What is Spiritualism?

There are many pages on the internet that describe Spiritualism. This page however is going to explain what Spiritualism means to me. Please note that these are my word and beliefs only. Take from them anything you like and feel free to disregard whatever you want and substitute with your own thoughts and beliefs. The reason I have said this is that I believe Spiritualism is perceived differently by each of us. This may sound a little confusing, but if you read on I am sure all will become clear.

I am going to start by giving you a little bit of information regarding the birth and subsequent progression of the Spiritualist Movement :

The first documented Spiritual Phenomena were those of the Fox sisters from Hydesville, New York State, America. The sisters heard rapping sounds and witnessed movement of objects that could not be explained by normal means. They soon discovered that if they asked questions the rapping's would answer. They devised a technique where as the rapping's would sound with either one or two knocks depending whether the answer to the question was 'yes' or 'no'. This phenomenon gained attention from neighbours and family acquaintances. The word spread, people came to witness the phenomena, and this was how it is claimed that Spiritualism began.

The first Spiritualist Church was opened in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1853. From here Spiritualism began to spread throughout the country. Many notable intellectuals and socialites of the day publicly endorsed the Spiritualist philosophy. Robert Owen , William Crooks, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Emma Hardinge Britten all played a significant part in promoting the Spiritualist Movement.

In 1901, for legal reasons, the annual conference agreed to establish a holding company and shortly after that the Spiritualists National Union Ltd (SNU) was incorporated as a company not for profit and registered as a charity. This enabled property to be registered and held by the organisation.

In 1966, the Spiritualist educational college based at Stansted Hall, Essex 'The Aurthur Findlay College' was opened. Today, as well as the college on this site, there is the headquarters and offices of the Spiritualists National Union.

Spiritualists who choose to develope their own Spirituality and understanding of the Spiritualist Movement follow the "Seven Principles" that have been adopted as a simple basis for this religion (or 'way of life'). These Seven Principles were received through mediumship by Emma Hardinge Britten (1823-1899), given to her by Robert Owen, the great Socialist.

Spiritualism as a Religion

Spiritualists believe that life does not end with the physical death of the human body. Spiritualist believe in the continued existence of the human soul. That the soul (or Spirit) go to a higher plain of existence called the 'Spirit Realm'.

Spiritualist Churches differ from any other kind of religious establishment by the fact that they are usually places that have been donated by others to be used as a place of worship. Some are even houses that have been adapted for this reason. There are two different kinds of Spiritualist Churches; those that abide by SNU guidelines and those who are independent. The difference in the workings of these churches are; SNU guidelined Churches only allow their Mediums to work Mediumistically (receiving information from Spirit), Non-SNU Churches allow their Mediums to work either Mediumistically or Psychically (receiving information from your energy field(aura)). I am not saying that either church is better than the other (as I have not attended a Non-SNU church I cannot state any comments). What I am saying is that whichever church you choose to attend is entirely personal choice.

Spiritualist believe in the Seven Principles that were given to Emma Hardinge Britten. The Seven Principles are used as a guideline as to the way we choose to live our lives. The Seven Principles do not dictate what we must do or believe. They are open to our own interpretation.

Spiritualist believe that we all have Spirit Guides and Helpers who aid us in our daily lives. Spiritualist believe that these guides and helpers are assigned to us at the time of our conception, and stay with us for the duration of our physical life.

Spiritualist Churches encourage the development of Mediums. They do this by offering 'development circles (or classes)' where developing mediums are guided by qualified mediums in learning how to interpret and understand the subtle changes of energy that are produced by Spirit. By understanding and interpreting these methods Mediums can pass on any information received from Spirit to the sitter, therefore giving proof of the continued existence of the human soul.

What does Spiritualism mean to me?

I believe there is more to Spiritualism and being a Spiritualist than attending church and worshipping a 'God' on high. I believe that Spiritualism is a whole way of life, but I am aware that the way we choose to live our lives is also dependant on the circumstances around us. I can only comment on my own beliefs and experiences but please read on, and as mentioned above, take from this what you want, disregard what you want, and add your own thoughts, beliefs and feeling where you want.

I myself am a Developing Spiritualist Medium, therefore I truly believe in the continued existence of the human soul. But my belief does not only cover the 'human' soul, I believe that all living things have 'souls' and that these also continue after physical death. My perception of the 'soul' does not involve manifestations of people and animals walking about on a different plain to ours. My belief is that we are all 'pure energy' and therefore help to create a great energy force that is constantly being added to, and can be accessed by all.

As a Spiritualist I believe that when our loved ones make contact with us through a Medium, they show themselves not as they truly are in the Spirit Realm (or collective energy force) but as they would be remembered by the recipient (the loved one being contacted). Spiritualist Mediums give proof of which Spirit they are in contact with by giving description of them (sex, height, age, build, etc). If you think about this logically it would not make any sense for my Father (who is in Spirit) to appearing as a sphere of pure energy, I would not recognise him from that. For me to be able to recognise him he would have to appear to the Medium in the form that I knew him.

Until recently I thought that I had come into Spiritualism late in life (at the age of 45) but I now know that this is not strictly true. Spiritualism to me means showing love, compassion, understanding, acceptance and respect for others beliefs and the environment we live in. All of these qualities were taught to me by my parents when I was a child. They may not have known it, but their teachings put me in good stead for the life I am now living - Thank you to both of you. The most memorable event I can remember as a child was the passing to Spirit of my Father. I was only 12 years old and like everybody else who loses a loved one, I grieved. The strange thing that I remember is that, although I could not physically see my Father, I knew he could see me and that he would still guide and protect me as he had in life. I also knew that I would meet up with him again some day. I do not know where these beliefs came from, I had never been taught to think this way (also I had never been discouraged in this train of thought), I just knew that this was the way it was.

To me Spiritualism is living your life to the best of your ability. If you can help someone in need, you should. But you should also not be afraid to ask for help yourself. We all need each other in this world, we should not judge others by our standards. Just because we believe in something does not mean that we are right and others are wrong. We are all entitled to our own beliefs, thoughts and feelings. What I believe in is right for me, this does not mean that it is right for you, and vice versa.

It has come to my understanding recently that not only are we made of energy, so are our thoughts. Once we have thought something it is out there in the Universe. With this in mind I have decided that 'if I cannot say it, I will not think it'. I have also decided to take the word 'hate' out of my vocabulary. This is a very powerful word and carries with it such negativity. I try to live my life with positive thoughts and actions, there is too much negativity in this world today, I do not need to add to it.

As I have said before, I try to live my life as Spiritually as possible. Of course this is not always easy. Life in general, and circumstances, bring many challenges to our lives. We must face each day, each challenge, as it presents itself. What we must not do is dwell on what 'might' be. Living your life to the best of your abilities is all that anyone can ask of you, or that you can ask of yourself. Please believe me when I say that I am NO Angel. I have doubts and fears like the next person. At the end of the day I am only human and can only do so much, but if I know in my heart that I have done my best under the circumstances, then that is enough for me, and I am the only person I have to answer to.

Disclaimer