Summerland
For quite some time after the journey to the dark spheres André felt in a very low mood.
It was like in the beginning, when influence was exerted on him.
Those had been sad days too.
But now he knew what caused it.
He was back in his body and had to come to grips with things he had experienced as a spirit, outside of his body.
He knew now what a fine instrument man can be, and what he can bear, without knowing where he gets the necessary energy from.
He had made good progress lately and he owed it all to Alcar, his best friend.
His gifts he had received from God, but his leader had developed them.
He had done a lot of walking outside in nature the last few days and it really did him good.
Oh, he felt so sad and on his own again.
His father and mother were ready to help. But they had no idea how, so he had to quietly cope with everything on his own.
But he got a lot of support from Alcar, and also from the beautiful drawings which he received from him again.
So considerable time went by.
He often thought of the poor musician, and he still saw him clearly in his mind’s eye.
He remembered all the things he had seen with Alcar.
Especially that evil woman and her poor mother, and the painter too.
He intended to quietly send up a prayer for these unhappy people.
It would help them to make progress.
A fervent prayer for unhappy spirits who live in the dark spheres will always reach God.
That’s why he wanted to pray a lot for the poor mother, for the man who was burnt, and also for the one who was still attached to his body.
Their suffering was a heavy burden to him.
If people could see this and experience it themselves it would change their whole outlook on life and it would do away with a lot of jealousy and envy on earth.
They would learn to adapt themselves to the circumstances which the great Guide of our existence put us in.
They would also realize that wealth has just as much right to exist as poverty, and that prestige and prosperity impose heavy duties.
Everyone would fulfil his task on earth as a part of God’s great Creation.
During the last few days he had once again given people lots of proof, and he had disembodied consciously various times.
The strong link he had with Alcar had made this possible.
The last disembodiment had been very special and it had made a great impression on his father and mother, as great things always did.
It had happened while he was sitting in his room.
Suddenly he was outside of his body, and he saw himself sitting in the chair with his left hand under his head as if he were asleep.
He could walk through walls in this condition, because they no longer obstructed him.
On another occasion he had been set free from his physical body, and he had been walking down a street, near to his home, beside a lady whom he felt attracted to in a way, and he saw exactly how she was dressed.
She was wearing a green coat and she carried a bunch of flowers in her arm.
He could clearly read her thoughts, and he observed that these all focussed on him.
It revealed to him that she was on her way to his house.
He asked her what she wanted but she kept on walking as she had neither heard nor seen him.
So he accompanied her, as a spirit, for a slight distance and he found this very interesting.
Suddenly he was back home, and he woke up with a start.
All this had taken no more than five minutes.
It seemed as if he had been asleep while these phenomena happened, and his eyes felt heavy.
He immediately went over to his parents and told them what he had experienced.
‘Listen, dad.
I’ve got a great piece of proof for you.
Come over here, mum, I want you to hear this too.
Any moment now a lady will be calling whom I met while I was outside of my body through disembodiment.
She is going to ask me whether I can help her with her séances.’
He went on to tell them how she was dressed, and that she was carrying flowers.
‘I couldn’t properly recognize the flowers, but I’m sure they’re white.
When the bell rings, dad, I want you to open the door.
I would like you to do this to convince you that this is all true.
She’ll be here in a few minutes.’
Father and mother Hendriks were anxious what would happen.
And when after five minutes the bell rang and his father went to open the door, he saw that it had all come true. He left the lady standing there and ran back as fast as he could.
André had to laugh and the lady was entirely perplexed.
André told her that he already knew that she was coming and why.
This impressed her deeply, and it presented her with even more proof of the purity of his psychic gifts.
But he was not allowed to help her. Alcar didn’t want him to, because the people in that circle were very stubborn and dissatisfied with the things they received from the side beyond. Consequently, nothing much would ever be attained.
Alcar always warned him when something was foul.
One morning he left to treat some patients. He told his mother that he wouldn’t be back before four o’clock.
He first went to see a friend in the neighbourhood, but when he arrived there Alcar showed him that someone was waiting for him at home who wished to talk to him.
He told this to his friends and hurried back home where his mother immediately went up to him.
‘What a coincidence, André’, she said, ‘that you’ve come back so soon.’
‘Coincidences don’t exist, mum. Alcar showed me that there’s someone waiting here who wants to talk to me, so that I could convince a few more people of the guidance that is present in all things.’
He had performed spontaneous healings too, and he had even healed from a distance.
A lot could be achieved, if only people would open up, have faith and leave everything to him.
Once he had been with people who had handed him a ring that belonged to a lady who lived outside of town. They requested him to diagnose her illness.
After he had held the ring in his hands for a moment, he was able to determine the illness the lady was suffering from.
It appeared that the doctors had come to the same conclusion.
‘But’, André continued, ‘she has got a swollen neck at the moment, and pain in her throat too.’
They didn’t know about that, but they phoned immediately and discovered that André’s statement was correct.
‘I’ll help her from here’, he said, ‘and you will find that she’ll be freed from the pain in her throat in twenty minutes.’
After half an hour they phoned again.
The pain had disappeared and the swelling had gone down considerably.
It proved that André, as well as any other medium that possesses this gift, can heal from a distance.
Especially when the patient sits down quietly at the arranged time.
There is no need for the patient to do anything else.
Alcar takes care that telepathy and suggestion are excluded.
The patient isn’t involved in the process.
It’s very remarkable how a person’s aura can remain attached to an object.
Once a gentleman came to see him who gave him a photo and wished to know what the man on the picture was suffering from.
He took it in his hands and suddenly his eyesight faltered. It frightened him.
Everything grew dark before his eyes, although it was bright daylight.
Then he heard Alcar say that it was all right, and he heard the words: ’Blind, André, but he can be helped.’
He immediately conveyed Alcar’s words and said the man was blind.
The gentleman got a bit of a shock, but he realized that André had seen the situation very accurately.
‘And’, he said, ‘the best part of it is, that his eyes were still perfect when the photo was made.
So you couldn’t have taken it over from his portrait.
I’m busy studying these phenomena and that is why this case is of special interest to me.’
To André the whole thing was very remarkable too. He was very satisfied with the result.
But he didn’t quite know how to explain it to the visitor, and he asked Alcar for advice.
His leader told him: ‘Give yourself over and I’ll help you.’
Suddenly he saw the whole situation in his mind’s eye.
