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.Then there are other animals such as monkeys, cats, birds and other pets that need carewhen they come to our sphere.There are certain people who cannot help disliking andfearing animals, so that there has to be a part where animals do not come, a kind of out-of-bounds for them, otherwise even you would not like it if you met a pet rat or snake.Myfather, for instance, still has a horror of cats, and so he never goes into the region wherethey live.Dogs, of course, far outnumber the other animals, and there are not many dog-haters.Other animals go to the animal sphere, where there is no quarrelling of fighting.The lion lies down with the lamb and so forth.Sometimes a newcomer, following oldinstinct, tries to chase a weaker animal, but he soon learns that he cannot harm it, and sopeace reigns.At first the lamb may be frightened when he sees the lion, but that, too,passes.The great majority of the lower animals are simply reabsorbed into the essence of life, thecosmic melting-pot as some call it; this life-essence is drawn upon for new incarnations,so that in the case of the lowly animals their individuality does not persist, althoughnothing can destroy the life-essence.All the beasts that are slaughtered every day forman s food and clothing, or for what he calls sport, are not killed in the sense you mean,since the life-essence of the smallest insect is immortal.I used often to visit the animalsphere, but now I have plenty to do with the care of the pet animals in my own sphere.People when they come over here, are often surprised to find their animals waiting forthem: dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, birds, monkeys, etc., and sometimes even so lowly athing as a tortoise or mouse.It is, of course, necessary that certain animals should be killedon your side by other animals or by men, otherwise they would eat up all your food, andthere is naturally no reason why you should not spray fruit trees in order to destroy pests.Rats and rabbits must be kept down, and so long as the method is quick and painless, it isman s duty to keep down pests.What is wrong and retards the evolution of the individualis cruelty, deliberate cruelty, for which the automatic penalty is severe.The same thingapplies to the higher animals, and it is kinder to drown a little of puppies before they haveopened their eyes, than to let them grow up and become unwanted strays.All the animals that come to the Summerland are specially loved pets, but there are manythat have been in contact with man that were not pets, domesticated animals, in fact.Thesego the animal sphere, and we animal-lovers can visit then when we like.Many domesticanimals would be entirely at a loss without man s company, and many soldiers killed inwar spend much of their time in the animal sphere with their old equine friends.I knowone sergeant who at first went regularly to groom and feed his battery team, and it wassome time before he understood that they no longer needed corn.I met him one daywandering about, looking for the forage store. What is it, Sergeant? I asked, and he told me that he could not find the stores for histeam. they are in a nice field resting, he said, and they have a shed to sleep in and arunning stream, but horses cannot work without their corn. So I showed him where to getit, and for a time he fed the animals regularly.It was useless explaining that his horseswould never have to pull the guns again, but gradually he came to realise that both he and his team had shed their physical bodies.Cows, too, and sheep are often looked after byfarm hands, and I remember a particularly savage bull that attacked everybody who camenear him.He had killed a farm lad, and was shot while goring his victim.It was quite along time before he understood that he could not longer injure anybody, and that nobodywas afraid of him.Some animals survive in the animal sphere for some considerable time,but eventually they are reabsorbed into the etheric storehouse, whence sooner of later theygo to make up other incarnate creatures.The millions of birds, rabbits, fishes, insects, etc.,that are killed every day on your side, all pass fairly quickly into the cosmic storehouse.There is an old man over here (when I say old I mean that he was old when he came over,since nobody is old here) who dislikes animals.He is not really a bad sort, but when wecome across him, we animal-lovers usually make ourselves invisible, or else we make theanimals invisible.One day he came to my house, and for a moment I forgot his aversionsto animals, so that he was greeted by all the dogs jumping up and barking.He was sostartled that he fell down unconscious, and it took me all my time to bring him round.Meanwhile, I sent the animals for a run, telling them to keep away until I called them.Then, while he was still unconscious, I suggested to him that he should forget the wholeepisode.I was not sure whether I should be successful, but it turned out all right, for whenhe woke he did not even know that he had been unconscious.His fear of dogs is a physicalcondition persisting from his earth life, and brought about by a subconscious factor, just asyou fear rats, mice and snakes.Your dog looks on while I write; he so much wants to join in, but as we are restricted to thissomewhat cumbersome means of communication, poor Lon is left out, except as regardshis being often with you, which is his great joy.Had you the power to see, you would knowthat in all other respects he is equal and free in spirit.After all, what does the mere seeingamount to? You are so anxious to see and hear and touch, and apparently you cannot besatisfied with the knowledge that your dogs are often with you, I think that, withoutseeing, you will eventually overcome your skepticism, and it is un-necessary for me towarn you against the opposite extreme of superstition, which veils truth and obscuresreason.It is sometimes stated that even plants and minerals have an elementary form of spirit, butto me the existence of the ego, the thing we really love in a human or an animal, is a proofthat the physical body Is not the individual.You may love a rose or a ruby, or even a house,but in that case you are attracted solely by the physical image which pleases you owing toits beauty.But you love your dog whether he be handsome or the reverse, and sometimesyou love him all the more when he has grown old and ungainly, and to a stranger is perhapsvery unattractive
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