Mediumship and Beyond

Some of you may be forgiven for thinking that the psychic on the platform at your local spiritualist church, or hall, is an actor or actress.  Sadly this comes with the territory.  Some are just that, or at least use a bit of that.

You sit in your chair hoping that the medium speaking today will come to you and pass on a message from your loved ones in the spirit world.  One to make you believe that they are still watching over you.  You really want to believe there is life after death and a message would help you to make up your mind.

You expect the subject to be taken seriously, if not by the general public, then at least by the spiritualists.  Most spiritualists do take proving life after death very seriously.  That does not mean that they cannot be happy, or laugh and smile whilst they give proof.  There are some who can give proof whilst still be entertaining and amusing, without acting.

What you do not expect, is for the person on ‘stage’ to behave in an unseemly manner and appearing to put on some sort of act.  This though is sadly sometimes what you get.

Sometimes, though not all times by any means, the medium on the platform will affect a stance that is not their usual.  This may take the form of implying that spirit are making them behave oddly.  Some will affect a limp or hold their hand and arm at a funny angle and say that their guide has a disability.  Their guide may well have had a disability whilst on the earth plain but certainly not in the spirit world.  They have no physical body once they have passed over.

Use your own intelligence here.  If it seems to you that a spirit would not make a medium look foolish by ‘making’ them hold their body in an odd way, then do not accept it.

You have to understand that spirits do not have physical bodies.  Therefore, they cannot possibly make any able bodied physical person do anything with their body.  It is purely showmanship.

Shockingly for me, I have witnessed the leader of an open circle behaving as if drunk.  She was falling around, swaying and flinging her arms about, whilst saying that the spirit who was coming through was forcing drink down her.  She insisted that the spirit was drunk and now she was drunk too because the spirit was giving her whiskey.  What a load of codswallop!  Whiskey in the spirit world!

You must always use your own intelligence to help you realise when you are being had.  Some do this on purpose and it is obvious as it is a regular occurrence.  Others are deluded into thinking they have to affect these positions.  What utter nonsense!

Spirit would never, ever make a medium look foolish.  The only person who can do that is the supposed ‘psychic’.  Please be discerning.  You should be able to spot when showmanship is happening if you just use common sense.

When you hear the crowds coming out of church or the theatre, saying things like ‘Oh what a laugh, wasn’t it good’.  Ask yourself was it music hall type good or was there really good evidence of survival of the spirit.  Remember, laughter can, and often does, go hand in hand with spirit work.  This is acceptable.  Showmanship is not.

‘Life After Life’ is a book by Raymond A Moody.  Dr Raymond Moody is a renowned psychiatrist and researcher, who is also a leading authority on near death experiences.  Dr Moody runs a research institute called The Theatre of the Mind in the USA.

This book first appeared in 1975 but has been revised and is available still in an anniversary edition.

I have long been interested in life after life experiences.  For me it is these types of experience which help us to realise that there is more to us than this earthly existence.  Out of body experiences at the time of near death also give us an insight into what it might be like at the time of death.

This book quotes the experiences of lots of Americans at the time of their cardiac arrest, and other possible major life ending traumas.  There is a wide age range and people from all walks of life talk about their experience and emotional upheaval.

The most common thing to be mentioned is a ‘golden light’ (some say ‘white light’) appearing up high in the corner of the room.  This light making the person feel warm, peaceful and safe.  The light is often referred to as God or Lord.  There is a ‘knowing’ of words of comfort rather than a hearing.  It is towards this light that a person gravitates.

I personally understand the ‘knowing’ of words, as this happens when I am working mediumistically.  I am not though a person who has ever had these experiences.  My hubby suffered three cardiac arrests at the time of his heart attack, from which he recovered.  He is adamant that he had none of this type of experience. 

Thousands have a near death without recalling any of these sorts of events, but thousands do recall events.  There are those who can induce out of body experiences without there being any trauma.  Many in this book have the events whilst on the operating table.

The book is very easy to read and to understand and I thoroughly recommend it to all with an interest in the beyond.  Good reading!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was one of (certainly not the only one) the most famous spiritualists of our time.  He was famous for writing the Sherlock Holmes books, and many others.

In his Holmes books Conan Doyle liked to write about a seance or two and there would almost always be a medium in these books.  He also wrote other books with a psychic theme.

After his first wife died, and after he also lost his young son and his brother, he went to mediums seeking proof of life after death.  He would always be a keen spiritualist.