‘Listen to me, sir’, he said, ‘I’ll try to explain as clearly as possible how and why I was able to feel and see that this man is blind, even though he could still see when the portrait was made.’
He took it in his hands again.
‘My gift enables me to make myself one with him. This is impossible for you because you don’t possess this power.
In order to do this you must be able to merge spiritually with another person, which means that you have to make yourself one with him, with his aura, which is also called fluid.
Do you understand what I’m saying, sir?’
‘Not quite.’
‘Then I’ll explain it in other words.
Everything lives, there’s life in everything, and when I make myself one with that life, I will feel, think, in short I will be just as that other form of life is.
This is spiritual, isn’t it?
Now this photo was taken many years ago when the blind man could still see.
But this has nothing to do with his total spiritual condition.
It only concerns his physical body.
Matter is matter when it’s stripped of life.
As it is, his physical body is one with the spiritual body.
Now I take hold of this photo, please try to follow me, sir, and because my fluid can merge with the aura that he emanates, we became one.
If this link is genuine, then I’m able to sense everything.
This has an immediate effect on my physical body.
Which is the reason why my eyes began to blur and why I could tell you with certainty what the trouble was.
This diagnosis is correct, isn’t it, sir?’
‘Yes, it’s a miracle.’
‘No, it isn’t.
It’s much simpler when we look at it the way I explained to you.
Because that’s how it happens.
It’s the spiritual power which a person can possess, and everyone who has this gift can do this when he has reached this stage of sensitivity.
It’s very easy for me to tell you more about this person, for instance how he is, how he thinks, what kind of character he has and so forth.
When I am one with him, I take him over heart and soul.’
Now André heard Alcar say: ‘Great, my boy, well done.
We’ll discuss and explain all these psychic possibilities to people at a later stage.
Now go on.’
‘I can help him, sir, but I already see that he won’t believe this truth.
But of course you can always try.’
The friend of the blind man did all he could to bring him round and to let André treat him, but he didn’t believe in this charlatanism and so he remained blind.
The course of events continued, and every day André gave fresh proof to the people who came to him.
One morning a lady came to see him who brought along a photo of which a part had been cut off.
He took it in his hands and he immediately saw a girl of about seven years old, standing next to the lady on the photo.
He saw the girl very distinctly and he asked his visitor: ‘Where is the girl who was standing beside here?’
That made her sit up, and she said: ‘Oh, I cut it off, sir.’
André was very pleased that he had seen this so accurately, and he quietly proceeded to diagnose the illness of the lady on the photo.
These things helped to convince people, and prepared them to receive spiritual as well as physical help.
One day a patient came to him who was treated by him.
He suddenly felt a kiss on his forehead and he saw a very dear, beautiful spiritual child standing beside him, a girl of fifteen years old who had come along with her mother and had given him this kiss.
She added: ‘You’re very kind to my mum.’
He got tears in his eyes and at the same time he saw a beautiful vase with roses, with one particularly large yellow rose in the centre that surpassed all the others in beauty.
‘These are the flowers’, the spiritual child said, ‘which my mother put next to my portrait last night, and I want to thank her now.
But I want to support her in her sorrow too.
She’s very sad, sir, but she shouldn’t be.
She must give my little brothers all her love, because I am happy.’
It hadn’t taken more than a second for this message to come through.
Then he asked the mother: ‘Did you put flowers next to your child’s portrait last night?
Roses, with a big yellow one in the middle.’
She didn’t answer, but began to weep.
‘Listen, ma’am, I don’t know anything about you.
Have you got two sons and did your little daughter die four years ago?’
‘Yes’, she answered.
‘Your child has come here and gave me a kiss on the forehead for the help I’m giving you.
I’m very happy, ma’am, that this pure spiritual child did that.
She asks you to give all your love to her little brothers who need it so badly here on earth.
She’s alive and happy in the spheres.’
The poor mother then told him about the sorrow that burdened her.
‘Ma’am, I think it’s marvellous that you have received one of the most beautiful pieces of proof a person could wish for.
Now you know that the ‘dead’ are not dead, they’re alive.
When you felt sad last night, you sought solace in your child’s portrait.
And while you were thinking of her she was attracted to you by your great sorrow and stood beside you like an angel from the spheres of light, where she is very happy, but you didn’t see her, and you didn’t feel her caress.
She saw how you put flowers next to her portrait.
Let this prove to you that your dear little one is still alive and wants to lend you support.
She asks you once again to give your love to your boys and she tells you: ‘Be strong, mum!’
‘That’s all I need’, the lady said, ‘this is convincing proof to me, and I’ll do my best to give the boys all my love.
I’ll also try to surmount my sorrow.
Now I know for certain that my child is alive and that I will see her again.’
‘You see, ma’am, how your deep sorrow pulled her back to earth.
This proves that our sorrow and our longing draw those who live in the Hereafter towards us.
It displays the power behind human thought.
We ourselves aren’t aware of the things we send out, and that’s why my leader often tells me: André, be careful with your thoughts.’
Some time afterwards the mother received another message from her child telling her that now all was well.
In this way André has proved to hundreds of people that life goes on after our physical death.
He nevertheless remained sad, and kept on thinking about Alcar, because he couldn’t get over the impressions he had undergone during his last journey.
Alcar told him to have a little patience, and if his gloominess didn’t ease off, he would soon take him along again to the higher regions.
And it certainly didn’t, because it wasn’t easy to deal with the sufferings of all those unhappy people.
Now and then he would brighten up a bit and seemed to have mastered the situation, but afterwards a reaction would set in, which made him fall back into an even gloomier mood.
It was all a tremendous burden to him.
He had to handle it on his own, and nobody could help him.
Then he craved to see Alcar for a contact from spirit to spirit.
In these moments no-one understood him and there was nowhere he could hold out.
It wasn’t only difficult for himself, but also for the people around him.
His father and mother knew it, but said nothing.
He wasn’t sullen, merely quiet, sad and withdrawn.
On the morning before he left together with Alcar, he had been going around the house singing, but later when he came downstairs he had a feeling as if heavy thunderstorms were gathered overhead.
Yet he wanted to be strong and not bother Alcar too much.
He prayed intensely to God for help.
It made things easier for him.
Oh, that poor man!
He couldn’t forget him.
He kept on seeing that dead body in his mind’s eye. It had appeared to come alive again in that terrible heat.
