Several weeks had passed since the last disembodiment André had made with his leader Alcar.

He had to assimilate everything he had experienced on this journey and was again prepared to receive nourishment for the mind.

Alcar had told him that he would spiritually leave his body today.

He would be shown inner life from the beginning of creation.

He had gone to his room early and waited for things to come and Alcar to release him from his material body.

It had been difficult for him lately.

His mind had had to absorbe all this.

Night and day he had meditated and pondered on everything he had experienced during his last journey.

During the first days, Alcar had said, he should not think of anything but his material life.

He had done so, but time and again all those spiritual experiences came back in his mind and he did not know how to cope with them.

Yet, he had to go through it, as it was within him, his spirit had experienced it.

His inner and spiritual life dominated and his nerves could not bear that.

There were moments he could not tell one thing from an other which made it very difficult for him.

He felt he lived between two worlds, of which spiritual life dominated, and yet he had to remain himself, which was not easy.

The first days after he had made his disembodiment went by as usual.

He felt free from all these spiritual laws and experiences.

Yet, all these feelings returned consciously and he lived in an inconceivable condition.

He felt very far away from the earth and yet he was on earth like everybody else.

Deep within him resided all that power, nevertheless he had to acquire all this, in order to possess his experiences.

Alcar had told him to meditate.

On the side beyond everybody meditated.

When people had died on earth and entered spiritual life and were convinced of this life, they secluded themselves to contemplate all this.

When they had finished, it was their possession and they were ready for fresh nourishment for the mind.

He, too, now had to do likewise, and he understood why Alcar had said that it would now be more difficult than after all those other disembodiments he had experienced.

The tremendous power of everything he had experienced weighed heavily on him.

In the spirit, when he was on the side beyond, everything was straightforward.

But now he had to digest this in his material life on earth.

However difficult it was for him, it was a marvellous period, because he went through everything again.

Once he had started, he left no time unused and the days passed in a flash.

In this condition he was no longer aware of time; in thought he was constantly on the side beyond.

He followed everything where he had been with his leader Alcar, and in doing so he progressed step by step.

Whenever it became too much for him, he stopped and waited for new energy.

He had been doing this for several days when he felt he could not go on any longer; his nerves could not digest this awe-inspiring experience.

From the start of his connection with Alcar, his leader had always seen to it that he could sleep.

A good night’s sleep was vital, he could not miss an hour.

His life on earth was too intense, because he lived a double life: the life of a spirit and that of man on earth.

Inner rest was essential and this rest was always given him in his sleep.

But now he could no longer sleep and it frightened him.

He had gone to bed early, but could not fall asleep.

He concentrated on his sleep, but he could not control his material body, though he had succeeded before.

He was aware of this danger.

A mighty problem faced him.

He overlooked everything, pondered what powers he could use, but he failed, because his inner life dominated.

My God, he thought, will this work out well, how do I get through this.

These problems had never thrown him out of balance.

He was always in control of himself, he watched everything, as his material body should be free from disturbances.

He often wondered how his nerves could digest all that spiritual wisdom, but he knew, that somebody was watching and that was his leader Alcar.

But this time he was in a disharmonic condition.

All these spiritual degrees, attunements, stars and planets, all these animal conditions and all that he had seen in the temple of the soul, were swimming before his eyes, so that he could not tell one thing from another and all this prevented him from sleeping.

His head and nerves could no longer cope and he was afraid to lose himself.

Would Alcar come to his aid?

Without perfect health in his material life he would be of no use to Alcar, because both bodies, his material as well as his spiritual body must be in harmony.

Nothing should be the matter with his material organism lest he would perish by what he experienced on the side beyond and had to pass on to mankind.

That couldn’t be the intention: to build up something and run him down, it was not the way and would be terrible.

It is a mighty grace to be a medium for higher spirits, but people should realize what his life was like and what it required.

He had been awake for several hours and could not sleep.

He turned from one side to the other, concentrated on sleep, but where he usually was successful, this time it did not work.

He prayed fervently but in vain.

Now what?, he thought.

He concentrated on his leader Alcar and after a while he began to observe.

There was Alcar; he would soon be asleep now and be fit in the morning to start to meditate, and acquire everything.

How happy he was when he heard his leader say: ‘Can’t you sleep, André?’

‘No’, he said, ‘I cannot get asleep, my mind keeps me awake.’

He heard his leader say: ‘You cannot and may not sleep now, my boy, I am keeping you awake.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ André asked full of surprise.

