“Nosso Lar”

THE ASTRAL CITY  | video (for ipad-link) | mirror |

The story of a doctor’s odyssey in the Spirit World. | audiointro mp3 | audiobook |

intro-talk-lecture about the book

By the Spirit  of André Luiz

Through medium Francisco Cândido Xavier

Ist Electronic Edition by GEAE

Translated from the 25^th Portuguese edition entitled “Nosso Lar” . First Portuguese edition published in 1944 by FEDERAÇÃO ESPÍRITA BRASILEIRA. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

First English edition by Christian Spirit Center, P O Box 114, Elon College, N. C., 27244, USA.

Revision and editing by Lauren Speeth Luczynski

1^st Electronic Edition by Antônio Leite (New York, NY, USA) and GEAE (Advanced Study Group of Spiritism)

following the txt here by listening - mp3 audio - starts at A Message from André Luiz  just above chapter1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface to the first electronic edition,

Acknowledgments,

Introduction to the first English edition,

A New Friend,

A message from André Luiz,

Chapter 1 In the lower zones,

Chapter 2 Clarence

Chapter 3 Collective prayer,

Chapter 4 The spirit doctor,

Chapter 5 Under treatment,

Chapter 6 Precious advice,

Chapter 7 Lysias explains,

Chapter 8 Administrative organization,

Chapter 9 The problem of nutrition,

Chapter 10 The water park,

Chapter 11 Learning about the Astral City,

Chapter 12 The lower zone,

Chapter 13 With the minister of assistance,

Chapter 14 Clarence explains,

Chapter 15 My mother’s visit,

Chapter 16 A confidential talk,

Chapter 17 Lysias’ home,

Chapter 18 Love, the food of souls,

Chapter 19 The newcomer,

Chapter 20 Notions about the home,

Chapter 21 Interesting conversation,

Chapter 22 The hour-bonus,

Chapter 23 The art of listening,

Chapter 24 A soul-stirring appeal,

Chapter 25 A generous initiative,

Chapter 26 New perspectives,

Chapter 27 Work at last,

Chapter 28 On duty,

Chapter 29 Francis’ vision,

Chapter 30 Inheritance and euthanasia,

Chapter 31 The vampire,

Chapter 32 Learning about Veneranda,

Chapter 33 Curious observation,

Chapter 34 Newcomers from the lower zones,

Chapter 35 An unexpected meeting,

Chapter 36 The dream,

Chapter 37 Veneranda’s lecture,

Chapter 38 Tobia’s home,

Chapter 39 Consulting Laura,

Chapter 40 As you sow, so shall you reap,

Chapter 41 A call to the struggle,

Chapter 42 The governor’s address,

Chapter 43 An informal conversation,

Chapter 44 The dark regions,

Chapter 45 The music fields,

Chapter 46 A woman’s sacrifice,

Chapter 47 Laura’s return,

Chapter 48 The home prayer meeting,

Chapter 49 Returning home,

Chapter 50 A citizen of the Astral City,

PREFACE TO THE FIRST ELECTRONIC EDITION BY GEAE

News from the afterlife reach us since time immemorial. They teach us, alert us and give us solace. From Saul consulting the dead Samuel (Samuel 28:1) on the direction of Israel, to the disciples in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-28:20) visited by the Master after crucifixion. From Peter freed from prison by an angel of the Lord (Acts 12:1-12:10) to the voices which guided Joan D´arc for the salvation of France. Messages on the state of the human spirit after death often remains hidden in these news.

Messages translated into the proper language and customs of their times speak us about heavens and hells, where human beings find themselves and the results of their actions. These are more or less happy resorts according to the spiritual state of their inhabitants. In many instances they are covered with poetry, as in Dante´s Divine Comedy, or hidden under the symbols of the great mystics.

Even recently, at a time of positivist science, the flux of news did not stop. On the contrary, starting in 1848 it has grown increasingly, finding elucidation in the gigantic effort of analysis and compilation carried out by Allan Kardec. Starting with “The Spirit´s Book” (1857) they continued through “Posthumous Works” (1890), strongly intertwined by the ‘Revue Spirite’ (1858-1859). “To be born, to died, to be born again and always move forward” – the several plans of human existence are unveiled, each one endowed with its proper aim within the great work of evolution.

