9

The penetration of Spirits into our thoughts. — The influence of Spirits on our thoughts and acts. — Man's subjection to Spirits. — Pacts. — The influence of Spirits over the goods and ills of corporeal life. — The affection of Spirits for certain persons. — Beliefs in places fatally propitious or baleful through the frequenting of Spirits. — Familiar geniuses. — Persons fatal or propitious to other persons. — The curse. — The possessed. (Questions

to 199.)

Do Spirits see everything we do? [Question 456.]

“Yes, for they constantly surround you; each one, however, sees only the things to which it gives attention, not concerning itself with those that are indifferent to it.”

a. Can Spirits know our most secret thoughts? [Question 457.]

“Yes, even those you would wish to hide from yourselves.”

b. What do the Spirits who are around us and observe us think of us? [Question 458.]

“It depends. Frivolous Spirits laugh at the little vexations they cause you and mock your impatiences. Serious Spirits lament your imperfections and seek to help you.”

Since Spirits are everywhere, we have them continually around us, seeing and hearing all that we do and say. The penetration of thought, which is one of the attributes of their essence, allows them to read in the deepest recesses of our hearts; nothing can be concealed from them; they know all that we would like to hide from ourselves. The Spirits who surround us and observe us judge our acts from the point of view of their own nature. Frivolous Spirits, in the manner of mischievous children, amuse themselves at our expense; serious Spirits pity our basenesses and weaknesses.

Do Spirits influence our thoughts and our acts? [Question 459.]

“Yes.”

a. In what way do Spirits influence our actions?

“By directing your thought.”

b. Do they exercise any influence over the events of life?

“Yes, for they counsel you.”

Spirits influence our thoughts and, therefore, our actions, which are the consequence of our thoughts; it is in this way that they can influence the events of material life. The influence of Spirits is a mission they have received for the execution of the designs of Providence.

Besides the thoughts that are our own, are there others that are suggested to us? [Question 460.]

“Yes, and it is this that leaves you in uncertainty, because you have within you two ideas that fight against each other.”

Since our soul is an incarnate Spirit, it follows that we have thoughts that are our own and others that are suggested to us by strange Spirits; hence, often, the contradictory thoughts that come to us at the same time on the same subject.

How can we distinguish the thoughts that are our own from those that are suggested to us? [Question 461.]

“When it is suggested, the thought arises unexpectedly; it is like a voice that speaks to you. Generally, our own thoughts are those that come first.” The thoughts that are suggested to us are not, in general, the product of reflection; they are, in a certain way, spontaneous, arising unexpectedly and causing new ideas to spring up within us; it seems that we hear an inner voice telling us to go or to act in this or that direction.

How can we distinguish whether a suggested thought proceeds from a good Spirit or from a bad Spirit? [Question 464.]

“Study the case. Good Spirits counsel only good. It is for you to distinguish.”

a. According to this, would it not be more exact to say that the first impulse is always good? [Question 463.]

“It may be good or bad, according to the nature of the Spirit incarnate in you.” The thoughts that are foreign to us, as well as those that are our own, may be good or bad, according to the Spirit who suggests them to us. The thought of good always comes to us from good Spirits, and that of evil from imperfect Spirits. God has given us reason and discernment; it is for us to choose.

With what purpose do imperfect Spirits induce us to evil? [Question 465.]

“So that you may suffer as they suffer.”

a. Does this diminish their sufferings? [Question

a.]

“No. They do it out of envy, on seeing beings happier than themselves.”

b. What is the nature of the suffering they want others to experience? [Question

b.]

“Those that result from beings of inferior order, removed from God.”

c. Why does God allow Spirits to incite us to evil? [Question 466.]

“You, being a Spirit, must progress in the science of the infinite. Our mission is to set you on the good path, and when bad influences act upon you, it is because you attract them by the desire for evil. I have already told you that inferior Spirits come to assist you in evil when you have the will to practice it. I answer once more to your question: bad Spirits cannot help you in evil except when you will evil.

“Well then! If you are inclined to murder, you will have a multitude of Spirits that will feed this idea in you. But, also, you will have others who will strive to influence you toward good, which restores the balance of the scale and leaves you master of your acts.”

