WHY DID SILVER BIRCH RETURN?

　　　　　　　　　　　　SILVER BIRCH

　I was asked, many long years ago, whether I would return to the sword of matter and find on earth a band who would work with me to deliver the message of the spirit. I was told I would have to find an instrument so that I would be able to express through him the message I was charged to deliver. So I searched our records and found my medium. I watched from the time he was conceived and from the moment the spirit began to express itself. I brought my influence to bear and started there and then this association which has lasted all these years.

　I helped to mould the spirit and the tiny little mind. Throughout every phase of his life I watched every experi-ence, learned how to associate closely with him and accustomed myself through his boyhood days to all the mental processes and physical habits. I studied my in-strument from every aspectーmind, spirit and physical body.

　Then I had to guide his footsteps towards an understand-ing of these spirit truths. First, I led him to make a study of the many religions in your world of matter, until his mind revolted and he became, what you call, an atheist. Now he was ready for me to begin my task of speaking through his lips.

　I guided him to his first meeting. I led him to his first circle. There, in the power provided, I made my first contactーso crude, so trivial, but from my point of view, so importantーand uttered my first expression in the world of matter through another's organism.

　From that day I learned how to obtain better control until now you see the result. We have achieved so much that I can register the totality of my ideas and eliminate for all purposes what is in the medium's own personality.

　When I undertook my mission I was told: "You will have to go into the world of matter and, when you have found your instrument, you will have to bring to him sympathetic souls who will aid you to deliver your message." I searched, found you all and brought you together.

　The greatest difficulty I had to face was the choice whether I would return to provide those proofs that your world must have to satisfy itselfーmaterial proofs, I mean, not spiritual onesーor whether I would return as a teacher of truth. I chose the harder.

　With the manifold experiences I had had in the spirit realms, I decided to appeal to the judgment of mature, evolved minds. I would reveal the message of the spirit in all its simplicity. I would strive to manifest love, never to reproach with anger, and prove by precept and example that I was what I claimed to beーa messenger of the Great Spirit.

　I imposed upon myself the burden of anonymity, so that I would make no appeal of illustrious personage, title, rank or fame, but would be judged on what I said.

　I am a voice crying in the wilderness. I am a servant of the Great Spirit. What does it matter who I am? Judge me by what I strive to do. If my words, earnestness, determination, my mission among you, bring comfort or light to one who is struggling in darkness, then I am happy.

　Your world has for too long concerned itself with teachers whom it has aggrandised into exaggerated positions and has forgotten what they came to teach. Our mission is not to exalt men and women into high places of authority, but to seek to reveal truth, knowledge and wisdom. What does it matter whether I am a teacher of great distinction or a lowly beggar, so long as the seal of truth stamps what I say?

　We preach nothing that is untrue, undignified, ignoble or debases mankind. We seek to reveal only that which will elevate the whole human race and give it a true conception of its position in life and the universe, its relationship to the Great Spirit and an understanding of its kinship with other members of the vast human family in your world.

　They are not new ideas we try to teach you. They are the old, old truths that those who see with the eyes of the spirit have taught for many years. But you have neglected them and so it is necessary for us to teach them to you once again, to show you that you must learn the lessons of the Great Spirit.

　You have nearly destroyed your world by the follies of your ideas. There is war that need not be, for if you knew these truths, and lived them, men would not kill. There is starvation when there is plenty of the Great Spirit's bounty. There are mean hovels where the children of the Great Spirit are compelled to live, deprived of fresh air, unable to catch the health-giving rays of the sun, forced to live below the line of sustenance. There are want, distress and misery.

　Throughout the whole world of matter there is a great cloud of discontent. There will come the Spring of dreams and the Summer of fulfilment. It will come quickly or slowly as the children of the Great Spirit exercise their free will.

　Wherever one man strives to uplift another, behind him there are a thousand spirits who try to make his victory a greater one. No effort for good can ever be lost. No desire to serve can ever be wasted. There must be a pioneer who hacks his way through the forest and makes the path a little easier for those who follow. Gradually this path is beaten down and worn smooth.

　Sometimes I see the many masters in my world, with tears in their eyes, looking down on the follies of those who, one day, will realise how they have thrown away their great opportunities of raising up the children of earth. And some-times I see their faces wreathed in smiles because some unknown man has rendered a service which lights a new torch of hope in the world.