Spiritism, the set of teachings contained in Kardequian works, has organized and spread the interchange of news among incarnate and discarnate. Groups were established in several countries. In the Brazilian lands however a propitious environment for good mediumnistic work and practical application of the Spiritist postulates was found. Bezerra de Menezes, Caibar Schutel, Eurípedes Barsanulfo and many others vividly spread the “Good news”, that actually death does not exist, that we found ourselves under transitory study in this material world, that opportunities of work and improvement abound in the “many Father´s mansions”…

In a continuously changing world, in which the domain of matter takes place and the human inner universe remains unknown, materialism seems little by little to triumph over all the spiritual conquests, reducing to pious myths all the religious creeds. In this world, Spiritism stands up straight, marching forward in the enlightenment of people. At the very moment when man  find himself far from God, a masterpiece shows him his supreme target, shaping forever the behavior of future generations.

“Nosso Lar” (or “The Astral City” in the present English version) appeared on Earth in 1943 through the mediumship of Francisco Xavier and edited by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB). The book tells us the odyssey of a recently departed physician who introduces himself under the pen name “André Luiz” (see forewords by Emmanuel and J Haddad). The author discloses a spiritual society, a colony of work located in the vicinity of the Earth surface, where one finds the happy of sad results of one acts after reaching “the other side” of life. Far from abstractions or purely philosophical argumentation, André Luiz speaks about the actual reality of imperfect spirits still alive, working and preparing themselves for the next life’s struggles.

“Nosso Lar” is an evolving society, much similar to the terrestrial one. It displays many patterns of the Brazilian society at the time, forecasting other ones that would arise in the following years. Using a comparison, “Nosso Lar” is a kind of spiritualized

Rio de Janeiro or, more exactly, Rio is a material “Nosso Lar” in so far as many of its inhabitants come from this spiritual colony.

Putting aside the Brazilian feature of the colony, “Nosso Lar” is an universal example. Wherever the human spirit goes after death, be it a spiritual colony of an English speaking country or a spiritual town in ancient India, it always meets itself, carrying its conquests or past mistakes, beloved affections or inner enemies. In one word, it goes to a place with which it has strong affinities. And then, perhaps under different customs or dressings, the spirit finds a reality much similar to the one revealed by André Luiz.

So we strongly recommend to all our dear friends the reading of this work. We also hope that it can consolidate the certainty in the afterlife and in the maxim “without charity there is no salvation” as it did to many Brazilian fellows. We remark that just after the edition of this book, as if reinforcing a practical teaching by Bezerra de Menezes, Brazil saw the appearance of many Spiritist groups attached to the ideal of social and spiritual assistance works. In this way, Spiritism became one of the leading schools of thought in Brazil. Thanks to this book, we find today assistance works everywhere, no matter how small the Spiritist group.

Finally, we would like to recall one of the strongest messages of this book: “work appears when the worker is ready”. Let us be in the service of our beloved sisters and brothers, that God will open the closed gates, placing us at the exact position where required hands lack.

Sincerely,

Carlos A Iglesia Bernardo, GEAE editor. October 15^th 2000.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The desire to have this classic of Brazilian Spiritist literature available in an English edition was first manifested in the early 60`s.

Ever since that time, several dedicated friends, moved by a sense of duty to translate such an important story, had progressively submitted their manuscript for evaluation.

Having used parts of their work, we feel, therefore, indebted to all of them, among whom is Evelyn Morales, Guiomar Saraiva, Hermínio Miranda, Ely Donato and others who kindly offered us their assistance. We are especially indebted to Laura Speeth Luczynski who worked on the final editing of the text. Mrs. Luczynski succeeded in reducing flowery Portuguese into current English yet without altering the original thought.

This being a book of universal importance and altogether the result of voluntary work, we cannot but praise God for the interest that it has found in the hearts of all those whose efforts have contributed to make it available.

Lastly, we wish to thank the Federação Espírita Brasileira for the permission granted us to publish this English edition of “The Astral City”.

