The Astral World—Higher Occult Powers E-Book

Joel Tiffany

• Herausgeber: Librorium Editions
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

The relations of man to his God have occupied the first minds of every age, but without rendering those relations so understandable to the mass of mankind as to be admitted as true. It has been evident to many, although not to all, that some minds so engaged have been inspired to write beyond the current knowledge of their day, indeed to foretell truths which could only be recognized as such after centuries of progression.

Leseprobe

The Astral World

HIGHER OCCULT POWERS

Clairvoyance, Spiritism, Mediumship, and Spirit-Healing Fully Explained

BY

JOEL TIFFANY

INTRODUCTION BY PHENIX

1910

© 2021 Librorium Editions

ISBN : 9782383831020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I. ON THE DETERMINATION OF TRUTH.

CHAPTER II. THE SPHERE OF LUST.

CHAPTER III. THE SECOND, OR RELATIONAL SPHERE.

CHAPTER IV. COMMUNICATION.

CHAPTER V. PHILOSOPHY OF PROGRESSION.

CHAPTER VI. MEDIUMSHIP.

CHAPTER VII. MEDIUMSHIP—SPIRITUAL HEALING.

CHAPTER VIII. CONDITION OF THE SPIRIT IN THE SPIRIT-WORLD.

CHAPTER IX. ORGANIZATION—INDIVIDUALIZATION.

CHAPTER X. WHAT CONSTITUTES THE SPIRIT.

CHAPTER XI. LUST.

CHAPTER XII. MARRIAGE—FREE LOVE.

INTRODUCTION

The relations of man to his God have occupied the first minds of every age, but without rendering those relations so understandable to the mass of mankind as to be admitted as true. It has been evident to many, although not to all, that some minds so engaged have been inspired to write beyond the current knowledge of their day, indeed to foretell truths which could only be recognized as such after centuries of progression.

The natural propensity of the human mind in the exercise of its ingenuity has been constantly developing in the endeavor to theorize upon the writings of these inspired authors, so as to present an entire system for the consideration of man. Each of these systems so proposed has passed away, from the fact that it carried with it the elements of its own destruction, itself not arising purely from the absolute, and therefore subject to the analysis of progressed mind, and by such analysis found wanting. Those theories which might have seemed compatible with the ability to adjudge truth in the middle ages, were not truths to the more progressed minds of later times; so that truth, except to absolute consciousness, may be considered, when subject to the test of human comprehension, as not absolute even to such comprehension, except in degree, and that varying with the continued progression of the recipient. Thus the best minds at this time willingly admit that the writer of Job was inspired—that he wrote truths beyond the comprehension of more than a thousand years beyond his time. One instance of this may be thus stated:

To Galileo and Copernicus we have attributed the discovery of the fact that the world is round; and yet the writer of the Book of Job, who wrote a thousand years before them, tells us that the earth is round, that its north is frigid, that the waters are divided by the dry land, where the day becomes night, and the night becomes day—clearly indicating that the continents are twelve hours apart, and that the earth must revolve to enable the relative position of its parts to the sun to give the phenomena now so well understood.

Plato was an inspired man. He wrote on the soul, far in advance of his day; and it is only a progressed mind at this time that can read and comprehend his views. With Plato, all admit that his normal progression might have been equal to the observance of the results of his inspiration. But the writer of the Book of Job could never have seen an ocean. He could not have known of the existence of another continent, and the sciences collateral to his text could not have rendered him the didactic aid which would have been necessary to have made him cognizant, in his normal condition, of the truths he uttered; and, therefore, it is at least possible, if not probable, that these truths were directly the result of inspiration, as much beyond his own comprehension as beyond the comprehension of others. Indeed, even at the present day, thousands of students of theology have read Job without perceiving that he had fore-run Galileo and Copernicus in their supposed discoveries.

It is not to be wondered at, then, that modern Spiritualism and its truths, if credited to the source from which they are supposed to be derived, should be found to present truths not understood as such by every mind; and, notwithstanding its million converts, it seems to have embraced but few minds capable of presenting in a didactic form these truths. The various writers on the subject have rather spoken of its curiosities than its use; and we know of no book capable of instructing and satisfying even a progressed mind on either the precise use or exact advantages arising from a full belief in Spiritualism.

