Mediumship and Beyond

BON ORIGINS

The Bon religion was well established in Tibet before the introduction of Buddhism. Over the centuries however, it appears that many Buddhist practices have taken root in Bon and reverse. For someone not too familiar with robes, iconography or rituals it may even be hard to spot the difference.

Astrology is important within the Bon system. Methods are given for divination, warding off negative influences, astrological calculations and medical diagnosis.

The four types of astrological calculation systems according to David Snellgrove are:

• The mirror of magicalhoroscopes
• The circle of Parkhas (trigrams) and Mewas (magic squares in 9 colours) – Chinese origin
• The Wheel of Time (Kalachakra) of the Elements
• The Jushak method: calculation of interdependence

A very important Bon deity is called Balchen Geko, who is said to govern time and the three world of existence. In this respect the deity is analogous to Kalachakra in Buddhism.

The Tibetan system works with a 360-day lunar year and cycles of 60 and 180 years. As a year is longer than 360 days, some days are doubled, and others are skipped. To make the calendar fit the observations, occasionally even an extra month is introduced.

TIBETAN ‘NAMELESS RELIGION’ ORIGIN

From the ancient ‘nameless religion’ of Tibet, a system is preserved in current Tibetan astrology which relates to Five Individual Forces (La – vitality, Sok – life potential, Lu – bodily health, Wangthang – personal power, and Lungta – wind horse) or energies within a person. These energies relate to the Chinese animals and elements, for example, the La force of the Horse is Wood etc. This system is unique to Tibet and is important to establish yearly horoscopes.

The La moves through the body in a monthly cycle, the Wangthang element is the same element that rules the year in Chinese astrology.

When the forces become weak, numerous specific practices are prescribed to strengthen the force again, from saving lives of animals to reciting mantras or performing special rituals like exorcism.

Today, as part of the new year changes, I am taking a look at other religions, rituals and beliefs. I hope you enjoy it.

Tibetan Astrology originated from several different traditions: Indian, Chinese, the local Bon religion, and the Buddhist Kalachakra tantra.

Traditionally, astrology was one of the five secondary sciences in Tibet. It concerns not only divination, but it is also used in the study of time cycles, Tibetan chronology and the compilation of the calendar. The calendar in the form of an almanac is still quite important in the daily life of the Tibetans to ensure that their daily activities are in tune with the cosmos.

In general, certain days of the week and of the month are considered auspicious for specific activities (from marriage to hanging of prayer flags – even cutting one’s hair); but also, every day relates to one’s specific astrological chart of the day of birth. But also the position of the planets and the cycles of the elements determine good or bad fortune.

In a Tibetan village, the astrologer would use his skills to advise people about nearly everything: from the weather, the best time to harvest, verify if and when two people should marry, to important business deals. In case the outcome would be negative, often religious practices would be advised to remove obstacles, which would be carried out by monks of the local monastery.Traditional Tibetan Astrology Chart

At the birth of a child, the charts would be checked to see if any special rituals were required to ward off negative planetary influences. Also a “death chart” would often be prepared to decide the exact performance of the funeral. Improper performance could result in problems for the family, as well as for the deceased.

Tibetan astrology is not only strongly linked to religion, also Tibetan medical practitioners would study astrology (and religious texts) to determine the timing of medication etc.

Tibetan ‘Naktsi’ astrology has mainly Chinese origins, and the ‘Kartsi’ astrology has Indian origins.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful new year 2012.

As the new year approaches we all tend to think about making new resolutions.  This usually involves giving things up. Things that we enjoy. Why would we do that? Why do we feel the need to punish ourselves?

Why don’t we decide to start new ventures?  New ways to make ourselves and our loved ones happy.  Much better than giving up.

I have long wanted to start my own Psychic Centre.  I hope it will become a reality in 2012.  I just need to find the right venue to make it all happen.

Therefore, I am sending out prayers to the spirit world to ask for help and inspiration.  For guidance to lead me to the right place.  A place where I can carry out my spiritual work and my teachings. A place to give healing and council  the bereaved.  A place where I can prove life after death to more people.

Above all,  a place that is mine to run in the name of Spirit.  A place that needs no committee.  I do find that committees in general, though not all,  are full of people who know little about Spiritualism and even less about mediumistic gifts.  They do not seem to understand the very basics of the religion.  How can they inform others if they are ill informed themselves.

I would like a place full of love and understanding.  Not too much to ask of spirit is it!   Keep watching this space.

The sixth sense is a natural phenomena.  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. You can learn to meditate. That is a good place to begin. It is nor difficult. You just need to get the hang of it.  Pracice will soon make perfect.

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.

Saturday 8th October at 7.30pm. There is an Angel Special at my church, Whitham Road Sheffield. It is only £3 to get in and promises to be a nice evening.

Everyone Welcome. Why not come along if you live in Sheffield or near by.

Whitham Road’s  Psychic Fair Sheffield

Saturday 1st October at 11-4pm

Readings
One to One Readings 15mins £5
Mediums

Coloured Stone Reading

Ribbons

Tarot
Angel Cards

Tea Leaves!!!

Psychometry

Palmist has cancelled through illness

Taster Sessions of Reikki  £3
Spiritual Healing by donation

Sara’s Hand Made Jewellery

Denise’s New Age Stall

Refreshments available

£1 on the door

Do come along and support our church. I will be reading Coloured Stones and all our readers are very good.

Well, it has to be doesn’t it.  You have to really want to help your church and the Spirit World to put in the hours.

A Spiritualist church booking secretary, has to arrange dates with all the mediums who serve their particular church.  You begin with an empty diary and a telephone, and hopefully end up with a full diary.

The hard part is matching up the gaps in your diary with the gaps in the mediums diaries.  So many of them are really popular and it is hard to pin them down to a date that you both have free.

Apart from filling the diary for 2012, there is also the everyday bookings.  We have a psychic fair coming up and a popular psychic supper. So lots of extra mediums need to be booked in. On top of the bookings for next year.

At my own church, Whitham Road in Sheffield, we also have at least one special event every month and regular workshops. So, as you see, it mounts up.

Some mediums don’t answer their phones and some don’t return messages you leave.  It all adds to the frustration.  But, when it all comes together and your church is running smoothly, it is all worth it.

It doesn’t end there though. When the services or events approach, the mediums have to be contacted again to confirm that they are still attending the service they are booked for.  Sometimes through ill health or other reasons, mediums may have to cancel. It is then that the secretary has to start ringing round in earnest, trying to fill a gap at short notice.

At least, being a medium myself means that sometimes I can fill in at short notice. That’s if I am not serving another church, being in another secretary’s diary.

A psychic Supper is when a group of people buy tickets to share a table with a medium and get a psychic message fom them.  There are usually 4 or 5 guests and one medium per table.

When each person on every table has had a message, everyone has supper. It both a social and fund raising event and often very enjoyable.

At my church, Whitham Road in Sheffield, we are holding such an event quite soon.

Ours is on Friday 25th November at 7pm. Tickets are £10 and will be available from our church.  Although, if you need a ticket but cannot get to us for one, you may email me and I will help you.

Any mediums or good psychic who are interested in working for us on this occasion, please contact me. My email link is on this page.

For more information on Psychic Suppers please contact me.

There are some interesting events coming up at my local Spiritualist church during the next few weeks.

Saturday 27th August is a Special Evening of Clairvoyance with Sue Cunningham – 7.30 – £3 on the door

Sunday 28th August is a Divine Service with myself, Barbara Biggin – 6.30 – free will collection

Saturday 17th September is a Special Evening with Carl Parker – 7.30 – £3 on the door

More to come………..keeping watching this space or email me for further details.