‘I don’t want you to sleep, André, you will stay awake until morning, but then you will sleep.

I’ll tell you a few things about this condition and make it clear to you.’

‘Is it because of my experience at your side, Alcar?’

‘Yes, André.

Your inner life strongly dominates your material body, the nervous system, but you know that I am watching and that nothing will happen to you.’

‘Do I have to stay awake all night, Alcar?’

‘No, that is not necessary.’

‘Why then do you keep me awake?’

‘Because your spiritual life dominates and you can’t sleep anyway.

Better meditate now and ponder on everything until sleep overtakes you.

Day time is now too short for your inner life; together we shall try to harmonize again.

Do you see what I mean, André?’

‘Yes, Alcar, it is quite clear to me.’

‘Now listen to what I have to say.

If people on earth knew this, there would not be so many neurotics.

Spiritual life now dominates the material organism.

When this happens, people think they have to sleep; if, instead, they went through all their problems and troubles, in short everything that occupies their mind, by meditation until they had fully considered their problems, an other condition would set in, and they would return to normal life.

That is the balance between spiritual and material body, and the nervous system will relax.

Then, a stroll in nature, especially along the beach yields wonderful strength.

But man is not attuned to nature and would rather take medicine, but those paralyse the vital organs, which constitute the nervous system.

Your nervous system is now overstrained and your spiritual body, which is emotional life, dominates; but a few hours’ sleep will be sufficient.

What now is dominating, demands your full attention and concentration.

However, you want to sleep, the time of night compels you to rest, but this is wrong.

If we would go for a walk and return in the morning, you would receive more rest than by staying in bed for days on end.

However, that is not possible, as your immediate circle would get anxious; we shall do it our way.

If I don’t succeed in this way you will leave your material body, although you would have to assimilate that too.

You clearly feel that your mind dominates.

That is because of all those problems I made you experience and the nourishment for the mind you received on this side.

I have given and shown you, André, the very last you can receive as our instrument, and which we reveal to mankind.

A few years ago it would not have been possible, you would have succumbed; but I proceeded cautiously and guided you from one spiritual condition to the other.

As a result you awakened, André.

We passed from one sphere to another.

On our first journey to the darkness, as you remember, our life overwhelmed you, and we had to return to earth.

Yet you had to go through it, so that I could explain everything concerning our life to give mankind a picture of what is waiting for them on this side.

Ten, nay twenty times you fainted, because the powers of darkness dominated your inner self.

Those who do not know the darkness, which is hell on this side, cannot form an idea of it.

But everybody dying on earth and entering here, will experience it and they will wonder how you could have endured and assimilated that on earth without disturbing your life on earth and particularly without sapping your material body.

You got through that as well, because you earnestly want and want to serve us.

Your faith in our work and your love for it gave you that strength and opened you to our help.

And another thing.

If you had not kept your gifts pure and clean, you would irrevocably have perished and have landed in some asylum, because you would have fallen into the hands of evil.

However, I could always reach you and I am grateful to you, so that I could explain our life.

I progressed further and deeper and knew many years beforehand that the time would come when I would be allowed to show you the very last of our life.

You know, André, nothing for nothing: this too, all this spiritual wisdom, you will have to pay for with your inner energy.

But I am with you and I’ll help you with everything and we shall get through this as well.

If you have understood me correctly, you feel that daytime is too short to have spiritual and material harmony and to fall asleep.

The seven degrees of sleep I explained to you before.

You cannot attain the fourth degree now, your spiritual body will not allow it, as the preponderance present in your spiritual life is too great.

This strain dissolves by thinking, staying awake and meditating, and natural harmony between spiritual and material life returns.

But man who does not know this, leans over backward and wants to sleep.

Yet he will not fall asleep, and when he takes to medicine he tries to attain the desired condition by force.

Yet he will not achieve his aim.

For isn’t it true, that the spirit will free itself and man will wake up and sedatives have no effect on the material organism?

The tremendous power of emotional life which is the spiritual body, man or scholar cannot fathom, as he does not know the spiritual body and does not accept its action.

They will wake up anyway and no material means nor concentration will be of any use.

They consult various doctors, or turn to natural cure, but they forget they have to go back to their youth, to the first moment they could not sleep, because that is the cause of the disturbance.

The disturbance occurred in that period and the spirit cannot omit anything.

You do feel how deep this is and I could tell a lot about it, as it concerns life on our side and is the eternal action of inner life.