Introduction to the First English Edition.

Through the course of history, man has progressively received information about the afterlife according to his ability to assimilate it. During his brief sojourn on Earth, man is generally too involved in his worldly affairs to be able to readily conceive of an invisible plane of life. This being the case, his spiritual education could not but move at an exceedingly slow pace from its beginning centuries ago.

Revelations pertaining to a spiritual world permeate the scripture of all major religions in various degrees. These revelations, or instructions, however, were necessarily limited in scope, and at times cautiously veiled in fragmentary statements of allegorical language. It is interesting to note, for example, how this instruction process gradually develops in the Old Testament beginning with the idea of a paradise, and continuing with references to angels or spiritual messengers, and then to chariots and horses of fire, followed by the notion of a lower world or Hell, and many other similar statements implying a transcendental world. In the New Testament, somewhat more detailed descriptions are added, such as the state of Lazarus and the Rich Man after death, the Lord’s reference to “many mansions” (John, 14:2), the great and small in the Kingdom of Heaven, and the “legions of angels” (Matthews, 26:53). There are also details in some of the Apostles’ writings, specially in the epistles of Paul of Tarsus and in Revelation. A more significant step is taken in the latter to describe prophetic scenes of what appears to be a real, inhabited world with horsemen, angelic beings, a city with twelve gates, and the “pure river of the water of life” (Revelation, 22:1). The mechanics of judgment and the importance of our deeds are also described in Revelation.

After the Biblical period, only sporadic descriptions of the life beyond were recorded, and these were sometimes separated by centuries. Among the better known are to be found in the Mohammedan scriptures, in Dante’s and St. Theresa’s visions, and in the writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg, Johan Kaspar Lavater and Joseph Smith. The centuries that passed were apparently necessary for mankind to ponder, analyze and digest the older revelations. In the mid-nineteenth century, however, this pattern changed, and the information process began to accelerate. This change was marked specially by a worldwide outburst of mediumship with an abundant flow of spirit messages, and by Allan Kardec’s codification of the Spiritist Doctrine in France. In the century that followed, more information concerning the beyond was available to man than in all past centuries combined.

Spirit communications have always cause, and are still causing, a stir. They have been misunderstood and misused at times, but regardless of man’s reaction to them, they are here for a lofty purpose and they bear the sanction of both The Old and The New Testaments. Needless to say, these communications, to be constructive, must be approached with a responsible and reverent attitude.

The Astral City is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable works contributing to this new awareness. It stands as one more sign that  a new era of transcendental knowledge is in process, and that the age of veiled references to the life beyond is receding. Furthermore, it presents to us a Spirit world of an amazingly realistic

nature.  At times, we tend to be surprised at the quasi-material aspects  of 'The Astral City' colony. After careful consideration, however, we begin to see the wisdom of God's laws which afford the spirit a gradual adaptation to a life without the grosser material body. It has been repeatedly confirmed by reliable messages that the etherical replicas of the physical world are a common event in the next plane of existence. Indeed, the similarities of the two worlds are at times so confusing to the newly departed that the spirit mistakes them for material life, often ignoring the fact that death has occurred and that he has lost his physical body. Bearing in mind these and other basic principles of transition expounded by The Astral City we begin to conceive of a hereafter that is within the realm of Nature; a realm equally ruled by just laws of cause and effect. The environment André Luiz describes in this book apparently belongs to the category of an etheric advanced type of Earth life where spirits dwell while in preparation for higher, more imponderable worlds or for the return to another experience in the flesh.

The lay reader may at this point be asking about André Luiz and his relation to Francisco Cândido Xavier. In most mediumnistic works, at least two entities are involved: the medium and the communicating discarnate entity. In the present case, the medium is Xavier and the spirit author André Luiz, which is a pen name the spirit chose in order to disguise his former identity on Earth for reasons explained elsewhere in the book. The only available information about the identity of this spirit is that he was a fairly well known physician who lived in the early part of this century in Rio de Janeiro. The many attempts, motivated by natural human curiosity, to further identify him have resulted in mere speculations. André Luiz has transmitted to the medium Xavier, mainly through automatic writing, other books as relevant and revealing as The Astral City most of which were published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation in Brazil. Several of André Luiz books and many of his individual messages have also been translated into other languages.

