Flakey Mediumship

The spiritualist’ establishment by and large fails to accept the belief that Spirit communication demands the need for careful scrutiny, in as much as failure to carryout any kind of evaluation will cheapen the effectiveness and evidential quality of the 'spirit message'. The following survey of 'spirit contact' styles is largely unsound and should not be accepted as proof of spirit communication.

Psychic related skills:

Aura repairs, sand readings, runes readings, fortune telling, magic potions, coloured card readings, crystal energised rocks, psychometry (obtaining information about a person through a personal object, such as a watch or a ring, etc.), are seen in psychic fairs and psychic workshops and contain an element of mysticism. These skills can be demonstrated without the need for spirit contact and should be treated with vigilance.

Blind faith:

A belief system based on history and doctrines are normally associated with religion. Spiritualism and successful spirit contact must be built on hard facts and concrete evidence. It is remarkable to witness people who accept as evidence, any information that is handed to them by the Medium. This can be attributed to many reasons, but amongst the most striking reasons is the assumption that the demonstrating medium is competent and his / her being on the platform is justification in itself for accepting ' evidence'.

Spirit guides:

The portrayal of exotic guides, including North American Indians, Chinese and African Guides, DoorKeepers, Spirit Helpers, Fairies and Angels cannot be discounted entirely as proof of spirit survival. Nonetheless, this type of 'evidence' should be treated with caution because it is based from start to finish on a physical description of an unknown personality. Most people are not in the position to affirm any information about their 'spirit guides' because it is so unlikely that the recipient of the message personally knew the guide during this lifetime. Similarly, psychic artist’ impressions of spirit guides should be treated with caution for reasons already explained.

Regression:

A popular concept amongst numerous Mediums is to give 'evidence', which is solely based on a 'past-life' experience. Apart from exceptionally recorded cases, most people are unable to retain a link from a 'previous life'.

Personal behaviour:

It has been widely noted that some Mediums will resort to personal tactics in an attempt to force someone into accepting unsound information as spirit evidence; for example, bullying tactics, insincerity, stonewalling or vagueness and asking direct questions are just a few examples. This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and should been condemned as counterproductive.

Famous dignitaries:

There is a terrifying trend within mediumship that gives scope for the Medium to pass on messages from famous dignitaries. Named examples have included Henry IIIV, Princess Diana and Florence Nightingale amongst other notabilities. The possibility of a famous person emerging as a spirit communicator is very feasible but vigilance should be shown if the Medium demonstrates the same notability time and time again. Even so, a message that is delivered by a dignitary embraces an ingredient of power and status that may be too irresistible to reject by some people, including the Medium.

Flowers:

Countless Mediums hand out to their sitters, a cluster of 'petals' from 'loved ones' in spirit. Roses, Chrysanthemums, Carnations and Lily of-the-valley are the most popular to cite. Whilst it is recognised that the giving of flowers can be symbolic, it does not constitute evidence unless it has a clear-cut link to the sitter.

Second guessing (the Mediums dream):

Some Mediums may consciously or subconsciously manipulate information to their advantage. To illustrate this point, the following scenario is a typical case whereby the recipient of the message has fed the Medium with a salvo of information; thus the 'Mediums dream' becomes a reality:

Medium: "can I come to the lady at the front"
Sitter: "yes"
Medium: "can you accept a lady in spirit"?
Sitter: "yes, that is my Mother, she died with a rare brain disorder at the age of 85, she was in China at the time, it was very distressing for my brothers and sisters"
Medium - "why do I get hospital appointments and many tests performed"?
Sitter - "she had brain scans"
Medium- "I get the impression she was very old when she died"!
Sitter - "that is correct"
Medium - "she was very adventurous and liked travelling far across the world"!
Sitter - "that is correct"
Medium - "You were part of a large family"!
Sitter - 'yes'

As you can see, the Medium did not intend to extract information from the sitter in this way. In spite of this, the Medium has cashed in on the information and has claimed full praise for his awe-inspiring performance.

