André felt now that a new life lay ahead of him

After all this had been told him.

His longing for more contact with his leader gradually increased.

He preferred to be on his own, and in the evenings he was often in his room.

In this way he had been waiting for some days for events that just would not happen.

Yet something inside told him that this would not go on for much longer.

The next evening, after he had gone to bed, he had quietly fallen asleep.

He suddenly awoke, fully alert. He thought he had heard someone calling him.

‘André’, he heard again, and immediately he knew who was calling him.

‘Ah,’ he thought, ‘the soft voice of Alcar, whom I’ve been waiting for so long.’

To his surprise he felt no fear at all.

He heard the voice distinctly, yet saw nobody.

‘Listen, my boy.’

These words were immediately followed by beautiful organ music which vibrated through his whole body.

First he imagined that it came from outside, but he rejected the thought as soon as he heard Alcar asking: ‘Do you hear this, André?’

Immediately he heard the sounds build up, then gradually fade, as if the wind were driving them away, and finally they died down completely.

He thought it beautiful.

Then he heard someone singing with a voice as clear as crystal.

Suddenly that also stopped, and it sounded to him like the last tones of an aria.

This had all touched him deeply as he had never experienced anything like that.

Alcar asked him if he had heard all of it.

He didn’t dare to answer, and after a moment he heard a whisper, ‘Speak to me in your thoughts, André.

That way we can communicate with each other.

I hear that soft voice, just as you hear mine.

The music you just heard came from the spheres. I wanted you to hear it.

Music isn’t only known on your earth; we in the Hereafter are also acquainted with it, but here it’s far more beautiful, and in harmony with the Infinite.

Those who with us play their instruments, are all filled with delicate feelings and they’re spiritual power.

They’re able to convey these inner feelings to their instruments.

This is possible as their material bodies no longer inhibit them.

It was my voice that sang. The music you heard came from the second sphere and the higher the sphere, the more the music approaches perfection.

I made you one with this sphere; later you will be able to understand this more.

In the higher realms man is seen to grow spiritually and to become more ethereal, which enables him to ascend even higher.

In due time I will take you along on journeys through the Hereafter and you will see and hear these things for yourself, so that you will understand it better.

You know now that we can speak, sing, play music and do many other things, yet according to earthly standards we are dead, and therefore capable of nothing at all.

It was clairaudience that enabled you to hear all this.

Through your spiritual ears you take it all in.

To earthly ears our sound is too soft, and earthly eyes are too coarse to see us.

When I want to come through to you, I mean speak with you, linking us together, uniting spiritually, then I break up matter, the physical senses.

In this condition of clairaudience you’re able to speak with me. This is our means of contact which we, on this side, can easily set up, once we find an instrument that is sensitive to it.

It’s not so simple to seek contact from your side, because your eyes don’t see us, at least the majority of your earth don’t see us.

We have no difficulty in establishing this contact, because our eyes see through matter.

It enables us to see the sensitive thread with which we connect us.

Your spiritual eyes will enable you to see us and the things we want to show you, yet only that which I will allow you to see and connect you to.

Never forget this, my son, as on this term only we have good contact.

So in the future, when you meet up with other intelligences, never forget that it is I, on this side, who links you up with them, therefore do not speak before you hear or see me, otherwise you might be given wrong messages.

It is vital to establish a good connection between spirit and men, founded on unfaltering trust which will accept whatever is given from our side and give proofs to those who come knocking on your door for advice and support.

By all these pieces of proof you will gain confidence and always pass everything on, no matter how strange it may sometimes seem to you.

In this way you will gradually grow to be a good instrument, a good medium that listens to us.

Remember this well.

You must always listen to us, because otherwise things will go wrong, and you would be on your own again as previously, before I entered into your life.

Always bear this in mind, and don’t forget that we see right through matter.

I will tell you what I perceive from this side and what I discern in the physical human being who comes to you to regain his health.

We can achieve a lot through an intense link of love, and this link will help us to receive God’s support to work as best we can, because we want to operate according to His will.

So always open yourself, my son, to receive all the beautiful things we wish to give to you.

It will give us the chance to provide the people with convincing proof that life goes on after we cast off our material garment.

We will guide the people onto this beautiful path, so that they may develop and see the light in the Hereafter when they die on earth.

This is our task, my son, it’s sacred to us.

Together we will tell the people that their loved ones are still alive and want to be united with them because that is God’s will, and because it all stems from God to start with, this knowledge too.

We want to bridge the gap between our world and yours, and raise the veil that separates the earth from the Hereafter.

And having demonstrated the reality of all these things, we ask you to follow us.

