Family Conversations from Beyond the Grave Mrs. Bertrand (Haute Saône)
Deceased on February 7th, 1881 and evoked at the Society on the 15th of
the same month
Note: Mrs. Bertrand was a serious student of Spiritism, acknowledged
the doctrine and understood all its philosophical implications.
1. Evocation. – A. I am here.
2. Having learned to admire you from your correspondence and
knowing your sympathy towards the Society, we thought you
may not mind, if we evoked you at such an early date. – A. As
you see, I am here.
3. There is another personal reason that leads me to do so. I intend
to write to your daughter regarding the event that has just
hurt her and I am sure that she would feel very happy to know
about this conversation. – A. She certainly expects that since I
had promised her to communicate as soon as I was evoked.
4. Enlightened as you were about Spiritism and impregnated by the
principles of this Doctrine, your answers will have double the educational effect. To begin with, will you tell us if it took you
long to recognize yourself and if you have already recovered the
plenitude of your faculties? – A. The plenitude of my old faculties,
yes; the plenitude of my new ones, no.
5. It is usual to ask people how they are doing. However, we ask the
spirits if they are happy. We ask that question with a profound
feeling of sympathy. – A. Thank you my friends. I am not happy
yet in the spiritualist meaning of the word. However, I am happy
for the renovation of my spirit, overwhelmed by the ecstasy; by
the sight of things that are revealed to us, but that we still don’t
understand completely, however good medium or spiritist we may
be.
6. You had an idea about the spiritual world from the study of
the Doctrine. Could you tell us if you found things as you had
imagined them? – A. More or less, as when we see things in the
vagueness of twilight. However, how different they become when
revealed by the brightness of daylight!
7. Thus, the image that we are given about the spiritual life has no
exaggeration, no illusion! – A. It is diminished by your spirit that
you cannot understand divine things but only when tweaked and
veiled. We behave towards you as you do with children to whom
you only show part of what is available for them to learn.
8. Have you witnessed the time of death of your body? – A. Worn out
after a long suffering period my body did not have to go through
a difficult struggle. My soul detached from the body like the ripe
fruit that falls from the tree. The complete annihilation of my
being precluded me from feeling the last agony of the torment.
9. Could you describe your sensations at the first moments of your
wakening? – A. There is no wakening, or I should say, it seemed
like a continuation to me. Like when you get back home after a
short absence, it seemed as if it was just a few minutes after I left
it all behind. Wandering around my bed, I saw myself stretched
out lying there, transfigured, incapable of moving away, at least as it seemed to be and attached by the last link to that corporeal
wrapping that had made me suffer so much.
10. Were you immediately aware of other spirits around you? – A. They
soon came to welcome me. I then veered my thoughts off my earthly
self, and my transported spiritual self was overwhelmed by the exquisite
pleasure of new things and known things that I met again.
11. Were you around your family members during your funeral? – A.
I saw my body taken away but I left soon after. Spiritism dematerializes
in anticipation and makes the transition from the terrestrial
to the spiritual world subtler. I had not brought any useless
sorrow or vain curiosity from my passage on Earth.
12. Would you like to say anything in particular to your daughter,
who shared your beliefs and wrote to me several times in your
name? – A. I recommend her to take her studies more seriously;
to transform her sterile pain into a compassionate and productive
memory; to not forget that life moves on uninterruptedly and
that the world’s frivolous interests fade away before the great word
eternity! As a matter of fact, my kind and intimate memory will
be transmitted to her soon.
13. In January I sent you a picture-card. Since you had never seen me,
can you tell me if you recognize me? – A. No, I don’t recognize
you. I see you.
- You did not receive that card? – A. I don’t remember.
14. I would still have several important questions to ask you about
extraordinary events that took place in your house and that you
told us about. I believe that you could give us interesting explanations
about them. However, the late hour and the fatigue of the
medium advise me to adjourn. I will limit myself to just a few
questions before stopping. Although your death is recent have you
had the chance to travel open spaces and visit other worlds? –
A. The word visit doesn’t correspond to the very fast movement
that allows us to discover other sites with the speed of thought.
Distance is only a word, like time for us is only a moment.
15. When we prepare the questions to be addressed to a spirit we
generally have an anticipated evocation. Thus, could you tell us
if you were forewarned of our intention and if you were by my
side yesterday when I formulated the questions? – A. Yes, I knew
everything that you would say today and will easily answer those
questions which are reserved.
