The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-04
THE ORDER OF SPIRITS
MRS. CLAMAN TELLS ALL ABOUT THE
ELEVEN DIFFERENT SPHERES.
After a Ghost Takes the Seventh De-
gree He Can No Longer Talk
to Living MOrtaIs.

Rev. Mrs L. N Claman of Chicago, a
well-known medium, delivered a lecture,
with stereopticon illustrations, at the First
Spiritualist Church, corner of New York and
Alabama streets, last night. The purpose
of the lecture was to show the progression
of the soul from the first to the seventh
sphere of spirit life. The claim is made
that long ago Mrs. Claman, after five
weeks illness, fell into a trance condition
scarcely distinguishable from DEATH in
which she continued forty-eight hours 1t
was while in this condition she received the
experience that enables her to describe the
different stages of the souls transit from
earth. Mrs. Claman teaches that there are
eleven distinct spheres of spirit existence.
After passing into the seventh sphere it is
impossible for the soul to hold communica-
ton with it's friends who remain on the
mundane sphere. Mrs. Claman's lecture
was interesting if not convincing to the
skeptic. Her husband operates the stereop-
tcon and gives an interesting account of
the way in which the spirit pictures were
taken. There is nothing mysterious about
it. Mrs. Claman simply described the scenes
through which she had passed in the trance
condition to an artist, who developed the
ideas she conveyed to him. After much
touching up she pronounced the pictures
about as near like what she had seen in
the trance state as it was possible to make
them. Photographs were taken of the
sketches and stereopticon slides made from
them. Some Of the plates cost as much as
$40 each according to Mr.. Claman. Mr..
Claman characterizes the ordinary so-called
spirit photographs as sheer fakes made
by charlatans with mercenary ideas, who
pretend to be spiritualists from nothing but
base and sordid motives. Mrs. Claman, on
the other hand, has mission. 1t is to pic
ture the other world so as to instill into
mortals ambition to progress far enough
In this world to avoid some of the initiatory
horrors the wicked must encounter in the
next.
Mrs. Claman is handsomely proportional
woman of about thirty-six years. She APP
pears before her audiences CARRIED in robe
of white silk. To all appearance she is in
a trance condition as she lectures. Her
eyes are tightly closed and her voice as
sumes the deep masculine tone said to- have
been possessed by her control, during his
earthly life. Her control was formerly
her husbands brother, and is known to at
PENDANTS OF Mrs. Claman's seances as
Brother john The lecture begins with a
description of Mrs. Claman's trance trans
formed on the stereopticon into deathbed
scene About the bed are groups or rela-
tives who mourn as she passes into the
other world Cold feet in the dying are ex-
planned oil the hypothesis that the spirit be-
gins leaving from that portion of the anat-
flesh until nothing remains in the earthly
tenement save the spirit lips, which are
torn away as the last breath passes. Ihen
the spirit passes into cloud. which breaks
away gradually, showing the coming or
three angels which are to attend it in It's
flight The first sphere is that into which
the undeveloped spirit passes, ana cor
responds to the region of the powers or
darkness commonly known as hell. Here
there are conditions of chaos, turmoil and
confusion tinctured with horrors. Through
this realm the spirit is attended by the
guardian angel, which aids ana helps II IN
every way possible to advance into the next
sphere the one in which the soul begins
to crave the light. Then the soul advances
gradually into different spheres All souls
do not go into hell. Some advance from this
life at once into the second and third
spheres No soul from the earth can go
farther than the third sphere save those or
guileless infants, which are at once trans
planted into the fifth sphere. According TO
the medium there is no fire and no odor of
burning birthstone in the first sphere, or
hell but there are enough horrors there 20
make sensitive people hope they may AVOID
going into that unhappy place, judging from
the stereopticon pictures made from MRS.
Claman's memory of the place as she
foated above and beyond 1t on cloud.
Reference is made in the lecture 10 tne Ia lt,,
that the Bible speaks of the seventh
heaven but Mrs Claman is convinced that
there are eleven heavens by communlca-
| tions from her Control" Although souls
cannot return to this world after passing
! into the seventh heaven, by sort or
| Thought transference communications can
| be had with those who are below. Brother
| John dwells in the seventh sphere. Mrs.
| Claman has had personal experience OF az
! the other six or has caught glimpses of
| them while passing through them in her
! frances. There was a large audience at the
| church last night and approval and pleas
/ saw the future states through which their
| souls must pass thrown upon the canvas.