to the
living consciousness this would almost certainly be the case.

"Now, when we come to die, the departure of the soul from the body
must be a great strain and stress upon the surviving consciousness,
and must shock it tremendously--just as the accident shocked it in
the case given above. Certainly this would be so in the case of all
_sudden_ deaths, and in those cases which 'die hard'; and it is
natural to suppose that it would be true also, more or less, in
every case of death, however natural--since the separation of
consciousness from its brain must be the greatest shock that any
given consciousness could receive in the course of its natural
existence. But after a time the spirit is supposed to outlive and
'get over' this initial shock, and to regain its normal functions
and faculties. In its normal life, it is then supposed to be once
more free and unhampered by any of the bodily conditions that
rendered its manifestations on earth defective. But when this
consciousness comes once more to communicate, it seems to again
take on the conditions of earth life, i.e. those conditions which
were present when the person died, and this would account for the
fact, often observed, that mediums 'take on' the conditions of
certain spirits who are communicating, i.e. they suffer _pro tem._
from heart or bowel trouble, pains in the head, etc. Further, this
seems to extend to the mental functions and conditions also. Idiocy
and insanity, e.g., are supposed to gradually wear off in the next
life, and a gradual return to normal conditions ensue. This is, at
least, the statement made through several mediums, and it is only
natural to suppose that such should be the case. The spirit
gradually returns to a normal mental condition; but when any
attempt is made to return to the 'earth plane,' and especially to
communicate, these conditions return with greater or lesser
force--varying with and depending upon the length of time such a
person had been dead, and other considerations. On any theory, the
consciousness must undergo some sort of temporary disintegration,
while communicating, and must be scattered over a wide field of
recollection, while at the same time attempting to 'hold on' to the
organism. It must also be remembered that the flow of thought is