6
Thereisnoreasonthereforetocondemntheothertheoriesentirely。Mostofthemdoubtlesscontainsomethingmorethanaparticleoftruth；inparticular，thegreatquarrelbetweenthesubconsciousschoolandthespiritualistsisbasedonthewholeuponamisunderstanding。Itisquitepossibleandevenveryprobablethatthedeadareallaroundus，sinceitisimpossiblethatthedeaddonotlive。Oursubconsciousnessmustminglewithallthatdoesnotdieinthem；andthatwhichdiesinthemorratherdispersesandlosesallitsimportanceisbutthelittleconsciousnessaccumulatedonthisearthandkeptupuntilthelasthourbythefrailbondsofmemory。Inallthosemanifestationsofourunknownguest，itisourposthumousegothatalreadylivesinuswhilewearestillinthefleshandatmomentsjoinsthatwhichdoesnotdieinthosewhohavequittedtheirbody。Thendoestheexistenceofourunknownguestpresumetheimmortalityofapartofourselves？Canonepossiblydoubtit？Haveyoueverimaginedthatyouwouldperishentirely？Asforme，whatIcannotpictureisthemannerinwhichyouwouldpicturethattotalannihilation。But，ifyoucannotperishentirely，itisnolesscertainthatthosewhocamebeforeyouhavenotperishedeither；andhenceitisnotaltogetherimprobablethatwemaybeabletodiscoverthemandtocommunicatewiththem。Inthiswidersense，thespiritualistictheoryisperfectlyadmissible；butwhatisnotatalladmissibleisthenarrowandpitifulinterpretationwhichitsproponentstoooftengiveit。Theyseethedeadcrowdingarounduslikewretchedpuppetsindissolublyattachedtotheinsignificantsceneoftheirdeathbythethousandlittlethreadsofinsipidmemoriesandinfantilehobbies。Theyaresupposedtobehere，blockingupourhomes，moreabjectlyhumanthaniftheywerestillalive，vague，inconsistent，garrulous，derelict，futileandidle，tossinghitherandthithertheirdesolateshadows，whicharebeingslowlyswallowedupbysilenceandoblivion，busyingthemselvesincessantlywithwhatnolongerconcernsthem，butalmostincapableofdoingusarealservice，somuchsothat，inshort，theywouldendbypersuadingusthatdeathservesnopurpose，thatitneitherpurifiesnorexalts，thatitbringsnodeliveranceandthatitisindeedathingofterroranddespair。
7
No，itisnotthedeadwhothusspeakandact。Besides，whybringthemintothematterunnecessarily？Icouldunderstandthatweshouldbeobligedtodosoiftherewerenosimilarphenomenaoutsidethem；butintheintuitionandclairvoyanceofnonspiritualisticmediumsandparticularlyinpsychometryweobtaincommunicationsbetweenonesubconsciousnessandanotherandrevelationsofunknown，forgottenorfutureincidentswhichareequallystriking，thoughstrippedofthevapidgossipandtediumreminiscenceswithwhichweareoverwhelmedbydefunctpersonswhoareallthemorejealoustoprovetheiridentityinasmuchastheyknowthattheydonotexist。
Itisinfinitelymorelikelythatthereisstrangemedleyofheterogeneousforcesintheuncertainregionsintowhichweareventuring。Thewholeofthisambiguousdrama，withitsincoherentcrowds，isprobablyenactedroundaboutthedimestuarywhereournormalconsciousnessflowsintooursubconsciousness。Theconsciousnessofthemedium——forwemustnotforgetthatthereisnecessarilyalwaysamediumatthesourcesofthesephenomena——theconsciousnessofthemedium，obscuredbytheconditionoftrancebutyettheonlyonethatpossessesourhumanspeechandcanmakeitselfheard，takesinfirstandalmostexclusivelywhatitbestunderstandsandwhatmostinterestsitinthestifledandmutilatedrevelationsofourunknownguest，whichforitspartcommunicateswiththedeadandthelivingandeverythingthatexists。Therest，whichistheonlythingthatmatters，butwhichislessclearandlessvividbecauseitcomesfromafar，onlyveryrarelymakesitsdifficultwaythroughaforestofinsignificanttalk。Wemayaddthatoursubconsciousness，asDr。Geleyveryrightlyobserves，isformedofsuperposedelements，beginningwiththeunconsciousnessthatgovernstheinstinctivemovementsoftheorganiclifeofboththespeciesandtheindividualandpassingbyimperceptibledegreestillitrisestothesuperiorpsychismwhosepowerandextentappeartohavenobounds。Thevoiceofthemedium，orthatwhichwehearwithinourselveswhen，atcertainmomentsofexcitementorcrisisinourlives，webecomeourownmedium，hasthereforetotraversethreeworldsorthreeprovinces：thatoftheatavisticinstinctswhichconnectuswiththeanimal；thatofhumanorempiricalconsciousness；andlastlythatofourunknownguestoroursuperiorsubconsciousnesswhichlinksustoimmenseinvisiblerealitiesandwhichwemay，ifwewish，calldivineorsuperhuman。Henceitisnotsurprisingthattheintermediary，behespiritualist，autonomist，palingenesistorwhathewill，shouldlosehimselfinthosewildandtroublededdiesandthatthetruthormessagewhichhebringsus，tossedandtumbledineverydirection，shouldreachusbroken，shatteredandpulverizedbeyondrecognition。