Best book on spiritualism
 

Hello!
I am a newbie spiritualist and would love some great informational ideas!!

I'm half way through reading 'heaven and he'll unveiled' by Stafford Betty, a professor of religious studies. I find it interesting as the book is based on research into messages passed from the other side and covers alot of spiritual topics, it makes a nice change to read a book on this subject based on research into spirituality rather than a personal account by mediums, although some of it personally didn't sit quite right with me, but that's just me lol, an interesting and informative read nevertheless - oh and got it on my kindle can't remember how much though.

Explore the topics on Amazon, there are many books on these things, i am just getting started, more confused than in formed right now. I am personally trying to figure out what is "occult" in all of it, and how it came to have such a negative stigma.

Spiritualism for Dummies.

EDIT: it ACTUALLY exists.

I think you need to determine where your questions and interests lay...then pick literature specific to that.

I find The Power of Now and A New Earth by Ekhart Tolle to be the best books I have found.

I agree! A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle has been the most spiritually enlightening book i have read to date, and I have read many at this point.

"The Spirit Book" by Allan Kardec
"Spirit Teachings" by William Stainton Moses

I think those are the famous classic masterpiece of spiritualism books published in 19th century.

i have to agree the power of now is a great book, makes you learn how to stay present to the moment which in my opinion is a great way to live and become one with the world

One book that impressed me was People from the Other World (1874) written by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott.

The book probably played a major role in the formation of the Theosophical Society (1875) in which Colonel Olcott was the organization's first president and provided the purse that financed the organization.

Spirituality: The Meaning, Our Journey and the True Path by Irmansyah Effendi

a lot of information there

Is there a difference between "Spiritism" and "Spiritualism".

I attended a presentation yesterday at the United Nations Enlightenment Society during which a Spiritist Doctor/physicist spoke quite extensively and impressively. Kardec's books were mentioned.

lol not this again! Follow the path that's right for you.:smile:

I do follow the path that works best for me . What made you think otherwise? :biggrin:

It's just that this particular Spiritist presentation by a medical doctor who also happens to be a physicist as well as a Spiritist provided convincing details on some things on which I had been meditating. The presenter gave us the same presentation that he made before the World Psychiatric Association earlier this month. It was impressive and thought-provoking and corresponded in many ways to my own understanding of the Reality and consistent with what I have gleaned in studying with many sages while traveling throughout almost 50 countries.

My idea of Spiritualism is all things spiritual.In my mind I see spiritists as people who are trying to seperate things further.I' m going to stick with Spiritualist.(Which covers all things spiritual.(That gives a wide scope).:biggrin:

What is there ... ultimately.... that is not spiritual ? :biggrin:

Nonetheless, I am curious what the difference is since there are both "spiritualist" groups and "spiritist" groups here in NYC. I'm just deciding which group I may choose to check out in my spare time.

I remember a conversation I had years ago with the President of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, based in Lily Dale, New York where she claimed Spiritualist do not believe in reincarnation. If a person mentions reincarnation at the podium, they are generally asked to step down.

Spiritist believe in reincarnation.

Thank you very much for pointing out that difference.

You are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT that the Spiritists (at least Dr. Sergio Thiesen, who was the one who presented at the United Nations Enlightenment Society on Thursday, December 12th) believe in reincarnation AT SOME LEVEL.

His presentation, which he also gave to the World Psychiatric Association in Jerusalem earlier this month, was very compelling and convincing.

I actually contacted a Spiritist organization in NYC after that presentation, and had an excellent one-hour conversation with the person who answered the phone. I was invited to attend an event this evening to meet the local community and I will definitely attend. Since it is also a Christmas party, there will be a talk on Jesus as well as a community Christmas dinner.

Thanks for your input. It's consistent with what I know about Spiritists though I concede that you know more than I about the "Spiritualists". (The names are so close that it can be confusing and yet there is a difference, as you have just pointed out.)

Have fun at the event, you can tell us what you had for dinner tomorrow :biggrin:

The National Spiritualist Church that I have attended most definitely believe in Reincarnation. It's not obligatory but all the Congregation in this one do. I have also attended another further away from my Home Town and they also believe in Reincarnation.

