WHO IS SILVER BIRCH?

　This was the reply of Silver Birch when one of his circle asked for a hint of his real identity. We know that he is not a Red Indian, that he is an evolved messenger of an advanced group who uses the astral body of an Indian as a stepping stone between his own exalted sphere and ours. But so far he has not satisfied our curiosity when we have asked for a name. He regards works as of greater value than labels. He has often expressed his dislike of personal praise.

　"I am but a humble servant,” he once said, "an interpreter for those who have sent me to expound forgotten laws that must be revived as part of the New World that is gradually dawning. Think of me always as a mouthpiece. I represent the voice of the spirit that seeks to make its presence felt in your world and which is succeeding in increasing measure. There is a vast concourse, all with wills perfectly attuned, with minds in harmony, with souls all at one. They use me, even　as I use this instrument, to tell your world the truths that have been buried for too long but which are now being restored and given their rightful place in the lives of thousands of men and women.'

　"To us you are a very real person, not just a representative voice," said one sitter.

　"I do not mean to say that I have no individuality,” said Silver Birch, "for I have. But in our life co-operation is the law. We work according to a Plan, cach contributing what he possesses for the common good. There are no high or low, except the spiritual attainments that each individual has won for himself. The gifts you have developed, the faculties you have evolved, these are freely given for the service of the less fortunate, so that in turn they too may offer what they possess to others less fortunate than themselves. And so the mighty chain of spirit influence, link after link, stretches from the lowest reaches of the earth to the highest points in the heavens."

　"It would be very wonderful if things on earth were done in that way,” remarked a sitter.

　"They will be," declared the guide, "for inevitably the laws of the Great Spirit must be expressed. Those who stand in the way can hinder and delay, but they cannot prevent their maturity.”

　On another occasion, Silver Birch said of himself:

　"I have tried to show myself as your friend, guardian and guide. I wanted you to feel that I was near you, that whatever qualities I might possess they did not prevent me from enjoy-ing a close personal touch with you, that I was interested in your problems and your difficulties and ready to give you personal help and guidance if I could.

　"Remember, I am not only a teacher, seeking to teach eternal truths and reveal the powers of the spirit, I am also the friend of each one of you, for I love you dearly and strive always to help you with all the strength and power that I possess. Come to me always with your difficulties, no matter what they be. If I can help you, I will do so. If I cannot, I will strive to give you strength to bear whatever cross you may be called upon to carry."

　This guide once told us what service meant to him, in these inspiring words:

　"In all the years I have been in the world of spirit, in all the years I have spent in evolution, equipping my soul, whatever i have earned, whatever I have received, is always given freely to you with a loving heart, a willing mind, only hoping that the Great Spirit will permit me to give you all that I have. I do this so that you may realize how much I love you all, how much I serve you, how much strength I would seek to give you, so that you might always realize that the power that is behind you is a power that is divine in its purpose, a power that seeks only to bring you richness and the fruits of the spirit. Love actuates all that we seek to do, and our only aim is to manifest our love, which comes from the Great Spirit, for you all.

　"We ask for no credit, no thanks, no gratitude. If we can erve; if we can see peace instead of war; smiling, happy faces instead of tears; healthy bodies instead of bodies racked with disease and pain; if we can see misery vanquished; if we can see all the despair that infests dispirited beings driven away, then we rejoice because we know that our mission is succeed-ing. May the Great Spirit bless you all, may the Great Spirit cause His light to light up your pathways, may the Great Spirit cause His love to fill your hearts, so that, radiating His influence, you may render greater service than ever you have rendered before."

　Silver Birch is always expressing the affection of himself and those who accompany him for the members of the circle. Before the sittings stopped on one occasion for the summer months, he expressed himself in these words:

　"Although we cease for a while, we will be with you all, silent yet near, striving always to bring you what inspiration, power and guidance we possibly can. When the activities of the day are hushed, and in the silence of the night your souls come into their own and you leave behind the discordant vibrations of the material world and enterーfor a short time,　it is trueーyour real homes; then we taste together some of the joys which one day will be your constant experience.

