Spiritualists have often formed a defensive reaction when considering an occultist view, usually it is because they are fearful of something they do not know, I,e, occultist practices, or they are religious and have religious reasons to shun occultism. Occultists are similar in their definition of spiritualists in that they see a weakness in the methods, and practicality of spiritual mediums, it is from this starting point that I wish to begin.
All forms of methodology and practice that seeks out the higher realms and their inhabitants are all seeking the same goal, but personal differences of key personalities, essentially authors from both belief systems have influenced many to have automatic criticism of the one or the other, which is naive because it is the methods used that are seen to be the difference, but it is the people practicing these methods that are kept apart.
Add to this an avalanche of manipulators of the truth practicing both methods for material gain and recognition, by reflecting falseness, and you can see spiritualists and occultist supply each other with an easy list of condemnation.
I seek to reflect the spiritualist, who attends a local spiritualist church, with aims to develop mediumistic abilities, which may lead to healing, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and other spiritual experiences that would bring clarity of spiritual purpose to his life. His church has a Sunday service, which is essentially a clairvoyant on a platform giving messages to a congregation. It also has a Tuesday evening service which has a healing circle, which has a group of chairs spread in the centre of a circle, with seats around the walls, in this service, those who have developed healing abilities, can offer healing to whoever they are drawn to, using the seats in the centre of the circle to practice the healing. On Thursday evening is a development circle, which sees all seats around the walls leaving the centre space clear, during this circle, music is often played, lights are dimmed or red, the focus is upon meditation, under the guidance of a circle leader, The spiritualist in view, seeks to experience a link with a Spiritual being, or guide during this circle, which would occur in a trance state.
When I was that spiritualist, I had the advantage of being an occultist before I joined spiritualism, my purpose in going there was to find the direct spiritual reflection that occultism had not clearly supplied. I demonstrated great patience, before I experienced my 1st trance experience which tested me greatly, as I experienced being a physical form that I was not, my outer physical body took different shape to my own, though the outcome of that first trance experience was spiritually exhilarating on completion.
I experienced an ability to heal myself, though I now know that I was aligning and clearing my chakra`s, in time it lead to me offering healing to others, which in turn ended up contradicting all standard concepts of the churches definition of healing, because my healing put the `patient` into a trance state which often overwhelmed the `patient`. I was then advised to take my `healing abilities` (which I ended up referring to as development healing) into the development circle. In that circle I evolved knowledge of etheric energies and chakric interaction with them, which came from my helping those members of that development circle, adjust themselves into interaction with separate Spiritual beings often in trance states. A few years later I was the leader of that development circle, with a membership of youthful pioneers who had come and stayed, forming an advanced spiritual group of developing spiritualist. Though I personally found my interpretation of spiritualism at conflict with traditional spiritualism, that did not stop me introducing new method and results into a conventional tradition, with that personal example, and my reflection of the foundation of spiritualism I leave this as my personal reflection of spiritualism, with the hope that some part may be an addition to anyone’s knowledge of spiritualism.
I believe that the foundation of spiritualism began with twelve gathered together, to experience the materialization of a Spiritual being, who had passed from this world just three days earlier, during this event, all twelve saw the Spiritual being (Clairvoyance), heard the words of the Spiritual being (Clairaudience) and experience clear sense of the Spiritual being (Clairsentience). The Spiritual being advised them that they had a great responsibility to fulfil, and that he would be their guide, after that meeting all twelve discovered that they were able to speak languages unknown to them (Xenoglossisia). Since all relevant modern forms of mediumship where experienced by all twelve, I feel this event, though not recognised as such, was the foundation of Spiritualism, the event was the Ascension of Jesus Christ in the presence of his twelve apostles 2,000 years ago.
Those twelve men went on to lay the foundation of the Christianity.
History of Spiritualism
Spiritualist may site March 31 1848 when Margaret and Kate Fox, of New York had their first recognized spiritual experience, as the beginning of modern
Spiritualism.
The writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) and the teachings of Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) provided an example for those seeking direct personal knowledge of the afterlife. Swedenborg, who claimed to communicate with spirits while in trance states, described in his voluminous writings the structure of the spirit world. Two features of his view particularly resonated with the early spiritualists: first, that there is not a single hell and a single heaven, but rather a series of spheres through which a spirit progresses as it develops; second, that spirits mediate between God and humans, so that human direct contact with the divine is through the spirits of deceased humans. Perhaps the best known of those who combined Swedenborg and Mesmer in a peculiarly American synthesis was Andrew Jackson Davis, who called his system the Harmonial Philosophy. Davis was a practicing hypnotist, faith healer and clairvoyant from Poughkeepsie, New York. His 1847 book, The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations, and a Voice to Mankind, dictated to a friend while in trance, eventually became the nearest thing to a canonical work in a Spiritualist movement whose extreme individualism precluded the development of a single coherent worldview.
Spiritualists believe in communicating with spirits, with the intention of proving survival after death. A secondary belief is that spirits are closer to God than living humans, and that spirits themselves are capable of growth and perfection, and can progress through successively higher spheres or planes. The afterlife is therefore not a static place, but one in which spirits continue to evolve. The two beliefs: that contact with spirits is possible, and that spirits are metaphysically closer to God than humans, leads to a third belief, that spirits are capable of providing useful knowledge about moral and ethical issues, as well as about the nature of God and the afterlife. Thus many Spiritualists will speak of their spirit guides — specific spirits, often contacted, who are relied upon for worldly and spiritual guidance.
