Spiritualism....What is it about
ABOUT SPIRITUALISM
In Spiritualism, the Prime Creator, First Cause, God, whatever you think of when you think of the force that started reality in the first place, is known as Infinite Intelligence. Yes, it is correct to say that Infinite Intelligence is God. Spiritualists do believe in God. But there are a few important differences in the way Spiritualists understand God. Infinite Intelligence is not a father figure that offers rewards and punishment to his children.
Infinite Intelligence influences our world and our lives through the Principles of Natural Law. Natural Law, spiritual energy and purpose are thought to emanate from Infinite Intelligence. The more a person can learn to live in accordance with Natural Law the more that person will find life to be agreeable--or at least understandable. Put another way, living in a way that violates Natural Law is certain to create difficulties in a person's life.
Living in accordance with Natural Law is not a matter of doing "good" or "bad." Yes, living in a way that is consistent with Natural Law would seem to have good results for a person, but this goodness would be in the same context as the goodness one derives from not violating a traffic law, and thereby, not being given a traffic ticket.
Spiritualists seek to understand Natural Law as a way of life. Spiritual Maturity can be defined as the understanding of Natural Law and living in accordance with those Principles. A spiritually mature person can be defined as a person who has learned to live in accordance with Natural Law, rather than in conflict with it.
Spiritualist will say that understanding and living in accordance with Natural Law is an equivalent with the idea of "obeying the will of God."
The history of Humankind includes considerable reference to the ability of people to communicate with spirits. As Humankind evolved toward our current civilization, so has the nature of this communication and belief as to who we are communicating with. There has been one constant throughout this long history: that is, the part that the individual plays in this communication as a medium between this world and the other side.
Mediumship is fundamental in human behavior.
In Spiritualism, mediumship is taught as an ability that can be learned and is practiced as a regular part of a person's relationship with nature. Mediumship is not a mysterious gift handed down by a god to a favored few. It is an ability that is inherent in each of us. It can be learned just as an average person can train to be an accomplished athlete.
As with any human ability associated with consciousness, individuals experience mediumship in different ways. It has been our experience that people who have not studied mediumship, or who have not had personal experience with it, will not easily recognize this ability within themselves. However, with some training, it quickly becomes clear that the ability is there and in use as a natural part of a person's life.
Meditation provides a good comparison for the nature of mediumship. Meditation is “the intentional directing of attention to the clear aspect of one’s own inner nature. In meditation, a person is asked to seek a state of relaxation in which the body is more or less asleep while the person remains mentally alert. The objective is to remove external stimuli so that the mind is free to focus on internal, mental processes. Once so relaxed, the person is then asked to clear the mind of thoughts about daily issues and to focus on not thinking at all. This is no paradox, really. The objective is to achieve a mental condition in which the person is ready to mentally listen to something that may originate "behind" or "within" the normal mental chatter. It is this "listening" that is important in mediumship.
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About Mediumship In general, any form of transference of information from nonphysical to physical reality involving a person living in the physical, is considered mediumship. It is important to note that in Natural Law, there is the Principle of Agreement. Simply stated, this Principle holds that an object of reality must energetically agree with the aspect of reality it will occupy. For instance, you as Self exist in this physical aspect of reality by living in a physical body. You are not your body. Perhaps it is more correct to say that you are in a symbiotic relationship with your body, for once the body dies, you as Self continue. Without your physical body to help you "energetically agree" with this physical aspect of reality, you cannot remain here. Items of information are considered objects of reality. And so, items of information cannot exist in the physical without something to help them "energetically agree" with the physical. So you can see that any form of communication between our world and the spirit world must be facilitated in some way by something in our world as a transformer. Mediumship is that transformer. Thus, it is through our mediumship that our spirit friends are able to impress their thoughts and actions into the physical. |
In mediumship, "Listening" is more often referred to as sensing and may take the form of mentally hearing, feeling or seeing subtle sensations, depending on the individuals way of interfacing with the environment. From the web site of the National Association of Spiritualist churches web site:
"A medium is one whose organism is sensitive to vibrations from the Spirit World and through whose instrumentality, intelligences in that world are able to convey messages and produce the phenomena of Spiritualism. The phenomena of Spiritualism consists of: prophecy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, gift of tongues, laying on of hands, healing, visions, trance, apports, revelations, raps, levitation, automatic and independent writing and painting, photography, materialization, psychometry, direct and independent voice, and any other manifestation which proves the continuity of life."
