Wednesdays in Chicago - July 27, 2016

Inviting Spirits to a Session                                                  
From Kardec’s The Mediums Book

 

(Note:  Evoke is the perfect word for inviting spirits to a session - as evoking is defined as uncovering, unmasking or unveiling)

Spirits who may be evoked

274. We are at liberty to evoke all spirits, to whatever step of the ladder they belong; the good and the bad those who have lately quit the earth, and those who lived here in the most remote ages; the most illustrious, and the most obscure; our relations and friends, and those who are indifferent to us: but it is by no means certain that those whom we evoke will, or can, respond to our call. Besides refusals prompted by their own free will, or imposed upon them by a superior power, they may also be prevented from answering our call by innumerable causes unknown to us.

 

Mode of addressing Spirits

280. The degree of superiority or inferiority of spirits will naturally decide the tone which we should adopt in addressing them. It is evident that, the higher they are, the greater is their right to our respect, regard, and attention. It is not by words that we can win their goodwill, but by sincerity. A kindly thought is more agreeable to them than any praise.  Among inferior spirits, there are many who are unhappy. Whatever their faults, the kindness we show to such spirits is a consolation to them.  Needing sympathy, they should find us indulging them in the same manner that we should desire for ourselves.

 

The utility of private evocations (Lessons from Elevated Spirits)

281. The communication we obtain from very superior spirits is precious because of the high teachings they convey. Those spirits, having attained a degree of advancement which enables them to embrace a vast sphere of ideas and to enter regions beyond the ordinary reach of human thought, are able to initiate us into various mysteries more fully than can be done by spirits of lower degree. It does not mean that the communication of spirits of a lower degree are without usefulness; on the contrary, an observer may draw much instruction from them. To understand the manners of a people, we must study them at every degree of the social scale. To make acquaintance with any nation, we must study all its various classes; in order to learn its history, we must study not only the lives of its kings and its upper classes, but also those of the humblest of its people.

 

Questions concerning evocations

[With question 282 of The Mediums Book, Kardec asked for clarifications from a spirit guide]

1. Can spirits be evoked by those who are not mediums?
"Everyone can evoke spirits; and if those whom you call cannot manifest themselves physically, they are none the less near you, and hear your call."

 

2. Does a spirit always come when evoked?
"We have already told you that this depends upon the conditions in which a spirit finds himself; there are circumstances under which he may be unable to come."

 

3. What are the circumstances that may prevent a spirit from coming at our call?
"Free will, in the first place; or his corporeal state, if reincarnated. A spirit might be in the wandering state, involved with missions, or there may be a refusal of permission to communicate.  There are some spirits who can never communicate because, by their present degree of advancement, they belong to worlds still lower than the earth. In order for a spirit to be able to communicate, he must have attained an average understanding of the world to which he is called; otherwise he has no connecting, sympathetic link with it. This is not the case with those who have missions that bring them to your world, or who are undergoing expiation in inferior worlds to which they have been temporarily exiled as punishment for wrong-doing. In your world, or in worlds of similar degree, they possess the ideas necessary for replying."

 

4. For what reason is permission to communicate refused to a spirit?
"As a trial or a punishment, either for the spirit or for him by whom he is evoked."

 

5. How can spirits, dispersed as they are in space, or in different worlds, know when they are evoked at some distant point of the universe?
"They are informed of it beforehand by the familiar spirits who surround you, and who go to them, and tell them of your intention. Something occurs which it is difficult to explain to you, because you do not yet understand the mode of transmission of a spirit's thought. All I can tell you is, that the spirit whom you evoke, however distant he may be, receives, the impact of the thought addressed to him in your evocation, and which acts upon his consciousness like an electric shock, attracting his attention to the place from which the thought was addressed to him. He may be said to hear the thought, as you, upon the earth, hear the spoken word."

 

6. We know that distances are of small account with spirits; nevertheless, we are sometimes surprised to find them answering our call as promptly as though they had been close to us and awaiting our call.
"That is sometimes the case, when your evocation was premeditated; because, as we have already told you, the spirit has been made aware of your intention beforehand, and is therefore often present before your evocation has been formally made."

