Through The Mists. Translated into Simplified “Modern English”. Chapter Twelve. Across the Mists.

For the first time, perhaps because of what Siamedes had told me, I realized that we were not walking. My rapid movement through the air was both enjoyable and entirely new to me. There was no effort involved in my flight—in fact, I wasn’t even aware of exerting any power to move at all. Cushna held my hand, and it seemed that he was the one providing whatever force was needed to carry us along.

For a long time, he said nothing and gave no sign that he was even aware of my presence.

Our journey was not instantaneous—perhaps I wasn’t yet capable of traveling that way, or maybe there were other reasons I couldn’t understand. But as I saw the mists just ahead, a flood of questions rushed through my mind, and a thrill of excitement took hold of me. Would the earth look different to me now? How far away was it? Would I recognize the first place I saw? Who, if anyone, among my old acquaintances would I see first? Would I see London at all?

As we drew closer to the mists, I was surprised that we didn’t descend to pass through them. Then I remembered Helen saying that when returning to earth, we cross over the mists rather than going through them. Yes, we were above them! Now I would finally discover the great secret from the other side of life. What would it be? What would it reveal?

And then—

We had passed them.

It was dark, and I felt a wave of disappointment. I had hoped my first return to earth would be in daylight. The air was cold, and I felt the chill pass through me, making me hesitate for a moment. I had no idea how far away the earth was or in which direction it lay. In the surrounding darkness, there was no light to guide me.

Cushna urged me forward for a while, then suddenly stopped. Still surrounded by darkness, he playfully asked what I thought of my first view of earth from the immortal side.

“I haven’t seen it yet,” I replied, “nor do I see any sign of it—unless those faint and jumbled sounds are coming from it.”

"That is exactly what I expected. You’ve fallen into the same major mistake that most people make—they misunderstand the relationship between the physical and spiritual sides of life. This misunderstanding comes from a lack of thought and is the biggest obstacle to communication between us and those still on earth. Discussing it brings us to the heart of the issue.

While in the body, people fail to grasp the real difference between spiritual and physical existence. They mistakenly believe that the physical world is superior. They assume that losing the body means losing all advantages, abilities, and accomplishments.

They think that after death, work, progress, and development come to an end, and that the soul becomes vague and unreal, incapable of continuing any of the pursuits it had on earth.

People believe that death stands as a barrier, saying to the powerful forces of the mind, ‘This is the limit—you can go no further.’ They think the grave opens and declares to the vast potential of human ability, ‘This is where you must stop.’ While in the body, they believe they can tackle and overcome challenges, but once they die, they assume they lose that ability, having left it behind in the grave.

That is one common illusion. Our religious friends, however, hold another. They believe, quite rightly, that if communication between the two worlds were possible, divine revelation would continue. But they mistakenly assume that God has spoken His final word on the matter. Because of this belief, they argue that any attempt to reach beyond the grave must be a trick of the devil to deceive and destroy souls.

Yet, a little calm and unbiased reasoning would quickly shake the foundations of both these objections and open the door to a greater understanding of the truth."

"The brain is not the same as the mind; it is just a tool the mind uses under certain conditions. Between the two, there is an unbridgeable gap, so deep and mysterious that even the wisest person has not figured out exactly how they are connected. To make assumptions based on this ignorance is foolish—like saying a violinist is dead just because the strings on his violin are broken.

The second argument, the one from religious people, is even more inconsistent. They worship God as unchanging, ‘without variation or shadow of turning,’ and they base this belief on the constancy of His laws. The Bible is full of stories about angels ministering to people. The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of their faith, without which their belief would be meaningless. And yet, they deny the possibility of communication between the two worlds, insisting that this unchanging God has, in fact, changed—at least in this one area—and that angelic visitations have stopped.

‘You’re absolutely right in your arguments,’ I said, ‘but I don’t see what this has to do with why I can’t see the earth—assuming we’re close to it.’

‘What confuses you can be explained very simply, and you’ll see that both examples are based on the same truth. Religious people don’t believe in angelic visitations because they cannot see them. In the same way, you can’t see the earth right now. Why? Because you’ve changed the way you perceive things. In doing so, you have become invisible to the physical world, and at the same time, it has become invisible to you. To yourself, you are just as real and solid as ever, but to the people on earth, you are as unreal as they once believed us to be. So now, you must think of earth as a vague, almost unreal place, while you, as a spiritual being, remain the true and substantial one. Isn’t that completely opposite to how you always imagined things?’