There have been other famous spiritualists and certainly lots of famous people and celebreties who have consulted spiritualist mediums, psychic and astrologers.  Diana, Princess of Wales was one such person.  The princess was well recorded has having visited several mediums and had a keen interest and belief in astrology.

I too believe in astrology, and not the daily newspaper type either.  I think the daily paper astrologers do astrology a lot of harm with their sun signs.  Sun signs account for one twelfth of the world and cannot possibly work.

There is a great website named ‘No Nonsense Astrology’, which debunks daily paper sun sign astrology and explains why this cannot work.  It also explains how astrology can work if you ignore the sun signs.  Give it a try.  I know you will not be disappointed.

More famous people in later posts.  For the astrology website click here:  www.nononsenseastrology.com

In my previous post I gave you some information about home circles.  Today I will give you more details to help you get your circle started and to be able to run it properly and safely.

It is important that all your sitters arrive for the circle early and that they are not under the influence of either drink or drugs.  This is very important as the mind can play tricks on you even when you are not under the influence and you need a clear mind when working with spirit, as always.

All your circle members should agree with you on the intent of the circle.  Is your intent to develop mediumship further, or are you going to sit for higher things?  The higher things being physical mediumship.  As I said in my earlier post, this can be gifts like trance, transfiguration or direct voice.

When you are all in agreement and you have laid down your rules about length of time sitting etc  You can sort out your seating arrangements.  Make sure you are all comfortable and that you are neither too hot nor too cold.  Where possible try not to sit too close together.  If you get too close to each other and your auras are overlapping you may feel very uncomfortable.

I am sure you know what I mean about the aura.  Think about how you feel if a stranger stands too close to you in a shop or else where, and you feel odd but cannot put your finger on it.  Well, that is when your aura may be overlapping the space of another. 

You have your circle leader and you have your seats.  I find it is best to either sit in the dark or in a fairly dimly lit room.  Candle light or a small lamp with a red bulb will be ideal.  You may also want a CD player within your reach to play meditation music. 

It is important to open your circle in prayer.  This is best done by the circle leader who should ask for spirits protection.  You may, if you prefer, have a communal prayer.  A prayer can also be used to ask spirit for advice and assistance within the circle.

Suggestions here are, to ask for your guides to come close and work with you.  To ask for a circle spirit guide to protect the circle.  Ask for advice on the ideal conditions for spirit to work with you.  These are just a few ideas but as you get more involved with developing your circle you may need to ask for more advice from them.

I trust you have enough details to think about here.  I will continue this theme in my next post.  Enjoy!

Once the medium has become developed enough it is often the home circle which helps them move on that bit further. 

A group of like minded people sit together every week for an allotted time, in order to communicate with spirits.  It can be three or more sitters, but in my experience this should not be too big a group.  Enough is needed for the practice of giving messages from the spirit world and also to cover for illness and holidays and the like.

You must all be able to depend on and trust each other.  Where there is doubt among sitters the circle energy will not flow well.  Trust is imperative as you may not know yet what gifts you are going to develop in the group.  If anyone starts to develop trance mediumship or even better, physical mediumship, then trust and honesty are vital.

At the beginning rules should be agreed upon.  What time and what day each week, plus the length of time you will sit.  In my experience the length of time stretches out as things begin to happen in the circle.  A few rules should stop any falling out or arguments.

You should sit in comfort with no thight clothes to restrict you.  Being either too hot or too cold is a turn off too.  There should of course be quiet.  No phones to ring and no doorbells to answer.  I have known lots of circles which took place in cellars or basements in order to achieve the peace and quiet needed.

There should be only one group leader and it does not have to be the owner of the property.  It should be someone who is level headed and not too pushy.  The circle leader must want all of you to develop and not just one medium.  There is often a power struggle even though you are all sitting for the same purpose.  The ego can spoil things for you all, so choose your sitters and your leader very carefully.

More on this subject tomorrow when I will go through the entire process of a circle of mediums sitting for development and higher things!

I have had so many enquiries about ribbon readings and also sand and psychometry readings.  Therefore I have decided to write more about them today.

Of course, all three of these subjects are psychic readings.  They are not spiritual or mediumistic, but can in fact be used as a psychic focal point whilst the true medium tunes into the spirit world.  This allows them to keep focused on the reading rather than let their own thoughts get in the way of the messages of proof from the spirit world.