 

7. Is the thought of the person who evokes more or less easily heard by the spirit evoked, according to circumstances?
"Certainly; a spirit evoked under the influence of a sympathetic and benevolent sentiment hears the evocation like a friendly voice which he recognizes. When unaccompanied by such a sentiment, the evocation miscarries. The thought which springs forth from a well-directed evocation strikes the spirit; but a misdirected evocation is lost in space. It is with spirits as with men; if called by one who is indifferent or apathetic to them, they may hear, but not heed that call."

 

8. When a spirit is evoked, does he come voluntarily, or is it because he is constrained (forced) to do so?
"He obeys the will of God, that is to say, the general laws which govern the universe. 'Constrained' is not the right word, for he himself judges whether it is useful to come, and, in doing so, exercises his free-will.  A superior spirit always comes when he is called for a useful purpose; he only refuses to answer those who evoke him as an amusement."

 

9. Can a spirit refuse to come when evoked?
"Certainly he can; where would be his free-will if he could not? Do you suppose that all the beings of the universe are at your orders? Would you consider yourself obliged to reply to every one who pronounces your name?

 

10. Has the evoker any means at his disposal by which he can compel a spirit to present himself against his will?
"Not any, if he be your superior, or even your equal, because you have no authority.  But if he be your inferior in morality, you can constrain him, provided your evocation is intended to promote his welfare; as your action will be seconded by other spirits."

 

11. Is it improper to evoke inferior spirits, and do we run any risk of placing ourselves in their power by calling them?
"He who is assisted by good spirits has nothing to fear; for he dominates inferior spirits, and they cannot dominate him. But when alone, and especially when only beginners, mediums should abstain from evocations of this sort."

 

12. Is it necessary to bring any particular state of feeling to an evocation?
"The most essential of all states of feeling, when you wish to converse with spirits of high degree, is seriousness and concentration of purpose. Faith in God, and the aspiration for goodness, are the most powerful of all evocations in regards superior spirits. By raising the soul towards the higher spheres, through a few moments of serious thought before evoking, you identify yourselves with spirits of correspondingly higher degrees, and thus ask them to come to you."

 

13. Is faith an indispensable condition of evocation?
"Faith in God is necessary; but faith will follow, if you sincerely desire to advance in knowledge."

 

14. When men are united in a community of thought and intention, have they a greater power of attracting good spirits by evocation?
"It is when those who evoke are united by charity and goodwill that the best results are obtained. Nothing hinders evocation so much as disagreement of thought and feeling on the part of those who evoke."

 

15. Is it useful to form a chain, by holding each other's hands for a few minutes, at the commencement of a sitting?
"The forming of a chain is a physical act which brings no union if not already in your thoughts. What is more useful is a union of thought and purpose, when making your appeal to the higher spirits that you desire to be attracted to your sitting.

 

16. Is it better to have stated days and hours for evocation?
"Yes; and, if possible, to hold your sittings in the same place; for spirits then come to you more easily and willingly. The constancy of your desire, as well as its earnestness, aids the spirits whom you call in coming to you and in communicating with you. Spirits have occupations which they cannot always quit, at a moments notice and unprepared, for your personal satisfaction. I have said that it is well for the meetings to be in the same place; but you must not suppose this to be absolutely necessary, for the spirits come everywhere. A place selected for the purpose is preferable, because its influence favors concentration of thought on the part of those who assemble there."

 

17. Have talismans (charms, etc.) have the power attract or repel spirits, as some persons imagine?
"Your question is unnecessary, for you know that matter has no influence over spirits. Be assured that no good spirit ever participated in any such absurdity, and that the virtue of talismans (or good luck charms) has never existed except in the imaginations of the credulous (easily fooled or cheated)."

