University of Virginia Library

Trance speaking illusion

Eloquence re-echoes the strains of Truth and Love. It is due to inspiration rather than to erudition. It shows the possibilities derived from divine Mind, though it is said to be a gift whose endowment is obtained from books or received from the impulsion of departed spirits. When eloquence proceeds from the belief that a departed spirit is speaking, who

can tell what the unaided medium is incapable of know- ing or uttering? This phenomenon only shows that the beliefs of mortal mind are loosed. Forgetting her igno- rance in the belief that another mind is speaking through her, the devotee may become unwontedly eloquent. Hav- ing more faith in others than in herself, and believing that somebody else possesses her tongue and mind, she talks freely.

Destroy her belief in outside aid, and her eloquence disappears. The former limits of her belief return. She says, " I am incapable of words that glow, for I am un- educated." This familiar instance reaffirms the Scrip- tural word concerning a man, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." If one believes that he cannot be an orator with- out study or a superinduced condition, the body responds to this belief, and the tongue grows mute which before was eloquent.