Lost on the ‘Other Side’

There were only five of us last Wednesday evening for our regular spiritualist circle. It was a fairly quiet evening with no one going into trance, the trumpet did not fly about but there were a few messages delivered to various ones via mental mediumship.

Just a few days before, one of the sitters had lost a sister in a distant state after a lengthy illness. The older sister had been a life-long Baptist, committed to her church and its doctrines which included certain expectations about life after bodily death. The sister in our circle is sometimes blessed with clairvoyant vision and last Wednesday she saw her older sister “over there,” confused, alone, and very puzzled. She had not been met by Jesus – or anyone else that she could see for that matter – and everything was different from what she had been told on earth.

Our sitter reported this to the circle and we all immediately went into meditation and attempted to send help to the lost sister. Within a few minutes her vision cleared up a bit, some of the clouds of confusion apparently lifted and another spirit was finally able to get her attention and lead her away for rest and help. This was seen clairvoyantly.

This personal incident brought home a tremendous problem that a lifetime of misinformation creates for our friends and family members when they first encounter the afterlife. Even when individuals are fully aware that they are “dead” and separate from the physical body, they may be so confused and disoriented that they find themselves unable to fully comprehend their surroundings. Misguided religious teachings are the most often cited culprit for this painful confusion.

We are told that the majority of folks upon passing over soon realize they have left their physical body. Perhaps they can see their body lying there, family members mourning, etc., and soon they begin looking about to determine where they are now. With this attitude their awareness sharpens and they often see others who came to greet and help them – usually friends or family members who have already passed over.

Some people – even some with religious convictions – cannot accept that life continues after so-called death. When these individuals pass over, the confusion sets in immediately as they realize they are still alive and not annihilated through the death experience. Or perhaps they deny their death and insist they are still in a physical body despite the fact that nobody seems to hear or see them. They wander about their familiar surroundings attempting to continue with normal activities of work and interaction with others but find it all impossible.

A variation of this is the individual who has been taught that when one dies he/she goes to an intermediate spot and “sleeps” until the alleged final resurrection of the body. Sometimes their expectation plays itself out in reality and they go into something similar to a coma where they remain unreachable by helping spirits. This is perhaps the most devastating outcome of Christian religious teachings concerning life after death.

Still others, we are told, have such preconceived notions about life after death they expect that to be dead in the body is to be alive with Jesus. Perhaps they are met on the other side by a spirit they assume to be Jesus but often it is simply family members in “Etheria*” who try to align the new arrival’s ideas with reality. If they refuse to understand what spirit life is really like, they may have an option to join others of like mind who gather at a church similar to those back home where they conduct familiar religious services. This continues until they finally “see the light” and move on.

There are many different experiences that those passing over undergo but what they find is dictated by the life they lived here in the material world AND their beliefs and understanding. By beliefs and understanding I mean that their belief and conception of what life after “death” is like shapes their experience. If they have ideas that are totally out of sync with the way it really is, then their entrance to Etheria probably will be bumpy and confusing. If, however, they have studied some of the vast material describing our spirit life after bodily death, then the transition is smooth and pleasant.

Unfortunately, most people never get a clear conception of what spirit life is like and, instead, rely upon the fuzzy and inaccurate descriptions provided by mainstream religion. We are told over and over again by spirit communicators that spirits are kept busy over there trying to help new arrivals – and the overwhelming majority of the newly arrived desperately need help because they have not been adequately prepared. The books by Anthony Borgia provide an excellent and accurate description of what these new arrivals have to work through.

I make it a practice to hold a mental conversation with spirits of those I know shortly after I learn of their passing. We are told that these messages are usually heard by the ones we address them to. I make it simple and after expressing my love I encourage them to look about if they have not done so already because there are other spirits anxious to greet and assist them. Sometimes you can actually sense a response.

Countering misinformation about the afterlife was a principal reason for renewing spirit communication according to messages received after the beginning of modern spiritualism. Helping lost spirits find their way to their proper spiritual home is also the function of many circles (called “rescue circles”). Last Wednesday evening we apparently were able to assist one of our sitter’s relatives who had just passed over in a state of confusion. This is important work that highlights one of the many contributions modern spiritualism makes.

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* “Etheria” is the term coined by J. Arthur Findlay to identify the realm of spirit life where we go following physical death. He also liked to refer to residents there as “Etherians.”

Automatic Writing Champions

April 15 was the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic and here at Spirit Communion we joined the commemoration by taking note of Michael Tymn’s interesting new book on spirit communications from some of the ship’s victims (March 25 post). As noted in the blog, one of the principal communicators was William T. Stead, a British journalist, reformer and well-known spiritualist who went down that night with more than 1,500 others.

What we didn’t mention about Stead was the fact that he was a gifted automatic writer (automatist) who had given the world important messages from the world of spirit. After Death or Letters from Julia was a slim volume of observations from the other side dictated to Stead by his friend Julia who had passed over to spirit in 1891. The messages provide Julia’s interpretations of what happens upon death of the physical body and awakening in the realm of spirit. After being available for more than 100 years the letters are still captivating reading and nowadays can be downloaded from the Internet.

“Automatic writing, I may explain for those unfamiliar with the term, is writing that is written by the hand of a person which is not under control of his conscious mind,” Stead explained in the book’s introduction. “The hand apparently writes of itself, the person to whom the hand belongs having no knowledge of what it is about to write. It is a very familiar and simple form of mediumship, which in no way impairs the writer's faculties or places his personality under the control of any other intelligence. This writing may proceed from his sub-conscious mind, or it may be due to the direct action of independent, invisible intelligences. What is certain is that it does not emanate from the conscious mind of the writer, who often receives messages containing information as to past events of which he has never heard, and sometimes perfectly accurate predictions as to events which have not yet happened. It was in this way that I began to receive the communications, some few of which are collected in this little volume. All the ‘Letters from Julia’ were received by me in the same manner. Sitting alone with a tranquil mind, I consciously placed my right hand, with the pen held in the ordinary way, at the disposal of Julia, and watched with keen and skeptical interest to see what it would write.”

Stead was certainly not the only medium in those days who was being given information via automatic writing. Early spiritualist literature is full of messages that were conveyed that way with some mediums, like Stead, fully conscious and aware during delivery and others who practiced their talent while in a trance state.