16. You would have made us very happy if you were among us in life
but since it was not possible we are equally happy for having you
in spirit, and we thank you for the consideration in responding
to our questions. – A. My friends, I followed your studies with
interest and now that I can live with you as a spirit I advise you to
give more importance to the “spirit than to the letter”. Good bye.
The letter below was sent to us regarding this evocation.
“Dear Sir,
It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I want to
thank you on behalf of my father and me, for anticipating
our desire to receive news from the one that we cry for
through your intermediary.
The multiple moral and physical trials that my dear
mother had to endure during her life, her patience to bear
with them, her devotion, her complete abnegation of herself,
gave me the hopes that she was happy. However, the
assurance that you have just given us, Sir, is a great consolation
to those who loved her so much and who wish her
happiness more than our own.
My mother was the soul of the house, Sir. Needless to tell
you the emptiness that she left; we suffer for no longer
seeing her, more than I could express and yet we feel some
sort of quietness since we no longer see her suffering the
atrocious pains. My poor mother was a martyr. She must have found a great reward for the patience and kindness
with which she supported all the anguishes. Her life was
nothing more than a long torture of spirit and body. Her
elevated feelings and faith in another existence sustained
her. She had a kind of presentiment and a hidden memory
of the spiritual world; I saw her often looking at the
worldly things with compassion, saying: nothing down
here can suffice me; I feel the nostalgia of another world.
We recognize my dear and adorable mother in the answers
that she gave you, Sir, her way of thinking and expressing
herself. She liked to employ images. I am just surprised that
she could not remember your picture-card that had given
her so much pleasure. I should have thanked you on her
behalf. My busy days during the last days of my venerable
mother did not allow me to. I believe that she will remember
later. Right now she is overwhelmed by the splendors
of the new life. The life that has just finished for her seems
to be just a bad dream, already far away from her. We also
hope my father and I that she may come to bring us a few
affectionate words, which we badly need. Would it be an
indiscretion, Sir, to ask you to please let us know when she
will speak to you again? It was so good that you brought us
news about her and that she is no longer suffering! Thank
you once again, Sir! I pray to God that you may be recompensed
for that, from the bottom of my heart and my soul.
By leaving me, my mother deprives me from the best of
all mothers, the kindest friend. I need the assurance of
knowing that she is happy and also need my belief in
Spiritism to gain some strength. God sustained her. My
courage was greater than I thought.
Observation: May the disbelievers laugh as much as they wish at
Spiritism. May the more or less interested adversaries ridicule it! May they
even say vulgarities, but none of that will remove its consoling power that
brings happiness to the unfortunate, making them triumph over the illfaith
of the indifferent, despite their effort to abate it. Human beings are
thirsty for happiness; when it is not found on Earth, isn’t that a great relief
to have the certainty of finding it in the next life, once they did what is
needed to deserve it? What is it that offers more relief to the evils of Earth?
Is it materialism, with the horrible perspective of the nothingness? Is it the
expectation of the eternal flames, to which not one in a million can escape?
Make no mistake. Such a perspective is even more terrible than the
emptiness, and that is why those whose reason refuses to believe are led to
materialism. When the future is presented to the individual in a rational
way, there will no longer be materialists. Don’t be surprised by seeing the
spiritist ideas welcomed with so much enthusiasm by the crowds, because
these ideas give more courage instead of diminishing them. The example
of happiness is contagious. When everyone sees happy people around
them because of Spiritism they will throw themselves into its arms as a
salvation since they would rather have a doctrine that smiles and speaks
to reason than those that terrify them.
The example that we have just mentioned is not one of a kind; they
are offered to thousands and the great joy that God has reserved to us
here is to testify the benefits and progresses of a belief that we help to
propagate with our efforts. The people of goodwill, those that come here
to draw the consolations are so numerous that we could not take our time
from them, dealing with those who are indifferent and have no desire to
be convinced. Those who come to us are sufficient to absorb all of our
time and that is why we don’t seek anybody else. That is also why we don’t
spend that time sowing on sterile land. Their time will come when God
decides to remove the veil that blinds their eyes, and that time will come
sooner than thought, for the glory of some and shame of others.
Yours sincerely, etc.
Miss Pauline M.
(Sent by M. Pichon, a medium from Sens)
1. Evocation – A. I am here, my good friends.
2. We have a request from your parents to ask you if you are happier
in your current existence than you were in your earthly life. – A.
Oh yes, I am happier than they are.