The Spirit must progress without cease in the science of the infinite and, for this, it must pass through the trials of evil in order to reach good. It has the choice of these trials, and it is during its incarnation that it must undergo them. It is then that other Spirits come to its aid, according to its desire, whether for good or for evil.

If the still imperfect nature of our Spirit makes the instinct of evil predominate in us, a multitude of likewise imperfect Spirits swoops down upon us, as upon easy prey, goading us by the bad thoughts they arouse in us. Their purpose, in turning us away from God, is to make us suffer as they do, leaving us to stagnate in inferior positions. This in no way diminishes their sufferings, but the envy they feel toward the happiness of others stimulates them to delay our improvement as much as they can.

But, at the same time, other Spirits seek to influence us in the contrary direction, setting us back on the good path; it is thus that the balance is restored and that God leaves to our conscience the choice of the course we should follow, as well as the freedom to yield to one or the other of the contrary influences exerted upon us.

Can man free himself from the influence of the Spirits who impel him to evil? [Question 467.]

“Yes, since such Spirits attach themselves only to those who call them by their desires.”

a. Do the Spirits whose influence is repelled by man's will renounce their attempts? [Question 468.]

“What would you have them do? When there is nothing to do, they yield the place. However, they lie in wait for the favorable moment, as the cat lies in wait for the mouse.”

Impure Spirits exercise their domination over man only when he, by his desires, solicits them, attaching themselves only to those who listen to them and fleeing from those who repel them. When they see no prey, they leave the field free to good Spirits; however, they lie in wait without cease for the propitious instant in which they may carry out their purposes. By practicing good and placing all our confidence in God, we repel the influence of inferior Spirits and destroy the dominion they wished to exercise over us.

Are there not men who have only the instinct of evil? [Question 993.]

“I have already told you that the Spirit must evolve without cease. He who, in this life, possesses only the instinct of evil, will have that of good in another existence, and it is for this reason that he is reborn many times, for it is necessary that all progress and reach the goal, some in a shorter time, others more slowly, according to their desires.”

Each existence constitutes one of the phases of spiritual life. We all have the same degrees to traverse, and what is not achieved in one will be achieved in another existence. If a man seems to have only the instinct of evil, it is because he will have that of good in another life, and it is for this reason that he is reborn many times. He who has only the instinct of good has already purified himself, for perhaps he had that of evil in a previous existence.

By the favors that Spirits grant us, do they not bring us under their dependence, and shall we not, sooner or later, have accounts to settle with them? “No; you shall render account only to God.”

a. Is there anything true in pacts with bad Spirits? [Question 549.]

“No; there are no pacts, but bad natures that sympathize with bad Spirits. For example: you wish to torment your neighbor and do not know how to do it. You then appeal to inferior Spirits who, like you, want only evil and who, in order to help you, demand that you also serve them in their bad purposes; this does not mean that your neighbor cannot free himself from them, by a contrary conjuration or by his own will. He who wishes to practice a bad action calls upon bad Spirits, so that they may aid him in that decision, but whom, in turn, he becomes obliged to serve, since these Spirits also need him for the evil they wish to do. And it is in this alone that the pact consists.”

The dependence in which man sometimes finds himself in relation to inferior Spirits comes from his surrender to the bad thoughts that such Spirits suggest to him, and not from any agreements made between them. The pact, in the vulgar sense of the term, is an allegory that symbolizes a bad nature sympathizing with malevolent Spirits.

The man who wishes to do evil calls to himself inferior Spirits who, like him, want only evil, and who, in order to help him, also want him to serve their bad instincts. This does not mean that he who is to be the victim of a wickedness cannot preserve himself from it by a contrary conjuration or by his own will, appealing for the aid of good Spirits. It is in this alone that the pact consists, and it is to God alone that we owe account of the favors we may have received, since Spirits are nothing but ministers and instruments of divine Providence.

Are Spirits interested in our misfortunes and our prosperity? [Question 486.]

“Yes; good Spirits do all the good they can and feel happy with your joys.”

a. Among our ills, which are those that most afflict the Spirits on our account? Are they physical or moral ills? [Question 487.]

