PHILOSOPHY OF
PHILOSOPHY OF
SILVER BIRCH
Edited by
STELLA STORM
First published 1969
This impression 1972
Ⓒ HANNEN SWAFFER'S home circle
All rights reserved
ISBN 085384 036 9
"Philosophy: A mainstream of thought concerned with 'Deism,' the doctrine of a rational world, ruled over by an impersonal God, 'the first great cause'."
Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Literature
SILVER BIRCH
Though we have never met on earthly plane He is my friend, my counsellor and guide, My strength and comfort in the days of pain, The unseen presence constant by my side.
He understands life's problems and its needs, (By facing trials does noble status grow!) He points the way of conduct in all deeds, Knowing we do but reap the seeds we sow.
In words of simple wisdom he will say
That service is the spirit's only coin,
The paths of love and kindness lead the way To the true Source wherein all roads conjoin.
SYLVIA BARBANELL
FOREWORD
Silver Birch's teachings have been produced through a human instrument too often aware of his failings and weaknesses. Through the years I have learned to love and respect this saintly guide whom I have never seen.
MAURICE BARBANELL
Silver Birch has an aura of majesty. He is a very great soul who comes in the guise of an Indian.
LILIAN BAILEY, the famous medium, who has clairvoyantly seen Silver Birch many times.
We sat, a round dozen, fanned circle-wise. Casually chatting, I found it difficult to concentrate on my neighbour's conversation. My eyes were fixed on the small, dapper man sitting in the right-hand corner of the sofa. Under the hypnotic drone of many voices, I watched his transformation. An articulate conversationalist, he became still, withdrawing from the desultory discussion.
Removing his thick, horn-rimmed spectacles and wrist watch, he lowered his head, rubbed his eyes and clasped his hands between his knees. His chin rested on his chest as if he had dozed off.
In a few minutes the physical body I know so well took on a new dimension. With shoulders hunched, he slowly raised his head. Although my companions seemed oblivious, quietly talking among themselves, they were obviously aware of our host's departure. A sudden deferential silence descended as our guest of honour addressed us.
My down-to-earth chief, Maurice Barbanell, had tem-porarily left us. Silver Birch, his well-loved guide, had "borrowed" his body and was in our midst. In slow, slightly guttural tones, quite unlike his fast-talking medium, he greeted us affectionately and embarked on his customary opening invocation, couched in unsurpassed prose: "Oh Great White Spirit, Thou who has created us in Thy
divine image and endowed us with a portion of Thy divinity, we strive to draw close and strengthen the unity that exists between Thee and us aone another.
For all that we have received, for all the wisdom that has been vouchsafed us, for all the assurance of the infinite purpose as it has been revealed to us, we express our grati-tude and pray that we may be worthy to receive even greater understanding.
For too long we have seen through a glass darkly, mis-interpreted Thee and Thy purpose, not understanding our place in Thy infinite scheme. But now we know that we have the inestimable privilege of participating in the processes of eternal creation.
It is Thy love which has guided us all into this knowledge and given us a more comprehensive picture of Thee, of ourselves and of the wondrous universe in which we are placed.
We know that we are for ever united with Thee, that there is nothing at any time on earth or in the spheres beyond that can sever this divine bond that exists. Always, therefore, we are within Thy ken and care, always we are subject to Thy providence, always we are accessible to Thee as Thou art to us.
Some of us have been privileged to be the bearers of that power of the spirit which brings such beneficence in its train, guiding, comforting, upholding, healing and pointing the way for many who thought they were for ever lost.
We express our gratitude for all the labours of the many pioneers on both sides of the veil, for all who have striven to break down the obstacles and barriers, and for all who still labour to ensure a fuller and more complete descent of the power of the spirit.
May all that is said and done be in keeping with what has been made manifest to us. And may we, before we close, realise that we have been taken another step on the road of understanding that always leads to Thee.
This is the prayer of Thy In-
dian servant who seeks to serve.,
It was my first visit to what must be the most famous home circle. Held in Barbanell's flat, it is still called the Hannen Swaffer home circle in our greatest propagandist's honour, though he has emigrated to the Other Side.
My editor, as inseparable from the inevitable cigar as Churchill, was now standing somewhere in the wings playing the unusual part of understudy. The leading role had been taken over by one of the most renowned North American Indian guides in two worlds. The personality change was striking. Silver Birch gives the impression of a wise old soul. Barbanell seems to shrivel slightly inside his immaculate suit and become elderly.