3. Do you frequently assist your mother? – A. I almost never leave
her but she cannot understand all the encouragement that I give
her. She wouldn’t otherwise be feeling so bad. She cries for me
but I am happy! God called me back. It is a favor. How reassured
all mothers would be had they all be blessed by the lights of
Spiritism! Tell my poor mother to resign or else she will stay away
from her dear daughter. Those who do not resign to the will of
their Creator fail the objective of their trials. May her understand
it very well or she will not be able to see me any time soon. She
lost me materially speaking but she will meet me in Spirit. May
she recover promptly to attend your sessions! I will then be able to
better console her and I will be happier myself.
4. Would you be able to manifest to her in a more particular way?
Could she operate as your medium? She could then feel more
consolation than through our intermediation. – A. She shall hold
a pen like you do and I will try to dictate something to her. That
is very difficult to us when we don’t find the necessary dispositions
for that.
5. Could you tell us why has God at such an early age taken you
from the heart of your family where you were joy and reassurance?
– A. Read again. *
6. Could you tell us about your feelings at the time of death? – A.
A disturbance. I did not believe to be dead. It made me feel very
sorry for leaving my mother behind! I did not recognize myself. It
changed when I understood though.
7. Are you completely dematerialized now? – A. Yes.
8. Could you tell us how long has that disturbance lasted? – A. It
lasted six of your weeks.
9. Where were you when you recognized yourself? – A. By my body.
I saw the cemetery and realized it. Mom, I am always by your
side. I see you and understand you much better than when I had
a body. Hence you must stop suffering because you have only lost
the poor body that you had given me. Your daughter is always
there. No more crying. On the contrary, rejoice for this is the
only attitude that will be good to you and to me too. We will better
understand one another; I will tell you many pleasant things.
God will allow me to; we will pray together. I will be among these
persons that work for the benefit of humanity; I will take part
in their work and I will help you. That will help us both in our
advancement.
Your daughter who loves you,
Pauline.
PS – You will give this to my mother. I shall be grateful.
10. Do you believe that your mother’s recovery will still take long? –
A. That will depend on the consolation that she receives and her
resignation.
11. Do you remember all of your previous incarnations? – A. No; not
all of them.
12. Was the one before the last one on Earth? – A. Yes, I was in a large
commercial house.
13. When was that? – A. During the kingdom of Louis XIV; in the
beginning.
14. Do you remember some characters of that time? – A. I met Mr.
Duke of Orleans who used to buy supplies in our store. I also
knew Mazarin and part of his family.
15. Has your latest existence served much to the advancement of your
Spirit? – A. It did not serve me much because I did not endure any
trial. More than to me it was a trial to my parents.
16. How about the one before the last one was it more beneficial? – A.
Yes because I was much tested in that one. Loss of fortune; death
of all of those who were dear to me; I was left alone. However, I
trusted my Creator and supported everything with resignation.
Tell my mother to do as I did. May the one who will take my
consolation to her shake hands with all of my good relatives.
Good-bye.
___________________________________
* The Spirit requests the reader to read again the essential points of the Doctrine. (TN).
Henry Murger
NOTE: In a private session at the house of one of our colleagues from
the Society, the medium spontaneously wrote the following, on
February 6th, 1861:
“The skies are ampler, the atmosphere larger, the flowers more beautiful,
the fruits sweeter and the aspirations go even beyond imagination.
Greetings, new homeland! Greetings, new dwelling! Greetings love, greetings
happiness! How pale is the brief passage on Earth, and how happy
is the one who sighed of relief for having left Tartarus and gone to the
heavens! Greetings, true bohemia! Greetings, true separation! Greetings,
dreams that have come true! I was glad when I fell asleep because I knew
that the awakening would be happy. Ah! Thank you my friends for your
kind remembrance!
M. Murger
The following Q&A were carried out at the Society on February 8th:
1. You spontaneously came last Wednesday to communicate at the
house of one of our colleagues, and there you wrote a nice message.
However, there wasn’t anybody there who knew you. Can you please tell us what has prompted you to give us the honor of
your visit? – A. I came to demonstrate that I was alive so that I
could be evoked today.
2. Were you sympathetic to the spiritist ideas? – A. Two things:
First, I suspected then I was easily driven by my own inspirations.
3. It seems that your confusion did not last long considering that
you express yourself so easily and so clearly! – A. I died with a
perfect awareness of myself, hence I only had to open the eyes of
the spirit as soon as the eyes of the flesh were shut.
4. That communication may be considered as a report of your first
impressions about the world where you are now. Could you describe
with more accuracy what happened to you since the moment
when the soul left the body? – A. I was overwhelmed with
joy; I saw dear faces again, faces that I supposed were lost forever.