“Your selfishness and the hardness of your hearts. From this all the rest proceeds. They laugh at all those imaginary ills that are born of pride and ambition; they rejoice over those that have as their end the shortening of the duration of your trials, for they are the salutary crisis of the sick one.” Spirits are interested in our misfortune and our prosperity. But, knowing that corporeal life is transitory and that the tribulations that accompany it are means of attaining a better state, they are more afflicted by the moral causes that lead us to perdition than by our physical ills, which are passing. They concern themselves little with the misfortunes that affect only our worldly ideas and our ambition. They laugh at trifles, just as we do at the puerile sorrows of childhood.

Do Spirits have the power to ward off ills from certain persons and to attract prosperity to them? [Question 532.]

“Not completely, because there are ills that are in the designs of Providence; yet they lessen your pains. That which seems to you an ill is not always an ill. Often, from it a good will result, which will be greater than the ill, and it is this that you do not understand, because you think only of the present hour.” Since the ills that afflict us on Earth are in the designs of Providence, Spirits will not always have the power to ward them off entirely from us, although they may lessen our pains, giving us the strength to bear them with patience and suggesting to us favorable thoughts for freeing ourselves from them, as much as possible, by our manner of acting. They assist only those who know how to help themselves.

Is it by the influence of some Spirit that certain obstacles seem to come and oppose themselves fatally to our projects? [Question 534.]

“Yes and no. Sometimes it is the Spirits; at other times it is you, who chose your projects badly. Position and character influence this greatly.”

a. There are persons who seem pursued by a fatality, independent of the manner in which they proceed. Is misfortune not in their destiny? [Question 852.]

“They are perhaps trials that they must suffer and that they themselves chose. Once again you charge to destiny what is often only the consequence of your own faults. In the ills that afflict you, strive to keep your conscience pure, and you will already feel yourselves much consoled.” When obstacles seem to come and oppose themselves fatally to our projects, we should complain of no one but ourselves, for almost always it was we who conducted ourselves badly. The just or false ideas that we form of things lead us to be successful or unsuccessful, according to our character and our social position. We find it simpler and less humiliating for our self-love to attribute our failures to luck or to destiny than to our own fault. The influence of Spirits sometimes contributes to this; however, we can always free ourselves from that influence, repelling the ideas they suggest to us when they are bad.

Do Spirits become attached by preference to certain persons? [Question 484.]

“Yes.”

a. What are the motives of this preference?

“Everything and nothing; sympathy; similarity of sentiments.”

b. Is this affection of Spirits for certain persons exclusively moral? [Question 485.]

“Yes.”

Spirits become attached by preference to certain persons. The motives of this preference are exclusively moral and founded on the similarity of sentiments. Hence the sympathy of good Spirits for men of good or those susceptible of improving themselves, and that of impure Spirits for perverse persons or those capable of perverting themselves.

Do the relatives and friends who have preceded us into the other life have more sympathy for us than the Spirits who are strangers to us? [Question 488.]

“Yes, and they almost always protect you as Spirits.”

a. Are they sensible to the affection we preserve for them? [Question

a.]

“Yes, but they forget those who forget them.”

b. Since we have had many existences, did our kinship originate well before our present existence? [Question 204.]

“It cannot be otherwise.”

The relatives and friends who have preceded us into spiritual life attach themselves to us by reason of the affection we bestow upon them, and frequently protect us as Spirits.

The direct kinship, arising from our present existence, is not the only one that subsists between us, men, and the Spirits. The succession of corporeal existences establishes between them and us bonds that go back to previous existences; hence, often, causes of sympathy between us, men, and certain Spirits who seem strangers to us.

Are there places propitious or baleful by the nature of the Spirits who frequent them? “Superstition; it is you who attract the Spirits; be always kindly and you will have only good Spirits at your side.”

Spirits attach themselves more to persons than to things. It is an error to believe that certain localities are fatally propitious or baleful by the nature of the Spirits who frequent them. It is we ourselves who make these places favorable or unfavorable, by the nature of the Spirits we attract to them.

Are there Spirits who attach themselves particularly to an individual? [Question 489.]

“Yes. It is what you call the familiar genius.”

a. Does each one of us have his familiar Spirit?

“Yes.”

b. Does the familiar Spirit attach itself to the individual from his birth? [Question 492.]

“Yes, and until death.”

c. Are there Spirits who attach themselves to an entire family? [Question 517.]

“Yes.”

Besides the general influence of Spirits, every man remains more or less under the dependence of a particular Spirit who attaches itself to him from birth until death. It is what is called his Spirit or familiar genius.

