Table of Contents
Foreword to the Tarcher Edition
THIS IS NOT A BOOK that is easily found. It is not on any bestseller lists, nor stacked in bookstores in any quantity. If you wanted this book youd have had to search for it. And yet it has been in continuous print since l969. How? Through word of mouth. One person read it, and having had his life touched by it, perhaps even changed, passed it on. This is how Testimony of Light made its way to me: My dear friend placed it in my hands, insisting that it had my name on it.
And now it is in your hands.
For some, what they will take away from this special little book is the strength of knowing that life is eternalnot as some pleasant concept whose definition they can repeat by heart, but as the living reality of their life. Life is eternal means that they are eternal, that we all are eternal! As a result, they will spend less of their valuable time consciously (and more important, unconsciously) fearing death, and more of it living. Isnt that the purpose of life after allto live? To be fully alive in the wonder of each new moment? When we are alive, life reveals itself to us as a great adventure where with each new experience we are called, often challenged, to expand into our wholeness.
Others will take away the profound peace that comes from learning the truth about death: What is an exit of the physical body is merely an entrance to a greater dimension of Reality. Frances uses so many other names for death to ensure that by the end of this series of transcriptions, we see death for what it is: a wider state of consciousness, a further phase of our existence, a further experience. A further life! How could she know the truth that has eluded so many great thinkers? Frances experienced her own death firsthand; this book is the series of transcriptions that her soul communicated after her bodys transition.
For still others this book will reassure them that the love and friendships forged here on earth do not come to an end when the physical body does. This book is living proof that love endures beyond time and space. Frances presence in Helens life (albeit invisible), her simple teachings transmitted from mind to mind, heart to heart, provide that proof. The mind, you see, is only slowly, very slowly, opening to its vast potential, Frances declares. You can argue with the theory of One Mind but you cannot deny the wisdom that Helen transcribes from the source that she believesno, knowsis the soul of her friend and colleague, Frances.
As for me, I came away from Testimony of Light with such joythe truths I had been studying and teaching for over three decades were presented here with a childlike innocence, pure and free of any agenda or dogma. I experienced through Helen, Frances delight in discovering the grandeur of life. One can read about the glory that created us and dwells within and around us, but coming face-to-face with the truth through Frances is a revelation. Its the difference between reading about ocean waves crashing on the shore, and standing in the ocean as those waves crash over you. It takes your breath away; you cant help but laugh aloud in the presence of such magnificent, thundering aliveness. This is Frances experience as both student and teacher as she moves step by step into her further life, and takes us with her.
Some people will say that Helen was writing down merely what she most wished to hear from the friend she missed so much. That may or may not be truebut I would say that all of that is missing the point entirely. Reading through this book, it is impossible to deny the inspiring message that seems both otherworldly and completely relevant to the world, our world, today. No matter where the information comes fromand I believe it is from Francesthe message is grounded in spiritual truth and meant to be lived.
This unassuming book of transcriptions will strengthen your faith in the universal truths that we are one, we are light, we are eternal. It is why the mystics have always declared with their calm certainty, that all is well, all is well, all is well with the Soul. Simple words, challenging to live by, but this book will inspire you to try.
August Gold
Orleans, Mass., 2008
An Interview with the Late Sir Malcolm Sargent on BBC
APRIL 19 TH, 1968
TRANSCRIBED FROM A RECORDING BY Radio Direction Teledi phone Unit
SIR MALCOLM SARGENT: I feel death, which Ive never been afraid of, which I look forward to...
INTERVIEWER: You look forward to death?
SIR MALCOLM SARGENT: Oh, very much. Er... Obviously. I mean this life has been wonderful and because Ive loved this life so much, I know I shall love death more. Dont you remember, He said, When I came to this world, I do not remember a moment but I was not a stranger.... So shall it be when one passes from life to death, from life to life...
(By kind permission of Sir Malcolms Secretary)
Foreword
LIEUT.-COL . R. M. LESTER
(Author of In Search of the Hereafter,
Founder and Vice-President of
The Churches Fellowship for Psychical
& Spiritual Studies)
TELEPATHY BETWEEN THE LIVING IS now generally accepted, but telepathy between the living and the so-called dead is less common. Countless books have been written recording alleged communication with discarnate minds and many of these are very dubious in their authenticity.
Such communications are claimed to have been received by a variety of methodsautomatic writing, clairaudience, trance mediumship and so on.
The highest level of communication is undoubtedly that of telepathy and in this book we have an outstanding example of this, where communion between two people on either side of the veil has been achieved without effortand without seekingin a very beautiful manner.
I have known Helen Greaves for many years, not only as an experienced writer, but also as one versed in the higher studies of mysticism and possessing a gift that enables her to penetrate to the next dimension of consciousness.
The communicator, Frances Banks, was also well-known to me, and she shared very actively in our work of the Churches Fellowship for Psychical & Spiritual Studies. She was held in the highest esteem by all who had the privilege of meeting her and it is no surprise to us that one of her early tasks after passing from this life was to contact the mind of one with whom she had worked so closely while in the physical body.
By using Helen Greaves as a pure, unobstructed channel, Frances Banks has been able to get such a wonderful Testimony of Light across thatas the author statesit will bring comfort to many and stimulate faith and hope in many who, in this materialistic age, are feeling frustrated and despairing.
Those of us who know both Helen Greaves and Frances Banks so well are impressed by the authenticity of these scripts. The phrasing and content of the communications are so typical of Frances, and completely unlike the style of writing as shown by the author in her previous books and articles.
Transition to the next stage of consciousness has not changed Frances Banks in any way, exceptas she saysto have progressed to a little more illumination.
Her messagethat the death of the body is but a gentle passing to a much freer and fuller life, comes across with great clarity and conviction.