We will guide you onto the right road, which leads upwards and will bring you to the temple of pure knowledge.

I will be your leader and you the instrument which we will use to reveal the truth.

I will develop you to do this to the best of your ability.

That, André, is why I will link up with you and together we will link up with God, because we need His help to present the people with the truth.

We want to bring them happiness, and give them what they need for their spiritual growth, so that they may become conscious of eternal life while they are still on earth, which will give them strength and support.

It will make life a little easier, and it will raise them up.

It will bring some light, in spite of all the daily worries.

It will make people aware that, when their end has come they will be happy, for something beautiful awaits them after their death on earth: eternal life, after they have reached the end of the difficult road which God expected them to travel on earth.

Then they will be prepared to struggle, and will no longer consider life as futile.

They will sense God’s Light, and in everything they will discern the goodness He gives to us, especially Love, greatest of all within His creation.

It will make them appreciate whatever comes their way, and they will accept sorrow and distress next to happiness, sensing that this will benefit their spiritual level.

We want to develop them for life in the spheres while they are still on earth, but then we want you to be simple and obedient, and to show love for God’s work, Who is Almighty in Love.

Everyone will rise up to Him, before Him, because it is He Who bestows everything on us.

We will stop now, André. Take your time to think these things over, and ask me whenever there is something you want to know.

Call on me vividly in your thoughts, and I will come.

Later on we will also draw and paint, but for the time being that will have to wait.

Do you understand what I said?

I will pass everything on to you as clearly and simply as I can, so that the uneducated can understand us as plainly as the literate.

Because we must make everyone aware of an existence on high, so that one day they will become convinced that we live here in perfection for all eternity.

God bless you.’

Alcar had stopped talking, and André felt alone again.

This good spirit that radiated so much love had left.

All his words expressed love, and silently André whispered:

‘Alcar, my leader, I thank you for everything.’

Then he heard:

‘Thank God, my son, give yourself in love for God, with Him and for Him in all things.’

It remained quiet after that, and he felt as if something beautiful had departed from him.

He would go to the end of the world for this spirit, this man who had only very recently appeared in his life, and who had already given him so much love.

How happy this revelation made him feel now!

He firmly resolved to do his very best, just as his leader expected of him.

Alcar had assured him that he would also begin to draw but how this would come about was still a mystery to him.

It overwhelmed him, his mind was brimming over with all this fresh knowledge.

Alcar had told him that he had to convince the people, heal them, and lead them onto this path. He was very willing to do that, over and over again.

He already felt love for everything that related to the man who now was his leader and his friend. He thanked God from the bottom of his heart for all this love and for this great revelation.

Afterwards he soon fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning he told his father and mother everything, since Alcar had told him to. His parents had to know.

They were happy too, even though they didn’t understand what it was all about.

André spoke with conviction about life after death.

‘Please understand, dad, I’m not telling lies, really, believe me. Alcar spoke to me and I saw him.

Oh, if only you could have heard that beautiful music, you would have been just as spellbound as I was.

Then Alcar sang a song for me.

Surely this proves that he has gone on living.

How else could you explain this?

I was wide-awake, so it can’t have been a dream.

Oh, it was all so wonderful.

And isn’t it marvellous to know that your parents are alive too?

Have a little patience. If ever they come down to earth and I were allowed to see them, I’ll tell you.’

Whenever he had a chance he would speak to others about his wondrous experiences.

His mother also told everyone what had happened to them.

André was ridiculed by many, but this didn’t bother him, it didn’t even touch him.

He would simply think of Alcar who would surely help him.

Nobody dared to attack him to his face, because people got scared whenever he talked about his ‘spirits’.

A few days after his last contact with Alcar he unexpectedly started to draw.

It was curious how this began.

He had been walking about for a few days with an aching pain in his right arm, and he thought it might be rheumatism.

But one morning he heard his leader say: ‘André, I want to draw, get some paper and a pencil, you need a drawing pencil.’

He didn’t know what to do.

How was he supposed to draw?

He had never done it.

Yet he went to get the things he needed, laid them out in front of him and waited what would happen.

Slowly the pain in his arm subsided.

Then suddenly, involuntarily, his hand reached out for the pencil and started to make circling motions.

A strange feeling took hold of him as his arm began to turn faster and faster.

This slowly decreased again and he felt how his right arm was being guided.

This continued for a while, independent of his own will.

First a cross was drawn, then flowers were added around the cross, and while this was happening he suddenly felt as if he were overcome by sleepiness.

His father, who had come in and saw that André was drawing, quietly left again at this strange sight to warn his wife.

