The beginnings of modern spiritualism
Modern spiritualism began with the knocking noises in Hydesville on March 31, 1848. But even before that there were philosophical pioneers of spiritualism.
Just a little historical digression...
I work according to British Spiritualism, which means there is a life after physical death and that the soul lives forever. When our body dies, our soul leaves our mortal body and enters into the eternal light of the spiritual world.
Andrew Jackson Davis, a pioneer of philosophical spiritualism, spoke of Summerland in his books. The spiritual world is not a place that is far from us.
The spiritual world is the subtle world that surrounds and pervades our material world.
Modern spiritualism began on March 31, 1848 with the Fox Sisters in Hydesville.
To be a medium does not mean to have been born with a special gift. Each of us can develop into a medium in our world. But this means patience, surrender to the spiritual world and it is not something that can be learned in a workshop on a weekend. First of all, it means yourself to understand your very own soul.
Gordon Higginson (1918-1993 United Kingdom), he is THE greatest medium of the 20th century. He was trained as a medium by his mother, who was a medium herself, since childhood. Gordon Higginson once said that his knowledge about mediumship and the spiritual world would fit on the head of a pin. Mediumship and Spiritualism is a lifelong journey; you can always learn something new.
To develop your mediumship you need time, training and constant practice.
Don't call yourself a medium, just be a medium - be who you are and learn as much as you can learn and experience to your full potential; celebrate your uniqueness in mediumship so that you can get the best out of yourself.
In my life it is important to me to connect both worlds, our material world and the subtle spiritual world, because this means healing in both worlds.
If you are reading this you might also take a look at the life of the previous mediums who inspired me.
Pioneers of British spiritualism SNUI who have personally inspired me through their lives and work
- Andrew Jackson Davis 1826-1910 Trancemedium (Philosophical Founder of Spiritualism)
- The Fox Sisters Leah, Maggie, Kate Fox (31.März 1848, Beginning of the modern Spiritualism)
- Emma Hardinge Britten 1823-1899 Trancemedium (7 Principles of Spiritualism)
- Gordon Higginson (1918-1993) (born Medium, Director at Arthur Findlay College, Minister of the SNU)
- Helen Duncan 1897-1956 physical Trancemedium
- Estelle Roberts 1889-1970 physical Trancemedium
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) spread Spiritualism
- Arthur Findlay (1883-1964) Founder of the Arthur Findlay College in Great Britain
- Harry Edwards (1893-1976) the most renowned Healing Medium of the 20th Century
- Leslie Flint 1911-1994 physical Trancemedium
- Alec Harris 1897-1974 Materilisation Medium
- Maurice Barbarnell (1902-1981) Trancemedium - Spirit Guide: Silver Birch
- Helen Hughes 1893-1967 Trancemedium
- Maria B.Hayden 1824- 1883 Healing Medium
Andrew Jackson Davis
The father of the philosophical spiritualism
In the 18/19th century there were many spiritual pioneers such as Emanuel Swedenborg or Andrew Jackson Davis, who thought about a possible life after death - these were philosophical approaches to an afterlife.
People were open and interested in the supernatural, that which could not be explained. It wasn't just contacts with the hereafter as we understand them today, it was much more the sensation of what happened during these events. Whether it was that during séances the table was moved, or the happening of a materialization...all of this physical phenomena were made possible through the spiritual world.
At that time there was an urge to understand the world and everything around it better, it was the time of enlightenment and progress.
During physical mediumship, the phenomena are perceived equally by all viewers. The special thing about these phenomena is that the effects produced, such as knocking, direct voice or materialization, reach every viewer and leave no one in doubt because they have experienced it themselves. Many people who had a worldly image now became so convinced that indeed there is life after death, because the deceased could manifest themselves and thus prove a life after physical death.
At that time it also turned out that completely normal people without a proper training in mediumship were capable of such great medium skills.
People did this out of devotion to the spiritual world, they wanted to provide evidence that there is life after death and so there were many meetings where one was present in a circle for the spiritual world. The medium was not trained by institutions and training, it was rather trained by the spirit world.
Emma Hardinge Britten
From the Creed of Spirits page 16:
“I am living in a work-a-day world, and I am told that if my rules of life, as it is called, is taken from me, that if my scriptures and my gospel, my creeds and my faith are removed from me, I shall be a ship at sea without an anchor.
I recall a portion of these teachings and find them enunciated in the form of Ten Commandments. I recite them and see how far they become to me the rule of life.”
SNU - The Spiritualists’ National Union
It is very important to me to have a solid knowledge and the ability to make contact with the spiritual world and what it means to be an ambassador for the spiritual world according to English spiritualism.
The seat of the Spiritual Nation Union (SNU) is in Great Britain; there and at the renowned Arthur Findlay College you can train and educate yourself as a medium.
The SNU is asking for the possibility of distance learning and training in the practice of Spiritism, which in Great Britain is a study of religion.
Here in spiritual churches contacts with the hereafter are given to help the bereaved to better deal with their grief.
I have been a member of the SNUi since March 2019 and have started to complete the SD1 here and now this has been replaced by the TPS1.
It is very important to me to continuously develop and develop my knowledge, both theoretically and medially / practically, so that I can offer help and support to grieving people in my work.
