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(Note: This teaching was received by Johannes Greber from a spirit sent from the highest realm in the spirit world. It can be found in pages 126 - 130 in the book, "Communication with the Spirit World of God", or pages 127 - 131 in the free download)
“The training of mediums is accomplished most speedily at the so-called 'spiritistic seances'.
“On this account and in view of the great importance of such training I shall go into great detail as to the way in which these seances should be held. At the same time I shall give you the reasons for the particulars which must be observed on such occasions. I shall also explain to you the things that happen at theses seancesin the course of a medium's training.
“When a group of seekers after God and the Truth has decided to unite in an effort to get into communication with the good spirit-world, the first thing to be determined upon is the place at which its meetings are to be held regularly. This place should be chosen so as to ensure the greatest possible privacy. You too, when conducting the more important of your worldly affairs, are careful to provide against intrusion, and this is the more essential when the question at issue is the establishment of a purely spiritual bond, which would be much more susceptible to disturbing influences than would any worldly undertaking.
“The best time for such meetings is in the evening after eight o'clock, when the day's work with its worldly cares and worries is over, and people can devote themselves to calm reflection.
“Generally speaking, seances should not be held oftener than twice a week.
“Before the meeting, the premises should be thoroughly aired to rid them of all vapor, tobacco-smoke and stale air, for the odic power of the participants is greatly lowered by vitiated atmosphere, and in consequence, the odic radiation, which is so important to the spirit-world, is obstructed.
“To keep the air pure a large bowl of fresh water is placed in the room; this absorbs a part of the air which becomes contaminated in the course of the seance.
“Upon the table at which the participants are to be seated are placed for each a few sheets of paper and a soft pencil.
“Immediately before the opening of the seance those present must not converse on material subjects, but must concentrate their thoughts and dismiss all purely worldly matters from their minds. Remember, it is for the purpose of serving God that they have met!
“The place chosen by each member at the first meeting should be regularly occupied by him thereafter, because the odic radiation, which varies with each individual, must gradually be brought into a certain equilibrium. For this reason those present should seat themselves alternately according to sex, for the od of the male is preeminently positive, while that of the female is negative, and to offset one with the other is the best way of establishing a balance. However, this alternate seating arrangement is not imperative; it merely facilitates the balancing of the od for the producing an effective current. A change in the order of seating after this has been adopted should be made only in response to an order to that effect from the spirit-world, transmitted by a trained medium or by a medium undergoing training.
“If there is a musical instrument like a piano or a harmonium (organ) in the assembly-room, it is best that the meeting be opened with a religious anthem, sung to instrumental accompaniment. For want of anything better, the phonographic record of a hymn or other solemn air may be played. The singing and playing of a beautiful song inspire the hearts of the hearers with harmony and solemnity and turn their thought to higher things. Such music is also a good safeguard against the influence of the world of evil spirits which will try to force their way into the meeting for the purpose of obstructing and disturbing its efforts, since evil is discord and does not feel at home in surroundings in which the harmony of lofty though and sentiment finds expression in song and words. That was why, as the Bible relates, the evil spirit departed from Saul whenever David played the harp before him and sang psalms to the Lord.
“After the singing is over someone present must pronounce a simple prayer of his own composing. Should he be too bashful to deliver this without the aid of notes, he may write it down beforehand and read it aloud with due reverence. Everyone who attends these meetings should take his turn at offering prayer.
“Following the prayer, someone must read a passage from the Old or the New Testament, which must be discussed by those present. The aggregate time given to the singing, the prayer, the reading and the discussion should be about a half an hour.
“At the termination of the discussion, the participants join hands, the light being dimmed as much as possible, each person laying his right hand over the left of his neighbor. This is called 'forming a chain', and is necessary in order that the odic force of each individual may be united into a single current, just as separate lengths of wire must be connected whenever it is desired to pass an electric current over a line. It must always be borne in mind that the ability of the spirit-world to perform its work at a seancedepends on the strength of the odic current, and that the efficiency of the od is greatly enhanced by dimming the lights.
“The formation of the chain has also a highly symbolic significance, for, just as those present join hands and thereby become linked outwardly into one unit, so they are held to be of one heart and one soul among each other. They must love one another, help one another, forgive each others' faults and banish from their hearts everything that might disturb the internal harmony of the group.
