Questioner: Is prenatal awareness a conscious self before birth?

Abu: The Earth plane is the plane of individualisation and crystallisation of spirit. There is no individual consciousness before the individualising process commences. The process of individualisation commences very shortly after conception, at a point in the physical development which is known as the point of adhesion, when the spirit — that is to say, the psyche, not the fundamental spirit naturally, but the psyche, the astral body — begins to develop together with, contemporaneously with, the physical body.

Now, the subconscious mind that will be is, of course, a spirit thing and always was a spirit thing. That subconscious mind will be formed more speedily, because more naturally, than will the aspect of mind which must be laboriously and slowly developed in order to handle the affairs of Earth life. That is a matter of learning from experience and of learning, of course, by tuition from the experiences of others.

But the subconscious mind is, ipso facto, by virtue of its very existence, in touch with the world of spirit. It is conceivable that the subconscious mind, being formed and fully formed, and yet empty of experience, may become imbued with spirit knowledge — spirit information — at a time when the conscious mind was itself not able to receive impact from Earth, for instance within the womb of the mother.

Prior to conception? No, I cannot hold such a view, for it would necessarily conflict completely with what I understand to be the whole process of individualisation of spirit from the common pool of all-pervading spirit that is. Until that shall have crystallised into an individual, there is no individual to have a memory or to undergo experiences.

But I do enter this caveat or proviso — whichever word is more applicable — regarding the possibility of a subconscious mind achieving a recollection, as by now it will be a recollection, of experiences in and derived from the spirit world prior to any activity at all of the conscious aspect of mind. It is conceivable that that is so.

The subconscious aspect of mind is always in a timeless state. Therefore, it would be quite impossible for the “subject” to say that something or other happened to him or her ten or twenty years prior to their birth, for they would not have existed in time at all prior to their birth. He or she entered into a time-bound state upon conception.

The experiencing, such as it will be — it will be fragmentary within the spirit world — will necessarily be experienced within the human group soul, and certainly not the experiencing of any other group soul. And so, you can tie up the notion of an overriding “human group soul” with this individualisation process — yes, indeed.

The subconscious mind lives always, and always will live, in a timeless state. The portion of mind to be made use of for handling the affairs of Earth enters into a time-bound state at conception and leaves it at death. But the subconscious mind is never so limited, except, of course, by the impact upon it of a conscious mind. But it itself is in contact with the less limited and certainly timeless state of spirit.

Questioner: Has there ever been individualisation elsewhere than on Earth?

Abu: Yes, indeed. I have referred to a number of universes of which, necessarily, my own knowledge is but indirect. You will recall, I am sure, that we spoke of the tangents of circles, or of spheres, and whether contact was made the one with the other. It is from those realms that the information is derived — the information that there are other universes than yours in existence.

Questioner: I think the point was individualisation elsewhere than on Earth.

Abu: Indeed, there are individualisations, but other in nature than yours — than ours, I should say. But fundamentally, you will recall, there is one spirit; it is all the same spirit. It is only manifestation which differs.

And so, although individualisation may and does take manifold forms, and the mental capacities will vary enormously, nonetheless the informing spirit behind all these experiments is the same. It has been one fount, and that is Him whom we know as God, the source of all life, of all light, of all warmth and of all love, no matter what universe. He is the source.

And therein, if you can permit a concept so vast that it staggers me and must necessarily stagger you, if you admit such a concept within your minds, it will be apparent to you how very parochial and how very foolish are sects upon the Earth plane who claim to have uniquely and exclusively the command and the control of such a one as I am endeavouring to picture God to be.

Topic: The etheric body.

Abu: The etheric body, at this stage of your existence, is merely the link between the informing spirit itself, through mind, operating the etheric body, impinging upon and operating — causing to function — the physical. The nature of the etheric body, I do not know; its composition, I have not concerned myself with, for it, to me, is the least important.

Your physical bodies, to you, will be of far greater importance, for they are valuable. They can suffer, they can be injured, they can even die, and you may be thankful for that!