At the SNU I am currently completing the TPS1
TPS1 Teachings and Practice of Spiritualism
This course is the accreditation level academic element of the Platform Accreditation Scheme (PAS) and SNUi Platform Accreditation Scheme (PASi). It is the starting point for all speakers and demonstrator exponents. The course has the following eight sections:
The History of Modern Spiritualism and the Development of the SNU
The Teachings of Spiritualism
The phenomena of Spiritualism
Development and training
Speaking: Preparing the address
Mediumship: Demonstrating the Evidence
Prayer
Code of Conduct
Here I learn, according to British Spiritism, to accompany and support people in their grief for a loved one.
To build a bridge between this world and the spiritual world, to create a contact that is healing and comfort for the bereaved.
I try to maintain a high standard according to the values of the SNU, both through attendance classes and online training.
Mental mediumship
A medium is aware of the spiritual world around it and passes on the information it receives from the deceased to the client. The medium perceives the spiritual world through its clairvoyant senses, which are the counterpart to our senses such as seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling and knowing
These are the perceptions as a medium
- Clairvoyance
- Clairvoyance
- Clairaudience
- Light smelling
- Hell taste
- Clairvoyance / 6 sense
When a medium has trained this ability to train its clairvoyant senses over the years, it is able to come into contact with the spiritual world.
Each of us is sensitive and is sensitive to changes around us.
We all have an extra-sensory perception, only we pay very little or no attention to our clairvoyant senses in our material world.
In order to be able to come into contact with the spiritual world, however, a medium must learn to expand its energy and to increase its own vibration. We are all souls who have a human experience in a human body and not people who experience that they have a soul. The spiritual world is a subtle world, some say the spiritual world is in a higher dimension/plane of existence.
I feel the spiritual world as a subtle world, parallel to our material, physical world.We are connected to one another and our loved ones in the spiritual world are still at our side despite no longer visible to us. Because they have cast off their earthly body and left their mortal life behind. Contact is possible at any time, but often the person we want does not always come through during the contact with the hereafter.
A medium has a great responsibility towards its clients. It must not make any interpretations of the future nor mention any diagnose in the physical or mental area of the client during the contact with the afterlife or in the course of healing treatment. Even the recommendation to drink more water is not permitted according to the standard of British spiritualism.
To be a medium means to take responsibility for the material and the spiritual world so that healing can take place in both worlds.
Trance Mediumship
The subject of trance means a lot to me and I would like to elaborate a bit more at this point.
Since I myself am also receiving training by Brigitte Ostwinkel, Nicole de Haas, Rachel Casson as a trance medium, I would like to explain this in more detail.
It is not about anything scary, it is a beautiful philosophy from the spiritual world. When a spirit guide speaks through his medium, very close contact and trust in the spiritual world is important.
There is also the possibility to experience and receive trance healing, where the healing medium can also be guided through the spiritual world into a changed state of consciousness and a healing spirit guide from the spiritual world works through the medium.
But see for yourself what trance mediumship means.
What is trance?
In many cultures there are different forms of trance, such as the shamans who use certain herbs to achieve a trance-like state in order to come into contact with their ancestors. You can also sing or dance yourself into a kind of trance to achieve an altered state of consciousness. Since the 1960s people have tried again and again to achieve an altered state of consciousness through drugs, but this has nothing to do with the type of trance I want to introduce you to.
Trance is an altered state of consciousness in which a medium is led into a passive state of relaxation through the spiritual world. A spirit guide / control spirit takes control in accordance with the medium and speaks through the medium or gives healing. The team of the medium works together with the medium and his consent for the special connection during the trance. Here we ask our spirit guide / control spirit to connect with us and come very close to us. Nobody has to be afraid that they will not come out of a trance again. The worst that “could” happen is that we fall asleep. For the trance, we absolutely need trust in our spiritual team so that we can trust them unconditionally and not be afraid. Waking up from the trance feels similar to waking up after a deep sleep.
Trance means that a medium is led into an altered state of consciousness through the spiritual world. The medium's ego steps aside softly so that a spirit guide is able to speak to an audience through the medium. The spirit guide who speaks through the medium usually brings more philosophical wisdom from the spiritual world.
For example Silver Birch with Maurice Barnabel, Red Cloud with Estelle Roberts but also Seth with Janet Roberts are some famous guides.
Trance mediumship is a mental mediumship but it is considered passive, as the personalities of the medium take a back seat and one clearly perceives the personality of the spirit guide. Often one can also perceive temperature fluctuations in the room. Those who are clairvoyant themselves may notice a suction sensation in the area of their solar plexus.
Trance healing:
Trance healing is a deeper and more intense form of spiritual healing; it is the combination of trance and healing. It is a very close attunement with the spiritual world, with the control spirit that uses the medium's energy field to give healing.
For the medium it is a deep trance state in which the healing medium is not aware of what is happening around it. The control spirit has full responsibility for the movement and words that the medium speaks. However, it is very rare for a medium to be in such a deep trance state.
Trance and me
Trance is particularly close to my heart and since 2017 I have been working on improving the strong connection with my trance team, which enables me to let a spirit guide speak through me while my team leads me into a consciousness-altered state.
J.J.Morse said that during the trance the medium lingers with his consciousness in the spiritual world while a speaker from the spiritual world is able to speak through the medium.
At this time, I perceive that I am speaking, but it is as if I were not in the same room but rather in the room next door. I have great confidence in my spirit guide team and this is mutual.
The most famous spirit guide / speaker was Silver Birch with Maurice Banabell.