Frederick Bligh Bond

Certainly one of the most novel uses of automatic writing was during excavation of the buildings at Glastonbury Abbey in the U.K. An architect, Frederick Bligh Bond, was hired by the Church of England to supervise archeological investigations of the ancient abbey in 1908 and he remained in that capacity until 1921. Throughout the project Bond consulted an automatic writing medium, Captain John Allan Bartlett, who wrote down detailed instructions and maps allegedly dictated by deceased Glastonbury monks. Bond even recorded that he usually read out loud unrelated literature to Bartlett while the automatic writing was in process in order to make certain that the medium’s conscious mind was occupied with things other than what was being written by his hand. Messages – written in Middle English, Low Latin and modern English – often had to be deciphered or translated but they were always on target which resulted in amazing finds at the site. Bond recorded the experience in his book The Gate of Remembrance (available for download on the Internet). Another Bond book which reveals even more about Glastonbury and automatic writing predictions of World War I is The Hill of Vision, also available online.

Pearl Curran

Perhaps the most remarkable automatist in North America was Pearl Leonore Curran, a poorly educated woman who lived in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1913 while passing time with the Ouija board she made contact with a seventeenth century Englishwoman named Patience Worth. Over a period of several years Patience Worth dictated to Curran a string of literary masterpieces including complete novels, poetry and plays, each being far beyond Curran’s capability. For example, in a compilation of America’s best poetry of 1917 appeared five of Patience Worth’s creations alongside fewer compositions each by other acclaimed poets such as Amy Lowell, Vachel Lindsay and Edgar Lee Masters. Some of the Patience Worth titles are still in print nearly 100 years later and scholars continue to marvel at the quality of the material Curran received. Also, several in-depth studies of Curran’s career have been published.

A modern-day Pearl Curran would be Stella Horrocks, a retired teacher in the U.K., who has in longhand written down complete novels under the pen names of several well-known deceased authors. She claims the material is given automatically and that she breathlessly awaits unfolding of the plot just as any reader would.  There is an interesting British TV video of Stella available on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TTmIibV30s) but, unlike Pearl Curran, I cannot find that any of the books dictated through Stella Harrocks have been published.

Chico Xavier

The all-time champion of automatic writing title will have to be given to a man who never wrote a word of English and who is largely unknown in North America or Europe – Chico Xavier (1910-2002). This humble, slightly educated Brazilian holds the record as being the second most prolific author in the Portuguese language and every word of it, he claimed, was dictated by spirit guides. His output was greater than 458 published books which combined by 2010 had sold more than 50 million copies.

Chico’s books cover a wide range of literary fields from historical novels, poems, and religious teachings to philosophy and medicine. He took no payment for any of the books, donating all proceeds to charity which, in part, earned him a nomination in 1982 for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“When I am writing automatically,” he said, “I can see, hear and I have often registered the presence of the communicator without knowing anything about the subject matter on which he is writing.” Indeed, most of what came through Xavier’s pen was beyond his capability and understanding.

Chico Xavier (born Francisco de Paula Cândido) was a Spiritist, the philosophy and religion very similar to spiritualism that emanates from the teachings of Frenchman Allan Kardec. Spiritism is very prominent in Brazil and followers make “a clear distinction between…automatic writing and what they call psicogr afia. The former is held to be no more than the manifestation of one’s subconscious, while the latter – ‘psychography’ – is that of a separate entity, presumably a spirit.” (Quoted from the amazing biography and analysis of Xavier, Chico Xavier, Medium of the Century by Guy Lyon Playfair; published in 2010 in the U.K. by Roundtable and the International Spiritist Council.)

Regrettably, few of Chico Xavier’s works have been translated into English.

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Finally, I want to share one last thing this week, a communication from W.T. Stead who was referred to above (in the first few paragraphs). He was, of course, a Titanic victim who returned through mediums within hours of his tragic demise on the ship and he continued to reappear for decades. The transcript below comes from the book My 4,000 Ghosts by Australian actor Edwin Stanley Brookes published first in 1968. In addition to a few Titanic comments, Stead shares some profound thoughts about the importance of sitters in circles to focus upon their spirituality. These truths relate directly to posts on this blog concerning the current state of the spiritualist movement (several posts, actually, but especially the one of Feb. 2). This transcript from the book was courtesy of Richard Rowley who posted it on the Yahoo Spiritualist group. Thank you Richard.  

“Spiritualists and others, when they arrive here from the earth, are surprised to find how hard and rare it is to have direct and true spiritual communication with those they have left behind.  Often you people sitting in circles on the earth are victims of lower spirits, but this happens only when the spirituality of the sitters is on a low plane. Like attracts like.  When sitters have progressed to a higher spiritual plane, it is almost impossible for deception by lower orders of spirits, or for impersonation to take place.  People have visions that are positively misleading , because they are in low grade of spiritual development, and actually believe all they are told – and many want to be directed in practically all they do. 

“These people are not Spiritualists, they are ‘Egyptian mummies!’

“In the Bible we are told to “Try the spirits and prove them.”  Too few do this.  We should ever be at the door to check those spirits who come through who claim to speak with such positive authority.  I think our Spiritualism is scoffed at so often because of those who TRADE on it, and it becomes mixed up with outright fortune-telling, which certainly is not any part of our religion and philosophy.  What we know as fortune-telling must be completely separated from our movement, if we are to expect a greater degree of respect from the people at large.  People get one or two correct messages, and they believe that they must forever be guided by those who conveyed the messages. This is wrong – terribly wrong and stupid.  But those who seek truth and honesty, will receive guidance from the Beyond according to their entitlement.  To watch the ordinary low type of uninformed and irresponsible Spiritualist meeting is enough to make the angels weep.  Not by sitting in circles and ever seeking “tests” will man develop spiritually, but he can do this only by growing closer, day by day, to the Giver of all Light.  Each man must be his own savior – there is no other way – and we all more or less have the power within us to do this.  Even angels are powerless to raise up a spirit – every man is spirit, here and now.  We must first learn to do this ourselves.

“As your father told you years ago, soon after he found himself in the Beyond, spiritual advancement comes from trying to lift others to something higher – and there it is.  When you on earth become sufficiently civilized to do away with war, then and then only, will you begin to evolve out of the slimy mess that, to our vision here, covers your earth. Your world is filled with men in high places who want war.  War is the greatest cause of all the troubles on your earth.  If your warmongers could see the millions of lives here blasted by wars, some from wars fought hundreds of years ago, they would freeze with horror. For some reason or other, I had to tell you of these heartbreaking things.  Now we will end on a brighter note.