Probably the most common form of mediumship is what has historically been referred to as "intuition." When people state that they have a hunch or that they have a feeling about something, they are recognizing the operation of mediumship in their lives. Mediumship is a native ability that is as common as thought, itself.
People may function as mediums without being aware of their contribution to the Phenomena occurring around them. The poltergeist phenomenon is a good example. Hauntings researchers are coming to the conclusion that poltergeist are made possible when there is a young person in the household. While they are not usually aware of their contribution, these people appear to provide the psychic energy needed for a nonphysical entity to cause changes in the physical world.
People may be strong physical mediums, yet when they are witness to something phenomenal happening around them, perhaps direct voice or levitation, they may not recognize that they have played an important part. This ability to facilitate the occurrence of Phenomena is sometimes referred to as "being a battery." In this regard, a person organizing a development circle, who is aware of the concept of a human battery, will often try to situate strong mediums so that they will help to energetically balance the group.
An important modern day development in mediumship is spirit communications via an electronic device. This is most commonly known as Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP); however, when images are involved, or two way communication through a device such as a radio, it is know as Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC). And yes, what is known about this phenomenon tells us that it is correct to describe it as Technology Augmented Mediumship (TAM). This phenomenon is known by many other names as well, making it clear that this is a very young science. We will refer to the phenomena as EVP on this web site.
You should know that there are differing opinions as to whether or not EVP is influenced by the mediumship ability of the person doing the recording. Spiritualists who are familiar with mediumship will recognize the similarities in how mediumistic phenomena occurs and how EVP occurs. It is also noteworthy that some of the first EVP recordings were made while researchers were attempting to make audio recordings of the direct voice phenomenon produced by mediums.
For more information, please refer to the American Association - Electron Voice Phenomena web site at http://aaevp.com
Healing
Spiritual healing is a central concept of Spiritualism. It is taught and practiced in the Spiritualist church as a demonstration of the existence of nonphysical reality, that people are spiritual beings and that there are entities that exist beyond our physical realm. It also shows that physical life is a preparation for the larger more expanded life beyond death.
One of the forerunners of Modern Spiritualism, Harry Edwards, felt that there were three purposes or goals behind the act of spiritual healing:
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Spiritual healing is a recognizable, approachable and understandable sign and proof of Humankind's immortality. Spiritual healing provides the reassurance that we are spirit now. We are immortal now.
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The act of spiritual healing comes from what is good. It is received in goodness and accomplishes only that which is good. It points out the true meaning behind the Brotherhood of Humankind.
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Spiritual healing is beautiful because it heals. It frees the body from pain and allows the spirit to expand and realize its own potential.
Healing Postulates maintained by the NSAC:
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Spiritual healing is the direct result of law-governed forces.
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To make spiritual healing an effective health tool the healing force (energy) requires direction that has intelligence behind it.
- In order to be successful, the guiding force, the Intelligence behind spiritual healing, must be able to successfully ‘diagnose’ and ‘treat the particular illness in question.
So you can see that Infinite Intelligence is thought to be the source of all healing, not the person who is functioning as a healer.
Spiritual healing is thought of as two distinct forms:
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Spiritual healing is a conveyance of energy from a spiritual source to the one in need. This is the more desirable form of healing, in that the healer is functioning as a conduit for a nonphysical intelligence to bring energy to the one in need.
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Magnetic healing is a transfer of the healer's personal energy or vitality to the one in need. While this can be a powerful form of healing, it is not normally the objective form taught in Spiritualism. This form can deplete the healer's personal energy to an undesirably low level.
The energies thought to be involved in spiritual healing assume many forms:
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There is a certain amount of healing potential in the process of healing, itself. Properly done, the act of healing is a very relaxing experience for both the one in need and the healer. Like meditation, this can be very therapeutic.
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The human body is believed to posses a form of energy often called Vitality, bio-energy (parapsychology), chi (Taoism) or prana (Hinduism). This energy is said to be etheric energy that has been differentiated by the Self to maintain the human body.
