A Christmas Seance

[Tricia]

'The once proud Psychic News newspaper.........
I loved this newspaper, so much so, I used to have it mailed to me when I lived overseas.

Hi Tricia

My sentiments lie in par with mac's. Although I do feel the length of time it takes for developing physical mediumship is another factor. Some people may not have the time to commit and dedicate for various reasons. I often wonder though if mental mediumship has now replaced pm because times have changed and mediumship in general is more widespread, although this in no way implies it is necessarily better.

I know of one person who could be a physical medium,but she is young and has a family.
She is also terrified of the gift she may have.
All she can remember is, as a child she produced what she learned was ectoplasm.
She thought she was being sick when Ectoplasm issued from her mouth.

Deepsea

[Tricia]

Originally Posted by Skye

Hi Tricia

My sentiments lie in par with mac's. Although I do feel the length of time it takes for developing physical mediumship is another factor. Some people may not have the time to commit and dedicate for various reasons. I often wonder though if mental mediumship has now replaced pm because times have changed and mediumship in general is more widespread, although this in no way implies it is necessarily better.

I came across this earlier:
Evidence of Survival Through Mediumship.
The situation of trying to gain evidence of survival from mediums is far from satisfactory at this time.
This unfortunate state of affairs has only become a problem in the last decade, with many mediums also now taking on the role of 'counsellors' and fortune-tellers, although it must be said that this prevails because the vast majority of sitters actually require this form of 'mediumship'. Some mediums are genuinely surprised when I advise them that I am seeking evidence of survival.

However, this was not so just twenty years ago when I found sittings with Doris Stokes, Jessie Nason and others to be extremely evidential. I am aware of the criticisms made of Mrs Stokes, but the fact remains that she was able to convey specific information both to myself, and to others for whom I arranged sittings.

As noted, the amount of quality mediumship is depressingly meagre at present, and although it involved a good deal of time, it was possible up to twenty years ago to obtain good evidence. Now it is extremely difficult, but I believe that evidence can nevertheless still be obtained if someone is prepared to dedicate sufficient time and energy. However, the number of people prepared to do this appears to be quite minimal.

We comment on the lack of quality mediumship and it's understandable that we do. What's not obvious, perhaps, is that quality mediumship can come about only when all active parties work to high standards.

For communication through mediumship there has to be at very minimum a competent transmitter and a competent receiver of the message - no revelation there but that's not all. Without competent, experienced helpers on 'the other side' mediums are greatly limited in what they can achieve.

The impression I have is that the impetus from the spirit-side of things has largely ceased. For whatever reasons, the era of cross-dimensional communication as it was once experienced is now over. We can argue about why but it has gone. Maybe temporarily, maybe forever in the form we knew.

What little is known about the mechanism of mediumship is known only from this side. Mediums can do nothing about conditions on the other side. They have to rely on whoever is around and maybe the low standard of mediumship is a reflection not so much of the mediums as their spirit-side co-operators?

I agree Tricia with the comments you have posted.

It's clear there are mediums who do receive wonderful pieces of information as evidence of survival to be passed on. I suspect at the same time that it's likely to be from those mediums who have spent a far bit of time in both developing and unfolding their mediumship to reach such a high standard. This does not include all mediums, just those rare few.

Originally Posted by mac

We comment on the lack of quality mediumship and it's understandable that we do. What's not obvious, perhaps, is that quality mediumship can come about only when all active parties work to high standards.

For communication through mediumship there has to be at very minimum a competent transmitter and a competent receiver of the message - no revelation there but that's not all. Without competent, experienced helpers on 'the other side' mediums are greatly limited in what they can achieve.

The impression I have is that the impetus from the spirit-side of things has largely ceased. For whatever reasons, the era of cross-dimensional communication as it was once experienced is now over. We can argue about why but it has gone. Maybe temporarily, maybe forever in the form we knew.