This task has been most fearlessly performed by Joel Tiffany, Esq. He brought to the work a vigorous and original mind. A long course of legal practice had peculiarly adapted him to the task, particularly as an investigator of truth. His own progression was such as to enable him to advantage by his former practice, while his mediative power gave him intuitive advantage seldom combined in the same individual. His course of lectures seems to be suited to the precise wants of the day. It is true that they are not calculated for the use of the novice, but they are the only source we know of at this time by which those who have passed through the curiosity-phase of the subject of Spiritualism are enabled to review their observations and apply them usefully to their own progression. All those properties of the mind known as adjective in common parlance, requiring the assistance of the observation of others to render them substantive, are clearly defined by Mr. Tiffany.

His analysis of mind, when properly understood, enables all the truths he has set forth to be read understandingly; in other words he gives the modus by which we may determine truths at least equal to the progressed condition of man at this time to comprehend.

The Sphere of Lust, that greatest bar to man’s progression, both in its analysis and synthesis, is placed within his comprehension, and hence his power of avoidance is materially increased. The fabled terrors of Hades, Sheol, Tartarus, and Gehenna are defined so as to be comprehended by an ordinary individual, while the relational sphere of man is so treated as to enable each reader to define his own position, and those below him, sufficiently well to assist in his aspirations for higher exercise.

Communication and Progression are fearlessly treated, and the master-mind is observable in all the collateral incidents of thought consequent upon their investigation.

Mediumship is rendered understandable to all, and those phases which have been unproductive of good results to minds not elevated beyond the consideration consequent upon the morbid appetites of the curious, are fairly depicted so as to enable the investigator to avoid their recurrence, and to progress beyond their painful influences.

Mr. Tiffany has judiciously failed to cater to the tastes of those who but magnify Kings to conceive of Gods. He has presented the Deity, or the consideration of the Deity, to the minds of his audience, in such a manner as to call forth the highest feelings of the soul for the comprehension of the highest truth.

The condition of the Spirit in the Spirit-world, as portrayed by him, is freed from the melo-dramatic condition in which it has been painted by the fashionable and various theologians of the day. The character of those Spirits is shown to be in accordance with the great law of God—Progression.

While we freely admit the usefulness and beauty of many works written on abstract phases of Spiritualism, we can not but perceive a want of continuity in their didactic character; and from the point where the mind admits a future state of existence to the supposed character of that existence and the proper preparation of the Spirit while in the form for entering upon such a condition, we can not but observe that no work preceding these Lectures by Mr. Tiffany has met the demand. A careful reading of these Lectures, we are confident, will elevate and instruct every Spiritualist. It will enable him to review his intuitions, and to find their true value. It will chasten his confidence in communications which are not self-evident as truths, and improve his power to comprehend these truths.

We ask the reader to peruse the following pages no more rapidly than he can clearly comprehend them. Every proposition is worthy his best thought and highest power of study; and if he follows them with the same pure aspiration that seems to imbue their author, he will rise from their consideration a wiser and a better man.

PHENIX.

THE ASTRAL WORLD HIGHER OCCULT POWERS

CHAPTER I.ON THE DETERMINATION OF TRUTH.

In commencing the investigation of Spiritualism, it becomes necessary in the outset that we find some point from which to start, or to commence our examination; for, in the inquiry after truth, we must find some standard by which we can determine truth—for unless we have that to which we can appeal to determine infallibly what is truth, however much we may investigate, we shall always be uncertain as to the accuracy of our conclusions.

Man, as a conscious being, endowed with the faculty of perceiving being and existence, and also being susceptible to the influence of that which he perceives, himself becomes the center of all his investigations in the universe; and if there is any standard by which to try truth, he must find that standard within his own consciousness. Outside of man’s consciousness there is no standard to him of truth.

