In Comparison: "Talks With Shafir" Direct Voice Seance Transcripts

The book cover shows "Acacia Cottage, Berkshire," the author's home prior to living in London following the sudden death of her husband.

In this blog article I am presenting the description of two Direct Voice seances from Behold I Live (1966) by Lucy Chauncey Bridges, who personally attended seances and used a tape recorder to write transcripts of communications.  

In these featured book excerpts, the medium is Peter Clarke and the communicator voice is that of 'Shafir,' "a North American Indian Healer and Teacher in Spirit."  The passages are entitled: "Astral or Magnetic Healing" and "He says 'Goodbye'—brings a Message from Robert" (the name of her late husband).  Other aspects of healing are subjects of other seance transcripts included in the book, which also includes transcripts of Leslie Flint seances attended by the author.

Lucy's first Direct Voice seance took place on January 17, 1953 with medium Peter Clarke and a seance group of around 100 sitters in a London public hall, where she witnessed "demonstrations of departed friends."  The following month, she attended her initial "small Group [Direct] Voice Seance" in Clarke's office.  Two recurring guides of Clarke were reported to have been the first to manifest: Jamie—"the young man who helps to run the proceedings from the other side"—and Dr. John Walker, who informed Lucy that her husband and mother were there.  The perspectives of the two loved ones in Spirit were regularly expressed to Lucy during the sittings with Clarke that continued once a month for the next four years.  On one occasion, "a fifteen minutes conversation with Mother" resulted with Lucy learning ". . . Father could not talk to me because he thought it wrong to lower his vibration in order to come to earth—but that he sent his love."

Another part of Behold I Live presents "Talks By Timothy Wilson" during Lesley Flint seances.  Lucy commented in a "Tributes" paragraph about her loved ones and "dear friend" guide 'Dr. Timothy Wilson' (1836-1914).  She found their contributions to seances inspirational ". . . to the compiling of this book, which Timothy always called 'our book,' as indeed it is, in which he has shown clearly that every individual on earth will be able to declare after their transition: 'Behold I Live.'  (Revelation 1:18)."

Part Three of Behold I Live derives from seances tape-recorded between 1957 and 1963.  This part of the book is entitled "Talks With Shafir of the White Brotherhood* (*He lived 1,000 years ago.)"  The following two transcripts are offered for comparison with those in preceding blog articles about Direct Voice mediums and seances.  In addition to the series of recent articles about Leslie Flint, articles have featured excerpts from transcripts of 'Direct Voice' seances presented in the books of William Usborne Moore (1, 2) and Edward C. Randall (3).
   

July 26th, 1956.

Shafir started by returning my greetings.  He said that Mr. Clarke was with him, and he replied to questions I asked which had transpired from our last talk.

He said that your remarks to the patient should deal solely with the patient's health.  They should be simple, direct and clear, so that only one interpretation was possible.  You should suggest complete relaxation to your patient, and try to make him relax completely—starting with one leg, then the other, then the lower part of the body, followed by arms, shoulders, neck, head.  When you have induced relaxation, make convincing suggestions of perfect health, say he is being healed and is getting better.  In healing it is most important that you should not concentrate on the disease but rather try to give the idea of perfect health.

Too many people in our world place too great an importance on what they believe to be physical laws.  These are not really laws but just ideas regarding diet, etc.  What a man eats or does is not important, but what he thinks is important.  He should live reasonably and sensibly and not indulge in excesses, and should think rightly about himself and his environment.  Bad thinking is the cause of an illness.  Only perfection can heal.  Each one should use the tools appropriate to his own skill and strength.  The vital principle in healing lies in one's own consciousness.  All truth is working towards the end, which is perfection.

If you are to succeed in your healing work, you should try and find out which method suits your own personality.  That is why there are so many methods.  Whatever the method, and whatever form of healing, it is essential that you have faith in the power of the spirit and in yourself.  You must believe that the power is with you whenever you need to use it.  If you have no faith, the amount of healing you are able to perform will be lesser in proportion.