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Spiritual energy is a higher form of energy thought to be made available to a person by a nonphysical entity who directly accesses this energy from Infinite Intelligence.
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The human body is thought to be surrounded by energy fields generated by the higher bodies occupied by Self. This is seen as the auric field or the aura. The first and most commonly recognized body is usually known as the etheric body. The condition of the etheric body is thought to be a precursor to the condition of the physical body. For instance a negative attitude will appear to clairvoyants as a dark color in the aura and the physical body is thought to eventually respond with a relevant ailment.
Close examination of other energetic healing modalities, such as therapeutic touch, etheric healing, Reiki, and laying on of hands, will show that all are based on more or less the same fundamental concepts. Specifically, that it is possible to bring additional energy to the one in need in support of healing. It remains the responsibility of the recipient to accept this energy.
It should also be recognized that the one in need may have habitually violate some aspect of Natural Law, and until they come into compliance with Natural Law, help from spiritual healing will be temporary at best. Also, the one in need may very well be working to exit the body in transition. In this case, successful energetic healing would eventually facilitate this transition.
Planes of existence are a central concept in metaphysics. The simple explanation is that there are levels or "other universes" in reality that are similar to our physical universe, but that are different in their relationship to Infinite Intelligence and offer differing opportunities for personal development.
It is believed that, as Self, a person enters into the "lower" planes to experience Natural Law from the perspective offered in the lower planes. Self's purpose is to gain an understanding about the operation of Natural Law, and thereby, gain in spiritual maturity. In this way, then, Self is thought to progress back toward Infinite Intelligence by gaining lessons in spiritual maturity that are available on each plane.
The concept of planes of existence is not the same as the concept of parallel realities or parallel worlds. In the parallel concepts, the physical universe is entirely or partially replicated but remain physical. This replication is usually attributed to either the Uncertainty Principle as described in Quantum Physics or to important decisions that result in splits in the stream of time.
One of the Principle of Natural Law recognized in Spiritualism is the Law of Continuity, which holds that there are no breaks between the physical and the spiritual reality. There are differences, however. A phrase commonly used in Spiritualism to describe the difference between the physical aspect of reality and others is, "This new state (of existence after physical death) has definite existence, but is characterized by a different atmosphere and kind of awareness."
Remembering that everything is energy, the energetic difference between planes is probably a difference in many fundamental characteristics of energy. It is common in discussions to refer to the difference as one of differing vibration. Such a term is useful, as is "higher" or "lower," but these terms should not be thought to be descriptive of the difference in the character of the underlying energy. The difference is more that of attitude and worldview.
Spiritualism is a progressive faith that has no fixed doctrines or beliefs.
The majority of Spiritualists however believe in;
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The fatherhood of God
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The brotherhood of man
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The communion of Spirits and ministry of Angels
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The continuous existence of the Human Soul
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Personal responsibility
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Compensation and retribution thereafter for all good and evil deeds done on earth
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Eternal progress open to every Human Soul.
These seven principles are open to interpretation as each person understands them.
Sir Winston Churchill was a sterling exemplar of the Renaissance Man: a journalist, a statesman, an orator, a military strategist, a historian... quite frankly, he was an all-around bad-ass. Another, lesser-known facet of the well-rounded prime minister's well-rounded character is that he pursued an interest in mysticism and the Spiritualist church.
This may sound like the sort of nonsense up with which Churchill would not put, and no one's saying he ever went as wacky on the weird stuff as a certain astrological American leader would be a few decades later. But Sir Winston was definitely into the paranormal, and new evidence suggests that he possessed a personal link with the last woman in British history ever found guilty of witchcraft.
The recipient of that disgraceful distinction was Helen Duncan, a Spiritualist medium from Edinburgh, Scotland, with a highly reputed ability to summon the dead. To help support her six children and a husband disabled in World War I, Duncan traveled across the British Isles presiding over seances. These were dramatic affairs in which ectoplasm reportedly flowed from her mouth and spirit forms manifested themselves and spoke.
Despite her dubious and frequently contested authenticity, Duncan attracted paying crowds to her ceremonies with the draw of a minor celebrity. She enjoyed a brisk business after the onset of World War II, with her services in greater demand thanks to those hoping to contact casualties of the conflict. Duncan's supernatural practices would probably have faded into obscurity had it not been for the bizarre accuracy of one of her wartime summonings.
