hip"--does
not depend upon any particular form of religious belief, or teaching,
concerning the nature of the state or place of abode of the departed
spirits of men; but, on the contrary, is common to all form of religion
and to all phases of belief in the survival of the human soul.
Therefore, a scientific consideration of the general subject does not
necessitate the acceptance of any one particular phase of religious
belief, or of any particular system of teaching concerning the nature or
state of "life after death." All that is required of the person
accepting the general fact of "higher plane communication" may be stated
as follows: (1) Acceptance of the fact that the human soul persists
after the death of the body, and independent of and removed from the
dead body; (2) acceptance of the fact that the decarnate souls of human
beings may, and do, establish communication with human beings still
dwelling upon the earth-plane of existence.

We may state here that the term "decarnate" means "away from the
physical body," or "out of the flesh;" the term being the opposite of
"incarnate," meaning "clothed with flesh, or embodied in flesh." We may
also state here that the teachings of most philosophies of the life
after death hold that the decarnate human soul is not entirely devoid of
a body, but rather occupies a body composed of some ethereal substance;
this ethereal body being called the "astral body," or the "spiritual
body."

The Ideals of Modern Spiritualism.

A writer well expresses the ideals of modern western spiritualism as
follows: "Through the gateway of mediumship for upwards of fifty years
the world has been catching glimpses of the glory of the land immortal,
and visitants from that 'bourne' from whence it has been erroneously
said that 'no traveler returns' have made their presence known beyond
all doubt or denial, thus proving the continued conscious existence of
human beings and the sequential chapter of the life hereafter. Though
the messages from the unseen have at times been imperfect and
fragmentary, still they have been MESSAGES. If but telegraphic
dispatches, so to speak, instead of voluminous letters; or like
telephonic snatches of conversation rather than face-to-face outpourings
of thought and feeling, still they have been greetings and comforting
assurances of undying affection from the people living in the land
'beyond the veil.' Although many a sorrowing soul has longed for further
revel