What little is known about the mechanism of mediumship is known only from this side. Mediums can do nothing about conditions on the other side. They have to rely on whoever is around and maybe the low standard of mediumship is a reflection not so much of the mediums as their spirit-side co-operators?

I understand what you are saying mac. Not every spirit communicator has experience of working with a medium and they have to learn how to improve the link just as a medium does. Having said that another spirit communicator will usually intervene to assist them.

Another possibility is when a medium demonstrates in a church service, the congregation play an important part as they provide some of the energy to raise the vibrations so as to enable spirit messages to come through. If they lose interest for whatever reason, the energy in the room will affect the working medium.

[Tricia]

My thoughts on this, it can take a long time for both the medium and whomever works through him/her to reach the point where they are at one with each other. Conditions/circumstances have to be right, the vibrations of both have to be on the same level. It's not just the medium that learns but also the spirit guide ( I so know you don't like the word guide mac :) ) They both learn how to gel/harmonise with one another, how to put trust in one another.

A friend (medium friend) when she began on her pathway to become a medium, she knew of her guide, who he was, what he looked like, this was told to her by another medium. She worked really hard and was so very dedicated, knowing that one day, this guide would be the one who would help her, work with her and be her teacher, to the point that he would be her link to the spirit world and he would work through her.

Over the years, she reached the point where the two of them became one and this continued until the day she passed on.

Originally Posted by Skye

I understand what you are saying mac. Not every spirit communicator has experience of working with a medium and they have to learn how to improve the link just as a medium does. Having said that another spirit communicator will usually intervene to assist them.

Another possibility is when a medium demonstrates in a church service, the congregation play an important part as they provide some of the energy to raise the vibrations so as to enable spirit messages to come through. If they lose interest for whatever reason, the energy in the room will affect the working medium.

Well yes but perhaps no..... The knockings in the Fox sisters' house ushered in an era of probably unprecedented spirit communication - I certainly am not aware of any equivalent time before then.

During the following century many volumes of spirit teachings were written, inspirational books came from Modern Spiritualism's pioneers and numerous remarkable mediums became household names, performing sometimes to huge audiences.

Over the past few decades the scene has changed so much that Spiritualism is hardly spoken about, mediumship has faded almost out of sight and spiritually evolved teachers and guides have become silent. It's almost as if an unprecedented outpouring of spiritual energy had been provided to spread the message of survival to the willing masses but now is exhausted, finished. What's left is little more than a pale likeness of what Spiritualism once was.

Mediums will continue to try to improve the attributes they were blessed with. Their spirit-side counterparts will co-operate to the best of their abilities to communicate the old message. But the energy seems to have gone along with those whose teachings underpinned the whole movement. What is left is mostly historical, accounts of the undoubted successes of yesteryear.

The problems evident in the modern world seem as great as ever they were and yet the direct involvement, the direct support of our unseen friends, is now missing. Maybe it's all going on behind the scenes? Who knows? The teachers are no longer there to question in the way that Silver Birch could once be asked.

The weak mediumship reported all too often may be down to the absence of that spiritual energy which once was a conduit for the great things of the past. Not because society has become materialistic. Not because mediums do not sit for hours, days, weeks or years to develop their particular attributes. Not because practitioners seek to line their nests by using their gifts. Not because church congregations are not what they used to be....

Not because of these factors but because those who started and then orchestrated our once magnificent movement have withdrawn, pulled back from a project which had run its intended course.

Isn't that the most likely reason?

Originally Posted by mac

Not because of these factors but because those who started and then orchestrated our once magnificent movement have withdrawn, pulled back from a project which had run its intended course.

Isn't that the most likely reason?

I say - yes. It was taken as far as it could and now that the spiritualist movement is rife with egotism and is falling apart, it is time to prepare for the next stage, to return to the beginning as all things do, then take it a level higher. This is an exciting place to be, so don't waste time on what was... get excited about what is going to be!