The Jesus Closet

"Brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle" (2 Thessalonians 2:14 )

Of all the unexpected encounters during my numerous visits to spiritualist’ churches is my clash with Christianity in churches which are affiliated to the Spiritualist National Union. Several ( SNU ) spiritualist churches I know promote Christianity at every occasion by way of Christian hymn singing, depictions of the Nazarene placed strategically with Christian paintings to boot.

One such church in Brighton, United Kingdom, of which I was Vice-president for several years, has a consecrated sanctuary for spiritual healing and other services. The walls of this little grotto are straddled with inappropriate murals of Christ and his apostles and have the added feature of spotlight luminosity, for all and sundry to bear witness.

The President of this little sanctuary, a sprightly lady in her 90th year, has clearly authorised the promotion of Christianity to be exhibited in ways that she believes are appropriate. One such painting of Christ, dressed in a white robe, can be found on the 2nd floor of the church. This overbearing portrayal of Christ clearly acts as a backdrop and central theme of focus on the spiritualist platform.

The Spiritualist National Union ( SNU ) which encompasses spiritualist ideology is, in the main, not affiliated to Christianity and should not endorse or promote Christianity in any configuration. This theorem is unequivocally substantiated in the Seven Principles of Spiritualism which make no reference to Christ’ doctrines.

Be that as it may, The Greater World Christian Spiritualist Church, voices its’ reliance in eight pledges which include ‘ I accept the Leadership of Jesus Christ’ ‘ I believe that sins committed can only be rectified by the sinner himself or herself, through the redemptive power of Jesus the Christ, by repentance and service to others’

The church quotes the following : ‘ Jesus Christ, the Way, and Christianity; Spiritualism and spiritual gifts; Mediums: attitudes and aspirations; Mediumship: the safe way and the way which causes harm; Predestination and 'incarnating' and viewing these spiritually; Religion in both its liberal and literalistic sense and their effects; Clairvoyance and clairaudience; Psychics and spirituality; Plants, animals and humbler creations; Afterlife or life-after-death’

Allow me be very clear here. Christianity may have a place in the minds and souls of many millions of Christians around the World who in their turn, have accepted the virtuousness of Christianity.

Nonetheless, my consideration is charged against many Presidents and the supporting committees of Spiritualist' churches which are affiliated to the Spiritualist National Union, but who after all is said and done, continue to contravene the teachings of the Spiritualist National Union and who accordingly subscribe and advertise Christianity at every given opportunity. Added to this, a few scrapes of spiritualism thrown in to appease the mob.

I recall one occasion during an official delegation of visitors from the Spiritualist National Union. One delegate, a high ranking minister quite rightly challenged the reasoning behind the portrayal and display of Christianity in the form of wall paintings. The ministerial quizzing was swiftly followed by a suggestion that the offending church should consider selling the pictures as a means of raising funds for the good of the church !.

Nowadays, the legions of churches which are affiliated to the Spiritualist National Union continue to promote Christianity on every occasion and the SNU appears powerless towards countering this pathetic situation. At worst, the Spiritualist National Union acknowledges the position but turns away and does nothing.

Trusting Your Psychic

Countless numbers of people experience the effects of psychic intuition which by all accounts can be astounding or even spectacular, especially if psychic intuition results in a fundamental change of behaviour or a particular situation. This so called ‘inner voice ’ can impact peoples’ thoughts without little warning and thus, influence how people react to their newly acquired outlook.

Psychic intuition

A person sanctified with the psychic gift will predominately read the aura of an individual or object, using intuitiveness as a means of obtaining information of a material value, such as health and futuristic issues, etc. Psychics can literally ‘read people’ or situations without the need of help from spirit forces. Many ordinary people possess a limited psychic gift which they may or may not be aware of, for example, many individuals experience positive or negative feelings towards people or objects. Comments such as ‘ I like him’ or ‘ I feel uncomfortable with her’ or ‘ I like this place’ are very common accounts to mention.

Inner voice

I recall several vivid accounts of how my ‘inner voice’ has intervened during the course of life’events, the consequence of which has influenced my thoughts, feelings and actions.