But your etheric body cannot suffer, it cannot be injured, it cannot die. You may suffer if you shall wish to make yourself do so, but it is not the etheric body which shall cause you to suffer. Whereas the pin which is stuck into your physical body, willy-nilly, will cause you to suffer unless you have the faculty of withdrawing from that body so that you do not feel the suffering. But it is implicit in the nature of the physical body that it can suffer injury; not so the etheric.

The etheric body is a replica of the physical. It could not be otherwise, for the physical is built upon the matrix of the etheric. It is part of the evolutionary plan that the scheme of things is worked out in advance upon the etheric, or the astral, or the spirit plane before it is transmuted into physical being. And so, your physical bodies are largely a copy of your etheric bodies, not the other way round, for the etheric was before the physical. That is to say, the “idea” of you existed before your physical body existed.

The physical is subject, of course, to physical ailments and to physical accidents, and therefore the physical body will not always be perfect, as is the etheric. But they are closely linked, necessarily, since atoms of matter have to be moved and aggregated together, and adjusted and caused to grow.

Necessarily there must be a very close linkage indeed operated upon, which is the physical. The link is what you know as the “cord”, the “etheric cord”, and the power flows through that cord to the physical and keeps the physical “alive”, as you call it. It is never “alive”. It is never anything but dead matter, but it is informed whilst this cord remains intact — informed by the spirit through the etheric.

Topic: Bereavement.

Abu: When one, dwelling happily and contentedly upon the Earth plane — in the bosom of a family, perhaps — shall be suddenly and violently wrenched away, by any cause, a gap, a void is left. And those remaining upon Earth, whose eyes cannot yet be fully opened, will be all too well aware of the absence and less well aware of the presence.

If, then, philosophy and words can help at all to sustain in such conditions, then is a large part of our duty and our pleasure fulfilled.

As you well know, we come among you to bring, in the first instance, the knowledge of the love of our Father, who is love. Secondly, to bring you certain assurance, evidenced in many ways, of the continuance of life and the continuance of love when the physical vessel shall no longer sustain the impact of spirit and the body will die.

It is but the shell which has been shattered. The love continues as the person continues. The interests are there. The living is more real, more vivid, more intense. The potentialities, as I have told you so often, are infinite. It is not to be expected that those potentialities will be realised, or that there will be endeavour to realise them, whilst separation exists between two or more who were, and still are, closely linked by love.

For just as the one remaining upon Earth could not, would not wish to turn the mind and the heart away from the beloved, so, correspondingly, the beloved who has come to dwell with us will not, cannot turn the mind and heart away from the love which still continues upon Earth.

The link is forged and is indestructible. There will be endeavour on the part of the one having passed to spirit to make those still remaining upon Earth aware of this continuance: aware of the continuance of living and the continuance of loving.

From time to time, it will be a happy duty. From time to time, it may be a somewhat sad one. For both parties will be, unhappily, aware that they can know so little of the other by comparison with what went before — and with what shall follow.

But you upon Earth shall know — and you do know — that what I am saying is a fact, is the truth. And those dear ones who come to dwell among us, being already aware of this, will become even more aware of it, more actively able to strengthen and to tighten the links by making further contact as, and when and where, it can be done.

There will be heartache, for there is loss. Let there not be heartbreak, for the heart must remain whole for the one who has gone a little ahead. That heart and its love will be required again — is required now — of that I assure you, my children.

It would be dull and unkind of me to say that your loss upon Earth is our gain here in spirit spheres, but such is the case.

One has merely laid down the burden of the limitation of Earth conditioning and entered into their true home, without losing one vestige of the love that was held — and still holds — for their beloved ones. They are but one step only up the stairway. Their hand is still linked with the hand of the beloved.

In so little a time will there be a reunion for all who love, but it will only be a drawing aside of the veil, for there has been NO parting in spirit. There will be no parting in spirit whilst love is the link.