"Happy are they," said Father a Kempis, "who penetrate into internal things and endeavour to prepare themselves more and more by daily exercises for the attainment of heavenly secrets." Among the treasures of the human mind, which are more numerous than stars, more precious than the constellations combined, is the power of hearing sounds which are unknown in the outer universe—soul-sounds, absolutely inaudible to the physical ear. Apart from personal experience, who can believe that there is a boundless ocean of intelligent sounds beyond all ken of sense? The ears of the spirit are opened seldom in this life. Clairvoyance is a familiar power in comparison. "Their eyes were opened " is an expression which occurs in the most ancient stories of mental illumination. "The scales fell from their eyes," and thereafter a voice was heard. It was vision, however, which preceded and led the other senses, because sight is the handmaid of intellect and the sunlight of the inward man. With the open ears a voice is heard, but with newly unfolded vision understanding becomes enlightened, and love flowing in therewith, the heart and soul hasten to the side of truth and Deity.
The sounds of spirit lips vibrate through an ethereal sea which is as much finer than the common air as is electricity than ordinary water. The waves of these sounds touch the ear of the spirit and beat only thereon
—inmost of all sounds, music in the labyrinth of hidden nerves of hearing. But the voices of the external universe exert their influence also upon the listening soul. There is a telephony between stars and suns: these also communicate with one another in a speech unknown to the ordinary man of earth. A most exquisite insight into the laws of audition is indispensable to a true comprehension of wonders heard by the spiritual ear. Distance is seemingly no impediment to the flight of sounds. Neither intercepting currents of winds nor the presence of vast masses of terrestrial matter can prevent the words of the spirit from reaching the prepared listener. But the experience is rare because of the great and constant demands of the body and of that world wherein the body dwells.
The hearing of sounds inaudible to physical ears is a fact which foreshadows the ultimate life to be, although—unlike the power of vision—it is a part of mind—as seen already in the case of bodily audition—which is very slightly under the sway of will or desire. It may be developed suddenly, and the hearer may receive in a few moments an adequate voice of warning or of government for an entire lifetime. Again, the spiritual ear may be opened and as quickly closed and sealed until after death. Or it may be unfolded slightly, enough to admit the speech of remote earthly babblers, the groanings and moanings of sorrowing and imprisoned persons here and there in the world, bringing nothing but confusion, the uncontrollable feelings of wretchedness .and despair. This unhappy form of audition is common enough and a source of exquisite suffering. To overcome such a phase of clairvoyance at its inception there may be recommended a persistent attention to subjects of sight, thought, feeling—especially those of action.