by Frederick C. Sculthorp

Before his journey began, Frederick Sculthrop was skeptical about life after death. However, the loss of his wife in 1934 prompted a quest for understanding. Encountering Sir Oliver Lodge’s book, “Why I Believe in Personal Immortality,” initiated a shift in perspective.

Intrigued by Lodge’s meticulous scientific approach, he explored the subject of spiritualism, reading extensively on both supportive and critical perspectives. Seeking firsthand experiences, he visited a local spiritualist association and had a sitting with medium Mrs. Helen Spiers. The session proved transformative as Spiers accurately conveyed details about his deceased wife, validating her presence with intimate knowledge of their life together. Convinced of the reality of spirit communication, he delved into developing his own clairvoyant abilities.

His exploration of clairvoyance eventually led to his own sessions connecting him to the spirit world through astral travel. What follows are some of his journeys.

The Lower Spheres – The Plane Of Illusion

When I arrived on a lower plane I would at once know the nature of the place. The spirit body is very sensitive and at once picks up the thoughts of the people there. The result is a sickening harshness which is indescribable. The most depressing moments on earth cannot compare with it, as the physical mind cannot deal with many thoughts at a time, whereas the spirit body is open to the mass thought of that particular state.

However, if I had to stay awhile to witness something in these lower states, my spirit helper would neutralize these vibrations in some way. On most of these dull astral planes I am invisible to the people there.

The lower spheres are quite earth-like. There are cities, towns, villages, etc., which seem to be replicas of existing localities on earth, and sometimes the conditions are similar to those on earth. They are quite “solid” when the spirit body assumes the same wavelength.

I have read that these localities are formed naturally and automatically by the minds of people who have passed to spirit life and expect to see their familiar surroundings. This seems to be true, and also that the mind has a photographic memory capable of reproducing all the details. To cite an example: I have seen lamp posts in the street, which would hardly be necessary as I have never seen the darkness of night there.

Regarding this creative power of unconscious thought, I was once talking to a teacher in spirit, and he asked: “Where do you get your clothes?” I tried to remember my tailor’s name on earth and could not. But this was not what he meant, he said “Look” and pointed to my clothes.

I looked down and saw that I was wearing my everyday clothes, reproduced in every detail, even to a small stain that was on them, the result of a too vigorously squeezed tube of toothpaste, which I had not been able to completely remove.

In these spheres the spirits are in varying degrees of ignorance. Some have not the slightest idea that they have left the earth and are in “the great beyond”. Others have some sort of impression that they are living a different life, but it is dream-like and not positive. These people have carried over the same ideas which they had on earth, and “spirit” is just as vague to them as on earth, for their surroundings are quite earth-like.

Without my experiences and other knowledge I believe that I would be just as vague and uncertain, as sometimes I have not become fully conscious at once when arriving on a plane and thought I was on earth. Then gradually what I had previously learnt seemed to filter through, and I would become conscious and know.

Many spirits seem quite contented, as they feel well and do not tire, but their minds do not seek for, or know of, anything better, nor can they be pushed forward. The spirit law seems to be that the urge must come from within, which will happen in time. As the ingrained thought of many is their livelihood, this habit continues and I have seen all manner of occupations – road-making, factory work, bridge building – I have even seen coal-miners riding on their small trucks and singing cheerfully.

In one factory I watched a welder at work. His “arc” was a small spot of light needing no eye-shade, but he “thought” he was welding. He looked up at me and said: “Do you work here?” I answered: “No, I am having a look round”.

In spirit, thoughts seem to be “solidified” and thus become things. Later when progress is made, these God-given gifts will be used differently. One of our well-known psychic researchers (F. W. H. Myers) in a communication after his passing gave this state the very apt name of “the plane of illusion”.

Results of Ignorance

Many seem to think that every trip to the next world must be full of excitement with many new wonders and strange things to be seen, but this is not always so. In my early projections I was taken to the low or unprogressed states many times and, as these are just like earth and the inhabitants do not know of anything otherwise, the activities were often banal and boring, but I had to learn.

