The souls of the departed either a shorter or longer time after the death of the body, before being brought into the company of spirits, are quite dull, and know almost nothing. But as soon as they become associated with many, they acquire mental powers. Not only do they regain the keenness of mind they had possessed in the body, but also, when associated with their peers in such a way that they can serve as mediums for thought focussing, then whatever mentality they have is so greatly sharpened that they are much more acute than they were during bodily life. Add to this the fact that now they do not function with a memory of personal affairs, which distracts them in bodily life, but directly from a kind of instinct. Now they seem to grasp more deeply and more fully the meaning of what is being said, because their mind is withdrawn from the body and its objects - so that the perception of one in the body is not nearly as penetrating. Moreover, they are able to speak with people on earth in their own language, no matter where they were born. Also, [the spirit] comes into complete possession of the person's memory, to the point where he seems to be the person, thus even [to possess] their power of understanding. But there is the difference, that the spirit retains his own life, that is, the life of his own love or passion, causing him to feel things differently - however, these spirits are deprived of that life while people are being led by them. Also, they very easily put on various conditions, such as innumerable different states of wakefulness and sleep, among many others. 1747, the 25th day of December.