When did Spiritualism begin?
It could be said that Spiritualism is as old as Mankind., if you are referring to the fact that people became aware that their
d ones were still around and could sometimes communicate with them. This is common to all ancient peoples throughout the world, and gave rise to the earliest of all religions, known as ancestor worship, which was worldwide. The words god and spirit were interchangeable, and where the early books of the bible refer to "God" the actual word used was "elohim" meaning "the gods" . Tribes had their own gods, probably the spirits of leaders of the tribe. Jehovah is never referred to as being the only god, but as "the god of Israel" And the Israelites were commanded "have no other god but me" - not "there are no other gods", We should remember that Jehovah is not God, no loving Father God would order the massacre of the people of Jericho and the other towns, and demand their complete destruction as a sacrifice. Modern spiritualism began in 1848 when a family in Hydesville USA received communication by raps from a murdered peddlar. The full story of the Fox family can be found on the site of our sister church in America, the Way Memorial Temple.Click on the link to the Fox Family. It was brought to England by a medium named Mrs Hayden, and the first Spiritualist church was set up at Keighley. There are many pioneers who worked to open up churches and spread Spiritualism in England and America and later throughout the world. The stories of these pioneers can be found in books and on other Spiritualism Web sites. Further details of the History of Spiritualism can be found on the SNU Web site.How can I know that my
d ones still live?Through mediumship. If you do not have the gift yourself you depend on others. Go to a Spiritualist church,or see a medium privately. you will find mediums recommended by the SNU on their web pages. You may not get total proof the first time, it may take a while, but I am sure that eventually a humdinger of a message from a medium will convince you.
My relations came through but they did not give me a message.
We possibly use the word message wrongly. The word should really be Evidence. Your relations and friends come to give you memories preferably things only you and they know, and that the medium could not possibly know, that is the message. In other words " I'm still alive, and I still
you," is all they want to say. Sometimes they may give you advice about what is happening to you in the world. this should be treated with the same caution as if they gave you it when they were alive. They weren't always right then, and they are not suddenly right all the time because they have passed to Spirit. Remember you have personal responsibility. Listen to what they say, but still make up your own mind. Their main reason for coming is to give you the evidence.Strange things are happening in my house
Are you or your children seeing "ghosts"? Are things moving around the house without you touching them? Are you hearing taps or strange noises? Or voices? Well, DONT BE AFRAID. In all probablity it is either some relation of yours, or someone who has lived in the house, trying to make their presence felt. Children are often very mediumistic, and they may be aware of things that you cannot see. they may describe grandparents that they have never seen in the body. Tell them it is ok. It is their grandad letting the child know he
s them. If it is someone who has lived in the house, this may be a different story. They may be what we would call an earthbound spirit, someone whose mind was so centred on the material things in life, that they cannot let go and have not been able to pass properly into the spirit realms. There is still no reason to be afraid, but this spirit needs help. You could try explaining to them that they are dead, and that they should go to the light, but if this does not work, you should contact a medium trained in this kind of rescue work. If you email the SNU they will be able to offer advice about mediums in your area. If you are aware of Spirit you may want to develop your gift. Go to your local church, and see how the services are run and then ask about joining a development or awareness class. Open circles are a good place to begin as you will get some idea about whether you have the gift or not. In any case if you feel you are mediumistic, it is a good idea to talk to a medium and discuss what is happening to you.Where is the Spirit World?
Heaven can no longer be thought of as a place above the world. But communication shows us that a Spirit world exists. Scientists explain it, that it is on a faster vibration than our world. We can only be aware of things that have a certain range of wave lengths. Anything outside that range cannot be picked up by our five senses, and so only can be seen or heard when our sixth or psychic sense comes into operation. the Spirit world is right here, but outside our normal range of perception. The spirit communicators tell us that it is just as solid and real to them, as our world is to us, but it is more susceptible to the influence of their minds.
Is there a Heaven and a Hell?
Only of our own making, both here and in the next world. Spirit communicators tell us that "like attracts like",and when we pass over we will be naturally drawn to people who are like ourselves. So our happiness depends on the type of people we have been. The beauty of the environment in which we find ourselves reflects the state of our spirit. When we reach whatever plane we belong to on the spirit side, it doesn't end there. We always have the opportunity to reach out to higher levels and those on those higher levels are there to help us. progession is through service to others and through trying to put right the wrongs we have done.
What about Jesus?
Spiritualism is a religion in its own right, and is not Christianity. Even our friends the Christian Spiritualists do not regard Jesus in the same light as the orthodox Christians. This is not to say that we have anything against Christians - we respect everyones beliefs, and all are welcome in our churches. Your life in the spirit realms does not depend on your beliefs, but on the
in your heart and the way you have lived your life. Our view of Jesus is as a great medium, teacher and healer. spirit communicators tell us that we are all Gods children, as we all have a spark of God within us - our spirit. Therefore Jesus was a son of God, but so are we all. My personal view of God, gleaned from the words of the spirits, and my inner feelings is the same as that of most spiritualists. God is the force behind the universe, he is the essence or spirit of the universe, and everything is a part of him. He could not incarnate on earth, because you could not reduce God to a man, any more than you could reduce yourself to one cell of your body. The big difference between Christians and Spiritualists is that we accept personal responibilty, not a saviour-god. To me the feeling that a loving forgiving God could exact eternal punishment is revolting, and that to save us from that he would ask his own beloved son to suffer instead, in order to appease his own anger, seems totally unfair and illogical. The Spiritualist concept of personal responsibility and eternal progress, so that we learn from our own mistakes, and work out our own spiritual progress, instead of a once a for all salvation, is far more acceptable to my mind. It is also what the spirit teachers such as Silver Birch, tell us.