It is not wrong to use them in this manner, neither is it wrong to use them to give psychic readings.  If a psychic readings is all the sitter wants then they are ideal.  Only when your sitter needs proof of life after death, from their loved ones on the higher side of life, are they not enough.

As I have mentioned before, most psychics use ribbons as psychometry and tend to ignore the colours.  Whereas I personally use the colours and do not use them as a psychometry tool.

Sand readings are purely psychic, as it is the impressed hand print which the psychic uses to get information.  Again, sand can be used as a focal point but most psychics just read the vibrations.  The reading often starts with telling you what type of person you are and carries on from there with the vibrations as with any psychometry.

Psychometry, as you will know by now, is one of the simplest and most well known forms of psychic readings.  It involves holding an article given to the psychic by the sitter.  Again, the vibrations which are held on the item give the psychic lots of information to pass on.

All things hold vibrations.  The older the item is, the more information there is on it.  The problem can arise when the owner of the article is not the only person to have handled it.  The vibes can get mixed up and so can the psychic who is trying to read them.  This is when a true medium comes into their own.  Spirit can help them sort it all out.

Ultimately,  I believe that if you want a bit of fun or psychic experiment, you should go to a psychic.  If you want proper truthful evidence of life after death, you must go to a medium.

Unfortunately, there seems to be lots of people getting involved in running psychic circles, who do not have the skills to do so.  Often, they are not developed themselves so they are ill equipped to help others develop.  This is unsafe for the psychic student or for novice medium. 

There are different gifts which can be developed by mediums.  Some develop the one gift and if they persue it and work hard with it, it can be more than enough.  Some are very gifted and find they can develop more than one psychic sense.  They are very lucky as using combinations of mediumistic gifts can be extremely rewarding.

Clairsentience is the gift which lots of novices do not understand and yet it is one of the simplest forms and the one which we are discussing today.

Clairsentience is often the very first sign that your sixth sense is developing.  It is the gift of thinking, smelling, and feeling emotions.  Sometimes it can even be the sense of the pain which a spirit felt during their earthly life and often the pain they felt when they were passing over to the higher side of life..

Clairsentience is the sense of smell which does not come through the physical nose. It is an acute awareness of a smell, that those without the gift seem to be unaware of.  It may be the scent or perfume that a spirit used when on the earth plane and therefore, a good piece of proof for a seeker.  If the medium told the sitter that they were aware of a lady smelling of ‘Evening in Paris’, for example, this may be how the sitter remembers this spirit. This may be the evidence he or she is looking for to prove there is life after death.

Emotions experienced by the spirit, especially just prior to their physical passing, can sometimes be relayed by a medium who uses this gift to the fullest. There may be laughter and joy, as well as sadness. Feeling and sensing what the spirit wants to relay is a medium’s job. 

Clairsentience is a good gift to have when doing private readings.  It makes the sitter really feel they have conected with their loved one.  When a medium uses this gift it brings so much more to a message.  A combination of clairaudience, clairsentience, and clairvoyance is what the developer of the sixth sense should aspire to.  What a wonderful combination of gifts for a medium to have.

Sometimes, as a student, you may find that the thoughts, feelings and smells you are getting in your head, are actually not your own.  Once you realise this it is easier to develop the gift.  A word of caution here: not everything that pops into your head is from the spirits.  Perhaps the hardest part of development, especially for a medium, not so much for the psychic, is to define the difference between your own mind and that of the spirits communications.

We will discuss this further in a future post.

The sixth sense is a natural phenomena, not paranormal.  It is latent in us all.

It is not difficult to find a way to develop your sixth sense.  There are numerous avenues open to you. You could go it alone or join a group. Whichever you feel most comfortable with.

You do not have to take up Spiritualism to develop your psychic gifts either.  Religious people are not the only ones granted these extra senses.  Your religious beliefs remain your own and can be kept private if that is your wish as no one will ask you about it.

At home, either by yourself or with a small group of like minded people, is a good place to begin.  I have devised my own method of development and if you would like to find out more about it, email me through my web site or add a comment on this page and I will get back to you.

Meditation is a good place to start. Learning to relax helps both the physical body and also to quieten the mind.  My own method uses meditation, but you do not have to be used to meditation in order to learn how to attune yourself to your sixth sense.

Remember, we are all psychic but not all of us are mediums.  Anyone can work on developing their psychic ablity, but it does not mean that you will become mediumistic.  I believe that mediums are born with this special gift, although they still need to develop their psychic ability in order to learn to communicate with the spirit world.

More on this subject in future posts