“It was for the reasons I have cited that the early Christians used to join hands when they gathered together for worship. They thus sought to typify unity of mind, but primarily they strove to create a powerful odic current in order to enable the good spirit-world to deliver its messages.
“The 'chain' should be maintained for twelve or fifteen minutes. During this time everyone must strive to keep his mind concentrated, to exclude therefrom all worldly subjects and to harbor nothing but good thoughts. To this end he may engage in introspection, review his own past life, his shortcomings, his bearing toward God and his fellow men, his sins of omission, and the like. He should give thanks to God for all blessings received, praise and exalt Him and reverently beseech Him to be allowed to converse with the good spirit-world. He may include in his prayer anything conducive to his spiritual welfare.
“When the time allotted to the 'chain' has elapsed, the leader of the assembly causes the same to be broken. Each person now takes up the pencil before him and lays his hand lightly on the sheet of paper at his place. When doing this he must have the strength of mind not to write of his own volition, all the while keeping his hand relaxed so that it will yield to any motion which may be imparted by the spirit-world.
“At the first few seances the available odic force is usually very small in amount and the obstacles encountered by the participants are very serious. Everything is still too new to them. They find it difficult to keep their thoughts collected and fall into a state of tense expectation. It is precisely this tensity which militates most of all against the liberation of their od, as I shall have occasion to speak of presently. As for the rest, the participants are like a new, unused magnet,which develops strength only through repeated use.
“However, it often happens that the mediumistic development of a participant is much further advanced than he himself realizes. In such instances it may be that the workings of the spirit-world are manifested at the very first seance. He may feel a pulling at or a stiffening of the hand which holds the pencil and which then begins to move. He must not pose the slightest resistance to this impulse, but must allow the hand to yield. At the first few seancesnothing more convincing may be executed with the pencil by the spirit-world than some straight lines, curves, circles or other elementary attempts at writing, before a letter, a word, or a sentence is formed. This is because the odic force released by those present is not yet powerful enough, but primarily, because the odic power of the medium in the making is still in its initial stage. Practice in writing will progressively strengthen this power. If the workings of the spirit-world are manifested in this or in some other way. The great obstacle, originating in the tense attitude of those present will now make itself felt. They usually watch with the greatest intentness what is happening to the other person. Tense expectancy, however, always represses the odic radiation of a person, just as someone who is listening intently involuntarily holds his breath. This diminishes the odic current and adds to the difficulties of the spirit-world, for even the best engineer cannot make his engine run properly if deprived of all or of a large part of his power.
“Fear, fright, distrust, doubt and all other forms of inward opposition exert upon the odic current an effect as unfavorable as that produced by mental tension. Whoever, harboring such feelings, takes part in a spiritistic meeting, not only fails to release any odic force himself, but interrupts the current liberated by the others. Hence mediums can tell at once when there is someone present who acts like an extraneous, obstructive body, and are justified in demanding the exclusion of such a person until he has adopted a different mental attitude.
“Whenever, therefore, at spiritistic gatherings, there is a lack of harmony of thought and feeling, there can be no homogeneous odic current, and the successful outcome of the meeting becomes problematical, if not indeed impossible.
“This explains why scientific committees which experiment with mediums often meet with little or no success. The mediums, who, as we know, are the sources of power for the manifestations of the spirit-beings, feel discouraged and nervous when surrounded by an atmosphere of distrust. They realize all the while that their investigators consider them capable of committing fraud and that they have no faith in the thing itself. Sensations of this kind are bound to check the release of energy on the part of the mediums, if not to prevent it altogether.
“That is a law of Nature, and, incidentally, it is the same law that which causes the blood to forsake the cheeks of a person seized with fear, and to rush to his inner organs, making him turn pale. What happens is, that the person's od as it retreats inward, draws the blood to his heart.
“How unjustly do your scientists therefore so often judge of a medium's failure to meet their tests! They would do better to consider the obstacles placed in the way of mediums as sources of power for the spirit-world, more particularly by the scientists themselves, who need only remove these obstacles in order to obtain a satisfactory demonstration of the ability of spirits to make themselves manifest.
“It is true that the good spirit-world very rarely engages in communications which do not deal exclusively with the purposes of good, but which serve merely to satisfy scientific inquiry, if not, indeed sheer curiosity. The latter is the province in which the low spirit-world is especially active and in which, unfortunately it only too often causes a great deal of harm.