One such case involved a girl I met at College several years ago. On face value of my newly found friendship, I was convinced that I had nothing in common with this person, however, the inner voice said ‘yes you have ‘. I hence listened, reasoned and accepted my ‘gut feeling’. As I continued to get to know my college friend over the weeks and Months which followed, I began to realise that we had in-fact very similar interests to share. On reflection, my initial dismissive attitude was short-sighted.

By the same token I recall meeting a man some years ago who appeared to be very warm and outgoing. Be that as it may, without warning and virtually within a short time of meeting this person, my inner voice suggested that this situation was ‘not right‘ for me. At the time, I could not sensibly explain this feeling, nor could I justify dismissing someone on the basis of a feeling that I was unable to justify. During the weeks which followed I realised my newly acquired friend was skin-deep in every way. This warm and outgoing personality was masking other problems which I was unable and unwilling to deal with.

Common types of psychic intuition

There are numerous types of psychic intuition which are in need of account. Many people experience good or bad vibes about certain people they meet in the course of the day and some people will experience this type of feeling on the basis of meeting someone for the first time, possibly even before they engage in their first conversation.

Many documented cases have exposed how relationships have been made or broken within a couple of seconds of people meeting for the first time. For example, this phenomena is well documented in cases where the job interviewer has often come to a conclusion about the job candidate within a matter of seconds. The same can be said about potential house purchasers who view a property and know within a few seconds how they feel about the property. Of course, there could be several reasons how this phenomena is explained but ‘gut feeling’ should be deliberated without doubt.

Many people experience the ‘inner voice’ feeling during the most commonplace situations. For instance, how many times have you snatched that bargain at the local shop on the basis of impulse, but subsequently, have returned the same item because second thoughts have made you more mindful. This situation may be explained away by ‘gut feeling’ which has guided you away from the initial impulse of your first thought. ‘Gut feeling’ is therefore not uncommon by any means and is often accepted by some people as second nature without any further need for introspective reasoning about how these feelings have evolved.

Animals are not excluded from psychic intuition either. Many people will contend with the idea that animals are more psychically aware of effects such as danger than are humans. One case which verifies this theory perfectly is the Asian Tsunami of 2004. It is widely reported that animals of varying species fled the coastal towns of the affected region several hours before the tidal waves came ashore.

Examples of dramatic types

History recalls numerous psychics, the most famous and controversial perhaps is Nostradamous who wrote prophetic quatrains and is declared to have made reference to Hitler and Nuclear attacks amongst other dramatic subjects, several hundred years before the events became reality. Psychics of today include the American, Sylvia Browne who has made numerous predictions about political figureheads such as Bill Clinton, Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden.

Psychic intuition is not exclusively owned by the most gifted of psychics. This is clearly demonstrated by ordinary people who have successfully predicted mundane and World events on a widespread basis. Examples include the prediction of plane crashes and other types of disasters including the Terrorist attacks in New York and the Asian Tsunami.

How seriously should you listen to the ‘ inner voice ‘

I had real challenges accepting my ‘inner voice’ for many years prior to the day I finally woke up and realised that trusting my gift was the best option for me. A combination of arrogance and senselessness on my part had resulted in unfavourable consequences and missed opportunities. Nowadays, I place greater emphasis on trusting my ‘gut feeling’ to the extent where I accept intuition as second nature and act on it wherever possible.

The correlation between mediumship and psychic ability.

Mediums and Psychics alike are sensitive to the environmental influences of positive and negative energies that exude from animate and inanimate objects. By way of the sixth sense, this quality allows the Medium or Psychic to detect the magnetic properties that surround all living creatures and objects.

Nonetheless, the mediumistic ability of the Psychic is normally considered to be very limited or even non-existent. Consequently, any contact with spirit is less-likely. The Medium, however, is potentially attuned to the higher forces of psychic awareness and is potentially able to make contact with spirit as a result of heightened psychic sensitivity.

Mediums and Psychics are capable of communicating information through telepathic sources; Psychics can accomplish this through the mind waves of humans, whereas Mediums can potentially achieve this through spirit contact. Mediums and Psychics are sensitive. A Medium must be psychic so that the spirit link can be made. Psychics can ‘read people’ without the need of help from spirit forces