Many times I have felt the necessity that all should have some knowledge of spirit life already during their earthly pilgrimage. For instance, it did not seem very edifying when I was hurried to a dull state to listen, (invisible to them) to the conversation between two charwomen in the middle of a deserted school playground. They were school cleaners and were full of grumbles and bitterness towards another charwoman who had the job of cleaning the school, which they considered should have been given to them. This is the “plane of illusion” with all its drabness and I should hardly think that any spirit children went to that school. This however, would not seem strange to the cleaners as they are concerned only with empty schools.

The spirit factories I have seen were all over-staffed with work people and there was no system or production line. Each one seemed to be doing something that ether he knew best or wanted to do, and all were content to be in a regular job. It is interesting to note that, although the ingrained thought of work is uppermost and is carried over by some, so is the lazy habit of “having a mike”, and I saw plenty of it round the benches. A place where there were no foremen would no doubt be a workers’ Utopia.

Near Christmas I was once projected to a factory in spirit where I watched some men painting children’s toys and it seemed that the early thoughts of the festive season are reflected in the next world. Outside the factory there was a large sports ground in the middle of which they were erecting a big and substantial looking stage. As I was wondering what this was for, my guide quietly remarked: “For the workers’ amusement”.

On two occasions in this world, where thoughts are things, I have seen butchers’ shops. In a land where the slaughter of animals is not possible, this may sound surprising even to those with some knowledge of spirit. They are purely the result of thought and looked just as substantial as anything else. Where thought reigns, who can put a limit to thought?

They were simply the earthly life ambitions of the butchers to have a well-stocked shop, capable of satisfying all their customers’ demands. They were small shops and the entire fronts were hung with meat just as we used to see before the new food laws were introduced. The color of the meat was a brilliant red and in one case almost the hue of crimson lake, which was, perhaps, their idea of “perfect meat”.

This plane of illusion in which many spirits live for long periods may seem strange to many of us on earth, but those who have sat in rescue circles will know of many cases where a spirit, on being told that he or she has passed over, emphatically denies it at first. This is one of the reasons why rescue circles are held by Spiritualists, trying to enlighten those backward spirits.

Our Poor Brethren

In an interesting experience connected with those still living in the plane of illusion, I once became conscious in a projection on the deck of a full-rigged sailing ship of the 19th century. I had been planted near one of the great masts, and, as I became aware of things, I was surprised at the number of ropes coming down from aloft and the term “knowing the ropes” acquired a new significance to me. I walked over to a deck-house close by and in it were a few men, all grumbling over their living quarters.

I sensed that they thought that they had not long left port and had been put in the deck-house. I looked in it and saw the bunks and told them it wasn’t so bad, but they would not be consoled and were thinking of possible stormy weather ahead. It would have been interesting to ask these men when they last saw a storm or did a night watch, but I was not impressed to – perhaps because it had been tried before without effect.

Certainly their grievances would appear real, as the place was not a good teak-built affair but more of a ship’s carpenter’s emergency job and did not look very weatherproof; but one could no more tell these men that they were “spirits” than the man-in-the-street could be convinced in a few words about his life in the Beyond.

In my early projections to the lower planes I was often taken to a place just in time to witness some occurrence, and it seemed as if my teachers were fully aware of what was going to happen. Also I often found myself waiting outside an office with the feeling that my spirit helper had gone inside for “orders” then I would be made unconscious and hurried to the spot.

In the dull, astral towns I often saw certain men neatly dressed in ordinary clothes, but their features and eyes had a brightness and perfection that made them outstanding in such a locality. I sensed them to be advanced helpers on their various missions and I once saw the protective powers they possess.

I was suddenly taken to one of these towns and stationed in the middle of the market place. A man was standing on a box addressing a crowd, and he seemed well-pleased by his ability to keep the people amused with his jokes and antics. One of these helpers was passing by and the man saw him. A look of intense hatred appeared on his face and he called to him with a coarse expression.