At a seance in Portsmouth in 1941, Duncan brought forth the apparition of a dead sailor, or so the story goes. The name of the battleship H.M.S. Barham was inscribed on the ghost's hat band, and he told those gathered that his ship had been sunk. The Barham had in fact been destroyed off the coast of Malta, but the British government had kept the news of its sinking top secret, to avoid hurting public morale. There seemed to be no possible way that Duncan or anyone at the seance could have been privy to the truth.
After hearing the story of the sailor's ghost, the British authorities took careful note of Duncan as a potential risk to national security. There was fearful speculation that she would foresee other classified military information, such as the closely guarded plans surrounding D-Day.
Police raided a seance in 1944 and arrested Duncan, initially on the minor charge of vagrancy. That charge was later upgraded to the capital offense of conspiracy, and finally revised again to cite a law that had not been enforced in Britain for ages -- the 1735 Witchcraft Act. Specifically, the Spiritualist was accused of pretending "to exercise or use human conjuration that through the agency of Helen Duncan spirits of deceased dead persons should appear to be present."
The trial of Helen Duncan played out much like a precursor to the O. J. Simpson case: an overlong, super-sensational circus that served to distract a nation's worries from all the important bad stuff happening elsewhere. A long list of witnesses testified to the legitimacy of Duncan's powers, although the judge refused the defense's request to have her demonstrate them in the Old Bailey. Managing to restrain the rediscovered national appetite for a good old-fashioned witch hunt, the court stopped short of burning Duncan at the stake after a guilty verdict was returned, and instead sentenced her to nine months in prison.
Among the interested observers of the Duncan trial was the main man himself, Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Even embroiled in the dirty work of holding off Hitler, he took time out to express his outrage over what he considered a wasteful and shameful miscarriage of justice.
"Give me a report of the 1735 Witchcraft Act," Churchill wrote in a furious memo. "What was the cost of a trial in which the recorder [junior magistrate] was kept busy with all this obsolete tomfoolery?"
Churchill failed to keep Duncan from going to prison, perhaps at the insistence of superstitious intelligence officers. But Sir Winston did not forget about her. Upon his return to power in 1951, after having been voted out in 1945, one of Churchill's first actions was to repeal the Witchcraft Act. Churchill was a sworn enemy of needless laws and excessive red tape, but this move was more than just bureaucratic housekeeping. It was seemingly motivated by a personal interest in Spiritualism and his own leanings towards its beliefs.
While Churchill was never a Spiritualist himself, he was intrigued by its metaphysical tenets, and advocated the recognition of Spiritualism as an official religion. He frequently expressed his belief that a predetermined destiny had guided him throughout life, and that he possessed a sixth sense that saved his life on numerous occasions. As a young man Churchill was ordained into the mystical Grand Ancient Order of Druids. When he was lost in the wilderness as an escaped P.O.W. during the Boer War, Churchill believed that an imaginary planchette (a Spiritualist device comparable to a Ouija board pointer) mentally guided him to safety. In the years after World War II, Churchill once wrote a story in which his dead father returned and spoke with him about the fate of England.
Given this colorful background, it becomes more understandable why Churchill would be down with the Spiritualist program. But there is one further connection between him and Helen Duncan that has only recently surfaced. Michael Colmer and James MacQuarrie, members of the British Society for Paranormal Studies, claim to have found evidence that Churchill himself had "used the skills of Helen Duncan," prior to her prosecution in 1944.
They also maintain that Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, head of British Fighter Command, participated in seance sessions with Duncan at the same time she was being investigated by military intelligence. Being an unabashed believer in psychic abilities and the occult, Dowding was almost certainly not out to infiltrate and undermine Duncan's practices as a double-agent -- the only target he would have been interested in spying on was the supernatural beyond.
Then again, maybe it wasn't. Colmer and MacQuarrie have made no indication as to the specifics of Duncan's alleged meeting with Churchill and Dowding, and so we are left to speculate: were these British high officials acting out of personal curiosity, no different from Duncan's ordinary customers, or were they hoping to have her psychically expose the enemy's secrets before she could expose their own? Could it be that Winston Churchill attempted remote viewing for intelligence gathering in the midst of World War II, back when the CIA was just a glimmer in Harry Truman's eye?