‘Come quickly, Marie, this is a miracle.

Where did the boy ever pick that up?

I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole life.

He’s sitting there, making such a weird drawing.

He never got that from me.’

André kept on drawing and hadn’t noticed that his parents had come in and had been standing behind him for some time.

His mother began to get worried and said, ‘Look at his face, Willem, it has changed completely.

It looks as if he has aged, he’s got such strange features.

Whatever could this mean?’

Her fear increased.

‘What’s happening to our child?

What is the meaning of all this, father?

Oh, what is this leading up to?

Let’s hope he’s not going mad.’

In the end her fear got so great that at a certain moment she wanted to embrace André, but before she could do so he jumped up and said: ‘Stay where you are.’

He looked hard at his father and mother, raised his right arm and began to speak, but the voice was not his. It was an entirely different sound.

‘Dear parents, remain calm.

Your child, whom you dearly love, is under good protection and verily, I say to you: Do not fear.

He will not lose his mind.

At this moment, I have put him in a trance and it isn’t he himself who is talking to you now, it is I, Alcar, his leader, whom he has already told you many things about.

I have taken possession of his physical body in order to draw, and to talk to you through him.

As I said, he is in good hands, and even if this all seems so strange to you, and although you cannot understand this yet, always keep in mind that we are using him for a good cause, namely the proclamation of spiritualism.

With God’s help we will, through him, call out to the people: ‘We are not dead, we are alive.

Do not fear, there is nothing to fear.

Your child possesses a beautiful gift and we will receive God’s protection and His blessing on everything we want to bring to the people through him.’

By now they had both fallen on their knees before Alcar.

‘I will not ask much of you, simply this: let him be.

Let him do what he wants.

By this I mean: let him follow his free will, because he must do our work.

We also want to help you, rest assured.

And now I ask you for your support and your cooperation.

You won’t only be helping me, but many who are on our side and who, like me, want to convince the people on earth.

André is now in a trance as we call it, this means that his own spirit is outside of his body and that I, as a spirit, meaning that I, who died on earth a long time ago but now live in the Hereafter, have taken possession of his body.

This enabled me to draw, and later on we will also paint through him.

We will speak through him in this way, and he will perform miracles, because we will go on developing him.

Tell him so.

We will make him a good instrument to serve us.

I bring you many greetings, also from your parents who are here with us.

Your father and your grandfather say that there is no need to keep your business going for generations.

Your grandchild has greater work to perform: the work of God.

You will have enough to do to support him in all his work.

Behold, and face the things you see. Do as I say and put the reigns into my hands so that I may guide him.

He will be my instrument, and will have no other wish than to work for us, who are dead and yet live on.

He will speak again on certain occasions while he’s in a trance.

You may convey these words to him.

Be strong, mother, and do not fear.

We will help you all.

Now I will depart. I thank you.

God bless both of you.’

André heaved a deep sigh and opened his eyes.

He felt as if he had been asleep.

‘Mum, what does this mean, why are you kneeling before me, what happened?’

They both told him what Alcar had said to them.

Now he became aware of the beautiful drawing. He was amazed.

‘Oh, dad, this is wonderful.’

Hendriks nodded.

‘I can still remember drawing, because I noticed how I suddenly lost control over my own arm.

I also remember that when the cross with the flowers was nearly ready, I felt sleepy.

That’s all I can remember.

What do you make of that, mum?’

‘It’s amazing, son, and God is with us, that’s certain.

At first I got a bit scared, but when you jumped up and starting speaking to us, we suddenly felt both overcome with joy.

Didn’t we, father?’

Hendriks felt really happy and he told André what Alcar expected of him.

‘We agree to everything now, son, just you go ahead and devote yourself entirely to this work.

We both feel now that it’s something very special, and we will help you as much as we can.’

André was overjoyed with his beautiful piece of work that bore the word ‘Love’ below.

It also had Alcar’s name on at the bottom, as well as his own on the other side.

‘Isn’t it marvellous, mum?

I’ll frame the piece myself, because it’s sacred to us, and we’ll give it a special place in our house.

After all, it proves that death isn’t death, and that the dead live on.

There can’t be any doubt about that!

I’ve never drawn anything like it, nor would I ever be able to.’

He quickly made a frame and hurried to hang the drawing up in a fine spot in the living room.

It hung there as a symbol of the two worlds and seemed to radiate a big, strong light.

You simply had to look at it.

André immediately wrote to Mr. Waldorf and told him in a long letter what had happened.

The latter answered that he was very glad and hoped that his talents would keep on developing.