Inner life compels them to meditate, but they do not think of that.

You know our life, André, you know how we meditate before we can settle down.

Even if you were not able to sleep for days on end, it would not be as bad as forcing yourself to sleep.

On our side we cannot move an inch when our mind is not at peace and problems keep us occupied, which are present within ourselves and our lives.

All these cares, struggle and sorrow and the many diseases people suffer on earth, deprive them of their sleep.

But I assure you that we cannot sleep either when something keeps us occupied, because we live and are conscious; our life is like earthly and material life; nothing has changed.

If we have to be in harmony with everything, this also applies to people on earth.

When something keeps our mind occupied here on this side, we stay awake and conscious and only after that we too fall asleep, as Gerhard explained to you.

(footnote in first edition: See: ‘Those who came back from the Dead’.)

Having woken up, our inner life is ready again to receive fresh nourishment for the mind, but we cannot fall asleep before our mind is idle and another action can set in.

This action manifests itself in natural tiredness, and that is for our life, our inner life and for man on earth the material organism.

When it is not completely in harmony and the material organism or the spiritual body dominates, a disease is caused.

It usually concerns the nervous system, but people suffering from some disease will experience an aggravation of their complaint.

This has an enormous action, because when someone suffers from a complaint; when vital organs are affected, for instance the kidneys, these organs dominate the mind, because the illness is more intensive than spiritual life and the latter responds to the action of the material organism.

Again we see that everything is interrelated and connected, therefore it is not possible for those people that they would not be able to sleep.

Although their sleep is not normal, that sleep is better than the other condition when inner life is directly concentrated on the nervous system and overburdens the material organism.

With you, André, this is not the case; your material body is in perfect health.

Only your spirit is awake and conscious, even over conscious, and now we check this so that you will fall asleep in a few hours.

You should try to stay fully conscious and not fall asleep.

Slowly the dominating force will flow back into your inner life; this will restore the balance and the inner strain is reduced.

Do you feel what I mean, André?’

‘Yes, Alcar; thank you for everything.’

‘Think of our life and follow me.

Do not concentrate on anything, in other words, do not try to acquire what I explain, but listen to what I say.

This way you will restore the balance between your material body and inner life.

Now you allow your inner life to do its work.

When you are ready, your consciousness descends into your inner life and your material body experiences sleep.

The human body and its inner life are profound; both are powerful, one is dependent on the other; although inner life dominates the material organism on earth in everything.

It directs, guides and keeps it intact, as the material organism lives through our inner life.

It is now four o’clock in the morning, André.

Wait a moment and you will hear.’

‘It is amazing, Alcar, that you know that too and think of it.’

‘Do not forget, my boy, that I also live on earth, and follow you in everything and know everything that happens on earth.

Listen, the clock strikes four and now you will soon sleep.

Inner life has performed its task and the material body can now sleep.

You feel that sleep slowly returns, and you yourself control it.’

André felt that he got tired and let himself flow away, he felt a blissful peace coming over him.

He knew where this relaxation came from and who brought it about.

Though very far away, he heard say: ‘Sleep, my boy, know that I am watching and will continue to watch until our work is finished.’

Then he didn't know anything anymore.

When he woke up in the morning, he felt fit and cheerful.

He did not feel tired any more and remembered what Alcar had told him.

He immediately began to meditate once again, and continued until that day was past and he was going to sleep again.

Yet, there was something within him, he had not yet experienced in all those years.

He felt a terrible stress at the back of his head.

He felt like he had to carry all these planets and was in the middle of those enormous objects and that all this was in and around his head.

It was an awful sensation; yet he felt composed.

His entire body was tense and strained, and he felt he could not cope with it himself.

If only this will not be too much for me, he thought, I am not myself now, my nerves cannot stand this.

He concentrated on his leader Alcar; soon he saw Alcar near him and heard him say: ‘I am going to help you again, André.

You will leave your body, and you will see from this side what I am going to do and what the condition of your nervous system is like.’

‘Are we going to make an other journey, Alcar?’

‘No, not yet, first you must be fully prepared and have assimilated everything in day-consciousness, before you can receive fresh nourishment for the mind.’

André felt himself sink away and knew what would happen.

When he opened his eyes he was in the life of the spirit.

Alcar stood in front of him and received him.

‘Alcar, my good Alcar!’

‘You are hard put now, André, but all those difficulties are outweighed by what you have experienced.

You will get through and your nervous system will again obey the will you impose.’