“Materialized forms on the earth are more common than is known.  Many spirits walk your streets and would not be distinguished from an ordinary person. Photos of these have been taken, as you know … without a camera. The ordinary mind would not understand this, because it would try to understand a spiritual thing, with a material mind.  Man makes the mistake of looking for spiritual realities in material things. This is the answer to a question asked at your last sitting, I am informed.”

Are Spiritualist Groups Really Necessary?

Our last blog focused on research that shows aging of the organized religious spiritualist movement in the U.S.A. This trend bodes poorly for the movement unless younger blood is attracted to keep things advancing. However, it also should be noted that many new “converts” are joining – but the vast majority of those are at least in middle age.

It is a sad reality, though, that in many parts of the nation (U.S.A. again) there are no spiritualist congregations any more and in others their numbers have been drastically reduced.

In light of this decline, one could ask, “Why bother? Maybe organized spiritualism has seen its day and eventually all the congregations will be gone. So what?”

Before we get to possible answers to those questions, let’s first try to pin down what spiritualism is. As I see it, the core of modern spiritualism can be summed up in two statements: (1) Every human is more than a physical body – each individual is a spirit occupying a physical body and when that physical body dies, we live on in the etheric world; and (2) Those in the etheric world can, under certain conditions, communicate with us who are residing on earth.

These ideas were central to the movement that began in New York state in 1848 with the rappings in the Fox home. After the rappings became public there was rapid emergence of mediumship and investigations by people from all walks of life who confirmed over and over again those two fundamental principles of spiritualism. In a short time there were folks around the world who were convinced and they flocked to those who apparently possessed mediumistic skills. Unfortunately, many charlatans were ready to take advantage of the situation so spiritualists got together, formed associations and churches. These evolved into centers where spiritualists could get together and, just as important, they were able to set some standards that tended to expose the fraudulent mediums while at the same time provided a ready-made audience for the genuine ones.

Since most of these new spiritualists had emerged from other Christian churches, they brought to their new groups the familiar trappings from those traditional orthodox bodies. These included hymns, structure of services, and the tendency to codify or reduce their new religion to a set of doctrines, albeit a shortened and very liberal collection of doctrines.

I am not aware that any organized spiritualist denomination (with the possible exception of Spiritism launched by Allan Kardec) that were established after clear instructions to do so from those on the other side so I will step out on a limb and contend that they were all man-made institutions – but, nevertheless, spirit has worked mightily within those institutions. Hundreds of thousands of individuals have received proof of survival and had their grief abated by it. A massive amount of evidence for survival has been accumulated as well, much of it probably due in large part to the existence of organized spiritualism. Those churches have also been channels for healing and education, touching the lives of many over the past 160 years.

So, in looking at what spiritualism is and at what its organized groups have accomplished in the past we can begin to sense why it is still hanging around and why a particular subset of our population finds it so attractive and helpful. One of the reader comments posted for our last blog made some very good points about the type and age of people attracted to spiritualism. Let me quote: “…the loss of a loved one tends to spur a person to seek explanations and possible hope. In effect, one needs to have lived a while before becoming cognizant of one's physical mortality. In that sense, there is a natural selection in which people who are motivated to understand their relationship with the greater reality are more attracted to Spiritualism than are the idle curious.” This certainly provides an understandable and rational explanation about why spiritualism tends to attract older folks as well as those of all ages who are looking for a deeper understanding of spiritual realities. It has no doubt always been so.

Coincidentally, on the Psychic News website there are two recent articles discussing the so-called “failure” of modern organized spiritualism. The first is rather negative but the second, while acknowledging problems, provides some hope. Lis Warwood’s rebuttal makes the valid point that spirit communication was initiated by the “other side” with the express desire to prove to humankind that there is life after so-called death. That message is still vitally needed and apparently spirit has been successful in impressing a vast majority of the human race that life does continue indefinitely. Polls indicate belief in life after death is still entrenched and, furthermore, those believing that communication with the spirit world is possible far outnumber the members of spiritualist congregations. Television programs featuring mediums are common nowadays and several popular dramatic series have afterlife communication as part of their plot line. While these statistics and trends dismay the materialistic skeptics, they are somewhat encouraging to the rest of us because of the possibilities they present. The central message that we are spirit and that those beyond the grave can communicate is still interesting to many people worldwide. If our spiritualist churches and associations are finding an eager audience with this message then they are bound to continue. If their presentation of this message is not receiving much notice, then eventually there will come a time when either a change or a termination will be necessary.

I encourage my readers to peruse the Psychic News articles and the many comments that were posted there by readers. They can be accessed at  http://psychicnews.subhub.com/content/hydesville-debate .

A couple of blogs back I made the comment that it is difficult if not impossible to be a solitary practicing spiritualist – the very heart of spiritualism is communication with the spirit world and communication by definition requires two or more individuals. Also, the New Testament promise stating that spirit will be present where two or more are gathered together in spiritual agreement is very true. That premise is the working framework for each and every spiritualist circle and it also holds true for other spiritualist gatherings as well – both religious and secular. This all leads me to believe that there will always be spiritualist groups of some sort. The message is there, the need is there and the interest is there. Those gatherings may or may not resemble traditional spiritualist church services – I tend to think the churchlike structure will probably continue to diminish over time. But get-togethers of like-minded folks are still helpful and necessary. What form they may take we can only guess at this point. But if we ask spirit for guidance and direction I’m sure it will be gladly given.

Spiritualism – A ‘Graying Religion?’

A few days ago the Annual Proceedings for The Association for the Scientific Study of Religion – Southwest appeared on the Internet and it was refreshing to see one of the papers presented at their March 9-11 symposium concerned organized spiritualism.

Titled “Messages from Heaven: A Research Study on Spiritualist Ministers and Their ‘Calling’ to Serve Spirit,” the paper was written by Dr. Todd Jay Leonard, a professor at Fukuoka University of Education in Japan. I read one of his books shortly after it was published in 2005 – Talking to the Other Side: A History of Modern Spiritualism and Mediumship and he promises that this current research paper will later appear as part of another book he is writing on spiritualism.

While I found the entire paper very interesting, by far the most intriguing paragraphs were those where Leonard talked about the relationship between spiritualism and the New Age movement. This, of course, was the topic of my March 3 blog and it’s flattering to see that Leonard and I largely agree about this topic. After going through all the demographic discoveries his research dug up (which I’ll summarize below), Leonard concedes that “in many ways, Spiritualism has become a part of the ‘mainstream’ over the years, adopting a system that is still on the fringes of the more traditional belief systems but ‘churchified’ enough to be considered somewhat mainstream. Many younger people currently prefer more freedom of choice and flexibility in their religious proclivities, choosing belief systems that offer even less structure and dogma than Spiritualism.”