We may never know the answer, but one thing about this tale is for certain: Helen Duncan did not have a happy ending. Following her release from prison, she promptly broke her promise never to conduct another seance, and returned to her old trade. Under the authority of the Fraudulent Mediums Act, which rose up in the place of the repealed Witchcraft Act, police raided a Duncan seance in 1956 and arrested her. In custody she was found to be covered in severe burns across the front of her body. Some accounts suggest that these injuries were caused by ectoplasm reacting violently when the police interrupted her trance, but it seems far more likely that the officers were responsible for the burns in a less metaphysical manner. Five weeks after this arrest, she died.
The British Society for Paranormal Studies is spearheading a movement to petition the British government to officially pardon Helen Duncan in reparation for the injustices she was made to suffer. Even though she was largely a con-artist who preyed upon people's ignorance and false hopes, it would be worthwhile for the U.K. to own up to the shame of prosecuting someone as a witch in the 20th century.
Sir Winston would have wanted it that way. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to a weird lady who talked to the dead.
Helen Duncan
Helen Duncan, a portly mother of six children, who at the age of seven discovered she had a unique gift of communicating with the spirit world; advised by her mother to keep this to herself. Young Helen should have heeded her warning; life was about to take her on an incredible journey, leading eventually to a prison sentence in London’s notorious female prison, Holloway.
Born in the small Scottish town of Callender, November, 1897. Callender was known for its poor community and high unemployment. Fortunately Helen’s family, luckier than most, lived in more modest conditions due to her father being a master cabinet maker. Helen became known as Hellish Nell, not because of her psychic abilities, but her behaviour, she was said to be noisy and boisterous child.
At the age of sixteen Helen went to work at Dundee. It was whilst working in Dundee that she developed TB, and was sent to a sanatorium. Helen’s, soon to be husband, Henry Duncan, also suffered ill health. He was invalided out of the Army with rheumatic fever.
They married in 1916. Between the two of them they had to scratch for a living, relying on the fittest to bring home money for food. Theirs was a loving marriage, of which Helen fell pregnant twelve times, sadly only six children survived. Eventually Henry suffered a heart attack. Too sick to work he returned to his past love, reading spiritualist books. His family had encountered dealings with hauntings, and Henry was a sensitive on the subject.
It was Helen’s reputation as a materialisation medium* that blossomed among the locals, and with Henry assisting her they soon wandered off around the country holding séances. The Second World War increased Helen’s popularity: mother’s wanted to know how their beloved son’s were coping on the other side. People came to Helen in droves. She brought comfort to them all.
Whilst living in Portsmouth, May, 1941 (the home of the Royal Navy) in attendance sat Brigadier R.C.Firebrace. Whilst Helen was in trance she passed on the news that a British battleship had sunk. Firebrace later learnt that HMS Hood had sunk with a loss of 1,100 lives. He reported the facts to the Intelligence Agencies. Who immediately took an interest in Helen Duncan’s activities.
Later that year, at one of Helen’s séances, the spirit of a sailor appeared before his mother. He materialised in full uniform with an inscription on his cap, HMS Barham. He stated that his ship had been sunk in action (not unusual for a Helen Duncan’s séance; the war produced numerous dead sailors) but in this instance the sinking of HMS Barham was a state secret.
Psychic News editor, Maurice Barbanel, unaware of any conspiracy from the Military Intelligence, telephoned British Admiralty requesting confirmation of the sinking. And if true, why had they not informed the mother that her son was dead at sea. This was ‘Top Secret’ information and British Military Intelligence was appalled that there had been a leak. They had held back on the announcement fearing the loss of 861 seamen, torpedoed by a German U-boat, was bad for public moral.
The British government denied the vessel had gone down, and the British War Office had no official news. Months later the Barnham was indeed reported lost in an enemy attack.
Suspected as being a spy Military Intelligence monitored Helen’s séances more closely. With D-Day finally approaching – 6th June 1944, they became concerned that Helen Duncan was a threat to national security. They had to silence Helen and conspired to have her arrested and incarcerated.