The helper stopped and turned to him with a grave look and said: “Do not insult me”. The result was surprising. The man collapsed as if all strength was taken from him, and disappeared from view at the foot of the crowd. The helper went on his way and turned a corner. Soon the man struggled to his feet, saw that it was quite safe to shout a further insult and then resumed his antics with the crowd.

On another occasion I was put in the middle of a miserable looking street which I thought was a part of London of the 19th century. I saw a sad-looking little beggar going from house to house with his bag, and watching him was a proud and petulant-looking “Victorian” dandy, still with his side-whiskers and in the clothes of his period.

Suddenly he strode over to the beggar and deliberately stomped on his foot. The beggar cried out in pain and clutched his foot. As he did so his boot disappeared, and I saw that he was grasping his bare toes, which were bleeding.

I confronted the dandy and said: “Why did you do that?”

He turned away muttering: “He annoys me.” I looked towards the beggar. He was recovering from his upset and his boot reappeared on his foot. Then he picked up his bag and continued on his round.

This incident of apparent injury and pain surprised me, but the explanation I sensed from my helper was as follows. The stronger mind overcame the weaker and wished to cause pain. The beggar “thought” he was hurt. He wanted to grasp his toes and automatically obliterated the boot. The “pain” was such that he thought there must be blood, so blood appeared. On my intervention the thoughts of giving pain were diverted from the beggar and he quickly recovered.

This “expectation” and “producing” is very strange. Once I was waiting outside the office in the lower state I previously mentioned, and there were several others waiting. Forgetting where I was, I put my hand in my pocket, got a cigarette, lit it and puffed. It tasted horrible, like burning rag, and I threw it away in disgust. A young man standing by me said: “Try it again”, and I replied: “No, it is only an earthly habit”.

The strange point about this incident is that, if my expectation produced the desired cigarette, why did it not also produce the desired taste? Or did my guide play a trick on me? Later, I remembered that I saw no flame on my lighter, nor have I ever seen a consuming flame in spirit. Perhaps, the ethereal “substance” in spirit being an original element, cannot be further broken down; and this may also be the reason why one never sees decaying vegetation in spirit.

I was taken to another dull and unprogressed state and saw a group of people waiting outside the door of a long hut. A teacher conducted me through the people and the closed door. This always surprises me in the lower places, because I never know when I am visible.

Inside the hut there were long tables with rows of plates. Each plate had one slice of bread with a small portion of jam on it. I was told that these people had been some time in spirit but were quite ignorant of the fact and the meager ration was an endeavor to wean them from desire for food.

Outside, at the back of the hut, a dowdy-looking woman was attending to a portable boiler. She was stoking it with wood and smoke was issuing, but I could see no flames. When a low cloud of the smoke whirled around us, I said to the woman: “It looks like a house afire. I expect you have a good fire brigade in this district.” The implications of this remark, struck me some time later, but my conscience is quite clear. I am sure I was prompted to this remark by my helper.

When I sat on a box a very small boy sidled up to me. He smelt as if he had been rolling in a sewer. He wanted to talk to me but I hurriedly said there was not time. When I looked at his face I saw that he was not a boy but a little wizened old man with a stunted spirit body.

Many years ago I was taken to a very dull state, so dark that it was almost like dusk. There were miserable looking buildings like warehouses and in one I saw a line of servicemen handling their kits, which were being stacked in piles. I was told that they were passing into a better condition. I approached one soldier I had known on earth and asked him if there were any more of our men there.

He was startled and frightened and looked wildly around, and I then realized that he could not see me, although he had heard my voice. Being invisible I have often been “walked through” – this has no effect on the spirit body.

Quarrelsome Spirits

I mentioned before that many of the lower states are inhabited by people with similar predominating thoughts or tendencies, who gravitate to the same approximate wavelength in spirit.

