As the sky is a
type of heaven, so the earth we tread is a type of material things. The
reason you see the earth above your head and the sky beneath your feet,
is that you as yet place material things above spiritual things. It is
difficult for you, as a mortal, to do otherwise, and therefore your
vision is distorted. I can, however, while I am with you, communicate a
portion of my being to you, sufficient for you to see objects as they
really are." He then touched my forehead, grasping my temples between his finger and
thumb, when a new sensation came over me. It seemed as if I had been
suddenly lifted with the rapidity of lightning a mile or two higher in
the air, although my guide assured me that I had never moved from the
spot I was standing on. I appeared to breathe more freely, and
experienced a most exhilarating feeling of buoyancy, with an intense and
boundless expansion of mind. The sky was now above my head and the earth beneath my feet, as in our
world. I found myself surrounded by a beautiful landscape that would
baffle all my descriptive powers to give any adequate idea of. Trees,
beautiful and curious, bearing fruit of gold, silver, or precious
stones, and of ferns that I had never seen in the world. Hills and
valleys of rich luxuriance, crags, waterfalls, lakes with islands,
magnificent palaces of the purest white marble in a style of
architecture truly sublime. Human forms, surpassingly beautiful, of both
sexes and of all ages crossed me at intervals, from blooming and
laughing infancy to hoary but hale old age, each stage of life bearing a
marked beauty of its own. Everyone seemed happy, and no one idle,
although the occupations of some were of a quiet, meditative sort. Philosophers discussed theories among themselves or taught wisdom to the
young, who listened attentively. Children romped or indulged in
amusements suitable to their age. Lovers passed and repassed, discussing
together in earnest whisper. Here and there a solitary poet composed an
ode or landscape painter plied his art. The more I gazed on the scene,
the more I became enraptured, for all was sunshine and content. "How different," thought I, "is this to those false delusive joys that I
have just witnessed in the lower world of spirits, and which I, in my
besotted ignorance, mistook for a paradise!" Then my guide turning towards me said:

"I perceive that you are enchanted with this scene, that the beauty
around you surpasses your wildest imagination, and that you could never
desire a paradise more delightful. These are those who in the world were
born rich, or, at least, if not rich, used the little they possessed to
relieve or promote the happiness and welfare of their kind, denying
themselves luxuries or even necessities in order to enlarge the field
of their charity, counting the dead pleasures of wealth as nothing in
comparison with the satisfaction they derived from rendering happy their
poorer neighbours. These are the angels of the lowest heaven, but there
are higher joys than these, which neither you nor I may ever be
permitted to witness." So enraptured was I with all around me, that I hardly listened to the
words of my guide. I yearned to converse with some of the inhabitants of
this paradise, but a feeling of shyness, owing to a consciousness of
inferiority, held me back. The inhabitants even invited me to discourse with them, for they looked
on me kindly, as if waiting for me to address them. Maidens of most
heavenly beauty gazed upon me with sweet looks of chaste innocence. Lovely children seemed about to seize me by the hand to lead me away to
play, but on approaching nearer to me and perceiving that I was not of
their heaven, scampered off half-terrified. One or two hospitable
persons came forward and offered to take me into their houses, and to
show me some of the public buildings, but my guide observing that a
giddiness had seized me, owing to the excess of delight I experienced in
things so new to me, explained to them that I was yet a mortal only
temporarily withdrawn from the body, and that a longer stay in this
region might prove dangerous to me, as he had been commissioned to let
me return shortly. My conductor then waved his hand courteously to
everyone by way of farewell, the good spirits also returning the salute
while we descended more rapidly than we had ascended, and all around me
became as before, a thick cloud. I felt nigh fainting with a singing in
my ears, but this vanished by degrees the farther I left the paradise
behind. At length my senses being sufficiently recovered, I gazed around me; all
was mist still, but every now and then I observed certain curious
phenomena, visions which appeared and disappeared. Sometimes it was a
garden or a building, sometimes an animal, a solitary tree or flowers. I
heard strains of music, voices, laughter. Sometimes a rose or other
flower fell at my feet, and immediately vanished; sometimes a toad or
other reptile fell near me, and likewise vanished. Sometimes birds of
prey or fierce animals were seen striving with one another. Then again,
fragments of distant landscape appeared and vanished. None of these apparitions lasted beyond a few seconds. Then turning to my guide, I said:

"Tell me, O sage, what is the meaning of all these appearances?" To which the old man replied:

"These are all signs and symbols of things which in your world have no
visible nor tangible existence, their essence being purely spiritual,
yet which, nevertheless, in their own atmosphere--the spiritual
world--have a visible existence of their own. These are the thoughts of
mortals yet living in your world. "We are fast approaching your earth, and therefore these appearances
become visible. The more beautiful of these visions, such as the
flowers, landscape, and singing birds, are the representations of the
pure thoughts and desires of the good; those of the less pleasing sort,
such as the toads, adders, serpents, bats and owls, signify the evil
thoughts of the wicked, and correspond to revenge, hatred, lust, murder,
fraud, and the like. "Where these wild beasts and reptiles appear in great numbers in the
spirit world, and are seen combatting one with the other, it is a sign
of war on earth." "But tell me why," I said, "I hear the sound of music yet see no
musicians, and hear the sound of voices yet see no one?" Then my companion answered me: "The murky atmosphere through which we
are now passing is also an inhabited world. The spirits of this world
are invisible to you because you are not altogether freed from the
material veil which obscures your vision, and that veil thickens the
nearer you approach earth.