I will illustrate briefly what I mean, that you may perceive how I wish to direct you in the investigation of the question, What is Truth? and how shall it be determined? The science of mathematics is said to be certain and demonstrative. And why is the science of mathematics any more demonstrable than is any other science? Why is it that the truth which it affirms can be any more positively demonstrated than any other truth? Is it because number and quantity are more fixed and certain than are qualities and attributes of being and existence? Why is it that the affirmations of mathematics are more demonstrable than the truths of any other science? I answer, that it is simply owing to the mode of proceeding in our investigations. If we will adopt the same process that we do in mathematics, we can have the same certainty upon all other questions that come within the sphere of man’s perceptions and affections. The mathematician comes down into his own consciousness, and finds certain conscious affirmations pertaining to number and quantity. He puts them down as truths not to be disregarded, and calls them self-evident truths or axioms. They are such affirmations of the consciousness as everybody must, per force, admit to be true; and when he has obtained the affirmations of his consciousness pertaining to number and quantity, he puts them down as truths not to be disregarded. They are always true everywhere, and under all circumstances, where number and quantity are to be investigated. He assumes nothing to be true which conflicts with these conscious affirmations of the soul. “Things equal to the same thing are equal to one another” must be received as true throughout the wide universe, so far as the mathematician investigates; and he allows nothing to controvert that self-evident truth; and so of all other affirmations. He allows nothing, in his investigations, to conflict at all; and whatever does conflict, he affirms to be false. Then, before he takes another step, he is very careful to fix upon accurate definitions, so that we may know precisely what he means—may understand exactly the scope of what he says. For instance, speaking of geometry, he will say that it pertains to the measurement of extent, and extent has three dimensions—length, breadth, and thickness. He next goes on to give definitions of that which is necessary to bound space—tells you what is a straight line, what a curved line, what is a plain surface, what is a curved surface, etc. After having ascertained the affirmations of the consciousness of the soul, in respect to number and quantity, and having fixed accurately upon the definition of all terms to be used, he then commences by demonstration, and will not go one step faster than demonstration attends him—does not launch at all into conjecture. He makes the relation between premises and conclusion inevitable; and if there be not an inevitable relation, he does not establish his proposition mathematically.

Now, what is true in respect to mathematics, is true in respect to every other subject that may come before the mind. There are conscious affirmations of the soul lying at the basis of all investigation; and in these conscious affirmations of the soul is to be found the standard by which to try the truth of whatever plane or sphere of thought. The first point to be taken is to ascertain what are the affirmations of the soul upon these points to be investigated. Our next step is to fix upon certain definitions, so that we can always understand precisely what we mean in our use of terms. Then we must see next that the relation between premises and conclusion be always inevitable. There must never be left any opportunity for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. Then we shall always be certain of having the truth.

In investigating the science of mind and spirit, I propose to pursue this mathematical course; and not attempt to argue any point that is not capable of demonstration—that is not based upon the absolute affirmation of the soul, conducted with reference to strict definitions, and making the relation of premises and conclusion inevitable. The reason of being thus particular is, that the greatest confusion prevails, not only in respect to the subject of the New Philosophy, or Spiritualism, but in respect to all subjects pertaining to spiritual life. Man does not know precisely where to begin his investigation. He does not seem to know precisely where he is certain of any thing pertaining to spiritual existence, and thinks that it must be all conjectural.

Now here is an affirmation which I believe every man in the audience will agree to be an affirmation of every one’s consciousness, and that it lies at the basis of all our investigation of this and every other subject. (I will say further, that, if any individual in the audience disagrees with me, he will confer a favor by manifesting that disagreement at any time; because I wish to be exceedingly near to you as a lecturer, and wish you to be exceedingly near to me, so that there may be the most perfect freedom of intercourse of thought and expression between us.)

Then the first affirmation of the consciousness is this: That the mind can perceive nothing but its own consciousness, and that which is inwrought into that consciousness.