　"But even when we are sepa rated by the thin veil of matter which we can pierce because of the power that has been built, we want you to know that we are always with you, seeking to protect you with all our love. Be strong in the knowledge that the power which we bring you is the power that belongs to the highest force in life. We are but servants seeking to serve the Great Spirit by serving you who are the nearest and dearest to us.

　"Think not of me just as a voice that speaks to you in the darkness for a few moments, but as a living, pulsating presence that is always round and about you, seeking to bring you whatever is best for your unfoldment and evolution. I shall miss speaking to you in the fashion that you know best in your material consciousness, but none the less I will be present all the time. Call on me if you desire my help and I will freely give it if it lies in my power, for you know that there is no sacrifice I would not willingly make to serve each one of you.

　"Take advantage of the summer, when tree and flower, mountain and sea, bird and beast, field and river and stream reveal themselves in all their beauty. Praise the Great Spirit, Who has brought you such an infinite variety of His artistry as displayed in nature's handiwork. Seek communion with those forces; strive to find the Great Spirit as He is expressed in the silence of the forest, in the lulling of the wind, in the trilling of the bird, in the nodding pine, in the ebb and flow of the ocean, in the perfume and scent of the flower, in the drone of the insect.

　"Try to learn how to become at one with nature's hidden forces, so that you can obtain through them the strength that resides there. The Great Spirit can talk to you in many ways, not only in churches and temples, through inspired prophets and mediums, through sacred books with their countless revelations, but also through the voice of nature, which is His servant. I want to convey to you the love of the Great Spirit, as expressed by all His powersーthose that speak and those that are silent,"

　Silver Birch closed this memorable sitting by recounting the principles that have guided him in his work with the circle and, through them, for the world.

　"I have striven to serve you, to bring you closer together in bonds of love,” he said. “I have tried to teach you of the laws of a higher realm, of a greater life. I have striven so that you might know more of your own beings, how wondrously you have been fashioned. I have also tried to teach you of your own responsibilities, so that you might know that with Truth comes the responsibility of using it in service. I have taught you to look beyond the formalism of religious ceremony, so that you could get at the real kernel of all religion, which is to give service to those who need it. And in a world that is full of despair, full of weariness, full of doubt and difficulty, I have striven to reveal those truths which will help you to help others to find the precious knowledge which spells happiness to all humanity.

　"I have never encouraged baseness; I have never expressed condemnation of any individual. I have tried to expound love in its highest form. I have always appealed to your reason and to your intelligence, insisting that the truths we teach are capable of the most rigorous examination and the search-ings of the mind. I am grateful for the wealth of love that has come to me, and I pray to the Great Spirit that I may con-tinue to merit that affection which you have shown me and which has made it easier for me to perform my task.

　"We call a halt and will pick up the threads presently. I shall look forward with eager anticipation to the time when we all meet once more. I leave you, as far as this body is concerned, but my spirit never leaves you. If shadows cross your path, if troubles lie upon you, if doubt stirs within your mind and perplexity finds a dwelling place within you, remember these are not realities, they are but husks. Give them wings and send them speedily forth on their flight.

　"Remember, you are the Great Spirit; the Great Spirit is each one of you. The mighty force that set the whole universe in motion and created every manifestation of life, both animate and inanimate, the mighty power that fashioned the stars and the planets, the sun and the moon; the mighty force that brought life to your world of matter; the mighty force that gave your consciousness a portion of His spirit; the mighty force that is revealed in the perfect laws that control every phase of His manifestation—that power cannot fail you if you do not fail it. Let that be your strength, your refuge and your harbour, and know that always the cloak of divine love is about you and the infinite embrace holds you in its arms.

　"I, whom you call Silver Birch, say farewell.”