No, he never wanted to see anything like that again.
It had kept him awake the first few nights, and he needed rest to be able to do his work during the day.
When his thoughts ran wild and prevented him from falling asleep, Alcar would step in and put him into a semi-trance.
He was very aware of this.
Alcar would withdraw quietly and he would fall asleep.
It wasn't the usual kind of sleep, he could tell by his head in the morning.
Many days passed by.
He plucked up courage because he knew he had to weather it.
He knew that it would mean a big step forward in his development if his spirit could stand up to all this.
He also knew that everything has its price, wisdom too.
It’s all a question of will power.
One evening Alcar informed him that at night they would be travelling to the higher spheres again.
‘We’ll have to move our journey forward a bit, André, because you’re unable to break away from the things you saw.
True enough, you had a trying journey.
All the same, you’ve got enough strength to bear it.
Get yourself ready, we’ll be back in the spheres again tonight.’
Alcar had told him that he would take him along to see the heavy traffic between the earth and Summerland, and André was curious what it would be like.
He was still in a downcast mood when went to his room early.
He pottered around a bit first, and he was surprised that he felt no longing at that time to disembody.
His room was full of spiritual pieces of work that he had received from Alcar and the other painters.
It had taken him quite a lot of struggle and will power to get that far.
One has to persevere and be prepared to put up with quite a bit to achieve a certain thing.
People only saw the results and not the struggle and the sorrow it had all cost him.
He had been scoffed at and ridiculed and even after he had got well underway, they had still poked fun at him.
Yet he had decorated the walls with lots of pieces from Alcar.
He slowly felt the sacred impact from the side beyond coming over him.
His head got heavy and so he quickly undressed.
Alcar had told him that when he wanted to disembody during the night, he should lie on his back before he went to sleep, it would make it easier to set him free.
So that’s what he did.
It was only half past nine.
But he turned off the light and after about ten minutes he was sleeping like a log.
‘All right, my son’, were the first words he heard, and immediately afterwards he saw his leader. With a cry of joy he threw his arms around his neck.
‘Steady, André, we are one again now.
The last few days have been tough for you, there was such a lot you had to cope with.
In my presence you’ll soon calm down again.
On our side we’re more capable of bearing such sorrow. It’s hard for an earthbound spirit.
You notice how careful we must be.
If I were to give you everything that can be experienced during such a journey in one go, how do you think that would make you feel!
You would not be able to stand it.
Come on, my boy, look me in the eye.’
With tears in his eyes André smiled at his leader.
He sensed Alcar’s enormous strength and he saw that great white light around him again.
‘You felt no longing to disembody, but that was all my doing André.
All right, we can leave now.
It’s marvellous that God let us build this link.
You can see how every bit of hard work finds support and nurture in the spheres.
Those who seriously strive and who have the courage to fight will become wiser and can learn as much as they want.
This goes for every human being on earth.
Now you will soon be freed from your melancholy.’
‘Oh, I feel much better, Alcar. Most of it has already disappeared.
I’m beginning to feel happy again now.’
Hand in hand they quickly left the earth.
André had learnt to get his bearings by now, when they moved away from our planet.
Again the earth appeared to him like a disc, and its aura hadn’t changed a bit.
That small, weak light was all it possessed in terms of spiritual value.
‘Summerland, André, is the sphere that’s connected with the earth. It’s located in-between the third and the fourth happy sphere.
Summerland is the sphere where the earthly spirit is allowed to dwell in the night after disembodiment, if God grants him that grace.
In Summerland he meets the loved ones who preceded him, he regains strength there and returns into his physical body, spiritually invigorated.
We will go straight there because I want to give you back the peace and quiet which the cremation took away.
You will soon be the old André again, won’t you, my dear boy?’
‘Oh, I already feel much better Alcar, now I’m with you.’
‘Look, you can see the first streaks of light appearing from Summerland.
It’s a beautiful land, André, a pure sphere. It would be difficult to describe her.’
The light steadily increased in clarity.
‘We’ve gone through three spheres now, though you again didn’t notice it.’
André saw a beautiful landscape in front of him, with trees, water, beautifully coloured birds, and flowers such as he had never seen on earth, in ineffable hues.
The sky was pale violet-blue and sometimes it shone with a gold-yellow brilliance.
He couldn’t find words to describe this splendour.
If he had to compare it with something, the closest would be a billiant early summer day when you feel nature touching your heart.
But even if this were the most beautiful morning you had ever experienced, it would still be a poor comparison, because God’s holy Light and the radiant warmth that prevail in Summerland cannot be put into words.
‘In Summerland it’s love, harmony and happiness that prevail, my son.’
André saw many spirits and again he was able to distinguish the earthly ones from the astral beings.
‘Let’s sit down here, André, where we can observe everything.’
They chose one of the many benches that invited the tired earthly visitor to sit down amidst the most beautiful flowers of the spheres.
The birds were singing to their heart’s delight.
‘There’s harmony here in everything around, you’ll be able to see it and feel it.
Now pay close attention.
I will show you how I make myself one with the little bird sitting over there in front of you.’
André had never yet seen any bird on earth that had such a golden glimmer.
He saw how Alcar exerted himself, and when he stretched out his right hand the little bird immediately perched itself on top of it.
‘Isn’t that charming, André?
He’s in my power now and he’ll do whatever I want him to.
Now you concentrate for a moment on the four other ones sitting over there between those blue flowers.’
He did so, and the little animals came over, just as if he had called them and they sat on the hand he stretched out to them.
But one of them wasn’t quite as fast in conquering the place it wanted, because André had been concentrating on the palm of his hand and so they all wanted to sit there, but in the end the fourth little animal also managed to squeeze in.
André was delighted.
How wonderful it would be if he could achieve something like this with earthly little birds.
‘We’ll run a few experiments on them, André, and you’ll see how man can influence animals through concentration and will power.
By merging his aura with that of the animal he can gain control over it and force it to do whatever he wants it to do.
Remember what I told you about television and black magic.
Now you stay here, André, keep those birds in your power and concentrate with all your might. We’ll see who has the strongest will power and can concentrate best.’
Alcar moved away from the bench, and the little bird that had come over to him immediately flew after him.
Wherever Alcar went, the bird followed.
Now the birds sitting on André’s hand became restless.