Coincidentally, Victor Zammit’s weekly Afterlife Report opens today with some similar remarks about today’s young people. “Youth around the world in the twenty-first century has become more questioning and cynical than ever before – demanding proof for the ancient religious beliefs they are asked to accept blindly, without questioning. Youth is rebelling against some of the most obscene beliefs in religious writings none of which can be independently supported. The Old Testament for example makes God an ethnic cleanser, a cause of genocide, inspiring murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children. This God is viciously against women – and is described as a 'God of War', a 'jealous' God, and an 'Envious God'. That is NOT spirituality. That is not inspirational. That is not acceptable. Youth – and others – are protesting with their feet, abandoning the Churches and causing a serious crisis to religion around the world. Youth is rejecting the traditional beliefs created by a few men in ancient times who gave themselves AUTHORITY and POWER to control the minds and hearts of people using horrific fear.”

Absence of structure and dogma has drawn many of these young people out of mainstream Christianity to the so-called New Age movement, Leonard notes. Spiritualism, of course, is a “creedless” religion like the far-flung New Age movement, but the difference according to Leonard is that the New Age is still a “trend” while spiritualism has set itself apart as a religion. (Spiritualism is much more than a religion, but for this discussion we need to limit ourselves to its religious aspect.) Spiritualism is, like most religions and Christian denominations, a “group thing.” To be a spiritualist, one usually belongs to a spiritualist community of some sort such as a church or perhaps only a small home circle. That requires some commitment such as attending meetings, contributing money, reading and study. None of these traditional “churchly” activities are associated with the New Age because that “trend” has not coalesced into structures comparable to churches. Yes, there are meditation groups, yoga groups, and similar organizations out there working loosely under the New Age banner, but each only represents a small part of what is considered “New Age.” Spiritualist churches, on the other hand, try to incorporate it all under one roof. Unlike spiritualism, Leonard says New Age “is more culturally than religiously based, focusing on spirituality as it pertains to various peoples and traditions, rather than to a singular belief system.”

I might add that one can consider him/herself a “New Ager” and never participate in anything outside of the home. To be a spiritualist, however, is to interact in some way with others sharing that belief system. Leonard hints at this by saying that “Spiritualism requires a certain degree of dedication and perseverance, and not mere dabbling.”

Eleven years ago Dr. Robert Putnam, a professor at Harvard University, wrote a compelling book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. The strange title comes from research that showed the number of lines bowled in American bowling allies was going up but that the number of lines bowled by league players was dropping drastically. This launched Putnam’s research that concluded that Americans were withdrawing in droves from group activities and staying at home or doing things outside the home on an informal basis with only close friends or family members. In other words, institutions such as churches, lodges, bowling leagues, Boy and Girl Scouts, and many more, were hurting for members – especially active and engaged members. In the back of Putnam’s book is a listing of many membership and volunteer groups with statistics showing declines in participation, many of them drastic, over the previous two decades.

This research relates directly to our current discussion about spiritualism and the New Age movement. My generation and those before it grew up with parents and other relatives or neighbors who were generally involved in one or more organization. Today’s youth as a rule has missed that experience and, hence, they do not flock to organizations themselves. Instead, they “hang out” in commercial locations – shopping malls, night spots, theaters, school activities, etc. If they think about such things, the New Age is appealing but it is pretty much of a solitary activity requiring nothing.

This leads me to the title of this posting – “Spiritualism, a ‘Graying’ Religion?” Leonard’s demographic research points quite clearly to the fact that leadership in spiritualist communions is held almost entirely by middle-age and, predominantly, elderly individuals. In his study sample of ordained spiritualist ministers, none were under the age of 35 and only 3% were between the ages of 35 and 44. A whopping 39% were aged 55 to 64 and 35% were older than that. What’s more, these ministers also provided revealing statistics about when they became a spiritualist. Only 12% were raised in a spiritualist church while 11% more became involved as a “young adult.” A huge majority (70% of the total) became spiritualists in middle age.

These numbers indicate two things: First, the majority of those sitting in the pews at a spiritualist church are sporting a lot of gray hair and, second, those in charge are even older because they were attracted to spiritualism at an older age and then began their long development of mediumship plus additional years of study for ordination. “Spiritualist mediumship and the ministry as we know it may eventually reach a state of extreme crisis if more younger people do not begin to pursue studies toward ordination,” Leonard summarizes. This, I contend, will be difficult to resolve given the downward trend of the general population in all organizations.

As I’ve indicated here before, and Victor Zammit apparently feels the same way, young people today in the Western world are generally educated enough and shrewd enough to reject the religious status quo. Many of them drift toward the New Age ideas because they long for spiritual fulfillment without the church trappings. Somehow we need to draw their attention and enlist their involvement and support – for their good as well as ours. “Spiritualist churches must work to devise a way to attract these ‘spirituality seekers’ if they are to survive the current crisis of being a ‘graying religion,’” Leonard says.

Some of the other demographics Leonard outlines are equally interesting. Although his focus was entirely on ordained spiritualist ministers, we can probably be comfortable in extending these figures to the entire congregation but further research would be necessary to determine if that is fitting. Leonard’s sample showed that 70% of spiritualist ministers were female and this he attributes to two factors: (1) Unlike most other churches, organized spiritualism since its inception has been totally open to female participation and, indeed, its presence today is no doubt due largely to efforts of women; and (2) the majority of those with mediumship abilities are female. Leonard also discovered that 28% of responding clergy were gay, lesbian or bisexual and this, too, illustrates positively the open attitude of spiritualists concerning gender issues. He also theorizes that mediumship tends to function best when the medium possesses an abundance of “feminine energy” but quickly adds that he does not suggest the gay mediums and clergy “are ‘feminine,’ but that perhaps the spiritual aspect and vibratory energy needed to make spirit contact is somehow feminine in nature.” He then goes on to quote a male heterosexual spiritualist minister: “When you do this kind of work, we are all electromagnetic, and we all have male/female energy – which is not sexual. When you do mediumship, you use the ‘feminine’ energy more than the ‘male’ energy. Many straight men are uncomfortable with tapping into this female energy. Gay men are more comfortable tapping into it, so more male mediums tend to be ‘gay.’ Straight men are often conditioned from childhood to deny their feminine energy side, so they do not tap into it very much. Society tends to emphasize to men that they are not supposed to ‘feel,’ for instance, ‘real men don’t cry.’ You can’t be a medium without being able to feel deeply.” This, I feel, is an excellent description.