I have just been dematerialized and my sensations are still almost
earthly sensations.
5. Could you give us your impressions about your main book: ‘La
vie de bohème’, from your current stand point? – A. Stunned as I
am by the unknown splendors of resurrection, how do you want
me to go back to that poor book, a pale reflex of a painful youth?
6. One of your friends, Mr. Théodore Pelloquet, published a bibliographic
article about you in the Le Siècle on the 6th of this month.
Could you address him with a few words as well as other writers
who are friends and comrades of yours, some of whom may not
exactly be believers in a future life? – A. I will tell them that the
worldly success is like gold transformed into dry leaves. What we
all believe in, what we all expect is success, always success, we the
hungry harvesters of the Parisian soil, never looking up and above,
to the skies, never thinking of the one who always judges us based
on our deeds. Will my words change them? No. Dragged through
the scorching life that blemishes belief and youth, they will hear
lightheartedly, they will forget and move on.
7. Do you see Gérard de Nerval here, the one that has just spoke of
you? – A. I see him, and Musset and the lovely and great Delphine.
I see them all. They help me; they give me encouragement and
teach me to communicate.
Observation: This last question was triggered by the following communication
spontaneously received by a medium at the Society, at the
beginning of the session:
“A brother has arrived to our world, he is happy and doing well.
He thanks heaven for his somewhat late liberation, as you heard
him saying a short while ago. Goodbye to sadness, tears and the
bitter smile, because we now know that the smile among you is
never honest. Something really regrettable and painful on Earth
is the need to smile; forced smile or smile at nothing, particularly
in France when someone is prepared to dream in solitude.
Disenchantment is terrible to a long waiting heart, disillusion a
terrible skeleton whose contour one tries to unsuccessfully touch.
The uneasy and trembling hand can only find bones. What a
horror! For someone who believed in love, religion, family, friendship;
those who can face that horrible and petrifying mask, and go
unpunished. Ah! Those living, although petrified, but those who
sing like bohemians those die very quickly. They turn Medusa’s
head. My brother was one of those. As you see my friends from
now on we no longer live only in our books, and we will promptly
attend your calls. Far from being proud of this happy environment
that surrounds us, we shall come to you as if we were still
on Earth, and Murger will still sing.”
Gérard de Nerval
The Spirit and the Roses
(Sent by Mrs. B… from New Orleans)
Emma D… was a 7 year old beautiful girl who died after having suffered
for six months, hardly eating anything during the last six weeks
before her death.
1. Evocation – A. I am here Ma’am, what is it that you want?
2. I want to know where you are; if you are happy and why has God
inflicted such a heavy burden of losing you onto your mother
and your sisters. – A. I am among good spirits that love me and
instruct me; I am happy, very happy. My passage with you was
the remains of a physical trial. I suffered but that suffering was
nothing; it purified my soul while it destroyed my poor body. I
now learn about the life of the soul. I am incarnate but now as a
conservative spirit. I live in a world where none of us stays longer
than necessary to learn the teachings of the great spirits. Beyond
that I travel, preventing disgraces, sending temptations away. I
am frequently here. There are so many poor African Americans! I always complained but now I love them. Yes, I do love them, poor
souls! Many of them are good, better than their masters, and we
must feel sorry even for the lazy ones. Many times I visited my
dear mother. Whenever she feels her heart invigorating that is me
casting the divine balm on her. She does need to suffer, though!
Later it will all be forgotten. And Lucia, my beloved Lucia, shall
be with me before long. But the others will come. It is nothing
more than dying to be this way: we change bodies, and that is all.
I no longer suffer the illness that upset others. I am happier now
and at night I lean over my mom and kiss her. She feels nothing
but she dreams of me and sees me like I was before the terrible
disease. Do understand Ma’am that I am happy. I wish I could
have some roses at the corner of the garden where I used to sleep
in the past. You could suggest that to Lucia to have some roses
there. I loved roses and I still go there so often! I have roses there
but Lucia sleeps every day in my little place and I am also by her
side every day. I love her so much!
3. My dear little girl, could I see you? – A. No. You still cannot see
me, but look at the beam of sun light on the table. I will cross it.
Thank you for having evoked me. Be indulgent towards my sisters.
Good-bye. The spirit disappeared, for a moment shadowing
the light beam that was still there. As soon as the flowers were
placed on her dear spot at the garden the medium wrote the word
thanks three days later, with the signature of the child. She then
wrote: “Start your letter over again; I don’t mind. I am so happy
to have a medium. I will come back. Thank you for the roses.
Good bye!”