I find it difficult to identify the guide with Marcel Poncin's psychic portrait of him hanging on the sitting-room wall. This portrays Silver Birch as a young, strong, upright Indian chief. When controlling Barbanell, he manifests as a venerable patriarch.
Poncin, famous as a French artist and actor, was not clairvoyant. His psychic faculty operated through his own medium of painting. He produced Silver Birch's likeness without a sitter, inspired, working feverishly in half-light. The accuracy of its resemblance to the guide has been confirmed by several mediums. This, and many other guides' portraits by Poncin, were executed at great speed, in a style totally different from his normal art work.
Poncin, who passed on fifteen years ago, must have been thrilled to meet, in the spirit world, the original models whose features he knew only from his own canvases.
★ ★ ★
The Silver Birch-Barbanell two-worlds partnership was, without doubt, the best-kept secret of the British psychic scene. When, in the 1930s, reports of Silver Birch's com-munications began to appear in print, their impact was tremendous. His simple eloquence adapts perfectly to the written word.
"Rarely has the English language been so gently, simply and so beautifully used," said one journalist. After reading the first book of Silver Birch's teachings, Lord Beaverbrook wrote: "It contains passages of great beauty. I was struck by the simplicity of the work."
Barbanell, a professional writer, editor and journalist, has manipulated words for most of his working life. He has paid tribute to his guide, "who delivers spontaneously utterances of such purity that they glisten like diamonds. I salute a master of English, a great literary craftsman," he said.
It was another famous Spiritualist, who also lived by his pen, who recognised from the start that the guide's teachings should be published. Hannen Swaffer decided they were not given to the home circle for private use but must be broad-cast.
Barbanell agreed on one condition. He was the editor of a Spiritualist newspaper. "If I reveal I am the medium there could be criticism that publication flatters my vanity," he said. "I will leave my name out and let Silver Birch's teachings stand or fall on their own merit."
Realising he could be accused of self-publicity if he were identified with Silver Birch, he felt subsequent denigration might diminish the guide's great personal qualities. The wisdom of his decision has been amply proved. For a score of years the guide's philosophy stood tall on its own merit.
As Swaffer wrote: "Silver Birch now has more followers than any earthly preacher. They belong to every clime and almost every race and are people of all shades of colour."
★ ★ ★
The circle called the guide by an affectionate nickname which they did not wish to appear in print. When the decision was made to publish his teachings, they asked him to choose a more suitable pseudonym. He selected "Silver Birch." The next morning Barbanell found on his desk an anonymous postcard from a Scottish reader. It was a photo-graph of silver birch trees!
Over the years, circle visitors were asked to respect the anonymity of Silver Birch's medium. Despite the many rumours, it is greatly to their credit that they were not confirmed until Barbanell himself chose to release the long-awaited information.
When I asked a close friend, related to an original circle member, to tell me in strict confidence who was the medium, she honoured the code, declining to confirm or deny the gossip. The psychic grapevine had given signals that Swaffer, Sylvia Barbanell, his wife, and even Barbanell himself was the medium.
As Barbanell seemed the most unlikely channel for a spirit guide, I rejected the suggestion. A shrewd, working journalist, though his whole adult life has been geared to propagating Spiritualism, he seemed the antithesis of a medium. A dedicated Spiritualist of many years' experience and a fine platform exponent, he was out of character with the gentle spirit philosopher.
Barbanell's ample contribution to the Movement through his pen, editorship of two leading psychic journals, a dozen books and his nation-wide propaganda meetings, led to his title of "Mr. Spiritualism." To think he could also be the medium for one of the best-loved and most widely-read guides was, I thought, too much. Silver Birch is an eloquent teacher; Barbanell a fighting rebel.
I well remember his dramatic revelation in Two Worlds ten years ago. With typical economy of words he wrote: "The time has come to make public what has for long been
a 'secret.' Who is Silver Birch's medium? The answer isーI am." A surge of "There, I told you so," went through the Spiritualist ranks.
To disprove the "secondary personality" theory it has often been pointed out that Barbanell disagreed with his guide's support of reincarnation. In many public debates on this subject, Barbanell usually won. But, after following Silver Birch's teachings, he admits that his opinion has gradually changed. "Now I am prepared to believe that, in exceptional circumstances, individuals voluntarily rein-carnate for a special task," he says.
Silver Birch has great breadth of wisdom and humanity. He never criticises, finds fault or blames individuals. On the other hand, Barbanell admits to being highly critical and sometimes impatient. Apart from the guide's uniquely individual manner, one can only truly appreciate the "separateness" of these two men if you have met Silver Birch "in the flesh," and worked closely with Barbanell, as I have done. The difference is distinct.
