182. Everyone who, either in the normal state or in trance, receives an influx of thoughts that are foreign to the action of his own mind, may be included in the category of inspirational mediums. They are, in fact, a variety of the intuitive medium, with this difference, that the intervention of an occult power is much less evident in their case; so that, with inspirational mediums, it is even more difficult to distinguish their own thought from that which is suggested, than in the case of the intuitive medium.

The peculiar characteristic of the inspirational medium is spontaneousness. And here let us remark that inspiration comes to us all, from spirits who influence us, for good or for evil, in every circumstance of our lives, and in every resolution we make, and it may therefore be truly said that, in this respect, everyone is a medium, for there is no one who has not about him his familiar spirits, who do their utmost to suggest salutary or pernicious counsels to those with whom they are connected; a truth which, were we duly penetrated with its reality and importance, would frequently lead us to oppose a more effectual resistance to the suggestions of evil, by seeking the inspiration of our guardian-angel in our moments of uncertainty as to what we should say or do. At such times, we should invoke that watchful guardian with fervour and confidence, as a Providentially-appointed friend; and, if we did so, we should often be astonished at the new ideas which would arise in our minds, as though by enchantment, whether for the taking of an important decision, or for the accomplishing of our special work. If, after such an appeal for guidance, no distinct idea occurred to us, it would show that we must wait a little longer before taking a decision. It is evident that an idea which arises spontaneously in our minds is really foreign to ourselves, because, if it had been always in our mind, we should always have been in possession of it, and there would have been no reason why it should not have been called up by a conscious act of our own will. He who is not blind has only to open his eyes, when he will, in order to see; in the same way, he who has ideas of his own has them always at his disposal; if they do not come at his will, it is because he has to get them elsewhere than from his own stock.

From the foregoing considerations it is evident that we may include in this category the persons who, without being endowed with superior intelligence, and without any modification of their normal state, have flashes of intellectual lucidity which give them, for the moment, an unusual facility of conception and of expression, and sometimes a presentiment of future events. In what are rightly spoken of as "moments of inspiration," the flow of ideas is abundant and continuous, our thoughts succeeding one another in an orderly enchaining, through the action of an involuntary, spontaneous, and almost feverish impulsion; it appears to us, at such times, as though some superior intelligence had come to our aid, and our mind seems to have been suddenly relieved of a burden.

183. All those who are possessed of genius, artists, poets, scientific discoverers, great writers, &c, are doubtless spirits of superior advancement, able to comprehend and to conceive great ideas; and it is precisely because of this ability that the spirits who desire the accomplishment of some particular work select them as their instruments, suggesting to their minds the trains of thought required for their special ends, so that, in a majority of cases, "men of genius " are mediums without being aware of it. Many of them, however, have a vague intuition of this extraneous help, and everyone who seeks inspiration performs, unconsciously, an act of evocation, whenever he makes an appeal to his "good genius" to come to his aid; an appeal that is often made, but which would be simply absurd if he who makes it had not an intuitive hope of its being heard: and this assertion is confirmed by the replies made to the following questions, by the spirits whom we have interrogated in regard to this subject.

- What is the primal cause of inspiration?

"The communication of his thoughts by a spirit."

- Is inspiration confined to the revelation of great things?

"No; it often has reference to the most commonplace circumstances of your daily life. For instance, you may have thought of going somewhere, but a secret voice tells you not to go, because there is danger in the way; or it tells you to do something which you have not thought of doing: this is inspiration. There are very few persons who are not more or less 'inspired' in this way, at certain moments."

- May authors, painters, musicians, and so on, be considered, in their moments of inspiration, as mediums?

"Yes; for, in such times, their soul is freer, more disengaged from matter, and recovers a portion of its spiritual faculties; and it therefore receives, with greater facility, the communications of other spirits who inspire it with their own suggestions."