There are those who attach themselves to an entire family, that is, to the members of one same family who live together and are united by affection.

Is the mission of the familiar Spirit voluntary or obligatory? [Question 493.]

“The Spirit is obliged to watch over you, but it may choose the beings who are sympathetic to it.”

a. In attaching itself to a person or to a family, does the Spirit renounce protecting other individuals? [Question 493 a.]

“No, but it does so with less exclusivity.”

The mission of the familiar Spirit is to watch over the person or the family whose guardianship has been entrusted to it. This mission is not voluntary. The Spirit is obliged to watch over us, but it may choose the persons who are sympathetic to it.

The Spirit who attaches itself to a person or to a family does not, for this reason, renounce occupying itself with other individuals, although it does so with less exclusivity.

Do we have only one familiar Spirit?

“We may have two, a good Spirit and a bad one.”

a. Of the two, which exercises the greater influence? “That by which man lets himself be dominated.”

b. What should be understood by guardian angel or good genius? [Question 490.]

“The familiar Spirit, when it is good.”

There is not always only one familiar Spirit; often there are two: one impels man to perdition, the other protects him against temptations. Man remains more or less under the influence of one or the other, according to the one by whom he lets himself be dominated.

What is commonly called guardian angel or good genius is the familiar Spirit, when it is good.

Does the protecting genius sometimes abandon its protected one? For what reason? [Question 495.]

“It withdraws when it sees in him a bad nature and a predisposition to surrender himself to his bad genius; but it does not abandon him completely and always makes itself heard. He who closes his ears is man. The protector returns, as soon as it is called.”

a. Does the bad Spirit also withdraw, sometimes?

“Yes, when it has nothing to do; but it always lies in wait for the occasions to induce you to evil.”

At times the good Spirit withdraws from its protected one when it sees in him an irresistible will to surrender himself to the enemy; but it does not abandon him completely and always makes itself heard. It is the voice of conscience speaking within us, but to which we often close our ear. For the same reason the bad Spirit renounces its attempts when it recognizes them as useless through the ascendancy that man's will gives to the beneficent Spirit; however, the former does not for this reason cease to lie in wait for the occasions to induce us to evil. It is thus that the man of good is so often assailed by bad thoughts.

Does the familiar Spirit remain fatally bound to the creature entrusted to its guardianship? [Question 494.]

“No; often it leaves it for another. In that case, another Spirit replaces it.”

The familiar Spirit does not remain invariably and fatally bound to the being it has chosen; often it leaves it for another, without a preponderant cause. Another Spirit then replaces it.

Do all men have their familiar genius?

“Yes.”

a. Even in the state of savagery or of degradation, do men also have their familiar genius? [Question 509.]

“Yes; but then the bad genius dominates him.”

b. After this life, shall we recognize our good and bad geniuses? [Question 506.]

“Yes; you already knew them before your incarnation.

All human beings have their familiar genius, whatever the degree of the social scale to which they belong; but, among men still backward as to moral and intellectual development, it is the imperfect Spirits that predominate.

On leaving corporeal life to penetrate the world of Spirits, all will recognize their good and bad geniuses.

Do we receive counsels from the protecting Spirits?

“Yes, from your familiar Spirits.”

a. By what means do they give us these counsels?

“By the presentiments and thoughts they suggest to you.”

b. Do the counsels of our protecting Spirits have as their sole end our moral conduct, or also the conduct we should adopt in relation to the affairs of private life? [Question 524.]

“Everything. They try to make you live as well as possible.”

c. By what sign can we recognize that the counsel given proceeds from a good Spirit or from a bad Spirit? [Question 464.]

“I have already told you: presentiment. Consult your conscience and the nature of your thoughts.”

The protecting Spirits guide us to the good path by the counsels they give us. They transmit them to us by means of presentiments and by the thoughts they suggest to us, whether they have as their object our moral conduct, or whether they concern the conduct we should adopt in relation to the affairs of private life, or whether yet to avoid the ills that threaten us.

On the other hand, our bad genius raises obstacles for us and provokes our misfortunes here on Earth, by suggesting to us pernicious thoughts. God has given us as guides conscience and reason; it is for us to choose. Whoever studies the nature of his thoughts can easily recognize their source.

What should we think of the first impulse that impels us in our actions? [Question 463.]