★ ★ ★
I have shared Barbanell's professional life for some years, first as editorial secretary and now as a reporter. Very occasionally I have been conscious of Silver Birch slightly overshadowing himーwhen he dictated a Two Worlds editorial, for instance. I once commented on this, but he curtly dismissed the suggestion. I think I'm right, though.
Normally his dictation concerns topics and news items on Spiritualism. Though articulate, he pauses and alters sentences. Then comes editing before he is satisfied with the final result. On the now rare occasions when he speaks publicly, he naturally relies on notes.
Gazing out of the window, however, he can dictate, without hesitation, a perfectly composed leading article on an "ideas" theme as though inspired. The words flow without interruption in the same fashion as Silver Birch. Editing is unnecessary. But there the similarity ends.
A man is acknowledged by his style, particularly in writing. Silver Birch's style, wholly consistent and easily recognisable, bears no resemblance to that of his medium.
Barbanell needs no preparation before going into trance. I once suggested he should have a few minutes' rest or quiet meditation in his office before driving home. He prefers to work till the last moment with no "withdrawal" from his
busy normal life. And the circle is always held on a Friday evening, the last day of his strenuous week.
He goes straight from the hurly-burly and stress of a bustling newspaper office. On the few occasions I have attended the circle, Barbanell has driven me to his flat. I snuggled into the back seat, determined not to talk shop or chatter, leaving him in peace to "tune in" to the coming seance. The short car journey needs no concentration. He could probably do it blindfolded!
He was the piper who called the tune, discussing the day's office events, chatting naturally on general and psychic subjectsーusually our main topic because, though our life is spent with them, we still find them completely engrossing. In fact, he was his normal gregarious self, with no indication of impending deep trance.
Only when he settles in his accustomed couch corner does he relax, preparing to change places with his spirit guardian. I couldn't help comparing this well-adjusted, two-worlds exchange with the theatrical preliminaries—and finalesーof some mediums who make a production of their seances.
I am being critical and intolerant. As Silver Birch has rightly said: "Every form of communication depends on the use of a human instrument. Wherever you have the human instrument, that communication must be tinged by the channel through which it operates, because being a human channel, it cannot be devoid of its own nature."
Coming out of trance, Barbanell shows no sign of weari-ness. After wiping his eyes and replacing his spectacles and watch he has a drink of water. In a few seconds he joins animatedly in general conversation with his friends and guests over a vegetarian buffet refreshment. By common
consent Silver Birch's talk is seldom discussed.
★ ★ ★
This famous home circle has six regular sitters besides the medium. Sylvia Barbanell, naturally the veteran attendant, has said: "I have heard Silver Birch speak through the lips of his entranced medium hundreds of times, yet I do not recall an occasion when I have ever been bored by his words."
Similar comments come from the other five loyal Silver Birch circle attendants. Probably the most important member is the stenographer, Frances Moore, who for over thirty years has faithfully recorded the guide's utterances. On occasions, tape recorders have failed, but Frances' perfectly typed transcripts arrive on Barbanell's desk regularly after each sitting. These form the basis of the Two Worlds' reports of the guide's teachings.
Frances, a gentle self-effacing woman with a sweet disposition, is always accompanied by her husband, Vernon. An ex-Methodist missionary, now an executive with an internationally famous company, Vernon is an articulate debater and still contributes many thought-provoking questions to Silver Birch.
This couple were "spiritually" married by Silver Birch thirty years ago, at a Hannen Swaffer home circle. The sitting was prior to their forthcoming church wedding. The guide's views on marriage are worth recording here: "I want you to realise that you begin now the greatest adventure of all, for two lives that have pursued separate courses are now come together to begin a united life. Soon a "man of God" will read a few words from a book and, according to your world of matter, you will be joined in the bonds of holy matrimony.
But I say to you there are no bonds unless you bind one another with love and affection. There are no ties unless you wish to tie one another with love and affection.
Remember that you are two spiritual beings, both portions of the Great Spirit, now coming together with pledges to cherish, to love and to serve one another even as a great love from this world strives to serve you both.
Do not expect that you will escape occasional sadness and sorrow, difficulty, trial and test, for these are parts of your evolution. When they arise, as arise they inevitably must, face them with honesty and know that they help to quicken your character and bring you closer together.
