beings who do not condemn them, but, instead, love them, that is, want to help them, that makes all the difference.

You might also think: If the angels in heaven are eager to help them, why can’t they prevail in such cases? The explanation is: Thoughts of love and kindness coming towards these less progressed spirits from frail human minds can do more for them than all the angels’ prayers, because they don’t understand angels yet. Understanding of higher spiritual beings will come later. They only understand human beings in the flesh. Encouraged by human beings, these souls can then be helped by high spiritual guides, or angels if you like. When you ask God to take spiritual strength from your soul, in love, to help these poor souls you give your guides an opportunity to say to them: ‘If ordinary human beings like this love you and pray for you—how much more must God love you? How much more must Jesus love you?’ These are logical questions that these lost children of God cannot gainsay.

The first thing these weak spirits are taught is that they will begin to find peace within themselves as soon as they realise that they must wipe out the evil, or undo the harm, that they committed on earth. They begin to understand that they cannot find true happiness until they make total reparation. For instance: if a person has been responsible, while on earth, for leading many astray, or bringing hardship or suffering into the lives of others, he must try in the spirit world to undo the wrong he has created. Sins of commission or omission can only be wiped out by atonement— that is, by bringing those whom they have wronged back to the path of happiness. This they can do by trying to influence for good the minds they have injured; or by fighting hard to guide these minds towards happiness or success.

On earth, a man may have destroyed many by his greed or rapacity, or by evilly influencing the lives of others; he was, in short, a ‘destroying anger. But, now in spirit, after arduous progression, this same repentant spirit could come again into the lives of those he had harmed on earth as a Guardian Angel! Only in this way do the converted persons in spirit wipe out their sins, and commence their journey back to God in peace.

These remarks by Angus Du Font on expiation in the spirit world, can be understood if we relate them to what is being attempted on the earth plane. Suggestions have been made in the papers from time to time that all reckless motorists who kill or maim people on the roads should be made to work in hospitals if possible as wardsmen where their maimed victims lie so that they may help to restore these to health. If their victims are killed, they should be made to offer some monetary or other recompense to the next of kin, and so wipe out the debt. Again: it has been suggested in various papers that vandals who destroy or deface public utilities be made to repair or clean these damaged or mutilated places themselves.

When I attended the meetings I learnt of many instances where this form of expiation, explained so clearly by Du Font, was practised in the spirit world. Here is one example, one of many: During the late twenties and early thirties a notorious Melbourne criminal, Squizzy Taylor, who had often made newspaper headlines, was shot dead in a gunfight. He came back in spirit some time later, in great distress, asking us to help him. We did so, and encouraged him as much as we could. As time went on he returned, a very happy spirit. He said that he had risen to a higher plane. He had achieved this by helping others, and that, he said, was his work now.

We asked him the nature of that work. He said: ‘I come down and mingle with the people I know on earth. I find them in criminal quarters, in gaols and all sorts of strange places. I try to influence their minds and prevent them from committing crimes they are planning. Often I am successful, although not always, of course. But if I am, I find that, knowing how they think, I can get into their minds and bring the understanding to them that they lack. Through progression and constant study over here I have acquired a “new language”, and if I were to try and impress their minds as I think and understand now, they would ignore my thoughts. I must think in their language, not the language I have since learnt.

To explain a little more, if I were to try and impress their minds according to my present way of thinking, by saying: “What you contemplate doing is evil in the sight of God” it would not register with them other than as a silly thought. But if I forcibly place a thought in their mind, such as: “Listen, mate. If you break into that joint, you’ll cop the lot. Dice it. It’s a mug’s game. THAT thought registers. It might make him hesitate, through fear, or it might be taken as a premonition, and he gives up the idea. From then onward I keep working on his mind until I can induce him to turn to an honest living. It’s hard work and I don’t always succeed. But even though success is rare I find, when it does come, it gives me a wonderful feeling of exhilaration—I know that I am progressing spiritually as I help others to progress. That’s why I need YOUR constant prayers as they give ME greater strength to succeed.’

Many other well known criminals and evil doers who have passed on, came through the trance mediumship of Walsh. Help was readily given to them all by the members of these circles, and the same thing happened to all these lost souls. They were encouraged by the love and friendship of Walsh and his followers to make atonement by saving others, and so earn forgiveness. I have heard and spoken to many of these unhappy ones— eventually, all, through the help of members of these meetings and of the guides, were sent on along the road of progression and happiness.

One night, after the guides had been explaining how the very lowest must one day return to God as angels, Mrs Martin, who was a very thorough, down-to-earth person, said, at supper time: ‘You know, I can’t help thinking. If any person, no matter how low they fall, or what evil they commit on earth, must eventually become an angel of God, what sense is there in trying to be good? Why not eat, drink and be merry all your life. You’ll still finish up in heaven!’ A heated discussion took place, then, suddenly, Professor Jenkinson took control of Stan and said: ‘My friends. Do not forget that a person who leads an evil life, suffers in proportion to the sins he or she has committed—often in darkness and despair and anguish for many years. If you sin you must pay the price. If a person on earth deliberately leads a selfish and evil life they do not realise what terrible punishment, as I have just mentioned, awaits them even if it is a punishment self inflicted. Also, do not forget that one aspect of God is justice. We are ‘judged’ not only by the life we live, but this judgment also takes into consideration the particular environment in which we have lived, and not how it affected our every-day behaviour.

Children of criminal, vicious or bad living parents are set a bad example by these elders and grow up not knowing any better. There are all sorts of unhappy and evil conditions that affect an immature mind brought up in bad homes. These are not known to man, but seen and understood by God. Is it possible that God, who is LOVE, could condemn a soul to everlasting damnation?