“The first impulse is always good in the man who listens to the inspiration of his good genius.”

a. In uncertainty, what should we do?

“When you are in doubt, invoke your good Spirit.” [Question 523.]

b. To whom should we appeal, when we do not know our familiar Spirit? “Ask God, Lord of all beings, to send you one of his messengers, one of us.” [Question 523.]

In the man who follows the impulse of his good genius, the first movement is always good; if he follows it, it will always be just. In uncertainty, he should evoke with sincerity his guardian angel, for he will always receive from it a salutary counsel; or pray to God to send him one of his messengers, that is, a good Spirit, and his prayer will always be answered.

What should be thought of those persons who seem to attach themselves to certain individuals in order to lead them fatally to perdition or to guide them on the good path? [Question 515.]

“God sends them to try them.”

a. Could not our good and bad geniuses incarnate, in order to accompany us in life in a more direct manner? [Question 516.]

“Yes, this happens sometimes. Frequently, however, they entrust this mission to other incarnate Spirits who are sympathetic to them.” There are beings fatal to certain persons and who seem to have been born to drag them to complete ruin; others, on the contrary, seem predestined to guide them on the good path. They are beings animated by Spirits more or less pure whom God places in our path to try us or to succor us. It is for us to choose the good or the bad path. It is also, sometimes, our good genius or our bad genius who is incarnate to escort us in life.

Does the malevolence of the beings who have done us evil on Earth extinguish itself with their corporeal life? [Question 531.]

“Often they recognize the injustice and the evil they caused. But, also, it is not rare that they pursue you with their animosity, if God permits it, in order to continue trying you.”

a. What sentiment do those experience, after death, to whom we did evil in this world? [Question 295.]

“If they are good, they forgive you, according to your repentance.” The maleficent action of the perverse beings who have done us evil on Earth does not extinguish itself with corporeal life. Often, on returning to the world of Spirits, they recognize the injustice they practiced; nevertheless, they may continue pursuing us with their animosity, even in another existence, if God so permits it, to bring our trial to its end. Those to whom we did evil forgive us our faults after death, if they are good, and according to our repentance.

Can the blessing and the curse attract good and evil to those upon whom they are cast? [Question 557.]

“Yes, because for the most part the bad are cursed and the good are blessed. God does not heed an unjust curse, and he who pronounces it is guilty in his eyes. Since we have the two opposing geniuses, good and evil, it is possible that the curse may exercise a momentary influence, especially upon matter. However, this influence occurs only by the will of God, and as an addition of trial for the one who suffers it.” The blessing and the curse are invocations that have as their object the attracting of good and evil upon the persons to whom they are destined, but they cannot ever divert Providence from the path of justice. It strikes the cursed one only if he be bad, and its protection covers only the one who has merit. God does not heed an unjust curse; on the contrary, he makes it fall back upon the being who pronounced it.

Nevertheless, since we have two opposing geniuses, good and evil, the will of man may influence momentarily, especially matter; but such influence, be it good or bad, occurs only within the plans of Providence.

Can a Spirit momentarily take the corporeal envelope of a living person, that is, introduce itself into an animate body and act in the place of the Spirit that is incarnate in it? [Question 473.]

“No; the Spirit does not enter a body as you enter a house. It identifies itself with an incarnate Spirit, whose defects and qualities are the same as its own, in order that they may act jointly. But it is always the incarnate Spirit who acts, as it wishes, upon the matter with which it is clothed.”

The action of Spirits upon man is not limited to a moral influence over thought; sometimes that action is more direct. Frequently they unite with the Spirit of a living person and lend it their concurrence, so as to act jointly, whether for good or for evil; however, the disincarnate Spirit cannot substitute itself for the one that is incarnate, for the latter must remain bound to its body until the term fixed for its material existence.

Are there possessed persons according to the idea commonly associated with this word? “No, since two Spirits cannot inhabit the same body simultaneously. Those so called were epileptics or madmen, more in need of a physician than of exorcism.” [Question 474.]

Since the disincarnate Spirit cannot substitute itself for the one that is incarnate, nor cohabit with it in the same body, it follows that there are no possessed persons in the vulgar sense associated with this word. Those who were taken as such, in the times of superstition and ignorance, were epileptics, madmen, or ecstatics.