 

18. What are we to think of spirits who make appointments in depressing places and at unseasonable hours?
"That they are amusing themselves at the expense of those who listen to them. It is always useless, and often dangerous, to conform to such suggestions. It is useless, because you gain absolutely nothing, except being hoaxed; and dangerous, not from any harm the spirits may do you, but from the effect which such appointments may have upon your own weak brains."

 

19. Are certain days and hours better than others for evocation?
"No physical conditions are of any importance to spirits; to believe in the influence of days and hours is mere superstition. The best time is when the thought of the evoker is least preoccupied with daily affairs, and in which he or she may enjoy the greatest calmness of mind and of body."

 

20. Is evocation agreeable or disagreeable to the spirits evoked? Do they come willingly when thus called?
"For some spirits, communication is a very great pleasure; many of them, in fact, are much pained by the abandonment of not being heard. But, as I have already said, all this depends on their individual character; for there are misanthropic (a hatred for humankind) spirits who do not like to be disturbed, and whose answers, when questioned, betray their ill-humor, especially if they are evoked by persons in whom they take no interest. A spirit who has no motive for responding to the call of an evoker who is unknown to him, or with whom he is not in sympathy (especially when the call is prompted by mere curiosity) should he come at all, it will generally be only for a short time, and he most likely will not come, unless he sees that some useful end will be served."

 

Remark. - There are persons who only evoke their spirit-friends in order to ask them about the common things of their earthly life; whether they shall buy or sell a house, whether they will make a profit by some commercial speculation, or whether a transaction will turn out advantageously. Our friends and relations in the world beyond the grave only interest themselves in us in proportion to the affection that we feel for them.  If we only think of them as magicians, to advise us about our worldly affairs, they cannot feel any great sympathy for us, and we should hardly be surprised at any deficiency of good-will on their part.

 

21. Do good or bad spirits come to us most willingly when we evoke them?
"Bad spirits only come in voluntarily with the hope of dominating and deceiving.  They come very unwillingly when compelled to do so, as they may be made to declare their faults. Under such circumstances, they would gladly keep away, like schoolboys called up to be punished.  But they are sometimes pressured to come, by superior spirits, as a punishment imposed for a crime or offense; as well as a means of advancement for themselves, and as a lesson for the human beings who evoke them. Evocation for puerile (silly) purposes can only be wearisome to superior spirits, who either do not come at all, or soon retire.  Remember that spirits do not like, any more than you do, to serve as an amusement for the curious. If you have often no better purpose in evoking a spirit than to see what he will say, or to ask him particulars in relation to his earthly life (which it is not your business to pry into), he has no motive for confiding to you. Do you suppose that a spirit likes to be put into the witness box and cross-questioned at your pleasure? Undeceive yourselves; as what a spirit would not have consented to do while on earth, he will most likely decline to do as a spirit."

 

Remark. - Experience shows that evocation is always agreeable to spirits, when made for serious and useful ends. The good come with pleasure to instruct us; those who suffer find relief in our sympathy; and those whom we have known are gratified by our recollection of them. Frivolous spirits delight in being evoked by the frivolous, because it gives them an opportunity of amusing themselves at their expense; but they are ill at ease with more serious persons.

 

22. Is it necessary to evoke a spirit in order for him to be able to manifest himself?
"No, spirits very frequently come without being called; which proves that they come voluntarily."

 

23. When a spirit comes of his own accord, are we more certain of his identity?
"By no means; deceptive spirits frequently employ this method, in order the better to take you in."

 

24. When we evoke a spirit by our thought, does he come to us, even when there is no manifestation of his presence?
"Manifestations are attestations of the presence of a spirit; but it is your thought which attracts him."

 

25. When an inferior spirit manifests his presence, how can we oblige him to retire?
"By paying no attention to him. But how can you expect him to go if you amuse yourselves with his follies? Inferior spirits attach themselves to those who listen to them with complacency, which is done by foolish persons among yourselves."

 

26. Is an evocation in the name of God a guarantee against the meddling of evil spirits?
"The name of God does not affect all perverse spirits, though a good many are restrained by it. If employed with faith and sincerity, it will always drive away some of them; and it would keep off a great many more if it were always employed with conviction, and not as a mere formality."