Francisco Cândido Xavier, or Chico Xavier, as everybody knows him, is a medium all of Brazil admires and loves. His stupendous spiritual gifts and great literary success (close to 250 books. Xavier has donated the copyrights of all his works, which to date have sold in the neighborhood of six million copies) have not affected his goodness and humility. Soon after his fortieth year of spiritual and social service, Brazil seemed to awaken to Chico’s effort and dedication. He was then proclaimed an honorary citizen of Uberaba, the city where he now lives. This official gesture was followed by many other cities and towns throughout the country, each also making him their honorary citizen. His appearances before panels of intellectual on Brazilian television networks, some lasting several hours, have earned him national respect for the wisdom with which he answered, under spiritual guidance, the controversial questions put to him.

It is with great satisfaction that we present to the English speaking reader this highly significant book. We feel sure that after pondering its contents, our readers will agree with us that the old saying “no one ever returned to tell” is seriously challenged by this work and that, through it, greater light is shed on the words of the Master Jesus: “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (John, 14:2).

August, 1986.

S J Haddad

A New Friend

Prefaces generally introduce authors, extolling their virtues and enlarging on their personalities. Here, however, the situation is different. There are no social records for a physician named André Luiz.

Often real understanding and true love come to us hidden under the cloak of anonymity. In order to redeem a disgraceful past in the process of reincarnation, old names are wiped away and new ones take their places. All bygone happening sink into temporary oblivion – a blessing of Divine Mercy.

In this way, a curtain has been drawn over André Luiz’s former self. Thus, we cannot introduce an earthly doctor and human writer, but instead present a new friend and brother in eternity.

In order to bring his valuable impressions to his earthly companions, it was necessary for him to forego all conventions, including the use of his name. He did so to avoid hurting loved ones still wrapped in the mist of illusion. He acted with the same generosity as a reaper of corn, who avoids giving offense to those tilling in the distance and does not trample on the green fields still in bloom.

We realize that this book is not the only one of its kind. Others have already described the conditions of life beyond the grave. Nevertheless, we are glad to have drawn to our spiritual circles one who might transmit an account of his own experiences. He gives as much detail as possible to clarify the laws that preside over the efforts of diligent Spirits of good will in spheres which are invisible to human eyes, although intimately connected with the planet.

Many will surely smile on reading certain passages in this narrative. Let me remind you, however, that the unusual has always caused surprise.

Who on the Earth did not smile tolerantly upon hearing about aviation, electricity, or the radio before their development some decades ago?

Surprise, perplexity and doubt are common to students who have not yet gone over their lessons. It is natural and most just. Yet we would not think of criticizing our neighbor’s point of view, although we might disagree with it. Every reader must analyze for himself what he reads.

We will refer here to the essential aim of this work. The Spiritist Doctrine is rapidly increasing the number of its adepts. Thousands of people are taking interest in its work, methods and experiments. Yet, faced with a world of novelties, man must not neglect his most important goal – his own spiritual growth.

It is not sufficient to investigate phenomena, adhere verbally to any doctrine, collect and improve statistics, exhort the conscience of others, gain converts or win public approval, however commendable all this may be on the physical plane. It is essential to acquire the knowledge about our infinite potential, and to use it in the service of good.

Man is not forsaken on Earth. He is a child of God engaged in constructive work, temporarily clothed in flesh. He is a student in a meritorious school, where he must learn to raise himself up. The human struggle is his opportunity, his set of tools, and his textbook.

Interchange with the invisible is a sacred movement, functioning to restore pure Christianity. Let no one neglect his own obligations in the place he occupies by the Lord’s design.

André Luiz come to tell us, dear reader, that the greatest surprise of bodily death is that it places us face-to-face with our own conscience, where we build our heaven, remain in purgatory, or plunge ourselves into the infernal abysses. He reminds us that the Earth is our sacred school which no one could desecrate without knowing the price of this terrible mistake.