This piece was only the beginning, as others soon followed, all of them beautiful symbolic drawings.

He had to buy pastel colours next, and pictures were then made in colour.

Some of them were bought by kindred spirits, who were intent on owning such a drawing.

Alcar had said: ‘Remember, André, each piece, trivial though it may seem, has its own spiritual aura, even if the people can’t see it.’

This continued for some time.

Then he received news that he was allowed to paint in oil colours.

The first time this took place was on an afternoon, after Alcar had informed him that a French painter wished to make use of his body, and that a number of people were allowed to be present.

His parents made a large room available for him where he could hold these painting séances.

Mr. and Mrs. Waldorf came over to attend this first big séance.

At two o’clock the guests, all confirmed spiritualists, were present, and André had everything ready in order to begin on time.

Everyone was anxiously awaiting what was going to happen.

So was André, because until now he had always done this kind of work in his room, on his own.

He was seated before the easel, and just after two o’clock he went into a trance.

The spirit who wanted to paint through him immediately took up the pallet and the brushes and went to work with a sure touch.

André himself had never held a pallet in his hand before, but the intelligence that had taken possession of him showed expert skill.

All those present saw that a true artist was at work here.

The left and the right side of the canvas were covered with a thick coat of paint, and the first thing he finished was a beautiful sky in a mother-of-pearl colour.

An arch appeared in the middle, in the shape of a horseshoe.

It looked like a vista into some beautiful place.

Then he painted a big elegant bird that covered part of the firmament with its magnificent colourful tail.

After about an hour and a half the work was finished and André turned to the guests who thought that he was now coming round out of his trance.

But he sighed deeply, and Alcar came through to explain the meaning of the piece of work.

‘This painting, my friends, was done by a Frenchman, a friend of mine, called Louis Clairmond, who in his earthly life, long ago, was a painter, just as I was.

It represents a higher sphere and the bird symbolizes an emissary from God.

You see the purity of the colours in all their harmony, which attunes the animal to the higher spheres.

He is willing to convey God’s orders to the earth, where he will be sent to.

We are all God’s messengers. That is what this representation symbolizes.

I have been asked to deliver greetings from your departed friends, many of whom are present here.

This session is now closed.

I greet you all. God bless you.’

Following this, André began to see, and amidst the guests he saw many intelligences whom he described and who were all recognized.

Many messages were received in this manner.

One of the guests received a very beautiful evidence.

He immediately heard Alcar again, who said:

‘Take care, André, I will connect you with a spirit.’

André described this spirit, who was immediately identified by a lady and a gentleman.

These people knew him as a friend who had associated with them for a long time on earth and who had come to a terrible end.

He told André everything, how it had happened, what his occupation had been during his life on earth and the name he had borne.

This was certainly one of the most beautiful pieces of proof, and nobody doubted its authenticity, as the spirit conveyed two Christian names, and André made it known that Johan was the friend’s Christian name and that Bernard was the surname.

André conveyed these messages to the couple concerned, who were both enormously impressed as these had come through so unexpectedly.

There were tears in their eyes and they were convinced, not only because of the painting, but also due to the proof that their beloved friend was still in their midst.

They were also informed by him that he was making progress and, after considerable struggle, had been allowed to see the light.

This is how the people became convinced of a life after death.

The guests left, and their hearts were filled with the beauty of that afternoon.

These were magnificent pieces of proof and André was happy with the painting he had received in this manner.

Mr. and Mrs. Waldorf stayed on a bit, as André had a few things to discuss with them. He had also been told to hand them a drawing in Alcar’s name, which the latter had made for them and to which he had added a dedication.

At the bottom of the drawing it said: Heard.

‘You can see’, André said, ‘how the people below the cross are praying.

A ray of light penetrates the black sky.

This is the Light of God, the proof that their prayer has been heard.

The drawing is meant for you both and Alcar said that you yourself would know the meaning behind it.’

Waldorf got tears in his eyes, because to him this was indeed a powerful piece of proof.

‘André, I’ll tell you why I’m so moved.

My wife and I sent up prayers to God on your behalf, that He might protect you and that your gifts might develop into something great.

Now this is certainly strong evidence that our prayer has been answered; because we always prayed underneath the cross that hangs in our bedroom.

And now your leader presents us with this drawing.

Two people, praying below the cross.

It also proves that the spirits know everything about us.

We thank your leader for this great present.

Will you tell him that it makes us very happy?’

After that day André’s name was mentioned frequently, and people came to him from far and wide.

There were many sick people whom he had to help and support, and whom he needed to convince of the reality of eternal life.