He felt there was something they couldn’t resist, and suddenly all four of them flew off towards Alcar who was standing some fifteen paces away.
He collected them and then returned.
‘You’ll have to build up your ability to focus your will power quite a bit, my dear boy. Your thoughts weren’t able to hold them back.
Didn’t you notice how they immediately got restless?’
‘Yes, Alcar, I did.’
‘My strong will led your attention astray.
We’ll try this once more and then we’ll let them fly away.’
André stroked the beautiful feathers of the little animals. They seemed to like it because they raised their little heads and arched their backs.
‘Now keep a tight hold of them with your thoughts, André.’
‘All right, Alcar, I’ll do my best.’
Again Alcar moved away.
André strained himself, but at a certain moment all four had disappeared again and were perched on Alcar’s hand.
‘You see which one of us is strongest in spiritual power.
Now I’ll show you something beautiful. Watch carefully.
I will release the little bird sitting on my thumb from my will power. It can then fly wherever it wants to.
The other three I will keep in bondage.
Look, it’s already beginning to feel its freedom.
To the eye nothing has changed, and yet the other little animals are still entirely in my power.
Isn’t it fantastic, André?
Now I’ll let my thoughts release it completely.’
No sooner had Alcar said it than the bird had flown away.
‘Now for these two, André.
I’ll gradually let my will power diminish.
Look, I’m letting go of them completely now.’
And likewise they immediately flew away.
‘Now you play about a bit with the last two birds, André. I’ll withdraw my thoughts from them.’
André went over and stood a few yards away from Alcar. He focussed all his thoughts on the birds, then clapped in his hands, and the birds came over to him at once.
‘Perfect, André, this proves that you can work things with your thoughts.’
He felt great satisfaction that he had got that far.
‘Now try moving away a bit while you take them along.’
To his great joy this experiment also succeeded.
‘Oh, I wish I had little animals like these on earth!’
‘All in good time, André, one day you’ll do the same with birds on earth.
But don’t forget that not all animals immediately listen to our will.
You need more strength with certain animals than with others.
Now let go of them. We have more things to do.’
André thought of something else and the birds flew away.
‘Take a look at all these radiant spirits, my boy.
Don’t they look happy?’
They saw a man with his wife, a child with its mother, two brothers together, then a child with other little children or a father and mother with their child.
Many of them were quietly walking about, while others sought seclusion to be together for a while.
‘It’s night time on earth, and there are many disembodied spirits here.
I know one who will be here soon.
I have already seen his wife and his child.’
‘How happy all these spirits are that live here, Alcar.’
‘The people on earth can’t be told often enough how beautiful and how holy things are over here.
And up in the higher spheres everything is even nearer to perfection.
Once I was allowed to see the sixth sphere while a festivity was going on.
Because of some good deed I had done, my master called me over, and I was permitted to dwell there for a while.
It made the same impression on me as you are experiencing now.
So much beauty and holiness can’t be expressed in words, because it’s impossible to convey what you feel over there.
They are all angels that dwell there amidst an indescribable colour splendour.
Later on, after we have reached a level at which you can understand everything, we will visit the fifth or sixth sphere, and you will then be able to give even more beauty and sacred things to the earth.
Look, there’s the man I mean.’
André saw a man, still quite young, who walked before him beside a somewhat older intelligence.
‘This young man still lives on earth.
When their child was born he lost his dear wife, who took the little one along too.
You can sense the deep sorrow he was immersed in when he was left behind all on his own.
But God provides in everything and He grants His mercy to those who truly love.
That is why he may visit his beloved wife and his little child in Summerland from time to time, as his grief would otherwise be unbearable.
Aren’t God’s laws wonderful, my boy, and isn’t His Guidance evident in everything?’
‘Does he disembody consciously too, Alcar, and can he remember this afterwards?’
‘No, André, he can’t, because he isn’t a direct medium, although he possesses these dormant powers, just as every other human being does.
In his case disembodiment takes place in a different manner, which I will explain to you shortly.
His dear child continues to grow up here and she will one day approach her father as beautiful as an angel.’
It moved André to see how the young man held his wife in his arms for a long while, and he also took the little one, who was about three years old, and lovingly pressed her to his breast.
The man and the woman had tears of happiness in their eyes and both let them flow freely.
The little one put both her arms around her father’s neck and looked at him as if she wanted to say: ‘Where were you all this time?’
‘Such scenes occur here all the time and nobody feels ashamed of his happiness.
When the short time has passed, which the young man must still spend on earth, these two people will be one forever, because they have begged God to bless their love.
He will remain true to this woman under all circumstances and she will be his twin soul for all eternity.
Eternal happiness!
Do you feel what this means?
Together forever, linked by God?
I was once allowed to take part in a spiritual wedding ceremony which Christ Himself performed.
And one day, when you will have reached the stage where your spirit can deal with it, I will show you such a marriage ceremony too.
This is so sacred, André, such tremendous happiness for the person who may receive this on our side.
It can’t be compared to that on earth under the same name.
Spiritual love is a mighty feeling that blazes within a person’s soul like a holy fire.
Once I was allowed to sense it, for one short moment only.
Then I became overwhelmed by the feeling which those two, who were spiritually one, carried within.
And yet one day we will possess this too.
A person who has experienced this holy power will always try to accomplish everything the way God wills it.
He will want to develop, so that he may some day receive the holy love which God has in store for all His children.
My boy, my boy, it is a tremendous power which the human spirit carries within then.
His unspeakable happiness enables him to move mountains, and he gets a feeling as if everything smiles at him, talks to him, is one with him. It’s as if he’s dreaming, as if he’s raised to higher spheres by that divine feeling.
He senses a yearning desire to thank God for this great mercy, and no sacrifice would appear too heavy to him.
People couldn’t cope with this feeling on earth.
It’s something only the astral person is capable of, because matter cannot deal with this happiness.
Material man isn’t attuned to it.
What does marital love mean to people on earth?
This pure feeling is scarcely understood down there, because man has become too materialized, and very often his kind of love has nothing in common with higher love because it only stands for material togetherness.
They may be united materially, but spiritually they are miles apart.
You see it everywhere.
Lives are often destroyed because people thought they loved each other, whereas this love was nothing but selfishness or passion.
Nothing is done to develop that higher love, and so man goes on living for years on end without really knowing the other person who has lived at his side for years, because he never tried to fathom the other person’s soul condition, feelings and spiritual power, and to understand them.