Keep his lessons in the book of your soul. They remind us that it is not enough for man to cling to his human existence. It is necessary to know how to use that existence worthy. The steps of a Christian, whatever his religious affiliation, should move truly towards Christ. To this end we have great need of Spiritism and Spiritualism, but most of all spirituality.

Emmanuel*, Pedro Leopoldo, October 3, 1943

*Emmanuel is F C Xavier’s spirit guide.

A Message from André Luiz

Life never ceases. Life is an overflowing source, and death is only an obscure effect of illusions.

 The great river follows its own course before joining the vast sea. Likewise, the soul follows equally varied routes and passes through different stages, receiving here and there tributaries of knowledge, strengthening its personality and perfecting its qualities before reaching the Ocean of Eternal Wisdom.

The closing of our earthly eyes is such a simple event.

The shedding of the physical body does not solve the fundamental problems of enlightenment, just as changing ones clothes has nothing to do with the deep questions of life and destiny.

Ah, paths of the soul, mysterious ways of the heart! One must walk their full lengths before facing the supreme equation of Eternal Life. It is essential for you to live all their conflicts and to know them fully in the long process of spiritual ascension.

 How childish to imagine that the mere "ringing down of the curtain" would settle transcendental questions of the Infinite.

One life is but a single act.

One body - a garment.

One century - a day.

One task - an experience.

One triumph - an acquisition.

One death - a breath of renovation.

How many lives, how many bodies, how many centuries, how many tasks, how many triumphs, how many deaths are still allotted to us?

And yet religious philosophers will speak of final decisions and immutable situations!

Alas, everywhere we find scholars in doctrine who are spiritual illiterates!

It takes great effort for man to enter the School of the Gospel, and his admission thereto nearly always comes to pass in a strange manner - he finds himself alone with the Master, struggling through a difficult course, learning lessons in an invisible classroom, and attending long lectures of unspoken words.

Long, very long therefore, is our arduous journey. Here our humble efforts can bring you only a glimpse of this fundamental truth.

I speak to you as an anonymous friend, in this anonymity which stems from brotherly love. The great majority of mankind is like a fragile vessel which cannot yet contain the whole truth. Therefore, we restrict ourselves here to conveying only the profound experience itself in its collective values. We will not torment anyone with the idea of Eternity. Let the vessels first become stronger. Thus we dedicate this brief record to the eager spirits of our brothers struggling for their spiritual ascent, who understand, as we do, that “the wind blows where it wills”.(John, 3:8)

And now, my friend, let my thanks fall upon this paper, and thence rise and merge into a great silence of sympathy and gratitude. Attraction, appreciation, love and joy live in the soul. Be sure that in the depths of mine I hold these sentiments toward us.

May the Lord bless us. 

André Luiz.

 ps- the fellowing pictures to text is stills taken from youtube- from a german texted version

Chapter 1

IN THE LOWER ZONES

I was under the impression that I had lost all notion of time and space.

I was convinced that I no longer belonged to the world of the living, yet I continued to inhale deep breaths of air.

Since when had I become the puppet of irresistible forces? I could not say. I felt like a prisoner, trapped in the dark cage of horror. With my hair on end, my heart thumping uncontrollably, a prey to terrible fear, many times I shouted like a raving lunatic. I begged for mercy and clamored against the bitter despondency which had take hold of my spirit. But my cries fell only on silence; or were answered by lamenting voices still more moving than my own. At other times, sinister roars of laughter rent the stillness, as if some unknown companion must be close-by me, a prisoner of insanity. Diabolical forms, ghastly faces, bestial countenances crossed my way from time to time, increasing my panic. The scenery, when it was not pitch dark, was bathed in a lurid light, as if shrouded in a thick fog warmed by the sun’s rays.

Thus I proceeded on that strange journey. To what end? Who could say? I only knew that I kept fleeing. Fright drove me on blindly… Where were my home, my wife and children? I had lost all sense of direction. The fear of the unknown and my dread of darkness had annulled all my powers of reasoning from the very moment I had broken free of my physical body in the grave.

