Spiritualism – A Democratic ‘Faith’

One of the greatest strengths of spiritualism is its democratic nature. Traditional orthodox Christianity is mostly about coming into the church building, sitting down and being passively “entertained” by music, sermon or homily, ritual and so forth. Organized spiritualism has this aspect as well but, beyond that, spiritualism is primarily a “take home” religion where participants can actually be part of the action. There’s no need for priest or parson; a harmonious group can gather and discover the mysteries of the universe on their own with help from the “other side.”

Back in 1848 modern spiritualism began in a home with the Fox sisters hearing raps that evolved into two-way communication with the etheric world. Through the years there have been public gatherings for the purpose of education and demonstrating the reality of spirit communication; the spiritualist church, of course, retains this function. But always the best results are to be found in home circles where mediums are developed and everyone present receives spiritual instruction and uplift.

Contrary to the pronouncements of some self-proclaimed experts and other naysayers, the home circle is thriving worldwide and remarkable results are being seen in many of them. Perhaps the most visible of all home circles in recent years was the Scole Experimental Group that functioned in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. Led by Robin Foy, some of the group’s accomplishments are detailed in his book In Pursuit of Physical Mediumship. Individuals seeking to form a home circle should study the book because Foy takes the reader through all the years of trying to come up with a compatible, harmonious group of sitters who were dedicated to the long-range goal of developing quality spirit manifestation. There were several predecessors to the Scole Experimental Group and Foy quite candidly assesses the strengths and weakness of each of them. His discussion provides great insight into what is necessary for success.

Among the required qualities contributing to a thriving home circle is patience. Results generally do not come immediately and some circles sit week after week for months without anything overt happening. That patience needs to be coupled with a dedication to the circle and a determination to let spirit work. Harmony between sitters who share common aspirations is an essential component as well; where there is discord or skepticism results are bound to be delayed or totally blocked.

Robin’s book is available through amazon.com and he has an interesting website containing further information ( http://robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com ). Other good sites pop up when you Google Scole Experimental Group.

Robin’s child that continues to inspire spiritualists worldwide is his fabulous interactive forum on the Internet, Physical Mediumship 4U (a link to the forum is on this blog’s left-hand column). First of all, I recommend anyone interested in getting involved with spiritualism – particularly physical mediumship – become a member of this forum. It’s free and very lively. You’ll meet folks from around the world who are, with Robin Foy, pursuing physical phenomena and spirit communication in general. On the forum you will read about how circles everywhere are obtaining results as those on the other side reach out to help and visit with us.

Secondly, there is on the Physical Mediumship 4U forum a most valuable resource for those who contemplate forming their own home circle, the Basic Guide for Developing Energy Based Physical Mediumship. This manual was transmitted by spirit friends to the Scole Experimental Group and it contains a wealth of step-by-step instructions that will make organization of a home circle easier. Following this advice will also facilitate more rapid development. I encourage purchase of the book (a link for it is in the right-hand column of the Physical Mediumship 4U home page or click here – http://robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com/howtositforphenomena.htm ). Each sitter in the home circle my wife and I belong to has read the manual and it has helped us immensely. The cost is 10 euros which translates into about $13 U.S. Place your order online then you receive a link to download an electronic version which can be printed out.

The Scole Experimental Group proved that a dedicated group of sitters can form a harmonious home circle and obtain results that equal or exceed those from spiritualism’s early days. On the Physical Mediumship 4U site are reports from other circles and here I mention just one – the Felix Experimental Group in Germany. Reading the contents of their online blog ( http://felixcircle.blogspot.com ) will convince you that their perseverance has paid off big time. The circle has achieved materialization along with other physical phenomena and, in doing so, attracted the attention of researchers worldwide. The site is translated into rather good English but wording gets a bit bumpy in spots. Nevertheless, the blog’s content is amazing and photos of ectoplasm are sure to fascinate those who have had no experience with it.

As I’ve said here before, the glory days of spiritualism are FAR from over! But as medium Stewart Alexander implied in a quote below in my last blog, the home circle is where the real action is. People receive the best evidence there, they mature spiritually there, and they develop the best mediums there. May those who truly want to deepen their spiritual life and commune with the spirit world form circles in their homes and commit themselves to stick with it. The results are bound to be wonderful.