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The Twelfth Lesson: Occult Miscellany.903
itself and to prepare itself for future development, so that it may be reborn
under the very best possible conditions and circumstances in the next
earth life. But, alas, even in this higher world, all souls do not live up to the
best that is in them, and instead of making the best of their opportunities
for development, and growing spiritually, they allow the attractions of their
material natures to draw them downward, and too often spend much of
their time on the planes beneath them, not to help and assist, but to live the
less spiritual lives of their friends on the lower planes. In such cases the soul
does not reap the benefit of the sojourn in the “after-life,” but is born again
according to the attractions of its lower, instead of its higher nature, and is
compelled to learn its lesson over again.
The Yogi teachings inform us that the lower planes of the Astral World
are inhabited by souls of a very gross and degraded type, undeveloped
and animal-like. These low souls live out the tendencies and characteristics
of their former earth lives, and reincarnate rapidly in order to pursue
their material attractions. Of course, there is slowly working even in these
undeveloped souls an upward tendency, but it is so slow as to be almost
imperceptible. In time these undeveloped souls grow sick and tired of their
materiality, and then comes the chance for a slight advance. Of course these
undeveloped souls have no access to the higher planes of the Astral world,
but are confined to their own degraded plane and to the sub-planes which
separate the Astral World from the material world. They cling as closely as
possible to the earthly scenes, and are separated from the material world
by only a thin screen (if we may use the word). They suffer the tantalizing
condition of being within sight and hearing of their old material scenes and
environments, and yet unable to manifest on them. These souls form the
low class of “spirits” of which we hear so much in certain circles. They hang
around their old scenes of debauchery and sense gratification, and often are
able to influence the minds of living persons along the same line and plane
of development. For instance, these creatures hover around low saloons