Often these two people, who came together because they honestly believed they loved each other, never got to know true love.
Only when two souls humbly bow before each other, will the pure love which God only once puts into man’s heart, come to exist alongside human passion.
When a person feels this higher kind of love for someone else yet receives nothing in return, then this unhappy person's soul will cry out for lack of understanding.
He senses the love which he prayed God for so ardently, but without an echo a sorrow is born, so intense, so terrible, so movingly deep, that only God can fathom it.
Woe to him who has no understanding for this love.
He mocks God’s greatest creation, the highest and the most sacrosanct which He created.
When two beings meet on earth, who are blessed with this sacred fire, then everything around them will shine, because they are enraptured and will wish to give each other nothing but pure love.
Earthly love is usually nothing more than friendship.
The love that is experienced in the spheres merges in one feeling, one life, one understanding.
This love is eternal and the souls are united by God.
On earth things are usually quite different.
Down there man and woman wander through life and never consider this life as a path that leads to God, but as a road full of worldly pleasures.
A road they wander, just like any other road.
They forget that anyone can choose a road at random, but that the road they must take together is meant for them only.
They must travel this road together in love, and the going will be easy for both.
They can support and help each other.
It’s the road that will be shown to them by God’s angels who watch over them, because they want to live in love.
It’s the road which God Himself will show them.
Yet there are very many who don’t see this road, and they drift apart and go astray due to all kinds of interests, tendencies and habits.
Sometimes they find each other again and try anew to climb the narrow path which must lead them back to that difficult road on high.
But soon they stray again, because they lack the steady, serious determination, to show each other the way with God’s help.
Many people go on living this way together, without mutual understanding or love. They’re like horses in a team, in which the strongest one chooses its track and pulls the other along, until finally the latter forcefully bears up and pulls apart the harness it has been tugging at for so long and goes its own way, free at last.
Never try to lead such a team, André, because it can only keep onto the right track of its own free will.
‘Oh, you people, use all your human intellect and ask yourselves whether your own road will lead to God’s Throne or whether you must admit to yourself that it’s not the road He has shown to you.
And when you are united in pure love, then may God, who laid this love into your hearts and joined your hands together with His blessing, forbid that you depart of your own free will from the road He showed you, because the day you arrive on our side you will find your heavenly path to be even more beautiful than the worldly one, and it will guide you to your Heavenly home.
Love each other with holy, pure love.
Be each other’s support and consolation, trust each other and follow the road which is strewn with the flowers of your love.
That is God’s will, and the spirits will cheer when they see such a happy human couple that enter Summerland side by side.’
Now take another look at that happy trio that was allowed to come together here, André.
The young man’s father has withdrawn for the time being and will soon take him back to his physical body on earth.
We’ll await this moment at some distance and then follow them to see how he will get back to earth.
God’s great mercy on people like him, who have been left behind in deep sorrow, enables them to stay close to their loved ones in this way and to maintain their inner contact, although they are unaware of this.
Yet it remains their spiritual possession.
So much more lies dormant within a person, of which he is not aware.
These powers and phenomena are subject to study and close examination by parapsychologists on earth.
Many spiritists believe that everything is based on the influence of spirits, but there are many things that have a deeper cause, such as the Divine mercy of togetherness in Summerland.
Here everyone can find happiness, those who love the mountains as well as those who prefer the wide plains.
You can see what a beautiful land this is.
At a later stage we will visit the interior of the heavenly houses.’
‘Oh, Alcar, I can hardly wait for that to happen!
I’d be so happy to visit your house!’
Alcar smiled.
‘Not only my house, I will show to you everything I possess.
But have a little patience, my boy, there’s still so much to see.
We’ll examine everything bit by bit so that I can pursue your development.
The beauty of our house in the spheres is in complete harmony with our inner being.
The higher its level, the more sublime the beauty of our surroundings.
You’re not able to picture this in your mind yet, and I advise you not to think about it, as none of your images would resemble the real thing.
In keeping with the Divine laws man shall reap what he sows.
That’s another thing you can’t point out often enough to your fellow men.
And keep on instilling it into their minds that social standing or position had nothing to do with all this.
Even if you were born in a shack, you can still build yourself a mansion in the spheres while you’re on earth.’
‘It looks a bit like the Alps here, Alcar, and yet it isn’t cold.’
‘You would feel cold in the dark spheres though, that’s somewhere we’ll go to later on.
There’s also deep darkness.’
‘Here I find everything sacred, Alcar.
I would love to stay here.’
‘I’m sure you would, my boy.
But that must wait till later.
Nature sings its song here and everything breathes peace and quiet.
Here you feel how much God loves man and how infinitely good He is towards him.
Here, in His Garden of Life, man is one with Him.
Do you think I’m exaggerating, my son?
Isn’t it a garden of life?
The piece I gave you, with all those flowers in eternal splendour, was a small portrayal of this.
The person who arrives here after a life well-spent and who sets foot in this sanctuary will feel unspeakably happy.’
‘These spirits are about to pray, Alcar.’
‘Yes, they feel the need to thank God for this great mercy.’
‘Oh, Alcar, if the people on earth could see this I’m sure they would begin to live as God wants them to.’
‘Certainly, my son, but they must reach that stage without having seen all this, because the Divine Spark, which makes them feel the difference between good and evil, is present in every person.
Let us pray too, my boy. I’m sure you also feel that need, don’t you?’
‘Yes, Alcar.’
‘Then come over here, close to the beautiful flowers that bear God’s life within.
Look at the magnificent violet-blue colour this flower has.
It looks as if it’s lying in a haze.’
Alcar took the flower between his hands and knelt down.
André knelt before him and looked at him.
In this sacred moment he sensed that his leader, who was giving him and teaching him so much in great simplicity, was spiritually even higher than he made out to be.
‘Listen, André, and try to understand me.’
Alcar bowed his head and directed his gaze at the beautiful flower, and he spoke:
†
‘This is a spiritual flower which grows and blossoms only by the grace of God.
It exists in all things and feels its God in everything, to be one with God, to be surrounded by everything that is God.
Enveloped by God’s love it will live, it will blossom, it will be beautiful, and in keeping with God’s sanctifying intention, it will fathom infinite depths and enframe infinite vistas.
It senses God’s great Omnipotence in everything, and will therefore retain this colour and this splendour in all eternity.