Now I wish you to try that in every possible way, to see if be true. We talk about getting information and forming ideas from subjects outside of ourselves, as though it were independent of our minds. My proposition is, that the mind can perceive nothing but its own consciousness, and that which is inwrought into that consciousness; and, furthermore, that its perception of being and existence will be according as it is inwrought into its consciousness; and by no possibility can it be anything else to the individual; and, as a matter of course, if there be any standard anywhere by which to try truth, and know that it is true, that standard must be inwrought into the consciousness of the individual who has to apply it; and he will apply it accordingly as it is inwrought into his consciousness. Now is there any one that does not perceive that this is absolutely true? Then receiving that as a truth which every mind affirms—it can not suppose the contrary of it to be true—we must set down every thing as false which conflicts with this proposition, no matter whether it overthrows authority or not. Whatever conflicts with this self-evident truth, or affirmation of universal consciousness, must be false. Truth does not conflict with truth. You may be assured that falsehood always exists where you find conflict and antagonism. It follows then, that all there is of being or of existence in the universe that will ever be known to you or me will be that which is inwrought into our consciousness. It follows, as a matter of course, the universe can be no larger and no more perfect, than it can be inwrought into our consciousness; and it will be limited to us by our mental unfolding. Hence it will necessarily follow, that different individuals who are differently unfolded in the different departments of their intellectual and perceptional natures, will perceive being and existence in very different lights; and yet each will suppose that each sees it in the same lights, until we begin to compare notes. There will be as many different New Yorks as there are different minds to form images or conceptions of New York. So there will be as many different mental Earths or mental universes as there are minds to form conceptions of our Earth and the universe; and each mind will have the Earth or the universe fashioned into his own consciousness, and when it will investigate, it will investigate that which is then fashioned therein, and study it as fashioned there. It follows then, as a matter of course, that when the image of the existence within our consciousness corresponds to the actuality, that is, when the ideal in man corresponds to the real in God, then man has the truth—not till then. That is, when my perception of being and existence corresponds with the being and existence, then I have the truth of being and existence. But just so far as my idea or perception of being or existence deviates from its actuality, just so far my impression is false. These conclusions follow as a matter of necessity. Hence you and I will learn at once, that the first lesson for us to learn in commencing the study of the universe, is to learn ourselves. The very first volume that is opened before us, is that which God has given us in giving us a conscious being. Here we must commence our first lesson, because every thing must be recorded in the pages of this volume. God can never manifest any part of the universe or himself to us beyond the capacity of the pages of this volume to receive that manifestation. It follows then, as a matter of course, that truth can never be communicated by authority; and when a man tells me that a certain thing is true upon his authority, I can not receive it simply upon his statement. You will understand that I distinguish between stating a truth and narrating a fact. I may receive a statement of fact upon authority.

A man may tell me that there is such a place as London, and I believe it; and I may form an idea respecting it; but the ideal London I have in my mind is very far from being the real London—is very far from being a representation of the real London. That is, the ideal London which I have exists only in my mind, has no representative corresponding in the outward matter-of-fact London. But when the real London is brought into my consciousness, I have the London. Before, I had a sort of a London. Now you will understand what is meant by a difference between forming a conception of a fact and a truth. Suppose I should say to you that the sum of the squares of the two sides of a right-angled triangle is equal to the square of its hypotenuse, you having faith in my capacity to determine truth will say, “I will believe it as a fact; but I have no perception of its truth—I have only your word for it.” Now your faith is not in the truth of the proposition, but in my word. There is a truth there, but you can not receive it upon my authority. The reception of it as a truth depends upon your mind being unfolded to the plane of that truth. The question then for us to settle is, whether the conception in our minds corresponds to the actuality. If we have the means of determining that it does correspond, then we have the means of determining that our perception is true. The truth is the perception by the mind of that which is. You may apply this rule to any sphere of investigation that you please. Then let us begin with man as a microcosm of the universe, and who is destined in his spiritual unfolding to be a microcosm of all that is in the universe; in other words, whose mind here is to begin to translate the universe into its consciousness. The universe is a great book, which it is man’s business to read and translate into his consciousness, so that the image within shall correspond to the actuality without—so that he shall be a universe of himself—so that the individual in his affection by that which is transferred also becomes a divine, a god. “Is it not written in your law, I said ye are gods?” Man is to become in his impulses and character like the divine of the universe, so that he has not only all the wisdom, fact, and principle, but all the affection of the universe, to wit, the divine translated into his affection, so that in his outward form and inward being he is a child of God, created in his image. Thus, so far as we proceed day by day in translating the actual and real universe into the perceptive and ideal in us, so fast are we unfolding and growing up into knowledge; and when that knowledge is united with the truth and affectional impulses converted into wisdom, we are made temples for the in-dwelling of the divine spirit. It becomes us, then, to make use of all means within our power to perceive this great volume that God has opened before us, and given us the means of studying, translating into our minds, and making our own. Looking at man, then, as a conscious being, one that possesses the faculty of perceiving existence in all its various modes of manifestation, and also of perceiving being itself, thus having within himself that whereon God can write not only the phenomena, but the law and science of being itself, let us become free men, lovers of the truth, determined to be honest with ourselves and the world, determined to know what can be known, and not to be deceived either by our own appetites, passions, or lusts, or by the influences that others may extend over us to turn away our minds from earnestly and truthfully investigating all subjects. The mind that is afraid to look upon the wide universe, to receive the image that God would impress upon it every day and moment of his life, is denying the birthright of his soul.

