[6] But in order to see a true and not a false spirit, who is not a so-called spook, you first must know what a spirit is and under which life conditions a human being can see and speak to a true spirit.
[7] Since a soul, or according to your idea, a spirit, is absolutely nothing material, he can also never be seen with material eyes or with a mere material sense organ. The human being however, who still wants to see, hear and speak to a spirit must firstly become spiritual himself, because only that which is spiritual in him and never that which is of the flesh can see, hear and speak to a true spirit.
[8] But you are still very material and the purely spiritual is in you still very undeveloped. That is why it is necessary here to strengthen for a few moments your hidden inner self, which is spiritual, and to enable it in a certain way above your fleshly matter to see. And then you will see not only one spirit, but see, hear and speak to a lot of them. If you gladly want it, I have alsosufficient power to bring you suddenly into such a condition in which you will be able to see, hear and speak to the souls of those who died.”
[9] When the captain heard these words of Raphael, he said: “Very well, if you can do that without harming my physical health, then do it.”
 
81. THE REPORT OF THE CAPTAIN ABOUT WHAT HE SAW CLEAR-SIGHTEDLY
[1] NOW our Raphael stretched out his hands over the captain and also over his companions and over the disciples of John, and at the same moment their inner sight was opened, and they saw immediately a great number of spirits who they knew well. To the disciples of John, also John appeared who taught them about Me, and he admonished them because of their unbelief.
[2] But to the captain appeared his father, who called him very fortunate that he already on the material Earth had found the supreme and eternal happiness of life for his soul, and he admonished him very strongly that he should never sacrifice this happiness for a transitory earthly happiness. The captain promised that to him very solemnly.
[3] Then Raphael awaked them again from their ecstasy, even with their full memory of everything they had seen and heard.
[4] When those who were awakened were again into their natural condition, the captain said: “Ah, that was as a clear dream. But there was still a big difference between a dream and this vision, for it is seldom that men appear in a dream who have already died, but mostly only people who are still living in this world, and very often also people of whom we do not know if they bodily still live or perhaps have already died. The surroundings in dreams are mostly of a fanciful nature and have no existence in itself, just like the animals and plants, and are quickly changing their form.
[5] But here it was totally different. For firstly I was not, as in a dream, continuously only in a passive condition, but in one as if completely independent active condition, and secondly everything I saw was very constant, and the people were also entirely people. What they said was good, true and serious, and they gave me clearly to understand that they do not live in a dreamlike ignorance regarding everything I think, will and do on Earth.

 96. INFLUENCE OF SPIRITS AND CONTACT WITH THE AFTERLIFE
[1] I said: “You now have spoken indeed and with your speech would have created quite a sensation in a school of the Sadducee, Stoics and Epicures; but here you have assessed the matter like a blind the light and colors and like a deaf person the harmony of a well-tuned harp.
[2] The life of the soul cannot be shown and proven to you by a person and even less so by any departed spirit. You must find it in yourself; and this is not otherwise thinkable possible, than through the true love for God and the love for the neighbor.
[3] You think that the reappearance of an already departed soul would mainly strengthen the faith in immortality of the soul and faith in God, and I say to you that in this regard you are stuck in a completely, fundamentally wrong opinion! Firstly a departed soul in the beyond has exceedingly more than enough to do for itself and for its neighbors and does not really have the time to appear to the people in the flesh several times with a body created from the air and the earth and to teach them how things are and look like in the beyond, and secondly can every perfect spirit in anyway influence the people without limiting their free will in the best possible manner, and such invisible influence is for man much more salutary than the visibility and audibility of a departed spirit. For if a good and already quite enlightened spirit places good and honorable thoughts and feelings in your heart, they are already as good as if you have created them in you yourself; they unify with your life and motivate you to become active.
[4] If however a spirit, as for example Moses, would appear to you and say to you: ‘This and that you have to do if you want to attain life; if you are not going to do this you will fall into the judgment of the almighty God and there hardly will be any fully happy rise from the death of judgment!’, you will tremble after such an admonition and will for the rest of your life not dare to do anything else than what the spirit of Moses has advised you to do.