My conscience tormented me. I would have preferred the total absence of reason, or non-existence. Copious tears ran constantly down my cheeks, and only rarely was I blessed with a few minutes of sleep. What rest I had was often interrupted as monstrous beings awoke me and mocked me, and I was obliged to go on fleeing.

I saw now that I was on a different plane of life, which rose from the emanations of the Earth. But it was too late. Anguish weighed heavily on my  mind, and when I started making plans for action, numerous incidents would lead me on to bewildering avenues of thought.

Never had the religious question loomed so large before my eyes. Principles, purely political, philosophical and scientific, now seemed to me of secondary importance to human life. Although they were valuable acquisitions on Earth, I had to admit that mankind was not made of transitory generations, but of immortal Spirits on their ascension to a glorious destination. I was beginning to realize the existence of one thing that stands above all that is material or intellectual: Faith – a divine manifestation to man. Such an analysis, however, came too late. It is true that I was familiar with the Old Testament and had often read through the Gospels. But I was forced to recognize that I had never searched the sacred writings with the light of my heart. I had embraced the interpretation of writers who were not inclined to sentiments and conscience, an who were, at times, even in open disagreement with the fundamental truths. On other occasions, I had taken an ecclesiastical point of view, entering voluntarily into a circle of contradictions.

In truth, I did not believe that I was a criminal in my life, though my philosophy of living for the immediate present had absorbed me fully. My earthly life, now transformed by death, had been no different from the life of so many others.

(picture- reminding his family-life)

Born of perhaps excessively generous parents, I had graduated from the University without much effort, and shared the dissipation and vices of the youth of my time. Later, when I married and started a family, I was blessed with children, gained a stable and lucrative position, and was spared all financial worries. Yet on self-examination I feel deeply that I had wasted time and I now hear the silent pangs of my conscience. I had lived on Earth, enjoyed its benefits, reaped the good things of life, and yet never contributed anything towards the repayment of my heavy debt. I had completely ignored my parent’s generosity and sacrifices, just as I had ignored those of my wife and children. I had selfishly kept my family only to myself.

 I had been given a happy home, and had closed my doors to those seeking help. I had delighted in the joys of my family circle, yet never shared that precious gift with my greater human family. I had neglected to undertake even the most elementary duties of fraternal solidarity.

Now that my life was over I was like a hothouse plant, unable to withstand the weather of eternal realities. I had not cultivated the divine seeds the Father of Life had sown in my soul. They were choked by the weeds of my insatiable desire for comfort and enjoyment. I had not trained my faculties for this new life. It was only right, then, that I should enter it like a cripple, thrown into the infinite river of eternity, unable to swim, or like a wretched beggar at the end of his strength, wandering about in the middle of a stormy desert.

Oh, dear friends on Earth! How many of you may still avoid the bitter road of sorrow by cultivating the inner fields of your heart. Light up your lamp before crossing the threshold of the shadows. Search for Truth, lest the truth find you unprepared. Sweat and toil now, lest you weep afterwards.

Chapter 2 CLARENCE

Suicidal criminal! Infamous wretch! I heard insults from all directions. But where were they coming from? At times I caught glimpses of them as they slipped in and out of the darkness. Through my despair, mustering all my strength, I threw myself against them. In vain I beat the air in my show of rage. I heard laughter as they vanished again into the shadows.

Whom could I turn to for help? I was tortured by hunger and parched with thirst. The demands of my physical existence on Earth continued here: my beard kept growing, my garments were beginning to show the signs of my struggles. Yet the most painful part of my trial was not the pitiful abandon in which I found myself, but the incessant attacks of the evil forces which surrounded me in the darkness. I was unnerved and utterly unable to coordinate my situation, to weigh its causes and establish new currents of thought. But those accusing voices bewildered me beyond my imagination.

“What are you seeking, you miserable fool? Where are you going, suicidal wretch?” Such accusations, ceaselessly repeated, threw my mind into absolute confusion. I might well be miserable, but suicidal? Never! Those charges were wrong, as far as I could see. I had left my body most unwillingly, after a desperate struggle with death. I could still hear the last medical diagnosis at the hospital. I remembered clearly the efficient care and the painful dressings during those weary days that followed my intestinal operation. The recollection of the closing scenes of my earthly days was so vivid that I could even feel the touch of the thermometer and the disagreeable prick of the hypodermic needle.