It resembles the ancients, restored to youthful strength, it raises itself in this wisdom during the course of its life.
But it will perceive any intention to destroy it and protect itself and triumph, because it gives love and is one with God.
Flower of the grave, living atom of the spheres, may God protect your splendour, your colour and your inner feeling. Glittering rays will light up your life with a heavenly glow.
By the Light of the Creator man will try to know your light, and above all your feelings for God.
Live, my flower, live.
Lay your fragrance, your colour and your power on spiritual streams, and guide and strengthen man with your wisdom.
Give your light, your power and the glow you bear within to many a person, so that they too may become attuned to all that surrounds them.
Let the poor who come to you and must, alas, return to earth again, partake of your possessions.
Give them your love and your sweet fragrance which strengthens them, and mingle your light with theirs.
Oh, help man in his grievous pain, because he got lost in falling debris.
He comes staggering towards you, looking for healing and strength.
His surroundings make him suffer, so don’t let him call out in vain. Only the power, the spirituality of the person can help him.
Oh, give him this support.
You endure and know, you possess and feel God’s sacred power in everything.
May it strengthen us all.
Amen.’
Alcar let go of the flower and André saw tears in his eyes.
‘I prayed for you too, my boy.’
André felt an even greater stillness around him, and a mighty power within.
This prayer had given him strength.
He thought it over deeply.
Man could become one with everything.
Man’s surroundings made him suffer, also because of his ignorance.
‘He comes staggering towards you.’
He felt what Alcar had meant with those words.
Man must fall and get up again in his earthly life.
Either grief and sorrow would make him rise, or his spirituality would do it.
This must be the spiritual power in man.
These thoughts went through his mind like a flash.
Man could be one with everything and then he wouldn’t have to suffer as much.
‘That’s it, André.
Man can be one with everything if he wants to and if he lets his divine feeling reveal itself.
He must live as he should, and be one with God in everything.’
‘You caught my thoughts again, Alcar.’
‘So I did, my boy.
This spiritual flower senses me. I prayed by means of it.
This flower bears and possesses the life that God put into everything.
We can attune to this.
To be one with that life.
Do you feel what I mean?
Give this some thought when you’re back on earth.
Come on, we’re going back to the spot where we were just now. I’ve got another surprise for you.
Look, there’s someone coming over whom you know.’
André looked at the figure that Alcar pointed out to him and he cried out: ‘Auntie, auntie!’ He ran towards her and put his arms around her neck and embraced her tightly.
‘Oh, auntie, what a surprise, what a blessing!’
‘Why didn’t you tell me before, Alcar?’
‘I told you on our last journey, André, but you forgot.
You stay with auntie now. I’ll come back to fetch you shortly. In the meantime I’ve got some other matters to attend to.’
Within a few moments Alcar had disappeared.
André couldn’t say anything, this blessing had come too unexpectedly and he felt overwhelmed.
How good Alcar was.
He gave him nothing but love.
He would go through fire for him.
Alcar never thought of himself, always of others.
He never put himself in the foreground, he always made himself known through love and did everything for others.
‘Look at me, my boy.’
‘Oh auntie, forgive me, I was thinking of my dear leader, he’s so good to me.’
‘Look André, I’m no longer old and ugly.’
‘No, auntie, you’re beautiful.’
André wept with emotion.
Here before his very eyes stood his mother’s dear sister whom he had seen depart from the earth.
She was alive, she was beautiful, young and happy, and everything that surrounded her was pure and charming.
‘Come on, auntie, tell me a bit about yourself.
I’m so curious and I don’t know what to ask you first or where to start.
Everything is so unexpected, so great, so mighty.
You’re alive, you’re happy, you’re beautiful and young.
Even more beautiful than when I saw you leave your body.’
André told her everything he had perceived when she passed on from the earth.
‘Everything is just as you saw it, it’s all real.
My parents, my sister and my brother came to fetch me.
I’m with my father and my mother in the fourth sphere.
My sister and my brother are already in a higher sphere.
They arrived there as angels after they left the earth.’
‘How did you know that my leader and I would be here?’
‘That’s very simple, André.
Your leader sent his thoughts out to me, which I’m already able to pick up.
I felt it too and I saw you from my house.
I have an instrument there which enables me to perceive the things I wish to see, and that’s how I saw you and your leader coming.
I knew long beforehand that we would see each other again.
Oh, there is so much I have to tell you, my boy, but our present meeting will only be short.
You will be back later on during your life on earth and then I’ll show you everything I possess.
Tell your father and mother that I’m alive and happy and that I’ve got a house of my own which I already built during my earthly life.
Oh, André, those first moments after waking up in the spheres.
When I woke up and saw all that beauty, when everything smiled at me and I knew that I hadn’t lived my life on earth in vain, then I knelt down to thank God.
There’s a lot I’ve already seen and learnt.
I got work too. I was given a beautiful task which I wanted to accomplish when I was on earth, but I never got a chance down there.’
‘What kind of work, auntie?’
‘I’m looking after spiritual children, André, and I’m bringing them up with love. That’s my task.’
‘Oh, that’s beautiful!
I’ll tell mum and dad everything.
Especially that life after death can be so beautiful and how young and happy you are.’
‘You do that and don’t forget to give them my blessing.
Do you know who your leader is, André?’
‘No, auntie, I don’t know yet, but I do know that he possesses a great love and that he loves all mankind.’
‘You sensed that correctly, you’re under excellent guidance.
He, who is constantly at your side and who is instructing you spiritually, is a spirit of love who is honoured here everywhere.
Be strong and persevere in goodness.
It will grant you spiritual happiness.
What a treasure a person can possess when he unites with all this beauty, with life everlasting.
This is something one possesses forever, and it’s sacred and true.
Oh, I’m so happy.
Here I can give myself as I am deep down. Here I’m understood.
Here love prevails, here all is one and everyone is happy.’
‘When you awoke, did you know where you were?’
‘Yes, I woke up in my own house, André.
Those first moments after my birth in the Hereafter were grafted into my soul for all eternity.
They are indescribable.
When I awoke and saw all that beauty around me, and all those flowers in a multitude of colours, when I saw and felt eternal life in everything, I kept on weeping, I wept with happiness, because I felt that the place I had been brought to from the earth was my very own possession.
And I thanked God and begged Him to grant this great blessing to all spirits.