Man, as a conscious being, is the subject of three degrees of conscious perception—he can be subject to no less and no more; and being influenced by what he perceives—three degrees of affection. In other words, there is laid the foundation for three spheres of thought and three spheres of affection. He can possess no more—no less. Now I am to demonstrate this to be true in such a way that every one of you shall know its truth. I begin first to prove that these spheres of knowledge and affection exist in you, because it is my business, after having proved this—if I should succeed in proving it—to show that in the wide universe there are but those same three spheres of knowledge and those same three spheres of affection and love—no less and no more; that man possesses within himself the elements of all knowledge and affection that exist in the wide universe. Unless he did possess these elements, he could not investigate the universe; for he can only investigate that, the elements of which exist within his consciousness. In the first place, man has that faculty by which he perceives the mere phenomena of existence, or, in other words, he has that department of conscious being which is addressed by what we call the physical senses, the scope of which is to reveal to him facts and phenomena in the material plane of existence. The physical senses can only reveal to him the facts and phenomena. In this respect man differs not at all from the animal, which possesses the same number of physical senses, and is impressed by the same light that impresses man’s senses—is subject to the same conditions. The law by which perception is awakened in the consciousness is the same in the animal as in the man. But man possesses also another element that is not content with mere investigation, or mere observation of forms and phenomena. You see this other nature is manifested in the little child, after he begins to walk about and observe the forms of things. There are certain things he can not ascertain by the use of the physical senses, and he asks his parents for further information. If you will examine the philosophy of asking questions, you will perceive that it is a means of gaining information by the exercise of some faculties higher than the physical senses. It is seeking for information that shall be applied to the consciousness, that shall be represented by ideas that exist in the mind. We may suppose that Sir Isaac Newton and his dog were sitting in the orchard, and that both saw an apple fall to the ground. The dog could observe the fact as well as Sir Isaac Newton, but Sir Isaac Newton perceived that there was something involved in the fall of that apple, which the dog never thought of. The dog confined his observation to the mere fact; but Sir Isaac Newton perceived, by the aid of a higher faculty, that there existed a law which he wished to ascertain, and therefore commenced investigation to discover it. This department of mind which led Sir Isaac Newton to make this investigation was not content with observing the mere facts or phenomena of existence, but wished to investigate that which was concerned in the production of the phenomenon. That faculty gives rise in man to this second sphere, which observes not the phenomena, but investigates the law or proximate causes of phenomena, and opens the field of science and philosophy. Hence the second sphere of thought is that sphere which investigates the relation of things and determines the law of action and manifestation through that relation. It belongs to what we call the relational, the middle, or mediatorial sphere; because it embraces the means by which causes operate to produce effects. For instance, I speak and you hear. I am a cause of producing a sound; your ears are affected by the sound produced. The atmosphere is the medium by which the action is transmitted from my organs of speech to those of hearing. The physical senses notice the fact in the physical sphere; the intellectual perceptions notice the means by which the fact is produced. The next, the highest, the inmost, absolute nature is that which perceives the absolute cause of these effects.

There is a sphere of mind in you that observes the mere effect; there is a sphere that investigates the relation or law by which phenomena are produced; there is also a sphere of mind which searches after and perceives the absolute cause of the phenomena. Now, inasmuch as all being or existence must come under one of these forms, either its phenomena, the means by which they are produced, or the cause which, through the means, has produced the phenomena, there can be but these three departments of conscious perception: the physical or intellectual, the moral or relational, and the divine or absolute, which perceives the absolute of all being. To illustrate the difference between the relational and the absolute: When Sir Isaac Newton discovered the existence of the law of gravitation, and found it the same that caused the motion of the planetary bodies, it was supposed that he discovered the cause of their motion. He named that law attraction, or attraction of gravitation. Now we turn upon Sir Isaac Newton and ask, What is attraction of gravitation? The only reply that can be made is to speak of its effects. However intellectual the mind may be, it must be ignorant of the absolute, because it belongs to the sphere of relations. You can not analyze the infinite. You can not compare the infinite. It is only in the sphere of the finite that the intellectual faculties have power to pursue their investigations. That which perceives the absolute must of itself be absolute; that is, the finite can not receive the infinite—the finite can not embrace the infinite. Therefore, if the infinite is ever to be represented to man, there must be a department that is receptive of the infinite; and that department must be infinite, or it can not receive the infinite. When I dwell more particularly upon this subject, I will endeavor to make it apparent to you so far as language is capable of making it.