FACING THE PROBLEMS OF WAR

　"I urge you not to allow yourselves to be caught up in the maelstrom caused by the ever-changing pageant of material events," he said once. "Try to retain a perfect com-posure. Try to realize that calmness, confidence based on knowledge, will help you to face all your problems with a sanity born of your inner strength. It is so easy you who dwell in the world of matter to have your hopes raised or dashed, your fears quickened and dissipated, your passions to rise and fall, because of the excitement of constantly changing events. Your eternal spirit does not belong to the world in which you live. It sojourns here but for a while to obtain its training for the larger life which is its inevitable destiny.

　"At a time when upsets and confusion, chaos and disorder inevitably reign, because the old orders change and the minds of men know not where to turn, it is well to remember eternal truths that cannot be shaken, to know that there are links forged with the Great Spirit which cannot be snapped, that the Power which holds you in its loving embrace cannot forsake you, that strength and guidance, peace and inspiration are all yours for the asking, if you will but cultivate the inner

gifts of the spirit. You should be towers of strength to those who are still filled with thoughts of fear. Reassure them, comfort them, help them. Give what service you can, based on the knowledge you have earned for yourselves.   Help them, so that in turn they too can become accessible to the fountain of divine love and the channel of divine inspiration which is theirs.

　"Strive to allow no hatred to find a tarrying place within your being. Do not allow the seeds of malice to germinate in your minds. They will only warp your judgment and blind your vision. There are many misguided people who to-day are accounted as your enemies. Remember that they too possess the same spark of divinity which is yours. Remember there is a common tie of divinity which binds you to them and that this eternal link is stronger than nationality, than race, than colour, than political or religious beliefs. Do not

allow thoughts of war to obscure your better judgment. We do not pin our faith to systems born of the mind of men. We rest on the knowledge that there is an eternal refuge, a source of strength which never fails, which always seeks to guide and sustain those who will accept its power."

　Here is another message in similar strain: "Do not allow news of war or conflict to depress you. Do not allow fear to overtake you. Be confident, calm and resolute. Let us help you; but you must help us to help you by having perfect trust, by having the knowledge that the power of the spirit is behind you to uphold and sustain you in times of difficulty. It is not only when things go well and all seems bright that you should be mindful of the truth you have. In darkness, in difficulty, still hold on to the truth and know that it will enable you to triumph over all problems."

　"It is easy to have faith when the sun shines in all its brilliant radiance and all seems well,” he said on another occasion. “It is harder to have faith when the clouds of doubt and difficulty obscure the sun. But that is when your faith should shine radiantly, because it is founded on knowledge. Have no wavering. Maintain the note of confidence. It has been a great task, striving constantly to uplift and maintain faith in the light of a succession of difficulties. Now you must hold fast and have no fear.

　"You possess an innate spirit which cannot be defeated. There is no power of matter, no force, no tyranny that can completely submerge the human spirit, for it is the Great Spirit's eternal, priceless boon conferred on every one of His children. That light will shine through all the darkness and despair, and illumine the pathway when all seems drear and hopeless. It can conquer every difficulty, surmount every obstacle and march triumphant, untarnished, unsullied because it belongs to infinity and no worldly power can destroy it. Put not your trust in worldly power. Have you not seen its failure? Do not think that brute force will triumph. It is the spirit that prevails in the endーthe indomit-able spirit.

　"That is why your country is in the forefront, for here and nowhere else have the gifts of the spirit been revealed in all their beauty. Surely you can pick up some of the threads of the seemingly tangled skein and see part of the pattern. I have not said that this country is blameless, that it is a paragon of all virtues. I have referred to its unique contribution, to its love of liberty, freedom and toleration, its great character, which has no equal in the world, and its blend of national traits and habits that have eternal values. They are not true of any other race, or any other nation.

　"Gird up your loins. The final struggle is upon you and you must face it with calmness, unafraid, knowing that you will triumph. But remember it is not the triumph, the victory, that is all important. It is the aftermath that matters most of all. There must be no hatred, no thoughts of revenge, but only the desire to serve humanity. No seeds must be sown that contain within themselves the germs of future warfare, of future misery, of future chaos and destruction."

　At another sitting came a further reminder of the eternal truths for which Spiritualism stands and the urge to apply them to our present conditions.

　"I know that the war brings added problems of a material nature,” said Silver Birch, “but there are none so grave, so difficult, that you cannot conquer them and rise triumphant above them through the power that is latent in your being. The power which enables you to live does not belong to the world of matter, neither is its source to be found in physical things. Life is not material; its basis is spiritual, and all your energy and strength, all your vitality and all that is the real you belongs to the world invisible. Within you is the power to triumph over every difficulty, to conquer every obstacle. Within you there are the heights of heavenーand the depths of hell. Your view alone can make or mar the condition through which your spirit shall express itself.

　"Though there are limitations imposed by material laws, these do not, by their very nature, condemn the spirit to conform to an existence over which it cannot triumph. In times of great stress you call up from the depths of your being unsuspected strength, an indication of the tremendous power hat lies latent there, waiting to be used, waiting to be explored. Your world is very depressing, because there are so many who fear that they have lost the foundations on which they have built and in which they believed.

　"In times such as these it is very necessary to remember those eternal truths which must endure. You are witnessing the results of the application of force. You are engaged in a struggle which, by its very nature, compels you to re-examine those beliefs which you have held for a long time. I urge you to remember eternal truths, which will guide you, help you and sustain you in your difficulties. You are not only bodies of matter; you are spiritual beings. And the spirit which is you, part of the Great Spirit, belongs to the divinity which created and sustains all life.

　"Do not allow yourselves to be dazzled and confused by the ever-changing pageant of worldly events that crowd upon you in quick succession. They cannot touch your spirit, for with calmness and confidence, with the knowledge of the eternal refuge that is within, you can be strong.

　"We have no pre-arranged system of tempting baits, based upon the acceptance of some beliefs or some fixed ideas. We can only reveal a universe of law, that has no favours to offer, no punishments, unless they be the ones you select for your-selves by the life that you live. We do not threaten you with a fate that awaits you after you have finished your earthly life. We only say these are the truths of lifeーhere in your life and what you call the hereafter, where we dwell. We can only speak of our experience and tell you of what awaits you when you have passed the bend in the road of life.

　"Our appeal is not to anything which has been said by any of the leaders of religion, any of the saints or martyrs, re-formers, or pioneers, prophets or sages. We are not concerned with the words written in books, sacred or secular, holy or unholy. We care not for what is taught in church or temple, mosque or synagogue. Let those who wish to follow any belief do so. They have free will. We appeal to reason. We offer the fruits of our own experiences and say this is the system of life that we have discovered. It is for you to accept or reject it. If there be aught in it that seems dishonouring or debasing, then reject itーwith scorn and derision, if need be.

　"But if you are honest with yourselves, if you have out-grown the superstitions and beliefs of childhood days, if you have evolved to the stage where you can cast aside the theological crutches on which you have leaned for too long, then your spirit is ready to grow and you will see that it is Truth we offer you. We do not play upon men's fears; we do not seek to terrify them, nor to insist that they shall do certain things because there is a punishment inflicted upon them for disobedience.

　"We point to a Law that is a Law, a Law that has always operated, a Law that will always operate because the Eternal Mind is responsible for its being. Live with the Law and you have harmony and peace within and without; live contrary to the Law and you impose discord and chaos within and without. You are spiritual beings. One day you will have to face this fact. Better do so now and save yourselves years of needless difficulty."