hello

Hello all,

Just a quick hello from a newbie. Looking forward to some interesting discussions,

Ally69

Hi Ally welcome to the forum.

Jim

Hi Ally and welcome.
Is there any aspect of this way of thinking that you have an interest in?

Various folk on here have expertise in different areas of interest, which they may wish to discuss.

There are great historical archives building up on this site and experiences from former times, but Spiritualism is always about today for the enquirer.


'Olden times are of great interest, but where are my dead loved ones today?'

is the question in the minds of many.

Hi Hiorta,

I am a medium with an interest in all aspects of mediumship but have only been developing my mediumship for 8years so am far from having any expertise in anything yet. My main areas of interest are trance (especially trance healing) and physical mediumship. I have a scientific background and have a strong interest in the mechanics of mediumship as well as sitting for my own unfoldment. I am very hot on evidence and don't have any time for 'clairvaguance', but at the same time don't have time for those scientists and so called 'sceptics' who clearly have an agenda to rubbish mediumship at all costs. They seem to ignore the fact that by definition a sceptic should have an open mind. Anyway I'll get off my soapbox now

Hi Ally,

I think you will find many on this forum with similar approaches to you. Sometimes people are horrified when I say I would love to have a detailed accurate scientific explanation to help us better learn mediumship and demystify it entirely.

Totally agree about Clairvaguance also the classic I see red in your aura etc etc

Jim

Ally69 wrote:Hi Hiorta,

I am a medium with an interest in all aspects of mediumship but have only been developing my mediumship for 8years so am far from having any expertise in anything yet. My main areas of interest are trance (especially trance healing) and physical mediumship. I have a scientific background and have a strong interest in the mechanics of mediumship as well as sitting for my own unfoldment. I am very hot on evidence and don't have any time for 'clairvaguance', but at the same time don't have time for those scientists and so called 'sceptics' who clearly have an agenda to rubbish mediumship at all costs. They seem to ignore the fact that by definition a sceptic should have an open mind. Anyway I'll get off my soapbox now

Hi Ally
I am a retired scientist, who has investigated mental and physical mediumship for nearly 30 years, by taking part as much as I could, besides reading about the subject. I have never considered myself as psychic, or mediumistic, but nevertheless have received quite a lot of evidence of the paranormal, and some survival evidence.
Your approach seems similar to mine, and my main interest is physical mediumship. I wonder whether we will ever understand the mechanics of mediumship. I have reservations about trance, because the physical brain must always be involved, and in any case I have not heard of any new scientific facts or mechanisms to explain mediumship, through trance, in a way we can understand.
Physical phenomena happens when a physical medium is present to initiate it, but in my opinion all we can do is make sure it is not fraudulent, and have complete trust in the medium and sitters involved. It is the same with
today's mediums as with the mediums of the past, the trust has to come from a very wide and deep investigation, and it has to fit together to leave no question marks.

To give personal examples. I sat with two physical mediums at Noah's Ark Society seances in the 1990's, in complete darkness in both cases. There was lots of phenomena, flying trumpets, voices said to be direct voice giving philosophy and messages, and partial materialisations shown by luminous plaques. I did not know the mediums and NAS committee members well enough to be sure of their honesty, although there was never any reason to doubt it. Fraud was however theoretically possible.

Later I led my own physical circle at my home, and we used good red electric light during table tilting. The table replied by a code to questions, and later it rocked all around the room quite violently with nobody touching it. Here I had complete trust this was paranormal phenomena, as I was in control of the conditions, and trusted the sitters as well, although there was no opportunity for them to cheat anyway. There was an 'intelligence' behind the replies to questions, but was it Spirit?
Recently, at a workshop, I sat in a cabinet in red light, and other sitters said they saw my face transfigure, but also more importantly the cabinet moved from side to side which all could see. Questions were asked, and a code of movement sideways meant yes, and backwards and forwards meant no. Further questions established who the apparent 'communicator' wanted to contact, until a single person was selected, and understood who it was. In this case I knew there was no fraud, and trusted the medium through a long association. There is still no proof of mechanisms. There was the theory of psychic rods, as developed in the Goligher circle by Dr. Crawford, and PK, what else is there?
The mechanisms for other phenomena, like voiceboxes for direct voice, or ectoplasmic formations in to materialisations, are still explained in the same way as in the 19th Century, as though we are not meant to know, just accept it if it resonates with you.

What are your views on this? I don't expect anyone to believe what I just wrote, you have to experience it for yourself.

""as though we are not meant to know, just accept it if it resonates with you"

This position was always a bit of a puzzle to me and after seeking explanations on and off, over years of enquiry - without any clarity beyond matters being hinted at - and now seem to have arrived at the conclusion as per the quote above.

From that point a conclusion is that it is not that we are not meant to know, but that the 'pupil is not ready'
There is great encouragement to 'Go within', 'think' and meditate but it does seem that the individual MUST carve out their own path by their own efforts. Presumably a Natural Law requires this and the observance is jealously guarded.

This would make the work of guides quite hazardous should their attention and focus wander, even momentarily.
(as I try to type this on an unfamiliar Applemac, the curser just refuses to co-operate)