also, that they are the souls of others

When spirits are with people on earth, they generally do not at all realize that they are not those people. This I know from the corroboration of much and frequent experience. Several times, also, spirits did not realize they were not the people being talked about, or thought about, so they completely take on the personalities of such people, whether living or dead. They so thoroughly convince themselves, that later, when the true person or the true soul is revealed, they feel ashamed. When some spirit is [with me], thinking, there are even some who believe they are that spirit. One of them speaks out his thoughts, convinced at the time that he is that [thinking spirit]. He expresses those thoughts in the same way he expresses those of the more subtle type of spirits, who keep silent and only think. In this way entirely different spirits can take on the conviction of being those people, or others, not realizing what is happening.