This “main-thought” is very strong and noticeable when entering such a state.

One of my most distasteful visits was to a town inhabited by those unfortunate people with quarrelsome habits. I was put down in a street, and as usual sensed the quality of the place. It was dreadful and as I looked round, invisible to them, I saw people violently quarreling. As my awareness became more of the state, my spirit body received their thoughts. They were vicious, pitiless and murderous.

It was a hopeless place to be in, as each individual’s nature was worsened by the collective thoughts of the whole. I could not stand it and said: “Take me away”. My guide at once moved me and we arrived at the outskirts of the town, a bare gravelly place, and, there I saw a collection of hutches for pets like mice and rabbits. Asking what these were for, I was told that these people had no love for their fellow humans, but would sometimes be fond of a pet. They were encouraged (impressed) to keep pets in the hope that some sort of love would grow from it.

This state is the negative of what existence should be. Consider the lot of the person whose life on earth has fitted him or her for this state or wavelength, after passing over. What little love there is, is taken away, swamped by the mass thoughts of the other people, which reminds one of the quotation: “For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.”

Thought is easily received by the spirit body, and the stronger the thought the more effective it is.

When two sincere friends meet on a pleasant plane, each will radiate a thought of pleasure which will be received by the other. Each recipient’s pleasure is therefore doubled and the returning thought is consequently doubled. This multiplication of the original thought many times and at electrical speed gives some idea of the happiness on some planes. When one realized the application of this same law to the dreadful state I have described, where the thoughts of hatred are exchanged, the consequences can be imagined.

Once, when projecting and becoming conscious, I found myself sitting down outside a small house. I could not sense any vibrations denoting the conditions, and seemed to be insulated from them. Suddenly I was picked up and given a “bandy chair”, – two crossing hands and making a seat for another. The situation made me laugh, because I could hear my two helpers laughing, and I had my arms round their necks, but I could not see them. They ran me round the house and left me in front of it again.

As I was wondering what it was all about, one of them, now visible, came out of the house. I asked him what place this was, and he said: “The land of low thoughts”. He began to conduct me, and I saw what appeared to be a dreary endless marsh. My insulation had apparently been removed, for the place seemed to smell like a town’s sewage works.

Here and there were sad-looking people, some slowly walking, some standing still. The vibrations of this place were wretched and I realized why my spirit helpers had enlivened me by that bit of fun on my arrival. I was not kept long and was, as usual, taken to a bright plane before returning to the physical body.

This was necessary, as my spirit body had been exposed to these low vibrations, which are liable to remain for a while, owing to its “tape-recorder” powers which retain those conditions. Should I, on return, ponder over an experience on a low state; the same vibration can be felt with its bad influence, although in a lesser degree.

There are many such places in the lower vibrations and their description is depressing, but the facts should be known.

Compassion

I had projected and when I became conscious I found I was running in my tropical service uniform, – the toughest part of my life’s memories, war service, had been chosen!

The state seemed to be the lowest I had ever been taken to and the vibrations were mixed and very worrying. In my journey I was penetrating deeper and deeper into this low state and its appearance got gloomier, with miserable looking houses.

Twice I was halted to enable me to note the inhabitants, who were viciously brawling among themselves. One man, whom I knew on earth, walked through me. His state in spirit did not surprise me, but I was glad I was now invisible.

My pace became slower; I appeared to be nearing the lowest depths of the place and no one was visible. I was halted in front of what appeared to be a gray-looking warehouse with a door. This opened, and I was made to go forward, but was halted by the awful vibrations that met my spirit body. Inside I saw a number of individuals, perhaps a hundred, who were slowly walking about.

Their clothing, which was nondescript, hung around them like festoons of dirty cobwebs and their faces were dull gray. The inside of the place was also gray; there was no color and only a dim light penetrated from above. Wretched as the scene was, it was mild compared with the vibrations I felt.