Another finding in Leonard’s study reveals a great deal about the religious background of spiritualists and their quest for spiritual understanding. Remember that only 12% were raised in the faith meaning that 88% converted to spiritualism – most in their middle-age years. Almost all of those had previous experience in other Christian denominations and went searching for something that would meet their spiritual needs (implying that their previous church home was not doing so). Thirty-nine percent of those came from Catholicism with the second highest group being Methodists at 24%. Baptists came in third at 17%. Nearly 13% identified themselves as former atheists or agnostics and many other groups were also represented including Judaism and Buddhism.

The link to this important study appears at the end of this post.

Another research paper in the Proceedings also caught my eye and it has some relevance to the current discussion – “Jesus at Disneyland or Spiritual Innovation: The Enmeshment of Consumer Culture and U.S. Evangelical Religious Practices” by two sociologists at Stephen F. Austin State University, J.B. Watson Jr., Ph.D., and Walt Scalen, Ed.D. They identify our current culture as being predominantly consumerist in nature and point to the rise of the so-called “mega-churches” as evangelicalism’s answer to the shopping mall. I’ve been to one of these “new paradigm” churches complete with its coffee and snack bar, soda machines, gym and so forth. On Sunday morning most of the parishioners stand around in this food area, chatting and munching, many not even bothering to enter the assembly hall to hear the sermon. When they do, they are treated to a pretty bland presentation devoid of the fire and brimstone and altar calls common in traditional evangelical churches. Down the hall is the office of the staff psychologist and on the calendar board are listings for various support groups meeting at the building through the week. All in all, I found the experience to be very much like a friendly shopping mall!

This seems to be evangelicalism’s answer to today’s spiritual needs. These huge mega-churches with membership in each reaching into the thousands are to be found in most large cities. In no way would I criticize bringing friends and neighbors together in a social venue and these churches do that. But for what purpose? Helping families with problems and presenting good ethical standards to live by is wonderful, but for many of us that isn’t nearly enough. There’s much more to learn on this walk through life on earth and, for me and many others, spiritualism and afterlife research fills the bill much better than a coffee bar in a church. That reality makes examination of Leonard’s findings even more important – spiritualism has a great deal to offer today’s spiritual searchers but the organizational arm of the spiritualist religion and philosophy is suffering. Let’s put our heads together, listen to spirit, then come up with some answers. It would be wonderful in a few years to read a scholarly report on how spiritualism has rebounded again! Let it be so!!!

The Proceedings in which these research papers can be read in full are located online at www.envirecon.com/assrproceedings2012.pdf .

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. 

Recent Materialization Séances in Los Angeles

Dr. Jan W. Vandersande

A few days ago Dr. Jan W. Vandersande sent me his report of three materialization séances he arranged and attended in the Los Angeles area during the month of February. The medium was Australian David Thompson. I’ve known Dr. Vandersande for a couple of years and his background as a physicist and longtime observer of spirit manifestation is beyond question. I’ve recommended his book – Life After Death: Some of the Best Evidence – on this blog several times because it is, like the report below, a description of recent physical mediumship given by a scientist who actually observed the phenomena.

Dr. Vandersande’s full report is reproduced below with his permission. It proves that spirit is far from finished with us and that there is still need for manifestation of a spectacular nature in order to counter the effects of dogmatic materialism.

Three Materialization Séances with David Thompson

By Jan W. Vandersande, Ph. D.

I was very fortunate to have the well-known Australian materialization medium David Thompson and his partner Christine Morgan, a spiritual medium, accept my invitation to come to the Los Angeles area for three séances on February 9, 11 and 13, 2012. Marisa Ryan, a psychic-medium, helped organize the event with me and her large garage was used for the séances. This article will provide a brief background on materializations and describe in detail the amazing events of our three séances.  I will describe the events of a séance from beginning to end with events from of the three nights overlapping.

Materialization, especially full-body materialization, is the rarest of all reported paranormal physical phenomena. Portions of human bodies, such as hands, which move, grasp, carry things, etc., or entire bodies which speak, breath and walk like living beings materialize (i.e. form) from ectoplasm. Ectoplasm is a whitish substance which comes from the medium’s body through one or more orifices such as the nose, ears, mouth and/or the solar plexus.  When ectoplasm is initially expelled from the medium it looks transparent, like fine silk. This silk-like looking ectoplasm then solidifies into partial or full materializations of spirit entities or into a rod-like shape that moves the trumpet (a megaphone typically one to two feet long). The ectoplasm always returns to the medium’s body after the materializations are finished.

Ectoplasm was given its name by Professor Charles Richet in 1905, when he was president of the Society for Psychical Research. He derived the name from the Greek word meaning “exteriorized substance”. The German authority Baron von Schenk-Notzing, who called it “teleplasma” produced a chemical analysis (around 1913) as follows: “colorless, slightly cloudy fluid with slightly alkaline reaction, traces of sputum, mucous membrane granules, potash, cell detritus, skin discs and minute particles of flesh”. His analysis was similar to that done by Dr. Dombrowski of the Polish Society for Psychical Research in 1916. Because those analyses were done in 1913 and 1916 they could not be as sophisticated and advanced as you would find nowadays. These analyses do however support the fact that ectoplasm actually does come from the body of the medium. I have documented a large number of reports of materializations and these as well as some photographs of ectoplasm can be found in my book titled Life After Death: Some of the Best Evidence (Outskirts Press, 2008).

Ectoplasm can be very sensitive to unexpected touching or by being exposed to white light. There have been a few reported cases of serious injury to the medium when a sitter in a séance grabbed or shone white light on the ectoplasm. This has typically happened when a skeptic tried to unsuccessfully expose the medium for being fraudulent. Some of the best materialization mediums have produced full-body materializations in red light (which is of lower energy than white light) and a rare few have even produced materializations in white light (for examples see my book).

Medium David Thompson

David Thompson has been doing materialization séances for approximately 15 years. Most of his séances are done in total darkness but, occasionally, he will produce ectoplasm with red light on. Some of those instances have been photographed showing a sheet of ectoplasm stretching from his face across his chest, and down over his lap down to nearly his feet. Those séances when the red light is turned on are usually only when small groups are involved like at his home circle in Sydney. Full materializations are only produced in total darkness and therefore cannot be photographed. Hopefully one day he will have developed enough so that red light can be used in all his séances.