Afterwards I was overcome with a deep sense of pity for all those who had to stay behind on earth.
Rejoice, André, rejoice when someone passes on who loved God while he was on earth.
Look at me and feel how happy I am, now I have discarded my material body.
So rejoice when such a person passes on and don’t be sad, because we’re a thousand times better off than those who mourn us.
Our passing on should be seen as a journey to a higher place, and people should try to prepare themselves to set out shortly on this journey for the eternal land, and they should make sure to be received with joy by happy spirits.
Tell everyone how holy everything is here, André.’
‘I promise, auntie.’
‘Look, there’s your leader, you must leave now.
Our meeting didn’t last long.
Be strong, André.
You will keep on returning here.
Again and again, so you’ll be able to give the earth a great deal.
By the way, do you know that you are an exceptionally gifted boy?’
‘Yes, auntie, I know, and I’ll never abuse my gifts.’
‘And later on, André, when it pleases God to break off your lifethread too, you will come here and we will be together forever.
Isn’t that true, brother Alcar?’
‘Auntie, you know Alcar?’
‘Who doesn’t, André!
Where love is needed, he can be found.’
André looked at Alcar in humble admiration and felt very insignificant compared to these two spirits.
Auntie already knew so much more than he did after the short time she had been in the spheres.
Where did she pick up this knowledge?
How could she get to know this in so short a time?
Alcar read his thoughts again and asked: ‘Does my son think it strange that a spirit who is in the light knows?
Auntie went through the gate, my boy.’
André understood.
Auntie embraced him and kissed him.
And they both thanked God for this reunion.
‘And now it’s goodbye until we meet again, André.’
He wanted to add something, but auntie had already left.
‘I would have liked to ask her just one more thing, Alcar.’
‘In the higher regions people act immediately.
This has to do with order and harmony.
Here no-one lingers on after a decision has been made.
But come on, the young man whom we want to follow is already on his way to earth.’
André cast a last glance on everything he could behold in Summerland.
‘I would love to be one with the little birds again for just a short moment, Alcar.
Haven’t we got time for that?’
‘No, my boy, later.
We mustn’t lose any more time now.’
‘But I find it so hard to part with this bliss, Alcar. I hardly can.’
‘Then I’ll use my will to give you the strength you need.
Is it better now?
When the temporarily disembodied spirit arrives here and sees and feels eternity, parting is always hard for him.
But don’t be sad.
In time we will pay the higher regions frequent visits, and you will behold more than you have seen up to now.
I promise you that this will happen soon.’
‘Alcar, I don’t want to be ungrateful, but parting from Summerland is harder for me than the farewell to all the other things you have shown to me.
Everything is holding me back here, everything is alive here, everything means blissfulness.
Who wouldn’t feel a constant yearning for this!’
They left Summerland, and slowly its light grew dimmer.
They were both withdrawn and floated towards the earth in silence.
André’s thoughts were with all the things he had been allowed to behold: the birds, the flowers, nature, the valley, the mountains, the houses, his aunt.
It made his mind reel and he couldn’t break free from it all.
‘Is it that hard for you to leave this place, André?’
These tender words his leader spoke warmed his heart and tears welled up in his eyes.
He took Alcar’s hand in his and pressed it lovingly.
‘Yes, Alcar, it’s very hard indeed.
I would gladly do without all the treasures in the world for all this, for this great blessing, even for the sake of a royal crown.’
‘I believe you, André.
Worldly treasures can’t be compared to heavenly goods.’
‘I would gladly die, Alcar, yes, gladly, now that I have set foot in Summerland.
I honestly mean what I’m saying, and from the bottom of my heart I say: I want to die for this, Alcar, young though I am.
I would have gladly remained there but I feel that this is not yet to be.
But I will give as much love as I can to the people on earth, so that I may live in this holy sphere later on.
I will work for that goal, Alcar.’
‘Yet there are thousands of people who cling to the earthly life, who hang on to the last threads of life in order not to die and cling to this frenetically, because they are afraid of passing on.
Whatever they call their own on earth, entire continents even could never be compared to the beauty the spirits possess who live in Summerland or in other happy spheres.
Now store everything you saw in your heart.
It will give you strength for your daily life.
Do your work with love for God and for your fellow men, and you will see the value and the purpose of everything, and you will know how to accomplish life on earth.
Remain superior to all material things, since you know what awaits you after you pass on.
All the happiness the earth can present you with cannot be compared to what you experienced during this short time.
These moments have an infinitely higher value, my boy.
The worldly person doesn’t want to see himself as he really is, and yet one day he must.
Only then will he begin to work on his spiritual level.
That’s where we want to help him
That’s why we come to earth.
We want to open up his soul so he’ll feel this himself.
But he still rejects us when we approach him full of love, and he doesn’t want to give us a hearing either.
And yet we live for him and we feel his worries, his sorrow and his grief.
But he doesn’t understand that we are all around him, that we want to lend him support and help him in everything.
I’ll tell you something that’s closely related.
In the days when I still frequently came to earth to find out how man acts in his ignorance, my attention was drawn to a family consisting of a man, woman and two boys.
The father owned a business and worked day and night for his family.
But when the boys got to the age of nine and seven he suddenly passed on.
The business was still in its infancy, and it was a big shock to the poor mother when her husband passed on so unexpectedly.
It was a terrible time for her.
Yet she gave her best and kept on working on the things they had built up together.
This went on for some years. The boys grew up successfully and reached the age of sixteen and fourteen.
The business prospered and even expanded.
At that stage the mother told her children: ‘If only your father could have witnessed this!’
She wasn’t aware that her husband, who loved them all so much, was influencing them, and that the business had flourished so well due to the impact he had on them.
He was in constant, direct contact with his eldest son without anybody being aware of it.
So everything happened through his will.
This enabled the father to help his loved ones, and he gave them support from the spiritual realm.
He quietly surrounded them with his great love, and the time will come for him to receive his reward.
I would therefore like to tell all mankind: Seek contact with those who have preceded you. They live beyond the veil and will keep on loving you and supporting you.
Now we’re going to look for the young man, André.’
‘How will we find him, Alcar?’
‘That’s very simple.
The power of our thoughts will take us to the spot where he is, as we have a clear image of the place in our minds.
The only thing we must take care of is to hold on to that image.
Do you feel what I mean?’
