The two other channeled books by Elsa Barker...

"Last Letters From The Living Dead Man" and "War Letters From The Living Dead Man" are not as good as the first, though the second one has some intriguing passages. The "War Letters" concerns David P. Hatch's apparent observations of what would subsequently be called World War One from various battle sites. Why these later books are not as "good" as the first is unclear; but then, "Seth's" channelings gradually decreased in quality throughout the '70s. Maybe Judge Hatch had lost the objective perspective and focus of physical life. Both books are marred by lengthy stretches of proto-New Age philosophizing, particularly about the "Great White Brotherhood." I had to look the Brotherhood up... Years ago, I stumbled upon a Rosicrucian book from the '30s in my parents' bookcase, and there was a reference to the "Great White Brotherhood." My first thought was that this was some early European fascist racial allusion, so I put the book away. I'm not really attracted to the Theosophical belief system, nor do I believe that those in the afterlife are, either--though I may be wrong.

I think it's notable that the last two Barker books devolve into bland New Agey philosophizing that's not very different from the bulk of "channeled" books from assorted Ascended Masters today. There are several ways to look at this... One can argue that Barker unconsciously absorbed this set of beliefs, and her "automatic writing" recreated this--alongside possible valid communications from Judge Hatch. Or, Barker's books (along with Blavatsky's) might have been influential in the channeling revival several years ago. Or, this may have been what the good Judge Hatch actually believed--and he communicated his beliefs in the terminology of his day. Or, it may be that concepts from the level of reality that Hatch was presumably at, are essentially untranslatable--they have no correspondence to the symbols and beliefs that we hold.

The ideas that caught my attention in the "War Letters": Hatch's description of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (as well as his assessment of his personality) was quite descriptive, insightful and historically accurate.... In the weeks leading up to the war, Hatch's astral self had to pass through a phalanx of demonic-seeming entities that had surrounded Earth.. The entities has been attracted by the atmosphere of war around the planet, and they had coalesced to push the war process forward. This sounds outlandish, but I think that there may be some truth in this... Hatch spends a lot of time deconstructing the personality of the typical German of the 1910s. Hatch makes clear whose side he's on--he described the Germans as "bullies" and observes that the German "has no sense of right and wrong in the abstract, though he is often extremely sensitive as to what is right and wrong for him in his relation to those near him, his kinsmen and fellow-citizens. But those outside the racegroup are outside his code of honor, however polished he may be." Since I did not live in Germany in the 1910s (as far as I know), I can't say if Hatch's trenchant analysis of the "average" German is accurate, but his analysis is largely consistent with that of a certain German political party that arose shortly after these words were presumably channeled. It's interesting that Ms. Barker started following the psychoanalysis method of Austrian exile Sigmund Freud subsequent to writing the "War Letters."

Hatch also discusses the concept of "national karma"--that a nation incurs negative karma when it behaves inappropriately. The brutal German invasion of Belgium was punishment for Belgium's rape of the Congo, according to Hatch. This is a concept that I absolutely believe... And it's one that I've thought a lot about since 2003, for the United States.  Accounts payable may be coming due.