“Those who attend good spiritistic conferences should constantly be reminded that it is their duty to banish all doubt and distrust from their hearts and to await what may happen with the utmost patience and composure.
“The training of mediums is accomplished most speedily at the so-called 'spiritistic seances'.
“On this account and in view of the great importance of such training I shall go into great detail as to the way in which these seances should be held. At the same time I shall give you the reasons for the particulars which must be observed on such occasions. I shall also explain to you the things that happen at theses seancesin the course of a medium's training.
“When a group of seekers after God and the Truth has decided to unite in an effort to get into communication with the good spirit-world, the first thing to be determined upon is the place at which its meetings are to be held regularly. This place should be chosen so as to ensure the greatest possible privacy. You too, when conducting the more important of your worldly affairs, are careful to provide against intrusion, and this is the more essential when the question at issue is the establishment of a purely spiritual bond, which would be much more susceptible to disturbing influences than would any worldly undertaking.
“The best time for such meetings is in the evening after eight o'clock, when the day's work with its worldly cares and worries is over, and people can devote themselves to calm reflection.
“Generally speaking, seances should not be held oftener than twice a week.
“Before the meeting, the premises should be thoroughly aired to rid them of all vapor, tobacco-smoke and stale air, for the odic power of the participants is greatly lowered by vitiated atmosphere, and in consequence, the odic radiation, which is so important to the spirit-world, is obstructed.
“To keep the air pure a large bowl of fresh water is placed in the room; this absorbs a part of the air which becomes contaminated in the course of the seance.
“Upon the table at which the participants are to be seated are placed for each a few sheets of paper and a soft pencil.
“Immediately before the opening of the seance those present must not converse on material subjects, but must concentrate their thoughts and dismiss all purely worldly matters from their minds. Remember, it is for the purpose of serving God that they have met!
“The place chosen by each member at the first meeting should be regularly occupied by him thereafter, because the odic radiation, which varies with each individual, must gradually be brought into a certain equilibrium. For this reason those present should seat themselves alternately according to sex, for the od of the male is preeminently positive, while that of the female is negative, and to offset one with the other is the best way of establishing a balance. However, this alternate seating arrangement is not imperative; it merely facilitates the balancing of the od for the producing an effective current. A change in the order of seating after this has been adopted should be made only in response to an order to that effect from the spirit-world, transmitted by a trained medium or by a medium undergoing training.
“If there is a musical instrument like a piano or a harmonium (organ) in the assembly-room, it is best that the meeting be opened with a religious anthem, sung to instrumental accompaniment. For want of anything better, the phonographic record of a hymn or other solemn air may be played. The singing and playing of a beautiful song inspire the hearts of the hearers with harmony and solemnity and turn their thought to higher things. Such music is also a good safeguard against the influence of the world of evil spirits which will try to force their way into the meeting for the purpose of obstructing and disturbing its efforts, since evil is discord and does not feel at home in surroundings in which the harmony of lofty though and sentiment finds expression in song and words. That was why, as the Bible relates, the evil spirit departed from Saul whenever David played the harp before him and sang psalms to the Lord.
“After the singing is over someone present must pronounce a simple prayer of his own composing. Should he be too bashful to deliver this without the aid of notes, he may write it down beforehand and read it aloud with due reverence. Everyone who attends these meetings should take his turn at offering prayer.
“Following the prayer, someone must read a passage from the Old or the New Testament, which must be discussed by those present. The aggregate time given to the singing, the prayer, the reading and the discussion should be about a half an hour.
“At the termination of the discussion, the participants join hands, the light being dimmed as much as possible, each person laying his right hand over the left of his neighbor. This is called 'forming a chain', and is necessary in order that the odic force of each individual may be united into a single current, just as separate lengths of wire must be connected whenever it is desired to pass an electric current over a line. It must always be borne in mind that the ability of the spirit-world to perform its work at a seancedepends on the strength of the odic current, and that the efficiency of the od is greatly enhanced by dimming the lights.
“The formation of the chain has also a highly symbolic significance, for, just as those present join hands and thereby become linked outwardly into one unit, so they are held to be of one heart and one soul among each other. They must love one another, help one another, forgive each others' faults and banish from their hearts everything that might disturb the internal harmony of the group.
“It was for the reasons I have cited that the early Christians used to join hands when they gathered together for worship. They thus sought to typify unity of mind, but primarily they strove to create a powerful odic current in order to enable the good spirit-world to deliver its messages.
