From “A Natural Bridge to Cross” by Eva Burton copyright 1935
Excerpt
There are many reasons why we receive wrong ideas and impressions from the spiritual world, and why books often give contradictory information. As I have said, a person is not endowed with all knowledge and wisdom when he or she goes from the material to the spiritual world, on the contrary, as my husband expressed it, “We are like little babes crawling with diapers on.”
One of the first books I read on communication said there are only seven Spiritual Planes—I suppose the writer’s informant in the spiritual world had only advanced far enough to see seven, the statement was true as far as he had gone. At first, just like going to any strange country on this Earth, they often gather and impart impressions that are not entirely correct—especially anyone like my husband who is impulsive and eager as a child to tell any new thing he has seen or heard. As he said, “We sometimes turn two pages instead of one.” On the first two Planes they do not even have classes or lectures, and they gain a great deal—other than knowledge of their immediate surroundings—by hearsay, which, as in this world, is of incorrect. Quoting Professor James: “It is impossible for souls on the lower Planes to give you very important things—they are still in school Good students go high up, from them you get the best results. I am a professor and have a great deal of knowledge, but I realize there is much I have had no connection with so far.”
Then too, not knowing conditions in the Universe, we on Earth sometimes ask questions in a way that will result in wrong answers. Shortly after I began talking with my husband I wished to ask him if the doctrine of reincarnation in correct, and trying to couch my question in simple language, as Sophie’s English at that time was rather limited, I asked, “Do people return to this Earth for other lives?” not knowing then that there are other planets on which we can be reborn. Elmer answered, “Not everyone comes back to Earth, just those who must come back on account of the lives they have lived, and a few who come back for special work.” Which of course gave me the erroneous impression that everyone is not reincarnated, but the fault was my own because of the way I asked the question.
Also with the fixed, but often wrong, ideas we have of their world, we sometimes do not comprehend their answers. Most of us have always thought of what we call Heaven as some vague place up in the sky—so when I asked Elmer where the Spiritual Planes are located and he answered, “In space beyond where your airplanes can reach,” I still thought they were sitting on a cloud—that their world was intangible! One day he mentioned having rivers, and at my exclamation, “I should think they would leak through!” he replied, “Why should they? Yours don’t.” But it was not until many months later that my mind grasped the fact that they are on planets just as we are.
All up there are not able to do the same things, all do not have the same forces, which is exactly as it is on Earth, so one person may tell us they can’t do such and such thing—and we take it for granted no one is able to do it, that it is an impossible thing on the Spiritual Planes. Neither do all see alike. We are told that no two persons on Earth witnessing an accident see it just the same, and so it is in the spiritual world, there is a vast difference in people—they take over their personal characteristics.
They also love to joke with us—tease us—and expect us to realize they are joking and not take everything they say as “Gospel truth.”
Then we often ask them for help and advice on material matters upon which they have not received an opinion from the Higher Power—sometimes we even insist upon an answer, and in their desire to be of help to us they give us advice, which they hope will be right. Then they pray to God, just as we would do, to make their advice good, but often He sees differently. Of course they should not attempt to give advice or information without asking the Higher Power, but
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Characteristic of my father, he said to me: “If I do not know the answer to something you ask me, I will say I do not know. Some people may come through and tell things wrong but not I, you can’t come back at me!”
The amazing thing to me, is not that we get a few wrong impressions from the, but considering the “great gulf” of comprehension that we get anything correct at all. But the “great gulf” can be “bridged” by love and faith.
This book has been republished by Kessinger Publishing, LLC and can be purchased at Amazon.