Each entity was walking slowly with bowed head taking no observable notice of anything. All their thoughts had the same dreadful tenor: “We are here forever; there is no hope for us!” This dreadful thought seemed to be true and I could neither detect nor was I impressed with any redeeming feature. I seemed to have contacted history, a thousand years would be their yesterday, and their tomorrow too, in eternity’s boundless time.

These vibrations were the lowest that I have ever contacted and I was glad when my guide quickly withdrew me. These entities were all walking without taking any apparent notice of each other, or of any direction. Some may understand when I say that they moved like negatively charged particles, each seeking to avoid each other.

After many visits to the lower states it becomes quite obvious that they are all a repetition of the many different ways in which ignorance during earth life can place a person in his or her particular position in spirit. The earth life has formed a vibratory spirit body which must naturally gravitate to that vibration in spirit. There are no mistakes. God’s laws are absolutely fair. Who can complain when one’s own self is both judge and jury?

There are no favorites or privileged ones, and those considered great on earth are not necessarily so afterwards. Always the motive of an action counts. The many ways and different degrees by which some of our brethren throughout history have made the lives of their fellow humans miserable are well known, and range from mental torture to extreme physical agony. We tend to blame these guilty ones but more advanced spirits feel sorry for them.

I was taken to a better state before returning to my physical body.

The next morning I was in a hurry and bustle opening parcels before opening my shop door, when I was suddenly, gently but firmly, compelled to sit on a chair. Then, with bowed head in my hands, and elbows on knees, I experienced the most intense and deepest sorrow for a loved one that it is possible to feel. I was so full of pity that I had the utmost difficulty in preventing the tears from flowing.

The loved one was – the dictator head of a country! Regaining some composure and feeling the gentle presence of a high spirit, I mentally asked: “Why have I to feel like this?” and was told, “You have been to the place where he is going”.

This happened in 1937 when there was no actual threat of war. I need hardly say that this kind of emotion for a dictator is not normally my nature and I was glad that my shop was not open.

This enveloping soul was a spirit from a high sphere whose love and deep pity for such a one on earth gave me cause to think a lot during the rest of the day. The great but gentle power that overcame me, although I was physically active at the time, surprised me, as I never had experienced it on earth before. The hopelessness of those I had contacted during the night was so ghastly and desolate, that only spirit experience can know the extent of it. It cannot be described in words. I hope there is some turning point for those poor souls. “Forever” is a long time.

There seems to be a certain simplicity in spiritual truths and we go a long way round to find them. We are all a part of a whole, and everyone is “wanted”. The more mistakes that are made, the more the concern there is for the one who makes them. The gentleness and concern for others by those who have reached the high spheres is, as I have tried to make clear, very deep, and it is unselfishness and consideration for all, that is simply and truly the reason for their elevation to the higher vibrations in the spirit realms.

Attacks From Spirits

My guide advised me through a medium not to try astral traveling on my own, that is, without the co-operation of my spirit friends: this advice is well founded. Several times I have fully expected a projection, having sensed the signs of preparation and then the idea would be abandoned.

On one occasion I had reached the state of projection, but when my spirit body was detached there seemed to be some lingering doubt about it, and I drifted through my bedroom door. Then I went downstairs into my shop and stood behind the counter. The vibrations were low and miserable and the conditions like twilight. I had not had this experience before and I wondered if I had spoilt the process.

Suddenly I seemed to be struck by a whole host of vicious and vengeful thoughts. The effect of these cannot be described in words as they can only be felt in their fullness by the spirit body, but they were sickening and searing. I sensed the direction of their source and saw a group of people standing about twenty yards away in a lurid and dirty orange glow.

Some had sneering grins on their faces, others absolute, downright hate, and when they knew I had seen them, they altered their line of thought.

I saw skulls, moldering bundles of bones and graves, all mixed up with the thoughts of ghosts, ghouls, vampires and all things connected with the earthly ignorance and fiction of the “unknown”.