　Like many others, I have come nearer to the earth vibrations to help push forward that great new world which waits just round the corner. I come to teach you the laws of the Great Spirit and to show you how, if you live according to them, the bounty of the Great Spirit can be poured into your hearts and minds.

　It is always with a sense of flatness that I return to your world. It is void of light and life. It is dull, drab and lacks vitality. It is like an old cushion in which the spring has gone and everything sags. An atmosphere of gloom hangs everywhere. So very few are filled with the joy of life; despair and indifference are on every hand.

　I come from a realm where all is light and colour, where hearts sing with the sheer joy of living, where all are busily engaged in congenial pursuits, where all the arts flourish, where each is imbued with the idea of service, with sharing what he has with those who have it not, where there is an intensity and vitality, a joy and radiance in well-doing.

　Here I see only a world filled with sorrow that should be full of happiness, darkness where there should be light, hunger where there should be plenty. The Great Spirit has provided everything and yet there are those who prevent its distribution. There are obstacles which must be swept away.

　I cannot do it. I can only tell you how the Law can work if you, who are still encased in matter, will allow it to work through you. Show in your own lives that you know the things of the spirit because the power of the spirit is in you.

　If I can teach you the laws and how they work, then I rejoice. If, between us, we can bring happiness where there was unhappiness, knowledge where there was ignorance, then at least we shall have done some service. We do not seek to take away from you the responsibilities of your own lives, but only to try to inspire you to live so that men may know the Great Spirit is working through you.

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　It is the same old guide with the same old message, the same old truth, trying to preach itーnot to the same old world, for the world is changing and more and more are beginning to hearken to the voice of wisdom and become receptive to the power of the spirit.

　This truth has made great progress. I wish you could see the extent of our influence. I am proud that because of our efforts we have accomplished so much. Hearts that were once sad are now a little more joyful. Light has pierced the gloom of darkness. There is a little more knowledge where before there was ignorance.

　I am not given to vaunting. The more I see of the universe, the more I am filled with true humility. Yet I know of the power to guide you. It is given to souls like myself, not because we are what we are, but because of what we seek to do. The guidance has been freely given throughout the years of our association; that guidance will continue as long as you desire it.

　I must remind you that I am only an instrument, one of many seeking to bring you the truth, the simple truth of the spirit, the realisation that you are all

parts of the Great Spirit of all life. 

　You have a divine heritage and are entitled to all the bounty of the Great Spirit because of your latent divinity. All obstacles and institutions that stand in the way of that fullness must be swept aside. Our labour is not only to free the souls and minds but the bodies also.

　That is the task to which we have dedicated ourselves. That is the service we strive to perform. If I, as an instru-ment am privileged to bring you those truths which help you then I rejoice.

　I have worked among you for some time and will con-tinue, so that through our united efforts we may bring some badly needed help into your world. You have the know-ledge, the truth, the responsibility that comes with all knowledge of using it so that you are greater instruments.

　Think not of me as just a voice that speaks to you for a few moments, but as a living, pulsating presence that is always round and about you, seeking to bring you what-ever is best for your unfoldment and evolution.

　I have striven to serve you, to bring you closer together in bonds of love. I have tried to teach you the laws of a higher realm, a greater life, how wondrously you are fashioned.

　I have tried to show you your own responsibilities of using truth in service. I have taught you to look beyond the formalism of religious ceremony, so that you can get at the real kernel of all religion, giving service to those who

need it.

　In a world full of despair, weariness, doubt and difficulty, I have endeavoured to reveal those truths which will help you to help others to find the precious knowledge which spells happiness to all humanity.

　If shadows cross your path, if troubles lie upon you, if doubt stirs your mind and perplexity finds a dwelling place within you, remember they are not realities. Give them wings and send them speedily forth on their flight.

　Remember the mighty force that set the whole universe in motion and created every manifestation of life, both animate and inanimate; that fashioned the stars and the planets, the sun and the moon; that brought life to your world of matter; that gave your consciousness a portion of the divine spirit; that is revealed in the perfect laws that control every phase of manifestation.

　That power cannot fail you if you do not fail it. Let that be your strength, your refuge and your harbour. Know that the cloak of divine love is always about you and the infinite embrace holds you in its arms. 

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　There is no one like him in literature. Discerning readers recognise his inspiration is from a source divine and spiritual. The simplicity of his language is at times teasingly profound. One has to pause in admiration and joy when the inner meaning is gleaned.