Spirits: A Brief Discussion on Spirits

By Pat Fitzhugh

The term spirit is very difficult to comprehend because it carries many different and often conflicting connotations. For the purpose of this writing, a spirit is a self-aware being, good or evil, which lacks a physical body. The premise upon which most spiritual theory is based suggests that there are two general elements in the universe - the intelligent element and the material element, and that spirits are the individualization of the intelligent element and bodies are the individualization of the material element.

This premise can be taken further in that the universe is widely believed to possess three modes of substantiality - soul, force and matter. While the two former modes are non-material substances, the term matter is restricted to the element from which bodies are formed; i.e., the material element. Although spirit and matter are distinct entities, the union of spirit and matter is necessary to give intelligent activity to matter. The spirit and material worlds are independent of each other, however they continually react upon each other.

Spirits progress and mature over time, just as beings in the material world do. But unlike the material world, where maturity is measured by such things as physical stature, intelligence, and attitude, maturity in the spirit world is based upon purity. The purity levels of spirits can be unscientifically reduced to three principal orders. These orders are indicative of the spirit's purity based upon an imaginary "ladder of progression" that takes into account the qualities that spirits have acquired over time and the imperfections from which they must free themselves. The chart below illustrates the principal orders of spiritual progression.

The Orders of Spiritual Progression

THIRD ORDER

Characteristics: Imperfection. Propensity for evil, ignorance, pride, and selfishness. Intelligence is often married with malice, and sentiments are, for the most part, abject.

¥ Subclass 10: Spirit besets those whose characters are weak enough to lead them to yield to their lure, and whom they draw away from the path of progress to impede their advancement.

¥  Subclass 9: Reply to every question without paying any attention to truth; delight in causing annoyances, raise false hopes of joy, and mislead people by mystification and trickery. Typically servants under the orders of spirits of a higher category.

¥  Subclass 8: Statements contain a mixture of truths and falsehoods. The spirit feels smarter than it really is.

¥  Subclass 7: Spirit is in a state of confusion between good and evil; strongly attached to the material world.

¥  Subclass 6: Spirit often manifests its presence by raps, the movement of solid bodies, loud noises, agitation of the air, etc., much like a poltergeist. This is the transitional stage between the third and second orders.

SECOND ORDER

Characteristics: Good spirit. More attuned to the incorporeal (spirit) world; desire to further journey to excellence. Sometimes bad; however characteristics of this order are positive in general.

¥  Subclass 5: Spirit enjoys rendering services for and protecting people. Actions based more on morality than intelligence.

¥  Subclass 4: Spirit is interested in learning; less attuned to the emotional passions of spirits at lower ranks.

¥  Subclass 3: Spirit has developed an intellectual capacity that enables it to judge correctly; possesses elevated moral qualities.

¥  Subclass 2: Superiority in knowledge renders the spirit more apt than any others to impart to us ideas pertaining to the incorporeal (spirit) world, within the limits of the knowledge permitted to humankind. The spirit willingly enters into communication with those who seek truth in simplicity and sincerity.

FIRST ORDER

Characteristics: Perfection. The spirit enters a life of eternity in the presence of the Holy Creator, God.

A spirit can assume any form it chooses, manifesting itself in dreams and/or a state of consciousness, and can even assimilate a tangible form. Spirits are everywhere and can move at the speed of thought. It is the soul that thinks; and as such, wherever thought is, the soul is.

Pat Fitzhugh is an author and technology consultant. He has been researching, writing, and lecturing about the "Bell Witch" phenomenon and is the author of "The Bell Witch: The Full Account,". For more information about the Bell Witch phenomenon, see http://www.bellwitch.org

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