In 1851, Davis published a work addressing the phenomena that were sweeping America: the rappings and table-tippings and spirit communications that had begun in Hydesville three years earlier.
He approached the subject philosophically. He did not deny that genuine spiritual phenomena occurred. But he warned against focusing on phenomena at the expense of principles.
"Many rush to séances hoping for proof of survival. But what good is proof if it does not transform life? To know that the dead persist is meaningless if that knowledge does not change how we live. The point is not to contact the dead but to understand what their persistence means for how we should exist."
He taught that the living and the dead were not truly separate. The veil between the worlds was thin, and it was growing thinner.
"The barriers are dissolving. This is the meaning of our age. What was hidden is being revealed. What was occult is becoming manifest. The spirits speak not to amaze us but to awaken us. They call us to remember what we have forgotten: that we are spiritual beings temporarily inhabiting physical forms, that death is a door and not a wall, that love is stronger than the grave."
He also warned against credulity. Not every rap was a spirit. Not every message was true. Discernment was required.
"Test the spirits. Ask whether their messages lead to wisdom, compassion, and growth. If they lead to fear, dependency, or mere wonder-seeking, turn away. The true spirits teach what the ancient sages taught: transformation through the death of the lower self, rebirth into the higher."