‘Does being here give any rest, Alcar?

My body is now fast asleep, and I am on this side.

Isn’t that rest, or is it not the same?’

‘I can answer all those questions.

No, this is not the rest you receive, when you are yourself in your material body.

First of all it would not be possible to leave your body if I did not bring that about; and second, if I should leave now and we would visit the spheres, you would find in the morning that you could no longer think.

The material body, but only the nervous system is overstrained by the tremendous power you impose on it; which is, when you are in your material body, the inner life or the spiritual body.

Do not forget when you leave your material body, that your body is free from spiritual life, because this life which moves and directs that body, then lives on this side outside the material organism.

To those living on earth, your material body is apparently dead.

Your material body is one percent active.

You are the ninety-nine percent living here.

It is therefore clear that your material garment cannot live at full power and what does not live at full power cannot undergo any working, is out of operation and therefore no healing can come about in this case.

Is that clear, André?’

‘Yes, Alcar.’

‘Well then, my will-power dominates all this; also your leaving your body, and, as I said, your material body is under my control and your material body is experiencing nothing, because inner life, you yourself, has left its organism.

When something is paralyzed it cannot function.

When the nervous system is strained and sedatives are administered in order to sleep, the natural functioning is paralyzed and recovery is excluded.

Sedatives only give temporary relief, but later we are confronted with the same process; the organs are affected and forced out of action.

Therefore, André, it is wrong to take too many sedatives for this disorder.

You will understand that a disembodiment does not provide your material organism with the same thing as you receive during a good night's sleep.

The present condition of your material organism is deeper than normal sleep and the organism is deprived of its normal functioning.

A disembodiment cannot help either, unless both bodies are in harmony.

To leave the body, the spirit must be sensitive and not be strained or overburdened and there should be no sorrow or misery.

You will also understand what these gifts require before we can use them.

Thousands of people could leave their body and all of them would become mentally ill.

One or other of the bodies would dominate and completely destroy the material organism.

This, and this only, is the reason why the mystic warns against occultism, it is the domain of the spirit, and those not acquainted with all these effects are irrevocably lost.

But I guide you in everything, and watch over both bodies, the material and the spiritual.

I’ll do the following.

I’ll descend into your material body and relax your nervous system, therefore I’ll completely pass into your material body.

I will live on earth again and you will live in my world.

My concentration restores rest and peace in your organism, after which that nervous stress has disappeared.

Farewell, André, I take possession of your body.’

André saw this miracle happen and Alcar descend into his material body.

How miraculous life on this side is, he thought.

How well he was protected; his leader saw to everything.

Now he was alone on the side beyond.

He observed an amazing scene.

How great Alcar was and how mighty everything he experienced.

How well Alcar took care of him!

Whoever could accept this and all that he had experienced a short time ago?

Nothing was known on earth of what happened now.

They were all miracles in the spirit.

He saw Alcar completely pass into his material body and then awaken.

His material organism came in working now and he saw that the material organs resumed their task and working.

If anything could convince people of eternal life, it was this miracle he now experienced.

And they would believe it if only they could see and calculate it.

But how could scientists on earth calculate it?

Those who could not accept it would never find out.

To him it was a great miracle, and the amazing thing was, that a spirit, a man who had lived on earth and now lived in eternity, could descend into a material organism and take possession of it again.

But there was another miracle, which he felt.

He fully understood what his leader meant.

Alcar commanded great mental and tremendous will-power.

Because his leader was further advanced than he was, Alcar could bring this about.

He himself had no complete command of his material body, which was quite natural.

He heard Alcar say: ‘Think of yourself, André, and reflect on everything given to you recently.’

He did as Alcar wished and found it quite amazing; everything was straightforward, he penetrated the deepest problems without the least trouble.

He did not want nor dare to move away from his body although it was possible.

He also felt that he remained in communication with Alcar and that he could even speak.

Spiritual life was awe-inspiring.

He watched Alcar and saw a powerful blue light radiating from the back of his head.

Yes, he thought, there it is, that is where the strain is.

How amazing this is, he thought, Alcar radiated his head, because the nerves in his head were overstrained.

That powerful light was his leader’s.

He could now see through his own material body.

Nothing was concealed from him.

He saw and felt the severe strain and understood what Alcar did.

Meanwhile, he followed everything he had experienced, which was easy now.

He saw himself in the temple of the soul, he descended to all those planets and slowly returned to his material body.

Yet he remained near his organism, but he experienced and contemplated what he had received on that journey.