 

27. Can we evoke several spirits at the same time, by name?
"There is no difficulty in doing so; and if you had three or four hands to write with, three or four spirits would answer you at the same time. They do this when several mediums are present."

 

28. When several spirits are evoked at the same time, and there is only one medium present, which spirit replies?
"The one who is most in sympathy with the medium replies for all, by expressing their collective thought."

 

29. Can the same spirit, during a sitting, communicate at the same time by two different mediums?
"Just as easily as a man can dictate several letters at the same time to several amanuenses (one who writes from dictation)."

 

Remark. - We have often known a spirit to reply, at the same time, through two mediums, to the questions addressed to him.  In some cases, the answers have been given to one of the mediums in English, to the other in French, both being identical in meaning, and, sometimes, literal translations of one another. Two spirits simultaneously evoked by two mediums can also establish a conversation between themselves; although this mode of communication is quite unnecessary for them, since they reciprocally read each others' thoughts, they sometimes lend themselves to this experiment for our enlightenment. If both are inferior spirits, and therefore still imbued with earthly passions and ideas, they may quarrel and say harsh things of one another, each reproaching the other with his faults. They have even been known, on such occasions, to hurl pencils, or other objects at one another.

 

30. Can the same spirit, when evoked simultaneously in different places, give simultaneous replies to the questions addressed to him?
"Yes, if he is an elevated spirit."
-- In this case, does the spirit divide himself?
"The sun is one, yet its light radiates in all directions, sending out its rays to various distances without any division of itself - and so it is with spirits. The thought of a spirit is like a spark which throws out its light on all sides, and it may be perceived from all points of the horizon. The purer a spirit is, the farther his thoughts radiate, and the more widely it spreads, like the light. Inferior spirits are too material to effect this wide radiation they can only reply to one person at a time, and cannot come to you if they are answering another call elsewhere.  A superior spirit, evoked at the same time in two different places, will answer both calls if both are equally serious and fervent; giving the preference to the more serious evocation."

 

31. Can we evoke the fully-purified spirits, those who have terminated their series of incarnations?
"Yes, but they very rarely respond to your call; they communicate only with pure and sincere hearts, never with the proud and the selfish.  You must therefore beware of the inferior spirits who claim to be of that degree, as they are doing it in order to give you a false idea of their importance."

 

32. How is it that the spirits of the most illustrious men come so familiarly and easily as they sometimes do, at the call of the most obscure evokers?
"Men judge spirits by themselves, which is a mistake. After the death of the body, terrestrial (earthly) rank no longer exists; goodness is then the only distinction among spirits, and the only superiority they recognize among men. Good spirits go everywhere where good can be done."

 

33. How soon after death can a spirit be evoked?
"You can evoke a spirit even at the very moment of death; but, as he is then in a state of confusion, he can only reply imperfectly."

 

Remark. - Because the duration of the state of confusion varies greatly with different persons, there can be no fixed rule in regard to evocation. It is rare, however, for a spirit not to have recovered his self-consciousness sufficiently for replying, by the end of a week or so. He may be able to reply two or three days after death; in any case, the attempt may be made, but with caution and gentleness.

 

34. Would evocation, at the moment of death, be more fatiguing to a spirit than at a later period?
"In most cases it would be so; for it is like speaking to someone whom you just awoke from slumber, before he is fully awake. There are persons, however, who are not annoyed by this; and to whom your call may even be useful by drawing them out of the state of confusion."

 

35. How is it that the spirit of a little child can reply to us with full intelligence, when, on earth, he had not even arrived at self-consciousness?
"The soul of an infant is a spirit confined in the swaddling-clothes of matter; but when disengaged from matter, he regains the use of his faculties as a spirit, for age has no existence for spirits. The fact that the spirit of an infant can answer you like that of an adult proves that he had lived before. Nevertheless, until he is completely disengaged from matter, he may retain some traces of the characteristics of infancy."

 

Remark. - This is equally observable in the case of those who have died insane. The spirit himself is not really insane; but we know that some spirits believe themselves, for a time, to be still living in their old flesh-body upon the earth.  So it is not surprising that, in some cases, the spirit of a madman should fancy that he still feels the pressure of the illness which, during life, deprived him of the control of his intellect, and that this illusion would last until he is completely disengaged from the influence of matter.

 

Evocation of Animals

36. Can we evoke the spirit of an animal?
"After the death of an animal, the intelligent principle which animated it is in a state that may be qualified as inoperative; but it is immediately utilized, by spirits specially charged with that work, for animating new beings. Thus, in the world of spirits, there are no wandering spirits of animals, but human spirits only. This statement answers your question."

 -- How is it, then, that some persons who have evoked animals have obtained answers?

"Evoke a rock, and it will answer you. There is always a crowd of spirits about you, ready to speak for everybody and for everything.

Evocation of Living Persons

 37. Is the incarnation of a spirit an absolute obstacle to his evocation (Does a spirit need to be from the Spirit world to speak?)

"No; but it is necessary that the state of his body, at the moment of evocation, should be such as to allow his spirit to disengage itself immediately."

 

38. Can we evoke the spirit of a person now living in our world?
"Yes; just as you can evoke a spirit incarnated in some other world. The spirit of a person living in your world can also, in his moments of liberty, render himself visible to you without evocation; but that depends on the degree of his sympathy with the parties to whom he shows himself. When asleep or dozing; it is then that the spirit is most free."

 -- Could the body awake during the absence of the spirit?

"No; if something were about to waken the body, which is the spirit's home during his earthly life, he would be forced to return to it.  At that moment, he would suddenly leave you, perhaps telling you why he did so."

 

40. How is the spirit, when absent from the body, informed of the necessity of returning to it?
"The spirit of a living body is never completely separated; however far off he may go, he is always attached to the body by a fluidic thread, or link, which serves to recall him to his body when necessary.  This thread, or link, is not broken until the moment of death."

 

41. What would happen if, while asleep, and in the absence of the spirit, the body received a fatal blow?
"The spirit would be informed of what was about to happen, and would re-enter the body, before death could occur."
-- But suppose the blow was struck suddenly and unexpectedly?
"The spirit would be warned of the impending blow before it could be struck.  If the body could die in the absence of the spirit, suicide would be too easy."

 

42. Is the spirit of a person evoked during sleep as free to communicate as that of a person deceased?
"No; matter always exerts more or less influence on the spirits who are incarnated."

 

43. Is it absolutely impossible to evoke the spirit of a person who is awake and not asleep?
"It is difficult to do so, but it is not absolutely impossible.  A spirit can only communicate, as a spirit, at times when his presence is not necessary to the intelligent activity of his body."

 

44. When a person in the flesh is evoked while sleeping, has he, upon waking, any consciousness of what has occurred to him?
"No; not in most cases. All of you are evoked more often than you suppose; but it is usually your spirit only that is aware of the occurrence.  In some cases, it may leave on the mind a vague impression, as of a dream."
-- Who is likely to evoke us if we are only obscure persons?
"You may have been widely known in former existences, in this world, or in other worlds; you have many more relations and friends in this world, or in other worlds, than you know of in your waking state, and all these people may evoke you."

 

45. When the spirit of a person in the flesh is evoked, does he reply as a spirit, or with the ideas of his waking state?
"That depends on his elevation. His judgment will be clearer, and less influenced by prejudices, than in his waking state, for when answering an evocation, the two states (awake and asleep) are almost the same."

 

51. Can we evoke the spirit of an infant during the period of gestation (pregnancy)?
"No; at that time the spirit is in a state of confusion too dense for consciousness."

 

Remark. - Incarnation does not definitively take place until the moment when the infant breathes; but, from the instant of conception, the spirit designed to animate a given body is seized with a sort of confusion, which increases with the approach of birth and deprives him of self-consciousness, and consequently, of the possibility of answering to any call.