Being a part-time wraith myself, I thought all this was just ridiculous, and at once the thoughts stopped as if a tap had been turned off and the group disappeared. I stopped by the counter a little longer, but did not like the hatred in the thought I had received and went back to my physical body.

Back in bed I sensed that these vengeful ones were the rebels or gangsters of spirit. They knew where they were and had been there for ages, and would probably continue, until the futility of their state dawned upon them. It would be particularly hard for a member of a group like this to progress individually, as the hatred of the rest would be powerful.

I was rather struck by the old-fashioned ideas of hauntings that this group directed towards me. They seemed to be well rehearsed and included all the popular ideas that ignorant earth writers had used for generations when writing ghost stories.

Ignorant ideas passed down for ages can become ingrained in peoples’ minds, and fear of the unknown is not the least of them. Choosing darkness and a suitable place on earth, a group of low spirits like this could affect a person with latent psychic powers, as their combined thoughts are very strong, and all the best haunting effects can be used. This, together with the person’s ingrained fear would result in the cold stark terror that is said to be experienced.

This gang was only one of the minor ones that are in the lower astral planes, and there are others with much more powerful methods of attack. Soon after my spirit helpers had warned me against trying astral travel unaccompanied, I was surrounded by such a group whose thoughts were able to benumb my spirit body as if by an electric current and I was helpless until my helpers intervened.

I thought that some of my attackers were boys until I noticed their faces and saw that they were shriveled men. Such stunted spirit bodies are the result of the low mentality. The chief one was of normal size with a long purplish face with deep cracks in it – another spirit effect, and I had the impression that he was a business man during earth life.

I was suddenly plucked from the middle of this gang as if by a gigantic hand and as I left them I was beset by the whole crowd. A struggling mass, we moved quickly and, my numbness gone, I am afraid that I became rather vicious for, as an arm wrapped itself around my face, I bit it rather hard. It was like biting rubber.

This struggling bunch, with myself in the middle, was traveling like a ball on an elastic cord, and when we hit my physical body, there was a flash like an electrical explosion and I saw them flung in all directions as if from a shell-burst. I was frightened but relieved and had the impression that my life-force was strengthened by the sudden reuniting of my two bodies and formed a better protective or repellent zone around me. I give another example of this protective zone around the spirit body when relating an “accident” in the beyond.

My thoughts on this experience were interrupted by a movement on the ceiling, which took the form of a huge bronze shield, looking immensely strong and solid. This symbol in this particular instance was just as welcome as the beautiful ones were in theirs.

Sitting up in bed with the light on. I wondered if I was really scared but thinking of the shield I had seen I considered the experience to be just one more of my spirit lessons.

These low entities are very powerful when working in a group on their own wavelength and have learnt many things. When I was plucked from their midst it seemed instantaneous, yet they were able to project themselves and hang on to me. No doubt, my anger and “fighting-mad” frame of mind caused my astral cord to pull me back to my physical body at a tremendous speed. The phenomenon of the electrical flash or explosion was curious and may have been caused by the entities coming in sudden contact with a higher potential which would cause their natural rebound.

Tuning In

I once projected from an armchair during the day and was taken to a none too bright state, but did not get full consciousness. I was, in fact, like one on the plane of illusion – I still thought I was on earth. I walked for a considerable time and arrived at a sort of wide courtyard between some houses. I felt lost and, seeing a man enter a house, I ran over and followed him in to ask what district it was.

As I began to speak, he suddenly turned and stared at me like a person on earth seeing an apparition and his legs nearly gave way. This was probably because of my unformed, ghost-like appearance. Then giving a mirthless laugh, he managed to gasp: “You startled me”. Seeing his condition and to save further embarrassment, I left the house.

Outside, it began to dawn on me that I might be out of the body and I carefully looked at the surroundings, but of course that was no help as I knew they would be the same as on earth. Then I remembered that spirit earth was dry and grainy and could be made to trickle through the fingers like sand. I bent down to take a handful, but there was no loose earth for the courtyard was paved.