In these first few discussions on the various methods of healing I want to deal with, and Wilson wants me to deal with those methods which can be used in conjunction with the methods you have already learned.  The first method with which we shall deal today is Astral healing (also known as Magnetic healing if it is made by direct contact).  In Magnetic healing it is necessary that direct contact is used.  You should also use Absent healing following direct contact treatment.  There are three basic principles:—

(1) The desire to bring about a cure.

(2) Visualisation of the desired condition.

(3) Concentration in order to focus.

You must remember that between contact treatments some of the improvement made by the contact treatment will diminish and the patient will relapse—therefore absent treatment nightly is absolutely vital.

All true psychic healing makes perfection in the astral or etheric plane before bringing it down to the physical.  The astral or etheric body is an exact counterpart of the physical one and is the pattern on which the physical body is built up.  It is difficult for a person still in the physical body to understand why spiritual healing is successful.

Astral healing is effected entirely by thought—by a conscious system of applied thought, though it must be applied with concentration and visualisation.  In the contact between your own mind and another you have to visualise and impress your own thought forms on the astral body of another person.

I was referring to your absent treatment as visualising the desired condition but, when in contact with the patient, you must also visualise the desired treatment.  You are going to pour life force into your patient.  This is healing power.  You must prepare yourself for inhaling into yourself vital healing power.  All around there is vital force.  It is a substance of God Himself, and is called Prana (Physic Energy).

When working on the Astral plane you should prepare yourself before your patient arrives by relaxing completely and breathing rhythmically for two or three minutes.  Draw in Prana.  You can do what you will with it by directing your mind towards it.  It can be concentrated anywhere by direct projection.  If you concentrate your thoughts you can become conscious of drawing in the Prana.  It is important to concentrate and meditate but, first of all, you must control your rate of breathing.

When your patient arrives, place him comfortably and make a few helpful suggestions to him.  Get him to breathe rhythmically for a few minutes and to hold his breath gently and easily before exhalation.  Hold the idea of health firmly in your mind and get any strain out of the atmosphere.  Harmony is vitally important and if there is no harmony everything will be affected; you will have no success as you cannot heal if there is strain.  Tell the patient that you are going to pour Prana into him.  See that your arms hang limply, concentrate on your finger tips, flicking them with water, and be aware of tingling in them.  Then face your patient, make from six to ten downward passes over the entire length of the body from head to feet.  Visually draw off the toxins that are in the etheric body of the patient.  You should be conscious of a slight electric current.  Put your right hand at the base of the patient's head, and your left hand over his heart.  Concentrate on pouring in the vital force that you have gathered.  Inhale and exhale through your finger tips for about two minutes.  Place your hands by your own sides, flick them a little, then concentrate your attention on the diseased part of your patient—the organ or part of the body—and make two or three small passes over this area.  Draw off the poisons and clean your hands of them.  Then place your hands over the affected area and concentrate for a minute or two upon curing this part.  Try to build an area of perfect health in the part or organ concerned.  Remove your hands and, if possible, wash them, for conditions can be picked up through these physical treatments that are bad for the health and may be communicated.

Tell the patient that, although he will be away from you, you will give him treatment by Absent healing.  A date and time should be arranged with him for you to do this so that he can be sure of relaxing and concentrating at the right time.

You should practice clear visualisation.  If you find difficulty, go through a series of exercises.  Learn absolute concentration upon the matter in hand, and make yourself able to visualize a picture of what you are doing.  The pattern must be strong and clear, and then the strong healing force will be transferred to your patient.

It is not essential to know all about anatomy and the physical body but a little knowledge is helpful, and you must know the center of the disease or pain.

The laws of positive thought allow of no unhappiness or poverty.  In God everything exists.  You can do and be exactly what you want to do and be at all times.  With visualisation and absolute concentration you are the master of your environment.  You must get rid of bad habits of thinking.

Astral (or Magnetic) healing must not clash with the Chakra method you have learnt.  Once the elementary technique is mastered, the purely mental method will have a marked response.  Absent treatment is an important factor towards a high percentage of success.  Absent treatment is better given during the evening because of more probably relaxation on the part of both you and your patient and, if you should fall asleep, you will probably continue giving the treatment in your sleep.

Encourage faith and confidence in your patient.  Try many methods as one or more may not suit one particular patient.  You can treat any sort of imperfection.  Give the patten to the Infinite.  Question:

Me: "How am I to get my flat let.  What kind of prayer do I use?"