Given that a materialization medium can be seriously hurt during a séance means that precautions need to be taken to ensure that no sitter grabs the ectoplasm or shines white light on it. During our séances sitters were warned before the séance that under no circumstances could they touch the ectoplasm or full materialization unless the spirit entity allowed it. Also, all sitters were searched before entering the séance room.  During the séance all the sitters had to hold hands in order to remove the temptation for any sitter to grab at a materialization.

Similarly, precautions were taken to make sure that fraud on the part of the medium could be completely ruled out. A female and male sitter (called independent “checkers”) were randomly chosen from amongst the sitters to help ensure that all the necessary precautions were taken. David was searched by myself before each séance and before the second séance he even stripped down to his underpants and his clothes were searched by myself and the male independent checker. David sat on a chair (a firm wooden chair) in the corner of the garage and from 24 to 27 chairs were positioned in a circle with the sitters facing the corner where he sat. A curtain rod with two black curtains was situated so that the two curtains could be pulled closed together in front of David (this area behind the curtain is known as the cabinet). David’s arms were tied tightly to the arms of the chair by means of two leather straps. To ensure that the straps could not be undone, plastic zip ties (also known as cable ties or tree ties) were pulled through the holes of the strap so that the strap could only be undone by cutting the zip tie. I checked that David could not pull his hands out from the straps (I found it to be impossible). On one of the evenings one of the independent checkers asked for an additional zip tie to be tied around each of David’s wrists about an inch from the strap. This was done and then an additional zip tie was pulled through the strap and the zip tie around his wrist. It was now totally impossible for him to get his arms loose (only by cutting the zip ties could his arms be released). His legs were tied to the legs of the chair by means of straps. David wore a cardigan sweater during the séances that had five buttons that were buttoned. Five zip ties were used near the button holes to ensure that the only way he could get out of the cardigan was for the zip ties to be cut. The two independent checkers and I searched the garage, especially in and near where David was sitting, for anything that might be used to get out of the bindings and enable him to see in the dark. Nothing was found. The independent checkers and I were convinced that there was no way that David could get out of his chair. Finally, a black gag was secured around his head and through his open mouth so that he could not talk (at least not recognizable speech).

With David securely seated behind the curtains and all the sitters seated, the lights were turned off and the door locked and taped with black tape so no light at all could come into the garage. Christine, the circle leader, now started the séance with a short prayer and then asked me to start the music. I had a CD player next to me on a small table and started the music (I had practiced to be able to operate the CD player in total darkness). Several familiar songs were played and the sitters were urged to sing along to increase the energy and vibrations. All sitters were told to hold hands to increase the energy and to ensure that no one tried to touch the ectoplasm without permission. After three to four songs Christine told me to stop the music because William, David’s main spirit guide (also called his control), had materialized and had spoken to Christine.

David has a band of spirit entities many of whom regularly materialize at his séances. His main spirit control is William Cadwell (who died in 1897) who materializes first at all his séances and appears to control what happens during the séance. After materializing, William started talking to the sitters while walking around. He spoke loudly and in a distinctive British accent that I found difficult to understand at times. William stepped on the piece of plywood (approximately two feet wide by three feet long), that we had taped to the floor at the center of the circle, making a distinct sound indicating that he was wearing heavy-soled boots (meanwhile David was wearing sneakers). He then started to answer questions of a general nature about the spirit world and about life asked by some of the sitters. After answering each question he would walk over to the sitter who had asked the question and asked if he could touch them. After the sitter said that he could, he put his hand on their head. The sitters who had that experience (about 8-10 per sitting) described a very large hand (David has very small hands). Some sitters were also touched on the shoulder and in some cases he put his foot gently on the toes of the sitter (everyone had taken their shoes off) to show that he was a full materialization.  I had William put his hand on my head (I agree it was a big hand) and tap me on the shoulder three times. In the first séance a female sitter asked William if her dead husband could come through and possibly materialize, to which William said they would try (he did come and it is described below). During the second séance I asked William if his materialized body had a pulse. He came over to me, took two of my fingers with his hand and put them up against what I assumed was the carotid artery in his neck area. It felt like cold rough skin I was touching and I could feel a very, very vague pulse. After he had answered approximately 8-10 questions in each of the three sittings he walked back to the cabinet. During the first sitting while walking back to the cabinet (I was sitting approximately two yards to the left of the cabinet) he said to me: “Dr. Vandersande, you will now get the materializations you have been waiting for so long”. The last time I experienced materializations was back in the mid 1970s as described in my book.

The next materialization, in each séance, was Timmy (Timothy Booth), a Cockney youth claiming to be nine years old, who had a very characteristic young voice. Christine gave him the trumpet, a megaphone approximately a foot and a half long with a luminous band (approximately half an inch wide) around the bottom so that it could be seen in the dark. Timmy took the trumpet and, according to him, he manipulated the ectoplasm, which had come from David and from which he had formed, to move the trumpet. (Photographs of how the ectoplasm is typically attached to the trumpet can be seen in my book.) The trumpet flew at great speed and with considerable precision, performing aerobatic patterns such as large and small circles, flying to the ceiling and to the floor and all around the garage while I had the CD player play an Irish jig. Occasionally it slowed to a stop and gently tapped a sitter deliberately on the head, the shoulder, or the knee. It did that to several sitters. Never at any time did the trumpet bump into any sitter or anything else in the garage. In the second séance Timmy was given two drumsticks by Christine, after the trumpet had finished flying around the room. The sticks were approximately one and a half feet long and had luminous paint on their tips so they could be seen in the dark. The two sticks flew around the room just like the trumpet did. At one point both sticks went up to the ceiling (which was approximately nine feet high) and stayed there motionless for a few seconds and then resumed flying around and gently touching a few sitters. There is absolutely no way any human, assuming they could see in total darkness, could move the trumpet (and the drum sticks) in those random patterns, that fast and at that those heights, as all the sitters observed in the three séances. My wife, Marlene, and I saw similar trumpet movements in a large number of séances over an eight year period in the 1970s. In the second séance Timmy also rang a bell that Christine had given him for about 30 seconds.