Various groups broke away from the National Spiritualist Association of Churches located in Lily Dale, N.Y. The main reason was the splinter groups believed in reincarnation. When I spoke with the President of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, she claimed when reincarnation can be proved, they will accept it.

I am a vegetarian and the dinner was primarily vegetarian with certain dishes explicitly identified as vegan. There were salads and casseroles and quiches and brussel sprouts and numerous other vegetarian options .... and there were also some turkey and chicken dishes. In addition, it was full of desserts afterwards.

In keeping with the Spirit of Christmas, there was a 1 1/2 talk on Jesus ---- the dialogue with Nicodemos (unless a man be born again .... ) and the Beatitudes. Afterwards, during the buffet dinner, there was a lot of singing and dancing.

I had the opportunity to meet with senior members of the community, and I plan to go back Tuesday evening for the overview of all their literature. The group leader seems quite knowledgeable.

When you spoke to the President of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, what were her thoughts on birth and what happens after physical death?

Gosh it sounds like you had a lovely time, the food sounds yummy. I love the Beatitudes , I was only taught 8.
I also like the 6 Modern Beatitudes proposed by Pope Francis.
I hope the singing and dancing was all respectable :D

Well before I disappear can I throw a spanner into the works :icon_eek:

No birth... No death... Only transformation.

Spiritualist look at birth and death very similar as to how most Christians view birth and death.

We did not talk on those subjects because they were not controversial topics. The only controversial topic we talked on was reincarnation.

I suspect the real story is how and when reincarnation got introduced into the United States. There is much evidence this belief was introduced thru the Theosophical Society under Olcott's Presidency via Theravada Buddhism.

Buddhists don't believe in Reincarnation :biggrin:

Reincarnation refers to the idea that there is an eternal soul that gets reborn into body after body. Buddhist don't believe in a Soul.

What should we do with the writings by Henry Steele Olcott labeled Reincarnation?

Rebirth does not happen?

What about karma?

Rebirth not Reincarnation.
 

The Buddha doctrine of rebirth should be differentiated from the teachings of transmigration and reincarnation of other religions. Buddhism denies the existence of a permanent, god-created soul or an unchanging entity that transmigrates from one life to another.

Just as relative identity is made possible by causal continuity without a Self or Soul, so death can issue in rebirth without a transmigrating Soul. In a single life, each thought-moment flashes in and out of being, giving rise to its successor with its perishing. Strictly speaking, this momentary rise and fall of every thought is a birth and death. Thus even in a single life we undergo countless births and deaths every second. But because the mental process continues with the support of a single physical body, we regard the mind-body continuum as constituting a single life.


https://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/96.htm

What are you debating about?

I suggested how reincarnation probably came thru Olcott's Theosophical Society to the West which was probably in the 1870's. If you look at most Eastern teachings that came thru that conduit, they did not come across correctly.

Your Post

' I suspect the real story is how and when reincarnation got introduced into the United States. There is much evidence this belief was introduced thru the Theosophical Society under Olcott's Presidency via Theravada Buddhism. '


Fake News....
' Via Theravada Buddhism '
It couldn't come from any Buddhism because as I pointed out Buddhist do not believe in Reincarnation :smile:

You didn't mention anything about ' Not coming through correctly ' until I corrected the misconception regarding Reincarnation.

It's not a debate just a correction of the Buddha's Teachings and showing the errors made. I don't go to any Theosophical Society under Olcott's Presidency for Buddhists Teachings, I go to Buddha's Suttas.

If you look into the Buddhist sub-forum under the thread named BUDDHIST CATECHISM BY HENRY OLCOTT you will find in

"241. Q. But the aged man remembers the incidents of his youth, despite his being physically and mentally changed. Why, then, is not the recollection of past lives brought over by us from our last birth into. the present birth?

A. Because memory is included within the Skandhas; and the Skandhas having changed with the new reincarnation, a new Memory, the record of that particular existence, develops. Yet the record or reflection of all the past earth-lives must survive; for, when Prince Siddhârthâ became Buddha, the full sequence of his previous births was seen by him. If their several incidents had left no trace behind, this could not have been so, as there would have been nothing for him to see. And any one who attains to the fourth state of Dhyâna (psychical insight) can thus retrospectively trace the line of his lives."