There are many here who look forward with joy to a celebration which will duplicate the one you have in your church, but which will be sanctified in our world by ties we regard as more enduring, for the promises uttered audibly by word of mouth are as nothing compared with the unspoken pledges of the soul.
You are richly blessed, for you have knowledge. I wish you, on behalf of many here who stand beside me, a safe journey through life's seas, happiness and joy abounding, but always ask you to remember that you continue to serve with the added fortification of love
around you in the earthly world.'
★ ★ ★
The other three circle members are Nettie Abrahams and George and Rene Jessup, who, between them, clock up practically the same long attendance as the Moores. Despite their familiarity with Silver Birch's teaching over these long years, they are dedicated followers of his philosophy.
Jessup, a well-known healer with many successes to his credit, spoke enthusiastically to me of Silver Birch the last time I visited the home circle. He is always finding fresh truth emerging each time he listens to the guide. His bedside reading is one of the Silver Birch books, which, he says, gives an added dimension to his simple eloquence.
Nettie, a steadfast tolerant woman, has grown in spiritual stature through many family setbacks and sorrows. She says, but for Silver Birch's wise counsel, she could not have conquered ill-health and several bereavements.
This harmonious group are certainly a great credit to their well-loved guide and mentor.
★ ★ ★
I am your friend and will always be at your side. I have a large family and try to help every member of it. When you go away from here this night you will not go away empty-handed. A part of the power of the spirit, the most precious force in the uni-verse, will go with you to remain with you all the time.
SILVER BIRCH
★ ★ ★
The dearest wish of many Spiritualists is an invitation (they are extended by the guide) to attend this famous home circle. In the past this was naturally sometimes prompted by curiosity about the medium's identity. I must confess it was so in my case.
I have known the Barbanells for thirty years, but my first confrontation with Silver Birch was only seven years ago. My husband and widowed mother were invited with me. We were fascinated by the transformation. My quicksilver chief became a gentle being, working on a much slower vibration.
With typical tender understanding, Silver Birch made a magnificent gesture on Mother's behalf. Realising she had difficulty following him, due to her deafness, he asked her to sit beside him on the couch. Normally this select position is occupied by Barbanell's wife, Sylvia. Silver Birch suggested they changed places.
My mother referred to my young sister's tragic passing, which led us to investigate Spiritualism. The guide com-mented: "Through the greatest sorrow you get the greatest knowledge. The soul learns its lessons in the hour of seeming darkness. It comes into its own, not when the sun is shining, the birds are singing and all is bright.
"It is in the darkness, in difficulty, doubt and despair, in sorrow and sickness that the soul finds itself. When you are able to make a true assessment you will find that it was a necessary prelude to bring you spiritual understanding."
"But you feel very rebellious when a loved one is taken," she countered.
"Mental rebellion is not bad, it is a good discipline. It never harms the soul to question. The mind should be stimulated to search. If it rebels it is a stimulus to find out more. The Great Spirit has so equipped you potentially that you should be able to face and conquer every experience that comes your way. No circumstance is your master.
"By virtue of your latent divinity, which is a repository of potential, infinite strength, you have the power to rise above all that earthly life can bring. If you allow yourself to be brought down by the storm, you have not learned the lesson that the storm has to offer. You should be able to rise above it.
"Withdraw for a while, ask questions when you have doubts.
Again and again go over the basis of your belief and see if it will stand the test. When you find that it does, you are the better for it. When you find that it does not, then change your outlook, for there is still more truth for you to acquire. Is that not reasonable?"
★ ★ ★
"Reasonable" is probably the best description of Silver Birch's philosophy. I quote his own words:
"There is nothing that appeals more to an old soul like myself than to see you testing everything at the bar of reason. We enthrone reason as the great guide. Always reject what your reason rejects, no matter through whom it comes or the source. These are the truths that should appeal to reason and intelligence. If reason revolts and intelligence is insulted, then discard them."
★ ★ ★
For the sake of those many thousands who love Silver Birch, follow his guidance and try to put his principles into practiceーbut who are unlikely ever to meet him in this worldーI have tried to fill in the background of the guide, his medium and the circle. For over thirty years Silver Birch's teachings have appeared regularly, first in Psychic News, the weekly newspaper, and latterly in Two Worlds, the monthly psychic magazine, both edited by Barbanell. Eight best-selling books have been published, many being translated into several languages. It is impossible to measure Silver Birch's world-wide influence.
This book is my attempt at a definitive study, a composite portrait, of this beloved spirit sage, based on his perennial philosophy.
STELLA STORM
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