Next in the first two séances, Christine gave Timmy a small tablet (approximately three inches square) that was covered with luminous paint so it could be seen in the dark. Timmy would put two or three fingers over the tablet and walked around the circle so that each sitter could see the outline of his small fingers. After that he walked around the circle touching some sitters on their hands so that they could feel his small hands. In the second séance he ran from the cabinet to sitters in the circle across from the cabinet (approximately 30 feet away) and asked a young lady her name. She told him her name was Emily and he said “what a lovely name”. He then touched her hand and the hand of her father (remember all sitters were holding hands during the séance) and both commented how small the fingers felt. In the third séance, when Timmy was near me I asked him when he died and he replied 1902. I then asked where he lived and he replied Stepney Green (in East London). I did not understand what he said so asked him to spell it. Instead of spelling the name he came over to me and put his hands on the arms of my chair (a plastic garden chair) and shook my chair forwards and backwards three times. A few minutes later he came back and shook my chair sideways a few times. I weigh 200 pounds so he showed a lot of strength in shaking my chair. He obviously was not happy about me asking him to spell Stepney Green. After the séance I told David what had happened and he said that Timmy was illiterate during his earth life, which could explain why he was not happy and did what he did.

Another one of David’s regular spirit entities, Louis Armstrong (the famous trumpet player who died in 1971), materialized in all three séances. He sang to one of his well-known songs (Hello Dolly) which I played on the CD player. His voice sounded exactly like the very characteristic voice so often heard when he was alive on earth (a deep distinctive gravelly voice). Christine then handed him a harmonica and he played it for several minutes while tapping on the plywood on the floor. You could hear him take a deep breath occasionally while playing. After that he left. I always get skeptical and nervous when famous people materialize but now have a better understanding why they do it. To prove survival after death it makes more sense that someone who is well-known, has a characteristic voice and/or mannerisms, that just about everyone can recognize, materializes rather than an anonymous person.

A few of the other regular spirit entities materialized during the three séances. During the first séance May, a women with a strong Southern accent, materialized. When asked where she came from she replied she came from Louisiana. She only spoke for a few minutes and then left. During the second séance a person called Harold Bloomsbury materialized and sang a song and then left. Christine and David know very little about him except that he apparently lived in Kentucky and occasionally materializes to sing. During the third séance Quentin Crisp, the British writer, actor and gay icon (who died in 1999), materialized. He had a flamboyant personality and a theatrical voice. He said he had come to prove that your sexual preference doesn’t affect what happens to you when you go to the spirit world (contrary to what many may believe today in our society) but how you live your life. He was asked if believed in gay marriage and replied that he did not believe in marriage of any kind.

During the second séance Maurice Barbanell briefly materialized. It sounded like he never left the cabinet because the voice appeared to come from behind the curtain. Barbanell was an author, editor (of the Spiritualist newspaper “Psychic News”) and medium who died in 1981. He was the trance medium for the very well-known spirit guide Silver Birch, who apparently was an old soul who took on the guise of a humble American Indian. Barbanell said that Silver Birch would materialize at the end of the séance. A short time later there was a large whoosh sound as if the curtains of the cabinet were blown outward. A cold breeze was felt by many sitters. I and others got the impression that someone special had arrived. Silver Birch had materialized and he spoke briefly about the Great White Spirit from the center of the circle. He then sang an Indian incantation or chant (blessing?) and then left. Christine told me afterwards that Silver Birch had come to two previous séances and that in both cases there was that whoosh sound and the breeze of cold air.

During each séance a friend or relative of one of the sitters materialized. During the first séance Ken, the husband of one of the sitters, materialized and spoke to his wife briefly. He said he had been a bad husband but his wife said that he had not been one. He kissed her and then left. Next a man materialized calling for his granddaughter Marlene. He turned out to be the grandfather of my wife Marlene, on her mother’s side. He said he had brought her mother. A weak women’s voice then spoke from inside or near the cabinet and said “I love you” and then she disappeared. It appeared that there just wasn’t enough energy for her to materialize. Actually, the energy in the first séance was the weakest of the three séances. This was evident by how the trumpet flew around the garage. During the first séance the trumpet did perform its aerobatics but it was not as energetic as in the other séances. Also, it stayed close to the cabinet while during the second séance the trumpet flew all over the garage and also the drumsticks flew around (which only happened during the second séance). Next, a man materialized right in front of me and said he was Alec Harris, one of the most well-known materialization mediums to have lived (see my book for detailed descriptions of his séances). He had come to thank me for writing about his mediumship in my book and talking about his mediumship. He also said that our two medium friends were there. He was referring to Mickey and Sara Wolf, who Marlene and I sat with over an eight year period in the 1970s and who themselves sat with Alec. I said “Thank you, you were a great medium” and he then left.

During the second séance Leslie Flint, one of the best independent direct voice mediums ever (who died in 1994), materialized and walked over to the sitter Brian Hurst, a medium himself, and started talking to him. Flint and Brian were friends in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Flint stayed in Los Angeles. Flint referred to a séance where he got very irritable because Brian went into trance and he (Leslie) got no direct voice. Leslie eventually apologized. Flint also referred to a Mr. Fisher, Brian’s speech coach when he was in school. Brian told me that Flint used the expression “Dear Boy” several times and that when they were friends, Flint always called him that. Flint said a few other things to Brian, which Brian confirmed were accurate to me a few days later. What Flint said was very good survival evidence (names and addresses) that was confirmed by Brian. There is no way David could have known some or any of it.

During the third séance a man materialized and called out for his mother and father, who called him Jay-Jay and asked him to come to them. He walked over to them, touched them both and kissed them. After saying a few words to each other he left.

At the end of each of the séances, after all the materializations had returned to the cabinet, William said good-bye and asked me to play some music. After a few minutes everyone heard a large thud in the center of the circle (approximately 15 feet in front of the curtain). A light was turned on after the tape on the door had been removed and the door opened. We all saw David sitting in his chair, tied up exactly as he was at the beginning of the séance except for the fact that his cardigan had been reversed. The cardigan was still buttoned and the five zip-ties were still in place exactly as when we placed them there. There is no way that David could have reversed the cardigan. In the third séance the cardigan was dropped in the lap of the male independent checker before David in his chair was moved (it sounded like he was dropped) in the center of the circle. The movement of David in his chair for a distance of at least 15 feet shows that the spirit entities/materialized spirit forms have tremendous strength (I just don’t know if it was the materialized entities or power from the spirit world that moved David and his chair). While the reversal/removal of the cardigan shows a de-materialization/re-materialization capability (or whatever technology the spirits used) that is way beyond the current laws of physics as we know them. It was truly an amazing phenomenon to have observed.

The male independent checker then gave Christine the cutters, which he had in his pocket throughout the séance (in all three séances), so that the zip ties could be cut loose and David untied from the chair. I carefully examined how David was tied into the chair and I am absolutely sure that there was no way he was able to remove himself from the chair during the séance and then return to the chair and tie himself back to the chair. There is no doubt in my mind he produced the materializations and the other physical phenomena while tied in the chair in the cabinet.