Finally, my last recollection before my great sleep: my wife, still young, and my three children gazing at me in anguish at the prospect of eternal separation. Then, afterwards, my awakening to dreary and damp surroundings, to a never-ending nightmare flight.

Why was I being accused of suicide when I had been forced to give up my hope, my family and all that I held dear?

Even the strongest man must come to the end of his emotional powers of resistance. So it was with me. Firm and resolute at the start, I gradually began to fall into long lapses of depression, and in my total ignorance of the fate in store for me, my usual fortitude yielded to despondency. More and more frequently tears welled in my eyes, long pent-up in heavy heart.

To whom could I appeal? With all of the sophisticated intellectual culture I had brought from the world, I could do nothing to alter my present situation. Before the Infinite, my knowledge was like a tiny soap bubble, blown about by the impetuous winds of the transformation. Surely I was not out of my senses! I did not feel different. I felt that my conscience was alert and that I was essentially the same man with the same feelings and culture as before. My physiological needs continued unchanged. A gnawing hunger preyed on my every fiber; yet in my ever-increasing weakness I never reached the point of complete exhaustion. Now and then I came across some wild herbs growing along mere trickles of water.

I devoured the unfamiliar leaves and drank the water avidly. I could stop only a few seconds at a time, for those irresistible forces were ever spurring me on. Oftentimes I tasted the mud by the roadside, recalling with burning tears the daily bread of olden days. Frequently I was obliged to hide from enormous herds of monstrous beings which trampled past me like a band of insatiable beasts. Those were blood-curdling sights! When my despair had almost reached its climax, it began to dawn on me that somewhere a Creator of Life must exist. The thought seemed to comfort me. I, who in the world had hated all religious creeds, was now feeling the need for spiritual consolation. As a physician who prided himself on his ultra-modern principles of skepticism, so much in vogue in my time, I had to admit I was a perfect failure. Gone was all the self-importance which had seemed so real to my eyes. I saw now that I had to change my mental attitude.

When at last I came to the end of my strength and lay helpless in the mire, unable to rise, I implored that Creator of All Things to take pity on me and come to my aid in my desperable plight.

How long did my pleading (=prayer) last? How may hours did I spend praying like a frightened child? It was impossible to say. I only knew that copious tears ran down my cheeks and my whole being seemed to merge into one anguished plea. Had I been utterly abandoned? Was I not also a child of God, although in the whirl of earthly vanities I had never given a thought to His divine works? I knew the Eternal Father would surely forgive me. Did He not extend His loving care to the birds of the air and flowers of the field?

Ah, one must suffer a great deal in order to understand the mysterious beauty of prayer. One must know remorse, humiliation and utter misery to fully appreciate the sublime sweetness of Hope! It was at that moment that the dense mist all around cleared away, and a person came forward. An envoy from Heaven! He was a fatherly old man, who bent over me and gazed intently into my face with his large, clear eyes. With a benevolent smile he said to me:

“Courage, my son! The Lord has not forsaken you.” Heart-felt tears seemed to flood my very soul. I tried to express my grateful relief, to thank him for the consolation he had brought, yet I only had the strength to ask: “Who are you, generous messenger of God ?”

My unexpected benefactor smiled kindly and replied: “My name is Clarence. I am only a brother.”

And, noticing my exhaustion, he added: “You must keep quiet and calm. It is necessary for you to rest to restore your strength.”

Then we called two persons who were waiting attentively, and ordered: “Let us provide our friend with first aid.”

They spread a white sheet on the ground and, using it as an emergency stretcher, prepared to transport me. They lifted me gently. Then Clarence spoke to his assistants: “Let us start without delay. I must reach the Astral City as soon as possible.”

  clip from the film

picture text; the spiritual helpers came as a result of his own will/prayer, and brought him to a higher level, away from the hell-zone, where all stay as long as "they want" = it means as long as they hate, condemn and are destructive in their thoughts, and not wish to get out of that thought-climate.