‘Yes, Alcar, I understand.’
They came closer and closer to the earth and had soon reached its sphere.
‘I must concentrate more intensely now, my son, because it isn’t very easy to penetrate the earth’s aura. It’s coarser than that of the higher regions.’
They arrived on the earth and once more passed straight through lots of houses without experiencing any hindrance.
‘Look, my boy, there he is.’
André noticed that they were in a bedroom again, and that the man whom he had seen in Summerland was lying peacefully asleep.
There was nothing about him to show that his spirit had left the body that night.
The intelligence who had taken him to Summerland stood beside the bed and made magnetic stroking movements over his body.
This spirit saw them as soon as they entered and greeted them in a friendly way.
After he had finished the treatment Alcar spoke with him and then he moved away.
‘This spirit will be returning soon, André.
He is his son’s protector.
After sorrow and fatigue had sent him to sleep last night, his father came to fetch him and take him along to his wife and his child, something he had already been permitted to experience on various occasions because of his deep love for them.
When he wakes up in a little while he will remember quite a lot, but he’ll think that he dreamt it all and he’ll be amazed that he saw his wife and child surrounded by beautiful flowers.
Yet not all dreams are fantasies, as you have noticed.
When someone is aware of this, and on awakening his mind is filled with thoughts of those he lost, then the deep sorrow will ease off considerably, and he can be sure that he was in the spheres during the night.
The pain in his soul will then turn into a quiet longing.
After his return to earth he will always carry within what his spirit consciously experienced in the Hereafter, and so the supernal happiness which he was granted can release him from much suffering, even if he is generally unaware of this.
That is why he will not easily accept this holy truth.
The material human being can’t easily picture himself in spiritual situations.
Do you feel what I mean, André?
If he focussed his thoughts on the things which occupy his mind in the morning, so consciously get through to him, and let them ascend from out of his subconscious, then he will remember a lot and become aware of the subconscious.
It will make him more sensitive and his life will differ from that of the coarsely material human being.
He will make spiritual progress.
Can you follow me, André?’
‘Yes, Alcar, I think it is beautiful and yet it’s so simple.’
‘All spiritual truths spring from the source of simplicity, my boy.
Everything God created is marked by simplicity.
Everything is simple when it is seen through spiritual eyes.
But man acts, sees and compares everything from a material point of view and he will be hindered by matter.
But his innermost depth contains the holy Spark of God which nobody can take from him and which attunes him to God and which he must use to test, feel and see through everything.
It will gradually further his development, and he will sense the marvellous power he can possess.
The intuition that is attuned to his subconscious will then emerge and raise this to awareness.
His spiritual attunement will make him consciously feel everything in all its existential forms.
You must try to understand me, my boy, because it’s very difficult for you to become one with what I’m driving at.
I want to show you how far down this truth usually lies buried in man’s soul, and how easily a person can lose everything he received during the night while he was disembodied.
Even a sensitive person has great trouble when he awakens to retain what his spirit experienced during the night.
The spiritual rapport lies deeply hidden in man’s soul, but one day this feeling will come forth, develop, and possess great power.
Then man will shed light, he will give love and follow God’s commandments.
Then he will no longer be subjected to evil.
Do you understand how difficult it is to let this feeling emerge, since it is ruled by material intuition?
This is a problem which preoccupies science too, but only spiritual intuition and attunement to the Divine can tackle it.
It will inspire man to travel the right track that will lead him to the truth.
This is what man needs in order to sense things that he cannot see.
Is this clear to you, my boy?’
‘Yes, Alcar, I understand you perfectly.’
‘Good, then try to digest it all deep-down.
We’re far from your home here, André.
Yet you could be back in your body and awake again within seconds.
We can move about, take any action or do our work with the speed of our thoughts.
We could also, if we wanted to, go through the earth to reach your body, go straight through the earth, because that presents no problems to us either.
It would enable us to see what lives and works in the bowels of the earth.
There is still so much, such an indescribable amount of things which should interest man, and which can make him progress if he looks up to God who rules everything and created everything.
And if there are people who long for this wisdom and want to enrich themselves spiritually, would God let them yearn in vain?
No, my boy, never.
In His unspeakable Love for all his children He has allowed us, spirits who have shed their bodies, to help man in everything that will make him and us rise spiritually.
We want to bring people to places where happiness, harmony and love prevail for all eternity.
We want to make them one with everything which God created.
This will further the earth and make its light shine more brightly and in more beautiful colours.
Look, my boy, we didn’t even notice: we have landed on the spot where your material body is lying.’
André was back in his room. It was six o’clock in the morning.
‘Now life will be easier for you to bear again, because everything you were permitted to behold in Summerland this past night will stay in your memory and strengthen you.
Now we say goodbye, my son. We will have to part for a short while.’
Alcar released him again from his strong will power and withdrew his fluid from him.
But before André returned into his material casing they thanked God for everything they had been allowed to receive during this journey.
‘Now you must be strong, son, and capable of bearing everything.’
These moments were always the hardest, having to say farewell to his beloved leader who had by now become his brother and his most faithful friend.
‘I’ll do my best, Alcar, my very best, just as you want me to.’
He felt himself rising and then descending.
Then he awoke with a start and immediately remembered the beautiful journey together with Alcar to Summerland.
Lateron he told his parents what he had been allowed to experience during the night, and they were delighted at their boy’s happiness and were grateful that their dear sister was permitted to live in such a high, pure sphere.
André returned to his earthly life again, enriched with new wisdom, with new impressions from the life after physical death.
The journey had done him good.
All the worries, all the sorrow and everything that had weighed him down had been taken off his shoulders, cast off by the blessed influence of Summerland.
He could work again and was prepared to take on the most cumbersome task that lay on his path.
Deep-down he thanked God simply and humbly for everything he had been allowed to receive through Alcar, his beloved leader and master.
He will always take care to remain a good instrument, open only to the things on high.
He keeps his eyes directed towards God and prays for help and support for every human being.
Alcar, his leader, a spirit of love, calls out to you through him:
‘Your dead are alive!
They live on our side, in the land of eternal love and eternal peace.
You must not stop them in their evolution towards higher spheres, because they cannot reach them if they are constantly drawn back to the earth by those they leave behind and keep on mourning them.
You must therefore think of them as loved ones whom you have indeed lost, but whom you will see again some day’
End (of Part 1)
