525. Do spirits exercise an influence over the events of our lives?

"Assuredly they do; since they give you advice."

 

– Do they exercise this influence in any other way than by means of the thoughts they suggest to us; that is to say, have they any direct action on the course of earthly events?

"Yes; but their action never oversteps the laws of nature."

 

We erroneously imagine that the action of spirits can only be manifested by extraordinary phenomena; we would have spirits come to our aid by means of miracles, and we imagine them to be always armed with a sort of magic wand. Such is not the case; all that is done through their help being accomplished by natural means, their intervention usually takes place without our being aware of it. Thus, for instance, they bring about the meeting of two persons who seem to have been brought together by chance; they suggest to the mind of some one the idea of going in a particular direction. They call your attention to some special point, if the action on your part thus led up to by their suggestion, unperceived by you, will bring about the result they seek to obtain. In this way, each man supposes himself to be obeying only his own impulse, and thus always preserves the freedom of his will.

 

526. As spirits possess the power of acting upon matter, can they bring about the incidents that will ensure the accomplishment of a given event? For example, a man is destined to perish in a certain way, at a certain time. He mounts a ladder; the ladder breaks, and he is killed. Have spirits caused the ladder to break, in order to accomplish the destiny previously accepted by or imposed upon this man?

"It is very certain that spirits have the power of acting upon matter, but for the carrying out of the laws of nature, and not for derogating from them by causing the production at a given moment of some unforeseen event, in opposition to those laws. In such a case as the one you have just supposed, the ladder breaks because it is rotten, or is not strong enough to bear the man's weight. But, as it was the destiny of this man to be killed in this way, the spirits about him will have put into his mind the idea of getting upon a ladder that will break down under his weight, and his death will thus have taken place naturally, and without any miracle having been required, to bring it about."

 

527. Let us take another example; one in which the ordinary conditions of matter would seem to be insufficient to account for the occurrence of a given event. A man is destined to be killed by lightning. He is overtaken by a storm, and seeks refuge under a tree; the lightning strikes the tree, and he is killed. Is it by spirits that the thunderbolt has been made to fall, and to fall upon this particular man?

"The explanation of this case is the same as that of the former one. The lightning has fallen on the tree at this particular moment, because it was in accordance with the laws of nature that it should do so. The lightning was not made to fall upon the tree because the man was under it, but the man was inspired with the idea of taking refuge under a tree upon which the lightning was about to fall; for the tree would have been struck all the same, whether the man had been under it or not."

 

528. An ill-intentioned person hurls against some one a projectile which passes close by him, but does not touch him. Has the missile, in such a case, been turned aside by some friendly spirit?

"If the individual aimed at were not destined to be struck, a friendly spirit would have suggested to him the thought of turning aside from the path of the missile, or would have acted on his enemy's sight in such a way as to make him take a bad aim; for a projectile, when once impelled on its way, necessarily follows the line of its projection."

 

529. What is to be thought of the magic bullets which figure in certain legends, and which, by a mysterious fatality, infallibly reach their mark?

"They are purely imaginary. Man delights in the marvellous, and is not contented with the marvels of nature."

 

– May the spirits who direct the events of our lives be thwarted by other spirits who desire to give to our lives a different direction?

"What God has willed must needs take place. If delay or hindrance occur, it can only be by His appointment."

 

530. Cannot frivolous and mocking spirits give rise to the various little difficulties that defeat our projects and upset our calculations? In a word, are they not the authors of what may be termed the petty troubles of human life?

"Such spirits take pleasure in causing vexations which serve as trials for the exercise of your patience; but they tire of this game when they see that they do not succeed in ruffling you. But it would neither be just nor correct to charge them with all your disappointments, the greater number of which are caused by your own heedlessness. When your crockery is broken, the breakage is much more likely to have been caused by your own awkwardness than by spirit-action."

 

– Do the spirits who bring about petty vexations act from personal animosity, or do they direct their attacks against the first person who comes handy, without any fixed aim, and simply to gratify their malice?

"They act from both these motives. In some cases, they are enemies whom you have made during your present life, or in some former one, and who pursue you accordingly; in others, they act without any fixed motive."

 

531. In the case of those who have done us harm in the earthly life, is their malevolence extinguished when they return to the spirit-world?

"In many cases, they perceive the injustice of their action, and regret the wrong they have done you; but, in other cases, they continue to pursue you with their animosity, if God permits them to do so, as a continuation of your trial."

 

– Can we put an end to this sort of persecution, and by what means?

"You can do so, in many cases, by praying for them, because, by thus rendering them good for evil, you gradually bring them to see that they are in the wrong. And, in all cases, if you can show them, by your patience, that you are able to rise superior to their machinations, they will cease to attack you, seeing that they gain nothing by so doing."

 

Experience proves that imperfect spirits follow up their vengeance from one existence to another, and that we are thus made to expiate, sooner or later, the wrongs we may have done to others.

 

532. Are spirits able to avert misfortunes from some persons, and to bring them upon others?

"Only to a certain extent; for there are misfortunes that come upon you by the decrees of Providence. But spirits can lessen your sufferings by helping you to bear them with patience and resignation.

 

"Know, also, that it often depends on yourselves to avert misfortunes, or, at least, to attenuate them. God has given you intelligence in order that you may make use of it, and it is especially by so doing that you enable friendly spirits to aid you most effectually – viz., by suggesting useful ideas; for they only help those who help themselves: a truth implied in the words, 'Seek, and yet shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.'

"Besides, you must remember that what appears to you to be a misfortune is not always such; for the good which it is destined to work out is often greater than the seeming evil. This fact is not always recognised by you, because you are too apt to think only of the present moment, and of your own immediate satisfaction."

 

533. Can spirits obtain for us the gifts of fortune, if we entreat them to do so?

"They may sometimes accede to such a request as a trial for you; but they often refuse such demands, as you refuse the inconsiderate demands of a child."

 

– When such favours are granted, is it by good spirits or by bad ones?

"By both; for the quality both of the request and of the grant depends on the intention by which they are prompted. But such acquiescence is more frequent on the part of spirits who desire to lead you astray, and who find an easy means of doing this through the material pleasures procured by wealth."

 

534. When obstacles seem to be placed, by a sort of fatality, in the way of our projects, is it always through the influence of spirits?

"Such obstacles are sometimes thrown in your way by spirits, but they are more often

attributable to your own bad management. Position and character have much to do with your successes or failures. If you persist in following a path which is not your right one, you become your own evil genius, and have no need to attribute to spirit-action the disappointments that result from your own obstinacy or mistake."

 

535. When anything fortunate happens to us, ought we to thank our spirit-guardian for it?

"Let your thanks be first for God, without whose permission nothing takes place; and, next, for the good spirits who have been His agents."

 

– What would happen if we neglected to tank them?

"That which happens to the ungrateful."

 

– Yet there are persons who neither pray nor give thanks, and who nevertheless succeed in everything they do?

"Yes; but wait to see the end of their lives. They will pay dearly for this passing prosperity, which they have not deserved; for, the more they have received, the more they will have to answer for."