“The 'chain' should be maintained for twelve or fifteen minutes. During this time everyone must strive to keep his mind concentrated, to exclude therefrom all worldly subjects and to harbor nothing but good thoughts. To this end he may engage in introspection, review his own past life, his shortcomings, his bearing toward God and his fellow men, his sins of omission, and the like. He should give thanks to God for all blessings received, praise and exalt Him and reverently beseech Him to be allowed to converse with the good spirit-world. He may include in his prayer anything conducive to his spiritual welfare.
“When the time allotted to the 'chain' has elapsed, the leader of the assembly causes the same to be broken. Each person now takes up the pencil before him and lays his hand lightly on the sheet of paper at his place. When doing this he must have the strength of mind not to write of his own volition, all the while keeping his hand relaxed so that it will yield to any motion which may be imparted by the spirit-world.
“At the first few seances the available odic force is usually very small in amount and the obstacles encountered by the participants are very serious. Everything is still too new to them. They find it difficult to keep their thoughts collected and fall into a state of tense expectation. It is precisely this tensity which militates most of all against the liberation of their od, as I shall have occasion to speak of presently. As for the rest, the participants are like a new, unused magnet,which develops strength only through repeated use.
“However, it often happens that the mediumistic development of a participant is much further advanced than he himself realizes. In such instances it may be that the workings of the spirit-world are manifested at the very first seance. He may feel a pulling at or a stiffening of the hand which holds the pencil and which then begins to move. He must not pose the slightest resistance to this impulse, but must allow the hand to yield. At the first few seancesnothing more convincing may be executed with the pencil by the spirit-world than some straight lines, curves, circles or other elementary attempts at writing, before a letter, a word, or a sentence is formed. This is because the odic force released by those present is not yet powerful enough, but primarily, because the odic power of the medium in the making is still in its initial stage. Practice in writing will progressively strengthen this power. If the workings of the spirit-world are manifested in this or in some other way. The great obstacle, originating in the tense attitude of those present will now make itself felt. They usually watch with the greatest intentness what is happening to the other person. Tense expectancy, however, always represses the odic radiation of a person, just as someone who is listening intently involuntarily holds his breath. This diminishes the odic current and adds to the difficulties of the spirit-world, for even the best engineer cannot make his engine run properly if deprived of all or of a large part of his power.
“Fear, fright, distrust, doubt and all other forms of inward opposition exert upon the odic current an effect as unfavorable as that produced by mental tension. Whoever, harboring such feelings, takes part in a spiritistic meeting, not only fails to release any odic force himself, but interrupts the current liberated by the others. Hence mediums can tell at once when there is someone present who acts like an extraneous, obstructive body, and are justified in demanding the exclusion of such a person until he has adopted a different mental attitude.
“Whenever, therefore, at spiritistic gatherings, there is a lack of harmony of thought and feeling, there can be no homogeneous odic current, and the successful outcome of the meeting becomes problematical, if not indeed impossible.
“This explains why scientific committees which experiment with mediums often meet with little or no success. The mediums, who, as we know, are the sources of power for the manifestations of the spirit-beings, feel discouraged and nervous when surrounded by an atmosphere of distrust. They realize all the while that their investigators consider them capable of committing fraud and that they have no faith in the thing itself. Sensations of this kind are bound to check the release of energy on the part of the mediums, if not to prevent it altogether.
“That is a law of Nature, and, incidentally, it is the same law that which causes the blood to forsake the cheeks of a person seized with fear, and to rush to his inner organs, making him turn pale. What happens is, that the person's od as it retreats inward, draws the blood to his heart.
“How unjustly do your scientists therefore so often judge of a medium's failure to meet their tests! They would do better to consider the obstacles placed in the way of mediums as sources of power for the spirit-world, more particularly by the scientists themselves, who need only remove these obstacles in order to obtain a satisfactory demonstration of the ability of spirits to make themselves manifest.
“It is true that the good spirit-world very rarely engages in communications which do not deal exclusively with the purposes of good, but which serve merely to satisfy scientific inquiry, if not, indeed sheer curiosity. The latter is the province in which the low spirit-world is especially active and in which, unfortunately it only too often causes a great deal of harm.
“Those who attend good spiritistic conferences should constantly be reminded that it is their duty to banish all doubt and distrust from their hearts and to await what may happen with the utmost patience and composure.