‘Yes, absolutely. But like most people, my understanding was vague and unclear.’

‘Yet, you used to think of us as invisible, immaterial, and intangible?’

‘I suppose I did—at least, whenever I bothered to think about it at all.’"

“To them, we are usually invisible, just as they are to us. This is because the way we sense, and experience resistance is different. Now you can begin to understand what was once a mystery. You are still just as real and solid as before, but everything else has changed. The spirit world has become the physical and natural reality to you, while Earth has faded, becoming almost invisible. What once seemed solid and unmovable—buildings, trees, even people’s physical bodies—are now no more resistant than a thin mist clinging to a mountain.”

“Cushna!” I gasped as the truth dawned on me. Following his hand’s direction, I gradually began to make out the faint outlines of things around us. “This is the biggest surprise yet! How can I possibly understand it?”

“You need to be patient,” he replied. “A student doesn’t instantly understand a language just because he has learned the alphabet. But that doesn’t stop him from continuing to study if he is wise. No one truly knows how they are able to think, but every seeker of knowledge still uses their mind, even if they don’t fully understand it. This is how we must approach our spiritual development. Every new stage we pass through will have its mysteries, but each one will eventually be solved, only to lead us to greater questions, until we have fully grown and can finally see God. If our friends on Earth understood this, they would fulfill their purpose much more effectively.”

“I’m starting to see now why it’s so difficult to reach them,” I said. “But isn’t there something we can do to correct these misunderstandings?”

“Yes! Love conquers death, and the same great law that governs everything here is also the means by which we can reach and save mankind.

Sympathy, whether good or bad, noble or selfish, pure or impure, is naturally drawn to what is similar to itself, and its power is not destroyed by death, as you have seen in the reason for our current mission. Love connects souls and can bridge any gap if it is strong and true. This is partly recognized on Earth. For example, people accept that a mother who has passed on can still be aware of her child’s well-being. So why do they deny that information can be shared the other way? The child’s experiences may not help the mother, but the mother’s wisdom could make a world of difference to the child. Why, then, should the useless knowledge be allowed while the beneficial knowledge is denied? Is this how God usually works? A telegraph wire can send a message in both directions—so if love can pierce the mist from Earth and cry, ‘Come back!’ why shouldn’t it be able to travel the other way and cry, ‘Come forward’?”

“There are still obstacles in the way,” I said.

“Yes, but they are not impossible to overcome, because they are not natural. They exist only because of the misunderstandings I mentioned.

If people on Earth followed the simple teachings of Jesus, we would have a foundation to build on, and the rest would be easy to accomplish.”

“I kind of wish I had returned in daylight first. I think the darkness is making me more confused than I would be otherwise.”

“That’s another mistake!” my companion replied with a smile. “You still don’t fully understand the situation. Everything you see that is real is spiritual, but things only seem dark to you because they contrast with the shadowless world you’ve become used to. Look more closely—there are signs of dawn all around us, and the sun is definitely rising.”

“You mean the spiritual sun?” I asked.

“Yes! The Sun of Righteousness, which will drive away the darkness of selfishness, ignorance, bigotry, and superstition, and bring peace and goodwill to Earth.”

“What does this cold, sharp air mean?”

“The level of charity is measured by the spiritual thermometer,” Cushna said.

“Look at that shadow moving, Cushna. What is it?”

“That is a man,” he replied, “who has no spirituality. That’s why we see him as a dark shadow. The more Christ-like a person becomes, the more their body glows with a radiant light that matches the shadowless brightness of paradise.”

“Is that always the case?”

“Always. The amount and quality of light a person emits reveal their true spiritual condition. We don’t need anyone to tell us—it’s impossible to deceive us because it’s impossible to alter this natural evidence.”

This simple explanation suddenly made sense of many Bible passages that flooded my mind. I thought of Isaiah’s prophecy: ‘Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.’ 

Then I remembered John’s words: ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.’ And most striking of all was Christ’s declaration: ‘This is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.’

Other words came to me as well, reinforcing this vivid illustration: ‘You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.’ What a powerful revelation of the deep reality and significance of life!

Cushna didn’t let me dwell on these thoughts for long. He reminded me of the reason for our visit and indicated that we should focus on our task. As I followed him, my eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light around us. Though everything remained hazy and shadowy, I was now able to make out the outlines of what we were passing and understand more clearly the nature of our surroundings.