The Message of the Titanic

It seems we humans relish celebrations and anniversaries. Most are happy events but some, such as Memorial Day and 9/11, cause us to remember sad or tragic moments in our past.

Such a day is coming up on April 15 which will be the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the luxury liner Titanic.

Michael Tymn

Just in time for the centennial comes a new and unusual book by our friend Michael Tymn – Transcending the Titanic: Beyond Death’s Door, released last month by White Crow Books. Mike is the foremost historian of afterlife research today and this new title helps makes certain that he will retain that honored spot in the future. Tymn and his various books have been proudly mentioned on this blog several times already.

As Mike points out, the Titanic tragedy is etched into our memory like no other (with the exception of the more recent 9/11 attacks). For 100 years now people have been talking about the “unsinkable” ship that went down on its first voyage, carrying 1,517 passengers and crew to their death. There have been disasters with more casualties but for some reason the Titanic is the one most people think of first when large loss-of-life events are discussed.

Transcending the Titanic briefly covers the well-known facts of the case – the events of that fateful night, the body count, memories of survivors. But after the stage is set, Mike taps his amazing wealth of knowledge about afterlife communications and takes his book where none other about the Titanic has ventured. Reading almost like fiction, Tymn lays out the mostly unknown story of how several Titanic victims returned and recalled their death experience through various mediums.

W.T. Stead

Among those victims was renowned British journalist and spiritualist William T. Stead. With his background in spiritualism it was only natural that he immediately comprehended his fate and set about observing what was going on around him and helping as he could. Within days after the disaster he was communicating, showing up at séances on both sides of the Atlantic to prove to those present that he still lived and could continue conversations with his old friends.

“The whole scene was indescribably pathetic,” Stead told sitters in one séance. “Many [victims], knowing what had occurred, were in agony of doubt as to their people left behind and as to their own future state. What would it hold for them? Would they be taken to see Him? What would their sentence be? Others were almost mental wrecks. They knew nothing. They seemed to be uninterested in everything, their minds were paralyzed. A strange crew indeed, of human souls waiting their ratings in the new land. A matter of a few minutes in time only, and here were hundreds of bodies floating in the water – dead – hundreds of souls carried through the air, alive; very much alive, some were. Many, realizing their death had come, were enraged at their own powerlessness to save their valuables. They fought to save what they had on earth prized so much.”

W.T. Stead, in the passage above, describes what many spirit communicators have indicated is the case when individuals pass over. Some, like Stead, are prepared for the event and the transition is relatively smooth; others are still grasping for material things left behind while even more are stunned and unable to function at all without help. What makes Stead’s observations so relevant is his reputation when alive and the fact that he was describing a massive movement of souls from the realms of matter to the etheric. At one glance he was able to see all manner of folks attempting to cope with their sudden transition.

“Many of those who passed into eternity with me do not know where they are,” Stead continued. “It was a stunning blow and a terrific reversal of all their ideas and plans. Few there were who entertained thoughts of this life. Many were full of hopes of what was in store for them in the immediate future on earth; life was bright to many of them. Others were faithfully discharging duties when the call came with tragic swiftness. I was surprised, appalled, and yet assured. When the end came, it was merciful, painless….”

Tymn records all of Stead’s communications about the Titanic and also tells of his several materializations. There were other victims who attempted communication after the sinking and these are gathered together in the book as well.

As interesting as these messages are, their chief value to us 100 years later is the light they shed upon the moment of transition to the “other side” and the importance of spiritual insight here and now that will make that changeover go smoothly. In his afterword, Mike provides an excellent summary of the facts about the afterlife that mediumship over the past 160 years has revealed. That one page outline and his accompanying analysis make Transcending the Titanic much more than the story of a tragic event. They transform the book into a valuable volume of instruction that may help others when they are faced with their own transition.