On January 19th 1944, Helen’s séance was disrupted by a plain clothes policeman and a naval lieutenant. When Helen went into trance and started to materialize ectoplasm,* the police man jumped out of his chair blowing his whistle and launched a police raid. Expecting the ectoplasm to be a white sheet he made a grab for her which caused the spirit to dematerialize before he could get to it. They found nothing to implicate fraud. She was formally arrested with three members of the audience.
A naval officer, employed by the Admiralty, was the police informer making the complaint against Helen Duncan .The original charge laid against Helen by the Portsmouth Magistrates was that of Vagrancy, which would be a five shilling fine. However, Helen was refused bail and sent to Holloway prison for four days. The alleged crime was then changed to conspiracy: a hanging offence. By the time the case came before the judge at the Old Bailey, it was once again altered.
The defendants were now accused of contravening the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Helen was also charged under the Larceny Act. Bail was refused again (murderers were allowed bail not witches). In England witches were never burnt at the stake like other countries, they were hanged; this was the fate that Helen had to look forward to whilst in Holloway. The Admiralty were determined to charge her with something that carried a prison sentence.
Helen Duncan supporters organised a fund to pay for expenses of the defence witnesses. The trial caused a sensation in the newspapers. Helen was prepared to demonstrate her abilities as a medium, the prosecution refused.
After a seven-day trial, with forty-four, respected witnesses testifying Helen’s credibility, and three hundred ready to take stand, the judge found Helen Duncan guilty under the terms of the old Witchcraft Act of 1735. She was found innocent of all other charges. The defence’s right to appeal was withheld and the motherly medium was sentenced to nine months imprisonment at Holloway Prison. All Helen said was, ‘I never hee’d so mony lies in a’my life.’ During those months Helen’s family were evicted from their home.
Whilst serving time in prison Helen’s remarkable life took another turn. She had a visit from the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.
He showed great sympathy for Helen, and was outraged by her trial and conviction. He was a great believer in the paranormal and in his anger sent a memo to his wartime Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison.
“Let me have a report on why the Witchcraft Act, 1735 was used in a modern Court of Justice. What was the cost of this trial to the state, observing that witnesses were brought from Portsmouth and maintained here in this crowded London for a fortnight, and the Recorder kept busy with all this obsolete tomfoolery, to the detriment of necessary work in the Courts.”
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After the war, upon his re-election to power in 1951. One of his first actions was to repeal the Witchcraft Act 1735, to one of Fraudulent Mediums Act. In 1954 Spiritualism was recognised as a religion.
It has recently come to light by members of the British Society for Paranormal Studies, that they have found evidence that Sir Winston Churchill had himself “used the skills of Helen Duncan” prior to her prosecution in 1944.*
On release from Holloway on the 22nd September 1944, three months after D-Day, Helen vowed never to hold another séance. If she had stuck to her word she would not have had to endure the last days of her life being persecuted by the police. In November 1956 the police once again raided her séance in Nottingham in an attempt to prove fraud. Once again they found no evidence to prove a fraudulent practice had taken place.
Helen was again taken into custody. The uproar that the raid created (she was strip searched and endless flashlight photos were taken) affected Helen’s health. A doctor was called, and discovered a very sick woman, it is alleged that there were two second-degree burns across Helen’s stomach.* Helen was returned to her native Scotland and admitted into hospital. Within five weeks, aged 59, Helen Duncan was dead.
There is an active campaign to clear Helen Duncan’s name.http://helenduncan.org
See Helen Duncan update below
By Jennifer Morcom 2006
Spirit Encounters
*Materialisation medium: spirits appeared in temporary physical forms, spoke and touched them.
2. An immaterial or ethereal substance, especially the transparent corporeal presence of a spirit or ghost.
*To interrupt a person in trance before the ectoplasm returns to
*Materialisation medium: spirits appeared in temporary physical forms, spoke and touched them.
*Reported in an article by www.parascope.com
*Ectoplasm:
1. The visible substance believed to emanate from the body of a spiritualistic medium during communication with the dead.
2. An immaterial or ethereal substance, especially the transparent corporeal presence of a spirit or ghost.
*To interrupt a person in trance before the ectoplasm returns to the mediums body, can cause immense, even fatal damage. The police were ignorant of this fact, and a doctor was called.
