SURVIVAL OF DEATH

Paul Beard (1907-2002) was President of the College of Psychic Studies for 16 years, as well as being a prominent member of the Society of Psychical Research and an early member of the Network. I met him during the 1980s, and carefully studied his first book while I was researching my own. There was a close connection between the College with SMN Founders George Blaker and Peter Leggett, and I believe the latter was also a College council member at one point. The College itself was founded by the Anglican priest and medium Rev William Stainton Moses in 1884, and still maintains its interest at the intersection between the psychical and the spiritual, and the way that interest in the first often leads to the pursuit of the second. These three books are effectively a trilogy, the first looking at the arguments for and against survival, the second an interpretation of how consciousness continues in different phases after death, and the third a book of practical spiritual advice based on guidance received by Paul and on his own insights. The tone reminded me strongly of Peter Leggett, whose books I re-reviewed two issues ago – Peter was an ardent spiritual seeker who also tried to understand and apply the guidance he received. All three books exhibit scrupulous fair-mindedness and I found it rewarding to reread them after many years - they have certainly stood the test of time.

Paul's book on survival was reviewed by the Telegraph, which commented that it was 'an unusually fair and thorough examination of the complexity of psychic phenomena', and it was also endorsed by Ian Stevenson as a valuable contribution. It looks evidence from psychical research and from afterlife communications, while not shirking any of the difficulties and challenges that these approaches raise (see, for instance, p. 43). For instance, highly intelligent and qualified people reach different conclusions on the basis of the same evidence, although many more come down on the side of survival than not. So the evidence is not totally conclusive, and always open to different interpretations, although again these largely depend on the presuppositions of the investigator. For instance, Sir Oliver Lodge became convinced of survival, but the equally distinguished Professor Charles Richet could not bring himself to accept it, largely because of his detailed understanding of physiology, for which she had been awarded a Nobel Prize. Paul quotes Eleanor Sidgwick, the husband of Professor Henry Sidgwick, the first President of the SPR, as saying that conclusive proof of survival is notoriously difficult to obtain, 'but the evidence may be such as to produce belief, even though it falls short of conclusive proof.' I think this a very fair assessment. The personal search via mediumistic communications is a different approach, but yields a good deal of data, and in this respect Paul was as well-informed as anyone in the history of the field. The difficulties of communication itself are fascinatingly illustrated in a communication ostensibly from Sir William Barrett. He comments that he cannot come with his whole self and brings only a small portion of his consciousness. Apparently, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had a similar experience and gave wise guidance to people who would like to communicate with their loved ones. Towards the end of this volume, Paul refers to the work of guides and opening up to inner knowing.

This brings me to the second book as seekers begin to realise that part of them is indestructible – this conviction supervenes on previous reading. Living On is concerned with how consciousness continues and evolves after death. Again, the book is based on very wide reading of classic sources including Oliver Lodge, Mrs Willett and FWH Myers, all in pre- and post-mortem states. The evidence from Myers through Geraldine Cummins is perhaps the most extensive in the books The Road to Immortality and Beyond Human Personality. While certainty is not attainable, a high degree of probability is. Paul discusses problems of assessment and acceptance, as well as the various sources he uses, and it becomes clear that he has moved to a more committed but no less circumspect stance since writing his first book. Similar to the books of ex-SMN member Dr Robert Crookall, Paul uses a progressive scheme in describing early experiences, the illusion of the summerland, the judgement, the first heaven, the second death, the second heaven, the group soul and the third heaven. This may sound over-systematic to the uninitiated, but it makes a lot of sense. The process is one of extending self-knowledge and transcending the ego, work that can also be accomplished during physical lifetime. Conan Doyle (p. 127) describes this process of relinquishment of the personality, then comes the transfer of consciousness to what is called the individuality. Paul summarises this as the process of giving oneself up: first, the physical body, then the personality while preserving only the essence of its experience.

In Hidden Man, Paul takes the themes of reincarnation and the group soul a stage further, distilling practical spiritual wisdom from the many sources of guidance and reading to which he has had access. He also describes his own sequence of lives and their principal themes of loner, the love of beauty and rebellion. Amusingly, my own review is copied on the back cover, where I say 'readers will find themselves illuminated by this lucid account of his spiritual journey, and will see much to be applied to their own conditions.' I would endorse this assessment on a second reading, and indeed the book becomes more valuable in relation to one's own accumulating life experience. The overall purpose is to awaken the inner man or woman to the reality and centrality of the spiritual life - a life oriented beyond exclusively material concerns. This involves accepting guidance along the way, a process of continuous learning and a realisation of the many levels of the human being. The purpose of human lives is the return to God in partnership with guidance, along with the refinement of character and embodiment of values. This also represents a process of regeneration on an individual and collective level. It is a practical mysticism that involves putting your inner house in order and realising that the self is not in fact closed but open-ended and an expression of a larger group soul. Meditation is a key practice for opening up.

Paul is clear on the basis of guidance and his own experience that this spiritual evolution cannot be completed in a single human lifetime, hence the need for reincarnation, which may also be an expression of the group soul. It seems that there is a greater sense of union and unity corresponding to mystical experience as one advances spiritually, all of which is underpinned by love and the growth towards oneness of life. I am sure Paul is right when he says that the essential spiritual vision is very simple (p. 125) – this is where love and wisdom flow together. The analytical human mind would like something more complicated, but this is not necessary. At the end of the book, Paul quotes a guide as saying that 'the wise ones do not put their words and long ways, they put them in simple ways but they have to be worked at' in a process of growth. For me, it is also a simple as understanding and applying the principles of love and wisdom. All three books are well worth reading, and especially the last as a source of wise guidance for life.