"Think that your flat is let on terms acceptable and suitable to yourself, and not that it is going to be let.  Do not worry over it or whom it may be let to.  Just think that it is let."

The above para. was in answer to a question as to the best method of prayer about the letting of my flat, which was becoming urgent.

November 7th, 1957.

Shafir: "Your husband wanted me to impress upon you the fact of his presence and companionship in your life all the while.  We want you to feel happy in your work, to feel that it is worthwhile and important, and it is going forward very well.  You must not expect to perform miracles, but you can expect to do a great deal of good for a great many people.  That is the gist of your husband's message—not the exact words, but that is what he wants me to convey to you.

"Your mother also is very happy at the way you are going forward, and she stands around you and seems to fill you with a great radiance, a great light, a warm and loving light.  She is registering her approval of the improvements you have made.

"You know little Lucy one, you have become a better person in the last two or three years.  You have become much broader in your mind and in your spirit—you know you were a little narrow, a little self-centred owing to the circumstances of your life which have been rather conducive to that type of thinking.  But lately you have done a lot more for others and a lot less for yourself, and that is the way to make real progress; to think kindly and charitably, to condemn no-one at any time—and to do everything in every way to brighten the lives of all people, men, women and children, and animals as well.  Anything that you can do to brighten the lives of all people, do that.  From now on, be angered at nothing, scorn no-one, for there will be many brought to you who will be a test for you.  There will be those whom you will not like and who you will feel are bad people.  But remember as we have tried to teach you, there are no bad people—there are only mistaken people and therefore they are to be pitied and to be helped as best you can, more than those who have been successful and who have been pure and honest.  All people need your help and the more generous you are in your thoughts as well as in your deeds, the brighter your own and the greater your power to do spiritual work.  There may not be many more times when I, Shafir may be able to talk to you.  I am not talking to you today about your technical work, I am not treating you.  I am merely trying to point out to you some of the things you should have absorbed from contact with us, and I hope I have succeeded."

"But won't you be able to continue, is that because of the Medium?"

"Some of the band, they will get through, but I, Shafir may not get through.  For you know I have for the whole of my little man's liftetime been his personal Guide.  It was many years before I could get through to him and make him understand about this his gift of Mediumship, and it was still longer before I could get the co-operation to talk with him, and talk to him as I am talking to you now.  I know now that in a little while the circumstances of his life will change and that it is most unlikely that anything that I can do will prevent him leaving this part of the world so that he can continue the work he is doing.  Meanwhile, although I believe that later I will return to work of a slightly different kind, but nevertheless work in which I can anticipate.  But it may well be that we shall not be talking to each other many more times, but this will not be the last time."

"What about the lectures?"

"They will go on for a little while, but if they stop little Lucy one, I shall expect you to work with and upon the knowledge you have received from me and from the others.  If you do that efficiently the time will come when we shall again be in touch with you.  When you will have already made great progress with the material you have been given.  We shall then give you further material which you will use to the best of your ability; but you are already far better informed than many people who are out in your world healing every day.  Your knowledge is greater already than many healers.  You have a great deal to learn and you have a great deal of work to do; but already you are possessed of knowledge and power bigger than that of many healers in your world.  You are equipped to work and you will go on learning, but the knowledge you already have you can meditate upon and you will find it invaluable in your practice.  Do this as we have told you to do it, but do not be rigid, but realise that it is possible to modify and adapt the principles that you have learnt.  The main thing is the desire to heal—the love of your fellowmen—the belief in God and in yourself and the knowledge that there are around you at all times those who are anxious to help you while you are doing good.  For my part wherever my little man is I shall be there, but it is unlikely that I shall communicate through other mediums."

Self: "I do think that is sad."

"If I find one through whom I can communicate reliably I will inform you of that one, but there will be those who will in time hear that you have been in contact with me, and who will try and bring me through little one—but they will not be true, beware of that.  I will give you before the last time I speak—I will give you a phrase that I shall always use when I come to you, and before believing that it is I who come back, you will say 'Give me the phrase.'  And whenever it is me, I will give you the phrase and you will always know that it is me.  Now I will leave you with my blessing."