For almost three years now, or 33 months, I have been in that state where my mind, actually withdrawn from bodily matters, has been able to be in societies of spiritual and heavenly beings, while yet I have been just like anyone else in earthly society, without any difference. The spirits also have been surprised at this. Yet in spite of this my thought was at times intensely absorbed in worldly matters, as when I had to worry about monetary needs, and when I wrote a letter today, keeping my mind somewhat concentrated on them. Then I slipped into a bodily-like state of mind, so that spirits could not speak with me. They even told me that it was as if they had been absent from me, almost as it had been before. From this I can tell that spirits are unable to speak with a person who is extremely busy with worldly and bodily matters. For bodily concerns so to speak pull down the mental images of the higher mind and immerse them in bodily ones. 1748, 4 March.