He felt that several hours had passed.

Within him was the quiet and stillness of spiritual life.

A dense haze now enveloped his material body and he felt that his leader had arranged it.

It was the light-blue radiance he had observed a minute ago and he understood why his leader had done this.

It secluded him from other influences.

He also felt what his material body had received and that his nervous system was relaxed.

Several hours had passed and Alcar was still in his material body.

He walked around in the vicinity and he could see everything clearly.

He passed through everything and he could touch material objects but to move something was impossible for him.

It was night on earth, but in the world he now lived in, it was light.

He knew what this meant, Alcar had explained this too.

It was his own inner possession, because if this was not within him, he would now wander in darkness.

His mental possession told him that he would have light on the side beyond when his time had come.

And although his light was not as powerful as his leader’s radiance, he felt reassured and happy.

For the spirit there is no night and day.

The radiance and love one inwardly possessed provided light on this side.

A little bit of light was his possession and he could be content.

It was already strong enough to make him see.

He would do his best to make it a strong light.

He concentrated on it, he wanted to serve; for this power could only be obtained by serving.

He felt that he was getting tired and understood that this feeling came from his body.

When he had sensed this, Alcar had left his body and rejoined him.

‘Well, my boy, that is done.’

‘Did you achieve what you wanted, Alcar?’

‘Yes, André, completely.

Aren’t you tired?’

‘Yes, I felt tired a moment ago.’

‘You see how intensely the solar plexus reacts and conveys material strength.

This plexus enables you to feel your material condition.

I have relaxed your nervous system.

When you return into your material body, you will soon fall asleep.

You have experienced everything again and have therefore reached here.

But you have to start anew tomorrow because it happened outside your body and your material organism must also experience it.

Here, on our side, everything is different; you are free from all those disturbances and you are yourself.

That body still belongs to you, and you are its working power and operate it.

I have rendered you a service; you relaxed through my power.

When you wake up in the morning, that strain in your head will be over.

In a few days we can continue and resume our work.

You have understood what I did, haven’t you?’

‘Yes, Alcar, I think so.’

‘I merely concentrated on the nervous system, that was all.

I relaxed it by concentration and tomorrow you do the same and meditate calmly.

Farewell, my boy, I will watch.’

André descended into his material body and woke up.

How tired I am, he thought.

His body felt very tired, he could hardly lift his legs.

He looked at his leader, who was near him, and fell asleep.

In the morning, when he woke up, he felt very fit and knew what he had experienced that night.

He began to think again.

The whole day he thought and so he came to the end.

He saw the moment he entered his organism, when leaving his body and the disembodiment had ended.

In the evening he heard Alcar say: ‘Wash yourself with cold water tonight, André, before you go to bed.

Go also for a walk and concentrate on nature.’

André went for a walk and felt very fit when he entered his house.

Then, before going to sleep, he washed himself with cold water and after a short while enjoyed a sound and natural sleep.

When he woke up, he had slept for nine hours and felt he could move mountains.

The first thing he now did, was fall to his knees to thank God for everything.

Then he prayed for strength for Alcar; that he might always receive that strength.

Now he was ready again, yet he retraced everything again from beginning to end and this time he progressed more rapidly.

Very quickly he went the long road he had followed with his leader.

When he was ready – he clearly felt this – he could, if Alcar would connect him, speak for ten hours on end and tell people of the universe and all those planets.

It had now become his own knowledge, his own inner possession; his material body had absorbed it and he was happy with the experience.

He also felt different, as if he had grown older and had lived for hundreds of years.

Yet only eight days had passed since he had made this disembodyment.

He had been Alcar’s instrument for nine years, but to him those nine years seemed nine hundred years.

That was how he felt, for he had had to digest so very much in those nine years.

He could now fathom the deepest problems at a glance.

In a flash he felt the depth of every problem, spiritual or material.

Most simple for him were the spiritual problems people on earth presented to him.

He had achieved this because he wanted to, and he faced everything in order to be a worthy instrument for his high leader.

It took all his energy, his deepest inner strength and personality, but when he had gone through he would not like to do without.

How well he now knew people; how could he see through everybody!

Now he knew how God’s creation had come into being; how everything was created.

It was awe-inspiring, and yet so simple.

How difficult all those days had been, but he was ready again to leave his body.

Several weeks had passed.

He would now learn about the life of the soul, which was even deeper than what he had experienced.

He would get through and acquire it and then he would understand creation.