A friend of mine and his daughter came to the second séance. Neither had been to a séance before and I told them in advance that it could be a life changing experience. I spoke to him a few days after the séance and he said that he spent a few hours analyzing what he had experienced (he has two university degrees). His conclusion was that even if David could have untied himself and could have seen in the dark (both of which he thought was extremely unlikely if not impossible) then he still could never have produced the trumpet, drum stick and small and large hand touching phenomena. His only conclusion could be that what he experienced was real and that he experienced something paranormal and it was very likely communication with the spirit world. Both he and his daughter agreed with me that the experience was life changing.

The ‘New Age’ & Spiritualism

Recently we returned to Phoenix after spending several days in fabled Sedona, Arizona – dubbed the “New Age” Capital of the U.S.A., if not the whole world. Nestled in its canyon surrounded by magnificent red rock cliffs and formations is this little town that attracts tourists from around the globe in search of enlightenment while they enjoy the grand scenery.

As we drove up and down Sedona’s streets we saw numerous shops and businesses focused on New Age activities – more in this town of 10,000 residents than we are aware of in nearby Phoenix with its population of more than 4 million. There are at least a couple of New Age book stores, signs were out for psychic readings, plus shops selling crystals and imported Hindu and Buddhist figurines, aura photography studios, and a Reiki center I’ll talk about in a moment.

While I’m certain Sedona draws outstanding psychic talent, it’s obvious there are some wanna-be’s and flakes mixed in. Recent headlines just four months ago revealed that self-help guru James Arthur Ray was convicted of three counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of followers engaged in his sweat lodge ceremony near Sedona in 2009. The victims and other participants, I suspect, were genuine in their desire for inspiration and enlightenment but found themselves caught up in something that ended tragically. Incidents such as this reinforce the scriptural admonition to “try the spirits.” They also cause us to remember another injunction that says “by their fruits shall you know them.”

Curiously, in Sedona’s book stores I failed to see even one volume of the many available that discuss spirit communication. There were plenty on hand describing the effects of gemstones and crystals but none about the efforts of those in spirit to guide us. With the proliferation of teachers like James Arthur Ray it is evident that we could all use some guidance from the other side and in America’s New Age “Mecca” one would think materials telling us how to tap those resources would be available. Apparently not.

On the other hand, our Oregon friends who were traveling with us made arrangements for the four of us to participate in a Reiki healing circle one evening and that experience was a refreshing alternative to the bustling New Age Industry on Sedona’s main street. Although my wife had participated in Reiki work previously, it was new territory for me. I’ve enjoyed other healing circles in the past that are similar and the group of about 25 who gathered in Sedona impressed me. The group was composed of both men and women of all ages and we out-of-towners were lovingly welcomed by the locals. We took turns sending and receiving healing energy and the thing that impressed me most was the obvious motivation to serve shared by all present. No fees were charged; everyone there was present because they wanted to help and share. To me, that was a manifestation of what spirit guide Silver Birch called service to mankind that is the overall goal of life in matter and in the hereafter.

While we were in Sedona I kept thinking about the possible meaning of the label “New Age” and wondering how it differed from concepts I’ve become familiar with in spiritualism. In the 1967 musical Hair the opening song “Aquarius” told us “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius,” i.e., the shifting from the astrological age of Pisces to a new era of peace and spiritual enlightenment. Since the 1960s those who describe themselves as “New Agers” have been expecting this dawning much as orthodox Christians await the return of their savior. All of the current hubbub about the Mayan calendar ending on Dec. 21, 2012, is much the same sort of rapture expectation. In my mind there’s no doubt that things are going to happen that will change our level of consciousness and it was the appearance of the so-called New Age in the ’60s that originally brought much of this to our attention.

Another feature of the loosely connected New Age movement is its emphasis upon various sources of energy and how they impact the individual. Appearance of crystals in Sedona’s stores is evidence of this interest and I was amazed at how much these beautiful gems fetched in the marketplace. Another Sedona attraction that relates to New Age energy is the location of various vortices that are described as the earth’s energy “hot spots” where people can feel the vibrations and achieve healing or enlightenment. We hiked to a couple of these spots during our visit. They are in scenic locations so whether or not you are standing at an actual vortex almost seems immaterial – the beauty surrounding you there is inspiring. I happen to believe that traveling to some special location for an infilling of energy is usually unnecessary; we can tap the energy of the universe no matter where we are. But that being said, we did enjoy our trek to Sedona’s vortices and found the experience to be exhilarating.

Channeling is a New Age phenomenon that confuses some of us old-time spiritualists. On this blog I provide a link to Ken Carey whose channeled writings in the 1970s and thereafter helped define much of the New Age movement. I have found his work to be highly elevated and inspiring with the key message being identification of who we are as spirits with bodies rather than bodies with spirits. This is a key teaching of spiritualism, too.

Back in the 1970s my wife and I attended several events featuring British occultist and artist Benjamin Creame. During these he went into trance and assumed the personality of the ascended master Maitreya. We have also seen video of JZ Knight channel her guide Ramtha and in both cases it is impossible to discern the difference between what we observed and other experiences with trance mediums. Channelers, however, usually deny that they are mediums – I think it is probably a matter of semantics. With Ken Carey the literary output can be attributed to automatic writing; Benjamin Creame, JZ Knight and the late Jane Roberts (Seth material) are most likely trance mediums.

So, how do we define “New Age” and how does it relate to spiritualism? There are many similarities between the two movements – Each moves us away from dogmatic materialism by emphasizing the realm of spirit; each acknowledges subtle energies that impact us; each tries to blend spiritual teachings from both the East and the West; each is non-dogmatic and liberal in its teachings; each is Unitarian in its “theology.” Unlike spiritualism, however, most New Age teachers do not have much interest in the afterlife and the importance of proving the continuity of life after so-called death. New Age folks almost universally accept reincarnation as a fact (something that’s still being debated in spiritualist circles) but it seems to me that their movement would be strengthened and made more vital if they went one step further and incorporated the expanding evidence of life after death that mediumship and scientific research reveal.

Regardless, it’s my opinion that the New Agers have preformed a marvelous service to humanity and to spiritualism by helping millions of folks walk away from the confusion and bondage of religious authoritarianism into a freer atmosphere that emphasizes connections with nature and one another. It may well be that most New Agers are totally unaware of the deeper discoveries of spiritualism and afterlife research. It’s up to us to find ways to spread the word so both of these movements can help one another.

Dave & Georgetta Howard at one of the vortices in Sedona, Arizona.