After the 1920s, Spiritualism evolved in three different directions. The first of these continued the tradition of individual practitioners, organized in circles centered on a 19th century Spiritualism. Others call themselves 'Christian Spiritualists', continuing with the old tradition of cautiously incorporating spiritualist experiences into their Christian faith. The second direction taken by Spiritualism has been to adopt formal organization, patterned after formal organization in Christian denominations, with established creeds and liturgies, and formal training requirements for mediums. In North America the Spiritualist churches are primarily affiliated with the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, and in the UK with the Spiritualists National Union, founded in 1891. Formal education in spiritualist practice emerged in 1920, continuing today with Arthur Findlay's College of Psychic Studies. Diversity of belief among organized spiritualists has led to a few schisms, the most notable occurring in the UK in 1957 between those who held Spiritualism to be a religion sui generis, and a minority who held it to be a denomination of Christianity.
The practice of organized Spiritualism today resembles that of any other organized religion. There is thus today a much greater emphasis on "mental" mediumship and an almost complete avoidance of the miraculous "materializing" mediumship that so fascinated early believers such as Arthur Conan Doyle. The third direction taken by Spiritualism has been a continuation of its empirical orientation to religious phenomena.
Spiritualism also differs from occult movements, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn or the contemporary Wiccan covens, in that spirits are not contacted in order to obtain magical powers (with the single exception of obtaining power for healing). For example, Madame Blavatsky (1831-1891) of the Theosophical Society only practiced mediumship in order to contact powerful spirits capable of conferring esoteric knowledge. Blavatsky apparently did not believe that these spirits were deceased humans, and in fact held beliefs in reincarnation that were quite different from the views of most Spiritualists.
Mediums
Sir William Crookes (1832 - 1919) reported on Spiritualism to the Royal Society and published his findings in the quarterly Journal of Science. An outstanding physicist who began his investigations into Spiritualism with the avowed intent of exposing it as a nonsense. The facts, however, (particularly his investigation of
Katie King through the Mediumship of Florence Cook) were too overwhelming, and to the end of his life he remained completely convinced of the truth of Spirit communication.
Florence Cook (1856 - 1904) Outstanding for the wonderful materialisation of Katie King investigated by Sir William Crookes. He proved this spirit to be entirely separate and distinct from the medium.
William Stainton Moses (1839 - 1892) An Oxford M.A. and a clergyman on the Church of England. He was a leading light in promoting The London Spiritualist Alliance, and became its first President and the first Editor of 'Light'. His great contributions were the teachings produced through him by means of spirit controlled writing and published as 'Spirit Teachings' and 'More Spirit Teachings'
Leonore E. Piper (1857 - 1950) of Boston, USA, allowed herself to be subjected to the most exacting scientific investigation of her Mediumship for a period of 45 years. This great medium was instrumental in converting many eminent people to belief in a spirit agency operating through her trance Mediumship.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1858 - 1930) proclaimed his belief in the teachings and truth of Spiritualism. Just as Andrew Jackson Davis was called the 'John the Baptist' of Modern Spiritualism, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was called the 'St. Paul' of Spiritualism. He was a prolific writer on the subject and an avid proponent.
Lord Dowding came into prominence as a champion of Spiritualism after the 1939-1945 war. Lord Dowding was in command of the R.A.F. during the Battle of Britain and, through a medium friend, many of the airmen who had passed over were able to give their former Chief convincing evidence of their survival. Since then Lord Dowding spoke and wrote indefatigably on his convictions regarding the continuity of life.
Eileen J. Garrett (1893 - 1970) Established the New York-based Parapsychology Foundation in 1951. She presided over the foundation until her death in 1970. She is, perhaps, the most respected medium of the twentieth century. Her contributions to the investigation and understanding of Mediumship and allied phenomena remain immeasurable
Ena Twigg (b1914) On September 4, 1969, while Ena Twigg, her husband, Harry, and canon John Pearce-Higgins sat in the living-room of her home, suddenly a discarnate voice commanded her to switch on the tape recorder. The spirit voice belonged to the missing Bishop Pike, who - unknown to anyone on Earth - had then been 'dead' for twenty-four hours.
Mediumship Abilities
Clairvoyance: See Spirit.
Clairaudience: Hear Spirit.
Clairsentience: Clear sense of Spirit
Xenoglossy, xenoglossis, xenoglossisia: To speak in a language unknown to the medium.
Apports: Materialization of objects.
Apportation: Dematerialization of apported objects.
Materialization: (rare) the materialization of a non corporeal body.
Levitation: The levitation of the medium.
Healing: Healing energies supplied by a spiritual guide.
Ectoplasm: Mysterious formation of energy, that originates from the trance medium creating the conditions for materialization.
Many of the above are rare, and were more prominent in the late 19th and early 20th century’s. I have not sought to list every form of mediumship here, just a general view for information’s sake.
Subject: Introduction to Spiritualism 
Wed Sep 30, 2009 7:04 am