Also,

"341. Q. Where do we read of this great brightness being emitted front the body of another Buddha?

A. In the story of Sumedha and Dipânkara Buddha, found in the Nidânakathâ of the Jâtaka book, or story of the reincarnations of the Bodhisattva Siddhârtha Gautama."

which provides credence to what I was saying.

If you remember, it was Henry Steel Olcott that restored Buddhism to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and is now honored every February 17 in Sri Lanka which commemorate his death.

Olcott is also considered the first famous Westerner to convert to Buddhism.

Besides playing a key figure in Theosophy he also played a major role in Spiritualism. Before becoming famous in these two realms, he played out a major role in the United States Civil War as the only person who witnessed the first and last death of that war.

नमस्ते

As I said previously, if you want to understand Buddha's Teachings go to Buddhas Suttas.

Olcott is considered a Buddhist modernist for his efforts in interpreting Buddhism through a Westernized lens. :smile:

Olcott once described his adult faith as "pure, primitive Buddhism," but his was a unique sort of Buddhism.

It was Olcott who most eloquently articulated and most obviously embodied the diverse religious and cultural traditions that shaped Protestant Buddhism.

I prefer Buddha's Teachings rather than Protestant Buddhism :wink:

sky123,
please refrain by insulting me by repeatedly calling me FAKE NEWS and/OR FOX NEWS.

I have brought this issue to your attention before.

STOP THE PERSONAL INSULTS.

WHICH PERSONAL INSULTS?

I thought your name was Big John :biggrin: I have never used Fox News as I have heard this saying before.

Fake news refers to something written/said which is fake/false....

'

My spiritual mentor was originally associated with the Theosophical Society but did not stay with it. I suspect that your understanding is correct via the introduction of reincarnation into the United States.

It appears that this conversation is heading towards non-duality.

What are your impressions of the Buddhist position of "rebirth" versus "reincarnation"?

To expand the discussion, Ramana Maharshi stated that "reincarnating ego is of the lower planes" and I am inclined to agree with that statement.

Let's go deeper now and not just quote the various philosophies. This is getting interesting. I like where this is going.

The link provides interesting information, particularly:

"... when death takes place, when the body dies away, the mental current, driven by the thirst for more existence, will spring up again with the support of a new physical body, one which has just come into being through the meeting of sperm and egg. Thus, rebirth takes place immediately after death."

Whether or not rebirth takes place immediately is not clear to me despite the statement to that effect. Under hypnosis, subjects have remembered the time between "lives" --- a period of life review and reflection. The article may be a statement of Buddhist philosophy according to the writer, but that does not make it fact.

In any case, the non-physical essence ("mental current" in the above quote) does appear to have continuity. Obviously, there is not a "permanent entity as we change from moment to moment, as the article also indicates, but this may be splitting hairs.

I welcome your comments on this.

I'll probably get shouted at :biggrin: but, :nono:

It was George Keith in 1690 or thereabouts. There is a very interesting article but I can't post a link, sorry.
Google Reincarnation in America MDPI

' I like where this is going '
I feel a Migraine coming on :smile: Thinking to much is a strain on my old brain.


I stopped believing in Reincarnation as a youngster, it never made much sense to me. When I found Buddhism then everything came together. I also don't delve much into higher or lower planes it's not something I have thought about so I can't comment.

Reincarnation as far as I remember from my Catholic Education refers to a soul which is another belief I left behind in my youth.
Buddhism makes sense to me personally, I find the Teaching of ' Anatta' fits well into my inner thoughts.
I remember thinking what is the purpose of a Heaven if you keep dying and being reborn again. I know both Reincarnation and Rebirth are referring to to the non-physical essence but Christianity doesn't explain when the cycle ends or how it ends whereas Buddhism does.
Karma makes common sense as you can see it's effect in this life, according to what I was taught it was all about sin, sin and more sin that decided where you went after death, they are obsessed with sin.. Buddhism is more about being responsible for your own Rebirth, you and you alone create Karma and only you are responsible. I like that :smile: