Sir Arthur Speaks From Beyond the Grave
McNamara later buys Sir Arthur’s wallet at an auction and they form a closer bond and together they give a very interesting view of the spirit world. I like McNamara’s matter-of-fact tone. He knows that most people are going to be skeptical and asks only that the reader keep an open mind.
We know Lucky Lindbergh got a glimpse of the spirit world on his transatlantic flight (See Lucky Lindbergh Communes With the Spirits), but that might have been a hallucination. I know sometimes doing historical research, I have got this tingly feeling, as if Dexter Marsh or Mary Phylinda Dole or Isabella Bird were sending me a tingle of recognition, but that’s just a tingle.
What this book teaches — whether you believe in the spirit world or not — is that it matters what you think. And what you think is not just what occurs to you. You can direct your thoughts into creative and even inspirational channels.
This is the basis of The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, which kind of illustrates the same principle with no other-wordly component.
According to McNamara, creative thoughts take on a life of their own, and because so many people have thought about and imagined Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur actually runs into him quite often on the other side. In fact, he says, “There are many thought forms of Sherlock Holmes walking around.” Walking? No wings?
Here’s a little sample of what Sir Arthur has to say, channeled through a medium named Karl:
“Life has nothing to do with religion… The power of God encompasses everything. It’s your attitude that is important. There are many so-called religious people who are not religious or spiritual, but use it to blind people, and bind themselves to dogma and ritual. That is their power base.
“When you come over to spirit, you start to see things exactly as they really are, and some people feel very foolish when they look back. [I’ll bet they do!]
“What really matters is the philosophy of love. Maybe love is the wrong word for you to understand. I mean the philosophy of love in tolerance, understanding, and patience of purpose.
“It is not the problem, but how you deal with the problem. Some react to a problem in an angry way, some react with a practical solution, others cannot cope. I must go now…”
Me too.
Hels
December 5, 2009 @ 10:28 am
I was involved in a spirited discussion about Conan Doyle's spiritualism over at Art and Architecture, mainly as a result of a post on the author: http://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com/2009/03/sir-arthur-conan-doyle.htmlMonths later I read your post on Conan Doyle and thought it very relevant. Many thanks for the linkHels