However, the act of touching these stones brought instant consciousness, as I became more “in tune” with the wave length, and I straightened up expectantly, looking forward to new spirit experiences. But I had hardly gone a few paces when the clutter of a kitchen utensil in the adjoining room at home, brought me back to my armchair. I looked at the clock and saw that I had been “out” for an hour and a half, which would seem to agree with my walk in spirit.

It appears rather pointless to have only a few moments of full consciousness in spirit in an hour and a half, but I have realized for a long time now that in projection, as in clairvoyance, every attempt is an experiment and there can be no guaranteed results. We are helped by our spirit friends in all ways, but in the end, personal awareness, they cannot provide. This must come from within.

Boundaries of Spheres

Those who have studied many books on spirit life will have read that the boundaries of a plane appear sometimes as a mountain range, and that sometimes a lower state may be reached through a hole in the ground. I have seen both of these. The latter is very strange.

In the first case, which was about 1938, I had been taken to an airfield in spirit. The airmen were the usual type of young servicemen and full of fun. They were teasing a young pilot who was determined to fly over a nearby range of mountains. Apparently the others had tried it and failed. He entered a plane and flew off, and we watched him steadily climb the steep side of the mountain, but just before reaching the top he lost speed and had to turn. He tried it again and again but had to return, and endure more laughter from his companions. I inspected the planes. They did not appear to be etheric replicas of earthly planes but spirit made, as the propellers were not large enough for earth use.

In the second case, I had met a soldier in spirit whom I knew in the 1914 war, and had persuaded him to come with me to a much better locality. We had been walking for a while and the country was improving, when he suddenly broke away and ran back. I ran after him but he seemed frantic and reached a sort of pit in the ground and jumped down it. The hole was about five yards across.

I felt upset over this, as I had known him for some time in the army. Some writers when describing the spheres say that they encircle the earth in layers, like the skin of an onion, and this incident seems to offer some corroboration of this idea, at least for the lower spheres.

Swedenborg, I believe, reported a similar incident. – The Rev. C. Drayton Thomas, in his book “Life Beyond Death with Evidence”, writes of a conversation he had with his father through the mediumship of Mrs. Osborne Leonard. His father mentioned these pits, which he called tunnels in the ground for convenience in passing from one sphere to another.

I have also had experiences with conditions where two different states or wavelengths interpenetrate and each is invisible to the other, as in the following example.

In my early projections, my visits to the astral “office”, to await orders for my next lesson in the lower states, became so frequent that I began to get weary of the place and its vibrations. Then came an occasion when I was taken there and once more became conscious of it. Mentally I murmured: “What! – this place again?”

Immediately there was a transformation and I saw the dull locality fade and found myself standing in a sunny countryside with pleasant vibrations. It was quite remarkable. I seemed to be enveloped by the greater power of my guide and my vibrations raised to those of the better place, yet I did not move from the spot.

My teachers now evidently thought that I had had my fill of this astral depot, for I never saw it again although I was still occasionally taken to the lower spheres.

Deceptive Spirits

During my early projections I was rather impressed by my ability to sense characters and a lesson duly followed. I had been taken to a rather dull state, and a man passed me a little way off. He had a cheerful grin and waved a greeting to me and I waved back to him, whereupon he came over to me, followed by a woman. He said: “You wanted to see her about something”.

I thought for a bit and could not recollect any previous meeting, and so shook my head. But he persisted and again I tried to pick up some idea of what he meant and of his thoughts and finally said: “No, I am sorry, I have never seen her before”. The man shrugged his shoulders and the pair went away.

I was mystified about this, until my spirit helper told me that the man was a “white slaver” who on earth used to live on the immoral earnings of his companion. They were “old hands” in spirit and had learnt to suppress their thoughts – at least to me, a student of spirit conditions.

Excerpt from Excursions To The Spirit World

See Part II here.